Rer Ainanshe

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The Rer Ainanshe (Somali: Reer Caynaanshe) are a royal Somali clan and the traditional rulers of the Habr Yunis.[1][2] They divide into 17 major sub-clans that together form the Baha Ainanshe and Rer Sugulle, from the latter descend the rulers of the Habr Yunis Sultanate.[3] They inhabit the Togdheer and Maroodi Jeex regions of Somaliland and the Daroor and Misraq Gashamo regions of Ethiopia[4]

Origins and etymology[]

1880s Map featuring Rer Ainanshe in the Burao area

The clan takes its name from their 18th century Patriarch Ainanshe who all members of the clan trace their paternal descent. Ainanshe was the son of Hersi Osman of the Ismail Arreh and a woman of the Ali Said clan. He had seven brothers: Said, Fahiya, Hildid, Warsame, Yusuf, Ali and Abdi whom they shared the same mother and are together known as the Ba Ali in reference to their mother's clan.[5] Ainanshe would go on to become the Chieftain of the Habar Yoonis clan. As was the norm of Somali chieftains, Ainanshe had multiple wives. His first wife belonged to the Jibrahil clan and was the mother of his eldest son Sugulle who would go on to found the Ba Jibrhil Rer Sugulle which is the section of the clan that all the Habr Yunis Sultan's descend.[6][7]Ainanshe's other wives Mun, Basla and Egalo bore him 16 sons who are collectively known as the Baha Ainanshe.[8] The etymology of the name Ainanshe originates from the word Ainan which in Somali means the horse's reins, when suffixed with she it takes on the meaning of one who is holding the reins, leading and guiding from disaster.[9] Ainanshe's tomb is located to the south of Burao in the town of Jameecada Caynaanshe near the Oodweyne district border.

In 1889 Enrico Baudi i Vesme who visited Burao met the sons of Burao Cheiftains Guled Ahmed Sugulle and Awad Gal, they relayed to him the following:

My abbans were, the one son, the other grandson of these two leaders, and not i could deny to myself that they had a very dignified demeanor which made them relatively likeable. They told me the story of their tribe. The chief of the Habr Yunis lineage, named Ainanshe, had 17 sons, one of whose name was Sugulle. First they stayed together, then they separated, forming one Rer Sugulle, who are the most numerous, the other 16 children together, the Baha Ainanshe.[10]

In volume 7 of Etiopia rassegna illustrata dell'Impero Michell Satunry describing the Rer Ainanshe writes :

Rer Ainanshe (Baha) and Rer Sugulle belonging to the Ismail Arreh are the center of the Habr Yunis group and also their backbone. Their prestige is probably the highest among the Somalis, and both in number, compactness, fighting ability and raids may perhaps be considered to occupy the first place together being equal to each other. The Rer Sugulle, in fact, belongs to the main branch of the Ainanshe but can be considered a separate group. The two are not at all interwined but in case of a Habr Yunis movement the tribe may gather around these two sub-tribes.[11]

History[]

Habr Yunis Sultanate[]

Main article: Habr Yunis Sultanate
German map of the Horn showing Sultan Awad's domain, 1885

The Habr Yunis Sultanate finds its roots in 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 Yunis forming their own Sultanate led by Sugulleh Ainashe.[12][13] The Sultan Deria Sugulleh would establish his capital at Wadhan (Waram) near the Sheikh pass and tax and administer the affairs of the Habr Yunis from the town. Large caravans bound for Berbera would pass through Habr Yunis territory through Burao and then Wadhan and proved a lucrative source of income for Sultan Deria.[14][15]

Anti-colonialism[]

German map of the Horn from 1896 showing Sultan Nur's Domain in the Togdheer area
Sultan Nur's horsemen

The Rer Ainanshe along with their Hersi Osman kin were at the forefront of anti-colonial activity in the Somaliland protectorate and Italian Abbyssinia. Liuetenant Mosye-Bartlette author of the Kings African rifles states that they constantly defied and resisted the British Protectrate government.[16] In his 1884 publication La confrérie musulmane (Muslim Brotherhood) Henri Duveyrier states that the Rer Ainanshe had ties with the Senoussis, later Kings of Libya, who in the 19th century were involved in many anti-colonial upheavals across Muslim Africa. In 1896 Sultan Nur received a Senoussi delegation, at that time he was involved in war with the British government then based at Berbera.

