Musaafir
From Halbeeg, the open encyclopedia · Af-Soomaali
1 languages
Musaafir (also spelled musaafiriin) is a Somali word denoting a person who is travelling or has arrived at a place far from home. In singular form it is musaafir. The word derives from Arabic safar, meaning journey.
In common usage, a musaafir is someone present in a place where they do not reside: a merchant going to market, a person visiting relatives, a student seeking education, or someone who has relocated due to insecurity or famine. The word is closely associated with host obligations: Somali communities recognize the musaafir as a person with rights, including the provision of shelter, water and food during travel.
Etymology
The root of the word is the Arabic s-f-r. In Arabic, musaafir refers to a person travelling, with the plural forms musaafiruun or musaafiriin. Somali adopted the word through long-standing ties of religion and commerce, and consequently pronunciation and spelling vary from region to region.
Community usage
The word appears in proverbs, poetry and travel songs. There is also figurative usage in which life itself is described as a journey and people are called musaafiriin, travellers in the world. In legal and administrative contexts, the term is replaced by more specific words such as socdaal-yahan, dalxiisaha (refugee) or qaxooti (asylum seeker), each denoting a distinct status.
Related terms
Related words include safar (journey), musaafuri (the act of travelling), marti (a received guest) and martisoor (hospitality). These are not synonymous: marti denotes the relationship between guest and host, while musaafir denotes the state of travelling.