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700 SOMALIS
which is an integral part of their nomadic way of life. The very name, So Maal,
when spoken in the imperative, is said to mean, "Go milk a beast for yourself!"—a
rough expression of hospitality. The Somali's self-conception is inseparable
from his flocks and his traditional grazing lands, although for some,
urban life, too, is a new and irresistible trend.
Somalis number at least 7.6 million. Most (4.4 million) live in the Republic
of Somalia. About 2.5 million live in Ethiopia, at least 540,000 in Kenya and
perhaps as many as 240,000 in the Republic of Djibouti; while a fluctuating and
floating expatriate population of at least 100,000 is to be found in a number of
Arab countries, mainly in South Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Between 60 and 70
percent of the Somali people, in their traditional setting, are pastoralists with
small but increasing communities of cultivators in wetter regions of the extreme
northwest and in the riverine southwest. There is a growing urban population in
such towns as Mogadishu, the capital of Somali, and in smaller communities
along the east coast of Africa. The Somali economy is based principally on the
herding of camels, sheep and goats.
There is controversy as to the origin of the Somalis. Traditional ethnologists,
such as Enrico Cerulli and I. M. Lewis, believe that the Somalis and the Oromo
(Galla) were Hamitic colonizers in the Horn, migrating from the north. The
Somalis drove out the Oromo, who were there first (see Oromo). The opposing
theory, advanced by historical linguists Harold Fleming and Herbert Lewis,
proposes that the Somalis and Oromo, among other people of the Horn, are
racially, culturally and linguistically related, having originated in present-day
Bale Province in Ethiopia. While the first school draws heavily on ethnographic
surveys and oral traditions, the second bases its findings on linguistic evidence
arrived at through the application of the comparative method of historical linguistics
and lexico-statistical data.
Both Somali and Oromo are languages of the Eastern Cushitic branch of the
Afro-Asiatic language family, which encompasses a wide range of peoples,
including the Afar, Beja, Rendille and others scattered from Somalia to Sudan
and even as far south as Tanzania. Given the linguistic evidence and shared
cultural traits, the Somalis cannot be regarded as other than being indigenous to
the African continent (see Afar; Beja).
In the early years of the Islamic era, the African coast facing Arabia became
important as a place of refuge for the Prophet Muhammad's early followers
fleeing Meccan persecution. There followed a period of Islamization and Arab-
African cultural exchange via commerce and colonization.
The Somalis are Sunni Muslims of the Shafi rite, with Sufism being an important
religious experience for many. This includes ecstasy (induced by chanting
or dhikr and by narcotics). The main turuq (Sufi brotherhoods) are the Qadiri
and Salihi. Some are followers of the Ahmadiya sect.
Another important element in the Somalis' way of life is customary law, or
heer (Arabic, adat) which predates Islam and which regulates daily affairs among
nomads. In the towns the Shariah takes precedence wherever the two are in open