Cawrola’ay gacalo,
Cawrola’ay jawharadaad ahayd, jamadtay laabtaydu,
Waxaad ahayd jannadaan raboo, jawda u lehaa,
Ha yeeshee, jacayl waxaa ka adag, calafka jaangooyeha.
Cawrola’ay! – naxariistii janno, Alle siiyay!; hoygii janno, Alle geeyay!;
Ilaahay raxmaddiisu ugu roonaayay! –, waxaad iga gudoontaa, anoo uurka iyo
laabta kaaga ooyaaya, salaan kalgacal oo kasha iyo laabta ka soo go’day. Midda
kale, waxaan kaa baryayaa oo kaa codsanayaa inaad i saamaxdaa oo haddaan
naftaada sababay iga raalli ahaadtaa, waayo maalintaan badda kaa soo saaray
saacaagaan ahaa, maantana geeridaadaan sababteeda ahay.
Cawrol’ay dabayshayda doraadee, bari ma geeriyoodtay,
Daartii aakhiro la hubay’iyo, dagalkii maw fooftay,
Oo ma dardaarankaad tiraa, dacar i leefsiiyay.
Mar haddaad Cawrola’ay geeriyoodtay oo aakhiro u hoyadtay anaad igu
dhaaftay jacaylka diifahiisii iyo doogahiisii.
Ogaway! Jacayl dihashadiisa waa, dab’iyo naar,
Ogaway! Waa soo duxanayaan, daqaradiisii,
Ogaway! Waa doogaan lehayn, daawo’iyo baan.
Waxaan ahay Cawrola’ay, nin ogsoon ama dareen ka qaba inuu sababay naf uu
daawadeeda hayay, oo markaas damiirkiisa dab iyo shiil lagu hayo oo ka
qoomamoonaya sagleelkii iyo saymahii dhacay oo uu mas’uulka ka ahaa.
Ogaway! Damiirka’iyo qalbigu, way danqanayaan,
Ogaway! Damaan ka ahay indhahoo, daal la dhacayaa,
Ogaway! Anigaa dulmiyayoo, dilay xabiibtay,
Ogaway! Anigaa daldalayoo, danbi i haystaa,
Ogaway! Daynaan qabaa, layga daaynayn,
Oo waxa dayradaas dhigayba, waa dibaw dhacaygii.
Cawrola’ay, haddaan axarto xaajada, anoo danbiga iska leh oo aanan
cudurdaaranayn, misana waxa u mas’uul ahaa saymahii dhacay iyo waxaadan ogayn
intaad ifka joogtay oo kaa dahsoonaa. Waxaasoo ahaa wax la yiraahdo aqoondari
oo aniga buro ii ahayd, oo aan ogaaday maalintaan xaashidaada helay. Waxaan
maalintaas ogaaday inaanay doqannimo iyo dullinimo kale jirin, aan aqoondari
ahayn.
Cawrola’ay ninkaan deelka’iyo, daalka kala soocin,
Inkastuu dircoon yahay haddana, doqannimaw dhab,
Ogaway! Aqoondaradu, waa dulli’iyo leelleel,
Waa darxumo’iyo hoog ninkay, dacalka saartaa,
Waa dunqaaro waawaynee haddaan, laga digtoonaan,
Ogaway! Daacuunka’iyo ka daran, dabargo’iisii.
Sidaad ogtahay, waxaad Taleex iigu soo dirtay xaashi jacayl oo qaayo leh,
oo aanay murtidii ku qornayd macaankeedii iyo miraheedii innaba wax la quuro
ahayn. Xaashidaas waxay igu taftaaftay jacayl iyo maxabbo iyo kalgacal aanan
hore kuugu hayn. Waxaase nasiibdari ahayd Cawrola’ay, aqoondaradayda aawadeeda
inaan aqrisan waayay xaashidii, oo aan markaas u dhiibay niman aanu daris cusub
ahayn oo aanan kayna isla doonayn. Waxayna xogtaydii la ogaaday igu
gayeeysiisay in bari guntiisa la iga tuuryeeyo, meeshaan Xiis iyo meeshaad
daganayd ka soo beegi lehaa. Bari markaan tagayna, duulimaadkii Daraawiishtu
Ingiriiska ku kacinaysay baan qayb wayn ka qaadtay, hase ahaadtee, intaanan
xeeb iyo doonyahii wax ka qabsan ayaa la i dhaawacay oo mayd ahaan la iiga
tagay. Muddo dheerna oo aan ka soo gayoon waayay, waxaan ku noolaa cidla’
ciirsila’ oo calafkaygu iyo cuntadaydu ahaayayn caleenta iyo miraha Caleed.
