Futuh al-Habasha: Somalis As Bedouins

Khaemwaset

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I claim to be no linguist, but Somal, Tomal, and Bimaal were most likely occupations or easy ways to distinguish ourselves, the harla were farmers and most likely the name given to them was from the outsider, Arabic in origin, Biimaal probably being the original name, I'm not saying modern day Biimaal are Harla.
Yes they were most definitely agricultural Somali. We must do some archeology for turn if the millenia till the oromo and ethio semite migrations into the hararghe region displacing ethnic Somali to find out who the harla were.

A submission from the United Kingdom says the name Harla means "From the field" and is of English origin
Cooked :jcoleno:
 
Why is this important? Well, the fact of the matter is that the word "Somali" appears to have very similar roots. It does not seem to have originally been an ethnic term but rather a counterpart to a term like "Tomaal/Tumaal" which refers to an artisanal caste/tribe among us historically:


You see this in how Southern Ethiosemites referred to us historically. I know some of you have heard the claim that the first mention of "Somalis" as an ethnic term instead of terms like Barbar or Zaylai'i was in fact in a hymn composed on the orders of Habesha Emperor Yeshaq I but the truth is that the word used in his hymn was "Simur" and one of the reasons we know this was referring to Somalis was because it goes with what other Southern Ethiosemites like Hararis called many of the Somalis during the early modern era. In Hararis' case during the 1800s they often seemed to also call us "Tumur" and the reason they called some Somalis this was because many of the Somalis of Harar, according to Burton, were crafts people like blacksmiths, leatherworkers and probably masons and carpenters as well:

Wattam is an ancient linguistic phonetic phenomenon attributed to some tribes in Yemen, and it is the changing of the letter ( sh / s ) into letter ( t / d ) .
الوتم، ظاهرة صوتية لغوية قديمة تعزى لبعض قبائل اليمن، وهي قلب السين تاءً

sh / st / d
ش
/ س
ت / د
النات ⇆ الناس
أكيات ⇆ أكياس
tum + aal : tumaal .

tumaal ( t - m - l ) ⇆ somaal ( s - m - l ) .

الشِّنْشِنَةُ ظاهرة صوتية قديمة وهي قلب الكاف شينًا مطلقًا
The shinshena is an ancient phonetic phenomenon .
it is the changing of the letter ( k / g ) into letter ( sh / s ) .
k / gsh / s
l= c , lug = cag
sagaal ( s - g - l ) tusuc تسع ( t - s - c ) .

Oromo language ( Torba ) means : seven .
Somali language ( Toddoba )means : seven .
Hebrew language ( שִׁבְעָה⁩ (shiv'á) شبع )means : seven .
Arabic language (سَبْعَة⁩ (sabca) )means : seven .

toddoba ( t - d - b ) ⇆ torba ( t - r - b )sabca / shabc ( s - b - c ) .

تدب ( ت - د - ب ) ⇆ ترب ( ت - ر - ب ) ⇆ سبع ( س - ب - ع ) ⇆ شبع ( ش - ب - ع )

r = d ,
Syriac alphabet of the letter ( r ) is ( ܪ ) , Syriac alphabet of the letter ( d ) is ( ܕ ) .
 
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NidarNidar

Punisher
Yes they were most definitely agricultural Somali. We must do some archeology for turn if the millenia till the oromo and ethio semite migrations into the hararghe region displacing ethnic Somali to find out who the harla were.


Cooked :jcoleno:
Jewish too xD, I'll need to dig around and find older sources, hopefully, can get something from archive.org, an alternative spelling might direct me to an even older name.
 
Absame (Absama), Magan, Geri (Girri), Bartire (al-Bartirri)... these are outright Somali names but they are never adjoined with the moniker "the Somali" like the Chieftains of tribes like the Mareexaan or the Geri Kombe such as Mattan. In fact, one of the absolute most damning examples is the father of the Mareexaan Chief who is named "Goita Tedros bin Adam":





He is the father of a "Somali" chieftain yet he is never called a Somali himself and before you make too much of the name, there are other Somalis with such names such as Garad Dawit:



I recall reading that there seem to have been forced conversions when people got caught by Habeshas but then they escaped and returned to Islam after but weirdly I guess kept the new name. Point is, his dad is obviously Somali like him yet he is not dubbed as such and his dad is often around the Imam Ahmed as a member of one of his inner circles, as you can see above, and likely a "citizen" who lives in the towns with the Imam rather than being a nomad. Then there are people we know via other historical records like Nur Ibn Mujahid to apparently be Somali yet in the Futuh they are not dubbed "Somali".

Post continued below:
I’d like to add that many names such Farshaham (Farshaxan) could have been Somali considering both members of the Malasay and specifically Somali Fighters on the Left Flank are both named Farshaxan while no Harla is given that name.
Somali Farshaxan
3ED3A47A-DB28-40E2-974D-462ECD56E2DC.jpeg


Malasay Farshaxan:
DCE76271-EB66-4652-BFE0-D42742211A47.jpeg
 
Nevertheless, as some Twitter Somalis also point out, albeit with some unfortunate trolling, Afars were very separate from the Adal/Awdal area and to the north of it, despite what many mistakenly claim by thinking Adal referred to them or had much of any Afars in it. Again, they and any known tribes of theirs I could see anywhere online are not mentioned as being involved in the fighting in the Futuh and they're only mentioned as a far away group spoken of in passing if indeed "Ayfars" in the Futuh even refers to them as historically they were usually called some variation of "Danakil".
Ayfars or Ifras or Ayn Faras is a locality in Fatagar/Dawaro not Afars the people
 

Shimbiris

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Zarba, located in the country of Harla is the most concrete contemporary evidence that the Harla were a specific branch of Somalis, because the Futuh mentions Zarba several times either in reference to a tribe or as a district with citizens. In both cases they are tied only to the Somalis or outright described as Somalis, the latter as Shimbiris pointed out above would be a reference to their pastoralist lifestyle. The rest of Zarba and the Harla country could have consisted of both urban and sedentary Somali populations that were considered ‘citizens’.

