War of Words: Oral Poetry, Writing and Tape Recorders in Somalia

As with the newfound power and the present battle over control of the internet in the United States Stille uses tape recorders in Somalia to discuss how technology can be used to change the world. The man Stille uses to discuss this is a famous Somali poet named Hadrawi who currently resides in northern Somalia. Hadrawi is used as a backdrop to show the history of modern Somalia under the corrupt regime of Siad Barre and how tape recorders were used to spread the poetry of anti-government poets throughout the land.

Throughout Somali history the poet has been a revered individual because of the oral tradition and the lack of a written language. This power was used effectively during the regime of Barre who attempted to use Latin to base his new written language. As an example of the power of the poet Hadrawi and fellow poet Gaariye launched a poetic duel called the De-ley poems that questioned corrupt government practices, In “Debatiel,” Hadrawi wrote: “Where does all this money come from?” In the end sixty poets joined in producing 120 poems. The result was that the poetry helped weaken the state eventually helping to cause the overthrown of the Barre regime in 1991. “The poetry was more important to us than guns and cannons,” once again showing the power of words in creating lasting change.

Northern Somalia is a clan based society the new state of Somaliland was formed in northern Somalia. The central government is small outfit with easy access by all civilians; hence the jamming fax machine of the nation’s president. The new republic has moved into a market based economy that appears to be benefiting the people. Elected officials need a least 20% of the vote from each region (clan) of Somaliland, taken from Nigerian law that was found on the internet.

Hadrawi is not all together happy with the results of technology despite the fact the he himself has written a book and allowing his wedding to be videotaped he talks in romantic, Luddite terminology. The future for Somaliland like United States is new technology that allows the power to exist with individuals over the powerful elite which includes something as simple as a tape recorder.