… and the song’s chorus reiterates the following lyrical and compelling lines, addressing the audience’s emotions directly, rather than just their intellect:
“Wallaalaha hannuusanow, waan idinla haynaa, is hurina maynee, halkan waxa aad u timaaddeen, oon hagar lahaynba, caawaad waad naga helaysaan!”.
The choir, in this piece of art, spoke directly to the audience. They addressed the audience with remarkable conciliation. The actors conveyed the purpose of their mission, seeking the audience’s appreciation by speaking to them directly and emotionally. And it says:
“Oh! rightly guided brothers [and sisters], we give you our support. You and we cannot do without each other, and what you have come here to find, You will get from us tonight without stint.”
Composed the song – ‘Walaalaha – siblings’ – in 1968 by the renowned philosopher, playwright, and multitalented artist, the late Hassan Sheekh Muumin, this song, with the musical composition by Bashir Xaddi, and with the voice of Hibo Nura, introduced the play “Shabeelnaagood” (Leopard among the women), a play and a touching story written by Hassan Sheekh Muumin and performed by Hobollada Waaberi (The then National Band).
It made a revolution in many aspects. The text describes a significant transformation in various socio-cultural areas (from the role of women in the society and the rights of women; the modernization of se but basing the foundation of it on the indigenous knowledge; the preservation of tradition and culture, and as he repeats, modernizing it and reforming it, the role of the mother-tongue, …. you name it, and you find many pertinent issues of todays’ modern world…).
It revolutionized the traditional oral poetry, transitioning it into theatrical performances. In 1974, the play was again transcribed, described, and discussed by Andrzejewski in English. He was leading non-Somali linguist who specialized in Somali literature and linguistics. Andrzejewski was a Polish scholar who later became a distinguished professor in the UK, focusing on the oral literature and languages of East Africa, mainly in the Cushitic area.
Andrzejewski’s English translation of the play exposed our literature to the global audience. This marked another pivotal moment where the spoken words, initially performed on stage, were eventually committed to the written form. This transition paved the way for our written culture, heralding yet another revolution.
The rest was just a story. The Somali language was written in 1972, and plenty of oral works passed to the written form. Poems are written and read rather not composing and reciting. The art of improvision is being lost in our poems.
I am grateful to Hassan Sh Mumin, the poet, Bashir Haddi, the musician, and Hibo Maxamed “Hiba Nuura”, the singer, for allowing me, after almost 60 years, in Berlin, to open my speech with their words, sounds, musical, melody and voices, and making it the central of my whole talk.
Hargeysa International Book Fair is inspired by those giants who, most of them today, passed away. From Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame “Hadraawi” to Said Jama Hussein, from Hussein Aw Farah to Abidllahi Qarshi, from Hassan Sh Mumin to Bashir Xaddi, all of them not with us today, but also by the vocalists and musicians who gave shape these wonderful imaginary words and made it to a reality in our minds.
The oralture shapes the fluidity of the new world culture formation, and we Somalis are not different. The worlding, teh word selected for the title of my keynote, means the act or process of bringing a people, culture, nation, etc., into a global sphere of influence. Weather what is going on is worlding or un-worlding -and I explain more of this in a minute-, a fact is that for us, Somalis, orality, oralture and poetry are shaping our being and moving forward.
But before that, let me thank the Middle-Ground friends and my colleagues from Hargeysa, as well as all other guest artists attending this festival both from outside and in this beautiful Berlin. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to co-curate this festival, work in particularly with the talented and hardworking team of producers, curatorial, staff, interns, and the management of the House (HKW is a home rather than house in the real meaning of the word, because I have seen how people are connected, love each other and support), … and I hope, you audience who honoured us with your presence, “You will get from us tonight without stint, what you have come here to find” – to paraphrase the song.
I want to thank Henriette Gallus, the deputy director of the House, and the producers Veronika and Sophie in particular for the massive challenges they had to overcome, in order to allow my colleagues Hafsa, Muna and Tirsit, from Hargeysa to be with us today. The sad story of visa process.