Yes, Zarba are a good catch. They are mentioned among the arriving tribes when the "Somali tribes" answer the Imam's call and come to Harar:

[The Somali tribes reach Harar]

The first of the tribes to reach the imam was Habr Maqdi with their lord and chieftain Ahmad Girri bin Husain, the Somali. They encamped in a place called Qasa in the heights above the valley of Harar. They showed off their equipment and their weapons, and paraded their horses. They were knights, and what knights! And they were foot-soldiers; and what foot-soldiers! The imam rejoiced at their arrival exceedingly. They met the imam face to face, and he welcomed them with the warmest of welcomes. He gave them gifts of apparel, and provisions, and treated them graciously, garbing Their chieftain, Ahmad Girri, in particularly exquisite clothing. Shimbiris' note: This tribe is actually listed as "Habar Majaadli" (Magaadle) in the original Arabic and is not to be mixed up with the distinct Habar Maqdi with their Garad Dawit who appear to be Samaroon. The Imam having Isaaq maternal roots (source I shared earlier) also somewhat explains why they arrive first and get such a warm welcome.

After them it was the tribe of Girri who came up. Their chieftain was Mattan bin ‘Utman bin Kaled, the Somali. They showed off their weaponry and armour, paraded their horses and had their bows slung sash-like over their shoulders as they met the imam face to face. He commanded them then to go ahead to a place called Sim. Their chieftain had brought with him his wife, Fardusa, the sister of the imam Ahmad. And he set out ahead, he and his army.

Then the tribe of Zarba came up after them. Their chieftain was the sultan Muhammad, son of the paternal aunt of the imam. With him were one-thousand and-sixty notable infantry, and forty knights. The imam made them welcome and showed them his favour. He [sultan Muhammad] resided at Harar. The imam was exceedingly delighted at this and gave thanks to the Most High God.

The army camped around the city, with each tribe being kept apart from the others. The tribe of the Marraihan was, however, wavering. Their chieftain was a man fond of intrigue and procrastination. Extremely wily, he loved double-dealing and swindles. The imam organised some of his soldiers and went to the Marraihan and confronted Hirabu and his tribe and said to him, ‘Why are you lagging behind in coming on the jihad, Hirabu complained about his plight, and excused himself on the grounds of his poverty-stricken state.

The imam accepted his excuse, and then said to him, But no good will come to you from just wishing [that things will improve. Thereupon Hirabu appointed his nephew to command the Marraihan and they rallied around the imam - ninety cavalry and more than seven-hundred foot- soldiers - with Hirabu bringing up the rear. The imam went back to his city of Harar, taking the tribe of Marraihan with him. Thereupon the imam made preparations for Abyssinia, for the jihad for the sake of the Most High God. The imam equipped his soldiers and his army and all the tribes.

Another such instance:

[The Somali tribes gather for the jihad]

It was after this that the Mahra party and the sharif Muhammad reached the imam who feted their coming on account of the jihad ; and then he sent to all the districts of the Somalis and to the tribes of Harla. Then all the tribes rose up.

The first tribe to come up was the Habr Maqdi with their lord Garad Dawit, fifty knights and five-hundred foot-soldiers. After them the Marraihan came up, with their lord Ahmad bin Hirabu, with eighty knights and seven-hundred footsoldiers.

After them came up the Gorgorah with Garad Abd their chieftain, and thirty knights and one-thousand foot-soldiers. Then the tribe of Girri came up, with their chieftain Garad Mattan along with eighty knights and one-thousand foot-soldiers. In the same way the tribe of Zarba came up from Harla with their lord the sultan Muhammad with twenty knights and three-hundred foot-soldiers.

The tribes assembled - all of them volunteers and on good terms with one another. The number of the horses in readiness was around five-hundred, and there were twelve-thousand foot-soldiers, not to mention those who carried the provisions and other things besides. The imam pitched his tent on the outskirts of Harar. The people of Jur‘ila, also known as Mamalih, assisted him with forty mules which they had plundered from the infidels living on the borders of their country. The imam gave these to the delegation from Mahra, and, in addition, gave them thirty mules which the Muslims had plundered.


No two ways about it. The Zarba are plainly among the Somali tribes. I always found this strange because, as far as I know, we can't identify them with a surviving modern tribe or ethnic group but here they are being mentioned in tandem with the Somali tribes and though I'm struggling to dig it up I remember another time where they seem to even more blatantly be called Somalis with some other tribes.

Then there's this conflicting case:

The storyteller, may the Most High God have mercy upon him, says: When the desire for a raiding party and a jihad had been rekindled in the imam Ahmad, may the Most High God have mercy upon him, he went down, first of all, to a country called Zarba, in the region of Harla. Then he sent to Zayla‘ to have weapons of war, swords and the like, procured for him.

