The earliest common ancestor of various Somali clans is known as Irir Samaale, and he is widely considered to be the inspiration for the ethnonym Somali. It is believed that the word "Somali" comes from the two syllables "soo" and "maal," which combined mean "go and milk," alluding to the pervasive pastoralism of the Somali people. Instead, the Arabic word for "wealthy" (dhawamaal) is said to be where the word Somali originates from, a possible allusion to the affluence of animals in Somalia.
The northern coast of Somalia, known as Berbera at the time due to the presence of "Berber" (Cushitic) people, was known as Po-pa-li in an ancient Chinese record from the 9th century. Yet, the sobriquet Somali was first used in a literary context in the 15th century. The Abyssinian Emperor commissioned a member of his court to write a hymn honoring a military victory over the Sultan of Ifat's namesake forces during the conflicts between the Ifat Sultanate in Zeila and the Solomonic Kingdom.
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