Waaberi was a Somali

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

 musical supergroup

Supergroup (music)

In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....

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History

The troupe was established by members of the Radio Artists Association. It was supported by the Somali government as part of the Somali National Theater, and made tours throughout several countries in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, including Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

. After a coup in 1969, the ensemble was renamed Waaberi, which means "Dawn Players". The group continued to exist as a private organization into the 1990s.

Vocalist Maryam Mursal

Maryam Mursal

-Biography:Mursal grew up in Somalia in a Muslim family with four daughters. As a teenager, she broke with tradition and began singing professionally in Mogadishu. She performed in nightclubs and her brand of music, featuring a mix of blues, soul, Somali and Arabic influences, and known as Somali...

, the first woman to play Somali jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, was a member of the ensemble. After performing at the English WOMAD festival in 1997, the group toured North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 in 1998, and recorded an album with Egyptian musician Hossam Ramzy

Hossam Ramzy

Hossam Ramzy is an Egyptian percussionist and composer. He has worked with Western artists like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant as well as with Arabic music artists like Rachid Taha and Khaled.-Early life and career:...

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Members

As Somalia's foremost musical group, Waaberi spawned many popular artists who would go on to enjoy successful individual careers and shape the face of Somali music for years to come. Prominent members of the band included:

• Ali Feiruz
  Ali Feiruz
  Ali Abdi Feiruz, known as Ali Feiruz, was a prominent Somali musician.-Biography:Feiruz was born in 1931 in Djibouti. He later moved to Hargeisa, Somalia in the late 1950s, and then on to Mogadishu in 1973....
  
  
• Qasim Hilowle
• Aweis Ghedow
• Abdulkadir Nurani
• Sahal Mo'allim Isse
• Ahmed Naji Sa'ad
• Abdullahi Qarshe
  Abdullahi Qarshe
  Abdullahi Qarshe was a Somali musician, poet and playwright known as the "Father of Somali music".-Biography:Qarshe was born in 1924 in the Somali expatriate community in Moshi, Tanzania. In 1931, at the behest of his family, he left Tanzania and settled in Aden, Yemen for his education...
  
  
• Hassan Sheikh Mumin
  Hassan Sheikh Mumin
  Hassan Sheikh Mumin was a Somali poet, reciter and playwright.-Biography:Mumin was born in Zeila in 1931 in the then British Somaliland protectorate...
  
  
• Abdi Muhumed Amin
• Mohamed Ibrahim Hadrawi
• Mohamud Abdullahi Sangub
• Mohamud Tukale Osman
• Abdi Adan Qeis
• Hussein Aw Farah
• Mohamed Ali Kaariye
• Ali Suguleh
• Abdulle Raggeh Tarawil
• Mohamed Ahmed Kulu'
• Magool
  Magool
  Magool , born Halima Khaliif Omar , was a Somali singer.-Early years:Magool was born in the city of Dhusa Mareb, the capital of the Galgaduud region in central Somalia. She had four siblings....
  
  
• Maryam Mursal
  Maryam Mursal
  -Biography:Mursal grew up in Somalia in a Muslim family with four daughters. As a teenager, she broke with tradition and began singing professionally in Mogadishu. She performed in nightclubs and her brand of music, featuring a mix of blues, soul, Somali and Arabic influences, and known as Somali...
  
  
• Khadija Qalanjo
  Khadija Qalanjo
  Khadija Qalanjo was a popular Somali singer and folklore dancer in the 1970s and 1980s.-Biography:Qalanjo was born in Somalia. She is of the Samaroon sub-division of the Mandaluug sub-clan of the Dir Somali clan....
  
  
• Hasan Adan Samatar
  Hasan Adan Samatar
  Hasan Adan Samatar is a prominent Somali singer, guitarist and theatrical performer.-Biography:Samatar was born to an artistic family in Dinsoor, Somalia in 1953. He grew up in Baidoa, where he attended primary and elementary schools...
  
  
• Faduma Abdullahi Kahin "Maandeeq"
• Faduma Qassim Hilowle
• Hibo Nuura
• Mohamed Aden Da'ar
• Mohamed Suleiman Tube'
• Mohamed Hassan Barrow
• Omar Dhule Ali
• Kadija Abdulahi Daleis
• Sada Ali Warsame
• Binti Omar Ga'al
• Abdikadir Mo'allim Jubba
• Salad Darbi
• Ahmed Ali Egal
• Abdulqader Hassan Nageye
• Seinab Haji Ali Bahsan
• Kinsi Haji Aden
• Kadra Dahir Ige
• Sahra Ahmed Jama
• Omar Abdulle Sholi