HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

MA IN PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

COURSE: RESEARCH SEMINAR

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

Research article: Why the right hand is preferred over the left hand in
Somali community

BY:

MOHAMED ABDULAHI IBRAHIM ID: SGS1175/12

Submitted to Instructor: Dr, Gutema I. (PHD)

SUBMISSION DATE: DEC, 2020

HARAMAYA, ETHIOPIA

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WHY THE RIGHT HAND IS PREFERRED OVER THE LEFT HAND IN
SOMALI COMMUNITY

MOHAMED ABDULAHI IBRAHIM

Email: Mohamedabdullahijju123@gmail.com
Department of peace and development studies
Haramaya University, Haramaya, Ethiopia

Abstract
The objective of this paper was to explore why the right hand is preferred over the left hand in
Somali community and to answer this question I employed explorative design. Both secondary
and primary data were employed to obtain real data related to the preference of the right hand
over the left hand in Somali community. Key informant interview, participant observation, were
the instruments used to collect primary data and also secondary data were obtained from
published and unpublished documents. It is widely known that the pattern of human handedness
is such that approximately 90% of the population is right handed with the remainder being left
handed, at least in the adult population. What is less well understood is how handedness
develops and at what age adult-like handedness patterns emerge. Across time and place, right
hand preference has been the norm, but what is the precise prevalence of left- and right-
handedness? Frequency of left-handedness has shaped and underpinned different fields of
research, from cognitive neuroscience to human evolution, but reliable distributional estimates
are still lacking. While hundreds of empirical studies have assessed handedness, a large-scale,
comprehensive review of the prevalence of handedness and the factors which moderate it, is
currently missing. Finding of this paper indicates that why Somali community preferred right
hand over the left hand is due to several reasons: for greeting, eating and drinking since Somali
community culture is naturally bounded Islamic religion and also face wash , speech and
direction were the findings of the paper.

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 1. Introduction

Hand preference refers to the consistent favoring of one hand over the other for the skilled part of
an activity. Different studies measured what has traditionally been defined as limb preference, in
that if an individual prefers one hand, then that limb would be selected to complete a variety of
unimanual tasks. But what drives the choice of one limb for such goal-directed
movements? Gabbard and Rabb (2000) argued that several process underlie the decision to select
one limb over the other for reaching, including (a) limb dominance, as related to hand preference,
and (b) attentional or spatial information associated with the demands of the task. More specifically,
in most tasks, hand selection is driven by hand preference.

Hand preferences in adults are related to differences in hemispheric specialization for language
skills (e.g., Corballis, 2009; Häberling 2015), word processing differences between hemispheres
(e.g., Willems 2010), and a remarkably wide range of performance differences on tasks of
cognitive, social, and emotional functioning (Annett, 2002).

Moreover, apparently atypical hand preference development seems to be related to nearly every
mental and medical health issue (e.g., Michel., 2013b, pp. 207–208). Consequently, some
investigators have argued that examination of the cognitive and social abilities of different hand
preference groups is the perfect test for evaluating embodiment theory (e.g., Casasanto, 2009).
Hand preference represents different patterns of hemispheric specialization and such specialization
may be relevant for the manifestation of specific aspects of cognitive, social, and emotional
functioning. Therefore, the development of hand preference ought to relate to the typical and
atypical development of many psychological functions.

However, before we can understand how hand preferences could contribute to variability in
embodied cognitive experiences, we first must understand how hand preferences develop. Hand
preference is the product of multifaceted developmental processes that begin before birth and
expand during early infancy (Michel et al., 2013b). We have found that hand preferences are
developing in a cascading fashion with preferences for earlier developing manual skills (e.g.,
reaching, grasping/acquisition) concatenating into preferences for later developing skills (e.g.,
unimanual and bimanual manipulation, artifact construction, and tool-use).

