Faq.ash

[Coofle]

The first time I heard the word “Faq.ash” was in May 1991 in Djibouti. I was there to collect my mother and cousin, who were arriving from Mogadishu. I stayed in Hotel De Djibouti, which was owned and operated by an ***** man named Sa'eed. Because many people were fleeing Somalia, the hotel was fully booked. I roomed with an elderly ***** man, Jama, who had been wounded in the leg. He had a good business in Mogadishu and owned big tractors. In the mayhem of the civil war, Jama was shot by an unidentified bandit. He grilled me about who I was and where I had come from, and I took no offense to his line of questioning. Once he realized that I was visiting from the US and that I originally hailed from Afgooye, he became more relaxed.

 

At noon, Djibouti, a hot and humid city, would come to a standstill. Most of the residents stayed home in the comfort of air conditioners. That was also the time of day when the consumption of khat, a mild stimulant plant, reached its zenith. Being a non-khat consumer, I used to leave the hotel room and hang with my friend, Mohamoud Haji Abdillahi Diriye, an ***** merchant from Hargeisa. Jama and his friends stayed in the hotel chewing khat and ruminating on all kinds of topics. No subject was sacred. By the time I came back to the room in the evening, Jama would tease me, “waaryaa ******, maxaa cusub?” (Hey you Faq.ash, what’s up?) I did not ask Jama and his friends what the word “Faq.ash” meant. Frankly, I thought it was a nickname or a purely nonsensical word. To me, the word sounded more or less like “fuunto,” a word southerners use to refer to a spoiled egg. The men laughed at the utterance of the word ****** and I laughed at them for engaging in khat-induced silly chatter.

 

When I returned to California, some of my friends from the north asked me about my brief trip to Djibouti. I told them that I had actually stayed in a hotel owned by a *******, (northerner) and had another *******, as a roommate. Then I cursorily added, “But they kept calling me “Faq.ash.” My friends burst out laughing and, since that day, they have called me “Hassan Faq.ash.” They did, however, tell me the origin of the word “******.” During the civil war in the north, the soldiers of the Somali government were called “******.” The word means “the noise boots/shoes make or the way they rattle.” The fleeing soldiers, who had committed a litany of horrible acts in the north, hence, were dubbed “******.”

 

Then, as years passed, the word started to take on a life of its own.

 

Some people refer to anyone who worked for the Siad Barre regime or supported his government as ******. Oddly, the ***** government officials who remained in Barre’s regime until his fall fit into that category too.

 

Some people have started using it exclusively to refer to the ***** (Barre’s clan) and others to all southerners.

 

Then in 2011, I had an encounter with an ***** teen that was born and raised in California. This young man is Sacad Muuse, but his mother is ***** (a ***** sub clan). For the first time in his life, he ventured out of the US and visited Hargeisa. He was excited to be among his kith and kin and began mastering Somali, of course with a distinct northern accent.

 

 

The Somali Army during Barre’s Regime

When he came back to the US, the first question he asked me was “Adeer, qolamaa tahay?” (Uncle, what is your clan?”)

 

I have known this young man since his infancy, and he has known me merely as a Somali man and a friend of his parents. However, this time, he wanted to get to know me even better and I felt honored.

Then, he dropped a bombshell.

 

“Uncle, I will never marry an ***** woman.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“My aunts in Hargeisa were always badmouthing my mother.”

“How?”

“Well, they would say, ‘Islaantaa ******ta ah” (that Faq.ash woman).

 

I told the young man about my story in Djibouti and appealed to him not to reach foregone conclusions.

 

He was somewhat pleased to hear my explanation of the word ‘******’ because the term was not yet pejorative.

 

After the young man left, I kept questioning whether my assessment was actually right.

 

My ***** friends call me Faqa.sh from time to time, even though I am not Da.rod nor have I ever worked for the government of Siad Barre, yet I am never offended by it.

 

Do some people use the word to discriminate against others or deride an entire tribe?

 

There is a great deal of sensitivity among some people regarding the word. The fact that the word is loosely used against all kinds of people today does not in itself make it pejorative.

 

Perhaps, the word is in the midst of a natural evolution.