Seeking lawful access to Europe and bringing the artistic richness of other cultures should be considered a part of the human experience. It should be part of the humanity. However, the inhumane immigration policies of the countries in the Global North which prioritize the free movement of consumer goods over the free movement of people, force us to accept the humiliation and stress that my colleagues had to endure. Their “crime” was simply wanting to share the beauty of Somali art with the world. Bring Qaraami music from Somaliland to Germany. Bring books with wealth of knowledge to you. How are they any different from me? The only difference is the passport they hold. These dehumanizing and regressive policies make us accept this absurdity as the norm. And we do accept it. We even vote for the politicians who enact these policies. I was just reading about the results of the recent local elections, and the numbers are quite telling!
The experience we have observed with the visa process for my colleagues, which has become a routine and commonplace practice, is unfortunately a process of de-worlding rather than worlding. We need to firmly oppose to it.
I want to thank my colleagues Kenan and Dzekashu from the curatorial section of this festival. Together we have done an incredible job, we have meticulously selected the people and places, even when financial obstacles limited our selections, even when differences of ideals, ideologies, and attitudes make a challenge, we could come into agreement of the shaping and reshaping, and we have put together an impressive program, as you have seen circulate.
Finally, I wanna thank the director, despite he is not here today with us, Dr Bonaventure who so kind trying to come Hargeysa despite of his schedule, but could not make it. Above all, I want to thank my friend Dzekashu who few years ago visited us, attended the book fair and was the key connection who introduced me to Dr Bonaventure almost a year ago.
Let me come back to the enduring influence of orality on modern cultural production in all Somali speaking regions and beyond, and touch on few key points on the challenges and transformations that arise as societies simultaneously navigate oral and written cultures.
And again, I use the same song, the same scene at the theatre, and the definition of the artist like the one Hassan Sh Mumin gives his team, and their roles an artist:
“Dadwaynahaan hanuunninaa, haasaawinnaa danta u hagnaa“. Let us focus on the words hanuunin, haasaawin, hagid. We guide the public, entertain the masses, and direct them to the common interest.
I am linking this to Hadraawi’s Bulsho (Society). An excerpt from Hadraawi’s Bulsho can be listened from the audio station there. Hadraawi identifies himself as artist as the one who gives voice the voiceless, and act on behalf of them, whenever it is called for:
Bulshoy adigaa milga leh
Ninkii boojimo ku yidhi
Shalaad barataannu nidhi
Bayluulida haw furfurin
Bariidana kaama geyo
Ninkii ballankaaga qaaday
Ka baaqday xilkaad u dhiibtay
Ka baydhay ujeedadaada
Ku boobay adoo sabool ah
Ku wiirsaday baaba’aaga
Adoo bogan waayey taada
Ninkii u buseelay raaxo
Huwaday bulbushii libaaxa
Buruudkiyo shaashka qaatay
U booday cirkaa dusheenna
Bilkeeday laboontidiisa
Buurtuu koray waarin mayso
Heddiisana baajin mayso
Kub iyo bawduu ka jabi
which in translations goes as:
My people: there is such a thing as society!
To the one who says you have no choice,
reply, ‘You have no clue!’
Don’t listen to his braying,
don’t give him the time of day!
The one who promised you much
and ducked the responsibility you gave him,
turned aside from your goals,
robbed you when you were poor,
belittled your beggarliness;
while you lacked even the basics,
this one, craving all comforts,
sported the thick skin of the lion,
wore hubris like a mane,
jumped up into the sky
boasting about his superiority –
he can’t stay up the mountain forever
nor can he delay his death-day:
his fall will break both shinbone and thigh.
Rage at how contrary this has run;
say that it shall be recorded well.
[the translation is not mine but the great Scottish poet and professor Bill Herbert]
But let us go back in late sixties:
Imagine this scene in 1968: the theatre.
