# Baxsan (Seynab Xaaji Cali Siigaale)

> Baxsan (1935-2020): pioneering Somali woman singer and actress, partner of Magool and Guduudo Carwo.

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

## Who was she?

Seynab Haji Ali Siigaale, known as Baxsan, was a Somali singer, songwriter and stage actress ([Wikipedia, Baxsan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baxsan)). She was born in 1935 in Baabili, in the [Haud](/en/history/haud-transfer-1954-1955/), to a merchant family (same source). Wikipedia names her with [Magool](/en/people/magool/) and [Guduudo Carwo](/en/people/guduuda-arwo/) as among the most popular performers of the twentieth century (same source).

## Early life

She ran a tea business in her home town, then worked in the coffee trade in Dire [Dawa](/en/regions/dawa-river/), and began singing professionally in Addis Ababa ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baxsan)). See [Somalis in Ethiopia](/en/diaspora/ethiopia/). After the 1960 coup attempt against Emperor Haile Selassie, she escaped to [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/), and Guduudo Carwo gave her the name Baxsan, meaning "escaped" (same source).

## Music

She was one of the first women in Somali popular music, at a time when women singing in public was not widely accepted ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baxsan)). In 1963 she went to Hargeisa with Guduudo, where they formed a famous quartet with Magool and Maandeeq (same source). She later settled in Mogadishu (same source). See [Somali music](/en/society/somali-music/).

## Later life

She stayed in Mogadishu through the civil war when many artists left, which earned her wide respect ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baxsan)). She died there on 19 October 2020, and the lack of a state funeral was widely criticised (same source).

## In short

One of the first women of Somali popular music, who sang from Addis Ababa to Mogadishu and stayed through the war.

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