‘The law then was not this law’: past and present in extemporized verse at a Southern Somali festival

Voice and Power, ed. R.J.Hayward & I.M.Lewis (ALC Supplement 3, 1996): 213-228,

1. Introduction

The verses that I present in this paper were chanted in the town of Afgooye, southern Somalia, between about 4.30 and 5.30 pm on Monday 24 July 1989 AD, or the 19th of Dhu-al Hijjah 1409 of the Muslim calendar, the last day of the Somali ‘Sunday’ year. The occasion was the shir,1 or formal procession, which forms part of the celebrations held there for the Somali New Year.