Upon lifting the curtains, to reveal the assembled members of the cast with their bright costumes, the orchestra takes charge with a penetrating prelude towards the end of which the female-lead-figure of the plot, here young Hibo Mohamed, steps forward coming closer to the audience, claiming “habeen iyo dharaar! hadalladaan dhisnaa” – ” Every day and every night, we create narratives. We construct words of wisdom. We compose discourses…”. She does not say we write! She says we craft and tell.
In this issue-oriented effort to engage supplementary devices aiming to reinforce the central plot, Xasan Sheekh Muumin opens Shabeelnaagood (leopard among the women) with a well-designed prologue and winds it up with a moving epilogue.
Habeen iyo dharaar
Hadalladaan dhisnaa,
Afkeenna hooyoo horuu maraan
ku hamminnaa!
Hoggaaminnaa oo had iyo jeer hagnaa
Oo waan hagaajinaa,
Ma hagranee waan u hawlgalnaa,
Murtidaan hurinaa, Kala hufnaa haqab tirnaa u handannaa,
Dadweynahaan hanuuninnaa haasaawinaa danta u hagnaa.
Night and day we fashion our words,
In depth we help our advancing mother-tongue,
We lead it, we always guide it, we set it right,
We never shrink, we toil for it, we kindle the old wisdom,
We winnow it, we satisfy its needs, we strive for it,
We guide the public rightly, we entertain them and we lead them by the hand to profitable things.
And here again the chore:
Walaalaha hanuunsanow,
waan idinla haynaa is hurina maynee,
Halkan waxaad u timaaddeen
Aan hagar lahayn baad caawa naga helaysaan!
Oh rightly guided brothers [and sisters],
we give you our support.
You and we cannot do without each other,
and what you have come here to find
You will get from us tonight without stint.
As I said previously, based on the use of words and phrases like ‘hanuuninnaa’ (we raise awareness), ‘hagnaa’ (we guide), ‘horgallaa’ (we go in the forefront), ‘hoggaaminaa’ (we lead), and ‘danta u hagnaa’ (we lead the public by the hand to profitable things), one can infer that the text is conveying a sense of guidance, leadership, and a proactive approach to helping or directing others. The language suggests an active role in raising awareness, providing direction, and leading the way towards beneficial outcomes.
This has been and continues to be the role of the artist in oralture within Somali communities.
Coming back to the Hargeysa International Book Fair and the subsequent Hargeysa Cultural Centre, we observe the challenges faced by a society undergoing transformation: from an Oral Culture to a Written Culture, while still shaping and reshaping its thought-formation in oral tradition which also serves as the true beginning of all works of art. We are today going back to the second orality! how many of you prefer to send voice over WhatsApp rather than writing a message?
Oralture, or Oral tradition is a fundamental component of our thought process, and it will remain so in the future.
Yes, today, Hargeysa has its own Cultural Centre and this is not only good news. It is a collective dream of so many Somalilanders, and their friends, that is being finally concretised. A new Cultural Centre is being established in everywhere, the Berbera Cultural Centre is being build. A smaller pop-up of gathering places for art and culture, are coming here and there….
It is the consolidation of what seventeen years ago the Hargeysa International Book Fair was founded for. So, I dedicate this keynote to artists, scholars, researchers, students, children and ordinary citizens, who will make the Hargeysa Cultural Centre their second home.
People like you, despite from distance, who believed with us in this dream. We do this by remembering the wisdom of this son of Somaliland, Hassan Sh Mumin, who years ago described in so eloquent manner, what the roles of language, art, culture and heritage are for our society.
So, in this masterpiece of literary work, that I selected for the entrance, Hassan Sheikh Mumin wrote “Dadwaynahaan hanuuninnaa” (We guide the masses). This verse-chorus lyrics, consisting of three stanzas, became so popular also because of its use for the opening of every show performed by the Waaberi troupe (the major national musical group).
The leading vocalist who sings the song is Hibo Mahamed “Hibo Nura”, with other prominent Waaberi members performing the chorus. The music was composed and arrangements directed as I said by Bashiir Xaddi (he is not anymore with us). The core message of the song is that culture constitutes the bedrock for the social and individual development of human beings.
