🧵 Boqor (Belt): The Duality of a Somali Symbol

Life and Death.

A certain end and a new beginning.

The man crowned king and the betrothed young woman

[Portrait of Boqor Cismaan Maxamuud & a young woman from Berbera wearing dyed cloths in midab boqored, the royal colors] Boqor is an ancient Cushitic term.

In Meroë the southern capital of the Kingdom of Kush the root word Paqar was used to denote a provincial chief.

In the Somali language the term Boqor has multiple meanings.

Boqor as the king.
Boqor as a belt.
Midab Boqor as the royal color.

🧵 While the region has had many names - Waqooyi Bari (North East), Dhul Udug (Cape of Spices), & Puntland

There's another historical name for this region used by the locals & tied to the unique cultural norms of the region

The story of Ard-Al Aman [Land of Safety] (The Gates) Ard-Al Aman or the land of safety in arabic, stems from the indigenous culture of its inhabitants. Murder (especially unprovoked) was an extreme social taboo amongst the tribe of Majeerteen - seen as both unmanly & punished heavily with harsh fines for those who dared commit it.