Gadabuursi Ughazate

The Gadabuursi Ughazate or Ugasate (Somali: Ugaasyada ama Boqortooyada Gadabuursi, Amharic: የገዳቡርሲ አለቆች) evolved from and was a successor kingdom to the Adal Sultanate and Sultanate of Harar. The first Ughaz (Ugaas) of this successor kingdom, Ali Makail Dera (Cali Makayl-Dheere) was the son of Makail Dera, the progenitor of the Makayl-Dheere. During the late 19th century, as the region became subject to colonial rule, the Ughaz assumed a more traditional and ceremonial leadership of the clan. The Gadabuursi give their King the title of Ughaz. It's an authentic Somali term for King or Sultan. The Gadabuursi in particular are one of the clans with a long tradition of the institution of Sultan.
The first Ughaz of the Gadabuursi was Ughaz Ali Makail Dera (Cali Makayl-Dheere), who is the progenitor of the Reer Ughaz (Reer Ugaas) subclan to which the royal lineage belongs.
Ughaz Ali Makail Dera (Cali Makayl-Dheere) who was born in 1575 in Dobo, an area north of the present town of Borama in north-western Somaliland, is recorded as having inflicted a heavy defeat on Galla forces at Nabadid.
I. M. Lewis (1959) highlights that the Gadabuursi were in conflict with the Galla during the reign of Ughaz Ali Makail Dera, during and after the campaigns against the Christian Abyssinians:
Ughaz Nur I, who was crowned in 1698, married Faaya Aale Boore who was the daughter of a famous Oromo King and Chief, Aale Boore. Ughaz Nur I and Faaya Aale Boore gave birth to Ughaz Hiraab and Ughaz Shirdoon, who later became the 6th and 7th Ughaz respectively. Aale Boore was a famous Oromo King, the victory of the former over the latter marked a historical turning point in concluding the Oromo predominance in the Eastern Hararghe region.
The Gadabuursi managed to defeat and kill the next Oromo King after Aale Boore during the reign of Ughaz Roble I who was crowned in 1817. It is said that during his reign the Gadabuursi tribe reached great influence and tremendous height in the region, having managed to defeat the reigning Galla/Oromo King at that time whose name was Nuuno which struck a blow to the Galla's morale, due to their much loved King being killed. He was defeated by Geedi Bahdoon, also known as Geedi Malable. He struck a spear right through the King while he was in front of a tree, the spear pierced inside the tree making it not able for the King to escape or remove the spear. After he died he was buried in an area that's now called Qabri Nuuno near Sheedheer. In the picture already shared titled 'An old map featuring the Harrawa Valley in the Gadabuursi country, north of Harar' one can read Gabri Nono, which is the anglicized version of the Somali Qabri Nuuno.
Ughaz Roble I died in 1848 and was buried in an area called Dhehror (Dhexroor) in the Harrawa Valley. It has become the custom for Somalis after Ughaz Roble I that whenever an Ughaz gets inaugurated and it rains, he should be named Ughaz Roble, which translates to 'the one with rain' or 'rainmaker'.
Ughaz Nur II was born in Zeila in the year 1835 and crowned in Bagi in 1848. In his youth, he loved riding, hunting and the traditional arts and memorized a great number of proverbs, stories and poems.
Eventually, Ughaz Nur II created his own store of sayings, poems and stories that are quoted to this day. He knew by heart the Gadabuursi heer (customary law) and amended or added new heer during his reign. He was known for fair dealing to friend and stranger alike. It is said that he was the first Gadabuursi Ughaz to introduce guards and askaris armed with arrows and bows.
During the rule of Ughaz Nur II both Egypt and Ethiopia were contending for power and supremacy in the Horn of Africa. The European colonial powers were also competing for strategic territories and ports in the Horn of Africa.
In the year 1876, Egypt using Islam as a bargaining chip signed a treaty with Ughaz Nur II and came to occupy the Northern Somali coast which included Zeila. But the Egyptians also occupied the town of Harar and the Harar-Zeila-Berbera caravan route.
On 25 March 1885, the French government claimed that they signed a treaty with Ughaz Nur II of the Gadabuursi placing much of the coast and interior of the Gadabuursi country under the protectorate of France. The treaty titled in French, Traitè de Protectorat sur les Territoires du pays des Gada-Boursis, was signed by both J. Henry, the Consular Agent of France and Dependencies at Harar-Zeila, and Nur Robleh, Ughaz of the Gadabuursi, at Zeila on 9 Djemmad 1302 (March 25, 1885). The treaty states as follows (translated from French):
The French claimed that the treaty with the Ughaz of the Gadabuursi gave them jurisdiction over the entirety of the Zeila coast and the Gadabuursi country.
However, the British attempted to deny this agreement between the French and the Gadabuursi citing that that Ughaz had a representative at Zeila when the Gadabuursi signed their treaty with the British in December of 1884. The British suspected that this treaty was designed by the Consular Agent of France and Dependencies at Harrar-Zeila to circumvent British jurisdiction over the Gadabuursi country and allow France to lay claim to sections of the Somali coast. There was also suspicion that Ughaz Nur II had attempted to cause a diplomatic row between the British and French governments in order to consolidate his own power in the region.
