A Modern History of Somalia. Nation and State in the Horn of Africa.

154 Pages·1965·5.78 MB·English

by  I. M. Lewis

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CONTENTS e to che 1988 Editìon e to thè First Edition er The Physica! and Social Setting Ecfore Partition The Imperiai Partition: 1860-97 The Dervish Fight for Freedom: 1900-20 Somali Unificatìon: The Italian East*AfrìcanEmpire The Restoration of Colonial Frontiere: 1940- From Trusteeship to Independence: 1950-60 The Problems of Independence The Somali Revolution: 1969-76 Nationalism, Ethnicity and Revolution in thèHorn of Africa
Prefac Prefac Chapt I II III IV V VI VII Vili IX X Maps Notes ndex
I
This Westview softcover editìon il printed un aud-frue pnper and bound in softcovecs thaccurry thè bighe» rating of thè National Aurxìation of State Textbook Adminìstracors, intons» Iration wich thè Association of American Publiihcrs and thè Hook Manu faci uters'Inscitutf. Ali rights reserved. No pare of chis publkarion may be reproduced oc transmitted in anyforni or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, rccording, or anyin for m uri un Storage and retrieva! System, wichout pcrmìssion in wticing from thè publisher. Copyright © 1965, 1980, 1988 by I. M. Lewis Fine published in thè United States of America in 1988 by Wesrvicw Press, Inc.; FrederickA. Prjegcr, Publisher, 5500 Cenerai Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301 First edìtion published in 1980 by Longman Group Limited; chapters 1 through 8 publishedin 1965 by Weidenfeld ;»nd Nkolson Library of Congress CaraJoging-in-PublicatÌon DataLewis, I. M.A motlvrn hìstory of Somalia.Includw index.I. Somalia—History. 1, Tirle. II, Series.DT403.L.Ì95 1988 967'.73 87-21589ISBN 0-K13 3-7402-2 Printed and bound in che United States of America _^ The paper ustd in this publication meets thè requirements of che American(poj National Standard for Permanence of Paper fot Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984. 654321
PREFACE TO THE 1988 EDITION As BIOGRAPHERS of Third World cultures, anthropologists haveoften endeavoured to piece together such historical evidence asthey could find to provide a historical settìng for their accountsof contemporary society and culture, Such amateur excursions intohistory have frequently occurred not only in thè historicaUy orientedContinental and American anthropological traditions but also inthè British social anthropological tradition despite its ostensiblyahistorical, Durkheimian bias." In thè absence, usually, of muchdocumentary evidence, such anthropological histories have, perforce,concentrated on orai sources, thus virrually inventing that imporcantmodem specialisation - orai history."No special apology, therefore, is needed to introduce this historyof an African ethnic group, based on orai and documentary sourcesand written by an anthropologist who can claim no special historicalexpertise. What is more remarkable abour thè present exerdse isthat it involves an anthropologist writing about an ethnic groupwhich has become a modern nation-state (or more accurately twostates: thè Somali Republic and thè Republic of Jibuti) and whoseconnexion with this culture and its representatives spans thè periodfrom thè birth of modern Somali politicai parties in thè early1950s to thè present. I first met members of thè Somali natìonalistorganisations campaigning for independence before embarking onmy doctoral field research in thè 1950s and, durìng fieldwork inSomalia (1955-1957), had thè privilege of getcing to know manyof thè future politicai elite. 1 thus developed thè strong sympatheticinterest in Somali nationalist asptratìons which is reflected in thisbook. "Cf. I. M. Lcwis (ed.), History and Sodai Antkropology, London, 1968; "The future of thèpast in British social anchropology', Vienna Contribultoas to Elbnology and Antbropology, Band2, 1985."S«, e.g., J. Vansìna, Orai Traditìon: a attdy iti bis torii al mttbodology, Chicago, 1965. vii