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However, once the preferred hand is biomechanically constrained by the degrees of freedom
required to accomplish the task, and therefore unable to perform with the most efficient and
comfortable response, the non-preferred hand is selected. In more simple terms, this behavior can
be explained by hand selection according to object proximity. This is referred to as the kinesthetic
hypothesis (Gabbard and Rabb, 2000; Gabbard and Helbig, 2004). Mark et al. (1997) have also
suggested that postural dynamics guide hand selection and choice of reach. More specifically,
people perceive the comfort of performing a reach with a single (arm only) or multiple (use of upper
torso) degrees of freedom; therefore use the non-preferred hand in contralateral hemispace to avoid
a multiple degrees of freedom reach.

However, in contralateral space, most participants used the non-preferred hand. Overall, hand
preference was observed to drive movements at the midline and in ipsilateral space; however, in
contralateral space, kinesthetic and hemispheric biases led to non-preferred hand responses. Right
handers were more consistent in hand selection tendencies than left handers, which indicates that
hand preference is a stronger controlling feature when programming reach-to-grasp movements.

In a related study, Leconte and Fagard (2006) had left- and right-handed 5- to 10-year-olds
complete a task in which three identical objects (balls or dowels) were placed in left space, at the
midline and in right space. Participants were instructed to grasp, grasp and relocate, or grasp the
object and use it to pick up a sticker from the midline and relocate it. Results revealed greater
preferred hand use in ipsilateral space and a shift to non-preferred hand use in contralateral
space. Leconte and Fagard (2006) suggested that children “perceive the biomechanical constraints
involved in the task and program the most efficient and comfortable response by using the hand
closest to the object” (p. 91).

To further delineate how individuals act in manual midline crossing, researchers have asked
participants to manipulate the same object in varying contexts which alter the level of complexity.

The main objective of this study was to answer why right hand is preferred over the left hand in
Somali community. Although I didn’t found any research done in this area to deal the issue the
researcher challenged in this point specifically in this study area.

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 2. Research methods

This research article was intended to explore why right hand is preferred in Somali community and
to gain relevant data qualitative method was employed , explorative research design was undertaken
to explore the intended research objective and both secondary and primary data were employed also
observation, experience by the researcher and key informant interview were the data gathering
instrument for this research article and finally the data were analyzed through qualitative method
of data analysis .

2.1.Description of the study area

The Somalis community are an East Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share
a common ancestry, culture and history. The Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic
Somalis, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and are
predominately Muslim. They form one of the largest ethnic groups on the African continent, and
cover one of the most expansive landmasses by a single ethnic group in Africa.

The Somali people are traditionally semi-nomadic, having lived subsistence lifestyles as agro-
pastoralists or nomadic livestock herders. Somali nomads typically live in domed structures (agal)
made of branches, mats and/or animal skins that can easily be taken down and moved to another
area. However, many people’s mode of living has been disrupted over recent decades. The cultural
lives of many Somalis have been significantly impacted by the turmoil of the past 30 years

2.2.Research design

This research is designed to be explorative For such a research, a researcher starts with a general
idea and uses this research as a medium to identify issues that can be the focus for future research.
An important aspect here is that the researcher should be willing to change his/her direction subject
to the revelation of new data or insight. Such a research is usually carried out when the problem is
at a preliminary stage.

2.3.Data Sources

Both primary and secondary sources of data were used to answer the question of why right hand is
preferred over the left hand in Somali community.

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 2.4.Sampling techniques

Research within a cultural group requires connection with the community. This occurs specifically
through establishment of a trusting relationship with a community leader. This leader can provide
cultural insight and feedback concerning the aim and design of the study, endorse the research
study, and facilitate access to the community (Berg, 1999). Yusuf states the leader in the Somali
community can answer the potential participants’ question: “‘Why do these people want to know
these things?’ ...and “to address what this research is going to do for them The purposive sampling
technique is a type of non-probability sampling that is most effective when one needs to study a
certain cultural domain with knowledgeable experts within the community.

