The super-intelligence of Somalis

The super-intelligence of Somalis
"A farmer produces his best harvest based on selecting the best breeding, and for this purpose the conception of breeding must serve us well in carrying the great revolution needed in restoring our nationhood as Somalis"
A quote by Liibaan Cabdi Daahir

The nature, character and personality of a people are mostly moulded according to their natural habitat, historical events and cultural experiences in the course of several centuries. The Somali people have had, since their origin as pre-historic people of this land, a very hostile natural habitat with scarcities of water and abundance of sandy and infertile land and repeated droughts. They have faced several political turmoil’s -- external invasions, wars, feuds, coups and counter-coups, and they have gone thorough the most trying, grilling, agonizing and disgusting period of nepotism, bribery, exploitation, tribalism, barbarous cruelty and misery during the post-Independence era due to corrupt civil governments and an atrocious military regime. All these circumstances and events have left their mark on the personality and character of the Somali people, who have been basically nomadic pastoral people for thousands of years.

The identity of the Somali people has its positive and negative points, however, the strengths are by no much to the negativities, as we know the propaganda waged against the Somali nation stretches all the way down to stooges, cliques of illiterates and profit seekers that recently dominated in the Somali politics thus labeling the noble citizens of our nation as either mentally evaporative or unconscious characters loosely held together.

“Somali people must understand that its future lies in its own strength, in its capacity, in its industry, its courage, its originality and above all its determination to re-define the ultimate resurrection of the mighty Somalia”. We can achieve that only if we optimize the use of the following combined characteristics:

1. Somali people are very hardworking, energetic and sturdy people, always bubbling with energy and enthusiasm to accomplish heroic deeds. They are fit to become warriors and engage in difficult work. That is why; they are in great demand in Arab countries as soldiers and drivers. In Kenya and Ethiopia there are hundreds of Somali drivers and soldiers who have been working without caring for their lives and they are known for their sturdiness and sincerity.

2. They are great walkers. They can walk for several miles every day with their animals in search of pastures and water-holes. An Englishman, Drake-Brockeman, said of the Somalis: "I know of no natives that can compare with them for trekking in a dry and waterless country. Their prowesses of endurance are at times nothing short of marvelous."

3. They are gifted with an extraordinary natural intelligence. Even uneducated Somali nomads can very soon understand the meanings and motives of strangers and speakers after exchanging a few sentences with them. They have a developed sense of forecasting -- what the modem futurologists term as "FFKl" (Future Focused Role Image).

4. The Somalis are open-minded and cordial people. They are very hospitable. They consider it very shameful if one of them does not provide hospitality by way of food, shelter and protection to his guests.

5. The Somalis are known for their truly great and unique traditions of extending real help to their brethren (relatives and tribesmen) at the time of marriages, need, feud, wars etc. Their widespread diya-paying relations and their custom of makhdarad and respecting and helping parents, siblings and relatives and keeping and feeding their relatives for years free of charge are concrete evidences of their cooperative nature.

6. The Somalis are very self-respecting people. They feel free and proud. During the Italian colonial rule, the Italians used to whip the Somali detainees in prisons. Those Somalis would never forget the whipping and would take revenge by killing the Italians as soon as they got an opportunity to do so. Realising this, the Italian Viceroy Garsiani introduced a law banning the whipping of the Somalis. About 135 years ago, the famous British traveler, Sir Richard Burton, wrote about the Somalis of the northern regions in these words:

"They (The Somalis) evince a gentleness of disposition and a docility which offers hope to civilization in this region (Africa) of barbarism...people who in my humble opinion, are capable of being raised high in the scale of humanity...Every free-born man holds equal to his ruler, and allows no royalties or prerogatives to abridge his birth-right of liberty ... with all their passion for independence, the Somali ... are both apt to discipline and subservient to command."

The Somalis are basically democratic people. The Somali nomads have for more than 30 centuries been deciding their personal disputes and solving their communal problems under big trees in the open. They are very argumentative people, skilled in presenting their case before the people and authorities in a very convincing manner using very apt words, similes, and recalling proverbs, antecedents, poems and genealogical evidences. Burton described them as "a fierce race of Republicans". He wisely advised"... partial intermeddling with quarrels of these people is unwise. Either our intervention should be complete -- either we should constitute ourselves sole judge of all disputes or we should sedulously turn a deaf ear to their complaints...".
Gordon Water field says, 'The Somalis have intelligence, charm and considerable ability in augmenting a case which concerns their interest."

8. The Somalis are very practical people. Functionality is in their very blood. They know how to make best use of their physical and cultural environment to solve their problems of day to day life.

9. The Somalis are creative poets. Their traditions of poetry are varied, rich and impressive. Somalia has rightly been called "the nation of bards". The Somali nomads are great composers, preservers, and singers of thrilling, socialising, educative and impressive poems, songs, proverbs and riddles.

The Somalis are Islamic people with great respect and enthusiasm for the Islamic faith. But at the same time they love, cherish and continue with their unique cultural blend of the Somali traditions and Islamic culture.

10. The Somalis are great lovers of animals, especially their camels whose utility in their lives they understand very realistically. Camels not only provide transport, meat for food, hides for the roofs and carpets for their huts but they lend them social status, social esteem and real purchasing power in marriage transactions, dispute settlements and economic matters. Naturally, therefore, most of the Somali folklore is addressed to their camels.

11. In the words of Burton, "The Somalis are full of curiosity and travel the world accepting almost any job without feeling a sense of inferiority perhaps because they believe that they are superior to anyone else."

12. The Somalis have a great spirit of nationalism. They cherish the dream of building up a United Somalia by bringing back all their Somali brethren along with their ancient territories.

References and Footnotes

1.
Burton, Sir Richard, "First Footsteps in East Africa", pp. 118-119, Op. cit., p. 284.

2.
Op. cit., pp. 284.

3.
Brockman, Ralph E. Drake, "British Somaliland", 1972.

4.
Samatar, Said S., "Oral Poetry arid Somali Nationalism: The Case of Sayyied Mohammad Abdille Hasan", Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1982, p. 58.

5.
Burton, Op. cit., p. 272.

6.
Lewis, I.M., "A Pastoral Democracy", London, Oxford University Press, 1961, p. 30.

7.
Lewis, I.M., "Social Anthropology in Perspective", p. 332.

8.
Farah, Nuruddin, "A Naked Needle", London, Heinemann, 1976, pp. 66, 68, 107, 110, 119,139.




Liibaan Cabdi Daahir, an Essayist and Author of many nationalistic pamphlets
Email: liban_dahir@hotmail.com

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