Guduuda 'ArwoMukhtar, p
91
or Guduudo Carwo,Johnson, p
76
real name Shamis Abokor Ismail, was a Somali singer. She was a vocalist for

Radio Hargeisa Radio Hargeisa (, ) is a Somaliland public service broadcaster, Its headquarters are at Ministry of Information, Hargeisa. History Established in 1943 in the former British Somaliland protectorate as the first Somali language station, it broad ...

Hargeisa Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

, the capital of

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

History

The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

described her family as "conservative". Nicknamed "Guduuda 'Arwo" ("Red 'Arwo"), Shamis Abokor was recruited by Radio Hargeisa in 1953. She used a false name so her family would be unaware of her singing. She sang her first ''heello'' song in August of that year, becoming the first female recording vocalist in the

British Somaliland Protectorate British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Abyssinia ( Italian Ethiopia from 1936-1941). From 19 ...

and the

Trust Territory of Somaliland The Trust Territory of Somaliland, officially the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian Administration (), was a United Nations Trust Territory from 1950 to 1960, following the dissolution of the former British Military Administration. I ...

. According to Johnson (1996), 'Arwo encountered criticism for this, as Dalays had prior to her. In 1963, she formed a quartet with Baxsan, Magool and Maandeeq. At the height of her popularity, Guduuda 'Arwo performed love songs to audiences of thousands of fans. Her career ended after she suffered a stroke and became paralysed. Since around 1997, she had been under the care of relatives. Her United Kingdom-based daughter also sent remittances to her through the

Dahabshiil Dahabshiil (, ) is a Somali funds transfer company, and is the largest money-transfer business in Africa. It's headquartered in Burao Somaliland. Formed in 2004, the firm operates from over 24,000 outlets and employs more than 2,000 people acro ...

money transfer operator. As of September 2013, she was 78 years old. She died in Hargeisa in 2017 at the age of 85.

Notes

References

*Johnson, John William. ''Heelloy: Modern Poetry and Songs of the Somali''.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes ...

, 1996. , 9781874209812. *Mukhtar, Mohamed Haji. ''Historical Dictionary of Somalia''.

Scarecrow Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

, 25 February 2013. , 9780810866041. {{DEFAULTSORT:Arwo, Guduuda 20th-century Somalian women singers 2017 deaths 1935 births

History

See also

Notes

References