Within Somalia Curiosities
What Somali Amulets and Cassettes Still Preserve
Protective jewellery, handwritten texts and ageing recordings preserve forms of belief and memory that conventional museums often miss.
On this page
- Silver containers made for protective texts
- Manuscripts, maps and recordings in Hargeisa
- How belief objects change inside museum collections
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Introduction
Somalia’s most unusual cultural collections are often not spectacular museum displays but fragile objects that carried memory through generations: silver amulet cases worn on the body, handwritten Islamic manuscripts preserved by families and cultural institutions, and cassette tapes that captured poetry, music and spoken history before the digital age. Together they reveal a side of Somali heritage that conventional museum galleries often overlook.
These collections also illustrate a wider challenge. Civil war, displacement and the loss of national institutions scattered countless manuscripts and recordings, while changing religious attitudes altered the way protective objects are viewed. What survives today is spread between community archives, cultural centres, private families and museum collections inside and outside the Horn of Africa.[hargeysaculturalcenter.org]hargeysaculturalcenter.orgAbout us – Hargeysa Cultural CentreAbout us – Hargeysa Cultural Centre
Silver containers made for protective texts
One of the most distinctive surviving forms of Somali material culture is the silver amulet container, designed to hold a folded handwritten text. These were not decorative lockets in the modern sense. Their value came from the written words inside.
Museum collections describe these containers as small hollow silver boxes or cylinders into which religious specialists placed carefully folded Qur’anic verses or other devotional writings. The wearer carried the container as jewellery, believing the sacred text offered spiritual protection, good health or blessing. Somali examples are commonly identified by the name xirsi (also rendered hirsi or related to the Arabic term hirz), meaning a protective object.[metmuseum.org]metmuseum.orgThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Hirizi (Amuletic NecklaceThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtHirizi (Amuletic Necklace) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art…
Many surviving examples demonstrate remarkable metalworking despite their modest size:
- Rectangular silver cases decorated with repoussé floral patterns.[horniman.ac.uk]horniman.ac.ukSource details in endnotes.
- Necklaces combining silver containers with amber-coloured beads.
- Multiple suspension loops allowing the amulet to hang against clothing.
- Hollow interiors designed specifically for folded paper rather than gemstones or relics.[si.edu]africa.si.eduNational Museum of African Art Amulet | National Museum of African ArtNational Museum of African Art Amulet | National Museum of African Art
These objects are unusual because the most important element is invisible. Museums generally display the silver case, but the handwritten paper has often been removed, deteriorated or deliberately emptied before acquisition. Visitors therefore see the container while the personal text that gave it meaning has disappeared.[The Metropolitan Museum of Art]metmuseum.orgThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Hirizi (Amuletic NecklaceThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtHirizi (Amuletic Necklace) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art…
Why these amulets are culturally complicated
Protective amulets occupy an interesting position within Somali cultural history because they sit between craftsmanship, personal devotion and changing religious interpretation.
Historically, many families regarded them as legitimate expressions of faith centred on Qur’anic verses. At the same time, modern Islamic reform movements have often criticised the wearing of protective amulets, arguing that spiritual protection should come directly through prayer rather than through physical objects. As a result, practices once widespread in parts of Somali society have become less common in many communities.[The Metropolitan Museum of Art]metmuseum.orgThe Metropolitan Museum of Art Hirizi (Amuletic NecklaceThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtHirizi (Amuletic Necklace) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art…
This changing attitude affects museum interpretation. A silver container displayed in a gallery is no longer simply jewellery. It becomes evidence of a devotional practice that some visitors recognise as family heritage while others regard as outdated or theologically problematic. The object therefore changes meaning when removed from everyday religious life and placed behind glass.
Manuscripts, maps and recordings in Hargeisa
Because Somalia lost so many institutional collections during decades of conflict, some of the country’s most important heritage survives in regional cultural centres rather than national museums.
