historically Khatumo region was never in short supply of great poets that excelled and won national awards; From Ali dhuh to Ali Mire Awale’s authoring and composition of Somalia’s national anthem, “Somaliyeey toosoo, too soo isku tiirsada ee” Meanwhile, the current and legendary Xinna-Xiirey of Cayn region whose son was among dozens of civilians recently murdered by the Somaliland militia during commercial trips between Khatumo and Somaliland regions, left this one for his colleagues to flex their oratorical skills. Here, the great Abwaan Suusle, also a buhodle native demonstrates his lyrical supremacy in “habar jeclooy muuse waa kaa” as he drops the following major volcanic response to Hadrawi’s minor earthquake

In a recent gathering to advocate for the human rights of theMadhibaan_despised minorities in Somaliland, The famous Somali poet Ibrahim Mohammed Warsame Hadrawi narrated anexplosivepoem titleddhul-gariir(Earthquake). Hadrawi spoke against societal attitudes towards this ethnic group laying out how young girls born into the Madhibaan tribes have difficulty getting marriage proposals simply because of their background. Hadrawi debated and deliberated eloquently on the rights of these girls. However, when he tried to educate these young girls about the risks of immorality and informal sleeping around, he advised them “not to move or walk like the [horse] Dhodimeer of Taleex”. “ha u dhaqaaqina sidii dhoodimeerkii Taleex”ouch!

Hadrawi received a round of applause from the audience after dropping this bomb shell statement in which the fast and furiousDhodimeerof Taleh was put in the same equation with sexuality, promiscuity, and extra marital affairs. To their surprise and shock, Khatumo folks_ the only Somali ethnic group known for their horse breeding culture_ felt not only insulted but also disgusted at the historical distortion labelled against their Sool Sanaag and Cayn regions. Interestingly,I have predicted in past articles how some of myNorthernfriends are allergic to the mere mentioning of the Somali Dervish Movement.But wait a minute..for now. Before awakening the beast in Buhodle’s prose and poetic prowess, let’s first look at who wasDhoodimeer !

Unlike the dozen or so mules that usually transgressed from the farSanaagplateaus,the Dervish movement _later morphed into Dervish State_ in historical Taleh (present day Khatumo State’s capital city) bred and trained thousands of Dervish horses. In their liberation struggle against the British Colonials in 1900’s,Dhodimeerwas one of the special horses of Sayyid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan. In fact so famous that one of the domes in Taleh’s heritage sites reads:burial site of the famous Dhodi-meer. It was known for its speed, agility, courage and beauty.Dhodimeergalloped in ruggedXaysimo, trotted inBoocame,and crisscrossed with blazing speed from the plains of Nugaal valley to the brown sands ofSool-Jogto. Additionally, if memory serves me well, it was also the horse upon which the replica of the most famous land mark in Mogadisho’s [Taallada] Sayyidka Monument was based.

The Dervish cavalry (present day khatumo state) was regarded by the British as the “only black cowboys of Africa”. Currently, Khatumo State government boasts a cavalry dept; promising to give incentives to encourage raising horses, cavalry and horse races.According to a video documentry by khadar Maxamed Xashi _ a young and upcoming khatumo historian and poet:“historical Taleh showcases a rich horse breeding culture, majestic monuments and executive castles includingDaar-ilaaloand theflaatseries of which the Sayyid proudly suggested to his traitors that: “should you flee to thefrenchicolonials, mentionflaat’shistory”. (ninkii fakadee frenji u tagoow, flaat faalladeeda sheeg sheeg).As per Hadrawi’sstatement above, it seems quite comical that a man of his stature would completely and willfully digress from the Sayyid’s narrative as well as the objective and historical facts about Taleh city.

As arespected figure and an esteemed poet who weighs quite a huge literary and political clout, Hadrawi’s is in a real position to shape the social and cultural discourse in Somaliland. I would not be surprised if Hadrawi’s comments get transcribed into the Somaliland education curriculum as a true fact; A twisted version of khatumo’s rich history maybe internalized by the youth of hargaisa and Buro thus instilling in them a false sense of superiority as an ethnic group. A superiority that was recently kept in check by the boys ofkashaale‘s successful military defense of Sooljogto and Maygaagle at the beginning of 2012.Additionally, under the guise of a quizzi political agreement with the SSC leadership, the Somaliland army would later withdraw their militia in defeat from Cayn region on August 11, 2012.

Moreover, historically Khatumo region was never in short supply of great poets that excelled and won national awards; FromAli dhuhtoAli Mire Awale’sauthoring and composition of Somalia’s national anthem, “Somaliyeey toosoo, too soo isku tiirsada ee” Meanwhile,the current and legendaryXinna-Xiireyof Cayn region whose son was among dozens of civilians recently murdered by the Somaliland militia during commercial trips between Khatumo and Somaliland regions, left this one for his colleagues to flex their oratorical skills. Here, the greatAbwaanSuusle,also a buhodle native demonstrates his lyrical supremacy in “habar jeclooy muuse waa kaa”as he drops the following major volcanic response to Hadrawi’s minorearthquake:

[ ... abwaan dhuda yar dhoobada ka yar waygu dhaliseene ***adigaa dharaar maxamedow dhoodi weerarayeadigaa saydihii dhaashanaa dhoocilo u raraye *****waataa dhaleecadii fardaha loo dhalaashadaye mar haddii dhaliishaadu tahay dhoodi lama gaaro *****dheeraynta waa lagu yiqiin dhiiri iyo xoogewaligiiba waa lagu dhahaa waa dhabiirane eh ***aduunbaa dhabcaalaye abaal dhumuc leh baa u yaalleetaariikhdii loo dhigay miyaa kuu dhadhami wayday ***mise gaaladuu dhibi jiray yaa dhalasha kuu qaataymise dhimashadii koofil baa dhaxal lagaa siiyay *********mise franjiguu dhibi jiraa soo dhabacanaayamise dhilifka iisii ruxaad dhal ugu qiirootay ************ma taleex hubkii la-la dhacaad dhiiri galinaysayma dhallaankii go’ay baad ahayd dhogorigii laayay****ma dhurwaagii cunay baad tahay dhidir walaalkiisemise dharigii lagu shiilayay baad dhamac daba oogaysay **mise waa dhengado raagay iyo dhaawac kugu yaalla *****mise dhalilinqiyo aadan baa kuu dhulbahanteeyay *****maxaa eeddu kuumaba dhawee dhalada kuu saaray ]

A familyaffair:Yes,Ashkir-hawlwas the name of my grandfatherFardo-sheegad’shorse. like the golden sands ofSaaxdheer,one glance at it and you would quickly fall in love with this horse. i rememberAshkir’sdemonstration of a unique swagger as he raised his right leg up to receive the patriotic greetings by the dignitaries attending the 1st of July Somali independence celebrations inLasanod in late 1980’s.It was a crowd favorite to watch Grandfather (M.Hindi) riding his horse and approaching the stadium with speed. And unlike a polo player who just bends down to check a ball with sticks, M.Hindi would pick up tiny treasure boxes in his mouth as he flipped his body downwards to the belly of his speeding horse. Additionally, Khatumo State’s current Flag highlights a horse figure in the left white triangle. And as he was designing Khatumo State’s flag, i asked (Y. Hindi) about the significance of having this horse in the flag… My dad threw back a proud smile…perhaps reflecting a re-emmergence of the rich history of Sool Sanaag and Cayn and the greatDhoodimeerof Taleh!

May God bless Khatumo State of Somalia… the ties that bind together Sool Sanaag and Cayn

We are the ones we have been waiting for !

A.Hindi ([email protected])