Sadiq and the Festival of Cultures


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hi, I’m Sadiq! My family and I live in Minnesota, but my parents are from Somalia. Sometimes we speak Somali at Home.
 
 
 
 
 I’d like you to meet my family and learn some interesting facts and words from our culture.
 
 
 
 
 Facts about Somalia
 
 Somali people come from many different clans.
 Many Somalis are nomadic. That means they travel from place to place. They search for water, food, and land for their animals.
 Somalia is mostly desert. It doesn’t rain often there.
 The camel is an important animal to Somali people. Camels can survive a long time without food or water.
 Around ninety-nine percent of all Somalis are Muslim.
 
 Somali Terms
 
 ayeyo (ah-YEH-yoh) —
 grandmother
 baba (BAH-baah) —
 a common word for father
 halwa (HAL-u-wah) —
 a sweet, chewy treat
 hooyo (HOY-yoh) —
 mother
 jar (JHRR) —
 a board game involving strategy
 qalbi (KUHL-bee) —
 my heart
 salaam (sa-LAHM) —
 a short form of Arabic greeting, used by many Muslims. It also means “peace.”
 wiilkeyga (wil-KAY-gaah) —
 my son
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 1 Festival Field Trip
 “Please line up, everyone!” called Ms. Battersby. She was standing next to the school bus with a clipboard.
 Children rushed toward the bus. It was a bright Friday morning, and Sadiq’s class was going on a field trip to a multi-culture festival!
 Sadiq, Manny, and Zaza had just arrived at school.
 “I am really excited about the Festival of Nations,” said Sadiq. “Hooyo says it’s a big event.”
 “I’m excited to try all the different foods they’ll have!” said Zaza with a grin. He loved food of every kind, and he couldn’t wait to sample it all.
 “We better hurry up if we don’t want to miss the whole thing!” said Manny. The three boys raced over to get on the bus.
 “Good morning, Ms. Battersby!” they called out together.
 “Good morning, boys,” she replied and looked down at her clipboard. “I think you three are the last ones here. Hop on!”
 
 
 
 
 “Whew! Just in time!” said Sadiq.
 The boys boarded the bus and gave their classmates fist bumps as they walked down the aisle looking for seats. The students chatted excitedly together as the bus headed downtown to the huge convention center. Food, music, games, crafts—there would be so much to do at the festival!
 As they pulled into the convention center parking lot, Ms. Battersby stood up. Announcement time.
 “You will have a couple of hours to walk around and check out the booths,” she said. “If you brought money and your parents said it was okay, you may buy small souvenirs.”
 “What time should we come back?” asked Manny.
 “I will expect everyone to meet right here by the bus at one p.m. sharp,” said Ms. Battersby. “And remember to stay with a buddy!”
 The children clambered off the bus and hurried toward the festival.
 “Wow!” said Zaza to Manny and Sadiq. “Where should we start?”
 They stared at the convention floor. It was a huge area with high ceilings and rows of booths and tables and stages that seemed to go on for miles. They could hear music and chatter, smell delicious foods, and see flags and colorful banners everywhere they looked.
 “I guess we should start at the front!” suggested Manny. “We’ll work our way front to back to make sure we don’t miss anything.”
 
 
 
 
 “Oh COOL!! Drums from Cuba!” said Sadiq, pointing to a nearby booth. “Look at all the different sizes!”
 “Do you think they’ll let you try one?” asked Zaza. “Ask the man at the booth.”
 Sadiq walked shyly up to the booth owner. “Hi, I’m Sadiq,” he said. “Could I please look at one of your drums?”
 “Nice to meet you, young man!” said the older gentleman, smiling. He had a white beard and a bald head. “My name is Mr. Ruiz. Why don’t you try this one? It’s small enough to hold with one arm and play with the other.”
 Sadiq’s eyes widened. He took the drum and tried some beats on it.
 Bam-ba-dum-da dum-dum boom!
 “That’s pretty good,” said Mr. Ruiz, smiling. “You’ve done this before.”
 “I really like playing musical instruments,” said Sadiq.
 “You’re welcome to stop by again if you’d like,” said Mr. Ruiz. “I’ll be here all day.”
 Sadiq shook the man’s hand and thanked him.
 “Did you hear that?” Sadiq asked his friends excitedly. “Mr. Ruiz thinks I am pretty good!”
 “Yeah, we heard it,” said Manny, smiling. He gave Sadiq a playful shove.
 “I think the next booth is selling rugs,” said Zaza. “What flag is that?”
 “I think it’s Pakistan, but I’m not sure,” said Sadiq. He tilted his head, trying to remember. He and Nuurali had a big book of flags at home.
 “You’re right, it is Pakistan,” said Ms. Battersby. She had suddenly appeared behind the boys. “I love beautiful rugs, so I think I will join you at this booth.”
 “These are really pretty, Ms. Battersby,” said Manny. “Are you going to buy one?”
 “Maybe—if the price is right!” she said, winking. She walked ahead to talk to the woman running the booth.
 The boys moved on. They found Vikram and Owen looking at small, carved statues at a nearby booth.
 “What’s up, guys?” asked Zaza. “What are those?”
 “These are soapstone carvings,” said Owen. He held up a small elephant with a design carved into its side.
 “They’re from Kenya!” added Vikram. “This is Mr. Kinuthia. He’s been telling us how he makes them.”
 “Oh, cool!” said Sadiq. “How much is one piece, Mr. Kinuthia? I think my mom would like one.”
 “For you, only ten dollars,” said Mr. Kinuthia. “How about this one? It’s a baby giraffe.”
 “Oh, thanks, Mr. Kinuthia!” said Sadiq. “My hooyo is going to love it!”
 
 Throughout the morning, the kids