Abdi Sinimo ( so, Cabdi Siniimoo, ar, سنيمو) (born 1920, died 1967) was a
Somali
Somali may refer to:
Horn of Africa
* Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region
** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis
** Somali culture
** Somali cuisine
** Somali language, a Cushitic language
** Somali ...
singer, songwriter, poet and musical innovator. He is noted for having established the
Balwo
Balwo is a style of music and poetry practiced in Somalia as well as Djibouti. Its lyrical contents often deal with love and passion. The Balwo genre was founded by Abdi Sinimo.
Origins
The Balwo genre was founded by Abdi Sinimo, a Somali of t ...
genre of
Somali music, which was the forerunner of the Heelo genre and thus gave birth to modern Somali music.
Early years
Sinimo was born in the 1920s in
Jaarahorato, an historical village situated north-east of the present
Borama
Borama ( so, Boorama, ar, بورما) is the Second capital city of Somaliland and the largest city of the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia.
During the M ...
,
Somaliland
Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...
. He hailed from the
Reer Nuur The Reer Nuur (Somali: Reer Nuur, ) also known as Nuur Yoonis (), is a noble northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Makahiil sub-clan of the Gadabursi clan family.
Overview
The Reer Nuur are one of the biggest sub-divisions of the Gadaburs ...
clan. He was the fourth son in a family of 18 children, consisting of nine boys and nine girls. Even though born in
Borama
Borama ( so, Boorama, ar, بورما) is the Second capital city of Somaliland and the largest city of the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia.
During the M ...
district at that time, he spent most of his life in Djibouti working for the
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
Port Authority as a driver of a transshipment truck from
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
city to
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
, via
Dire Dawa
Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...
.
Music career
In an interview with
Abdullahi Qarshe
Abdullahi Qarshe ( so, Cabdilaahi Qarshe, ar, عبدالله قارشي) (1924–1994) was a Somali musician, poet and playwright known as the "Father of Somali music". In 1957 he wrote and composed the Somali National Anthem, Qolobaa Calankee ...
published by Bildhaan Vol. 2 page 80, he affirmed that "modern music was in the air at the time of Abdi Sinimo, who is widely regarded as the genius who formulated and organized it into the belwo and thus took well deserved credit and honor for it."
The first band Sinimo created was in Borama during 1944 when he retired from driving and went into music full-time.it was called Balwo.
Members of his band were:
*Abdi Deqsi Warfa (Abdi Sinimo)
*Kobali Ashad
*Hussen Are Mead
*Hashi Warsame
*Khadija Eye Dharar (Khadija Balwo)
*Nuriya Atiq
Below is a sample from a poem by Abdi Sinimo which he first hummed while repairing a broken truck in 1943. This came to start the
Balwo
Balwo is a style of music and poetry practiced in Somalia as well as Djibouti. Its lyrical contents often deal with love and passion. The Balwo genre was founded by Abdi Sinimo.
Origins
The Balwo genre was founded by Abdi Sinimo, a Somali of t ...
-genre and Northern Somali song tradition.
Notes
References
*
*
1920 births
1967 deaths
20th-century Somalian male singers
People from Awdal
Gadabuursi
{{Africa-singer-stub