Taleh
Taleh
Taleex تليح | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Dervish forts in Taleh | |
  Taleh Location in Somaliland | |
| Coordinates: 9°8′51″N 48°25′15″E / 9.14750°N 48.42083°E | |
| Country |  Somaliland |
| Region | Sool |
| District | Taleh |
| Population (2007[1]) | |
| • Total | 4,374 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
Taleh (Somali: Taleex, Arabic: تليح) is a historical town in the eastern Sool region of Somaliland.[2][3][4] As of September 2015, both Puntland and Somaliland had nominal influence or control in Taleh and it's vicinity.[5][6] The town served as the capital of the pre-independence Dervish movement.[7][8] According to the concurrent London Gazette, Taleh and Jidali were the two main forts under the control of the Dervishes.[9]
History
Dhulbahante garesa
In the Dervish-written letter's description of the fall of Taleh in February 1920, in an April 1920 letter transcribed from the original Arabic script into Italian by the incumbent Governatori della Somalia, various Darawiish-built installations are described as garesas taken from the Dhulbahante clan by the British:[10][11]
i Dulbohanta nella maggior parte si sono arresi agli inglesi e han loro consegnato ventisette garese (case) ricolme di fucili, munizioni e danaro. |
the Dhulbahante surrendered for the most part to the British and handed twenty-seven garesas (houses) full of guns, ammunition and money over to them. |
Choice as capital
According to Darawiish veteran Ciise Faarax Fikad, Taleh was chosen as the Darawiish capital because the Nugaal Valley lies at the heartland of Dhulbahante territory, its distance from colonial administrative centers and to generate geographical distance from the hostile bodies such as Rayid signatories to British treaties, the Majeerteen, those under Mohamoud Ali Shire and the Ogaden who were in general opposed to the Darawiish:[12]
Iyadoo nimankii dalka waagii hore degi jirey ( Dhulbahante ) ay Sayidka ku dirqiyeen in Nugaal la dego ... Ingiriis iyo dadka raacsan iyo Daraawiish waxa ka dhexeeya colaad guun ah oo aan damihayn ... Maxamuud Cali Shire waynu dagaallannay ... Boqor Cismaan iyo raggiisii Talyaani baa dab ku afuufay oo iyaguna horeynu u collownay ... Cali Yuusuf ... Ogaadeen in yar mooyee Xabashi baa dabada ka wadda oo dagaalkii Gurdumi bay inooku dudayaan iyana waa inoo col. |
The native inhabitants of the Nugaal Valley, i.e. the Dhulbahante are those whom insisted it be made the Darawiish capital ... There was enmity and antagonism between Darawiish and the Somali signatories of British treaties ... we've fought Mahamoud Ali Shire ... The Majeerteen kings Cismaan and Ali Yusuf have been armed by the Italians in order to harm Darawiish and we've clashed before ... the vast majority of Ogaden are allied with the Abbysinians and the Ogaden showed their true colors during the Gurdumi incident when they became overt foes. |
Colonial sources concur with Somali sources that non-Dhulbahante clans were hostile towards the Darawiish:[13]
The coast tribes , viz . , the Habr Toljaala , the Habr Gerhajis , the Warsangli of our own Protectorate , and the Mijjarten tribes of the Italian Protectorate were all professedly hostile to the Mullah.