PREFACE TOTHE FIRST EDITION THIS STUDY OF Somali nationalism in thè Horn of Africa tracesthè unfolding of a process rare in thè recent history of thè con-tinent - thè transformation (albeìt stili incomplete) of a traditionalAfriean nation into a modern state. This phcnomenon ìs rendcredali thè more strìking by its juxtaposhìon with a rivai tradition o£politicai sovereignty in neighbouring Ethìopia, a state built onconqucst and comprising many difTerent nàtions» peoples andtribes. Although in pre-colonial Africa, both nation-states (likeSomalia) and pluralist, multi-natìonal states (like Ethiopia) wereequally common, European colonization and decolonizationaltered decisively thè balance in favour of thè lattet type. Today,with thè exception of thè Somali Democtatic Republic, Botswanaand Lesotelo, sub-Saharan Africa's traditional nations and tribesare not autonomous, but encapsulated in multi-national statesfonned haphazardly and wìthout regatd to ethnic boundaries inthè European partition of thè continent. Indeed, thè "rnap ofAfrica* today is virtually identica! with that under Europeancolonization at thè turn of century. It is this ptevailing cultura!hetetogeneity, with thè growth of ethrùc friction and conflictsince independence, which makes Afriean states so fragile and sovehemently attached to thè territorial fromiets which aloneestablish their identity, If this accounts for what amounts to akind of £rontier-fetishism, it also cxplains thè pervasive pre-occupation with *nation-building\è very understandablestruggle to achieve a culturally homogeneous unìty which wouldtransform these colonial artefacts ìnto viable nation-states. Thisaspitation is not, as some theorists of nationalism daim, a meteimitation of European nationalism - nineteenth-century orotherwise - but rather harks back to thè pre-colonial era whenAfrica consisted of a misture of authentic nation-states (likeBuganda) and of multi-national states (lìke Ethiopia). The con-temporary prevalence of thè latter pluralist type, reminiscent inmany respects of thè Habsburg empire, should not be allowed to IX
PREFACE TO 1988 EDITION My attempts to document and understand subsequent Somalipolìtica! developments bave, naturally, not always been receivedequally favourably by ali those concerned. Somali policicìans, lìkethcir colleagues elsewhere, are more apprecìative of adulation thanof analysìs. However, I have in thè main been more or lesstolcrated by most Somali governments since independence in I960.Here thè generai attitude seems to have been that expressed tome once by Prime Minìster 'Abd ar-Razaq Haji Husseyn whenhe ìntroduced me to bis cabinet as 'that chap who writes aboutus. We don'c always like what he says, but thè importane thingìs that he writes about us!' Ahhough I have visited Somaliafrequently since thè military coup of October 1969, I would beless than honest if I concealed thè fact that my relations werehiippier with thè preceding civilian governments. However, as Ithink my Somali friends appreciate, I have given what supportI could to those wider Somali interests which ttanscend particulargovernments - thus endeavouring to discharge part of thè debtwhich I think anthropologists owe to those they scudy.The welcome growth in Somali Studies over this period andespecially from thè late 1970s (after Somalia's breach with thè• Soviet Union) also reflects these politicai developments. The tenthanniversary of thè 'revolution' in 1979 provided thè occasion fora government-sponsored internatìonal symposium in Mogadishuon 'Somalia and thè World. This, in turn, led to thè formation1of che Somali Studies International Assodation, which holds triennialcongresses (Mogadishu, 1980; Hamburg, 1985; Rome, 1986).This multidisciplinary, multìnational enterprise - in which Somalischolars play an increasìngly promìnent role - is a far cry fromthè smalì, largely expatriate cottage ìndustry which was ali chete was when I began my studies. I. M, Lewis December 1987 Vili
