Somaliland Central

A Brief Historical Overview

Signs of human settlement in the territory of today’s Republic of Somaliland go back beyond as far as 12 000 BC (Paleolithic period) since early humans lived in caves or simple huts or tepees and were hunters and gatherers. A rich history, documented by surviving Las Geel cave paintings, burial sites Sanaag, ancient structures and ruined cities, tells about flourishing trade with Egypt and Mycenaean Greece from what used to be known as the Kingdom of Punt. Trade via Somaliland ports in the Red Sea continued to flourish and Arab traders in the Middle Ages introduced Islam to the region, of which Berbera became the centre on the African East Coast. Although numerous “kingdoms” came and went throughout Somaliland’s history, most of the activity took place along the strategically valuable cities and coastal areas. The inland areas were populated mostly by nomads, who lived with and off their livestock, moving it between grazing lands.

Since current Republic of Somaliland was a British Somaliland Protectorate until 26 June 1960. The borders of modern Republic of Somaliland were established by the British, unlike colony of Somalia by Italia, Somaliland had full local autonomy and population & Sultans of Somaliland were the local rulers and never experience British direct control in the Republic of Somaliland. Population of Somaliland experienced only twice foreign power, after a decade signature of British & Sultans Somaliland Protection treaties, which Dervish uprising began in 1899. Second time was during WW2, invasion of Italian to British Somaliland.

Societal Structure and its Legal Implications

Traditionally, the Somali people have no central government. Instead, the people organised in a loose-knit community in which thousands of small groups are linked together by ties established through either family relation or contract.

How a clan is organized

                While I often use the term “clan” loosely in this paper, a detailed look at the Somali social structure is helpful in understanding Somali law and society.

Qaabil: Qaabil is are prominent “super-clans,” among them the Isaaq, Samarone, Harti, Dir, and others are each of which is comprised of several million members who trace their origins back to a common ancestor.

Jilib: Within each of these great clans, are numerous subgroups, or jilibs. Each jilib is comprised by 300 to 3000 males, and their families. The men are usually descendants of a common ancestor, although men who find themselves without enough brothers and cousins to form an effective jilib, may form a new jilib with fellow clansmen. In that case, their common ancestor will be more remote. A jilib is legally significant because its members are responsible for each other when it comes to payment of blood-money.  Several jilibs may form alliances and thus ultimately establish their own clan, or xolo.

Juffo: A juffo is a sub group of a jilib, whose male members share a common great-grandfather. Members of a juffo are legally responsible for each other’s security and debts arising out of minor violations of the law. They will also jointly lend support when one of their young men wants to marry and his family is unable to pay the customary bride money, the yarad.

Reer: A sub-group of the juffo is called a reer and is made up by a handful of households or nuclear families that live close together. Unlike the juffo and the jilib, the reer does not carry its own legal or political responsibilities.

Persons of special status

Political, jural, and religious dignitaries of a clan are expected to behave as exemplars. Therefore, if they transgress against a law, they must pay higher fines and penalties than others.

The Culture

The clan structure is the main pillar of Somali culture. Somalis all hail from the same tribe, which is divided into six main clans and loads of subclans. The nomadic lifestyle also exerts a major influence on Somali culture. Somalis can be quiet and dignified, with a tendency to ignore strangers, but have a tremendous oral (often poetic) tradition. Written Somali is a very young language (the Somali Latin script was established in 1973) but fiercely debate between Somali people over 600 years instead used Arabic script until 1973, and spelling variation, especially of place names, is very common. English is widely used in Somaliland. All Somalis are Sunni Muslims and Islam is extremely important to the Somali sense of national identity. Most women wear headscarves, and arranged marriage is still the norm in rural areas.

ARTS & CULTURE

The culture of Somaliland encompasses a wide range of Somali activity and Islamic structures that give Somaliland a rich cultural and historical heritage. Nomadic and Arab Islamic cultural significance have also played a key role on Somaliland’s cultural history. Islam and poetry are described as the twin pillars of Somaliland culture. Other important forms of arts in Somaliland include Henna paintings which are used by girls and women to apply or decorate their hands and feet especially for joyous celebrations like Eid or weddings. Somaliland is also known for its decorative handicraft items i.e jugs, koor, sadaq, dhiil and heedho. The traditional dance known as the Ceeyar Somali is Somaliland’s favourite dance.

All Somalilanders are Sunni Muslims and Islam is vitally important to the nation sense of national identity. Celebrations come in the form of religious festivities, Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr. On Eid days families get dressed up, go to the mosque to offer their prayers, and then visit one another. Money is donated to the poor and families gather around the table to eat nicely prepared food. Other holidays include June 26 and May 18, which celebrates Somaliland’s independence from Britain and Somalia.

Somaliland Cuisine: Consists of an exotic mixture of native Somali, Ethiopian, Yemeni, Arabian, Turkish, Italian and Indian, as a result of rich trade and commerce. Despite the variety, all food is served halal.

Somaliland society has traditionally been a kin-based society with patrilineal descent as the main organizing principle and political ideology. The population comprises various principal groups of patrilineal clans or clan families: Isaaq, Darood, Dir and Gadabursi. These clan families are all further divided into innumerable sub-clans.

Pastoral Societies