How the Daarood destroyed the Degoodi and Wardeey Cali who welcomed them
The Ogadens who were among the first Somali clans to have displaced the Wardeey from Jubaland came in two major waves. 4 The first wave commenced in the early l800s and was. characterised by slow penetration in which the search for grazing has been cited as the main reason behind the migration. At this stage the Ogaden were a small group that became sheegats (clientship) of the dominant Rahanwein clan who were settled in the upper reaches of the Juba river. The Rahanwein.a~e a by-product of the inter-marriage of the various Somali clans and the Wardeey . The Rahanwein, for this reason, speak a different dialect of Somali called ' Mai mai'. The second wave, starting 10 the mid 1830s, was composed of a larger group which numbered over four hundred fighting men who tried to evict the Rahanwein but could not do so after several bloody battles. 5 The Ogaden had to escape from them and cross to the west bank of the Juba river. They became sheegats to the Wardeey who lived here. While the Ogaden lived with the Wardeey from the 1840s to the 1 ~50:. ~ their numbers were being - continuously increased by new arrivals from Ogadenia and Mudugh region in what became -.:- Ethiopia and Somalia. After gaining numerical strength the Ogaden mercilessly fell upon their host and drove them from the west bank of the Juba river the by mid 1870s.6 The Ogaden threat was a long term one since it took them more than two decades to achieve dominance over the Wardeey in the Juba region.
The immediate threat to Wardeey of the Juba, however, came from other areas. The Bardera settlement under Sheikh Abiker along the Juba River, for one, continuously raided the Wardeey. Turton notes that the defeats suffered by the Wardei as a result of the Bardera settlement had 'seriously weakened them at a time when they were being harassed by a more tenacious enemy further west' . 7 Turton has further noted that the Wardei were wrongfully labeled as Gaalo Madow along with the Degodi whom the Ogaden expelled from Dolo Bay Dollo Ado and Murille Hawiye and the Garre.
The name Wardie which means 'look at') were continuously attacked by the Garreh and a host of other clans who lived in the north western parts of the Wardei country , to such an extent that by the mid-1840s 'the northern limits of the Wardei were generally represented as being somewhere to the south of Bardera and no further north than Dif'. The balance of power between the Wardei and the Ogaden who lived among them had been one of equal strength for a number of years 'and the stalemate on the Juba continued for a number of years'. 9 It is likely that the Ogaden were just waiting for an opportune moment to become independent of the Wardei whom they held in contempt.
1) The Wardeey Occupied El Waq to Mandera all the way to Borana land..
2) The Wardeey were weakened by small pox epidemic at the time.
3) The Wardeey were attacked by Borana, Ajuuran, and some Rahanweyn along with their treacherous Daarood host whom they gave protection as (Kablalah) but included Absame and Harti plus Sade Mareehan.
The treacherous Daarood Mercilessly Attacked their Wardai hosts who saved the from Rahanweyn.
This opportunity presented itself in 1865 when 'the Wardei were struck by a plague of smallpox which according to them, was hrought into Afmadu by the new Somali immigrants,.l1 As a result of this manifest weakening of the Wardei they were attacked on all fronts and it is no surprise that they could not defend themselves but had to tlee for their lives. According to Turnbull , 'the main contlict was in the east; and the actions fought at Afmadu, on the Deshek Wama, and at EI Lein are still- spoken of by the tribe' .12 The Ogaden and Daarood were at this point led by the grand old man of the Abd Wak, Abdi Ibrahim , the Sultan, while there were a number of ' invasion commanders 3 under him: Abd(Ibrahim was noted for his bravery and skill in war strategy which eventually led to the Ogaden dominance in the Jubaland. His remarkable leadership qualities are still remembered to this day by the Ogaden. Notable among his commanders were Magan Yussuf, the Sultan of the Mohamed Zubeirl Ogaden, and Hassan Be~jan of the Abdalla/Ogaden.
The Daarood, Rahanweyn of Bardheere Jamaca, and many others hostile to Wardai united and attacked from all fronts.
