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N.O.R.F

Torn between two cultures

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NGONGE   

JUSTICE, my fellow foreigner: don't despair. You are not alone. There are lots of foreigners like us. smile.gif

 

North,

 

Did I tell you what precious jewel I got my hands on last night? A Somali (land) dictionary! It was written by a Somali (lander) resident of Liverpool and is not only a simple dictionary but also a sort of history book. The final two hundred pages or so, talk about Somaliland heroes such As Michael Maryamo, Sultan hebel hebel and some dubious character called Sheikh Bashir (who he?). It also contains copies of treaties between Somaliland and the British government. Not a bad effort really.

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Ibtisam   

^^I've heard of Sheikh Bashir, but no idea why. hhmm. Micheal Maryamo was the only Christian man in Hargisa i heard, is there another reason he is famous for?

 

In that case, north i'm not that bad, Waaxaan aarkee khaar mince hilib kaa diiga :D

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NGONGE   

I can't remember. I'll have to check when I get home.

 

(Are you trying to improve your english?) :D

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Originally posted by NGONGE:

I can't remember. I'll have to check when I get home.

 

(Are you trying to improve your english?)
:D

Of course i'm ,,,,,, i always keep trying niyow but it only gets worse :D

 

 

Bal check da goddemn name and let me know ,,,, i'm into the books these days.

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Malika   

Originally posted by Xanthus:

^^I've heard of Sheikh Bashir, but no idea why. hhmm. Micheal Maryamo was the only Christian man in Hargisa i heard, is there another reason he is famous for?

I know he was an Ambassador in Zambia at some point in his political career in the 70's.He was actively involved in the liberation of Somaliland from the colonial powers.

 

Xan,there were a few christian in those days,I know of a family friend "reer Antony",I never knew they were christian until I saw the cross on the old mans neck..

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Sheikh Bashir was one of those fought for the libaration of somalia and was killed by the British ,,,, his dead body was brought to Burao. That was long time ago. I think during the Sayidka time.

 

The ambassador one and others live here are his sons and grandsons ,,,,,,

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N.O.R.F   

Shiekh Bashir allah yarxamu.

 

Xan, ever heard of Richard Burton?

 

Middle Years

 

After those seven years in India he returned to recuperate with his mother and sister in France, where he wrote four books on India in the next three years and planned his next adventure: entering Mecca disguised as a Muslim hajj. This feat, which if he were discovered would have resulted in his summary execution by beheading or crucifixion, was not the first time that a non-Muslim had breached the holy city. But Burton wrote about his trip, where he posed as an Afghani physician [image], (Pilgrimage to El Medinah and Mecca, 1855-56) as more than a travel narrative or tale of adventure.

 

His work captured the customs and morals of the Muslim peoples he encountered, in a manner that modern anthropologists call "ethnology". When the Muslims eventually found that he had secretly sketched the ka'aba while others prayed and lived to write about it dispassionately, and that Burton had expressed often his admiration for Muslim customs and beliefs, and that he spoke Arabic so fluently, they ignored the insult saying that he really was an Arab.

 

Before returning in triumph to England, Burton set out to to enter the forbidden Muslim city of Harar, ostensibly to establish horse trading routes. All non-believers who had entered this Somalian city before Burton had been executed, and in this Burton became the first white man to enter and leave alive. He wrote about this as First Footsteps in East Africa.

 

On leave again in 1854, Burton went again to Somaliland in eastern Africa with John Speke to find the source of the Nile. Their party was attacked by Somali tribesmen; Speke was seriously injured and Burton's jaw was pierced by a spear. He returned to England to recuperate, when the Crimean War broke out. After his recovery, in July 1855, he went to the Crimea to volunteer in the war against Russia. Burton trained Turkish irregulars at the front in the Dardanelles, but saw no action himself.

 

The first to discover he wasnt a Muslim was a blind Somali man and a reer miyi. How did they know?

 

source

 

Munira, i know the fam your talking of.

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Xan,there were a few christian in those days,I know of a family friend "reer Antony",I never knew they were christian until I saw the cross on the old mans neck..

 

 

There are many (but few) christian somali families ,,,, i remember Michael Mariano's family, another family they call reer jaamac kootali ,,, reer antony as you said.

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Malika   

^^Is reer Antony in Hargeysa?..I know the old man left Tanzania in the early 80's, I used to play with his kids.

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^^The story I heard was that Burton was exposed after someone discovered he was not circumcised.

 

Where did you hear that a blind man was responsible? Obviously this would not fit.

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