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

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

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

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

, and his poetry has been translated into various languages. He is the older brother of Hurre Walanwal, another Somali poet and songwriter.

Biography

Hadrawi was born in Balli-Alanle near Qorilugud, situated in the

Togdheer Togdheer (, ) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in central Somaliland. Togdheer is bordered by Maroodi Jeex to the west, Sahil, Somaliland, Saaxil to the north, Sanaag to the northeast, Sool, Somalia ...

region 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 ...

, then part of

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 ...

. Hadrawi hails from the Ahmed Farah sub-division of the Habr Je'lo

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 ...

. 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 () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. 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 26 June 1960 as the

State of Somaliland Somaliland, officially the State of Somaliland (), was an independent country in the territory of the present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland, which regards itself as its legal successor. It existed on the territory of former ...

and then formed a union with the Trust Territory of Somalia (who gained independence on 1 July 1960), Hadrawi relocated from

Mogadishu Mogadishu, 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 connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

, the newly formed Somali Republic’s capital, and began working for Radio Mogadishu. In Mogadishu, he both attended and later taught at the Lafoole University (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, for which he was 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 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 ...

(to liberate the former British Somaliland section from the dictatorship and oppression from the Somali Republic which was engaged in targeting 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 people of Somaliland , and continues to be a very important poet commenting on the predicament of the Somali people. 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 26 June 1960). During this period, he traveled frequently throughout Europe and North America to participate in

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

and

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

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

. The following year, the mayor of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

invited him to participate in the latter city's Millennium Festival. Hadrawi later lived in Burao, and reportedly made a (

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

) pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

Death

Hadrawi died in

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 * "Jacayl Dhiig ma Lagu Qoraa?" – sung by Magool, 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 is "Has Love Been Blood-written?".

Awards

In 2012, Hadraawi was awarded the Prince Claus Award 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 Somalian philosophers 20th-century Muslims 21st-century Muslims Somalian male writers 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers