book chapter

French Somaliland

Ethnologie de l'Union Francaise1 • Published In 1953 • Pages: HRAF Ms: 1-23 [original: 422-44, 467-468 ]

By: Leroi-Gourhan, André.

Abstract
This is an ethnography of French Somaliland. The first nine pages of the study deal exclusively with the archaeology and pre-history of the region. The author touches briefly on pastoral activities, food and food preparation, dwellings, furnishings and normal dress. Social organization of the tribes is treated briefly as well as the general Somali attitude toward prestige and honor. Circumcision and excision are the subjects treated most fully with considerable information on marriage customs included. In the last seven pages, the author gives an interesting description of Somali literature, with many illustrative examples of the maxims, proverbs, and riddles common in Somali folk-lore. The author, a French ethnologist, worked largely from secondary source material.
culture
Somali
HRAF PubDate
1997
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
book chapter
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 1960
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
not specified
Coverage Place
Somalia, Djibouti, and southeastern Ethiopia
Notes
by André Leroi-Gourhan
Translation of: La Somalie Francaise.
The original French text is not included
Translated for the HRAF files by Bernard Scholl
LCCN
53036035
LCSH
Somalis