Arabsiyawi
HA Activist.
Why not argue and substantiate your claims ? It doesn't hurt and it's a better look than to just dismiss it like this, even if you're most were to be 100% right. I'd be glad to see you guys to it ngl
Harari family names that are somali
- Thread starter Emir of Harar
- Start date
Riftvalley
VIP
You wrote Somalis did not have a settlement and were all nomads. This is where the trolling comes in. Somalis built and were part of the oldest and largest Islamic urban sites in the Horn, especially in the region of what became known as the Adal empire. Somalis were responsible for nicknames like zaylici Berberi, Muqdishi and Jabarti being given to horn African Muslims. There were also urban settlements across the coast from what is known as SL-PL-all the way down to Southern Somalia. Then there were town settlements deep into Southern riverine areas, and now abandoned sites are being found as far as Nugaal. The archeology is now confirming similarities between medieval ruins in SL and Harla sites; it simply means Harla tribe and/or a smaller sultanate prospered as result of the sultanate taking it over and facilitating trade and development. This is the conclusion those Spanish archaeologists to. If you bothered to read some of the posts on this site you would have found many sources confirming this.
BTW Somali nomads were an essential component of trade, defensive jihadi, and religious facilitation in the Horn. Harar itself is said to have been built on an old nomadic trading/watering post. The sites and ruins of medieval sites such as Derbi Belanbel (oh, look: another Somali name) cited as belonging to “Harla” lies on old trading and Dawah point where traders and scholars interlinked. One would have to explain who made those camel carvings in the Harla sites which are clearly pre Islamic, if all Somalis miraculously spawned out of northern Somalia and displaced Harla in the Middle Ages?
The second point you are wrong on is this myth of “Harla” settlements in northern Somalia or them being displaced. The archeology and documented sources in North and West Somalia shows a continuous existence of the same population from antiquity to now ( prior to Oromo invasions and migrations). This ignorance comes from colonial writers interviewing some people citing myths as history. Some of the same people also attributed Oromos living there and Somalis descending from Arabs. Should we take all oral history as fact? The second reason people say this is because of some erroneous conceptualisation by Western linguists who dismissively assigned a lot of Somali words as being of Semitic in origin (ugaz, garaad, etc).
Even if were to accept Harla as being assimilated by Somalis or being them being a standalone group, one would have to still explain the intertwining of these two communities and their familial relationships as shown in the Futuh. Then you would have to explain all the Somali loan words in Harari as well as Burton documenting large Somali populations in the city.
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Step a side
VIP
Back in the days I used to get excited about this topic. It has become too repetitive. It’s the same Harari guy that comes on here calling us all nomads
I kept it really simple. The entire Harla contingent was led by a Somali Sultan Mohamed who was paternal cousin of Gurey. He was literally the chief of one of the Harla tribes of Zerba. This is proof that Harla were just settled Somalis. What more does he need to know? Gurey, his cousins (Abu Bakr Qechinn, Zeharbu, Nur ibn Mujahid etc), nephews (Waziir Abbas, Amir Tolha, Gasa Omar etc) brother in law (Mataan) and countless other main characters in Futuh were all Somalis and linked by blood as proven by both heavyweight Harari and Amhara scholars. Back in the days of Futuh the word Somali was most likely used specifically for the nomads which is where the confusion stems from.
I just read this paper, it's very good. This is why it's important for Somalis to re-evaluate certain narratives. Maqrizi claiming Amharas reached Zeila is just nonsense.
Idilinaa
VIP
I was reading through Harari family names. Unlike somalis they get their family name based on a pious ancestor and everyone. For example the Imam family are descendants of Imam Ahmed Gurey. Here are some family names I found to be very somali:
Barkhadle (very common somali name used till today and is one of the older somali names)
Barre (older somalis used this name often like former dictator of somalia Siyad Barre),
Borama (a city in northern somalia)
Duale (another somali name it means the one who makes dua),
fudi gelle (it's the gelle part specifically not fudi which meansin gey sinan. So their family name means geel
)
Garad (both hararis and somalis use garad)
Liban (this is also somali meaning blessed)
Muqdish(sounds like muqdisho/mogadishu)
Sarkal (means lieutenant in somali)
Ugaz (the somali ugas elders)
War gar (means receive message)
Warfa (many somali clans are named warfa)
Yare (means small in somali)
Note that this is around a good 25%-35% of the harari family names. I would be interested in getting DNA samples from all families to see if they're related to somalis. And to add in many of the family names sounded oromo so I believe they might also have oromo admixture.
Looking back at this with what we now know , It’s not surprising that so many Harari family names trace back to Somali roots when you consider who held power in Harar historically and made up the majority of the original pop.
The political leadership of the city including the various Malaqs who ruled different quarters were Somali. Many of the Emirs themselves had Somali lineage or close ties with Somali clans.
Even the chief religious figures (like the leading Kabirs and Shaykhs) were Somali.
