Book
Culture and Customs of Somalia (2001) by Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi: a guide to Somali daily life
Culture and Customs of Somalia is a 2001 reference book by the Somali-Canadian linguist Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, published by Greenwood Press in its Culture and Customs of Africa series. In about 200 pages it describes Somali religion and thought, literature and media, art and housing, food and dress, marriage and family, social customs, and music and dance, with a short history of the Somali people.
Culture and Customs of Somalia
- Author
- Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi
- Year
- 2001
- Publisher
- Greenwood Press (Culture and Customs of Africa)
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780313313332
- Sources
- 3 sources
The book
Culture and Customs of Somalia is by Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi (Maxamed Diriye Cabdullaahi, born 1958), a Somali-Canadian linguist who worked as a journalist in Somalia before moving to Canada, took a doctorate in linguistics at the Université de Montréal, and has taught there (Wikipedia). Greenwood Press published it in 2001 as part of its Culture and Customs of Africa series, a set of introductions to African countries for students and general readers. The main text runs to about 200 pages, with a glossary, bibliography and index (University of Southern Indiana library).
His other books include Fiasco in Somalia: US-UN Intervention (1995), the French course Parlons somali (1996) and his thesis on Somali dialects and history, Le somali, dialectes et histoire (2010) (Wikipedia).
What is in it
After an introduction to the land, people and history of the Somalis, the book has seven chapters (Library Supply):
- Religion and thought. See Islam in Somalia.
- Literature, drama and media. See Somali poetry and Books in the Somali language.
- Art, architecture and housing.
- Cuisine and traditional dress. See Somali food.
- Gender roles, marriage and family. See Family and marriage and Women in Somali society.
- Social customs and lifestyle. See Clans and lineage and Xeer customary law.
- Music and dance. See Somali music.
The publisher's description highlights its treatment of handcrafts, architecture and nomad housing, camel culture, food and eating customs, rites of passage, leisure and economic life, education and Somali musical genres (Library Supply). The introduction also discusses the much-debated question of where the Somali people came from (Wikipedia).
How it was received
A review in the International Journal of African Historical Studies found the book "refreshingly original" in its description of Somali culture, but "surprisingly parochial" in its survey of Somali political history (Library Supply).
Where to read it
It is available in hardback and as an ebook from Greenwood, now part of Bloomsbury, and is held by many libraries. A longer scholarly survey of the same ground is I. M. Lewis's Understanding Somalia and Somaliland.
Sources
- Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- University of Southern Indiana library · library.usi.edu
- Library Supply · librarysupply.co.nz
Toosoo!
Calankii is made by Toosoo, which works for one united, prosperous Somalia.
Can you help with Culture and Customs of Somalia (2001) by Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi: a guide to Somali daily life? Tell us what you can give.
I want to help with this
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Unraveling Somalia (1999) by Catherine Besteman: race, class and the Jubba valleyCatherine Besteman's Unraveling Somalia (1999): her fieldwork in the Jubba valley, her argument about race and class beyond clan, the Gosha farmers, and how reviewers read it.
- A Pastoral Democracy (1961) by I. M. Lewis: politics among the northern SomaliI. M. Lewis's A Pastoral Democracy (1961): his fieldwork in British Somaliland, the diya-paying group and lineage politics, its 1998 reissue, and how it shaped later writing about Somalis.
- Saints and Somalis (1998) by I. M. Lewis: popular Islam in a clan-based societyI. M. Lewis's Saints and Somalis (1998): its essays on Somali saints, Sufi orders and spirit possession, its argument about the cult of saints, and where to read it.
- Women's Voices in a Man's World (1999) by Lidwien Kapteijns: women in northern Somali oral literatureLidwien Kapteijns's Women's Voices in a Man's World (1999): its study of women's voices in northern Somali poetry and song from 1899 to 1980, its two parts and its reviews.
- Renewers of the Age (2008) by Scott S. Reese: Sufi scholars of the Benaadir coastScott S. Reese's Renewers of the Age (2008): its Arabic sources on the Benaadir ulama, its six chapters on Sufi leadership, crisis and the Qadiriyya, and Lidwien Kapteijns's review.