featuring the Somali Gadabuursi
Dir clan. featuring the Somali Gadabuursi
Dir clan. featuring the Somali Gadabuursi
Dir clan. in the Gadabuursi country, north of
Harar. in the Gadabuursi country, north of
Harar. in the Gadabuursi country, north of
Harar. clan.
Medieval Age I. M. Lewis gives an invaluable reference to an Arabic manuscript on the history of the Gadabuursi Somali. 'This Chronicle opens', Lewis tells us, 'with an account of the wars of Imam 'Ali Si'id (d. 1392) from whom the Gadabuursi today trace their descent, and who is described as the only Muslim leader fighting on the western flank in the armies of Se'ad ad-Din, ruler of
Zeila.
Sa'ad ad-Din II was the joint founder of the Kingdom of Adal along with his brother
Haqq ad-Din II. His descendants praise and sing his hymns and make their pilgrimages to his local shrine at Tukali to commemorate their ancestor. The largest portion of the Gadabuursi reside in Ethiopia. According to traditional Gadabuursi history, a great battle took place between the Gadabuursi and the Galla in the 14th century at Waraf, a location near Hardo Galle in Ethiopia. According to
Max Planck, one branch of the Reer Ughaz family (Reer Ugaas) in Ethiopia rose to the rank of
Dejazmach (
Amharic: ደጃዝማች) or
Commander of the Gate. This was a military title meaning commander of the central body of a traditional Ethiopian armed force composed of a vanguard, main body, left and right wings and a rear body.
[4] Shihab al-Din Ahmad mentions the
Habar Makadur by name in his famous book
Futuh al-Habasha. He states: "Among the Somali tribes there was another called Habr Maqdi, from which the imam had demanded the alms tax. They refused to pay it, resorting to banditry on the roads, and acting evilly towards the country." Richard Pankhurst (2003) states that the Habr Maqdi are the
Habar Makadur of the Gadabuursi.
19th Century to
Harar featuring the Gadabuursi clan|246x246px All the trade routes linking
Harar to the Somali coast passed through the
Somali and
Oromo territories where the Gadabuursi held a significant monopoly on the trade routes to the coast. Wehib M. Ahmed (2015) mentions that the Gadabuursi dominated sections of the trade routes connecting
Harar to
Zeila in the
History of Harar and the Hararis: "In the 19th century the jurisdiction of the Amirs was limited to Harar and its close environs, while the whole trade routes to the coast passed through Oromo and the Somali territories. There were only two practicable routes: one was the Jaldeissa, through Somali Issa and Nole Oromo territories, the other of Darmy through the Gadaboursi. The Somali, who held a monopoly as transporters, took full advantage of the prevailing conditions and the merchants were the victim of all forms of abuse and extortion... Under the supervision of these agents the caravan would be entrusted to abbans (caravan protector), who usually belonged to the Issa or Gadaboursi when destined to the coast and to Jarso when destined for the interior." Elisée Reclus (1886) describes one of the ancient routes from
Harar to
Zeila ascending the Darmi Pass which crosses the heartland of the Gadabuursi country: "Two routes, often blocked by the inroads of plundering hordes, lead from Harrar to Zeila. One crosses a ridge to the north of the town, thence redescending into the basin of the Awash by the Galdessa Pass and valley, and from this point running towards the sea through Issa territory, which is crossed by a chain of trachytic rocks trending southwards. The other and more direct but more rugged route ascends north-eastwards towards the Darmi Pass, crossing the country of the Gadibursis or Gudabursis. The town of Zeila lies south of a small archipelago of islets and reefs on the point of the coast where it is hemmed in by the Gadibursi tribe. It has two ports, one frequented by boats but impracticable for ships, whilst the other, not far south of the town, although very narrow, is from 26 to 33 feet deep, and affords safe shelter to large craft." Philipp Paulitschke (1888) describes the perilous nature of the roads surrounding
Zeila, frequently under pressure from Gadabuursi and
Danakil raiders: "The road via Tokosha, Hambôs and Abusuên was completely waterless at this time and therefore unusable. There was a general fear, rightly so, of the Danâkil, so much that the escort of a caravan couldn't have been persuaded to take this path. Danger also existed for the route we chose via Wárabot and Henssa, made unsafe by the Gadaburssi raiders, but is the one relatively more frequently committed." Philipp Paulitschke (1888) describes how the Wadi Aschat, a valley on the outskirts of
