Ras Hafun in the context of "Hafun"

Africa is a continent comprising 63 political territories, representing the largest of the great southward projections from the main mass of Earth's surface. Within its regular outline, it comprises an area of 30,368,609 km (11,725,385 sq mi), excluding adjacent islands. Its highest mountain is Kilimanjaro; its largest lake is Lake Victoria.

Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from much of Asia by the Red Sea, Africa is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez (which is transected by the Suez Canal), 130 km (81 mi) wide. For geopolitical purposes, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt – east of the Suez Canal – is often considered part of Africa. From the most northerly point, Ras ben Sakka in Tunisia, at 37°21′ N, to the most southerly point, Cape Agulhas in South Africa, 34°51′15″ S, is a distance approximately of 8,000 km (5,000 mi); from Cap-Vert, 17°31′13″W, the westernmost point, to Ras Hafun in the Somali Puntland region, in the Horn of Africa, 51°27′52″ E, the most easterly projection, is a distance (also approximately) of 7,400 km (4,600 mi).

Puntland, officially the Puntland State of Somalia, is a semi-autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and is a federal member state of Somalia. Puntland is located in the northeast of Somalia. Its capital is the city of Garoowe in the Nugal region. The region had a population of 4,334,633 in 2016.

Puntland is bordered by Somaliland to its west, the Gulf of Aden in the north, the Guardafui Channel in the northeast, the Indian Ocean, Galmudug State in the south, and Ethiopia in the southwest. There are several major geographical apexes in Puntland, including the Cape Guardafui, which forms the tip of the Horn of Africa, Ras Hafun the easternmost place on the entire African continent, and the beginning of the Karkaar mountain range.

Cowrie or cowry (pl. cowries) is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae.

Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used worldwide as shell money. It is most abundant in the Indian Ocean, and was collected in the Maldive Islands, in Sri Lanka, along the Indian Malabar coast, in Borneo and on other East Indian islands, in Maluku in the Pacific, in Papua New Guinea and in various parts of the African coast from Ras Hafun, in Somalia, to Mozambique. Cowrie shell money was important in the trade networks of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia.

The Hawiye (Somali: Hawiye; Arabic: بنو هوية) are one of the principal and largest of the Somali clans, tracing their lineage back to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Uthman, also known as Sheikh Hawiye, the eponymous figure of the clan. They are considered the earliest documented clan to have settled in the Somali peninsula, as noted in the 12th century by Al-Idrisi, occupying the regions spanning from Ras Hafun to Merca, which served as their capital. Presently, the Hawiye reside in central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Ethiopia (specifically the Afar Region, Harari Region, Oromia, and the Somali Region), as well as Kenya (specifically the North Eastern Province and Eastern Province). Furthermore, they represent the majority of the population in the capital city of Mogadishu.

The Hawiye have historically exercised authority over large sections of the Horn of Africa as Sovereign Sultans and Imams overseeing crucial trade routes that have existed since the early periods of Somali maritime history. The coastal regions experienced a vibrant expansion of foreign trade and commerce, with numerous ships traversing between multiple kingdoms and empires in East Asia, South Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and East Africa making them very affluent. This political and economic influence continued to have relevance well into the modern age, with the Hawiye clan playing a pivotal and historically significant role in laying the foundations of the Somali nation. The enduring legacy of the Hawiye's governance and control over trade routes has left a lasting impact on the development and shaping of Somalia.

Cape Guardafui (Somali: Raas Caseyr, Arabic: راس عسير) is a headland in Somalia, in the federal state of Puntland. It forms the geographical apex of the Horn of Africa. Its shore at 51°27'52"E is the second easternmost point on mainland Africa after Ras Hafun. It is named after the offshore oceanic strait of the Guardafui Channel.

Maritime history of Somalia refers to the seafaring tradition of the Somali people. It includes various stages of Somali navigational technology, shipbuilding and design, as well as the history of the Somali port cities. It also covers the historical sea routes taken by Somali sailors which sustained the commercial enterprises of the historical Somali kingdoms and empires, in addition to the contemporary maritime culture of Somalia.

In antiquity, the ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the region's commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Somali sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense, myrrh and spices, items which were considered valuable luxuries by the Ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and Babylonians. During the classical era, several ancient city-states such as Ophir at the time Berbera and Ras Hafun and Hiran then part of Mogadishu competed with the Sabaeans, Parthians and Axumites for the wealthy Indo-Greco-Roman trade also flourished in Somalia. In the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade including the Ajuran Sultanate, the latter of which maintained profitable maritime contacts with Arabia, India, Venetia, Persia, Egypt, Portugal and as far away as China. This tradition of seaborne trade was maintained in the early modern period, with Berbera being the pre-eminent Somali port during the 18th–19th centuries.

Shell money is a medium of exchange similar to coin money and other forms of commodity money, and was once commonly used in many parts of the world. Shell money usually consisted of whole or partial sea shells, often worked into beads or otherwise shaped. The use of shells in trade began as direct commodity exchange, the shells having use-value as body ornamentation. The distinction between beads as commodities and beads as money has been the subject of debate among economic anthropologists.

Shell money has appeared in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia. The shell most widely used worldwide as currency was the shell of Cypraea moneta, the money cowry. This species is most abundant in the Indian Ocean, and was collected in the Maldive Islands, in Sri Lanka, along the Malabar coast, in Borneo and on other East Indian islands, and in various parts of the African coast from Ras Hafun to Mozambique. Cowry shell money was an important part of the trade networks of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia.