The Ajuraan- a view from the oral tradition

[James Dahl]

I M Lewis does well when he's translating Cerulli into English, not so well when he tried to do his own research

 

[Grant]

I M Lewis does well when he's translating Cerulli into English, not so well when he tried to do his own research

I am not fond of Lewis either, but surprised at no comment on Dr Hersi's version of the oral tradition. Hersi describes a wave or waves of migrants coming from the coast and having superior workmanship and political adroitness. They were Muslim and waged war to obliterate a pagan tradition. It is clear Dr Hersi thinks they were Arab. Every tradition I have heard says the father of Ajuraan was a foreigner, for which reason he is included as a uterine link under Jambelle Hawiyye.

This Wiki-talk page is interesting. Cassanelli's dates for the Ajuraan in the inter-river area work out to 1410-1538, somewhat later than Ione but possibly referring to a later period.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Ajuran_Sultanate

"Lee V. Cassanelli asserts that by tradition, the Ajuraan are held to have entered the inter-river area in southern Somalia between 16 to 20 generations ago. So that would be around 4.8 to 6 centuries ago. They are also associated with an early macro-Somali group called the Madanle, who like the Ajuraan constructed a number of waterworks in the region. Middayexpress (talk) 15:27, 20 February 2014 (UTC)"

Clearly, there is not a lot of agreement on their origin or the period the Ajuraan came to power. The Madanle would be less foreign than Arabs, but would also have had their own abtiris. Qalaafo and an Arab connection to Adal and the Hijaz ala Fiqi Omar is of interest, but does not agree with the Indian coast tradition Hersi seems to describe. Would Berbera to Harar to Qalaafo have been a possible route for Balcad?

 

[James Dahl]

Every single Somali clan has a version of this story, where the founder arrives from Arabia and marries a local woman

 

[Grant]

Every single Somali clan has a version of this story, where the founder arrives from Arabia and marries a local woman

In this case, the founder converted the Ogaden. Given that Fiqi Omar has the same things said about him, and his descendants are either Ethio-Semitic (Harari) or R1a (Sheekhaal), it seems there could be a shot that the Ajuraan are also not like the other clans. It looks to me like Balcad was just later and went further than Abadir. We need DNA work.

 

[James Dahl]

In this case, the founder converted the Ogaden. Given that Fiqi Omar has the same things said about him, and his descendants are either Ethio-Semitic (Harari) or R1a (Sheekhaal), it seems there could be a shot that the Ajuraan are also not like the other clans. It looks to me like Balcad was just later and went further than Abadir. We need DNA work.

DNA work has been done, the Arab forefathers are a myth

 

[Grant]

DNA work has been done, the Arab forefathers are a myth

Would love to see a link to something specifically Ajuraan.

Sheekhaal are R1a and E-M123.

Modern Jordanians are 31% E-M34. which is downstream from E-M123.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E-M123

 

[James Dahl]

According to their Nisba they should all be Hashemite J1

 

[Grant]

According to their Nisba they should all be Hashemite J1

That's not the issue. Jordanians are considered typically Arab. They are not all J1.

https://stepfeed.com/dna-analysis-proves-arabs-aren-t-entirely-arab-4864

Link to Ajuraan?

 

[Grant]

According to their Nisba they should all be Hashemite J1