ABSTRACT
Upward mobility was a clear, virtually universal goal. Bashir, 30, comes from a long and famous line of central Somali sheikhs. His grandfather and father were both sheikhs, and in total, Bashir's father married six women publicly and three secretly. Bashir's father married his first wife when he was in his 20s. She had been his uncle's wife. Upon his uncle's death she, her child, and a significant camel herd were left unprotected. Bashir's mother was in her mid-20s and lame with polio when she approached Bashir's father in his role as sheikh and implored him to intercede with God to secure her a husband. He told her he would. She gave birth to three daughters and one son before Bashir's father died. A number of significant things jump out from this case: All the siblings Bashir knew about married extremely well; the males were all well educated; and they also reached government positions of considerable responsibility, including Bashir himself.
