Gurgura People

The Gurgure, Gorgorah or Gurgura ( so, Gurgure, om, Gurgura, ar, غرغرة) is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.

Distribution

The Gurgure are the majority in the Erer district in the Sitti Zone and Dire Dawa. Gurgure are among the first people who lived around what is now the city of Dire Dawa with their Dir relative Issa. Today the Gurgure live in Dire Dawa, all over Somali Region of Ethiopia, Harar region, Djibouti, Somaliland, Somalia, the Oromia Region and the Afar Region.

The Gurgure are of the Madaxweyne Dir, making them directly related to the Gurre, Akisho and Gariire and other Dir. They also have lineal ties with other Dir subclans.

History

The city of Dire Dawa was originally called Diri Dhaba and used to be part of the Sultanate of Ifat and Adal Sultanate during the medieval times and was exclusively settled by Dir clan (Gurgure, Issa and Gadabuursi). After the weakening of Adal Sultanate, the Oromos took advantage and were able to penetrate through the city and settle the surrounding areas. Through marriage the Oromo assimilated some of the local Gurgure into their tribe.

Oromo political organizations sought to coerce the Gurgure, (whose identity was very contentious for the city of Dire Dawa) who speak the Oromo language (Oromiffa), to identify themselves as Oromo, though they belong to and identified as Dir Somalis. Oromo political organizations claimed that "the Gurgure people who speak the Oromo language belong to the Oromo nation and they only started to identify themselves with the Somali after the 1974 change of the Haile Selassie regime" though this is not true.

Many prominent Gurgure in Dire Dawa, including traditional leaders, have identified themselves as Somali despite some saying Gurgure identify as either Somali or Oromo. Majority of them identify as Somalis though there are assimilated ones who do identify themselves as Oromos.

The Gurgure are mentioned in the ''Futuh Al Habasha : Conquest of Abyssinia'' as source dating back as far as the 16th century, by author: ''Shihabudin Ahmad bin Abd al-Qadir 'Arab Faqih'' or Arab Faqih.'' It is recorded that the Gurgure were among the famous Somali spearmen led by their chief Garad Abdi who fought alongside Ahmed Gurey or Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi with thirty knights and one-thousand foot-soldiers .

Patrick Gilkes (2003) mentions the Gurgura as one of the clans that participated in the ''Futuh Al Habasha : Conquest of Abyssinia'':

In his book ''Across Widest Africa:'' ''An Account of the Country and People of Eastern, Central and Western Africa As Seen During a Twelve Months' Journey from Djibuti to Cape Verde, Volume 2,'' written in 1905'','' Arnold Henry Savage Landor describes the Gurgura as a Somali tribe that he encountered on his to Harar from Djibouti in and around Dire Dawa and back towards Abyssinia. The authors refers to the land between Dire Dawa and Harar as in Gurgura. The author says he met the Gurgura in great numbers with their spears, looking after sheep and camels. Landor describes the Gurgura possessing a skin of a deep chocolate colour, and divided them into two distinct types: one with wholly hair, or twisted into curls; the other not so common, with smooth hair, which is always left long and reaches the shoulders. Some grew a slight beard upon the cheeks and chin. The author goes on to say that they all had eyes the iris of which was of a deep brown, but that portion of the eye-ball which is white was dark yellowish tone.

Landor writes about making a camp near hot springs on his way to Abyssinia today known as Erer hot springs in the Sitti Zone of Somali Region. There he met the Hawiya, like the Gurgura, who speak somali, and some also understand the Galla ( Oromo) language. The author describes the Hawiya, Issa, Gurgura, Haberual (Habar Awal), the Ghedebursi (Gadabuursi) and Dahrot ( Darod) as speaking Somali.

Gurgure Political Organization

The Gurgure fought for the Somalis rebels during the Ethiopian Civil War and supported the annexation of Dire Dawa, they actively participated in the Issa and Gurgure Liberation Front and clashed with the Oromo Liberation Front on numerous occasions for control over Dire Dawa.

*Issa Gurgure Libration Front (IGLF) was active until 1991 it was led by an Issa Mr.Riyaale Ahmed
*Independent Gurgure Libration Front (GLF) was founded by Member of Parliament Abdi Aziz Gurgure who is former Ethiopian Ambassador to Ivory Coast.
*Horiyaal Democratic Party was a Gadaburis led political Party in Ethiopia with their Dir Issa and Gurgure, however; several attempts to unite the three with other Somali tribes didn’t fall through.

Clan tree

Gurgure are subdivided into seven major subtribes. Reer Kundhuble, Gufaatile, Sanceele, Sanaye, Nibidoor, Bicida, and Gacalwaaq. These are the seven well known and major sub groups that make Gurgure.

* Dir
* Madaxweyne
*Gurgura
1-Habar Daar
**Reer Kundhuble
***Cali
***Abdalle

2-Quwaxade
**Reer Gufaatile
**Reer Sanceele
**Reer Sanaye

3-Liban
**Nibidoor
**Bicida
**Haaji Gacalwaaq

Notable Gurgure People

*Ugaas Buux (52nd Ugaas of Gurgure and one of Dir Dhabah’s most notable figures)
*Ugaas Gadiid
*AbduWahab Sh. Abdiwali (former Colonel in the Somali National Army, Politician and prominent Gurgure leader well known by Dire Dawa residents and in Somali Region.
*Ugaas Siyad Dawud Cumar (54th Ugaas and current Gurgure Ugaas)
*Cabdiaziz Gurgure (former MP and Ethiopian Ambassador to Ivory Coast)

References

{{Somali clans

Somali clans in Ethiopia