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The Darod (Somali: Daarood, Arabic: دارود) is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan is Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, more commonly known as Darod. It is one of the major Somali clans, with a wide traditional territory.
Contents
The Darod in Somalia mainly live in the north, with an ancillary presence in the southern Kismayo area and the southwestern Gedo region. Various Darod subclans also inhabit the Ogaden and the North Eastern Province (currently administered by Ethiopia viz. Kenya).
History
According to early Islamic books and Somali tradition, Muhammad ibn Aqil's 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. During the 10th or 11th century CE, Abdirahman is believed to have then settled in northern Somalia just across the Red Sea and married Dobira, the daughter of the Dir clan chief. This union is said to have given rise to the Darod clan family. Thus, it established matrilateral ties with the Samaale main stem.
According to the British anthropologist and Somali Studies veteran I.M. Lewis, the traditions of descent from noble Arab families related to the Prophet are most probably figurative expressions of the importance of Islam in Somali society. However, "there is a strong historically valid component in these legends which, in the case of the Darod, is confirmed in the current practice of a Dir representative officiating at the ceremony of installation of the chief of the Darod family."
A similar clan mythology exists for the Isaaq, who are said to have descended from one Sheikh Ishaq ibn Ahmad al-'Alawi, another Banu Hashim who came to Somalia around the same time. As with Sheikh Isaaq, there are also numerous existing hagiologies in Arabic which describe Sheikh Darod's travels, works and overall life in northern Somalia, as well as his movements in Arabia before his arrival. Besides historical sources such as Al-Masudi's Aqeeliyoon, a modern manaaqib (a collection of glorious deeds) printed in Cairo in 1945 by Sheikh Ahmad bin Hussen bin Mahammad titled Manaaqib as-Sheikh Ismaa'iil bin Ibraahiim al-Jabarti also discusses Sheikh Darod and his proposed father Isma'il al-Jabarti, the latter of whom is reportedly buried in Bab Siham in the Zabid District of western Yemen.
Sheikh Darod's own tomb is in Haylaan, situated in the Hadaaftimo Mountains in northern Somalia, and is the scene of frequent pilgrimages. Sheikh Isaaq is buried nearby in Maydh, as is Sheikh Harti, a descendant of Sheikh Darod and the progenitor of the Harti Darod sub-clan, whose tomb lies in the ancient town of Qa’ableh.
Sheikh Darod's mawlid (birthday) is also celebrated every Friday with a public reading of his manaaqib.
The Darod were supporters of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi during his 16th century conquest of Abyssinia; especially the Harti, Marehan and Bartire sub-clans, who fought at Shimbra Kure, among other battles. In his medieval Futuh Al-Habash documenting this campaign, the chronicler Shihāb al-Dīn indicates that 300 Harti soldiers took part in Imam Ahmad's Adal Sultanate army. He describes them as "famous among the infantry as stolid swordsmen" and "a people not given to yielding".
Nobility
The Darod clan has produced numerous noble Somali men and women over the centuries, including many Sultans. Traditionally, the Darod population was mostly concentrated in the northern and northeastern cities on the Gulf of Aden and upper Indian Ocean coast in the Horn of Africa. Darod noble men ruled these settlement pockets until the European colonial powers changed the political dynamics of Somalia during the late 19th century. Before many Darods began pushing southward in the mid-1850s, the Warsangali Sultanate governed the interior regions of Sanaag and Sool, while the Majeerteen Sultanate and Sultanate of Hobyo held steadfast in solidly established posts from Gardo to Hobyo.
In addition to their traditional strongholds in northern Somalia, Marehan, Ogaden, and Harti Darod members settled further down south and southwest in the Gedo region (a region which was part of Upper Jubba as well as the entire length of the Jubaland region, composed of Gedo, Middle Jubba and Lower Jubba
Lineage
Darod is the son of the famous Sufi Sheikh, Ismail bin Ibrahim Al-Jabarti, who is believed to have been born in Arabia. Tradition holds that he is descended from the Banu Hashim.
According to the book Aqeeliyoon, Darod's lineage is: Abdirahmaan Bin Ismaa'iil Bin Ibraahim Bin Abdirahmaan Bin Muhammed Bin Abdi Samad Bin Hanbal Bin Mahdi Bin Ahmed Bin Abdallah Bin Muhammed Bin Aqil Bin Abu-Talib Bin Abdul-Mutalib Bin Hashim.
Sons of Darod Ismail
Clan tree
There is no clear agreement on the clan and sub-clan structures and many lineages are omitted. The following listing is based upon the World Bank's Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics from 2005 and the United Kingdom's Home Office publication, Somalia Assessment 2001.
David D. Laitin and Said S. Samatar offer a slightly different table:
In the south central part of Somalia the World Bank shows the following clan tree:
In Puntland the World Bank shows the following:
One tradition maintains that Darod had one daughter .
Darod's tomb
Darod is buried in an old town called Haylaan near Badhan in the north-eastern Sanaag region of Somalia. His wife Dobira is buried just outside the town.