Just a list of books on Somali history for those who read English and are new to the field: 01- As first work: * The Invention of Somalia. Edited by Ahmed Ali Jimale. A collection of articles on the subject of early Somalis. Some of my favourite articles in there are; - Islam in Somali History: Fact and Fiction by Prof Mohamed Haji Mukhtar. - The Somali Origin: Myth or Reality by Dr Abdi M. Kusow. - The Nature of the Somali Clan System by Prof Abdalla Omar Mansur. - The Invention of a Somali Woman by Christine Choi Ahmed - The Eastern Horn of Africa, 1000 B.C. to 1400 A.D. by Christopher Ehret. 02- More detailed and scholarly work is: * A Modern History of the Somali by Dr I.M. Lewis; An amazing account of continuity of Somali forms of social organisation and the ingeniousness with which the Somali way of life has adapted to all forms of modernity. 03- Era specific or biographical books: * The Conquest of Abyssinia by Arab al-Faqih; An eyewitness account of imam Ahmed Gurey jihad against the Christian Ethiopians and pagan tribes of the Horn. Extremely accurate and reliable account of how the battles went even by the most cynical European/Orientalist scholars. * Divine Madness; Sayyid Mahamed Abdille Hassan by Prof Abdi Sh. abdi; Extremely accurate account of the battles and the political consequence of many of the Sayyids decisions. Collection of his letters to and fro in negotiating with local as well foreign leaders. * Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism; the Case of Sayyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan by Dr Said Sh Samatar; One of the rare scholastic works there about how Somali poetry is intertwined with Somali hierarchy. He analysis how much of the Sayyid mastery of the art contributed towards his success. * Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-Based Society by I.M. Lewis; It is long term research and field analysis of Somalis and their form of Sufism compared to Salafi (or what the author calls Wahabism) influence. He analysis Xeer system with the Sharia judgements and how sometimes one contradicts the other. ------------------------------------------ Mahdi, Shire , Awoowe, Muxammad, help out where you can please.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 16:36:55 +0000
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