For this purpose I selected four individuals using purposive sampling since they have deep
experience and knowledge on the culture, and lastly their availability and the personal relation I
have with them was taken into consideration in selecting them

2.5.Data analysis

The data were collected using key informant interview was analyzed by using narrative analysis
and quotation and secondary data were supported to critically assess the reality of the right hand
preference in the Somali community

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 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The data collected through key informant interview were analyzed by using narrative analysis and
quotation. The secondary data were also included in the analysis to support with the primary data.

1. Why right hand is preferred over the left hand in Somali community

Key informant interview of this study were asked about is there is preference among the hands
and they reflected that there is preference among the hands. And I asked them to tell me what
hand the community prefers and why.

According to my key informant interview Ahmed, The human hand is the service that serves the
soul. All the things that the soul lives in and the support of the community. In Somali culture, the
right hand and the left hand are given priority, with the right had is given priority is due to following
.Greetings, Food and drinking, Face wash Speech and direction. The above is based on the fact that
the right hand is more sacred. There is a finger next to it (called the hating finger) and if a person
is pointed out that he is suffering or dying, it is said to be sacred.( informant :Ahmed Abdurrahman
,Nov, Jigjiga).

In the rainy season the thumb near the thumb is not pointed and the folds are forecast in the spring.
The livestock that the community have the camel is called as right hand since is the backbone of
our culture. Somali culture is rooted in the Islamic religion of training children to eat and drink on
the right. Conversations begin on the right and greetings on the right.

In all of this we can learn from the blessing in the right hand of Somali culture. Then the cooperation
of both right hands takes precedence. Stand with two strong hands, if you are standing alone on the
right, do not be discouraged .This good example shows the importance of the right.

Hand preference was assessed using participants’ responses to the items on the two handedness
inventories. There is considerable overlap between the two inventories; items measuring writing,
throwing, broom use, match striking, scissors use, and toothbrush use are present on both
inventories. These items were counted only once in obtaining a final index. In total, responses to
16 items were used to assess hand preference.

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Examination of the Hand Preference Items Because hand preference was assessed using items from
two existing inventories—Briggs and Nebes (2) and Edinburgh (13)—the items were analyzed
using principal components factor analysis to ensure that a single component, or factor, was
measured across all items. With the exception of slight variations in loadings, factor structures were
virtually identical for males and females. Therefore, a single factor analysis including all
participants is reported here. In principal components factor analysis, the intercorrelations among
multiple responses (hand preference items in this case) are analyzed to determine whether all the
items are measuring a single underlying component (hand preference). To determine the number of
meaningful components, the variance in the raw scores that is explained by each potential
component (the “eigenvalue”) is examined in a scree plot, in which a discontinuity can be used to
identify meaningful components.

Considering the relationship between hand preference and language lateralization, it has been
suggested that right hand dominance is a uniquely human trait (Annett, 2002; McManus, 2002). It
is well known that 90% of the human population is right-handed, where this proportion has
remained relatively consistent for approximately 5000 years (Coren and Porac, 1977). Handedness
is typically described as the hand one prefers to use for unimanual tasks (Annett, 1970a). Two
distinct components include direction and degree. Direction simply quantifies whether an
individual is left- or right-handed. In comparison, degree identifies how strongly a person prefers
one hand to the other (Steenhuis and Bryden, 1989). It is well-known that left handers generally
display less functional asymmetry than right handers (e.g., Springer and Deutsch, 1998; Yahagi and
Kasai, 1999), therefore the degree to which they use their preferred hand is significantly less in
comparison to right handers.

Handedness is further divided into measures of preference and performance. Hand preference
identifies the preferred hand for completing a task, whereas performance differentiates between the
abilities of the left and right hand on a particular task (McManus and Bryden, 1992). A relationship
is commonly observed between these two constructs, such that performance abilities (i.e., skill)
increases with the preferred hand (Annett, 1970b). But, this is not always the case (Jäncke et al.,
1998).

