If one comes to the truth then as it were then I am Cawrala
Barre, the person I am speaking about is someone whose eyes
and heart have followed you since she first saw you. Without a
doubt she belongs to you, body and soul, even though you do
not know it. Day and night, in her sleep and when awake, she
dreams of you. Her love and affection for you have entered
her bowels and flesh. It is because of this that she can take no
sustenance.
Cawrala Barre was born around 1893 in the town of Xiis which
is in the Savaag region of Somalia, of the shores of the Gulf of
Aden. As a young girl she stayed in the town during the dry
season of the year and most of her days were spent in the
interior of the country where her father tended his modest
herds.
Xiis lies at the foot of the Cal Mountains, which are part of the
Golis range. These mountains extend as far as Karin Bosasa
and Boorane and if one moves inland, the stony plateau they
reach Harranx, while towards the east, they stretch towards
Baargaal, those on the eastern side of Karin they are called the
Cal Maskaad. Surad Mountains, standing above Xiis, is 28,000
meters. It is famous for frankincense, gum, the sap of the
euphorbia tree, mastic and other products derived from other
aromatic plants
Remains of past ages, objects which people used to gather,
monuments and mounds so large, one could confuse them for
houses. Places where treasures were hidden, bewildering and
at the same time beguiling. Caves with amazing carved walls.
Wandering round Daalo one cannot help moving as if in a
trance. In this magical place rain falls in the morning even in
the dry season. All sorts of glorious birds, some picking berries
and others offer entertainment in form of their singing and
playful antics. The clamor of frogs and the sky lark calling out
from far away……real magic!
It was in this region where Cawrala was brought up. Nothing
about her could be scorned. Her complexion was dark brown
with a shading of red. Her stature was medium with a slim waist
and a mane of soft brown shoulder length hair, clear eyes with
their black pupils were resplendent with a radiance defying
description. Her eyebrows met above her long bridged nose.
as she lay on the deck some three paces
from the male passengers.
The ship rolled and as she moved into
the open sea, the roll increased. At about
seven
O’clock, as the evening meal was being
served by the ship’s boys, Calimaax
started a bantering conversation with
Nuurcise..
He said, ‘You seem to be greatly
troubled. What was it that made you
undertake a journey on this evil sea?
Why did you not stay with your family
at Guudmare and milk your she-camel
Saaqa and the rest of them. In your place
I would not have set out on this jinn
ridden sea just to clutch at the ship’s
sides and make those puking noises
aah!aah!Still I am not really surprised
that you are here, for it was hunger and
lack of clothes that drove you on to
these wastes for sure! What did you get
in Aden as guest food? How many bags
of provisions and how many complete
sets of clothing are you taking back to
the family? You must surely have been
on a visit to a relative-perhaps the son of
your maternal cousin?’
Calimaax’s words distracted Nuurcise
from his sufferings.
“Cali,’ he replied, ‘do you not realize that
you are a weak townsman? How can you
have anything to tell a man from the
interior like myself? Do you have even
as much strength as there is in the finger
of a young one boy old just old enough
to carry a weapon? Who could, by God,
ask you to help them go on a trek or take
the animals to get water in the harsh dry
season? Let people find out if you are
worthy of their praise. If you insult
country people and say they are simple
and lack good clothes then let me tell
you that everything you get in the town
comes from the country.. Have you not
ever heard of this poem that the Sayyid
wrote?’
The provisions and clothes that which
keep people busy in towns’
Bustling and trading, are merely the
lifeless wealth brought in from outside
If the town is cut off from the interior,
the angel of death soon comes on his
errands
The captain of the ship joined in and
supported Nurciise. He told Cali to leave
Knur alone and stop talking about the
interior. He said, “you cannot match the
eloquence of Nuur as he will drown you
in proverbs, poems and sayings.’
Another man, Magar, broke in and said,
‘You captain, and Nuur are as different
as day and night. Why are you taking
his side while you know that the
townsman goes to school, studies the
Koran and learns about the faith? He can
see the difference between what is
forbidden and that which is lawful. He
stays close the the one who lives next to
him as a friend. You people of the interior
are driven by looking after camels. They
are not even able to differentiate
between that which is lawful property
and unlawful property, What is more,
they molest girls! and don’t they dress
in skins when their clothes wear out?’
The women were so near to where the
men were sitting that they could hear
everything they were saying. They
listened very attentively.
From time to time, in the moonlight, the
eyes of Cawrala and Calimaax met.
Cawrala was moved by some sense of
decorum to lower her eyes while
adjusting her silk head scarf with her
right hand so that it covered most of her
face, then caught the end of it with her
teeth.