The storyteller, may God have mercy upon him, says: Thereupon the imam disbanded his soldiers, saying to them, ‘Each of you return to your town, feed your horses well, keep your weapons in readiness until I come to you, and you set out [again] on a raid. For the moment I am going to a district called Zarba to pacify the country, to make peace between the citizens and the Somalis, and to mobilise an army: and then I will come back to you.'They agreed with what he had to say, broke up. and each person went back to his own town.

It seems there is also a Zarba district found in the Harla region where both muwadiniin (citizens) and Somalis (nomads) can be found. I think what this simply illustrates is that the Zarba have both nomadic and settled segments within their tribe and this seems confirmed when you realize there are agricultural workers in Zarba:

The storyteller; may God have mercy upon him, says: So the Qur’anic teacher Abu Bakr reached the imam Ahmad who was in Zarba, sitting and giving commands to agricultural workers, ‘Do this and do that'. He knew nothing [of this matter] and had heard no news. Then the Qur'anic teacher Abu Bakr handed over their letter, and he read it and understood its contents. The imam then said to the Qur'anic teacher Abu Bakr. ‘Return to them and tell them that what they want is vile, but let them do what they desire. I shall leave the country to them.

The "Somali" Zarba who answer the call alongside tribes like the Habar Magaadle, Habar Maqdi and Mareexaan are nomadic Zarbas led by their leader Mohammed, who himself may not be a nomad as he is not called "the Somali" (i.e. "The Bedouin"), whereas the ones who are citizens of the Zarba district are settled Zarbas and agricultural workers. It's funny but this group actually helps illustrate exactly what I mean regarding how the word "Somali" is being used. Notice how when "Somalis" in Zarba are mentioned the author is not mentioning another distinct tribe or tribes at any point but rather just Somalis and Citizens in Zarba. Read it this way and it still makes a lot of sense:

For the moment I am going to a district called Zarba to pacify the country, to make peace between the settled people and the nomads, and to mobilise an army
 
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Shimbiris

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There's a source I remember reading out there of settled raxanweyn in the mid 20th century refusing to be identified as "Somali" for this very reason. For some groups Somali = pastoralist occupation was a very recent thing

Another good catch. In fact, the settled farmer and agropastoral bunch of the Raxanweyn used to make a marked distinction between themselves and the mainly pastoral tribes, creating a division in the form of "Sab" and "Somali"

The clan families inhabiting the interfluvial area of southern Somalia are the Rahanwayn and the Digil, which together are known as the Sab. Mainly farmers and agropastoralists, the Sab include both original inhabitants and numerous Somali groups that have immigrated into this climatically favourable area. - reference and reference

They actually strongly come to mind for me because they, like the Harla, have a distinct set of "dialects" like Maay, Tunni and Jiddu which are actually distinct languages that are the closest relatives of Af-Maxaa before Rendille and Oromo. I think the Harla, based on Cerulli's findings of them speaking a distinct "dialect" back in the day, are a similar such instance. It may have been a different but very closely related Somaloid language altogether and they made a distinction between themselves and nomadic tribes surrounding them.


Good post, what confuses me about this though is why weren't other nomads also called by the same name, Weren't there Sidamics running around?

Sidamics would have most likely been sedentary farmers, as they have been for the last few hundred years where we have more ample records of them. So it makes sense that "Somali" is being used to refer to Somali groups as, since this predates the Oromo and Afars don't seem to be involved, we'd have been the only group in the area with notable nomadic segments.
 
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Garaad diinle

 
@The alchemist @Garaad diinle @Step a side

And many thanks to @Idilinaa who was the inspiration for much of this and provided me sources in several cases like the genealogy and adeer Shidaad's writings. He's been kinda shouting this sort of thing from the roof-tops for years and I finally started seeing what he was talking about.
Ar waxan maxa waye niyaho, ar maad ilaahay ka baqtid. Coming out of your hiatus with a fire thread and a chunky one at that, we've let you cook but you've clearly cooked to much my friend kkk.

This thread is in line with what i've always assumed the name somali originally meant that is to say it being an occupational designation for pastoralist. Here you've explored even further and found references and example of cases where it was utilized as such that is to say in reference to pastoralist communities rather than an ethnicity. By the way the oldest mention of the name arab goes back too around 1200 bc in the levant, meaning it's a 3200 year old name.

We also find the name somali used in southern somalia and northern kenya in the context of pastoralism but also in a casual way not in reference to an ethnicity for example a sub clan of elaay is named gaal soomaale and a rendile sub clan is named adhi soomaale. Both of these names are archaic in nature and is used in two different somali or somaloid dialects which might indicate it's age.

While exploring this topic i've also found that the name somali is also used in another context other than an ethnic name or an occupational name. It's used as the opposite of gaal hence why i call it the gaal-somali identity, i wanted to make a thread about it specially since it touches on somali lore and origin story but gathering sources and what have you takes a lot of time.

A bit of commentary on my part here. The name somali was first mentioned by the chinese in the 10th century as 三麻兰 romanised as sān má lán and transliterated as samalan which is probably the formal chinese way of saying somali. Another interesting thing is tumur/temur which is the harari name for somalis. The name itself was first mentioned in the 16th century in the chronical of sarsa dengel as one of the mean constituent of the malasay.
LJyQpcz.jpg


JCIOxtA.jpg


The name dawit is a peculiar name. There were a user here on sspot who's name was dawit, there is also a somali garre from nfd with that name too not to mention i've seen a number of somali genealogical tree the included the name dawit. Similarly the name kaahin is also another peculiar name, perhaps mr. T-L208 @Yami can tell us about it 👀.

Another thing i've observed in the xarla genealogical tree is the recurrent of the name kabir. In southern somalia kabir is the second in command after the macalin quraanka in the dugsi. When the macalin goes the kabir takes charge of the dugsi. Interesting to see how it might've been much more significant of a rank in northern galbeed.

most of the people the author is interacting with are Somalis.
About this i've also suspected a similar thing. Some of the people if not all of them that he interviewed might actually be somalis. I've seen someone that collected a number of words all of whom are found in af somali mentioned in the futuh such as the word used for saddle which is kore/koore a somali name for a saddle.

dW36zDd.jpeg


As for bati del wanbara i actually think it's her authentic name/title and i have a good theory why she is named/titled as such but first let's look at the name. It's made out of three parts one is wanbara which is also a somali word and it's alternatively writing as gambar both meaning a seat.

UTzLsMa.jpeg


Del/dil means victory in ethio-semitic languages and is used by royalties such as dil na'od an ethio-semitic ruler.

Finally there is speculation of how some somalis actually lived on the shewan plateau such warjih, galab and alula. We also have an oromo who tested positive for the somali subclade E-Y18629. He is from welega west of addis.


7gMKMle.jpeg


There is hints in futuh of a presence of somalis deep in modern day ethiopia there might be a whole hidden history we've yet to discover out there.

I’d like to add that many names such Farshaham (Farshaxan) could have been Somali considering both members of the Malasay and specifically Somali Fighters on the Left Flank are both named Farshaxan while no Harla is given that name.
Somali Farshaxan
View attachment 319442

Malasay Farshaxan:
View attachment 319444
Farshaxan is af somali and it means to paint/painting/draw/drawing.
 
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About this i've also suspected a similar thing. Some of the people if not all of them that he interviewed might actually be somalis. I've seen someone that collected a number of words all of whom are found in af somali mentioned in the futuh such as the word used for saddle which is kore/koore a somali name for a saddle.
dW36zDd.jpeg
Send link sxb
 
When you realize "Somali" in the Futuh means nomad and the Somalis being called such are pastoral nomadic tribes and warriors and their Chieftains it all starts to make sense. Even the language of the Futuh earlier like the Somalis and the citizens begins to add up and sentences like these make more sense when you remove "Somali" and substitute in Bedouin:











For example, it is the nomads who are harassing people on the roads and when they are defeated the Walashma Sultans retreat ostensibly into the Miyi to hide amongst "their Somalis", their bedouins whom they are probably tribally related to either through marriage like the Imam or their own line, to gather fighting men and support and return to towns like Harar with vengeance. This is also probably why tribes such as the "Harla" whom later sources seem to posit are some form of Somali- :

Afar researcher showing their retained Somali genealogy when assimilated into the Afar ethnic group
The author claims the Harla tribes have names recognizable in Afar but does not go into any detail and I don't see any overlap with any Afar tribes so that is a dubious claim
G9H1EN7.png


As I'm sure many of you know, Enrico Cerulli also recorded that they had their own unique Somali dialect when they still firmly existed as Somalis; assimilates would simply speak what the people who assimilated them spoke, not their own unique dialect so it seems plausible once added with this genealogy that they really were Somalis


-are not called Somalis. The Futuh is arguably not making an ethnic distinction when it separates "the Somali tribes" and "the Harla tribes". It is making a lifestyle distinction. The Harla were probably an overwhelmingly settled subribe similar to the Digil Raxanweyn of Koonfur or the Geri Kombe of 3 centuries later which is probably also why Somalis and Hararis associate so many settlements with them all the way to Sanaag and Bari which would make no sense if they were non-Somalis as there is zero genetic evidence in Northeast and Northwest Somalis of some mass assimilation of non-Somalis like say Southern Ethiosemites and no archaeological or historical evidence of some mass exodus or genocide. Them likely being sedentary also goes with how the Afar researcher above correctly points out that Amda Seyon mentions them in his chronicles but adds a detail I was not aware of that they are mentioned to be a sedentary population which if true would go startingly well with why they are not called "Somalis" in the Futuh.

Post continued below:
This is a long one. You guys have to expand your patience and read through.

The region was originally and majorly inhabited by Somalis. Here is archeological evidence using medieval fauna assemblages that shows the earliest domesticates was the camel. If the first inhabitants were Ethio-Semites or Sidamics that came and inhabited from somewhere central or southern central of northern Ethiopia, no rational claim of camel pastoralism can be made to attribute to them -- an animal we know strictly utilized in the lowlands inhabited only by Somalis and no Semites for its desert and arid adaptation.
1709844620931.png


Non-Somalis who came from the highlands and settled in a place pretty farmable like Harlaa (mixed economy region) would not have camel herding as their primary livestock choice when they could easily keep subsisting with the same farming adaptive profile. They would not have camel access without a camel-handling population there, to begin with. Conclusive evidence shows that animal herding was present as the primary mode of economic strategy before any structure was built.

Now, it seems later that other groups moved in, but this evidence shows that the earliest presence of any people was by camel pastoralists, a factor that eliminates all Ethio-Semites and other Ethiopian populations. All Cushitic groups we know raise cattle to supplement and enhance agriculture. The camel was introduced by Somalis to later encroaching people who started pushing towards the Somali lowlands. As time passed, these people were incorporated with the already inhabiting Somalis of the region, introducing an Ethiopian presence. Evidence of that is presented by different food-consuming practices. While Islam was very present, some groups used to hunt and consume pigs, which were likely the Ethiopian groups, within the time when the Muslims were very particular in slaughtering halal -- this was not synchronistic pig-eating Somalis but merely Ethiopian minorities that lived somewhere close moving into the land, as these were hunted wild pigs, not domesticated ones. This is evidence of foreign peoples that contrast with the dominant Somali presence.

