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mind entropy of the ethiofrican

the horn’s dustyfoot wordisans

31 January, 2009 | 14 comments | Category: book snip, for.the.love.of.words!, love.of.words!, musiqa, poetry

I wrote about the dusty foot philosopher k’naan’s wordskillz last year. looks like the emcee-poet-word artist is back with a new album!

a somali wordisan artisan
K’naan’s poem ‘too well done’ portrays beyond doubt the power of words to relay messages dripping with passion and energy. It does that as it encapsulates an experience within the horn in a unique and touchingly honest way that no other medium could.

Words can shake. caress. arouse. repel. expose. provoke. uplift… It’s intriguing how complicated the history of cultures & their wordplays get. Though, simply -- words sculpt a story through a unique writer-orator’s worldview. enter: the horn immigrant K’naan hailing from Wardhiigleey (”The Lake of Blood”), Mogadishu, Somalia, now a rapper residing in Canada.


the horn of africa’s wordy history

For a region with communities that raised us teaching you must respect the elders without daring to talk back…words weigh a lot. Though the truth -- our stories are not heard in our voices resounding across the world. We hear stories about wars, famine and suffering, no clear and honed voices speaking out in intricate articulation about people of ancient cultures sharing their glorious humanity, until now. The groove of the horn is deep with a lot of treasure within… as K’Naan put it “The horn of Africa has the deepest wells humanity has ever dug to find the truest sentiments that describe the world and what it contains.”

I’ve been reading ‘Notes from the Hyena’s Belly‘, an interestingly written book seeping stories about cultural rituals and traditions through the eyes of a grown man remembering his childhood in Jijiga, eastern Ethiopia -- a cultural crossroads between the interior of Ethiopia and the interior of Somaliland. And I came across a section that described the role of poets in times past, of highland kingdom kings and noblemen, feudal lords and warriors…

The key to the kinae lies in the contradictory nature of the Amharic language…Generations of oppression, without freedom of speech, gave birth to this tangling of meaning and intentions. If a man had been mistreated by a feudal lord or local chieftain, he would compose a kinae to read at a social event, a poem that was sweet and heart-rending to the untrained ar, but quite biting to the lord- one of the intended audience.

The peasants, by and large, were illiterate and unable to put together a recondite kinae, so the poets did it for them. A poet might compose a kinae to inform the lord that the taxes he had levied on his subjects were expensive, about the brutality of his son, who raped and plundered the locals, or as a plea for forgiveness on behalf of the man he had recently thrown into his private jail. The feudal lord was often trained in the interpretation of the kinae, but if he doubted his own judgment, there were always one or two monks beside him to shed light on the subject. Poets were usually exempt form the repercussions of their kinae, as lords were generally reluctant to be seen as monstrous persecutors of humble poets. Besides, the poet could always plead his ignorance, claiming that his intentions were misread, and offer apologies.


It’s quite fascinating really, the horn has such ancient traditions with words…intertwined with the fabric of society where the lifestyle has been dictated by the nature of the location. A location very much at a crossroads and junction point between continents with a variety of cultures. Like most forms of African art, spoken and written words are mixed into the way of life; literature is functional, musical, entertaining, uplifting and has a performance culture fused with it. Like most African art -- it is holistic…interactive…improvisational… communal.

The horn is the land of storytelling, poetry, fables, riddles of play, wisdom and double edged words…warrior chants and calls, songs of childplay, lyrics to accompany the grinding of grains & the sifting of dry pepper fruit … Religious & spiritual hymns resound along with rhythmic recitations of scripture and the echoing sounds of mosque prayers …words spar for justice village elders witness conflicts of village members, scribes record mystical tales as beggars and singers improvise poetry & lyrics to customize to their listeners…

the dusty foot filosofer’s wordy inspiration

‘Somalia tops Forbes magazine’s “Most Dangerous Destinations,” list above Iraq and Afghanistan. And yet it is “The Nation of Poets,” where a poem has the power to inspire peace. Where every weekend, regardless of the climate, one can find a play or concert.’

‘Somalia was dubbed by the 19th century British explorer Richard Burton in his book ‘First Footsteps in East Africa‘ as a nation of bards:

The country teems with poets, every man has his recognized position in literature as accurately defined as though he had been reviewed in a century of magazines -- the fine ear of this people causing them to take the greatest pleasure in harmonious sounds and poetic expressions. Every chief in the country must have a panegyric to be sung by his clan, and the great patronize light literature by keeping a poet. Read more about Somali poetry

.

As Said Samatar explains, a Somali poet is expected to play a role in supporting his tribe or clan, “to defend their rights in clan disputes, to defend their honor and prestige against the attacks of rival poets, to immortalize their fame and to act on the whole as a spokesman for them.” In short, a traditional poem is occasional verse composed to a specific end, with argumentative or persuasive elements, and having a historical context.’