Dervish forts/Dhulbahante garesas
Taleh is home to several historic structures dating to the Darawiish era. Of these, there are five forts erected by Mohammed Abdullah Hassan's former Dervish movement in present-day Sool and Sanaag. Constructed between 1901 and 1915, most of the edifices are concentrated in the Sanaag & Sool region, including Dalyare fort, Jidali fort, Midhisho, Shimbir Bariis and Badhan. Taleh/Taleex is the largest of the structures. According to Cabdi-Yaar Cali Guuleed, a Darawiish veteran, the largest Dhulbahante fort from the Darawiish era is the Dhulbahante fort of Taleh which according to him was built between 1909 to 1910 and he said the following:[14]
Waa xaruntii Daraawiisheed, waxayna ku taal bartamaha Nugaaleed, dhinaca waqooyi. Waxaa la dhisay 1909-1910. |
It was the headquarters of the Darawiish, and it is situated in the center of the Nugaal Valley, in a northern direction. It was built between 1909 to 1910 |
It was built around a collection of Dervish tombs, the earliest of which belongs to Sultan Nur Ahmed Aman and Carro Seed Magan, the mother of the emir of Diiriye Guure,[15] i.e. the Sayid. From 1909 to 1910, the Dervish constructed the main fort around the older tombs. They spent the next two years in the mountainous regions of Sanaag building three more smaller forts.[16]
Maxamuud Xoosh Cigaal was the last Darawiish man to be resident at the Taleh fort,[17] whilst the six-year old Jaamac Biixi Kidin was the last Darawiish person in the fort overall.[18]
A 1931 diary-book by former Italian Somalia governor notes an April 1920 letter by the Sayid to the then Italian-Somalia governor which states the Taleh fort was one of 27 forts built by Darawiish and that they're called Dhulbahante garesas.[10]
Gl’Inglesi che sapevano questo ci son piombati addosso con tutta la gente e con sei volatili (aeroplani). Per tal fatto ci siamo sabandati e non c’e’ stato piu’ accordo fra di noi: i Dulbohanta nella maggior parte si sono arresi agli inglesi c han loro consegnato ventisette garese (case) ricolme di fucili, munizioni e danaro ... E ora diciamo ... desideriamo tu faccia qualcosa per noi nel senso di intervenire fra noi e gli inglesi per restituirci le nostre famiglie, figili, beni, terrtori. E cosi c’impegnamo sopra la nostra anima di stare in pace, tranquilli e di non disturbare mai piu’ le altre genti ee prenderemo la te la bandiera ... Saluti |
The English knew about our situation and yet pounced upon us with all their men and with six birds (airplanes). Because of this, we scattered and dispersed as there was no longer an agreement between us: most of the Dhulbahante tribe surrendered to the British who confiscated from them twenty-seven garesas (houses) full of rifles, ammunition and money ... As such ... we request from you, ... to become mediators between ourselves and the British, as we aspire that they restore to us our stolen families, our stolen children, our stolen wealth, and our stolen territory; in this way we may enter into equitable cooperation of peace and tranquility, such that we remain quiescent, and that we take your flag. Greetings. |
Fall of Taleh
In 1919–1920, the British bombarded the Sanaag forts, where most of the Dervish had operated since 1913. Having destroyed the structures and driven out Mohammed Abdullah Hassan's men to Taleh in 1920, they finally attacked the town, assisted by horsemen and Somali personalities. The settlement was bombarded by the Royal Air Force on 4 February and taken days later, with the British having defeated the last pockets of Dervish resistance.[19] Among the casualties at Taleh were Ibrahim Buqul and Haji Sudi, two of the closest men to the Mullah and both being of the Adan Madobe sub-division of the Habr Je'lo. The former was the commander of the Dervish at Taleh, and the latter was a long-standing member of the movement according to Douglas Jardin (1923) and Henry Rayne (1921). Another Dervish leader, Yusuf Xayle, was captured alive and later executed by former Dervish Abdi Dhere, who had defected to the opposition in 1919. Muhammad Abdullah Hassan himself managed to escape to the Ogaden, where his Dervishes were later routed in a 1921 raid led by the clan leader Haji Warabe.[20]
Silsilad
Conception
The notion of the building of fortresses for Darawiish inhabitation pre-existed 1902 as Eric Swayne encountered a fort at Halin during the second expedition in 1902, as such, arguably timeframing the building of the Halin fort at 1901. The British War Office stated that Eric Swayne destroyed the fort in 1902, and that it was inhabited by the Ugaadhyahan Dhulbahante subclans of Naleye Ahmed and Nur Ahmed:[21]
a detached force proceeded the same night to Biyu Gudud and attacked the Naliya Ahmed and Nur Ahmed, the pursuit being carried into the plain of the Northern Hand as far as Kol Dorran. Some guns and ammunition were captured and the tribes fled northward towards some wells about 60 miles from the sea. The whole force then returned to Biyu Gudud on the 1st August, and the dervish fort at Halin (9 miles N.N.E. of Lower Halin) was destroyed.
The second-oldest Dhulbahante fort of the Darawiish era is the Dhowre Sheneeleh fort which was constructed at Eyl (Illig) in 1903. According to the British War Office, the castle at Illig was exclusively inhabited by the Dhulbahante clan, and in particular by the Ali Gheri subclan of the Dhulbahante:[22]
The Mullah, with practically only his Ali Gheri following, is a discredited refugee in the Mijjarten territory, at the mercy of Osman Mahmud. His actual capture by the field force is, under present conditions, in my opinion impracticable ... the operations already ordered for the capture of lllig and dealing a last blow at the Mullah are to be carried out
Historian Douglas Jardine concurs with the British War Office that the Darawiish capital at Illig (Eyl) was exclusively inhabited by the Dhulbahante:[23]
while the Mullah's Dolbahanta allies had retreated south-east towards Illig, the Mullah himself, with all his sheep and goats, but abandoning his camels, bullocks, and ponies, had fled post-haste across the waterless Haud to Mudug.
