Is it Possible to be 'Post-Somali' Under any Cultural Evolutionary Process?

[Alpha Blondy]

last night i invented a new term 'post-diaspora'. this term is especially relevant to me given my recent completion of the diaspora cycle, here in Somaliland. of course, this is place and situation specific. so, in effect, i could now be considered to be an 'actual native' of this land and no longer foreign both in terms of attitude as in my state of mind, feelings and disposition but also through orientation in terms of my adjustment and adaptation to the somaliland environment, situation, customs and/or the set of ideas surrounding my experiences.

 

all processes are transitional and once this transition comes to its completion, its possible to deduce from the previous process that change is inevitable and a new process will start the next phase of changes.

 

my question is: can you ever become post-somali ? ,if such a thing exists? assuming the present stage of being 'somali' is the preferred ideal. anything with a prefix may give one the impression that because it alters the form, it negates the older more 'backward' and ‘outdated’ position but thats not my thinking here. sometimes when something is altered beyond recognition, it should just be excluded and othered i.e the thinking behind post-somali. we've seen changes in our racial, social, cultural trajectories/dynamics over the course of history and the current stage - 'somali' is not merely the final stage of this evolutionary process. laakin, how have the last 30 years and the recent phenomenon of living outside 'our' territory as well as socially and culturally integrating in these spaces shaped the perceived homogeneity of somalis.

 

can an interracial (no somali father) child be considered somali for instance? who is somali and who is not? how should we define somaliness and what it ought to be?

 

i think in order to understand my question, we may need to explore what ‘Pre-Somali’ was thought to be or for that matter if 'we’ve' reached that stage? given the concept of the nation-state and this idea of singular identity being fairly new to 'us' and socially/politically constructed. we must examine the variables surrounding 'SOMALI'. its of the utmost urgency that we find definable and indeed tangible variables so as to create an identity that is both inclusive and one that expands what can actually be enclosed within the somali brackets.

 

your thoughts are welcomed,

 

 

Alpha.

[Abu-Salman]

Alpha Blondy;863881 wrote:

can an interracial (no somali father) child be considered somali for instance? who is somali and who is not? how should we define somaliness and what it ought to be?

"Somali" as identity has always been fluid, so do being "French" or "American": Islam has been the central core defining element in that identity in the sense that Islamised locals or "Gallas" (Oromos) became Somalis and migrants from Asia (mostly Arabs, but also Persians etc) were absorbed once settled.

This is replicated again for say Arabs, who have always absorbed substantial Persian and other elements etc but also sub-continental Indians, N. Africans or Europeans to take the most blatant cases of constant "fluidity", all groups with significant Arab and ancient Iranian blood (maybe you are acquainted with Dr Yusuf kariye take on clans artificiality too).

 

Theory aside, I'm glad you found "home" and settled; I'm just unsure whether there is any difference between Jabuuti, Hargeysa or Xamar, as all children relatives from all those place simply claim "Somalia" (likewise for many adults).

[RaMpAgE]

Abu-Salman;863893 wrote:

"Somali" as identity has always been fluid, so do being "French" or "American": Islam has been the central core defining element in that identity in the sense that Islamised locals or "Gallas" (Oromos) became Somalis and migrants from Asia (mostly Arabs, but also Persians etc) were absorbed once settled.

This is replicated again for say Arabs, who have always absorbed substantial Persian and other elements etc but also sub-continental Indians, N. Africans or Europeans to take the most blatant cases of constant "fluidity", all groups with significant Arab and ancient Iranian blood (maybe you are acquainted with Dr Yusuf kariye take on clans artificiality too).

 

Theory aside, I'm glad you found "home" and settled; I'm just unsure whether there is any difference between Jabuuti, Hargeysa or Xamar, as all children relatives from all those place simply claim "Somalia" (likewise for many adults).

You seem to be on crack, We are Somalis, obviously you are anti Somali and try to discredit the Somali identity for your political gain,

[guerilla]

i think in order to understand my question, we may need to explore what ‘Pre-Somali’ was thought to be or for that matter if 'we’ve' reached that stage?

To paraphrase a more eloquent mortal, I cannot begin to comprehend the confusion of ideas that could provoke such a thread.

[Abu-Salman]

Did you compare all authors, both foreign and Somalis, on Somali history and anthropology?

The recurring theme is that there is virtually no difference between Somalis and Oromos, and that up to now the frontier is fluid and constantly shifting (let's not even go into other very close Cushitics such as Afars who shared Zeila up until French arrival; Cushitics settling from Uganda to Egypt).

 

You may refer to the Bay & Bakool confederation too, who along Somali clans absorbed more or less much local Oromo elements (but also others) all the way down to the NFD where only British rule stopped further progression in the South alongside the assimilation of "client" Oromo groups.

 

What author and which thesis do you reject and why? The Asian element in our blood and anthropology is fairly established too, even genetically, and it's almost 2 decades I'm assidiously reading and analysing any written item on Somalis in major langages (ironic to hear I'm anti-Somali)...

[RaMpAgE]

Did you compare all authors' date=' both foreign and Somalis, on Somali history and anthropology?

The recurring theme is that there is virtually no difference between Somalis and Oromos, and that up to now the frontier is fluid and constantly shifting (let's not even go into other very close Cushitics such as Afars who shared Zeila up until French arrival; Cushitics settling from Uganda to Egypt).

 

You may refer to the Bay & Bakool confederation too, who along Somali clans absorbed more or less much local Oromo elements (but also others) all the way down to the NFD where only British rule stopped further progression in the South alongside the assimilation of "client" Oromo groups.

 

What author and which thesis do you reject and why? The Asian element in our blood and anthropology is fairly established too, even genetically, and it's almost 2 decades I'm assidiously reading and analysing any written item on Somalis in major langages (ironic to hear I'm anti-Somali)...[/QUOT

 

I don't know what the F you been reading but your obviously seem to be missing some screws.

First of all, yes, the Somalis, Oromos and other related groups do share an ancestry which streched back thousands of years ago, however in your previous post you said that Oromos became Somalis, which is incorrect, just like the Germanic groups or Slavic Groups that populated Anicent Europe and branched off into different nations, so did the so called Cushtic tribes to form their own nations, that does not mean one group decended from the other, rather they all decended from a single stock a long time ago.

 

Secondly, studies done on Somalis suggested that " the male Somali population is a branch of the East African population − closely related to the Oromos in Ethiopia and North Kenya − with predominant E3b1 [now E1b1b1'] cluster lineages... and that the Somali male population has approximately 15% Y chromosomes from Eurasia and approximately 5% from sub-Saharan Africa", this is pretty low admixture and mostly likely refers to the Somali Bantu and reer xamari/ brawani influence on the Somali DNA Pool.

 

Thirdly We are not children here, we can analysis through the smoke screen which you have set up, to try and discredit Somali identity for political gain, lets no kid our self's, and yes I have been researching for the last 10 years, if in doubt check my first posts in SOL.