Aw-Barkhadle is a town located near Hargeisa in modern-day Somaliland . It was part of the Muslim empires in the Horn of Africa during the middle ages and served as the capital of the Adal Sultanate . It was also the burial place for many of the local leaders including the rulers of the Walashma dynasty that governed the Ifat and Adal Sultanate and kingdoms. Prior to that, it was a very important pre-Islamic center. The town is wholly dominated by the Eidagale reer Cabdi ciise and Habr Yunis Isaxaaq carre. Both belong to the Garhajis clan.
25-458: The site of Aw-Barkhadle includes archaeological remains, a ruined town within which the current mausoleum of Saint Aw Barkhadle is located, as well as different types of burial traditions, including Christian, Muslim, and others of non-Islamic character such as cairns, dolmens and stelae including phallic gravestones. The leaders let themselves be buried at the Aw-Barkhadle site. However,
50-652: A Sharif , he has been described as "the most outstanding saint in Somaliland". Yusuf's son Muhia ad-Din Yusuf Aw-Barkhadle is listed as Emir of Harar in 1038AD. The sheikh is also known for spreading the Islamic faith to Southeast Asia , after traveling there from Zeila. He is also known as being a member of the Somali 'Diwan al-awliya' (Famous Saints of Somali Origin). Sheikh Yusuf Al Kawneyn
75-536: A Clan-based Society , the descendants of Sheikh Isaaq (the Isaaq clan) annually gather at the historic shrine of Saint Aw Barkhadle to pay respects in the form of siyaaro (localized pilgrimage with offerings). As Aw Bardhadle had no known descendants, the descendants of the Saint's friend and contemporary figure, Sheikh Isaaq, will remember Aw Barkhadle in his stead: Since, however, Aw Barkhadle’s precise connection with
100-574: A mosque in Dogar. Before Al-Kowneyn's arrival into this town (now named after him) was called Dogor. The residents were not Muslim, but rather pagan, believing and taking part of a pre-Islamic Somaliland religion called Wagar. The Wagar itself is thought to be an anthropomorphic representation of a sacred feature or figure, indicating an indigenous non-Islamic religious fertility practice in Aw Barkhaadle. The word "wagar"/"Waĝa" (or " Waaq ") denotes
125-603: A result of his studies in Iraq, he was given the title of "Al Baghdadi" as well. He is also noted for having devised a Somali nomenclature for the Arabic vowels, this would eventually evolve into Wadaad's writing . The notation system he developed had been described as "too authentically Somali" for an Arab to have completed independently. He is accredited in certain areas for the introduction of black-headed fat-tailed sheep also known as Berbera Blackhead . Described by some as
150-515: Is Saint Aw-Barkhadle credited with having spread Islam in this region; the Walashma dynasty is also genealogically linked with Saint Aw-Barkhadle, whom they claim to be the fifth ancestor in their lineage. At the site of Aw Barkhadle there are pre-Islamic and pre-Christian burials buried inside tree trunks, in connection with the widespread belief of sacred trees that continued in conjunction with Islam. Other pre-Christian and pre-Islamic burials are
175-505: Is also associated with the Walashma dynasty of Ifat and Adal , which was a medieval Muslim dynasty in the Horn of Africa . It governed the Ifat and Adal Sultanates in what are parts of present-day Somaliland , Djibouti and eastern Ethiopia . Sheikh Yusuf is described by some historians as being the ancestor of this royal family. He is also known as representing the spiritual legacy of
200-510: Is most likely to have been an early capital of the Adal sultanate. It appears likely that Aw-Barkhadle was a place of political and ritual importance across the centuries. This view is supported by the reported use of the site as a burial place for the leaders of the Walashma dynasty . For example, a chronicle from Harar, Titled "Tarikh al-Mujahidin"(The History of the Mujahideens), discusses
225-495: Is referenced in the Harar manuscripts. Local Somali oral tradition and written Ethiopian history gives reason to believe Aw Barkhadle arrived from Arabia. However, some scholars hold the opinion that suggests Arabian origin stories pertaining to ancestral saints such as Yusuf, are potentially a myth by scholars and an Islamification of a pre-Islamic origin story that relates back to Waaq and ancestor worship. These myths would tie
250-588: Is told, that every year the Isaaq clansmen gather at Aw Barkhadle’s shrine to make offerings in his name. Aw Barkhadle's shrine near Fadis was set alight during the Ogaden War by the Ethiopian militia in 1977. Tradition states Barkhadle travelled extensively from Mogadishu to Berbera, Hargeisa and finally Harar where he allegedly stayed for 300 years of his 500 year life. Towards the end of his reign he built
275-670: The Ifat and Adal Sultanates. Some historians trace Sheikh Yusuf Al Kawneyn to the Gadabursi clan, which primarily inhabits the Horn of Africa. According to Somalis of Issa , the Wardiiq one of their sub clans are also descendants of this saint. This Issa tradition revolves around the induction of Harla clans into Somali lineage such as Horoone. A few ethnic groups in modern southern Ethiopia claim descent from Aw Barkhadle which include Silt'e and Wolane people . A descendant of Barkhadle
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#1732783679107300-558: The Sky-God adhered to by many Cushitic people (including the Konso) in the Horn of Africa including the Somali in pre-Islamic times both before and during the practice of Christianity and Islam. While completing his studies in Zayla , Al Kowneyn was told of a town in present-day Somalia called Dogor, with an oppressive king called Bu‘ur Ba‘ayr who is believed to be a Yibir . According to
