123-615: Jijiga ( Somali : Jigjiga , Amharic : ጅጅጋ , Jijiga ) is the capital city of Somali Region , Ethiopia . It became the capital of the Somali Region in 1995 after it was moved from Gode . Located in the Fafan Zone with 70 km (37 mi) west of the border with Somalia , the city has an elevation of 1,634 metres above sea level. Jigjiga is traditionally the seat of the Bartire Garad Wiil-Waal of
246-747: A Latin orthography as the official national alphabet over several other writing scripts that were then in use. Concurrently, the Italian -language daily newspaper Stella d'Ottobre ("The October Star") was nationalized, renamed to Xiddigta Oktoobar , and began publishing in Somali. The state-run Radio Mogadishu has also broadcast in Somali since 1951. Additionally, other state-run public networks like Somaliland National TV , regional public networks such as Puntland TV and Radio and, as well as Eastern Television Network and Horn Cable Television , among other private broadcasters, air programs in Somali. Somali
369-479: A chartered company . An Anglo-Italian border protocol was later signed on 5 May 1894, followed by an agreement in 1906 between Cavalier Pestalozza and General Swaine acknowledging that Baran fell under the Majeerteen Sultanate's administration. With the gradual extension into northern Somalia of Italian colonial rule, both Kingdoms were eventually annexed in the early 20th century. However, unlike
492-585: A bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre , who at the time commanded the army. Alongside Barre, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination was led by Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel . The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic , dissolved
615-405: A central part in Somali culture and politics. Clan families are patrilineal , and are divided into clans, primary lineages or subclans, and dia -paying kinship groups. The lineage terms qabiil , qolo , jilib and reer are often interchangeably used to indicate the different segmentation levels. The clan represents the highest kinship level. It owns territorial properties and is typically led by
738-435: A clan-head or Sultan . Primary lineages are immediately descended from the clans, and are exogamous political units with no formally installed leader. They comprise the segmentation level that an individual usually indicates he or she belongs to, with their founding patriarch reckoned to between six and ten generations. The five major clan families are the traditionally nomadic pastoralist Dir , Isaaq , Darod , Hawiye and
861-645: A further report inclusive of Somali Region stipulating 2% adherence to a minority sect (e.g. Ibadism , Quranism etc.). In the neighboring country of Somalia , 99.8% of the population is Muslim according to the Pew Research Center. The majority belong to the Sunni branch of Islam and the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence . Sufism , the mystical sect of Islam, is also well established, with many local jama'a ( zawiya ) or congregations of
984-687: A later date from the Arabian Peninsula in the 10th or 11th centuries. Sheikh Darod is asserted to have married a woman from the Dir (while some accounts say Hawiye ), thus establishing matrilateral ties with the Samaale family. The Isaaq clan trace paternal descent to the Islamic leader Ishaaq bin Ahmed al-Hashimi (Sheikh Isaaq). The Digil & Mirifle (Rahanweyn) trace their ancestry back to
1107-670: A length of two years. In the late 19th century, after the Berlin Conference had ended, the Scramble for Africa reached the Horn of Africa. Increasing foreign influence in the region culminated in the creation of the first Darawiish, an armed resistance movement calling for the independence from the European powers. The Dervish had their leaders, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan , Haji Sudi and Sultan Nur Ahmed Aman , who sought
1230-489: A position to which he was appointed by Shermarke. On 15 October 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod , Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on 21 October 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially
1353-493: A prominent 40,000-entry Somali dictionary. Most of the terms consisted of commonly used nouns. These lexical borrowings may have been more extensive in the past since a few words that Zaborski (1967:122) observed in the older literature were absent in Agostini's later work. In addition, the majority of personal names are derived from Arabic. The Somali language also contains a few Indo-European loanwords that were retained from
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#17327727543731476-539: A regional power reputed for their advanced architecture and gold wealth, which was so plentiful that they shackled their prisoners in golden chains. Several ancient city-states, such as Opone , Essina , Sarapion , Nikon , Malao , Damo and Mosylon near Cape Guardafui , which competed with the Sabaeans , Parthians and Axumites for the wealthy Indo - Greco-Roman trade, also flourished in Somalia. Islam
1599-721: A result of its successes against the British, the Dervish movement received support from the Ottomans and Germans . The Ottoman government also named Hassan Emir of the Somali nation, and the German government promised to officially recognise any territories the Dervishes were to acquire. After a quarter of a century of military successes against the British, the Dervishes were finally defeated by Britain in 1920 in part due to
1722-486: A robust trading network, entered into treaties with foreign powers, and exerted strong centralized authority on the domestic front. The Majeerteen Sultanate was nearly dismantled in the late-1800s by a power struggle between Boqor Osman Mahamuud and his ambitious cousin, Yusuf Ali Kenadid who founded the Sultanate of Hobyo in 1878. Initially Kenadid wanted to seize control of the neighbouring Sultanate. However, he
1845-526: A state in the Nugaal and began one of the longest African conflicts in modern history. The news of the incident that sparked the 21 year long Dervish rebellion , according to the consul-general James Hayes Sadler , was spread or as he claimed was concocted by Sultan Nur of the Habr Yunis . The incident in question was that of a group of Somali children who were converted to Christianity and adopted by
1968-589: A suspect whom they claimed was a member of Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya . Ethnic groups of Jigjiga (2007) Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), Jijiga had a total population of 203,588 of whom 109,138 were men and 94,450 women. Ethnic groups in the city include the Somali (168,551, 82.79%), Amhara (16,837, 8.27%), Oromo (8,775, 4.31%), and Gurage (4,379, 2.15%); all other groups made up 2.48% of
