Akisho

The Akisho (Somali: Akiisho, Arabic: أكيشو) is a sub-division of the Dir subclan of the clan family.[1]

Akisho
Akisho
أكيشو
Regions with significant populations
Ethiopia, Somaliland
Languages
Somali
Religion
Islam (Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
Gurgura, Bursuuk, Issa, Gadabursi, Bimaal, Surre and other Dir groups

Overview

As a Dir sub-clan, the Akisho have immediate lineal ties with the Issa, the Gadabuursi, the Surre (Abdalle and Qubeys), the Biimaal (who the Gaadsen also belong too), the Bajimal, the Bursuk, the Gurgura, (the Quranyow sub-clan to be precise as they claim descent from Dir), Gariire, other Dir sub-clans and they have lineal ties with the Hawiye (Irir), Hawadle, Ajuraan, Degoodi, Gaalje'el clan groups, who share the same ancestor Samaale.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Distribution

The Akisho inhabit both the Somaliland and Ethiopia in Somali region. In Somaliland, Akisho members live in the Maroodi Jeex region, in the cities and towns of Hargeisa, Arabsiyo, Wajaale, Allaybaday, and Gabiley In Ethiopia, where the Akisho are among the most widespread Somali group, Akisho members inhabit Jijiga, Qordhere, Dire Dewa, Bale (Nagelle), Babile, Fayanbiro, Qabri-Bayah, Fiq, Hara-Maaya, Harar, Obra, and Dadar. Fadeyga godanta booraale gursum and many more geographical regions. Currently, the sultan of the Akisho clan is Muhiyadiin Odawa.

Also the Madahweyne Dir, Akisho clan is one of the largest Dir sub-clans within the borders of the Somaliland region of Ethiopia based on the Ethiopian population census.[9] Many Akisho's live in the Afar region of Ethiopia.[10]

The Akisho live in Jijiga district where they make up a large part of the Kebri Beyah and Fafan Zone. The Dir-Madaxweyne Akisho, along with the Gurgura, Issa and Gadabuursi subclans of the Dir represent the most native and indigenous Somali tribes in Harar.[11][12][13]

History

Akisho is one of the oldest Somali clans being mentioned as far back as the 16th century in the book The Conquest of Abyssinia also known as Futuh al-habash.[14] Akisho members are strict adherents of Sunni Islam. Akisho groups and their related clans are reputed to have migrated from Somali Ethiopian region all the way up North as far as the country Chad, the Sudan, and Northern Eritrea are said to be inhabited by Akisho and many Dir tribes. Ahmed Gurey was one of the Akisho members.

The city of Dire Dawa was originally called Dir Dhabe and used to be part of Adal Sultanate during the medieval times and was exclusively settled by Dir clan which is a major Somali tribe. The Akisho name is originally derived from "Cayisho" which means, in old Somali, the (Cayilsan) "Fat One." The Gurre and Gurgurre both are very closely related to the Akisho, use a nickname and were referred to the Oromo and Somalis as the traders or Gurgure from the old Somali and Oromo word "gorgortan" which means one who sells and trades.

According to the folklore historians of the Southern Suure Dir of the Mudug region, the Akisho and Gurre and the Gurgure Madahweyne Dir produced some of the most famous Somali folk heroes like the Somali queen Araweelo who was Warre Miyo. Also the Akisho and Gurgure clans were instrumental in spreading the Muslim faith in the hinterlands of Ethiopia. The Sheikh Abba Hussein in Southern Ethiopia is said to be of Dir, as well as Awbarkadleh and Awbuube who are two major saints of the Somalis. Currently Muhiyadiin Odowa is the Sultan of the Akisho. Famous people of the Akisho clan are Ahmed Gurey Arawelo and Oday Biiqay.

The information in contained in this Response was provided by Matt Bryden, a consultant and Somali specialist now working with the United Nations Institute for Research on Social Development (UNRISD) in Nairobi (16 June 1998). He stated that the Akisho "are related to the Dir clan family, and live mainly between Jigjiga [in Ethiopia], Hargeysa and many regions in Ethiopia. In Somalia, they have been awarded a seat in the constituent assembly. They face no threat of persecution in any of the areas in which they live." The Research Directorate was unable to corroborate the Akisho's participation in the constituent assembly nor whether they face "persecution."

According to the Ethiopian Review the Akisho may be more numerous in Ethiopia than they are in Somalia (30 April 1996). For additional information on the Dir clan and the Akisho sub clan, please consult Patrick Gilkes' The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991–1994 pages 144–148, and the appendix of Somali clan families. [15]

Clan tree

The Akisho clan consists of 12 major sub-clans:

[2][16][17]

  • Akisho
      • Miyo
        • Reer Warfaa
        • Reer Dalal
        • Reer Robleh
        • Reer Gadiid
        • Reer Hawadee
        • Reer Buuke
        • Reer Agal
    • Reer-Bito
    • Reer-Dayo
    • Reer-Luujo
        • Reer Geedi
        • Ali Idoora
        • Ali Libaan
        • Ali Ibrahim
      • -Reer-Ito
            • Ree Rooble
            • Ree cadaawe
            • Ree Tukale
            • Ree kibriidle
      • Kiyo
      • Reer Adeele
      • Reer Cadow
      • Reer Geele
      • Reer Allaale
      • Reer Xildiid
      • Reer-Heebaan (Curad Akisho)
      • -Reer-Kurto
    • Obo
      • Liban
        • Jire
          • Reer Biiqe
          • Rear Abayu
        • Warimani
      • Suubo
    • Igo
      • Reer Ismaacil
      • Reer Wadhowr
    • Asaabo
    • Gurre
        • Eejo

