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Habr Je'lo

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Habr Je'lo
Habar Jeclo
هبر جعلو
Flag of Somaliland.svgFlag of Ethiopia.svgFlag of Kenya.svg
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Somali, Arabic
Religion
Islam (Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
Ayub, Habr Awal, Arap, Garhajis, and other Isaaq groups

The Habr Je’lo, historically known as the Habr Toljaala (Somali: Habar Jeclo, Arabic: هبر جعلو, Full Name: Mūsa ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad) is a major clan of the wider Isaaq clan family. Its members form part of the larger Habr Habusheed confederation along with the Ibran, Sanbuur and clans.[1][2][3]

The Habr Je'lo played a prominent role in the livestock and frankincense trade during the pre-colonial period. The Habr Je'lo also partook in a major organised front to oppose British rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries under the leadership of Haji Sudi and other subsequent anti-colonial leaders hailing from the same clan. The Habr Je'lo are divided into three further sub-clans: the Mohamed Abokor, Musa Abokor, and Omar. Historically, the Mohammed Abokor were chiefly nomadic pastoralists, whereas the Musa Abokor and Omar obtained much of their wealth via their frankincense plantations in the mountainous interior adjacent to the coastline.[4]

Distribution

Map of Somaliland showing distribution of the Habr Je'lo tribe in central and eastern Somaliland
Habr Je'lo Horsemen, 1898

The Habr Je’lo reside in eastern Togdheer, eastern Sahil, western Sanaag and western Sool regions in Somaliland. The clan also inhabits the Somali region in Ethiopia, especially in the Degehbur zone.[5][6][7] They also have a large settlement in Kenya where they are known as a constituent segment of the Isahakia community.[8][9]

History

Antiquity

The ancient city of Mosyllum, situated at the coast of Habr Je'lo inhabited lands, has been described as the largest and most important port city of the Erythrean Sea, exporting cinnamon, frankincense and myrrh.[10] Ralph E. Drake-Brockman states in his 1912 book British Somaliland:[10]

The ancient city of Mosyllum, situated on the Habi Toljaala littoral, is in the heart of the area from which the best frankincense, even to-day, is exported ; and doubtless in the time of the ancients all the myrrh from the far interior — or what is now the Dulbahanta country — must have passed out through this channel.

Heis, another port town inhabited by the Habr Je'lo, is said to be identical with the ancient trading post of Mundus (Ancient Greek: Μούνδος) that is described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, an anonymous account by a Greek Alexandrian salesman from the 1st century CE.[11]

"Two days' sail, or three, beyond Malao is the market-town of Mundus, where the ships lie at anchor more safely behind a projecting island close to the shore. There are imported into this place the things previously set forth, and from it likewise are exported the merchandise already stated, and the incense called mocrotu. And the traders living here are more quarrelsome."

— Chap.9.[12]

A large collection of cairns of various types lie near the city.[13] Excavations here have yielded pottery and sherds of Roman glassware from a time between the 1st and 5th centuries.[14][11] Among these artefacts is high-quality millefiori glass.[13] Dated to 0-40 CE, it features red flower disks superimposed on a green background.[15] Additionally, an ancient fragment of a footed bowl was discovered in the surrounding area. The sherd is believed to have been made in Aswan (300-500 CE) or Lower Nubia (500-600 CE), suggesting early trading ties with kingdoms in the Nile Valley.[16] Ancient edifices have also been found in Heis.[17]

Arawelo

According to traditional Somali folklore, Arawelo, a legendary proto-Somali queen who is said to have established a matriarchal society, was based in lands inhabied by the Habr Je'lo, specifically a place called Murihi in the Sanaag region.[18] Ralph E. Drake-Brockman was one of the first Western researchers to publish an account of Arawelo, in his 1912 book British Somaliland he states:

The story says that thousands of years ago there lived in what is now the tract of country occupied by the Habr Toljaala tribe, a great Somali queen called Arawailo, who was greatly feared by her people owing to her eccentricities. Arawailo lived at a place called Murihi, so the story goes, for little save a huge mound of stones, under which she is said to lie buried, now marks the capital of her ancient kingdom. Towards the end of her life Arawailo began to show marked favour towards her own sex and great animosity towards her male subjects.[18]

Early modern

Dualeh Abdi of the Musa Abokor subclan of the Habr Je'lo, photographed in 1890

The Habr Je'lo derived a large supply of frankincense from the trees south in the mountains near port town of Heis. This trade was lucrative and with gum and skins being traded in high quantity, Arab and Indian merchants would visit these ports early in the season to get these goods cheaper than at Berbera or Zeyla before continuing westwards along the Somali coast.[19] During the British Somaliland period the recorded statistics of Heis show it as a leader alongside Maydh in the east with hundreds of thousands of hides and being the leading exporter of tanned skins with 16,000 reaching Berbera taken by Habr Je'lo traders by dhow. Heis also exported a large quantity of skins and sheep to Aden as well as imported a significant amount of goods from both the Arabian coast and western Somali ports, reaching nearly 2 million rupees by 1903.[20]

John Hanning Speke, an English explorer who made an exploratory expedition to the area in an attempt to reach the Nugaal Valley, described the port town:[21]

Without landing, Lieutenant Speke coasted along to Bunder Hais, where he went on shore. Hais is a harbour belonging to the Musa Abokr. It contains a "fort," a single-storied, flat-roofed, stone and mud house, about 20 feet square, one of those artless constructions to which only Somal could attach importance. There are neither muskets nor cannon among the braves of Hais. The "town" consists of half a dozen mud huts, mostly skeletons. The anchoring ground is shallow, but partly protected by a spur of hill, and the sea abounds in fish. Four Buggaloes (native craft) were anchored here, waiting for a cargo of Dumbah sheep and clarified butter, the staple produce of the place. Hais exports to Aden, Mocha, and other parts of Arabia; it also manufactures mats, with the leaves of the Daum palm and other trees. Lieutenant Speke was well received by one Ali, the Agil, or petty chief of the place: he presented two sheep to the traveller.

— Sir Richard Francis Burton, First Footsteps in East Africa, Or, An Exploration of Harar

Pre-colonial era

The Habr Je’lo coastal settlements and ports, stretching from near Siyara in the west to Heis (Xiis) in the east, were important to trade and communication with the Somali interior. While the settlements were not as significant as the more established ports of Berbera, Zeila and Bulhar (respectively), the principle Habr Je’lo port of Kurrum (Karin) was a major market for livestock and frankincense procured from the interior,[22] and was a favorite for livestock traders due to the close proximity of the port to Aden. Habr Je’lo traders acted as middlemen to Dhulbahante livestock herders in the interior by purchasing and/or bartering their stock for export to the Aden market:

The last branch of the Western tribes is the Haber el Jahleh, who possess the sea-ports from Seyareh to the ruined village of Rukudah, and as far as the town of Heis. Of these towns, Kurrum is the most important, from its possessing a tolerable harbour, and from its being the nearest point from Aden, the course to which place is N.N.W., consequently the wind is fair, and the boats laden with sheep for the Aden market pass but one night at sea, whilst those from Berbera are generally three. What greatly enhances the value of Kurrum however is its proximity to the country of the Dulbahanta, who approach within four days of Kurrum, and who therefore naturally have their chief trade through that port.[23]

Isaaq Sultanate

The Habr Je'lo were part of the Isaaq Sultanate which was established by the Rer Guled branch of the Eidagale after the Isaaq successfully defeated the Absame clan at Lafaruug in the 17th century. With time the Habr Yunis and later the Habr Awal and Habr Je'lo would break from the Isaaq Sultanate with the Habr Je'lo forming their own sultanate.[24]

Anti-Colonial Movements

Dervish movement

Main article: Dervish movement (Somali)
Haji Sudi on the left with his brother in-law Duale Idres. Aden, 1892.

