o - Aceh Books website

702 SOMALIS
in interpersonal disputes, some of which could lead to loss of life, limb, honor
or property. Such injuries may include adultery and rape, physical and verbal
abuse, theft, robbery and homicide. There is specific compensation for each of
the wrongs. For instance, in the case of loss of life, the guilty party (i.e. the
corporate clan) must pay from 10 to 100 camels (for the death of a male) to the
injured party or clan. Should a man have an affair with another man's wife, he
must compensate the husband whose honor he has injured by payment of a
certain (negotiable) amount of livestock. In the case of rape or intercourse with
an unmarried girl, the offender must either marry her or pay the full prescribed
brideprice, as if marriage had taken place. Otherwise he could be killed by the
victim's clansmen, as is sometimes the case.
Somalis have traditionally divided themselves into two major lineages, the
Samale and Sab. The Samale are predominantly nomadic pastoralists who would
not ordinarily accept the Sab as equals in marriage or in other social relations.
The Sab are a complex of hunter-gatherers, cultivators and craftsmen—all necessary
but despised vocations in the eyes of the warlike Samale.
In addition to the Sab-Samale dichotomy, there are five major tribal confederations
in Somali society: the Dir, Darod, Hawiya, Ishak and Digil-Rahanwein,
the last group being more a political grouping than a lineage in the traditional
Somali sense. The Darod, Hawiya and Ishak, all Samale, are predominantly
pastoralists and traders, occupying lands on the coast, in the interior of the Horn,
the Ogaden and northeastern Kenya. The Digil-Rahanwein and related Sab tribes
live in the wetter southwest between the Shebelle and Juba rivers. Along these
rivers are also found agricultural peoples who are believed to be of Bantu origin
and who are economically and socially interdependent with the Sab or may even
be considered as members of the Sab. The Dir, believed to be the oldest Somali
stock, live mainly in southern Somalia and in the northwest, between Harar and
the northern Somali coast. The Issa of the Djibouti Republic are counted among
the Dir. The Dir may engage in every type of economic activity from herding
to farming.
The material culture of the Somalis is limited pretty much to camels and to
what a camel can carry. This will include grass mats to cover a collapsible hut,
water containers, cutting and cooking implements. It is the non-material culture
of the Somalis that is distinctive, from the values of hospitality and manly pride
to interpersonal relationships. Even more distinctive and renowned are Somali
oral lore and literature, particularly Somali poetry.
Somalis have been called "a nation of poets in search of an alphabet" (the
Somali language was without written form until 1972). Somali poetry is primarily
didactic in purpose as opposed to lyrical. Memorization is made easy by alliteration
and other poetic devices. Its main themes are history, philosophy and
propaganda. The enterprising poet may also revel in tribal politics, as both
instigator of tribal strife and peacemaker. Praise and ridicule are other favorite
themes. Examples of classical Somali poems are Mohammed Abdulle Hassan's
"Hiin Finiin," in praise of his favorite horse; Ismail Mire's "The Rewards of