A Window through the Somali Theater: Poetics, Modernity and the Dynamics of Change

Moustafa Ahmad

Abdirahman Yusuf Artan fondly remembers sneaking into a Somali theater in 1961 in Aden and watching the great singer Maandeeq entertaining the audience with her great voice. The songs he used to hear from his sister at home made him love the theater thus he grew up to be trained as a playwright and ultimately produced plays of his own. Ahmed Aw-Geedi however embarked on his literary career in a high school competition prior to the civil war and moved on to produce dramas to raise awareness on ongoing social issues. This essay is a product of an interview that was conducted with these two prominent playwrights who produced many plays belonging to the pre-civil war era and post-war era respectively. I will be asking questions on how poems and songs shaped Somali theater, and the changes that occurred over the years.

Everyday life of Aden, Yemen in the 60s. Courtesy of Brian Harrington Spier taken in 1965 and 1966

Somali Theater: An Evolution

Theater in general was a recent phenomenon in the Somali society and became a reflection of how it evolved from a traditional way of life to a contemporary state of living. In his book Mohamed Dahir Afrah mentions one of the first attempts he remembers of theatrical performances was in Mogadishu around 1932-33 where a group of youth who were living in the Hamar Weyne acted in plays adapted from Arabia. Later he states, the theater culture had a great deal of influences from India, England, and Italy however, the character and stories produced were more focused on Somali experiences and realities. Although plays my have been new to the region, theater had its roots in Somali culture where dances, folktales and stories often included performances.

The Somali national dance troupe Kooxda Folklorka

The Somali theater played an integral part in the education system where even school teachers who weren’t professional actors used to act in plays. These plays were used to mobilize parents to enroll their children into schools. Because of the colonial history, there was a lingering resentment towards modern day education in Somaliland as western culture was threatening traditional societal norms. Here is where plays were utilized to counter that notion and showcase the importance of education.¹

Abdullahi Qarshe who was a poet, playwright, and arguably “the father of Somali music’’ took part in one of those plays in Burco written by a teacher named Yusuf Ismail Samatar. He mentions how the teachers used to resist producing plays in English as it was commonly demanded by the British colonial officers in charge and instead resolved to write plays in Arabic.

In addition, this period coincided with the introduction of modern Somali music. Figures like Abdullahi Qarshe and others were making use of new musical instruments, rhythms, and parts of the culture to engage the Somali people.² Well known musicians became actors in some of the plays and their presence attracted many people to the theater. In some cases, songs were added to an existing play for example the song; Ha Iga Goosan Caawa was recorded as a soundtrack for the play “Reer Ba'oow yaa ku leh?/ Oh, neglected family members, who do you belong to?”.³ In other cases, some of the songs added to the play preceded the play itself but were later incorporated like for example the well-known song ‘’Saxarlaay ha fududaan’’ was added by Hadraawi to the play “Aqoon iyo Af-garad’’ after it was written.⁴

Poetry, Songs and the Theater:

Growing up, I remember plays were shown on national television every weekend. It wasn’t just a casual weekend evening watch, it was a lively and entertaining experience. Each play had several songs in it and I remember us competing for who was going to sing each song. Elders used to enlighten us on some of the Somali words in the lyrics or Sarbeeb i.e. the metaphors so that we can fully grasp it. In essence, the songs and poetry were crucial and central to the development of the plays in the sense that the major plot twists or important scenes were presented in the songs. Many famous singers, including Halimo Khalif Magool, embarked on their journey as actresses and singers through the selection of plays staged in Hargeisa in the early 1960s.

This is where I wanted to hear from those familiar with Somali theater and drama and ask them about their experiences, especially their contribution to the plays and songs. The stories that follow are accounts of the Somali theater told by two incredible playwrights; Abdirahman Yusuf Artan and Ahmed Aw Geeddi. Both interviews took place in Hargeisa in November 2020.

Ahmed Aw- Geedi was a great lover of Somali literature and theater. He was not only passionate about memorizing poems and songs in the plays but he also keenly followed them to the extent that he was able to tell whether the actor is an amateur or a professional based on their skills. He found his way into the world of poetry and plays by winning a school competition that gave him the opportunity to compose a poem. Now, he remembers this with pride:

‘’I never expected for students to be able to sing at a high level but in the first round of the competition between my school and another school, one student recited a poem, another recited Buraanbur, and a band performed a patriotic song as well as a love song. I went home that night thinking about it. The next morning, I went to my school principal and told him that I was interested in participating and performing a piece of poetry for everybody. Today, one of the songs I recited and performed at the school over thirty years ago is part of the current curriculum.”

Abdirahman Artan recalled how it was popular back then for people to talk about theater. “My sister would often talk about the plays staged in Aden by a group of actors from Hargeisa and she used to sing the songs she memorized as girls her age would normally do.” He said. “The songs were either about love or independence. She would to sing:

“Fly, fly

My flag, fly

Take us to the homeland

She’s the precious

Where our leaders are based

Fly my flag, fly

take us to Mogadishu.”

