Why are ethnic minorities in somalia considered somali if they are only maternally somali?

[Doctorabdi]

According to traditional qabil laws, one is considered said qabil if their father is. This is a genuine question no FKD please

 

[iley]

What ethnic minorities do we have, that are only maternally somali

 

[Doctorabdi]

What ethnic minorities do we have, that are only maternally somali

Benadiri are for example at least a significant portion they tend to paternally descend from persian arab traders etc

 

[Doctorabdi]

Are said ethnic minorities seen as the exception to the rule or?

 

[Doctorabdi]

@Idilinaa @The alchemist
I'm tagging you guys because you are far knowledgable when it comes to history and culture, i'm just curious on the development of these ethnic minorities and how they were intergrated into the qabil system despite their often ajnabi ancestry sometimes being paternal

 

[Chaseyourdreamzz]

Benadiri are for example at least a significant portion they tend to paternally descend from persian arab traders etc

A lot of banaadiris are also descended from interior clans they don’t all have foreign lineages

 

[Doctorabdi]

A lot of banaadiris are also descended from interior clans they don’t all have foreign lineages

I'm aware they are heterogeneous, they also don't all have the exact same amount of ancestral composition

 

[Mutombo]

They are Somali nationals not ethnic Somalis. This is a controversial take but I only consider af maha tiri speakers to be ethnic Somalis.

 

[balanbalis]

Many are accepted as Somali nationals and because they're Somali culturally/linguistically etc

If you're fluent in Somali as a non-Somali looking person, you will be accepted

 

[Shimbiris]

@Idilinaa @The alchemist
I'm tagging you guys because you are far knowledgable when it comes to history and culture, i'm just curious on the development of these ethnic minorities and how they were intergrated into the qabil system despite their often ajnabi ancestry sometimes being paternal

Reer Gibil Cad's situation is a complicated one. On the one hand their foreign admixture is culturally and historically acknowledged and they're not seen as the same as some random Isaaq, Hawiye or Darood or what have you, but then the fact that they are part Somali in ancestry, steeped in the culture and often historically spoke the Af as their first language was also accepted.

They were furthermore respected. Many Reer Gibil Cad had notable positions in the early modern urban centers. Judges, wealthy merchants, Guurti (ruling council) members and so forth. So I wouldn't compare the Somali historical attitude toward them as one like the typical western view of "ethnic minorities" despite the current mess that is the .5 system.

So it's hard to definitively answer your question. I'll try to by just saying that they were seen as their own unique thing. Part Somali in character and part all the other lineages they claim.

 

[Som]

Somali is both an ethnicity and a nationality. Our minorities are Somali by nationality and I'd say many of them if not most have some degree of ethnic Somali ancestry. Most benadiris and reer Barawe have ethnic Somali ancestry in varying degrees depending on family history, many bantus also have ethnic Somali ancestry as well but probably less on average than benadiris

 

[Som]

Reer Gibil Cad's situation is a complicated one. On the one hand their foreign admixture is culturally and historically acknowledged and they're not seen as the same as some random Isaaq, Hawiye or Darood or what have you, but then the fact that they are part Somali in ancestry, steeped in the culture and often historically spoke the Af as their first language was also accepted.

They were furthermore respected. Many Reer Gibil Cad had notable positions in the early modern urban centers. Judges, wealthy merchants, Guurti (ruling council) members and so forth. So I wouldn't compare the Somali historical attitude toward them as one like the typical western view of "ethnic minorities" despite the current mess that is the .5 system.

So it's hard to definitively answer your question. I'll try to by just saying that they were seen as their own unique thing. Part Somali in character and part all the other lineages they claim.

Benadiris are very somalised and deeply integrated in coastal southern culture. I think non southern Somalis have sometimes a distorted view about them and exaggerate their foreign characteristics.

 

[Som]

They are Somali nationals not ethnic Somalis. This is a controversial take but I only consider af maha tiri speakers to be ethnic Somalis.

Maay speakers are for the most part rahanweyn who are ethnic somalis. Af Maay Maay actually be the more ancient less Arabic influenced version of af maxaa tiri.

 

[Shimbiris]

Benadiris are very somalised and deeply integrated in coastal southern culture. I think non southern Somalis have sometimes a distorted view about them and exaggerate their foreign characteristics.

I prefer Gibil Cad as a term. Benadiri encompasses Reer Gibil Madow as well who are actually the majority of Benadiris. That said, you're absolutely correct. They're very integrated in some parts of the qurbo too. I've seen several of them at the Roxbury Mosque in Boston (biggest one) or various Somali restaurants and they just yuck it up in the Af with the other adeers and habos like any other Geeljire. Nobody bats an eye.

 

[Som]

I prefer Gibil Cad as a term. Benadiri encompasses Reer Gibil Madow as well who are actually the majority of Benadiris. That said, you're absolutely correct. They're very integrated in some parts of the qurbo too. I've seen several of them at the Roxbury Mosque in Boston (biggest one) or various Somali restaurants and they just yuck it up in the Af with the other adeers and habos like any other Geeljire. Nobody bats an eye.

True. Also many exaggerate the "looks" difference. There are many gibil cad who honestly look like an average light skinned ethnic somali. I'd say 50% you can tell they are gibil cad but the other 50% could easily pass as any other geeljire on the lighter skinned side of the Somali skin tone spectrum

 

[Shimbiris]

True. Also many exaggerate the "looks" difference. There are many gibil cad who honestly look like an average light skinned ethnic somali. I'd say 50% you can tell they are gibil cad but the other 50% could easily pass as any other geeljire on the lighter skinned side of the Somali skin tone spectrum

Yes, this too shocked me once. I met a young lady years ago who emailed me her genomic sample and I had seen her face cos she had herself as a profile pic and I asked if that was her after running her results.

I was confused cos she looked like the GC samples I had. She confirmed she was GC which had me confused cos, well, she seriously just looked Somali. Light skinned but at a complexion my own mother and many female cousins are at. She'd 100% pass.

 

[Shimbiris]

According to traditional qabil laws, one is considered said qabil if their father is. This is a genuine question no FKD please

I think something you are confusing, walaal, is whether you are accepted into a qabiil and the politics that come with that or if you're seen as "Somali" and socially accepted within Somali society.

In terms of the latter Somalis are very accepting if you speak the language and culturally present as one of them; like being Muslim. Whether you're Somali through your dad or mom or part anything.

That is however different from being considered part of a qabiil which can only be achieved via paternal descent and that does come with certain things. In my own tol they really work together collectively. There's a sort of fund all the working men of the tol pay into and it's used in case anyone really needs it or for things like sending youngins abroad for their studies and of course the tol will prioritise you over other people when offering people jobs or business opportunities.

Not properly being of a qabiil will just rob you of such dynamics but even then a man's maternal side isn't useless to him. They were often used historically to negotiate all kinds of business dealings, grazing grounds and even for securing military alliances. The Dhulbahante pride themselves as riding hard for the Sayyid and borderline claim him in some of their rhetoric even though he was only maternally born of them.

 

[nothingfrosty]

OHHH BROTHERRRRR WHO gives af

 

[Keep it a boqol]

DEI

 

[Idilinaa]

According to traditional qabil laws, one is considered said qabil if their father is. This is a genuine question no FKD please

I have answered this before btw:

Whats with the emphasis on paternal lineage? . When Somalis also trace descent through their maternal side via ''Bah'' and ''Habar'' . Your maternal side is never ignored or irrelevant it's an important connection.

And at the same time, someone is a Somali through not only their ancestry, but also culture, language and nationality.

Also even if someone is of mixed cultural background. They can be both, they are not mutually exclusive to each-other.

Bah means someone who's mom is from another clan. For example Bah Dir in Majerteen means someone who is born to a Dir Mother with a Majerteen father and Bah Yaqub means someone who is born to Warsangeli mother.

Habar is also similar to this.

Other examples

You can also see this among Reer xamar clans as well. You have them tied to and form apart of other Somali clans through their maternal side.

Other examples of matrilateral lineage via Raxanweyn.

I don't believe it's indicative of some matriarchal past or that type of speculation. But it shows that Somalis don't disregard their maternal descent and strictly view their kinship from their paternal side, both are important connections and points of origin.

The father name only takes precedent in so far he is tasked with providing for and protecting his offspring.

Being Somali isn’t solely determined by one’s paternal lineage. It includes culture, language, social ties, and national belonging. Mixed-background individuals can embody both heritages , it’s not either/or.

The paternal name may have official weight in terms of clan representation or obligations, but culturally, both sides of one’s lineage are remembered and respected. It reflects the integrative and relational nature of Somali society.

@Idilinaa @The alchemist
I'm tagging you guys because you are far knowledgable when it comes to history and culture, i'm just curious on the development of these ethnic minorities and how they were intergrated into the qabil system despite their often ajnabi ancestry sometimes being paternal

Gibil cad's or some Bantu descendant clans are not ethnic minorities, they’ve long been an integrated part of Somali society.

Take for example Gibil Cad among the Geledi, like the Begeedi sub-clan. Shows you how some of them even married into ruling families in the south and formed integral sub-groups within those structures.

And there was no real status or wealth differences other than the core founding group was giving seniority in name. They were fully seen as Somali despite their partial Arab ancestry.

A similar structure existed in coastal towns. They were incorporated into cooperatives and confederations among the Gibil madow lineages, where people shared power collectively and some married into the ruling family like Bafaadal did with Yaquub and constituted a sub group of it.

The real problem starts with how colonial European observers imposed feudal and racial frameworks on Somali society , frameworks that never truly fit. They referred to “noble lineages,” falsely implied caste-like structures for occupational groups, and mischaracterized exchange-based systems as serfdom.

For example, some tried to frame Majerteen society as feudal and claimed that Bedouins were "serfs" of coastal merchants, as Revoil did. But in reality, those Bedouins owned their own production and engaged in reciprocal trade, not servitude.

Unfortunately, some Somalis internalized these colonial narratives and they continue to show up in modern grievance politics and identity-based divisions.

And this misrepresentation hasn’t stopped at social organization. Some analysts even mischaracterize Somalia’s economic system, projecting Western corporate capitalism models onto a structure that functions far more as cooperative enterprises. They are often community driven and collectively owned unlike the profit-maximizing, shareholder-centric firms typical in Western economies.

Even Somalia’s kinship/clan or agro-pastoral systems is widely misunderstood, often shoehorned into frameworks that don’t apply.