The Two Filthy Ponds: Beel & Extreme Religion - WardheerNews

Camel Milk: A Source of Sustenance for Somalis, Curative or a 

"Gojiberry-Miracle Juice" of the Moment 

By Faisal A. Roble 

August 29, 2009 

Camel, Culture and Collective Memory 

Camel, a genteel, tall, one-humped, and gorgeously lanky creature, is raised at various 

degrees by over hundred communities, mainly in Africa and Asia. Yet, "there is no other 

community in the world where camel plays such a pivotal role in the local economy and 

culture as in the Somali community." (Kamla-Raj 2004, Anthropologist, 6(1): 45-55 

(2004). Camel was first transplanted into Somalia from Rome via South Arabia in 10 

B.C, and today it is the center piece of Somali existentialism. That is why the current 

debate by Western nutritionists on whether or not camel milk has therapeutic benefits, 

versus "goji-berry" fad values, is all the more interesting and relevant. 

The role camel plays in the day-to-day life of Somalis indeed unmatched utilitarian, lest it 

is both the producer and the product that sustains life for millions of Somali pastoralists. 

In the semi-primitive household-based economy, camel products, on which Somalis 

regularly subsist (milk, meat and skin), and the means with which they transport 

products, in turn shape (1) the formation of whatever market economy there is, and (2) 

the patterns of seasonal settlements that are centered around camel commodity exchange. 

In the sense of Alain de Janvrry of UC Berkeley, camel is the thread that binds the urbanrural 

interdependence. 

As a primary means of transportation, both for short and long distance trekking, camel in 

essence shapes the rather more intricate cultural ties/behaviors of the society. It is the 

means by which social integration, one characterized by ones and at the same time 

warring many, is created. In essence, Somalis are cousins who are in the same token 

sworn enemies to one another. At the center of this anthropological construct is the 

camel, which shapes the day-to-day culture, patterns of movement, and the contours of 

inter-clan and intra-clan conflicts as well as coexistence. 

As expressed by the Great Somali Dervish poet and cultural icon, Sayyid Mohammed 

Camel Milk Abdile Hassan, camel is the premier livestock of the Somalis that is uniquely 

qualified to provide sustenance and sustainability in the Somali ecology: 

O' God the victorious 

Camels never to man 

Who is unable to manage them well 

by inferior goats are kept 

Not much value has they 

Camel Milk: A Source of Sustenance for Somalis, Curative or a "Gojiberry-Miracle Juice" of 

the Moment By Faisal A. Roble, August 29,2009 

Copyright © 2009 Wardheernews.com 

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for in droughts severe 

worthless goats are 

no better cattle are 

without maintenance constant 

it is Goha that life sustains 

O' pride of the home 

antelope-like she-camel 

noblest of animals all surely she 

the furry-necked she-camel 

with belly huge 

sour milk abundant produces she 

you, curly-furred camel of mine... (Ahmed Ali Abokor, Uppsala,1987) 

How Somalis move around with their camels, where they water or graze them, deeply 

shapes patterns of ecologically sustainable transhumance. It is often the case that clans 

whose camels come in contact with each others' in the many wells of Walwaal and 

Ciid(Haro Ciideed) forge visible intermarriages and cultural integrations which tame 

conflicts that could have otherwise turned much more deadlier. 

The water wells of Walwaal were at the turn of the last century the focal point for water 

supply for camels in the Danood region that housed several heavily intermarried Somali 

clans who had fought wars while at the same time mending fences. It is in this context 

that the epic poems of Guba, which ended up pitting Ali Dhuuh, versus Salaan Carabay, 

Versus Qamaan Bulhan were individuals who were all related to one another in one way 

or another was instigated by a causal conflict on a popular camel watering point in the 

vicinity of Walwaal. 

So central camel is to Somali existentialism that the late president of Somalia, Abdi- 

Rashid Ali Sharmarke, once said of camel poetry (or pastoral verse) to be "one of two 

National assets of inestimable values" for Somalis, and is only paralleled in importance 

by Islam. Thus, God and Camel are praised in the same verse exclusively sung for camels 

to coax them to drink water: 

God, men and camels are prayed to 

for their bounties limitless…. 

No wonder, then, that camel occupies an enviable position of mythic proportions in 

Somali politics, poetry and culture that it in turn largely defines the very being of 

Somaliness. Despite a handful of up starter revisionists within the Somali studies 

community that denounces the camel culture as an invading force, or, often as they call it, 

the "Dervishization" of the Somali society, this "furry-necked, belly-huge" animal centers 

the totality of the Somali being - his harsh ecology, his desires for possessions and in 




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what stock, his metaphysical and existential values are all expressed in camel stock. 

