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355 15 The enduring power of Somali “oral political poetry”: songs and poems of peace in the midst of chaos Chantal LOGAN Mennonite Central Committee A study of ‘oral political poetry’ in the context of a war-torn society, such as the Somali one, runs the risk of focusing only on its expression of violence and hatred. Since Somalia has been living in a state of lawlessness for the past 14 years, poetic compositions which are a call to take up arms have often been presented as being most representative of Somali culture. Doubtless, the figure of the Sayiid, Mahamad Abdille Hassan, the most renowned Somali poet, who fought fiercely against the British colonial powers between 1900 and 1920 has contributed to this view. A national hero for some but a villain for others285 , many a poem he wrote was to rally his clansmen to the war against the gaal (infidels) and to pour scorn over his enemies. Although he also composed poems of love and compassion286 , the one where he expressed his jubilancy at the death of his enemy, the British Commanding Officer Scofield, Geeridi Koofil is one of the best-known pieces of Somali poetry. In the following of an already existing tradition, ‘political oral poetry’ today is more likely to sing the virtues of peace and reconciliation with the 285 Since Mohammad Abdille Hassan fought against some of the Somali clans who rallied to the cause of the British, like the Issaq, he was not a popular figure among them. Nevertheless, he became a national figure after independence and a statue was erected in his honour in the middle of Mogadishu. However, after the civil war, his statue was toppled by the insurgents since he belonged to the same clan as the President Syad Barre and had come to symbolise the harshness of the repression. 286 Prayer for Maryam is a poem he composed to ask God to relieve one of his wives from her suffering, quoted in, B.W. Andrzejewiski with Sheila Andrzejewiski, An Anthology of Somali Poetry, Indiana University Press, 1993, p. 46. 356 warring parties, than calling them to take up arms. In a dismantled country with a destroyed infrastructure, and which has had no a central government to speak of for the past 14 years, oral poetry is showing a capacity to provide an adaptable form to carry messages for the society at large, after the usual communication channels of the nation-state have ceased to exist and when many of its inhabitants have been scattered throughout the world. Theterm‘oralpoliticalpoetry’herereferstocompositionswhichdeal with issues concerning the life of the community at large. Contrasted with love poetry which is of a more individualistic nature, oral political poetry expresses in verse opinions about current issues which can range from praises of one’s local or national hero to curses against one’s enemy. This could be interspersed with satires of individual leaders or groups as well as laments about current hardships. In societies where the written word was sparse, political oral poetry has always played an important role, taking the place of the newspaper in more literate societies, as stated by Ruth Finnegan. The facility of transmission of oral verses, which has been enhanced by the development of modern technology, has brought oral political poetry into the 21st century. It is not surprising then that the current Somali tragedy would see a flourishing of poetry in a culture which has always been prolific in the production of verse. Voices at the beginning of the war may have expressed a desire for revenge,287 but the over-riding theme has been to denounce the violence and call for reconciliation. In this task, women have played a prominent role, and this essay will quote extensively their compositions since their importance is not always well documented.288 Asthispaperexaminesthefunctionofpoetry,itwillnotberestricted to a specific genre. It does not seem necessary here, for example to differentiate between poems and songs. As acknowledged by Johnson William Johnson, an attempt to do so would be a difficult task. He 287 A well-known poem of Geelle Ismaacil Macallin, using a traditional poetic form, calls for the extermination of the Darood, the clan of the President, quoted in a French translation, by Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, Apocalypse, Encres noires, Montélimar, 1994, p. 18. 288 The most interesting essay written in English about women’s poetry is probably that of Zainab Mohamed Jama, ‘Fighting to be heard: Somali’s Poetry’ in African Languages and Cultures...

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