The Culture Explorer

Somalian woman doing a cultural dance.

Local cultural dances and wedding ceremonies are the best forms of entertainment and differ from region to region. And scouting usually takes place at the dancing circles where many young men and women come to compete in a war of words.

one thing is prized above everything here – eloquence of speech. In this Nomadic culture, even the amount of camels a man owns or the aristocratic lineage from which he hails may sometimes mean little where articulacy in speech and poetry are considerably triumphant. The more eloquent a man is – I.e. the more he is able to extol the virtues of his clan, family, valour and exalt the woman he admires by showering her with praise, using an array of metaphors and descriptions of the nomadic life with a clear indication of his wisdom and intellectual capacity.

Poetry here is a pastime for all. being able to evoke deep sentiments through recitation and complement it with a hypnotising dance. 

Due to Somalia’s long history of trade and it’s importance as a center for commerce, Somalia culture is a blend of cultures from surrounding countries. These countries include Ethiopia, Yemen, Persia and India. Much of Somalian culture has been influenced a great deal by Islamic culture, as Somalia has been ruled by Muslims for many years. Somalia culture places a great deal of importance on language and an individual’s ability to use words as a means of expression. The majority of Somalia speaks the Somali language. The dialect called common Somali is the most popular dialect and is used by television and radio stations in Somali. Somalians often judge an individual’s capability and potential based on their ability and skill with words and language. Words are carefully chosen and common, everyday exchanges between individual’s tend to be poetic. Because of this oral poetry and story telling in considered an important form of art in many Somalia cultures.

The Taj Mahal at Sunset, India

Mashallah, what a beautiful sunset, wish I was there now, sitting on the bench staring off into the distance, someday Inshallah :)

The cham people are an ethnic group in Southeast Asia. They are concentrated between the Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia and central Vietnam’s Phan Rang-Thap Cham, Phan Thiết, Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang areas.

Indonesia

Indonesian muslim reading

Dr. Zakir Naik, is well known TV personality and public speaker who can often be seen giving discourses on or debating Islam with different religious and non-religious scholars around the world mainly from the perspective of comparative religion. He is a medical doctor by profession and founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) —a non-profit organization that owns and broadcasts the free-to-air TV channel network Peace TV from Mumbai, India.