Somali Proverbs

[The alchemist]

Cast-iron middle-road dispassionate wisdom:

This one is powerful:

 

[Freudiantard]

Cast-iron middle-road dispassionate wisdom:

View attachment 274882

This one is powerful:

View attachment 274883

I’ve heard the second proverb is of Bedouin Arab origin and not originally Somali, is there any substantial evidence to prove otherwise?

 

[The alchemist]

I’ve heard the second proverb is of Bedouin Arab origin and not originally Somali, is there any substantial evidence to prove otherwise?

That is interesting.

I got it from an ethnohistoric source about Somalis written by Lee V. Cassanelli, 1982. He claimed it was Somali.

Checked for it after reading your comment:

There is an old Arab Bedouin saying: I, against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I my brothers and my cousins against the world. That is jungle law. It is the way of the world when the world is thrown into chaos. It is our job to avert that chaos, to fight against it, to resist the urge to become savage. Because the problem with such law is that if you follow it, you are always fighting against someone.

The way it is framed in the source that claimed it was Somali is way better, in my opinion. The logical order of the is different and holds a deeper meaning as it turns inwardly instead of outward.

It is possible to have similarities; we are, after all, driven by similar factors (but not the same).

I have read a Gabay where a Somali said, "Pride comes before the fall." now, are you going to tell me that the Somali from the 19th century picked up the Bible and started quoting it?

 

[Poets]

That is interesting.

I got it from an ethnohistoric source about Somalis written by Lee V. Cassanelli, 1982. He claimed it was Somali.

Checked for it after reading your comment:

There is an old Arab Bedouin saying: I, against my brothers. I and my brothers against my cousins. I my brothers and my cousins against the world. That is jungle law. It is the way of the world when the world is thrown into chaos. It is our job to avert that chaos, to fight against it, to resist the urge to become savage. Because the problem with such law is that if you follow it, you are always fighting against someone.

The way it is framed in the source that claimed it was Somali is way better, in my opinion. The logical order of the is different and holds a deeper meaning as it turns inwardly instead of outward.

It is possible to have similarities; we are, after all, driven by similar factors (but not the same).

I have read a Gabay where a Somali said, "Pride comes before the fall." now, are you going to tell me that the Somali from the 19th century picked up the Bible and started quoting it?

What is the somali wording of the proverb?

Although similar in meaning, the literal wording of the gabay you are referring to is "Kibirka waa lagu kufaa" or, in English, "Pride causes one to fall/stumble".

 

[The alchemist]

What is the somali wording of the proverb?

Although similar in meaning, the literal wording of the gabay you are referring to is "Kibirka waa lagu kufaa" or, in English, "Pride causes one to fall/stumble".

I'm not sure about the Somali. The writing was in English, written as I outlined.

It means the same thing. It is not inconceivable that rare aligning oratory expression had convergent evolution was my central point.

 

[Shimbiris]

I'm not sure about the Somali. The writing was in English, written as I outlined.

It means the same thing. It is not inconceivable that rare aligning oratory expression had convergent evolution was my central point.

Arabs and Somalis have remarkably similar traditions and cultures in a dozen different ways.

• The same historical divide between the Hadar and the Badu (Reer Magaal iyo Reer Miyi)
• The same artisanal, fishing and hunting taboos with some Arab tribes even displaying something akin to the Cushitic fish eating taboo
• The same bondsmen or low-caste system for the crafts, specialized hunting, fishing and so on
• A deep love of poetry and even using it as a battle tactic between tribes as a substitute for physical combat
• A majority pastoral nomadic society with a deep emphasis on raiding and warfare
• The same seafaring culture, boats and even the same sorts of bloody cariish huts employed in coastal towns
• The same patrilineal tribal system

Even in regards to clothes it seems Arabs originally wore the lama-go just from observing the dress code for Hajj alone and some pictures of some remote 19th to 20th century tribes. There are of course several differences with them using the characteristic MENA poled goat-hair tents, in non lama-go clothes to a great extent and various other customs such as their propensity to allow adults to ride camels whereas Somalis and Afars found them too sacred for that but they are very much an uncanny valley reflection of us so similar perspectives on the world are bound to manifest.

There are cases of lore exchanges like folktales among Somalis that seem too eerily alike to Arab ones not to come from some sort of contact but I suspect this proverb is just the tribal nature of both Somali and Arabian society manifesting themselves separately in a saying.

 

[The alchemist]

Arabs and Somalis have remarkably similar traditions and cultures in a dozen different ways.

• The same historical divide between the Hadar and the Badu (Reer Magaal iyo Reer Miyi)
• The same artisanal, fishing and hunting taboos with some Arab tribes even displaying something akin to the Cushitic fish eating taboo
• The same bondsmen or low-caste system for the crafts, specialized hunting, fishing and so on
• A deep love of poetry and even using it as a battle tactic between tribes as a substitute for physical combat
• A majority pastoral nomadic society with a deep emphasis on raiding and warfare
• The same seafaring culture, boats and even the same sorts of bloody cariish huts employed in coastal towns
• The same patrilineal tribal system

Even in regards to clothes it seems Arabs originally wore the lama-go just from observing the dress code for Hajj alone and some pictures of some remote 19th to 20th century tribes. There are of course several differences with them using the characteristic MENA poled goat-hair tents, in non lama-go clothes to a great extent and various other customs such as their propensity to allow adults to ride camels whereas Somalis and Afars found them too sacred for that but they are very much an uncanny valley reflection of us so similar perspectives on the world are bound to manifest.

There are cases of lore exchanges like folktales among Somalis that seem too eerily alike to Arab ones not to come from some sort of contact but I suspect this proverb is just the tribal nature of both Somali and Arabian society manifesting themselves separately in a saying.

Yeah. You're saying a lot of good things. There is one point I planned to make that you touched upon that might go another direction (related to something else but overlaps), which I am sure you won't disagree with. I will likely drop it shortly in a thread.