PREFACE TO THE FIRST ED1TION aspirations thè remaining three Somali communities then underforeìgn mie in thè French territory of Jibuti, in Harar Province ofEthiopia (mainly thè Ogaden), and in thè northern province ofKenya (then stili British). Other African nationalists in theìrHabsburg-style states sought to transform their fragile sribalmosaìcs ìnto cohesive natìons. For thè Somalìs, in contras't, thèproblem was - through self-determìnation for thè three remainingSomali colonìes - to extend thè frontìers of thè state to embracethè whole nation, a process with familiar parallels in Europe. Intraditional African terms, as we have emphasized, this aspirationwas as legitìmate as that enshrined in thè formation of pluraliststates.However, as our study attempts to demonstrate, thè juxtapo-sition in thè Horn of Africa of two expansionist states (Ethiopia andthè Somali Republic) based on thè two contrasting principles ofstate formation inevìtably creates a fundamental structural conflictof ìnterests and aspirations whìch is more deeply grounded andrefractory than thè routine 'border problems' that plaguc inter-state relations in Africa. With thè achievement of ìndependencefrofn European rule, thè principle of self-determination which wasformerly so strìdently voiced by African nationalists has recededinto thè background (except in relatìon to those last bastions ofEuropean power in Rhodesia and South Africa), to be replacedby thè principle of thè inviolability of Africa's frontiers. Thus,partly no doubt because of Ethiopia's special status, and partlybecause their own states are of thè pluralist, territorially-boundedtype, African leaders have shown litde indination to see thèSomali dispute as a self-determination issue meriting seriousattention and sympathy. This is understandable and, as I havesuggestcd, reflects thè fortuitous bias in favour of trìbally hetero-geneous states produced by thè colonial experìence. The strainsthis model imposes in Zaire, in Ethiopia, in Nigeria and numerousother cases are increasingly evident. It seems probable, moreover,that thè powerful currents of ethnicity and locai level nationalismwhìch are today so prominent in Europe and America are lìfcelyto encourage rather than discourage parallel movements inAfrica. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is debatable andcertainly outside thè scope of this book. It seems, however,inevitable that if Africa is to overcome its systemic instabilities, xt
PREFACE TO THE FIRST ED1TION distort our vision of thè past and its connexion with thè present,The growth of modera Somali nationalism whìch is our primatyconcern here, and its conflìct with Ethiopian (or Amhara)nationalism, has to be seca against this wider background if itsspecial features are to be fully underst'ood. Here thè contras! wìthEthiopia ls criticai. Despite its ancient Chrìstian legacy, itsSemitic languages and its long-standing if intermittent conneadonswith Europe, Ethiopia is essentially a traditional, pluralist Africanconquest state. It owes its exalted status in African eyes to auniquc, if fortuitous, combination of virtues. Having defeatcd aEuropean atmy (thè Italians at Adowa in 1896), it nof only sur-vived thè scramble for Africa but gained from it, participatìngdirectly in thè partidon of Somali and other territory, almost asan equa! partner. Its biblica! connerions, as Marcus Garveyappreciated and contemporary Rastafarìans commemorate, madeEthiopia a potent symbol of Black Power. This image wascnhanced rather than diminished by thè sympathy which Ethiopiaattracted as a consequence of Mussolìnì's ìll-starred attempt tocreate an Italian East African empire on thè ève of thè SecondWorld War. The career, remarkable by any standards, of HaileSelassie, Ethiopia's last and most famous Emperor, greatly con-solidated and magnified this unique legacy. As well as thisbrilliant endowment, Ethiopia enjoyed thè additional advantageof embodying in traditional African form thè Habsburg style ofstate which colonization and decolonmtion left as thè dominantstraìn in thè continent.If Ethiopia thus entered thè modern African stage with ali thèattributes necessary for playìng a. leading rote, it could not readilydispense wìth thè expansionist dynamic enshrined in its traditionalpoliticai strutture. This rivalled and challenged thè expansionistprinciple patently present in thè constitution of thè neighbouringSomali Republìc. The creator of modern Ethiopia, EmperorMcnelik, had in thè nincteenth century participated directly withBritain, Francc and Italy in thè dismemberment of thè Somalinatìon and its division into five colonial territories. The formationin 1960 of a Somali state, based on thè principle of self-determina-tìon (here in efiect Somali-determination) applied to thè formarBritish and Italian Somali territories, established a state which wasìnherently incomplete. It left outside thè goal of Somali.nationalist
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION covering thè period up to 1978, it is a pleasure to record thèremarkable growth of an indigenous school of Somali historyspearheaded by thè brillìant self-taught hìstorian, Sheìkh JamaUmar *Ise, whose splendìd volumes on Sayyid Muhammad'Abdille Hassan ate, by any standards, models of scholarship. *I have limited chapter notes and references to a minimum,seekìng only to document or dìlate upon a few irnportant points,and to cali attention to some of thè more useful sources. Many ofthè works cited contaìn lists of other relevant publications.Fuller bibliographies are contained in my Peoples of thè Horn ofAfrica, London, 1969, pp. 177-89 and my review of researchtrends in thè Journal of Semitìc Stadies, 1964, Voi. IX, No. i, pp. 122-34.My use of both written and orai material is largely cotiditionedby my social anthropological field researc^i in Somalia in 195 5-7,in 1962, 1964 and 1974 - not to mention briefer visits in thèintervening years. My originai research in what was then thèBritish Somaliland Protectorate was supported by thè ColonialScience Research Council, then by thè Carnegìe Trust and in 1974by thè British Academy. I owe an inestimable debt to ali thesebodies and to a succession of Somali governments, Somaliofficials and friends whose generosity far exceeds my capacity torepay it adequately. I have been studying Somali culture andsociety fot twenty-five years and, in thè anthropological traditìon,have participated in (to some limited extent at least) as well asobserved historical developments m this period. Whìle vìsitìngthè Somali Democratic Republic in 1974, as a guest of thè Somali and thè Ministry of Higher Education, I wasNational Academydelighted to find, quite by chance, a group of Somali teachersengaged in thè preparation of textbooks in thè new Soniali script,translating passages from thè earlier version of this book. I hopethat this new, enlarged volume may prove equally useful.I.M.L. Lando?!, *See also Dr. Ali Abdìrahman Hersì's cecent Ph- D. thesis ('The Arab Factorìn Somali History', University of California, Los Angcles, 1977). This boldwork, whose publieation is eagerly awaited, is cspecially important fot itsestensive use of newly discovered or previously neglected Arabie sources. Xlll
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION concessìons may have to be made to its ethnìc problems - whetherthrough deyolution or some other process. Certainly thè acuteproblem poscd by thè antagonism betwéen Ethìòpian and Somaliirredentism ìn thè Horn of Africa will not dìsappear by beingìgnored, This is not a matter that can be satisfactorily resolvedby short-tetm mìlitary expedients. What is needed is a radicaipoliticai solution based on a full and accurate appreciation of thèunique features of this intractable issue. If this book can con-tribute in any way towards this outcome, it will have more thanserved its purpose.My more specific aim is to provide a sociologically and anthro-pologically informed history of thè Somali people. In contrastto many other cases where politicai aspìràtions inspire cultura!cohesion and nationalism is invoked as a means rather than anend, here I argue cultural nationalism has in contrast becomeincreasingly polìticized. But ì£the history of Somali nationalismis thè major focus of this book, I have also tried to explore anumber of subsidiary questions. In this unusual case of multiplecolonizatìon (by Brìtain, France, Ethiopia and Italy), I have givensome attention to thè different, and often conflkting, interestsand policies of thè colonial powers, and to thè contrasts whichcan be seen betwéen thè various systems of rule established bythem. I have also sought to elucidate thè circumstances of thèholy war waged by Sayyid Muhammad 'Abdille Hassan againstthè colonizers betwéen 1900 and 1920. Here I have made con-siderable use of unpublished tradìtional source material and havetried to indicate somethmg of thè complex interplay of per-sonalities, clan attachments and religious rivalries which formsthè essential background to any full comprehension of SayyidMuhammad's aims and achievements.This brings me to thè problem of sources. Although there is aconsìderable, indeed formidable, body of detailed writing onSomali linguistics, ethnography and sociology, and in Italianparticularly an estensive generai literature, history rcmainspoorly served. With a very few honourable exceptions, therc ìsscarcely a detailed study of any period, and few works whichshow insight into thè cultural complexities of internai history. Soit was in 1965 when thè first edition of this book was published.In this revised edition, to which I have added two new chapters xu
