Under traditional Somali law, individuals disputing an issue can summon an unofficial arbitration council made up of all adult male members of the community. Disputants present their cases to the council, which then deliberates and reaches a decision that can either be accepted by both parties or rejected by one of them.
These disputes do not necessarily concern the demand for reparations over a perceived injustice. A council can be summoned over a matter of a principle or conflicting points of view.
The Somali Sufi poet, Sheekh Caaqib Cabdilaahi, uses this setting as a stage for the personification of two of human natures most common vices. At this council, Pride and Greed are the disputants who have come to express their grievances with one another and to seek to obtain the sympathy of the judges.
Pride and Greed
Pride and Greed are disputing over a matter
let people assemble for they want to be heard
Each of the two reckons the path that flashes before him
Like lightning luring him with the promise of rain to be the rightful one
Let people come from every side;
He who hears about it will certainly wish to be present
You who have resolved to come today,
Come promptly to the first meeting
Each disputant must state his case clearly,
One should not obscure justice
As for him who denies the truth,
His wealth shall not win the assembly for him
There will be no backing, nor kinship ties;
People will be guided by truth
Whoever wants to speak let him do so;
The council of judges is fair.
PRIDE:
“I must obtain all that I wish all the time”, Pride said
“And I strive not to die before then
Whenever I sleep, I wish to sleep well
I do not wish to be disturbed neither during the day nor during the night
Any riding beast that I mount has to have a fine harness.”
GREED:
“O Pride, listen to my account, if I am Greed
I do not save for the future what is placed in front of me
My mouth seizes it and I consume it at once
I shall never abstain, for I am always hungry
If I eat something at night, I will still be hungry
in the morning.”
PRIDE:
“O Greed, I am Pride and you have seized all the food
You have not mentioned to us at all,
what you are going to live on in the future
O, I urge you to save some, for he who is poor will perish
It is repulsive to be a glutton and to lick the milk vessel
Do not finish up all the wealth; it is good to economise.”
GREED:
Greed said, “O listen to me Pride,
You who have spoken the words of good counsel
You know very well that I shall never sacrifice food
Already on the night when I was born, I was nursed with milk
Now that I have grown older, I shall not stop feasting
So, do not keep the food away from me anymore, but pass it on to me.”
PRIDE:
“O Greed, listen to me, disaster has flashed before you
like lightning luring you with the promise of rain
If you satisfy your hunger now,
tomorrow you may fail to find sustenance
A poor man is not trusted merely on account of his eloquence
Wherever they are, the leaders of a community
are not taken for hospitality to the homestead of a poor man
If you finish your provisions now, you will despair later.”
GREED:
“I am Greed, O Pride, listen to me and do not upset me
I shall not give up eating the slaughtered meat
Even the birds of prey do not leave it alone
I am in league with those who say,
‘It is not good to give gifts’
I will put a curse on the man
Who deprives me of anything that I want to eat
I should not put on clothes if I had nothing to eat.”
THE COUNCIL:
“O Pride and Greed, we have heard your arguments (1)
At times stubbornness leads one to a precipice
It casts you into a deep ravine
It points to you a distant shape on the horizon with its hand
It leads you to disaster and calamity
Satan, the accursed, misleads people
He even misguides a soul who turned at first to the right path
Under the shadow of Paradise,
He has assaulted HAWA and ADAM (2)
Since then, whoever follows him, he leads to Hell
But he leaves alone the man who seeks protection under the throne of God.
Here is the Somali original:
Hawo iy O hunguri baa, xaaj O isku haystee
Ha loo ururo waxay dooni, hadal laga dhegaystee
Hannaan toosan waw tahay, mid ba jid u hillaacee
Hareeraha ha laga maro, ku maqlaa hiloobiye
Nin haleelayow maanta, shirka hore usoo gaadh
Ha caddeeyo kii waliba, garta lama hagoogee
Hilbo laguma raacaayo, runta kii ka hiiqee
Hiiliyo hayb rna lehe, xaq baa lagu hanuuniye
Ha is taago kii rabay,gpddidaa hagaagsane.
HAWO:
Hawaa tidhi waxan haaban, anigaan horuu dhiman
Halkaan dooni oo idilba, inan helo had iyo goor
Hurdadii aan seexdoba, inan haakah ku idhaa
Habeen iyo dharaarnimo, inaan layba hadimayn
Hayinkii aan fuuloba, inuu heenso leeyahay.
HUNGURI:
Hawooy maqal warkaygii, haddii aan hunguri ahay
Hortaydaa wixii yaal, dib u haysan maayo e
Horeba waan u cunayoo, afkaa ii haliiliye
Hakan maayoo gaajaa, had iyo goor i haysee
Haboen inan wax quuto ba, subax aan hanqadiye.
HAWO:
Hooy maqal hunguriyow, belaa kuu hillaaedee
Haddaad haatanuun dheregto, berri baad hungoobiye
Hadal laguma aamino, kolla niman wax haynine
Halka madaxdu joogtoba, faqiir lama hor geeyo e
Haddaad madhin aduun baa, hadhow hoogi doona e.
HUNGURI:
Hunguraan ahee maqal, Hawooy hay wareerine
Bilbo qalan ma daynaayo, oo haadkuba ma dhaafee
Heshiis waxan la ahay duul, yidhaa hoc ma fiiena e
Habaar baan la qaabili, ninkii wax iiga heera e
Hugaba rna qaateen, haddii aanan wax hiiqine.
GUDDIDII:
Hawo iyo Hunguriyow, hadalkiini maqallaye
Hal adaygga qaarkii, jar buu kugu hagaajaa
Haadaamo dheer buu, haas kuugu tuuraa
Hir aan kuu dhoweyn buu, gacan kuugu haadshaa
Haag iyo belaayuu, kugu sii hoggaanshaa
Habaar qabe Iblays baa, uunkii halleeyaye
Hagaag ruux u jeedaba, isagaa hawirayee
Hooskii Jannad Xaawa, iyo Aadan ku hujuun
Had iyo waagii nin adeeca, naar buu ku hooyaa
Hor Ilaah nin haas galay, dib buu uga hadhaayaa.
by Sheekh Caaqib Cabdilaahi,
from Sufi Poetry in Somali: It’s Themes and Imagery,
Thesis submitted for Doctor of Philosophy,
by Abdisalam Yassin Mohamed
University of London (1977)
Footnotes
- In the playful manner of the Sufi’s, Sheekh Caaqib Cabdilaahi delivers a sermon in disguise. In the course of their arguments to the council the characters of these vices are revealed, Pride demands absolute perfection in all things and Greed demands to have every desire instantly gratified. The attentive listener gains insight as to how the wise pass judgement on these conflicting aspects of human nature within themselves.
- HAWA and ADAM: The Biblical Adam and Eve.
