     lost Somali | Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 06:51 pm
Everywhere I have been in the world I've met with a genuine culture whether it is food, music and other traditional stuff. However, as a Somali I cant cook any Somali dish (if there is ever one) cant sing, gabay, geeraar or anything. It is true that Somali culture came from nomadic culture, but most Somali's would be embarassed to be associated with as it is negatively called "dhaqan reer baadiye".
Is there a culture at all (please not religion)? |
| LiberalThinker | Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 07:23 pm
my dear
Culture doesnt breed in a vacuum let alone flourish.
Culture, to be truly called a culture, needs people who feel proud of its values, people who feel great about their way of life, in our case, somali culture exists and it is an unfortunate culture as it doesnt have people who really feel proud of it.
Other nations too have cultures which they feel proud of and which they preserve even in times of turmiol as in the case of somalis.
However since everyone here denounce and despise their forefather's cultures and their way of life, it seems so that somalis have discarded their culture and have identified themselves with western style of life.
Following aothers culture and leaving the one of your forefathers is really one of the worst clamaties thas has recently fallen on somali fellaz.
Having a culture doesnt necesserilly mean knwing its songs and poems.
It is about identifying yourself within a broader community with its values and principles.
To merely be able to rehearse its poems and songs doesnt really make one feel as if he/she has a culture.
Many people have argued here and elsewhere that all is not well because of somali culture or somali cultural values.
Arguments can be made for and gainst certain aspects of somali culture but to merely argue that the whole culture is somehow deplorable is to misjudge a culture that has no proponent to defend it.
In every society today on earth, many cases can be made against certain practices within its cultural values. Unfortunately the lesser evil is preffered as many scholars argued. Instead od discarding the whole culture, these communities improved their weaker cultural values and this is a demonstration of the evolution of cultural developments.
As time goes by, certain aspects of culture become obsolete or in the modern sense out-dated and no longer applicable to the real life of its societies.
This is an indication that nations have tolarted cetain values considered repressive and as time evolved , they changed these values and adopted a rather improved version of the older values, thus preserving its cultural values.
As for the somalis, well it is a case in which the culture exists but lacks the people who were supposed to imrove upon it by preserving their cultural identities.
But the great question,:
what will the identification of somalis with a culture they dont own bring to them?
Western culture as it stands today has its evils too which are far worse than somali culture.
But somalis are really denouncing, if only they knew, that which is their identity, somali culture.
Being called a somalian caries with it certain values and respect as it demonstrates that you in fact have a source of origion.
Better feel proud of it before it is too late.
and thank you for posting this message. |
| KH | Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 08:08 pm
LET ME CORRECT YOU MY FRIEND WE ARE NOT CULTURELESS WE ARE KINTERLESS. |
| DiasporaChild | Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 08:40 pm
LiberalThinker:
Couldn't have agreed with ya more. Somalis aren't proud of their origin nowadayz, and choose to abandon it rather than improve the dislikes of our culture. Very well said, you took the words out of my mouth. I hope we can ponder upon this fact, and not forget about OUR culture. I am a proud Somali, eventhough I wasn't born in the horn and thus spent most of my life outside of it.
Peace n' Blessingz. |
| MANNEXE INDHA SUQAAR | Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 08:43 pm
TO KH;-DOES YOR NAME MEANS;-KINDLESS •••/-OR-KILL ••••/ KISS ME HONEY. JUST WONDERING?
CULTURE IS JUST FROM YOR IMAGINATION, IF I REMAIN IN MY RELIGION, I CAN CHANGE MUCH CULTURE DAILY FOR THE BETTER. |
| INDHA OW SUQAAR | Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 08:46 pm
IN KASE U DON'T GET IT, THE .... MEANS...HOEZ/WHORE |
| theteller | Wednesday, March 14, 2001 - 09:01 pm
lol.kh you rock |
| kamaldin | Thursday, March 15, 2001 - 12:11 am
Name 1 thing recognised as culture to any nation or people that has not been enfluenced by other cultures or nations?
If we lack anything it is the desire to assimulate that which is best of other cultures. we are some what hell bent to adopt and extract the worst at most of that we observe,experience from other cultures and nations.
I won't contribute to the ever escalating disection of the somalian and somali way of life. We have a lot that we should be proud of and should thank our ancestors for. All we realy need are archeologists to who would go about in search of that we have lost in the semi-desert that we have sprouted from.
There is little wrong with our people/way of life outside of the somalian magnifying glass, we just have too many judgementals in our collective who lack the education or common sense to see beyond the thick cover of somalian system/s.
I love shuuro, there are various meat dishes which i have no names to but that exists. We have traditional dances, music and lots of other arts that are still inpractice to this day. It takes a little patience and research to find the beauty of the somaals. We do seem to have a way to jump to conclusion and reach decisions based on illinformed or diluted sources.
