While there are many genres to Somali expression like the Gabay (Epic Poetry), the Qasiido
(Religious poems), Hees (Songs), today we are going to talk about Folktales also known
as Sheeko Xariirooyin. Folk tales are central to Somali people’s
lives, they can be told around the encampment fire, whispered to children at bedtime or
shared in a group of friends. Folktales are astonishingly well preserved
in oral history and certain stories have been passed on from generation to generation and
in all the different regions inhabited by Somalis.
In this video we are going to talk about the fantastical creatures, animals and heroes
that constitute Somali lore. And in that sense, we have to highlight and
celebrate the work of Ahmed Artan Hange, who investigated Somali folklore in the late 80’s
and collected them in his book: Sheeko Xariirooyin Somaliyeed.
Much like the Brothers Grimm who were collectors of popular tales and popularized stories like
“Cinderella” or “Snow white”, Ahmed Artan interviewed somali elders and collected
their account. Let’s start with animal tales. Animals have
a large place in Somali folktales. Stories about them illustrate Somali people’s connection
to nature and their environment. Miyiga’ the plains and shrublands which are the traditional
environment of pastoral people. Animal tales are used by Somalis to teach
children about values, morals, and wisdom. In animals’ tales, animals represent people,
and each animal possesses a defining human trait.
Dawaco, the fox is a cunning trickster who often takes advantage of other animals’
credulity. One such simple minded animal is Waraabe,
the Hyena who often gets taken advantage of and fooled by the fox.
Waraabe, the hyena is often the villain of the tale, but her malice is overcome by the
resourcefulness and intelligence of the other animals.
In the wide-open plains of Somalia, the Hyena is indeed the enemy of the Somalis’ main
riches, their livestock, and children are taught at a young age how to trick and defeat
her. Other notable animals in Somali tales are
Bisad iyo Jiir, the cat and the mouse, Lax iyo Ri’, the sheep and the goat, Marrodi
iyo Dabagaale, the elephant and the squirrel, Yaxaas, the crocodile, Libax, the lion and
Din the tortoise. A lot of Somali animal tales have similarities
with Aesop’s Fables. Like the “Boy who cried wolf” where a young shepherd repeatedly
tricks people from his village into thinking a wolf is attacking their flock. In the tale,
Omar iyo Waraabe, Omar and the Hyena, Omar performs the same lies until nobody believes
him and comes to his help when the hyena devours him.
Some historians believe the famous Greek fabulist Aesop to be of Ethiopian origins. Which would
make sense as animal tales are widely shared stories on the African continent.
Other fascinating heroes of Somali folktales are the fantastical creatures like Dhegdheer
the ogress and her daughter Buuti. Folk tales describe Dhegdheer as a very tall
woman with an incredible force that was so fast, she could outrun horses. Marka ay qof
eryanayso sida dabaysha bay u xiimi jirtey. She would sound like a fast wind, when she
was in pursuit of someone. Dhegaheeda mid baa sida eyga u dheerayd, sidaas
awgeed baa loogu bixiyey naanaysta “Dhegdheer”. One of her ears was long like that of a dog
which earned her the nickname “Dhegdheer”. Dhegdheer was so cunning and deceiving that
she would build the semblance of a town with several houses to trick passing travellers
looking for water and a place to rest. They would stop in her pretend town where she would
then capture and eat them. But in one of the tales, Dhegdheer is outsmarted
by 2 children, Faridoo and her younger brother. Faridoo whose name means the “Wise Girl”
is the elder of a family of 4 children. One day Faridoo takes her brothers and sisters
to collect berries and when she tries to make her way back to her family’s homestead,
she finds out that her family has already left the grounds.
Faridoo then proceeds to find water and shelter for her little brothers and sisters and ends
up walking into Dhegdheer pretend town. The children are captured by the ogress, but Faridoo
manages to escape with one of her younger brothers and they rebuild their lives together
far from Dhegdheer’s territory. Faridoo and Dhegdheer tale’ is very similar
to that of “Hansel and Gretel” who find themselves lost in a forest and walk into
the evil witch’s lair made of gingerbread and pastries.
For Somali children, a town in the desert with the promise of a refreshing cover from
the scorching sun would have the allure of the delicious pastries that enticed the German
children “Hansel and Gretel”. Somali folk tales have been educating children
on the dangers of the wide-open plains and deserts and how they should learn to rely
on wisdom and resourcefulness to tame the hostile nature.
It’s a very common trope in fairy tales to represent nature’s chaos and hostility
through a very powerful, evil feminine archetype like Dhegdheer.
Which is why when Dhegdheer is defeated, the children sing: Dhegdheer dhimatoo, dhulkii
nabadey. Dhegdheer is no more, the land is at peace.
Nature’s chaos and hostility is often contained and overcome by the ingenuity and wisdom of
the old man’s archetype which we also find in Somali folk tales. The Wadaad or Oday often
represents the sum of knowledge and wisdom passed on through the generations.
Another very powerful female figure in Somali Folktales is Queen Arraweelo.
While Dhegdheer stories are believed to be entirely symbolical, there is not a complete
consensus on whether or not Queen Arraweelo ruled Somali territories.
Some Somali places still bear names in reference to her like a place named “Jeexi Arraweelo”,
Arraweelo’s valley situated near the city of Ceelaayo in Somaliland. Ceelayo is also
believed to have been the place where Queen Araweelo would move her court in the winter
seasons. In that town, there is a stone mound called
“Taallotiirriyaad” which is believed to be Araaweelo’s tomb.
Whenever Somali men pass by this stone mound, they would throw several stones onto it with
a curse upon Arraweelo’s name, while in contrast, Somali women would place green branches
and fresh flowers as a sign of respect for the greatest woman-ruler in Somali oral tradition.
The story of Arraweelo gives a very insightful look into the underlying tension that exists
between men and women in Somali culture. While there is a clear division of tasks between
men and women in the traditional Somali family with men venturing outside the homestead to
water camels and to partake in warfare and women staying back to care for infants and
household chores, in times of peace, the burden of running the household sometimes falls disproportionately
on women. Which leads the clever, fiery and proud Arraweelo
to tell her husband: “A woman could also do what a man does; most of the men in the
town council are old fools. Why not allow able women to take their places?”
Arraweelo then proceeds to foment an insurrection of the women to overthrow men which she turns
into eunuchs. There is a striking resemblance between the
story of Arraweelo and her army of female warriors and that of the nomadic Amazons whose
name is believed to have been derived from the Iranian ‘ama-jana, meaning “virility
killing” and whose lands were believed to be at the rim of the known world for the Greeks.
Some historians also believe that Somali societies used to be matriarchal in early centuries
before becoming patriarchal. While it is not yet possible to state with
certainty that Arraweelo existed in history, her story has left a strong impression on
Somali culture. Some of Araweelo’s maxims are still carried
out by Somali women. Waxii aad yeeli doontan diida marka hore (Whatever
you will accept in the end, you should refuse first).
Cudud rag isu geeya, calafkiisana kala dhawra
(Unite the strength of men, but always feed them apart).
There are many tales in Somali traditions which have similarities with foreign tales
like the cowardly fool Ciigal Shidad who resembles Mullah Nasruddin the wise fool in middle eastern
tales. Or Suul the man that was as small as a thumb
which resembles the tale of “Thumbling” by the Brothers Grimm.
Somali folktales also have some of the traditional monsters and changelings that we encounter
in other cultures like the Werewolf “Qori Ismaris” which changes into a Hyena-Man
by rubbing a wood stick on his body or the giants “Habbad ina Kamas” and “Biriir
ina Barqo”. Somali folktales are a rich tapestry in which
is woven the wisdom of centuries past, and they should be preserved as part of our universal
story.