Khadra Dahir Ige, a celebrated singer in Somalia, helped tie down the enduring culture of the country in spite of years of conflict.
It was no wonder that a multitude of celebrities, dignitaries and fans gathered at the Halyeeya cemetery, on the outskirts of Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, on July 3 to give her a final send-off.
Her life in music was nearly as old as Somalia’s history itself. She spent decades entertaining music lovers across the country.
Mourners included Somaliland Vice-President Abdurahman Abdullahi Zayli’i, ministers and a galaxy of artistes and fans.
Relatives at the funeral said Ige was hospitalised in Hargeisa and spent 10 days there before she died.
She had spent most of the last 30 years in Hargeisa. She retired in 2002. Her music, however, lived on.
Affectionately known as Khadra, the signer was born in Hargeisa in 1957 when the region was still a colony.
After finishing elementary school, Khadra joined Shacabka Girls School.
Khadra excelled in sports, particularly basketball and athletics, as well as arts. Records show that one of her Arabic language teachers, Ali Ibrahim Idle, identified her flair for singing and gave her a song composed in Arabic.
She excelled, attracting many admirers in and out of the education network.
In 1972, Khadra became a member of the inter-school sports tournament, representing the athletics team from the Northwestern region including her city, Hargeisa, emerging top. She also finished top in the 1,500m competition at the national level in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
Singing talent
But just two years later, Khadra had developed her singing talent further and joined the Waberi Group, the greatest musical group at the time with branches in Hargeisa and Mogadishu.
Khadra left school in the Seventh Grade to quench her thirst for singing and music. She shined in one of her first theatrical plays, displaying her melodic voice in the love song “Afka Lagama Sheegto Adigoon Jacayl Arag” (Never claim to be in love while not). That was in 1974.
The song was composed by the late Mohamed Abdi Wayah, a renowned songwriter, but the verses were turned melodic through his Lahan by another Somali musical giant, Salah Kassim Naji.
Zayli’i, the vice-president of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, became emotional at the graveyard.
“Khadra was in my age group and we went to school about the same time,” he said.
It is not just in her native Hargeisa that masses mourned Khadra’s death but across the entire Horn of Africa region and many places where Somalis reside.
In Mogadishu, Abdullahi Yusuf Ali, a former member of Somalia’s Golaha Shacabka (Lower House of the bicameral parliament), could not hide his emotions in reaction to Khadra’s passing away.
“I hardly missed plays in which Khadra Dahir Ige performed,” said Ali as he talked to friends at a cafeteria in the Somali capital after news of the singer’s death spread like bushfire.
Visibly moved, Ali sung entire verses of one of Khadra’s popular songs, “Sida laygu kaa ladhay haddaad iigu lamaantahay laabtaan ku gelin lahaa” (If you responded by the way I am devoted to you, I would glue you to my chest).
Many playwrights wanted Khadra included in their shows. She performed in such theatrical shows as “Dab Jacayl Kariwaa” by Hassan Ganeey.
She performed in multiple plays and sang songs authored by top composers like Ganeey, Mohamed Abdullahi Sangub and Mohamed Jama Kayd.
On record is that Khadra had over 250 chart-hitting songs.
Popular music stage
A former colleague of hers who attended the funeral classified modern Somali lyrics as having gone through three main stages: the Qaraami (1950-1960s), the Teachers (1970s) and popular music (from mid-1970s).
“Khadra and I belong to the popular music stage,” said the colleague, naming such arts giants as Ali Sugulle, Ismael Ahmed and Osman Ga’anlo’as as belonging to the early Qaraami stage.
“Singers and artistes who belonged to the education sector such as Faysal Ali Mushait, Mohamed Warsame and the Mooge brothers belonged to the legendary Teachers,” he added.
In Mogadishu, renowned Banadiri artiste Maki Haji Banadir recalled Khadra as a cool, respectful person. “We performed in different plays, but she was admired and respected by all.”
“Though I have not seen her for over 30 years and we have lived nearly 2,000km apart (between Mogadishu and Hargeisa), I missed Khadra.”
Khadra left three sons, two daughters and their offspring. BY DAILY NATION