page_title: Dhulbahante
section_title: Dervish Period
hierarchical_section_title: Dhulbahante / History / Dervish Period
caption_attribution_description: English: Ruins of Castle, Taleh Khatumo state, Somalia
context_page_description: The Dhulbahante is a Somali clan family, part of the Harti clan which itself belongs to the largest Somali clan-family — the Darod. In Somalia, the Dhulbahante primarily settle in the three northern regions of Sool, Sanaag, and Togdheer, but they also have a significant presences in Jubaland, particularly in the city of Kismayo. In Ethiopia, they settle in the Dollo Zone specifically in the woredas of Boh, Danot and Werder.
  The clan is known for its armed resistance against the British Empire and the historic role it assumed in support of the Dervish Movement which waged a bloody war against colonial powers from 1899 to 1920. Due to this legacy, the name Darawiish has almost become synonymous with this clan's name.
context_section_description: Dervish forces mostly hailed from the Dhulbahante, similarly the majority of the movements followers belonged to this clan and to a lesser extent the Ogaden clan. The Dhulbahante in Buuhodle were particularly the first and most persistent supporters of the Dervish Movement. The Dervish Movement resisted colonial occupation, especially the British who were aided by certain Somali clans (including segments of the Dhulbahante). The Achilles heel of the British empire in the Somaliland Protectorate was the un-administered east, inhabited by the Dhubahante, Warsangali and a few sections of the Isaaq. In this light Douglas Jardine explains that British priority was to keep the former two clans neutral, as the British administration and its allied clans would not be able to resist them without outside aid.
  Despite this, the Chief of the Dhulbahante clan, Garad Ali Garad Mohamoud, did not want to be under British occupation nor under Dervish authority, instead he wanted to retain his autonomy as clan chief. The Garad and Sayyid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan had a heated altercation which concluded with Garad Ali supposedly saying:
   "I am the Ruler of Nugaal and its people, their management is mine and i expect everybody to respect it".
  Subsequently, Hassan ordered the successful assassination of the Garad. As Douglas Jardine reports, Hassan took this action after the Garad reassured the British that their relations remained unchanged, although owing to the influence of Hassan his clan no longer obeyed his orders. Issa-Salwe says news of the assassination stunned the Somali clans, consequently Hassan was only left with his maternal clan, the Ali Geri of the Dhulbahante. According to John William Carnegie Kirk, all Dhulbahante clans sided with Sayyid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan, expect the three small sub-clans of Rer Hagar, Rer Wais Adan and Ba Idris who were considered friendly by the British. In his poem Hanfi iyo Hungri, Hassan acknowledged the Dhulbahante as the true Dervish warriors:
  Hawa beena Soomaalidaa, hadafka raacdaa leh.
  Hadal ruma Daraawiishta iyo, weli hanoonaa leh.
  
  Raggii diinta hooyga u noqdiyo, hanad shirshooraa leh.
  In 1904 Hassan attacked the Jama Siad clan and in 1908 the Dhulbahante raided the Dervish and looted their camels. Hassan sent a letter to the British Commissioner Cordeaux, requesting his camels be returned and Blood money be paid.
  Excerpt from Hassan's letter to Cordeaux :
  Your people, the Dolbahanta tribe, have killed fifteen of our men and looted eighty-four camels. I do not know if Abdulla Shahari reported this to you: if he did the fault lies with you; if not, I do hereby acquaint you of it. You are requested to restore to us our camels and the blood shed by your people 
  In 1912 the Dervish army compelled friendly segments of the Dhulbahante clan to retire to the British controlled territory to gain protection, Horace Byatt reported that 800 dhulbahante arrived in Berbera, stating that only 300 native infantry and 200 King's African Rifles were in Berbera and insufficient to hold off a Dervish attack.
  In 1913 at the battle of Dul Madoba the Dervishes defeated the British. The Dervish forces under the leadership of Dhulbahante military commander Ismail Mire were attacked by the British expeditionary forces under the command of Richard Corfield. It is reported that the Dervishes previously looted herds from the Jama Siad, who subsequently agreed to assist the British in their attack. Thus, 300 Jama Siad warriors along with the  Somaliland Camel Corps commanded by Corfield pursued and attacked the Dervishes at Dul Madoba. The British sustained heavy casualties and Corfeild was killed in battle, whilst the 300 Jama Siad warriors fled unscathed. 
  After the 1920 Bombing campaign of the Taleh fort and the Dervish retreat into Ethiopia, Tribal Chief Haji Mohammad Bullaleh (Haji the Hyena), commanded a 3000 strong army that consisted of Habar Yunis, Habar Jeclo and Dolbahanta horsemen and  pursued the fleeing Dervishes. They attacked Muhammad Abdallah Hassan and the Dervish army in the Ogaden region and defeated
caption: Taleh, the Dervish capital.
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