Reclaiming my Cultural Identity in an Internet Age

If you have parents who hail from distant lands, you will fondly remember the traditional songs sung by them. Music that wafted in the early morning by the stove or whilst cleaning. Echoing off the walls, as the clatter of pots and pans and the scent of cinnamon and cardamom filled the air. Melodies learnt from their parents and from their parents the same.

As a child, I remember a comforting few notes I used to sing to myself. I struggled to place it but humming the achingly familiar song whenever I was feeling upset or sick became a technique to self-soothe.

As I got older, I recall asking my mum if she recognized it, tonelessly humming all that I could remember. She replied saying that it was an old popular Somali melody but that she couldn’t tell me exactly where it was from. Defeated and frustrated, I soon moved on as secondary school life consumed my time and energy.

But during secondary school, I went through a process of cultural growth. At first I was embarrassed of my culture and especially my name, which was loud in its foreignness. I renounced anything that linked me to Soomaalinimo, especially as one of only two Somali girls in my year. I did not want to be singled out with the racist rhetoric towards Somalis that was commonplace during this time. However, towards the end of Year 10 and up until the 1st year of Sixth Form, I began to reconnect with my culture and heritage. It was especially difficult for me to accept my name after the years of shame, but once I learnt how beautiful its meaning is, a new sense of pride overcame me.

Sagal: morning rays of the sun during the rainy season, usually given to baby girls born during the rainy season.

An aunt explained to me of the immense feeling of happiness and relief at the appearance of the sun during the rainy period. As that meant that crops could grow and families could secure their livelihood. Sagal is a very traditional name and I started to feel grateful that my mum has chosen this name for me. Every time I introduced myself, I was met with smiles and joyful explanations of what Sagal meant by Somali elders. The anglicized broken way English-speaking people pronounced my name only made my resolve to define my cultural self grow stronger. From sixteen, I began to adamantly correct all my teachers and friends.

During this time in my life, impassioned about Somali culture, I would spend hours discussing old Somali poetry with my mum. She tried her best to explain all the similes, metaphors and rhetorical devices used by legendary poets like Hadraawi and Garriye. My mother grew up in the countryside, where there is a rich culture of oral poetry. She was raised by my Ayeeyo, grandmother, who was nomadic with a very simple approach to life.

It is interesting how in most European cultures, poetry is reserved for those of the “high culture”, ie. the educated elite, because in Somali tradition, poetry is sung by the shepherds, the travellers and the laymen, who normally practise nomadic lifestyles.

Years later, I was scrolling through Youtube and noticed a video entitled Hees-Qaraami-Khadra, hibo iyo Saalax*. By this point, I was well acquainted with Somali music and I only had pride for the culture in my heart. Upon clicking the video I was in awe. I felt as if I was being transported to all those times I lay on my bed as a child singing to myself. I had finally found the song I had been singing for over 15 years! Not only that, but it was sung by one of my favourite Somali singers of the 70s and 80s: Hibo Nuura.

I immediately showed my mum the song, and she recalled singing it when I was younger, and quickly began explaining the meaning of the lyrics.

We often hear our elders lamenting our disconnectedness to our culture and language in this age of increased access to technology. But thanks to the internet I was able to connect a distant memory to a part of my cultural heritage.

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Edit:

* The original video has been taken down but a copy entitled "Saalax Qaasim, Khadra Daahir iyo Hibo Nuura 1987" is available.