Human habitation
Although the term Taleh or Taleex is often used to describe the entire Dervish fort complex in the town, it more strictly applies to only one of the structures in a four-part compound. The latter complex includes Falat, Silsilad, Dar Ilaalo and Taleh.
The main fortress, Silsilat, is about 350 feet long by 300 feet broad. The two buildings next in importance are Dar llalo, the look-out tower, some 50 feet high, built on the top of a hillock close behind Silsilat, and Taleh (in a restricted sense) of similar height, built on lower ground to the east.[16]
According to Jardine, prior to Taleh becoming Darawiish capital, the Darawiish capital had for four years from 1905 onwards been at Eyl, also known as Illig:[23]
Thus the Mullah became an Italian-protected subject; and during the three years that followed, his haroun remained in the neighbourhood of Illig.
Horse stable
Besides the human habitation, Silsilad also had a horse stable whose substance commonly features in Somali popular culture:[24]
Xamar weeye oo midab fardood, kala xiriir roone |
It is beige, and the horse's color contrasts revel outdoing (one another) |
Like other poems, horses as a symbol of love can also eruptly turn to belligerence:
Xiniinyaha ku goo baan lahaa, gaalka xaylka lehe |
(whilst on his back) I pondered to cut off the testicles; from the (thus) menstruating colonialist |
One Darawiish war tactic was hit-and-run, exemplified by dispersion in all directions:[25]
... some 500 horsemen, was encountered, and at first it seemed that he would attack the column's rear-guard, but, when the mounted troops were withdrawn from the front to oppose him, his horse-men broke into groups and, when pursued, adopted the tactics which were subsequently to become so familiar to us, and split up into small parties which made off through a score of practicable passes in the stony hills.[25]
Counter-tactics used by colonial forces were dehydrating when blocking Dervish horses' access to wells:
On June 15th, 238 rifles and 300 spearmen, under the command of Major A. G. Sharp, Leinster Regi-ment, were established in the fort of Bohotle to guard the reserve of supplies and to prevent the Dervish horsemen from watering at the wells
— Douglas Jardine
Darawiish subdivided their horses into Barroor, a beige color, and Xamar, a chest-nut colored horse, alternating each depending on the intensity of the sun or heat.[26] The largest Darawiish horse stableyard outside Taleh was arguably Damot, also called Docmo, with large assemblages reported between 1900 and 1903.[27]
Notable horses included Shan-maray, owned by Gaanni Gaalleef Cali Xaad which was the fastest horse in the Nugaal, Isxal was the main stallion used for breeding Dervish-owned horses, [28]
Demographics
The broader Taleh District has a total population of 45,354 residents, with the Dhulbahante as the native people of the land[29]
Climate
| Climate data for Taleh | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.5 (85.1) |
30.3 (86.5) |
31.9 (89.4) |
33.2 (91.8) |
34.0 (93.2) |
32.9 (91.2) |
31.9 (89.4) |
32.6 (90.7) |
34.0 (93.2) |
32.7 (90.9) |
31.1 (88.0) |
29.7 (85.5) |
32.0 (89.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 14.0 (57.2) |
15.1 (59.2) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.1 (66.4) |
20.8 (69.4) |
21.4 (70.5) |
21.4 (70.5) |
21.1 (70.0) |
21.0 (69.8) |
18.6 (65.5) |
15.6 (60.1) |
14.9 (58.8) |
18.3 (64.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1 (0.0) |
1 (0.0) |
3 (0.1) |
19 (0.7) |
39 (1.5) |
3 (0.1) |
1 (0.0) |
1 (0.0) |
10 (0.4) |
24 (0.9) |
7 (0.3) |
2 (0.1) |
111 (4.1) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org | |||||||||||||
Education
Taleh has a number of academic institutions. According to the Somaliland Ministry of Education, there are eight primary schools in the Taleh District. Among these are Kalad, Labas, Aroley and Halin.
Notable residents
- Abdisamad Ali Shire – former Vice President of Puntland
- Abdihakim Abdullahi Haji Omar – current Vice President of Puntland
- Saado Ali Warsame – a Somali singer-songwriter and former politician
Notes
- ^ WFP Somalia (April 2007). "Puntland Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-06-17.
- ^ Regions of Somalia
- ^ "Somaliland oo ciidamo u dirtay Taleex". BBC News Somali (in Somali). 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ^ "Somaliland oo Qabsatay Degmada Taleex". www.voasomali.com. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ^ "BFA Staatendokumentation/ Andreas Tiwald, Analyse zu Somalia - Lagekarten zur Sicherheitslage". Austrian Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum: 8. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ "EASO Country of Origin Information: Report Somalia Security Situation" (PDF). European Asylum Support Office: 74. February 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ Laurence, p.47.
