Habr Awal

The Habr Awal (Somali: Habr Awal, Arabic: هبر أول‎, Zubair Abdirahman (Awal) Shiekh Ishaaq ibn Ahmad; also spelled Zubeyr Awal, or Subeer Awal)[1] is a major Somali clan in the Horn of Africa. It is part of the Isaaq clan family, and is further divided into several sub-clans of whom the two largest and most prominent are the Sa'ad Musa and Issa Musa sub-clans. Its members form a part of the Habr Magaadle confederation. The Habr Awal traditionally consists of nomadic pastoralists, coastal people, merchants and farmers. They are historically viewed as an affluent clan relative to other Somali clans.[2] The Habr Awal are politically and economically influential in present-day Somaliland, and reside in strategic coastal and fertile lands.[3][4]

Habr Awal
هبر أول
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Somali, Arabic
Religion
Islam (Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
Ayub, Arap, Garhajis, Habr Je'lo and other Isaaq groups

Distribution
Habr Awal farmer near Hargeisa, 20th century
Male Habr Awal nomad, 19th century
Habr Awal woman from Berbera, 19th century

The Habr Awal clan make up the majority in Maroodi Jeex region which is considered the most populous region in Somaliland, forming a majority in the national capital Hargeisa as well as exclusively dominating in the agricultural towns and settlements of Gabiley, Wajaale (Somaliland Side), Arabsiyo, and Kalabaydh. The Habr Awal are also prevalent in Sahil region, principally in the regional capital and port city of Berbera, and the historic town of Sheikh as well as Daarbuduq. The clan also partially inhabits the northern portion of the capital city of Burao in Togdheer region as well. The Habr Awal also partially inhabit the neighbouring region of Awdal, namely in eastern Lughaya. Outside of Somaliland, the Habr Awal also have large settlements in the Somali region of Ethiopia, specifically in Fafan Zone where they respectively make up the majority in Harshin, Hart Sheik, and Wajaale (Ethiopian Side) towns. They also settle and border Kebri Beyah and Jigjiga in the Fafan Zone. They also have a large settlement in Kenya where they are known as a constituent segment of the Isahakia community.[5] Finally they have a large presence in Djibouti as well, forming a large percentage of the Somali population in Djibouti and within Djibouti they have historically settled in Quartier 3, which is one of the 7 major districts in Djibouti.[6][7][8]

History

Sheikh Ishaaq Bin Ahmed was one of the Arabian scholars that crossed the sea from Arabia to the Horn of Africa to spread Islam around 12th to 13th century. He is said to have been descended from Prophet Mohammed's daughter Fatimah. Hence the Sheikh belonged to the Ashraf or Sada, titles given to the descendants of the prophet. He married two local women in Somalia that left him eight sons, one of them being Abdirahman (Awal). The descendants of those eight sons are the what is known as Isaaq clan today.

The grave of Zubeyr Awal, the eponymous ancestor of the Habr Awal subclan of the Isaaq, is located in Jidali in Sanaag which is about 100 km east of the tomb of his grandfather Sheikh Ishaaq Bin Ahmed, the founding father of the Isaaq clan, whose tomb is located in the coastal town of Maydh.

Medieval Period (Conquest of Abbysinia)

Historically the Habr Awal were part of the Adal Sultanate and are mentioned in the renowned "Futuh Al-Habash" for their major contributions in the Abyssinian-Adal war as the Habr Magaadle along with the Garhajis, Arap and Ayub clans against the Abyssinian empire, and also for producing a historical figure known as Ahmad Girri bin Husain who was the righthand partner of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi and a chieftain for the Habr Magaadle forces during the Abyssinian–Adal war.[9]

Early Modern Period

The Habr Awal have a rich mercantile history largely due to their possession of the major Somali port of Berbera, which was the chief port and settlement of Habr Awal clan during the early modern period.[10]

The Habr Awal as a whole are a rich people, mainly thanks to the trade passing though the port of Berbera which lies in the territory of the Sa’ad Musa.[11]

Engraving of Berbera, including a Mosque and fort

The Habr Awal merchants had extensive trade relations with Arab and Indian merchants from Arabia and the Indian subcontinent respectively. When these foreign traders arrived in Berbera and Bulhar to conduct trade, there was a mutually beneficial arrangement based on the abban (protection) system between them and the local Reer Yunis Nuh and Ahmed Nuh lineages of Sa’ad Musa, Habr Awal:

