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The stars play a vital role in the Somali nomadic countryside. Yet, for those Somalis, who dwell in the urban cities, will show a great deal of enthusiasm in the stars and their knowledge. Although, many Somalis of second or third generation city dwellers will not have experienced, a true life in the countryside. Yet, if you ask him/her the names of the stars, planets or the time, the Pleiades set in winter or spring seasons, many will know the answer. And this is because of the Somali language or the influence of traditional & modern literature. For, you will always find a reference to some star, planet or astronomical phenomena of some kind or another made in every song played on the radio, theatrical play or a poem. Somalis love of poetry and the verbal arts was, so much so that Richard Burton, the English explorer, in his travels to Somaliland in 1854 commented:
Because, the Somali people are an oral society, much of their traditional and modern literature has become inseparable from the stars and the heavens above. And this can be said as to the reason why so many of the city dwellers know so much of the stars, than of animal husbandry.
The crucial distinction between different forms of Somali poetry is in the number of syllables in each line. The following rough guide may be found useful;
| Halaanhal | normally 12 syllables (oldest metre) |
| Gabay | normally 14 to 16 syllables |
| Geeraar | normally 7 syllables (classical metres) |
| Jiifto | normally 7 syllables (classical metres) |
| Heelo | normally 10 syllables |
| Hees-Xoolaad | normally 1 to 5 syllables (livestock husbandry song) |
| Hees-Cayaareed | normally from 6 to 11 syllables (dance song) |
| Hees-Caanood | normally from 6 to 9 syllables (milk-shaking song) |
| Hees-Mooye | normally 6 syllables (wheat-maize grinding song) |
| Hees-Carruureed | normally 8 syllables (nursery or sung to children) |
From last week, we can see that the weather is all-important for the nomadic people of this country: if rain fails at the expected season, there is drought and suffering, heavy losses amongst the herds, and consequent poverty, leading often to war. It is therefore hardly surprising that they should have become so closely acquainted with the paths of the moon and the stars, and should have come to rely so heavily on the interpretations and predications traditionally drawn from "the stations of the moon",
The stations of the moon, a fundamental concept in Somali astrology and weather prediction, and studied by the nomadic experts with great care and thoroughness, consists of twenty eight different groups of stars or stations fixed along the ecliptic path of the moon, and served to mark the life span of the Somali lunar month, number of days in each year, seasons and for weather predications and astrological forecasts . Each station has from one to over ten stars in its makeup. In addition, however, to the 28 stations along the visible path of the moon during each lunar month, there are said by Somalis to be one or two nights in every month during which the moon is not visible. These are the 'empty stations' when the moon is a 'new-moon' not in conjunction with any star or group of stars visible to the Somali observer. The period is known in Somali as "Dibbad or Dubbad" and means 'an invisible moon. Thus the Somali lunar calendar month will vary from 29 to 30 days
The importance of the Urur group of stars or Pleiades constellation for the Somali nomad
There is indeed a deep commitment of the Somali nomad to signs and portents, based upon long tradition, and not subject to orthodox Islamic beliefs. There is a proverb in Somali from the religious sections of the community that says; 'foolish people who spend all their time reading the stars would do better to ponder on the Divine Will'. 'Malluug moogow Maruubsatadaada fiirsoy'. And I recall a poem recited by an Arab sheikh, scorning the Somalis for their over-dependence on astronomy and the astrological deductions made from it:
Lambs conceived on the night of "Dambasamo" will be born about 150 days later, which should be in the middle of the spring rains (April), and this is when the time the Pleiades will start to set at about twilight. The nomad, therefore knows when to let the rams mate with ewes in the middle of autumn by using the Urur/Pleiades as a point of cue, and also will use the Pleiades as a precursor for tracking the time period left for when the rains will begin in spring.
Going back, to the Arab sheikh's poem, the verse 'the setting of the Urur/Pleiades' signify the beginning of the rain season, and this is the time when the sheep give birth to new born lambs, and if these rains fail it will spell disaster for the nomads and their sheep. In other words, the Arab sheikh is rebuking the nomads for not taking into consideration the Divine Will as being the force behind the rains and the cycles of seasons and not the Urur/Pleiades, stars or heavenly bodies as responsible for the onset of the rains. The nomad however would defend his over-reliant attitude by saying: ' not only on man has God conferred this knowledge, but also onto the animal kingdom as well'. The nomad will argue, that ' God has taught the "Cawl" a species of the gazelle the power to read the stars, for whenever it wants to mate, it does so, in accordance by reading the stars and knowing when the rains will begin, with God's leave.'
There are countless phrases, songs, proverbs and poems in Somali, which ascribe these skills to the 'cawl gazelle and countless other wild animals. 'Cawl' in Somali is pronounced, in similar to the English pronunciation to the word ‘owl’ as in the night-bird ‘owl’. 'Cawl' is also a poplar Somali name given to boys. This Gabay by Cali Dhuux, recorded from Jaamac Daahir of Buuhoodle ascribes, these skills to the ‘Cawl’ or species of the gazelle (alliterated in the Somali vowel letter 'C' pronounced in English as 'ah'):
The 'Cawl' gazelle is the only gazelle species which mate's outside the normal mating season, when all animals or gazelles are busy mating. For, whenever there is a drought, because the major spring rains have failed, many of the newborn offspring’s of the other gazelle species suffer and die. However, the same is not true for the 'cawl' gazelle.
For you will never see an 'cawl' gazelle with new born offspring's in times of failed spring rains, like you do with the other gazelle species. And this is attributed to the Somali belief that the 'cawl' stag gazelle knows when the rains will fail, because it gazes at the stars before it mates. And this is the reason the Somalis hold with such esteem this species of gazelle. One of the vital Somali seasons of the ‘Gu’ or spring rains is named after this gazelle. The three major ‘Gu’ or spring rains are called ‘Seermaweydo’ and ‘Diriir Cawl’ and ‘Diriir Sagaalo’.
Some nomads will often go to great lengths in the middle of the night to keep a track on a nearby herde of 'cawl' gazelles, so that they can know when to let their rams mate with the ewes, and all this depends on whether the 'cawl' stag gazelles have started to mate or not. Because, in the time period which 'cawl' gazelles give birth to new born offspring's is about the same time as sheep give birth to their new born lambs (five months from the time of conception).
End of Part Two