Hiin Fiin: The flying pebble

[Haaraahur.]

By Sayid Maxamed

 

In ‘Hiin fiin’ the Mullah is as much concerned with showing off his poetic talent as he is with getting his message across. Ostensibly, the poem is a celebration of the poets love for a favourite horse, Hiin finiin; it is a pointed demonstration of the Mullah’s poetic skills and brilliant discourse on tribal politics.

 

The Mullah, for political consideration as well as for love’s sake, had asked the hand of a high-born ********* woman belonging to the ‘Omar Mahmud', an important ********* sub-clan, but put in a serious quandary when her kinsmen, to block the proposed political marriage (which they considered the kiss of death), ask for the impossible as part of the standard bride-price – the Mullah’s favourite horse.

 

So, in spite of its superficial playfulness and surface brilliance, the poem is filled with sadness and longing.

 

As in the case of with many of the Mullah’s poems ‘Hiin Fiin’ starts off with a long and involved ‘preamble', in which the poet discusses at length, tribal hospitality (what should and should not be asked and/or offered) and inter-tribal politics, including betrayal and perceived cowardice in the fight against infidels. For, in the Somali imagination, the horse is primarily associated with war and with manly pride.

 

 

Hiin Finiin

 

My dear Farah, the words of [consequential] men

Deserve seldom consideration

That I am of dignity and of honour,

no one can deny,

and I was kind and compassionate before I was abandoned

[by you, Somalis] to my solitary fate in the hands of

the Christian infidels.

 

Now you have come to me,

bearing a letter from an important ruler ;

Yet had you asked of me any number of goodly flocks,

or any other worldly thing.

I would have held back nothing [from you or your master]

 

I had intended to give you a goodly share

of my multitudinous camel-herd;

I had wanted to select for you a thousand choice camels;

but when you asked for Hiin Finiin, of all creatures,

I was hurt to the quick!

 

O my brother, certain demands can lead

to a man’s perdition;

but I pardon you, for you are a kinsman.

 

I may accuse others [of wrong-doing]

but you, I hold you blameless.

Yet had the nearest of kin, clansman, or in-law

asked me [of my beloved horse] ,

had they adjured me with mention of the Living One,

the Ever-Lasting,

I would never have consented to part with my

beloved Hiisow.

 

It is chestnut, the most befitting of colours for a horse.

In movement, it is best-siuted for the full gallop,

the trot, the canter or the easy gait-

whichever way you ride, it has no equal among horses1

 

O Hiin Finiin,

as I think of you

my fondness for you surges forth afresh;

so dear are you to me

that only the letter of the faith

rivals my love for you.

All creatures in God’s creation

esteem the spirit of this sacred horse.

 

But since a sultan,

[who is related to me by marriage]

has set his heart upon it,

Then, I surrender its reins to you, O Farah,

though I would have not honoured the request

of anyone else, among Adam’s progeny,

for possession of Hiin Finiin.

[Laba-X]

Xayow Faaraxow hadal rag waa, loo xutubiyaaye

Nin xishood leh baan ahay haddaan, lay xistiyihayne

Xabiib baan ahaa jeer kufriga, laygu xaasidaye

 

Adna xaashi baad iila timid, xaakin soo diraye

Xaddigii adduunyada haddaad, xoolo iga dooni

Marna anigu kaama xistiyeen, xaalaad leedahaye

 

Inaan kuu xaf gooyaan jeclaa, geel xawaar badane

Kumanyaal xawaadaan lahaa, xawd u sii mariye

Markaad Xiin Finiin damacday baa,n kaa xanuunsadaye

 

Walaalow xirgiga qaarkii waa, lagu xujoobaaye

Waxaan kugu xutubiyaaba waa, xuuradaan nahaye

Nin kalaan xafiilaba adaan, xaaydda kaa rogaye

 

Xigto iyo qaraabiyo hadduu, xidid i weydiisto

Xayow iyo qayuumeey haddii, la igu xoodaansho

Xubigayga kuma hayn inaan, xiisow bixiyaaye

 

Xamar weeye oo midab fardood, kala xariir roone

Xawaariyo kabti iyo raaxo iyo, xawli iyo jeefag

Xaggii loo eryaba waa Gammaan, xulashadiisiye

 

Xubna-toosanlow neefku waa, xaalad gooniya e

Goortaan xusuus ula noqdaa, xiisa ii qabanne

Waxaan xarafka diimeed ahayn igaga xeel dheere

 

Xarbaddiyo jihaadkaan lahaa, xoogsi ugu fuule

Usagaan xatooyada lahaa, xuurta ugu looge

Xiniinyaha ku goo baan lahaa, gaalka xaylka lehe

 

