THE
DARAAWIISH RESISTANCE
The Clash Between Somali
Clanship and State System
Abdisalam M. Issa-Salwe
Thames Valley University
London
Paper Presented at the 5th
International Congress of Somali Studies December 1993
INTRODUCTION
Sayid Maxamed, who was the Somali nationalist hero
and father of modern Somali nationalism, inspired at the
end of the nineteenth century was realized, partly, with
the creation of the Somali state half a century later. He
envisaged the Somali state as being a unified political
unit and nurturing a political ideology surmounting
clanism. Both attributes were part of the modern Somali
nationalism when it reawakened in early 1940s.
The Daraawiish
structure can be considered a state as the three salient
features of state are defined as territory, population
living in that defined territory and a government who
is sovereign to rule the country and the people. Though
fluid, all these characteristics can be found in the Daraawiish.
This became clear when Italy and Britain, signed a treaty
(the Ilig Treaty) with the Daraawiish on 5th
March 1895
The treaty stipulated that the Mullah should rule
the territory between the Majeerteen Sultanate in the
north and the Sultanate of Hobyo (Obbia) in northeastern
Somaliland. The agreement also granted the Daraawiish
watering and grazing rights for their livestock within
British Somaliland.
Daraawiish nationalism endured in a period when Somali
society was widely dispersed and lacked the necessary
organisations to form a single political unit, and at
a time when colonial powers such as Britain, Italy, and
France were expanding their hegemony over the country.
As the clan was and still is the most important political
unit in the traditional system, Somalis rejected the replacement
of their traditional system with that of a state system
as offered to them by Sayid Maxamed. Somalis preferred
to live in clanism rather than a system that they did
not know. I will discuss in this paper the conflict of
the Daraawiish state and Somali clans.
2 THE INCEPTION OF DARAAWIISH
MOVEMENT
At the end
of the nineteenth century, Islam reawakened in Eastern
Africa, which was as result of the revival of Islam in
the Muslim world. This tendency might have been triggered
by the outcome of the effect of the Euro-Christian rule
and colonization of the Muslim lands in Africa and Asia
which consequently seems to have created a widespread
reaction and the resurgence of a revivalist movement against
the Euro-Christian hegemony, such as the Mahdist revolt
in Sudan in 1880s and that of the Daraawiish movement
led by Sayid Maxamed, in Somalia, during the same period.
The resistance
led by Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle was motivated by religious
principles, as well as cultural. Islam served as the ideology
of the Daraawiish movement. A darwiish is a Muslim believer
who takes vows of poverty and a life of austerity in the
service of Allah and his community.
2.1
A Brief Background to Sayid Maxamed
Sayid Maxamed
was born in the Sac-ma-deeqa valley, a small watering
place between Wud-Wud and Buuhoodle, in the south of British
Somaliland in 1856,
during a spring season well known as Gobaysane.
He was the eldest son of Sheekh Cabdulle and Timiro Seed.
His grandfather, Sheekh Xasan Nuur, of the Ogaadeen clan,
had settled and married among the Dhulbahante in 1826.
Two influences
left an impression on the life of Sayid: The first influence
was Islamic study, the other the might of pastoralism.
At the age of seven he attended the Quran school. At eleven
he learned the 114 suras' of the Quran by heart. Afterwards
he became a teacher. After two years of teaching the Quran,
he suddenly changed his mind, a change that took him to
search for more religious learning for ten years. He travelled
to many Islamic seats; he went to Mogadishu, Nairobi,
Harar and Sudan. He went and learned from sheikhs
who had Islamic knowledge. In his early thirties, he embarked
towards Mecca, to charge his haj obligations.
While in Mecca, he met Sheikh Mohammed Salah (1853-1917),
who changed the young Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan completely.
The mystic Sheikh Mohammed Salah of Sudan was the founder
of the Salahiya order,
which was spreading in the Arabian peninsula and across
the Red Sea into East Africa. Two years later, in 1895,
Sayid Maxamed returned to Somaliland with a mandate to
be the Salahiya representative.
Islam has been
associated with Muslim brotherhood (dariqa literally
means "way") which expresses a mystical view
of the Muslim faith. In the nineteenth century various
religious organizations developed in Somalia to the extent
that the "Somali profession of the Islamic faith
was synonymous with membership of a sufi brotherhood."
The Sufi order
grew from the main order Qadiriya founded by Sheikh Abdul-Qadir
Jilani in the twelfth century. However a few centuries
later a "neo-sufism" movement was founded which
could be categorized into three groups of Muslim fellowship:
the resisters who believed in struggle, the moderates
who usually went about their pedagogical teaching but
occasionally created rebellion and lastly, the conservatives
who practised their mystic meditation without feeling
their social environment and sometimes collaborating with
the rulers of the country.
On his arrival
in the port Berbera, Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan refused
to pay the tax to the customs. The customs duties stunned
the Sayid since he was entering his home land. The custom
officer decided to arrest him but an interpreter explained
the reason for the sheikh's refusal as insanity by saying
"Sir, he mad mullah,"
a name that the colonialists labelled Sayid Maxamed in
the later years. The arrival of the Sayid in the British
Somaliland coincided with a new tax system introduced
by the British Consul-General in the British Somaliland,
Colonel J. Haya Sadler.
Before the
arrival of Sayid Maxamed in British Somaliland and the
other parts of Somali inhabited territory the influence
of Andarawiya, which like the Salihiya, is an offshoot
of Ahmadiya,
was limited. Sayid Maxamed established a base from which
he campaigned and spread the Salahiya order by condemnation
of the Qadiriya's moral laxity
in adapting to colonialism. In the view of many scholars,
the Qadiriya leaders and settlement, which was well established
along the Benaadir coast, became, tolerant to the colonial
regime.
He condemned the use of alcohol and khat (or
Catha edulis tender leaves of a mild narcotic tree
grown in the East Africa and in Yemen).
Sayid Maxamed's
attempt to proselytise and convert urban Somali to the
Salahiya order met with stiff resistance from the Berbera
community. This caused a firm opposition from the Qadiriya
who had established roots in the area. Therefore, the
Qadiriya ulumos (sheikhs) were outraged by Sayid
Maxamed's campaign, among them his former teacher, Sheikh
Cabdullaahi Caruusi, Aw-Gaas Axmed, Sheikh Ibraahim Xirsi
Guuled, Sheikh Kabiir Aw-Cumar
and Sheikh Madar.
His conflict with the known religious men caused him to
lose the sympathy of Berbera people.
In
turn the Berbera ulumos fought back to discredit Sayid
Maxamed and his new order. To finish him, they informed
the administration about his intentions.
The rift between the two orders lasted until the British
administration sided with Qadiriya and closed down the
Salahiya mosque at the end of 1897. This infuriated Sayid
Maxamed who later moved with his small group of followers
to his maternal home, among the Dhulbahante, in the south
of British Somaliland.
On his way
to his maternal home, he passed near Daymoole, a few kilometres
from Berbera, where there was a French catholic mission
established in 1891. The mission, with two fathers, one
brother and 69 boys in an orphanage looked after
destitute children. He asked a little boy, "What
is your name?". The boy replied, "John Cabdullaahi."
Then the Sayid asked, "What clan you are?".
The boy answered to Sayid Maxamed, "I belong to the
clan of the father." This convinced Sayid Maxamed
that the colonialists were christianising their children.
That event remained in the memory of the young Maxamed
Cabdulle Xasan and led him to focus his campaign against
the idea of Christian colonization and against the Qadiriya's
ineptitude and their tolerance of the colonial rulers.
Sayid Maxamed
made his first base in Qorya-weyn, a small watering place
29 miles west of Aynabo in British Somaliland. In Qorya-weyn
he began campaigning for the Salahiya order, against the
infidels and also against the Qadiriya order.
