Arawelo

Arawelo or Arraweelo(Somali: Caraweelo) was an ancient Queen in the Somali tradition.^[1]

Arawelo did live and rule most, if not all of the Somali territories. Semi-biographical tales which give many personal details of this fabulous queen are among the well-known Arawelo stories. For instance, Arawelo's mother was said to have been called Haramaanyo; but no mention is made in the tales about who her father was. However, old documents found by Enrico Cerulli describe one female ruler of Hararghe (Ogaden) in the Makhzumi era, whose father was Amir Maya.^[2] She was the first born of three daughters and natural heir to the dynasty. Like many female rulers, Arawelo fought for female empowerment; she believed society should be based on a matriarchy. She is one of the earliest female rulers in the world who was also a figure of female empowerment,^[3] and was known to castrate male prisoners. Arawelo was well-known throughout Africa, and the Queen of Sheba was said to send gifts to her in the form of gold coins as a congratulatory gesture (although the Queen of Sheba is usually placed in the 10th century BC).

The queen was well known for defying gender roles. Before she was queen, during the Buraan droughts, she and a team of women fetched water and hunted to prevent her town from migrating and to relieve starvation. During her reign, Arawelo's husband objected to her self-ascribed role as the breadwinner to all of society, as he thought women should be restrict themselves to merely domestic duties about the house and leave everything else to men. In response, Arawelo demanded that all women across the land abandon their womanly role in society, and started hanging men by their testicles.^[4] The strike was successful, forcing men to assume more child-rearing and creating a role reversal in society.

Arawelo thought this role reversal was necessary since she saw women as natural peacekeepers. Growing up she noticed that women were not treated well and the men were more often instigators, participants and conductors of war and politics. She not only fought for the liberation of women in feudal society but for the dominance of women as she saw them as better, more efficient leaders.^[5]

The exact location of her Kingdom is uncertain because any architecture left behind by her kingdom would have almost disappeared considering the great timescale but she was most likely buried somewhere in Northern Somalia, specifically in the Sanaag region of Somalia, since there are many stories of men from that region throwing rocks at her supposed grave and women laying flowers on her grave. Her throne was passed down to an unknown next of kin, though many versions suggest it was her niece, Araxsan.

Arawelo was by far the greatest ruler in Somali history. Many versions of her story have been passed down for thousands of years but all of her stories fully acknowledge her existence and the great power she had over all Somalis. She has definitely left a mark on Somali people everywhere. Somali women have since been protected by the Somali Xeer and women still hold a very strong position in politics and the household thousands of years after the death of the Queen.

References to Arawelo in Somali culture today include nicknaming a girl/woman who is very assertive and dominant "Caraweelo". She is also, by one source, claimed to have been the Harla queen of the ancient Somali people ^[6] but this does not conform with the fact that she is just commonly interpreted as a folkloric figure, with there being no evidence that she existed.

See also

• Furra, a similar queen of the Sidama people
• Gudit, a warrior queen of the Kingdom of Aksum

References