2091-419: Is Muslim . As of 1997, the ethnic composition of the town was 61.58% Somali , 23.25% Amhara , 7.32% Oromo and 4.37% Gurage , and 1.48% Tigrayan ; all other ethnic groups made up 1.99% of the population. This city is the largest in the whole Somali region. The climate of Jijiga is a subtropical highland climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cwb ). extremely wet and lush during rainy season, as with
2214-565: Is a grassland from the east and south of the city towards wajaale, with Pockets of juipars and gum forest in higher altitudes in the northern and western part of the city, there is extensive history of animal life in the past. For example, the area was earlier a habitat for the African wild dog , Lycaon pictus , although this canid is likely extirpated at present in the local area, due to an expanding human population . In his memoirs of his homeland, Nega Mezlekia describes Jijiga as sitting "on
2337-524: Is a result of a long series of southward population movements over the past ten centuries from the Gulf of Aden littoral. Lamberti subdivides Northern Somali into three dialects: Northern Somali proper (spoken in the northwest; he describes this dialect as Northern Somali in the proper sense), the Darod group (spoken in the northeast and along the eastern Ethiopia frontier; greatest number of speakers overall), and
2460-448: Is a tonal language, whereas Banti (1988) suggests that it is a pitch system. The syllable structure of Somali is (C)V(C). Root morphemes usually have a mono- or di-syllabic structure. Clusters of two consonants do not occur word-initially or word-finally, i.e., they only occur at syllable boundaries. The following consonants can be geminate: /b/, /d/, /ɖ/, /ɡ/, /ɢ/, /m/, /n/, /r/ and /l/. The following cannot be geminate: /t/, /k/ and
2583-680: Is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch. It is spoken primarily in Greater Somalia , and by the Somali diaspora as a mother tongue. Somali is an official language in both Somalia and Ethiopia , and serves as a national language in Djibouti , it is also a recognised minority language in Kenya . The Somali language is officially written with the Latin alphabet although
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#17327727543732706-597: Is not marked, and front and back vowels are not distinguished. Writing systems developed in the twentieth century include the Osmanya , Borama and Kaddare alphabets , which were invented by Osman Yusuf Kenadid , Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur and Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare , respectively. Several digital collections of texts in the Somali language have been developed in recent decades. These corpora include Kaydka Af Soomaaliga (KAF), Bangiga Af Soomaaliga,
2829-481: Is rarely pronounced as a velar fricative, Partially the reason why is that it is mostly found in Arabic loanwords. It is pronounced as the phoneme χ when it is an allophone for the letter ⟨q⟩ in syllabic codas. As in A kh ri from A q ri meaning (read). Pitch is phonemic in Somali, but it is debated whether Somali is a pitch accent , or it is a tonal language . Andrzejewski (1954) posits that Somali
2952-584: Is recognized as an official working language in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Although it is not an official language of Djibouti , it constitutes a major national language there. Somali is used in television and radio broadcasts, with the government-operated Radio Djibouti transmitting programs in the language from 1943 onwards. The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation also broadcasts in the Somali language in its Iftin FM Programmes. The language
3075-467: Is similar to the stem alternation that typifies Cairene Arabic . Somali has two sets of pronouns: independent (substantive, emphatic) pronouns and clitic (verbal) pronouns. The independent pronouns behave grammatically as nouns, and normally occur with the suffixed article -ka/-ta (e.g. adiga , "you"). This article may be omitted after a conjunction or focus word. For example, adna meaning "and you..." (from adi - na ). Clitic pronouns are attached to
3198-738: Is spoken by an estimated 95% of the country's inhabitants, and also by a majority of the population in Djibouti. Following the start of the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s, the Somali-speaking diaspora increased in size, with newer Somali speech communities forming in parts of the Middle East, North America and Europe. Constitutionally, Somali and Arabic are the two official languages of Somalia . Somali has been an official national language since January 1973, when
3321-507: Is spoken in Somali inhabited areas of Somalia , Djibouti , Ethiopia , Kenya , Yemen and by members of the Somali diaspora . It is also spoken as an adoptive language by a few ethnic minority groups and individuals in Somali majority regions. Somali is the most widely spoken Cushitic language in the region followed by Oromo and Afar . As of 2021, there are approximately 24 million speakers of Somali, spread in Greater Somalia of which around 17 million reside in Somalia. The language
3444-718: Is spoken in the Somali territories within North Eastern Kenya , namely Wajir County , Garissa County and Mandera County . The Somali language is regulated by the Regional Somali Language Academy , an intergovernmental institution established in June 2013 in Djibouti City by the governments of Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia. It is officially mandated with preserving the Somali language. As of October 2022, Somali and Oromo are
3567-520: Is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Somalis, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are predominantly Sunni Muslim . Forming one of the largest ethnic groups on the continent, they cover one of the most expansive landmasses by a single ethnic group in Africa . According to most scholars, the ancient Land of Punt and its native inhabitants formed part of
3690-596: The Ancient Egyptians , Phoenicians , Mycenaeans and Babylonians . According to most scholars, the ancient Land of Punt and its native inhabitants formed part of the ethnogenesis of the Somali people. The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut . The pyramidal structures , temples and ancient houses of dressed stone littered around Somalia may date from this period. In classical antiquity ,
3813-706: The Arab world , eventually joining the Arab League (AL) in 1974. That same year, Barre also served as chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor of the African Union (AU). Somalis are ethnically of Cushitic ancestry , but have genealogical traditions of descent from various patriarchs associated with the spread of Islam. Being one tribe, they are segmented into various clan groupings, which are important kinship units that play
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3936-432: The Arabian Peninsula . Additionally, the Somali and Ethiopian interiors were very dependent on Berbera for trade, where most of the goods for export arrived from. During the 1833 trading season, the port town swelled to over 70,000 people, and upwards of 6,000 camels laden with goods arrived from the interior within a single day. Berbera was the main marketplace in the entire Somali seaboard for various goods procured from
4059-646: The Arabic script and several Somali scripts like Osmanya , Kaddare and the Borama script are informally used. Somali is classified within the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family, specifically, Lowland East Cushitic in addition to Afar and Saho . Somali is the best-documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies of the language dating back to the late 19th century. The Somali language
4182-634: The Dervish fighters had begun its activities in the region. The Ethiopian control in the Ogaden at the start of the 20th century was tenuous as administrators and military personnel only resided in Jijiga and Harar . After reportedly adopting the Islamic faith, uncrowned Emperor Lij Iyasu had a close relationship with the Muslim Somalis. In Jigjiga he built several mosques and sent military aid to
4305-582: The Gulf of Aden . The terms of each treaty specified that Italy was to steer clear of any interference in the Sultanates' respective administrations. In return for Italian arms and an annual subsidy, the Sultans conceded to a minimum of oversight and economic concessions. The Italians also agreed to dispatch a few ambassadors to promote both the Sultanates' and their own interests. The new protectorates were thereafter managed by Vincenzo Filonardi through
4428-624: The Jalelo site in Somalia are said to be the most important link in evidence of the universality in palaeolithic times between the East and the West . In antiquity , the ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the region's commerce with the rest of the ancient world. Somali sailors and merchants were the main suppliers of frankincense , myrrh and spices , items which were considered valuable luxuries by
4551-484: The Jidwaaq Absame . The International airport is named after him. One of the earliest references to Jijiga comes from W.C. Barker in 1842 who mentions it as one of the mahalla or halting-places of the caravan route between Zeila and Harar within the Somali inhabited Ogaden (present day Somali Region ). Jijiga was later mentioned by British traveler Richard Francis Burton in 1854, who reports that it
4674-668: The Macrobians , who may have been ancestral to the Automoli or ancient Somalis, established a powerful tribal kingdom that ruled large parts of modern Somalia . They were reputed for their longevity and wealth, and were said to be the "tallest and handsomest of all men". The Macrobians were warrior herders and seafarers. According to Herodotus' account, the Achaemenid emperor Cambyses II , upon his conquest of Egypt in 525 BCE , sent ambassadors to Macrobia, bringing luxury gifts for
4797-763: The Middle Ages , several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade including the Ajuran Sultanate , which excelled in hydraulic engineering and fortress building, the Adal Sultanate , whose general Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (Ahmed Gurey) was the first commander to use cannon warfare on the continent during Adal's conquest of the Ethiopian Empire , and the Sultanate of the Geledi , whose military dominance forced governors of
4920-545: The Middle East , North America , Western Europe , African Great Lakes region, Southern Africa and Oceania . Samaale , the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans , is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali . One other theory is that the name is held to be derived from the words soo and maal , which together mean "go and milk". This interpretation differs depending on region with northern Somalis imply it refers to go and milk in regards to
5043-455: The Near East and South Asia (e.g. khiyaar "cucumber" from Persian : خيار khiyār ). Other loan words have also displaced their native synonyms in some dialects (e.g. jabaati "a type of flat bread" from Hindi: चपाती chapāti displacing sabaayad). Some of these words were also borrowed indirectly via Arabic. As part of a broader governmental effort of linguistic purism in
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5166-538: The Ogaden to Ethiopia, based on a treaty they signed in 1897 in which the British ceded Somali territory to the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik in exchange for his help against raids by Somali clans. Britain included the proviso that the Somali nomads would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimed sovereignty over them. This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956 to purchase back
5289-731: The Omani empire north of the city of Lamu to pay tribute to the Somali Sultan Ahmed Yusuf . The Harla , an early group who inhabited parts of Somalia, Tchertcher and other areas in the Horn, also erected various tumuli . These masons are believed to have been ancestral to the Somalis ("proto-Somali"). Berbera was the most important port in the Horn of Africa between the 18th–19th centuries. For centuries, Berbera had extensive trade relations with several historic ports in
5412-553: The Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain, scientist Johann Maria Hildebrandt noted upon visiting the area that "we know from ancient authors that these districts, at present so desert, were formerly populous and civilised[...] I also discovered ancient ruins and rock-inscriptions both in pictures and characters[...] These have hitherto not been deciphered." According to the 1974 report for Ministry of Information and National Guidance, this script represents
5535-631: The State of Somaliland , and the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somalia) followed suit five days later. On 1 July 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic , albeit within boundaries drawn up by Italy and Britain. A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as president of
5658-448: The Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) declared it the Somali Democratic Republic 's primary language of administration and education. Somali was thereafter established as the main language of academic instruction in forms 1 through 4 , following preparatory work by the government-appointed Somali Language Committee. It later expanded to include all 12 forms in 1979. In 1972, the SRC adopted
5781-555: The Walashma dynasty with its capital at Zeila , ruled over parts of what is now eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland. The historian al-Umari records that Ifat was situated near the Red Sea coast, and states its size as 15 days travel by 20 days travel. Its army numbered 15,000 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. Al-Umari also credits Ifat with seven "mother cities": Belqulzar, Kuljura, Shimi, Shewa , Adal, Jamme and Laboo. In
5904-559: The Automoli (Asmach), a group of warriors from ancient Egypt described by Herodotus . Asmach is thought to have been their Egyptian name, with Automoli being a Greek derivative of the Hebrew word S’mali (meaning "on the left hand side"). A Tang Chinese document from the 9th century CE referred to the northern Somalia coast — which was then part of a broader region in Northeast Africa known as Barbaria , in reference to
6027-522: The Cushitic and Semitic Afroasiatic languages spoken in the Horn region (e.g. Amharic ). However, Somali noun phrases are head-initial, whereby the noun precedes its modifying adjective. This pattern of general head-finality with head-initial noun phrases is also found in other Cushitic languages (e.g. Oromo), but not generally in Ethiopian Semitic languages. Somali uses three focus markers: baa , ayaa and waxa(a) , which generally mark new information or contrastive emphasis. Baa and ayaa require
6150-453: The Ethiopian forces occupying Jigjiga several to free livestock that had been looted from the local population during Abyssinian raids. Sayid Mohameds Dervish attack greatly shook the Ethiopians, and resulted in them coordinating large scale joint military operations with the British Empire against the Somalis fighters. Governor Tahir set up a native security forces to protect the town which consisted mainly of Somalis and Harari people as
6273-478: The Foreign Minister, Seyoum Mesfin , the presidents of the Tigray and Harari Regional states and representatives from Amhara and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Regions . On 28 May 2007, during the celebration of Ginbot 20 (celebrating the downfall of the Derg ), Jijiga and Degehabur were the scenes of attacks on civilians and government officials. At least 16 people were killed and 67 injured, including Abdulahi Hassan Mohammed , president of
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#17327727543736396-400: The French Catholic Mission at Berbera in 1899. Whether Sultan Nur experienced the incident first hand or whether he was told of it is not clear but what is known is that he propagated the incident in June 1899, precipitating the religious rebellion of the Dervishes. The Dervish movement successfully stymied British forces four times and forced them to retreat to the coastal region. As
6519-411: The Latin nor Osmanya scripts accommodate this numerical switching. *the commas in the Osmanya number chart are added for clarity Somalis The Somali people ( Somali : Soomaalida , Osmanya : 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖 , Wadaad : صومالِدَ ) are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The East Cushitic Somali language
6642-526: The Lower Juba group (spoken by northern Somali settlers in the southern riverine areas). Benadir (also known as Coastal Somali) is spoken on the central Indian Ocean seaboard, including Mogadishu . It forms a relatively smaller group. The dialect is fairly mutually intelligible with Northern Somali. The language has five basic vowels . Somali has 22 consonant phonemes . The retroflex plosive /ɖ/ may have an implosive quality for some Somali Bantu speakers, and intervocalically it can be realized as
6765-420: The Macrobian king to entice his submission. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based on his stature and beauty, replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to draw it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire. The Macrobians were
6888-415: The Ogaden were free of the control of the Ethiopian Empire . In 1887, the Ethiopian Empire under Menelik II invaded and conquered the ancient city of Harar and soon after announced a programme of ambitious expansion and colonialism to the European powers. This marked the start of a tentative yet violent invasion into the Ogaden region. During the Abyssinian invasion of Harar, much of the population and
7011-429: The Ogaden, the town marked the effective boundary of imperial presence in the region. Succeeding governors such as Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariyam , had the town methodically organized in a square grid of streets, built a fort, dug several wells, encouraged agriculture, and set a fixed land tax. Actions which Richard Pankhurst claims won the hearts of the Ogaden Somalis. During the 1920s and 1930s, Somalis began returning to
7134-409: The Semitic Himyarite and Sabaean languages that were largely spoken in what is modern day Yemen —"there is an extensive and ancient relationship between the people and cultures of both sides of the Red Sea coast" Mire posits. Yet, while many more such ancient inscriptions are yet to be found or analyzed, many have been "bulldozed by developers, as the Ministry of Tourism could not buy the land or stop
7257-463: The Somali Dervish movement. During the summer of 1916, Lysau travelled to Jigjiga to organize an army of Somali fighters to follow him in a jihad against the Christians. When he left for Jigjiga, the Shewan imperial elite revolted against him. After Lij Lyasu's overthrowal and the subsequent tensions in the town, the Somali population abandoned Jigjiga, leaving behind only Amhara settlers, who were mostly soldiers. Due to widespread Somali hostility in
7380-455: The Somali National Assembly, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as the president of the Somali Republic and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister (later to become president from 1967 to 1969). On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum , the people of Somalia ratified a new constitution , which was first drafted in 1960. The constitution was rejected by the people of Somaliland. In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister,
7503-466: The Somali Region, who was speaking at the ceremony. The Ethiopian government blamed the attack on the Ogaden National Liberation Front . On 29 May 2008, following a heavy downpour the Jijiga River broke its banks and flooded several kebeles in the town and the vicinity. The flooding killed 29 people and displaced 350 households. On 27 September of that year, a bomb exploded outside a hotel in Jijiga killing four and wounding 20. Local police apprehended
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#17327727543737626-547: The Somali Web Corpus (soWaC), a Somali read-speech corpus, Asaas (Beginning in Somali) and a Web-Based Somali Language Model and text Corpus called Wargeys (Newspaper in Somali). For all numbers between 11 kow iyo toban and 99 sagaashal iyo sagaal , it is equally correct to switch the placement of the numbers, although larger numbers is some dialects prefer to place the 10s numeral first. For example 25 may both be written as labaatan iyo shan and shan iyo labaatan (lit. Twenty and Five & Five and Twenty). Although neither