In the earliest times, pastoral Somalis used the whole region as a transient zone for big trend seasonal movement, as a form of broad-scale regional complex pastoral land use before any of those places were considered cities since all of this was before the time of the larger state structures appeared. Then later, you have more growing appearance of regionalization, then localization, from a big-time picture beyond the archeological time frame of this study.

This is an eye-opening statement:

Intriguingly, at Harlaa, Islamic butchery techniques predate other markers of Islam such as mosques or burials by at least four centuries, suggesting that some Muslims might have been present much earlier, but are otherwise materially intangible. (Gaastra & Insoll, 2020, p. 205).

Pastoralist Somalis were Muslims way before the times of Adal and before those places became the cities we know them as, at the height of the Islamic civilization of the region. This proves what I had always believed, that Somalis took on Islam earlier than what some people believed to be later, closer to the 10th century, while it seems it was probably a couple of centuries after Islam emerged in Arabia.

In the archeological context, the time range was dated to the mid-6th to 15th century, with the earliest strata existing between the 7th to 10th centuries in area B Harlaa.

Mind you that I am entirely removing the evidence of the other pastoral animal use in this case, which was undoubtedly used by the local Somalis that took a better suitable pastoral strategy (check paragraph under for further elaboration) since we deal with sheep and goats, cattle, etc., animals that existed there as well. I am only mentioning camels here since it is an unequivocal negation of all other groups except Somalis. It is the best example one can have, removing any argument by the passages of ambiguity where an individual would claim other people raised this, that, or the other animal. The fact that the fauna type existed in the earliest layers tells exactly who inhabited the region.

Other forms of ruminants, goats, and cattle were considerably present. This is understandable, given the conditions of the region. Agro-pastoralists will have a mixed subsistence with conditions presenting greener opportunities in somewhat relatively nice arid places, keeping more bovids. Camels become less practical in a more settled environment or, better put, local herding. This is nothing new and is the integral complex configuration of what it means to live as we do, adaptable for multi-form subsistence depending on environmental conditions/pressures. But the fact that the earliest phase sees an increase of camel fossils is evidence of the ethnographic picture of a Somali presence, not a Semitic one.

I am picking the earliest layer that happened to be the time where the major component was the camel, even though camel was used in the other phases but was dominated by other animals, understandably:
1709844639538.png
 
This is a long one. You guys have to expand your patience and read through.

The region was originally and majorly inhabited by Somalis. Here is archeological evidence using medieval fauna assemblages that shows the earliest domesticates was the camel. If the first inhabitants were Ethio-Semites or Sidamics that came and inhabited from somewhere central or southern central of northern Ethiopia, no rational claim of camel pastoralism can be made to attribute to them -- an animal we know strictly utilized in the lowlands inhabited only by Somalis and no Semites for its desert and arid adaptation.View attachment 319498

Non-Somalis who came from the highlands and settled in a place pretty farmable like Harlaa (mixed economy region) would not have camel herding as their primary livestock choice when they could easily keep subsisting with the same farming adaptive profile. They would not have camel access without a camel-handling population there, to begin with. Conclusive evidence shows that animal herding was present as the primary mode of economic strategy before any structure was built.

Now, it seems later that other groups moved in, but this evidence shows that the earliest presence of any people was by camel pastoralists, a factor that eliminates all Ethio-Semites and other Ethiopian populations. All Cushitic groups we know raise cattle to supplement and enhance agriculture. The camel was introduced by Somalis to later encroaching people who started pushing towards the Somali lowlands. As time passed, these people were incorporated with the already inhabiting Somalis of the region, introducing an Ethiopian presence. Evidence of that is presented by different food-consuming practices. While Islam was very present, some groups used to hunt and consume pigs, which were likely the Ethiopian groups, within the time when the Muslims were very particular in slaughtering halal -- this was not synchronistic pig-eating Somalis but merely Ethiopian minorities that lived somewhere close moving into the land, as these were hunted wild pigs, not domesticated ones. This is evidence of foreign peoples that contrast with the dominant Somali presence.

In the earliest times, pastoral Somalis used the whole region as a transient zone for big trend seasonal movement, as a form of broad-scale regional complex pastoral land use before any of those places were considered cities since all of this was before the time of the larger state structures appeared. Then later, you have more growing appearance of regionalization, then localization, from a big-time picture beyond the archeological time frame of this study.

This is an eye-opening statement:

Intriguingly, at Harlaa, Islamic butchery techniques predate other markers of Islam such as mosques or burials by at least four centuries, suggesting that some Muslims might have been present much earlier, but are otherwise materially intangible. (Gaastra & Insoll, 2020, p. 205).

Pastoralist Somalis were Muslims way before the times of Adal and before those places became the cities we know them as, at the height of the Islamic civilization of the region. This proves what I had always believed, that Somalis took on Islam earlier than what some people believed to be later, closer to the 10th century, while it seems it was probably a couple of centuries after Islam emerged in Arabia.

In the archeological context, the time range was dated to the mid-6th to 15th century, with the earliest strata existing between the 7th to 10th centuries in area B Harlaa.

