Egal Shidad (); is a folk character who was known as a legendary man. From

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, Egal Shidad was known for his dislike of wild animals and his inability to take risks. Like many

Somali people The Somali people (, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Som ...

, Shidad was a nomadic herder of camel and sheep. He traveled the land with his herd in search of water and

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

. Though he was a coward, Shidad was also wise. This resulted into many miscellaneous adventures. Because of his stories Shidad has come to be known as a folk legend among the Somalis.

References

Year of death uncertain Somalian poets Somalian folklore {{folklore-stub