There is a Somali folktale that tells of a clan called KASDARAN, plagued by bad counsel and left behind by its peers. Among them were several men notorious for their “faithlessness,” whose constant grumbling and finger-pointing no one could escape.
Eventually the clan decided these men should be sent off to live together in one place and share their meals. They lived together for a while under strict accounting, each man fiercely defending his rights. For example, when they cooked meat, each man would buy his own piece, tie a string to it, and they would all sit around the pot, each holding his own string (so his meat wouldn’t get mixed up with anyone else’s).
They would take turns, in rotation (kaltan), choosing one man at a time to serve as the maqoosin (pot steward); the only person allowed to lift the lid off the pot and stir it when needed, and, once it was cooked, to divide the broth out equally. The greatest source of quarrels was the division of the broth, right down to arguments over the last drops of moisture left at the bottom of the pot!
One day, the steward’s turn came around to a man among them called MADAX-YAREY (Small-Head). From the very first day, he began yelling at and bullying the other men, rapping their fingers with the ladle (fandhaal), saying: “Stay away from the pot, you gluttonous menaces!” And he immediately announced that no one other than himself would ever stir that pot again; or even come near it! The other men said with one voice: “Hey, Small-Head, hold on! The stewardship has always rotated, and no one ever rapped people’s fingers!”
When he stubbornly turned a deaf ear, there was no avoiding a fight breaking out, and in the scuffle the pot shattered, the broth spilled, and the fire went out! The shouting and kicking drew out the elders of the KASDARAN clan, but unfortunately they lined up in factions behind their own fools, and what happened there was nothing anyone could be thankful for!
So now: Will MADAX-YAREY come to his senses? Will the other side prove any wiser? Will the KASDARAN clan be guided to a sound decision? God protect us! (Ebbow magantaa!)
The story was Originally written by Dr. Mohamud A. J and published by Liban Abdilahi Hussen