Somali clans
[1][2][3] 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.
[7] Predominantly of Cushitic ancestry, they are segmented into clan groupings which are important kinship units that play a central part in Somali culture and politics.
They constitute the division level that an individual typically indicates he or she is affiliated with, with the founding forefather reckoned to between six and ten generations.
The principal organizing tenet of the Somali clan system is the concept of patrilineal descent, referred to locally as 'Abtirsi' (Iitt.
[19][20] This notion encapsulates a minimal yet collectively recognized framework for understanding the structure and hierarchy of genealogical relationships among Somalis, ranging from the four primary clan families to their respective sub-lineages, which represent the most basic acknowledged units.
[18][page needed][20]“It will now be clear that a Somali genealogy is not only a family tree conserving the historical origins of a group.
As time progresses and demographic changes transpire, new units may emerge (diverge) from pre-existing ones, while earlier entities are condensed, a process that involves concentrating attention exclusively on prominent individuals within one's genealogical framework often referred to as 'Telescoping'.
It has the compelling force that great simplifying ideas have: it is so logical that it must be true" (Virginia Luling; 2006: 474)The terms 'clan-family', 'clan', 'sub-clan', or 'lineage' lack universally recognized equivalents in the Somali language.
[25] Various Somali clans utilise distinct titles for their leaders, including Sultan,[26] Emir, Imam,[27] Ugaas,[26] and Garaad.
Members are socially contracted to support each other in jural and political duties, including paying or receiving dia or blood compensation (mag in Somali).
[39] Compensation is obligatory in regards to actions committed by or against a dia-paying group, including blood-compensation in the event of damage, injury or death.
[3][40][41] Within traditional Somali society (as in other ethnic groups of the Horn of Africa and the wider region), there has been social stratification.
[45] This rigid hierarchy and concepts of lineal purity contrast with the relative egalitarianism in clan leadership and political control.
[46] The lower tier was designated as Sab, and was distinguished by its heterogeneous constitution and agropastoral lifestyle as well as some linguistic and cultural differences.
[58] To satisfy the demands of the market for agricultural produce in the Arabian Peninsula and cater to the local needs, Somali clans in the Lower Shabelle region and along the ancient Banadir coast began the procurement of Bantu slaves from Arab slave traders to provide labor and serve as client farmers for the Somali clans.
"The farming was performed by local client-farmers, boon, or low status groups of the dominant Biimaal, Geledle, Hintirre, Murosade, Mobileyn and other predominantly pastoral clans which had established control of small portions of the valley.
Somali clans are organized according to a patriarchal clan-based framework, which is further segmented into sub-clans, lineages, and mag groupings.
[62] Such exogamy is always followed by the dia-paying group and usually adhered to by the primary lineage, whereas marriage to lineal kin falls within the prohibited range.
[66] It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory.
The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend to have descended from Sheikh Ishaaq bin Ahmed, an Islamic scholar who traveled to Somaliland in the 12th or 13th century and married two women; one from the local Dir clan.
[73] According to early Islamic books and Somali tradition, Aqeel Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib Al-Qurashi descendant Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti (Darod), a son of the Sufi Sheikh Isma'il al-Jabarti of the Qadiriyyah order, fled his homeland in the Arabian Peninsula after an argument with his uncle.
[74][75] During the 10th or 11th century CE,[76] Abdirahman is believed to have then settled in modern-day Sanaag just across the Red Sea and married Dobira, the daughter of the Dir clan chief.
[34] Darod is the son of the famous Arabian Sheikh, Ismail bin Ibrahim Al-Jabarti, who is buried in the Zabid District of Yemen.
[81][82][83] They are descended from Hawiye's brother Aji, whose actual name is documented in oral traditions and further supported by Al Idrus's work "History of Somalia" as Ismail.
[87][84][88] They are considered the earliest documented clan to have settled in the Somali peninsula, as noted in the 12th century by Al-Idrisi, occupying the regions spanning from Ras Hafun to Merca, which served as their capital.
[84][90][91][92][93] The tomb of Shiekh Hawiye can be found in Qundhuro, situated within the Haraghe region, which served as his primary residence for the later years of his life as a revered Sheikh who dedicated himself to the propagation of the teachings of Islam.
It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large territory in the densely populated fertile valleys of the Jubba and Shebelle rivers and the areas inbetween, which are mainly inhabited by settlers from the Digil and Mirifle lineages.