The Hargeysa Cultural Centre has become one of the most significant examples. Alongside its public library, gallery and research facilities, it has deliberately assembled collections of manuscripts, historical maps, cultural artefacts and music recordings. Rather than presenting curiosities for entertainment, the centre treats these materials as evidence of Somali intellectual and cultural history.[hargeysaculturalcenter.org]hargeysaculturalcenter.orgAbout us – Hargeysa Cultural CentreAbout us – Hargeysa Cultural Centre
Its collections reportedly include:
- Handwritten manuscripts preserved for historical and religious study.
- Historical maps documenting changing understandings of the region.
- Music cassettes recording songs, oral poetry and performance traditions.
- Reference collections supporting researchers, students and cultural preservation projects.[hargeysaculturalcenter.org]hargeysaculturalcenter.orgThe Art Gallery – Hargeysa Cultural CentreThe Art Gallery – Hargeysa Cultural Centre
This makes the centre unusual within the wider landscape of African heritage institutions. Visitors encounter archives that mix written scholarship with oral culture rather than separating them into different museums.
Why cassette tapes became cultural archives
For many countries, cassette tapes are obsolete technology. In Somalia they became an accidental archive.
Throughout the late twentieth century, cassette recordings captured poetry recitals, popular music, political speeches, religious sermons and oral history. Since Somali culture has long placed exceptional value on spoken performance, these inexpensive recordings preserved voices that might otherwise have disappeared.
The Hargeysa Cultural Centre’s archive recognises that ageing cassettes are not merely nostalgic media. They preserve pronunciation, musical styles, performance techniques and social memory that cannot always be reconstructed from written transcripts. The centre therefore treats cassette collections as heritage objects in their own right rather than simply outdated storage formats.[hargeysaculturalcenter.org]hargeysaculturalcenter.orgAbout us – Hargeysa Cultural CentreAbout us – Hargeysa Cultural Centre
Their preservation is also technically difficult. Magnetic tape deteriorates with age, playback equipment becomes scarce, and digitisation requires specialist handling before recordings are permanently lost.
How belief objects change inside museum collections
Amulets illustrate how museum displays can transform the meaning of religious objects.
When worn, a protective container functioned as something intensely personal. It might contain prayers written for one individual, folded according to particular traditions and never intended for public viewing. Once acquired by a museum, however, attention shifts towards craftsmanship, silverworking, trade connections and ethnographic interpretation.
Several museum collections explain that Somali silversmiths were influenced by artistic traditions circulating around the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, while also producing distinctly local forms. The surviving containers therefore document both spiritual practice and long-distance cultural exchange linking Somalia with Arabia and South Asia.[National Museum of African Art]africa.si.eduNational Museum of African Art Amulet | National Museum of African ArtNational Museum of African Art Amulet | National Museum of African Art
This change raises broader questions about what museums can preserve. The silver survives well, but the private intention behind the object, the identity of the original owner and the handwritten text itself are often lost. In many cases the physical shell has outlived the knowledge that once animated it.
A different kind of curiosity collection
Readers expecting cabinets filled with mysterious relics may initially overlook Somali manuscript rooms or cassette archives. Yet they are unusual precisely because they preserve forms of heritage that resist conventional exhibition.
The silver amulet cases demonstrate how religious belief could be carried on the body in beautifully crafted containers whose true significance remained hidden inside. Community manuscript collections preserve written traditions that survived outside large state institutions. Cassette archives capture voices, poems and songs that belong to an overwhelmingly oral culture.
Together they represent one of Somalia’s most distinctive forms of curiosity heritage: collections where the most valuable contents are often the least visible, whether folded inside a silver pendant, written on fragile paper or stored as fading sound on magnetic tape.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: hargeysaculturalcenter.org
Title: About us – Hargeysa Cultural Centre
Link:https://www.hargeysaculturalcenter.org/about-us/
2.
Source: hargeysaculturalcenter.org
Title: The Art Gallery – Hargeysa Cultural Centre
Link:https://www.hargeysaculturalcenter.org/the-art-gallery/
3.
Source: hargeysaculturalcenter.org
Link:https://www.hargeysaculturalcenter.org/the-library/
4.
Source: africa.si.edu
Title: National Museum of African Art Amulet | National Museum of African Art
Link:https://africa.si.edu/collection/object/nmafa
5.
