Why didn't Somali have a strong literary tradition!

[Khaem]

The overwhelming majority of Somalis are nomads. Nomads are illiterate. They don't know how to read or write. Nomadic societies are generally oral based and don't have a literate tradition. The majority of Somalis only learned how to read and write very recently. In 1972, only 5% of the population was literate until Said Barres mass literacy campaign, which was a remarkable success.

5% was pretty standard for most societies pre industrial revolution though. Only ruler class knew literacy.

I'm talking about why the ruling class didn't write their books in Somali.

 

[HabarSteven12]

5% was pretty standard for most societies pre industrial revolution though. Only ruler class knew literacy.

I'm talking about why the ruling class didn't write their books in Somali.

That's actually a very good question. The ruling class of many historical empires, such as the ottomans and Arabs, wrote in their native language. Why didn't the ruling class of Somali kingdoms and empires do the same? A very valid question that needs to be delved into.

 

[Emir of Zayla]

That's actually a very good question. The ruling class of many historical empires, such as the ottomans and Arabs, wrote in their native language. Why didn't the ruling class of Somali kingdoms and empires do the same? A very valid question that needs to be delved into.

Not completely true, Turks used Persian most of the time. It wasn’t until Turks settled down in Anatolia and found some peace before they got raided by mongols did they write things down in their native language. And even then it took a long time for this tradition to spread. Plus their language was 80% foreign coming from Arabic/Persian, it wasn’t until Ataturk came in that they made up new words for their language and ditched foreign influence.

 

[Emir of Zayla]

Somaliweyn as a whole were historically not an oral society any more than most societies were. The ottomans literacy was only 5%, in India and Middle East were the same too. In most of Europe the literacy rates were abysmal and only exploded after the Industrial Revolution. Tbh the places that had any significant literary tradition in Somaliweyn would be the coastal towns and cities, sedentary regions like Hararghe/South, and old islamic areas in the North.

Many foreign scholars like Lewis couldn't get their hands on Somali manuscripts kept in private libraries (because they didn't trust him most likely) in the 1900s so he quit and parroted the whole “oral society” bullshit and everyone else has been singing it since.

Truth is, every major clan and sub clan, each major city and town had learned men that kept a record of lineages, the important saints, trade agreements, poetry, treaties and historic events. Cassanelli for example during his research on the medieval South was well aware that the various old towns and cities he visited had sheikhs and learned men who had manuscripts in their possession detailing their history but he failed to access them because of a lack of trust with them.
Once Somalia is at peace and research is done in the country, it’ll be possible to undo these old academic stereotypes and gross generalisations placed on the people and country.

 

[Zak12]

Not completely true, Turks used Persian most of the time. It wasn’t until Turks settled down in Anatolia and found some peace before they got raided by mongols did they write things down in their native language. And even then it took a long time for this tradition to spread. Plus their language was 80% foreign coming from Arabic/Persian, it wasn’t until Ataturk came in that they made up new words for their language and ditched foreign influence.

This. IIRC, Ottoman Turks and other Turkic peoples even looked down upon Turkish culture, heavily preferring Persian/Arabic culture hence why those societies are considered Persianates. Other civilizations like Japan and Korea had their elites over there used to write mostly in Chinese. Even in Europe, Latin was used a lot by the ruling class.