3 THE BEGINNING OF THE DARAAWIISH STRUGGLE
In Qorya-weyn,
he started preaching Islam under the Salahiya banner.
In spite of failing to convince the urbanized Berbera
residents, he found fertile land in the pastoral society
that was not influenced by urban life style. His appeal
attracted the pastoral society of the area and the people
responded positively to him. By settling clan
feuds, the pastoralist saw him as an awliya (saint)
who had been sent among them, he gained himself the reputation
of a peacemaker. In the first period the British
administration welcomed him to exercise authority and
saw him on the side of the law as he prevented clan raids.
But his aims to mediate and unify clans were to gain their
support in the fight against the infidels. His aspirations
soon turned to oppose the colonial interests. In fact,
an incident that happened around this time, in 1899, was
a turning point in the relations between the Sayid and
the British authority. A British administrative constable
Ilaalo, went to the Daraawiish settlement and sold his
gun to the Sayid. On his return to Berbera, the
constable reported to the authorities that his gun had
been stolen by the Sayid. The case prompted the British
Counsel to send a letter to Sayid Maxamed ordering to
surrender the stolen gun immediately but instead on 1th
September 1899 Sayid Maxamed replied in a letter challenging
British rule in the country. The defiance brought
the Sheikh to the attention of the British authorities.
That episode was to change British attitude towards the
Sayid and his movement. The era of conflict between the
Daraawiish movement and the colonial powers which was
to blast two decades had begun.
In August 1898
the Daraawiish occupied Bura-o, the centre of British
Somaliland, and through this, Sayid Maxamed established
control over the watering places of the Habar Yoonis and
the Habar Tol-jecle. He succeeded in making peace
between the Habar Yoonis and the Habar Tol-jecle, and
between Dhulbahante and Habar Tol-jecle. A huge
assembly was held in Bur-o at which Sayid Maxamed urged
the congregation of Habar Yoonis and Habar Tol-jecle to
make jihad (holy war) against the Abyssinians, British
and Italian who had come to colonize the Somali territory.
Further development happened during this period. Suldaan
Nuur Ammaan, sultan of the Habar Yoonis clan, felt uneasy
about the leadership of Sayid Maxamed. He could do little
to stop the development and therefore sought British help
to stop it. Knowing this, the Sayid undermined the sultan's
leadership by persuading the Habar Yoonis to depose their
leader and replace him with one who was favourable
to his cause. With the aim of obtaining leadership favourable
to his cause within the Somali clans, this trend became
one of the principal policies of the Sayid.
Shortly afterwards,
the Daraawiish raided a Qadiriya settlement at Sheikh,
a small town between Berbera and Bura-o, and massacred
its inhabitants. Panic spread throughout Berbera the prospect
of an imminent Daraawiish attack. The British were alarmed
by the situation and they took the Sayid's operations
seriously.
But by the end of 1899, the British were occupied in the
Boer War and could do little to contain the spread of
the Daraawiish movement in British Somaliland, which had
badly affected their trade with the interior of the territory
under their administration.
The British
authorities in Berbera urged their government to take
action, finally London consented to raise a local levy
of troops that would attempt to suppress the spread of
the Daraawiish movement.
During the
same period Sayid Maxamed preached the Salahiya philosophy,
especially the practice of tawassul, the meditation of
saints for those faithful to Allah. He taught chanting
in praise of Sheikh Maxamed Salah by singing "Shay
Lillah Sheikh Maxamed Salah." He called the Daraawiish
the adherents of his Salahiya dariqa (order) by giving
a white turban (duub cad) which was also customary sufi
traditional costume. Within a short time many pastoral
societies followed the dariqa. In 1898 the Daraawiish
followers reached more than 5000 men and women with 200
rifles. In the middle of April 1898 the Daraawiish moved
their base to Dareema-caddo, a watering place northwest
of Buuhoodle. Within short time the Daraawiish grew in
men, power and wealth. Because of this growth, it became
necessary for Sayid Maxamed to institutionalise the movement
by creating four main governmental apparatuses,
(1) at the top there was the ministerial Council (qusuusi)
which presided over affair of state, (2) there were also
bodyguards (gaar-haye) who were responsible for the security
of senior members. These conscripts were mainly from people
on whom Sayid could depend, such as former slaves whom
he had adopted as sons, and people from the riverine clans
such as the Reer Baarre,
(3) the regular army (Maara-weyn) which was organised
into seven regiments: Shiikh-yaale, Gola-weyne, Taar-gooye,
Indha-badan, Miinanle, Dharbash and Rag-xun. Each regiment
with its commandant (muqaddim) varied from between
1000 to 4000 men, and (4) the civilian population (reer-beede)
consisting mainly of people from clans who followed the
Daraawiish movement.
The state was
fashioned on the model of the Salahiya brotherhood with
strict hierarchical and rigid centralization of a religious
order. The cohesive force of the Daraawiish state polity
was based on religious ideology. This was a radical departure
from the clan alliance's politics, the effects of which
will be discussed at the end of this chapter.
By forming
a standing army the movement had to face pressing needs
such as food and other logistical needs for the troops.
In the first period they were supported by voluntary charity
(siyaaro) which Muslims are required to give to religious
men. However, the needs of the army augmented with the
enlargement of the movement. Thus the Daraawiish began
to lobby for more help for the movement, on the other
hand they spread rumours that anybody who did not help
the Daraawiish, in the Jihad struggle, was not
Muslim and must be killed and his property must be confiscated.
3.1
"You Defied" (Waad-xujowday) Penal Decree
On the legal
front, Sayid Maxamed introduced for the first time a rudimental
forms of a penal decree such as the famous "you defied"
(waad-xujowday) for those who did not obey the
code of the dariqa. There was an episode that tells
of a wealthy man called Firin Qodax Faahiye who refused
to pay a man who worked for him as a geel-jire
(camelman) his earnings were one‑camel every year
as was the tradition. To retaliate the camelman escaped
with a horse that belonged to Firin and took refuge in
the xarun. Firin went after the camelman and when
he reached the xarun of the Daraawiish he claimed
his horse back. Sayid Maxamed who had been informed by
the camelman asked Firin to pay the camelman's earnings.
Firin replied, "let him go to the administration
if he has a case against me." This infuriated Sayid
Maxamed and announced to Firin, "if you choose the
infidel's justice rather than the Islamic law, you are
infidel. You defied (waad-xujowday) the Islamic
code, therefore, the law condemns you to capital punishment."
Firin Qodax Faahiye was the first man who was executed
by the Daraawiish. The execution of Firin was a sign from
the centralised system that the Daraawiish had decided
to rule the Nugaal area. This was a new practice that
the pastoral society had not known before.
Traditionally
the Somali people loathed totalitarianism and suspected
any form of centralised rule. Sayid Maxamed claimed to
have divine connections and that he had been selected
for the mission to "throw the infidels into the sea."
His claim was welcomed positively in the pastoral society.
He then planned to build his hierarchical authority by
compelling his followers to address him as "Father
Master" (Aabbe sayidii). This was a
sign of the hierarchical authority he sought to impose
on the traditional egalitarian society who addresses one
other as "cousin" (ini-adeer). This attitude
of Sayid Maxamed has been seen as a tactic to drag people
under his command to gain political power outside the
traditional clan system and not for the cause of Allah.
This was a strategy that created rivalry from nearly all
clan leaders. Some followed him initially with caution
but soon many conflicts developed. One of these leaders
was Garaad Cali Garaad Maxamuud, of the Bah-Ararsame Dhulbahante
clan, whose people lived in Nugaal.
