Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac Gaariye

Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac (1949 – 30 September 2012), better known as Gaarriye, was a Somali poet and political activist. He was born in Hargeisa in 1949 in former British Somaliland. He finished his elementary and secondary studies in Hargeisa in the early 1970s and enrolled in the Somali National University College in Afgooye, earning a bachelor of science degree in 1974.

Known as a sharp critic, Gaariye started the famous Deelley poetic chain in response to repression in Somalia under Siad Barre’s rule. Other famous poets such as Hadraawi would contribute to Deelley. He was a member of the Somali National Movement and following the Somali Civil War he composed one of the best known Somali poems on the theme of reconciliation, “Hagarlaawe” (The Charitable).

In the 1970s Gaariye independently discovered the Somali prosodic system, a major intellectual achievement. He worked closely with British linguist Martin Orwin to transcribe and translate many of his best poems into English.

Gaariye died at a hospital in Norway on 30 September 2012. His works include Hagarlaawe, Deelley, Fad Galbeed, Garaad-daran, and Mandheela (Mandela).