Somali Culture

Somali Culture

Somali Attire

Women in Somalia mainly wear long flowing dresses worn over petticoats called direh and usually wear large scaves.

Hijab: women's head scarf

By: Kara Vollmer

Laba go'le: men's traditional clothing

Traditionally, men wear a flowing ma'awis (a kind of wrap around saroong), western shirts and shawls.

Somalian General Etiquette

Beliefs and Values

Somali Education

Somali

** Before Western Colonization, the Somali education system was based off of religious studies.

Primary Education was made available to all but a higher education was limited and far from achieving for most.

Somali means a republic in extreme eastern Africa on the Somali peninsula

Somali has been characterized as one of the most ethnically and culturally homogenous countries in Africa.

Left-Handedness is very uncommon

The right hand in the Somalian culture is considered the clean and polite hand to use for daily tasks. If a child begins to show left-handed preference, the parents will actively try to train him or her to use the right hand.

Attire

Married women are expected to cover their bodies including their hair. Most Somali women were veils to cover their faces but very few do in the US as they find it is hard to adhere to American society. Parents are not accepted attire for women, but can be worn under a skirt.

Traditional womens dress is call a hejab, and the traditional clothing for a man is called a maawis.

An outfit commonly worn by men is a white cotton sheet wrapped around them as a skirt and another white piece used as a shawl. A sarong-like garment, worn around the waist, called a macawiis is also typically worn by Somali men.

The Somali culture has lots of beliefs and values. They believe in a spirit world within their faith.

Spirits (Jinns) can be good or evil.

* some are believed to cause illness

* loss of property

* infertility

* assist in struggles

The Somali culture also has specialists who are known to "fight" Jinns. They exercise a special ceremony or exorcism to get rid of evil Jinns.

Somalis believe strongly in independence, democracy, egalitarianism, and individualism. The value generosity and value confidence and avoid expressing their appreciation verbally.

Somalis deeply value loyalty, friendships, family and the strength that family ties provide.

When a Somalian becomes a friend, they are usually one for life.

Islam is the primary religion in Somalia, and the majority of Somalians are Sunni Muslims.

The first chart shows the number of ELLs whose primary language is Somali within the Mankato district.

The second chart, shows the percentage of ELLs that receive Special Education or Free/Reduced Lunch within Hoover Elementary.

Somali Religion

People of Somali culture have high expectations for educators and believe that teachers have short and long term impacts on their children's future. From the perspective of parents, here are some recommendations on how to assist Somali children and youth to fulfill their potential:

1. Understand the needs and challenges facing newcomers

2. Support new students and build their self-confidence

3. Value new students and build their sense of belonging in the classroom and the school community

4. Exhibit positive attitudes towards and acceptance of Somali students

5. Facilitate students' and parents' adaptation and adjustment to the new school system

6.Ensure a safe school environment, free from racism and bullying

7. Value and respect the culture and beliefs of Somali newcomers.

The official religion of Somalia is Islam. Almost 100% of the Somali population are Sunni Muslim. They pray five times a day and do not eat pork products or drink alcohol as they follow the religious ways of Islam.

Somali Customs Continued...

Somali Stereotypes

References

Somali Population

Muslims follow five pillars of Islam:

1. Shahadah - to make a statement of belief.

2. Salah - to kneel in the direction of the Holy City Macca and pray five times a day.

3. Zakah - to give money to charity for the poor.

4. Sawm - to fast for 30 days during Ramadan so that you remember the fasting of the prophet.

5. Hajj - tp travel to the Holy City.

Preferred gender roles are for men to work outside the home and women to care for children. Though women have important economic roles, it is important for the male to be perceived as the person in control; therefore viewed from the outside, the Somali culture is male-centered.

Somalis traditionally do not express gratitude or appreciation verbally. Do not assume that people of this culture are ungrateful if they do not acknowledge gratitude directly.

Due to Islamic tradition, men and women don't touch each other. When shaking hands, men only shake hands with men and women only shake hands with women.

* Within Somalia: 10,112,453 (2010 estimate derived from an official census taken in 1975 by the Somali Government; population counting in Somalia is complicated by the large number of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare.)

* Within the U.S.: 103,117 (2009)

* Within Minnesota: 28,450 (2009 American Community Survey estimate;

other sources have placed the number closer to 60,000)

* Somali's are known for having lots of kids. For Somali families, four children is a small family.

* Somali's are known for being "pirates". People from Somalia are more like coastguards that protect the seas from Illegal fishing and waste dumping because they live on the "horn" of Africa and that is their home.

* Due to the twenty year old Civil War and the absence of a functioning central government during that time, Somalia is often said to be a real-life example of anarchism.

Hoover Elementary - 2014 Enrollment by Ethnicity

Somali Education Cont...

