For the Love of Oud

The strings are plucked. Gently. A rich, high-pitched tune resonates from its hollow chest. The pear shaped body releases a melodious sound upon plucking the strings. Regarded as the queen of instruments, the Oud, or Lute as it is generally known, is a non-fretted piece of highly ornate wood. Hadrawi’s Hooyoy La’aantaa, played on this [...]

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Calimaax & Cawrala

The story of Calimaax and Cawrala is famous throughout Somalia, like any other great story for its great poems. It has been mentioned in many songs, plays and books – even though the latest film in the name of Cali & Cawrala has discredited the name and the story. Below is a little part of [...]

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Old Customs

We’ve had some rather interesting customs in Somalia at one time, though most of these customs have gradually died out with the advance of Islam. I’ll start with some hairdos.

A young girl’s hair was shaved in such a way that a ring of hair was left to encircle the smooth scalp. Sometimes it was shaved [...]

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Construction of Aqal Somali

What you see above is a Somali hut or Aqal Soomaali in construction. The particular one above is from the Southern parts of Somalia. Though the ways of construction are similar in both the Northern and Southern parts of the country, the materials used for construction are different due to the locality. In the above [...]

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Irreconcilable differences

Nearly a year ago, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) have ignited a flame so powerful in Somalia that it’s impacts are still being felt by those in power today. With the help of America and Ethiopia, the government troops are, to this day, hosing down the dying embers of that fire. Having been re-united by [...]

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Banned!

They have done it too , though long awaited it has been. After Ethiopian soldiers were approved for a carte blanche to do as they pleased inside Somalia, this should have come across as something that was somewhat expected, yet it did not. It astounded me to hear that in a country where almost 100% [...]

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Consciousness regained

A book I read stated that the internal mechanisms in our body that control our faculty of consciousness are directly linked to the external environment. It is a responsive mechanism and adapts to changes within our environment and surroundings. I am conscious, alive, awake, and feeling. I experience the world by being conscious. I am [...]

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