Hawiye

The Hawiye (Somali: Hawiye; Arabic: بنو هوية) are one of the principal and largest of the Somali clans, tracing their lineage back to Sheikh Ahmed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Uthman, also known as Sheikh Hawiye, the eponymous figure of the clan. They are considered the earliest documented clan to have settled in the Somali peninsula, as noted in the 12th century by Al-Idrisi, occupying the regions spanning from Ras Hafun to Merca, which served as their capital. Presently, the Hawiye reside in central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Ethiopia (specifically the Afar Region, Harari Region, Oromia, and the Ogaden), as well as Kenya (specifically the North Eastern Province and Eastern Province). Furthermore, they represent the majority of the population in the capital city of Mogadishu.
The Hawiye have historically exercised authority over large sections of the Horn of Africa as Sovereign Sultans and Imams overseeing crucial trade routes that have existed since the early periods of Somali maritime history. The coastal regions experienced a vibrant expansion of foreign trade and commerce, with numerous ships traversing between multiple kingdoms and empires in East Asia, South Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and East Africa making them very affluent. This political and economic influence continued to have relevance well into the modern age, with the Hawiye clan playing a pivotal and historically significant role in laying the foundations of the Somali nation. The enduring legacy of the Hawiye's governance and control over trade routes has left a lasting impact on the development and shaping of Somalia.
Sheikh Hawiye, also known as Ahmed based on oral traditions and Arabic hagiologies, is renowned as a revered saint and religious figure who bore the epithet "Hawi al 'Uluum", meaning the conservator of knowledge, denoting his mastery of Islamic knowledge. Through the passage of time, this appellation was condensed to just "Hawiyah" or "Hawiye" and subsequently evolved into the ethnonym of his progeny. The genealogy of Sheikh Hawiye, as delineated in these oral narratives, Arabic hagiologies, and indigenous manuscripts, can be traced as follows: Ahmed (Hawiye) Bin Abdulrahman (Irir) Bin Uthman (Samaale) Bin Muhammed Bin Hanbal Bin Mahdi Bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Aqeel Bin Abu Talib.
It is through these sources that the lineage of Sheikh Hawiye can be comprehensively understood and appreciated within the broader historical and cultural contexts. Some scholars consider these genealogical claims as historically untenable, but instead argue that they reflect a longstanding cross cultural exchange between Somalia and Southern Arabia. According to the British anthropologist and Somali Studies veteran Ioan Lewis, the traditions of descent from noble Arab families related to the Prophet are most probably figurative expressions of the importance of Islam in Somali society. However, "there is a strong historically valid component in these legends."
Hawiye, the eldest son of Irir, is known to have a sibling named Aji, whose actual name is documented in oral traditions and further supported by Al Idrus's work "History of Somalia" as Ismail, the father of Dir, also known as Abu-Bakr. Hawiye was married to two women, from whom he had six sons. The first wife, Arbera, hailing from Arab lineage, bore him three sons - Karanle, Xaskul, and Raarane. On the other hand, his second wife, Ghirei, belonging to an early Harari, gave birth to Gugundhabe, Gorgarte, and Jambeelle. This genealogical account of Hawiye's family structure is crucial in understanding the historical lineage and heritage of the Hawiye. The oral traditions and written sources provide valuable insights into the familial connections and societal structures prevalent to this day.
The tomb of Shiekh Hawiye can be found in Qundhuro, situated within the Haraghe region, which served as his primary residence for the later years of his life as a revered Sheikh who dedicated himself to the propagation of the teachings of Islam. Alongside Shiekh Hawiye rests his eldest son, Karanle, in a burial site. The Hawiye furthered the spread of Islam in the Horn of Africa.
The Hawiye are believed to be the largest Somali clan and comprise the majority in Somalia as well as the majority in the NFD region of Kenya according to respective censuses. The origin and traditional homeland of the Hawiye is believed to be in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, where he was preceded by the arrival of his Samaale ancestors in the areas between Djibouti and Somaliland, before descending southeast and along the Shabelle Valley.
In Somalia, Hawiye subclans inhabit the fertile lands along the Shabelle River of Beledweyne located in the Hiran region. Their territory stretches from the coastline just south of Mogadishu to the north of the historic port town of Hobyo in the central Mudug region. The Hawiye constitute the majority in the Hirshabelle state of Somalia, with the Abgaal clan being present while in Galmudug Hawiye are the majority as well. The Hawiye also have a second majority presence in the South West State region, They can also be found in Jubbaland. The Fiqishini subclan of the Habar Gidir inhabit the Sool region of Somaliland.