There is no clear agreement on the clan and sub-clan structures and many lineages are omitted. The following listing is taken from the World Bank's Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics from 2005 and the United Kingdom's Home Office publication, Somalia Assessment 2001.[18][19]

In the south central part of Somalia the World Bank shows the following clan tree:[20]

  • Dir
    • Akisho
    • Gadabuursi
    • Isse
    • Bimal
    • Gadsan
    • Qubeys

Notable figures

Ref: Futūḥ al-Ḥabasha. (n.d.). Christian-Muslim Relations 1500–1900. doi:10.1163/2451-9537_cmrii_com_26077

Notes
  1. Verdier, Isabelle (31 May 1997). Ethiopia: the top 100 people. Indigo Publications. ISBN 9782905760128.
  2. Lewis, I. M. (1 January 1998). Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho. Red Sea Press. p. 25. ISBN 9781569021057.
  3. Lewis, I. M. (1 January 1998). Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho. Red Sea Press. ISBN 9781569021057. At the end of the book "Tribal Distribution of Somali Afar and Saho"
  4. Verdier, Isabelle (31 May 1997). Ethiopia: the top 100 people. Indigo Publications. p. 13. ISBN 9782905760128.
  5. Hayward, R. J.; Lewis, I. M. (17 August 2005). Voice and Power. Routledge. p. 242. ISBN 9781135751753.
  6. The Quranyo section of the Garre claim descent from Dirr, who are born of the Irrir Samal. UNDP Paper in Keyna http://www.undp.org/content/dam/kenya/docs/Amani%20Papers/AP_Volume1_n2_May2010.pdf Archived 17 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Adam, Hussein Mohamed; Ford, Richard (1 January 1997). Mending rips in the sky: options for Somali communities in the 21st century. Red Sea Press. p. 127. ISBN 9781569020739.
  8. Ahmed, Ali Jimale (1 January 1995). The Invention of Somalia. The Red Sea Press. p. 121. ISBN 9780932415998.
  9. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Central Statistical Agency Population of Ethiopia for All Regions At Wereda Level from 2014 p. 21 Somali region Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Negatu, Workneh; Research, Addis Ababa University Institute of Development; Center, University of Wisconsin—Madison Land Tenure; Foundation, Ford (1 January 2004). Proceedings of the Workshop on Some Aspects of Rural Land Tenure in Ethiopia: Access, Use, and Transfer. IDR/AAU. p. 43. Page:43 : Somali Settlers Akisho in Karrayu territory(Oromia region)
  11. Slikkerveer (28 October 2013). Plural Medical Systems in the Horn of Africa: The Legacy of Sheikh Hippocrates. Routledge. p. 140. ISBN 9781136143304.
  12. Lewis, I. M. (1998). Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-based Society. p. 100. ISBN 9781569021033.
  13. Lewis, I. M. (17 March 2003). A Modern History of the Somali: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa. ISBN 9780821445730.
  14. Hassen, Mohammed (2004). "Reviewed work: Futuh Al-Habaša: The Conquest of Abyssinia [16th Century], Šihab ad-Din Ahmad bin Abd al-Qader bin Salem bin Utman, Paul Lester Stenhouse, Richard Pankhurst". International Journal of Ethiopian Studies. 1 (2): 177–193. JSTOR 27828848.
  15. Bryden, Matt. UNRISD, Nairobi. 16 June 1998. Letter received by electronic mail. Gilkes, Patrick. September 1994. The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991–1994. Bedfordshire, UK: Save the Children Fund, UK. Additional Sources Consulted Africa Confidential [London]. January – May 1998. Vol. 39. Nos. 1–11. _____. January – December 1997. Vol. 38. Nos. 1–25. Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. January – May 1998. Vol. 35. Nos. 1–4. _____. January – December 1997. Vol. 34. Nos. 1–11. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. 1998. Horn of Africa Bulletin [Uppsala]. Vol. 10. Nos. 1–2. _____. January – December 1997. Vol. 9. Nos. 1–10. The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. January – June 1998. Nos. 793–815. _____. January – December 1997. Nos. 747 – 792.
  16. Protonotari, Francesco (1 January 1890). Nuova antologia (in Italian). Direzione della Nuova Antologia.
  17. Clanship, Conflict and Refugees: An Introduction to Somalis in the Horn of Africa, Guido Ambroso
  18. Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p. 55 Figure A-1
  19. Country Information and Policy Unit, Home Office, Great Britain, Somalia Assessment 2001, Annex B: Somali Clan Structure Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, p. 43
  20. Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p. 56 Figure A-2

References
  • Futūḥ al-Ḥabasha. (n.d.). Christian-Muslim Relations 1500–1900. doi:10.1163/2451-9537_cmrii_com_26077
  • Country Information and Policy Unit, Somalia Assessment 2001, Home Office, Great Britain

Bryden, Matt. UNRISD, Nairobi. 16 June 1998. Letter received by electronic mail. Gilkes, Patrick. September 1994. The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991–1994. Bedfordshire, UK: Save the Children Fund, UK. Additional Sources Consulted Africa Confidential [London]. January – May 1998. Vol. 39. Nos. 1–11. _____. January – December 1997. Vol. 38. Nos. 1–25. Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. January – May 1998. Vol. 35. Nos. 1–4. _____. January – December 1997. Vol. 34. Nos. 1–11. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. 1998. Horn of Africa Bulletin [Uppsala]. Vol. 10. Nos. 1–2. _____. January – December 1997. Vol. 9. Nos. 1–10. The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. January – June 1998. Nos. 793–815. _____. January – December 1997. Nos. 747 – 792.

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