Do we have culture?

[Miriam1]

Shyhem....granted no woman would agree to that exact propsal, but its all about choice..and power...by asking her..you provide her with respect and then she can do her thing, by yelling for divorce.. its all good...

[J.Lee]

Originally posted by Classique:

 

2nd

, Speaking of taking the others' culture. Now lemme ask you one question Hibo. Some of you might think that the Diric is the national dress or the original dress for the Somalis. I know that we have different clothes in different areas, but the Diric considered the main dress for the Somali women. Do you know that the Diric is not originally Somali, its a Yemeni dress. If you are blaming the Somalis who are living inside the Khaleeji countries for dressing like khaleejis and wear abaya; then why don't you blame the Somalis who are wearing the Diric, common thats Arabic dress too

and this is what she wrote:

 

Originally posted by Try_Me:

Look at Somalis that reside in the Arab world; They wear Ibaya, talk worst than arabs, the youngsters are obsessed with their opposite sexes and women remain indoors. I mean don't get me wrong, covering one's body is a sign of being a Muslim but why do it to resemble the locals rather than for fear of Allah?

I don't think she was blaming nor critizing the Somalis for imatating "The khaleejis" way of dress bur rather questioning their reasons for doing it.

[Senora]

Originally posted by Try_Me:

Salaam my friends,

I have been thinking really alot about the question of whether we have our own identity, culture, tradition etc.

But your argument descrbes cases where Somalis aren't following the culture.....not about the actual existence

[juba]

^ but when a culture is not followed anymore it kind of does slip out of existence.

[Miskin]

Hibo

 

I think we have a culture that is in crises, but i won't to such extreme

[Waaq]

I have actually been thinking about this seriously for awhile, so thank you Hibo for starting the discussion. I think the first mistake people make is to consider culture as an static entity that does not vary over time, place, and people. For example, even though Islam allows for men to marry up to four women, this is not necessarily practiced by all muslim men. Another example is though people might speak a shared language in terms of broad structure and grammar their might be significant local or regional differences. This can occur as close as your neighbors house, or across the next hill.

 

Even though we speak of the modern world as a globalized, I think the process of exchange of ideas, dress, language, attitudes, etc. has been occuring since the dawn of humans. This leads to my next point of the myth of the indigenous. I think many cultures like to claim that certain practices were orginated by them in their homeland, and this may be true in some cases, but often many cultural practices are an interaction between internal and external interactions. As someone pointed out the Diric is a Yemeni dress, well I am not certain this is true, but I have seen women wearing diric-like dress from the Sudan, Yemen, Oman, Somalia, Maurautania, and Morocco.

 

If you ask me I think Somalis have a strong and vibrant culture that is a result of history, cultural interaction both within the Horn of Africa and from the outside, and the more modern history of displacement. The source of the crisis of Somali culture is directly related to situation in our homeland, because the strongest source of cultural maintenance and definition in the modern world is that nation state. I am temporarily residing in Egypt this year, and it is amazing the amount of money and attention the Egyptian government spends to define Modern Egypt as the birthright and product of Ancient Egypt despite a wealth of evidence to the contrary. Who knows in some amount of time maybe they will be successful.

 

I think many times in my life as a Somali-American I have felt similar sentiments to those expressed in this post, but now I have changed my mine. SOMALIS HAVE A RICH AND VIBRANT CULTURE, AND ARE A UNIQUE PPL ON THIS EARTH. This uniqueness is not derived from our material culture, but our sense of self. I appreciate that Somalis are generous to their friends and family, but do not bow to their enemies. They are honest and straightforward people for the most part, and this is recognized by many people. Somalis are one of the smallest groups in Africa, but our impact on the world is much greater than our size. This is because Somalis are not afraid to challenge authority, and do not accept ill treatment. Let me list some examples:

 

1. One of the first organized armed opposition to colonialization happened in Somalia.

2. The Russian intervention using Russian, Cuban, and Yemeni troops in the Ethio-Somali war was the first such use in Africa.

3. Somalis serving in colonial forces in Africa were classified as Asian not African because they would not accept the substandard treatment.

4. Muslim challenges to certain discriminatory practices in North America have often been led by Somalis, particularly prayer facilities and dress codes.

5. Somalia has one of the better telecommunications infrastructures in Africa, all due to local businessmen.

 

I am sure if we put our heads together we can up with many more positive examples to balance the negative ones.

 

Furthermore, though much of Somalia's material culture on the surface appears to be non-indigenous I feel that in every case from food to music, Somalis have created a unique cultural product out of these influences.