Waxaana wahal ii ahaa habar dugaag oo dhan, habaarqabaha shabeelna habeen buu i
soo miray oo haaro iga jeexay, anoo tii Ilaah jooga oo bawdada ka jaban. Si
kastaba ha ahaadtee, wax kastana aan la kulmee, Ilaah iga soo badbaadee
dhibahaas i helay, laakiinse waxaan uga jeedaa oo ay sabab u yahiin Cawrola’ay
dib u dhacii aan dib kaaga dhacay oo ku soo gaari waayay, intaan aroos aadan
raalli ka ahayn laguu hoyn. Cawrola’ay, waa ii qoomaamo iyo ciil aanan ka ladi
karayn inaad jacaylkayga dartiisa u geeriyoodto!
Warqaddii daboolnayd markii, daaha laga qaaday,
Oo dareenku galay uunkii, duq iyo waayeelka,
Ogaway! Dul’iyo layga tuur, dali dhaadheera;
Daraawiishta heegani markay, bari duleedisay,
Haddaan dayr lay dhigin ama, dabin lay qodin,
Ogaway! Daryeel’iyo aroos’iyo, daraj ma waaydayn;
Inkastaan dagaal’iyo ku jiray, duulan’iyo weerar,
Inkastay i daarshayn kuwaan, dariska wadaagaynay,
Ogaway! Anigaa dayacay, dahab la mooddii;
Waxiise Daa’inkay qorayaan, abad ku daaynayn,
Nin darwiisha waa lagu yaqaan, dirarta gaaleed,
U daryeel dalkaagii hadday, dano iga gaartay;
Duur waxaan ku noolaa baryayoo, dibadda meerayay,
Waxaan caleen daaqayayoo, doogga guranayay,
Bawdada waxaan duubayayoo, kali is daaweeyay,
Dabaysha’iyo fooraha waxaan, dagal madoobaaday,
Waxaan atoor dilanayayoo, dabin u tuuryeeyay,
Waxaan “dab waayay” la baxayoo, madag intaan doontay,
Waxaan biyaha doonayoo, oon i dili gaaray,
Darbi dhagax waxaan xaartayoo, kali is duubayay,
Dabaxiir shabeela wuxuu, igu dul meerayay:
Danbi kuma lehayn Cawrola’ay, dibaw dhacaygii.
Ogaway Cawrola’ay, inkastoo hadda adiga iilka laguu hoyay, inaanu jacaylkii
ku helay madi ahaanaynee, uu aniga igu reebayo diifahiisii iyo
hiirtaanyooyinkiisii, oo aan lagaba yaabin inaan muddo ifka kaaga danbeeyo.
Ogaway! Haddii dirarku dhaco, dayaxu ma gadmayn,
Ogaway! Haddaan daaqu baxin, duunyo la cayrawyay,
Ogaway! Waxaan kaa danbayn, labo diraacood,
Afartaasi wayga dubnaxid, dharigu hayn waayay,
Oon deegay gacaladay, baroordiiqay,
Afar kalena wayga ducee, balaan daliileeyo!
Cawrola’ay, samadoo onkadeeysay’iyo saylaanka hilaaca’iyo sibaaq-khayli la moodyay;
soodhawaadka waaga’iyo qoraxdoo soo baxi doonta sagalkeeda lehayday; Suuge iyo
Maanyoo soormawaaydo ku hoortay, oo saxansaxada uduggeeda lehayday; sanqaroorka
qornaa’iyo suniyo baciida lehayday; siijeedkii dhisnaa’iyo soojeedkii qumanaa,
iyo shabeelka sacodkiisa lehayday; simanaanta Maraaga’iyo dherarka Siiqa
lehayday; soogaanta darmaanoo gu’sooraha daaqday, sideeda guudku sayn ahaayay;
gudguduudka sagaaro, soohdinta sararteeda, midabkeedu sansaanyay; sida Waylosubkena
subaxdii wirwiraya, Soomaali hablaheedu quruxay ka sinmaanee, sadbursiinyo ku lehayday,
quruxdeedu sugnayday; siraadkii indhahaygaw, si wanaagsan u seexoo; malaa’iktii
safsafnayd’iyo “sallallahu, Rasuulkii” ku sagootiyee, heedha!
