Somali Women's Songs for the First Ladies of Early Islam

Kapteijns, L. (1999)

Article / Letter to editor

When a Somali woman is about to give birth, older women often arrange a ceremony to call blessings on the mother-to-be, in which they sing sittaat - songs of praise for the leading women of early Islam, especially Faduumo (Fatima), daughter of the Prophet. Although there is no doubt that this genre of songs is old - it may even have a relationship to non-Islamic Oromo songs for the goddess of fertility - scholarly references date back only to the late nineteenth century and do not include song texts.

• Somalia

• All authors: Kapteijns, L.
• Date: 1999
• Journal: ISIM Newsletter
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 27 - 27
• Publisher: ISIM, Leiden