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Samaale, also spelled Samali or Samale (Somali: Samaale) is traditionally considered to be the common forefather of several major Somali clans and their respective sub-clans. His name is the source of the ethnonym Somali.[1]
As the purported ancestor of most pastoralist clans living in the northern part of Somalia, Samaale lies at the basis of the largest and most widespread Somali lineage (the second largest lineage belonging to Samaale's brother Sab, the purported progenitor of most southern, cultivating clans).[1] The main branches of the Samaale clan are the Dir, the Hawiye, the Isaaq, the Darod, and the 'pre-Hawiya' group (containing the Gardere, the Yakabur, and the Mayle).[2]
Both the Samaale and the Sab claim to be ultimately descended from the Arab clan of the Quraysh through Aqil ibn Abi Talib (c. 580 – 670 or 683), a cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and older brother of Ali.[3] Although these claims of descent are historically untenable, they do reflect the longstanding cultural contacts between Somalia (especially, though not exclusively, its most northern part Somaliland) and Southern Arabia.[4]
- ^ a b Lewis 1961, pp. 11–13.
- ^ Abbink 2009, p. 11. Some of the sub-clans belonging to the 'pre-Hawiya' group are today regarded as rather belonging to the Hawiye; see Abbink 2009, p. 30.
- ^ Lewis 1961, pp. 11–13; cf. Lewis 1994, pp. 104–105.
- ^ Lewis 1994, pp. 102–106, esp. p. 105. Cf. the attempt at a historical reconstruction of Somali clan genealogy by Abbink 2009, which does not even mention any Arab ancestry, but rather starts with Sab and Samaale (see p. 10).