Egal Shidad ( so, Cigaal Shiidaad, Egal Shidad); is a folk character who was known as the cowardest man. From

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

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

Somali people The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mo ...

, 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. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

. 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