Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame (1943 – 18 August 2022), known by the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

Hadrawi, was a Somali poet, philosopher and songwriter. Having written many notable protest works, Hadrawi has been likened by some to

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, and his poetry has been translated into various languages.

Biography

Hadrawi was born in

Burao Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao (; so, Burco, , ar, برعو) is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was also the third largest city of Somalia. Burao was the site of the declaration of an in ...

, situated in the

Togdheer Togdheer ( so, Togdheer, ar, تُوْجْدَيْر, Tūjdayr) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in central Somaliland. Togdheer is bordered by Maroodi Jeex to the west, Saaxil to the north, Sanaag to the northeast, Sool to the east a ...

region of

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 ...

, then part of

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Somalia, French So ...

. Hadrawi hails from the

Ahmed Farah The Mohamed Abokor ( so, Maxamed Abokor, Full Name:'' Muḥammad ibn Abū Bakr ibn Jibrīl ibn Abū Bakr ibn Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad'') is a Somali clan, and a major sub-division of the Habr Je'lo clan of the Isaaq. The Mohame ...

sub-division of the

Habr Je'lo The Habr Je'lo ( so, Habar Jeclo, ar, هبر جعلو , Full Name: ''Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad,'' historically known as the Habr Toljaala ( so, Habar Toljeclo) is a major sub-tribe of the wider Isaaq family. Its members form ...

Isaaq. His family consisted of one girl and eight boys. In 1953, at the age of nine, he went to live with an uncle in the Yemeni port city of

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 peopl ...

. There Warsame began attending a local school, where he received the nickname "Hadrawi" (''Abu Hadra''), a pseudonym by which he is now popularly known. In 1963, he became a primary school teacher.

Return to The Somali Republic

After British Somaliland gained independence on June 26th 1960 and then formed a union with the Italian Somalia (who gained independence on the 1st July 1960), Hadrawi relocated from

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

, the newly formed Somali Republic’s capital, and began working for Radio Mogadiscio. In Mogadishu, he both attended and later taught at the

Lafoole University Lafoole University, sometimes referred to as Lafoole College, is a teaching institution in Lafoole, Afgooye District, situated in the Lower Shebelle region in southern Somalia. Background Lafoole University, Somalia's premier teacher training col ...

(Afgooye). He also worked for the government's Department of Information. In addition to love lyrics, he was a powerful commentator on the political situation and critic of the then military regime in Mogadishu (former Italian Somalia section) who allegedly oppressed the former portion of British Somaliland. Imprisoned between 1973 and 1978. In 1973, Hadrawi wrote the poem ''Siinley'' and the play ''Tawaawac'' ('Lament'), both of which were critical of the military government that was then in power. For this dissent, he was subsequently arrested and imprisoned in Qansax Dheere until April 1978.

Somali National Movement

Following his release from prison in 1978, Hadrawi became the director of the arts division of the Academy of Science, Arts, and Literature in The Somali Republic. when he joined the opposition Somali National Movement (to liberate the former British Somaliland section from the dictatorship and oppression from the Somali Republic who targeted the Isaaq clan which Hadrawi was a part of), based in Ethiopia. He was a very powerful voice in the ensuing years of the "Isaaq Genocide", war and the repressive military regime on the Isaaq peoples of Somaliland , and continues to be a very important poet commenting on the predicament the Somali speaking people’s face. Hadrawi relocated to United Kingdom in 1991 after the liberation of (fr British ) Somaliland and revocation of the union between fr. British Somaliland and fr. Italian Somalia. With Somaliland (Fr. British Somaliland going back to its original borders of June 26th 1960). During this period, he traveled frequently throughout Europe and North America to participate in

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

and

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

festivals. In 1999, Hadrawi returned once more to his native Somaliland, this time settling 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 ...

. The following year, the mayor of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

invited him to participate in the latter city's

Millennium Festival A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

. Hadrawi later lived in Burao, and reportedly made a (

hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...

) pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

Death

Hadrawi died in Hargeisa , Somaliland on 18 August 2022, at the age of 79.

Contributions to popular music

Besides volumes of poems and dozens of plays, Hadrawi participated in numerous collaborations with popular vocal artists. His lyrical corpus includes: * "Baladweyn" – song performed by Hasan Adan Samatar in 1974 * "Saxarlaay ha Fududaan" – sung by

Mohamed Mooge Liibaan Mohammed Mooge Liibaan ( so, Maxamed Mooge Liibaan, ar, محمد موجي ليبان ) (1945-1984) was a prominent Somali instrumentalist, vocalist, poet, politician and activist. History Mooge was born in Hargeisa, British Somaliland and hai ...

* "Jacayl Dhiig ma Lagu Qoraa?" – sung by

Magool Magool ( so, Xaliimo Khaliif Cumar, (May 2, 1948 – March 19, 2004), born Halima Khaliif Omar, was a Somali singer. Early years Magool was born in the city of Dhuusamareeb the capital of the Galgaduud region in central Somalia to Cayr, Hawiy ...

, and later translated by Hanna Barket as "Is Love Written in Blood?" or "Do You Write Love in Blood?". Another translation of the song by the British linguist and Somali Studies doyen

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, ...

is "Has Love Been Blood-written?".

Awards

In 2012, Hadraawi was awarded the

Prince Claus Award The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996, named in honor of Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It receives an annual subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Fund has presented the international Prince Claus Awards annually ...

for his contributions to peace through poetry.

Works

* ''Hooya la'anta'' ('Motherlessness') * ''Beled Wayn'' * ''Hablaha geeska'' * ''Gudgude'' * ''Siinley'' * ''Sirta nolosha'' * ''Tawaawac'' * ''Aqoon iyo afgarad'' * ''Deeley'' * ''Hawaale warran'' * ''Bulshooy''

Notes

References

General references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hadraawi 1943 births 2022 deaths Somalian dramatists and playwrights Somalian poets Somali-language writers People from Burao Somalian Muslims 20th-century Somalian writers 20th-century poets 21st-century poets Ethnic Somali people 21st-century Somalian writers African philosophers 20th-century Muslims 21st-century Muslims Somalian male writers 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers