# Abdillahi Diiriye Guled (Caraale)

> Abdillahi Diiriye Guled (Caraale): Somali scholar who discovered Somali poetic metre; author of Miisaanka Maansada.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/people/abdillahi-diiriye-guled/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who is he?

Abdillahi Diiriye Guled, also known as Arale or Caraale, is a Somali literary scholar and prosodist credited with discovering the Somali scansion system ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdillahi_Diiriye_Guled)). He is the son of Aw Diiriye Guled Warsame Guutaale, a poet who took part in the Silsiladda Xaydha poem chain and founded the town of Gashamo (same source).

## Career

He majored in English at the Somali National University and taught English ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdillahi_Diiriye_Guled)). He wrote some of the first Somali-language textbooks for primary and secondary schools, and in 1978 became a lecturer in Somali language and literature at the university (same source). See [Somali written, 1972](/en/history/somali-language-written-1972/).

## Somali metre

He showed that classical forms such as the geeraar, gabay, jiifto and hees are scanned by the length of syllables, the mora, rather than by tone or stress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdillahi_Diiriye_Guled)). He first published this in Xiddigta Oktoobar and then in his book Miisaanka Maansada (1975) (same source). The poet [Gaarriye](/en/people/gaarriye/), his friend, made the same discovery independently around the same time, and scholars such as John William Johnson built on their work (same source). See [Somali poetic metre](/en/society/somali-poetic-metre/).

His books include Miisaanka Maansada (1975), Gabaygeena Miisaan (1978), Jiiftadeena Miisaan (1978) and Gibil Xidh (2016) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdillahi_Diiriye_Guled)).

## In short

The scholar who worked out how Somali poetry is measured, and wrote early Somali school books.

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