Xayskaa da'aayaan lahaa, Xallin ka dooyeeye

Xaqaygii maqnaa baan lahaa, xag ugu raacdeeye

Meesha iyo xeebtaan lahaa xiito ka eryoode

 

Xujey-reebta reer Hagar anaan, xabashyadii ruubin

Xinjoortoda dhiigga leh haddaan, lagu xaraaraysan

Xaaqaamaquuqiyo haddaan, xaaluf laga yeelin

 

Xiddaysane ma dhiibeen anaan, xaaladday bogane

Xaaraami uun baa arlada, xula abiidkiise

Wuxuun bay xushleeyan sidii,xabashi ******e

 

Aniguna xogtaydaan ka baqi inay xumeeyaane

Xashaa-liillahiye nin goba xamasho waw ceebe

Goorteer anoo xaajiyaan,xinif awoodaaye

 

Intii aniga lay xaman lahaa xil iga soo meerye

Aduu galabta kuu xoolo yahay xamarkii dheeraaye

Waa Xiin Finiin neefka aad xadhigga haysaaye

 

Xayawaanka oo idil naftey kala xaroodaane

Mar hadduu suldaan igu xil lihi igaga xayddaantay

Xariggiisa qabo aadmi kale kuma xurmeeyeene.

 

Sayyidku, was a master at poetry, none excelled him!

[Haaraahur.]

Raganimo

Sayid's poetry can only be understood by those who speak fluent Somali. So the younger generation can not appriaciate its wisdom and meaning which is very sad indeed. I am one them.

 

So if you have any of Sayid's or great Somali poets gabayo in English it would be much appreciated.

[Sincere]

I have always had reservations about the mad mullah’s character, on the same token I cant help but admire him for his sheer prowess of oral Somali literature. My Somali literature is limited, but with the help of translated material, I have come to appreciate the egocentrics oral skills. When my dad first turned me onto the mullahs poetry, he’s advice was you can always appreciate his oral skills and proficiency of the Somali language, but loath his message; indeed the further I delve into his poems the less reserved I am becoming of his character.

 

1904 after negotiations with the Italians and British, the sayyid was given his own city and sea-port in Ayl. However as Ayl and environs were to poor in resources and too limited for the ambitions of the Dervish movement, the leaders gradually came the decision to take up the armed struggle once again. It was at this point that the Sayyid composed the following poem known to the dervish as gala-leged (literally, knocking the unbelievers to the floor, or defeating the infidels), while other Somalis knew it as Gudban. It is considered one of the most memorable poems of the Sayyid and served as policy declarations or proclamations of edicts, a kind of state-of-the-union address.(Majority is laden with qabiil innuendoes, so I’ll post the cleanest portion that conforms to SOL etiquette, and so happens to be the beginning 24 lines.)

 

 

Awel maanso waatan gudboo guriyey waayaaye

Waatan galbeedkaas u diray guga hortiisiiye

Aan gaasheeyo tii xalay hurdada gama’a ii diidday

 

Galladaha Ilaahay ka badan geedahaas baxaye

Guushuu inoo yeelay baan idin garwaaqsiine

Guddiyey I maqal waxaa tihiin gacaladaydiiye

 

Najiska gurta xumaa haddu shalayto geeryooday

Godka lagu cadaabkii haddan gowrac ugu jiiday

Uu guduri cunay wa waxay galkabsanaayeene

 

Dhurwaagii ka giigaan u diri gacan salaameede

Isagay gargaaroo dugaag iiga gooniyahe

Haddan garan gunaan siin kahaa gooriyo ayaane

 

Gandaldheere waataan wax badan guuyaduu maraye

Gef hyadduu ku sii daray wixii lagu gufeynaayey

Anigu wow garaad qabay inuu gigi waraabuuye

 

Giriirixis aan jirin wa wixii gaabshay oo rogaye

Gaalleefta waataan la dhacay gucurradoodiiye

Haddeeyaan abaal gadiin sidaa uma gadoodneene

 

Godolkiyo kasnaantaan u qabay kama galgaaleene

Kamana gaagexeen abid hadday nabad uu goohaane

Waxse mowd ku gaardiyay markay ganafka taageene

 

Gobooygii shuxle ahaa haddan gowsihii jebiyey

Gegida Yuusuf jiifaa tukuu gabas-dhebaayaaye

Geesaaska dumarkaa sidii galow la moodaaye

[Sincere]

To begin with, I have neglected poetry and let it dry up

I had sent it west in the beginning of the spring rains

But let me set forth what prevented me from sleeping last night.

