DjiboutiDjibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area of . In antiquity, the territory, together with Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somaliland, was part of the Land of Punt. Nearby Zeila, now in Somaliland, was the seat of the medieval Adal and Ifat Sultanates.
GadabuursiThe Gadabuursi (Somali: Gadabuursi, Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as Samaroon (Arabic: قبيلة سَمَرُون), is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family. The Gadabuursi are geographically spread out across three countries: Ethiopia, Somaliland and Djibouti. Among all of the Gadabuursi inhabited regions of the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is the country where the majority of the clan reside. In Ethiopia, the Gadabuursi are mainly found in the Somali Region, but they also inhabit the Harar, Dire Dawa and Oromia regions.
Dir (clan)The Dir (Dir) is one of the largest and most prominent Somali clans in the Horn of Africa. They are also considered to be the oldest Somali stock to have inhabited the region. Its members inhabit Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia (Somali, Harar, Dire Dawa, Oromia and Afar regions), and northeastern Kenya (North Eastern Province). Like the great majority of Somali clans, the Dir trace their ancestry to Aqil ibn Abi Talib (580 – 670 or 683), a cousin of the prophet Muhammad (570 – 632) and an older brother of Ali ibn Abi Talib (600 – 661) and Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (590 – 629).
AwdalAwdal (Awdal, أودَل) is an administrative region (gobol) in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly province of Somaliland. To the east it borders Maroodi Jeex and Sahil; to its north-west it borders Djibouti; to its south and south-west lies Ethiopia; and the Gulf of Aden to its north. The province has an estimated population of 673,263. The region comprises the four districts of Borama, the regional capital, Baki, Lughaya, and Zeila.
SamaaleSamaale, also spelled Samali or Samale (Samaale) is traditionally considered to be the oldest common forefather of several major Somali clans and their respective sub-clans. His name is the source of the ethnonym Somali. As the purported ancestor of most pastoralist clans living in the northern part of Somalia, Samaale lies at the basis of the largest and most widespread Somali lineage (the second largest lineage belonging to Samaale's brother Sab, the purported progenitor of most southern, cultivating clans).
BimaalThe Bimaal or Bimal, is a sub-clan of the major Dir clan family. This clan is widely known for leading a resistance against the colonials in southern Somalia for decades which can be -in a little way- compared to the war of the Sayyid in Somaliland. The Biimaal mainly lives in southern Somalia, the Somali region of Ethiopia, which their Gaadsen sub-clan mainly inhabits and in the NEP region of Kenya. The Bimal are the dominant clan in Merca district of Lower Shabelle region and make up the majority in Jammaame district of Lower Jubba region.
IsaaqThe Isaaq (also Ishaak, Isaac) (Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, is an ethnic group in Somaliland. It is one of the major tribes in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territories. The Isaaq people claim descent from Sheikh Ishaaq bin Ahmed, an Islamic scholar who traveled to Somaliland in the 12th or 13th century and married into the local Dir clan. Somali genealogical tradition places the origin of the Isaaq tribe in the 12th or 13th century with the arrival of the Sheikh Ishaaq Bin Ahmed (Sheikh Ishaaq) from Arabia.
HawiyeThe Hawiye (Hawiye, بنو هوية, Hauija) is the largest Somali clan family. Members of this clan traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Ethiopia (Somali, Harar, Oromia and Afar regions) and Kenya (North Eastern Province, Eastern Province). They are also the majority in the capital city, Mogadishu. Like the great majority of Somali clans, the Hawiye trace their ancestry to Aqil ibn Abi Talib (580 – 670 or 683), a cousin of the prophet Muhammad (570 – 632) and an older brother of Ali ibn Abi Talib (600 – 661) and Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (590 – 629).
ZeilaZeila (Saylac, Zayla), also known as Zaila or Zayla, is a historical port town in the western Awdal region of Somaliland. In the Middle Ages, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela identified Zeila with the Biblical location of Havilah. Most modern scholars identify it with the site of Avalites mentioned in the 1st-century Greco-Roman travelogue the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea and in Ptolemy, although this is disputed. The town evolved into an early Islamic center with the arrival of Muslims shortly after the Hijrah.
Surre (clan)The Surre (Surre, سري), is a Somali clan, a sub clan of the major Somali Dir clan, The Surre inhabit in central and southern Somalia. And also can be found in Somaliland, Ethiopia and Kenya. The Surre have been associated with spreading the Islamic faith in Somalia and the Qadiriya Sufi tariiqa in central and southern Somalia. They left what is now Somaliland in approximately 1316 C.E. for central and southern Somalia.
