| Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame 'Hadrawi' محمد ابراهيم وارسامي هدراوى |
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|---|---|
| Born | Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame 1943 Burco, Somalia |
| Occupation | poet, songwriter |
| Nationality | Somalia |
| Ethnicity | Somali |
| Alma mater | Lafole University |
| Subjects | patriotism, love, faith, mortality |
| Notable work(s) | Siinley, Tawaawac, Isa Sudhan, Sirta Nolosha |
Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame 'Hadrawi' (Somali: Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame (Hadraawi), Arabic: محمد ابراهيم وارسام هدراوى) is a prominent Somali poet and songwriter. Hadraawi is considered by many to be the greatest living Somali poet. Born in northern Somalia (the present self-declared Republic of Somaliland) in 1943.[1] Some have compared Hadraawi to Shakespeare and his works have been translated internationally. During the years of General Mohamed Siyad Barre's dictatorship that ended in 1991, he was locked-up in solitary confinement for five years. “My poems were against the regime at that time,” he said.[2]
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Hadraawi was born in 1943, in Burco, a town situated in the northeastern Togdheer region of Somaliland. His family was poor and consisted of one girl and eight boys. In 1953, at the age of nine, he went to live with an uncle in the Yemeni port city of Aden. There, Warsame began attending a local school where he received the nickname "Hadrawi" (Abu Hadra), a pseudonym by which he is now popularly known. In 1963 he became a primary school teacher.
After Somalia gained its independence, Hadrawi relocated from Aden to Mogadishu, the nation's capital, and began working for Radio Mogadiscio. In Mogadishu, he both attended and later taught at Lafoole (Afgooye) University. He also worked for the government's Department of Information. Aside from the love lyrics (one of which is the poem translated here), he was a powerful commentator on the political situation and critic of the then military regime in Somalia. Imprisoned between 1973 and 1978.[3] In 1973, Hadrawi wrote the poem Siinley and the play Tawaawac ("Lament"), both of which were critical of the military government that was then in power. For this dissent, he was subsequently arrested and imprisoned in Qansax Dheere until April 1978.
Following his release from prison in 1978, Hadrawi became the director of the arts division of the Academy of Science, Arts, and Literature in Somalia. when he joined the opposition Somali National Movement based in Ethiopia. He was a very powerful voice in the ensuing years of civil war and the repressive military regime, and continues to be a very important poet commenting on the predicament the Somalis face.[4] Hadrawi relocated to Great Britain in 1991. During this period, he traveled frequently throughout Europe and North America to participate in folklore and poetry festivals.
In 1999, Hadrawi returned once more to his native Somalia, this time settling in Hargeisa. The following year, the mayor of Chicago invited him to participate in the latter city's Millennium Festival.
Hadrawi now lives in Burco, and has reportedly made the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).
Besides volumes of poems and dozens of plays, Hadrawi has participated in numerous collaborations with popular vocal artists. His lyrical corpus includes:
“Somali poems are not just entertainment. They frequently use allegory and myth to talk about sensitive issues of politics, clan and conflict.[5] “Poems and not just recited for their own sake, there must be a purpose.”[6]
Has love been blood-written (Jacayl Dhiig ma lagu Qoray)
Has love been blood-written has marrow yet been poured for it a person peeled the skin from their back or ribs has expression of this been offered in flesh cut from the cheeks has blood been extracted its colour still red uncoagulated been scooped from the arteries poured into a milk vessel have two people offered it one to the other as they would fresh milk have they shared it happily
time-separated in spirit in body as by a thorn fence sworn to each other one morning have two after first soaking rain the damp mist dense in an unpeopled place where apart from the trees nothing stirred become aware of each other's rustle
did that true meeting seem a vision to them brought by love's plight or its mirage from time to time as if suddenly waking out of a dream did their speech desiring utterance pass from a mouth if just a howl
did words elude them was the situation soured by this
did spots of ceaseless rain emotion's tears spill from their eyes did it soak their clothes did they sweat compassion
disoriented with but a stutter of movement they were stuck each time a word no link with others lacking substance limped out alone was it ten days later their tongue and palate found strength for it
but they are born for success of equal standing parted for so long did they greet one another exchanging stories did each for their part pass on the trials sustained through their love did they read the message exchange the news
love was a food store which when it was heated with charcoal and fire the glowing embers of emotions stirred did they fill a large pot time after time drag the enclosure's night-time gate each one with tender eyes seeing nothing harmed the other did they listen thus for a whole year
did the talking end did they then spend half a day in this silent way as the daylight fell from their staring gaze their inflamed thoughts did they pass that night like the camel herders in nocturnal endurance of cold and dark difficulties bringing illness
did the dawn then glow and the sun call out approaching each other not crossing the boundary of mores and modesty longing for a balm with a mere forearm between them did they stand bodies held straight opposite each other avoiding the step of moving closer resisting the play-touch the youthful way the taste glimpsed in the distance did they just behold each other through their eyes
they stood on the spot each one gazing standing upright did it last a thousand nights
the legs of the termite emerged from the earth breaking the surface skin did is peel their bodies consume the flesh did it wound the veins pass to the nerves persisting to the very inside of the bone
the bad news it places in you that you look on with fear is the trials and your death did they welcome it with their whole body and a smile
there's a flower which blooms after morning's compassion has refreshed it with dew it brings forth a red liquid for the mouth to sip its stamen and stigma entwine like a rope was it this they exchanged offering as a legacy did they present it to taste as the last earthly food of love did they place at the other's ear the word which was missing
the termite gathered up sand and detritus forming clay diligently rendering and plastering did it transform those two did a building arise did it mould from them a structure of wonder a lofty termite mound famed for its thickness and strength
roaming in the sun-heat of daytime did people in the dry season grazing lands rest in its shade then move away in the evening unaware of the reality of the story that deep inside this shady backbone support two souls await the outcome of truth
if self sacrifice is not made the breath of life not exchanged if one does not wait for an enduring legacy the building of a house upright children and earthly sustenance then the kisses and intentions are nothing but superficial a poison sipped to satisfaction in that one same moment like hyenas snatching a girl of good repute as they hide themselves in the higlo tree to pounce out quickly each man is expectant for what will fall to him a hyena and his grave hole the honour he has trampled the modesty he has snatched the lying illusion this does society harm
did he strive for the highest level of fulfilment of love that closest to honour or is something still missing.[7]
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/100210/inside-somalia-where-poetry-revered.