Thus, Abdi Gahayr raises camel status, Somali's sustainable source for sustenance, to a 

level of religion, and has aptly articulated his peopl's deep affection of it beyond mere 

superlatives. His closing verse of his famous camel approbation poem has been 

romanticized by all Somalis: 

Aakhiro nimaan geel lahayn, lama amaanayne 

Idin-Bacaso awrkey dhashiyo, aarankay wadatay, 

wa ilal ibili kuma soo dageen, aayadaha diine 

aakhiro nimaan geel lahayn, lama amaanayne. 

The baby calf of Idin Bacaso, that male camel she mothered as well, 

are they not praised in the verses of Koran, 

are they not benefited the prophet soldiers, 

men without camel weren't admired in the hereafter world. 

In the words of Ali Eilmi Afyare and M. Qaasin, two powerful contemporary poets, the 

close-to-heart she-camel, otherwise "Mandeeq," the mother of tranquility, or the Sayyid's 

"Goha" euphemistically stands for nationhood and its sustenance; it is the ultimate 

symbolism thorough which public discourse of any sort is engaged. For example, Ali 

Elmi Afyare, in expressing his disillusionment with post-independence government of 

Somalia, a myopically corrupt government that lasted from 1960 to 1969, caricatured the 

smashed hopes of his society to a "Mandeeq" that went stray: 

.....when maaandeeq the camel beloved 

abundant milk produced for all 

few people drunk all of it 

not once but many times more 

disappointing the hungry and the brave 

who for the camel fought hard for long..... (Ahmed Ali Abokor, Uppsala, 1987) 

Somalis take camel images and its symbolism to wherever they go. In the new world, a 

she-camel portrait is found in Somali neighborhoods be it in Cedar, Minneapolis, 

(Minnesota), or in Winona, San Deigo (California). The image of a larger-than-life, oversized 

she-camel poster that has been a permanent fixture since the 1950s on a the better 

part of one of the walls of the the Somali Section of the BBC, for example, is symbolic of 

the Somali Diaspora's resolve to bring Somali identity into the heartland of its old 

colonial ruler. After all, one of Britain’s Colonial officers in the Haud and Reserve one 

Smith was lambasted with stern verses when he confiscated thousands of camels owned 

by "belligerent" clans: 

Isma oga Ismiid iyo ninkii ayro foofsadaye 

Isma oga Agoon iyo ninkii aabaheed dilaye 

Unaware of each other are Smith and those blessed with Ayro (camel) 




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unaware of each other are the orphan and that one who committed the murdering. The 

latest country where camel symbolism is to be imported to is the Nordic country of 

Norway. Wenche Stenseth, head of the refugee section at Loeten in southern Norway, 

said the local authority has applied for one million crowns ($149,100) from the 

Norwegian Directorate of Immigration for a feasibility study of a camel farm that might 

start with 10-20 of the humped animals. We're trying to think in new ways," Stenseth told 

Reuters. "This is about exploiting the skills people have." About 100 refugees, including 

people from Somalia and Sudan, live in Loeten, a village about 120 km (75 miles) north 

of Oslo. But, one may ponder, what about the medical benefits to be extracted from 

camel and its milk! 

Camel Milk: A Curative or a "Goji-berry-miracle" Juice? 

The issue of the inherent curative attributes to camel milk is not new. In fact, Somali 

literature is abound with versus and songs about the linkage between camel milk and 

person's health and wellbeing: 

....without a full belly 

of your milk nourishing 

strength and stamina mine 

forever I lose 

helpless a man to become .... (Ahmed Ali Abokor, Uppsala, 1987) 

But are the healing properties of camel milk all myth, or can they be proved and therefore 

provide a bright future for camel dairying? Barry Popkin, the Carla Smith Chamblee 

Distinguished Professor of Global Nutrition at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Public 

Health, said the health claims for camel's milk or any nutritional credit bestowed on it are 

"largely unfounded." Popkin, without hesitation, adds the claim of camel milk curing a 

number of diseases is "the goji-berry-miracle juice of the moment." 

However, other scientist maintains that anti-infection, anti-cancer, anti-diabetes benefits 

of camel milk are real and attainable. Dr. Bernard Faye of the France-based research 

organization CIRAD (Centre de cooperation international en recherché agronomique 

pour le développement) catalogues areas of diseases where camel can help; and these are 

diabetes, tuberculosis, stomach ulcers, gastro-enteritis, cancer, etcetera. Bold claims these 

as may be, researchers have found preliminary scientific basis for some of the claim it 

cures. As a result, one could already see that "the medical sector is very interested in the 

immunoglobulin of camel milk." Immunoglobulin is the substance in the camel milk that 

contributes to immunity against infection," says Dr. Hinkle. 

