Abgaal

Main article: Somali clan
Abgaal
أبغال
Regions with significant populations
 Somalia
 Great Britain
 United States
 Italy
 Kenya
Languages

Somali and Arabic
Religion

Islam
Related ethnic groups

Mudulood, Habar Gidir, Karanle, other Hawiye clans

Abgaal (var. Abgal; Somali: Abgaal, Arabic: أبغال‎) is a Somali clan, and part of the major Hawiye clan. Its members live in the Shabeellaha Dhexe, Galguduud, Banaadir, Mudug, Lower Shebelle, Middle Juba,[1] and Jubbada Hoose[2] regions of Central and southern Somalia. Abgaals consider Xamar (Mogadishu) as their traditional territory.[3]

Abgaal is one subclan of the Mudulood family, which also includes Wacdaan, Moobleen, and Ujajeen.[4]

Contents

Yaquub Sultanate

The emergence of the Imamate of Yaaquub in Mogadishu is related to the tyrannical rule of the Ajuuraan in the interior, and the attraction of the growing Mogadishu wealth as a consequence of its thriving trade controlled by the Muzzaffar dynasty which was allied to the Ajuran in the interior.

Mogadishu Kingdom 900 - 1870 AD

First Sultan of the Mogadishu Kingdom Rulers from 700 - 1870 AD

Clan tree

There is no clear agreement on the clan and sub-clan structures and many lineages are omitted. The following listing is taken from the World Bank's Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics from 2005 and the United Kingdom's Home Office publication, Somalia Assessment 2001.[5][6]

In the south central part of Somalia the World Bank shows the following clan tree:[7]

In Puntland the World Bank shows the following:[8]

Traditional

Poetry

Abgaal are perhaps the only Somali clan with its own special poetical genres - the guurow and the shirib - that differ from those of the other Somalis. The language of their poets is often characterised by an admixture of dialectal features. As an example of iyo with long -o, consider the following line from a famous guurow by Cabdulle Geedannaar. It scans properly (the same as a gabay) only if iyo counts as v-, which is also how the poet sings it:

Baasayna haystaan iyo, marasho biid biid ah
And they have money and fashionable dresses

Two major poetical genres of the Abgaal are:

The badar-tumid

In the farming areas of Middle and Lower Shabeelle women of the Abgaal and related clans often pound sorghum and other edible grains to the tune of a special kind of work song, known as a grain-pounding song or badar-tumid. A few examples of its lines are shown below:

Kurta loogu shubaa
Caana geel ku caddaaw
Maakhiidaa la yiraa
Keena-keena rag waaye
Karisooy naag waaye
(And) it is poured in their dish
Become white with camel milk!
She is said to be a good housewife
Those who always bring things (keena-keene) are the men
The one who cooks is the woman

The shirib

This term is used in several areas inhabited by Somalis for different kinds of short songs, often connected with dancing. Typically, however, it refers to a genre of short verse composed by the Abgaal and related clans in the non-Maay-speaking regions of central Somalia. Shiribs are sung during clan or family meetings as well as other gatherings. Often they are improvised in poetic contests. The best surveys on this genre are Maxamad Cosoble M. and Caasha.

Tagtaada tuug haddow yaqaan
Afar walxaad o ta’ ku taal
Dhiishaase ninba meel dhigtaa
Dhicis lagama dhur sugoo
If a thief knows your wealth
Four things that are in it
But everybody stores his own milk vessel in its proper place
One doesn’t expect offspring from a stillbirth

Prominent members of the Abgaal

References

  1. ^ "Inter-clan Fighting in Middle Jubba". Mareeg Online. 11 March 2011. http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.php?Inter-clan-Fighting-in-Middle-Jubba-11-march2011&sid=19060&tirsan=8. Retrieved 11 March 2011. 
  2. ^ "SUPPORT FROM WAAX IYO WAADI TO WAGOSHA MOVEMENT.". http://xamasho.com/archives/2081. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
  3. ^ Jimale Ahmed, Ali (2002). "Nuruddin Farah and the (Re)Writing of Somali Historiography: Narrative as a Politically Symbolic Act". In Derek Wright. Emerging Perspectives on Nuruddin Fara. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. p. 234. ISBN 0-86543-919-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=7IEDpL41t3oC&pg=PA234&vq=abgaal&dq=Emerging+Perspectives+on+Nuruddin+Farah&source=gbs_search_s&sig=ACfU3U3vPIaa6XKJdWIf7gtIUw4C6KQwOg. Retrieved 2008-07-02. 
  4. ^ Ali Jimale Ahmed (1995). The Invention of Somalia. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press. p. 134. http://books.google.com/books?id=XpdAzRYruCwC&lpg=PA134&dq=mudulood&pg=PA134#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-11-16. 
  5. ^ Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p.55 Figure A-1
  6. ^ http://www.asylumlaw.org/docs/somalia/ind01b_somalia_ca.pdf Country Information and Policy Unit, Home Office, Great Britain, Somalia Assessment 2001, Annex B: Somali Clan Structure], p. 43
  7. ^ Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p.56 Figure A-2
  8. ^ Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p.57 Figure A-3
  9. ^ Said S. Samatar (2001). "Somalia: Africa's Problem Child?". Mudug Online. http://www.mudugonline.com/Articles/111501africa.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-04. 
  10. ^ "Socdaalkii Duqa Magaalda Muqdisho Dr Xuseen Cali Axmed ee uu Scandenevianka ku maarayey 15 –20 febaraayo oo naqoday mid lagu guuleeeystay." (in Somali). Mudulood.com. http://www.mudulood.com/PageYaasiin%20Maax%20Feb.15-04.html. Retrieved April 18, 2011. 
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  21. ^ "Warlords agree on Mogadishu authority". BBC News. 1999-12-22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/575494.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-23. 
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