The Somali Cross

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOMALI CROSS

Description

The Somali Cross was christened hankutallaab.[1] This specific design is inspired by the traditional Somali hangool, which nomads and shepherds use to move thorny branches out of their way and pull taller branches closer to grazing animals for them to eat. It can be referred to as a shepherd's staff- Somali style. The hangool is an essential tool for Somali nomads, as it helps them navigate the harsh environment that they live in. It is used to protect themselves and their animals from harm, and it is also used to nurture the animals by providing them with food.

The Somali Cross, a unique symbol, encapsulates the cultural heritage of the Somali people. It's not just a cross but a testament to the resilience, creativity, and resourcefulness of the Somali people who have adapted to their harsh environment. The cross is a fusion of the hangool and a horizontal line, resembling a Latin cross with a Somali touch, creating a unique and beautiful design. The Somali Cross was crafted to represent the unity and interconnectedness of the Somali Christian community. 

 

Cultural Relevance

In some regions in the Somali Peninsula, when a clan chief or elder is crowned, they are given a hangool as a symbol of authority, nurture, and protection. The Somali Cross takes this tradition to a new level by attempting to represent the entire Somali Christian community and their cultural heritage.

Rev. Dr. Aweis A. Ali, a Somali Christian scholar, designed the Somali Cross in 2023. His design, a true work of art, has been widely praised for its beauty and cultural significance. The Somali Cross symbolizes hope and unity for the Somali Church, a testament to the creativity of the Somali Church.

See this link for different crosses and their names: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_cross_variants

Somalis and Crosses[2]
Somalis are a transnational ethnic group that lives in their ancestral homes in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya. The symbol of the cross holds a significant place among Somali Muslims.[3] The crosses observed by Richard Burton during his visit to the Sool and the Sanaag regions of British Somaliland looked more Greek than Latin.[4] The Abyssinian Church, which had the most influence in British Somaliland, uses a variety of crosses, including the Greek and the Latin.[5]

This Church also has selections of elaborate indigenous crosses. 

Sada Mire, a Somali archaeologist, describes the annual Aw-Barkhadle Muslim religious celebrations in present-day Somaliland, “People come to the site and paint a cross on their foreheads.”[6] Sada describes in Aw-Barkhadle “where there is at least one burial with stelae decorated with a Christian Orthodox cross in situ.”[7] Sada adds “Other Christian burials also exist across the country.”[8] Aw-Barkhadle is a Muslim shrine near Hargeisa, Somaliland.

Sada Mire once again describes Christian burial sites in Somaliland, which demonstrate clear evidence of Abyssinian Christianity. This is not surprising, as ancient Abyssinia sometimes included areas that are now part of Somaliland, such as Hargeisa and Berbera:

There are also megalithic burials where the stones are arranged in a cross. The area of Dhuxun (62), in Saahil region, has many cruciform burials…. There are many isolated, single Christian burials, massive in their design…. Dhubato in the Hargeysa region and the Saahil area have many ancient Christian burials which are aligned as a cross. Sites such as Suuqsade…contain ancient Christian burials. There are also finds of Christian codices in Somaliland.[9]

In certain regions of the Somali peninsula, students at religious schools traditionally receive a temporary cross on their foreheads or cheeks from their teachers as a symbol of blessing. The teachers use black ink, the same ink that the students use to write the Qur’an on their wooden tablets. However, this practice has been in decline in southern Somalia over the past twenty years due to the rise of radical Islam, which opposes all practices it deems non-Islamic.

In the early 1970s, Somalia was struck by a devastating cholera outbreak. Due to a lack of medical resources, many lives were lost. Dehydration was a common cause of death among cholera victims. One of the ominous signs that a patient might not survive was the development of pruney feet, known as "cago miin" in Somali. Muslim traditional healers would burn a cruciform on the soles of the feet, as it was believed to have medicinal value. Many Somali Muslims who survived the cholera epidemic still have these markings on their feet today. This deadly period in Somalia's history is referred to as "Daacuunkii" (the cholera era) or "salaan diid" (the no handshake era).

 

In pre-civil war Somalia, it was very common for metal gates to have crosses embedded in them for decoration. In the Somali peninsula, people who cannot read use a cross symbol to mark their possessions so they can easily identify them. Crosses serve five purposes: decoration, blessing, protection, healing, and identification. Identification crosses are akin to signatures, as everyone has a unique way of drawing their own cross. Sometimes, the difference lies in where the cross is placed or how many crosses are present on one's possession, such as a sack of millet.

In some Somali Muslim clans, particularly the Hawiye sub-clans of Murusade, Harti Abgaal, Isaaq Daa’uud, Sheekhaal, and Gaal Je’el, as well as the Isaaq sub-clans of Ciida Gale, Habar Yonis, and Habar Je’lo, especially those in the Haud Reserve area of the Somaliland-Ethiopia border, and a few members of the Abdalla and Mohammed Subeyr of the Ogaden sub-clan, and the Marehan sub-clan, all of whom are part of the Darod clan, brand their livestock, such as camels and cattle, using the cross symbol.

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[1] “Han” from hangool and “kutallaab” from iskutallaab, a Somali for cross.

[2] This section has been adapted from: Ali, Aweis A. Understanding the Somali Church. Nairobi, Kenya: KENPRO Publications, 2021. Used by permission. https://somalibiblesociety.org/download/understanding-the-somali-church.pdf (accessed on 15 June 2024)

[3] The cross very often used by Somali Muslims is a hybrid of the Greek, and the Latin crosses. The Greek cross has arms of equal length while Latin cross has a vertical beam that sticks above the crossbeam.

[4] Burton, First Footsteps in East Africa, 318.

[5] The official name of this Monophysite Church is the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን).

[6] Sada Mire, Divine Fertility: The Continuity in Transformation of an Ideology of Sacred Kinship in Northeast Africa. 1^st Edition. UCL Institute of Archeology Publication. (Routledge, 2020), 26 - 30

[7] Ibid. 26.

[8] Ibid. 30.

[9] Sada Mire, “Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire.” Afr Archaeol Rev 32, 111–136 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-015-9184-9 (accessed 30 December 2020).