- ^ Fergusson, James (2013-01-17). The World's Most Dangerous Place: Inside the Outlaw State of Somalia. ISBN 9781446487051.
- ^ Claude, M (1921). https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qewMPX82IygJ:https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32247/page/1791/data.pdf+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=si.
the Dervishes were driven out. of the Ain Valley and retired to their main positions at Tale and Jidali;
Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b Ferro e Fuoco in Somalia, da Francesco Saverio Caroselli, Rome, 1931; p. 272.
- ^ Ciise, Jaamac (1976). Taariikhdii daraawiishta iyo Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan.
Per tal fatto ci siamo sabandati e non c'e ' stato piu ' accordo fra di noi : i Dulbohanta nella maggior parte si sono arresi agli inglesi c han loro consegnato ventisette garese case ) ricolme di fucili , munizioni e danaro . (English: the Dhulbahante surrendered for the most part to the British and handed twenty-seven garesas (houses) full of guns, ammunition and money over to them)
- ^ Ciise, Jama. Taariikhdii Daraawiishta iyo Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan. 2005, p 251
- ^ Official History of the Operations in Somaliland, 1901-04 War Office. General Staff · 1907 , PAGE 252
- ^ Diiwaanka gabayadii, 1856-1921 -Maxamad Cabdulle Xasan · 1999 , PAGE 184
- ^ Omar, Mohamed (2001). The Scramble in the Horn of Africa. p. 402.
This letter is sent by all the Dervishes, the Amir, and all the Dolbahanta to the Ruler of Berbera ... We are a Government, we have a Sultan, an Amir, and Chiefs, and subjects ... (reply) In his last letter the Mullah pretends to speak in the name of the Dervishes, their Amir (himself), and the Dolbahanta tribes. This letter shows his object is to establish himself as the Ruler of the Dolbahanta
- ^ a b The Geographical Journal, Vol. 78, No. 2 (Aug., 1931), pp. 125-128
- ^ Taariikhdii daraawiishta iyo Sayid Maxamad Cabdille Xasan, Jaamac Cumar Ciise · 2005 , PAGE 325
- ^ Darwiish Jaamac Biixi Kidin Oo Maanta Ku Geeriyoodey Magaalada Garoowe. Written by Asad Cadaani Ibraahim Saturday, 01 August 2009
- ^ The Times, 18 February 1920, p. 9 and Illustrated London News and the Sphere, both of 17 April 1920
- ^ Douglas Jardine, 'The Mad Mullah of Somaliland.' 8vo. London 1923.
- ^ Official History of the Operations in Somaliland, 1901-04 Great Britain. War Office. General Staff · 1907 , PAGE 100
- ^ Official History of the Operations in Somaliland, 1901-04 Great Britain. War Office. General Staff · 1907 , PAGE 264
- ^ a b Mad Mullah of Somaliland, Douglas Jardine, p 148
- ^ Xiin Faniin, diiwaanka gabayadii, 1974
- ^ a b Douglas Jardine, Mad Mulah of Somaliland, page 64
- ^ Taariikhdii daraawiishta, 2005 "fardahana aqoon u lahaayeen jaad waliba markuu dagaalka ku fiican yahay. Sidaas daraaddeed ayay ku tashadeen in jaadka Xamarka loo yaqaan uu gelinka hore dagaalka galo, maxaa yeelay qorraxda uma adkeysan karo, jaadka Baroorka la yiraahdana gelinka dambe galo, jaadkaas oo adkaysan iyo karti lagu yaqaan" (The dervishes were well-versed with which time would be most suitable for each horse to enter battle. As such, they decided that the Xamar (i.e. chestnut colored horse) should enter battle only during the cool of dawn or the cool of dusk as it can't stand heat. On the other hand, the barroor (i.e. the beige-colored horse) should enter battle during the heat of midday as it can withstand heat.)
- ^ Jardine, 1923, page 77, "the mobility of the British force had been seriously impaired by an outbreak of glanders that had destroyed half the ponies ; and consequently it was useless to attempt to deal with the Mullah's 3,000 horsemen at Damot." ... " that 3,000 had been left at Damot to observe Swayne's Levy; but that the Mullah and the rest of the Dervishes had retired southwards to Erigo"
- ^ Media, Sollas. "Waraysi Darwiish Maxamuud Indha taag". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14.
at the time mark 12:55
- ^ "Regions, districts, and their populations: Somalia 2005 (draft)" (PDF). UNDP. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
References
- Laurence, Margaret; Nora Foster Stovel (2003). Heart of a stranger. University of Alberta. ISBN 9780888644077.
- Taleex
- Populated places in Sool, Somaliland