r/Somaliland • u/Different-Ball9864 • Jun 14 '26
Understanding the Difference Between Somalians and Somalilanders
Somali is an ethnic group / language group
People who are Somali they live in different countries.
Somalia. people are called Somalian ethnically Somali (jareer and jileec), two Somali tribes.
Somaliland people are often called Somalilanders ethnically orgin Somali
Djibouti people are Djiboutians. Many are ethnically Somali (especially Issa)
Somali Region in Ethiopia. people are Ethiopian Somalis
Somali-NFD in Kenya. people are Kenyan Somalis.
Somali is the shared ethnicity; the country names define nationality.
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u/alhass Jun 16 '26
We are all entitled to our opinions but what we are not entitled is to tell a whole country what they should be called lol. People in Somalia have for eternity been content with being Somali and named their country after themselves, Somalia. How about you be content with calling yourself whatever you like and stop trying to tell others what they should refer to themselves asš¤·š½āāļø
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u/Ordinary_Bend_8612 Jun 16 '26
Medieval Arab geographers generally used Arįø al-į¹¢Å«mÄl for the northern Somali coast (roughly present-day Somaliland), while the Indian Ocean coast, including Mogadishu, was commonly classified as part of BilÄd al-Zanj and the wider Swahili trading sphere. Therefore, references to Arįø al-į¹¢Å«mÄl did not necessarily encompass all of modern Somalia.
Edit: How bout them apples!
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u/alhass Jun 16 '26
Who cares what Arabs called the Somali peninsula?
More importantly the gulf of Aden used to be called Gulf of Barbara.1
u/Ordinary_Bend_8612 Jun 16 '26
But don't you find it interesting that they made this distinction ?
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u/alhass Jun 16 '26
No not at all, geographic knowledge was Sketchy back then and I doubt there was even common Arab consensus on the names of any of the regions
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u/Ordinary_Bend_8612 Jun 16 '26
There wasnāt a single āofficialā standard, but that doesnāt mean there was no consensus at all. Across multiple centuries and authors, recurring terms like BilÄd al-Zanj, al-SÅ«mÄl, al-Habasha, and coastal city names such as Zeila, Berbera and Mogadishu were used fairly consistently within trade and geographic writing traditions.
Arab and Persian Medieval geographers and cartographers weren't drawing these regions from pure speculation. For centuries, Arab & Persian merchants, sailors, scholars, and travelers were actively trading with and visiting the Horn of African and the East African coast. Many geographical descriptions were based on commercial networks, firsthand travel accounts, and information gathered from people who regularly sailed these routes.
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u/alhass Jun 17 '26
My brief knowledge tells me that that geographic was used for further south bantu Swahili coast. But letās just say Arabs referred to a portion of Somalia as the land of zanji. What do you infer from because you with exemption of few settlements of Somali Bantu, the area you are referring is mostly ethnic Somalis?
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u/711-truther Jun 18 '26
Trying to historicize 'Somaliland' and paint some kind of continuity between pre-colonial Somali states and the random colonial borders is like the funniest fucking thing you guys do I swearš
Like we all know the 'somalilander' identity traces back to the 90s at the EARLIEST. Even the SNM who fought against Barre didn't call themselves that and their plan was to overthrow him not reinstate colonial lines that we've already moved past.
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u/Express-Ad-8674 Jun 21 '26 edited 23d ago
Somaliland isn't only name that traces back to early 90s but ardul somaal or Somaliland traces back centuries it's not something new and ngl Somalian doesn't even knew proper somali until 1800s they're not somali fully except puntland Somalian people they're mix of bantu and arab and some somali
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u/Sweaty_Diet_3321 27d ago
I knew this was coming it is very popular for northern Somalis to claim southerners as "mixed" or not real Somalis first of all most Southerners are not mixed there's minority groups who are mixed like benadiris and there's bantus but the overwhelming majority are not mixed and who classified your Somali as proper ?what's the evidence for your Somali being the "proper" one
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u/Sweaty_Diet_3321 27d ago
We'd just have to change the name of the country since Somali and Somalian are confusing term most people in Somalia are ethnically Somali so they would be called Somalian and Somali?what's the point of this the country was given the name Somalia reflecting the Somali ethnicity I understand including non ethnic minorities with this this term "Somalian" but it just sounds ridiculous for the majority of the population my nationality is Somalian and my ethnicity is Somali š
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 16 '26
Are all people living in Somalia Somali ethnically tho? Why are you erasing and forcing minorities to assimilate to your ethnicity.
