At birth, a goat or a sheep
In nomadic society, marriage is usually followed by the birth of one or more children. Traditionally, the father and mother each allocate a goat or sheep, which then becomes the first member of the newborn's herd. The Somali child is given three names: his first name, his father's name and his grandfather's name. He must learn the things essential to his life: his genealogy (from the age of 6) to know who he is (because here you don't know where you come from, but from whom), the tales and songs through which tradition and knowledge are passed on, and knowledge of the desert around him (weather, fauna and flora).
Boys are circumcised between the ages of 8 and 10, giving rise to major celebrations. Circumcision has been practiced here for thousands of years. In the past, girls were also systematically excised (removal of the clitoris) and infibulated according to nomadic customs. Female genital mutilation is now illegal in Djibouti (article 333 of the Penal Code), but is still practised. However, attitudes are changing, especially in the capital for the time being.
Life expectancy remains low: 65 years (79-85 years in France, 65 years in Ethiopia, 65 years in Eritrea, 55 years in Somalia).
Education and nomadic learning
For centuries, the nomadic tribes who populate Djibouti have known only oral culture. History, traditions and religion were all transmitted orally. And it wasn't until the 1970s that Afar and Somali were transcribed.
Djibouti is one of Africa's most belatedly decolonized countries. And the French colonialists didn't do much to develop education. After independence, education became a priority for the young state, which saw it as a sure means of popular cohesion and individual upliftment. Schools sprang up all over the country. The primary school enrolment rate now stands at 90%, but drops to 66% for secondary education.
In 2000, a university (PUD) was opened(www. univ.edu.dj) in collaboration with French universities. Today, students can follow 5 main courses of study: medicine, science, engineering, law/economics/management, literature/languages/humanities. French remains the language of instruction. Diplomas are recognized in France. There are also short vocational courses in the tertiary and industrial sectors.
Health and Social Security
Traditional medicine is practiced by sheiks and marabouts. The former are Koranic school teachers, prayer masters and pharmacologists. The latter are more like healers, producing amulets and herbal treatments. Folk remedies for prevention and treatment are still widely used by the population.
The resources offered by the fauna and especially the flora of the semi-desert regions are used extensively. You'll find many of these products on the Djibouti market, but they don't prevent you from consulting a dispensary. The two are complementary in people's minds. One provides professional care, the other more or less, but with comfort, words and a religious dimension. The University of Djibouti opened its medical school in 2007, with the first cohort graduating in 2015. Since then, the school has trained around forty general practitioners every year.
Djiboutians have benefited from a social protection scheme since 1953, but it was only in 2014 that the Universal Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie Universelle - AMU) came into being. It provides basic medical coverage for the entire population of the Republic of Djibouti.
Djibouti society today
All Djiboutians are originally nomads, descended from families of tireless walkers, daggers slung over their shoulders, sticks between their shoulders, incomparable readers of the desert... Traditionally, nomadic daily life revolves around two elements: the herd (its greatest wealth) and the quest for water. In a traditional Issa nomad family, roles are clearly defined: the man is responsible for the security of the herd and camp, milking the camels, and relations with the outside world. The women raise the children and look after the water and wood supplies, and milk the sheep and goats. Children soon learn to herd cattle.
Today's country is a pragmatic blend of nomadic traditions, the demands of modern life and foreign influences. The population, largely sedentary, often lives by petty trade, an activity in which they excel. The elites who run the country were often trained abroad and influence local life. Women are asserting their place in society, and are very active, especially as they do not consume qat. Djibouti is changing, and not everyone is happy about it. The benefits of good economic performance are not really shared. Unemployment and poverty are entrenched, and to get by, people have to help each other out, find small-scale commercial activities - in short, get by.
In the second half of the 20th century, mabraz were created, private circles where Djiboutians, whatever their social status, like to get together to drink tea, "graze" on qat and discuss the major orientations of life and the country. The social role of these mabraz is not negligible. It was here, in the 1970s, that independence aspirations partly took shape. And even today, these spaces are the scene of discussions between various players in society.
The wedding
Traditionally, among the Issa nomads, a man marries at the age of 25 and chooses a wife who is at least 15 years old and who does not belong to the same fraction. At the time of his application, the suitor praises the ancestors of his future wife. He gives a dowry (livestock, objects of daily use) to his in-laws (half of which is returned to the couple one month after the wedding). The woman's family provides the toukoul, which the bride-to-be decorates with jewels. The ceremony lasts seven days and takes place at the bride's camp, where the couple will spend the first month. Among the Afars, the rules of the fima strictly govern the conditions of marriage: who can marry whom, the date of the ceremony (it is fixed by the augurs). A man chooses his bride around the age of 25. According to custom, it is preferable for the bride to belong to the tribe of the suitor's father. During the ceremony, the bride wears very colorful clothes and impressive jewels, which every family treasures for this kind of occasion. The young couple must live with the woman's parents until she gives birth to her first child.
The Family Code, adopted in 2002, stipulates that "marriage is formed only with the consent of both spouses and the woman's guardian", and article 13 sets the legal age for marriage at 18. Article 14 states that "the marriage of minors who have not reached the age of legal majority is subject to the consent of their guardians". According to article 31, "the wife must respect the husband's prerogatives as head of the family and owe him obedience in the interests of the family. Husband and wife must fulfill their conjugal duties in accordance with custom and usage". Article 22 authorizes polygamy. But these provisions make it possible to call a marriage into question. These laws aim to protect women's rights in Djibouti, but their application comes up against the weight of tradition and deep-rooted stereotypes about the role of women in society.
Xeedho, an ancestral Djiboutian tradition
Xeedho is a symbol of respect and protection. It is an emblematic traditional dish made from camel meat, preserved in a carefully decorated wicker, goatskin or wooden jar, then offered by the mother-in-law to her son-in-law on the seventh day of her daughter's marriage. This practice reflects the values of solidarity with the couple and unity between Djibouti's Somali and Afar communities.
Because of its cultural and historical importance, xeedho was inscribed on Unesco's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2023, in recognition of its role in preserving traditions and its influence on Djiboutian collective identity.
The place of women
Travelers discover the women of Djibouti in awe, in the markets, on the roadsides herding cattle. Beautiful, slender, graceful, dressed in colorful fabrics that envelop them superbly ( diri), they have turned the heads of many a foreigner. They have always played an essential, if discreet, role in Djiboutian society. The situation of Djiboutian women has evolved considerably over the last few decades, as has that of the country as a whole.
In the nomadic world, ancestral rules have governed her life within her tribe for centuries. With the sedentarization of the population and growing urbanization, many of them have become shopkeepers, performing a function that is still essential to the family's survival. Gradually, thanks to education and changing mentalities, they are moving into more important positions in society (management, business, justice). The growing presence of women in politics will undoubtedly change things. More than 50% of university students today are women. But they are also the first to face unemployment and poverty.
Poverty, unemployment, access to water
The measures taken in the 1990s helped to redress a difficult situation. But a large part of the population still lives in relative or even extreme poverty. Unemployment is very high (50% - the figure rises to 70% among the under-30s) and many can only get by, more or less well, through various temporary commercial activities. More often than not, this is also thanks to self-help. Access to drinking water remains a government priority, and major projects have improved the situation in recent years, although there are glaring disparities between the capital and the rest of the country. Unemployment and poverty are partly explained by the weakness of human capital (lack of training) and weak management skills. Profits from military and port activities directly benefit only a minority of the population, who are gradually distancing themselves from the day-to-day realities of the population.
