Benadiri people

The Benadiri people (Somali: Reer Benaadir, Arabic: البنادر‎), also known as Reer Xamar (pronounced "Hamar") or "people of Xamar",[1] are an arab multiracial confederation. Members largely inhabit Somalia's southern coastline.


Benadiri
البنادر
Regions with significant populations
Mogadishu, Merca, Baraawe, Kismayo, Jaziira, Gendershe and other towns in Koonfuur Galbeed
Languages
Benadiri Somali, Somali, Chimini and Mahdoonte
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Somalis, Arabians (Yemenis and Omanis in particular), South Asians, Persians, and the Swahili

Overview

Although the Benadiri are sometimes described as the founders of Mogadishu (hence, their colloquial name Reer Xamar or "People of Mogadishu",[1] though the city itself is postulated to be a successor of ancient Sarapion[2]), the Benadiris originate from a group of minorities that originates from "mercantile urban communities" established by migrants from the Arabian Peninsula who settled along the southern coast of Somalia and built stone towns for defense and trade.[3][4]

Their members also trace their origins to diverse groups. The latter primarily comprise various other Somali clans, with some additional influences from the ancient Emozeidi Arabs, Persians, and South Asians.[5][6]

Reer Xamar were instrumental in helping to consolidate the local Muslim community, especially in the coastal Benadir region.[7] During the colonial period, they were also among the founding members of the Somali Youth League, Somalia's first political party.[8]

Benadiri Confederates

The Benadiri people split up into three major confederacies.

Notable Figures
  • Bur’i Mohamed Hamza, was a Somali-Canadian politician. From August 2012 to January 2014, he was a Member of the Federal Parliament of Somalia. He later served as the State Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia from January to October 2014, and subsequently as the State Minister of Finance until December 2014. He was the State Minister of the Premier's Office for Environment at the time of his death.
  • Ramla Ali, current African Featherweight Champion and the first boxer in history to have won a boxing title whilst representing Somalia.
  • Muhidin Abubakar, currently ranked as the number one amateur flyweight MMA fighter in the UK and Ireland.[9]
  • Jeylani Nur Ikar
  • Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, current Petroleum minister of the Federal Government of Somalia
  • ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz alAmawī
  • Dada Masiti

See also

References
  1. Abbink, J. (1999). The total Somali clan genealogy: a preliminary sketch. African Studies Centre. p. 18.
  2. Vérin, Pierre (1986). The History of Civilisation in North Madagascar. A.A. Balkema. p. 30.
  3. Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Somalia: The Reer Hamar and/or Benadiri, including the location of their traditional homeland, affiliated clans and risks they face from other clans". Refworld. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  4. Refworld.org, Refworld.org. "Situation in South and Central Somalia (including Mogadishu)" (PDF).
  5. Africa, Volumes 8-9. Kraus Reprint. 1975. p. 199. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  6. https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/benadiri
  7. Cassanelli, Lee V. (1973). "The Benaadir past: essays in southern Somali history". University of Wisconsin: 24. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. I. M. Lewis, A pastoral democracy: a study of pastoralism and politics among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa, (LIT Verlag Münster: 1999), p.304.
  9. https://web.archive.org/web/20200328040904/https://www.tapology.com/rankings/regional/1782-united-kingdom-ireland-amateur-mens-flyweight

Further reading
  • Gundel, Joakim (2009). Clans in Somalia (PDF). Austrian Centre for Country of Origin & Asylum Research and Documentation (Report).


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