SUFI POETRY IN SOMALI

Icalamity, misfortunG', as is reflected in the Somali
language, is probably of Cushitic origin and might have
been given its Islamic character at a later stage.l
There is an incantation which is ostensibly recited to

beseech God to avert hardships and misfortunes. This

well known prayer has only a Somali version and is not
inspired by any Arabic model; and in it misfortunes

are addressed in the second person singular:

May

May

May

Belaayada. horaay riixan

Ta dambaay reeban

Ta saraay raaran

Ta hoosaay radeeban

you, misfortune at the front,

be pushed away

you, the one at the back,

be impeded

you, the one at the top,

be lifted

May you, the one at the bottom,

be smothered

[A.Y.M.]

The existence of non-Arabic words and concepts in

the religious vocabulary of Somali suggests that the

shaikhs who were involved in the preaching of Islam were

anxious to be as intelligible as possible to their

listeners in the nomadic and semi-nomadic interior. The

spirit of accommodating the methods of preaching to the

needs of their audiences characterizes also, of course,

the whole Sufi poetry in Somali.

49.