Hal la qalay raqdeedaa The Killing of the She-Camel

Hal la qalay raqdeedaa

Hal la qalay raqdeedaa
Lagu soo qamaamoo
Qalalaasihii baa
Nin ba qurub haleeloo
laba waliba qaybteed
Qorraxday ku dubatoo
Qoloftiyo laftiibaa
Lagu liqay qallaylkee
Qosol wuxuu ka joogaa
Qubannaa danbeeyee
Weli qaba hamuuntee
Buuraha qotada dheer
Ka arkaaya qiiqee
Qarka soo jafaayee
 
Qalwadii masbaa galay
Qodax baase hoos taal
Fule quudhsigii diid
Geesi qoorta soo dhigey
Faras qaayihiisii
Qurux buu ku doorsaday
Qabqab dhaafay baa yimi
Qosol qoonsimaad noqoy
Qabyo waa halkeedii
 
Qarandidu libaaxbay
Ku qadhaabataayoo
Soo qabo tidhaahdaa
Qaankiyo biciidkoo
Qaybtana shanlaabay
Qoondeysataayoo
Isagnaa qorshaha guud
Qanjidhkiyo xumaystay
Ha qawedin tidhaahdaa
Aarkuna ma quustoo
Ma qarsado xanuunkee
Hadba qaran jabkiisiyo
Qiirada xasuustuu
Kolba dibin qaniinaa
 
Qalwadii masbaa galay
Qodax baase hoos taal
Fule quudhsigii diid
Geesi qoorta soo dhigey
Faras qaayihiisii
Qurux buu ku doorsaday
Qabqab dhaafay baa yimi
Qosol qoonsimaad noqoy
Qabyo waa halkeedii
 
Weligay cad quudheed
Anna qaadan maayoo
Qalanjadan faraa dheer
Wax la qaybsan maayee
Bal inay qabuuruhu
Saddex-qayd ka maarmaan
Ama qoor-tal jeexaan
Labadaas mid quudhaan
Xilka qaawan saaraan
Hadba qaylo-doon baan
Ka horow qiyaamaha
Ku qulaamin maydkee
Aan qoofallaadee
Qarqarsiga ha iga furin.
 
Qalwadii masbaa galay
Qodax baase hoos taal
Fule quudhsigii diid
Geesi qoorta soo dhigey
Faras qaayihiisii
Qurux buu ku doorsaday
Qabqab dhaafay baa yimi
Qosol qoonsimaad noqoy
Qabyo waa halkeedii
 

The Killing of the She-Camel

The Killing of the She-Camel (Hal La Qalay)
 
How they came rushing to that place
where the carcass of the she-camel lay,
and what a commotion there was
as each caught at her flesh
pair by pair clawed off their share
frying it in the glare of the sun
and cramming down dry
its crisp skin, crunching the bones.
You'd bare your teeth too to see
their scattered followers come
still cramped with greed, ravenous
at seeing the smoke ascend
from the colossal mountain’s top,
scrambling up cliffs and ravines.
 
The snake sneaks in the castle:
although it's carpeted with thorns
still the coward casts off his curses
so the courageous must stretch out his neck;
the cob stallion sells his values
in order to cut a fine figure.
When such cockiness struts forth
and even laughter becomes a crime
our country has unfinished business.
 
When the aardvark tells the lion
how it's supposed to hunt
and orders it, 'Go catch
the young camel and the oryx';
then carves five times its share
setting this aside
while granting for the lion’s role
glands and offal,
commanding it, 'Don't quibble,'
the lion can't cave in
and doesn't hide its hurt
but now and then remembering
the loss of its prestige
it bites its lip in bitterness.
 
The snake sneaks in the castle:
although it's carpeted with thorns
still the coward casts off his curses
so the courageous must stretch out his neck;
the cob stallion sells his values
in order to cut a fine figure.
When such cockiness struts forth
and even laughter becomes a crime
our country has unfinished business.
 