3.2
The killing of Garaad Cali
Garaad Cali
Garaad Maxamuud of the Bah-Ararsame lineage of the Dhulbahante
clan was one of the Somali clan leaders whose people lived
in part of Nugaal. Garaad Cali felt uneasy at the expanding
power of the Sayid within his matrilineal relatives, the
Dhulbahante. Towards the end of 1899, Sayid Maxamed sent
a delegation to convince the Garaad to join him and his
people in the Daraawiish movement. Garaad Cali refused
and replied, "Let the Sheikh deal with religious
affairs but other affairs of the people and clans are
not his domain. There are no infidels in Nugaal. We are
not going to those (infidels) who are at the coast and
in the towns."
In the land
that Sayid Maxamed sought to build his power were his
maternal kin thus the people expected him to follow the
footsteps of his father who was a Quran teacher. On his
return, Sayid Maxamed was expected to be a Quran teacher
and sheikh among the pastoral society and not as a leader
of the people who were not his paternal kinsmen.
Sayid Maxamed sent another delegation to the Garaad inviting
him to the xarun (headquarters). With reluctance
Garaad Cali accepted to meet Sayid Maxamed in his xarun.
In the heated debate which followed Garaad Cali emphasised
his position, "I am the ruler of Nugaal and its people.
Their management is mine and I expect everybody to respect
it."
A challenge
of leadership between the two men followed: a traditionalist
one against the introduction of a new system into the
country by the Daraawiish, a practice alien to the pastoral
society. Garaad Cali sent a letter to Boqor Cismaan of
the Sultanate of Majeerteen in Boosaaso in the northeastern
part of the Somali peninsula, requesting his support.
He sent another letter to the British Consul-General at
Berbera asking for help
against Sayid Maxamed.
The resulting
hostility prompted Sayid Maxamed to dispatch a group of
Daraawiish to assassinate the Garaad. The killing of Garaad
Cali astonished the Somali clans and destabilized the
Daraawiish.
This incident proved to be one of the most catastrophic
miscalculations made by Sayid Maxamed. Many of his followers
left the dariqa angered by the carnage of the Garaad.
Only a few the groups of his maternal kin, the Cali Geri,
stood fast with him. By losing the support of the Nugaal
people and following the instability caused by the killing
of Garaad Cali, Sayid Maxamed and his followers were forced
into the Ogaadeen, among his paternal kin.
3.3
The Daraawiish's Move to Western Somaliland
The Somalis'
rejection of Christianity stemmed mainly from a sentiment
felt towards their centuries' old enemy, Abyssinia. This
was at the same time as Abyssinia was expanding its empire
over Western Somaliland. During his first period of the
struggle, the Sayid's ultimate aim was not the British
but the Abyssinians who caused more suffering to the Somalis
of Western Somaliland and the Oromo people than the European
colonialists. Unlike the Europeans, the Abyssinian colonisers
had no industrial power base to finance their marauding
armies, they lived upon the property of the conquered
people. In fact, the reason behind Menelik's southern
conquests was his need to get more resources for his huge
armies.
In the years between 1890 and 1897, the Western Somaliland
Somalis saw devastating pillage by the Abyssinians, in
which, 100.000 heads of cattle, 200.000 camels and about
600.000 sheep and goats were looted from the pastoralists.
Meanwhile in
Western Somaliland Sayid Maxamed was reorganising his
force in Haradigeed in the heart of Maxamed Subeer country
(Ogaadeen clan). He started preaching and settled disputes
between various lineages in the Ogaadeen. This gave Sayid
Maxamed a good reputation. To further gain power Sayid
Maxamed married the daughter of a prominent Maxamed Subeer,
Ogaadeen clan. In return he gave his sister to one of
the Maxamed Subeer elders, Cabdi Maxamed Waal. This type
of marriage was the political marriage that the Sayid
used to bind ties with the local people, and became one
of his most sophisticated political devices.
Learning of
Sayid Maxamed's reorganization in Western Somaliland,
the British informed the Abyssinians about Sayid's plans
and movement. A force had been sent to the area where
Sayid Maxamed had gained support. While en route the Abyssinian
forces looted and harassed the nomads. The looted herds
were taken to Jigjiga. The pastoral society appealed to
the Sayid. On 5 March 1890, the Daraawiish attacked Jigjiga
and killed 230. Although the Daraawiish sustained heavy
losses, they took with them the animals looted by the
Abyssinians from the pastoral Somalis in Western Somaliland.
In June of
the same year the Daraawiish raided the Ciida-gale lineage
of the Isaaq clan-family settlements in Gaaroodi, a small
watering place between Oodweyne and Hargeysa in the Northwest
region. In the raid they took booty of two thousand camels.
The attack, named after a full moon night "Dayax-Weerar,"
had negative effects on the Daraawiish movement. It was
the first assault that the Daraawiish had made against
fellow Muslims. The contingent of the Daraawiish was led
by Shariif Cabdullaahi Shariif Cumar this astonished the
pastoral Somalis. The Somali society believes the shariif
to be a pious clan descended directly from the prophet
Maxamed. An observer sang:
When the Shariif leads the robber-band
And the learned Sheikh raid the people mercilessly,
And the herds are seized with approval and the blessing
of a Sayid
Would that I lived long enough
To witness the end of all these events!
The storming
of Jigjiga enhanced the prestige of the Daraawiish as
they were seen to be the defenders of the pastoral clans
against the domination of their hated Abyssinian enemies.
On the other hand the Dayax-Weerar attack against Ciida-gale
had negative consequences, especially, as the Isaaq clan
had to seek help from the British authorities. However,
Sayid Maxamed later expressed regret about the raid.
Sometime later
hostility grew between the pastoral Maxamed Subeer and
the Daraawiish the cause being clan rivalry as the Maxamed
Subeer lineage felt as if it were being subjected to "the
hegemony of the Sayid's small Bah-Geri lineage whom they
traditionally despised."
They felt they were being subjected into the submissive
position, submissive to the autocratic reigns of the Sayid.
The conflict had been triggered by the killing in the
xarun of Shire-Dhabarjilic Xasan-Jiijiile, a Maxamed
Subeer elder, who refused to bring to the dariqa
his sub-lineage. The matter was aggravated when the body
of Shire was mutilated by running horses over it.
This was against an Islamic fellow and it enraged the
Maxamed Subeer's kinsmen. In retaliation, they planned
secretly to kill Sayid Maxamed and his Qusuusi
council. The plan known as the Plot of Gurdumi
took for many months to plan but at the last minute it
was aborted by chance. The Sayid escaped unhurt but one
of his closest advisers, a Qusuusi member Aw-Cabbas,
fell under the spears of the conspirators. In the resulting
fighting, the Daraawiish gained the upper hand over Maxamed
Subeer and inflicted heavy losses. The Daraawiish retaliated
later against the Maxamed Subeer nomads by looting their
herds. During the looting, known as Garab-cas, the Maxamed
Subeer lineage lost much of their property.
After sometime
the Maxamed Subeer lineage sent a peace delegation (ergo),
32 of their most able men, to Sayid Maxamed who had moved
with his followers to Dhiito, east of Gurdumi. One of
the peace delegations, Cabdi Maxamed Waal, was the husband
of Toox-yar Cabdulle Xasan, sister of the Sayid. The plot
of Gurdumi was the first attempt on the life of Sayid
Maxamed by his kinsmen and it left him psychologically
scarred. Rancour induced him to arrest the ergo
(peace delegation) and tie them with fetters and anklets.
Then he sent a message to the Maxamed Subeer that their
men's release was conditional on payment of the blood
money (diyo) of Aw-Cabbas, two guns that he lost
in the fighting of Gurdumi and a hundred camels for each
man.
The Maxamed Subeer could not pay three thousand three
hundred camels for the release of their relatives as the
Daraawiish had inflicted heavy damage on their property
during the Garab-cas pillage. Three deadlines ended without
conclusion and at the last deadline Sayid Maxamed ordered
the peace delegation to be executed. This enraged Maxamed
Subeer and to save themselves from further reprisals they
asked the Abyssinians for help.