Mind you that I am entirely removing the evidence of the other pastoral animal use in this case, which was undoubtedly used by the local Somalis that took a better suitable pastoral strategy (check paragraph under for further elaboration) since we deal with sheep and goats, cattle, etc., animals that existed there as well. I am only mentioning camels here since it is an unequivocal negation of all other groups except Somalis. It is the best example one can have, removing any argument by the passages of ambiguity where an individual would claim other people raised this, that, or the other animal. The fact that the fauna type existed in the earliest layers tells exactly who inhabited the region.

Other forms of ruminants, goats, and cattle were considerably present. This is understandable, given the conditions of the region. Agro-pastoralists will have a mixed subsistence with conditions presenting greener opportunities in somewhat relatively nice arid places, keeping more bovids. Camels become less practical in a more settled environment or, better put, local herding. This is nothing new and is the integral complex configuration of what it means to live as we do, adaptable for multi-form subsistence depending on environmental conditions/pressures. But the fact that the earliest phase sees an increase of camel fossils is evidence of the ethnographic picture of a Somali presence, not a Semitic one.

I am picking the earliest layer that happened to be the time where the major component was the camel, even though camel was used in the other phases but was dominated by other animals, understandably:
View attachment 319499
As for who the Xarla were. Well, my family knew one family in Djibouti who were now under Cisse, Dir - my mother knew those people as close neighbors. But my grandmother said they were under Darood (Xarla, Kombo, Kablalax, Darood, Ismaciil).

My grandmother told me about the myth of those people, and it goes like this:

The story goes, according to my grandmother, that Xarla had extreme wealth and built much arrogance that they, during a wedding ceremony, made a path with laxoox and walked on top of it and needlessly poured milk on the ground which got them a reckoning for their kibir, some turned into stone, others died, and the rest lost their things and standing and became irrelevant that now is under Ciise, Dir.

I was shocked when talking to my grandmother since I read something eerily similar from the Oromos that today reside in the Harlaa region, who said almost the same thing to archeologists from a couple of years earlier reading! Look at this source:

J1YSFfQy6de1AamSrBpOXgEiFc_9iMJQdUAjZYAMHZ74qzUrIQOh5EAEAJbm1PjPI-VBvJigp2gxB2lfMmjWP5GTt6jD8nKnAdKCscpNqB2KKC6FGVcR-UGp8WQHFXfp8UNkQ-zlbJP6yAM4XnyMP5I


Another source says the same thing:
1709844799098.png



Isn't that fascinating? And pay attention to how Oromos call them giants. Usually, that is an attribute of height, and consistently, even from historical documentation to extant times, Somalis were always known to be tall people, and we can assume the Xarla were tall Somalis. To encroaching Oromos and other inland Ethiopians, Xarlaas might have looked very tall compared to them since they are historically described as shorter, except for the exception where sources mention Oromized Somaloids (who have Somali based ancestry) described as carrying good height.

Inquiring further, my grandmother told me that today Xarla lives in the baadiye part of Djibouti (and maybe into Ethiopia), dealing with pastoralism subsistence, a place named Arta in Djibouti, and somewhere called Gereni - I am not sure where this is, I suspect it is somewhere southeastern Afar region (would be cool if someone found out where that is).
 
As for who the Xarla were. Well, my family knew one family in Djibouti who were now under Cisse, Dir - my mother knew those people as close neighbors. But my grandmother said they were under Darood (Xarla, Kombo, Kablalax, Darood, Ismaciil).

My grandmother told me about the myth of those people, and it goes like this:

The story goes, according to my grandmother, that Xarla had extreme wealth and built much arrogance that they, during a wedding ceremony, made a path with laxoox and walked on top of it and needlessly poured milk on the ground which got them a reckoning for their kibir, some turned into stone, others died, and the rest lost their things and standing and became irrelevant that now is under Ciise, Dir.

I was shocked when talking to my grandmother since I read something eerily similar from the Oromos that today reside in the Harlaa region, who said almost the same thing to archeologists from a couple of years earlier reading! Look at this source:

J1YSFfQy6de1AamSrBpOXgEiFc_9iMJQdUAjZYAMHZ74qzUrIQOh5EAEAJbm1PjPI-VBvJigp2gxB2lfMmjWP5GTt6jD8nKnAdKCscpNqB2KKC6FGVcR-UGp8WQHFXfp8UNkQ-zlbJP6yAM4XnyMP5I


Another source says the same thing:
View attachment 319501


Isn't that fascinating? And pay attention to how Oromos call them giants. Usually, that is an attribute of height, and consistently, even from historical documentation to extant times, Somalis were always known to be tall people, and we can assume the Xarla were tall Somalis. To encroaching Oromos and other inland Ethiopians, Xarlaas might have looked very tall compared to them since they are historically described as shorter, except for the exception where sources mention Oromized Somaloids (who have Somali based ancestry) described as carrying good height.

Inquiring further, my grandmother told me that today Xarla lives in the baadiye part of Djibouti (and maybe into Ethiopia), dealing with pastoralism subsistence, a place named Arta in Djibouti, and somewhere called Gereni - I am not sure where this is, I suspect it is somewhere southeastern Afar region (would be cool if someone found out where that is).
I did some digging about this matter to see if something registered in the available online archives -- what I found was validating, indeed. There seemed to have existed a Bah-Xarla group in the Awdal region. To give context to what "bah" means in the Somali clan context:

"Bah" in Somali is a common shared grouping supplementing uterine links, i.e., shared mother on top of shared father. In agnatic clan systems, weaker, larger family units can form closer collateral ties because their agnatic counterparts might be politically larger and more powerful. What the weaker do to strengthen their standing is they grow a supplementary unity based on a shared mother, not shared with the other stronger same-father descended groups, given these family units formed out of polygamous marriages. I imagine this can take form for many reasons, not only under the pressure of outside but to increase land and resources, political influence, even a way to fix internal disputes between the ones that share a mother, etc.

