Wadaad, sheekh, macallin and xaaji: religious roles and titles among Somalis

The wadaad

The Somali word wadaad (plural wadaaddo) means a man of religion. The anthropologist I. M. Lewis wrote in 1958: "Anyone who devotes his life to religion is a wadaad, however slight his acquaintance with Arabic" (Wadaad's writing, Wikipedia, quoting Lewis, 1958, p. 135).

The Library of Congress country study describes the wadaaddo as "the oldest stratum of literate people in Somalia". They "functioned as basic teachers and local notaries as well as judges and authorities in religious law". They were rarely theologians. Some belonged to a Sufi order; others belonged to a lineage with a strong religious tradition, and were entitled to lead prayers and perform ritual sacrifices at weddings, holidays and festivals at saints' tombs even without formal training (Library of Congress, Somalia: A Country Study, 1992).

Man of religion and man of the spear

The same study notes that among nomads "the exigencies of pastoral life gave greater weight to the warrior's role, and religious leaders were expected to remain aloof from political matters". In parts of the settled south, by contrast, religious leaders "were at one time an integral part of the social and political structure" (Library of Congress, 1992). Wadaaddo also arbitrated disputes (Library of Congress, 1992). The Sufi villages (jamaaco), built on land given "to God" and often placed between rival clans, served as a buffer between them (Library of Congress, 1992). See the Sufi orders.

The travelling teacher and the macallin

Religious schooling was easiest to find in towns. In the countryside, "some teachers traveled on foot from place to place with their novices, depending on the generosity of others for their living". They preached, led prayers, blessed people and livestock, gave advice, settled disputes and performed marriages (Library of Congress, 1992).

Today the teacher of a Qur'an school is called macallin. He is often a travelling teacher who settles with a community, and he is traditionally given a grown she-camel when a pupil finishes the whole Qur'an (Abdihakim Mohamed, "The Somali Quran school", Geeska, 25 April 2025). See Qur'an schools.

Sheekh

The Arabic title shaykh (Somali sheekh) is given to the heads of branches or congregations of the Sufi orders, and is "usually reserved for those learned in Islam and rarely applied to ordinary wadaddo". Members of the orders were called daraawiish (dervishes) (Library of Congress, 1992). Many of the best-known Somali religious figures carry the title, from Sheikh Isaaq to Sheikh Uways al-Barawi and Sheikh Sufi. See Somali scholars and saints.

Aw

Aw is an older Somali honorific for a holy man. The scholar of Zeila remembered as Aw Barkhadle is called by a name meaning "Blessed Father" (Wadaad's writing, Wikipedia, citing Abdullahi 2001 and Lewis 1958). Somali tradition names other early teachers the same way, among them Aw Qutub and Aw Cismaan (Islam in Somalia, Wikipedia, citing Mohamed-Abdi 1992). See Aw Barkhadle.

Xaaji

A Somali who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca may be called xaaji (from Arabic hajj, pilgrim). The Library of Congress study notes that devout Somalis, "and others who valued the title of hajj (pilgrim) for its prestige", made the pilgrimage (Library of Congress, 1992). The title appears in many Somali names, such as the scholar Xaaji Cali Majeerteen (Haji Ali Majeerteen, Wikipedia). See Hajj from Somalia.

Far wadaad: the wadaad's writing

Before the Latin Somali script was adopted in 1972, wadaaddo wrote Somali in Arabic letters, a practice known as far wadaad, "the wadaad's writing". Tradition credits Aw Barkhadle with devising Somali names for the Arabic vowels. In the 1800s Sheikh Uways al-Barawi adapted the Arabic script to write the Maay dialect, and in the 1930s Mahammad 'Abdi Makaahiil tried to standardise the spelling (Wadaad's writing, Wikipedia).

Folk knowledge and healing

The Library of Congress study describes other parts of a wadaad's learning (Library of Congress, 1992):

• a folk astronomy based on the stars and seasons, used to time migrations and some Somali rituals;
• protective amulets that carry a written Qur'an passage;
• Qur'an readings for illnesses believed to come from spirits;
• a curse that is feared, used as a sanction.

How the roles changed

The study says the role of religious functionaries "began to shrink in the 1950s and 1960s" as some of their legal and teaching duties passed to state officials. After 1969 the military government told religious leaders to keep out of politics (Library of Congress, 1992), and in 1975 it executed ten scholars who opposed the new family law (Library of Congress, 1992). See the 1975 family law and the ten scholars and Islamic movements since 1950.

Read further

• I. M. Lewis, Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-Based Society (Red Sea Press, 1998).
• Islam in Somalia
• Saints, shrines and siyaaro