Aw (father)

Aw (sometimes spelled Au)[1][2][3] is an honorific title in the Harari and Somali languages.[4][5][6] It commonly designates a father, respected elder or saint in Harari and Somali languages.[7][8][9] It is used widely and most commonly in the Somali territories.[10]

Etymology

According to linguist Edward Ullendorff term '"Aw"' from Harari language is linked to the Proto-Semitic term Ab meaning father.[11][12]

History

During his research in the ancient town of Amud, the historian G.W.B. Huntingford noticed that whenever an old site had the prefix Aw in its name (such as the ruins of Awbare and Awbube),[5] it denoted the final resting place of a local saint.[13]

Most notably applied to the founder of Harar Aw Abadir.[14] According to Giorgio Banti the term has been adopted by various Somali clans from the Harari language.[15]

According to the southern Somali Geledi clan, the appellation Aw was common amongst them and was used “scrupulously” in interactions between the nobles and half casts.[16] Sorcerers among the Arsi Oromo are known as Awan Shan which is derived from the title Aw.[17]

Notables

People with the title include:

  • Aw Barkhadle, saint
  • Aw Barre (Awbare), Adal era saint
  • Aw Bube (Awbube), pre Ifat era saint
  • Aw Abdal, saint
  • Aw Ali Hamdogn, saint and scholar
  • Aw Abadir (Aw Badir), saint and scholar
  • Aw Umar Ziad, saint
  • Aw Ansaar, saint
  • Aw Hashim, saint and scholar
  • Aw Seid, saint
  • Aw Sofi Yahya, saint and scholar

Further reading

  • Emile Foucher, Names of Mussulmans venerated in Harrar and its Surroundings A List. Harrassowitz Verlag, 1988

References

  1. ^ Pankhurst, Richard. The Conquest of Abyssinia 16th Century. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 241.
  2. ^ Cerulli, Enrico. Islam yesterday and today. p. 389.
  3. ^ Wagner, Ewald (1973). "Eine Liste der Heiligen von Harar". Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. 123 (2). Harrassowitz Verlag: 273. JSTOR 43370590.
  4. ^ Adam, Hussein (1992). The Proceedings of the First International Congress of Somali Studies. Scholars press. p. 157. ISBN 9780891306580.
  5. ^ a b Lewis (1998:90)
  6. ^ Lindahl, Bernhard. Local history of Ethiopia (PDF). Nordic Africa Institute. p. 14.
  7. ^ Ben-Dror, Avishai (23 August 2018). Emirate, Egyptian, Ethiopian Colonial Experiences in Late Nineteenth-Century Harar. Syracuse University press. p. 15. ISBN 9780815654315.
  8. ^ Transactions of the Somali Academy of Sciences and Arts Volume 1 page 164
  9. ^ Encyclopedia of Africa south of the Sahara page 47
  10. ^ IFLA Committee on Cataloguing; IFLA International Office for UBC.; IFLA International Programme for UBC.; IFLA UBCIM Programme (1987). International cataloguing: quarterly bulletin of the IFLA Committee on Cataloguing, Volume 11. The Committee. p. 24.
  11. ^ Ullendorff, Edward. The Semitic languages of Ethiopia; a comparative phonology. Taylor's (Foreign) Press. p. 104.
  12. ^ Mother Tongue Journal of the Association for the Study of Language in Prehistory · Issue IX (PDF). Association for the Study of Language in Prehistory. p. 157.
  13. ^ G.W.B. Huntingford, "The Town of Amud, Somalia", Azania, 13 (1978), p. 184
  14. ^ Bausi, Alessandro. Aw. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
  15. ^ Banti, Giorgio. Loanwords from Arabic and other Semitic Languages in Northern Somali (PDF). Oriental University of Naples. p. 8.
  16. ^ Lattin, David (May 1977). Politics, Language, and Thought The Somali Experience. University of Chicago Press. p. 195. ISBN 9780226467917.
  17. ^ Braukamper, Ulrich (2002). Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia. Lit. p. 161. ISBN 9783825856717.

Sources

  • Lewis, I. M. (1998). Saints and Somalis : popular Islam in a clan-based society. Lawrenceville, N.J.: Red Sea Press. ISBN 9781569021033.


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