Founded in 1954, the theatre troupe Walaalaha Hargeysa (Siblings of Hargeysa) was nationalized and renamed Waaberi Hargeysa (Hargeysa's Dawn) following the military putsch in 1969. They were based in Hargeysa, the 2nd largest city in Somalia and currently the capital of the secessionist Somaliland. They're somewhat obscured by their Mogadishan other half of the twins that had at their disposal hundreds of artists and, thus, a massive repertoire. Nevertheless, WH had to their credit scores of plays and were widely popular all over Somalia and in the neighbouring countries. All the songs here belong to plays from the '70s and '80s performed live mainly by deeply loved, highly respected, widely venerated... female vocalists and actresses.
In this day and age, Somali women's rights are regularly violated by tribal and religious socio-psychopath(et)ic warlords and ordinary criminal thugs. In this light or glaring obscurity, I'd like to salute Aman Radio, the first all-female radio station in Mogadishu which celebrated its first anniversary on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Ladies and... ladies, congratulations for this pressing and heroine-ic initiative and many happier returns!
1.Hablaha Soomaaliyeed ("Somali Girls [Freedom of Choice]")
2. Adkeysan Waayoo ("Can't Stand [Injustice to Women]")
3. Gari Makaa Baxdaa? ("Do You Serve Justice?")
4. Waan Ku Haybinayoo ("I've Been Looking for You")
5. Soo Dhowoow ("Welcome")
6. Markaan Da'da Jirey 15 ("When I Was 15 [I Had Dreams]")
7. Gudcuraan Caddoba Jirin ("Dark Ages")
8. Cagta Saar Waddada ("Hit the Road")
9. Kaalay Adhaxda Igu Qaad ("[Love and Freedom] Come and Carry Me on Your Back")
10. Heri Maahee Hana Haabaa [An ancient love dance set to modern music]
11. Ha Saydhin Wacadka ("Don't Disavow the Commitment [Tradition to Cherish Your Better Half]")
12. Masiibadu Adduunyada Iyadaa U Macallin Ah ("Calamities Teach the World Lessons")
The compil is downloadable here. Most of my WH tapes are no longer listenable but I've about a dozen other tracks of which the sound quality is comparable to this batch. I may upload them sometime in the future. Leave a comment or pm me if it takes too long and you'd like to get them.
This is a full WH-play. As an integral part of the play, the songs are scattered throughout the video - at 11:55, 19:10, 39:00 etc.
Update: Part 2
1. Dardaaran ("Testament")
2. Intaad Nabad Doonto ("Seek and Wage Peace")
3. Dahab Weeye Gabadhuye ("Girls are Golden")
4. Sir Ma Qabe ("Honest and Frank / Without Ulterior Motives")
5. Xaawo iyo Aadan ("Eve & Adam")
6. Calaf Lama Dago ("Destiny/Complementarity Cannot Be Deceived/Betrayed")
This is extraordinary. Please do share more of your tapes! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWelcome! I'm afraid sharing complete tapes wouldn't be healthy for anybody's eardrums as most of the tracks have turned into cacophonous gobbledegook; hence the compilations. 'll upload more WH tracks soon.
DeleteI'll be in Hargeysa in March; if there's someone or somewhere I should ask in particular, please let me know and I'll scout some more.
DeleteI can only think of Radio Hargeysa. It may have some oldies goldies (or relevant info.) if its archives had survived.
DeleteBtw, i'm listening to your field recordings. Fascinating project! All the very best!
A couple of visitors mailed their anonymous comments don't appear here. I looked into my settings, layout, spam etc. and everything is seemingly as it'd be and has always been. Maybe a blogger bug, new policy for anon comments...? No idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteAppreciate this post. Will try it out.
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Thank you infinitely for this treasure full of wisdom.
ReplyDeleteHow do you digitize your tapes i have a bunch of tapes and VHS recordings and because of the amount they are a bit pricey to get done in stores.
ReplyDeleteI used EZ vinyl/tape converter.
DeleteThanks to Shelly R, for sharing an article on How to safely Support Black Lives Matter.
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