HISTORY Futuh al-Habasha: Somalis As Bedouins

[Zak12]

This thread needs to be stickied in my opinion, I always come back to it since it so informative.

 

[ICEcold]

This thread needs to be stickied in my opinion, I always come back to it since it so informative.

Genuinely one of the most impressive, and easily most creative, pieces of textual analysis I've ever seen. Really takes a special something to abandon your initial and obvious view on a matter, and explore a fresh, new perspective. Have told a few people about this thread since I'm still blown away by it.

 

[gasara]

Gerri is still in Galbeed. They neighbour Gadabuursi, Jaarso and other Darood.

As for the clans who are not mentioned as 'Somali', I might know why for at least Bartire.

Bartire are recorded as late as Burton's travels as being agro-pastoralists and growing coffee in the vicinity of Harar. The ban around Jigjiga is good for cultivation and it is possible they were agro-pastoralist around the time of the Futuh too and if we are going with the theory that "Somali" = bedouin ethnic Somali only this makes sense.

Another potential cause for the slightly odd names is the Ethiopian practice of holding princes and children of Adal notables hostage.

This is true. They were agro-pastoralists during that time. But they weren't only engaging in agro-pastoralism. If y'all ever go to Jigjiga or wherever they are at you must try their coffee. I'm a coffee hater but they arguably had the best coffee in my opinion.

 

[NidarNidar]

This is true. They were agro-pastoralists during that time. But they weren't only engaging in agro-pastoralism. If y'all ever go to Jigjiga or wherever they are at you must try their coffee. I'm a coffee hater but they arguably had the best coffee in my opinion.

Pure pastoralism only exists in areas that receive very little rainfall, grain was grown near Zeila with the help of underground water.

 

[chut]

@Shimbiris were the habr jeclo mentioned in the futuh? If not wouldn't that be weird as habr jeclo are descended from a Harari woman so wouldn't they atleast have ties to harar, unless they had a different name that they were called.

Also, if you don't mind can you show me any sources or books to read so I can learn about this in detail.

 

[chut]

@Shimbiris were the habr jeclo mentioned in the futuh? If not wouldn't that be weird as habr jeclo are descended from a Harari woman so wouldn't they atleast have ties to harar, unless they had a different name that they were called.

Also, if you don't mind can you show me any sources or books to read so I can learn about this in detail.

@Yami @Garaad Awal

 

[chut]

why is no one replying to this thread.

 

[novanova]

I did some digging about this matter to see if something registered in the available online archives -- what I found was validating, indeed. There seemed to have existed a Bah-Xarla group in the Awdal region. To give context to what "bah" means in the Somali clan context:

"Bah" in Somali is a common shared grouping supplementing uterine links, i.e., shared mother on top of shared father. In agnatic clan systems, weaker, larger family units can form closer collateral ties because their agnatic counterparts might be politically larger and more powerful. What the weaker do to strengthen their standing is they grow a supplementary unity based on a shared mother, not shared with the other stronger same-father descended groups, given these family units formed out of polygamous marriages. I imagine this can take form for many reasons, not only under the pressure of outside but to increase land and resources, political influence, even a way to fix internal disputes between the ones that share a mother, etc.

Here is a model for that:

B, C, and D share the same mother, so their descendants form a "bah" to grow stronger, for example, avoiding getting overshadowed by a stronger sibling sub-clan (A) that shares the same father lineage (X) yet has another mother. It is finding a genetic reason to establish a merger to grow stronger.

Going back to the Xarla thing with this in mind, bah-Xarla exists among Dir, once again appearing more than one way associated with the Dir:

That screenshot was taken from a General Survey Somaliland Protectorate 1944-1950, taken in Zeila and Borama district. One can see that Adawi Abdallah, Ali Abdallah, and Gedi Abdallah, all Ciise agnatic brothers, shared a uterine tie, i.e., the same mother who was Xarla. Their other brothers had Guragura and Forlaba mothers, respectively, so they formed other uterine ties. Now, this further builds the case that Xarla was Somali and those Abdallah Khaireh agnatic brothers had a mother highly likely under Dir, given what we know that they are under Ciise in Djibouti, while also here showing they even strengthened further with other Ciise clans by way of marriage. This bolsters the claim that Xarla lived among Dir deep in Somali places. Any notions of saying they are of Habash or non-Somali origin is long eliminated at this point -- entirely intellectually and historically irrelevant -- now we are only practically talking about an internal Somali matter.

I have more.

Another source claimed Xarla resided since old times in the land of Ciise:

The Japan Times 1972-01-10: Iss 26234 mentioning Harla and Yaroun being massacred by Ethiopians and designating them under Ciise:

Everything up to now is consistent with what my grandmother told me and what we know about them, proven consistently here, and this Japanese source from the early 70s again shows such proof. But let me go further.

Yaroun is another sub-clan of Ciise:

It all ties together consistently.

These are not some mythical people from a distant past lost in time. My family knew them, born and bred Somalis in Djibouti as Dir today. While talking with my mother about Djibouti, she described her childhood with information about the various groups in that country. Something that led me to this deeper digging. What started the whole conversation was very interesting and peculiar, but I think this is quite long.

Found a map showing ’Reer Harle’ in a book from 1888

They’re listed as an cisse subgroup in the same book, check number 4

 

[NidarNidar]

Absame (Absama), Magan, Geri (Girri), Bartire (al-Bartirri)... these are outright Somali names but they are never adjoined with the moniker "the Somali" like the Chieftains of tribes like the Mareexaan or the Geri Kombe such as Mattan. In fact, one of the absolute most damning examples is the father of the Mareexaan Chief who is named "Goita Tedros bin Adam":





He is the father of a "Somali" chieftain yet he is never called a Somali himself and before you make too much of the name, there are other Somalis with such names such as Garad Dawit:



I recall reading that there seem to have been forced conversions when people got caught by Habeshas but then they escaped and returned to Islam after but weirdly I guess kept the new name. Point is, his dad is obviously Somali like him yet he is not dubbed as such and his dad is often around the Imam Ahmed as a member of one of his inner circles, as you can see above, and likely a "citizen" who lives in the towns with the Imam rather than being a nomad. Then there are people we know via other historical records like Nur Ibn Mujahid to apparently be Somali yet in the Futuh they are not dubbed "Somali".

Post continued below:

I forgot to mention this, but Abyssinians were known to take child hostages during those times, until the 19th century, when Somali clan leaders' children were taken as a way to force loyalty; it was called hostage diplomacy, which was also common in medieval Europe.