Mohamed Hashi Dhamac ( so, Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac, 1949 – 30 September 2012) better known as Gaarriye, was a Somali poet and

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

. He belonged to the

Sa'ad Musa The Sa'ad Musa or Saad Musa ( so, Sacad Muuse, ar, سعد موسى, Full Name:'' Saad ibn Musa ibn Zubayr ibn Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ash- Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') is a northern Somali clan. Its members form a part of the Habr Awal clan of ...

sub-division of the

Habr Awal The Habr Awal, also contemporarily known as the Subeer Awal, and alternately romanized as the Zubeyr Awal ( so, Habar Awal, ar, هبر أول, Full Name: '' Zubeyr ibn Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ash- Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad)'' is a major clan of ...

Isaaq The Isaaq (also Isaq, Ishaak, Isaac) ( so, Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, ar, بني إسحاق, Banī Isḥāq) is a Somali clan. It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. Pe ...

clan.

Biography

Gaariye was born in

Hargeisa Hargeisa (; so, Hargeysa, ar, هرجيسا) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland. It is located in the Maroodi Jeex region of the Horn of Africa. It succeeded Burco as the capital of the British Somaliland Protector ...

in 1949 in former British Somaliland. He finished his elementary and secondary studies in

in the early 1970s. and for University studies he enrolled in the Somali National University College in

Afgooye Afgooye ( so, Afgooye, ar, أفجويى, it, Afgoi) is a town in the southwestern Somalia Lower Shebelle (Shabellaha Hoose) region of Somalia. It is the center of the Afgooye District. Afgooye is the third largest city of Southwest State. Afg ...

and took the degree in bachelor of science in 1974. Known as a sharp critic, he would start the famous ''Deelley'' poetic chain in response to repression in Somalia under Siad Barre's rule. Other famous poets such as Hadrawi would contribute to ''Deelley''. He was a member of the

Somali National Movement The Somali National Movement ( so, Dhaqdhaqaaqa Wadaniga Soomaaliyeed, ar, الحركة الوطنية الصومالية) was one of the first and most important organized guerilla groups opposed to the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 19 ...

and following the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Bar ...

he composed one of the best known Somali poems on the theme of reconciliation, "Hagarlaawe" (The Charitable) which is translated into English by Martin Orwin. In the 1970s Gaariye independently discovered the Somali prosodic system around the same time as fellow literary scholar

Abdillahi Diiriye Guled Abdillahi Diiriye Guled also known as Arale/Caraale ( so, Cabdillaahi Diiriye Guuleed) is a Somali literary scholar, Prosodist and is credited with the discovery of the Somali Scansion system. Biography and career Arale was the son of Aw Diiriye ...

. Gaarriye died at a hospital in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

on 30 September 2012.

Poetry

Gaariye worked closely with British linguist

Martin Orwin Martin Orwin (born 1963) is a British linguist, scholar and writer, specializing in the languages and cultures of the Horn of Africa. Biography Orwin studied Arabic and Amharic and has a PhD in the phonology of the Somali language. Since 1992, ...

in the later years of his life to transcribe and translate many of his best poems into English. His translated poems were published post humously alongside Hadraawi's and some other prominent contemporary Somali poets in a 2018 biography of Gaariye.

Works

* Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac (2013). ''Hagarlaawe : diiwaanka maansooyinka''. Hargesya : Sagalet. . * Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac, Jama Musse Jama (ed.) (2012). ''Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac "Gaarriye" : biography and poems''. Pisa : Ponte Invisibile. .

Biography

Poetry

Works

See also

References

Further reading