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
![Ugaas Buux](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Ugaas_Buux.png)
The Gurgure are the majority in the
Erer
Erer is a town in central Ethiopia. Located in the Shinile Zone of the Somali Region, it is located 51km east of Shinile. It is the administrative center of Erer woreda.
Overview
Erer has had telephone service at least as early as 1967. Rec ...
district in the
Sitti Zone
Sitti Zone ( so, Gobolka Sitti), formerly known as Shinile, is a zone in Somali Region of Ethiopia.
Located at the northwestern point of the Somali Region and stretching across the savanna north of the Ahmar Mountains, Sitti is bordered on the ...
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
Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...
, all over
Somali Region
The Somali Region ( so, Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, ሱማሌ ክልል, Sumalē Kilil, ar, المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed (''Western Somalia'') and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state ...
of Ethiopia,
Harar
Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...
region,
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti 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 ...
,
Somaliland
Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...
,
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, the
Oromia Region
Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa.
It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...
and the
Afar Region
The Afar Region (; aa, Qafar Rakaakayak; am, አፋር ክልል), formerly known as Region 2, is a regional state in northeastern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Afar people. Its capital is the planned city of Semera, which lies on the paved ...
.
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
Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...
was originally called Diri Dhaba and used to be part of the
Sultanate of Ifat
The Sultanate of Ifat, known as Wafāt or Awfāt in Arabic texts, was a medieval Sunni Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century. It was formed in present-day Ethiopia around ea ...
and
Adal Sultanate
The Adal Sultanate, or the Adal Empire or the ʿAdal or the Bar Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling ''Adel Sultanate, ''Adal ''Sultanate'') () was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din ...
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
Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...
) who speak the
Oromo language
Oromo ( or ; Oromo: ''Afaan Oromoo''), in the linguistic literature of the early 20th century also called Galla (a name with a pejorative meaning and therefore rejected by the Oromo people), is an Afroasiatic language that belongs to the Cushiti ...
(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
Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...
, including traditional leaders, have identified themselves as Somali despite some saying Gurgure identify as either Somali or Oromo. Majority of them identify as
Somalis
The Somalis ( so, Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, ar, صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared ...
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
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sultan ...
or
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sultana ...
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 Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...
. 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
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...
today known as Erer hot springs in the Sitti Zone of
Somali Region
The Somali Region ( so, Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, ሱማሌ ክልል, Sumalē Kilil, ar, المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed (''Western Somalia'') and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state ...
. 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
The 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 s ...
) and Dahrot (
Darod
The Darod ( so, Daarood, ar, دارود) is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan was Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, more commonly known as ''Darood''. The clan primarily settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripherie ...
) as speaking Somali.
Gurgure Political Organization
The Gurgure fought for the Somalis rebels during the
Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991.
The Derg overthre ...
and supported the annexation of
Dire Dawa
Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...
, 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
Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...
.
*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
The Somali National Army ( Somali: ''Xooga Dalka Soomaaliyeed,'' lit. ''"Somali Ground Forces"'') is the ground forces component of the Somali Armed Forces, and is the largest out of the three service branches that make up the majority of the A ...
, Politician and prominent Gurgure leader well known by
Dire Dawa
Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...
residents and in
Somali Region
The Somali Region ( so, Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, ሱማሌ ክልል, Sumalē Kilil, ar, المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed (''Western Somalia'') and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state ...
.
*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