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

The Eidagale (Ciidangale/Ciidagale) (Arabic: ‎عيدَغَلي, [which translates to "army joiner"], Full Name: Da'ud ibn Al-Qādhī Ismā'īl ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad, is a major Somali clan and is a sub-division of the Garhajis clan of the Isaaq clan family. Members of this clan are concentrated in Somaliland and the Somali region of Ethiopia. The Eidagale are part of the four principal clans of the Isaaq clan family. They are the traditional holders of the Isaaq Sultanate since the 18th century.[1] As descendants of Ismail bin Sheikh Isaaq, its members form a part of the Habar Magaadle confederation, and they constitute the largest sub-clan of the Isaaq.[2][3][4][5] They are traditionally nomadic pastoralists, merchants and skilled poets.

Distribution

Map of Somaliland showing distribution of the Eidagale tribe in western and southwestern Somaliland

The Eidagale, largely inhabit the eastern Maroodi Jeex region of Somaliland, as well as the Daroor, Aware and Misraq Gashamo zones in the Somali region of Ethiopia. They also live on the middle and south eastern side of Hargeisa as well as the Salahlay District in eastern Maroodi Jeex region. They also have a large settlement in Kenya where they are known as a constituent segment of the Isahakia community.[6][7]

History

Shrine of Saint Aw Barkhadle, which is under the protection of the Eidagale clan
Horsemen hailing from the Eidagale clan

Lineage

Part of the message from Isaaq Sultan Farah Guled to Sultan Saqr Al Qasimi in the 1820s

Sheikh Ishaaq ibn 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. It is said he married two local women in Somaliland that left him eight sons, one of them being Ismail (Garhajis).[8]

Medieval period

Historically the Eidagale took part in the conquest of Abyssinia and were part of the Adal Sultanate and are mentioned in the book Futuh Al-Habash (Conquest of Abyssinia) as the Habar Magaadle along with the Habr Yunis, Habar Awal, Arap and Ayub clans. The Habar Magaadle are known for producing a historical figure known as Ahmad Gurey bin Husain who was the right-hand man of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi.[9]

I. M. Lewis discusses the existence of another leader named Ahmad Gurey, and suggests that the two leaders have been conflated into one historical figure:

The text refers to two Ahmad's with the nickname 'Left-handed'. One is regularly presented as 'Ahmad Guray, the Somali' (...) identified as Ahmad Gurey Xuseyn, chief of the Habar Magaadle. Another reference, however, appears to link the Habar Magadle with the Eidagal. The other Ahmad is simply referred to as 'Imam Ahmad' or simply the 'Imam'.This Ahmad is not qualified by the adjective Somali (...) The two Ahmad's have been conflated into one figure, the heroic Ahmed Guray[10]

For centuries, the tomb of saint Aw Barkhadle, which is located between Berbera and Hargeisa, was used by the Isaaq clans to settle disputes and to swear oaths of alliances under a holy relic attributed to Bilal Ibn Rabah. As traditional leaders of the Isaaq clans, the Eidagale placed themselves as mediators during the disputes.

When any grave question arises affecting the interests of the Isaakh tribe in general. On a paper yet carefully preserved in the tomb, and bearing the sign-manual of Belat [Bilal], the slave of one of the early khaleefehs, fresh oaths of lasting friendship and lasting alliances are made...In the season of 1846 this relic was brought to Berbera in charge of the Haber Gerhajis, and on it the rival tribes of Aial Ahmed and Aial Yunus swore to bury all animosity and live as brethren.[11]

Sultan Deria's domain in an Italian map of the Horn, 1894

The Eidagale were renowned for their equestrian skills, and their devastating raids extended between the coast and the interior.[12] According to Swayne, who traversed through Somaliland in the late 19th century, the Eidagale were amongst the clans most addicted to raiding:

The tribes near the northern coast most addicted to raiding appear to be the Jibril Abokor sub-tribe of the Habr Awal, the Mahamud Gerad Dolbahanta, and the Eidagalla, Habr Gerhajis.[13]

Apart from their equestrian skills, the Eidagale are also famed for their eloquence in traditional Somali poetry (gabay), producing many famous poets such as Abdi Gahayr, Xasan Tarabi and Elmi Boodhari. Historically, the Eidagale were viewed as "the recognized experts in the composition of poetry" by their fellow Somali contemporaries:[14]

Among the tribes, the Eidagalla are the recognized experts in the composition of poetry. One individual poet of the Eidagalla may be no better than a good poet of another tribe, but the Eidagalla appear to have more poets than any other tribe. "if you had a hundred Eidagalla men here," Hersi Jama once told me, "And asked which of them could sing his own gabei ninety-five would be able to sing. The others would still be learning."[15]

For centuries, the Eidagale were influential stakeholders in the long-distance Somali caravan trade. Eidagale merchants procured various goods from the Somali Region in present-day Ethiopia, such as livestock, acacia gum, myrrh and ghee, which were subsequently exported to Southern Arabia. The Eidagale caravan merchants founded several inland trade entrepôts in the interior, which also includes the modern city of Hargeisa, founded in the 19th century as a caravan junction between Berbera and the Somali interior.[16][17]