325-613: The Somalis to the prophets clan (Quraysh). Religious synchronism where the old religion is adapted to reflect the hegemony of the new in that the ancestral home of the ancestors in Arabia, the headquarters of Islam. Thus Yusuf has been affirmed to have 'exalted origins' through being related to the prophet. Yusuf is described by some scholars as a native of Somalia and as a Somali who studied in his city Zeila and later in Iraq . As
350-469: The death of Garaad Jibril who revolted against an ‘Uthman’, the ruler of Harar in 1569, and mentions Aw-Barkhadle, ‘the place of the great saint known as Aw Barkhadle’, as the burial place of this Garaad Jibril. The sixteenth-century record confirms the site’s ritual significance and its historical importance. The historical evidence, according to Paulitschke, explains clearly why the Walashma leaders would want to be buried here. As noted previously, not only
375-465: The decorated Stelae Cemeteries which is part of the Cushitic tradition of stelae erection. These are usually sacred landscapes in the Horn of Africa. The grave-markers carry engravings, which include solar and geometric signs as well as schematic depictions of animals. At the site of Aw Barkhadle it's also been found a grave marked with a stele carrying an Orthodox cross which confirms that Christianity
400-477: The legend, Bu‘ur Ba‘ayr married couples by sleeping with the bride during the first six nights of the marriage and engaged in acts of paganism and magic. Local people at Aw-Barkhadle attribute the conversion of locals to Islam, to the defeat by duel of the previous religious leader, Bu‘ur Ba‘ayr, by the Muslim newcomer Aw-Barkhadle, who heard of the oppressive nature of the king and wanted to stop him. The Saint showed
425-416: The polity moved its initial headquarters from Zeila in modern-day Somaliland by Sultan Badlay . In medieval times this was a major town, with a large city wall. During the formation of the early Islamic kingdoms of Ifat and Awdal, it seems that city was a religious centre that played an important ritual and ideological role. According to Sada Mire the location of the Aw-Barkhadle shrine near Hargeisa
450-571: The religious superiority of his beliefs in contrast to the local beliefs of Bu‘ur Ba‘ayr's followers, whom the former won over in great number. Furthermore, the Aw-Barkhadle site is an important burial site of the Muslim rulers of the Adal Sultanate . Al-Kowneyn himself of the Walashma dynasty of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries AD is buried in this town. Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn
475-528: The rulers of Ifat is not widely known, he appears as an isolated figure, and in comparison with the million or so spears of the Isaaq lineage, a saint deprived of known issue. The striking difference between these two saints is explained in a popular legend, according to which, when Sheikh Isaaq and Aw Barkhadle met, the latter prophesied that Isaaq would be blessed by God with many children. He, however, would not have descendants, but Isaaq’s issue would pay him respect and siyaaro (voluntary offerings). So it is, one
500-508: The sign-manual of Belat [Bilal], the slave of one of the early khaleefehs, fresh oaths of lasting friendship and lasting alliances are made...In the season of 1846 this relic was brought to Berbera in charge of the Haber Gerhajis, and on it the rival tribes of Aial Ahmed and Aial Yunus swore to bury all animosity and live as brethren. According to renowned Somali anthropologist I.M. Lewis in his book Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in
525-407: The site was a pre-Islamic centre, and the sacred landscape includes a mountain, trees, stones and well associated with deities, most prominently the sky God Waaq. Here, everything has been given a meaning and placed in a divine order. It connects the pre-Islamic/pre-Christian with the Islamic through myths, legends and ancestor worship. It was the second capital of the medieval Adal Sultanate , after
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#1732783679107550-462: The tomb of saint Aw Barkhadle, which is located to the southwest of Berbera , was used by the Isaaq clans to settle disputes and to swear oaths of alliances under a holy relic attributed to Bilal Ibn Rabah . The Eidagale historically acted as mediators. When any grave question arises affecting the interests of the Isaakh tribe in general. On a paper yet carefully preserved in the tomb, and bearing
575-517: Was known here during pre-Islamic times or contemporary with Islam. This Somaliland location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Aw Barkhadle Yusuf bin Ahmad al-Kawneyn ( Arabic : يوسف بن أحمد الكونين ) (b. 10th century), popularly known as Aw Barkhadle ("Blessed Father") or Yusuf Al Kownayn , was an Islamic scholar and traveler based in Zeila , Somalia . According to Dr. Enrico Cerulli , Yusuf Al Kawneyn
600-528: Was one of the key negotiators during the surrender of Emirate of Harar in 1887 to the Abyssinians . The sheikh has shrines dedicated to him in Sri Lanka, in the town of Aw Barkhadle, northeast Hargeisa in Somaliland, in a site called Qoranyale, near the town of Borama . Shrines are also to be found in eastern modern Ethiopia near Fedis as well as in Harar . According to C.J Cruttenden,
625-583: Was previously known as Doggor. Philipp Paulitschke names a place called ‘Dakar’ as the historical capital of Adal and mentions ‘AwBerkele’ although he did not seem to have known where exactly ‘Dokor,’ the centre of ‘AwBerkele’, was located. He postulated it was near Dire Dawa in Ethiopia, This is however unlikely to be the case, especially given the nature of the archaeology of the Aw-Barkhadle centre. Paulitschke’s ‘Dakar’ refers to Dogor/Doggor and his ‘AwBekele’ refers to Aw-Barkhadle. Hence, Aw-Barkhadle’s centre
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