Orality, Literacy, and Somali Oral Poetry

Abstract

Events in the Somali regions on the Horn of Africa beginning with the establishment of the U.N. Trusteeship Territory of Somalia under Italian Administration in 1950 and culminating with the introduction of a written orthography for Somali in 1972 and the subsequent influences and aftermaths of this event on language and literacy in Somalia make a study of this region ideal for generalizing to some degree on the subject of orality and literacy. In this paper, I wish to give a brief overview of literacy in Somalia and address the relationship between literacy and orature (oral literature). I will also comment on two theoretical issues concerning orality and literacy in Africa, namely whether literacy adds complexity to human thinking and whether or not it truly influences human mentality. Only a brief overview of the history of literacy in Somalia is required, as detailed descriptions have already been published outlining the vernacular literacy movement that culminated in the...