Abgaal

Abgaal
أبغال
Regions with significant populations
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]

Yaquub Sultanate

The emergence of the Imamate of Yaaquub in Mogadishu is related to the tyrannical rule of the Ajuran Sultanate 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. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "SUPPORT FROM WAAX IYO WAADI TO WAGOSHA MOVEMENT.". Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Jimale Ahmed, Ali (1 January 2002). "Nuruddin Farah and the (Re)Writing of Somali Historiography: Narrative as a Politically Symbolic Act". In Wright, Derek. Emerging Perspectives on Nuruddin Farah. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. p. 234. ISBN 978-0-86543-919-1. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  4. ↑ Ahmed, Ali Jimale (1995). The Invention of Somalia. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-932415-99-8. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  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. ↑ Interview with Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, the former Somali Air Force pilot...... at the Wayback Machine (archived July 1, 2008)
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ Said S. Samatar (2001). "Somalia: Africa's Problem Child?". Mudug Online. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  12. ↑ "Socdaalkii Duqa Magaalda Muqdisho Dr Xuseen Cali Axmed ee uu Scandenevianka ku maarayey 15 –20 febaraayo oo naqoday mid lagu guuleeeystay.". Mudulood.com (in Somali). Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 John Pike (2006-03-22). "SOMALIA: Twelve killed in heavy fighting in Mogadishu". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  14. ↑ A. Duale Sii'arag (15 Nov 2005). "The Birth and Rise of Al-Ittihad Al-Islami in the Somali Inhabited Regions in the Horn of Africa". Newbanadir.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2007. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  15. ↑ "Somalia: Farah Addo elected chairman of football federation". Mareeg.com. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ "CFS". Canadian Friends of Somalia. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  18. ↑ John Pike (2006-08-21). "SOMALIA: Premier appoints new cabinet". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1
  20. ↑ "Rival Somali gunmen call it quits | News | Mail & Guardian". Mg.co.za. 2002-01-01. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  21. ↑ "Warlords agree on Mogadishu authority". BBC News. 22 December 1999. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  22. ↑ "Declaration on Cessation of Hostilities and the Structures and Principles of the Somalia National Reconciliation Process (S/2002/1359) | ReliefWeb". Reliefweb.int. 2002-12-13. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  23. ↑
  24. ↑ "PROFILE: Dr. Mohamed Ali "Ameriko"". Banadir.com. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  25. ↑ Laitin, David D. (1 May 1977). Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience. University of Chicago Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-226-46791-7. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  26. ↑ Biber, Douglas; Finegan, Edward (7 December 1993). Sociolinguistic Perspectives on Register. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-19-535932-9. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 R. J. Hayward; I. M. Lewis (31 December 1996). Voice and Power. Taylor & Francis. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-203-98539-7.