7749-435: The Somali lands it had turned over. The British government also granted administration of the almost exclusively Somali-inhabited Northern Frontier District (NFD) to the Kenyan government despite an informal plebiscite demonstrating the overwhelming desire of the region's population to join the newly formed Somali Republic. A referendum was held in neighboring Djibouti (then known as French Somaliland ) in 1958, on
7872-441: The Somali language, the past few decades have seen a push in Somalia toward replacement of loanwords in general with their Somali equivalents or neologisms . To this end, the Supreme Revolutionary Council during its tenure officially prohibited the borrowing and use of English and Italian terms. Archaeological excavations and research in Somalia uncovered ancient inscriptions in a distinct writing system . In an 1878 report to
7995-426: The Somali people's extensive social, cultural, commercial and religious links and contacts with nearby populations in the Arabian peninsula. Arabic loanwords are most commonly used in religious, administrative and education-related speech (e.g. aamiin for "faith in God"), though they are also present in other areas (e.g. kubbad-da , "ball"). Soravia (1994) noted a total of 1,436 Arabic loanwords in Agostini a.o. 1985,
8118-409: The Somali poems by Sheikh Uways and Sheikh Ismaaciil Faarah. The rest of the existing historical literature in Somali principally consists of translations of documents from Arabic. Since then a number of writing systems have been used for transcribing the Somali language. Of these, the Somali Latin alphabet , officially adopted in 1972, is the most widely used and recognised as official orthography of
8241-411: The Somali population by Somali Muslim scholars in the following centuries, the ancient city-states eventually transformed into Islamic Mogadishu , Berbera , Zeila , Barawa , Hafun and Merca , which were part of the Berberi civilization. The city of Mogadishu came to be known as the City of Islam , and controlled the East African gold trade for several centuries. The Sultanate of Ifat , led by
8364-702: The Somali region reach great heights with the help of generous rainfall year-round, the native Somalis in the area would use this area as a dry season grazing land for all the noble tribes of the land. The city is surrounded by rocky tall green mountains on all sides save the north all the way past nearby Harar all the way to Addis, which is open as far as the eye can see." 09°21′N 42°48′E / 9.350°N 42.800°E / 9.350; 42.800 Somali language Somali ( / s ə ˈ m ɑː l i , s oʊ -/ sə- MAH -lee, soh- ; Latin script: Af Soomaali ; Wadaad : اف صومالِ ; Osmanya : 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘 [af soːmaːli] )
8487-412: The Somali-inhabited lowlands. British hunter Colonel Swayne, who passed through Jijiga in February 1893, where he described seeing stockaded fort with a garrison. During 1895, it was observed that the fort set up in the town was often abandoned by the Abyssinians, who usually occupied it to carry out raids on the Somalis of the Ogaden. Abdullah Tahir was appointed governor of Jigjiga in 1896, this would be
8610-409: The Somalis the opportunity to gain experience in political education and self-government. These were advantages that British Somaliland, which was to be incorporated into the new Somali Republic state, did not have. Although in the 1950s British colonial officials attempted, through various administrative development efforts, to make up for past neglect, the protectorate stagnated. The disparity between
8733-430: The area's Barbars ( Cushitic ) inhabitants — as Po-pa-li . The first clear written reference of the sobriquet Somali dates back to the early 15th century CE during the reign of Ethiopian Emperor Yeshaq I who had one of his court officials compose a hymn celebrating a military victory over the Sultanate of Ifat . Simur was also an ancient Harari alias for the Somali people. Somalis overwhelmingly prefer
8856-428: The camel's milk, southern Somalis use the transliteration " sa' maal " which refers to cow's milk. This is a reference to the ubiquitous pastoralism of the Somali people. Another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic word for "wealthy" ( zāwamāl ), again referring to Somali riches in livestock. Alternatively, the ethnonym Somali is believed to have been derived from
8979-470: The cities Islamic scholars were massacred. As a consequence of this some scholars moved to the town of Jigjiga, and from a Somali perspective Jigjiga then replaced Harar as a center for Islamic learning. As Emperor Menelik II continued his campaign of indiscriminate raiding and attacks against the Somalis of the Ogaden region between 1890 and 1899, Somali clans residing in the plains of Jigjiga were in particular targeted. The escalating frequency and violence of
9102-498: The city walls which frightened Al Barr's followers and caused them to abandon their posts and succeeded Al Barr as the ruler of Zeila. Sharmarke's governorship had an instant effect on the city, as he maneuvered to monopolize as much of the regional trade as possible, with his sights set as far as Harar and the Ogaden . In 1845, Sharmarke deployed a few matchlock men to wrest control of neighboring Berbera from that town's then feuding Somali local authorities. Sharmarke's influence
9225-592: The city. In 1948, the British Military Administration , which had been in control of the Ogaden since WWII, commenced a withdrawal. This transition saw the replacement of British officials with Ethiopian counterparts between May and July of that year in a significant handover process. In the town of Jijiga , incoming Ethiopian authorities instructed the Somali Youth League (SYL) to remove their flag, as they had declared both
9348-543: The colonial period. Most of these lexical borrowings come from English and Italian and are used to describe modern concepts (e.g. telefishen-ka , "the television"; raadia-ha , "the radio"). There are 300 loan words from Italian, such as garawati for "tie" (from Italian cravatta ), dimuqraadi from democratico (democratic), mikroskoob from microscopio , and so on. Additionally, Somali contains lexical terms from Persian , Urdu and Hindi that were acquired through historical trade with communities in
9471-483: The condition — first proposed by the Somali Youth League (SYL) and other nascent Somali political organizations, such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS) and the Somali National League (SNL) — that Somalia achieve independence within ten years. British Somalia remained a protectorate of Britain until 1960. To the extent that Italy held the territory by UN mandate, the trusteeship provisions gave