Source: metmuseum.org
Title: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Hirizi (Amuletic Necklace)
Link:https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/90220
Source snippet
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtHirizi (Amuletic Necklace) - The Metropolitan Museum of Art...
6.
Source: si.edu
Title: Smithsonian Institution Necklace with amulet case | Smithsonian Institution
Link:https://www.si.edu/object/necklace-amulet-case%3Anmafa
7.
Source: africa.si.edu
Link:https://africa.si.edu/collection/object/nmafa
8.
Source: si.edu
Title: amulet vessel:nmafa 2012 11 3
Link:https://www.si.edu/object/amulet-vessel%3Anmafa
9.
Source: africa.si.edu
Link:https://africa.si.edu/collection/object/nmafa
10.
Source: africa.si.edu
Link:https://africa.si.edu/collection/object/nmafa
11.
Source: horniman.ac.uk
Link:https://www.horniman.ac.uk/object/object-144002/
Additional References
12.
Source: hkw.de
Link:https://www.hkw.de/en/programme/middle-ground-hargeysa-international-book-fair/reimagining-the-archive-with-analog-cassette-tapes-in-somaliland
Source snippet
September 29, 2024 — REIMAGINING THE ARCHIVE WITH ANALOGUE CASSETTE TAPES IN SOMALILAND JAMA MUSSE JAMA, HAFSA OMER, AND TIRSIT YETBAREK...
Published: September 29, 2024
13.
Source: saxafimedia.com
Title: Re-discovered Tapes Bear Witness To Somaliland Identity | Saxafi Media
Link:https://saxafimedia.com/re-discovered-tapes-somaliland-identity/
Source snippet
December 18, 2024 — RE-DISCOVERED TAPES BEAR WITNESS TO SOMALILAND IDENTITY December 18, 2024 Image topFacebookLike A SIGNIFICANT DISCOVE...
Published: December 18, 2024
14.
Source: arabnews.com
Title: Re-discovered tapes bear witness to Somaliland identity | Arab News
Link:https://www.arabnews.com/node/2583376/offbeat
Source snippet
December 17, 2024 — Re-discovered tapes bear witness to Somaliland identity /node/2583376/offbeat RE-DISCOVERED TAPES BEAR WITNESS TO SOM...
Published: December 17, 2024
15.
Source: enca.com
Title: Re-discovered tapes bear witness to Somaliland identity
Link:https://www.enca.com/opinion/re-discovered-tapes-bear-witness-somaliland-identity
Source snippet
December 17, 2024 — RE-DISCOVERED TAPES BEAR WITNESS TO SOMALILAND IDENTITY Tuesday 17 December 2024 - 10:09am Image: Hafsa Omer is d...
Published: December 17, 2024
16.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Re-discovered tapes bear witness to Somaliland identity • FRANCE 24 English
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylDPhYXlvx4
Source snippet
Somaliland's History Comes Alive With Re-discovered Cassettes Since Civil War...
17.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The Somali Museum of Minnesota
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFz6vmZE30Q
Source snippet
This selection directly addresses the preservation of fragile Somali cultural heritage, including cassette tape audio archives, recovered...
18.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Somaliland’s History Comes Alive With Re-discovered Cassettes Since Civil War
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK98sE_aJdQ
Source snippet
Focus on Somalia: RADIO MOGADISHU ARCHIVE DIGITIZATION EP. 29...
19.
Source: redsea-online.org
Link:https://www.redsea-online.org/hcc/?lang=en&op=getListCassettes&u=hcc
Source snippet
Redsea Cultural Foundation | 2020-2025August 18, 2025 — Hargeysa Cultural Centre Archive | 2020-2025 X Hargeysa Cultural Centre Archive |...
Published: August 18, 2025
20.
Source: saxafimedia.com
Link:https://saxafimedia.com/love-letters-gossip-prayers-poetry-tapes-diaspora/
21.
Source: theguardian.com
Link:https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/nov/09/love-letters-gossip-prayers-and-poetry-the-tapes-that-sustained-the-somali-diaspora