By Abdiwahab Saqah; translated by Warsame Shiidley
This year, the raindrops that reached the land were considered blessed—as agreed all. Even the local goats’ young female kids—who usually perish when the rains finally arrive after a long drought—did not die this time.
The land was threaded with narrow, winding, cold rivulets—streams that were not very clean. Before long, some areas had already turned green, covering the surface of the land, yet the pastures were still not safe for peaceful grazing. Just yesterday morning, Garlibaaxle, the paramount chieftain of the local goats, held a public council. He proclaimed that never had such prosperity been witnessed, neither in his lifetime nor in any tale told. Likewise, Garlibaaxle announced the Gathering of the Rams, which had been postponed the previous year due to drought. The gathering earned its name because female goats are not allowed to participate.
Reer Qaruufxun is a sub-clan within the Billy goat community, led by Qalaadaaye, an old Billy known for his loud voice. This year, their territory will host the Gathering of the Bills, and they have prepared with the utmost care to welcome the delegates arriving from the other goat clans. From yesterday until last night, the delegations steadily arrived and at the camp’s entrance, they were met and escorted inside by Qalaadaaye and another Billy from the elite ranks of Reer Qaruufxun.
***
For a long time, the greater clan of the Goats has suffered from insecurity caused by a rogue Billy—long-horned, insane, and ruthless—whose base lies in a muddy, narrow patch on the western side of the region. The mad he-goats are opposed by Abuu Kabshah, who, back when he was sane, was known as Biiqaaye. Biiqaaye was given that name because he was accused of cruelty and foolishness. It is said that Abuu Kabshah drank from a pool in the autumn where a sick hyena had urinated, and thus he was poisoned and became insane.
After that, Abuu Kabshah developed bad behaviours, the worst of which was that he became hostile to the very existence and livelihood of the greater goat clan from which he was born. Then, to destroy the existence and livelihood of the goat clan he had come to despise, he simultaneously began to disrupt the peace of the pastures where the goats graze and to incite his followers to attack other rival or smaller he-goat groups. The first time Abuu Kabshah attacked the goats living in the area was during the late morning hour. Abuu Kabshah and two bucks he had driven mad attacked a group nannies that were grazing near the thicket where he and his followers were hiding.
Three nannies died there that morning, felled by glistening horns that had ripped into their innards. Another nanny, too, collapsed with a shattered spine that same morning. The damage would have been even worse, but nearby, a group of bucks grazing close to the nannies—who were keenly interested in courting—rushed over urgently to help. The nanny wounded in the attack is called Reema, and she is the clan that this year has called for the Billy congress. Although her condition was treated, they were still unable to fully mend her broken ribs. Afterwards, she developed a terrible limp and eventually became paralyzed in her hind legs.
These days, the nanny teasingly call her ‘Reema’araxla’.’ On the other hand, Reema is a lively doe—keenly observant of the behaviours and life around her—and she talks and debates about all this. For this reason, she was given the name Reema from a young age. Since the attack that broke her spine, she has been studying Abuu Kabshah’s group and their madness.
***
This year, the main agenda item of the Billy congress is easy to understand: how the greater goat clan will resist the savage acts committed by Abuu Kabshah’s group? The security at the meeting site is guarded from behind by a fierce Billies force from the Qaruufxun clan, all armed with deadly horns. But Reema remains critical of the outcomes expected from the Congress. She received a report indicating that this assembly would not differ from the ones before it. Then she decided on her own to attend the assembly and deliver a speech there, deliberately ignoring the voices that said no female goat should take part in this meeting. At the previous assembly, the main agenda item discussedwas the security of the goat, and Suldaan Garlibaaxle delivered a long speech lacking substance, as Reema believed.
The Suldaan repeatedly emphasized that Abuu Kabshah’s group were the very bucks they had raised—leaders whose rule had gone astray—and that fundamentally, they should be seen not as foreign enemies but as part of their own. But Abuu Kabshah’s group does not see themselves as wayward billies of their own kind; instead, they are firmly committed to eradicating the very existence and livelihood of the goats. The Sultan also proposed that the key men of the goat clan—especially those with beards—should dye their beards with henna. He believed this display would strike fear into the Abuu Kabshah faction and stop them from launching further attacks on the goats.
Finally, the Sultan called on the Abuu Kabshah faction to surrender, to reintegrate into the clan, and to abandon the harm they were causing. After the meeting, nothing has changed in the behaviour of the Abuu Kabshah faction. Most of the clan leaders accepted Sultan Garlibaaxle’s proposal and dyed their beards, but this move only further angered the Abuu Kabshah faction. They then began specifically targeting those leaders who had dyed their beards. Sultan Garlibaaxle’s call— ‘Abuu Kabshah’s group, surrender’—became nothing more than a joke and a source of mockery deep within the forest where the Abuu Kabshah faction lived.
