Harla people

Cave painting attributed to Harla near Harar

The Harla are credited by the present-day inhabitants of parts of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia with having constructed various historical sites.[6] Although now mostly lying in ruins, these structures include stone necropoleis, store pits, mosques and houses. Cave drawings are also attributed to the Harla.[7] According to the scholars Azais, Chambard and Huntingford, the builders of these monumental edifices were ancestral to the Somalis ("proto-Somali"). Tradition states one of Harla's main towns was Metehara and the area between Harar and Dire Dawa is still referred to as Harla.[8] The Harla were of Hamitic ancestral stock, and were of tall stature. They inhabited Tchertcher and various other areas in the Horn, where they erected various tumuli.[1] Some historians have linked the Harla ruins with Great Zimbabwe due to the resemblance of stone work.[9] According to historian Richard Wilding, tales indicate Harla lived in the interior of Ogaden and by the seashores of modern Somalia prior to the Somali and Oromo movements into these regions.[10]

The Harla Kingdom existed as early as the sixth century, it would later be influenced by Islam sometime in the eighth century.[11]In the ninth century, the earliest known Muslim kingdom in the Horn of Africa, Makhzumi dynasty, sprung up in Harla country. The Makhzumi capital Walale was in Northern Hararghe.[12][13] Makhzumi state was known within the Arab world as part of the country of Zeila and by Jewish travelers as the land of Havilah.[14][15] According to folklore, the Harla reportedly had a queen named Arawelo, who ruled much of the eastern parts of the Horn of Africa. In Zeila a clan called Harla claims to be related to the ancient people. Locals in Zeila also attested that the old town of Amoud was built by the Harla.[16]

Ruins of a thirteenth century Harla town near Dire Dawa

The influx of Arab immigrants such as Abadir into Harla territory would lead to the development of the town of Harar known then as Ge.[17] Harar would become the leading center of Islam in the Horn of Africa.[18] Archaeologist Timothy Insoll discovered stoneware in Harlaa town resembling those found in Harar.[19]

According to thirteenth century Arab geographer Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi, the country of Harla was east of Abyssinia and north of Zanj. Harla clans descendant from Sadadin participated in the sixteenth century Abyssinian-Adal war.[20] Ibn Said further states the Harla territory passed the Blue Nile, north east and ended near the shores, the Harla made a living in the gold and silver mines.[21]

According to Ethiopian accounts, in the 14th century, the Harla led by their Imam Saleh under the Ifat Sultanate[22] battled against the forces of emperor Amda Seyon I in what is now Northern Somalia which was Harla occupied.[23][24] In the 15th century Emperor Zara Yaqob of Ethiopia sold several Abba Estifanos of Gwendagwende supporters to Harla slave traders as punishment for joining the Stephanite sect labelled heretic by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[25] A power struggle had developed in the early 16th century between Harla emirs of Harar and Walashma dynasty in which Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi would assume power by executing the Walashma Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad.[26]

In the middle of the 16th century, the Adal Sultanate led by Harla and their Somali allies invaded Abyssinia.[27] The Abyssinian-Adal war was in response to the killing of Harla leader of Adal, Imam Mahfuz by the hands of Emperor Dawit II.[28][29][30] In the wars against Emperor Sarsa Dengel, the Harla were led by Muhammed IV of Harar.[31][32][33] Late Sixteenth century saw Oromos invading regions of Somalia from the northern areas of Hargeisa to its southern portions such as Lower Juba, incorporating the Harla people.[34] In 1577 Harla would move the Adal capital to the oasis of Aussa, and later create the Imamate of Aussa before being overthrown by the Mudaito dynasty in the eighteenth century.[35] In 1893 British led expeditions, came across an ancient town in Nugaal Valley Somalia, the local Dhulbahante tribe alleged the Harla had lived in the area before the Oromo invasions.[36] In 2017, a Harla town that produced jewelry was discovered by archaeologists. The architecture of a mosque found affirmed Harla had ties with Islamic centers in Tanzania and Somalia.[37] The Harla tribe's disappearance could have been due to the Abyssinian–Adal war in the sixteenth century, destitution, or assimilation.[38] Strong evidence suggests that during the Great Oromo Migrations, the remaining Harla retreated behind the walls of Harar and were able to survive culturally.[39] Local folklore from the Harla village near Dire Dawa, however claim Harla were farmers from the Ogaden and went extinct because of their arrogance, refusing to fast in Ramadan, and attempts to have the Quran written in Harla language, hence were cursed by God.[40]

Many Somali clans have links to the Harla. Most particularly the Issa subclan of the Madoobe Dir. Within the Issa, the Harla are found within 2 clan divisions. The first being the Horroone clan division, where they are called Harla, and they are also found within the Eeleye clan division as Bah Harla and Harla Muse. All segments regard themselves as Dir.[41][42] Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin Abd al-Qader's Futūh al-Habaša explicitly ascribes a non-Somali ethnic origin to the Harla, whilst traditions connect Harla to Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti and Darod, ancestors of the Ogaden clan. In the modern era, the Harla have been reduced to insignificance under the Somali Darod clan.[43] According to historian Ali Jimale Ahmed, the surviving Harla dwelling in the Harari kingdom were absorbed by Somalis after the sixteenth century.[44] According to Sara Fani, Darod clans in Afar region who claim Harla descent regard themselves as Afar which may indicate that the now current Somali clan of Darod was assimilated by Somalis later in the following centuries.[45] The Darod sub clan Harti and Geri are furthermore according to tradition, the brothers of Harla.[46][47][48] The Karanle sub clan of Hawiye claims its roots is Harla.[49]

In Oromo tradition, the Karayu and Ittu clans are considered to have connections with Harla.[50]

The Afar also have tribes linked to Harla called Kabirtu.[51] In Afar region, clans named after Harla are found among farmers in Aussa, and Awash district between Dubti and Afambo. The moniker of clans proposes a fusion between native and immigrating tribes.[52]

Hadiya people are believed to be originally descendants of the Harla people.[53]

The Harari people are considered to be the closest remaining link to the Harla people.[39] According to Hararis, the Harari ethnic group consist of seven Harla subclans: Abogn, Adish, Awari, Gidaya, Gaturi, Hargaya, and Wargar.[54] Some sources claim Harla were a less semitic version of the Harari.[55]

Field research by Enrico Cerulli identified a modern group called the "Harla" living amongst the Somali in the region between the cities of Harar and Jijiga. Encyclopaedia Aethiopica suggests that this population "may be a remnant group of the old [Harla], that integrated into the Somali genealogical system, but kept a partially separate identity by developing a language of their own." Cerulli published some data on this Harla community's language, called af Harlaad, which resembled the Somali languages spoken by the Yibir and Madhiban low-caste groups.[56]And Muse clan

According to historian Richard Wilding Harla were ancient Cushitic[2] however ethnologist Ulrich Braukämper suggests a Semitic variation which he labels "Harala-Harari" later developed in the Islamic period. Harala-Harari speakers were evidently disrupted by the Oromo migrations, leading to isolated related Semitic languages of Harari surviving in the walled city of Harar, Zay language on the island of Lake Zway and in parts of eastern Gurage territory such as Siltʼe language.[57]

• Mahfuz, Imam and General of the Adal Sultanate

• Harar
• Zeila
• Zay people
• Gurage people

• Richard Wilding, The Arla, the Argobba and Links between the Coast and the Highlands. A Preliminary Archeological Survey. Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Arts, 1975