Somalis of the Habr Gerhajis tribe arrive from Ogadain with feathers, myrrh, gum, sheep, cattle, and ghee, carrying away in exchange piece goods; they also make four trips in the season; they remain for less than a month, and during their stay reside with fellow-tribesmen, taking their meals in the mokhbâzah or eating-house.[18]

Isaaq Sultanate

Main article: Isaaq Sultanate

The Eidagale are the traditional holders of the Isaaq Sultanate since the 18th century. The Isaaq Sultanate was established in the mid-18th century by Sultan Guled Abdi Eisa of the Eidagale clan. His coronation took place after the legendary warrior Abdi Eisa led the Isaaq to victory in the battle of Lafaruug and defeated the Absame tribes, permanently pushing them out of present-day Maroodi Jeex region. After witnessing his leadership skills, noble conduct and valiance, the Isaaq chiefs recognized him as their Grand Sultan but Abdi instead put forward his son Guled. Guled's Sultanate predates the Habr Yunis Sultanate, which broke off from Eidagale tutelage several decades after the start of his rule. Sultan Guled ruled the Isaaq from the 1750s up until his death in the early 19th century, where he was succeeded by his eldest son Farah. Sultan Farah further expanded the influence of the Sultanate by establishing ties with various Muslim polities across the Gulf, particularly the Al-Qasimi family whom he corresponded with in regard to military action against the British Navy who blockaded Berbera and temporarily cut off vital trade.[19][20]

Sultans of the Eidagale (and the Isaaq)

Portrait of Sultan Abdillahi Sultan Deria, the 5th Grand Sultan of the Isaaq clan
Name Reign From Reign Till
- Abdi Eisa (Traditional Chief) Mid ~1700s Mid ~1700s
1 Sultan Guled Abdi (First Sultan) late ~1700s 1808
2 Sultan Farah Sultan Guled 1808 1845
3 Sultan Hassan Sultan Farah 1845 1870
4 Sultan Diriye Sultan Hassan 1870 1939
5 Sultan Abdillahi Sultan Diriye 1939 1967
6 Sultan Rashid Sultan Abdilahi 1967 1969
7 Sultan Abdiqadir Sultan Abdilahi 1969 1975
8 Sultan Mohamed Sultan Abdikadir 1975 2021
9 Sultan Daud Sultan Mohamed 2021

Clan Tree

A summarized clan family tree of the Eidagale is presented below.[21][22]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ Horn of Africa. Horn of Africa Journal. 1997.
  2. ^ Lewis, I. M. (1999). I.M Lewis, A pastoral democracy, p. 10. ISBN 9780852552803.
  3. ^ A General survey of the Somaliland protectorate 1944-1950, p.122, table 18
  4. ^ "Africa, Volumes 29-30, Oxford University Press, 1959, p.276". 1959.
  5. ^ "Welcome Home to Nothing: Refugees Repatriate to a Forgotten Somaliland, p.17" (PDF).
  6. ^ Waal, Alexander De (1993). "Violent deeds live on: landmines in Somalia and Somaliland, p. 63". |
  7. ^ Lewis, I. M. (3 February 2017). I.M Lewis : peoples of the Horn of Africa. ISBN 9781315308173.
  8. ^ I.M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali, fourth edition (Oxford: James Currey, 2002), pp. 31 & 42
  9. ^ "مخطوطات > بهجة الزمان > الصفحة رقم 16". makhtota.ksu.edu.sa. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  10. ^ Morin, Didier (2004). Dictionnaire historique afar: 1288-1982 (in French). KARTHALA Editions. ISBN 9782845864924.
  11. ^ "The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society Volume 19 p.61-62". 1849.
  12. ^ Osman-Omar, Mohamed (2001). The scramble in the Horn of Africa: history of Somalia. Somali Publications. p. 63.
  13. ^ Carlos-Swayne, Harald (1900). Seventeen Trips Through Somaliland and a Visit to Abyssinia. p. 40.
  14. ^ Diriye, p. 75.
  15. ^ Laurance, Margaret. A tree for poverty: Somali poetry and prose. McMaster University Library Press. p. 27.
  16. ^ Journal of African Languages. University of Michigan Press. 1963. p. 27.
  17. ^ Carlos-Swayne, Harald (1900). Seventeen Trips Through Somaliland and a Visit to Abyssinia. p. 96.
  18. ^ Hunter, Frederick (1877). An Account of the British Settlement of Aden in Arabia. Cengage Gale. p. 41.
  19. ^ Al Qasimi, Sultan bin Muhammad (1996). رسالة زعماء الصومال إلى الشيخ سلطان بن صقر القاسمي (in Arabic). p. ١٩.
  20. ^ Genealogies of the Somal. Eyre and Spottiswoode (London). 1896.
  21. ^ Kirk, J. W. C. (31 October 2010). A grammar of the Somali Language, p.140. ISBN 9781108013260.
  22. ^ a b A general survey of the Somaliland Protectorate 1944-1950, p147
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