Economic activities of the Somalia in the precolonial period The Somali were hunters and gathers. They hunted wild game for food and gathered fruits and roots and vegetables. They basically practiced nomadic Pastoralism. They kept cattle, goats, camel and sheep.Their diet was mainly milk, meat and blood. They traded with their neighbours to get what they could not produce e.g. the Pokomo and the Mijikenda from whom they acquired grains. A section of the Somali practiced iron smelting and made iron tools e.g. swords, knives, bangles and arrow heads. They also engaged in craft industry e.g. production of leather items such as handbags, belts etc. Such craft activities were despised among the Somali and were associated with a group whom they referred to as Sab (outcasts). [category History and Government] [tags Somalia] --
