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Somali clan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ajuran (Somali: Ajuuraan, Beesha Ajuuraan, Morshe, Arabic: أجران) is a Somali clan, part of the Jambelle clan which itself belongs to the largest Somali clan-family — the Hawiye. Ajuran members largely inhabit Kenya as well as southern east Ethiopia; considerable numbers are also found in southern Somalia.[1][2] Some Ajuran members are settled in Mogadishu.[3][4]
The Ajuran clan's origins are found in the Ajuran Sultanate, a Somali Muslim sultanate that ruled over large parts of the Horn of Africa in the Middle Ages.[5][6][7] Today they largely live in the North Eastern Province in Kenya and the Somali region of Ethiopia, but also in Somalia. The Ajuran primarily speak the Somali language.[8]
The Ajuran are said to be part of the Jambelle Hawiye[9][10][11] but were displaced from modern Hawiye territories in the late 17th to early 18th centuries due to historical conflicts particularly in South Central Somalia.[9][12][13][14] Lee Cassanelli in his 1982 book "The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900" often refers to the Ajuran as former leaders of a Hawiye clan dynasty.[15]
Antiquity
Many traditions link the Ajuran with a people known to the Somalis as Madanle (Maantiiinle. Madinle, etc.) who were celebrated well-diggers in southern Somalia and northeastern Kenya.[16]
Ajuran Empire
The Ajuran clan established the Garen Dynasty that ruled both Mogadishu Sultanate and Ajuran Sultanate during the Middle Ages.[17]
Early Modern Period
During the early modern period, in the 19th century, under Sultan Olol Dinle, the Ajuran Sultanate was almost revived. Not long after would Olol Dinle be accused of conspiring with the Italians against the Ethiopian government. He was assassinated by Haile Salassie in 1960.[18][19]
The Ajuran in Somalia normally speak standard Somali while those in the riverside communities of Hirshabelle speak Maay Maay. As for the Ajuran in Kenya, the linguistic case is more complex. The Wallemugge section are often bilingual in Somali and Borana.[20][21] However most sources state that Somali is the dominant language in the North Eastern Province, so bilingual speakers are many among the Ajuran who live in Moyale where the Borana language is prevalent.[21][22]
This Clan Tree is based on "Identities on the Move: Clanship and Pastoralism in Northern Kenya" by Gunther Schlee.[8]
-Samaale
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