Origins and Connections of the Dir

[Xaagi-Cagmadigtee]

Dire Dawa study showed 84% T marker, and Djibouti study was even higher, 100% T marker.

 

[Ferrari]

Where do i learn about these dna stuff? I don't understand jack when I read topics like these.

 

[Grant]

Lord only knows who got there first or whether they arrived together, but I agree with you that our traditional homeland was the Northern coast of Somalia.

As for the Madigan being Harla because they live in Hararghe, come on. That is a far fetched theory. Several Somali clans live in Hararghe such as the Babille Karanle, Barsuug and sections of the Gurgura.

I said associated with, not that they were. I'm surprised you didn't pick up on Gurgure's migration to Zeila. The Gurgura are also Dir who fought for Ahmed Gran against the Habash. The Harla and others of Gurey's allies also ended up in Harar and the Hararghe valley, so I don't think it's all that far-fetched. Not everybody built stone cities or participated in the early trade at Zeila or would have been welcome in Hararghe. Certainly not the Oromo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurgura

"This article is about the ethnic group. For the district, see Gurgura (woreda).
Gurgura
غرغرة
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Oromo, Somali and Arabic
Religion
Islam (Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
Issa, Gadabursi, Surre, Bursuuk, Biimaal , Garre and other Dir clans.
The Gurgura, Gorgorah or Gurgure (Somali: Gurgura, Arabic: غرغرة‎‎) people are a Somali clan that is part of the large Dir clan. They inhabit large portions of the Oromia Region (Zone 4) of Ethiopia, also the Somali Region and Afar Region of that country.

Distribution


Uggas Buhe Gedid (Somali: Ugaas Buux). The historical ughaz (sultan) of the Gurgura clan of Somalis. One of the most notable figures of Dire Dawa.
The Gurgura are of the Madahwein Dir, making them directly related to the Gurre and Gariire and other Madahwein Dirs.[1] They also have lineal ties with the Issa, Gadabursi, Biimaal, Bajimal, Quranyow-Garre, Surre, Madigan, and other Dir subclans.[1][2]

History
Oromo political organizations sought to coerce the Gurgura, (who's identity was very contentious for the city of Dire Dawa) who largely speak the Oromo language (Oromiffa), to identify themselves as Oromo, though they belong to the Dir clan family of the Somalis. Oromo political organizations claimed that "the Gurgura people who speak Oromiffa belong to the Oromo nation and they only started to identify themselves with the Somali after the 1974 change of the Haile Selassie regime".[3] This is false since the Gurgura are mentioned in the Futuh Al Habasha : Conquest of Abyssinia as source dating back as far as the 16th century, by author: Shihabudin Ahmad bin Abd al-Qadir 'Arab Faqih or 'Arab Faqih. It is recorded that the Gurgura were Somalis who fought alongside Ahmed Gran or Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi with knights, spear-men and foot-soldiers and their leader Garād 'Abd.[4]

Many prominent Gurgura in Dire Dawa, including traditional leaders, have identified as Somali, to the dislike of the Oromo. [5]"

 

[Xaagi-Cagmadigtee]

Today's Gurgura are reclaiming their Somalinimo.

I can't imagine living in the 1500s Adal Wars aftermath and how Dir scattered all over the Peninsula. It was a matter of survival that they chose to associate themselves with Oromos.

Dir Dawe is majority Dir if you include Gurgura, no debating.

 

[anonimo]

Today's Gurgura are reclaiming their Somalinimo.

I can't imagine living in the 1500s Adal Wars aftermath and how Dir scattered all over the Peninsula. It was a matter of survival that they chose to associate themselves with Oromos.

Dir Dawe is majority Dir if you include Gurgura, no debating.

The Gurgura actually retained their Somalinimo, Xeer and Ugaas even after the Adal Wars. Like the Ciise, they are all united behind one Ugaas. The adoption of farming in the last 200 years made most of them Oromo speakers due to intermarriage with the Oromo. Gurgura nomads that live near the Ciise still speak Somali. Both the Oromo and Somali speaking Gurguras acknowledge the leadership of the traditional Ugaas.

Oromos try and seduce them because they know that without the Gurgura they cannot lay claim to Dire Dawa as the countryside surrounding it is settled mainly by them, and the Ciise. The non-urban district of Dire Dawa is not called 'Gurgura' for nothing. The city itself is very multicultural, forget Oromos, there are loads of Habashas too.

The perception that it is an Oromo majority city is due to the fact they classify the Oromo speaking Gurguras as Oromo when they bloody ain't.

The Gurguras need Af-Celis. So do the Barsuug and other Dirs that are in the Afran Qallo confederacy. East Hararghe has a population of roughly 3 million people. A good chunk of the people who live there are Somalis that have become Oromified.

 

[Grant]

Today's Gurgura are reclaiming their Somalinimo.

I can't imagine living in the 1500s Adal Wars aftermath and how Dir scattered all over the Peninsula. It was a matter of survival that they chose to associate themselves with Oromos.

Dir Dawe is majority Dir if you include Gurgura, no debating.

http://codkabeeshadireed.blogspot.com/

"The Devastating Effects of the Ahmed Gurey Wars on Dir

In the 1400, the Christian Ethiopians attacked Muslim lands in Harrar, Haud, and as far as Zeila. The Dir which was the most powerful Muslim group confronted the Christian menance. The wars which lasted for hundreds of years destroyed many Dir Kingdoms including the Ifat and Awdal (Cadale) kingdoms. Which were ruled by a mixture of Dir and Afar-Adaris kings and produce the Dir Imam Axmed Ibrahim Geesi or Axmed Gurey and the greated Somali General Said Samaroone who was in charge of all the military operations of the Somalis in the hinterland of Somalia. Many Dir groups dispersed and fled South, West, and East into Somalia in this era. Many fled to Amuud in Northern Somalia and letter when Amuud was destroyed by the Amhara and they occupied Zaile killing the Dir King Shihab Din at Zaila Island were he is buried.

Imam Said Samroone lived in 1432 AD, when the Amhara crusaders conquered Somalia. Iman Said was the Muslim leader who led the Mandaluug Dir and when the imam was later fighting in the Western flank of the Guurey army he was injured at Dardarley.

The name Gadabuursi was given to his descendents at the last critical moment before he made a final stand to the Amhara at the mandaluug ancestral homeland of Amuud which the Amharas destroyed over 50,000 homes where excavated recently and the place was leveled with the ground 10, 000 thousands perished. At this dark moment, many Dir groups were dispersed all over Somalia and many powerful Dir kingdoms in Western Somalia and present day Ethiopia perished.


The name Gaada Biirsay means the one who collected the army or "chests" the name referred to the desperate effort of imam Samaroon Said to collect and muster the power of his kinsman against the infidels. Gaado means chest( shafka ama xabadka gaada ha i saarin oo kale).

The Gadabuursi latter suffered a devastating defeat and actually the present day Amuud which has a old cementary called Lafaruug was destroyed by the Amhara King. Also note, it was this period that the King Shihad a Diin buried in Zailac Island was killed. The Gudabuursi Dir and Issa Modoobe Dir never recovered from these devastating blows. They moved west while others moved to the North West. Many Dir groups moved from the North-West and towards the South.

For example, the Suure Dir have strong traditions that point to their arrival from West (Galbeed) in this era and they claim they lived in close proximity with the Issas. Also the Bimaal Dir vividly describe how their territories were once adjacent to the Issa and Isaaq. As a matter of fact, a whole branch of the Bimaal called the Gadsan still lives in the North West amongst the Ogaden and Habar Yonis. Moreover, many Mandaluug Dir from the Boorame region migrated to the South and today live among the Surre Dir and Bimaal.

Another Mohamed Hiniftire group, the Barsuug was similarly destroyed in the era of Ahmed Gurey wars.

The Magadle Dir were completely destroyed, except for the 10,000 or saw that survive in Cerigaabo. The Issas Madoobe Dir moved further west and north into Afar regions they installed a Madaxweyn Dir dynasty, the Wardiiq who was the ruling remnants of the Madaxeyn. Madigan, Gurgure and the Barsuug Dir fled west and were encircled by the Oromos- Many assimilated and the union formed a half cast Jarso.

The Isaaq Dir reconstituted as Maxamed (Axmed Xiniftire) new Habar alliences formed the Nacadoor,Mikidoor,Nabidoor and the Idoor all disappeared.


The Madaluug in Southren Somalia and the Biyamaal as well as The Fiq's Suure all point their Southern movement from Amuud region in the 1600's during the Axmed Guurey era. The Suure Dir who are as a matter of fact still in Hauda region and whom refer them self's as Fiqi's where the Her or sheikh associated with Awbarre/Buube/ Yusuf Barkad kowniin students who entered Mudug region at the time when the Ajuuran ruled at mereg and some served as Imams under one malakh Gareenow Xaasey.

The Suure Fiqi's, Biyamaal, Guure, and the Badimaal all entered the south. The Biyamal claim to have entered the Banadir area, a name meaning beynka direeb, in 1700's.

The Gurgure/Akisho cluster and reminders of Madaxweyn Dir conquered the Dira Dhabe " meeshu Diri Dhabe" ama waranka ka taagay. The Gurgure which is not their real name (Gurgure means trader hence the word Gorgortan - to bargain)"
Posted by Warsame at 9:53 PM 3 comments:

 

[Xaagi-Cagmadigtee]

@Grant, indeed that is the time my clan formed a jurisprudence, or xeer as we call it in Somali, to bring back some semblance of normalcy in their lives. They sat under various trees in different locations and took 50 years to form our xeer -- really amazing feat. So proud of those men. My people were part of the functioning states of Ifat and Adal before and during the wars.

As @Animom (sorry bro., I can't seem to tag you; typing from phone) suggested, there are millions of unaccounted Dir in Ethiopia. Truly devastating negative effects of centuries-old wars with Abyssinia and Christian fiefdoms from Europe have done away with Dir's supremacy in the Horn. We are coming back though, IA.

 

[offensive bias]

I find the near total destruction of agriculture and settled lifestyle facinating.
There are remains of villages that farmed sourghum as far east as ceel afweyn in sanaag.
We all know that rain fed sourghum cultivation restarted in the 1860's.


environmental change is not enough of an answer because agriculture was abandoned in areas with good rainfall,
its possible that something similar to the mongol catastrophe in central asia happened ,
if the rainwater catchment and irrigation systems are not maintained the land goes back to grassland and even semi desert within a few years. Loss of manpower is the main reason i believe.

I think geeljire somalis went apeshit and commited genocide on the settled , farming and craftsmen people, and ensalved them.

making all of somalia a paradise for camel herders..

there might even be a religous element.

 

[Nightline Kid]

Shimbir Man

I don't know why this made me laugh so hard