Somali Bantu Culture
Origin & Location: Most Somali Bantu arrived in Somalia thousands of years ago as migratory agriculturists from central and southern Africa and settled in arable regions characterized by high rainfall and extensive river systems. Others were brought to Somalia through the slave trade in the 1800s, and to provide a workforce for the Italian and British colonial powers. According to a recent IOM (International Organization for Migration) report, 95% of the Bantu claim to be from rural districts and towns situated along the Giuba River, including Jamaame, Gelib, Bu’alle, Sakow, and Kamsuma.
Ethnic Background: Somali Bantu reflect a diversity of cultural backgrounds with varied histories and levels of integration into Somali society. They can be subdivided into distinct groups. There are those who are indigenous to Somalia; those who were brought to Somalia as slaves from Bantu-speaking tribes but integrated into Somali society; and those who were brought to Somalia as slaves but maintained, to varying degrees, their ancestral culture, Bantu languages, and sense of southeast African identity.
Languages: The main language of the Somali Bantu is Maay Maay. Maay Maay is a dialect and not a written language. Other languages spoken include Kizigua (a tribal language of Tanzania) and Kiswahili.
Family Structure: The extended family is the main family structure among the Somali Bantu. It generally consists of grandparents, children, uncles, aunts, and sometimes other family members living in the same household. Married females continue to belong to their father’s family and to keep their father’s family name. The IOM reports that the average Bantu family consists of between 4 to 8 children often with a number of very young children.
Gender Roles: The role gender plays in Somali Bantu society is similar to other African cultures in which male elders are highly respected, and their presence and blessing are very important in traditional ceremonies and cultural practices. Women have played an active role as community representatives in the refugee camps and are responsible for food preparation and performing farming tasks. While in some cases women may be the head of the household, men are generally the head of the household, the primary wage earners.
Livelihood: The main livelihood of Somali Bantu in Africa depends on irrigation and seasonal crop production. They grow both cash and subsistence crops such as sesame, maize, tobacco, peas, vegetables, and fruits. The Somali Bantu live together in permanent self-subsistence agricultural villages.
Education: Most Somali Bantu are illiterate. The opportunities to participate in formal education were hindered due to children working on their parents’ farms instead of attending school and to general exclusion from mainstream Somali society. IOM officials report that while some Bantu children in the refugee camps attend primary school, only an estimated 5% of all Bantu have been formally educated. The IOM estimates that approximately 5% of the adult Bantu refugees (mostly males) are proficient in English.
Religion: The Somali Bantu are predominantly Sunni Muslim. They are moderate in their Muslim Beliefs. They attend small mosques in their villages, praying five times a day. The Islamic religion does not permit Muslims to eat pig or warthog. In addition, drinking alcohol is prohibited for Muslims and is seen as ‘haram’ (sinful).
Celebrations: Like other Muslims, the Bantu follow the lunar year system while also using the solar year system to determine the timing for crop planting and harvesting. One of the popular and celebrated traditional festivities is the fire festival known as Deb-Shid, in which people dance and sing around a bonfire to celebrate the beginning of a new year. Somali Bantu observe Muslim holidays and several important life cycle rituals including the birth of a child, marriage, and circumcision. The three major Muslim holidays are:
• Eid-al-Fitr: celebrated at the end of the holy month of Ramadan
• Eid-al-Adha: celebrated to honor the Hajj (annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia)
• Mowliid: commemorates the prophet Muhammad’s birthday
Marriage: The blessing of parents are very important to the Somali Bantu. Traditionally, the parents of the groom pay a dowry to the family of the bride and arrange a large party after the ceremony. If the parents do not approve of the marriage, some couples will run away and get married by the sheikh, an act which is known as msaf. According to the IOM, while some Bantu get married before the age of 16, the majority marry between 16 and 18 years of age. Somali Bantu rarely marry Somalis outside of their kin groups, preferring to marry within their own culture. Polygamy is practiced within the Bantu community in Africa.
Illness: A few Somali Bantu believe that people get sick because of invisible creatures locally known as ‘jinni,’ but most believe illness is caused by God (Allah). When a person appears to be mentally ill, some families and relatives will sell animals and use the money to hire specialized jinni healers.
Respect & Behavior: Somali Bantu communities place great importance on showing respect. Children are taught to show respect by not looking their father, mother, brother, sister and other Somali Bantu elders in the eyes. If children look elders in the eye it’s considered disrespectful. Somali Bantu have a strong tradition of telling their children that they should respect anyone who is older than they are. They are taught that whoever is the same age as their father, mother, brothers, sisters, grandfather, grandmother, uncle and aunt is to be treated with equal respect.