The killing of a peace mission is one of the worst crimes
in pastoral tradition. The act of executing the delegation
damaged the reputation of the Daraawiish, one elder described
them as "sick wolves led by a mad sheikh."
The event, named after the fetters and anklets tied to
the delegation, was another set back to the very cause
of the Daraawiish movement and went down in Somali history
as one of the saddest events. The incident forced the
Somali clans in the Abyssinian dominated area to ask for
help from their centuries' old enemies. A Somali proverb
says, "Stones cannot go far but word can,"
the news of Gonda-gooye reached the corners of the Somali
peninsula very quickly.
A combined
force of Abyssinians and Maxamed Subeer Ogaadeen attacked
the Daraawiish, and consequently forced them to flee to
the east back into the Nugaal valley, which they had left
two years previously after a bloody confrontation with
Dhulbahante.
3.4
The Return of Daraawiish into the Nugaal Valley
Italian Somaliland
consisted of three political regions: the Benaadir coast,
the Majeerteen Sultanate on the tip of the Horn and the
Hobyo (Obbia) Sultanate of Sultan Cali Yuusuf Keenadiid.
The Sultanates of Majeerteen and Hobyo developed very
effective political organizations with measures of centralized
authority over relatively large territories but their
polity was based on tribal affiliation.
The return
of the Daraawiish into Nugaal created panic among the
clans under the British protectorate. Early in 1901 the
British colonial authorities felt their interest were
under threat if the Daraawiish expanded their influence
in the region. Therefore, they decided to organise military
action to wipe them out at once. However, what they estimated
to eradicate with one expedition, resulted in twenty years
of war with the loss of almost one third of the Somali
population.
The Daraawiish
was a natural military organization that was ingenious
in guerrilla warfare, drawing their enemy to ideal terrain
and striking at will. The British, sometimes with their
allies, sent one expedition after another. The first expedition
sent out from Bura-o on 22 May 1901 consisted of 21 officers
of the British and Indian armies, and a levy of 1500 Somalis.
Between 1900 and 1904 four British expeditions were sent
against the Daraawiish. Well‑known battles were
Afbakayle that took place on 3 June 1901, Fardhidin on
16 July 1901, Beerdhiga (Eeragoo) on 4 April 1901, Cagaar-weyne
(Gumburo) in April 1903, Daratoole on 22 April 1903, Jidbaale
on 10 January 1904 and Ruugga (Dulmadoobe) 9 August 1923.
During the
first period the Daraawiish won many battles because many
factors such as their knowledge of guerrilla warfare,
knowledge of the territory, their adaptability to the
environment, their belief that they were fighting a jihad
(holy war) and just war, and their well organised military.
However, after many successes over the intruders, they
changed their tactics of guerrilla warfare to conventional
warfare. This was a change of strategy that proved fatal
for them. On 9 January 1904 at the plains of Jidbaale,
a watering place north of Laas Caanood, in British Somaliland,
they sough head on confrontation with the British, headed
by General Charles Egarton. In the following battle, the
Daraawiish lost nearly 7000 to 8000 dead and wounded.
With the British forces on their heels, the fleeing Daraawiish
headed to the Majeerteen Sultanate in the northeast. On
their way they send a message to Boqor Cismaan, hoping
to gain his support. Sayid's relation with Boqor Cismaan
had been marred by a failed political marriage to his
daughter, Qaali.
Meanwhile, the British contacted the Italian consulate
in Aden to press Boqor Cismaan not to give the Sayid sanctuary.
Boqor Cismaan gave way to the Italian and British pressure,
and declined to give refuge to the frustrated Daraawiish.
This action angered Sayid Maxamed as he was undergoing
a terrible time, a time when many of his followers were
deserting. Fighting erupted between the Daraawiish and
the forces of Boqor Cismaan. The Daraawiish forces were
obliged to head for Ilig, a strategic place on the Indian
Ocean.
3.5
The Reconstruction of the Daraawiish
In Ilig the
Daraawiish forces and their followers, who had experienced
bad times, found peace and time to recover from the loses
in manpower and wealth in the war with the British. Actually,
it was nearly a decade later when Sayid Maxamed restarted
his campaign to call the jihad against the colonialists.
He attracted the loyalty of major clans such as the Warsangeli
of the powerful Harti clan, Cumar Maxamuud and Ciisa Maxamuud,
both of Majeerteen Harti clans. Since in Islam a man is
allowed to marry no more than four wives at a time, to
ease his political marriage, Sayid Maxamed had to marry
and divorce frequently. These relations opened the way
for the Sayid to ask for wife the sister of Maxamuud Cali
Shire, the son of the powerful Garaad Cali Shire of Warsangeli,
and the sister of Islaan Aadan of the Cumar Maxamuud lineage
of the Majeerteen clan as his wives, and indeed, he did
marry both women. The alliance of these clans helped Sayid
Maxamed to reconstruct his forces. The association with
the Warsangeli clan gave him access to Laas Khoray (Maakhergoosh),
a door to the Arabian peninsula to import firearms and
ammunition. The importation of firearms and ammunition
contradicted the Ilig Agreement of 1905 (see bottom).
By knowing that the colonialists could not be defeated
by force, the Sayid changed his strategy to use words
as arms. As words, spoken or written, have been the most
powerful means of communication in all mankind's society,
he consummately used skilfully the communicative functions
of Somali verse. He repeatedly sought to gain in verse
what he had not succeeded in acquiring with arms. When
he lost a battle, he dipped into his reservoir of rhymes
to encourage his shattered army.
He designed his verse to enhance his cause, to encourage
his followers or scorn and discredit his enemies. However,
by scorning his enemies, he sometimes excessively used
to preach the pastoral ethos like an "epigram that
borders on the obscene."
The period
in Ilig was, in fact, the period during which he composed
his best poems by dexterously using Somali language that
is well noted for its richness of vocabulary. Sayid Maxamed
was a "literary master"
and he used the medium of poetry as high powered propaganda
warfare. As poetry is the principle medium of mass communication,
his mastery of the art of poetry won him the reputation
of being the greatest Somali poet, and earned him the
title "master of eloquence."
In the opinion of Samatar,
The Sayid appealed to a traditional code of ethics that
he knew would strike a responsive chord in the hearts
of the stroked: the notion of unbending defiance in the
face of calamitous circumstances, a theme he often stressed
in his poems... Yet these tactics, [which] he designed
to hold the ranks of the faithful together, concealed
the real shift in strategy that the Sayid was initiating
in the light of grim realities.
The adversity
of many years gave vitality to Sayid Maxamed's personality,
he was persisting in the face of overwhelming odds. In
spite of his totalitarianism and storming character, his
tyranny was directed towards a noble end.
4 FROM MOVEMENT TO STATE
After four
years of fighting, the British expeditions found they
could not annihilate the Daraawiish as they had believed.
In 1904 because of financial troubles and opposition at
home, they had been compelled to change tactics and make
peace with the Daraawiish through the Italians, who had
not militarily confronted the Daraawiish before. Xaaji
Cabdille Shixiri, of the Habar Tol-jecle Isaaq clan-family,
who was a Daraawiish confidant, became the mediator between
the Italians and the Daraawiish. Xaaji Cabdille Shixiri
met with Cavaliere Giulio Pestolozzi, the Diplomatic Representative
of the Italian Government at Aden where he took a letter
for the Mullah.
Craving for
respite, the Sayid accepted negotiation with the Italians
who proposed that he rule the territory from Ayl and Garacad
on the Indian Ocean and from Nugaal into the interior.