 

Yesterday, it was Siad Barre’s soldiers!

 

Today, it is refereed to all southerners and whoever is being teased.

 

Tomorrow, it might be used against someone else.

 

However, the fact is, it is not specific to one group..”

Click herel

[Coofle]

As far as my somali goes

 

Faq.ash = Dhasha doofaarka/ brood of wild pig .....

.

[Malika]

^Your point is what exactly?

[Mooge]

Coofle;863033 wrote:

As far as my somali goes

 

Faq.ash

= Dhasha doofaarka/ brood of wild pig .....

.

no you are wrong. that is not where thename came from. when the military war was on in the north, somali soldiers walking at night used to make noise "Faq.ash, Faq.ash" when walking because of these big russian made boots that was used by the army. SNM woud ask reer baadiye at night, did you hear any faq.ash walking around tonight?

[oba hiloowlow]

Mooge is right a friend of mine from Ceynabo told me the same thing

[Nin-Yaaban]

What an idi.ot.

[Coofle]

Mooge;863063 wrote:

no you are wrong. that is not where thename came from. when the military war was on in the north, somali soldiers walking at night used to make noise "Faq.ash, Faq.ash" when walking because of these big russian made boots that was used by the army. SNM woud ask reer baadiye at night, did you hear any faq.ash walking around tonight?

Mr.Mooge I am talking from Linguistic point of view, The translation mentioned is that of the 'caano-ley' my dear friend....

in classic old school Somali (Before military boots) The term was used to refer to the brood of wild pig....Dhasha doofaarka,,,That is why it is considered as derogatory term..

 

Later on, Since many people have lost the touch with the countryside the word was not used much, Some people thought it only refer to the sound of boots (which nearly would be anything ending with the suffix '-sh',,a better word would have been Kabash kabash)

 

Somalis had a name for everything, names like faq.ash that are used in a wrong way are many E.g Qalanjo = Dheddiga Maroodiga and many would only think it means beautiful woman...

[Coofle]

Malika;863062 wrote:

^Your point is what exactly?

Only linguistic correction, I thought the audience should know the correct meaning of the word instead of spreading an apocryphal stories about the origin of the word (codka kabaha weeyi ku lahaa).... But I sense many people are sensitive about the issue!!

[Somalia]

Loooooool, "the SNM would ask reer baadiyo did you hear Fa/qash" looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool, that's so funny.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

The author of this not so well written article seems to be deeply emotionally hurt because some one called him F@qash.

[Coofle]

Xaaji Xunjuf;863076 wrote:

The author of this not so well written article seems to be deeply emotionally hurt because some one called him F@qash.

on contrary Xaaji, I think the writer was very objective and for someone hailing from afar place like afgoye, Being referred as Fa.qash have no personal affect on him. If he was emotionally unstable when he was writing this, he would have tried to retaliate in some way against the men who called him the name or let us say he might have generalized against the cental clan of 'somaliland'.

 

as obvious from the writing he was never cognizant about the meaning and vilifying manner of the term until he went back to north America and inquired about it from other Qalda.an friends as he claims..

 

If there is some one emotional here it is the guys who is calling id.iots iyo wixii la mid ah in this thread!

[Qaranki]

I found this part funny

 

When I returned to California, some of my friends from the north asked me about my brief trip to Djibouti. I told them that I had actually stayed in a hotel owned by a Q'aldaan, (northerner) and had another Q'aldaan, as a roommate.

[Malika]

Lol. I am still buffled at why - anyway, you know that word was coined during one of Somalia's ugly episode thus my quiry to why you would want to even want to 'educate' folks of its correct meaning.

 

Anyway, as you where.@ Coofle

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

The guy is talking about everything and at the same time he is lost in his own words one time he says F@qash is who ever worked with the former government and he is deeply shocked when a friend of him called him a F@qash. What he may not know is people who supported the government were also called F@qash so was he supportive to the regime. His whole point is Koonfurians are known as f@qash by Somalilanders based on what a kid once called him a F@qash he should've addressed the point right away instead of making up stories.

[Wadani]

Coofle thanks for the linguistic education, some of us here appreciate it.