Somali Songs

The Somali songs resonate the past history of the Somalia Culture and the collective experience of the people of Somali land, which never managed to come to the forefront either through the pages of history or through official documents. The notes of the Somali songs resonate the turmoil and the suffering that the people of Somalia collectively went through. The Somali songs are the repertoire of the lost memories of the past and the entangled roots of the present.

Somalia being a part of a country, which has its stand in the performative oral tradition came to terms with modern Somali songs with the advent of Arabic and British protectorates. The Somali songs during the colonial period, essentially called for the awakening of the people and the idea of nation building. Many women poets also voiced their suppression through the medium of songs and established themselves as a part of the living history.

Maryam Murshal is one of the most revered artists of Somalia who is reported to have fled the country during the civil war of the 1990s. Maryam Murshal is considered to have brought a revolution in the world of African music because of her fusion experiments between the traditional music of Somalia and rock, jazz, nova, hip hop and bossa. Waaberi Horseed is one of the traditional band that has gained considerable acclamation in the world of Somali music.