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 4. CONCLUSION

In this paper the researcher tried to explore why the right hand is preferred over the left hand in
Somali community and the researcher interviewed four key informant interview those who are
purposive selected. The data indicates that although both hands have high position for the existence
of their live and needs, the right hand is preferred as of interviewed participants mentioned that due
to several reasons in which it starts that Somali culture resides in Islamic religion and other norms
that the custom of the community describes right hand has high position and dignity over the left-
hand.

Hand preference is a major behavioral variable for inferring individual differences in neurological
organization. Yet, despite the extensive use of HP measures for both research and clinical purposes,
there is little research on the properties of the structural features of HP questionnaires, the most
common method of HP measurement.

Hand preference, is the tendency to be more skilled and comfortable using one hand instead of the
other for tasks such as writing and throwing a ball. Although the percentage varies by culture, in
Western countries 85 to 90 percent of people are right-handed and 10 to 15 percent of people are
left-handed. Mixed-handedness (preferring different hands for different tasks) and
ambidextrousness (the ability to perform tasks equally well with either hand) are uncommon.

The trend observed in Peters (1998), that right- and left-handers replace an “either” response with
a preferred hand response, was confirmed here and reached significance for both right- and left
handers. Thus both right-handers and left-handers were more likely to replace “either” by the
preferred hand response than the non-preferred hand response. Furthermore, right-handers were
found to give significantly fewer “left” responses in the place of “either” responses than left-handers
give “right” responses in the place of “either” responses, with no sex difference in these behaviors.
Moreover, it was shown that right-handers are significantly less willing to choose an “either”
response than their left-handed counterparts.

These findings depict a different pattern of reactions between handedness groups to the wording of
the response format of HP questionnaires. It could be, therefore, argued, that HP measures may act
to exaggerate the difference between handedness groups. Indeed, there is evidence that left-handers
are less lateralized and their scores more widely dispersed than right-handers only when measuring

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handedness using preference measures and not when using performance measures (e.g., Borod,
Caron, & Koff, 1984).

Hand preference may be determined by combining the findings associated handedness inventories
and hand-performance assessments. Most studies investigating hand functionality do not fully
assess hand preference that, in turn, may restrict interpretations and limit the application of their
findings in the treatment of individuals recovering from an injury or reducing the effects resulting
from the progression of disease. Individuals who have sustained an amputation present special
considerations in lieu of handedness and hand performance issues. In the work environment,
determining hand preference may better align individuals to perform work tasks that place them at
less risk for injury. In the medical community, understanding limb differences in movement strategy
may improve training of novice surgeons performing tasks that require a high level of precision and
manual dexterity.

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 5. RECOMMENDATIONS

This research article concerned about why the right is preferred over the left hand in Somali
community and here is a list of recommended points towards.

 Since there is no earlier research done is this point to do more research and teach the other
communities about the preferences of that hand

 To not mix always tradition with religion

 Emphasize their own norms when describing custom issues

 Once it is clear which hand the community prefers or demonstrates more skill with, it is
important to encourage to consistently use both hands

 To care about using one hand as a “doing” hand (preferred hand) and the other hand as a
“helping” hand.

 Give care lots of feedback and encouragement so using and can start to more consistently use
one hand as her preferred hand.

 Encourage to finish an activity with the hand started with. If the hand becomes tired wants
to swap hands get her to stop and have a rest (stretching and shaking arms/hands may be
helpful).

6. Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all bodies those who have contributed in finding this data practically or
theoretically. Starting with my course instructor who taught me more about writing research article
in the course of research seminar ( Dr, Gutema Imana). And also my colleague at Jigjiga Abdelfattah
who guided me the way I can acquire this data and Finding the individuals that are experienced in
Somali community culture and have the reality about the data. And also Ahmed sheik ahmed Jigjiga
university lecturer at Somali language and literature department who gave more about the data
related to right hand preference over the left hand in Somali community.

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