 

God’s blessings are numerous than those growing trees

I will remind you of the victory He gave us

Listen to me,my council, for you are most dear to me

 

If the unwashed left-handed one* had died yesterday

If I had cut his throat, may he taste hell in the grave itself

And the wild animals had eaten him, he and his ilk would deserve this.

 

I would salute the hyena that would gorge itself on his flesh,

As it is doing me a service ,it is dearest to me than other animals

of the wild

If I knew it, I would reward it every day.

 

That deformed one wasted a lot of my wealth

Since he kept committing wrongs again and again

I knew all along that the hyena would devour him

 

It was their insincere refusal to acknowledge the truth

That put them down and destroyed them

And made me attack their best men with a dagger

If they had not been ungrateful, I would not have

Been enraged with them

 

I would not have lost my generosity and respect for the.

I would not have withheld anything from them, if they had

Desired peace

But when they acted disdainfully, death marched straight at them

 

If I had broken the jaw of the low born Shuxle*

And the crow were to peck at the corpses where

Yusuf* spends his nights

And the laments of the women would sound like the buzzard.

 

* Notables of the Sultanate. (Yusuf cismaan, Guray Shirwac Nur,)

Translated by Mursal Farah and Lidwien Kapteijns

[Haaraahur.]

^

Thank you for the translation.

 

Well, below is what the mullah had to say about his cause:

 

The Mullah never wanting words in defence of his cause provided his own epitaph:

 

Even I have failed to get a flag that would be flown for me

between here and Nairobi.

 

Have I failed to get honour in Paradise, and

victories as well as defeats [in war]?

 

Even I have failed to get the Iido [region],

luxuriant with grass, and the Nogal [for my camels] to graze,

 

Have I failed to get a riding beast to mount and raid to war with success?

 

Even I have failed to get to get people who would show me sympathy and

acknowledge their kinship with me,

 

Have I failed to get God’s mercy

and [the gift] to see the prophets face?

 

It is important that the to take lines 1 and 6 together, as they so eloquently reveal the Mullah’s twin concerns thought the long Dervish struggle, God and Country, or freedom and faith in Allah.

 

In 1960, after the Somali Youth League successfully led northern and southern Somalis to independence and immediate union, an inspired poet, looking back to decades of strenuous Somali resistance to colonial rule, sang the following stiiring lines:

 

O Lord, who could convey gracious salutations to the great Dervish,

Who may tell him that his land is free at last.

 

 

Source:

Divine Madness

Mohammed Abdulle Hassan

(1856-1920)

By Abdi Sheikh Abdi

[Som@li]

Nice to see the tranlated version of Sayidd's poems,but one can enjoy these poems more in the mother language.

[Som@li]

^^^lol, are u sure those are Sayids words,,,,

[Intel]

Originally posted by Farxan:

one can enjoy these poems more in the mother language.

indeed xiin finiin

 

from golkhatumo.com

[Muhammad]

^^ can someone tell me who is the man behind the voice - ninka gabayada sayidka qaada?

 

his name? bio?

[Haaraahur.]

Sky

 

Can you translate the poem for those of us who have not mastered the Somali language yet?

 

Many thanks

[Juxa]

as an admirer of the sayid mohamed's poetic skills and his struggle against the gumaysi, may i say that his refrences to tribalism is different than qabiil as we now of today.

 

so i dont see it offensive or insulting if all his work was written here, even when he mentions names of tribes. the man was fighting for our freedom.

[lol]

^^^^ I couldn't agree more.

[Sky]

Who ever deleted my post, man that was childish. I'm really disappointed. That was a classic piece of poetic art.

[Laba-X]

Originally posted by Mudanti haweenka:

Raganimo

Sayid's poetry can only be understood by those who speak fluent Somali. So the younger generation can not appriaciate its wisdom and meaning which is very sad indeed. I am one them.

 

So if you have any of Sayid's or great Somali poets gabayo in English it would be much appreciated.

Mudantii Haweenkay, my personal opinion is that if one compares and contrasts the poem "Xiin Finiin" and it's translated version in english, one would inevitably conclude that it's best left in its original state, for any attempt to translate them and convey the message in a language other than that it was first conveyed in would result in a substantial loss of value and would, hence, no longer retain the same effect it would have had, had it been in its original form!

 

Translating a somali poem into English, or any other language for that matter, would prove monotonous, degrades and discredits the originality of the poem. Also, if you look closely, Somali poems tend to use Sarbeeb quite regularly and thus making it difficult to convey the same message in another language and most poems tend to utilise one alphabet of the somali language, from where the poem stems, X in the case of Xiin Finiin!

 

Again for me its a personal choice, I love the Somali language!