The Politics of Dress in Somali Culture

3 · A Clash of Civilizations—1800 to 1945

CHAPTER 3 27 A Clash of Civilizations—1800 to 1945 When abroad [the Somali] may array himself in European clothes . . . but when he returns to his country he will scornfully discard all the paraphernalia of European civilisation and dress himself once more in a tobe [wrap] of cotton cloth which he wears as proudly as the Roman wore his toga. —Douglas Jardine, 1925 Prior to the nineteenth century, Somalis were not in much direct contact with Europeans. By 1800, political power had shifted to the interior, but it began to shift back with changes in the Arab slave trade1 and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Suddenly, nomads had goods from the interior that Europeans were looking for: livestock to fuel their colonies in Africa and the Middle East as well as raw materials such as ostrich feathers, tortoise shell, ivory, and leather to supply factories back home. In exchange, Somalis received weapons, new types of jewelry, new foods such as spaghetti, and a great deal of cloth, which they began using in place of leather for their clothing .Inthe 1890s, G. D. Carletonobservedthat severaltypesofcurrencywere accepted in the Horn of Africa: Maria-Theresa thalers, American dollars, Indian rupees, and standardized lengths of unfinished cotton cloth, which were “often more acceptable” than coins.2 The invention of the steamship and establishment of regular service in the region brought new opportunities for Somalis to travel as sailors, laborers , pilgrims, and scholars. Many went to the Middle East, but some traveled as far as London and the United States. At the same time, increasing contact with Europeans (leading up to the colonization of East Africa) also drew Somalis into a growing “clash of civilizations” between Europe and the Islamic 28 The Politics of Dress in Somali Culture world. Dress during this time period reflected these tensions: Somalis wore merikani cloth manufactured in Britain and United States, but in a wrapped style more akin to historic forms of nomadic and Arab dress. European dress was accepted grudgingly and often rejected outright. The Reign of Noble Nomadism Well before the Treaty of Berlin (1885)—which divided almost the entire continent of Africa into French, British, Portuguese, Italian, German, Belgian , and Spanish colonies—there was the Ottoman Empire. At its height in the seventeenth century, the Empire included Egypt, northern Sudan, and both coasts along the Red Sea reaching down to the northern edge of Somali territory. However, since the Horn of Africa was on the periphery of theOttomanEmpireandlong-distancecommunicationwaschallenging,the Ottomans seem to have had little influence on Somali culture. For example, the fez (a brimless cap for men) was widely adopted in North Africa, but I havefoundnoevidencethatitwaseverworninSomaliterritory.Townsalong the southern coast aligned with the Swahili and later the Omani Sultanate, but this too had only a limited influence (although a minority of Somalis still speak Swahili). Until East Africa was colonized in the late nineteenth century, Somalis hadalmosttotalcontrolovertheinterior.Infact,sinceRichardBurton’scaravan was attacked outside the city of Zeyla and Burton himself nearly killed in 1855, Somali nomads had a reputation for being extremely fierce; very few European explorers dared to venture inland. Along the tip of the Horn of Africa(whichisdifficulttosailduetostrongoceancurrents),Somalinomads were known for attacking and usually killing the survivors of shipwrecks; theirmainsourceofwealthreportedlycamefromstrippingsurvivorsoftheir clothing and jewelry.3 The northern edge of Somali territory also has a very harsh climate, dominated by rocky hills 2,000–7,000 feet above sea level and a stretch of desert called the Guban, which receives less than four inches of rainfall per year. Somali nomads traveled regularly through this region, following a pattern of migration based on the seasons. At the beginning of the dry season, they would migrate to towns along the coastline to sell part of their livestock andthenclusteraroundaseriesofdeepwells.Whentherainyseasonarrived, they would cross back through the hills and desert to reach a grassland in A Clash of Civilizations 29 the interior called the Haud, which is now located in Ethiopia.4 For several months they would graze their camels, sheep, and goats, raising the next generation of livestock and collecting other products such as frankincense that could be traded when the dry season returned. Through this cycle of migration, nomads in the northern region were able to meet whatever material needs they could not satisfy on their own and keep a steady flow of goods moving between the interior and coastline. In a book on the political economy of the area...