Wagar, Fertility and Phallic Stelae: Cushitic Sky-God Belief and the Site of Saint Aw-Barkhadle, Somaliland

Abstract

This article is the first to present a study on the wagar, a sacred wooden sculpture kept by Somali women. This study explores the wagar and its significance as a sacred medium within fertility rituals and the religious syncretism in which such indigenous and non/pre-Islamic practice is appropriated and applied for reproduction purposes. The wagar seems to denote a Cushitic symbol of belief in sacred trees within Somali society. The article further explores the potential link between the wagar and the Sky-God Waaq, adhered to by the Cushitic people of the Horn both before and during the practice of Christianity and Islam. The author suggests that the religious centre of Saint Aw-Barkhadle, located in the twelfth-century Islamic ruined townwhich was a major pre-Islamic ritual and burial site according to recent archaeological work-may be linked with the practices of the pre-Islamic religion of Waaq. The article suggests the wagar and phallic gravestones discovered at Aw-Barkhadle and in other parts of the Horn of Africa may be part of Sky-God belief, with an ideology rooted in fertility. Along with traditional archaeological methods, the article also uses the knowledge-centred approach, taking into account local knowledge, oral history and folklore to explore this region's past. The study of the wagar and the shrine of AwBarkhadle contributes to the archaeology of religion and to historical archaeology in the Horn of Africa.Résumé Cet article constitue la première étude sur le 'Wagar', une sculpture sur bois sacré gardée par les femmes somaliennes. Cette recherche étudie le Wagar et sa signification en tant que véhicule sacré dans les rites de fécondité ainsi que le syncrétisme religieux dans lequel une pratique indigène et non/préislamique est opportune et appliquée à des fins de reproduction. Le Wagar semble désigner un symbole couchitique de croyances aux arbres sacrés au sein de la société somalienne. Ainsi, cet article explore le lien potentiel entre le Wagar et le couchitique Dieu du Ciel -appelé Waaq, obéis par les gens de la Corne avant et après le Christianisme et l'Islam. L'auteur suggère que le centre religieux de Saint Aw-Barkhadle, situé dans la ville en ruine du douzième siècle, soit attaché aux pratiques des religions préislamique du Waaq, le Dieu Afr Archaeol Rev (2015) 32:93-109

Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire

“…Only excavations will yield evidence of this, but some burials are more than 2 m above ground and prompt such thinking, as those near Gidheys. Also, some burials are inside the trunks of big treeswhich is not too unlikely, as the belief in sacred trees was widespread, pre-Islamic and also contemporary with Islam (Mire 2015). A grave marked with a stele carrying an Orthodox cross was found in situ at Aw-Barkhadle, which confirms that Christianity was known here during pre-Islamic times or contemporary with Islam.…”

“…These are usually sacred landscapes in the Horn of Africa (Mire 2015). Decorated stelae cemeteries exist in abundance in the archaeology of Ethiopia; however, in Somali region, this has not been reported previously.…”

“…No further information accompanies them, except that they are from Somaliland. The Horn of Africa tradition of phallic gravestones (as evidenced in Tutitui and Tutu Fela) seems to have been practiced contemporarily with Islam and, as evidence by my own study of the AwBarkhadle site (Mire 2015), perhaps in a syncretic way. Although dolmen burials are not common, they also occur at Aw-Barkhadle where I found cairns as well in 2007; however, the rapid spread of Prosopis juliflora (a type of mesquite) at the site has now hidden the dolmens completely.…”

Los reinos perdidos. Arqueología del estado en el Cuerno de África

“…Los santuarios suelen situarse en encrucijadas naturales y crecen a partir de un núcleo preislámico, en ocasiones muy antiguo. Ese núcleo puede estar representado por un gran túmulo donde se considera que está enterrado el ancestro de un clan o un hombre santo (Mire 2015). A su alrededor crecen las tumbas, cuya tipología va cambiando con el tiempo, y también los espacios de oración, meditación y retiro propios de la rama sufí del Islam.…”