Before this, and prior to the British settlement at Aden in 1839, the Ayyal Yunis and Ayyal Ahmed lineages of the Habr Awal clan had held Berbera and jointly managed its trade, sharing in the profits on all commercial transactions as ‘protectors’ (abans) of foreign merchants from Arabia and India. When under the stimulus of developments at Aden the port’s prosperity markedly increased, the numerically dominant Ayyal Yunis drove out their rival kinsmen and declared themselves commercial masters of Berbera. This led to a feud in which each side sought outside help; the defeated Ayyal Ahmed turned to Haji Shirmarke ‘Ali and his Habr Yunis clansmen for support. With this backing, they were then able to re-establish themselves and to expel the Ayyal Yunis who moved to the small roadstead of Bulhar, some miles to the west of Berbera.[12]

Not only did the Habr Awal host foreign merchants at their ports, they also conducted trade missions on their own vessels to the Arabian ports.[13] The majority of the Somali merchants who frequented Aden and other Southern Arabian ports hailed from the Habr Awal clan. They procured various raw goods from Harar and the interior in exchange for manufactured goods. During their stay, the Habr Awal rented their own houses and hired their own servants, whereas other Somali clans tended to stay with relatives already established across the Gulf.

Merchants. — These are generally members of the Habr Awal tribe. They bring from Harrar and the Galla country, coffee, saffron (bastard), tusks (ivory), and feathers, taking away in return zinc, brass, broad cloth, and piece goods. They remain in Aden for about twenty days at a time during the trading season, which lasts about nine months,' making four trips. During their residence they hire a house, and are accompanied by their own domestics.[14]

In the interior, Habr Awal trade caravans (khafilas) were a frequent sight according to contemporary European accounts of the Somali Peninsula:

On leaving Hargeisa we travelled for many miles through beautiful park-like land, alive with birds and jungle fowl. We met the usual Somali khafilas [trading caravans] of Habr-Awal men, carrying their skins, gums, ghee, and coffee to our port at Bulhar, situated between Berbera and Zeila.[15]

The Somalis from the deep interior, principally those from the Ogaden, also gained most of their resources from the Habr Awal merchants who they called "iidoor", an enviable pejorative meaning merchant or trader, a reference to the mercantile nature of the Habr Awal traders at the time.[16] The coastal Habr Awal (mainly the Reer Ahmed Nuh) regularly acted as brokers/middlemen for the Somali clans of the interior who wished to take their goods to the ports of Berbera and Bulhar:

The custom is for the Ayal Achmet (Berbera tribe) to act as brokers, and too often most of the profits stick to the hands of the middleman. Till lately no Ogadayn ever went to the coast, but entrusted the goods to coast traders.[17]

British Protectorate Period

The Habr Awal clan came under the British Protectorate by signing a treaty with the British Empire on 14 July 1884. The Habr Awal continued to have a lucrative trading agreement with their foreign contacts, many of whom were also under British rule in their respective nations. The British established the capital of the British Somaliland protectorate at Berbera, but later moved the capital to Hargeisa in 1941.[18]

Somali Civil War and the Somali National Movement

The Somali National Movement (SNM) was a 1980s–1990s rebel group. The SNM at 1981 founding in London it elected Ahmed Mohamed Gulaid from the Habr Awal clan as its first chairman, who stated that the group's explicit purpose was to overthrow the Siad Barre military regime.[19] The SNM gathered its main base of support from members of the Isaaq clan, who formed and supported the movement in response to years of systematic discrimination by the Siad Barre government.

Members of the Habr Awal clan made up a significant portion of leaders and soldiers of the SNM. Habr Awal Commanders carried out many successful operations that led to the decisive victory of the group and to the downfall of the Siad Barre regime.

In western Somaliland, this group was prominently represented in the 99 division of the Somali National Movement which was founded in Gabiley with the majority of the divisions troops consisting of militia fighters hailing from the Jibril Abokor section of the Sa'ad Muuse sub-clan of the Habr Awal that dominates the Gabiley region. The 99 division was Commanded by General Mohamed Hasan Abdullahi (Jidhif) of the Jibril Abokor who successfully conquered Awdal region and completely erased the presence of Somali National Army forces within Gabiley and Awdal and forced the local Gadabursi inhabitants of Awdal to pledge loyalty to Somaliland. As commander of the 99 division, General Mohamed Hasan Abdullahi (Jidhif) also established a Somali National Movement military base in Zeila where the SNM occupied the Awdal region for 4 years and successfully defeated attempts by USF militia forces loyal to Djibouti who tried to take advantage of the fall of Siad Barre's Military Junta in 1991 and annex the city of Zeila.[20]