Never will I ever accept
a single insulting slice
from those grasping commissars -
I won't share a thing with them.
Until the grave's prepared
to forego its three yard shroud 
or a collar round the neck,
since one at least is needed
to cover the naked dead,
I’ll keep rallying and calling
until the Day of Judgement,
pray my cries can comfort the dead:
tie me to this task, and don't 
release me from its harness.
 
The snake sneaks in the castle:
although it's carpeted with thorns
still the coward casts off his curses
so the courageous must stretch out his neck;
the cob stallion sells his values
in order to cut a fine figure.
When such cockiness struts forth
and even laughter becomes a crime
our country has unfinished business.
 

The Slaughtered She-Camel

Slaughtered She-Camel
 
People rushed toward the place
Where a she-camel was slaughtered,
In the turmoil and the instability
Each person acquired a piece of meat,
And every two individuals’ share
Fried their slices under the sun,
The outer covering skin and the bone
Were swallowed in dryness,
But what is worse than this;
Is the next crowd behind
Still feeling hungry
And seeing the smoke
At the top of deep-rooted mountains
Walking through thickly wooded places.
 
A snake has entered in the nook and in the secluded place
But a thorn lies below,
A coward refused to be belittled and lessened his authority,
The brave man ready to be beheaded,
The stallion’s importance and value
Exchanged it with his attractiveness and good-looking,
A haughty arrogantly superior showed up
Laughter has become a disguise for feelings of disappointments
Qabyo (the incompleteness of the affairs of the state) is untouched and not yet handled accordingly.
 
The aardvark forages for provisions
Goes hunting with and from the help of the lion
‘Go and catch it!’ she commands
‘The young camels and the oryxes’,
She allots herself to have five times the share
Of the meat of the animals hunted,
For his part in the general planning
The lion is offered the glands and the internal organs
‘Don’t be unsatisfied with the partition!’ she commands,
And the lion neither lose confidence and enthusiasm
Nor conceal his pain
Each time he remembers his broken pride
And the strong reaction to it
He starts lip-biting.
 
A snake has entered in the nook and in the secluded place
But a thorn lies below,
A coward refused to be belittled and lessened his authority,
The brave man ready to be beheaded,
The stallion’s importance and value
Exchanged it with his attractiveness and good-looking,
A haughty arrogantly superior showed up
Laughter has become a disguise for feelings of disappointments
Qabyo (the incompleteness of the affairs of the state) is untouched and not yet handled accordingly.
 
Never will I take and accept
A disrespectful bits and pieces of gifts,
Never will I share anything
With these people having an intense and selfish desire for power,
Well whether the burial places for dead bodies
Manage without white shroud
Or a slit at neck amigaut,
One of the two been disposed to give to
Time and again I’ll utter my disappointment insistently and noisily
Till before the day of judgment
I’ll make a way the corpses into by force,
Let me be in a state of being hobbled and strapped together
Don’t try to untie the rope tying me up.
 
A snake has entered in the nook and in the secluded place
But a thorn lies below,
A coward refused to be belittled and lessened his authority,
The brave man ready to be beheaded,
The stallion’s importance and value
Exchanged it with his attractiveness and good-looking,
A haughty arrogantly superior showed up
Laughter has become a disguise for feelings of disappointments
Qabyo (the incompleteness of the affairs of the state) is untouched and not yet handled accordingly.
 
1973
 

The poem was originally one of the songs in the play Wadnahaan far ku hayaa but it became so overwhelmingly popular that, eventually, it completely overwhelmed performances of the play itself. As readers will discern, the reason for its popularity – and why it enraged the military dictatorship of the time – is because its vivid, skilful metaphors are open to a variety of interpretations. This poem, which led to Hadraawi’s five-year imprisonment in Qansaxdheere, goes to the very heart of his genius.

WN Herbert, Poet-translator

Original Poem by

Maxamed Ibraahin Warsame ‘Hadraawi’

Translated by

Said Jama Hussein, Maxamed Xasan ‘Alto’ with W N Herbert Language

Somali

Country

Somalia/Somaliland