Zeila, served as the headquarters of the Gadabuursi raiders: "Starting immediately on the right bank of Wâdi Ashât, accompanying the narrow path through the Salsola bush 20-30 metre high hills at a distance of 5-6 km. The country shaft offers the appearance of a wavy, artificially created terrain covered with tall grass. Individuals come against the caravan path; others are lined up in groups and close due to the location. Here and there small cauldrons form which will soon come against the caravan route, heading west or east. They have been lurking in this area since ancient times, the Somâl terrain so suitable for raids, armed with lances, shield and knife, mostly on horseback, rarely on foot, and weaker caravans have to fight their way through force by force. The plunderers who have their headquarters here belong to the Gadaburssi tribe. There are also robbers from all the neighbouring areas. The attacks on the caravans are carried out on horseback, and the natives, on their nimble steeds, take such an excellent cover that they bring honour to every European rider." He also described the Wadi Aschat as having a legendary and nefarious reputation: "We crossed, in the slowly rising terrain, the Wâdi Aschât, approximately 20m wide, a fairly deep cut trickle, which approached us in terrible sunshine from a southwesterly direction through the Salsola bushes adorned with a small hilly landscape. We already in Zeila were warned about this infamous site, from legend it is said, is soaked with the blood of the caravans." Eliakim Littel (1894) describes the remains of an Egyptian fortress built near
Harar to protect the trade routes linking
Harar to
Zeila from the Gadabuursi: On the east bank of the Dega-hardani are the remains of a fortress built by the Egyptians during their occupation of this country, of which I shall have more to say. The object of this wayside fort was to protect their trade from the plundering Gadabursi tribe, whose country at this place approaches the road.
French Somaliland (Côte Française des Somalis) The Gadabuursi were the pioneers of the name
Côte Française des Somalis or the
French Coast of the Somalis.
Haji Dideh, the Sultan of
Zeila, and prosperous merchant coined the name to the French. He also built the first mosque in
Djibouti. Before the French aligned with the
Issa, the Gadabuursi held the position of the first Senator of the country and the first Somali head of state to lead
French Somaliland, the territory compromising
Djibouti today.
Djama Ali Moussa, a former sailor, pursued his political aspirations and managed to become the first Somali democratically elected head of state in
French Somaliland. Prior to 1963, which coincided with the death of
Djama Ali Moussa, political life in
Djibouti was dominated by the Gadabuursi and Arab communities who were political allies and made up the majority of the inhabitants of the city of
Djibouti. After his death, the
Afar and
Issa rose to power.
The Ambassadorial Brothers The Ambassadorial Brothers were three brothers from a prominent family in the
Horn of Africa. They were: • Ismail Sheikh Hassan, served as
Ethiopia's Ambassador to
Libya. •
Aden Sheikh Hassan, served as
Djibouti's Ambassador to
Oman and
Saudi Arabia. •
Mohamed Sheikh Hassan, served as
Somalia's Ambassador to the
United Arab Republic,
Canada and
Nigeria. They were all sons of Sheikh Hassan Nuriye and from the Reer Ughaz (Reer Ugaas) subclan of the
Makayl-Dheere section of the Gadabuursi. Sheikh Hassan Nuriye in turn was a descendant of Ughaz Roble I. He was a famous sheikh and merchant in Somaliland, Ethiopia and Djibouti. He was based mainly in Ethiopia around
Harar and
Dire Dawa. Eventually Sheikh Hassan Nuriye returned to his hometown of
Awbare (
Teferi Ber) and died there. He is buried in the town of
Awbare next to Sheikh Awbare. His sons came to be known as
The Ambassadorial Brothers. They were the first prominent family to have three individuals who are directly related to each other as brothers serving as ambassadors for three different neighboring countries. Lyrics of the song in Somali translated to English:
Balwo and Heello: Modern Somali Music Modern Somali
music began with the
Balwo style, pioneered by
Abdi Sinimo, who rose to fame in the early 1940s. Abdi's innovation and passion for music revolutionized Somali music forever. Its lyrical contents often deal with love, affection and passion. The Balwo genre was a forerunner to the Heello genre.
Abdi Sinimo hailed from the North Western Regions of Somaliland and Djibouti, more precisely the
Reer Nuur section of the Gadabuursi. Modern sung Somali Poetry was introduced in the Heello genre which is a form of Somali sung poetry. The Balwo name changed to Heello because of religious reasons. The earliest composers began their songs with
Balwooy, Balwooy hoy Balwooy... however because of the negative connotation connected to the Balwo and the word meaning calamity in Arabic, the Balwo was changed to Heello and thus the first bars of songs began with
Heelloy,
heellelloy. Below is a sample of a poem written
Abdi Sinimo.
Early Somali Cinema Hassan Sheikh Mumin is considered among the greatest modern songwriters and playwrights in
Greater Somalia and hailed from the Jibriil Yoonis subclan of the Gadabuursi. He was born in 1931, in the port town of
Zeila, in what was then
British Somaliland. Because his father was a great sheikh, he received a classical
Quranic and
Arabic education. He also attended a government elementary school. He became a well-known collector and reciter of traditional oral literature, and composed his own texts, of which his most important work is
Shabeelnaagood (1965), a piece that touches on the social position of women, urbanization, changing traditional practices, and the importance of education during the early pre-independence period. Although the issues it describes were later to some degree redressed, the work remains a mainstay of Somali literature.
Shabeelnaagood was translated into English in 1974 under the title
Leopard Among the Women by the
Somali Studies pioneer
Bogumił W. Andrzejewski, who also wrote the introduction. Mumin composed both the play itself and the music used in it. The piece is regularly featured in various school curricula, including
Oxford University, which first published the English translation under its
press house. During one decisive passage in the play, the heroine, Shallaayo, laments that she has been tricked into a false marriage by the Leopard in the title:
Roble Afdeb (Rooble Afdeeb) Roble Afdeb was a famous
Somali warrior and poet from the North Western regions of
Somaliland and
Djibouti. Known to have pillaged and raided many Issa settlements. The poet and warrior is a legend in Somali history and was highly renowned for his bravery and gained fame not only through anti-colonialism and Islamic devotion but also clan rivalries.
Ali Bu'ul (Cali Bucul) Ali Bu'ul was a famous
Somali military leader and poet from the Western Somali regions, today within the borders of the Somali region of Ethiopia, known for his short lined poems (
geeraar), compared to the long lines of
gabay. Geeraar is traditionally recited on horseback during times of battle and war. Many of his most well known poems are still known today. He is also known to have battled the Somali religious leader named
Mohammed Abdullah Hassan in poetry and coined the word
Guulwade. Some of his famous works are
Gammaan waa magac guud (Horse is a general term), Guulside (Victory-Bearer) and
Amaan Faras (In Praise of My Horse). His poems were also written in the Gadabuursi Script. An extract of a geeraar,
Amaan Faras, featured in the image below illustrates the work written in the script. The image above translates as:
Geography Alfred Pease (1897), who in the late 19th century visited the Gadabuursi country, describes it as the most beautiful tract of country he had visited in Somaliland: "And we continued our journey northwards along the northern edge of the Bur'Maado and Simodi ranges to Aliman. We found all this country thickly inhabited by the Gadabursi, and here alone, in Northern Somaliland, we had the companionship for days together of a running stream. No part of Somaliland that I have visited is more beautiful than this tract of country, watered by an almost perennial stream, now lined with great trees festooned with the armo creeper, now with the high green elephant grass or luxuriant jungles, and guarded by woody and rocky mountains on the left hand and on the right. Between the Tug or Wady and these hills the, country had a park-like appearance, with its open glades and grassy plains. But the new and varied vegetation of Africa was not the only object delightful to the eye: countless varieties of birds, hawks, buzzards, Batteleur and larger eagles, vultures, dobie birds, golden orioles, parrots, paroquets, the exquisite Somali starlings, doves of all sorts and sizes, small and great honey-birds, hoopoes, jays, green pigeons, great flocks of Guinea fowl, partridges, sand grouse, were ever to be seen on every hand, and, while the bush teemed with Waller's gazelle and dik-diks, the plains with Scemmerring's antelope, with a sprinkling of oryx, our road up the Tug was constantly crossed by the tracks of lions, elephants, leopards, the ubiquitous hyaena, and other wild beasts."
