ABSTRACT
Voice and Power, ed. R.J.Hayward & I.M.Lewis (ALC Supplement 3,1996): 191-94.
1. Boqor
Boqor, a term of undoubted Cushitic origin (in ancient Méroé the root designated a provincial chief),1 but which is found as far away as Indonesia where it signifies royal palace,2 has three uses in the Somali language. It is first of all a title: boqor is the ‘king’ or chief of a ‘tribe’ (in the Somali sense of tribe). Second, it also designates a piece of clothing, worn as a belt, by young nubile women. Thirdly, the midab boqor are the colours of the coats of certain goats: those which are red, black, white, yellow or ochre, i.e. those that are more brightly coloured in general. On the basis of information which I collected in Somalia up to 1989, I shall seek to establish a parallel between boqor as king and boqor as belt.