The Hawiye also live in their traditional birthplace Ethiopia, holding a sizeable population in the Somali Region of Ethiopia as well as cities like Babile in the Oromia region. In the southern parts of the Somali Region, Hawiye can be found in many zones, and are majority in 3/9 of the zones, namely the Liben zone and the Shabelle zone. They can also be found in many other zones, such as the Afdheer, Dollo, Sitti, Erer, Faafan and Korahe zone.
In Kenya, the Hawiye can also be found in the North Eastern Province (Kenya) region of Kenya where the Degoodi sub-clan is 3rd majority out of Somali clans in Kenya and the majority in the Wajir region, followed by another Hawiye sub-clan, the Ajuran and then the Murule who are the majority of the Mandera region as shown in the Kenyan census.
Major Hawiye cities inhabited by the Hawiye clan consist of the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, along with various other cities such as Beledweyne, Galkayo, Babile, Dusmareb, Jowhar, Wajir and Mandera.
The Hawiye has produced various sultanates, some of which ruled large parts of the Horn of Africa. Some of these include:
The Ajuran Sultanate, which was led by the Ajuran sub-clan of the Hawiye. Specifically the Ajuran are said to be part of the Jambelle Hawiye but became displaced from modern Hawiye territories in the late 17th to early 18th centuries due to historical conflict particularly in South Central Somalia. Lee Cassanelli in his 1982 book "The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900" often refers to the Ajuran as former leaders of a Hawiye clan dynasty. They belonged to the Somali Muslim sultanate that ruled over large parts of the Horn of Africa in the Middle Ages. Trading routes dating from the ancient and early medieval periods of Somali maritime enterprise were strengthened or re-established, and foreign trade and commerce in the coastal provinces flourished with ships sailing to and coming from many kingdoms and empires in East Asia, South Asia, Europe, the Near East, North Africa and East Africa. The Ajuran Empire's sphere of influence in the Horn of Africa was one of the largest in the region. The empire covered much of southern Somalia and eastern Ethiopia, with its domain extending from Hobyo in the north, to Qelafo in the west, to Kismayo in the south.
The Hiraab Imaamate, also known as the Yacquubi Dynasty, which was governed by the Hiraab sub-clan of the Hawiye. It was founded by Imam Omar who successfully rebelled and defeated the Ajuran and established an independent kingdom. By 1700, the Hiraab and other clans occupied a large territory stretching the interior from the Shabelle valley to the arid lands of Mudug and to the coastal areas of Mogadishu towards Hobyo. After the immediate fall of the Ajuuraan, the Hiraab established an independent rule for at least two centuries. It was called Regno di Magadozo or the Kingdom of Magadoxo in official medieval bulletins, and at their peak, they would go on to dominate what became Greater Benadir.
These sultanates both ruled over present-day Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. Minor Hawiye sultanates throughout these periods include the southern reigns of the Lama Jidle (Afgoi) Sultanate of the Silcis and the El Amir (Merca) dynasty of the Wadalaan. In the north, minor sultanates of the Sultanate of Bale and the Imamate of Aussa (preceded by Hubat and Harar principalities), were led by members of the Ajuran and the Karanle, respectively. Under these major and minor sultanates, Somalia flourished and various key port cities and towns were created. Explorer John Kirk arrived in southern Somalia in 1873 during a period of great economic prosperity with the region being dominated by the Imamate and the Geledi Sultanate. Kirk met Imam Mahmood who reigned over Mogadishu. Trade between the Hiraab of Mogadishu and the Geledi Sultanate led by Ahmed Yusuf was flourishing. Kirk noted a variety of other things. Roughly 20 large dhows were docked in both Mogadishu and Merka respectively filled with grain produced from the farms of the Geledi in the interior with much of the trade being destined for Zanzibar.
The Hawiye have historically played an important role in Somalia. The majority of Somalia's founding fathers hailed from the Hawiye. At Independence in 1960, the first President, Prime Minister, Parliamentary Speaker and the Father of the Somali Military were all Hawiye. Aden Adde the first President and Speaker was Udeejeen. The first Prime Minister Abdullahi Issa was Habar Gidir. The father of the Somali Military Daud Abdulle Hirsi was Abgaal. As was the initiator of the October revolution coup d'état in 1969, Brigadier General Salaad Gabeyre Kediye. The military leader to overthrow and exile the successor of the coup President Siad Barre of the Supreme Revolutionary Council in 1991 before fighting and defeating subsequent US occupying forces (1993-1995) was General Mohamed Farrah Aidid, a Habar Gidir. Since then the Hawiye have produced five more Presidents and four more Prime Ministers.