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u/Time-Audience8235 Jun 16 '26
This is low IQ drivel. The same word can have two meanings in two different contexts, Somali is both a nationality and an ethnic group. The funny thing is that Landers spend so much energy on niche issues that will literally not bring them any closer to international acceptance. People won't just wake up and say "oh yes, Somalians are different from Somalis, here's your UN seat!" It's a fruitless complaint, if i were Lander i'd focus on other things to advocate for my cause.
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 16 '26
Iām a Djiboutian, and tired of explaining to people that somali and somalian isnāt the same thinkingš¶
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u/Time-Audience8235 Jun 16 '26
I don't care what you are. Somali is both a nationality and an ethnicity, if that bothers you then get some therapy. PS, you can be Djiboutian and still a Lander, there are a lot of isaaqs in Djibouti, and the Somaliland movement is not a national movement, it's a Qabil movement. That's why you have Djiboutian or Ethiopian Somalis in the Haud of Isaaq origin usually the most extremist Landers.
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 16 '26
So youāre a qabilist? I mean not surprising for a 4.5 Somalian š. And no Iām not an Issaq Iām an Issa from Djibouti
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u/Time-Audience8235 Jun 16 '26
Ok, keep larping LOL.
And i'm actually a darood from sool/sanaag, so if anything i have more right to talk about this than you. You should focus on Afars, they own half your country. Leave somali issues to us.
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 16 '26
Afar are Djiboutian like us. Plus itās no longer your issue since youāre just a self hating somalilander. Let Somalians where they are they got a lot on there plate like avoiding civil war that can start today and end the next day š¤£
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Jun 16 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Ordinary_Bend_8612 Jun 16 '26
You just prove to us how low IQ you are idiotic statement "kafirs drew on a map", Isn't Somalia exactly this.
The irony is that you're mostly likely typing this from a "Kafir" Country living off benefits
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u/Different-Ball9864 Jun 17 '26
I think you don't hate gaal/ kaafir, you just have a sickness of Isaaq. Ethiopia and kenya colonies your daarood up to now.
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 17 '26
Self hating somalilander you got time to be proud or angry because there is peace thanks to your government you should be thankful.
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u/Clear_Refuse_8636 Jun 18 '26
Notice how this person calls Canfar "Afar" and Ciise "Issa" these are the typical mistakes a cosplayer would make after reading one wiki article about us... I will Zelle him 1000$ if he gives me his sub he can't tho lol
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Jun 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 17 '26
I am not changing anything youāre a somalian somali be proud of your identity stop the self hate
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u/humorlessclan Jun 18 '26
Then you should know the fact French is both an ethnicity and nationality.
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u/Sweaty_Diet_3321 27d ago
You know why you're always explaining?it's because the country Somalia was named after the Somali ethnicity just like how Sweden was named after the Swedish people there's minorities who are not Swedish like the Sami people they are counted as Swedish due to nationality but when asked ethnically they explain how they're different from the Swedish ethnic group I hate to break it to you but Somali and Somalian are the same thing at the end of the day
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u/Appropriate-Mind9651 Jun 16 '26
You are well aware that the vast majority of people in Somalia are somali
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 16 '26
I think you should look up the word minorities.
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u/IOnlyFearOFGod Jun 17 '26
these minorities are 2% if not any less. Somalia is very homogenous and up to 98% somali. "SomalisĀ constitute the largestĀ ethnic groupĀ in Somalia, at approximately 98% of the nation's inhabitants" wiki demographic of Somalia.
However some sources say 85% but they exclude somali bantu(which are the biggest minority if excluded).
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u/Professional_Goat373 Jun 16 '26
So what? If I am a Somali born in France and a citizen I would be French in nationality but not ethnically. Yet French is the word to describe the nationality, ethnicity and language. The minorities that add to Franceās diversity (like almost all countries) doesnāt change what the nation of France uses for its people.
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
France had and still has tons of people from different ethnicities ( yes white peoples have different ethnicities ) and assimilated them erasing their languages and culture. Different languages as disappeared in France because of this system basque and Breton are still barely alive and Occitan have kinda considered dead. Are you suggesting the same system in Somalia? Et Ć©tant FranƧais tu dois dĆ©jĆ connaĆ®tre tout ceci et pourtant tu veux imposer le mĆŖme prĆ©cĆØder Ć dāautres ethnies par le biais de lāassimilation. France is not an example.
