Hassan Sheikh Mumin (Xasan Sheekh Muumin)

Who was he?

Hassan Sheikh Mumin was a Somali poet, playwright, broadcaster, actor and composer (Wikipedia, Hassan Sheikh Mumin). His play Shabeelnaagood is one of the best-known works of Somali literature.

Early life

He was born in 1931 in Zeila, in what was then British Somaliland. At nine he moved with his family to Boorama, where he finished school and studied at a local madrasa (Wikipedia). His family is Gadabuursi (same source).

The Youth League and the radio

He joined the Somali Youth League. He wrote his first published poem for a League rally in Boorama in the early 1950s (Wikipedia).

After independence he worked at Radio Mogadishu from 1965 to 1968 as resident poet, playwright and lecturer. He later worked in the national Department of Education and Culture (Wikipedia). Some of the best-known songs of the singer Magool used his words, such as "Shimbirayahow heesa" and "Waa qaali malabkuye" (Wikipedia, Magool).

Shabeelnaagood

His best known work is the play Shabeelnaagood (1965). It deals with the place of women in society, life in the growing towns, changing customs and the importance of education (Wikipedia). He wrote both the play and its music (same source).

The heroine, Shallaayo, is tricked into a false marriage by the "leopard" of the title (same source). The play is still taught in schools.

In 1974 Oxford University Press published it in English as Leopard Among the Women. It was translated by B. W. Andrzejewski, who added an introduction on the history of Somali drama (Castagno, Historical Dictionary of Somalia, 1975, "Theater").

Later years

After the army took power in 1969, some cultural works were banned, including his poetry. He left Mogadishu for Djibouti and later settled again in Boorama (Wikipedia). He died on 16 January 2008 (same source).

In short

A playwright and poet whose 1968 play Shabeelnaagood dealt with how women were treated. See Somali poetry.