The Hawiye elite played a leading role during the Somali Rebellion in opposing the post civilian era dictatorship of President Siad Barre under the auspices of SODAF, the SSDF and the Somali National Movement (SNM) before converging to form their own branch the infamous United Somali Congress (USC). The long-standing clan conflicts that had engulfed other clans in the rest of the country under the ex dictatorship continued unabated into the late 90s with its eventual victors setting up autonomous regional states (Somaliland and Puntland) while Mogadishu underwent a new Civil War starting in late 1991 with the city divided between warring Hawiye factions of Aidid and Abgaal President Ali Mahdi. Despite 2 interim governments built from Djibouti and supplanted in the capital with its elected Hawiye Presidencies in Ali Mahdi Muhammad in 1991 and Abdiqasim Salad Hassan (Habargidir) a decade later, 14 national peace conferences throughout their tenures and a 3-year UN/US humanitarian & peacekeeping intervention (1992-1995), the Mogadishu Civil War remained a stalemate until 2006 which saw the rise of the popular Islamic Courts Union (ICU), a predominately Hawiye-based Islamic Fundamentalist Organisation that ended the rule of factional warlords and their chiefdoms, with the ICU promoting religious reform while conquering large parts of the country. But even with its moderate leadership and revolutionary appeal, the International Community, encouraged by the US global War on Terror campaign, endorsed a historically damaging Ethiopian Occupation to overthrow the ICU and prop the weak internationally recognised interim federal government (TFG) of President Abdullahi Yusuf, a Darod Majerteen, which was built in Kenya in 2004 and based there before moving into the city of Baidoa. With the TFG reliant on neighbours Ethiopia and Kenya, adopting their principles of federalism and in particular imitating the state structure of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, the moderate ICU leadership moved to Djibouti and Eritrea in exile, eventually returning to power under a new name, the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) and successfully ending the Ethiopian occupation. A coalition of sorts in later successive governments have since been formed, with new challenges posed by radical offshoots Al-Shabaab, an Alqaeda affiliate takfeer group notorious for bomb attacks that hasn't spared the old, the women or the children though claiming to solely fight the Government and its partners from the African Union peacekeeping forces.
The Hawiye figure prominently in many important fields of Somali society such as the Business & Media sector. For example, Abdirahman Yabarow, the editor-in-chief of VOA Somali is kin. Yusuf Garaad Omar who was the Chairman of BBC Somali for over a decade and helped pioneer its rise during his tenure, is also a member. As are the heads of major national corporations - Jubba Airways and Hormuud Telecom.
Currently the Hawiye play a leading role in the regional states of Galmudug, Hirshabelle and Benadir (Mogadishu), but also in Somalia and among the Somali people as a whole.
According to 12th-century author Al-Idrisi, the Hawiye clan occupied the coastal areas between Ras Hafun and Merca, as well as the lower basin of the lower Shabelle river. Al-Idrisi's mention of the Hawiye is the first documentary reference to a specific Somali group in the Horn of Africa. Later Arab writers also make references to the Hawiye clan in connection with both Merca and the lower Shabelle valley. Ibn Sa'id (1214–74), for instance, considered Merca to be the capital of the Hawiye, who lived in fifty villages on the bank of a river which he called "the nile of Mogadishu, a clear reference to the Shabelle river.
Along with Rahanweyn, the Hawiye clan also came under the Ajuran Empire control in the 13th century that governed much of southern Somalia and eastern Ethiopia, with its domain extending from Hobyo in the north, to Qelafo in the west, to Kismayo in the south.
Known to medieval writers as the Ajan Coast Harold Marcus credits the role of the Hawiye-led commonwealth alliance in expanding and islamizing the communities of what is now southeast Ethiopia and southern Somalia during the 15th and 16th centuries.
The Hawiye are also featured in the early history of the northern Ifat Sultanate during the reign of Emperors Zara Yaqob and Amda Seyon I. Sabr ad-Din of Ifat who declared war on Amda Seyon, had summoned 15 notables for the battle, the 8th notable was the King of Harla and the 9th notable was the King of Hubat. According to best known travel and tourism handbook "Guide to Ethiopia" by author Phillip Briggs and ecologist professor Marco Viganó, the Kundudo (Qundhura) mountain ranges which sits at the mouth of Gursum, Somali (woreda) and easiest to access via Babile was the locality of ancient Hubat, an early Hawiye settlement area pre-dating and surrounding Harar particularly towards the South East and also historically inhabited by nomadic highland Hawiye clans who had turned to farming and cultivation during the rainfall season according to J.Spencer's "Islam in Ethiopia" where they later repelled and neighboured the Oromo Invasions. Many old towns and villages bearing Hawiye ancestral names can still be found in the modern Eastern Hararghe region today.
