Breaking Barricades: A Wedding Restores My Hope in Somali Cultural Festivity by Bashir Goth

[Safferz]

<cite>

@DoctorKenney

said:</cite>

People like Burahadeer weren't complaining about "The Death of Somali culture" in the 1970's......

 

When Somalis had an Atheist Marxist Regime governing our country. When our youth were speaking Italian better than they even knew Af-Somaali. When Siyaad Barre was killing thousands of nomads in Bari. When our dress, customs, and food were being influenced by Europeans. When we adopted a Latin Alphabet instead of our own unique Somali alphabet. When Somali youth were being sent to Italy or Russia and adopting their cultural practices.

 

That government was the height of Somali cultural nationalism, I'm not sure what you're talking about. The regime developed a writing system for Somali (the alternatives put forward were Arabic and Somali scripts derived from Amharic/Ge'ez), encouraged the creation of a Somali language print culture evidenced by the many newspapers, magazines and books published during that period, established an academy for Somali language and culture full of experts who standardized the language and developed Somali terms for words we did not have, switched the primary language of school instruction to Somali, and carried out a widely successful literacy campaign across the country. They also encouraged popular culture and the arts, and it was the heyday for Somali music, literature, plays and the first Somali movies. Though like all cities, dress was influenced by fashion internationally, in the rest of Somalia women wore guntiino and sadex qayd, which has been the cultural dress of Somalis for centuries.

 

I'm also not sure why you describe the regime as "atheist" -- Siyaad Barre quite famously described the socialism of Somalia to be one rooted in Somali Islamic communal culture, which was a stunning proclamation and a huge gamble to take when you consider the Somali Republic's need for Soviet/Soviet-allied support internationally (states that DID declare themselves secular).

 

There was no "death of Somali culture" in the 1970s, it was its renaissance and modernization.

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

<cite>

@Safferz

said:</cite>

The regime developed a writing system for Somali (

the alternatives put forward were Arabic and Somali scripts derived from Amharic/Ge'ez

).

 

Salaam ya Safferz. Welcome back.

 

Saffers, without any knowledge of which script you are referring to, let me make a general comment on the Osmania script.

 

Other than Arabic and Latin, the most prominent script in pre-and post-independence debate was the Osmania script. This script which was developed by Osman Yusuf Keenadid in 1922, was not based on Amharic orthography. Osmania was an indigenous Somali script. According to the late Professor Lewis, the script has served as catalyst for Somali nationalism and independence efforts. The SYL adopted the Osmania script as the national script early on, but due to democratic paralysis of the sixties, the parliamentary debate on which script to adopt went on without any legislative achievement. Prior to the military dictatorship of 1969, however, most Somalis were against the adoption of the Latin script because it was naturally associated with the colonial experience. Osmania wasn’t a perfect script from a “technical” standpoint as evidenced by the controversial UNESCO commission’s findings, but the script’s true advantage was that it was a native script and a socio-political instrument for cultivating Somali nationalism at a time when the movement was beginning to emerge. Osmania’s deficiencies were minor and could have been amended, but the literate elites who were mostly Western educated favored the Latin script for political and economic benefit.

 

In the late sixties, the Osmania script came to symbolize one sub-clan and its dominance in Somali politics, and that was perhaps its greatest weakness. Its rejection by the commission appointed by Siyad Barre was more political than technical.

 

[Safferz]

Libaax, you are right and I do think Osmaniya is fascinating as an indigenous script, but it is clearly derivative of the Amharic fidel system. Here are a few Amharic characters that come to mind which look identical or similar to some of the ones on the Osmaniya chart to me (though Osmaniya sounds do not correspond) -- I hope my Amharic keyboard characters show up:

 

ዐ = a (looks like Osmaniya's deel)

ገ = ge (looks like ra)

ኺ = shi (looks like saddex)

ር = re (looks like sideed)

ሀ = ha (looks like sagaal)

ቢ = bi (looks like laan)

ዓ = aa (looks like shiin)

ሤ = se (looks like ba)

[Libaax-Sankataabte]

Saffers, Latin and Arabic are both derivatives of the North Semitic script, one being the Phoenician and the other Aramiac. As a matter of fact, the argument of both Arabic and Latin having common Semitic origin, was what the commission of linguists in the 60s tried to use to diffuse Somali people's violent opposition to the Latin script. Eventually those effort failed and the commission's report was never publicized. There are some similarities between Osmania, Latin and Arabic, but the script was an indigenous script developed and viewed by scholars as a Somali developed unique script.

 

ዐ = a (looks like Latin's o)

ገ = ge (looks like modified latin n)

ኺ = shi (looks like Latin h)

ር = re (looks like Latin C)

ሀ = ha (looks Arabic noon and a Latin U)

ዓ = aa (looks like Arabic miim and a latin a)

ሤ = se (looks like a flipped Arabic siin and latin W)

[DoctorKenney]

Safferz, I'm using Burahadeer's words against him. Sure, Somalis 4 decades ago were patriotic and had a deep affinity with their Somaalinimo, but there was also a massive cultural influence in our lands as well. The Italians and Russians had a huge influence in our country. And that's what I was pointing out. Somalia sits on the crossroads between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. So it's not a surprise that I'm pointing out that Somalia has ALWAYS been influenced by foreign cultures--the good and the bad--for centuries. So for Burahadeer to single out Arab influences to the exclusion of European or Indian influences is the height of self-contradiction. I don't get uncomfortable if I see a Somali adopting some European practices or Indian practices or Arab practices, so I'm being consistent here. Others are not.

 

Someone on this thread earlier pointed out that "Somali culture predates Islam"....but yet if he were to return to the year 500, and he encountered the ancient Somalis, not only would he be hardly able to understand their language, but he wouldn't even understand their cultural practices either. It's always evolving, it's always changing over the years. The English people of 1366 are nothing like the English people of 2014. And so on and so on.