Somali mythology

Somali mythology covers the beliefs, myths, legends and folk tales circulating in Somali society that were passed down to new generations in a timeline spanning several millennia in Somalia and Djibouti dating back 6000 years ago. Many of the things that constitute monotheistic Somali mythology today are traditions whose accuracy have faded away with time or have been gentrified considerably with the coming of Islam to the Horn of Africa.
The culture of venerating saints and the survival of several religious offices in modern Somalia show that old traditions of the region's ancient past had a significant impact on Somali literature in later centuries. Similarly, practitioners of traditional Somali medicine and astronomy also adhere to remnants of an old cultural belief system that once flourished in Somalia and the wider Horn region.
The Somali people in pre-Islamic times are believed to have adhered to a complex monotheistic belief system superseded by a single all-powerful figure called Eebbe/Waaq. Religious temples dating from antiquity known as Taallo were the centers where important ceremonies were held led by a Wadaad priest. Waaq was a pre-Islamic Sky God associated with water/rain, fertility, sacred trees, animals, nature, peace and harmony. It is construed in Somali with words like Bar waaqo ("bountiful"), Ceel Waaq (a town's name) and Cabud Waaq ( a town in central Somalia mostly populated by the Marehan clan).
Richard Francis Burton (1856) describes Abasa in the Awdal Region as home to the Fort of Queen Kola, a powerful Queen who fought with the neighbouring town of Awbube in an ancient conflict, in his book First Footsteps in East Africa:
The term Galla, a derogatory term for the Oromo, was according to Bahrey, 'The Galla came from the west and crossed the river of their country, which is called Galana, to the frontier of Bali.... ' Since the word galana means 'river' in Galla one cannot be definite about which river was meant; it is unclear in which connotation it was used in. The term Galla was used as early as in 1593 in the writings of the monk Bahrey. The term was later misinterpreted and mis-used by European traveller in Somaliland with the Somali term 'Taalo' (ancient grave) and the term 'galo' (a non-Muslim). Burton's recount. Taking into consideration the clearly Islamic features of the town and fort complete with ruined mosques and temples, there is evidence to plausibly suggest that Queen Kola could have been an Islamic era Queen. However, in light of the findings from excavations, it is more likely that she belonged to a non-Muslim community that held most of the land between around Adadleh, Jid Ali, Kirit, where many graves with crosses can be found. A clash of two cultures occurred where the Muslim communities which included the ancestors of the Gadaburis, Madaxweyna Dir, Argobba, and Harla drove out a Christian community from the region.
Richard Francis Burton (1856) also describes when he visited the battlefield:
Abasa and the Fort of Queen Kola was visited by many European travellers, explorers and archaeologists. Amongst them Richard Francis Burton in 1854–1855, Alexander T. Curle in the 1930s, Neville Chittick in 1978 and French scholars François-Xavier Fauvelle-Aymar and Bernard Hirsch in 2004.
In Somali mythology, there is an abundance of tales about men and women who defied cultural traditions or acquired heroic and saintly status amongst the masses of the Somali Peninsula.
Many regions of Somalia have cities or specific areas whose names corroborate the stories told in Somali mythology. Waaq in itself is a Somali word and are used to name places such as Caabudwaaq ("Worshiper of God"), Ceelwaaq ("Well of God") and other similar towns with the name Waaq. The Tomb of Arrawelo is another popular mythological place in Somalia said to be the final resting place of Queen Arrawelo. In modern times, it is considered an important place for Somali women.