The agreement included a condition to release Sultan Yuusuf
Cali Keenadiid, the Sultan of Hobyo (Obbia), who had been
deposed by the Italians after he refused to allow British
forces to disembark at Hobyo with the intention of attacking
the Daraawiish from the east while other British forces
fought with the Daraawiish in Cagaarweyne (Gumburo) battle
on 17 April 1903. Sultan Yuusuf Cali had been deported
to Assab in Eritrea in 1903.
After tumultuous negotiations an agreement was reached
on the 5 March 1895.
Giulio Pestolozzi signed for Italy, Britain and Abyssinia.
Recognition to govern his followers, religious liberty
and freedom of trade except in arms and slaves,
were granted to the Sayid.
By assigning
the Nugaal Valley to Daraawiish rule, Italy planned to
eliminate the threat of the Daraawiish influence in their
dominion in Benaadir.
By contrast, this policy had little effect as the Biyamaal
and Wacdaan clans where the first clans who received the
Daraawiish message and rebelled against the Italian rule.
The Ilig agreement
gave the Sayid a period of respite to recover his strength
and influence. He built his forces and, in breach of the
treaty, imported arms on an unprecedented scale. He set
a well‑coordinated strategy to sabotage the colonial
administration and to terrorize and destabilize clans
that he saw as loyal to the British and Italian rule,
those under Majeerteen and Hobyo Sultanates, and Ogaadeen
Somali clans, by sending roving bands of raiders (bur‑cad).
They invaded Mudug to establish contact with Bah-Geri
on the upper Shabeelle and extended their attacks to the
Hobyo Sultanate. The acts of indiscriminate raiding, seizing
and plundering property of fellow Muslims, and the act
of breaking a solemn treaty even with infidels were seen
as dishonourable and alienated Sayid Maxamed from many
Somali clans.
4.1
The Attempted Coup of the Tree-of-Bad-Counsel
As the Daraawiish
movement was based on religious ideology, many questioned
Sayid Maxamed's religious convictions. The distrust received
a new momentum when followers of the Sayid obtained a
letter from the founder of Salahiya order, Sheikh Maxamed
Salah who lived in the Arabian Peninsula. The letter has
been secretly circulated among the Daraawiish and consequently
it was a disastrous blow as Sheikh Maxamed Salah renounced
Sayid Maxamed. The disavowing of Sheikh Salah generated
grounds for many Daraawiish followers to see that Sayid
Maxamed had lost his moral credibility to lead the Daraawiish
movement. Following this episode, 600 Daraawiish held
a secret meeting in Gubad, a watering place 30 miles south
of Ayl on the Indian Ocean, to plot against Sayid Maxamed.
The meeting, which took place under a tree, was to be
called Canjeel Talawaa (the Tree-of-Bad-Counsel). Three
proposals were raised in the discussion,
(i) To kill Sayid Maxamed and replace him with another
sheikh who could continue the holy war; (ii) To remove
from him the honour and responsibility of the Daraawiish
and replace him with another sheikh; (iii) To completely
cripple the Daraawiish movement by dragging out
all Daraawiish clans.
In the end
the conspirators agreed to the last proposal and decided
to desert en masse. One of the associates, Shire Cumbaal,
changed his mind and alerted the Sayid. Consequently,
fighting erupted between troops loyal to Sayid Maxamed
and the clans of the conspirators. The fray deteriorated
to a bloody civil war in which Sayid Maxamed's devotees
emerged victorious but not before several Daraawiish clans,
like Majeerteen and Dhulbahante, were decimated.
The loyal troops also slaughtered many holy men. The heartless
slaughter of pious Muslims was the most heinous crime
in Islamic teaching.
The Tree-of-Bad-Counsel divided and demoralized
the movement as it eroded its moral basis. The incident
demoralized and wounded the morale of the Daraawiish and
it damaged the aims of the movement.
Sayid Maxamed relied increasingly on dictatorial methods
to keep himself in power by summarily executing his rivals
including prominent holy men. Many held in question the
Sayid's moral standards. Following this incident, he started
showing growing signs of insecurity. His sense of insecurity
deepened as there were many attempts on his life. The
worst came from one of his wives by food poisoning.
By the end
of 1909 the Daraawiish had moved to Caday-Dheero then
two years later they moved to Dameero and later to Taleex.
At Taleex, the heart of the Nugaal valley, the Daraawiish
reunited and started to build their most strategic garrisons.
Taleex was a strategic place as it was the centre between
Haud, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Majeerteen Sultanate,
the Hobyo Sultanate and British Somaliland. It was abundant
in water and pasture. There the Daraawiish built four
garrisons:
Silsilad could take two thousand fighters and five thousand
animals, Falaad was the executive mansion for the Sayid
and his advisers, Daawad was for guests and Eegi or Daar-Ilaalo
was made as outpost for the xarun. Simultaneously the
Daraawiish built seven other forts for the defence of
Taleex.
These garrisons were situated at between 10 to 40 miles
from Taleex and were named Daar-cad, Gacal-guule, Xalin,
Dhumay, Geeda-mirale, Cawshaan and Nuguul. Outside Nugaal,
the Daraawiish built 23 garrisons employed to guard the
headquarters from British Somaliland, the Majeerteen and
Hobyo sultanates, the Italians and Abyssinians.
They extended from Qardho to Jarriiban in the east, from
Jiidali, Cirshiid and Shimbibiris in the north, from Kiridh
and Qorraxay in the west (Western Somaliland) and from
Beled-weyne and Shilaabo in Italian Somaliland.
Although the
building of the strategic fortresses gave the Daraawiish
the appearance of supremacy in the area, it was also strategically
disadvantageous, since it was a complete turnabout of
the guerrilla warfare tactics that the Daraawiish had
adopted in previous years. It gave their enemy a fixed
target to attack and a defined territory for battle. In
the earlier years the Daraawiish dragged their enemy into
their own battle grounds.
By 1913 the
Daraawiish dominated the entire hinterland of the Somali
peninsula. Trade with the hinterland was completely halted
crippling the booming trade of coastal towns. The havoc
created favourable conditions for the Daraawiish who were
the only organized institution in the area. The tumult
in the hinterland completely disrupted trade with the
coastal towns and the decline of British prestige in British
Somaliland followed. This prompted the British to revise
their policy and to form a mobile force, the Camel Corps,
to police the immediate hinterlands. The Camel Corps,
under the command of the arrogant but capable colonel
Richard Corfield, did put the immediate hinterland in
order.
In August 1913
a Daraawiish force led by Aw-Yuusuf Sheikh Cabdulle, the
brother of Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle, raided a Habar Yoonis
settlement near Bura-o and looted a vast herd of camels.
A contingent of the Camel Corps chased the Daraawiish
raiders. After hot pursuit the Camel Corps and the Daraawiish
confronted in Dulmadooba, near Oodweyne in the east of
British Somaliland. Fierce fighting resulted in which
the British commander, Colonel Corfield, was killed. The
victory of the Daraawiish enhanced the prestige of Sayid
Maxamed and following that event he composed the famous
and brilliant poem "The Death of Richard Corfield."
Following the
breach of the Ilig Agreement of 1905 by Sayid Maxamed,
the British government, after having spent more than five
million pounds, had to assess the situation before any
other alternatives were to be adopted. By mid 1909 there
was heated debate in the British parliament about the
lost men and money in British Somaliland.
The British authorities had only two options, either to
abandon the Somali coast or to strike a peace agreement
with the Mullah.
It has chose the latter by sending General Sir Reginald
Wingate, the Governor-General of the Sudan, who was an
expert in the Sudanese Daraawiish movement. He had been
dispatched to British Somaliland with the aim of opening
fresh mediation directly with the Daraawiish. However,
Sir Wingate's mission became unsuccessful when Sayid Maxamed
declined the British terms of peace.
Following the
failure of the Sir Wingate's peace initiative, in November
1909, the British authorities were forced to select the
least costly policy short of complete abandonment of British
Somaliland,
that of confining themselves to three coastal towns on
the Red Sea: Berbera, Zeila and Bulhar.