9594-409: The demonym Somali over the incorrect Somalian since the former is an endonym, while the latter is an exonym with double suffixes. The hypernym of the term Somali from a geopolitical sense is Horner and from an ethnic sense, it is Cushite . The origin of the Somali people which was previously theorized to have been from Southern Ethiopia since 1000 BC or from the Arabian Peninsula in
9717-534: The destruction". Besides Ahmed's Latin script, other orthographies that have been used for centuries for writing the Somali language include the long-established Arabic script and Wadaad's writing . According to Bogumił Andrzejewski , this usage was limited to Somali clerics and their associates, as sheikhs preferred to write in the liturgical Arabic language. Various such historical manuscripts in Somali nonetheless exist, which mainly consist of Islamic poems ( qasidas ), recitations and chants. Among these texts are
9840-402: The earliest written attestation of Somali. Much more recently, Somali archaeologist Sada Mire has published ancient inscriptions found throughout Somaliland . As much for much of Somali linguistic history the language was not widely used for literature, Dr. Mire's publications however prove that writing as a technology was not foreign nor scarce in the region. These piece of writing are from
9963-431: The edge of a vast, unmitigated valley on the bottom of Mount Kramanda the beginning of the mighty Ethiopian highlands, with vast lush greenery in sight, rolling hills and plains dotted with many farms in all directions the soaring Eastern Ethiopian Highlands slowly climbing west, the very common tall grassland tree used as shelter by the wandering hyena , and the inevitable sacred tree in every compound, trees in this area of
10086-486: The eleventh century has now been overturned by newer archeological and linguistic studies which puts the original homeland of the Somali people in Somaliland region, which concludes that the Somalis are the indigenous inhabitants of the Horn of Africa for the last 7000 years. Ancient rock paintings , which date back 5000 years (estimated), have been found in Somaliland region. These engravings depict early life in
10209-405: The emergence of Jigjiga's urban development. In this period Abyssinian settlers began arriving in the town from nearby garrisons. During early 1900, Abyssinian troops began a permanent occupation of the town with the construction of a military fort in the outskirts. Subsequently, the anti-colonial Dervish Movement led by Sayid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan had its first major battle when it attacked
10332-717: The end of April, a large fair assembles in Berbera, and caravans of 6,000 camels at a time come from the interior loaded with coffee, (considered superior to Mocha in Bombay), gum, ivory, hides, skins, grain, cattle, and sour milk, the substitute of fermented drinks in these regions; also much cattle is brought there for the Aden market.” As a tributary of Mocha , which in turn was part of the Ottoman possessions in Western Arabia,
10455-730: The ethnogenesis of the Somali people. This ancient historical kingdom is where a great portion of their cultural traditions and ancestry are said to derive from. Somalis share many historical and cultural traits with other Cushitic peoples , especially with Lowland East Cushitic people, specifically the Afar and the Saho . Ethnic Somalis are principally concentrated in Somalia (around 17.6 million), Somaliland (5.7 million), Ethiopia (4.6 million), Kenya (2.8 million), and Djibouti (534,000). Somali diasporas are also found in parts of
10578-529: The eve of Somalia's independence in 1960, to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, largely due to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans. There was also widespread vote rigging , with the French expelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached
10701-432: The first time in 13 years. Then, on 23 September 1948, following the withdrawal of British forces and the appointment of Ethiopian district commissioners, areas east of Jijiga were placed under Ethiopian governance for the first time in history. Germame Neway , one of the leaders of the unsuccessful 1960 coup , served as governor over Jijiga in 1959. He had been transferred there for his civic responsibility and concern for
10824-441: The flap [ɽ] . Some speakers produce /ħ/ with epiglottal trilling as / ʜ / in retrospect. /q/ is often epiglottalized . The letter ⟨dh⟩ is a retroflex flap when it is pronounced intervocalically, hence becoming the phoneme ( ɽ ): for example, Qu r aanjo (Ant) from Qu dh aanjo; But however, more often than not is the pronunciation of ɽ to the unretained-retroflex ɾ . The letter ⟨kh⟩
10947-400: The focused element to occur preverbally, while waxa(a) may be used following the verb. Somali loanwords can be divided into those derived from other Afroasiatic languages (mainly Arabic), and those of Indo-European extraction (mainly Italian). Somali's main lexical borrowings come from Arabic, and are estimated to constitute about 20% of the language's vocabulary. This is a legacy of
11070-419: The following year. In signing the agreements, both rulers also hoped to exploit the rival objectives of the European imperial powers so as to more effectively assure the continued independence of their territories. The Italians, for their part, were interested in the territories mainly because of its ports specifically Port of Bosaso which could grant them access to the strategically important Suez Canal and
11193-628: The founders of Darod, Dir and Isaaq as well as the Abgaal subclan of Hawiye are all located in northern Somalia. Tradition holds this area as the ancestral homeland of the Somali people. According to data from the Pew Research Center , the creed breakdown of Muslims in the Somali-majority Djibouti is as follows: 77% adhere to Sunnism , 8% are non-denominational Muslim , 2% are Shia and 13% declined to answer, and
11316-471: The fricatives. Two vowels cannot occur together at syllable boundaries. Epenthetic consonants, e.g. [j] and [ʔ], are therefore inserted. Somali is an agglutinative language, and also shows properties of inflection . Affixes mark many grammatical meanings, including aspect, tense and case. Somali has an old prefixal verbal inflection restricted to four common verbs, with all other verbs undergoing inflection by more obvious suffixation. This general pattern
11439-460: The interior, such as livestock , coffee , frankincense , myrrh , acacia gum , saffron , feathers , ghee , hide (skin) , gold and ivory . Historically, the port of Berbera was controlled indigenously between the mercantile Reer Ahmed Nur and Reer Yunis Nuh sub-clans of the Habar Awal . According to a trade journal published in 1856, Berbera was described as “the freest port in
