The Somali Homemade Utensils (Maacuun)

Milk Vessel curved out of Wooden

Despite the fact that Somali homemade utensils (Maacuun) differ in names due to the locality, they share the same usage and shape. The Somalis had the knowledge to make all the utensils used at home using their beautiful handicrafts to make from pot to spoon. Men and Women have equal responsibility for making and preparing home utensils, but the men have the biggest and most important role in making the essential utensils used at home. The woman has the role of making and crafting of milk and water vessels made from cactus if it is wooden, it is the responsibility of man. 

The Somalis regarded their selves are self-sufficient and needed very little from the outside world when it comes to utensils enjoying long-lasting and very beautiful materials designed and crafted at home. One of the most important and unpromising plants is Qabo which literally means to a cactus and is very essential to the nomadic weaver of milk and water containers as well as cups. The Qabo has white thorns and long stems and it has to be burnt before its handling so that the noxious thorns are destroyed. The herdsmen then collect and strip the outer covering of the cactus revealing a white fiber and then the womenfolk weave all kinds of vessels from large water and milk containers to small bottles or quarti-size milk jars. There are normally three different sizes of milk containers in different purposes; extra-large milk pail for camels or cattle, a small pail for goat’s milk, or even a vessel that has the capacity to hold about 15 liters of milk for guest and any other cultural practice events. 

Milk Vessel knitted and interlaced of Palm-Frond

The acacia and palm fronds are also used to make the different kinds of baskets (baskets used to separate granules, chaffs, and impure particles from sorghum, maize or beans, and baskets used to carry things), water container, cups for drinking water and tea. The woman has completely responsible when crafting the above materials, especially when they are from interwoven strips or wires. Men also have the responsibility of crafting and chopping water containers, milk jars, cups, and other utensils

Food Bowl & Wooden Spoon curved out of Wooden

especially when scrambling these containers from the stem of certain trees using different materials to curve out from the wooden. Both Somali men and women enjoy superb dexterity using aptitude skills to make the utensils they wish to have without the need of any imported materials. The curio that every Somali lady inherent from her mother and must know in order to produce materials is knitting and interlacing skills. The elements crafted by women include but not limited to; brush,

A wooden made cup (Nis) used to collecting milk or water and it has a long stick

basket, table-mat, fan, bags, all vessels and cups made from cactus, while men have an aptitude skill to master homemade artefacts such as; wooden milk and water vessels, wooden spoons, spatula and all kinds of cutleries,  troughs for watering animals, burners, Somali stove, food bowl (curved out of wooden), pestle and mortar, grinder, milk bowls, wooden milk jars, etc. 

Finally, both Somali women and men enjoy an erudite artefact inherited from parents and all the instruments to weave (prodding & stitching) and tools used to curve out certain utensils from wooden are crafted by themselves and they have been developing from generation to generation. All the wooden curved out utensils are made by the men while weaved and knitted materials are made by women. Of course, the above items are not only the artefacts domestically made, but they are the architect of their dome-shaped hut, bridles for the horses and saddlery for camels and preventing from chaffing when loading, ropes to tie mats, baggage, and other usages. As a matter of fact, in the last century, all the above traditional skills have been vanishing slowly by slowly due to the exportation of industrialized utensils and there are no considerable craft centers that train people for maintaining their culture which on the other hand if these skills are invested would have created jobs.

Elmi Samatar
elmileedo@yahoo.com