Somalia+Culture

Beliefs Traditions and Religion: Somalis are a unique African country because although there is a lot of different languages spoken, and a lot of different cultures and clan groups, they all consider themself to be one country. This makes the Somali people one of the biggest ethnic groups in Africa. They are big believers in their religion, which is mostly Sunni Muslims. They are big believers in Sufi spiritualism which invloves eating a narcotic leaf, falling into trances, chanting, and twirling around while communicating with Allah in the trance.
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The Sunni Muslims in Somalia are different then most Muslims because they believe that the poor, weak, and injured have special powers given to them by Allah, so the Somali people are always kind to the less unfortunate out of fear that they will use their powers to hurt them! They also blieve that their seclar leaders have the ability to bless and curse people. This is called baraka in their language, and they believe that this power stays around tombs. Somali's believe that baraka can cure illnesses and help find answers about life when somebody goes around the tomb. Islam has no priests so the main leaders are the Islamic teachers and mosque officials.

Marraige in Somalia is seen more than just the bond between wife and husband. It is a bond between families and clans so marraige is seen as very important. Until the 1990's almost all marraiges were arranged, and even in the present some marraiges still are. Males can also have more than one wife, a practice known as polygamy. Also if the husband simply says "I divorce you." the wife has to leave the house in three months. They give her three months just to see if she could be preganant. The women in Somalia are seen as a lower class, however, they are very business savy. They are the ones who run the markets and have even set up organizations to help Somali get health care, education, and food from the United Nation. [] National Holiday: Mouloud- or the Birth for the Prophet Mohamed. The day of this holiday depends on the sighting of the moon and its location. A special breakfast happens on this holiday and their is no work as the day is dedicated to prayer of the prophet Mohamed. Prayers take place throughout the day. Another special meal is in order for lunch which consists of sheep, raisins, and onions. As night falls the Somalian people sing songs in the streets that praise the prophet Mohamed. http://holidayyear.com/holidays/mouloud.html

National Language:

In Somalia many different languages are spoken, it was not until 1974 that Somali became the national language of the country.

There are 21 consonants and 5 vowels in Somali

consonants: B T J X Kh D R S S Sh Dh C G F Q K L M N W H Y

vowels: A E I O U

Here is a sample sentence in Somali ANIGU WAXAAN AHAY SOOMAALI

This means I am a Somali.

A common greeting is Assalam Alaikum or Peace be upon you.

http://www.somaliculture.net/language/index.html Food:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Somalians love meat. Most of their meals main courses are goat, beef, lamb, and chicken. These meals are spiced with cumin or curry and served with some type of rice. Vegetables are often mixed in with the meat and rice to serve up their own twist of a stir fry. They drink a lot of black tea with sugar and milk added in. They also have a traditional bread called anjara which is like a spongy pancake.

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[] <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Music:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Somliland music is relatively young because most of the music in past years was complete folk music. The music takes pieces from the folklore traditions, adds in beats from the drums of Africa, and adds in instruments such as the Lute. There music is completely their own as it has not been touched by the international "pop" culture yet. They have many songs for many different occasions such as the song "Hees" for weddings. Abdillahi Qarshe was the first musician to popularize this music with his song "Saints Help Us." http://www.somaliculture.net/music/index.html media type="youtube" key="cwenIoi1COM?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Somali Music]

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Clothing:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Men normally wear western style pants or a ma'awis which is a kilt. They also wear western style shirts and shorts <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">

http://www.alannabooks.com/jamal/clothes.html <span class="wiki_link_ext">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Women normally wear a Direh which is a long dress worn over a petticoat. They also wear Coantinos which is a four yard length scarf that is draped over the shoulders and then tied around their waistline. Head Dresses are also common.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://refugee.wikispaces.com/Somalia-Traditions+And+Culture