Saturday August 30, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia is mourning the death of Khadijo Mohamud Yusuf, the celebrated singer and dancer known as Qalanjo, whose voice and stagecraft helped define the country’s golden age of music in the 1970s and 1980s. The Ministry of Information confirmed she died on Aug. 29 in Hargeisa, calling her passing a profound loss to Somali culture.
Qalanjo was one of the first women to command national stages in Somalia, breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry. Born in Borama, she rose to fame as part of the Waaberi troupe, a state-backed ensemble that became the face of Somali music and theater at home and abroad. Her performances modernized folk traditions, especially the dhaanto dance, by blending them with orchestration and choreography.
Her songs, including Caashaqa Sal iyo Baar, Deesha, Sharaf, and Soohor Caashaqa — a duet with Hasan Adan Samatar — remain staples of Somali cultural memory. Diriyam, another of her works, later found new life when Ethiopia’s Jano Band covered it in 2016, underscoring her regional influence.
Tributes poured in from fellow artists, politicians, and Somalis across the diaspora. The Ministry of Information described her as “a pioneer whose artistry reflected the spirit and resilience of the Somali people.” Social media feeds filled with archival recordings and memories, particularly from communities in Europe and North America where her music continues to resonate.
Her artistry was also embedded in state milestones. In 1983, when Somali National Television launched, her traditional repertoire was among the songs broadcast to mark the occasion, cementing her status as a national icon. Though some accounts describe her as Somalia’s first “Miss Somalia,” historians note that documentation is scarce; what remains undisputed is her influence as a trailblazer for women in Somali arts.
For many Somalis, both at home and abroad, her death is a reminder of a lost cultural era, yet her music endures, echoing across generations as one of the country’s most treasured legacies.