By ZAKARIA ABSHIR
“Dhaqan waa la dhaxlaa, mana dheeliyo” is a proverb among the Somalis that loosely translates to ‘culture is inherited and does not vanish.’ Such a saying may emphasizethat, although tradition is passed down through the generations and may sometimes lose meaning, it is unlikely to disappear among the Somalis even when times change. Tradition is an enduring, living nature of Somali culture: preserved not for the sake of preservation alone, but fortransmission, practice and above all, for the existence ofcollective memory.
There are few ways of telling such cultural tales better than on the big screen. Visually poetic and emotionally evocative, The Flames of Tradition is less a feature film than a cultural diaryof sorts. It is a cinematic depiction of how old ways of living affect life even in the modern day and age.
The Film’s Logline:
In a drought-scarred land where age-old customs are established law, a story of forbidden love between two young lovers from rival clans becomes the single, fragile bridge between inherited vengeance and an elusive future to be chosen for the maintenance of peace.
The Film’s Synopsis:
Across a rugged countryside landscape, two neighboring clans—Rer Guleed and Rer Sultan—live bound by centuries of tradition and separated by a peculiar powerdynamic. Rer Sultan’s political dominance controls much of the available meagre resources in the countryside village and key political decisions, while Rer Guleed, have long been marginalized, struggles for life’s essentials, including access to the village’s only and vital water well. The resulting atmosphere in the hamlet is a brittle delicate balance; resentment ever brews between the villagers and lies just beneath the surface, ready to flare up at any moment at the slightest rub to the flint.
From this pressure rises a love story not out of the ordinary but one that defies the very map of custom. Dagan, a young woman of Rer Guleed, and Hamse, a young man of Rer Sultan, choose each other across a forbidden mythical border—their extended families do not see eye to eye. Their young bond of romance; as tender, uncertain, and brave as it may be—becomes both a rare glimmer of possibility or a dangerous spark that could ignite the long-banked fury between the two larger cliques in the village.
When Rer Guleed elders discover the village’s only water well has been seized and their numerous pleas for justice is dismissed and belittled, it is into this humiliation that Antar, Hamse’s uncle steps in to be the political standard-bearer of Rer Sultan, who exponentially manipulates said grievance and fear to widen the rift further.
On the night of Dagan and Hamse’s intended union, the cycle erupts: under cover of darkness, a brutal raid strikes the Rer Sultan village, taking many lives—including members of Hamse’s family—and plunging the village into despair. Dagan and Hamse flee the carnage, pursued by grief, guilt, and the knowledge that their teenage love now exists within a widening crater of colossal loss. In the aftermath, Antar demands retaliation; the drums of reprisal gather enough force, threatening a wider war that would consume both peoples.
Hamse stands at such unique hinge of history, he is a teenager in a state of trepidation as he is torn between blood loyalty and a burning conscience awakened by love, he resolves to refuse the inheritance of hatred. Seeking a path out, he appeals to authorities and mediators and risks his life to stop the retribution his uncle intends. The film traces the cost—and the courage—of that choice: Dagan’s defiance of patriarchal command, Hamse’s rejection of violent duty, and the possibility that the future can be authored rather than merely received. Flames of Tradition becomes a clear-eyed meditation on culture and custom: how tradition preserves identity yet, when hardened into hierarchy, can sanctify injustice; how love, far from being a simple sentimental escape, can be the most dangerous and necessary act of reform.
Cultural Lens and Setting:
The filming was entirely on location in Borama by Writer and Director Hussein Boon through his company Circle 24 which he is the founder and CEO. Discounting the post-production crew, it has 100% Somali cast and crew making it one of the few if not the only film of such kind.
The hour and five-minute-long feature fim (inspired by real events) grounds its drama in real life intimate living landscapes and natural textures—stone, dust, water and wind—so that environment itself becomes a moral witness of the village life portrayed therein. Ritual, kinship, and the authority of elders are portrayed with respect and complexity, even as the story interrogates how power can dress itself in the robes of tradition. Water as the contested, coveted, life-giving fact of life runs as the central motif and moral measure.
Why it matters now:
At its heart, Flames of Tradition shows that reconciliation does not have to be amnesia over wrongs committed but in itself an act of bravery—choosing mercy without losing memory. It is a story of two lovebirds who refuse to be the latest link in a long chain of sanctioned rage. Their love does not cancel culture; it calls it back to its humane center.
Release & Impact:
Poised as the feature to watch in 2026, the Flames of Tradition which premiers in Borama in December 2025 seeks to offer a moving narrative with uncommon moral clarity—an urgent film about resource scarcity, representation, and the cost of belonging. Strategic post-production support (picture finishing, sound, and global delivery) will ensure the film’s authenticity and reach match its ambition, bringing a vital Somali story to audiences worldwide.
The author Zakaria Abshir is a Journalist Filmmaker and is the Producer of the Flames of Tradition. He can be found on X as ZakAbshir