The Somali and the Ibo Peoples

1
The Somali and the Ibo
Peoples

• By Molly McNerney

http//us-africa.tripod.com/swahili.jpg
www.everyculture.com
2
Overview

• Location
• History
• Economy
• Social
• Political
• Religion
• Art

www.businessafrica.net
http//go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_map/somalia.gif
3
Somali

• Location
• Somaliland
• Somalia
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Southern
• part of Djibouti

www.afropop.org
4
Somali

• History
• Protectorates established in Colonial scramble to
  partition Africa
• French 1885
• British 1887
• Italy 1889
• Ethiopian Empire took over remaining Somali
  territory
• Independent State
• 1960-free from British Rule Somali Republic
• Today
• Ten Million Somali live across eight countries

5
Somali

• Economy
• Based on livestock raising
• Nomadic pastoralist
• Traditional subsistence agriculture
• Market-oriented farming
• Few mineral resources (in Somalia), so they must
  rely on the livestock
• Foreign aid
• Rely heavily on it-some land cannot grow crops or
  keep livestock

Camels are the most widely recognized symbol
because they provide transportation, milk, meat,
income, and status to a majority of Somalis
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Somali
Woman and child in a village.
Society

• Rich Oral History
• Sharply divided by Clans, violence
• Losing Traditional Culture
• Loss of culture to modern influences (mostly
  Western) like television, videotape

• Societal Organization by Clans
• Supersedes any governmental authority
• Individualistic People

7
Somali

• Everyday life
• finding water and grazing land for their
  livestock. 
• Improved diet
• vegetable and fruit gardens, grains
• Portable huts-womens role
• Clothing
• Lack of Education

Somali women greeting each other. They usually do
not socialize with men in public places.
8
Somali

• Politics
• Recently proposed-tribal foundations that prepare
  for electing a Somali President for a provisional
  period
• signed by representatives for the provisional
  national government
• The Somali parliament will include 275 members
  Somali sides will be equally represented at the
  parliament, with each 61 parliamentarians

9
Somali

• Religion
• Most Somali are Shafiite Muslims
• Pagan beliefs and traditions
• Achieve ecstasy
• Sky God
• Rainmaking rituals, animal sacrifices

Somalias Islamists are at war today- this is the
Supreme Leader of the Somalias Council of
Islamic Courts
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Somali
metmuseum.org

• Art
• Very nomadic-small
• focus on the arts.
• Decorate wooden
• headrests and milk jugs
• Henna painting
• Traditional dance

This is a Somali headrest, from sometime between
the 19th and 20th centuries
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Ibo

• Location
• Southeastern Nigeria
• Igboland -divided by the Niger River into two
  unequal sections the Eastern region and the
  Midwestern region

12
Ibo

• History
• Migration east of the lower Niger River
• Awka-Orlu plateau 4-5 thousand years ago
• The earliest surviving Igbo art forms are from
  the 10th century

A more modern piece of Ibo art. Art has always
been part of their culture and daily life.
13
Ibo

• Economy
• Subsistence farming
• Farmers
• Yam -produce enough to export it to their
  neighbors.
• fruit of the palm tree profitable cash crop.

Ibo at a Yam festival. Their staple crop is yam,
and its harvesting is a time for great
celebration.
14
Ibo

• Social
• No centralized chieftaincy
• Social status is more fluid
• Ambitious people use their talents to acquire
  power and wealth
• Encourage upward mobility
• Language Igbo- derived from the Kwa

15
Ibo

• Political
• Decentralized society
• Power regulated by interactions b/w kinship
  groups
• Village is the largest unit of Igbo political
  system
• Paternal decent

16
Ibo

• Religion
• Profoundly religious
• Spirit of ones ancestors keep a constant watch
  on them
• Believe in reincarnation
• Funeral ceremonies extremely complex
• Might kill some who have been shameful to the
  tribe
• rich cultural diversity and Igbo worship,
  ceremonial rituals, artistic creations, music,
  and song and dance.

To be worn at the end of the dry season and at
funerals when the ancestor is believed to speak
through the mask.
17
Ibo

• Art
• Representative of numerous geographical regions.
• carve and use masks-villages use the masks
  differently
• famous for Mbari architecture.