To protect their subjects from the Daraawiish threat as
they moved to the coastal area, they distributed firearms
only to their "friendliest" dependants, the
Isaaq clans,
thus leaving other clans who lived in the vulnerable area,
such as the Dhulbahante clan, who had no treaty with the
British.
The purpose of distributing arms was to persuade the Isaaq
clans to organize themselves behind a leadership capable
of counteracting the Daraawiish.
However, that policy incited a new wave of feuds and closing
of accounts between various lineages and clans, and the
interior lapsed into a bad situation. Soon the situation
deteriorated due to a drought that affected a large proportion
of the population. That period is known as "xaraama
cuna" (the time of eating filth).
Because of
the policy of withdrawing from the hinterland, the British
undid the damage of excommunicating Sheikh Maxamed Salah
and the damage that Sayid Maxamed had sustained from the
Tree-of-Bad-Counsel. It gave him a wonderful opportunity
to flex his muscles by retaliating against clans whom
he suspected were against his cause. In fact the worst
affected were the Dhulbahante, the Habar Yoonis, the Habar
Tol-Jecle (Isaaq) and the Ciisa Maxamuud sub-lineage (Majeerteen)
clans who felt much of the Mullah's wrath.
The carnage of the Ciise Maxamuud is known as the "Bloodshed
of Ilig Daldala" where bundles of hundreds where
thrown from the peak of the rocks of Ilig into the sea.
Towards the end of 1912 at least one third of the pastoral
Somalis perished in the chaos.
On the diplomatic
front, the Sayid made alliance with the new Abyssinian
Emperor, Lij Iyasu, who acceded to the throne in December
1913. Emperor Iyasu was sympathetic to Islam and moved
his court to Dire Dawa among his Muslim subjects.
He aspired to create a Muslim empire in North Africa.
To fulfil his dream he proposed to make alliance with
Sayid Maxamed. He probably supplied financial aid and
arms to the Daraawiish, and sent a German arms technician,
called Emil Kirsch, to Taleex to help the Daraawiish movement.
The fear of
an alliance of Abyssinian Muslims and the Daraawiish sent
shivers through the European capitals as well through
the Abyssinian orthodox church. Concern appeared to have
been realised with the announcement of Iyasu's conversion
to Islam in April 1916.
However, before he could consolidate his power, Emperor
Iyasu was deposed on 27 September 1916.
On another
diplomatic front, Sayid Maxamed made an alliance with
the Ottoman empire.
However, in 1917 the Italians apprehended Sheikh Axmed
Shirwac Maxamed and found a document from the Turkish
government giving assurance of their support and nominating
Sayid Maxamed as the Amir of Somalia.
The diplomatic achievements, the Ilig Agreement, the British
withdrawal from the hinterlands and the reconstruction
of the Daraawiish authority in the heart of the country
helped enhance the prestige of Sayid Maxamed throughout
Somalia. However, there were also disadvantages as all
this they made the Sayid over confident which naturally
led him to underestimate the strategy his enemies. He
over estimated the help he could receive from the Emperor
Iyasu, who had only a short time left to lead, and from
Turkey who was at its declining time in history.
4.2
The Annihilation of the Daraawiish State
During the
best days of the Daraawiish movement in the Nugaal Valley,
Qusuusi (advisers) of the state recommended
changing their policy by stopping farming, and to halting
trade with the coast as they believed this would avert
enemy spies from to reporting about the Daraawiish. They
suggested moving the headquarters to a location where
rival informants could not spy on them. Nevertheless,
Sayid Maxamed sanctioned the counsel without examining
the consequences. Then, in mid 1918 the headquarters were
transferred to Mirashi,
a mountainous place with difficult access for their enemies,
but less strategic communication with their other settlements.
That policy proved detrimental to the Daraawiish tactics
as it interrupted communication between their camps. During
this period the Daraawiish knew little about their enemies'
preparations.
While Daraawiish
were in an isolated situation, the British built up their
fire power, and included for the first time, the newly
invented lethal weapon, aeroplanes, which they planned
to use against the Daraawiish. On 21 January 1920, they
attacked all Daraawiish bases in Taleex and Mirashi simultaneously
by sea and air. This was a great surprise for the Daraawiish
military leaders. Their plans never included a strategy
to protect their bases against such mortal weapons. On
3 February 1920 the British captured Taleex, and the Daraawiish
troops abandoned their forts in the Nugaal Valley and
other parts before fleeing to Western Somaliland. In Western
Somaliland they regrouped again but a natural disaster,
smallpox broke out in the region and decimated the men
and livestock. Meanwhile, the British governor despatched
a peace delegation to Sayid Maxamed pressing him to surrender
and in exchange allowing him to establish his own religious
settlement in the west of British Somaliland. Nonetheless,
Sayid Maxamed categorically refused to surrender, and
to prove to the British authority that the Daraawiish
were still capable of intimidating their subjects, they
raided the Isaaq clansmen grazing their livestock near
the Abyssinian border. The attack outraged Isaaq and with
the help of the administration a force of Isaaq men led
by Xaaji Warsame Bullaale, known also as Xaaji Waraabe,
made a massive onslaught on the already feeble Daraawiish.
After this
fatal blow, Sayid Maxamed and some of his qusuusi
members fled to Iimay, in the Arusi country in Abyssinia.
After arriving in Iimay, the Sayid and his remaining companions
started to build thirteen new garrisons but Sayid Maxamed
did not live long enough to finish his plan to restart
the daraawiish movement. He succumbed to an attack of
influenza on 21 December 1920 at the age of fifty‑six.
5 CONFLICT BETWEEN STATE AND CLAN
Before the
arrival of colonialism in the Somali territory, Somali
society led a decentralised way of life, however, the
colonial powers demanded a way of life contrary to the
traditional one. Subsequently, Somalis responded violently
in reaction to this interference. Somali resistance to
the foreign interference in their lives dates back to
at least the years between 1528 and 1535. Under the command
of Imam Ahmed Ibn Ibraahim al-Ghazi, known as Axmed Gurey
(Gran the left-handed) Somali forces devastated and successfully
rolled back the Abyssinian Empire. Only with the help
of Portuguese
did the Abyssinians defeat the Muslim forces.
As Euro-colonialists
were usually of another faith, the Somali felt that the
colonialists were trying to christianise their children.
The resistance led by Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle was in response
to this belief. What Sayid Maxamed inspired was nationalistic
in essence, a tradition not seen in the Somali peninsula
since Ahmed Gurey's (Ahmed Gran, the left-handed) war
against Abyssinia in the sixteenth century.
The opinions
held by people about Sayid Maxamed vary widely. Africanists
see him as an African nationalist hero who fought against
colonial intrusion in his country. Many scholars of Daraawiish
movements regarded his aim as a purpose
to expel Christian domination from his country. The colonial
powers rated him simply as an eccentric sheikh by labelling
him "Mad Mullah." They assumed that he was simply
from a small religious order or a clan leader whose political
role lay within the internal Somali clan structure. The
Somalis attitude towards Sayid Maxamed is somewhat ambivalent.
Despite the
tyrannical nature of his rule, Sayid Maxamed's burning
passion was to liberate his country from the British,
Italian, French and Abyssinian colonial powers. He sensed
a threat from the colonialists to christianise his compatriots,
therefore, he saw the Salahiya brotherhood as a "way"
through which he could increase his countrymen's devotion
to Islam and to "kick out the infidels." He
never lost his vision to attain his primary goals which
were explicitly explained in his political poems. But
the circumstances made it difficult for him to worry about
anything other than the organizational and military needs
of the Daraawiish,
the effect of which will discussed below. His talented
capacity was to convert the Salahiya brotherhood into
a political movement thus fashioning the state on a strict
hierarchical and centralised organization.