The Ogaden clan and there Daarood helpers were a united clan under the apt and recognised leadership of Abdi Ibrahim as the Sultan of all the component sub-clans. It was for convenience and safety that they remained united in the face of stiff opposition not only from the Wardei but also from other Hawiye clans on the left bank of the Juba. 14 A group of warriors numbering two to three hundred were at any given time on a raiding assignment to the Wardei and the latter though always prepared to defend themselves were no match for the determined and skilful Ogaden who believed they were waging a Jihad or a holy·war against what they viewed as the 'Galla madow' or 'the black infidels' .15
The Wardai, Gaaljecel, Awaramalleh, and Sheikhal who were defeated and people of Oromo clans were forcefully incorparated into the Daarood. Most of the Geergiir Galamadow (Gaaljecel, Awaramalleh and Hawiye tribes) were incorparated into Harti and many Wardai /Sheikhal became sheegat to Ogaden.
Having displaced the Wardei from the Juha region the Ogaden were no( co ntent to settle down but continued their southward expansion since the loot from the Wardei was an appetizing reason to continue their raids. The availahility of fresh pastures in the conquered lands coupled with the availability of surface water, especially after the rainy seasons around Afmadu and the Deshek Wama in the southern Juhaland, were other compelling factors that encouraged the Ogaden to continue their raiding forays into the Wardei country . As a result, the \yardei were being pushed south and westwards at the end of every rainy season.]6 Added to these incentives, there was also population pressure due to constant emigration from Ogadenia and the northern regions especially hy the Galti Ogaden and Galti Marehan .. 17 These new immigrants made it their practice to raid and to loot everything that carn.e their way especially as they had come from the north with no livestock of their 0~~ .]8 The Wardei were continuously impoverished after every raid as they never seemed to successfully repulse them while the Ogaden accumulated large herds of cattle. The Ogaden migration towards the Tana in the 1 860s and 1870s, was one of struggle to wrest control of the land from the Wardei ~ The Ogaden were firml y estahlished along the hanks of the Tana River by the 1870's, having virtually conquered and suhordinated the..Hawiye and Wardai to Daarood domination. According to Turnhull the attack of 1865 by the Daarood when the Wardei were weakened by plague was so unexpected and so violent that the Wardei were utterly lost their fighting will.
How The Ogadeen And Mareehan host of the Degoodi attacked and subjected the people whom welcomed them and forced many Degoodi to became (Sheegat or Flee) and seek refuge with the Garreh Dir clans of Mandera.
For example the Degodia migrated from Addo in what was to become the Ethiopian province of Bale to the NFD of the Kenya Colony in the 1910.The Degodia movement into Kenya was by slow penetration and infiltration. This migration was largely due to the rer Afgab of the Auliyahan sub-clan who were exerting pressure on the Degodia. After suffering a number of camel raids the Degodia opted to move to the sanctuary: of the British Protectorate that was being established on the fringe of their country in the 1900s.
The Degodia appear --to be most recent immigrants to the Northern Frontier District. They came to settle in Mandera and Wajir districts as recently as 1900 and later. 32 The Degodia migrated from a place in southern Ethiopia called Addo, as result of the inter-clan wars and the scarcity of pastures in that area. The Ogaden pressure in the southern Ogadenia and Bale regions of what was to become the Ethiopian Empire, especially the wars waged by the Rer Afgab Auliyahan and the Marehan, forced the Degodia to migrate to the Garreh country in the vicinity of Mandera of what was to become the Kenya Colony. 33 While in the Garreh country in Mandera area, they sought permission to graze their camels from the Garreh r - - Sultan, Shaba Alio, who allowed them to do so unsuspectingly. After two decades, the Degodia population increased considerably and their competition for both water and pastures led to constant conflicts with the Garreh. 34 Having attained numerical strength, the Degodia continually harassed and raided the Garreh, until the latter could not take any more. But the Garreh on their own could not challenge the Degodia clan in warfare.
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