Poetry
Gudban
Not translated into English
Maxamed Cabdille Xasan · 1907
Synopsis
A political proclamation by the dervish leader, the poem first celebrates the fall of adversaries, then lets his anger burst out against the nobles of the Majeerteen and Hobyo sultanates, whom he accuses of treachery and ingratitude despite his gifts. The Sayyid sings his own praises, sets out why he is taking up arms again, names the clans he holds to be allies of the colonisers and calls on the Somalis to unite against them. He also mourns the fallen dervish leaders and the factions annihilated by the British, the Italians and the Ethiopians.
Context
The Somalis did not name this poem in the same way depending on their side: the dervishes called it Gaala leged, the others Gudban, “the crossing”, in memory of the dervishes' return to the Nugaal valley that year. Mursal Farah Afdub and Lidwien Kapteijns see in it the signal of the return to war and divide it into seven parts. The text, of nearly one hundred and fifty lines, has come down to us through the memory of a veteran, Garaad Soofe Durraan, who dictated it in 1957, and appears in the collection of the Sayyid's poems compiled by Jaamac Cumar Ciise.
Who it is for
For those who wish to hear the voice of the dervish leader, poet and war chief, in a proclamation that reads like a political speech.
Prizes and reception
Said Sheikh Samatar compared it to the State of the Union address, and it is regarded as one of the most memorable poems of its author.
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