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

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

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

-genre and Northern Somali song tradition.

Notes

References

* * 1920 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Somalian male singers People from Awdal Gadabuursi {{Africa-singer-stub