Isn't the story about Rendilles being a lost Somali tribe just a myth? The split between Somalis and Rendilles happened thousands of years ago, during the Proto-Somali stage. So them having lost Dir clans among them seems unlikely. Unless these joined much later during the relatively recent migration south of the Somali clans.
Did I say that Rendilles are a lost Somali clan? As for the split between Somalis and Rendilles, no one knows when the Somalis and Rendilles parted or whether the Rendilles are an off-shoot of Somalis. All we have are theories swirling around in academic circles.
As for the statement I made earlier about the Sakuye, it is from the Horse's mouth. Allah as my witness, I encountered the origin myth in Gunther Schlee's book from a Biimaal man before I even read the book so there must be some truth to it. I do not make statements that I cannot back up. FYI, Gunther Schlee is a Director of the Max Planck Institute in Germany and is a renowned anthropologist who did field work in Kenya and Ethiopia. This is an extract from his book in which a Sakuye Rendille recounts the origin myth I referenced:
The tribes you mentioned consider themselves Dir. Isaak have maintained a different tradition for 800 years. I don’t think the latter would change identity and adopt a new identity that’s not equal in terms of political and economic power. People change identity if there’s something to gain.
There is no historical evidence that they maintained a different tradition for 800 years. As late as the 19th century, you had Isaaqs identifying as Dir whilst other were promoting the Ahlul Bayt Lineage.
Adaa
Dir iyo Daarood dhex dhigay, dab iyo baaruude
Dacar gelisey reerihii ahaa, ul iyo diirkeede
Mugga haatan dirir uumiyuhu, waa is dilayaaye
Isn't the above extract from the Guba chain of poems made by the Isaaq poet Cigaal Bulaale?
There are other Isaaq poets in the 20th century identifying with Dir but you get the point.
Furthermore, if the tradition is old as you claim why are there Isaaqs today identifying with Dir? Your own traditional elders claim Dir and so do some of your politicians. There was even a debate about the discriminatory attitude of the Somaliland Government towards Daroods attending Qabil conferences in Garoowe whilst giving Isaaq and Samaron elders the Green Light to organise and partake in a politicised Dir clan conference in Ethiopia. One Darood MP even suggested in a critical manner that 'Somaliland' should change its name to 'DirLand' if it is being tribalised.
The Somaliland ambassador to Ethiopia at the time of the conference explaining how Dir, including the Isaaq of Hawd and Reserve Area, are the largest clan in K5.
(0-1min)
Even the Habar Yonis Boqor who was opposed to the conference saying that Somalis in K5 should not divide along Qabil lines, be they Dir, Darood or Hawiye.
(2.00 min mark)
No traditional elder of a major Somali clan who has maintained a separate identity for 800 years as you suggest would claim a Qabil identity that is alien to them! Imagine, Darood Sultans or Ugaases claiming to belong to Hawiye or Dir.
As for politicians, apart from the ones in the South who have sought greener pastures, even respectable former SNM veterans such as the Habar Awal Mujahid Boobe highlight how Somaliland is a Dir and Darood inhabited state. Why does he not state it is a Isaaq, Darood and Dir inhabited state if they all have the have same sentiment you subscribe to?
(2.40 onwards)
In the borders of Somalia as recognised by the International Community, the Isaaq are without doubt the biggest single clan out of all the Somali clans and do not need Dir subclans who are more numerous in K5, Djibouti and N.F.D. However, it is common knowledge that in order to counter the Darood in the politics of the Somali Republic, Isaaqs politicians did identify with a Dir Irir ancestry so as to form an alliance with the Hawiye against the Darood as occurred during the 60's under Cigaal, and more recently, during the Civil War when Abdiraxman Tuur created a strategic alliance with Caydid.
Furthermore, when Isaaqs are in the South, they have been known to pay blood money with Dir subclans. The Damal Muuse Carre Habar Yoonis acquired the name Dir Rooble because it rained when their ancestor sought sanctuary among the Harti Darood according to folklore. However, as time progressed, they did not pay blood money with the more numerous Majeerten but they sought out my own subclan and used to pay blood money with us until they mostly migrated to Togdheer after the Civil War. Similarly, isolated Isaaq settlers in Lower Jubba seek out Biimaal clansmen and pay blood money with them. If there was not an awareness of being Dir among Isaaq clansmen, they would not seek out these clans nor would these clans welcome them with open arms.
We don’t have a date for the Isaak-Gadabursi/Ciisa split. I don’t think it’s far removed from 1850ybp. The argument that these clans would have a more recent split is based on STR estimates. As
@Apollo mentioned SPN derived estimates are more accurate than STR.
One last thing, the migrants were most likely a group of closely related north Arabians who integrated over time with neighboring people and that could explain why Djiboutian Afar carry T-BY181012 rather than Djiboutian Afar being Dir.
You are mistaken again.
Apart from one outlier who is clearly an assimilated Somali, the rest do not appear to belong to BY181012 or even Y16897. Moreover, he is not going to be the only one as Afars have historically assimilated Somalis as testified to by the German missionaries Isenberg and Kapf during their travels through Afar territory in 1839. Considering how the Afars predominately neighbour Dir Somalis, it is not far fetched to assume that the outlier is of Somali ancestry. The Afar samples in Iacovacci does not support your theory!
Courtesy of Don Esteban El Asturiano.
As for the reliability of STR's, in knowledgeable hands, they are a perfect tool. Slow mutating STR's are a reliable indicator of how close two lineages are. When it comes to Haplogroup T STR's, there is no one more knowledgeable than Esteban and the FTDNA Administrator for Haplogroup T, Gareth Henson. STR matches for individuals who have taken the 111 STR test are relatively accurate. A Yfull Test is necessary for a more better TMRCA, however, Esteban has been spot on in his interpretation of Y111 STR's. Even I had my doubts in the beginning as a Habar Yonis T enthusiast can confirm, but he had correctly predicted before Yfull results were out that we belong to T-Y45591 through STR's. I politely disagreed with him on some things, but when it comes to the Science of it all, I tip my hat out to him. More than any other person, the T community owes a lot to him.