SUFI POETRY IN SOMALI

powex .. Of the three examples given below the first is

applied to God, the second to the Prophet and the third

to Sheekh Suufi:

Badda iyo berriga la balaadhshay iyo, buuraha

qotoma boqor waw Iaah

God is the king of the wide lands and seas and

of the upright mountains

(Text 10/15)

Boqor Quray?h laga dhashoo, uunka lagu bayiniyow

o king who was born into the QURAYSH and whose

mercy spread onto all creatures

(Text 11/9)

Boqor Awliyoo balada dabciyoo, bishaareeya kii

u baaqanayow

o king of the saints who alleviates hardships;

o harbinger of good news to those who invoke

him

(Text 19/2)

III

Images Drawn from Other Sources

242.

Although images taken from the natural environment and

the traditional culture represent a vast majority, those
which belong to other spheres of experience are sometimes

also found in the Sufi poetry in Somali. Thus for example,

a crown serves as an image symbolizing power and glory even

though Somali traditional rulers never wore crowns made of

precious metal: