Introduction

This first chapter discusses the topics, concepts, terminology, historical and geographical scope of this book. It presents the theoretical problems raised by this study and introduces some of the arguments relevant to the cultural traditions out of which grew some of the prominent archaeological sites of the Horn of Africa and demonstrates how they may be potentially linked ideologically. It explores the perceptions, practices and problems inherent in the approaches so often adopted by those who study these topics. It emphasises the need to study the historical significance and the symbolism of pre-Islamic religious heritage, indigenous religious systems in this region and the relevance of a transdisciplinary approach which combines the archaeological data with case-specific oral history and ethnographic participant observation, history and historical linguistic material. It advances the need for a new theoretical framework within which to study pre-Islamic and pre-Christian ritual material culture in the Horn of Africa.

I use both theoretical and methodological approaches to explore the material culture, rituals and sacred landscapes of the Horn of Africa. I ask many questions, for example what religions were practiced before the arrival of Christianity and Islam? What are fertility rituals and what can they tell us about the archaeology of medieval kingdoms, historical figures and religious practice in the Horn of Africa? What evidence is there for the existence of Christianity in the Somali region? How can the recent destruction of many high-profile Sufi Saint Shrines in Africa be explained? What can research reveal to us about the original purpose of Gudniin/female circumcision? These are but a few of the questions I explore in this book in an attempt to shed light on the complexity of the history and pre-history of the Horn of Africa and its relevant past and present.