By Maxamed Daahir Afrax, PhD Introduction All writers begin with the literary tradition they inherit, no matter what they do to it, and they write for an audience educated to respond in particular ways. What is significant about the first novels is that writers used materials and techniques from older literary forms to provoke a...
October 1, 2024
Category: Camels and Poets
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The beasts that beat the drought: Camels sought after for meat, milk and cheese
By Halina Bazckowski Camels have long been seen as pests, but a small and dedicated group of advocates is pushing for an export market to make good use of the beasts’ unique attributes. The “ships of the desert” have not just survived but thrived on some drought-stricken properties that have been forced to destock cattle....
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Paramountcy of Alliteration in Somali Literature
By Maxamed Daahir Afrax Alliteration, in Somali xarafraac, is a uniquely important feature in Somali literature. Scholars have observed and commented on the role of xarafraac as one of the two structural tools that regulate Somali poetry, the other one being miisaan (metre). However, what has not been noticed in the scholarship on Somali literature...
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Kenya Approves Resumption of Nairobi-Mogadishu Flights
Sign up to our Next Africa newsletter and follow Bloomberg Africa on Twitter Kenya will resume direct flights between its capital, Nairobi and Mogadishu in Somalia, the East African nation’s Civil Aviation Authority Director-General Gilbert Kibe said Friday. Kenya had stopped the flights in May amid a dispute with Somalia over ownership of a territory...
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Shut out and forgotten, refugees in Dadaab appeal for dignity
Dimming prospects of lasting solutions amid continued insecurity in Somalia and ever-shrinking resettlement slots have locked refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab camps in conditions of vulnerability and dependency. With severe mobility constraints and limited livelihood options, humanitarian assistance continues to be a vital lifeline for refugees. But surviving on a bare minimum of assistance means many have been...
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Meet Somalia’s trailblazing female camel trader
Zamzam Yusuf, a grandmother of 29, is breaking barriers by entering the once men-only camel trading industry in Somalia. By Abdishukri Haybe & Hamza Mohamed Kismayo, Somalia – Every morning just before sunrise, Zamzam Yusuf makes the short drive between her house in Kismayo to a farm about 30 kilometres (19 miles) outside the Somali port city....
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Music Review: Saida Dahir – ‘The Walking Stereotype’
Richard Marcus Somali American poet Saida Dahir has released her first spoken word collection, The Walking Stereotypethrough Little Village Foundation releases. While only 26 minutes long, the recording is powerful, deeply moving and intensely satisfying. Spoken word recordings occasionally struggle to hold the listeners’ attention, but in this case you will find yourself hanging onto each and every word...
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The Somalis are crying over their dead Shakespeare : Mohamud Abdullahi Isse Sangub (1944-2019)
By Asad Mumin Many Somalis pay tribute to Mohamud Abdullah I Isse “Sangub”, born in 1944 in Dhagahbour in the Somali region of Ogaden, and died on 18 June in a hospital in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. The man was, philosopher, poet, composer, actor, singer, director, producer, playwriter, in a one word, the father...
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FAHAD: THE FUDDY-DUDDY
By Abdi I. Dalal This poem has been written not because the Poet has ill feelings for Fahad Yasin who is a journalist by profession and who is the current Chief-of-Staff of Villa Somalia (Presidential Palace), but to exhort him to stick to the norms of outstanding Leadership and Public Relations par excellence. Putatively, one...
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ABDULLAHI MA’ALIM DHODAAN: The Legendary and Cognizant Somali Poet- PART I
By Ali Sheikh A. Dhagaweyne Abdullahi Maalim Ahmed alias DHODAAN was born and brought up in Sirrow——a small village in Daratole district of Doollo Zone or Wardheer zone in the year 1941. Before death hounds him in the year 2013 at the aged of 72, Abdullahi Maalim Dhodaan was unbeatable star in the Somalis artistic...