Somali clans

This article is about ethnic Somali clans also native to other areas in the Horn of Africa other than Somalia. For all the regions inhabited by Somalis, see Greater Somalia.

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Somali clans
Darod
Isaaq
Dir
Hawiye
Rahanweyn
Benadiri

Somali clans (Somali: Qabaa'ilka Soomaalida; Arabic: القبائل الصومالية, romanized: al-Qabāyỉl al-Sūmālīā) are patrilineal kinship groups based on agnatic descent of the Somali people.[1][2][3] Tradition and folklore connects the origin of the Somali population by language and way of life, and societal organisations, by customs, and by a feeling of belonging to a broader family among individuals from the Arabian Peninsula.[4][5][6]

The Somali people are a Muslim ethnoreligious group native to the Horn of Africa.[7] Predominantly of Cushitic ancestry, they are segmented into clan groupings which are important kinship units that play a central part in Somali culture and politics. Clan families are patrilineal and are divided into clans, primary lineages or subclans, and dia-paying kinship groups. The clan symbolise the utmost kinship level. It possesses territorial properties and is commonly governed by a Sultan. Primary lineages are directly derived from the clans, and are exogamous political entities with no officially appointed leader. They constitute the division level that an individual typically indicates he or she is affiliated with, with the founding forefather reckoned to between six and ten generations.[5][8]

The Somali people are mainly divided among five patrilineal clans, the Hawiye, Darod, Rahanweyn, Dir, and Isaaq.[9] The average person is able to trace his/her ancestry generations back. Somali clans in contemporary times have an established official structure in the country's political system, acknowledged by a mathematical formula for equitably distributing seats between the clans in the Federal Parliament of Somalia.[10][11][12]

Somali clans were founded by various patriarchs who came to Africa following the emergence of Islam, and they are linked to the propagation of the religion in the Somali Peninsula. The traditions of descent from noble forefathers from Quraysh set the Somalis further apart from other neighbouring ethnic groups.[13][14][15][16]

  1. ^ Lewis, Ioan (2004). "Visible and Invisible Differences: The Somali Paradox". Africa. 74 (4): 489–515. doi:10.3366/afr.2004.74.4.489. ISSN 1750-0184.
  2. ^ Lewis & Samatar 1999, p. 11.
  3. ^ Marian Aguiar (2010). Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates (ed.). Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 395. ISBN 978-0-19-533770-9.
  4. ^ Touval, Saadia (1963). Somali Nationalism: International Politics and the Drive for Unity in the Horn of Africa. Harvard University Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-674-59435-7.
  5. ^ a b Abdi, Farhia (2024-01-01). "Relational Leadership and Governing: Somali Clan Cultural Relational Leadership and Governing: Somali Clan Cultural Leadership Leadership". The Journal of Social Encounters. doi:10.69755/2995-2212.1248.
  6. ^ Hamilton, David (1967). "Imperialism Ancient and Modern: A Study of British Attitudes to the Claims to Sovereignty to the Northern Somali Coastline" (PDF). Journal of Ethiopian Studies: 11–12.
  7. ^ Østebø, Terje (2013-04-17). Muslim Ethiopia: The Christian Legacy, Identity Politics, and Islamic Reformism. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-32209-8.
  8. ^ Lewis & Samatar 1999, pp. 5–7, 11–14.
  9. ^ "Somali networks - structures of clan and society (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 949)". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  10. ^ "The role of 4.5 in democratization and governance in Somalia: Implications and considerations for the way forward (May 2023) - Somalia | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  11. ^ Ahmed, Nasteha (2019-02-01). "Somalia's struggle to integrate traditional and modern governance: The 4.5 formula and 2012 provisional constitution". Theses and Dissertations.
  12. ^ Osman, Abdulahi A. (2007-07-31). Somalia at the Crossroads: Challenges and Perspectives inReconstituting a Failed State. Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd. ISBN 978-1-909112-87-2.
  13. ^ Luling, Virginia (2002). Somali Sultanate: The Geledi City-state Over 150 Years. Transaction Publishers. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-874209-98-0.
  14. ^ Peter, C. B.; Wandera, Joseph; Jansen, Willem J. E. (2013). Mapping Eastleigh for Christian-Muslim Relations. African Books Collective. p. 17. ISBN 978-9966-040-61-9.
  15. ^ Nelson, Harold D. (1982). Somalia, a Country Study. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 6.
  16. ^ Kaplan, Irving (1977). Area Handbook for Somalia. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 61.