11562-525: The mere fact of its possession by that Soumaulee chief, and as this change occurred whilst I was in Abyssinia, I shall not say anything more upon the subject. However, the previous governor was not eager to relinquish his control of Zeila. Hence in 1841, Sharmarke chartered two dhows (ships) along with fifty Somali Matchlock men and two cannons to target Zeila and depose its Arab Governor, Syed Mohammed Al Barr. Sharmarke initially directed his cannons at
11685-523: The only Cushitic languages available on Google Translate . The Somali languages are broadly divided into three main groups: Northern Somali , Benadir and Maay . Northern Somali forms the basis for Standard Somali. It is spoken by the majority of the Somali population with its speech area stretching from Djibouti , and the Somali Region of Ethiopia to the Northern Frontier District . This widespread modern distribution
11808-491: The parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution. The revolutionary army established large-scale public works programs and successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, which helped dramatically increase the literacy rate. In addition to a nationalization program of industry and land, the new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with
11931-450: The party and its emblem as unlawful. The SYL defied this directive, leading to the flag being machine-gunned by an armored vehicle. This event escalated following the killing of a police officer after a grenade was thrown of the roof of the SYL headquarters. The police responded by firing into a crowd of protesters killing 25. Following this incident, Ethiopian administration resumed in Jijiga for
12054-634: The patriarch Sab. Both Samaale and Sab are supposed to have descended from a common ancestor with origins in the Arabian Peninsula . Contemporary genetic studies indicate that Somalis in general do not possess any noticeable Arab ancestry. The traditions of descent from noble elite forefathers who settled on the littoral are debated, although they are based on early Arab documents and northern folklore. A comprehensive genealogy of Somali clans can be found in Abbink (2009), providing detailed family trees and historical background information. The tombs of
12177-453: The plural of the masculine noun dibi ("bull") is formed by converting it into feminine dibi . Somali is unusual among the world's languages in that the object is unmarked for case while the subject is marked, though this feature is found in other Cushitic languages such as Oromo. Somali is a subject–object–verb (SOV) language. It is largely head final , with postpositions and with obliques preceding verbs. These are common features of
12300-606: The polls. The majority of those who voted no were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia, as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi , Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later. Djibouti finally gained its independence from France in 1977, and Hassan Gouled Aptidon , a Somali who had campaigned for a yes vote in the referendum of 1958, eventually wound up as Djibouti's first president (1977–1991). British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as
12423-527: The port of Zeila had seen several men placed as governors over the years. The Ottomans based in Yemen held nominal authority of Zeila when Sharmarke Ali Saleh , who was a successful and ambitious Somali merchant, purchased the rights of the town from the Ottoman governor of Mocha and Hodeida. Allee Shurmalkee [Ali Sharmarke] has since my visit either seized or purchased this town, and hoisted independent colours upon its walls; but as I know little or nothing save
12546-483: The raids resulted in Somalis consolidating behind the Dervish movement under the lead of Sayyid Mohamed Abdullah Hassan . As the Ethiopian Empire began expanding into Somali territories at the start of the 1890s, the town of Jigjiga came under intermittent military occupation until 1900. An imperial garrison was established at Jijiga in 1891, which later became a base for Ethiopian military campaigns into
12669-609: The rest of the Ethiopian highlands, Seasonal differences relate only to rainfall, as temperatures year-round are cool to mild in the mornings and uniformly very warm though not hot during the afternoons. There are two rainy seasons: the main meher rains occur from July to September, and the short belg rains in April and June. The dry season, known as bega , is cooler by morning than the wet seasons due to lower cloud cover, but equally hot by afternoon though less humid. The vegetation
12792-506: The rock paintings, but archaeologists have so far been unable to decipher this form of ancient writing. During the Stone Age , the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here with their respective industries and factories. The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to 4th millennium BC . The stone implements from
12915-496: The sedentary agropastoralist Rahanweyn . Minor Somali clans include Asharaf . The Dir , Hawiye , Gardere ( Gaalje'el , Degodia , Garre ), Hawadle and Ajuran trace agnatic origins to the patriarch Samaale . The Darod have separate paternal traditions of descent through Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti (Sheikh Darod), who is said to have Banu Hashim origins through Aqiil Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib . He arrived at
13038-604: The southern territories, the northern sultanates were not subject to direct rule due to the earlier treaties they had signed with the Italians. Following World War II , Britain retained control of both British Somaliland and Italian Somalia as protectorates . In 1945, during the Potsdam Conference , the United Nations granted Italy trusteeship of Italian Somalia, but only under close supervision and on
13161-557: The state. The script was developed by a number of leading scholars of Somali, including Musa Haji Ismail Galal , B. W. Andrzejewski and Shire Jama Ahmed specifically for transcribing the Somali language, and uses all letters of the English Latin alphabet except p , v and z . There are no diacritics or other special characters except the use of the apostrophe for the glottal stop , which does not occur word-initially. There are three consonant digraphs : DH, KH and SH. Tone
13284-465: The successful deployment of the newly-formed Royal Air Force by the British government . Majeerteen Sultanate was founded in the early-1700s and rose to prominence in the following century, under the reign of the resourceful Boqor (King) Osman Mahamuud . His Kingdom controlled Bari Karkaar, Nugaaal, and also central Somalia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Majeerteen Sultanate maintained