18
Bibliography

• Books
• Atmore, Roland, and Anthony Atmore. Africa Since
  1800. New York Cambridge UP, 1981. 184-329.
• Jones, Constance. Africa From 1500-1900. New
  York Facts on File, 1993.
• Martin, Phyllis M., and Patrick O'meara. Africa.
  Bloomington Indiana UP, 1986. 108-182
• Martin, Phyllis M., and Patrick O'meara. Africa.
  3rd ed. Bloomington Indiana UP, 1995. 94-95
• Encyclopedia Articles
• "Ibo." Encyclopedia Americana. 2nd ed. 2000.
• "Somali." The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 2nd
  ed. 2003.
• Library Databases
• Kromm, David. "Irredentism in Africa the
  Somali-Kenya Boundary Dispute." African Affairs
  53 (1954) 318-320. JSTOR. Engelhard Family
  Library, McLean. 3 Apr. 2007
• Lewis, I M. "Pan Africanism and Pan-Somalism."
  The Journal of Modern African Studies 1 (1963)
  147-161. JSTOR. Engelhard Family Library, McLean.
  3 Apr. 2007.
• Castagno, A A. "The Somali-Kenyan Controversy
  Implications for the Future." The Journal of
  Modern Africa Studies 2 (1964) 165-188. JSTOR.
  Engelhard Family Library, McLean. 1 Apr. 2007.
• "Somali Republic." Journal of African Law 6
  (1962) 131-132. JSTOR. Engelhard Family Library,
  McLean. 3 Apr. 2007.
• Internet Websites
• "Igbo People." Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. 4
  Apr.-May 2007. 1 Apr. 2007 lthttp//en.wikipedia.or
  g/wiki/Ibogt.

19

• Websites
• "Somali People." Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. 5
  Apr.-May 2007. 31 May 2007 lthttp//en.wikipedia.or
  g/wiki/Somali_peoplegt.
• Igbo Information." Art and Life in Africa Online.
  3 Nov. 1999. 1 Apr. 2007 lthttp//www.uiowa.edu/af
  ricart/toc/people/Igbo.htmlgt.
• Vandersluis, Matt. "Igbo People." EMuseum. 5
  Aug. 2000. 30 May 2007 lthttp//www.mnsu.edu/emuseu
  m/cultural/oldworld/africa/igbo.htmlgt.
• Slattery, Katherine. "The Igbo People-Origins
  and History." 8 Nov. 1999. 3 Apr. 2007
• lthttp//www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/impe
  rial/nigeria/origins.htmgt.
• Jenkins, Orville B. "People Profile the Somali
  People." 5 Apr.-May 2006. 2 Apr. 2007
  lthttp//endor.hsutx.edu/obiwan/profiles/somali.ht
  mlgt.
• Image Citations.
• Map of Nigeria. http//businessafrica.net/. 4
  Apr. 2007 ltWorld Igbo Congressgt.
• Map of Somalia. Mogadishu. http//go.hrw.com/atlas
  /norm_htm/somalia.htm. 4 Apr. 2007.
• Map of Somaliland. Hargeisa. www.afropop.org. 3
  Apr. 2007.
• SHURGIN, ANN N. Culture of Somalia. Og Village,
  Ainabo. http//images.google.com/imgres?imgurlhtt
  p//www.everyculture.com/images/ctc_04_img0999.jpg
  imgrefurlhttp//www.everyculture.com/Sa
• Somalia, Mogadishu. Culture of Somalia. 3 Apr.
  2007 lthttp//www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Somalia.ht
  mlgt.
• Somali Drought. http//newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/ima
  ges/41435000/jpg/_41435178_camel416.jpg. 3 Apr.
  2007 ltBBC Newsgt.
• Tijssen, Willem. Somali People.
  http//us-africa.tripod.com/swahili.jpg. 2 Apr.
  2007 ltus-africa.orggt.
• Supreme Leader of CIC. Mogadishu.
  http//images.google.com/imgres?imgurlhttp//en.e
  pochtimes.com/news_images/2006-12-22-som.jpgimgre
  furlhttp//en.epochtimes.com/news/6-12-22/49616.h
  tmlh493w300sz42hlenstart19tbnidIWt2mxH
  y7WSoZMtbnh130tbnw79prev/images3Fq3Dsomal
  . Epoch Times International. 4 Apr. 2007.