The advent of "Balwo" Musical style was met with disdain by the contemporary religious and cultural figures of the time. one of them was Sheikh Mohamed Hassan who while living in Borama had his peace and spiritual connections interrupted by Balwo singers many evenings. The Sheikh then recited a poem in Arabic protesting this new "Balwo" that plagued the youth.
I heard this poem from Idaajaa on his radio show "Hiddo & Dhaqan" many years ago, I have struggled to find that clip again but I have written this excerpt at the time and would like to share it with you.
The fascinating bit here, at least to myself, is the Arabic poetry attempted by Somalis of the time, I am sure many Sufis/Wadaads wrote and dabbled in Arabic poetry, but due to its poor reach to the masses, it was difficult for it to survive in a traditionally oral society.
Yaanan hadal idin ku daaline, Wadaadku wuxu yidhi:
did Sayid Mohamed Abdille Hassan also recite arabic poetry?
Disclaimer: , I am a big balwo fan. However, every facet of our culture should be cherished including this counter-balwo poetry.
