How tribalism is being used to undermine our shared ethnicity.

[Angelina]

I had this exact discussion with a lander who tried to actively tell me somali doesn't exist as an ethnicity and that it meant "get milk" and is fake. I had to explain multiple times that we are the same ethnicity regardless of what we were called and are a homogenous society, we have been marrying across clans for generations. Then she tried to accuse me of wanting to claim her history and that we aren't related at all and I told her to shut up you donut I'm a lander too just with common sense then she didn't reply. We are so fractured it's insane how are we denying our own ethnicity it's disgusting and agreeing with a banaadari who doesn't even like us and tries to claim her 0.1% of arab blood instead of her south Asian heritage is insanity but I'm not even suprised sadly

It’s not about being fractured- it’s political desperation as I’ve mentioned. Recently a relative of mine was telling me that back home, they’ve resorted to saying they’re closer in blood with a Habeshi than to a Southern Somali. Can we say that’s due to trauma or being fragmented? Definitely not, it’s a desperate attempt for politicians to carve out a reason for separatism as they’ve been denied that by the world. Note, this sort of rhetoric is only becoming common now-after 34 yrs and not when the wounds of war was fresh, that should tell you everything. As years go by and their attempts to become their own nation is declined- they will feed the masses even worse propaganda. Most of the people who believe stuff like this weren’t even born before 1988.

 

[Barkhadle1520]

Banadiris got targeted during the war due to being powerless and the crimes were justified by them being foreigners. After this they have developed this mindset of denying their somali heritage. However, deep down they know they are somalis and just can’t get rid of their dhaqan. They have assimilated far too much to claim any other identity except the one they have had for centuries.

Its understandable for them but its more heinous among ethnic somalis.

”Isku dhaqan manihin”, ” Somaalinimo aan ka baxney” are common phrases you see on tiktok.

All of this stems from the civil war and its consequinces. The nation has become fragmented more then ever before.

When there's no order and only chaos the weak small groups are obviously the ones that are gonna be targeted, just like animals

HY militias burned entire gaboye villages not so long ago

 

[sh-89]

Balkanizatiom comes from the origin the balkans and how they all disbanded from the Soviet iron curtain. It happened through aide money. So imo this balkanization into tribalism comes from thr same source=fight for resources. When you study Somali history you realize that they have been tribalism for quite sometime. Tribes have their area zones, and have had peace and wars. So this idea that it came from colonization is false.

Colonization just too advantage of these divisions and Europeans themselves have tribalism. So this idea that they create everything in itself is a form of colonization through giving them too much power. There is knowledge power weapons etc. Is qabilism when Irish bonb and fight the Anglos? Was it qabilism when they fought WW1/WW2? I think so. If the central power is corrupt than isnt going to local powers the rational solution? So this imagination that Somalia was unified before the Euros is a myth. We are nomads who raid and kill when its necessary but civility and diplomacy is possible as well.

So to answer your question, it hurts to admit but yes we are a tribal, nomadic and fanatical culture. Good thing is cultures can change when the conditions do. Imo I think Somalis do well under the circumstances we are in. And I think we will be a superpower as well when its our time to rise. Its not tribalism that keeps us poor, its just one of the factors and how we survived for so long.

Has anyone noticed the entire world is becoming more tribal with the more connections we have? Also lastly dont assume people are really Somali online. And never underestimate what shaqo laan can do and sheer boredom. We have a trolling epidemic.

 

[reer]

It’s not about being fractured- it’s political desperation as I’ve mentioned. Recently a relative of mine was telling me that back home, they’ve resorted to saying they’re closer in blood with a Habeshi than to a Southern Somali. Can we say that’s due to trauma or being fragmented? Definitely not, it’s a desperate attempt for politicians to carve out a reason for separatism as they’ve been denied that by the world. Note, this sort of rhetoric is only becoming common now-after 34 yrs and not when the wounds of war was fresh, that should tell you everything. As years go by and their attempts to become their own nation is declined- they will feed the masses even worse propaganda. Most of the people who believe stuff like this weren’t even born before 1988.

somali dhaqan is more rigid than a lot of dhaqans. the stucture of somali society is extremely rigid. and when you add the in overall somali history the minorities are footnote i get the cuqdad minorities might have. remember that as far as we know somaliweyn has never had a powerful leader who was a minority. and we are a might makes right society. they feel disenfranchised (they are). when you look through somali literature, wars, sultanates etc they are a footnote. they arent under the list of the major poets or sultanates or rulers etc or were major players in the wars across somali history. and as far as we know they werent major players in somali politics as clan blocks. and then the reer xamars / yemenis are a light skinned minority who were brutalized and then they received no special treatment from the darker black somalis who fanatically keep the rigid clan structure and "might makes right" mindset.

 

[Medeea]

Not sure why you blaming others for.

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You can’t fix a problem without naming the root causes. Overemphasizing qabiil weakens ethnic identity. And overemphasizing ethnic identity will weaken national identity and religious beliefs.

Don’t get me wrong, you still need a defined state, borders, and a dominant culture/language to hold things together. But total ethnocentrism or even too much nationalism isn’t ideal either. Gotta balance it out.

 

[Bari]

Its always these creole mutts and the descnadants of southern east african slaves that push this narrative. They are uncomfortable with the fact that a single ethnic group with a uniform language is able to acquire vast lands spanning 4 current nations, the most out of any single ethnic group in Africa.

 

[Afrax]

I won’t post the TikTok since I don’t want the girl to be trolled or mistreated. So I was scrolling through TikTok and I saw something that mildly irritated me. I saw a Banadiri girl saying that Somali is a fake ethnicity that only came about via colonialism. Unfortunately, I’ve been seeing some ethnic Somalis co-signing it via hatred of their fellow Somalis especially the ones that want independence. She tried to say we had various different haplogroups saying T and EV-whatever I don’t care for haplogroups but that clearly isn’t the case since we only seem to have two different haplogroups and even then we are probably the most homogeneous ethnic group on earth. Our autosomal is incredibly connected.

It’s crazy how uneducated Somalis are of our history. The Somalis were a nation before we were ever a state and that’s apparent even when foreigners came to our shores decades before colonialism. Why did Burton call us the Somalis well before 1880? Why did the people he meet call themselves Somalis well before we ever became a country or a state?

I have no issues with our Banadiri mixed brothers and sisters. They have contributed a lot to the Southern Somali coast, but undermining our ethnicity and trying to play divide and conquer isn’t doing them any favors.

I say this not out of frustration towards that community since they are a small minority and on average lovely people, but the fact that Somali tribalism has led to this discourse and due to Siyad’s Barre’s regime over emphasizing our Nomadic roots and not the traders amongst us or the city dwellers. Also ignorance plays a big role. I have older relatives who are of an ethnic Somali background saying ‘no one knows where Somalis come from we could be of different origins’ or the boomers who’ve been fed a steady diet of how all Af Maxaa tiri Somalis were just desert dwelling nomads in the interior so now they too stupidly believe that Xamar was ruled by Banadiris.

It's just Cadcad's taking part in the national sport of their country, Fadhi Ku Dirir. Those who express discomfort with them typically do so for one of three mutually exclusive reasons.

1. Some harbour an inferiority complex in relation to lighter-skinned individuals.
2. Others may recognise the significant cultural contributions made by Cadcad communities to the Somali nation and, in doing so, react with discomfort or defensiveness.
3. And then there are those who thrive on animosity and controversy and actively seek opportunities for provocation and discord. (usually the content generator also is of this group)

 

[Afrax]

My take on the Cadcad topic seemingly so popular that it has made to the politics section.

The Reer Xamar(Cadcad's included) communities have made a profound and enduring contribution to the Somali nation. Through centuries of trade, they introduced not only goods—such as fabrics and spices—but also ideas that enriched the cultural and intellectual fabric of Somali society. Their influence is evident even in the Somali language, which incorporates numerous loanwords from their linguistic heritage. Moreover, Reer Xamar figures played a pivotal role in the formation and financing of the Somali Youth League (SYL), and were present at critical junctures in the establishment of the Somali state.


Importantly, this phenomenon is not unique to Somalia. Across the world, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural minorities have often played disproportionate roles in shaping national identity, culture, and political independence.

A few illustrative examples include:

1. Ireland, where members of the Anglo-Irish minority were instrumental in reviving Irish nationalism and cultural identity. Figures such as Theobald Wolfe Tone, Douglas Hyde, and W.B. Yeats stand out prominently.
2. India, where the Bengali minority made outsized contributions to the intellectual and political formation of modern Indian identity. Among them, Rabindranath Tagore and Subhas Chandra Bose are particularly notable.
3. Finland, where the Swedish-speaking minority was central to institutionalising Finnish language and culture, as well as founding the Fennoman movement that ultimately led to national independence. Individuals such as Zacharias Topelius, Elias Lönnrot, and Johan Ludvig Runeberg were quite instrumental in this effort.
4. Czechoslovakia, where German-speaking Jews played a critical role in the cultural and political revitalisation of Czech national identity. Key figures include Franz Kafka, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, and Max Brod.

There is no reason to shy away from the contribution's trade has had and even less reason to actively vilify minorities, it's not only historically unfounded(Somalis on the coast always welcomed outsiders) but also politically self-defeating. It undermines the work done by those who put in place the foundations of the Somali nation. Conversely, to singularly elevate the suffering of any one group(minorities) above the collective experience of the Somali people is equally unjust.

There is no group that has come out of the Somali civil war that started in early 1980s unscathed and is still going on. You're not special!!

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