Somali occupational groups?

[OdaySomali]

Somali occupational groups... as identity?

 

Maal

 

Soo-maal (he who milks...lives off milk/meat)

 

Biyo-maal (he who lives off water... fisher and/or farmer)

 

Tum-maal (welder/blacksmith/mason lives of his 'hammer')

 

Baaji-maal (potter & clayworker)

 

Midig-maal (muruq-maal)

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

interesting but there is no beero-maal lol

[OdaySomali]

Naxar Nugaaleed;988873 wrote:

interesting but there is no beero-maal lol

There could be. Perhaps we just don't know the word for it. Or there is no such word because historically Somalis have not been beeralay.

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

Somalis are said to be maay iyo maxa tiri. Maay are almost exclusively beeralay

[OdaySomali]

Do you know what Mudug means?

[Haatu]

OdaySomali;988855 wrote:

Somali occupational groups... as identity?

 

Maal

 

Soo-maal

(he who milks...lives off milk/meat)

 

Biyo-maal (he who lives off water... fisher and/or farmer)

 

Tum-maal (welder/blacksmith/mason lives of his 'hammer')

 

Baaji-maal (potter & clayworker)

 

Midig-maal (muruq-maal)

Nice thread but there's another definition for Soo-maal that I think makes more sense and fits with these other words. Soo comes from the old Somali word So' still used in Maay which means meat so the word was originally So'-maal - one who works with meat i.e. a pastoralist. Over time the hamse (') was dropped and it became a softer soo instead of the harsh so' becoming soomaal.

 

OdaySomali;988888 wrote:

Do you know what Mudug means?

I don't know what Mudug means but Sool means hawd oomane ah (a dry shrubland).

[Che -Guevara]

Naxar Nugaaleed;988885 wrote:

Maay are almost exclusively beeralay

Not exclusively.

[OdaySomali]

Bump. Any thoughts on this?