In central Somaliland, Muse Bihi Abdi and his Hussein Abokor section of the Sa'ad Muuse sub-clan of the Habr Awal successfully liberated Hargeisa from the brutal communist regime and played a preeminent role for the SNM where they liberated Hargeisa, and Faraweyne. Simultaneously, the Isse Muuse Division commanded by Colonel Ibrahim Dhagaweyne liberated the strategic port city of Berbera and the historic town of Sheikh. After the establishment of Somaliland in 1991. Habr Awal businessmen funded the most money where they donated millions of dollars to provide SNM fighters with food, supplies and military grade equipment. The Habr Awal commercial cities like Berbera and Wajaale is where gained most of the weapons were imported through from and with the wealthy Habr Awal businessmen the SNM forces were able to gain enough weapons.[21]

The Habr Awal clan played a predominant role with SNM and were one of the respected founders. They also built Somaliland's political institutions from the ground under the consequential rule of Somaliland's 2nd president Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal. During his 9-year tenure as President of Somaliland, Egal managed to disarm local rebel groups, stabilized the northwestern Somaliland region's economy, and established informal trade ties with foreign countries. He also introduced the Somaliland shilling, passport and a newly redesigned flag. In addition, Egal created the Somaliland Armed Forces, the most effective Somali armed forces since the disbandment of the Somali National Army in 1991.[22]

List of prominent Habr Awal SNM Commanders (Mujahids).[23]

  • Colonel Abdilahi Askar Barkhad
  • Abdikarim Hashi Elmi
  • Adan Dhamah
  • Adan Shiine
  • Ahmed Jama Sabban (Janan Oogo)
  • Ahmed Mohamed Gulaid
  • Ahmed Dhagah
  • Ahmed Ibrahim (Raage Bidaar)
  • Ahmed Golhaye
  • Ahmed Mohamed Hasan (Ahmed Japan)
  • Ali Gurey
  • General Ali Hussein Abdi
  • Boobe Yusuf Dualeh
  • General Hassan Yonis Habane
  • Haybe Ahmed Gure (Haybe Laambad)
  • Hamud Ibrahim Ismail
  • Professor Ibrahim Meygaag Samatar
  • Ibrahim Dhagahweyne
  • Sheikh Ibrahim Madar
  • Mohamed Elmi Samatar Galan
  • General Mohamed Hasan Abdullahi (Jidhif)
  • Mohamed Hashi Elmi
  • Mohamed Hasan (Gacmo Dheere)
  • Mahdi Ali Farah
  • Colonel Muse Bihi Abdi
  • Nuh Ismail Tani
  • Sheikh Yusuf Ali Sheikh Madar
  • Yahya Haji Ibrahim

Clan Tree and Lineage

In the Isaaq clan-family, component clans are divided into two uterine divisions, as shown in the genealogy. The first division is between those lineages descended from sons of Sheikh Ishaaq by a Harari woman – the Habr Habuusheed – and those descended from sons of Sheikh Ishaaq by a Somali woman of the Magaadle sub-clan of the Dir – the Habr Magaadle. Indeed, most of the largest clans of the clan-family are in fact uterine alliances hence the matronymic "Habr" which in archaic Somali means "mother".[24] This is illustrated in the following clan structure.[25] DNA analysis of Isaaq clan members inhabiting Djibouti found that all of the individuals belonged to the EV32 subclade of the Y-DNA E1b1b paternal haplogroup.[26]

A summarized clan family tree of major Habr Awal subclans is presented below.[27]

