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Author: Lee V. Cassanelli Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN: 1512806668 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 328
Book Description
While recurrent drought, war with neighboring Ethiopia, and a staggering refugee crisis have recently propelled the African nation of Somalia into world headlines, remarkably little is known about the history of this East African country. For the first time, Lee Cassanelli makes available a book-length study of Somalia's precolonial heritage. A nation of nomads, the Somalis have through long experience adapted to a harsh, semidesert environment. While persistently divided by clan, sectarian, and regional loyalties in the past, they have nevertheless come to acquire a compelling sense of their cultural unity and national identity. The Shaping of Somali Society examines the historical experiences of these people while focusing on recurrent themes: a deeply rooted kinship system based on lineages that feud as frequently as they cooperate; the gradual Islamization of the entire society through the work of itinerant Sufi saints; the rise and fall of regional sultanates and long-distance trade networks; and a history of resistance to foreign invaders. To reconstruct the past of this important African society, the author draws on ethnographic and linguistic evidence, travelers' accounts, a substantial body of Somali oral traditions, and recollections gathered during several visits to the country. Using this material and the techniques of traditional historiography, Cassanelli examines the precolonial interplay of environmental, social, economic, and religious forces that produced a society that, though politically fragmented, has been integrated at a number of levels of structure, belief, and behavior. Perhaps more importantly, the author discusses the problems of interpreting the often fragmentary historical data and presents a new framework for studying regional patterns of change in a pastoral setting.
Author: Lee V. Cassanelli Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press ISBN: 1512806668 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 328
Book Description
While recurrent drought, war with neighboring Ethiopia, and a staggering refugee crisis have recently propelled the African nation of Somalia into world headlines, remarkably little is known about the history of this East African country. For the first time, Lee Cassanelli makes available a book-length study of Somalia's precolonial heritage. A nation of nomads, the Somalis have through long experience adapted to a harsh, semidesert environment. While persistently divided by clan, sectarian, and regional loyalties in the past, they have nevertheless come to acquire a compelling sense of their cultural unity and national identity. The Shaping of Somali Society examines the historical experiences of these people while focusing on recurrent themes: a deeply rooted kinship system based on lineages that feud as frequently as they cooperate; the gradual Islamization of the entire society through the work of itinerant Sufi saints; the rise and fall of regional sultanates and long-distance trade networks; and a history of resistance to foreign invaders. To reconstruct the past of this important African society, the author draws on ethnographic and linguistic evidence, travelers' accounts, a substantial body of Somali oral traditions, and recollections gathered during several visits to the country. Using this material and the techniques of traditional historiography, Cassanelli examines the precolonial interplay of environmental, social, economic, and religious forces that produced a society that, though politically fragmented, has been integrated at a number of levels of structure, belief, and behavior. Perhaps more importantly, the author discusses the problems of interpreting the often fragmentary historical data and presents a new framework for studying regional patterns of change in a pastoral setting.
Author: Abdullahi, Abdurahman Publisher: Adonis and Abbey Publishers ISBN: 1909112798 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 222
Book Description
In the last three decades, Somalia has been associated with such horrible terms as 'state collapse', 'civil wars', 'foreign intervention', 'warlordism', 'famine', 'piracy' and 'terrorism'. This depiction was in contradiction to its earlier images as the cradle of the human race, the kernel of ancient civilizations, the land of Punt, a homogeneous nation-state and the first democratic state in Africa. So how did things fall apart in the country? This Volume 1 of a two-volume narrative, Dr. Abdullahi explores the history of the people of Somali peninsula since ancient times, the advent of Islam and colonialism, the rise and fall of Somali nationalism and the perspectives of the Somali state collapse. The book uses a unique thematic approach and analysis to make sense of Somali history by emphasizing the responsibility of Somali political elites in creating and perpetuating the disastrous conditions in their country.
Author: Catherine Lowe Besteman Publisher: Haan Publishing ISBN: 9781874209447 Category : Farm tenancy Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Somalia remains a land violently divided by class and cultural conflicts. Since 1991, it has experienced governmental collapse, a brutal civil war, and the death and displacement of several millions of its people. Why did a country whose people shared a common religion, language, and culture fragment so deeply, and remain divided despite unprecedented international intervention? The Struggle for Land in Southern Somalia examines issues of land and resources as key ingredients in the politics of modern day Somalia, and adds a critical new dimension to the understanding of factional politics and ethnic/regional rivalries. Based on extensive field research of the nine contributors, the chapters deal with a range of interlinked issues of land and resources, and provide invaluable data on rural life and intra-ethnic relations. This important work is described by the distinguished Africanist I.M. Lewis, writing in the Times Literary Supplement, as "essential reading for anyone interested in understanding problemsin Somalia". It has taken on new relevance in the wake of September 11 as this collapsed state has again come under the international microscope. Despite unprecedented international intervention, Somalia remains divided. Drawing on evidence of disputes over land rights and natural resources over several decades, this collection of studies adds a critical new dimension to the understanding of factional politics and ethnic/regional rivalries in Somalia. The Struggle for Land in Southern Somalia will be of interest to academics in both political science and African studies while at the same time being of interest to a more general audience. Catherine Besteman is associate professor of anthropology at Colby College. She is the author of Unraveling Somalia: Race, Violence, and the Legency of Slavery. Lee V. Cassanelli is associate professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the African Studies Center, and author of The Shaping of Somali Society.
Author: Kimberly A. Huisman Publisher: North Atlantic Books ISBN: 1556439261 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 402
Book Description
Lewiston, a mill town of about thirty-six thousand people, is the second-largest city in Maine. It is also home to some three thousand Somali refugees. After initially being resettled in larger cities elsewhere, Somalis began to arrive in Lewiston by the dozens, then the hundreds, after hearing stories of Maine’s attractions through family networks. Today, cross-cultural interactions are reshaping the identities of Somalis—and adding new chapters to the immigrant history of Maine. Somalis in Maine offers a kaleidoscope of voices that situate the story of Somalis’ migration to Lewiston within a larger cultural narrative. Combining academic analysis with refugees’ personal stories, this anthology includes reflections on leaving Somalia, the experiences of Somali youth in U.S. schools, the reasons for Somali secondary migration to Lewiston, the employment of many Lewiston Somalis at Maine icon L. L. Bean, and community dialogues with white Mainers. Somalis in Maine seeks to counter stereotypes of refugees as being socially dependent and unable to assimilate, to convey the richness and diversity of Somali culture, and to contribute to a greater understanding of the intertwined futures of Somalis and Americans.
Author: Maria Brons Publisher: ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 320
Book Description
An analysis of internal dynamics of the Somali conflict and the relation between state and society, taking society and not the state as main reference point. Includes a discussion of UN / UNHCRs involvement in assistance to refugees in the special Somali situation of statelessness.
Author: Lee V. Cassanelli
Author: Lee V. Cassanelli
Author: Lee V. Cassanelli
Author: 
Author: Judith Gardner
Author: Abdullahi, Abdurahman
Author: Catherine Lowe Besteman
Author: 
Author: Kimberly A. Huisman
Author: Axmed Cali Abokor
Author: Maria Brons