As to the curative benefits of camel milk, diabetes is less contentious. With camel milk 

consumption, “some kind of insulin replacement therapy appears to be taking place,” says 

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Agrawal, associate professor of medicine at the S. P. Medical 

College in Bikaner and principal investigator of an authoritative study, who began his 




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study of the effect of camel milk on patients with diabetes about five years ago. In the 

first study, he picked 24 young patients with type I diabetes, all below the age of 30 

years. The doctors divided the patients into two groups — 12 patients received the 

standard treatment which included diet, exercise, and insulin injections, and the other 12 

received 500 ml of raw camel milk each day in addition to the standard treatment. The 

standard treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes, also called Type I diabetes, involves 

diet, exercise and insulin injections. The group that received 500 ml. of raw camel milk 

requirement reduced their insulin dependence in some patients by about 30 per cent. 

“There is something in camel milk that behaves like insulin,” says Dr Rajendra Prasad 

Agrawal." 

The prospect of a cure-all is what inspires Dr. Hinkle, a naturopathic physician who read 

about the health benefits in a magazine three years ago and decided to lead a national 

drive for approval of camel milk in the United States. "We have great hope for it," Dr. 

Hinkle said, noting that regulatory approval would enable producers to conduct scientific 

studies and give the milk some bona fides. 

Responding to a growing interest in the curative aspect of camel milk and camel 

products, Faisal Roble of WardheerNews went directly to Dr. Hinkle, the most outspoken 

proponent for the curative benefits of camel milk and conducted the following interview 

to learn more whether Somali's lanky and huge-belly animal, whose sour milk sustained 

life for many millenniums, has curative or "goji-berry miracle juice" benefits. 

WDN: Let me ask you the first question about yourself: How did you become interested 

in studying camels? 

Dr. Hinkle: I became interested in the effects of the camel milk after reading a small 

article about the health benefits for allergies in children. I began the quest to get the milk 

into the US for sale. 

WDN: How would you describe your research work, and how long have you been doing 

it and who is supporting you? 

Dr. Hinkle: I have been in practice for approximately 25 years and have been doing the 

research with the camel milk for the last 3 years. I am totally supporting all the research 

so far by myself but am now having to look for investors because the milk is getting so 

big here with the demand by so many people. I am working now on a study that compares 

the effects of the raw milk vs. the effects of the pasteurized milk on patients with autism 

and diabetes. 

WDN: What are the major findings of your research about camel milk that your work on 

so far? Do you only study camel milk in the Somali inhabited regions of the Horn of 

Africa or there are other regions that you would cite? 




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Dr. Hinkle: I rather like to do my studies in the US and therefore do not study in Somalia 

but have had many demands by Somali citizens here in the US for the milk. They want it 

for themselves and for their children. There is such a high rate of autism in the US with 

the Somali population that it is in great demand. 

WDN: Tell us about your efforts to introduce camel milk into the U.S. and how it was 

received by the scientific community and federal agencies such as Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA)? 

Dr. Hinkle: I had a law changed to allow the camel milk to be sold in the US and the 

FDA approved a law to allow the milk to be sold. Although it is not available for the 

market just yet because we have to design kits to test the milk for pathogens and then we 

will test the milk with the kits. This is coming along nicely and we should be able to see 

milk available within the next 6 to 10 months. The scientific community here in the US is 

very interested in the milk and doing studies with the milk. We have recently supplied 

milk to a large university here in the US to study the effects of the camel milk on the 

neurotransmitter levels in the brain. This is important because it could replace many of 

the drugs with the terrible side effects for such things as autism, depression, and 

Parkinson disease. 

WDN: In your estimation, how long would it take, if at all, for camel milk to appear on 

grocery store shelves in the U.S.? 

Dr. Hinkle: I expect the milk to be available within the next 6 to 10 months for sale in 

certain areas and for mass sale within the next 12 to 16 months. 

WDN: For those who want to support efforts to introduce camel milk in the U.S., what is 

the best way to help? 

Dr. Hinkle: Obviously we need financial support or donations to help with the expense 

of the legal work to get the milk into the US and for the cost of getting the labs to speed 

up their work. I have spent my entire life saving on this. I am not in this for profit but just 

to make the milk available to the people of the US and for people in all the other 

countries who have contacted on me. I am also working with Canada and several other 

countries like Singapore, Thailand, and Europe to make the milk available but this is an 

expensive process to meet all the legal demands for the licensing and the permits and the 

testing. It is also very time consuming but we are making great progress. I want to thank 

all the kind and caring Somali people here in the US and around the world who have 

contacted me and hope to have good news soon 

Faisal A. Roble, 

Email: Fabroble@aol.com 

Wardheernews.com, editorial board 




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The Two Filthy Ponds: Beel & Extreme Religion - WardheerNews

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