I laugh when people call geljirees lazy although people are right on the dot when they say the women do most of the work
Reer geljiree / Somali
- Thread starter Homerlilian2.0
- Start date
I laugh when people call geljirees lazy although people are right on the dot when they say the women do most of the work
Idilinaa
VIP
Btw Geeljire is not a byword for Somali. Just so you know. It just means camel herder.
The idea that Somali pastoralist are lazy is completely false and based on surface-level misunderstandings of their economic and social system.
They are actually very hard working . Men and women were traditionally split into complementary roles, not unequal ones., women tended to the home whilst men were out working. Men tended to cattle and camel and women tended to small livestock like goats and sheep.
In fact, here’s a snapshot of Eastern Somalia's labor division from the 1800s:
The symbiotic relationship between the coastal economy and the interior herding economy. Between the herders and fishermen.
The average Somali pastoralist had an insane work rate.
Their herding wasn't just casual grazing. It involved daily water management, seasonal migration planning, pasture rotation, and well maintenance.
They not only herded livestock but also hunted, collected and harvest gums and other products. The husbands of the household were distributing resources and organizing the labour.
Most times they were carrying, collecting and unloading large number of goods across long distances. Many tons. On the coastal areas and trading stations they engaged in seasonal wage-labour work for the porters, sorting out inventory of goods and traded their products with the coastal communities and fishermen. Imagine our modern era the back breaking work the warehouse workers and people working in logistics do and that's what Somali herders were doing. It was physically exhausting and demanded both logistical skill and physical endurance
Also i explained you in the other thread they also started doing small scale irrigation farming and general agriculture on the Eastern coast and the hills near it.
This is to show you that the logic that Somalis had aversion towards agriculture is also false. They were ready and willing to pick it up where the environmental conditions permitted it and opportunities arised.
Their economic system was very flexible and fluid in nature.
Heck even , Herding, trading, and defending resources required more intelligence, coordination, and physical toughness than most sedentary jobs.
If you take together everything i layed out. In modern terms, their workload was equivalent to logistics, security, agriculture, and supply chain management all done manually and across vast, harsh terrains.
The idea that Somali pastoralist are lazy is completely false and based on surface-level misunderstandings of their economic and social system.
They are actually very hard working . Men and women were traditionally split into complementary roles, not unequal ones., women tended to the home whilst men were out working. Men tended to cattle and camel and women tended to small livestock like goats and sheep.
In fact, here’s a snapshot of Eastern Somalia's labor division from the 1800s:
The symbiotic relationship between the coastal economy and the interior herding economy. Between the herders and fishermen.
The average Somali pastoralist had an insane work rate.
Their herding wasn't just casual grazing. It involved daily water management, seasonal migration planning, pasture rotation, and well maintenance.
They not only herded livestock but also hunted, collected and harvest gums and other products. The husbands of the household were distributing resources and organizing the labour.
Most times they were carrying, collecting and unloading large number of goods across long distances. Many tons. On the coastal areas and trading stations they engaged in seasonal wage-labour work for the porters, sorting out inventory of goods and traded their products with the coastal communities and fishermen. Imagine our modern era the back breaking work the warehouse workers and people working in logistics do and that's what Somali herders were doing. It was physically exhausting and demanded both logistical skill and physical endurance
Also i explained you in the other thread they also started doing small scale irrigation farming and general agriculture on the Eastern coast and the hills near it.
This is to show you that the logic that Somalis had aversion towards agriculture is also false. They were ready and willing to pick it up where the environmental conditions permitted it and opportunities arised.
Their economic system was very flexible and fluid in nature.
Heck even , Herding, trading, and defending resources required more intelligence, coordination, and physical toughness than most sedentary jobs.
If you take together everything i layed out. In modern terms, their workload was equivalent to logistics, security, agriculture, and supply chain management all done manually and across vast, harsh terrains.
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cunug3aad
3rdchild · Suugo dottore
Like the fish taboo was not taboo in coastal cities, so somalis who have access to farmland would farm as well, these taboos ithink are probably just to prevent reckless people from making stupid decisions
Idilinaa
VIP
There is never been a rigid fish taboo. Most Somalis just had a preference for meat because of the over-abundance of livestock. Coastal people fished, but fish consumption was more of a supplemental diet and a source of revenue.
Fishing was particularly lucrative and it was done on a large commercial scale.
"Fishing is done on a very large scale and is already very profitable, although operated with rudimentary methods"
Agriculture was limited in certain places not because of aversion but most land simply wasn't arable. Where there is arable land people were willing to farm.
It's about availability, opportunities and people make rational economic choices based on it.
