Borama

Borama (Somali: Boorama, Arabic: بورما) is the largest city of the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland.^[2] The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia.

Borama Boorama (Somali) بورما (Arabic)
City
A residential area in Borama
Flag Local council Seal of Borama
Borama Location of Borama Show map of Awdal Borama Borama (Somaliland) Show map of Somaliland
Coordinates: 9°56′9″N 43°11′3″E
Country	Somaliland
Region	Awdal
District	Borama District
Government
• Mayor	Mohamed Ahmed Warsame (Baradho)
Area
• Total	3,130 km2 (1,210 sq mi)
Elevation	1,433 m (4,701 ft)
Population
• Estimate  (2023)[1]	300,000
• Rank	3rd
• Density	191.0/km2 (495/sq mi)
Demonym	BOORAMAWI بورماوي
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Area code	+252
ISO 3166 code	SO-AW
Climate	BSh

During the Middle Ages, Borama was ruled by the Adal Sultanate. It later formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate in the first half of the 20th century.

According to a 2023 estimate the city had a population of 300,000,^[3] with the broader district having a population of 398,609 according to a UN 2014 population estimate.^[4][5][6][7] making it one of the largest cities inside Somaliland. It has been a leading example in community organizing, having been the first area in Somaliland to adopt a self-help scheme in the wake of the civil war.^[8]

History

Main articles: Adal Sultanate and Somali aristocratic and court titles

Qorgab Valley outside Borama

As with several nearby towns such as Amud, numerous archaeological finds have been discovered in the Borama area that point to an eventful past. The latter include ancient remains of tombs, houses and mosques, in addition to sherds of Oriental wares, particularly Chinese porcelain. The artefacts and structures date from various historical periods, ranging from the 12th through to the 18th centuries. Most, however, are from the 15th and 16th centuries, a time of great commercial activity in the region that is associated with the medieval Adal Sultanate.^[9]

Excavations in the late 1800s and early 1900s at over fourteen sites in the vicinity of Borama unearthed, among other things, coins identified as having been derived from Kait Bey, the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. Most of these finds were sent to the British Museum for preservation shortly after their discovery.^[10]

In the first half of the 20th century, Borama formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate. It was later given district status in 1925.

In 1933, Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur, a Qur'anic teacher and son of Borama's qadi (judge), devised a new orthography for transcribing the Afro-Asiatic Cushitic Somali language. A quite accurate phonetic writing system, this Borama script was principally used by Nuur, his circle of associates in the city and some of the merchants in control of trade in Zeila and Borama. Students of Sheikh Nuur were also trained in the use of this script. .^[11][12] The alphabet is also generally known as the Gadabuursi script.^[13]

In the post-independence period, Borama was administered as part of the official Awdal administrative region of Somalia. During the Ogaden War in the late 1970s, Borama was one of several northern cities aerially bombarded by Ethiopian forces.^[14]

Geography

Location and habitat

Borama countryside

Borama is situated in a mountainous and hilly area. It has green meadows and fields and represents a key focal point for wildlife. The town's unusual fertility and greenery in the largely arid countryside have attracted many faunas, such as gazelles, birds, and camels.

Climate

The prevailing climate in Borama is known as a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). The hottest month of the year is June, with an average temperature of 24.1 °C or 75.4 °F, whilst the coolest month is January, whose average temperature is 17.1 °C or 62.8 °F. The difference in rainfall between the driest month and the wettest month is 110 millimetres or 4.3 inches. The average temperatures vary during the year by 7 °C or 12.6 °F.^[15]

Climate data for Borama
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	24.6 (76.3)	25.4 (77.7)	27.5 (81.5)	27.8 (82.0)	29.3 (84.7)	30.0 (86.0)	28.8 (83.8)	28.8 (83.8)	29.0 (84.2)	27.4 (81.3)	25.8 (78.4)	24.4 (75.9)	27.4 (81.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	9.7 (49.5)	11.7 (53.1)	13.8 (56.8)	15.7 (60.3)	17.0 (62.6)	18.3 (64.9)	17.8 (64.0)	17.6 (63.7)	17.3 (63.1)	13.7 (56.7)	11.3 (52.3)	10.4 (50.7)	14.5 (58.1)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	6 (0.2)	21 (0.8)	36 (1.4)	86 (3.4)	61 (2.4)	32 (1.3)	78 (3.1)	112 (4.4)	86 (3.4)	18 (0.7)	10 (0.4)	2 (0.1)	548 (21.6)
Source: Climate-Data.org,[15] altitude: 1,454 metres or 4,770 feet[16]

Demographics

The Awdal Region in which the city is situated is mainly inhabited by the Gadabuursi subclan of the Dir who are especially well represented and considered the predominant clan of the region.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}

