As i see it clans are just social units, not actual lineages,cults or ideology/mentality that many somalis tend to potray it as.
Thats why i think there should be a redefintion of what Somali clans really are, for it to mesh up with our reality.
Alot of people seem to fall into the trap of european linguistical constructs such as ''ethnictiy and ''tribe''.
For instance Somalis are more than 15 million strong that is not a tribe- that is a nation. The label tribe only seems to apply to non-European ethnic groups. And comes with a notion of backwardness and non-modern values.
Also ethnic when used as ''exotic'' is also incorrect beause it normalizes European culture, placing all other cultures on the outside of this ''standard human culture.''
Hence why you will see how people will bend perception of reality with newly created term like ''Qabilyaad'' or ''Tribalism'' Both are very loaded foreign words, that are rarely ever scrutinized. Since both terms are very derogatory and very misleading on many accounts.
''Qabil'' is an arabic word which means ''Tribe'' , here is where you can see how this is incorrect when you import an errorneous foreign word to explain the somali social structure. Because Somalis do not have tribes nor is the Somali nation a tribe itself.
Have in mind that ''Qabil'' should never be a substitute loan word for the words that already exist in correct definition in the Somali language such as ''qoys''(nuclear family) ''reer'' (closest relatives), jilib (first diya group) ''Laaf'' (sub clan) , ''qolo'' (clan).
These are all Somali constructed terms that articulate the reality of our clan dynamics and social structure, such words as ''tribe'' and ''qabil'' do not, but it rather explains the reality of arabs and europeans and carry with them ulterior connotations and perceptions.
Misidentitfying ''Clan'' is detrimental to Somalis
Thats why i think there should be a redefintion of what Somali clans really are, for it to mesh up with our reality.
Alot of people seem to fall into the trap of european linguistical constructs such as ''ethnictiy and ''tribe''.
For instance Somalis are more than 15 million strong that is not a tribe- that is a nation. The label tribe only seems to apply to non-European ethnic groups. And comes with a notion of backwardness and non-modern values.
Also ethnic when used as ''exotic'' is also incorrect beause it normalizes European culture, placing all other cultures on the outside of this ''standard human culture.''
Hence why you will see how people will bend perception of reality with newly created term like ''Qabilyaad'' or ''Tribalism'' Both are very loaded foreign words, that are rarely ever scrutinized. Since both terms are very derogatory and very misleading on many accounts.
''Qabil'' is an arabic word which means ''Tribe'' , here is where you can see how this is incorrect when you import an errorneous foreign word to explain the somali social structure. Because Somalis do not have tribes nor is the Somali nation a tribe itself.
Have in mind that ''Qabil'' should never be a substitute loan word for the words that already exist in correct definition in the Somali language such as ''qoys''(nuclear family) ''reer'' (closest relatives), jilib (first diya group) ''Laaf'' (sub clan) , ''qolo'' (clan).
These are all Somali constructed terms that articulate the reality of our clan dynamics and social structure, such words as ''tribe'' and ''qabil'' do not, but it rather explains the reality of arabs and europeans and carry with them ulterior connotations and perceptions.
Misidentitfying ''Clan'' is detrimental to Somalis
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