The grandson of Haji Mohamed, one of Somalia’s most famous poets, and nephew of famed Somali singer Magool, K’naan the emcee is creating his own musical orator path through reggae, funk, pop, soul and hip-hop. K’naan says he makes “urgent music with a message”, talking about the situation in his homeland of Somalia and calling for an end to violence and bloodshed. He specifically tries to avoid gangsta rap clichés and posturing, saying:

“All Somalis know that gangsterism isn’t to brag about. The kids that I was growing up with [in Rexdale] would wear baggy [track] suit pants, and a little jacket from Zellers or something, and they’d walk into school, and all the cool kids would be like, ‘Ah, man, look at these Somalis. Yo, you’re a punk!’ And the other kid won’t say nothing, but that kid, probably, has killed fifteen people.

”

“My job is to write just what I see / So a visual stenographer is who I be,” he rhymes in “I Come Prepared.”

here’s the video of his first single from his latest album.

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14 comments to “the horn’s dustyfoot wordisans”

Nani, January 31st, 2009 at 10:45 pm:

  • Love it! even the length! tho i’m not tuned to rap that much I do like this one. and Loved how he combined the classical melody at the beginning!

    I’m just wondering if the richness of literature has any contribution to the dividedness of the horn… and we seem to be losing it, we’re losing Ge’ez for sure, and literature as well, … as said in notes from the hyena’s belly, the two meanings for the knae were used systematically, to methodically speak out because people were repressed, but what little knae i know most are meant to call names, or have cruel intentions … that sort of takes away from the beauty don’t you think?

Nani, January 31st, 2009 at 10:46 pm:

  • lol it’s only abt 4 o’clock why does it say 10:45 on my comment?

nyalasmoke, February 3rd, 2009 at 4:19 pm:

tpeace, February 5th, 2009 at 3:31 pm:

  • hmm interesting theory — are u saying the cryptic nature of the kine and the culture with which ppl express themselves i.e. the lack of freedom of speech plays into the divisions of the horn?

    what i do know is coming to the US I had to become more outspoken and direct – it was a matter of survival!

Nani, February 10th, 2009 at 11:33 pm:

  • well i think it is a smart and rather beautiful way of talking, especially to someone in power, some of the knaes i think i have to think about for days and ask someone for the interpretation ’cause … well i’m pretty hopeless and i think it is very creative … i can go on and on about the beauty of the language but even on becoming outspoken, knae does not encourage you to become outspoken but to say what you have to in a brief and succinct way … lol i think i’m contradicting myself – let’s just agree that it’s absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

    oh on “wax and gold” i haven’t read it but d’u kno Gigi’s song “wax and gold” or “semna work”? it’s … beautiful!! (sorry couldn’t think of any other word) :)

Nani, February 10th, 2009 at 11:35 pm:

  • i still can not think of the title of Tilahun’s song he’s using on that piece of music, anyone … it’s ringing in my ears but … :/

Dr.Ethiopia, February 19th, 2009 at 9:20 pm:

  • K’naan big up. All the way. He my people. Immensely talented. His best days are yet to come.

tpeace, February 19th, 2009 at 9:51 pm:

  • nani i’m still trying to figure out what tilahun song that is!! he’s a true horn african tho that’s for sure…he even has a song “blues 4 the horn”

    dr. i totally agree — he’s is just something else — he’s creating something brand new. love the tone of his rapping and the energy & poetry of his words…so much passion… beqaaa…

Dr.Ethiopia, February 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 pm:

  • I had no clue you twitted. Saw you there. Anyhow, K’naan is all over the MTV and stuff and this is a guy, one of the few, who is deserving of it. I am glad that you blogged about him.

tpeace, March 5th, 2009 at 6:49 pm:

  • you know nani…i am getting more and more motivation to explore communication, literature and culture within the horn of africa the more i keep diving in! thanks for the inspiration! :)

    ye…his new album– is pure fire!! almost every single track and lyric vibrates and shimmers with so much meaning and passion. i lovveee troubadour!! Plus – he’s a very interactive, energetic and passionate performer – got to see him in DC last weekend and he did an amazing performance!

Fabay, March 6th, 2009 at 5:52 pm:

  • Humble and Talented Brother…

rushay, July 15th, 2009 at 4:25 pm:

  • i want to get more ethio been trying to get from addisalem but she slack with getting me music,thanks for sharing this

tpeace, July 17th, 2009 at 3:50 pm:

  • hmm I’m gonna have to get you some ethiopian music then rushay! :)

Anddiswa, March 7th, 2010 at 7:47 am:

  • lol Rushay, just saw this…I shall do something about it. Great post Tsega :)

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