So when you see names like Barre, Borama, Liban, Garad, Warfa, Yare, and remembered by Harari , it reflects that intertwined history , not coincidence
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The political leadership of the city including the various Malaqs who ruled different quarters were Somali. Many of the Emirs themselves had Somali lineage or close ties with Somali clans.
Idilinaa
VIP
All the clans surrounding Harar had segments represented within the city including the Marehan.
So it’s very possible that more Marehan individuals will be discovered in historical records, just like we’ve already seen with members of the Habar Awal, Hawiye, Sheekhal, Bartiree, and Dir clans, who were living in, governing, or owning property in Harar.
I also recall reading civil status documents mentioning a section of the Ciise clan in Harar, known as the Sayhas , a priestly sub-clan.
No, most of the Kabirs and Shaykhs weren’t Somali. Kabir Khalil and Kabir Yunis were both 100% Harari. The Shaykh Jami mentioned in that snippet you saw was actually a Somali who lived in Harar. In the 1800s, there were some Somalis—mainly from the Darod and Isaaq clans—living in Harar. Shaykh Jami, a Bartire Somali, was one of Kabir Khalil’s students.
To be clear, Kabir Khalil wasn’t Somali at all. He came from the Zaydi family in Harar, which has no Somali ties whatsoever.
Another well-known Somali who studied under Kabir Khalil was Shaykh Madar from the Isaaq clan. He lived in Harar for a while and learned from Kabir Khalil before being advised to travel to what is now Hargeisa to teach proper Islam, as wahabi ideology was starting to enter Somalia. In fact, it was Shaykh Madar who named Hargeisa after Harar.
Yeah, it’s true that the Emirs of Harar married Somali women, especially from well-known clans like the Gerri, Bartire, Marehan, and some Isaaq groups. These marriages were mostly done to build stronger ties with Somali tribes.
But Harari Emirs also married Harari women. For example, Imam Ahmad (Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi) was Harari, and his wife, Bati Del Wambara, was Harari too. After Imam Ahmad passed away, Amir Nur ended up marrying her as well. Amir Nur himself had mixed roots—his dad or grandfather was said to be from the Darod Marehan clan, while his mother was Harari.
As for Amir Abdullahi—wallahi, I really don’t know. Some Oromos say he was Oromo, some Somalis say he was Somali. What I’ve heard is that he was from a Harari family called “Moti,” but honestly, that’s just word of mouth and hasn’t been properly verified. I don’t even know the full backstory of the Moti family. Some people also say he came from the Harari “Nur” family, tracing back to Amir Nur. Allah knows best. To be honest, I never really looked deep into it—it just wasn’t something I was that curious about.
No, the Adal Sultanate was Harari—this is a fact. Some Somalis think it was Somali because the Sultanate had assimilated many Hararis, who were formerly known as the Harla. That’s where the confusion comes from. Somalis had their own sultanates, but the Adal Sultanate itself was Harari.
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Idilinaa
VIP
There was also a presence of Hawiye in Harar. Burton notes that the Qadi of Zayla during his visit was a Hawiye originally from Harar
Beyond Darod and Isaaq, several Gadabursi and Ciise families are documented as owning property and residing in Harar, passing those estates down generationally. The Sheekhal clan was also present, with some members serving as scribes. So the Somali presence in Harar was more diverse than just two clans.
Regarding the Kabirs, Burton himself didn’t meet them, he wrote that they didn’t leave their homes so he couldn’t speak to their identity. According to Hornaristocrat, both Kabir Khalil and Kabir Yunis were from the Isaaq clan family, specifically Kabir Yunis being from the Habar Yunis sub-clan.
This would make sense given the influence of Isaaq in the region, especially considering Berbera was Harar’s chief port and largely under Isaaq control. Manuscripts even show that a Habar Awal one of the Malaqs governing the neigborhoods of Harar.
That said, the Kabirs were not a monolith , multiple individuals are recorded as manuscript copyists and scholars in Harar, some of whom may have been from different backgrounds.
The Amirs of Harar followed Somali exogamy traditions basically, marrying into other clans to build political alliances. Somali sultanates like the Majerteen did the same thing by marrying into Dir and other clans to strengthen their legitimacy. So if the Amirs were marrying Somali women and their kids were born from those unions, it makes sense that their descendants would be considered Somali too. On top of that, we’ve got at least three different sources saying the Amirs were Somali including someone who actually lived in Harar so that definitely supports the claim
About identity ‘al-Harari’ wasn’t an ethnicity, it was just a label/nisba for someone who came from Harar. It didn’t mean they were part of a specific ethnic or language group. In fact the name ‘Harar’ itself comes from Somali, based on a type of thorny tree used in fencing, which is still a thing in Somali culture and place names.
Also, saying the Adal Sultanate was purely ‘Harari’ doesn’t really hold up. The people we call Harari today speak a language related to East Gurage, originally known as ''Adari" and weren't fully accepted as part of the city inhabitants until the 1800s and they emigrated there after fleeing Oromo expansion. You don’t see a group called Harari mentioned in older historical texts. As for the Harla who are often claimed to be the Harari’s ancestors they still exist in different areas and weren’t even based in Harar, they are simply a kombe clan.
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