Richard Francis Burton (1856) describes the flora and fauna of the
Harrawa Valley in his book
First Footsteps in East Africa: "For six hours we rode the breadth of the Harawwah Valley: it was covered with wild vegetation, and surface-drains, that carry off the surplus of the hills enclosing it. In some places the torrent beds had cut twenty feet into the soil. The banks were fringed with milk-bush and Asclepias, the Armo-creeper, a variety of thorns, and especially the yellow-berried Jujube: here numberless birds followed bright-winged butterflies, and the "Shaykhs of the Blind," as the people call the black fly, settled in swarms upon our hands and faces as we rode by. The higher ground was overgrown with a kind of cactus, which here becomes a tree, forming shady avenues. Its quadrangular fleshy branches of emerald green, sometimes forty feet high, support upon their summits large round bunches of a bright crimson berry: when the plantation is close, domes of extreme beauty appear scattered over the surface of the country... At Zayla I had been informed that elephants are "thick as sand" in Harawwah: even the Gudabirsi, when at a distance, declared that they fed there like sheep, and, after our failure, swore that they killed thirty but last year."
Richard Francis Burton (1856) describes what he feels is the end of his journey when he witnesses the blue hills of
Harar, which is the iconic backdrop of the
Harrawa Valley in his book
First Footsteps in East Africa: "Beyond it stretched the Wady Harawwah, a long gloomy hollow in the general level. The background was a bold sweep of blue hill, the second gradient of the Harar line, and on its summit closing the western horizon lay a golden streak—the Marar Prairie. Already I felt at the end of my journey."
Richard Francis Burton (1856) describes the
Abasa Valley in the Gadabuursi country as amongst the most beautiful spots he has seen: "At half past three reloading we followed the course of the Abbaso Valley, the most beautiful spot we had yet seen. The presence of mankind, however, was denoted by the cut branches of thorn encumbering the bed: we remarked too, the tracks of lions pursued by hunters, and the frequent streaks of serpents, sometimes five inches in diameter." In 1885, Frank Linsly James describes Captain Stewart King's visit to the famous Eilo Mountain in the Gadabuursi country in the
Lughaya District where the Gadabuursi natives informed him of the remains of ancient cities: "The natives had told him that in the hill called Ailo about three days' march south-east from Zeila, there were remains of ancient cities, and substantially built houses... He hoped to be able to visit them. The whole country south-east of Zeila, inhabited by the Gadabursi tribe, had never yet been explored by a European. There was also in the hill Ailo a celebrated cave, which had been described to him as having a small entrance about three feet from the ground in the face of the limestone cliff. He had spoken to two or three men who had been inside it. They stated that they climbed up and entered with difficulty through the small opening; they then went down some steps and found themselves in an immense cave with a stream of water running through it, but pitch dark. A story was told of a Somali who once went into the cave and lost his way. In order to guide him out the people lighted fires outside, and he came out and told most extraordinary tales, stating that he found a race of men there who never left the cave, but had flocks and herds." In 1886 the British General and Assistant Political Resident at
Zeila, J. S. King, travelling by the coastal strip near Khor Kulangarit, near Laan Cawaale in the
Lughaya District, passed by the famous tomb of 'Sharmarke of the White Shield', a famous Gadabuursi leader, poet, elder and grandfather of the current Sultan of the Bahabar Musa, Abshir Du'ale who was inaugurated in 2011 in the town of
Lughaya: "Shortly after passing the bed of the large river, called Barregid we halted for half an hour at a place where there were several large hollows like dried-up lakes, but I was informed that the rain-water does not remain in them any time. Close by, on a piece of rising ground, was a small cemetery enclosed by a circular fence of cut bushes. Most conspicuous among the graves was that of Sharmãrké, Gãshân 'Ada (Sharmãrké of the White Shield), a celebrated elder of the Bah Habr Músa section of the Gadabúrsi, who died about 20 years ago. The grave was surrounded by slabs of beautiful lithographic limestone brought from Eilo, and covered with sea shells brought from the coast, distant at least 10 miles." In 1887, French poet and traveller,
Arthur Rimbaud, visited the coastal plains of
British Somaliland where he described the region between
Zeila and
Bulhar as part of the Gadabuursi country, with the clan centred around Sabawanaag in present day
Lughaya District: “Zeila, Berbera, and Bulhar remain in English hands, as well as the Bay of Samawanak, along the Gadiboursi coast, between Zeila and Bulhar, the place where the last French consular agent in Zeila, M. Henry, had planted the tricolor, the Gadiboursi tribe themselves having requested our protection, which is always enjoyed. All these stories of annexation or protection have been stirring up the minds along this coast these last two years.” == Gadabuursi Ughazate (Ugaasyada ama Boqortooyada Gadabuursi) ==