Bursuuk
The Bursuuk (Somali: Barsuug) or also written as Barsuk, Barsuq and Barsoub is a clan belonging to Madahweyne sub-clan of the Dir clan family. They largely live in Ethiopia, in the Somali Region, especially around the ancient city of Harar and between the city and Jigjiga.[1][2]
Bursuuk | |
---|---|
Regions with significant populations | |
Ethiopia | |
Languages | |
Somali | |
Religion | |
Islam (Sunni) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Gadabuursi, Issa, Gurgura, Akisho, Bimaal, Surre and other Dir groups |
History
The Bursuuk were one of the Somali clans that fought on the left flank of Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi's army during the Ethiopian-Adal War.[3]According to Antoine d'Abbadie, he notes that the Barentu Oromo had occupied Dakkar from the Bursuuk which they have integrated in their mythology.[4][5]
The Bursuuk are considered one of the native Dir tribes of Harar.[6] During the Egyptian occupation of Harar, the Bursuuk resisted the Egyptian colonizers and fought many battles against them. During the Egyptian retreat from Harar, they burned many Barsuuk villages. In retaliation, the Bursuuk attacked the retreating Egyptian troops, and looted caravans of the Habr Awal clan.[7] Richard Burton described the Bursuuk as one of "the Somalis of the mountains" who derive themselves from the Dir.
During 1854 that they were at war with 3 different clans or tribes: the Girhi, the Berteri and the Gallas (who are known today as Oromos).[8]
References
- Lewis, I. M. (1998). Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho. Red Sea Press. p. 26. ISBN 9781569021057.
- Division, Great Britain War Office Intelligence (1941). A Handbook of Ethiopia. publisher not identified. p. 55.
- ʻArabfaqīh, Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir; Pankhurst, Richard (2003). The Conquest of Abyssinia: 16th Century. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. p. 76. ISBN 978-0-9723172-6-9.
- Chekroun, Amélie (5 October 2015). "Dakar, capitale du sultanat éthiopien du Barr Sa'd ad-dīn (1415-1520)". Cahiers d'études africaines (in French) (219): 569–586. doi:10.4000/etudesafricaines.18225. ISSN 0008-0055. S2CID 146150639.
- Abbadie, Antoine d' (1890). Géographie de l'Ethiopie: ce que j'ai entendu, faisant suite à ce que j'ai vu (in French). Mesnil. p. 307.
- Bulletin de correspondance africaine : antiquités libyques, puniques, grecques et romaines. Impr. de l'Association ouvrière P. Fontana et compagnie. 1884. p. 288.
- Notes sur le Harar par M. Alfred Bardey. Paris: IMPRIMERIE NATIONALE. 1989. p. 55.
- Burton, Sir Richard Francis; Speke, John Hanning; Barker, William C. (1 January 1856). First Footsteps in East Africa: Or, An Exploration of Harar. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. pp. 279.
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