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Concept
Ajuran (clan)
Summary
The Ajuran (Somali: Ajuuraan, Beesha Ajuuraan, Morshe, Arabic: أجران) is a Somali clan, part of the Jambelle clan which itself belongs to the largest Somali clan-family — the Hawiye. Ajuran members largely inhabit Kenya as well as southern east Ethiopia; considerable numbers are also found in southern Somalia. Some Ajuran members settled in Mogadishu.
The Ajuran clan's origins are found in the Ajuran Sultanate, a Somali Muslim sultanate that ruled over large parts of the Horn of Africa in the Middle Ages. Today they largely live in Kenya, the North Eastern Province and the Somali region of Ethiopia, but also in Somalia. The Ajuran primarily speak the Somali language.
The Ajuran are said to be part of the Jambelle Hawiye but became displaced from modern Hawiye territories in the late 17th to early 18th centuries due to historical conflict particularly in South Central Somalia. Lee Cassanelli in his 1982 book "The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900" often refers to the Ajuran as former leaders of a Hawiye clan dynasty.
Antiquity
Many traditions link the Ajuran with a people known to the Somalis as Madanle (Maantiiinle. Madinle, etc.) who were celebrated well-diggers in southern Somalia and northeastern Kenya.
Ajuran Empire
The Ajuran clan established the Garen Dynasty that ruled both Mogadishu Sultanate and Ajuran Sultanate during the Middle Ages.
Early Modern Period
During the early modern period, the Garen Dynasty survived the collapse of the Ajuran Sultanate and in the 19th century under Sultan Olol Dinle he established and revived the Ajuran Sultanate once again. He had carved a new sultanate out of the upper reaches of the Webi Shabelle, centered at Kelafo, the traditional capital at the turn of the 20th century.
The Ajuran in Somalia normally speak standard Somali while those in the riverside communities of Hirshabelle speak Maay Maay. For the Ajuran of Kenya, the linguistic case is more complex.
Official source
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