13407-547: The territory. The most famous of these is the Laas Geel complex . It contains some of the earliest known rock art on the African continent and features many elaborate pastoralist sketches of animal and human figures. In other places, such as the Dhambalin region, a depiction of a man on a horse is postulated as being one of the earliest known examples of a mounted huntsman. Inscriptions have been found beneath many of
13530-725: The total population. Members of Somali clans in this city include the Jidwaaq , Akisho , Ogaden , Geri Koombe , and the Sa'ad Musa subclan of the Habr Awal , with a minor presence of some other clans like the Gadabursi and Sheekhaal . The results of the 1994 census in the Somali Region were not satisfactory, so the census was repeated in 1997. This census reported this town had a total population of 65,795 of whom 33,266 were male and 32,529 female. The predominant religion in this city Jijiga
13653-483: The town. During the Second Italo-Ethiopian War , Jijiga served for some time as Dejazmach Nasibu Emmanual 's headquarters and a supply center for the Ethiopian army. An Italian force under Colonel Navarra occupied the city on the evening of 5 May 1936. Two days later, while inspecting a ruined Ethiopian Orthodox church in the city, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani fell into a concealed hole, which he
13776-480: The two territories in economic development and political experience would cause serious difficulties when it came time to integrate the two parts. Meanwhile, in 1948, under pressure from their World War II allies and to the dismay of the Somalis, the British ceded official control of the Haud (an important Somali grazing area that was brought under British protection via treaties with the Somalis in 1884 and 1886) and
13899-774: The underprivileged while administering a district in Sidamo Province . The obstruction he encountered, not only in Sidamo but in Jijiga, convinced him of the need for radical measures. In the early stage of the Ethiopian Revolution individual units from the Third Division put the local governor under house arrest around 13 April 1974. During the Ogaden War , Jijiga experienced the Battle of Jijiga and
14022-631: The various tariiqa or Sufi orders. The constitution of Somalia likewise defines Islam as the state religion of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and Islamic sharia law as the basic source for national legislation. It also stipulates that no law that is inconsistent with the basic tenets of Shari'a can be enacted. There are some nobles who believe with great pride that they are of Arabian ancestry, and trace their stirp to Muhammad's lineage of Quraysh and those of his companions. Although they do not consider themselves culturally Arabs, except for
14145-408: The verb and do not take nominal morphology. Somali marks clusivity in the first person plural pronouns; this is also found in a number of other East Cushitic languages, such as Rendille and Dhaasanac. As in various other Afro-Asiatic languages, Somali is characterized by polarity of gender , whereby plural nouns usually take the opposite gender agreement of their singular forms. For example,
14268-418: The world, and the most important trading place on the whole Arabian Gulf.”: “The only seaports of importance on this coast are Feyla [Zeila] and Berbera; the former is an Arabian colony, dependent of Mocha, but Berbera is independent of any foreign power. It is, without having the name, the freest port in the world, and the most important trading place on the whole Arabian Gulf. From the beginning of November to
14391-411: Was a centre of wells for pastoralists of the local Somali ( Jidwaq ) clan on the caravan route to Berbera . During the pre-colonial era the Ogaden was neither under Ethiopian rule, nor terra nullius , as it was occupied by organized Somali communities. Independent historical accounts are unanimous that previous to the penetration into the region in the late 1880s, Somali clans were free of residing in
14514-400: Was afterwards convinced was a mantrap; Anthony Mockler suggests this mishap contributed to his murderously paranoid mindset which led to the atrocities that followed the attempt on Graziani's life 19 February 1937. During Italian rule of the city, mosques were built by the new rulers Under the rule of the Ethiopian Empire, the construction of mosques had been stifled. Under Italian rule, Islam
14637-602: Was given official recognition by the new ruling administration and mosques were constructed in Jigjiga. Arabic was also introduced in the schools set up for Italian East Africa's Muslim subjects. On 17 March 1941, during the East African Campaign of World War II , Jijiga was occupied by the 23rd Nigerian Brigade of the British 1st African Division . This was after the Italian garrison had already abandoned
14760-544: Was introduced to the area early on by the first Muslims of Mecca fleeing prosecution during the first Hejira with Masjid al-Qiblatayn being built before the Qiblah faced towards Mecca . The town of Zeila 's two- mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn dates to the 7th century, and is one of the oldest mosques in Africa. Consequently the Somalis were some of the earliest non-Arabs that converted to Islam. The peaceful conversion of
14883-773: Was not limited to the Somali coast as he had allies and influence in the interior of the Somali country, the Danakil coast and even further afield in Abyssinia. Among his allies were the Kings of Shewa. When there was tension between the Amir of Harar Abu Bakr II ibn `Abd al-Munan and Sharmarke, as a result of the Amir arresting one of his agents in Harar , Sharmarke persuaded the son of Sahle Selassie , ruler of Shewa , to imprison on his behalf about 300 citizens of Harar then resident in Shewa, for
15006-694: Was occupied by the Western Somali Liberation Front 's Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi division led by Col. Yusuf Dheere, later with the Somali National Army , from September 1977 until February/March 1978. The Regional government held a conference in this city to promote peace and development between 10 and 13 March 1996, which was attended by 535 from the local woredas, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Ethiopia, Tamirat Layne ,
15129-498: Was unsuccessful in this endeavour, and was eventually forced into exile in Yemen . Both sultanates maintained written records of their activities, which still exist. In late 1888, Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid entered into a treaty with the Italian government, making his Sultanate of Hobyo an Italian protectorate known as Italian Somalia . His rival Boqor Osman Mahamuud was to sign a similar agreement vis-a-vis his own Majeerteen Sultanate
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