With Adal Sultanate succeeding Ifat Sultanate, the Hawiye figured prominently as leaders and soldiers in what culminated to become the 16th century conquest of Ethiopia (Futuh Al-Habasha). The most famous and widely read Public Historian of Ethiopia, former Minister of Education, Arts & Culture and Dean of the National Library under Haile Selassie, Takla Sadiq Mekuria, author of the "History of Ethiopia; Nubia, Aksum, Zagoe till the Time of the Reign of Aşe Yækunno Amlak", had state devoted the largest study - a 950-page book in 1961 to the life and times of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (known as Ahmed Gurey or Mohamed Gragne, the Atilla of Africa and the King of Zeila) as well as the history of the elite core family-unit of the Imam often known as the Malassay Army in his rough monograph on the Gragn Wars called "Ya Gragn Warara" (The Conquests of Gragn), in it he draws on the evidence from Arab Faqih Sihab Uddin and the chronicles of Sarsa-Dengel. Through the mediation of Dagazmac Wargnah he interviewed Ahmed Ali Shami, the most senior authoritative scholar of Harar to have produced the concise manuscript history of Harar (in his Fatah Madinat Harar manuscript) for several European institutions and maintains several preserved Arabic manuscripts, which all provide the only extensive family tree and genealogical known tradition of 8 generations of the father and relatives of Gragne's lineage from the Karanle Hawiye branch with his mother stated to be of the ethnic Harla, who are also in several accounts stated to be an ancient section of the Kerenle. This is also found in the Aussa chronicles and books authored by Manfred Kropp, Layla Sabaq and Berhanu Kamal and others. Gragne's wife was also the daughter of Emir Mahfuz, an important relative, ruler of Zeila and a Balaw, a Karanle subclan also listed as a group of tribes from Bale and a commonly Ethiopian mistranslation of the Coptic Christian synaxarium of Alexandria's "Muslim badawī (bedouin/nomadic descent)" for Muslims in Egypt, Sudan, Somalia and the Red Sea Gulf. See example - Ethiopian chronicles of 10th century Muslim convert Saint George the Egyptian Balaw. Weakened by centuries of northern conflict, a fraction of the Hawiye of the post Adal Harar Emirate continued to remain powerful in the Somali interior and would later form a dynasty of jurists in early modern Zeila.
Enrico Cerulli, an Author on key Somali social development and early history, mentions the following passage on the birth and succession of the Ajuran Sultanate.
The Hiraab Imamate was the main successor state of the Ajuran Sultanate. The reason for their rebellion was the Ajuran rulers, in the end, became extremely prideful, neglected the sharia law, and imposed a heavy tax on their subjects which was the main reason for the rebellion. Other groups would follow in the rebellion which would eventually bring down Ajuran rule in the inter-riverine region and Benadir coast.
Lee Cassanelli in his book, The Shaping of Somali society, provides a historical picture of the Hiraab Imamate. He writes:
Richard Burton, a famous 19th century British explorer said to have been the first European to reach the Holy Islamic sites of Mecca and Medina in secrecy, on visiting the country of the Somalis in 1854 noted among other authors at the time, the northern and southern expansion of the Hiraab prior to the Imamate's deeper conflicts with the advent of Colonialism, said the following;
Soon afterwards, the entire peninsula was snapped up by Colonial powers and it led to the birth of a Modern Somalia. However, the Hiraab hereditary leadership has remained intact up to this day and enjoys a dominant influence in national Somali affairs.
Due to antiquity and oldened traditions, there are sometimes no clear agreement on the clan and sub-clan structures or many lineages are omitted. Ali Jimale Ahmed outlines his genealogical clan tree of the Hawiye in The Invention of Somalia.
NOTE: The Sheekhaal, Xawaadle and Saransoor (Gaaljecel, Dagoodi, Ciise, Masarre, Tuuf Garre) are historically counted as Hawiye lineages under Hiraab, Gorgaarte and Gugundhabe respectively. The Ajuuraan are similarly descendants of Jambeelle.