CHAPTER I THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL SETTING Thel^and WITH A POPOLATION numberìng pcrhaps four and a halfmìllion, thè Somali-speaking people can scarcely be regarded as alarge nation. Yet they form one of thè largest single ethnic blocfcsin Africa, and though sparsely dìstributed on -thè ground, live incontinuous occupation of a great espanse^ of territory coveringalmost 400,000 square mìles in thè north-east corner, or 'Horn', pfthè contìnent facing Arabia. From thè region of thè Awash Valleyin thè north-west, this often arid territory occupied by thè Somalistretches round thè periphery of thè Ethiopian highlands andalong thè Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean coasts down to thèTana River in northern Kenya. This region forms a well-definedgeographical and ethnic unit which Somalis see as a naturai basefor a sovereign state, although today ìt is split up into fourseparate parts. In thè ex-French Republic of Jibuti, which becameindependent in 1977, Somalis make up about half thè locai popula-tion (e. 200,000 in 350,000); in thè adjoining country of Ethiopia(mainly in Harar and Baie Provinces) they number probablyalmost one million; in thè Somali Republic itself their strength isapproximately 3,250,000^ and finaìly, in thè North-EasternRegion of Kenya, they number aboùt 2jo,ooo. Outside this2region, other Somali are settled as traders and merchants in manyof thè towns and ports of East Africa (e.g. in Naìrobi); in Aden,in whose history they played an important role; and throughoutSaudi Arabia and thè Gulf States. Farther afield, thè roving exìst-ence which Hfe at sea affords has led to thè establishment of smalland fluctuating immigrant Somali communìties in sudi diverseEuropean ports as Marseilles, Naples, London, and Cardiff.In their dry savanna homeland, thè Somali are essentially a
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Buaggan waxa aan u hibaynayaa dadka Soomaaliyeed, kxtva taarnsarrteeya tyo kwva qoraba, antga oo galladcelin uga dhigayaa sidii ee oy itgu soo dbaweeyeen dalkooda. Waxa kak oo aan ugi gabadhayda 'Joaana', l&onayaqaan T)almara oo ku dbalatay Soobaatanna kujìrta raadraaca taariikhda Afrika.
THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL SETTING thìn bone structure and decidedly long and narrow heads. Skin a wìde range from a coppery brown to a duskycolour show?black. In their facial features particularly, thè Somali also exhibitevidence of their long-standing relations with Arabia; and, in thèsouth, amongst thè Digìl and Rahanweyn tribes, physical traces oftheir past contact with Oromo and Bantu peoples in this region.Traditionally, however, Somali set most store by their Arabian ,connexions and delight in vaunting 'those tradìtions which prò- !claìm their descent from noble Arabian lineages and from thèfamily of thè Prophet. These cìaìms, dismìsscd by Somali national-ists today as fanciful, are nevertheless part and parcel of thètraditìonal and profound Somali attachment to, Isiam. They com-memorate thè many centuries of contacts betv^en thè Somali andAtabian coasts which have brought Isiam and many otherelements of Muslim Arab culture. thè Somali language contaìns a considerable number ofThus,4Arabie loan-words, and Arabie ìtself is sufficiently widely knownto be regarded almost as a second language. Nevertheless, al-though urrwritten until i9yz, Somali retaìned its dìstìnctivencsssas a sepatate and extremely vigorous tongue possessìng an un-usually ridi orai lìtèrature. Within Somali, thè widest dialectdifference is between thè speech of thè northern pastoralists and ofthè Digli and Rahanweyn cultivators. These ctiffer to much thèsame extent as Portuguese and Spanìsh. Yet, since many of itsspeakers are also famìliar with standard Somali, thè existcnce ofthis distìnctìve southern dialect does not alter thè fact that, fromthè Jibuti Republic to Garissa on thè Tana River in Kenya, stan-dard Somali provìdes a single channel of communication and acommon medium in which pOems and songs compete for popu-larity. Poetry, it should be added, today as much as in thè past,plays a vital part in Somali culture, and thè estensive use of radiobroadcasting has enhanced rather than dimìnished its significante.Often a poem is not merely thè private voice of thè author, butfrequently thè collectìve tongue of a pressure group, and propa-ganda either for peace or for war is more cffectively spreadthrough poetry than by any other means.