and discoverer of the Somali prosodic system Ali Bu'ul (Cali Bucul) – 19th century poet, military leader and sultan, many of the most well known geeraar (short styled poems recited on a horse) came from his tongue and are still known today. Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame 'Hadrawi' – songwriter, philosopher, and Somali Poet Laureate; also dubbed the Somali Shakespeare. Hassan Sheikh Mumin – 20th century poet, playwright, broadcaster, actor and composer. Nuruddin Farah (born 1943) – Somali writer and winner of the 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. Abdillahi Suldaan Mohammed Timacade (1920–1973) – prominent Somali poet known for his nationalist poems such as Kana siib Kana Saar. Mohamud Siad Togane (born 1943) – Somali-Canadian poet, professor, and political activist. Maxamed Daahir Afrax – Somali novelist and playwright. Afrax has published several novels and short stories in Somali and Arabic, and has also written two plays, the first being Durbaan Been ah ("A Deceptive Drum"), which was staged in Somalia in 1979. His major contribution in the field of theatre criticism is Somali Drama: Historical and Critical Study (1987). Gaarriye (1949–2012) – Somali poet, most notable for his famous poem Hagarlaawe. Nadifa Mohamed – Somali novelist. Winner of the 2010 Betty Trask Prize. Musa Haji Ismail Galal (1917–1980) – was a Somali writer, scholar, linguist, historian and polymath Farah Mohamed Jama Awl – Somali author best known for his historical fiction novels. Diriye Osman – Somali writer and visual artist. Winner of the 2014 Polari First Book Prize. Sofia Samatar – Somali professor and writer. Winner of the 2014 World Fantasy Award. Law Somalis for centuries have practiced a form of customary law, which they call xeer. Xeer is a polycentric legal system where there is no monopolistic agent that determines what the law should be or how it should be interpreted. It is assumed to have developed exclusively in the Horn of Africa since approximately the 7th century. Given the dearth of loan words from foreign languages within the xeer's nomenclature, the customary law appears to have evolved in situ. Xeer is defined by a few fundamental tenets that are immutable and which closely approximate the principle of jus cogens in international law: payment of blood money (locally referred to as diya or mag), assuring good inter-clan relations by treating women justly, negotiating with "peace emissaries" in good faith, and sparing the lives of socially protected groups (e.g. children, women,