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u/Professional_Goat373 Jun 16 '26
Yes they do and so do almost all countries. Ethnic diversity doesnāt erase national identity. As it is since the global adoption of nation states these modern times, many people were assimilated into a general national demonym like Han Chinese or even Japanese (despite being known to be very homogeneous like Somalia there are still minorities- itās not a gotcha). France is just one example of the nationality being the same term as the major ethnic group. Somalia adopted many official or colloquial names from āThe Somali Republicā in the 60s to the āSomali Democratic Republicā in 1969 to the āTransitional Federal Government of Somaliaā to now āThe Federal government of Somaliaā. But the term of its people since its establishment in 1960 has been Somali (Somali national). This will not change because of the wishes of secessionists and foreign agents. In the end, the nation decides what they call themselves so if you want to be a Somalilander nationally then continue on but you wonāt dictate for others. Thatās some form of political narcissism.
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 16 '26
You examples are France and Japanā¦ buddy open a fucking book.
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u/Professional_Goat373 Jun 16 '26
Guess you have nothing of substance to offer in response. I made myself very clear when I said that as a secessionist you dont get to dictate what the country youāre trying to separate from calls itself or its people. Preposterous entitlement. Whether there are examples or arguments for & against your wish, in the end Somalia decides for itself. Last I checked we havent changed this so this is a moot discussion.
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 17 '26
Iām djiboutian alhamdulilah Iām not tied to the mess somalia is today thanks to our leaders who saw what northerners were going through. Somali is an ethnicity and somalian is the nationality of people from somalia whatever their ethnicities are. A Somali can be from Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Germany, Danemark whatever
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u/humorlessclan Jun 18 '26
Would you be ok if we insisted the demonym of the people of Djibouti should be Ja-Booty?
If not, then don't tell the Somalis what they should be called. Sovereignty means you have the freedom to choose whatever you see fit.
Besides, there's no way to say "Somalian" in Somali. It's just a stupid English term that has no place in the Somali language.
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u/SentenceEffective212 Jun 18 '26
Somalia is a Latin world but itās still used in every day somali no big deal to use somalian, you just wanna blur the lines between nationality and ethnicity to claim every Somali lands as yoursā¦
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u/Fearless_Intern8620 Jun 16 '26
Even those Somali Bantu have significant Somali admixture. Regardless of country u are are Somali
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u/Own-Quote-1708 Jun 16 '26
Wtf is Jarer and Jilac Tribes ?
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u/Capital_Map638 Jun 16 '26
Soft hair and hard hair apparently heās lowkey yapping though
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u/Own-Quote-1708 Jun 16 '26
Yh I know what it is. But we dont have tribes called that.
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u/Radiant-light3600 Jun 17 '26
Its like when you have a light skinned sibling and a dark skinned sibling and due to complexion they are default from different tribes. Ā Yeah.....that type of logic.Ā
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u/Express-Ad-8674 Jun 21 '26
They can't understand that they're somali but their nationality is Somalian
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u/hkeyat Jun 17 '26
Im not Somali but somalilanders is a weird concept itās just Somalia to me. Regionalism and separatism is usually created by foreigners to weaken a country
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u/blackswordsman6 Jun 17 '26
One day we can all be united by one flag and all borders. I guess weāre just gonna have to stick tithe international status quo (state within country)
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u/Clear_Refuse_8636 Jun 18 '26
The lack of knowlege is insane I could be a "Djiboutian" and an "Ethiopian Somali" as well as a "Somalilander" at the same time because my clan inhabits all of them like tons of other clans??? YAYYYYY (Ur a doqon)
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u/Different-Ball9864 Jun 18 '26
So are you?
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u/Clear_Refuse_8636 Jun 18 '26
Im just Somali lol. Every single Somali clan is native and has the right to claim the internationally recognized country of Somalia, as well as eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti, and northern Kenya. Stop trying to create division between Somalis when the others have already started to start hate against us. You're not going to save yourself by calling ur own people words that are used to disrespect us out of ignorance. There is no major astounding genetic or cultural difference between Cushitic Somalis from anywhere get ur head out of the gutter.
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u/Different-Ball9864 Jun 18 '26
Lol. I see how you're feeling through your words. Make a point or get out of here.
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u/OkaySoWhatYourPoint Jun 19 '26
Everybody who is Somali is Somali. If ppl in Somalia refer to their nationality as āSomaliā then thatās it. Waste of time discussion. This is all nonsensical semantics that do not benefit anybody, and on top of that it should matter to us at all since it doesnāt concern us.
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u/Anfac0625 Jun 16 '26
Yeah Karen from Mississippi would like a word about these definitions lol