  • Sheikh Ishaaq Bin Ahmed Al Hashimi (Sheikh Ishaaq)
    • Habr Habuusheed
      • Ahmed (Tol-Ja’lo)
      • Muuse (Habr Jeclo)
      • Ibrahiim (Sanbuur)
      • Muhammad (‘Ibraan)
    • Habr Magaadle
      • Ismail (Garhajis)
      • Ayub
      • Muhammad (Arap)
      • Abdirahman (Habr Awal)
        • Sa'ad Muuse
          • Abdirahman Sa'ad
          • Abdalla Sa'ad
          • Hassan Sa'ad
            • Abdalla Hassan
          • Isaaq Sa'ad
            • Makahil Isaaq
            • Mohammed Isaaq (Abbas)
            • Isse Isaaq (Ciise Carab)
            • Musa (Ase) Isaaq
            • Yeesif Isaaq
            • Abokor Isaaq
              • Ugaadh Abokor (Ugaadhyahan)
              • Abdalla Abokor
              • Hussein Abokor
                • Osman Hussein (Cismaannada)
                • Jibril Hussein
                  • Ismail Jibril
                    • Nuh Ismail
                      • Yunis Nuh (Reer Yunis Nuh)
                        • Shirdoon Yonis (Reer Shirdoon)
                        • Hoosh Yonis (Reer Hoosh)
                        • Gadid Yonis (Reer Gadid)
                        • Mohammed Yonis
                      • Ahmed Nuh (Reer Ahmed Nuh)
                    • Said Ismail
                    • Abdalla Ismail
                    • Ali Ismail
                    • Idris Ismail (Bah Gobo)
                    • Muhumed Ismail (Waran'ad)
                    • Yonis Ismail (Bah Gobo)
                    • Yusuf Ismail
              • Jibril Abokor
                • Adan Jibril (Bahaabar Adan)
                • Ali Jibril
                  • Omar Ali
                    • Abeeb Omar (Baha Omar)
                    • Abtidon Omar (Baha Omar)
                    • Adan Omar
                    • Hussein Qawa Omar (Baha Omar)
                    • Sahal Omar (Baha Omar)
                    • Yonis Omar (Dugeh)
                    • Ismail Omar
                      • Barre Ismail
                        • Hareed Barre (Reer Hareed)
                      • Dalal Ismail (Reer Dalal)
                      • Geedi Ismail 'Gheedi Shide' (Baha Omar)
                      • Hoosh Ismail (Baha Omar)
                      • Higgis Ismail
                      • Idris Ismail
                      • Ollow Ismail
                      • Samatar Ismail
                      • Qayaad Ismail (Baha Omar)
                • Hassan Jibril
                • Mohamed Jibril (Deriyahan)
                • Yonis Jibril (Reer Yonis)
                  • Urkurag Yonis
                    • Adan Urkurag
                      • Omar Adan
                      • Ali Adan
                      • Ahmed Adan
        • Issa Muuse
          • Adan Issa
            • Jibril Adan
              • Mohamoud Jibril
              • Hassan Jibril
              • Ibrahim Jibril
              • Ismail Jibril
          • Abokor Issa
            • Hassan Abokor
              • Balle Hassan (Reer Baale)
              • Musa Hassan
          • Idarys Issa
          • Mohamed Issa
            • Mukhtar Mohamed
            • Hassan Mohamed
            • Jibril Mohamed
              • Omar Jibril
              • Abokor Jibril
              • Yonis Jibril
              • Muuse Jibril
                • Ali Muuse
                  • Sahal Ali (Reer Sahal)
                  • Wa'ays Ali (Reer Wa'ays)
                  • Abane Ali (Reer Abane)
                  • Had Ali (Reer Had)
                  • Hildid Ali (Reer Hildid)
              • Abdirahman Muuse
              • Abdulle Muuse
                • Abdalle Abdulle (Abdalle Qoyan)
                • Hassan Abdulle
                  • Ahmed Hassan (Dhogori)
                  • Deriyahan Hassan
        • Abdi Muuse
        • Abdalla Muuse
        • Afgab Muuse
        • Egalle Muuse
        • Eli Muuse
        • Omar Muuse

Prominent and Influential figures
Mo Farah, British four-time Olympic gold medalist and the most decorated athlete in British athletics history.
Rageh Omaar, Somali-British journalist and writer; former BBC world affairs correspondent; moved to a new post at Al Jazeera English in 2006; as of 2017 is with ITV News
Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, legendary Somali politician. First Prime Minister of Somalia: 1960, 1967–1969. President of Somaliland, 1993–2002.

