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The Warsangeli (Somali: Qabiilka Warsangeli; Arabic: قبيلة ورسنقلي), (also Moorasaante/Awrkii Cirka, Warsengeli, Warsingeli, Oor Singally[1]) is a Somali clan, part of the Harti confederation of Darod sub-clans. In the Somali language, it means "bringer of good news."[1]
The Warsangeli clan primarily inhabits the Maakhir region of northern Somalia, which consists of Sanaag, northern Sool, and the northwestern part of the Bari region, along with some parts of southern Somalia (Bay, Bakool and Jubbada Hoose). The Warsangeli also have the oldest Sultanate amongst the Somali clans who inhabit the area comprising the former British Somaliland.
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An article titled "Seychellois rekindle ties with Sultan of Somaliland" which was featured in one of the newspapers of the Republic of Seychelles captures a glimpse of Warsangeli history. It writes, "the Warsengeli Sultanate has been in existence for the last six hundred years."[2] The clan's territory was recognized in the Arabian Peninsula, where it was referred to as Makhar or Makhir Coast. In 1848, C. J. Cruttenden reported that Warsangeli and Majeerteen territories were the most commercially valuable in the Nugaal Valley, and that Banians had become successful exporters.[3] The Cal Madow chain of mouintains, which is inside the clan's territory, extends to the cities of Bosaso (the capital of the Bari region) and Ceerigaabo (the capital of the Sanaag region) in an east-west direction.
Captain S. B. Miles's "On the Neighbourhood of Bunder Marayah" (1872) describes the Burri (eastern) clans, including the Warangeli, as being "as a rule, peaceable and orderly, and are generally loth to shed blood" and the Gulbêdh (western) clans as "much more turbulent and predatory than the Burri, and are in a chronic state of warfare and anarchy."[4] C. J. Cruttenden, writing of the Dubeiss, an "Oor Singally" clan, reports that "in this tribe, theft is looked upon with abhorrence.... To call a man a thief is a deadly insult, to be washed out by blood alone. Pity is that the Somali tribes of the Edoor have not the same prejudice in favour of honesty."[1] In contrast to Miles' account, Cruttenden characterized them as "powerful and warlike".[1]
The United Kingdom's Home Office publication, Somalia Assessment 2001.[5][6]
In his book "First Footsteps of East Africa" (1856), Richard Francis Burton lists 18 principal subclans of Warsangeli, as follows:[7]