Federico Battera (2005) states about the Awdal Region:

"Awdal is mainly inhabited by the Gadabuursi confederation of clans."^[26]

A UN report published by Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (1999), states concerning Awdal:

"The Gadabuursi clan dominates Awdal region. As a result, regional politics in Awdal is almost synonymous with Gadabuursi internal clan affairs."^[20]

Roland Marchal (1997) states that numerically, the Gadabuursi are the predominant inhabitants of the Awdal Region:

"The Gadabuursi's numerical predominance in Awdal virtually ensures that Gadabuursi interests drive the politics of the region."^[27]

Marleen Renders and Ulf Terlinden (2010) both state that the Gadabuursi almost exclusively inhabit the Awdal Region:

"Awdal in western Somaliland is situated between Djibouti, Ethiopia, and the Issaq-populated mainland of Somaliland. It is primarily inhabited by the three sub-clans of the Gadabursi clan, whose traditional institutions survived the colonial period, Somali statehood and the war in good shape, remaining functionally intact and highly relevant to public security."^[28]

There is also a sizeable minority of the Issa subclan of the Dir who mainly inhabit the Zeila district.^[29]

Education

Amoud University

Annalena Deaf School - Borama

Currently, there are 52 primary and secondary schools in Borama.^{[citation needed]} These schools can be divided into three main categories: public primary and secondary schools, private primary and secondary schools and Religious schools.

Total number of students in Borama is 15,314.^[30]

Transportation

Borama

For air transportation, Borama is served by the Borama International Airport.^[31] It is the only airport in the Awdal region. The facility was named in honor of Aden Isaq Ahmed, Somalia's first Minister of Education. The airport is not in use; however, there are plans to rejuvenate it.^[32]

Notable residents

• Sheikh Abdurahman Sh. Nur - Inventor of the Gadabuursi Somali Script
• Yussur A.F. Abrar – former Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia
• Hassan Sheikh Mumin - Somali poet, playwright, broadcaster, actor and composer.
• Suleiman Ahmed Guleid - President Of Amoud University
• Sh. Abdillahi Sh. Ali Jawhar - Son of Sh. Ali Jawhar and religious leader