Although Sayid
Maxamed carried on the struggle for two decades, why he
failed to mobilize all the Somali clans against the colonialists
is one concern. One view maintains that the compulsive
approach of the Daraawiish policies contradicted the tradition
of persuasion and convincing. Another school of thought
postulates the intolerance of the movement towards the
other Sufi orders. Whoever was not Salahiya was not recognised
as Daraawiish, and was labelled as a supporter of the
colonialists or infidels. This approach narrowed the idea
of the Daraawiish simple as a faction of Islamic society
in the country. This put the Salahiya in a constant struggle
with other religious orders such as the Qadiriya and Ahmadiya
in the country. This view concludes therefore, that Sayid
Maxamed's aim was more concerned with the Salahiya than
Islam itself.
He called his followers daraawiish (dervish) or
ikhwaan (brother) and distinguished them from
the clans who used to called themselves "Somalis."
His supporters attributed him three qualities that he
shared with the Prophet Maxamed: the name, Maxamed, the
age when he began his ministries; and the propensity to
urge the jihad (holy war).
Nevertheless,
one of the indisputable convictions is that the Sayid
was a national figure whose appeal aroused patriotic sentiments.
In his task to create a national movement transcending
clan divisions, he skilfully adopted his tactics to the
realities of Somali life by employing all traditional
devices of Somali politics: clan alliance, poetic crafts
and political marriage.
He appeared as a symbol of Somali resistance to colonialism
and inspired to create a state based on Somalism, therefore,
a pan-Somali idea.
Even the adherents of the Qadiriya order could not rally
openly against the Daraawiish for this could mean siding
with Christian colonisers and would greatly damage their
religious status. One of his qualities was that he never
gave up his ideals even in the worse situation. In fact
when the Daraawiish fled to Western Somaliland after their
defeat in February 1920 the British sent a delegation
asking him to surrender but he refused, adhering firmly
to his ideals.
The Daraawiish
State was fashioned on the model of the Salahiya fellowship
with a strict hierarchy and rigid centralization of a
religious order. The state polity was based on religious
ideology thus causing a radical departure from the clan
alliance politics.
Two qualities
seemed to help him to surmount the difficulties he faced
during the struggle: the religion that gave him legitimacy
of leadership and the mastery of political oratory, which
is the "vehicle of politics and the acquisition of
political power"
The religious power that he wielded was based on the principle
of fellowship
which Martin defines as follows: (1) The brotherhood believed
in the Prophet and his inspiration through the founder
of the order. This is explained the tawassul of
"Shay Lillaah Sheikh Maxamed Salah." (2) The
extension of power given to the leader was indisputable
and complete. (3) The dikri ceremonies, the mystic
chants, which bond the group and reciting together hymns,
part of the Koran and Islamic literature. (4) The spiritual
and emotional communion with Allah, the Prophet, and the
spiritual leader. These processes link the mystic
leader to his followers. (5) The brotherhood was voluntary
therefore the member dedicated to their cause. (6) The
order was organized into a collective spirit which facilitated
a means of hierarchical organization. (7) Lastly by adopting
the concepts of hijra and jihad as tactics,
the two strategies that the Prophet used in times of pressure
from the infidels.
Despite knowing
the need to develop the structure of his theocratic state,
the Sayid established the Daraawiish in personal quality.
This is the reason why the Sayid Maxamed was a contradictory
figure, and the same cause is believed to be the reason
behind the end of the Daraawiish movement after his death.
One of the other causes which led to the collapse of the
movement was that it was, by nature, a highly fluid national
movement. He failed to unite Somalis against the colonialists
because of the traditional Somali society which was too
widely dispersed to form a political unit, and also because
of the clannish rivalries.
To accomplish
his vows to fight the colonialists, he had to be a warrior
chieftain and pursue a career contrary to the traditional
Somali wadaad (holy man). As Sayid Maxamed founded
his movement under the Salahiya banner, an order new to
the Somali society, the puritanical Salahiya with the
strong personality of Sayid Maxamed created an atmosphere
of hostility towards the Qadiriya that was older and more
widely accepted among the Somalis and "it blended
well with the metamorphic social process in the Somali
territories."
Sayid Maxamed
himself claimed to have divine connection, and that he
was sent to expel the infidels who came to his country
to christianise the children. He required his followers
to address him as "Father Master" (Aabbe Sayidii).
This was a sign of hierarchical authority he sought to
impose on the traditional egalitarian society who addresses
one another as "ini-adeer" (cousin).
There is a Somali maxim that says, "Abandoning customary
conventions causes the curse of God."
The new state system that Sayid Maxamed imposed on the
pastoralist was resisted because of these beliefs. His
attempt to create such polity required a new style of
leadership contrary to what was known as traditional authoritarian
behaviour. His concept, which was alien to the pastoral
society, was an open confrontation with the Somali traditional
authority system. Soon a challenge of leadership between
Sayid Maxamed and Somali clan leaders followed. Many of
these clan leaders felt uneasy about the new style leadership
of the Sayid. Garaad Cali Garaad Maxamuud of the Bah-Ararsame
lineage of the Dhulbahante clan was one of the Somali
clan leaders whose people lived in part of the Nugaal
Valley,
and one of the clan leaders whose people where affected
by the new system. The conflict between Sayid Maxamed
and Garaad Cali was a reaction to the attempt of Sayid
to influence the Dhulbahante clans. The Sayid aimed to
have clan leaders loyal to his cause. Sometimes he undermined
the leadership of those who where not sympathetic to his
cause, such as that of the Habar Yoonis and Warsangeli.
Worth mentioning
is the episode that happened when Sayid Maxamed convinced
the young Maxamuud Cali Shire, the eldest son of the aged
Garaad Cali Shire of the Warsangeli clan, to take his
father's place as leader of the clan.
Maxamuud Cali Shire became a sympathizer of the Daraawiish
cause in early 1911 and during this time Sayid Maxamed
influenced Maxamuud Cali Shire to challenge his father's
leadership. When Maxamuud Cali Shire went back to his
relatives and demanded that he should replace his ailing
father, disarray was created within the Warsangeli. The
argument was settled by proposing that the young Maxamuud
Cali Shire should become Sultan of Warsangeli while his
father could remain Garaad.
But after a short time Sultan Maxamuud (later Garaad Maxamuud)
fell out with the Sayid and their relationship became
sour.
The reason
that Sayid Maxamed was such a controversial figure was
his indiscriminate raiding, seizing and plundering of
the property of the Somali clans he suspected were not
favourable to his cause. This behaviour poisoned his relations
with the Somali clans and crippled his movement as, consequently,
it alienated him from the clans who traditionally considered
all crime against an individual as a crime against the
clan to which the person belongs. Somalis believe the
individual does not exist outside the clan. In the clan
the individual enjoys a modicum of economic and political
security.
All these actions
were against the gist of the Daraawiish movement, it also
estranged him from other religious orders such as the
Qadiriya and Dandarawiya. The conflict stretched to such
an extreme that the Daraawiish killed a Qadiriya representative
in southern Somaliland, Sheekh Awees Biyooley (Sheikh
Uways bin Maxamed al-Baraawa) in Biyooley, southern Somaliland,
in 1909. The Daraawiish also razed a Qadiriya settlement
in Sheikh, a small town between Berbera and Bura-o in
British Somaliland. The Qadiriya was deeply rooted in
the country when Sayid Maxamed started in his struggle
1890s. Somalis believe that pious men are people that
must be respected and killing them is believed to be a
nefarious act. The unsympathetic pogrom of pious Muslims
was the most abominable offence in Islamic teaching.
The veteran Daraawiish Ismaaciil Mire believed that the
cause that led to the collapse of the movement was the
indiscriminate killing of holy men.
