Benadiri people

The Benadiris originate from Arab tribes who settled the southern coast of Somalia and built stone towns for defense and trade.

Much like Mogadishu the Benadiri people in Merca are primarily based in the oldest part of the city, Saraha and Aw Balle.

Much like Mogadishu the Benadiri clans in Merca also have a huge presence in the newer parts of the towns such as Ruusiya, Beytuuras, 'El Bashiirow and Buulo Jaan.

Majority of the benadiri in the town are from member clans of the 12 Koofi confederacy however Bravenese and Reer Hamar people can be found here in Merca, the latter primarily moving to the city after the civil war In Baraawe, the Bravenese people primarily live in the two oldest towns of Mpayi and Biruune.

In the hinterlands of the coast these groups from Mogadishu, Merca and Baraawe are primarily found in trading hubs such as; Afgooye, Bur Hakaba, Baidoa, Wanlaweyne, Jowhar, Diinsoor, Bardheere and Luuq.

Many of these communities were established in these places due to trade with the local clans living there or in a lot of the cases being part of a Sufi Jama'ah being found in these towns and their surroundings.

Sheikh Qassim al Barawi was the first Bravanese Scholar to start writing standard Chimini, it was written in Persian and Arabic.

During this Festival, animals are slaughtered and prayers are said, in search of God‟s forgiveness for transgressions, to ask for the calming of the winds so that ships can sail, and for the rains to come.

As the festival is a reaction to a natural phenomenon of a particular season, which is linked to the solar calendar and not the lunar which Muslims follow.

The men gather in groups by lineage, and wear different coloured shirts with matching headbands to identify their clan affiliations, they also carry long sticks that they thrust up and down in rhythm as they chant and shuffle through the designated route of the neighbourhoods of Hamar Weyne.

[26] At the start of the shir festivities, the Reer Faqi elders, in keeping with their position of neutrality in the community, are called upon to bless the occasion.