The debate about who discovered “the rules of Somali metre” has been going on for a couple of years. In this article I discuss some views expressed by Dr. Said Fahia in an article (Who discovered the Metrical Structure of Somali Poetry?) published in wardheerNews.com.

“In my humble opinion I tip the hat to (sic)Mr. Arale for discovering the scansion of Somali poetry,” wrote Dr  Fahia who is a contemporary of Mohamed Hashi Dhamac (aka Gaarriye) and Abdillahi Diiriye Guled ( aka Carraale).  Based on my reading of the works of Gaarriye and Carraale, and on what other scholars said about the Somali metre they discovered, I share the view of Mohamed Abdillahi Riiraash and Dr Martin Orwin who, in their paper, An Approach to Relationships between Somali Metre Types, wrote:

Since Dr Fahia has no doubt about the originality of Carraale's reasearch, I will set out to explain why Gaarriye equally shows creativity in his series of articles published in the now-defunct Xiddigta Oktoobar news paper in 1976.  The evidence I am going to use to make my point partly lies in the approaches Gaarriye and Carraale used to explain the rules of the Somali  metre.

Gaarriye emphasises the primacy of the vowels in any Somali poetry genre whereas Carraale uses both syllable and vowels to formulate his theory of Somali metre. I read Carraale’s book (Miisaanka Maansada) and Gaarriye’s 1976 series of articles reproduced  in Cabdiraxmaan C. Faarax’s  Mahadhada iyo Waxqabadka Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac "Gaarriye". I found Gaarriye’s style to be suitably conversational—remember official written Somali was three years old when Gaarriye had his pieces published in Xiddigta Oktoobar. Gaarriye did his undergraduate studies at Somalia’s former College of Education (  Lafoole) and earned a degree in biology and chemistry. He approaches the Somali metre with the mind-set of a scientist and someone familiar with the history of scientific revolutions.

In his 1976 articles Gaarriye shows confidence to face criticism and modification of his theory of Somali metre should anyone find “errors in the metre”. His poem , (Maahmaahdii Daarwin ‘Darwin’s proverb’) on the theory of evolution, contains the line: “ haddaan maluhu beenoobin”  ( if the theory is not falsified.)

The following quote from professor John Johnson—Dr Fahia uses it in his article— corroborates Gaarriye’s approach to the Somali metre: an emerging field to which scholars may modify or add something to:

“About fifteen years ago a breakthrough occurred in the study of Somali poetry when Cabdillahi Diiriye Guuleed found vowel length to be one of the key elements in the prosody of Somali poems.”

Carraale’s later contribution to the theory of Somali metre dates back to 1981 or 1982, almost 2 years after his paper on the Somali metre was published in Somalia and the World (Proceedings of the International Symposium).

Both Carraale’s and Gaarriye’s contributions have generated lively discussions. However, there are questions that their formulations on the ‘metre’ have thrown up:

• Has Carraale incorporated his later findings into his book Miisaanka Maansada Soomaaliyeed? If the answer is “yes”, has his findings affected his earlier formulations in Gorfaynta Gabayga, Xiddigta Oktoobar and Somalia and the World?
  
  
• In his 1976 Xiddigta Oktoobar articles, Gaarriye argued that talent for poetry exists, but anyone can become a poet. In response to a  wardheernews.com interview question about readers  who “thought  they could become poets once they mastered the Somali metre, “( Wareysi) Gaarriye  said: “Maya, shardi ma aha in laga baran karo. Berrigaase waxaan qabay in gabyaa la noqon karo marka la barto[miisaanka maansada].”` (No, [becoming a poet] is not conditional on learning the metre.  But then I was of the opinion that one can become a poet when one learns [the metre].”).  From this response it is clear that Gaarriye believes some people can acquire the poet’s language skills after learning the metre but he stopped believing that one can become a poet after mastering the metre. Gaarriye ought to clarify his views so readers can know if he has changed his mind on what he wrote nearly thirty five years ago.
  
  
• In his 8 May 1976 article in Xiddigta Oktoobar, Gaarriye, in response to the late poet and critic  Ibrahim Awad (Kholi), insisted on the need to do away with alliteration since  “ it trusses up the ideas of the poet. “ The late Ibrahim Awad’s point about non-alliterative Somali poem is still relevant:  “…Gaariye’s disciples expect him to compose a non-alliterative [Somali] poem.” Does Gaarriye still hold the view that alliteration is more of a hindrance than a help to the poet?

Finding answers to the questions outlined above, I think, will help us move the focus from who first discovered the Somali metre to questions about  impact Gaarriye’s and Carraale’s views on the metre have on their formulations.

Liban Ahmad
E-Mail:Libahm@gmail.com
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