SOMALIA

Somali Soomaaliya, Arabic As-Sumal, country on the Horn of Africa. It occupies an important geopolitical position between sub-Saharan Africa and the countries of Arabia and southwestern Asia. With an area of about 246,000 square miles (637,000 square kilometres), it is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Aden and on the east by the Indian Ocean; from its southern point, its western border is bounded by Kenya and Ethiopia and, to the northwest, by Djibouti. The capital is Mogadishu (in Somali, Muqdisho or Xamar; in the colonial Italian rendering, Mogadiscio). Living in a country of geographic extremes, with a dry and hot climate and a landscape of thornbush savanna and semidesert, the inhabitants of Somalia have developed equally demanding economic survival strategies. The Somali are Muslim, and about half follow a mobile way of life, pursuing nomadic pastoralism or agropastoralism. As a result, the Somali are an egalitarian, freedom-loving people who are suspicious of governmental authority. In colonial times the lands traditionally occupied by the Somali were divided by a new western boundary for Somalia, resulting in large Somali communities in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya. This boundary is still in dispute. The Somali Peninsula consists mainly of a tableland of young limestone and sandstone formations. Apart from a mountainous coastal zone in the north and several pronounced river valleys, most of the country is extremely flat, with few natural barriers to restrict the mobility of the nomads and their livestock. Somali Soomaaliya, Arabic As-Sumal country of northeastern Africa located in the Horn of Africa, the most easterly projection of the continent. Stretching from the Equator to the Red Sea, Somalia is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Aden, on the east by the Indian Ocean, on the west by Kenya and Ethiopia, and on the northwest by Djibouti. Its capital is Mogadishu. Area 246,000 square miles (637,000 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 8,050,000. Additional reading Geography Thomas Labahn (ed.), Proceedings of the Second International Congress of Somali Studies, 4 vol. (1984), is a good collection of articles on socioeconomic development, politics, national science, and the arts. Economic Transformation in a Socialist Framework (1977), a report compiled by the JASPA Employment Advisory Mission, analyzes the economic changes under the socialist Somali government in the 1970s. Jrg Janzen, Economic Relations Between Somalia and Saudi Arabia: Livestock Exports, Labor Migration, and the Consequences for Somalia's Development, Northeast African Studies, 8(23):4151 (1986), analyzes the close economic interrelationship showing Somalia's dependence upon the Saudis. Janzen's The Somali Inshore Fishing Economy: Structure, Problems, Perspectives, in Annarita Puglielli (ed.), Proceedings of the Third International Congress of Somali Studies (1988), pp. 551561, evaluates an important but under-exploited natural resource. Two additional essays by Janzen are in Applied Geography and Development: Mobile Livestock Keeping: A Survival Strategy for the Countries of the Sahel? The Case of Somalia, 37:720 (1991), and Dams and Large-Scale Irrigated Cultivation Versus Mobile Livestock Keeping? The Baardheere Dam Project in Southern Somalia and Its Possible Consequences for Mobile Animal Husbandry, 38:5365 (1991), a critical evaluation of the planned dam's effects in the Jubba region. Jan M. Haakonsen, Scientific Socialism and Self Reliance (1984), provides a well-informed account of the fishing cooperatives established for drought-afflicted pastoral nomads. Peter Conze and Thomas Labahn (eds.), Somalia: Agriculture in the Winds of Change (1986), contains articles on the modern changes in crop production, pastoralism, and the socioeconomic environment. M.P.O. Baumann, Jrg Janzen, and H.J. Schwartz (eds.), Pastoral Production in Central Somalia (1993), an interdisciplinary selection of articles, gives a profound insight into the structure and problems of Somalia's pastoral production. Garth Massy, Subsistence and Change: Lessons of Agropastoralism in Somalia (1987), explores the interfluvial area. Abdi Ismail Samatar, The State and Rural Transformation in Northern Somalia, 18841986 (1989), is an analysis of the changes in rural areas. Volker Matthies, Der Grenzkonflikt Somalias mit thiopien und Kenya: Analyse eines zwischenstaatlichen Konflikts in der Dritten Welt (1977), describes in great depth the internal and external geopolitical influences on the Horn of Africa since the 19th century and analyzes in detail Somalia's border conflict with Ethiopia and Kenya. Jrg H.A. Janzen History Lee V. Cassanelli, The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 16001900 (1986), focuses on the history and society of southern Somalia. David D. Laitin and Said S. Samatar, Somalia: Nation in Search of a State (1987), contains a general account of Somalian history, especially since independence in 1960. I.M. Lewis, A Modern History of Somalia: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa, rev., updated, and expanded ed. (1988), is a comprehensive treatment of the political history of affairs in all the Somali territories. Said S. Samatar, Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism (1982), explains the crucial role of poetry in Somali politics, especially the case of nationalist leader Sayyid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan, and his Somalia: A Nation in Turmoil (1991), provides a valuable overview of the factors leading to the collapse of the socialist state into clan-based warfare. Ahmed I. Samatar, Socialist Somalia: Rhetoric and Reality (1988), analyzes the Siyaad regime's socialist policy of self-reliance and its efforts to achieve development. Ioan M. Lewis Administration and social conditions Government In 1960 Somalia became independent as a Western-style parliamentary democracy. A military coup in 1969, led by Major General Maxamed Siyaad Barre, inaugurated a phase of Scientific Socialism. There existed one legal political party, the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party, and various socialist-style mass organizations. Under the 1979 constitution the president and his supporters held the important positions of power, and a People's Assembly had no real power. The legal system was based largely on Islamic law, an independent judiciary did not exist, and human rights were frequently violated. After years of destructive civil war waged by clan-based guerrillas, Siyaad's government fell in January 1991. In the north a de facto government declared the formation of an independent Somaliland Republic, while the fragmented, conflict-riven south lay largely in the hands of various clan militias. In 1993 the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM II), consisting of military units from 26 countries and commanded by a special envoy from the United Nations, began an effort to stop the fighting and secure agreement on an interim government. Education Traditionally, Qur'anic schools are responsible for the religious education of children according to Islamic law. In addition, there is the state educational system, which, on the whole, is successful despite considerable shortcomings. Enrollment in primary and secondary schools has multiplied, and the proportion of girls attending school also has risenat least in towns. A lack of buildings, furniture, equipment, teaching materials, and teachers, together with the frequent unwillingness of rural people to allow children to attend school instead of work, all prevent a rapid improvement of schooling in rural areas. After primary school, students have a chance to attend agricultural secondary schools, a polytechnical school, a vocational training centre, a teachers' training centre, an agricultural college, or the National University, most of these institutions being located in and around Mogadishu. Cultural life The varied cultural life of the Somali includes both traditional activities and, especially in the towns, many modern interests. Daily life Cultural activities primarily consist of poetry, folk dancing, the performance of plays, and singing. These traditional activities still retain their importance, especially in rural areas, and are practiced not only at family and religious celebrations but also at state ceremonies. On such occasions traditional local costume is generally worn. Especially in the towns, traditional culture is rapidly being superseded by imported modern influences, such as television and videotapes, cinema, and bars and restaurants. Urban Somalian cooking has been strongly influenced by Italian cuisine, and young townspeople are much influenced by Western fashion in the way they dress. Football (soccer) is a very popular sport.