Sayid Maxamed
and his followers blamed the clans for the conflict and
they maintained that they were on the side of truth and
righteousness,
and those opposed them were supporters of the infidels,
therefore, infidels themselves. The opponents of the Daraawiish
accused their actions of being non-Muslim, therefore,
bid-ci (heretic).
Contracting
political alliances by marriages was one of Sayid Maxamed's
political devices. He asked for nearly all the clan leaders’
daughters or sisters as spouses. To accommodate his political
nuptials he had to divorce and marries continuously as
Islam allows a man to marry only four wives at a time.
This type of marital life frustrated his spouses until
one of them, Dhiimo, attempted to poison his food. After
this episode insecurity stalked him everywhere and consequently
secluded him from his advisers.
The logistical
need and other pressing need of huge standing troops require
continuous supply. To cope with these demands the Daraawiish
collected voluntary charity (siyaaro), which Muslims are
required to give to religious men. In the first few years'
donations appeared to flow without many problems but when
relations with clan’s soured supplies were cut. Then a
new decree was passed by the Daraawiish that said whoever
did not help the Daraawiish was not Muslim, must be killed
and his property confiscated. The seizing of property
seemed to have become one of the resources of the movement.
The announcement alarmed many clans and it created a situation
where clans were compelled to defend themselves and to
ask for help from the colonialist authorities.
In June 1890
a Daraawiish contingent raided the Ciida-gale lineage
of the Isaaq clan-family settlements in Gaaroodi, between
Oodweyne and Hargeysa in the Northwest region. In the
raid they looted two thousand camels. The incursion named
after a full moon night "Dayax-Weerar" had negative
effects on the Daraawiish movement as it was led by commander
Shariif Cabdullaahi Shariif Cumar. The Somali society
believes shariif to be pious people who are directly
descendent from the prophet Maxamed. People could not
expect such acts from pious men and it astonished them.
The policy of looting and plundering clans suspected of
not being in favour of the jihad created the impression
that what Sayid Maxamed intended was to institutionalise
"the devil's norms," thus contradicting his
cause.
He introduced
the law of talon within the Daraawiish. Whoever wronged
among the Daraawiish had to face the "you defied"
(waad xujowday) provision. This code of
rules was completely alien to the Somali practice of treating
crime according to clan context.
The inter-clan
adversary was another factor that weakened and handicapped
the Daraawiish movement as clans pulled out from the movement
if they detected that their rival clans had more chances
within the organisation. The Somalis see the individual
through his clan, therefore, Sayid Maxamed was seen as
an Ogaadeen sheikh and whatever he did they expected him
to be liable to his clan but this proved false, as his
organisation transcended clan interests. This was a complete
departure from the traditional alliances of clan politics.
For Somalis to comprehend such a social system was unimaginable.
What Sayid Maxamed was aiming at was beyond the comprehension
of clans then. They did not know who was liable for the
Sayid's mistakes since his enemies included his own Ogaadeen
relatives. The fighting between Sayid Maxamed and the
clans may be interpreted as a conflict between state and
clanism, in which the state was overwhelmed by the reality
of the social polity.
6 CONCLUSION
6.1
Daraawiish Nationalism and Modern Somali Nationalism
The Somalis
remained encompassed by the kinship system for centuries,
even at the advent of the formation of the Somali state.
The same manifestation has been seen in ancient societies
where they were deeply antagonistic to any strong inclination
of individualism.
Any one who behaves independently as an individual they
call "one who stands alone" (goonni u goosi).
This evidence still exists today. One thing seems clear,
the Somali stays Somali by pressing the drive towards
individualisation and what the Daraawiish demanded was
a state system where the individual depends on the state
and not the clan. This evolution needs time and conditions
where process of social change could take place and individualism
could breed.
Modern Somali
nationalism that springs from the very nature of their
culture and nurtured from a feeling of national consciousness
is also the result of the reawakening of the effect of
external influence such as the establishment of an alien
government, and the impact of the Second World War.
The feeling of national consciousness and rejection of
colonial domination correlates with Daraawiish nationalism.
However, where Daraawiish nationalism envisaged a state
fashioned on the model of Salahiya brotherhood with strict
hierarchical and rigid centralization of a religious order,
modern Somali nationalism conceived a unitary republic
with a representative democratic form of government. The
cohesive force that the Daraawiish state polity was based
upon was religious ideology whereas the modern Somali
state's ideology was based on Somalism, an ideology that
reflected the sharing of the people of common national
consciousness.
The politics
of the clan requires that nobody belongs to Somali society
unless he/she belongs to the descent structure therefore
the kinship group." In fact, the creation of an independent
Somali Republic on 1th July 1960 was only the beginning
of their struggle for national unity as the republic was
formed by those Somalis formerly ruled by Italian and
British colonial powers, thus excluding those Somalis
living in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti, who attained their sovereignty from
France in June 1977. The creation of the Republic was
not an ends itself but a means to attain the task of putting
all Somalis under a single state. This fact constituted "a dilemma
where Somalia remains a nation in search of a state." The concept of the 'unification of all
Somalis' became the crux of the hope of the Somali people.
References
Afrax, Maxamed D.; Culture and Catastrophe in Somalia:
The Search for a New Discourse, Paper presented at The
Somali Challenge: Peace, Resources and Reconstruction,
Geneva on 10-14 July 1992.
Andrezejewski B.W. and Lewis, I. M.; Somali Poetry:
an Introduction, (Oxford: University of Oxford, 1964).
Aw Jaamac Cumar Ciise, Taariikhdii Daraawiishta iyo
Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan, (1895-1921), Wasaaradda
Hiddaha iyo Tacliinta Sare, Akadeemiyaha Dhaqanka, Muqdishu,
1976.
Burton, Isabel; ed., First Footsteps in East Africa
by Captain Sir Richard F. Burton, (London: Tylston
and Edwards, (London: Tylston and Edwards, 1894), Vol.I.
Douglas, Jardine; The Mad Mullah of
Somaliland,
(London: Herbert Jarkins, 1932).
Hess, Robert L.; Italian Colonialism in
Somalia,
(Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1966).
Issa-Salwe, Abdisalam M.; The Collapse of The
Somali State: The Impact of The Colonial Legacy,
(London: Haan Associates, 1994).
Issa-Salwe, Abdisalam M; The Collapse of Somali National
State: the Colonial Factor, Paper presented at the conference
on Paix et Reconstruction en Somalie, Paris, 15-17
April 1993.
Letter dated on 20th August 1899 to Her Majesty Principal
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, by H.B.M. Consul
General of the Somali Coast Protectorate.
Lewis, I M.; A Modern History of Somalia: Nation and
State in the Horn of Africa, (London: Oxford University
Press, 1961).
Martin, Bradford G.; Muslim Politics and Resistance to
Colonial Rule: Shaykh Uways Bin Muhammed Al-Baraawi and
the Qadiriya Brotherhood in East Africa, Journal of
African History, 10,3 (1969).
Oliver, Roland; and Crowder, Michael; edit. The Cambridge
Encyclopedia, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1981).
Sagan, Eli; At the Dawn of Tyranny: The Origins of
Individualism, Political Oppression, and the State,
(London: Faber and Faber, 1985).
Samatar, Ahmed I. Socialist Somalia: Rhetoric and Reality,
(London Zed Books Ltd, 1988).
Samatar, Said S.; Oral Poetry and Somali Nationalism:
The Case of Sayyid Mahammad 'Abdille, (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1982).
Siciid Maxamed Guure, Field note, Iskushuban, (Bari region),
Somalia, March 1977.
Touval, Saadia; Somali Nationalism: International Politics
and the Drive for Unity in the Horn of Africa, (Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1963).
Trimingham, Spencer J.; Islam in
Ethiopia,
(Oxford: the Clarendon Press, 1952).
Notes
