1931: Cerulli in Harar; Tradition here is Emir Nur from Somali clan of Marrehan Darod

[Gubbet]

1931

Cerulli in Harar

Documenti Arabi Per La Storia dell'Etiopia

[Gubbet]

Backdrop

Saddam,

1. This was the middle ages---for reference that's when the Portuguese started to look for "India" which they would later call Native Americans after getting lost.
2. Information was scarce basically. Even more so for Africa or most of the world without record keeping.
3. While we Somalis were unlettered, fortunately the Abyssinians were which translated to the Harari administration borrowing it.
4. Unfortunately however, the Ethiopian recordus, like most of their peers at that that, weren't any more sophisticated than say "Gilgamesh" almost. It is all religious/syncretic parables. It isn't really "records" as much as religious oriented "thikr" almost (ala Christian style) since the literate were only abbots.
5. However, thankfully Harar because of the Islamic influence did develop reocrd keeping and more importantly "scribes" or city secretaries who were both writing and being "living memory." In case for example, something happened to the physical record, they had to be prepared to do write it again by heart.
6. Unfortunately, the Ethiopian capture of Harar was both BRUTAL and INCREDIBLY damaging/irresponsible. After they defeated the last Emir at Challenko OUTSIDE of Harar, Menelike did not order a peaceful entry. The Ethiopians went berserk killing, piliging and destroying everything. Before nightfall on the first day, 3000 lay dead including city administrators, the town was burning, soldierd had taken everything as booty (that's how they were paid), the biggest gate was turned into open hole, and the biggest mosque was a Church.
7. I mean in today's understanding, that's Geneva Conventions warcrimes JUST ON THE BASIS OF the damage, theft, and pillage of culture and civilization.

8.However, between some saved artifacts and living memory, the deducated scholarship of Cerulli and Rossini and Wagner, etc have done incredible work in the last 100 years to reconstruct that thousand year old civilization.

9. For this particular document "Documenti Arabi per la storia dell'Etiopia" Cerulli was doing work for Ethiopia Occidentale book whrm5 he heard about that which had been saved and hidden until then.

10. He immediately went to Harar and transcribed and contextualized it by engaging the "living memory" as well that were at that time (40+ years after fall of Harar) growing old or dying out.

11. The article is about the transcription of the 2nd most important Arabic work on Harar saved (after Futuh) and Cerulli's contextualization of it using the "living memories" who saved as well as gathering a whole host of "living memories" before their host bodies grew too old or died by then 45 years after fall of Harar.

12. That's where Cerulli documents the living memories giving the last pieces of information such as from whom did Emir Nur come from.

13. They also relay other pieces of information unknown before like the fact that Emir Adruh was Adruh ben Goyta Tedros. Of this Cerulli says it can't bé the Marehan Hiraabe's father Goyta Tedros because of time difference but that it seems Tedros was a common name in Harar. It meant one thing to one Semitic language (Harari) and another to others (Amharic/Tigrinya) based on both of their ideas of God (one Christian, one Muslim). ,

So it is fascinating what Cerulli adds to the historiagraphy which is why this document is still celebrated ao uniquely almost a 100 years later.

[XimanJaale]

Interesting sources, thank you for sharing. Your well sourced informations are appreciated.

[Gubbet]

No problem brother, glad too.

Also, you sort of touched on what is at the heart of why my detractors fundamentally misunderstand me.

Somehow they never notice that I DON'T argue what is not established by evidence.

When have you seen me argue Ahmed Gurey was Marehan?

Probably long ago when I was childishly trolling.

But I don't argue him---not because I now don't believe he is Marehan or not---but because there is no objective evidence.

Simple.

But I argue Amir Nur---because all the objective evidence says so.

Let's take the Somali script.

Arguments on this forum revolved around two Somali historical persons; Shire Jama Ahmed and Muuse Galaal.

I argue Shire Jama Ahmed is the father of the Script---and he is because the evidence estabdlishes that.

But I have NEVER argued Muuse Galaal wasn't a scholar or even that he was less a scholar than Shitr Jama---because the evidence is clear that Muuse was an important and immensely productive scholar.

Like I always disclaimed;

First I want to say this, Muuse Galaal was a most respectable man. From all historical accounts, him and Shire Jama were the best of friends. Of course he is a founding father of the Somali orthography and he also exchanged with Shire Jaamac at various times the Chairman and Vice Chairman position of the Somali language commission.

However, the Somali script we use today is the one originated by Shire Jaamac. He is not A founding father, he is THE founding father. You can write Latin script in any language howrver the script we have as it is uniquely developed fo Somali is Shire Jaamac.

https://www.somalinet.com/forums/viewto ... 5#p4182008

Yet the other side will argue not only is Muuse Galaal the father of the script, and not Shire, but also will attack, malign, mischaracterize, and viciously even deny anh single accomplishement whatsoever to Shire-----neither of which is supported by the evidence.

Which brings me to a larger point; it is about "intention."

Are you FOR daylight or AGAINST night?

Are you FOR peace or AGAINST war?

Now look at that, the first is you seek sunlight and the second is you seek security.

But look at the difference between the FOR type and the AGAINST type.

One is optimistic,proactive, hopeful, they are looking FORWARD.

The other is pessimistic, reactionary, negative, and they are looking BACKWARD.

Forget the claim about father of script or not; it never dawns on them to ask each other why are you attacking Shire Jama's scholarship and even him personally as a man?

He is dead. He never picked up a gun to fight anybody. He was not a warlord or even a political person. He was a writer and a teacher and a guy who walks around with a bokk5 in his hand. Whatever he did and his accomplishement weren't for his family let alone his clan. It wasn't even for "Somalia" a nation. It was for the entire Somali-speaking culture of which YOU are part of. He literally only had in mind YOU and YOUR betterment in his literary work like writing grammar books or publishing a literary magazine.

Why are you insulting and dehumanizing this human being at all decades after his death as part of cyber arguments about attributions in which he has 0 part in?

Wallahi as a rational, thinking human being that in itself is a paradox to me and they don't even see it.

So how could they see their problem really isn't even with me when we debate, it is with the fact what you have believed until this point----was misinformation; because I will never argue with you what is not established by the evidence.

And if it is not established by the evidence----I would have already disavowed what ever misinformation I was under.

So there would never even be an argument to begin with---in which I am part of---arguing that misinformation.

[Gubbet]

[XimanJaale]

Gubbet,

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I have been quite absent from Somalinet from 2015-2017 but I used to randomly come here and there just to read news and opinions of others. I have noticed that this forum has grown from petty clannish arguments to more factual arguments (fact based). This obviously is a turn off to majority of the people that come here for low IQ tribal tit for tats arguments and reduced the number of people that were once active on this platform. I like it more like this. I rather be around a few but quality people than many useless people.