The clan has produced some of the most prominent and influential Somali figures in history, who are listed below:

References
  1. Central Intelligence Agency (2002). "Ethnic Groups". Somalia Summary Map. Perry–Castañeda Library. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  2. Castagno, Margaret (1975). Historical dictionary of Somalia. ISBN 9780810808300.
  3. http://www.awdalpress.com/index/one-clan-domination-is-complete-in-somaliland/
  4. Renders, Marleen (2012-01-20). Consider Somaliland: State-Building with Traditional Leaders and Institutions. ISBN 9789004222540.
  5. Omaar, Rakiya; Waal, Alexander De; McGrath, Rae; (Organization), African Rights (1993). "Violent deeds live on: landmines in Somalia and Somaliland, p. 63". |
  6. http://www.unhcr.org/publ/RESEARCH/3d5d0f3a4.pdf/
  7. Imbert-Vier, Simon (2011). Tracer des frontières à Djibouti: des territoires et des hommes aux XIXe et XXe siècles (in French). KARTHALA Editions. ISBN 9782811105068.
  8. Lewis, I. M. (1999). I. M. Lewis, A pastoral Democracy. ISBN 9780852552803.
  9. "مخطوطات > بهجة الزمان > الصفحة رقم 16". makhtota.ksu.edu.sa. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  10. "Piece of Berbera History: Reer Ahmed Nuh Ismail". wordpress.com. 21 August 2015.
  11. Ethnographic Survey of Africa, Volume 5. 1969. p. 24.
  12. Lewis, I.M. (1965). The Modern History of Somaliland: from Nation to State. Praeger. p. 35.
  13. Prichard, J. C. (1837). Researches Into the Physical History of Mankind: Ethnography of the African races. Sherwood, Gilbert & Piper. p. 160.
  14. Hunter, Frederick (1877). An Account of the British Settlement of Aden in Arabia. Cengage Gale. p. 41.
  15. 'Twixt sirdar & Menelik: an account of a year's expedition from Zeila to Cairo, p. 18, 1901
  16. Somali Poetry, Lewis & Adrzejewski, 1964, pp. 111–115
  17. The Dublin Review, Volume 98. 1886. p. 176.
  18. D. J. Latham Brown (1956). "The Ethiopia-Somaliland Frontier Dispute". International and Comparative Law Quarterly. 5 (2): 245–264. doi:10.1093/iclqaj/5.2.245. JSTOR 755848.
  19. Helen Chapin Metz, Somalia: a country study, Volume 550, Issues 86-993, (The Division: 1993), p.xxviii.
  20. Jama, Hassan Ali (2005). Hassan Ali Jama, Who cares about Somalia. ISBN 9783899300758.
  21. Lewis, I. M. (1983). Nationalism & Self determination in the Horn of Africa. ISBN 9780903729932.
  22. Glickman, Harvey (1995). Ethnic Conflict and Democritization in Afrcia, p. 217. ISBN 9780918456748.
  23. Forberg, Ekkehard; Terlinden, Ulf (13 April 1999). Small Arms in Somaliland: Their Role and Diffusion. BITS. ISBN 9783933111012 – via Google Books.
  24. Lewis, I. M.; Samatar, Said S. (1999). A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa. ISBN 9783825830847.
  25. 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. 157.
  26. Iacovacci, Giuseppe; et al. (2017). "Forensic data and microvariant sequence characterization of 27 Y-STR loci analyzed in four Eastern African countries". Forensic Science International: Genetics. 27: 123–131. doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2016.12.015. PMID 28068531. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  27. http://isaaq.webs.com/habrawal.htm
  28. https://books.google.ca/books?id=Mu0MAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA248&lpg=PA248&dq=the+royal+race+is+the+ayyal&source=bl&ots=fvtY7ZzikW&sig=Nk4RnVjm_ZTcVcZKthn22tFUBKQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3kKnLsffZAhUCvVkKHWNiAiYQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=the%20royal%20race%20is%20the%20ayyal&f=false, Sir Richard Francis Burton, First Footsteps in East Africa, Or, An Exploration of Harar, Volume 2, p. 52.
  29. "مخطوطات > بهجة الزمان > الصفحة رقم 17". makhtota.ksu.edu.sa. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  30. http://www.somalilandinformer.com/somaliland/somaliland-prominent-somali-journalist-ahmed-hasan-awke-passes-away-in-jigjiga/
  31. http://www.somalilandinformer.com/somaliland/breaking-ibrahim-dheere-tycoon-passes-away-in-djibouti/
  32. https://www.worldremit.com/en/about-us/management-team
  33. "Somali Entrepreneurs". Salaan Media. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 Feb 2018.
  34. "Mo Farah's family cheers him on from Somaliland village". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  35. Abdurahman., A (2017). Making Sense of Somali History. Adonis and Abbey. p. 80.
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