Somalis find meaning in prewar music

The Somali language now competes with Arabic and English – and traditional Waaberi music with US rap artist Eminem.

from the April 30, 2007 edition

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"Whenever I'm going around Bossaso in my car, I play Waaberi tapes to learn the old words. My friends complain at first that they want modern music, but I tell them, 'Listen! Do you know what libiqsi means?

"There are many other 'ex-words' in the songs, words that the young people don't use anymore," he adds, "and my friends love it when I explain."

The language gap between Somalia's generations comes from more than the natural cultural shift between the young and the old. It's a result of the fault line of the 16-year civil war.

Before Mr. Barre's government collapsed and Somalia's institutions imploded, schools taught the curriculum in the Somali language.

But some teachers joined the militias and many died in the fighting. Others migrated overseas.

Mohammed's mentor, Hasan Hajji Mohammed "Gulwadee," composed many of the old Waaberi tracks in Barre's Mogadishu. Now, in his mid-50s and settled in Bossaso, he presents several cultural programs for the Somali Broadcast Corporation. His target audience is children.

Bursting into song and drumming on the table with his fingers, Hasan says: "I'm trying to draw attention to our old traditions – but I also want to help shape the evolving language. Most young people don't understand the old proverbs, so I make up new ones, and I broadcast them on my daily radio show. How's this? 'Locusts are better than greedy leaders!'" He's implying that while Somalis have been hit by many natural disasters, manmade ones seem to be worse.

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