https://operationoverload.wordpress...f-wacdaan-and-their-alliance-with-the-geledi/
"The Wacdaan subclan of Darandole Mudulood have a centuries-old alliance with the Geledi which stands to this day. The history of this subclan and their alliance with the Geledi spans a long time and has withstood the turbulent changes Somalia and Banadir experienced throughout the centuries.
In this article we’ll try to narrate the most important aspects of Wacdaan history and the alliance with the Geledi which was the foundation of the Geledi Sultanate.
In chapter 12 of the book titled: Somali Sultanate, the Geledi City-State over 150 years, the author (Virginia Luling) writes:
The precolonial politics of Somalia, while they were articulated by clan and lineage divisions, also relied on alliances that could cut across the lines of descent. We have seen that Geledi exemplified this principle to a high degree. Their alliance, waransaar (pile of spears), with the Wacdaan carries it even further, and is different from the links within the Geledi community that I have analyzed so far. The Wacdaan regard it not as a client relationship but as an alliance between equal entities, separate and of roughly equivalent size, with each maintaining its own political system but joining in the defense of their common interest. It is notable in that it bridges the divide between the two major branches of the Somali – The Samaale and the Sab, the Maxaa and the Maay speakers. It encapsulates the division between the pastoral-nomadic and the settled agro-pastoral Somali. ——–
On the character of the Wacdaan and their contribution to the succes of the Geledi Sultanate Virginia Lulling writes in chapter 12 of the above mentioned book:
Warriors and Dandies
The league of the Geledi, with this vigorous and warlike pastoral clan must have contributed much to their succes in their heyday – indeed in the opinion of the Wacdaan themselves the Geledi would have been helpless without them. They have a strong warrior ethos: their ideal is of the man who is both brave and dandified, dressing in a fine white cloth even if he has to go hungry. Many of the Wacdaan were slow to take up modern schooling, but if the Geledi considered this a sign of backwardness, for some at least of the Wacdaan themselves it showed their independence of spirit. They valued this independence even though in the 1960s it led to their lacking a deputy of their own to send to the National Assembly (their representative came from the Abgaal).
The origins of the Wacdaan are like most subclans of the Darandole Mudulood in Ceeldheer, Mudug region of Somalia. As we have seen in the history of the Darandole conquest of Mogadishu, the Wacdaan played a key role and were even blessed by the Darandole Imam for their bravery in the war against the Ajuuraan. After having played a key role in the defeat of the Muzzaffar Dynasty in Mogadishu and their Ajuuraan allies in the hinterland the Wacdaan entered into an alliance with the Geledi to defeat the Silcis who were in power of Afgooye region."
"The Wacdaan subclan of Darandole Mudulood have a centuries-old alliance with the Geledi which stands to this day. The history of this subclan and their alliance with the Geledi spans a long time and has withstood the turbulent changes Somalia and Banadir experienced throughout the centuries.
In this article we’ll try to narrate the most important aspects of Wacdaan history and the alliance with the Geledi which was the foundation of the Geledi Sultanate.
In chapter 12 of the book titled: Somali Sultanate, the Geledi City-State over 150 years, the author (Virginia Luling) writes:
The precolonial politics of Somalia, while they were articulated by clan and lineage divisions, also relied on alliances that could cut across the lines of descent. We have seen that Geledi exemplified this principle to a high degree. Their alliance, waransaar (pile of spears), with the Wacdaan carries it even further, and is different from the links within the Geledi community that I have analyzed so far. The Wacdaan regard it not as a client relationship but as an alliance between equal entities, separate and of roughly equivalent size, with each maintaining its own political system but joining in the defense of their common interest. It is notable in that it bridges the divide between the two major branches of the Somali – The Samaale and the Sab, the Maxaa and the Maay speakers. It encapsulates the division between the pastoral-nomadic and the settled agro-pastoral Somali. ——–
On the character of the Wacdaan and their contribution to the succes of the Geledi Sultanate Virginia Lulling writes in chapter 12 of the above mentioned book:
Warriors and Dandies
The league of the Geledi, with this vigorous and warlike pastoral clan must have contributed much to their succes in their heyday – indeed in the opinion of the Wacdaan themselves the Geledi would have been helpless without them. They have a strong warrior ethos: their ideal is of the man who is both brave and dandified, dressing in a fine white cloth even if he has to go hungry. Many of the Wacdaan were slow to take up modern schooling, but if the Geledi considered this a sign of backwardness, for some at least of the Wacdaan themselves it showed their independence of spirit. They valued this independence even though in the 1960s it led to their lacking a deputy of their own to send to the National Assembly (their representative came from the Abgaal).
The origins of the Wacdaan are like most subclans of the Darandole Mudulood in Ceeldheer, Mudug region of Somalia. As we have seen in the history of the Darandole conquest of Mogadishu, the Wacdaan played a key role and were even blessed by the Darandole Imam for their bravery in the war against the Ajuuraan. After having played a key role in the defeat of the Muzzaffar Dynasty in Mogadishu and their Ajuuraan allies in the hinterland the Wacdaan entered into an alliance with the Geledi to defeat the Silcis who were in power of Afgooye region."