***
The congress of Billies opened, and first, several sultans gave reports on their own health and the conditions of their respective sub-clans. Unexpectedly, Reemo stepped forward at the entrance of the congress hall, preparing to speak. But before she could say a word, a hornless buck—one of those assigned to guard the gathering—hurriedly motioned her away. Reemo collapsed to the ground, and the ram moved to forcefully drag her away, that is when she cried out and shouted and said: “Billies, just for today, allow me to speak at this council—on behalf of myself and all the doses of Goat!” Reemo’s outcry angered several sultans at once. Suldaan Qalaadaaye, in particular, saw her desperate plea as a disruption by a voiceless outsider—a disgrace to the very gathering he had worked so hard to organize, host, and lead. Just as he was about to unleash a harsh rebuke, Sultan Garlibaaxle interrupted, speaking first. He looked at Reemo with eyes full of compassion.
Reemo was granted a brief chance to speak. She stood where the entire congress could see her clearly. Then she began her speech, “Billies, I will not greet you one by one or name you individually—because you’ve only given me a moment to speak. But I will introduce myself. I am Reemo—Reemo’araxla. The deformity you see on me is not something I was born with; the twisted limb you’re staring at was once whole—until just a few years ago. You don’t know me—I was the young, hornless doe who was wounded in the very first attack that Abuu Kabshah’s group launched against the goat clan. Billies, since the day I was wounded, I have been studing the roots and motives behind the Abuu Kabshah group.
You don’t know yet, but Abuu Kabshah himself was the one who carried out and spread the madness of his group. And he himself was cursed by a cruel fate when he drank water soiled by a sick hyena’s urine. To summarize, the group’s agenda is the complete destruction of the existence and life of the Goat clan. In truth, there is no benefit whatsoever to the cause they are fighting for, but because they are poisoned and deranged, they believe there is some gain to be had. Billies, you don’t know the history of this region—groups like this one have appeared before, but they were all completely wiped out.
The most recent group emerged from the neighbouring cattle clan. Not long ago, I spoke with an old cow who lived through those times. He told me that the worst period in the history of their cattle was when that group existed. Billies, your counsel and leadership have truly been paralyzed. You have already held six meetings like the one you are attending today, and the most important topic you have always discussed is: “Addressing the growing insecurity spreading across the Goat clan’s territory.
However, at the previous meeting, your intentions were truly misguided—you proposed that beards be dyed, even though the issue at hand concerned security and intelligence gathering. Billies, you still think this group is just wayward kin whose judgment has gone astray. In truth, your way of thinking is deeply flawed and far from the reality and true purpose of the Abuu Kabshah group. Whether you know it or not, the Abuu Kabshah group’s forest camps treat your words and ideas as entertainment. Henceforth, the ailment plaguing Abuu Kabshah and his group is sheer madness.
I’ve already spoken about the root of that madness, its aim, and how lost you truly are—so tell me, what have you proposed? Allah! Allah! You have no proposal—so allow me to advise you. The Abuu Kabshah group has no solution other than total extermination. A full-scale, unrelenting war must be launched against the foul terrain they hide in—and if that proves impossible, then the entire area must be burned to the ground. When I speak that way, I do so fully aware of both our strength and of the Abuu Kabshah’s group. And I am certain—history has taught me well—that this group’s madness leaves no solution other than eradication.
Every year, this group recruits scrawny bucks and kids, then trains them to become predators who take part in our extermination. Those bucks haven’t yet been fully infected by the madness, but even they must be frightened—and eliminated. If any are captured alive, they must be isolated from the clan for a while and given time to recover from the poison before being reintegrated. If you refuse this advice, then sure—let the nannies dye their tails with henna this year to stop the Abuu Kabshah attacks. And each of you should get ready—soon enough—for when you’ll be impaled by an Abuu Kabshah horn.”
As Reemo spoke those final words, she began to walk away slowly, clearly uninterested in staying any longer. The meeting quickly erupted into chatter and murmurs, with many billies buzzing around Reemo’s advice. A lengthy debate then began, with disagreements and heated arguments all around. The meeting lasted until evening, and finally, two points were agreed upon. Sultan Garlibaaxle, who was closing the meeting and reading the outcomes to the press, said: ‘The delegates at the meeting have unanimously agreed on the following two points: From today onward, the nannies can participate in the meeting, and the meeting’s name has been changed—henceforth, it will be called the Goates Congress.
The second point agreed upon by the delegates is that a fierce, sacrificial battle will be launched against the Abuu Kabshah group and their dogs three days from today, and the war will not end until they are completely wiped out.” In the latter part of that prosperous time when the goat clan went to war against the Abuu Kabshah group, the livestock of the area grazed in safety. Not a single wild billy remained in the region, and Reemo, too, was still paralyzed.
Warsame Shiidley is a writer and translator with interests in media and Somali issues. He can be followed via X: @Shiidley