Gadabuursi

Overview

The vast majority of Gadabuursi clan members claim descent from Sheikh Samaroon. It should be noted that, all members of the Samaroon sub-clan are a part of the larger Gadabuursi clan family, rather not all members of the Gadabuursi clan family are members of the Samaroon sub-clan.

The Gadabuursi in particular, is the only clan with a longstanding tradition of sultan. The Gadabursi use the title "Ugaas" which means sultan and/or king. "Ughaz or "Ugas".

The former president of the northwestern Somaliland region of Somalia, Dahir Rayale Kahin hails from the Gadabuursi clan.

As Dir sub-clan, the Gadabuursi have immediate lineal ties with the Issa, the Surre (Abdalle and Qubeys), the Biimaal (who the Gaadsen also belong too), the Bajimal, the Bursuk, the Madigan, the Gurgura, the Garre (the Quranyow sub-clan to be precise as they claim descent from Dir), Gurre, 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.

The Gadabuursi are mainly pastoral nomads, but a section have started agro-pastoralism along with other clans such as the Habar Awal, Geri and Jarso at the turn of the previous century.

Based on research done by the Eritrean author 'Abdulkader Saleh Mohammad' in his book 'The Saho of Eritrea', the Gudafur Saho is said to have Somali origins from the Gadabursi.

Distribution

The Gadabuursi are concentrated in northwestern Somaliland and are the pre-dominant clan of Awdal region, Somaliland. They also live in the neighboring region of Woqooyi Galbeed. Most of the Gadabuursi inhabit the Somali Region of Ethiopia (also known as Region 5). They are also found in Djibouti, where they form one of the major clan groups and live in the Oromia region reaching the town of Metehara along with the Afar region.

The Gadabuursi are the second largest clan by population within the Somaliland territory. Also the Gadabuursi is the second largest sub-clan within the borders of the Somali region of Ethiopia based on the Ethiopian population census. Today, the clan holds vice-presidency in both these regions.

In the Somali Region of Ethiopia they exclusively inhabit both the Awbere district in the Faafan zone and the Dembel district in the Shinile Zone, the Gursum woreda where they are the majority and the Jigjiga woreda where they make up a large part of the Faafan Zone. In Babile also where in particular the Qadiriyah Order (Ar. tariqa) (centered in Harar) is represented in Babile by a sheikh of the Gadabuursi clan. The Gadabuursi also partially inhabit Ayesha, Shinile, Erer and Afdem woreda's.

They also reside along the northeastern fringe of the chartered city-state of Dire Dawa, which borders the Dembel district, but also in the city itself. The 2014 Summary and Statistical report of the Population and Housing Census of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia has shown that Awbere is the most populated district in the Somali region of Ethiopia.

The Gadabuursi of Ethiopia have also expressed a desire to combine the clan's traditional territories to form a new region-state called Harawo State.

History

"I.M Lewis gives an invaluable reference to an Arabic Manuscript on the history of to the Gadabursi Somal. “This Chronicle opens”, Lewis tells us, ‘with an account of the wars of Imam ‘Ali Si’id(1392), from whom the Gadabursi today trace their descent, and who is described as the only Muslim leader fighting on the western flank in the armies of Se’ad ad-Din, ruler of Zeila.’ Se’ad ad-Din was the joint founder of the Kingdom of Adal along with his brother Haqedin II" So not only did the Gadabuursi clan contribute to the Adal Wars, Conquest of Abyssinia, but their predecessors were also fighting wars way before the establishment of the Adal Sultanate.

The Gadabursi Kingdom was established more than 600 years ago, and consisted of many elders and a King (Ugaas).

Hundreds of elders used to work in four sections consisting of 25 elders each:

The chairmen of the four sections were called Afarta Dhadhaar, and were selected according to talent and personnel abilities.

A constitution, Xeer Gadabursi, had been developed, which divided every case as to whether it was new or had precedents (ugub or curad).

The Gadabursi King and the elders opposed the arrival of the British at the turn of the twentieth century, and subsequently signed an agreement with the latter. Later, as a disagreement between the two parties both arose and intensified, the British installed some people against the Ugaas in hopes of overthrowing him. This would eventually bring about the collapse of the kingdom.

'The law of the King and the 100 men 'heerka boqorka iyo boqolka nin'

"When a new Ugaas or Ughaz was appointed amongst the Gadabuursi, a hundred elders, representatives of all the lineages of the clan, assembled to form a parliament to promulgate new heer argreements, and to decide what legislation they wished to retain from the reign of the previous Ugaas or King. The compensation rates for delicts committed within the clan were revised if necessary, and a corpus of Gadabuursi law, as it were, placed on the statutes for the duration of the new Ugaas's rule.