The Habr Je’lo were one of the first clans in the Somaliland Protectrate to revolt against the Colonial government between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among their prominent anti-colonial ideologues during the Dervish period were Deria Arale, Deria Gure, Abdallah Shihiri, Ibrahim Boghol and Haji Sudi, the latter is credited for importing Dervish customs into the Somali peninsula as well as being one of the original founders of the Somali Dervish Movement. Moreover, the Habr Je'lo played an influential role after the demise of the Dervish Movement in 1920, with Sheikh Bashir Yussuf and Farah Omar being important anti-colonial notables.

Abdallah Shihiri, 1909

The Dervish movement first arose in Burao in 1899, where in the summer of that year Dervish leaders and their clan followers congregated at the settlement. Haji Suudi leading his clansmen declared war on the British lest they stop interfering with their religious and internal affairs. The dervish then proceeded to send this letter to Captain Cordeauxe and James Hayes Sadler:

This is to inform you that you have done whatever you have desired, and oppressed our well-known religion without any cause. Further, to inform you that whatever people bring to you they are liars and slanderers. Further, to inform you that Mahomed, your Akil, came to ask from us the arms we therefore, send you this letter. Now choose for yourself; if you want war we accept it, if you want peace pay the fine. September 1, 1899.[25]

According to the British War Office, the Ahmed Farah, Rer Yusuf and Adan Madoba Habr Je'lo sub-clans were among the first to join the Dervish rebellion. Haji Sudi, along with Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and Sultan Nur led the first Dervish forces against the British at Samala, Ferdidin, Erigo and Gumburu.[26][27] Moreover, the coastal Habr Je'lo sub-clans provided significant armaments to the Dervish forces in the interior.[28] Before sending troops to confront the Dervish at Samala, Consul-General Hayes Sadler gave the following instructions to the commander Eric John Eagles Swayne:

In the unlikely event of the Mullah offering to surrender, in his case and that of the Following: Haji Sudi, Deria Arale, Deria Gure Only an unconditional surrender should be accepted no guarantee of any kind to future treatment been given. Sultan Nur, the Sultan of the Habr Yunis, may be guaranteed his life. J. Hayes-Sadler, His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General, Somali Coast Protectorate. Aden April 11, 1901.[29]

Although facing the British in multiple battles between 1901 and 1904, the colonial forces failed to in their efforts to apprehend Sudi, Arale, Gure and their fellow Dervishes. Gabriel Ferrand, the Vice-Consul of France following these events observed that:

Neither the Mahdi nor his chief adviser Ahmed Warsama, better known under the name Haji Sudi, nor the Sultan Nur, leader of the Habr Younis clan were killed or captured. The optimism of Colonel Sadler and Lieutenant-Colonel Swayne in the latest reports relating to military operations is inexplicable.[30]

Abdalah Shihiri and Deria Arale led the 1904 Dervish delegation that facilitated the Ilig or Pestollaza agreement between the Dervish and Italy. This treaty allowed the Dervishes to peacefully settle in Italian Somaliland with some autonomy.[31][32]

In 1920, the British air force commenced their bombardment of Dervish fort and their ground assault on Taleh fort. Haji Sudi, the highest ranking Dervish after Mohammed Abdullah Hassan and Ibrahim Boghol, commander of the northern Dervish army died valiantly defending the Taleh.[33]

1945 Sheikh Bashir Rebellion

Main article: 1945 Sheikh Bashir Rebellion
Sheikh Bashir praying Sunnah prayer, 1920

The 1945 Sheikh Bashir Rebellion was a rebellion waged by tribesmen of the Habr Je'lo clan in the cities of Burao and Erigavo in the former British Somaliland protectorate against British authorities in July 1945 led by Sheikh Bashir, a Somali religious leader belonging to the Yeesif sub-division.[34]

On 2 July, Sheikh Bashir collected 25 of his followers in the town of Wadamago and transported them on a lorry to the vicinity of Burao, where he distributed arms to half of his followers. On the evening of 3 July the group entered Burao and opened fire on the police guard of the central prison in the city, which was filled with prisoners arrested for previous demonstrations. The group also attacked the house of the district commissioner of Burao District, Major Chambers, resulting in the death of Major Chamber's police guard before escaping to Bur Dhab, a strategic mountain south-east of Burao, where Sheikh Bashir's small unit occupied a fort and took up a defensive position in anticipation of a British counterattack.[35]

