Post by Noah on Sept 5, 2011 20:05:48 GMT -5
No brother, by the term "Southern Somalis" I was not referring to the Hawiye. As I wrote, though they are based in the south nowadays, the Hawiye are at their origin a noble Somali clan that migrated down from the Somali proper's original homeland in the northern part of the Horn of Africa. This is the geographical area that was referred to at the start of the Common Era as the Bilad al-Barbar or "Land of the Berbers", and which corresponds with the easternmost part of the more ancient Land of Punt.
It's true that some people (usually lay persons) suspect that the Hawiye are not originally of noble Somali descent. And they believe this because of the numerous individuals within the clan's ranks that have an unusually Negroid appearance in terms of facial features, hair texture, physique, etc., particularly within the Mogadishu-based Abgaal sub-clan. These observers thus feel that many Hawiye are not truly what is referred to as jileec or bilis in the Afro-Asiatic Somali language i.e. terms reserved for noble ethnic Somalis that essentially mean "non-Negroid" (jileec literally translating as "soft-haired"). Instead, these critics argue that many Hawiye are actually jareer ("hard-haired") or sometimes afrikan, both of which in common parlance are equivalents for "Negroid".
These suspicions, however, ultimately stem from ignorance of the Somali clan system and the Somalis' aforementioned migratory patterns. The fact is, the Hawiye have a very long history of slave-holding; probably more so than any other Somali clan besides the Rahanweyn/Sab. After slavery was legally abolished in Somalia in the 1920s, many of the Hawiye's former slaves attached themselves to various Hawiye clans as clients i.e. what Somalis refer to as shegad (meaning "pretender" for obvious reasons). So many of the so-called Negroid-looking modern "Hawiye" that one sees in their southern stronghold are not actually Hawiye at all, but simply descendants of attached Bantu client groups and individuals. This, in fact, is the situation with many other Somali clans and their own internal hierarchical caste systems, mainly in the south. Many of the latter client peoples actively suppress their own ancestors' former slave/serf status, and instead claim noble descent. This way they are better able to assure their own safety since noble clans pay blood money/diyya as a group if one of their clan members suffers a physical assault or injury of some sort; they also collectively protect/avenge their constituents in the event of attacks, wars, etc.. Despite often denying their own actual pedigree, the Bantu clients' ultimate non-Hamitic origins are still obvious from their Negroid appearance and acknowledged on a local level.
Note that these Bantu clients have also significantly influenced the local culture of the Abgaal Hawiye and certain other southern-based Somali clans. Many of the latter's constituents now practice distinctively Bantu customs such as "niiko" (a kind of traditional "booty-shaking") that are both entirely foreign to Hamitic Somali culture and actually looked down upon by the noble Somali pastoralist groups.
In short, although there is some overlap between the two main strands of Somali physical types discussed at length in previous posts, the actual ethnic Hawiye of noble Somali descent are indistinguishable from other Hamitic Somalis. People like the former Somali ambassador to Washington below.
It's true that some people (usually lay persons) suspect that the Hawiye are not originally of noble Somali descent. And they believe this because of the numerous individuals within the clan's ranks that have an unusually Negroid appearance in terms of facial features, hair texture, physique, etc., particularly within the Mogadishu-based Abgaal sub-clan. These observers thus feel that many Hawiye are not truly what is referred to as jileec or bilis in the Afro-Asiatic Somali language i.e. terms reserved for noble ethnic Somalis that essentially mean "non-Negroid" (jileec literally translating as "soft-haired"). Instead, these critics argue that many Hawiye are actually jareer ("hard-haired") or sometimes afrikan, both of which in common parlance are equivalents for "Negroid".