Here is a model for that:

VyhA5ceIw3p1T6FRoPEn6WgRXqZ1rlkWsNWXWPoJtD_kKTE9inah8JTB2ZurOGtbafQdSiX2x2fwd0MQUzACMqmijX0_DmLriuusMd9UYI4kzauchdkNq8JZ4lbeioypv594dVEMxDViBaLetMCN6JI


B, C, and D share the same mother, so their descendants form a "bah" to grow stronger, for example, avoiding getting overshadowed by a stronger sibling sub-clan (A) that shares the same father lineage (X) yet has another mother. It is finding a genetic reason to establish a merger to grow stronger.

Going back to the Xarla thing with this in mind, bah-Xarla exists among Dir, once again appearing more than one way associated with the Dir:

tuDzHEqaTUh8p2MnnF0-yABBwL-Ku8xDc4xmQnBp9BYNnIPRxBx_G3SOQTMV5s01ZPhB1RymfDCofJhK-6ZyhV3t-AcJ1lyqpbRfnlQ6aKPuI9_p9j1OieS8Y3fIqt6ZgKXOeIw36QsBeR4_F-ZqoSk


That screenshot was taken from a General Survey Somaliland Protectorate 1944-1950, taken in Zeila and Borama district. One can see that Adawi Abdallah, Ali Abdallah, and Gedi Abdallah, all Ciise agnatic brothers, shared a uterine tie, i.e., the same mother who was Xarla. Their other brothers had Guragura and Forlaba mothers, respectively, so they formed other uterine ties. Now, this further builds the case that Xarla was Somali and those Abdallah Khaireh agnatic brothers had a mother highly likely under Dir, given what we know that they are under Ciise in Djibouti, while also here showing they even strengthened further with other Ciise clans by way of marriage. This bolsters the claim that Xarla lived among Dir deep in Somali places. Any notions of saying they are of Habash or non-Somali origin is long eliminated at this point -- entirely intellectually and historically irrelevant -- now we are only practically talking about an internal Somali matter.

I have more.

Another source claimed Xarla resided since old times in the land of Ciise:
ocYP7RqvPOlp7fNp3fKM77TH1tpWoZvOyiMVloq2cQK4n1NDWTZ6g0jS3YIP14DW3Q-DMxx_oDLGRecF-LBgnu30rCuZP3syzQap7337jvmouz-oqgAs-iJ5J0GJePu93AmC2TR5kh5cEJZJXGOKb4w


The Japan Times 1972-01-10: Iss 26234 mentioning Harla and Yaroun being massacred by Ethiopians and designating them under Ciise:
GHiJzBghXvOSPwVskLHwYiAIFc5Qi05piT6iYNRKEhfRTVVlzpFwjhVN3wqhMrC2dGXOOvdKS2KAtcA9UpXYpWJJxGqpW60muJRkP8u32KWM-0DcLJJ4eM6QkRz0rgPcAu97y_gp88X6dh8ikaiOerE


Everything up to now is consistent with what my grandmother told me and what we know about them, proven consistently here, and this Japanese source from the early 70s again shows such proof. But let me go further.

Yaroun is another sub-clan of Ciise:
aVstG871giBZjNiEXfse1rFnnXNqHOp044TD--xXR_nGI6hEubfXLeRkM8rxkgU7Ha-BclwIDhtiYo-kwJ5Y2b0zB3ztnzgUZqjLALvucxkpDgOVJPGk9FSDEereBCjAlxva-PwWmnEzjvsJjOFswXQ


It all ties together consistently.

These are not some mythical people from a distant past lost in time. My family knew them, born and bred Somalis in Djibouti as Dir today. While talking with my mother about Djibouti, she described her childhood with information about the various groups in that country. Something that led me to this deeper digging. What started the whole conversation was very interesting and peculiar, but I think this is quite long.
 

Garaad diinle

 
As for who the Xarla were. Well, my family knew one family in Djibouti who were now under Cisse, Dir - my mother knew those people as close neighbors. But my grandmother said they were under Darood (Xarla, Kombo, Kablalax, Darood, Ismaciil).

My grandmother told me about the myth of those people, and it goes like this:

The story goes, according to my grandmother, that Xarla had extreme wealth and built much arrogance that they, during a wedding ceremony, made a path with laxoox and walked on top of it and needlessly poured milk on the ground which got them a reckoning for their kibir, some turned into stone, others died, and the rest lost their things and standing and became irrelevant that now is under Ciise, Dir.

I was shocked when talking to my grandmother since I read something eerily similar from the Oromos that today reside in the Harlaa region, who said almost the same thing to archeologists from a couple of years earlier reading! Look at this source:

J1YSFfQy6de1AamSrBpOXgEiFc_9iMJQdUAjZYAMHZ74qzUrIQOh5EAEAJbm1PjPI-VBvJigp2gxB2lfMmjWP5GTt6jD8nKnAdKCscpNqB2KKC6FGVcR-UGp8WQHFXfp8UNkQ-zlbJP6yAM4XnyMP5I


Another source says the same thing:
View attachment 319501


Isn't that fascinating? And pay attention to how Oromos call them giants. Usually, that is an attribute of height, and consistently, even from historical documentation to extant times, Somalis were always known to be tall people, and we can assume the Xarla were tall Somalis. To encroaching Oromos and other inland Ethiopians, Xarlaas might have looked very tall compared to them since they are historically described as shorter, except for the exception where sources mention Oromized Somaloids (who have Somali based ancestry) described as carrying good height.

