June is the month that divides the year into two halves. Back in the olden days of nursery school, I learned this song: "30 days have September, April, June, and November. All the rest have 31, except February alone. " February is distinct from the other months since it ends in 28 or 29 interchangeably.
While we know the "People of the Cave" whose remains are in Amman, Jordan, slept 300 years add 9---with the 300 years being solar years and the 9 being lunar years, I'll leave to our Cosmologists to decipher the causes of February's calendar changes.
That aside, June 1 brings to my attention someone very important to all of us and he is none other than Mohamed Yabarag. I mentioned before that I'll be sharing with you a man whose great, grandfather meticulously strolled down the gorges and valleys and other distinctive Somali landscapes with the author of "First Footsteps in East Africa", Richard Burton, the man who spoke 29 languages and whose sole intention was to penetrate the impenetrable City of Harar---a city whose inhabitants are known to Somalis as Adaris or Adariyiin.
While it is known to historians, missionaries, explorers and globe trotters that Somalis are skillful at travel adventures, and that they are given to warfare since they are Africa's number one warriors, and that they can survive 3 days without water as long as they have camel milk at their disposals, the man whose name appears as " Buh" or "Booh"...
The man mentioned by the English author left remarkable historical footprints while on horses, mares, and rakoubs while evading carnivorous animals, distinct landscapes, and hostile fellow clansmen.
His horse could cover long distances like our own Seyid's Xiin Faniin and the famous Bucephalus of Alexander the Great III. The mare he rode, must have been one that resembled in speed and might, this author's 3rd grandfather whose name was Ali and rode one called Danood---a name derived from the water well mentioned in Cali Dhuux's poetic chain that is Guba. For those who did not know before, rest assured that the water well that gave Cali Dhuux and his she camel Cartan harrowing experience, was the work of Cali who rode a mare called Danood.
The name Yabarag is Latinized, for the correct form of writing in Somali could have been Yaab-Arag, for astonishment, mouths agape, hair raising, shocking, unbelievable etc. Perhaps, something unanticipated, mind boggling or an eventful incident may have occurred instantaneously, but not a lugubrious event, I would presume.
As Jeffrey Getleman noted in the past that "most Somalis have nicknames", the name Yabarag jostled my mind the first time it came to my focus. A widely traveled man he is, Mr. Yabarag has been my friend and dear brother for decades. A Certified Public Accountant by profession, he's also specialized in various fields.
He's multilingual and multicultural. In terms of generosity, he's a generous man driven by gentility.
To better define his gentility, his character is one embossed or decorated in good breeding and refinement and that's because he was raised by parents who were committed to articulate child upbringing in an environment of peace and tranquility.
Raised in a land surrounded by mountains and valleys, wild animals like the gazelle and birds of distinct species, meadows and fields having historical structures such as tombs for saints, the region he hails from is considered to have been the seats of ancient Somali history. The succession of Somali sultanates that played significant roles fighting off foreign intruders or infiltrators came from Yabarag's region.
His region is a Shangri-la or a worldly paradise. The current temperature of his hometown is 27°C.
With regards to his multilingualism and multiculturalism, Yabarag speaks fluently the language of the Qur'an which is Arabic and also the most widely spoken in the African Continent with over 150 million speakers. As for multiculturalism, his openness to every culture makes him a friend of everyone.
A composed man with brilliant mind deserves to be emulated because of his inherent audacity to circumvent obstacles that deserve to be removed for others to evade previous supercilious roadblocks.
Originally from Somalia's environmentally most hospitable city and region, from the most educated family, secularly and religiously, he's been the closest to me among Somali men without an iota of doubt, and that he's my brother.
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