Somali Culture Of Weddings And How Abroad Somalis Left Their Culture
By Abdulkarim Jimale
Engulfed by decades of civil strife, Somalia, located in the heart of Horn of African, has seen almost half of its seven million population scattered across the globe with most ending up in the western world. Somalis are Muslims and most of their culture comes from their religion. Traditional weddings are part of their lives but the trends on how they conduct the ceremonies have changed.
“Weddings are very important occasions for Somali communities where ever they are in the world” Gedi Mohamed an elder in Nairobi told BEFORE IT’S NEWS.
Somali wedding continuous for seven days sequence, the first day is for the wedding and the next three days called “Sadexda” (means in English the third) are for dancing and celebrating in the bride’s house and the last three days is dancing and celebrating in the grooms’ house which is called “Toddobada” (the seventh).
In the Somali culture, these nights, women and men do not mix or celebrate together; they do their celebrations separately. The celebrations start at the afternoon and carries on up to midnight.
There is a particular party called “Baraambur” (meaning in English to praise the bride and the bride groom)
Somali Women Dancing in Somali Traditional wedding in Nairobi, Photo: Abdulkarim Jimale
Traditionally bride, bride groom and their families arrange for a plentiful feast for their guests at the reception. Different traditional types of foods are usually served for the guests to enjoy as they carry on with the festivities.
Relatives from the both sides and the guests exchange gifts in the occasion.
The exchange of gifts can also include showering of praises and congratulations to the bride and groom.
Traditional Somalis have one best man party and one best lady.
Somali Women elders are tasked to get the bride ready for her new home and making sure the couple has a comfortable home at least for the first few weeks called “Bisha Malabka” (Honeymoon).
Wedding Gifts
Traditionally “Sooryo” (means in English weddings gift) is been given to the present relatives from the both side and the guests at the time of“Nikah” engagement.
The amount of money is divided amongst themselves and also other important people in the family.
Nowadays modern Somali weddings in western or America left this culture.
Price Bride
The engagement “Meher” usually takes place a few days or a month before the wedding, and sometimes on the same day. It’s a common theme for all Somali weddings to be based in an Islamic rule because almost all of them are Muslims.
Somalis old traditional weddings men used to give 100 camels as pride gift known as her Meher. But nowadays in Somalia only it’s an amount of money and gold but the old culture still is working in some parts of the country.
The importance of Meher cannot be underestimated – without it the wedding cannot take place, so the lady needs to be clear as to what she wants for her Meher and the man is obliged to pay it
Abroad Somalis in Meher Occasion, the couples exchange rings they are supposed to keep for the rest of their lives and a symbol of their unity. This is another new culture aped from Western.
Somali traditional dance in Nairobi, Photo: Abdulkarim Jimale
Another new thing is and common these days in abroad Somalis weddings organized in different countries like Kenya and USA, the pride and groom are in different countries.
The families arrange lunch at same time in the two countries and the Meher will be done through on the mobile phone the modern technology. The love of Somalis for travel has facilitated the exchange of images of the parties.
The parents of the bride and bride groom enjoy watching the wedding ceremony in VCR or DVD until they are satisfied that the necessary social requirements were performed. This has also the effect of all young girls aspiring to the standards of former weddings.
Prayers changed to Music
On Somalis weddings while guests and hosts are celebrating for the wedding traditionally used to pray for the groom and bride Allah to make their marriage which stay forever and never let down until they die.
Clerics were attending the ceremony they pray for the new couples “Wiil iyo Caano, Gabar iyo Caano” “Boy with Milk, Girl with Milk”
As the poet, Cabdullahi Faarax Warsame (Lecture) stated in one of his poems; Waa gob iyo caadkeed, Aroos inay gangaamaan, Guri ay yagleelaan, Gelbiska iyo shallaadkiyo, Gole lagu kulmaayoo, Giringiro ciyaartii, Dadku gaaf ka boodaan, Wa gob iyo caadkeed.
In English It is of Nobles and their custom, To coordinate a splendid wedding, And construct a house, The Gelbis and the chanting, At the places of gathering, Where the dance take place, And the masses leap at the Gaaf, It is of Nobles and their custom.
Somali wedding in Kenya Photo: Abdulkarim Jimale
But nowadays inside Somalia’s main cities and some other Somali regions in Kenya and Ethiopia, this changed to songs of Somali professionals singers. But still they retain the cultural traditional songs and poems for the weeding.
Modern Somali weddings in USA, Europe, Asia and some parts of Africa the prayers changed to music of famous American and western singers such as 50-cent, Puff Daddy, Celina Dion and others.
“There are no prayers for the groom and bride, all they do is indulging in the culture of western songs with no traditional aspect, everything has changed, and we are surprised” Ahmed Sheikh Ali a Somali elder told BEFORE IT’S NEWS.
He adds there is no Buraanbur which we used to praise and pray for the bride and the groom.
Culture of dance changed
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Source: beforeitsnews.com
Category: Articles |
i honestly dont know what kind of wedding you guys been attending, i live in uk, and must family weddings ive been to they do have the baramboor, the heelo somali, the traditional dancin. Usually people do all of these things at their meher and not at the actual wedding. So making a statement like this wont achieve anything!
I went to Somalia couple of years bk and the opposite is true. In Somalia weddings try to immitate the western style and they do it less islamically than we do here in the UK…ie dancing partners – I don’t of anyone who does that here. There’s been buraanbur in every wedding I have seen. And my mother and father married in Somalia, they had a mixed wedding with songs etc. So did my grandparents. In fact ayeeyo told me separate weddings are a new phenomena…mmmm confused now
Well I really enjoyed reading every word of this article and it’s actually pointing to those who live here in Saudi-Arabia and other Arab-countries …I don’t know about other countries where Somali’s are living but here it’s just like you said and I always adored our weddings since I was a little girl…But today what I experienced here in this country is miles far away of our culture ,I saw many Somali weddings trying to be in modern style and they do that just to get more guests and more friends attend that kinda wedding ..But we still have a little amount of positivity and I hope that will save our special weddings …I hope my wedding would be just like written above , Exactly typical a beautiful Somali-wedding…
Yasmine Ina Maxamed, Aamiin Ayaan kuleeyahay abaayo, Illaahay haa kadigo arooskaada aroos qayr badan oo lagu farxo, oo mid aad isku waartaan Illaahay haa kuu sahlo
Is it true that somali say “somali says speak of the truth” and because of that one proverb says “if you leaf you confort zone to where your new fellow humans only have one eye, cope one of your eyes to assiimlate”? which means, you got to change yourself to become like those you want to be around with. Therefore, somails in the west changed not because they left their culture for reasons other than adapting new ones, a better or worste it serveces their limited interest of assimilating. But remember, everyone lives no more than 130 years, very short time, and even half of somalis don’t even reach 65. Therefore, we all want to adapt low lives to leave low life and achieve or attain another low life. Get it? Hope you aint laughing or disgusted by what I wrote but come to the realization that as you are only going to be 65 years, better old to your own culture than adapting the one of another men. Because you will survive and your childrens will more likely survive they hold on theirs than adapt a new one which they will be outnumbered to everything they desired to attain and changed themselves for. For example, white wannabes can never be whites thought they might behave like whites. It is the reality.
waat salaamantihiin dhamaantiin walaalayaal labo cali iswaaydiin maayso in ay soomalidu kataktay dhaqankootii maxaa yeelay walaalayaal anika waxaan ahay wiil somali citizen ah waxaana joogaa wadan aan wadan kaaykii hooyo a haayn marka waxaana jooga soomaali aad iyo aad ubadan waxaan kucadaaynayaa in aaysoomaalidu kataktay dhaqankii marka ay wiilka iyo gabadha is la socdaan ama aay isla haasaawayaa waxaa lamadalayaa sida western countries ka looka dhaqmo dhanka kale arooska marka ladhiganaayo maxaa lashidanayaa heeso aan soomali ahaayn cayaartii wagadaalika sida gaalada ayaa afka la iska dhuuqayaa mida kaleeto waxaat arkaaysaa labo shaqsi oo soomali ah oo isku luuqad ah oo kusheegaaysanaya luuqado shisheeye marka walaalayal miyaanaan dhaqankeenii eeynaan katagin wadamada aduunka kajira dadkoota majecla inaay aadaan wadan aan wadankoota ahaayn laakiin hadaan soomaali nahay waxaan jecelnahay inaan aadno wadamo shisheeye aana lasocono dad shisheeye oo aanaan lasocon midka walaaalkay ah oo i afgaranaaya english qofka ah ayaa kula hadla dadkiisa ama dadka kale laakiin xasuusta inaanahay dad soomaaliya aana leenahay luuqad noo gaara mahad sanidiin
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