"I am Swinging This Flower To You" V

Essays on Somaliland Music by Abdirahman Ahmed Shunuuf

Abdi Qeys: Singer/Songwriter/Musician, Poet And Playwright

(Continued from our last issue)

The many good men and decent women
Missing because of you
Is hard to count.

That you have beautiful large eyed women
And a day of reckoning
That we have heard about it too.

That you are the flaming fire
Pain and suffering,
That you are the one that creates
Helplessness, we have heard it too.

So heaven which direction are you located?
Where are you located?

The second song of the trilogy was a rebuttal to a song by his friend, Mohamed Ibrahim Hadrawi. Hadrawi's song dealt with pan-Somalism. Here are some of the lyrics.

First, I am coming to see you
Second, I am carrying something with me
Be patient always
Oh! "Saharla" don’t be impatient!

The lyrics of Abdi Qeys' rebuttal is:

Don’t come! Go back
Keep whatever you are carrying with you
I am impatient
"Soobaan" is saying!
The world has passed
The stage when you have
To wait for things to happen.

The food that is in front of you
Or in the palms of your hand
Is always best for the people
"Saharla" is telling you
Don’t come! Go back
Take back with you, whatever you are bringing
I am impatient

Abdi Qeys’s rebuttal opened a Pandora's box. For immediately following this song, a number of poets and songwriters answered with their own poems, using poetry as the medium of exchange. This period opened, once again, a new period of Somali poetry discourse. The pros and cons of the song was discussed among the intellectuals, workers, and students nationwide. The military government of Somalia interpreted the song as anti-government and anti-Pan Somalism. They felt that the song was against the military government's effort to court Djibouti (a small nation in the Horn of Africa populated by Somali speaking communities and Afars), which gained its independence from France in 1977. Furthermore, the military government of Somalia accused Abdi Qeys of fomenting trouble in Djibouti through his biased songs. They thought that he supported the pro- independent statehood factions. Because of his songs he became a marked man!

The third song of the trilogy by the poet was called "Baledweyn." The lyrics of the song are:

Oh! Poor love
Today, you are gone
Today, you exist no more

"Burao" and "Nugaal"
Your "Lover" of yesterday
Did you forget "Boramah"?

False promises are no good
Indecision is your middle name

"Beerlulah," you already mentioned her
But where is your lover in Berbera?
Where are the others in the good old days?

Every time, you implant
Love feelings to an innocent young girl!

Your needs are many and far between
Can you be divided into a hundred?

This song created yet another controversy because the government accused him of once again fomenting trouble in Somaliland, formerly called Northwest Somalia. They called his song a separatist pan-Somaliland song. 'They argued that "Baledweyen," the name of the song, was the name of a town in Southern Somalia and that he was making fun of the town and its people. In conclusion, they accused him of forcing "Hadrawi," to sing only about Somaliland women! This was an uncalled accusation but the military government put him in prison for a number of years because of these false accusations, anyway.

ABDI QEYS'S SONGS:
RICH LANGUAGE FULL OF METAPHORS

Abdi Qeys’s genius lies on the use of metaphors for the songs he wrote in the 1960’s and 1970's. For instance, just prior to the coup-d-etat in Somalia, the government, of then Mohamed Ibrahim Egal (the late President of Somaliland), was in a steep decline. Corruption, nepotism, and malpractice were the order of the day. Abdi Qeys, the ever vigilant, was concerned about the fate of the Somalilanders who were treated by the southern dominated government as second-class citizens or stepchildren. He was also concerned about Egal's lack of vision and concern, and about his erratic nonchalant behavior. Therefore, he wrote a song that depicted two lovers discussing their upcoming marriage and the status of their love. The song, it turned out was about anything but love.

Man: Hey Girl! You are the only one who longs for a marriage ceremony.
You are fixing your hair in order to get married
But on our side, we do not even have a Horse that can carry war armaments.
It is so weak; it cannot even catch up with The caravan.
If your livestock is taken away by force
We are unable to rescue it.

Woman: Hey! Boy! You are the
only one who
Assumes that I cannot take bad news
You think that I am a retard
You are distancing me from you

I was present to all the events of the day
Therefore, I am aware of all of the bad
Dwellings we went through,
You are telling me to cool down
But do you believe that love just fades away?