Langton Walsh details an account of one of Nur's raids on the British in 1896, he states:

Ten days elapsed, but no reply to my letter came from Sultan Nur. I heard, however, that two Senousi Akwan were guests in his kraal ; and this was a very significant fact, since it showed that these guests, members of a very influential community, were hatching a scheme to retaliate on and injure the Administration...With the aid of a telescope fixed on a swivel tripod we easily made out the raiders, but the scout could not even approximately tell us the number of horsemen we might have to contend with if we attacked them. He would not agree that they were mere Murrasseh bandits, but asserted that they were tribesmen led by two important chiefs. One chief was a Dulbanta with a large mounted force, and the other an infantry soldier magnate named Sultan Nur, who commanded in person possibly a few hundred horsemen of his own tribe and fifteen hundred footmen. The scout was certain that Sultan Nur was in command, since the sultan's horse, a whitish-grey, was well known to the Aysa Musa scout...Sultan Nur on this occasion had made a haul of about 1,500 camels, since there happened to be at Berbera three or four large caravans from the interior, in addition to the camels of the townsmen which had also been driven off. It transpired later that three raiders had been shot dead, and a few others were no doubt wounded by rifle fire. We also found four dead horses on the field. No doubt Sultan Nur had not been sufficiently punished[17]

In 1899 Several members of the Rer Ainanshe would be among the founders of the Dervish movement, most prominent among being the Rer Amman brothers; Sultan Nur, Geele Ahmed and Hersi Ahmed.[18][19]

Sections of the Hersi Osman once again clashed with the British in 1922 after a heavy tax was imposed upon them at Burao, the Rer Ainanshe and Said Hersi revolted in opposition to the tax and this caused them to clash with other sections of the Habr Yunis and the British colonial government. In the ensuing riot and shootout between the British and Hersi Osman, Captain Allan Gibb, a Dervish war veteran and district commissioner, was shot and killed. The British fearing they could not contain the revolt requested from Sir Winston Churchill, then-Secretary of State for the Colonies, to send troops from Aden and Airplane bombers in order to bomb Burao and livestock of the revolting clans to quell any further rebellion. The RAF planes arrived at Burao within two days and proceeded to Bomb the town with incendiaries, effectively burning the entire settlement to the ground.

Telegram from Sir Geoffrey Archer, Governor of British Somaliland to Sir Winston Churchill the Secretary of State for the Colonies:

I deeply regret to inform that during an affray at Burao yesterday between Rer Sugulleh and Akils of other tribes Captain Gibb was shot dead. Having called out Camel corps company to quell the disturbance, he went forward himself with his interperter, whereupon fire opened on him by some Rer segulleh riflemen and he was instantly killed..Miscreants then dissapered under the cover of darkness. In order to meet the situation created by the Murder of Gibb, we require two aeroplanes for about fourteen days. I have arranged with resident, Aden, for these. And made formal application, which please confirm. It is proposed they fly via Perim, confining sea crossing to 12 miles. We propose to inflict fine of 2,500 camels on implicated sections, who are practically isolated and demand surrender of man who killed Gibbs. He is known. Fine to be doubled in failure to comply with latter conditions and aeroplanes to be used to bomb stock on grazing grounds.[20]

James Lawrence author of Imperial Rearguard: Wars of Empire writes

[Gibb]..was murdered by rioters during a protest against taxation at Burao. Governor Archer immediately called for aircraft which were at Burao within two days. The inhabitants of the native township were turned out of their houses, and the entire area was razed by a combination of bombing, machine-gun fire and burning.[21]

After the RAF aircraft bombed Burao to the ground and months of unrest the Rer Ainanshe and other Hersi Osman clans agreed to pay a small fine for Gibbs death, but they refused to identify and apprehend the accused individuals. Most of the men responsible for Gibb's shooting evaded capture. In light of the failure to implement the taxation without provoking a violent response, the British abandoned the policy altogether.