Calimaax took up the conversation again.
‘ It seems that, Nuur , the captain and all
the people of the interior think that a
townsman has not the slightest idea of
the old wisdom or that of poetry , that he
could never do justice to the Somali
spoken by the people of the interior.
Well then, let us confront each other
here and now! Listen to this poem I have
composed’…..
‘In truth the shaggy man of the interior
has no knowledge of any other place.
He forgets everything else when the fire
is lit in the morning
Stupidly, he does not even care if his
piece of flesh shows from under his loin
cloth
When God sends a downpour of rain
and the world becomes prosperous,
The milking vessel filled to the brim
with goat milk
, this is followed by a pound of town
food acquired by quest,
and then he and his wife and himself
have such an opinion of themselves,
they might be a government!
There is no scolding, no beating with a
herder’s forked staff
They don’t fight each other
And at such a time if you have any
business to talk to them, you better
think again!’
when Cawrala laughed it was never more
than a smile. She bared just a little
glimpse of her pearl white teeth, so that
at the sides, one could take a glance of
her pointed eye-teeth. To all this must be
added the well rounded calves of her
legs. She was not a person who could be
disregarded as she walked, swinging her
supple arms, her throat marked by
encircling lines of beauty; there were
four of them. One could say that her
beauty had never been seen or heard of
before. She never wore her clothes in a
slipshod way for she used to secure
them in an orderly manner and took pride
in this. She lived in Aden for five years
where she studied the Koran and learned
Arabic. She achieved high standards in
both.
She had a brother called Dalmar and
two sisters, one who was younger than
her. Her parents live partly in Xiis and in
the hills above the town. Her father,
Barre was always boasting about his
Cawrala’s obedience although she could
be very strong willed at times.
Calimaax lived some hundred and fifty
kilometers from Xiis with his brother and
two sisters .their place also lay on the
foot of the cal Madou mountains. Surad
and Daalo are within the same range and
thus their beauty was similar. The
mountains above the Laasgoras branch
off into ranges of different levels. In this
mountainous region Calimaax was
brought up with other youths. He moved
from place to place looking after horses
in other grazing camps , and in this way
he was trained in companionship and
ease in conversation and acquired some
understanding of his manly roles. Later,
as a grown man he took to a sea-faring
life and eventually when he had gained
knowledge, he became highly skilled in
the navigation and handling of ships
THE SAILING VOYAGE AND THE
MEETINGOFCAWRALAAND
CALIMAAX
It is clear that Cawrala and Calimaax were
brought up in the same land. Fate had it
that they were traveling on the same
boat out of Aden. Calimaax ha been there
on a spying mission and Cawrala was
escaping the hot xagcea season. The
ship called Subxaan “God’s glory’left
port on the 25
th
of March 1915. She had
15 passengers on board; 12 men and 3
women, a crew of 20. As was the custom,
bedding mats were spread out for the
women inside the ship’s dinghy which
HAC Kanebu June-Sept 2006
page 3
Since no one had expected Calimaax to
compose such a good poem on a subject
about the people of the interior in such a
short time, the men all clapped and the
women pierced the air with ululations so
loud that the sound reached the others
on board. It had been arranged that tea
be served by the ship’s boys.Cardamom,
cinnamon and other spices were added
to it to enhance the flavour. They
celebrated Calimaax’s excellent poem and
support for his side in the argument.
Cawrala could not contain herself and
excitedly told the other women to keep
quiet and let her speak. “How eloquent
this man is! How clever! Composing all
that poetry at will! When I first set foot
on this ship I knew that he must be the
outstanding son of an outstanding man.
He is handsome, which makes his other
qualities even more valuable! I hate
people of the interior and anything to do
with them. My father is sending me to a
man in the interior, someone who owns
many camels. A widower, who was once
married to a sister of mine. He does not
know a thing about anything!’ She
declared and slyly added, ‘Not even how
to go to sleep! That poem this young
man has recited about scolding and
beating with a stick made me hate them
even more.’
A married woman called Saluugla asked
her if she was not worried about her
father cursing her if she refused to marry
the man. Cawrala answered that she
would seek the blessing of a sheikh who
lay buried at Magdur. His blessing was
more powerful than any other curse. ‘
Even if my father brought down the sky I
would never marry a man I do not love.
Someone whose behaviour and
manliness I am not sure about and do
not know. I shall never marry a man who
is too proud to call me by name, but
prefers to call me ‘the one who belongs
to the family; or the one who has bee
looking after my children.’
Saluugla then asked her, ‘What is love,
Cawrala?’
afgobaadsi
