Beesha Barsuug waa beelaha Direed ee dagan inta u dhexeysa Haraar ilaa magalada Jigjiga. Qoraaga weyn ee Richard Burton buugisa First Footstep ayuu ku xusayaa beesha Barsuug Dir iyo dagalada sadex geeska ay ku hayaan Barsuuga sedex beelood oo ku wareegsanaa Barsuuga.
Sidoo kale qarnigii 15 naad buuga Fatuhal xabash ayaa ku tilmaamay beesha Barsuug iney yihiin beelaha ugu waaweyn ee cidamadii Axmed Ibrahim Axamed Gurey ay ka mid ahyeen.
The Bursuuk or also written as Barsuk or Barsuq or Barsuug
(Somali: Barsuug, Arabic: برسوق
) is a clan belonging to the major Dir clan family. They largely live in
Ethiopia, in the Somali region, especially around the ancient city of Harar and
in between the city and Jigjiga.[1][2]
Richard Burton described the Bursuk as one of the Somalis of
the mountains who derive themselves from Dir. He explained in 1854 that they
were at war with 3 different clans or tribes, of which the Girhi, the Berteri
and the Gallas who are known today as Oromos.[3]
The Barsuuk are mentioned in the chronicle of Fatuuh Al Habash in the 15 century as one of the Somali Dir Clans who fought along side Ahmed Ibrahim Gurey. See: Futuh Al-Habasha: The Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh
Al-habasa) by Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin Abd al-Qader bin Salem bin Utman
(Author)
The Bursuk are a small Dir tribe to the east of Harar and are mainly cultivators. According to Burton, payment of blood-compensation is unknow amoungst them and fighting does not give rise to the interminable feuds. (1)
The Dir-Madaxweyne Akisho, along with the Gurgura, Issa and Gadabuursi subclans of the Dir represent the most native and indigenous Somali tribes in Harar.
The city Dire Dawa was originally called Dir Dhabe and used to be part of Adal Sultanate during the medieval times and was exclusively settled by Dir which is a major Somali tribe and after the weakening of Adal Sultanate, the Oromos took advantage and were able to penetrate through the city and settle into these areas and also assimilate some of the local Gurgura clan.
The Dir clan used to be the predominant inhabitants of Hararghe Highlands in the medieval times until the weakening of Adal Sultanate the opportunist Oromos took advantage of the crippling state and decided to invade and occupy the Haraghe Highlands and assimilate the local native Somali population which were Jarso, Akisho, Gurgura, Nole, Metta, Oborra and Bursuk who were all sub-clans of Dir a major Somali tribe and were later confederated into Oromo tribe, the Afran Qallo clan.
The Somalis, principally the Dir clan used to inhabit the Awash River. The Afars were mostly concentrated in the Red Sea and the Lake Abbe while Somalis during the medieval times inhabited Awash river which was back then called "Webiga Dir" named after its tribe. After the weakening of Adal Sultanate, the Somalis left Awash river and allowed Afars to settle in Awash river to serve as a buffer zone between the Somalis and Abyssinians.
1^ Lewis, I. M. (1998-01-01). Peoples of the Horn of Africa:
Somali, Afar and Saho. Red Sea Press. p. 26. ISBN 9781569021057.
2. ^ Division, Great Britain War Office Intelligence
(1941-01-01). A Handbook of Ethiopia. publisher not identified. p. 55.
3. ^ Burton, Sir Richard Francis; Speke, John Hanning;
Barker, William C. (1856-01-01). First Footsteps in East Africa: Or, An
Exploration of Harar. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 279.
4. Futuh Al-Habasha: The Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh Al-habasa) by Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin Abd al-Qader bin Salem bin Utman (Author)
