Barawa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Barawa or Brava (Somali: Baraawe; Arabic: المدينة ﺑﺮﺍﻭﻱ al-Madīnah Barāwi; Bravanese: Mwiini or Nti ya Mbalazi) is a port town in the south eastern coast of Somalia.
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[edit] History
Brava was founded in the ninth century (900 A.D). It is believed that the first person to settle in Brava was a man from Qara, supposedly with his family and court. He found the place as a type of equatorial bush, full of trees, branches and spread ramifications everywhere. Thereafter he ordered his servants (Supposedly the hired indigenous) to root out the trees, and created a spot suitable for human life. He then subsided there and named it 'Brava'.
In 1506, Barawa was reduced to ashes by the Portuguese fleet and became a major Portuguese port, but in league with other coastal towns, it liberated itself from Portuguese rule in 1758 when it became part of the coastal alliances led by the Zanzibar Sultanate. In 1840, when the Bardheere Jama’a looking for an outlet to the sea attacked Barawa, the town was burned and the people appealed to the sultan of Zanzibar for protection. However, in 1889, Barawa fell into the hands of the Italians when the Sultan of Zanzibar was forced to agree to the annexation of the Banadir ports to the Italian colonial administration of the Horn. Barawa resisted the Italians.
Sheikh Uways al-Baraawi organized his Ikhwaan and instigated the Banadir revolt, which was defeated in 1908. Sheikh Uways migrated to Biyoley to reorganize his Ikhwan but was killed in 1909. His successor Khalif Sheikh Faraj was also killed in 1925. However, the Uwaysiyya order, named after the martyr Sheikh Uways, emerged throughout southern Somalia and East Africa, establishing jama’as in the riverine region, which became strongholds of the educated elite and refuge for the disadvantaged.
From these Jama'as, many influential political leaders emerged to form modern Somali political parties. Abdulkadir Sakhawuddin, the founder of the Somali Youth Club (SYC), in 1943, was not only an Uwaysi leader but also the grandson of Sheikh Uways. Barawa was the stronghold of Hizbiya Digil-Mirifle (HDM) founded in 1947. In addition to Sheikh Uways, Baraawe could boast of notable Ulama in the fields of Islamic jurisprudence, Hadith, Tafsir and Sufi literature, among them Sheikh Nureini Sabiri, Sheikh Qassim al-Baraawi, Sheikh Ma'llim Nuri and a female poet-saint, Dada Masiti.
[edit] Bravanese people and language
The Bravanese people are a distinct ethnic group within Somalia. As their name suggests, they are found only in the town of Brava, which until the 1970s was entirely inhabited by them. They are believed to be of mixed Arab, Portuguese and other descent.
The Bravanese language, which is known as Chimwiini or ChiMwini, is a dialect of Swahili. Quite a few Bravanese also speak Somali because it offers educational and employment opportunities outside of Brava.
Following the collapse of the Somali state in the Somali Civil War, Bravanese have faced persecution and many have fled the town.
[edit] Economy
Barawa was famous for traditional crafts, such as the weaving of the Aliindi or Kikoy cloth, and hats, Kofiya Barawi, worn by dignitaries even today, traditional sandals, shields and belts, furniture, and several types of cooking pots, still locally made including the clay horned stoves seen in the heyban pottery.
Barawa had a distinctive style of woodcarving and furniture making, such as the ‘Atiir “wedding bed,” the wambar (“wooden leather covered stools”) and the mihmil “Qur’an holder.” Gold and silver necklaces, bracelets and jewelry containers were produced, as were metal trunks, tea/coffee pots, iron beds, spears and arrows.
Barawa is also known for its own architectural style. Wider streets and larger windows are common. Barawa has many two story houses with bridges constructed over the streets so that women or the elderly could visit other houses without having to walk down into the street. The town was divided into major quarters each with a main Masjid. Coral was transported by camel carts and burned to make lime for buildings, a wise use of traditional skills that was more economical than using imported cement.