See also

• Baki District
• Zeila
• Lughaya
• Dilla

• Somaliland portal

Notes

1. "SDF funded Borama Water Supply Expansion Project Commissioned".
2. "Somalia City & Town Population" (PDF). FAO. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
3. "SDF funded Borama Water Supply Expansion Project Commissioned".
4. "Regions, districts, and their populations: Somalia 2005 (draft)" (PDF). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. United Nations Development Programme. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
5. "Boorama (District, Somalia) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location".
6. Solar Eclipses 2024–2027: Where and When to Experience Totality. Bradt Travel Guides. 13 March 2023. ISBN 978-1-80469-162-5.
7. "Utilization pattern of antenatal care and determining factors among reproductive-age women in Borama, Somaliland".
8. Borama Local Council, p.10.
9. Bernard Samuel Myers, ed., Encyclopedia of World Art, Volume 13, (McGraw-Hill: 1959), p.xcii.
10. Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain), The Geographical Journal, Volume 87, (Royal Geographical Society: 1936), p.301.
11. David D. Laitin, Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience, (University Of Chicago Press: 1977), pp.86-87.
12. Abdi Ismail Samatar (2001), Borama History and the Gadabuursi script, Bildhaan Studies Macalaster College, Vol. 1, pp. 115-116
13. "Somali alphabets, pronunciation and language". Omniglot. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
14. Mohamoud, Abdulkadir. "The Night SNM Fighters came to Hargeisa". Warheernews. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
15. "Climate: Borama – Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
16. "Land Resources Assessment of Somalia" (PDF). Somalia Water and Land Information Management Project. June 2009. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
17. Ambroso, G (2002). Pastoral society and transnational refugees:population movements in Somaliland and eastern Ethiopia 1988 - 2000 (PDF). p. 5. Main sub-clan(s) Habr Awal, Region(s): Waqooyi Galbeed, Main districts: Gabiley, Hargeisa, Berbera. Main sub-clan(s) Gadabursi, Region(s): Awdal, Main districts: Borama, Baki, part. Gabiley, Zeila, Lughaya.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link).
18. Samatar, Abdi I. (4 November 2008). "Somali Reconstruction and Local Initiative: Amoud University". Bildhaan. 1 (1): 132. Samaroon or Gadabursi is the clan name for the majority of people of Awdal origin.
19. Battera, Federico (2005). "Chapter 9: The Collapse of the State and the Resurgence of Customary Law in Northern Somalia". Shattering Tradition: Custom, Law and the Individual in the Muslim Mediterranean. Walter Dostal, Wolfgang Kraus (ed.). London: I.B. Taurus. p. 296. ISBN 1-85043-634-7. Retrieved 18 March 2010. Awdal is mainly inhabited by the Gadabuursi confederation of clans. The Gadaabursi are concentrated in Awdal.
20. UN (1999) Somaliland: Update to SML26165.E of 14 February 1997 on the situation in Zeila, including who is controlling it, whether there is fighting in the area, and whether refugees are returning. "Gadabuursi clan dominates Awdal region. As a result, regional politics in Awdal is almost synonymous with Gadabuursi internal clan affairs." p. 5.
21. Renders, Marleen; Terlinden, Ulf. "Chapter 9: Negotiating Statehood in a Hybrid Political Order: The Case of Somaliland". In Tobias Hagmann; Didier Péclard (eds.). Negotiating Statehood: Dynamics of Power and Domination in Africa (PDF). p. 191. Retrieved 2012-01-21. Awdal in western Somaliland is situated between Djibouti, Ethiopia and the Issaq-populated mainland of Somaliland. It is primarily inhabited by the three sub-clans of the Gadabursi clan, whose traditional institutions survived the colonial period, Somali statehood and the war in good shape, remaining functionally intact and highly relevant to public security.
22. Jörg, J (2001). What are Somalia's Development Perspectives?. Verlag Hans Schiler. p. 132. ISBN 978-3-86093-230-8. Awdal region , populated by Dir clans : the Gadabursi and ` Cisa , is credited as being the most stable region in Somaliland . This is mainly due to peacekeeping efforts on the part of the Gadabursi clan who dominate this region.
23. Countries That Aren't Really Countries. p. 22. The Isaaq are concentrated primarily in the regions of Maroodi Jeex, Sanaag, Gabiley, Togdheer and Saaxil. The Gadabuursi inhabit the west, pre-dominantly in Awdal, the Zeila district of Salal and parts of Gabiley.
24. Bruchhaus, E. M, Sommer, M. M. (2008). Hot Spot Horn of Africa Revisited (2008). p. 54. ISBN 978-3-8258-1314-7. Next to the three sub-clans of the Gadabursi, a small minority of Ciisse inhabits Awdal.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
25. Deutsches Institut für Afrika-Forschung (2008). Afrika Spectrum Volume 43. p. 77. Gadabursi being the major descent group in the Awdal region.
26. Battera, Federico (2005). "Chapter 9: The Collapse of the State and the Resurgence of Customary Law in Northern Somalia". Shattering Tradition: Custom, Law and the Individual in the Muslim Mediterranean. Walter Dostal, Wolfgang Kraus (ed.). London: I.B. Taurus. p. 296. ISBN 1-85043-634-7. Retrieved 2010-03-18. Awdal is mainly inhabited by the Gadabuursi confederation of clans.
27. Marchal, Roland (1997). "United Nations Development Office for Somalia: Studies on Governance: Awdal Region". The Gadabuursi's numerical predominance in Awdal virtually ensures that Gadabuursi interests drive the politics of the region.
28. Renders, Marleen; Terlinden, Ulf. "Chapter 9: Negotiating Statehood in a Hybrid Political Order: The Case of Somaliland". In Tobias Hagmann; Didier Péclard (eds.). Negotiating Statehood: Dynamics of Power and Domination in Africa (PDF). p. 191. Retrieved 2012-01-21. Awdal in western Somaliland is situated between Djibouti, Ethiopia and the Issaq-populated mainland of Somaliland. It is primarily inhabited by the three sub-clans of the Gadabursi clan, whose traditional institutions survived the colonial period, Somali statehood and the war in good shape, remaining functionally intact and highly relevant to public security.
29. Janzen, J.; von Vitzthum, S.; Somali Studies International Association (2001). What are Somalia's Development Perspectives?: Science Between Resignation and Hope? : Proceedings of the 6th SSIA Congress, Berlin 6-9 December 1996. Proceedings of the ... SSIA-Congress. Das Arabische Buch. p. 132. ISBN 978-3-86093-230-8. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
30. "2011/2 Primary School Census Statistics Yearbook" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
31. "Borama International Airport". Altius Directory. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
32. "Minister of Aviation pledges to rejuvenate Borama airport | SOMALILANDINFORMER". Archived from the original on 2015-04-03. Retrieved 2015-01-05.

References

• Borama Local Council. Economic and Project Management Committee (2003). The Statistical Abstract of Borama Municipality: Borama, Regional Capital of Awdal (PDF). Borama Local Council.
• Somali reconstruction and Local Initiative: Amoud University. Published in World Development (2001).