Aw (father) explained

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

Etymology

According to linguist Edward Ullendorff term '"Aw"' from Harari language is linked to the Proto-Semitic term Ab meaning father.^{[10] [11]}

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), it denoted the final resting place of a local saint.^[12]

Most notably applied to the founder of Harar Aw Abadir.^[13] According to Giorgio Banti the term has been adopted by various Somali clans from the Harari language.^[14]

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.^[15] Sorcerers among the Arsi Oromo are known as Awan Shan which is derived from the title Aw.^[16]

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

Sources

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

Notes and References

1. Book: Pankhurst . Richard . The Conquest of Abyssinia 16th Century . 2003 . Tsehai Publishers & Distributors . 241 . 978-0-9723172-6-9 .
2. Book: Cerulli . Enrico . Islam yesterday and today . 389 .
3. Wagner . Ewald . Eine Liste der Heiligen von Harar . Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft . 1973 . 123 . 2 . Harrassowitz Verlag . 273 . 43370590 .
4. Book: Adam . Hussein . The Proceedings of the First International Congress of Somali Studies . 1992 . Scholars press . 157 . 9780891306580 .
5. Book: Lindahl . Bernhard . Local history of Ethiopia . Nordic Africa Institute . 14 .
6. Book: Ben-Dror . Avishai . Emirate, Egyptian, Ethiopian Colonial Experiences in Late Nineteenth-Century Harar . 23 August 2018 . Syracuse University press . 15 . 9780815654315 .
7. Transactions of the Somali Academy of Sciences and Arts Volume 1 page 164
8. Encyclopedia of Africa south of the Sahara page 47
9. Book: IFLA Committee on Cataloguing . IFLA International Office for UBC. . IFLA International Programme for UBC. . IFLA UBCIM Programme. International cataloguing: quarterly bulletin of the IFLA Committee on Cataloguing, Volume 11. 1987. The Committee. 24.
10. Book: Ullendorff . Edward . The Semitic languages of Ethiopia; a comparative phonology . 1955 . Taylor's (Foreign) Press . 104 .
11. Book: Mother Tongue Journal of the Association for the Study of Language in Prehistory · Issue IX . Association for the Study of Language in Prehistory . 157 .
12. G.W.B. Huntingford, "The Town of Amud, Somalia", Azania, 13 (1978), p. 184
13. Book: Bausi . Alessandro . Aw . Encyclopedia Aethiopica .
14. Book: Banti . Giorgio . Loanwords from Arabic and other Semitic Languages in Northern Somali . Oriental University of Naples . 8 .
15. Book: Lattin . David . Politics, Language, and Thought The Somali Experience . May 1977 . University of Chicago Press . 195 . 9780226467917 .
16. Book: Braukamper . Ulrich . Islamic History and Culture in Southern Ethiopia . 2002 . Lit . 161 . 9783825856717 .