This was called 'the law of the King and the 100 men' (heerka boqorka iyo boqolka nin).

'Traditional Gadabuursi Installation Ceremony'

Here are accounts of a traditional Gadabuursi installation ceremony by accounts of Sheikh 'Abdurahman Sh. Nur in "A Pastoral Democracy", by I'M Lewis.

"The pastoral Somali have few large ceremonies and little ritual. for its interest, therefore i reproduce here a summery of a very full account of traditional Gadabuursi installation ceremony given me by Sheikh 'Abdurahman Sheikh Nur, the present governor kadi of Borama, God bless his soul.

Clansmen gather for the ceremony in well wooded and watered place. There is singing and dancing, then stock are slaughtered for feasting and sacrifice. The stars are carefully watched to determine a propitious time and then future Ughaz is chosen by divination. Candidates must be sons or brothers of the former Ughaz and the issue of woman who has been only married once. She should not be a women who has been divorced or a widow. Early on a monday morning a man of the Rer Nur (the laandeer of the Gadabuursi) plucks a flower or leaf and throws it upon the Ughaz. Everyone else then follows his example. The man who starts the 'aleemasaar acclamation must be a man rich in livestock, with four wives and many sons. Men of the Mahad Muuse lineage then brings four vessels of milk. One contains camels' milk, one cows' milk, one sheeps' milk and the last goats' milk. These are offered to the Ughaz who selects one and drinks a little from it. If he drinks the camels' milk, camels will be blessed and prosper, if he drinks the goats' milk, goats will prosper, and so on. After this, a large four-year-old ram is slaughtered in front of him. His hair is cut by a man of the Gadabuursi and he casts off his old clothes and dons new clothes as Ughaz. A man of Rer Yunis puts a white turban round his head and his old clothes are carried off by men of the Jibra'iin. The Ughaz then mounts his best horse and rides to a well called bugay, near garis, towards the coast. The well contains deliciously fresh water. Above the well are white pebbles and on these he sits. He is washed by a brother or other close kinsman as he sits on top of the stones. Then he returns to the assembled people and is again acclaimed and crowned with leaves. dancing and feasting recommence. The Ughaz makes a speech in which he blesses his people and asks god to grant peace, abundant milk and rain- all symbols of peace and prosperity (nabad iyo 'aano). If rain falls after this, people will know that his reign will be prosperous. That the ceremony is customarily performed during the karan rainy season makes this all more likely. The Ughaz is given a new house with entirely new effects and furnishings and a bride is sought for him. She must be of good family, and the child of a woman who has had only one husband. Her bride-wealth is paid by all the Gadabuursi collectively, as they thus ensure for themselves successors to the title. Rifles or other fire-arms are not included in the bride-wealth. Everything connected with accession must be peaceful and propitious"

The largest portion of the Gadabursi reside in the borders of Ethiopia. It is said that at Waraf, a location near Hardo Galle a great battle took place between the Gadabuursi and infidels (Galla) in the 14th century according to traditional Gadabursi history

According to a Max Planck research paper one branch of the Ughaz family (rer Ughaz) in the borders of Ethiopia rose to the rank of dejazmach (ደጃዝማች ), (‘Commander of the Gate’). A military title meaning commander of the central body of a traditional Ethiopian armed force composed of a vanguard, main body, left and right wings and a rear body.^[4]

List of Sultans of the Gadabuursi Sultanate

The Gadabursi gave their sultan the title of "Ughaz". It's an authentic Somali term for "Sultan", "King" or "Chief". The Gadabuursi in particular is the only clan with a longstanding tradition of Sultan.

The first Ughaz of the Gadabuursi Sultanate was Ughaz Ali Makahildere Muse.

Ughaz Ali Makahildere Muse based on an Arabic manuscript on the Gadabuursi or Samaroon clan of Somalis, is said to be born in 1575 in Dobo, an area north of the present town of Borama in north-western Somalia He is recorded as having inflicted a heavy defeat on Galla forces at Nabadid

Currently Abdrashid is the Ughaz of the Gadabuursi.

For more about Ughaz Nur II visit the following:

For more about Ughaz 'Elmi Warfaa visit the following:

Clan tree

The Gadabursi clan according to the Peoples of the Horn of Africa, Nuova Antologia(1890) and many more sources are divided in 2 divisions:

The Habar Makador and Habar 'Affan, both historically united under a common Sultan or Ughaz.

There is no clear agreement on the clan and sub-clan structures and many lineages are omitted. The following listing is taken from the World Bank's Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics from 2005 and the United Kingdom's Home Office publication, Somalia Assessment 2001.

In the south central part of Somalia the World Bank shows the following clan tree:

Notable figures