Africa Facts (2009). Somali Traditional Clothing. Retrieved from

http://interesting-africa-facts.com/African-Garb/Somali-Traditional-Clothing.html

Awan, A. (2012). Festival of The Sacrifice. Retrieved from

http://www.whyislam.org/submission/five-pillars-of-islam-2/pilgrimage/festival-of-the-sacrifice/

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012, September). Promoting Culture Sensitivity: Overview of Somali Culture. Retrieved from

http://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/guidestoolkits/ethnographicguides/somalia/chapters/chapter2.pdf

Lehman,D.V., & Eno, L. (2003, February). The Somali Bantu: Their History and Culture. Retrieved from

http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/wsd/immigrants/somali_bantu.pdf

Lewis, T. (2009, March). Somali culture profile. Retrieved from

http://ethnomed.org/culture/somali/somali-cultural-profile

Mankato area public schools. (2011, January 14). Mankato area public schools demographic data. Retrieved from

http://www.rschooltoday.com/school305/FCK/File/Demographics/Demographics1-14-11%20all.pdfMinnesota

Department of Education. (2014). Minnesota report card. Retrieved from

http://education.mnhs.org/immigration/communities/somali

Minnesota Department of Education. (2014). Retrieved from

http://education.mnhs.org/immigration/immigration/narrators/somali/abdisalam-adam/somali-resource-teacher

Minnesota Historical Society. (2010, September). Somali Resource Teacher. Retrieved from

http://education.mnhs.org/immigration/immigration/narrators/somali/abdisalam-adam/somali-resource-teacher

Pessoa, M. (2013, June). National Stereotypes. Retrieved from

http://www.nationalstereotype.com/all-national-stereotypes/#

Shurgin, A. (2006). Somalia. Retrieved from

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Somalis.html#b

Somali Holland Online. (2010). Retrieved from

http://somaliaholland.free.fr/Somali_Values.htm

Ullah, A.I. (2013). Somali: Culture, Traditions, People and their Heritage

http://www.racearchive.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/somali_booklet.pdf

Somalian Major Holidays

Somali Customs

Somali History and Government

Ramadan-

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar - considered one of the five "pillars" of Islam. It is a month-long fast during which Muslims do not eat or drink during daylight hours. Ramadan is a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. The evenings are spent enjoying family and community meals, engaging in prayer and spiritual reflection, and reading from the Quran.

This year, Ramadan will occur Saturday, June 28 - Monday, July 28 2014.

Eid-ul-Adha-

"The Festival of Sacrifice," is a representation of two significant Islamic events: the culmination of the Hajj (pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia), and the sacrifice that God (Allah) commanded to Prophet Abraham of his beloved son, Ismail. Eid-ul-Adha is observed on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar. This year, it will occur October 4th, 2014.

Many social norms are derived from Islamic tradition.

Somalis do not consume pork, lard, or alcohol, and all animals must be slaughtered in a special way, called xalaal, to be considered clean.

Dress among Somalis is diverse. In formal and public settings, such as work or school, most Somalis wear Western dress. However, traditional dress is generally favored in rural areas in non-formal settings.

* The parents of Somali children are encouraged to be more involved in their children's education. However, parents often shy away from coming into the school or community because they are still struggling to learn English and may feel self-conscious or afraid that they will not be understood by the teachers.

* Somali students are active (not passive) learners. They are aggressive, anxious, participatory learners.

Somali students love to write words. They come from a rich tradition of poetry and literature with most of it being in oral form so when they get the chance to learn and write it is exciting to them.

* The English alphabet shares many common sounds with the Somali alphabet except for differentiating "p" and "b".

Differentiation in the classroom

* Structured Learning Environment

* Taught Socialization Skills

* Small hand muscles that are underdeveloped - be patient with handwriting

* Visual Representations - to connect learning with a visual (especially if they are learning English as a second language)

Finding a New Home

History

The Somali Tribes started over a 1,000 years ago when Persian and Arab traders established business contracts with east Africans. The relations between the two coupled with refugees who fled the turmoil in Arabia which resulted in a significant number of Arab immigrants residing on the coast of east Africa. The mixing of the coastal Bantu-speaking African people with these Arab immigrants led to the emergence of people and language. Within time, the Swahili people expanded their trade and communication inland and to the south with the other African groups, introducing tribes of the Somali- Bantu.

Government

Between January 1991 and August 2000, Somalia had no working government. A fragile parliamentary government was formed in 2000, but it expired in 2003 without establishing control of the country. In new transitional parliament was instituted and elected a president - Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud.

Starting in 1992, the US began welcoming Somali refugees and placing them throughout the county. Somalis began arriving in Minnesota in the early 1990s and have continued to arrive in large numbers since. In 2010, there were an estimated 60,000 Somalis living in Minnesota, which is the largest Somali population of any state in the U.S.

Somalis started to move to Minnesota because of the jobs and educational opportunities, as well as a large and active Somali community. It is said that there are jobs within MN that don't require fluency in English and so they are the first stopping point for newly arrived Somalis.