Mohamed Hashi 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

Makahiil The Gadabuursi ( Somali: ''Gadabuursi'', Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as ''Samaroon'' (Arabic: ''قبيلة سَمَرُون)'', is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.I. M. Lewis (1959) The Gadabuursi ...

sub-division of

Sa'ad Musa The Sa'ad Musa or Saad Musa (, , 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 sub-clan of the Isaaq clan family. The Sa'ad ...

sub-clan of the

Habr Awal The Habr Awal, alternately known as the Zubeyr Awal (, , Full Name: '' Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ash-Ishaaq bin Ahmed, Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad)'' is one of the largest subclans of the wider Isaaq clan family, and is further divided into eight su ...

Isaaq The Isaaq (, , ''Banu Ishaq'') is a major Somali clans, Somali clan. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend ...

clan.

Biography

Gaariye was born in

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 ...

in 1949 in former

British Somaliland 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 Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

. 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 (, , ) is a town in the southeastern 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. Afgooye is one of the oldest towns on the ...

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 Mohammed Siad Barre (, Osmanya script: , ''Muhammad Ziād Barīy''; 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 Janu ...

's rule. Other famous poets such as

Hadrawi Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame (1943 – 18 August 2022), known by the pseudonym Hadrawi, was a Somali poet, philosopher and songwriter. Having written many notable protest works, Hadrawi has been likened by some to Shakespeare, and his poetry has bee ...

would contribute to ''Deelley''. He was a member of the

Somali National Movement The Somali National Movement (, ) was one of the first and most important Guerrilla warfare, organized guerilla groups and Mujahideen groups that opposed the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 1990s, as well as being the main anti-government f ...

and following the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

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. Gaarriye died at a hospital in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

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 Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame (1943 – 18 August 2022), known by the pseudonym Hadrawi, was a Somali poet, philosopher and songwriter. Having written many notable protest works, Hadrawi has been likened by some to Shakespeare, and his poetry has bee ...

'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