The British campaign against Sheikh Bashir's troops proved abortive after several defeats as his forces kept moving from place to place and avoiding any permanent location. No sooner had the expedition left the area, than the news traveled fast among the Somali nomads across the plain. The war had exposed the British administration to humiliation. The government came to a conclusion that another expedition against him would be useless; that they must build a railway, make roads and effectively occupy the whole of the protectorate, or else abandon the interior completely. The latter course was decided upon, and during the first months of 1945, the advance posts were withdrawn and the British administration confined to the coast town of Berbera.[36]

Sheikh Bashir settled many disputes among the tribes in the vicinity, which kept them from raiding each other. He was generally thought to settle disputes through the use of Islamic Sharia and gathered around him a strong following.[37]

Sheikh Bashir sent a message to religious figures in the town of Erigavo and called on them to revolt and join the rebellion he led. The religious leaders as well as the people of Erigavo heeded his call, and mobilized a substantial number of people in Erigavo armed with rifles and spears and staged a revolt. The British authorities responded rapidly and severely, sending reinforcements to the town and opening fire on the armed mobs in two "local actions" as well as arresting minor religious leaders in the town.[38]

The British administration recruited Indian and South African troops, led by police general James David, to fight against Sheikh Bashir and had intelligence plans to capture him alive. The British authorities mobilized a police force, and eventually on 7 July found Sheikh Bashir and his unit in defensive positions behind their fortifications in the mountains of Bur Dhab. After clashes Sheikh Bashir and his second-in-command, Alin Yusuf Ali, nicknamed Qaybdiid, were killed. A third rebel was wounded and was captured along with two other rebels. The rest fled the fortifications and dispersed. On the British side the police general leading the British troops as well as a number of Indian and South African troops perished in the clashes, and a policeman was injured.

Despite the death of Sheikh Bashir and his followers resistance against British authorities continued in Somaliland, especially in Erigavo where his death stirred further resistance in the town and the town of Badhan and lead to attacks on British colonial troops throughout the district and the seizing of arms from the rural constabulary.[39]

Despite the death of Sheikh Bashir and his second-in-command, the British authorities was not finished with the rebels and continued its counter-insurgency campaign. The authorities had quickly learned the names and identities of all the followers of Sheikh Bashir and tried to convince the locals to turn them in. When they refused, the authorities invoked the Collective Punishment Ordinance, under which the authorities seized and impounded a total of 6,000 camels owned by the Habr Je'lo, the clan that Sheikh Bashir belonged to. The British authorities made the return of the livestock dependent on the turning over and arrest of the escaped rebels.[40] The remaining rebels were subsequently found and arrested, and transported to the Saad-ud-Din archipelago, off the coast of Zeila in northwestern Somaliland.

Clan tree

Below is a breakdown of the different sub-divisions of the Habr Je'lo clan:[41][42]

  • Sheikh Ishaaq Bin Ahmed (Sheikh Ishaaq)
  • Habr Habuusheed
    • Muse (Habr Je'lo)
      • Mohamed Muse
      • Abokor Muse
        • Jibril Abokor
          • Daud Jibril (Rer Dod)
          • Omar Jibril
            • Ishaq Omar
            • Bi'ide Omar
          • Abokor Jibril
            • Mohamed Abokor
              • Adan Mohamed (Adan Madoba)
              • Yesif Mohamed
              • Nuh Mohamed
                • Abdalle Nuh
                  • Abdille Abdalle
                    • Abokor Abdille (Solomadow)
                    • Hassan Abdille (Solomadow)
                    • Barre Abdille (Solomadow)
                      • Samatar Barre
                      • Ahmed Barre
                      • Kul Barre
                      • Nabad Barre
                    • Hussein Abdille
                    • Allamagan Abdille
                    • Farah Abdille
                      • Beila Farah
                      • Fahiye Farah
                      • Dahir Farah (Rer Dahir)
                        • Ahmed Dahir
                        • Nuh Dahir
                        • Guled Dahir
                        • Kalil Dahir
                        • Barre Dahir
                        • Ogal Dahir
                        • Hassan Dahir
                        • Wa'ays Dahir
                        • Yusuf Dahir
                        • Ibrahim Dahir
                        • Hildid Dahir
                        • Adan Dahir
                        • Omar Dahir
                          • Abokor Omar
                          • Muse Omar
                          • Bah Abdirahman
                          • Bah Eise
                            • Ismail Omar
                              • Yusuf Ismail (Rer Yusuf)
                      • Ahmed Farah
                        • Roble Ahmed
                        • Abtidon Ahmed (Rer Abtidon)
                        • Abokor Ahmed
                        • Binin Ahmed (Rer Binin)
                        • Had Ahmed
                        • Hasan Ahmed
                          • Salah Hasan (Rer Salah)
                        • Hildid Ahmed
                          • Abdi Hildid
                        • Mohamed Ahmed
                          • Rage Mohamed (Rer Rage)
                          • Baded Mohamed (Rer Baded)
                          • Olow Mohamed
                          • Burale Mohamed
                          • Jibril Mohamed
              • Musa Abokor
                • Uduruhmin Muse
                • Idris Muse
                • Abdirahman Muse
                  • Osman Abdirahman (Bah Majeelo)
                  • Abdille Abdirahman (Bah Majeelo)
                  • Isaaq Abdirahman (Bah Majeelo)
                  • Yunis Abdirahman (Rer Yunis)
                    • Mohamed Yunis
                    • Osman Yunis
                  • Barre Abdirahman
                    • Ali Barre
                    • Mohamed Barre
                    • Yunis Barre
                      • Burale Yunis
                      • Bi'ide Yunis (Biciide)
                        • Iidle Biciide
                        • Wadhowr Biciide (Bahsanbuur)
                        • Samatar Biciide (Bahsanbuur)
                        • Farah Biciide
                          • Ahmed Farah
                          • Iidle Farah (Rer Iidle)
                          • Omar Farah (Boho)
                          • Fahiye Farah (Boho)
                          • Muse Farah (Boho)
                          • Robsuge Farah (Boho)
                          • Gedi Farah (Boho)
                          • Wais Farah (Boho)
                          • Sahal Farah (Boho)
                          • Abdille Farah (Bah Farwiyo)
                          • Ali Farah (Bah Farwiyo)
                • Samane Abokor
                  • Abdulle Samane
                  • Muse Samane
                  • Hirsi Samane

Groups

  • National United Front, a mainly Habar Jeclo political party in the late 1950s
  • Dharbash, a medium-sized of the dozen Darawiish administrative divisions, was one third Habar Jeclo, the rest Ararsame or Baharsame[43]