The three stanzas focus respectively on the Language, the Heritage and the Arts. At the end of each stanza, there is the chorus that sharply contrasts with the stanza both melodically and rhythmically, and reminds the listener how the workers in art are never making less of what is in their capacity, and how they are working with dignity, vigilance and perseverance, while still entertaining the masses, so that the core values of our society are protected, reformed and promoted, with the aim of leading the people to the common interest.
The first stanza focuses on the mother tongue.
Habeen iyo dharaar,
Hadalladaan dhisnaa,
Afkeenna Hooyo oo horumaraan ku hamminaa,
Haggaaminaa, had iyo jeer habnaa, oo waan hagaajinaa,
Ma hagranee waan u hawlgalnaa,
Murtidaan hurinnaa, kala hufnaa, haqab tirnaa, u hedlanaa,
Dadwaynahaan hanuunninnaa, haasaawinnaa, danta u hagnaa.
Every day and night,
We create narratives,
Our major desire being our mother tongue developed,
We lead, feeding this development, for its betterment,
Never making less of what is in our capacity, we work for this,
Holding high the wisdom, filtering to get its best part, nourishing and ready for its growth,
We guide the public, entertain the masses, and direct them to the common interest.
Now it comes to the heritage:
Taariikhda hiddahaan,
Habaaska ka tirnaa,
Hannaankii aan ku soo dhaqmaynay baan u hiilinnaa,
Lama huraan, hilinka toosan baan, dhallinta horgalnaa,
Ma hagrannee waan u hawlgalnaa,
Murtidaan hurinnaa, kala hufnaa, haqab tirnaa, u hedlanaa,
Dadwaynahaan hanuunninnaa, haasaawinnaa, danta u hagnaa.
The story of our heritage,
We clean it and refurbish,
In defense of our way we used to live, and to behave,
So essential, we inspire the youth, guide them to the right path,
Never making less of what is in our capacity, we work for this,
Holding high the wisdom, filtering to get its best part, nourishing and ready for its growth,
We guide the public, entertain the masses, and direct them to the common interest.
And finally, he describes the art and performance:
Buraanbur iyo hees,
Heello iyo ciyaar,
Gabayo haybad iyo hadhaa leh baannu hindisnaa
Hurdadaan gu’yaal ka haayirnaa, naftayadaan hurnaa
Ma hagrannee waan u hawlgalnaa
Murtidaan hurinnaa, kala hufnaa, haqab tirnaa, u hedlanaa
Dadwaynahaan hanuunninnaa, haasaawinnaa, danta u hagnaa.
Lyrics of every type, those by poetesses, and songs,
Traditional play and modern entertainment,
High quality literature, we compose poems with everlasting value,
Loosing nights and nights of sleep, we offer and dedicate our life, unselfishly,
Never making less of what is in our capacity, we work for this,
Holding high the wisdom, filtering to get its best part, nourishing and ready for its growth,
We guide the public, entertain the masses, and direct them to the common interest.
Hassan does not lose the chance to pick up the issues dear to him: 1) in the third stanza, among the types of Somali poetry the works in art promote and develop, he singles out Buraanbur, the genre of poetry composed by women, thus reaffirming the role of the woman in the society. 2) in all the three stanzas his desire to “reform” the culture and social matters can be read between the lines. He wants to underscore that preserving the heritage, the language and literature, is crucially important but at the same time he reminds us to improve, to filter them for betterment leaving aside the bad habits, in other words to reform the culture itself for the modern society.
In the Q&A perhaps we can talk what we lost from the oral poetry when it became written culture, but I would stop now here, and one more time come back to you, to thank, with the hope … you audience who honoured us with your presence, with the words of Hassan Sh Mumin, “You will get from us tonight without stint, what you have come here to find” – to paraphrase the song by Hiba Mohamed, and I ask please the DJ to allow a couple of minutes to listen this master piece.
Keynote – Dr Jama Musse Jama, Director, HIBF
Middle ground – Hargeysa International Book Fair – Berlin 27th September 2024