*The distinction between thè speech of thè Digil and Rahan-weyn and their more nomadic countrymen to their north andsouth is one feature of thè wider cultura!, geographic, and hìstorical
A MODERN HISTORY-OF SOMALIA prìncipal crops are sorghum, Indian corn, sesame, beans, squashesand manioc; as well as fruìts, and sugar-cane, which, however, aremainly cultivated in thè plantations owned by large corporations.The chief export crop is thè banana produced by a number ofItalian and Somali companies on a quota System controlied by thèSomali government. Outside this fertile southern zone betweenthè rivers there are no comparable arable resources, although thènotth-west of thè country now supplies a valuable sorghum har-vest and grain productìon is expanding as well as date cultìvation.Despite this generai division in physical features and produc-tivity, both northern and southern Somaliland are subject to asimilar cycle of seasons associated with thè rotation of thè N.E.and S.W. monsoons. Apart from a variety of minor locai wetperiods, thè main rains fall twìce yearly - between March andJune, and between September and December - throughout thèregion. The dry seasons are sìmilarly distributed: but while thèhottest rime of thè year on thè northern coast falls in thè summer,thè south is by contrast pleasantly coot at this perìod. In thèvolcanic wastes of thè Jibuti Republic, thìs faìrly regular cycle ofseasons loses most of its coherence, and thè weather is generallyless predictable except in its torridity. Mogadishu (pop. 350,000),capitai of thè Somali Republic, and thè other ports of thè southernIndian Ocean coast have a dimate which though often humid ispleasant in thè cool season. Tèe People Ethnically and culturally thè Somali belong to thè Hamitic ethnìcgroup. Their dosest kinsmen are thè surrounding Hamltic (or asthey are often called 'Cushìtic*) peoplcs of thè Ethiopian lowlands,and Eritrea - thè traditionally bellicose 'Afar (or Danakil),' thèOromo (Galla), Sano, and Beja. Their immediate neighbours tothè north are thè pastora! 'Afar with whom they share Jibuti andwho extend into Eritrea and Ethiopia. To thè west, in Ethiopìa,thè Somali are bounded by thè culti vating and pastora! Oromo;and in thè south by thè Boran Galla of Kenya. is much variation amongst them, thè physicalAlthough therefeatures which immediately strike thè eye and seem most generallycharacteristic of thè Somali people as a whole, are their tali stature,
THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL SETTING cultivating bias than any other Somali group, their habitat isprimarily restricted to thè fertile region between thè two rìverswhere their pastora! and cultivating secrions mingle not only witheach other but also with pastora! nomads of thè other Samale clans.In additìon to these divisions of thè Somali natìon whose distri-butìon and relative strengths are vital to an understanding of bothpast and present events, there are a number of smaller ethnic com-munities which requlre to be mentioned. The most numerous(some 80,000 strong) are Somalized Bantu scattered in cultivating along thè Shebelle and Juba Rivers and in pockets be-villagestween them. These derive in part from earlicr Bantu and Swahili-speaking groups, as well as from former slave populations freed bythè suppressìon of slavery at thè end of thè nineteenth century.Although they stili retain today much of their physical distinc-tiveness, socially these communities are becoming increasinglyabsorbed in thè wider Somali society. The best-known groups arethè Shidle, and Shabelle on thè Shebelle River, and thè Wa-Gosha(or Gosha) and Gobaweyn on thè Juba. Less numerous buteconomically