 

I welcome your comments...

[Waranle_Warrior]

Can language be part of a culture, or should culture have it's own language. The language every community speaks it is part of their culture, Right?

[QUANTUM LEAP]

Culture and religion shouldn’t be put on the same mantle as some of you have already done. We identify with both but they are not the same. As Somalis we tend to throw what we term as our culture and embrace what we think is right depending on each individual. We Somalis do have a culture that is generally Islamic in nature but at the same time isn’t as the two differ in customs and values.

A case in one is what we call qabil. All over the world you would find a lot of Somali folks totally behind qabil which they practice with such penuche. It’s perfected and it’s used for all sorts of things... i.e. marriage, relationships and a form of identity and history. This too is similar in away with Islam which advocates for cultural diversity though there is a difference in approach. Some of the practices of Somalis in this aspect are in themselves unislamic.

The younger generations are usually enticed by the different cultures and environments they live in. In fact many have no idea what the customs and cultures of Somalis are and would say what is that if asked.

 

“ “O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware.†(Glorious Qur’an 49: 13).

This verse from the Qur’an deals with issues of major importance. One of these is, of course, that God created us ‘different’, a point which is further stressed in the chapter of al-Rum (the Romans) in the Glorious Qur’an: “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. Lo! Herein indeed are portents for men of knowledge.†(22)

The other side of God’s wisdom to create us is difference, which is revealed in his call to mankind to ‘know one another’. ‘Dialogue’ is the gateway to knowing one another. That is why Islam encourages dialogue in the best way and lays down the basis for this kind of dialogue considering it as part of Islamic faith.

The call to the people of the world ‘to know one another’ is also of most importance because it is nothing less than an invitation to dialogue on the collective level (a concept that is so badly missing in today’s world where individualism seems to overwhelm human relations). Dialogue (which could also be termed ‘communication’) is given high esteem in Islam; it is actually tantamount to a wisdom which--if understood and applied properly--could well serve as a stepping stone for the promotion of a ‘new world order’, which all men of good will are dreaming of today.

 

As Somalis the above can be debated is communicating is one of the most difficult things that are apparent in out community and wisdom rarely comes into play.

[Grad Student]

Hibo,

We have a culture that is not ours. Our customs are foriegn, i.e food, clothes (preferred) is from East Asia. Somalis are and still remain to be nomadic. They may live in Europe, N. America or Asia;they always remain nomadic in search of a better pasture. the irony is no place is greener than home.

For those of us that try to assimilate into our host societies, we are out of luck as we are outnumbered by the rest. By assimilation, I mean, participate and obsorb into basic institutions of the West. We retain Islam but

choose other identities. I am an American first and Somali second. I am proud of that yes!

[Paragon]

Just as one becomes a British or American citizen by consent, so must one consent to becoming a Somali. Despite speaking the language and other common things, anyone who hasn't consented to being a Somali is not a Somali, and thus has no culture. One must first know what it means to become a Somali; the duties and responsibilities abound Consensual Somaliness and then, consent to assume the identity that is Somali.

 

Culture comes from trueness to one's self and tendencies. Because we are not truly committed to any of our identities (clan or community), laziness has made copycats of us in copying others' who are truly committed to their Selfs. We have a tradition of repitition of practices, but not a culture thats unique to us, cos we aren't true to our SELFS. Xaalku waa Dameeri dhaan raacdey .

[Passion_4_Fashion]

^^^my brother has spoken!

[wind.talker]

Originally posted by Classique:

Some of you might think that the Diric is the national dress or the original dress for the Somalis...Do you know that the Diric is not originally Somali, its a Yemeni dress.

Really? This is news to me. What evidence do you (or anyone else) have to prove your aforementioned statement? For example, were you present the day the Yemenis miraculously invented the 'dirac'?

 

More importantly, how do you explain the prevalence of the 'dirac' in Somali culture? How prevalent is the 'dirac' in Yemeni culture today?

 

P.S. Since we Somalis like to eat bananas with our lunch, does this tradition also come to us from across the Gulf of Aden? Just curious..

 

DO WE HAVE A CULTURE?

 

Back home, no one used to ask this kinda irrelevant question. Now that our stomachs and pockets are filled with goods from the West, its best to question our national identity and therefore justify ourselves when we pickup others' cultures.

[OG_Girl]

Naah, Somalis got that culture from monkeys

 

Salam

[Pacifist]

^^^^^^^

 

CEEB caleyk

OG girl sis that is wrong Xishood ya ukhti

[Passion_4_Fashion]

^ I agree