According to I. M. Lewis, this treaty clearly influenced the demarcation of the boundaries between the two protectorates, establishing the coastal town of Djibouti as the future official capital of the French colony:
Ughaz Nur II went to Egypt and met Isma'il Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt, who honored him with medals and expensive gifts. The Ughaz there signed a treaty accepting Egyptian protection of Muslims in Somaliland and Ethiopia. According to I. M. Lewis, he was also gifted with firearms amongst other weapons. In 1884, two years after Britain took over Egypt, Britain also occupied Egyptian territories, especially the northern Somali coast. However Ughaz Nur II had little to do with the British, as long as they did not interfere with his rule, the customs of his people, and their trade routes. Ughaz Nur II had established strong relations with the Emir of Harar, Abdallah II ibn Ali. In 1887, when Harar was occupied by Menelik II of Ethiopia, Ughaz Nur II sent Gadabuursi askaris to support Abdallah II ibn Ali and in another historical account, he himself participated in the battle. Harar officially fell to Menelik in 1887.
Ughaz Nur II recited lines of poetry lamenting the fall of Harar to Menelik in 1887:
Ughaz Nur II was at first in a distinct and advantageous position, for not only did the caravan route to Harar run through Gadabuursi clan territory, but the Gadabuursi at the time were partly cultivating and so easier to control and tax. Yet for this very reason, after the 1897 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, Ughaz Nur II, a far-sighted man, did everything in his power to prevent his people cultivating, for he realised that it would bring them under the control of the Amharic authority established at Harar. Colonel Stace (1893) mentioned that the Abyssinians were encroaching further into the Gadabuursi homeland near Harar:
Ras Makonnen sent a letter to Colonel E. V. Stace complaining that the Gadabuursi have begun attacking all caravans coming into Harar and denied any plans to militarily attack the Gadabuursi:
Ras Makonnen, the newly appointed Ethiopian governor of Harar, offered the Gadabuursi protection in exchange for collaboration. Ughaz Nur II refused and fought Ethiopian expansion until he died in 1898. Ughaz Nur II is buried in Dirri.
His work was and is still taught in Somali Poetry classes (Suugaan: Fasalka Koobaad) among other Somali poets. His poems were also written in the Gadabuursi Script.
For more about Ughaz Nur II, visit the following:
The image above translates as:
Translation of another variation of the poem by B. W. Andrzejewski (1993):
Philipp Paulitschke (1893) mentioned a poem which became extremely popular in the Gadabuursi country called Imminent loss of the Prince. This poem became very popular when the Gadabuursi heard that the British intended to supplant the traditional line of Ughaz Nur II towards the end of his life and appoint a more favourable Ughaz, 'Elmi Warfa:
Philipp Paulitschke (1893) comments on the above poem:
Major R. G. Edwards Leckie writes about his meeting with Ughaz Nur II in his A Visit to the Gadabuursi:
Major R. G. Edwards Leckie also writes about his appearance:
Ughaz Roble II was the 12th in line of the Gadabuursi Ughazate. Based mainly in Harar, he was crowned the Ughaz of the Gadabuursi after his father's (Ughaz Nur II) death. His position as Ughaz proved to be quite controversial amongst the Gadabuursi due to his close relationship with the Ethiopian ruling dynasty. He would go on to receive payments, gifts and weapons from the British, the French and the Abyssinians who were all vying for the region. He eventually fell out of favor with the British and became close allies with Menelik II who officially recognized him as the Ughaz of the Gadabuursi.
When Lij Iyasu came to power in Abyssinia he cemented a close relationship with Ughaz Roble II and gave him a close female relative from the Ethiopian royal household in marriage.
The Arab Bureau, which was a collection of British intelligence officers headquartered in Cairo and charged with the task of coordinating imperial intelligence activities, recorded this event in the Arab Bureau Summaries Volumes 1-114 (1986), where it also mentioned that the British deposed Ughaz Roble II from power due to his alliance with the Ethiopian establishment:
Andrew Caplan (1971) records Lij Iyasu wanting to enter into an alliance with the Gadabuursi, in his book British policy towards Ethiopia 1909-1919:
After the deposition of his ally Lij Iyasu by Empress Zewditu, Ughaz Roble II witnessed the October 1916 massacre of the inhabitants of Harar by Abyssinian soldiers and was given immunity along with some of the other prominent leaders in the region. This event marked a turning point in the relations between the Somalis and the ruling Abyssinians in the region. Ughaz Roble II was given special immunity because of his high profile and personal relations with those in the Ethiopian royal family to whom he was also related by virtue of marriage. Ughaz Roble II was considered a very controversial figure and was the first Gadabuursi Ughaz to have been deposed by his own people. The deposition from position of Ughaz caused a huge stir amongst the Gadabuursi. Ughaz Roble II was known to love hunting, archery, horse riding and he inherited a rifle that was given as a gift to his father Ughaz Nur II by the Khedive of Egypt, Isma'il Pasha. He died in 1938 and was buried in Awbare, which became the seat of the Ughazate of the Gadabuursi in the early 20th century.
