by Ahmed Bashir
Saturday May 6, 2023
In this piece I want to reference and also recommend
to the enlightened reader two books that I read years ago.
1. 1. Abyssinian
Conquest: 1935-1936, by Philip Jowett
2. 2.
Grammar of the Somali Language: Cambridge University Press Warehouse, 1905, by
J.W.C. Kirk. See APPENDIX III, pages 139-142
These two books shed light on the myth ridden Somali
Klan structure which shifts Klan allegiance and alliance as conveniently as the
circumstances warrant, especially when under imminent danger.
In this first book, very few of the present-day Clans
are mentioned. This can mean, the Clans we presently have formed after new
alliances were created many years ago, due to some unknown circumstances.
For example, nowadays we hear Isaaq and Biyo-Maal are
related; Warsangali and Abgaal are blood brothers; Ogaden and Sacad, ditto,
Xawadle and Leelkase belong to each other, and to cap it off, these days we
hear that DIR belongs to IRIR, and the new IRIR alliance nowadays lumps
together all non-Darood folks, to fend off perceived Darood hegemony.
In the second book, representative of the United
Kingdom in the British Somaliland asked the Chiefs of the Isaaq Clan who among
Somali Clans are considered Nobel (GOB in Somali) or Outcast (GUN/SAB, in
Somali).
Keep in mind that the British came to Northern Somali
coast in 1884, and the second book that I referenced was published in 1905, 21
years after the British came to Somalia.
The Chiefs complied and promulgated as shown in
Appendix III, Pages 139-142 of second book referenced above.
Nobles are:
a. ISHHAQ
/ISAAQ),
b. DARUD/DAAROOD
c. DIR
(GADABURSI/SAMAROON, ESA/ISSA), and
Outcasts are:
d. HAWIYA,
e. TOMAL,
f.
MIDGAN, and
g. YIBIR
Today, the presumed Outcasts of yesteryears (albeit
118 years ago) are ruling over the supposedly Noble Ones. And certain so-called
Nobles (ISAAQs) are seeking TOL alliance with clans they considered outcast in
1905, the print date of the referenced book, and the date they taught the
British the inferiority of Hawiya, their chosen savors of today.
In other words, 118 years ago, Somaliland chiefs
considered the HAWIYA Clan as an outcast, but today they both belong to the
imaginary IRIR Super Clan. Does that make sense? It doesn’t make sense to me
but if it makes sense to you then I guess that is how long it takes to become a
brand new Noble or Outcast.
The very Somali language word for Clan (Tol) actually signifies
this fallacy/myth which of the ever-shifting Clan alliances. The word TOL means
to stitch together separate pieces of something which may or may not be of the
same kind, stitching together disparate Clans in this case.
In early days, when a Somali was faced with an imminent
danger that he/she could not handle alone, s/he would invoke in Somali (War Yaa
Tol ah or War Yaa Toleey”, are there any of my alliance in presence” so as to
seek help from his allies to fend off whatever danger s/he faced.
It was in mid 2000s in Atlanta, Georgia, when someone
that I was having a conversation enlightened my understanding to this least
understood meaning of the word “TOL”, and it made sense. From that meaning I
surmised that fallacies and myths of Somali Clans are merely opportunistic folklore,
and are far from being genuine.
The Prime Minister U.K Rishi Sunak is Hindu, and the
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is Muslim. They did not achieve success through
Clannish loyalty, allegiance and alliance. Their success came through hardwork,
discipline, shared national values.
If Somalis want to achieve similar achievements, they
would have to completely change and overcome their Clannish fervor and disease,
and do at least the following:
1. Come
out clean of the Clan Closet, i.e. ditch Clannish culture.
2. Minimize
or eliminate close-relative marriages (incest marriages)
3. Sedentarize
(permanently settle down) marauding camel herders/Clans
4. Let
people chose leaders and form of government through people’s will
In conclusion, I personally do not believe in Clan
nobility of any sort. I believe Somalis are not different Tribes or ethnicities
such as prevalent elsewhere in Africa. Somalis are different Clans within one
Tribe called Somali.
The cure for the Clan disease is unite under the
banner of the Somali nationality.
Dugsi Ma Leh
Qabyaaladi Waxay Dumiso Mooyane.
Ahmed Bashir
[email protected]