Carshigii Jamaalka
by Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac 'Gaarriye'
Is she good fortune? Is she milk?
Is she buttermilk? [here implying something you take as a surfeit] Is she daily sustenance?
Is she the question [in the riddle]? Is she the answer [to the riddle]?
Is she respect? Is she a weighty, thoughtful thing?
Is she clouds which have gathered together in the gu' season
and will not become a clear sky? [This refers to clouds gathering to give rain in the main rainy season showing that there is still more moisture in the sky to fall]
Is she a long throw [feleg bad luck; xiddigays]
Jupiter of/and Mars? [This is a reference to some astronomical occurrence which presumably predicts good rain.]
Is she fresh [plant] growth?
Is she the early morning sunlight
which, with the arrows of redness,
caused the dew to be afraid
and scattered the [early morning] mist?
Is she pure water which gathers together? [in pools after it has rained]
Is she a light [i.e. moonlit] night during which
the full pools
invited the stars and the sky, which is where the moon has come from (?)
[and] in the manner of a mirror
blinds you from the land?
Is she fresh growth cleaned by the water on the land [that has fallen as rain]
and the grass of Ceeg [we think this is a place name neither of us know this word nor can find it anywhere, needs further checking]
the clean water which has laid down? [the word used is one when you lay down to sleep]
My goodness! Is she proportionate; [in her character, stature and shape]
fragrance and perfume;
Samsam who has been put together in that way / put together in the way of Samsam? [cf. caynka here al-'ayn]
Is she great respect? [The grammar of these four lines is subtly different to the previous questions implying, I think, that the question is more rhetorical than the previous ones. An exclamation mark after respect in line 27 might be more appropriate.]
She is not a weak fool.
She is not a shameful, lazy person.
She is not a stubborn person of bad behaviour.
She is not a spinster no one goes to for hospitality.
She is not a mouldy bad wife.
She is not cirir stars which are months of 29 days. [in the Muslim lunar calendar [here he seems to be referring to an astronomical configuration during which no rain falls]
She is not [a woman showing her] private parts who walks around. [i.e. an immodest woman in dress]
She is not a fat woman from whom one flees.
And she has not grown thin.
Bring her to any person and
a place [on her] about which one complains and
a defect cannot be found.
O Cabdi! [Cabdi Qays a famous poet who had seen the woman with Hadraawi] The steps; [she takes; i.e. the way she walks]
I say "Cutiya". [i.e. I call her "Cutiya" a woman's name which means the one who walks elegantly]
In the evening she combs her [individual] hair[s]
to the end [i.e. to the end of each hair]
which the breeze plays with
and which the male ostriches [i.e. young men] give the eye to.
Her eyes which are those of the Soemmering's gazelle;
[She is] the colour of the mas-ciideed;[a brown coloured snake of which the colour is regarded as being that of the most beautiful skin tone]
the bridge of the nose: that of a black horse; [i.e. she has a very straight bridge to her nose]
her hair firebrands; [these are made from certain plants and are used in the countryside to clean out milk vessels; here the reference is to their black colour]
her gums charcoal; [black gums are a sign of beauty]
those teeth whiteness;
her cheeks with soft hair; [fine soft hair on the cheeks is a sign of beauty]
the waist [as thin as] the tip of a spear;
the upper arms showing elegant movement;
she is heavy in the calves;
the amber of her neck [a reference to the colour]
splits up into rolls. [having small rolls along the neck is a sign of beauty, not a double chin, just light creases]
She is a Houri.
Every time [I look] from head to toe
I do not see a part I [can] discriminate against.
She was not born to impatience.
Anger has not been attributed to her.
"She is a bothersome person/a pest" has not been said.
Her tongue does not know lies
or insults.
I have not heard anyone complaining about her.
She is not loud she is a girl / young woman.
Modesty is her custom.
In age she is still a child.
In intelligence she is a mature person.
And she has a bright future.
And I do not reject her.
And that praiseworthy unmarried woman
on the throne of beauty
I install with garlands of leaves [and flowers].
And you, Hadraawi, [cadar]
recite verses of congratulation for her!
The literal translation of this poem was made by Martin Orwin and Maxamed Xasan 'Alto'
The final translated version of the poem is by David Harsent
© Poetry Translation Centre 2004-2010
samia says:
The most beautiful poem I have read. Somali poetry is so moving, we need to preserve this rich language and learn it to pass down to our future generation.
obdiyr says:
this song shows me how rich somali poetry is.
i like it!!!!!!!!!!!
Samatar says:
wow
Laila Ali says:
love it, absolute treasure!