Clan tree[]

Rer Ainanshe genealogy
  • Ainanshe Hersi
    • Gutale Ainanshe
    • Egal Ainanshe
    • Omar Ainanshe
    • Suban Ainanshe
    • Esa Ainanshe
    • Guled Ainanshe
    • Ahmed Ainanshe
    • Samaale Ainanshe
    • Hersi Ainanshe
    • Abdi Ainanshe
    • Farah Ainanshe
    • Butiye Ainanshe
    • Meigag Ainanshe
    • Wais Ainanshe
    • Koshin Ainanshe
    • Liban Ainanshe
    • Sultan Sugulle Ainanshe
      • Gelle Sugulle
      • Farah Sugulle
      • Mahamoud Sugulle
      • Duale Sugulle
      • Mohamed Sugulle
      • Wais Sugulle
      • Roble Sugulle
      • Ahmed Sugulle (Father of Aqil Guled Haji)
      • Sultan Deria Sugulle
        • Adan Deria
        • Abdillahi Deria
        • Yusuf Deria
        • Ali Deria
        • Ismail Deria
        • Samatar Deria
        • Abokor Deria
        • Mahamud Deria
        • Egal Deria
        • Nur Deria
        • Guled Deria
        • Isman Deria
        • Ahmed Deria
        • Hassan Deria
        • Jama Deria
        • Sultan Awad Deria
        • Hersi Deria (Father of Sultan Madar)
        • Aman Deria (Father of Sultan Hersi and Grandfather of Sultan Nur)

Notable People[]

References[]

  1. ^ Kirk, J.W.C (1905). A Grammar of the Somali Language With Examples in Prose and Verse and an Account of the Yibir and Midgan Dialects. London: Cambridge University press. ISBN 9780511708671.
  2. ^ Ethnographie Nordost-afrikas pp.45. Philip Paulitscheke. Publisher: D. Reimer. 1893
  3. ^ British SomaliLand by Ralph E Drake Brockman .1012. pp. 82
  4. ^ A general survey of the Somaliland Protectorate 1944-1950, pp.147
  5. ^ Tribes of British Somaliland, 1941, pp. 10.
  6. ^ The Journal of The anthropological institute of Great Britain and Ireland| Vol.21 p. 161
  7. ^ Bollettino della Società geografica italiana Volume 6, 1893. pp.203
  8. ^ Genealogies of the Somal. Eyre and Spottiswoode (London). 1896.
  9. ^ Qaamuuska AF‒Soomaaliga, by Annarita Puglielli iyo Cabdalla Cumar Mansuur, pp. 140.
  10. ^ Cosmos: communicazioni sui progressi recenti e notevoli della geografia e delle scienze affini di Guido Cora, p. 201.
  11. ^ Etiopia rassegna illustrata dell'Impero, 1947, vol. 7, p. 15.
  12. ^ "Taariikhda Boqortooyadii Axmed Sheikh Isaxaaq ee Toljecle 1787". YouTube.
  13. ^ New Issues in Refugee Research – Working Paper No. 65 Pastoral society and transnational refugees: population movements in Somaliland and eastern Ethiopia 1988–2000 Guido Ambroso, Table 1, p. 5.
  14. ^ The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society 1850, volume 9, p. 133.
  15. ^ Truhart, P. (1984). Regents of nations: systematic chronology of states and their political representatives in past and present : a biographical reference book. pp.72
  16. ^ The King's African Rifles - Volume 1 By Lieutenant-Colonel H. Moyse-Bartlett, p. 451.
  17. ^ Under the flag: and Somali coast stories by Walsh, Langton Prendergast. pp. 257–258.
  18. ^ Il Benadir, Vico Mantegazza. 1908. pp. 323-324.
  19. ^ Il Benadir by Pizza, Giuseppe. 1913
  20. ^ Correspondence between Governor of British Somaliland and Secretary of State for the Colonies. Colonial Office, 28 February 1922.
  21. ^ Imperial Rearguard: Wars of Empire, 1919–1985, pp. 168.
  22. ^ "Ahmed Said Ahmed" (in Finnish). Football Association of Finland. Retrieved 13 September 2019. Kansallisuus: Suomi
  23. ^ "#80 Said Ahmed, Ahmed" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. Retrieved 13 September 2019. Kansalaisuus FI
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