Djibouti is an African country on the Horn of Africa. It is an important port city, and has historically been part of several states, most recently including France. Djibouti was France's last African colony to gain independence. The national anthem of Djibouti is "Djibouti", adopted in 1977 with words by Aden Elmi and music by Abdi Robleh ^[1]. Nations of the Horn of Africa. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is formally recognized by a countrys government as their official national song. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

Djibouti is made up of two main ethnic groups: the Afar and the Issas, along with French, Yemeni, Arab and Somali citizens. Afar music is similar to the music of Ethiopia with elements of Arab music. The Issa are culturally related to Somalis. Their oral traditions include an array of poetry and proverbs, much of it devoted to the lives of Sufi saints. Afar oral literature is more musical, and comes in many varieties, including songs for weddings, war, praise and boasting ^[2]. Afar (or Danakil) are a tribal people who reside principally in the Danakil Desert in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in Eritrea and Djibouti. ... Issa can refer to: the Somali clan that resides in Djibouti Darrell Issa, Californian Representative Kobayashi Issa, Japanese haiku poet ancient Greek colony on the Adriatic island of Vis a divine character in David Eddings fantasy series The Belgariad and The Malloreon. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa, originating in the Arabian Peninsula of southwest Asia. ... Ethiopian music is extremely diverse, with each of the countrys 80 tribes being associated with unique sounds. ... Arab music is the music of Arabic-speaking people or countries, especially those centered around the Arabian Peninsula. ...

"Miniature poetry", invented by a truck driver named Abdi Deeqsi, is well known in Djibouti; these are short poems (balwo), mostly concerning love and passion ^[3]. Balwo is also a style of Somali popular music. Somalia has the distinction of being one of only a handful of African countries that are composed almost entirely of one ethnic group, the Somalis. ...

References

• ^  Djibouti - Culture Overview. Expedition Earth. URL accessed on September 28, 2005. - Website no longer exists; link is to Internet Archive
• ^  Djibouti. National Anthem Reference Page. URL accessed on September 28, 2005.