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
** Soma ...
-Italian actress and international singer.
Biography
Saba was born in
Mogadishu
Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
, the capital of
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
, during the country's socialist period. Her mother was the daughter of an exiled Somali living in neighboring
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
. Her father was a former commander in the Italian military, who relocated to Somalia from Italy after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
Due to Saba's father's senior martial background with the erstwhile colonial administration, he was regarded by Somalia's then military regime as a possible spy. The Anglanas were subsequently exiled to Italy, when she was still a child.
Saba was thereafter raised in Italy, where she later studied at the Sapienza University in Rome. Her Somali roots, however, remained an important focus. She studied the
Somali language
Somali (Latin script: ; Wadaad: ; Osmanya: 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘 ) is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch. It is spoken as a mother tongue by Somalis in Greater Somalia and the Somali diaspora. Somali is a ...
with her mother, particularly the regional dialect of ''Xamar Weyne'', connecting with Somalia through music. Saba is a Muslim.
Career
Saba began her artistic career in the 1990s as an actress on Italian television. In a popular local TV series entitled ''La Squadra'', she played a policewoman of dual Somali-Italian heritage.
In 2007, Saba released her first studio album entitled ''Jidka: The Line'', in which she mixes the traditional sounds of her native Somalia with contemporary Italian flourishes.https://www.npr.org/2008/01/29/18487119/sabas-somali-songs-of-hybrid-identity Audio of "Jidka" song
See also
*
Elisa Kadigia Bove
Elisa Kadigia Bove is an Italian actress.
Personal life
Kadigia Bove is of Italian-Somali descent.Jonis Bashir