Shantam Shubissa

Shantam Shubissa
Background information
Birth name Mohamed Ibrahim Waday
Born (1949-12-25) December 25, 1949
Magaala Xiqqoo, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
Genres World music, Oromo music
Years active 1968 - present

Shantam Shubissa (born Mohamed Ibrahim Waday, December 25, 1944) is an Ethiopian composer, singer and poet.[1] He was born in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Along with musicians such as Ali Birra, Shantam Shubissa is regarded one of Oromia’s significant contributors to music during the late 20th century [2]

The stage name ‘Shantam’ translates to English as the number "fifty". It was given after Shantam released a song where he composed the same chorus in five different languages: Arabic, Oromo, Somali, Amharic and Harari . The word shan ("five") morphed into shantam ("fifty"); the surname shubissa ("dance") was added later. Together, his name is translated as "fifty dancer.

Musical career

Shantam released many songs ranging from a variety of topics including love, nature and revolutionary politics. Although he has not released an official collection of poetry, his most famed classic songs[3] include: Alaaba Nagayaa “Banner of Peace”, Naaf si uume “You were created for me”, Yaa Quburee “Hey Gorgeous” and Yaa haadha too “My mother”.[2]

Awards

In 1995, Shantam was awarded for his contributions by the Oromo Radio Committee (in Melbourne, Australia).[4] He also received recognition for contribution to Language and Culture,[5] a lifetime contribution to Music and Arts Award in (Melbourne, Australia; 2000) and was officially invited back to Africa after decades in exile.,[2] as a special guest to open the Oromo Cultural Centre (Adama, Oromia; 2006). Shantam also toured United States, Canada and Germany numerous times, singing to Oromo people living in Diaspora.[6]

Release

In 2012, Shantam composed lyrics and music for 100 yet-to-be-released songs.

References

  1. ↑
  2. 1 2 3 The Oromo in exile: from the Horn of Africa to the suburbs of Australia - Greg Gow - Google Books. Books.google.com.au. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  3. ↑ "Timeless Afan Oromo song by shantam Shubisa (Sin Jaladhaa)". YouTube. 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110607033852/http://www.oromocommunity.org.au/radio.html. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "Oromo Radio Program – OROMOCENTRE". Oromocentre.org. Archived from the original on 2013-12-08. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  6. ↑ "Afran Qallo band marks 50 years of making music and history | Horn of Africa | News". Opride.com. 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
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