Man: Hey Girl! You live in the midst of "Ganaano"
River and near a waterfall
And the drought did not reach you

But on our side, do we have a hero who can wage a war
Poverty is death and it has taken its
Toll and killed them all

There is no one to lean on any more
The heroes are all dead!

This song clearly shows Abdi Qeys is as genius as a poet. He combines three different metaphors. On the one hand Abdi Qeys articulates fears and alienation of the Somaliland people. He shows this through the vast imagery of the Somaliland landscape, its rivers, and livestock. He superimposes this with the plight of his people and the constant drought, poverty, and the unequal distribution of wealth.

From a political standpoint, the poet foresaw the downfall of Mr. Egal's government and the coming of the military dictatorship. Through his song he showed how easy it was for the southern dominated military offices to take power and therefore retaliate without any opposition whatsoever. He believed, since the basic governmental structure was destroyed, that no one would fight back. His song became prophetic and it took the people of Somaliland twenty years to overthrow the military regime and create an independent Republic of Somaliland on May 18, 1991.

ABDI QEYS: SUFI MYSTIC AND MASTER PERFORMER
Abdi Qeys is known as a Sufi mystic and a music traditionalist. He seems to insist on Somaliland musical traditions, which incorporates "Sufi" style music. He believes as the Sufi mystics believe that tradition is nothing more than "the eye of the heart." Maybe that is why Abdi Qeys used to act as the "Murid" or assistant to Shiekh Omer Haraf. During this time, he would play music that is accentuated only by the Oud and hand drumming. He is so close to his Oud instrument that he inscribes Koranic verses, which has a metaphysical subtext. Only the initiated are aware of his mysticism, however, so for the lucky few that understand his music, the subtexts are quite obvious. He believes, as he has shown in his most famous cassette recording "Awliya Alaay Adeeg," that he is indeed a composer of sacred texts or works.

ABDI QEYS: THE MASTER OF "LOVE" AND BLUES MAN
1. If you love someone
But he/she is in love with someone else
And the person that he/she loves
Is smitten and loves yet another person

And you are thrown to hell
You won’t get heaven’s comfort
Neither will you find God’s mercy
Or protection

She is good to me
She has no heart!

Run away from me
I will just have to tract along!

Run away from me
You won’t stay away to long!
-----------
If the unpredictable love
Treats you the same way it treats me
Would you be able to sleep?

During the evening or midnight
Would you be able to sleep,
Under cotton blankets? Is that possible?
-------------
Hey "Umal" Did you and "Love" ever become neighbors?
Did you ever travel with him?
Did you come to face to face with him in a war?

Did you ever share a meal with him?
Did he ever cut you off from your relatives?
Instead of carrying a dialogue with him,
Did he ever make you silent,
And could not come up with any words?
-------------
I don’t show love
I always hide it
I always make myself busy with entertainment.

Sometimes I feel like telling her
But my mouth avoids to articulate the words

I don’t want to know about my everlasting love.
I don’t want her to know about my Intentions.
-----------
Like a spear thrown at night, I disappear
Like the "Russian made mig-fighter plane" I dance on the sky.

I don’t sleep at night
I keep turning from one side to the other!

Your love is the reason,
Why all men attack me!
-------------
I slept
I went to a deep sleep.

Last night I was in the midst of my nightmare-dream
And slumber.

At one time, people thought I
Was dead and sought help!

The love that I hid from the public
For years, come out from my Mouth,
While I was in a state of unconsciousness.

Those who were supposed to be
My roommates were making notes
During my sleep talk.

When I woke up
The news spread like a wild fire
And was all over the town!
-------------
Hey "Jeeraaba!"
Do you know that my soul
Always jumps from high cliffs?

It always advises me to go over the cliff
It never tells me to stop.

During the early morning hours
When it is cold, I don’t feel the cold.

I don’t go to sleep
And I can hardly walk
You are the love of my eyes
Come in front of me
And don’t turn away.

A never-ending drought
And the un-inhabited "Haawood"
That both humans and animals fled from
I am staying between these two.

Love is fatal
You are Allah’s bliss on Earth
You are his bounty during the rainy seasons
You are glittering/shining diamond

You are love of my eyes
Come to me!
And do not turn from me.

The End

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