Professor Ioan Myrddin (I. M.) Lewis (1930–2014) was one of the most influential social anthropologists of the twentieth century and is widely regarded as the leading authority on Somali society. Over a career spanning more than five decades, Lewis played a significant role in shaping international academic, political, and public understanding of Somaliland and the wider Somali world. His relationship with the region was not only scholarly but enduring and personal, beginning in the colonial period and continuing well beyond Somaliland’s declaration of independence.

Academic Background and Career

Born in Wales, Lewis spent most of his academic life at the London School of Economics, where he served as Professor of Social Anthropology from 1969 to 1993. Unlike many anthropologists who move between regions and themes, Lewis dedicated the entirety of his professional career to the study of Somali society. His methodological approach emphasized immersive fieldwork, linguistic fluency, and long-term engagement. Notably, he learned Somali to conduct research without reliance on intermediaries, enabling direct access to oral history, customary law, and poetry.

Early Fieldwork in Somaliland

Lewis’s engagement with Somaliland began in 1955, when he arrived in the British Somaliland Protectorate to undertake doctoral research. Between 1955 and 1957, he lived and traveled extensively among nomadic pastoralist communities in the northern regions, often........

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