Somalis in Minnesota

Prologue

the Somalis    1 Prologue Somalis would trust three words in their language to tell a tale about them: sahan, war, and marti­ soor. These three words define certain economic, social, and cultural behaviors that would fit most Somalis, particularly those from the north, who have nomadic traditions . Even southern Somalis, with their more sedentary lifestyles of farming and urbanization, would agree that these words carry an enormous weight in describing a Somali’s historical, anecdotal identity. Consequently, these three words are the thread to understanding how Somalis flocked to Minnesota. Sahan: The closest meaning in English is “pioneer.” Sahan burdens itself with the daunting danger of the unknown : “to be the first to open or prepare a way for settlement .” The Somali person entrusted with sahan is normally a male who is solely in charge of judging, weighing, and weeding out all hazards seen or heard during his journey. He is expected to appraise the quantity of grazing grass and water available on the land he is exploring and to know how far away it is from the previous home. He also must investigate what types of predators would share the habitat and identify the potential enemies that threaten. The sahan must have already assessed, sorted, and evaluated all risks against the ultimate economic advantage when he brings or sends back war (news) to the clan, endorsing the relocation of a whole community to the new land. War: Somalis are known to be loquacious, and word of mouth travels with mighty speed on a news mill called war. War, in literal translation as a noun, is “news.” When it is an adjective, however, it takes on multiple meanings: war, waryaa, warran, warrama, warkeen, warkaa, warsan, 2    people of minnesota warraysi, warrayso, waraysteen, waraystay, waraystay (news, People of News, give the news, tell us the news, he or she who brought in the news, what news?, good news, news inquiry, ask for news, they asked for news, he asked for news, she asked for news). Additionally, Somalis are known as the Waryaa Sayers, which in loose English translation means “People of News.” Somalis call out waryaa, implying “you, who are the news carrier, come and share it,” to get someone’s attention. War and warraysi (news and gathering news) are woven into their cultural existence. A nomad, for example, would pass on the war to another, in inquiry (warraysi) form. Urban-dwelling Somalis always gather around TVs and radios as though there is twentyfour -hour “breaking news.” Thus, a male on sahan would stop any potential news carrier he sees along the path, asking “warran/give the news up.” Once the other tells him all he knows, the sahan in return would retell all he has learned through his travels and previous life. Martisoor: Throughout his travel time, the sahan, who is on foot, does not carry a supply of food and water with him, for he has to make himself as light as possible. He thus must live off the martisoor (hospitality) and generosity of strangers. He will not perish from thirst or starvation because of the Somalis’ unwavering custom of graceful hospitality . Even the name Soomaali, consisting of two words, soo and maal, means “Go and milk it for yourself,” or, more loosely, “Help yourself to the milk.” The traditional definition states that a traveler came upon a Somali family with a lactating cow, and the father, the patriarch, told the guest, “Go milk the cow for yourself.” Thus was born the name Soomaal, which later evolved into Soomaali. The sahan is provided with temporary shelter and fed throughout the journey. Traditionally, he is also safe from assault of any kind. Anyone who inflicts the slightest infraction on a sahan or traveling guest would bear grave social disdain. the Somalis    3 The symbiotic relationship between the sahan and war has been in place for ages as the Somali camel herders traveling throughout the land learned about impending dangers , seasonal changes, and world happenings from fellow travelers. Consequently, when war about jobs drifted from Minnesota , a few came on sahan to authenticate it, and many followed. Encountering martisoor in Minnesota, they found their house of hope and began to tell, all by word of mouth that rippled through the Somali war grapevine: there are jobs in Minnesota, and hospitality is found there as well. ...