Ismail Mire

Ismail Mire
Born	1862 Lasadar, Buuhoodle, Dhulbahante Sultanate
Died	1950
Occupation	Commander-in-chief
Era	Scramble for Africa
Organization	Darwiish
Spouse	Fadumo Habado

Ismail Mire Elmi was a Somali poet who as commander in chief, held the most senior position in the Darwiish army. Within the khusuusi (governing council), he was also chief of intelligence operations. One observer referred to his voice and poetic abilities as "so great that he could sing his countrymen into peace or war".

Career

Mire was born in 1862 in the region of Buuhoodle, in the Dhulbahante Sultanate, and started life as a pastoralist along the Haud plains which is the lifestyle he returned to towards the end of his life. Upon becoming a Darwiish, he began heading the army and military intelligence, he also supervised the maintenance of the numerous forts that were built by the Darwiish. Upon the defeat of the Darwiish, he was captured, and spent a stint in a Berbera prison. Mire is one of the most successful generals in African history, with Mire leading the charges that led to the killing of Richard Corfield and destroyed almost the entirety of his battalion, besides successful raids or annexations of territories ranging from Berbera and Las Khorey in the north, Jigjiga to the west and Beledweyne to the south, thus by 1915 domineering over an area almost the size of Germany. The first decade of offensives cost the British government 29 million pounds sterlings (not adjusted to inflation).

Raid on Bebera

In March 1914, Ismail Mire led a cavalry of 40 men in a daring attack on Berbera, the center of the British colonial administration, which was intended as a show of force against the British. Mire appointed Seeraar Shawe as a scout as he was knowledgeable on the terrain of the area. On one occasion, the Darwiish cavalrymen demonstrated agitation upon seeing British plaatoons along the way. In order to strengthen their resolve, Mire composed the following poem:

O' Wacays, an indolent man receives neither blessing and nor increase; The men who are on the road who have filled us with dread; And who have unsettled our spirit as if they were conquering lions; I will swear by Allah that women are more formidable than they; I shall set Bood(his horse) on the warpath, towards Glory; It was bred to kill the Children of Filth; At daybreak will their corpses litter Berbera; Whatever portion Allah has decreed for us; I shall tighten the girth-strap on my Stallion.

Ismail Mire and his cavalry attempted to plunder the heart of British colonialism, and the event caused the British authorities to evacuate all non-essential English personnel from the city. British officials, shocked by Ismail Mire's brazenness, described the Berbera raid as follows:

On the night of the 12th-13th March, 1914, the boldest venture ever attempted by the Dervishes was undertaken. Forty men, mounted on the fleetest and fittest ponies, starting from Shimber Berris and travelling down the Meriya Pass and through Las Dureh, arrived at the gates of Berbera, under the cover of darkness in the early hours of the morning. After firing into the native town, they immediately withdrew and returned whence they had come, destroying all villages and slaughtering their inhabitants en route. No material damage had been done in Berbera, and our only casualties were two Somali townsmen wounded; but the sense of security in the native town had been profoundly shaken. It was generally believed in the coffee shops that this daring descent was but a prelude to a siege of Berbera by the whole Dervish army. It is true that one kharia-wallah, a Somali villager, had run into the town during the evening of the 12th March and informed the authorities that the Dervishes were about to deliver an attack on the capital. But his news seemed altogether too incredible to be true and he was ignominiously consigned to the guard-room. On the following morning, he was released and generously rewarded.

Ilig treaty

In 1905, the Ilig treaty was signed between the Darwiish and the Italians who also signed on behalf of the two other colonial powers, the British and the Abyssinians. The treaty stipulated peace between the Darwiish and the three colonial powers and designated the Darwiish as an Italian protectorate. The territory of the Darwiish was also demarcated in this treaty between the Majeerteen Sultanate at Ras Gabbe (Gabbac) and Hobyo Sultanate at Ras Garad (Garacad); further territory was assigned for grazing, namely in Halin, a few miles east of Taleh to the north, Hudin (Xudun) to the northwest, Tifafle (between Ade Adeye and Las Anod) to the west, Danot to the southwest, and Mudug to the south.

Poems

Some of his notable poems include:

• Maxaa Xiga
• Guuguulayhow
• Iibsi Lacageed
• Xoogsi
• Hashii Markab
• Isma Oga
• Annagoo Taleex Naal
• Gelin Dhexe
• Galow-Kiciye

Eating Filth era

In the 1910s, an elderly woman cursed Ismail Mire for being responsible for the Harrame Cuna (Eating Filth) era. A distraught Mire responds by attempting to absolve himself through the following poem:

All night, oh Mohamed, I was awake. Sleep abandoned me, my dear, as I thought about what the woman said. You destroyed my world she said. She said you attacked my homestead. She said you made me homeless and took my burdencamel. She said you killed my sons. She said you forced me to live in hunger in many rainy seasons. She said you slaughtered the brave. Let me recite a poem about her curse.... The dead that lay at the plains that Good (the Sayyid) attacked. The bones that were scattered everywhere one travelled. The she-camels looted from the Ogadeen. The wealth swiffly taken from the Isaaq. The poverty that forced young men to aimlessly roam about. The hunger that weakened the aristocrat. The people that dispersed hither and thither. The wisy areoplanes and dl that moved in the sky. The houses destroyed and the walls that fell. All of the death and tragedy that beset the people ... I was not the only one responsible for it, as death visited all

Death of Corfield

Prior to their encounter with Corfield, the Darwiish were on a recruitment campaign whereby scores of Darwiish would be sent out to various localities imploring others to join. For example in December 2012, A group of 150 Darwiish went to Ainabo wherein they tried to recruit to Dhulbahante there with promises of 100 camels for each rifleman or horseman who joined. In August 2013, upon killing Richard Corfield and his battalion, Ismail Mire composed the "Death of Corfield" poem:

Mindful of our horses we pastured them at night; Gently we hobbled them, and let them eat lush fronds; When the Triplet Stars began to set I stirred and Sang; And when I chanted my poem, the sleeping awoke; Gathering around the place where my voice sounded; And when I said the Dawn prayer, we saddled for the march; By the Ulasameed rivulet I sent out the scouts; We rumbled into battle roaring like thunder; Our camels trampled where he held the Maxim gun; The dead littered the field including the toadying Iidoor; There, Corfield and his interpreters were slain.

Biography

• Ismaaciil Mire; by Ahmed Idaja, 1974

Legacy

Education

In schools across Somalia, poems by Ismail Mire are taught, particularly those that discuss or convey perseverance, revenge, gender norms, the Somali pastoralist's preference of sons over daughters, the integrality of aiding retired parents or for self-determination from imperialists, and the customs of the medieval nomads and pastoralists. Even his enemies, such as Alu Dhuh had praised his poetic abilities.

Somali proverbs

Ismail Mire is also known for contriving traditional sayings that expressed in a metaphorical sense the truths based on common sense or experience of the Nugaal region:

Ragow, kibirka waa lagu kufaa; kaa ha la ogaado (Oh men, arrogance makes you lose your footing; let that be known)

Monuments

Ismail Mire International Airport is named after him.