and politically more important is thè immigrantAsian community (some 40,000 in thè Republic, about 12,000 inthè Jibuti Republic) whìch consists chiefly of Arabs (many offamilies domiciled on thè coast for centuries) and a smaller numberof Indìans, Pakistanis, and Persians. Similarly largely occupied intrade and commerce and also in development and technical aid isthè small European community, numbering about j,ooo inSomalia and i j ,000 in thè Republic of Jibuti. The few permanentEuropean settlers live mainly as farmers and estate owners in thèsouth of Somalia. Mode of fife and sodai institutìons Although thè proportion of people who pracrise some form ofcultivation is higher, probably not much more than an eighth ofthè total Somali population are sedentary cultivators, and thcsemainly thè southern Digil and Rahanweyn tribes. Thus for thèmajority, in thè arid conditions of thè north, centre, and estreme•outh (Northern Kenya) of their country, nomadism is thè prevaii-Ing economie response, and mode of livelihood and social institu-tions in generai are tighdy adjusted to thè scant resources of an
A MODERN HISTORY OF SOMALIA primary division in thè Somali natìon between thè 'Samale' orSomali proper and thè Sab. The former make up thè bulk of thènation., and their name (Samale) has come to include thè Sab,perhaps in thè same fashion as thè word 'EngHsh* is applìed byforeigners to ali thè inhabitants of thè British Isles. This largerfraction of thè Somali nation consista of four princìpal groups ofclans or 'dan-families*. Descent in Somaliland is traced in thè maleline, and each of these units has a separate founding ancestor fromwhom, traditionally, its members trace their descent and take theircollective name.The Samale clan-families comprise thè Dir, Isaq, Hawiye, andDarod, ali of whom are primarily pastora! nomads and variouslydistributed throughout die land. The Dir clans (*Ise and Cada-bursi) are mainly concentrated in thè western part of thè northernregions of thè Somali Republic (thè former British Somaliland),in thè Jibuti Republic, and thè cast of Harar Province of Ethiopia :a smaller nucleus also occurs in thè south in Merca District, andbetween Brava and thè Juba River. The Isaq (who in conjunctionwìth thè Dir probably number almost three quarters of a million)live mainly in thè cenere of thè northern regions of thè Republic,but in their grazing movements extend also imo thè EthiopianHaud. To their cast, thè Isaq mingle with thè Dulbahante andWarsangeli divisions of thè Darod who, with a strength of perhapsonc and a half million, are thè largest and raost widely distributedof ali thè Somali clan-families. As well as thè eastern part of thèformer British Somaliland Protectorate, thè Darod occupy thèEastern, NugaI and Mudug Regions, most of thè Haud andOgaden; and finally, although interrupted by a large wedge ofHawiye in thè centre of thè Republic and thè Digil and Rahanweynbetween thè rivers, extend eventually into thè North-easternRegion of Kenya. The Hawiye, who boast probably more thàn halfa million persons, live to thè south of thè Majerteyn Darod inMudug, Hiran, and round Mogadishu. They extend some wayacross thè Shebelle basin where they mingle with thè Sab tribes,and also, like thè Darod, are found again in strength in thè nor-thern part of Kenya.With a total population of little more than half a million, thèSab tribes are less numcrous, less widely distributed, and containonly thè two major divisions already mentioned. Having a stronger
THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL SETTING man's mìlch camels are herded by his unmarried brothers, sonsand nephews, moving widely and rapidly about thè country farfrom thè sheep and goats which, in thè dry seasons especially,bave to cling closely to sources of water. Particularly in thè dryseasons, when long and frequent treks back and forth between thèpasturcs and wells are requircd, camel-herding is an arduous andexacting occupation and one well calculated to foster in thè youngtcarnei boys ali those traits of independence and resourcefulnesswhich are so strongly delineated in thè Somali character.With this dual System of hcrding thè nomads move about theircountry with theìr livestock in search of pasture and water, order-ing their movements to