Scholars and religious figures
Dada Masiti (Mana Sitti Habib Jamaladdin)
Dada Masiti (Mana Sitti Habib Jamaladdin, about 1804/1810s–1919) was a poet, mystic and Islamic scholar of Barawa. She wrote religious poems in Chimbalazi, the Bravanese language of Barawa, that taught faith to women and ordinary people. Her poems are still memorised in Barawa, and her shrine there is visited every year.
Dada MasitiMana Sitti Habib Jamaladdin · Mana Siti Habib Jamaluddin
- Lived
- c. 1804–1819 to 1919
- Known as one of
- Scholars and religious figures
- Places
- Marka and Lower Shabelle
- Era
- 1500 to 1884; Partition and the Dervishes, 1884 to 1920
- Sources
- 2 sources
Who was she?
Dada Masiti, "Sister Masiti", was a poet, mystic and Islamic scholar of Barawa (Wikipedia, Dada Masiti). She composed her poems in the Bravanese language of Barawa (same source). One writer calls her the Rabia al-Adawiyya of East Africa, after the famous Sufi woman of Basra (Sacred Footsteps, "Dada Masiti", 2020).
Birth and family
Her name was Mana Sitti Habib Jamaladdin (Wikipedia). Sources differ on her birth. Wikipedia places it in the 1810s at Tundwa on Pate Island, near Lamu, before she moved to Barawa as a child (same source). Sacred Footsteps gives about 1804 and calls her a native of Barawa (Sacred Footsteps). Her family belonged to the Mahadali Ashraf of Barawa (Wikipedia).
Hard years
Oral accounts say she eloped as a young woman and lived about ten years in a harsh marriage (Wikipedia). Her cousin Omar Qullatten helped her return from Zanzibar (same source). Her poem "Ya Rabbi ya Muta'ali" tells of this ordeal and her turn back to faith (Sacred Footsteps). She never remarried (Wikipedia).
Scholar of the Qadiriyya
Back in Barawa she studied under Sheikh Mohammed Janna al-Bahluli and followed the Qadiriyya order (Wikipedia). Her poems show deep knowledge of the Qur'an and Sunnah (same source). Sheikh Qasim Muhyiddin al-Barawi called her a "treasure to be jealously preserved" (same source). See Islam in Somalia.
Poetry that teaches
She wrote in the everyday language, so ordinary people could understand (Sacred Footsteps). Her poems spread religious learning among the women of Barawa (same source). Many women learned her poems by heart (Wikipedia). Her best-known poem is an elegy for her friend the qadi Sheikh Nureni Mohammed Sabir (same source).
Death and shrine
She died on 15 July 1919 (Wikipedia). She was buried at her small house in Barawa, and a yearly visit (ziyara) is made to her shrine (same source). Scholars such as Mohamed Kassim and Alessandra Vianello have studied her work (Sacred Footsteps). See the Somali coast towns.
In short
A poet and religious teacher of Barawa who composed in the Chimbalazi language.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Dada Masiti · en.wikipedia.org
- Sacred Footsteps, "Dada Masiti", 2020 · sacredfootsteps.com
Dada MasitiMana Sitti Habib Jamaladdin · Mana Siti Habib Jamaluddin
- Lived
- c. 1804–1819 to 1919
- Known as one of
- Scholars and religious figures
- Places
- Marka and Lower Shabelle
- Era
- 1500 to 1884; Partition and the Dervishes, 1884 to 1920
- Sources
- 2 sources
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