Inquiring further, my grandmother told me that today Xarla lives in the baadiye part of Djibouti (and maybe into Ethiopia), dealing with pastoralism subsistence, a place named Arta in Djibouti, and somewhere called Gereni - I am not sure where this is, I suspect it is somewhere southeastern Afar region (would be cool if someone found out where that is).
Yoo how'd you come across this story? You must be pulling our legs here, this story is the exact same one recorded by anthropologists in dir dhabe, nogob and it's even known by some oromos. Is your family from somali galbeed?
 
Yoo how'd you come across this story? You must be pulling our legs here, this story is the exact same one recorded by anthropologists in dir dhabe, nogob and it's even known by some oromos. Is your family from somali galbeed?
My family is from Somaliland, but that part is reer Djibouti. It was a real authentic lore that my grandmother told me when I asked her about Xarla. So it rang many bells because I had read something similar about archeologists (shown in screenshot quotes, as well) writing how Oromos of the Harlaa region described the previous Xarla inhabitants similarly a couple of years earlier. The story my grandma told me is Somali, as she comes from the broader Arabsiyo region before moving to Djibouti as a child.
 

Garaad diinle

 
My family is from Somaliland, but that part is reer Djibouti. It was a real authentic lore that my grandmother told me when I asked her about Xarla. So it rang many bells because I had read something similar about archeologists (shown in screenshot quotes, as well) writing how Oromos of the Harlaa region described the previous Xarla inhabitants similarly a couple of years earlier. The story my grandma told me is Somali, as she comes from the broader Arabsiyo region before moving to Djibouti as a child.
No doubt that the story is of somali origin and the reason oromos are also familiar with it is probably due to incorporating/assimilating somalis into their society. I'm just surprised at the geographical wide spread of this story. The harla probably had a lot of significance the region. I can't find the dir dhabe and nogob version but i found the oromo version that is somwhat divergent but still along the same overall structure.

tIsIi1G.jpeg

Context tchenassen is jinacsani and arla is xarla.
 
This is what I like to see. 10/10 thread.

Then the tribe of Zarba came up after them. Their chieftain was the sultan Muhammad, son of the paternal aunt of the imam. With him were one-thousand and-sixty notable infantry, and forty knights. The imam made them welcome and showed them his favour. He [sultan Muhammad] resided at Harar. The imam was exceedingly delighted at this and gave thanks to the Most High God.

@Shimbiris this quote of yours perfectly matches the lineage tree composed by Ahmed Sami as understood what’s in the Futuh.

Sultan Muhammad is on the far right circled in blue. Him leading the people of Zerba as chief (Zerba is a region) indicates they were his immediate juffo. He is related to Abu Bakr the judge mentioned as “Al Hawiye” in the Arabic Futuh which Pankhurst translated to Hobat. He is the son of Gasa Omar. Zaharbou Mohamed Omar, Imam Ahmed Ibrahim Omar, Abubakar Gasa Omar, were all cousins.
‏والچراد شمعون وبشارة وصبر الدين وجاسا عمر والچراد أحموش وأورعي أبون والچراد عثمان

69ff91ec-438b-46de-a519-75489b8b1dbd.jpeg


IMG_4534.jpeg


Note: Its ok to use the lineage tree, the accuracy cant be confirmed as its probably the oldest somali lineage but it largely matches the books on Gragn especially earlier names like his father grandfather etc even though Futuh makes errors like claiming Garad Abun was his brother (was actually his cousin). His real name is Garad Abun ibn Adash. Adash was brother of Ibrahim and one of the many competing lineages. Wesen Seged calls him the brother of Gurey he served under him, his maternal side are from Zarba like Sultan Mohamed.
 
Why is this important? Well, the fact of the matter is that the word "Somali" appears to have very similar roots. It does not seem to have originally been an ethnic term but rather a counterpart to a term like "Tomaal/Tumaal" which refers to an artisanal caste/tribe among us historically:
I'm sure you're all aware of the idea that the origins of the word "Soomaal" are often posited by linguists to have strong pastoral roots. As in "Soo-Maal" (Go-Milk). I lost the quote but Said M. Shidad Hussein, an accomplished Somali studies scholar, did make a good case for it having thus originally been an occupational term and that it was what our people originally called Geeljires or Reer Guraa. It was not an ethnic term. It was an occupation, a way of life. It was seemingly the word "Arab" of its day or the word "Badu" of its day. When Yeshaq I is speaking of defeating the Walashma Sultan and his "Simur" he appears to be celebrating a victory over nomadic (Somali) warriors led by what seems to be their Sultan. The Habeshas simply assimilated our words for nomad and craftsmen when calling Somalis either "Simur" or "Tumur".

Post continued below:
@The alchemist @Garaad diinle @Step a side

I was the first person in history to point out that the word “ Somali ” refers nomads.

At the very least, credit should be given to its rightful owners.

Look at my thread : The final say on the origin of the word Somali.
Thread starter : Maakhri from dhahar .
Start date : Dec 15, 2023 .
 
Last edited:

Three Moons

Give Dhul-Suwayqatayn not an inch of the Sea!
@Maakhri from dhahar seek knowledge not validation. The link between Somali being the pastoralist lifestyle equivalent of what Tumal is to blacksmiths has been made several times in this forum by multiple different individuals even before I joined it.
 

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