[1] As a Dir sub-clan, the Akisho have immediate lineal ties with the Issa, the Gadabuursi, the Surre (Abdalle and Qubeys), the Biimaal (who the Gaadsen also belong too), the Bajimal, the Bursuk, the Gurgura, the Layiile & (the Quranyow sub-clan to be precise as they claim descent from Dir), Gariire, other Dir sub-clans and they have lineal ties with the Hawiye (Irir), Hawadle, Ajuraan, Degoodi, Gaalje'el clan groups, who share the same ancestor Samaale.
In Somaliland, Akisho members live in the Maroodi Jeex region, in the cities and towns of Hargeisa, Arabsiyo, Wajaale, Allaybaday, and Gabiley In Ethiopia, where the Akisho are among the most widespread Somali group, Akisho members inhabit Jijiga, Qordhere, Dire Dewa, Bale (Nagelle), Babile, Fayanbiro, Qabri-Bayah, Fiq, Hara-Maaya, Harar, Obra, and Dadar.
[10] The Akisho live in Jijiga district where they make up a large part of the Kebri Beyah and Fafan Zone.
The Dir-Madaxweyne Akisho, along with the Gurgura, Issa and Gadabuursi subclans of the Dir represent the most native and indigenous Somali tribes in Harar.
[11][12][13] The Akisho is one of the oldest Somali clans being mentioned as far back as the 16th century in the book The Conquest of Abyssinia also known as Futuh al-Habash.
Akisho groups and their related clans are reputed to have migrated from Somali Ethiopian region all the way up North as far as the country Chad, the Sudan, and Northern Eritrea are said to be inhabited by Akisho and many Dir tribes.
The city of Dire Dawa was originally called Dir Dhabe and used to be part of Adal Sultanate during the medieval times and was exclusively settled by Dir clan which is a major Somali tribe.
The Akisho name is originally derived from "Cayisho" which means, in old Somali, the (Cayilsan) "Fat One."
The Gurre and Gurgurre both are very closely related to the Akisho, use a nickname and were referred to the Oromo and Somalis as the traders or Gurgure from the old Somali and Oromo word "gorgortan" which means one who sells and trades.
According to the folklore historians of the Southern Suure Dir of the Mudug region, the Akisho, Gurre and the Gurgure Madahweyne Dir produced some of the most famous Somali folk heroes like the Somali queen Araweelo who was Warre Miyo.
Also the Akisho and Gurgure clans were instrumental in spreading the Muslim faith in the hinterlands of Ethiopia.
The Sheikh Abba Hussein in Southern Ethiopia is said to be of Dir, as well as Awbarkadleh and Awbuube who are two major saints of the Somalis.
Famous people of the Akisho clan are Ahmed Gurey Arawelo and Oday Biiqay.
The information in contained in this Response was provided by Matt Bryden, a consultant and Somali specialist now working with the United Nations Institute for Research on Social Development (UNRISD) in Nairobi (16 June 1998).
The Research Directorate was unable to corroborate the Akisho's participation in the constituent assembly nor whether they face "persecution."
According to the Ethiopian Review the Akisho may be more numerous in Ethiopia than they are in Somalia (30 April 1996).
[18][19] In the south central part of Somalia the World Bank shows the following clan tree:[20] 1 .Akisho 2.
Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford].