Sadiq and the Pet Problem

WILDLIFE WONDER
That night Sadiq watched as his mother braided Amina’s hair. She had already finished Rania’s.

“Did you have pets growing up in Somalia, Hooyo?” he asked.

His mother shook her head as she worked her fingers through Amina’s hair. “I didn’t, qalbi. We owned a lot of cattle, but those were not pets. The herdsmen who worked for my baba would take the cattle grazing outside.”

“How far away, Hooyo?” Sadiq asked. “As far as our school?”

“Farther than that, wiilkeyga!” she said. “They would move the cattle hundreds of miles until they found enough water and pasture.”

“Were you sad your family didn’t have any pets?” Sadiq asked.

“Not really,” his mother said. “Your ayeyo would put out milk for the neighborhood cats. And we had plenty of animals around! Unlike pets, our animals provided us with meat, milk, and butter. Sometimes when we needed money, your awoowe would sell one or two of the cows or bulls, even though he didn’t like to do that.”

That made Sadiq think. The animals Hooyo had growing up weren’t pets at all. That wasn’t very helpful for choosing a school pet. But it was interesting to think about.

SOMALI TERMS
awoowe (ah-WOH-weh)-grandfather
ayeyo (ah-YEY-yoh)-grandmother
baba (BAH-baah)-a common word for father
hooyo (HOY-yoh)-mother
qalbi (KUHL-bee)-my heart
wiilkeyga (wil-KAY-goah)-my son