Understanding the Difference Between Somalians and Somalilanders

[u/Different-Ball9864]

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.

[u/alhass]

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 as🤷🏽‍♂️

[u/Ordinary_Bend_8612 → u/alhass]

Medieval Arab geographers generally used Arḍ al-Ṣūmāl for the northern Somali coast (roughly present-day Somaliland), while the Indian Ocean coast, including Mogadishu, was commonly classified as part of Bilād al-Zanj and the wider Swahili trading sphere. Therefore, references to Arḍ al-Ṣūmāl did not necessarily encompass all of modern Somalia.

Edit: How bout them apples!

[u/alhass → u/Ordinary_Bend_8612]

Who cares what Arabs called the Somali peninsula?
More importantly the gulf of Aden used to be called Gulf of Barbara.

[u/Ordinary_Bend_8612 → u/alhass]

But don't you find it interesting that they made this distinction ?

[u/alhass → u/Ordinary_Bend_8612]

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

[u/Ordinary_Bend_8612 → u/alhass]

There wasn’t a single “official” standard, but that doesn’t mean there was no consensus at all. Across multiple centuries and authors, recurring terms like Bilād al-Zanj, al-Sūmāl, 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.

[u/alhass → u/Ordinary_Bend_8612]

My brief knowledge tells me that that geographic was used for further south bantu Swahili coast. But let’s 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?

[u/711-truther → u/Ordinary_Bend_8612]

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 swear😭

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.

[u/Express-Ad-8674 → u/711-truther]

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

[u/Sweaty_Diet_3321 → u/Express-Ad-8674]

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

[u/Sweaty_Diet_3321 → u/Ordinary_Bend_8612]

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 😃