conform as closely as possible to thèdlutribution of these two necessities of life. Pasturage is regardedmi a gift of God to man in generai, or rather to Somalis, and is notconsidered to belong to specìfic groups. Generally, people anditock are most widely deployed after thè rains when thè grazing isfresh and green ; while in thè dry seasons they are forced to con-centrate nearer thè wells and make do with what grazing can befound in their proximity. Only thè herds of milch camels with their«ttcndants to some extent escape from this seasonaj curtailment ofmovemcnt, and even they must also be placed in areas where theycan convcniently satisfy their less frequent but more substantialwatering needs. Rìghts of access to water depend primarily upon11» abundance and thè case with which it can be utilized. Onlywhere water is not freely available, and where thè expenditure ofmuch labour and effort is required before it can be used, arecxclusive rìghts asserted and maintained, if necessary, by force.And while in thè generai nomadic flux there is no rigid localìzationnf pastora! groups and no appreciable development of ties tolotulity, thè 'home-wells' regularly frequented in thè dry seasons,•nd thè trading setdements which spring up ali over Somalilandwherever people congregate even temporarìly round water, prò-'vide some check to a more random pattern of pastora! mobility.Subject to thè vagaries of thè seasons and thè very variabledlltfibution of rain and grazing, there is some tendency for thèclini, which are thè largest effettive politicai units with popula-tloni ranging from 10,000 to over 100,000 persons, to be vaguelylllociated wìth particular areas of pasturage. Clamare traditionallyItti by Sultans (in Somali: Suldan, Baqar, Garad, Ugas, etc.). This
A MODERN HISTORY OF SOMALIA unenviably harsh environment. In thesè regions, with their home-wells as a focus of distribution, thè pastoralists move over manymiles in thè ycar, driving from pasturage to pasturage and water-point to water-point their flocks of sheep and goats and herds ofcamels, and, in some southern areas particularly, of cattle also.Of this mixed patrimony, although thè Somali pony remaìns thèprestige beast par exeellence, it is their camels which Somali mostesteem. These are carefully bred for mìlk and for carriage. Milchcamels provide milk for thè pastoralist on which alone he oftendepends for his diet; burden camels, which are not normally rid-den except by thè sick, transport his collapsible hut or tent and alihis worldly possessions from piace to piace. Camel-hide is used tomake sandals to protect his feet on thè long treks across thè coun-try.^ But these uses do not in themselves account for thè way inwhich thè pastoralists value their camels or, despite thè long-standingd wide use of money as a currency, explain why it is anprimatily in thè size and quality of his camels that a man's sub-stance is most tellingly measured. This striking bias in Somali cul-ture is best expressed briefly by saying that in their social as well aseconomie transactions thè pastoralists operate on a carnei standard.Thus thè exchange of substantial gifts of livestock and otherwealth which cements a marriage between a man and a woman andtheir respective kin is ideally, and often stili in practice, conductedm thè medium of camels. It is also in camels that thè value of a7man s lifc and thè subordinate position of women are expressed inmatemi tcrms. Generally thè blood-compensation due when aman is killed is rated at one hundréTcamels, while a woman's lìfeis vamed at half that figure. Lesser injuries too are similarly com-pounded in a standard tariff of damages expressed in difFerentamounts of camels. Although in these traditional terms sheep andgoats are regarded as a sort of small change, they evoke none ofthè mtcrest and attention which men bestow on their camels andmdeed are consìdered primarily as thè concern of women.This differencc in attitudes is consistent with thè fact that thèmilch camels and sheep and goats usually form two separate hetd-ing umts. A man's wife, or wìves, and children move with thèflocks which previde them with milk and thè few burden camelsnecessary f thè transport of their tents and efFects. With theirorgreatcr powcrs of endurance and resistance to drought, a