Waaq

Waaq (also Waq or Waaqa) is the name for the sky God in several Cushitic languages, including the Oromo and Somali languages.^[1][2][3][4]

For the former WAAQ-FM radio station in Big Rapids, Michigan, see WYBR. For the former WAAQ-FM radio station in Onsted, Michigan, see WAQQ.

History

Waaqa (Oromo pronunciation: [waːkʼa]) still means 'God' in the present Oromo language.^[5] Other Cushitic languages where the word is still found include Konso Waaqa; Rendille Wax; Bayso Wah or Waa; Daasanach Waag; Hadiyya Waaʔa; Burji Waacʼi.^[6][7]

Waaq is also a word in Arabic for protector ( واق ) and occurs in the Quran.^[8][9] Some traditions indicate Waaq to be associated with the Harari region.^[10] The Sufi mystic Ibn Arabi mentions in his Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya that Waaq used to be a generic name for God, in comparison to the Turkic people’s tenets of Tengri.^[11]

In Oromo and Somali culture, Waaq, Waaqa or Waaqo was the name of God in their pre-Christian and pre-Muslim monotheistic faith believed to have been adhered to by Cushitic groups.^[12] It was likely brought to the Horn by speakers of the Proto-Cushitic language who arrived from North Sudan in the Neolithic era.^[2] In more recent times, the usage of the term has mostly declined since the arrival of Islam and Christianity to the Horn of Africa.^[13]

Modern

In the present-day Somali language, the primary name of God is now the Arabic-derived Allaah.^[14] used by muslims is now a synonym for God. The term Waaq survives in proper names and placenames. The Somali clan Jidwaaq (meaning ‘Path of God’) have derived their name from Waaq.^[15] Names of towns and villages in Somalia that involve the word Waaq include Ceelwaaq, , Caabudwaaq, and Barwaaqo.^[16][17]

See also

• Somali mythology, including pre-Islamic culture
• Waaqeffanna, traditional Oromo religion