Cawrola’ay, marna saacaaga ahaa, marna sababtaada ahaa. Marna saacaaga
ahaayoo, markaad saxariirtay oon sacabada kugu qaaday, markaas saacaagaan ahaa.
Marna sababtaada ahaayoo, godkanaad silic jiiftid anigaa sababtiisa ahaa; oo
waa sad Eebe qorayee, iga saamax ahaw! Ducadayduna waa:
Dariiqii Siraadoo ahaa, daliig sansaankeedu,
Oo dabreeya wixii daalimoo, dali ka tuuryeeya,
Durduro laguu mari, adaan dibaw u cabsoonayn;
Dacwaddii lagaa dhaaf Catiidoo, wax dareen waydiiyo,
Raqiibna kugu da’ayoo ku daay, duri markuu waayay,
Danbi ma lehidee Eebahay, darajo kuu yeel.
Waanigaa dal dheer uga imid, inaan duceeyaa,
Waanigaa dul suray xaashidii’iyo, dooddaan qoray,
Waataas dadawdayee dadyahaw, ducada aamiin dhah!
Durdurkii Firdawso’iyo u hoyo, togag durduraa,
Ku dabaalo wabigii jannada, damal hareeynaysan,
Ku diihaalbax miro diir la’aadaad, dibinta leefaysid;
Ilaahay dugaal’iyo ku sii, malab durduraa,
Kaa hiraabi deeqdiisee waa, daraarta xoolaad,
Waxaad doontidoo idil Ilaah, dacalka kuu saar.
Waanigaa dal dheer uga imid, inaan duceeyaa,
Waanigaa dul suray xaashidii’iyo, dooddaan qoray,
Waataas dadawdayee dadyahaw, ducada aamiin dhah!
Rasuulkii Ilaah daris la naqo, daraj Allaw yeelay,
Diyaafadaha kuu dhigayee malaa’ik, daacadoo joogta,
Waxaad dunida waaydayoo idil, daleel lagaa sii.
Waanigaa dal dheer uga imid, inaan duceeyaa,
Waanigaa dul suray xaashidii’iyo, dooddaan qoray,
Waataas dadawdayee dadyahaw, ducada aamiin dhah!
Dar Alluu ka yimid mawtiga helay, dahabtaydii,
Arli durugsanaan jiray markay, darin qaadayn,
Haddaanse ku daakiray halkay, kali ku duugnayd;
Qabriyahaw daboolani adaan, cidi ku daaynayn,
Dimmigaada tahayee, dayax la moodi,
Yay dareemin hiirtaanyo’iyo, dilal kaloo raaca,
Yay dareemin hiirtaanyo’iyo, dilal kaloo raaca,
Yay dareemin hiirtaanyo’iyo, dilal kaloo raaca!
Cawrola’ay gacaladayay, waxaan ku soo gabagabeeynayaa warqaddan oo ah
taadii aad iigu soo dirtay markaan gurigii dariiqada joogay, oo aan dhinaceedii
kale jawaabtan kuugu qoray, ee iga gudoon ugu danbeeyskii ducadan, mar
haddaynu, waa amarka Ilaahayee, ifka isku waaynay, oo inkastoo aan kalgacal kuu
hayay, adina i jacelayd, aynuse, waa tu Ilaahayee, is hanan waaynay oo calaf is
kayn seejiyay.
Ogaway! Waa sidaad u sheegtayee, anna aan u sheegay,
Waynoo daartii aakhiro, iyadaa cidina daaynayn,
Oo ogaway! Waxaan kaa danbeeynayn, labo diraacood.
Waa gacaliyahaa Calimaax,
oo hoygaagan duljooga.
Translated in English:
Beloved Cawrola’,
O Cawrola’, you were the jewel for which my heart craved,
You were the Paradise I wanted and for which I called;
But preordaining destiny is stronger than love.
O Cawrola’! May God grant her the mercy of Paradise, may he take her to a
dwelling-place in Heaven, may he be most generous to her in his compassion!
O Cawrola’, accept this loving salutation, which comes straight from my
heart as I weep for you, stricken with deep-felt grief. I ask you to forgive
me, I beg you to pardon me, if I brought about your death, for though I was the
cause of this, yet I was the cause of your deliverance when I wrested you from
the sea.
O Cawrola’, two days past I followed the wind, losing my
way – did you not die then?
Did you pass to the Other World, place of certainty, and
to the encampments there?
Did not the words of your last message make me taste the
bitter aloe?
