Through the xeer system (customary law), the advanced clan structure has served governmental roles in many rural Somali communities.

[12][13][14] Tradition and folklore connects the origin of the Somali population by language and way of life, and societal organisations, by customs, and by a feeling of belonging to a broader family among individuals from the Arabian Peninsula.

[15][16][17] The Somali people are mainly divided among five patrilineal clans, the Hawiye, Darod, Rahanweyn, Dir, and Isaaq.

Clans possess ancestral lands, which are associated with the migratory patterns of the Somali populace throughout their historical narrative.

Each clan is administered by its designated leader and supported by its council of elders, with land being communally owned and overseen.

[22] Various Somali clans utilise distinct titles for their leaders, including Sultan,[23] Emir, Imam,[24] Ughaz,[23] and Garad.

Other minority languages include Bravanese, a variant of the Bantu Swahili language that is spoken along the southern coast by the Bravanese people, as well as Bajuni, another Swahili dialect that is the mother tongue of the Bajuni ethnic minority group This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook.