Marodi Jeh (, ), formerly known as Woqooyi Galbeed (lit. ''North West'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in western

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

. It is the most populous region of the country. It is bordered by

Awdal Awdal (, ) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in western Somaliland. It was separated from Woqooyi Galbeed and became a province in 1984 and is the most northwesterly province of Somaliland. To the e ...

to the west, Sahil to the north,

Togdheer Togdheer (, ) is an administrative region (''Administrative divisions of Somaliland, gobol'') in central Somaliland. Togdheer is bordered by Maroodi Jeex to the west, Sahil, Somaliland, Saaxil to the north, Sanaag to the northeast, Sool, Somalia ...

to the east and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

to the south. Marodi Jeh was created by splitting the previously existing region (gobolka).Regions of Somalia
/ref>

Etymology

The Marodi Jeh region (meaning "split elephant" in Somali) corresponds with the historical name of the Tog Maroodi Jeex, a seasonal river that flows through the region during the rainy season:

Hargeisa is situated on the Tug Marodijeh, the banks of which are well wooded, and as it can boast of an excellent climate all the year round, and is about half-way on the main route from Bulhar to Jig-jigga on the Abyssinian frontier, it is always likely to be of some importance to caravans. A large percentage of the trade from Ogadayn passes through it to Bulhar on the coast.

Before 2007 Maroodi Jeex was named Woqooyi Galbeed, a name which some international organisations like OCHA and FAO still refer to it as.

History

Formerly known as the Hargeisa District, it was one of six districts that made up the

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate (), was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Somali Coast and Ethiopian Empire, Abyssinia (Italian Ethiopia from 1936 ...

protectorate. In 1960, the then independent

State of Somaliland Somaliland, officially the State of Somaliland (), was an independent country in the territory of the present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland, which regards itself as its legal successor. It existed on the territory of former ...

merged with

Italian Somaliland Italian Somaliland (; ; ) was a protectorate and later colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day Somalia, which was ruled in the 19th century by the Sultanate of Hobyo and the Majeerteen Sultanate in the north, and by the Hiraab Imamate and ...

to form the

Somali Republic The Somali Republic (; ; ) was formed by the union of the Trust Territory of Somaliland (formerly Italian Somaliland) and the State of Somaliland (formerly British Somaliland). A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa Mohamud and Muhammad ...

. By 1964, the then Hargeisa District merged with the Borama district (now

) and the Berbera district (now Sahil) to form the Woqooyi Galbeed region (literally ''North West'', also known as Hargeisa region). Borama district (now

) was carved out of the western parts of Woqooyi Galbeed region in June 1984. When the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

broke out, the former British territory declared the revival of the pre-independent

. In 1991 Berbera district (now Sahil) was carved out of the northern parts of Woqooyi Galbeed region. In 2007 the region of Woqooyi Galbeed was renamed to Maroodi Jeh (Chapter 1, Article 2 3 ]).

Overview

Marodi Jeh is bordered by

to the south, the region of

to the west, and

to the east. Its capital is

Hargeisa Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

. It is known to be a very strategic region with rich farmlands and large ports. It also contains the town of Toon, the traditional seat of the

Isaaq Sultanate The Isaaq Sultanate (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , ) was a Muslims, Muslim sultanate that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. The kingdom spanned the territories of the Isaaq clan in modern-day Somaliland and Ethiopi ...

Demographics

According to the Somaliland Ministry of National Planning, Marodi Jeh had a population of 2.1 million in 2020. Marodi Jeh is inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the

Arap The Arap or Arab (, , Full Name: ''Muḥammad ibn ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad bin al-Ḥusayn al-Hāshimīy'') clan is a major Northern Somali clan of the wider Isaaq clan family. The Arap predominantly live on the middle and southwest side ...

, Ayub, Habr Garhajis,

Habr Awal The Habr Awal, alternately known as the Zubeyr Awal (, , Full Name: '' Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ash-Ishaaq bin Ahmed, Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad)'' is one of the largest subclans of the wider Isaaq clan family, and is further divided into eight su ...

and Habr Je’lo clans of the wider

Isaaq The Isaaq (, , ''Banu Ishaq'') is a major Somali clans, Somali clan. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend ...

clan-family.

Districts

Under the 2002 law, the Marodi Jeh region was divided into four major and six minor districts.See
TheSomaliland Region and Districts Law
Law No: 23/2002 as amended in 2007, article 6.1. # Hargeisa District (A) # Gabiley District (A) # Baligubadle District (C) # Salahlay District (C) # Faraweyne District (D) # Sabawanaag District (D) # Adadley District (D) # Daarasalaam District (D) # Allaybaday District (D) # Daar Buduq District (D) Under the 2019 law, the Marodi Jeh region was divided into four major and six minor districts. # Hargeisa District (A) # Gabiley District (A) # Baligubadle District (C) # Salahlay District (C) # Faraweyne District (D) # Sabawanaag District (D) # Adadley District (D) # Daarasalaam District (D) # Allaybaday District (D) # Bali-Matan District (D) # Laas Geel District (D) # Wajaale District (D) # Agabar District (D) # Ged-Baladh District (D) # Arabsiyo (D) # Dacarta District (D) # Gumburaha District (D) # Saylab-barri District (D) # Bali-cabane District (D)

Etymology

History

Overview

Demographics

Districts

Map

See also

References

External links