Notable figures

Hadraawi, most notable contemporary Somali poet

References

  1. ^ Haggenmacher, Gustav Adolf (1876). G. A. Haggenmacher's Reise Im Somali-lande, 1874: Mit Einer Originalkarte (in German). J. Perthes.
  2. ^ Abbink, J. (1999). The Total Somali Clan Genealogy: A Preliminary Sketch. African Studies Centre.
  3. ^ مجلة الصومال. The Society. 1954.
  4. ^ Lewis, I. M. (3 February 2017). I.M Lewis: Peoples of the Horn of Afrcia. ISBN 9781315308173. |
  5. ^ Anatomy of Violence: Understanding the Systems of Conflict and Violence in Africa. p. 130.
  6. ^ "Changing Pastoralism in the Ethiopian Somali National Regional State (Region 5)".
  7. ^ The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Volume 19, p. 63, 1848
  8. ^ Waal, Alexander De (1993). "Violent deeds live on: landmines in Somalia and Somaliland, p. 63". |
  9. ^ Lewis, I. M. (3 February 2017). I.M Lewis : peoples of the Horn of Afrcia. ISBN 9781315308173. |
  10. ^ a b Drake-Brockman, Ralph Evelyn (1912). British Somaliland. Hurst & Blackett. pp. 7–8.
  11. ^ a b "Mundu" (in German). University of Bern. Archived from the original on 2007-08-15.
  12. ^ Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Schoff's 1912 translation
  13. ^ a b Newsletter of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists in America, Issues 8-13. Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary. 1976. p. 5. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  14. ^ Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
  15. ^ Meyer, Carol (1992). Glass from Quseir Al-Qadim and the Indian Ocean Trade, Issue 53. Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. p. 37. ISBN 0918986877. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  16. ^ Hatke, George (2013). Aksum and Nubia: Warfare, Commerce, and Political Fictions in Ancient Northeast Africa. NYU Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0814762837. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  17. ^ Mire, Sada (2015-04-14). "Mapping the Archaeology of Somalia: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire". African Archaeological Review. 32 (1): 111–136. doi:10.1007/s10437-015-9184-9. ISSN 0263-0338.
  18. ^ a b Drake-Brockman, Ralph Evelyn (1912). British Somaliland. Hurst & Blackett. p. 169.
  19. ^ Pankhurst, Richard (1965). "The Trade of the Gulf of Aden Ports of Africa in the Early Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries". Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 3 (1): 36–81. JSTOR 41965718.
  20. ^ Great Britain, House of Commons (1905). Sessional papers Inventory control record 1, Volume 92. HM Stationery Office. p. 385.
  21. ^ Burton, Richard F. (2019-09-25). First Footsteps in East Africa; or, an Exploration of Harar. BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-7340-8950-3.
  22. ^ Ethnographie Nordost-Afrikas: Die Materielle Cultur Der Danakil, Galla Und Somal, 1893
  23. ^ The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Volume 19, p. 63, 1848
  24. ^ Andrzejewski, B. W.; Lewis, I.M. (1964). Somali Poetry: An Introduction, The Oxford library of African literature. p. 57.
  25. ^ Sessional papers Volume 48. p. 15
  26. ^ Official History of the Operation, Volume 1. p. 49
  27. ^ In pursuit of The Mad Mullah, Malcolm McNeil. p. 123
  28. ^ Official History of the Operation, Volume 1. p. 41
  29. ^ Official History of the Operations in Somaliland. 1901–1904 Vol. I p. 54
  30. ^ Les Çomâlis. Ferrand Gabriel, 1903. p. 268.
  31. ^ Ministero della Guerra, Comando del Corpo di S.M./Ufficio Storico: SOMALIA, Vol. I, Dalle Original 1914, Roma, 1938- XVI, pp. 308, 309, 315, 318, 319.
  32. ^ Caroselli, op. cit. 78-9.
  33. ^ Sun, Sand and Somals - Leaves from the Note-Book of a District Commissioner, H. Rayne
  34. ^ Mohamed, Jama (1996). Constructing colonial hegemony in the Somaliland protectorate, 1941-1960 (Thesis thesis).
  35. ^ of Rodd, Lord Rennell (1948). British Military Administration in Africa 1941-1947. HMSO. p. 481.
  36. ^ "Taariikhdii Halgamaa: Sheekh Bashiir Sh. Yuusuf. W/Q: Prof Yaxye Sheekh Caamir | Laashin iyo Hal-abuur". Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  37. ^ Sheekh Caamir, Prof. Yaxye (11 January 2018). "Taariikhdii Halgamaa: Sheekh Bashiir Sh. Yuusuf". Laashin.
  38. ^ of Rodd, Lord Rennell (1948). British Military Administration in Africa 1941-1947. HMSO. p. 482.
  39. ^ Mohamed, Jama (2002). "'The Evils of Locust Bait': Popular Nationalism during the 1945 Anti-Locust Control Rebellion in Colonial Somaliland". Past & Present. 174 (174): 184–216. doi:10.1093/past/174.1.184. ISSN 0031-2746. JSTOR 3600720.
  40. ^ Annual Colonial Office Report on the Somaliland Protectorate, 1948. p. 31.
  41. ^ A General Survey of the Somaliland protectorate 1944-1950, p.164-165
  42. ^ "Abtirsi.com : Muse "Jelo" Sheikh Ishaq Ahmed". www.abtirsi.com. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  43. ^ Taariikhdii daraawiishta iyo Sayid Maxamad Cabdille Xasan, Jaamac Cumar Ciise · 2005 - PAGE 173
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