Ughaz 'Elmi Warfa was the 13th in line of the Gadabuursi Ughazate. His other names were 'Ilmi-Dheere ('Elmi the Tall) and Kun ‘Iil (A Thousand Sorrows).
In the late 1890s, the British appointed 'Elmi Warfa Ughaz of all the Gadabuursi in the British Protectorate. Ughaz 'Elmi thus supplanted the traditional line of Ughaz Nur II and his successor, Ughaz Roble II, who had fallen out of favor with the British. Ughaz 'Elmi's authority was recognized in an installation ceremony in 1917 in Zeila. However the traditional successor of Ughaz Nur II, Ughaz Robleh II, remained the Ughaz of the Gadabuursi in Ethiopia. Ughaz 'Elmi was a member of the delegation that had accompanied Ughaz Nur II to Egypt in the late 1870s and also was one of the Gadabuursi elders who signed the treaty with the British at Zeila in 1884.
Ughaz 'Elmi’s usurpation of the traditional Gadabuursi line of succession provoked other sub-clans and caused a lot of controversy. Many sub-clans, especially the rer Yunus or the Yunus branch felt it was their turn to vie for the Ughaz-ship. This sparked a conflict which was also conducted in poetic duels. These poems were rich imagery and symbolism. Two of the best are "Dhega Taag” (A Battle-Cry) by 'Elmi the Tall or 'Elmi Dheire' and the other called "Aabudle" (A Declaration of Faith) by Farid Dabi-Hay, who was one of Ughaz 'Elmi's rivals.
For more about Ughaz 'Elmi Warfaa, visit the following:
Ughaz Dodi (Daudi) Ughaz Roble II, was crowned Ughaz of the Gadabuursi in Ethiopia in the late 1940s. Before he became Ughaz, he was appointed Dejazmach (Commander of the Gate) by the Ethiopian authorities. He was a source of constant problems for the British Protectorate and was accused of conspiring with Italian forces during World War II. After the war, British soldiers were sent to arrest him and he was eventually taken into custody whilst in Jijiga by the British and forcibly exiled to the Karaman Island in Yemen where he was imprisoned for 7 years. He was accompanied by his family in his forced exile. Ultimately he was released and when he returned to the British Protectorate he was immediately detained again on Saad-ud-Din Island, within the British governor's jurisdiction. The Gadabuursi recognized him as their Ughaz in a grand meeting of Gadabuursi notables in Ethiopia. After his return from forced exile, the Ethiopian government sent him a delegation informing him that Haile Selassie recognizes him as the Ughaz of the Gadabuursi in Ethiopia. Despite this, during the end of his life Ughaz Dodi refused to recognize Ethiopian rule and returned the Ethiopian delegation that was sent to him. In 1948, Ughaz Dodi along with Sultan Hassan of the Jidwaq, signed a document called 'Petition for Amalgamation from the Jigjiga area, with the other Somali territories.' This document was primarily signed in order to petition the Four Power Commission of Investigation for the Former Italian Colonies (1948) to end Ethiopian occupation of Somali territories, return all Somali territories held by the Ethiopians and unify the territories under a United Somaliland. It was soon after this that he died in 1949.
The Gadabuursi Kingdom was established more than 600 years ago and consisted of a King (Ugaas) and many elders.
Hundreds of elders used to work in four sections consisting of 25 elders each:
The chairmen of the four sections were called Afarta Dhadhaar, and were selected according to talent and personal abilities.
A constitution, Xeer Gadabuursi, had been developed, which divided every case as to whether it was new or had precedents (ugub or curad).
The Gadabuursi King and the elders opposed the arrival of the British at the turn of the 20th century, but they ended up signing an agreement with them. Later, as disagreements between the two parties arose and intensified, the British installed a friendly Ugaas against the recognized traditional Ugaas in hopes of overthrowing him. This would eventually bring about the collapse of the kingdom.
When a new Ughaz (Ugaas) was appointed amongst the Gadabuursi, a hundred elders, representatives of all the lineages of the clan, assembled to form a parliament to promulgate new Xeer agreements, and to decide which legislation they wished to retain from the reign of the previous Ugaas. The compensation rates for delicts committed within the clan were revised if necessary, and a corpus of Gadabuursi law, as it were, was placed on the statutes for the duration of the new Ugaas's rule.
This was called 'The Law of the King and the 100 men' (Xeerka Boqorka iyo Boqolka Nin).
Richard Francis Burton (1856) describes the Gadabuursi Ugaas as hosting equestrian games for 100 men in the Harrawa Valley, also known as the Harar Valley or Wady Harawwah, a long running valley situated in the Gadabuursi country, north of Harar, Ethiopia. He states:
Here is a summary of a very full account of the traditional Gadabuursi installation ceremony mentioned by I. M. Lewis (1999) in A Pastoral Democracy:
Currently Abdirashid Ughaz Roble III Ughaz Dodi is the Ughaz of the Gadabuursi.