You died, Cawrola’, and retired to the Other World for your night’s rest,
leaving me behind to suffer from the effects of old wounds and the injuries of
love.
Know that the pains of love are fire, and the flames of
hell,
Know that the head-wounds have re-opened and are once
again wet,
Know that this is an old injury for which there is no
medicine, no cure.
O Cawrola’, I am a man who has come to know and comprehend that he has caused
the death of someone he had the power to cure. I am a man whose mind has been
set on fire and seared, who rues the misfortunes and disasters for which he was
responsible.
Know that I smart from the pain of my heart and my mind,
Know that my eyes are blinded, and exhausted I sway from
side to side,
Know that it was I who brought distress to my beloved,
and killed her!
Know that I was who killed her, and the sin is on me,
Know that I owe a debt from which I shall not be
released,
Know that it was my tardiness which caused her
banishment.
O Cawrola’, though I am plainly guilty, and I offer no excuses for myself,
yet if I think back to the truth of the matter, there was one thing that was
assuredly the main cause of the disaster that happened; you knew nothing of it
when you were living in this world, for it was screened off from your sight.
That thing is called ignorance, and ignorance I had in abundance, but I only
recognized it on the day the letter reached me. On that day I realized that
there exists no worse foolishness, nor affliction, than ignorance.
O Cawrola’, a man who can’t tell one letter from another,
for whom daal and deel are one,
May well be a man of valour, yet he is near to being a
fool.
Know that ignorance brings with it humiliation and
torment!
Misery and disaster are the lot of the man whom ignorance
sets on her robe-hem;
How great will be these calamities unless he is on the
alert against them –
His downfall more terrible than cholera!
You sent to me at Taleex a precious letter of love – you know this well –
and there was nothing in its sweet art and wisdom nor in its mode of expression
that could have been ignored or rejected. It created in me a love, ardour and
affection that I had not felt for you before. But it was my ill fortune,
Cawrola’, that because of my ignorance I could not read your letter, and
instead I handed it to my new neighbours, who did not want us two to come
together. The discovery of my secret led to my being hurried away to a remote
part of the eastern region, so that I would be kept far away from Xiis, where
you lived. There in the east I played my part in a noteworthy way in the
Dervish offensive against the British, but before I could reach the coast and
seize some of their ships I was wounded and left for dead. For a long time I
could not deliver myself from that empty, deserted place, where for sustenance I
had only the berries and leaves which grow on the Cal Mountains. I beasts of
pray for company – all of them – and one night the accursed leopard attacked
me, tearing a wound in my flesh, when I already had a broken thigh and I was
holding on to life only by God’s mercy. Nevertheless, in spite of all I had to
go through, God rescued me from all the troubles that had come upon me.
What I am trying to tell you is that my delay in coming to you was caused
by all this – that this is why I did not get to you in time before you were
taken to wedding against your will. O Cawrola’, how bitter I feel, how deeply
sorrowful I am, how stricken with impotent anger from which I get no respite,
that you had to die because of your love for me!
When the letter hidden in its cover, was revealed,
And people became suspicious – old men and elders too,
I was like someone hurled down from high cliff.
When the vigilant Dervishes were launching an attack in
the east,
If a fence had not been put up before me, if a trap-rope
had not been tied for me,
Know that you would assuredly have profited and would
have gained a marriage-feast and honour.
Admittedly I was away at war, raiding and attacking,
Admittedly those in closest neighbourhood to me had
disowned me,
But I did was to leave her uncared, like gold as she was
– know this!
Whatever God, the Everlasting one, has written, will
never fail to happen to me.
I am renowned as a Dervish, fighting the infidels,
And as a man who suffered great hardships in the service
of his country.
There was a time when I lived in the grasslands and
roamed in open spaces,
I ate leaves and gathered grass for food,
I bandaged my own thigh and found my own remedies, all
alone as I was.
From the wind and the strong southern breeze I turned as
dark as an abandoned encampment;
I set a trap for a male dikdik, aiming to kill it for
myself,
And when I found no fire I went looking for kindling
sticks and made one for myself.
While I was searching for water, thirst almost killed me,
Beside a stonewall I swept the ground clear for myself,
and wrapped myself in my cloth,
The moulting leopard roamed around me.
O Cawrola’, it was not my fault that I was delayed!
Know, Cawrola’, that although you have been taken to a grave-niche to rest,
yet the love which came to you and which now brings its griefs and remorse to
me will not remain solitary, for it is not likely that I shall stay much longer
in this world after you.