“The first play I ever watched had me beyond impressed with the acting alone. I vividly remember the story began with an old man, who came from the countryside and was given a young girl to marry. The girl’s mother however did not approve of him, so she gave her daughter the money she needed to leave and told her to take the bus into the city. Hearing this, the man got angry and went to the girl’s father violently demanding he pay back the money that was provided as a dowry”. said Ahmed Aw Geedi.

One of the things that made the Somali theater unique and loved by the majority who attended it was how it tied vibrant stories to poetry and songs in unison. Farah Omer mentions that ‘’Large parts of the play, usually the ones that carry the emotional weight of the play, are conducted in verse. The ease with which poetry and prose coexist on stage reflects the unparalleled space that poetry occupies in Somali culture.”

Ahmed Aw Geedi saw the development of the Somali theater as it gradually grew to become what it is inspired albeit slightly by worldly experiences. He said “Somalis were always aware of the existence of theater in the rest of the world.” That’s when the Sheikh School took on the role to become the center of creating original Somali plays. Some plays were even written in Arabic by teachers like Omar Arteh and his students. Eventually, it reached bigger cities where singers such as Abdullahi Qarshe composed songs like ´Balwooy hoy balwooy’ and Abdi Sinimo performed it.

Hussein Aw Farah then went to create a play where Omar Dhuulle was an actor impersonating a woman as it was a customary practice in theaters all over the world. One of his first plays to be staged was ‘Cantar and Ceebla’ and the second one was ‘Isa-seeg’.

It is possible that they never borrowed from anywhere since they were rich in literature. Barkhad Cas wrote the play titled “Inan Sabool”. Later, Ali Sugulle who was a master in the arts wrote plays like “Nin lagu seexdoo ha seexan”, “Af-qalaad aqoontuu miyaa” and “Kala-haad iyo kalabood”. Another famous playwright Sahrdiid Mohamed wrote plays like “Laguma dhaamee dhaqaaq” and “Gar-diid wa Alla diid”. Then it was Hassan Sheikh Mumin who wrote what is considered one of the best Somali plays “Shabeelnaagood” that was later translated into English. Finally Hadraawi enamoured us with his skills and introduced us to plays like “Hadimo’’ and “Reer Allowba yaa ku leh’’. All of these contributions cemented Somali culture in the world of theater.

Music and poetry were given more precedence in the script as opposed to the story itself as well as the dialogue. Although it was merited, it presented its own issues. One of the problems was the inconsistency and discrepancies within the storyline. Ahmed Aw Geedi remembers how it was hard to get the actors involved in the play to memorize the script as it was. “The poetry and the song is written but all other things were just improvised on the spot as they had the liberty to add their own lines. For example we were once commissioned by an organization to perform a play as written and one of my biggest challenges working even with the bigger names in the industry was getting them to comply without contesting the stipulated terms.”

Artan exclaimed “The thing that differentiated Somali plays from that of the rest of the world was that it was mostly impromptu using poetry and/or poetic verses. Anything that had no poetic premise was never given any attention. So, for a play to be considered of great quality, not only would it contain songs, the actors would have to perform poetry.” He continued to say “A play only lived for the three nights it was staged, unless it was videotaped and if it wasn’t, no matter how classic the play might have been; it was forever lost.”

¹ Fatoke, A. S. O. (1981-1982). Educational Development and Administrative Control in British Somaliland. Northeast African Studies, 3(3), 61-75.1

² Andrzejewski, B. W. (2011). Modern and traditional aspects of Somali drama. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 85-89.

³ Elmi, I. (2020, August 02). Ha Iga Goosan Caawad Iga Gacan Sareeysaa: A look at Jamaac Tubeec’s seminal song. Waaberi Phone. Retrieved December 7, 2022
⁴ Jaamac, J. M. (2015, February). Aqoon iyo Afgarad waa murti ku habboon in maanta la isu sheego: Gorfeyn riwaayadeed,. Dhaxalreeb, 1, 1-59.

Afrax, M. D. (1987). Fan-Masraxeedaka Soomaalida: Raad-raac Taariikheed iyo Faaqidaad Riwaayado Caan-baxay.

Afrax, M. D. (2013). Between continuity and innovation: transitional nature of post-independence Somali poetry and drama, 1960s – the present. [PhD Thesis]. SOAS, University of London.

Goth, B. (2015). Magool: The Inimitable Nightingale of Somali Music. Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, 14, 1-24.

Omer, F. M. (2020, February 11). How Somalis Use Theatre to Rebuild Culturally. History News Network. Retrieved December 8, 2022, from https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/174295

Sheikh Hassan, M.-R. (2008). Interview with the late Abdullahi Qarshe (1994) at the Residence of Obliqe Carton in Djibouti. Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies, 2, 65-83.