Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
Moderators: Moderators, Junior Moderators
Forum rules
This General Forum is for general discussions from daily chitchat to more serious discussions among Somalinet Forums members. Please do not use it as your Personal Message center (PM). If you want to contact a particular person or a group of people, please use the PM feature. If you want to contact the moderators, pls PM them. If you insist leaving a public message for the mods or other members, it will be deleted.
This General Forum is for general discussions from daily chitchat to more serious discussions among Somalinet Forums members. Please do not use it as your Personal Message center (PM). If you want to contact a particular person or a group of people, please use the PM feature. If you want to contact the moderators, pls PM them. If you insist leaving a public message for the mods or other members, it will be deleted.
- Voltage
- SomaliNet Super
- Posts: 29214
- Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:33 pm
- Location: Sheikh Voltage ibn Guleid-Shire al-Garbaharawi, Oil Baron
Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
Gerald Hanley is an old Colonial hand who lived with Somalis. This is from his book Warriors: Life and Death Among the Somalis
"A Somali always felt himself to be twice as good as any white man, or
any other kind of man at all, and still does, even when he is wrong.
Islam does wonders for the self respect of non-white people and
Christianity is right to worry about the spread of Islam in Africa, and
must honestly face the question of why it has happened - "
"Of all the desiccated, bitter, cruel, sunbeaten wildernesses which
starve and thirst beyond the edges of Africa's luscious, jungled centre,
there cannot be one more Christless than the one which begins at the
northern foot of Mount Kenya and stretches to the foothills of Abyssinia,
and from there to the dried-out glittering tip of Cape Gardafui where the
hot karif winds blow in from where the long sharks race under the thin
blue skin of the ocean. You can never think of those wildernesses without
thinking of daggers and spears, rolling fierce eyes under mops of dusty
black crinkly hair, of mad stubborn camels, rocks too hot to touch, and
blood feuds whose origins cannot be remembered, only honoured in the
stabbing. But of all the races of Africa there cannot be one better to
live among than the most difficult, the proudest, the bravest, the
vainest, the most merciless, the friendliest; the Somalis."
"I knew an Italian priest who had spent over thirty years among the
Somalis and he made two converts, and it amazed me that he got even those
two. The Prophet has no more fervent, and ignorant, followers, but that
is not their fault that they are ignorant.Their natural intelligence is
second to none and when the education factories start work among them
they should surprise Africa, and themselves."
"I never saw a Somali who showed any fear of death, which, impressive
though it sounds, carries within it the chill of pitilessness and
ferocity as well. If you have no fear of death you have none for anybody
else's either, but that fearlessness has always been essential to the
Somalis who have had to try and survive hunger, disease and thirst while
prepared to fight and die against their enemies, their fellow Somalis for
pleasure in the blood feud, or the Ethiopians who would like to rule
them, or the white men who got in the way for a while."
"Everytime a Somali got whipped, an Italian soldier was killed"
"Wandering in The Shag (desert) were Somalis with some of the sharpest
intelligences in the continent, nomads who had been forced into being
parasites of the camel, for centuries, and could anyone ever find a way
of using all that courage and intelligence?"
"There is no one alive as tough as the Somali nomad. No one.
An askari wounded in a fight in the Haud country walked 14 miles holding
his guts in his hand, was sewn up and lived to soldier again. And the
women are as spiritually strong as their men."
"....You get into that way of thinking in the Somali waste. You think
that way because the Somalis bitterly resent the white man, and struggle
continually, and admirably, by lies and intrigue, to fight off his
influence which spells the end of their peculiar world. You cannot beat
them. They have no inferiority complexes, no wide-eyed worship of the
white man's ways, and no fear of him, of his guns or of his official
anger. They are a race to be admired, if hard to love."
Courtesy of Gedoboy.
"A Somali always felt himself to be twice as good as any white man, or
any other kind of man at all, and still does, even when he is wrong.
Islam does wonders for the self respect of non-white people and
Christianity is right to worry about the spread of Islam in Africa, and
must honestly face the question of why it has happened - "
"Of all the desiccated, bitter, cruel, sunbeaten wildernesses which
starve and thirst beyond the edges of Africa's luscious, jungled centre,
there cannot be one more Christless than the one which begins at the
northern foot of Mount Kenya and stretches to the foothills of Abyssinia,
and from there to the dried-out glittering tip of Cape Gardafui where the
hot karif winds blow in from where the long sharks race under the thin
blue skin of the ocean. You can never think of those wildernesses without
thinking of daggers and spears, rolling fierce eyes under mops of dusty
black crinkly hair, of mad stubborn camels, rocks too hot to touch, and
blood feuds whose origins cannot be remembered, only honoured in the
stabbing. But of all the races of Africa there cannot be one better to
live among than the most difficult, the proudest, the bravest, the
vainest, the most merciless, the friendliest; the Somalis."
"I knew an Italian priest who had spent over thirty years among the
Somalis and he made two converts, and it amazed me that he got even those
two. The Prophet has no more fervent, and ignorant, followers, but that
is not their fault that they are ignorant.Their natural intelligence is
second to none and when the education factories start work among them
they should surprise Africa, and themselves."
"I never saw a Somali who showed any fear of death, which, impressive
though it sounds, carries within it the chill of pitilessness and
ferocity as well. If you have no fear of death you have none for anybody
else's either, but that fearlessness has always been essential to the
Somalis who have had to try and survive hunger, disease and thirst while
prepared to fight and die against their enemies, their fellow Somalis for
pleasure in the blood feud, or the Ethiopians who would like to rule
them, or the white men who got in the way for a while."
"Everytime a Somali got whipped, an Italian soldier was killed"
"Wandering in The Shag (desert) were Somalis with some of the sharpest
intelligences in the continent, nomads who had been forced into being
parasites of the camel, for centuries, and could anyone ever find a way
of using all that courage and intelligence?"
"There is no one alive as tough as the Somali nomad. No one.
An askari wounded in a fight in the Haud country walked 14 miles holding
his guts in his hand, was sewn up and lived to soldier again. And the
women are as spiritually strong as their men."
"....You get into that way of thinking in the Somali waste. You think
that way because the Somalis bitterly resent the white man, and struggle
continually, and admirably, by lies and intrigue, to fight off his
influence which spells the end of their peculiar world. You cannot beat
them. They have no inferiority complexes, no wide-eyed worship of the
white man's ways, and no fear of him, of his guns or of his official
anger. They are a race to be admired, if hard to love."
Courtesy of Gedoboy.
- BaasAbuur
- SomaliNet Heavyweight
- Posts: 2868
- Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:00 pm
- Location: Appealing for the release of Volkert van der Graaf.
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
I like this quote. I really do hope we surprise ourselves in a positive way.Their natural intelligence is
second to none and when the education factories start work among them
they should surprise Africa, and themselves
- new-york24
- SomaliNet Heavyweight
- Posts: 2800
- Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:00 am
- Location: HAGARDAAMO GUMAYSI HALGAMAA WAX MA YEESHO
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
sadly today they fear death."I never saw a Somali who showed any fear of death, which, impressive
though it sounds, carries within it the chill of pitilessness and
ferocity as well
- Kramer
- SomaliNet Heavyweight
- Posts: 4342
- Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:45 pm
- Location: At Cawar's house, watching TV while Ina Baxar is practicing nursing on Cawar!
- Contact:
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
Somalis are known for two things intillegence and bravery!
but as we are fighting for 20yrs on, plus as i grow, I'm starting to believe the opposite!
but as we are fighting for 20yrs on, plus as i grow, I'm starting to believe the opposite!
- FAH1223
- webmaster
- Posts: 33838
- Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:31 pm
- Location: THE MOST POWERFUL CITY IN THE WORLD
- Contact:
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
"I knew an Italian priest who had spent over thirty years among the
Somalis and he made two converts, and it amazed me that he got even those
two. The Prophet has no more fervent, and ignorant, followers, but that
is not their fault that they are ignorant.Their natural intelligence is
second to none and when the education factories start work among them
they should surprise Africa, and themselves."
we sure suprised Africa, both when we had a county and when we destroyed it

- LaQaNyO
- SomaliNet Heavyweight
- Posts: 1785
- Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2003 7:00 pm
- Location: If sins had an odour would you be sitting alone?
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
1 Million Dollar Q"Wandering in The Shag (desert) were Somalis with some of the sharpest
intelligences in the continent, nomads who had been forced into being
parasites of the camel, for centuries, and could anyone ever find a way
of using all that courage and intelligence?"
Lol... Somalies are so transparent, bless their cotton socks.. aww i love my peopleBut of all the races of Africa there cannot be one better to
live among than the most difficult, the proudest, the bravest, the
vainest, the most merciless, the friendliest; the Somalis."

- FAH1223
- webmaster
- Posts: 33838
- Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:31 pm
- Location: THE MOST POWERFUL CITY IN THE WORLD
- Contact:
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
uppin this piff
- FAH1223
- webmaster
- Posts: 33838
- Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:31 pm
- Location: THE MOST POWERFUL CITY IN THE WORLD
- Contact:
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
btw could somali bravery be attributed to khat?



-
- SomaliNet Super
- Posts: 14602
- Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 4:08 pm
- Location: Praying for peace in the south.
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
Taasi waa Soomalidii hore.
Khat wasn't as widely used back in the days as it is today. Xerta tima weeynta iyo dad yaroo magaalooyinka waqooyi ku nool umbaa cuni jiray.
FAH1223 wrote:btw could somali bravery be attributed to khat?![]()
Khat wasn't as widely used back in the days as it is today. Xerta tima weeynta iyo dad yaroo magaalooyinka waqooyi ku nool umbaa cuni jiray.
- Voltage
- SomaliNet Super
- Posts: 29214
- Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:33 pm
- Location: Sheikh Voltage ibn Guleid-Shire al-Garbaharawi, Oil Baron
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
Look at this other colonial guy remembering back his days with Somalis
"Described as "the Irishmen of Africa", Somalis are proud, violent, romantic, imaginative and quick-witted - not unlike the natives of Erin, a land of lush fertility and EU-boosted prosperity. A country of bush, rocks too hot to touch and brackish water has created a quick-tempered warrior race, fiercer, it is said, than Afghan tribesmen, with a contempt for pain or death, who can pull the trigger, sometimes before they are insulted."
"Peacock-proud Somali males often insisted on being treated like prince-lings and, if you had different views, could, socially, cut you dead in more ways than one. Many, however, had an austere dignity about them, best seen when walking, carrying only a spear while their women, burdened with household loads, struggled behind."
"Despite its resemblance to one of Dante’s more uncongenial circles of Hades, I became fond of that nomads’ land, its wilderness silences broken by the khareef - the hot desert wind - the tinkling of sheep bells, the passage of camel-borne caravans and its coastline flecked with dhows, heraldic in the sun. I also developed an admiration for the endurance qualities of the Twiglets-thin, poor but proud Somalis, who claimed, against all evidence, that their land was a Garden of Eden."
"The bravest, most merciless but, when they accept you, the friendliest of African peoples, the Somalis are also among the most intelligent. If they could overcome centuries of mayhem and murder, they could transform a dangerous African dustbin into a prosperous, modern state."
http://news.scotsman.com/albertmorris/A ... 2289788.jp

"Described as "the Irishmen of Africa", Somalis are proud, violent, romantic, imaginative and quick-witted - not unlike the natives of Erin, a land of lush fertility and EU-boosted prosperity. A country of bush, rocks too hot to touch and brackish water has created a quick-tempered warrior race, fiercer, it is said, than Afghan tribesmen, with a contempt for pain or death, who can pull the trigger, sometimes before they are insulted."
"Peacock-proud Somali males often insisted on being treated like prince-lings and, if you had different views, could, socially, cut you dead in more ways than one. Many, however, had an austere dignity about them, best seen when walking, carrying only a spear while their women, burdened with household loads, struggled behind."
"Despite its resemblance to one of Dante’s more uncongenial circles of Hades, I became fond of that nomads’ land, its wilderness silences broken by the khareef - the hot desert wind - the tinkling of sheep bells, the passage of camel-borne caravans and its coastline flecked with dhows, heraldic in the sun. I also developed an admiration for the endurance qualities of the Twiglets-thin, poor but proud Somalis, who claimed, against all evidence, that their land was a Garden of Eden."
"The bravest, most merciless but, when they accept you, the friendliest of African peoples, the Somalis are also among the most intelligent. If they could overcome centuries of mayhem and murder, they could transform a dangerous African dustbin into a prosperous, modern state."
http://news.scotsman.com/albertmorris/A ... 2289788.jp
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
And you have people ashamed to be Somali.
People will respect you when you respect yourself!

People will respect you when you respect yourself!
- Somaliman50
- SomaliNet Super
- Posts: 5850
- Joined: Fri Oct 17, 2008 5:11 pm
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
There is no one alive as tough as the Somali nomad. No one.
An askari wounded in a fight in the Haud country walked 14 miles holding
his guts in his hand, was sewn up and lived to soldier again. And the
women are as spiritually strong as their men.
Damn, that's bold to the core. If an imperialist would belittle other Africans, but could recognize our traits, than that makes me proud to be a Somali
An askari wounded in a fight in the Haud country walked 14 miles holding
his guts in his hand, was sewn up and lived to soldier again. And the
women are as spiritually strong as their men.
Damn, that's bold to the core. If an imperialist would belittle other Africans, but could recognize our traits, than that makes me proud to be a Somali

- black velvet
- SomaliNet Heavyweight
- Posts: 4976
- Joined: Tue May 22, 2007 12:53 pm
Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
We are tough, strong, intelligent, proud and innovative. There is no doubt that with a little bit of peace we will flourish 

Re: Quotes from Life and Death Among the Somalis by Hanley
Somalis are blessed that aint nothing new
its not a coincidence that our education thrived all over the country, NATURAL INTELLIGENCE
and it is no Wonder that has yet to be seen, because we have proof of how fast we reached power when we put our minds to it and stood united
we already headed the African Union LOL and south Africa knows what we did to help Mandela





and it is no Wonder that has yet to be seen, because we have proof of how fast we reached power when we put our minds to it and stood united



-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
- 7 Replies
- 1354 Views
-
Last post by TheMightyNomad
-
- 0 Replies
- 1774 Views
-
Last post by ToughGong
-
- 27 Replies
- 1869 Views
-
Last post by Naaima
-
- 1 Replies
- 607 Views
-
Last post by MAD MAC
-
- 4 Replies
- 1596 Views
-
Last post by MenaceToSociety
-
- 55 Replies
- 8875 Views
-
Last post by MasterStro
-
- 29 Replies
- 5496 Views
-
Last post by MrL0G
-
- 14 Replies
- 929 Views
-
Last post by qoraxeey
-
- 36 Replies
- 1998 Views
-
Last post by malakul mawt
-
- 0 Replies
- 319 Views
-
Last post by BeyondQabil