"While jareer literally denotes "rough" or "kinky" hair texture, it encompasses a complex of physical features, including bone structure, facial features, and body morphology[...] The descriptive term used for Somalis in opposition to jareer is jileec, which means "soft" (as in "soft-haired"), or, more commonly, bilis (which is the opposite of addoon)[...] Most significantly, the jareer category is equated with "African" -- and thus slave -- ancestry"
books.google.ca/books?id=2M_ZBpWcdOkC&pg=PA116#v=onepage&q&f=false
"The second, jereer is a more accurate group name, as it alludes to the one feature binding the Somali Bantu. It is now widely used by the Somali Bantu themselves, and carries no pejorative connotations; indeed, the name is employed with a certain sense of pride, perhaps because of its double meaning (suggesting both hardness of hair and hardness of the people themselves). Other group names for the Bantu/Jereer are employed by ethnic Somalis but are, in varying degrees, offensive. They include Oggi (from the Italian word for "today," implying people who think only for the moment); afrikan; Mushunguli (a misuse of one Bantu tribal name to depict the entire Somali Bantu people); and adoon, or "slave," clearly the most offensive term but one in common useage."
www.persee.fr/articleAsPDF/ethio_0066-2127_2003_num_19_1_1051/article_ethio_0066-2127_2003_num_19_1_1051.pdf
These suspicions, however, ultimately stem from ignorance of the Somali clan system and the Somalis' aforementioned migratory patterns. The fact is, the Hawiye have a very long history of slave-holding; probably more so than any other Somali clan besides the Rahanweyn/Sab. After slavery was legally abolished in Somalia in the 1920s, many of the Hawiye's former slaves attached themselves to various Hawiye clans as clients i.e. what Somalis refer to as shegad (meaning "pretender" for obvious reasons). So many of the so-called Negroid-looking modern "Hawiye" that one sees in their southern stronghold are not actually Hawiye at all, but simply descendants of attached Bantu client groups and individuals. This, in fact, is the situation with many other Somali clans and their own internal hierarchical caste systems, mainly in the south. Many of the latter client peoples actively suppress their own ancestors' former slave/serf status, and instead claim noble descent. This way they are better able to assure their own safety since noble clans pay blood money/diyya as a group if one of their clan members suffers a physical assault or injury of some sort; they also collectively protect/avenge their constituents in the event of attacks, wars, etc.. Despite often denying their own actual pedigree, the Bantu clients' ultimate non-Hamitic origins are still obvious from their Negroid appearance and acknowledged on a local level.
"A second category are Bantu clients of Somali clans, communities of Bantu farmers which have been adopted (shegad) into a Somali clan as a separate lineage. Most of the clans in the inter-riverine areas of southern Somalia feature a Bantu client lineage, and most Somali Bantu possess affiliation with a Somali clan."
www.persee.fr/articleAsPDF/ethio_0066-2127_2003_num_19_1_1051/article_ethio_0066-2127_2003_num_19_1_1051.pdf
"This institutionalized adoption of clients, which attaches strangers not to individual patrons but to groups and is extremely rare among the northern nomads (cf. Lewis 1961b) but very common among the southern cultivators, is crucial to any understanding of the differences in structure between the two Somali groups. Unlike their northern counterparts, the Digil and Rahanwin contain large numbers of adopted clients in various degrees of assimilation. Thus, in discussing the status of the members of their groups, both confederacies of clans draw a broad general distinction between those they call deh, or adventitious accretions, and those they call dalad, authentic lineal descendants. More specifically, three categories of local resident are usually recognized in terms of the formula: dalad iyo duhun iyo shegaad, authentic descendants, long-standing and assimilated clients, and recent client recruits."
books.google.ca/books?id=QPsNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA67#v=onepage&q&f=false
Note that these Bantu clients have also significantly influenced the local culture of the Abgaal Hawiye and certain other southern-based Somali clans. Many of the latter's constituents now practice distinctively Bantu customs such as "niiko" (a kind of traditional "booty-shaking") that are both entirely foreign to Hamitic Somali culture and actually looked down upon by the noble Somali pastoralist groups.
In short, although there is some overlap between the two main strands of Somali physical types discussed at length in previous posts, the actual ethnic Hawiye of noble Somali descent are indistinguishable from other Hamitic Somalis. People like the former Somali ambassador to Washington below.
