Camels are very much important in Somalia as much as humans are. Back In Somalia some people live in nomadic lives and they travel with their Camels and Sheep. The camels are very much a lot of help to the people. Camels pretty much help with livestock because in some places it is very hard to get food so for those who didn’t get the ability to get food they would wander with their camels and go in search for food with the help of Camels or cattle’s. Somalia has the highest Camel population in the world. Camel milk is also another big thing in Somalia it’s fresh milk from the Camels and I’ve heard that it’s sweet but many people told me if you’ve never tried it before than you won’t like it because you got use to the regular cow milk, but there’s a first for everything Right!?!
The Somali flag represents the bright blue sky and the stars represent freedom. Somalia has gone through tough times trying to win over their independence and they finally did back in the 1960s. The flag is important because it’s what represents a certain group of people or even a whole country. It’s good to be able to be recognized in different ways. Flags are a way of portraying yourselves to the world,and every flag has a significance and each and every one of those stories are important because there are people who worked hard for it and people who went through so much for their country and those are the people who should get appreciated for all their service that they gave to their people. Because I believe that every one of those stories has a huge impact to the world and the people who live those lives today and from their on anyone can do anything good for their people!
Unsi is a traditional ritual that Somali people use a lot. Unsi is a special scented stone that you set on the stove or in the Dhaab Qaad it melts over coal, and it gives us the smell of a strong fragrant. We usually burn that in the house so that our homes will smell of fresh incense burning and the smell stays within the house for at least the whole day or so. I remember my mom telling me back in the day the women back in Somalia would burn the Unsi and they would drape their clothing over the burner but not literally over the burner they would would some type of basket or protector over it, so that it perfumes their clothes. I genuinely like the smell of Unsi but if the smell is too strong then I don’t enjoy it as much but it’s something very unique to the Somali community.
Henna is a temporary hand dye design that’s mainly done within in our culture for weddings, birthdays, Eid (Muslim Holiday), and at random points in your life, basically when you want to. I got this Henna done for my birthday last year March 17,2018. I have a ritual of getting my Henna done on the day of my birthday every year because I really love the look and it’s something that I’ve been doing ever since I was a young girl for Eid. Henna is one of the things that gets me excited especially for Eid everyone’s getting it done before the big holiday at each other’s homes while planning out their outfits, doing their hair, talking about what their going to be doing on Eid and how they will celebrate it. It just gives me the best vibes and I always get compliments on how beautiful they think my Henna is which just makes my day.
Somalia is a beautiful sunny country in Africa. It’s where my parents came from. Somalia has the prettiest fashion styles I’ve seen. One of the most popular traditional clothing in Somalia is called Guntiino is a long Red,Orange, and Yellow fabric that drapes around your body. You wear it for your wedding day and for cultural dancing events. In this picture it was the first time that I wore a Somali traditional outfit in my life. It was national culture day at my school, so I told my mom to get me traditional clothes so she decided to get me and as soon as I saw it I fell in love with the colors. The next day I dressed up in the Guntiino even though I knew nothing on how to put it on my mom helped me out a lot. As soon as I went to school I got so many good compliments which my day because I was nervous to wear it to school. Even though I struggled with it all day at school, I still managed to represent the love for my culture in the end of the day!
Living in Seattle my whole life I have never been to Somalia but I hopefully wish someday I’ll go visit it. Last year was one of first times I danced for Somali culture. I never even knew how to do the Dhaanto until one day I met a girl who works for the Somali community center and she told me about what they do and their events and asked me if I was interested and I was at the time because I have never did a Somali dance before so she gave me her contact info and told me that she will contact me also when their will be events and rehearsal the first day when I went there I was really shy because I didn’t know a thing till she told me not to worry that’s why this is rehearsals. After a few weeks I got the hang of it and we finally performed in front of a live audience. I was literally shaking, the only thing that was running through my mind the whole time was “am I gonna mess up” but the audience loved it and appreciated our hard work. In order for you to do this dance you will need lots of practice. It was actually really exciting and fun and as months went by dancing events kept coming but it was like everytime we practiced we would become better each and every time. Dhaanto is a folk dance with Somali music blasting with high beats making you feel like you want to jump of top of a speeding car. There are many good artists when it comes to Dhaanto music just like regular songs. If you’ve never seen a Somali cultural dance you should go see one live or even try it out and see if you are able to get the steps to each of the parts.The Dhaanto is played at nearly ever festive celebration whether it’s for weddings, carnivals, Somali Independence Day, or Culture day at school. Like any other cultural dances it’s going to be hard at first but then you will practice and practice makes perfect!
Fooood..Fooood..Food! Who doesn’t love food. I love food but especially Somali food. If you have’nt tried Somali food before then I don’t know where you’ve been living all this time. Somali food is honestly the best. We have all types of foods like Samboosa’s( triangular fried dish that has minced meat and vegetables) to Rice, pasta, and Malawax their even more but it would take me dayssss to name them out. You wouldn’t be able to imagine. Living in a Somali household you will have to learn to cook but it’s actually one of the most exciting things to learn because there are so much things that you need to add to get that exact Somali dish. We have all sorts of dishes like Sabayad, Canjeero, Barriis, Pasta, Malawax, etc. Somali food has different culinary traditions when it comes to food from Arab, Italian, and Indian influences because of Somalia’s trade of tradition. Somali food comes from the Horn of East of Africa. I have had many of my friends and even strangers try Somali food and all they talk about it is how amazing the food is. I always grew up eating Somali food of course if you live in a Somali household there will be lots of varieties of foods to pick from which is the best part because you don’t have to eat the same thing every day. From sweet to spicy, pinches of salt and a little shake from the seasoning powders it adds to finish off that amazing taste. There are lots of unique foods all across the world but each and every recipe has its own uniqueness to it no matter where it comes from. Every food in the world has influences from differents parts of the word which is because of our fair trades from back in the days. It’s what makes us different for our own masterpieces. I would say if you ever have the time to ever try Somali food go for it! Don’t let anyone stop you, take your time and enjoy your best meal of the day!!
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