It is never too late to learn what is tradisional to your region. Hope is there to those who are willing to accept it's over extended hand. |
| raxma | Friday, March 16, 2001 - 02:51 am
As a cultural student its nice to see somali ppl who are interisted in someting which is clase to my heart, i think that its the younger gen. who have lost there cultural values, we have have a divers back ground and history with regards to music, lit. and food its just that we now need to build up on, our past is there to guide us through the future. |
| BLACKRAP | Sunday, March 18, 2001 - 05:01 am
Yo! you ppl are not cultureless, Deenless. more culture and less Deen. fools. |
| Lost Somali | Monday, March 19, 2001 - 02:37 pm
Thank you guys/girls for your comments on matters of culture. I know it is a huge subject to disect, but let me ask you brothers and sisters, is there a Somali way in disciplining children if so, please let me know?
N.B
I have included the very few children who scribbled things that I couldn't understand in the previous question. Kids I want to hear what you think about discipline as I have got a kid of your age? |
| Fatma Hussein | Tuesday, March 20, 2001 - 08:15 am
What is culture to you? Shouldn´t that be what
you are most comfortable with, that you probably inherited or learnt from your family, that which makes you a unique individual with a strong identity? I think that you should not think so much about other peoples cultures since cultures can also change and not all cultures are worth anything anyway. My advice is be yourself and make your own mix . match and manage kind of culture, that which you can be proud of and be proud of belonging to it. Good luck, inshaallah otherwise there is always Islam.
Salaam aleykum.
Fatma Hussein |
| lost but countable | Sunday, March 25, 2001 - 04:02 am
Dear Fatma all I'm trying here is to understand Somalian culture, with it's many facets of answering the world arround us. |
| MAD MAC | Saturday, March 31, 2001 - 08:31 am
Somalis have a wonderful culture with many strengths. But Somali culture has one lethal flaw - Somalis MUST reject internecine violence as a method of conflict resoution. If they can not make this transition, to rejection of Somali-on-Somali violence to legal resolution of grievances, the cycle of violence will be endless and inhibit Somali social and economic development for the forseeable future.
Somalia: One country, one people.
Allahu Ahkbar!!!! |
| H | Sunday, April 01, 2001 - 01:47 pm
TO LOST SOMALI. ACCORDING TO THE LOST SOMALIS WHO LIVE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. IAM ADVISING THEM TO PRACTICE THEIR CULTURE AND BE PROUD OF WHAT THEY ARE. AS I HAVE BEEN 4 YEARS AT UNIVERSITY AND HAVE ONE TO GO TO GRADUATE AS POLITICIAN, MY AIM IS TO BECOME THE FUTURE FOREIGN MINISTER OR THE CULTURAL MINISTER IN THE SOMALI GOVERNMENT.AS IAM CURRENTLY MOTIVATED ABOUT ASSISTING MY PEOPLE AND TO WRITE TO BRITISH PRIME MINITER IN ORDER TO HAVE ONE COMMUNITY TO REUNITE THE SOMALI CIVILIANS, RATHER THAN TRIBLE COMMUNITY.SO THAT WE HAVE THE BEST FACILITIES WE REQUIRE AND HAVE ONE MEMBER OF THE SOMALIS IN THE PARLIAMENT. AS IAM WILLING TO BECOME MEMBER OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT.WE WILL SOON BECOME HIGHLY MOTIVATED PEOPLE AND SERIOUS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR TRADITIONAL CULTURE. AS THERE IS PEACE DEVELOPING IN OUR COUNTRY AND WILL SPREAD THROUGH OUT SOMALIA.GOD BLESS SOMALIA. PEACE AND LOVE. |
| GigiJones | Monday, April 02, 2001 - 11:15 am
I have a question for y'all..
Would U be cultureless if U grew up in N.America, yet U come from Somali origins? To be honest, I was raised here and I dont feel like im a part of either culture...meaning the Somali culture, or N.American culture..but rather a product of both. I choose to follow da best of both, no reason why Ima waste all the good aspects of this culture,and jus cuz Im not in Somalia, doesnt mean I cant follow the values (and yeah, there are SOME) that I've been taught.
Any of you out there feel the same? Lemme know! |
| Lost Somali | Monday, April 02, 2001 - 03:35 pm
One of the most controversial aspect of Somali culture in my view is how we raise our children, to put it bluntly, Somali discipline sends the wrong message to our children. Most Somali's would rather opt to violence or the threat of violence (I will bash you) to discipline their kids. This sends a wrong impression to the kids involved, and the message that they learn from this is that you can solve your problems through violence rather than dialogue. Is this part of religion or our culture?
I'm lost here because Idon't see any decent values to be learned from violence. |
| Lost Somali | Tuesday, April 10, 2001 - 06:39 pm
Is there anyone out there who could answer my last posting. please. |
| MAD MAC | Tuesday, April 10, 2001 - 11:36 pm
Lost Somali
Not me. I'm not sure that this is the only connection. Somalias history of internal conflict is long and is mostly focused around competition for scarce resources. Because violence as a means to an end has always been acceptable in Somali culture it is natural that it would be a tool used to influence unruly children. And certainly Somalis aren't the only ones who use this tool with their children. |