Know that when Spica sets, the loses its beneficial
influence;
Know that when the grass does not shoot forth,
destitution comes to people who lose their livestock;
Know that within two years I shall follow you.
In these few verses I have expressed the sorrow I could
not restrain,
I who have lost my beloved and have lamented for her.
Other lines set forth my blessings on her – now let me
give proof of them!
O Cawrola’, you who were like the sky resounding with thunder, like a cloud
flashing with lightning, like costly multipigment Sibaaq-khayli cloth! O you
who had the appearance of a cloud reddened by the sun as it is about to rise at
the approach of dawn! O you who were like the rain that falls on the
Soormawaaydo season at Suuge and Manaayo – you who had the fragrance of the
moist air that comes before the rain! O you whose nose had shapely bridge,
whose eyebrows were those of an oryx, you who were comely if glimpsed from the
back and straight-standing when seen face to face, you whose gait was like that
of a leopard! O you who were well proportioned like a maraa-acacia and
had the tall stature of a siiq tree! O you whose posture was like that
of a filly – you whose hair was as soft as its mane! O you whose red-brown
complexion was just the colour which a female dikdik bears on the edge of her
ribs! O you who were like the waylasubke bush when it glimmers in the morning!
Somali girls excel in beauty, but you had a super-abundance of it! O lantern of
eyes, sleep well! May the angels in their ranks, and the Prophet, on whom be peace,
speed you on your journey!
O Cawrola’, I was once the cause of your survival and I was once the cause
of your death. When I took you between my hands at the time when you were
suffering great anguish, then through me you lived, but now through me you are
lying in the ordeal of this grave. It was the destiny that was written by God,
so forgive me – here is my blessing!
The path of Siraad is like a rope drawn taut:
It trips the evil-doer and hurls him into the abyss.
May you be hurried swiftly across it with no time for
hind-fear.
May you be spared accusation when the Angel Catiid asks
searching questions;
May the Angel Raqiib, precipitating on you and finding no
speck of guilt, let you pass:
You have no sin – may God bestow high rank on you.
I have come from a distant land to invoke blessing;
I hang here the letter and the plea I have written.
Indeed she suffered after an injury – O people, say amen
to my prayer!
May you find home by the running stream of Paradise, by
its flowing waters,
May you swim in the river of the Blessed Garden, shaded
by tall trees,
May you rest from your toils and eat of the huskless
fruit with relish and delight.
May God give you sustenance, may he give you flowing
honey,
May he make you content, for his generosity is like a plenitude
of milk in herd,
May God place on the edge of your robe whatever you may
desire.
I have come from a distant land to invoke blessing;
I hang here the letter and the plea I have written.
Indeed she suffered after an injury – O people, say amen
to my prayer!
May you become the neighbour of God’s Prophet – by God
was granted his honour,
May the loyal angels who are present there set feasts
before you,
May you promptly be given, in a secluded place,
everything you lacked on earth.
I have come from a distant land to invoke blessing;
I hang here the letter and the plea I have written.
Indeed she suffered after an injury – O people, say amen
to my prayer!
From the direction of God came the Angel of Death and
found my Golden One.
I was far off in a remote place when they took her away
on a mat,
And now I have come to call for prayers, here where she
is buried all alone.
O covered grave, no one can escape you!
Now that she is in your care, she who was like the full
moon,
May she not suffer torments or their attendant
afflictions,
May she not suffer torments or their attendant
afflictions,
May she not suffer torments or their attendant
afflictions!
Cawrola’, my beloved, now I finish this letter, written in reply to the one
you sent me when I was at the headquarters of the Brotherhood – I have written
my letter on the back of yours – and I ask you to accept from me this prayer
and blessing. It was God’s decree that we should not find each other in this
world, even tough I had a loving affection for you and you loved me, and it was
ordained by him too that we should never possess each other and that the
circumstances of life would separate us.
Know that as I have said and as you have said, we shall meet in the Other
World which no one can evade! Know that in two years’ time I shall follow you
there!
Your loving friend, Calimaax,
Who is standing here, above your resting place.
W. laga soo qaaday: “Aqoondaro Waa u Nacab Jacayl”
W. qoray: G/le Faarax M. Cawl
W. daabacay: Wasaaradda Hidaha iyo Tacliinta Sare. Muqdisho, 1974.
W. tarjamay: B.W. Andrzejewski. “Ignorance is the Enemy of Love”. Zed
Press, 1982.
