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SOMALILAND
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SOMALILAND , a See also:country of See also:East See also:Africa, so named from its Somali inhabitants. It is also known as the " Eastern See also:Horn of Africa," because it projects somewhat sharply eastwards into the See also:Indian Ocean, and is the only See also:section of the See also:continent which can be spoken of as a See also:peninsula. In See also:general outline it is an irregular triangle, with See also:apex at Cape Guardafui. From the apex the See also:north See also:side extends over 600 m. along the See also:south See also:shore of the Gulf of See also:Aden westwards to Tajura See also:Bay, and the east side skirts the Indian Ocean south-See also:west for over moo m. to the mouth of the See also:Juba. Somali also inhabit the See also:coast region and considerable areas inland, as far south as the See also:Tana See also:river. The country between the Tana and Juba See also:rivers now forms See also:part of See also:British East Africa (q.v.), and in this See also:article is not included in Somaliland. Inland the limits of Somaliland correspond roughly with the Shoan and See also:Harrar Hills, and the Galla See also:district south of See also:Shoa and east of See also:Lake See also:Rudolf. The 40° east may be taken as the western limit of Somali settlements. The triangular space thus roughly outlined has a See also:total See also:area of about 356,000 sq. m. The See also:population is estimated at about t,roo,000, but no trustworthy data are available. It is partitioned between See also:Great See also:Britain, See also:Italy, See also:France, and See also:Abyssinia as under: Area in sq. m. Population. British Somaliland . 68,000 300,000 See also:French Somaliland . 12,000 50,000 See also:Italian Somaliland . 146,000 400,000 Abyssinian Somaliland r. . 130,000 350,000 Total . . . . 356,000 I , See also:I00,000 Somaliland was not generally adopted as the name of the country until the See also:early years of the 19th See also:century. The See also:northern and central districts were previously known as Adel, the north-east coast as Ajan. By the ancients the country was called regio romataica, from the abundance of aromatic See also:plants which it produced. See also:Physical Features.—The whole region is characterized by a remarkable degree of physical uniformity, and may be broadly described as a vast See also:plateau of an See also:average See also:elevation of 3000 ft., bounded westwards by the Ethiopian and Galla See also:highlands and northwards by an inner and an See also:outer coast range, skirting the south side of the Gulf of Aden in its entire length from the Harrar uplands to Cape Guardafui. The plateau, known as the Ogaden plateau, everywhere presents the same monotonous aspect of a boundless See also:steppe clothed with a scanty vegetation of scrubby plants and herbaceous growths. The incline is uniformly to the south-east, and apart from the few coast streams that reach the Gulf of Aden during the rains, all the See also:running See also:waters are collected in three rivers—the Nogal in the north, the Webi Shebeli in the centre, and the Juba (q.v.) i See also ABYSSINIA.in the south—which have a parallel south-easterly direction towards the Indian Ocean. But so slight is the precipitation that the Juba alone has a permanent See also:discharge seawards. The Nogal sends down a turbulent stream during the freshets, while the Shebeli, notwithstanding the far greater extent of its See also:basin, does not reach the See also:sea. At a distance of about 12 M. from the coast it is intercepted by a lone See also:line of See also:dunes, which it fails to See also:pierce and is thus deflected southwards, flowing in this direction for nearly 170 m. parallel with the coast, and then disappearing in a swampy depression (the See also:Bali marshes) before reaching the Juba See also:estuary.'
See also:Geology.—The Somaliland plateau is chiefly composed of See also:gneiss and schist. In the north the plateau is overlain by red and See also:purple unfossiliferous sandstones, capped near its edge by a cherty See also:lime-See also: In See also:con-sequence of the elevation of .the plateau and the dryness of the See also:air, the heat is less oppressive than is indicated by the temperatures recorded. See also:Malaria prevails in the valley of the Webi Shebeli. See also:Flora.—The highlands, which in an almost continuous line See also:traverse East Africa, have to a great extent isolated the flora of Somaliland in spite of the general resemblance of its climate and See also:soil to the country on the western side of the See also:band of high ground. In the northern mountainous regions of Somaliland the flora resembles, however, to some extent, that of the Galla country and Abyssinia. On the plateau many forms See also:common elsewhere in East Africa, such as the Borassus See also:palm and the See also:baobab See also:tree, are missing. The greater part of the country is covered either with tall coarse See also:grasses (these open plains being called See also:ban), or more commonly with thick See also:thorn-See also:bush or See also:jungle, among which rise occasional isolated. trees. The prevalent bush plants are See also:khansa (See also:umbrella See also:mimosa), acacias, aloes, and, especially, Boswellia and Commiphora, which yield highly fragrant resins and balsams, such as See also:myrrh, See also:frankincense (olibanum) and " See also:balm of See also:Gilead." The billeil is a thorn-bush growing about to ft. high and covered with small curved hooks of great strength. The bush contains also numerous creepers, one of the most common being known as the armo. It is a vivid See also:green and has large, fleshy, See also:heart-shaped leaves. Of the thorns, the guda and the See also:wadi often grow from 30 to 50 ft. high and have large See also:flat-topped branches. In places there are forests of these trees. On the See also:summit of the Golis range the cedars See also:form forests. Among the larger trees are the See also:mountain See also:cedar, reaching to too ft.; the gob, which bears edible berries in See also:appearance something like the See also:cherry with the See also:taste of an See also:apple, grows to some 8o ft., and is found fringing the river beds; the hassadan, a See also:kind of See also:euphorbia, attaining a height of about 70 ft.; and the darei, a fig tree. There are patches of dense reeds, reaching to ft. high, and thickets of See also:tamarisk along the river beds, and on either side the jungle is high and more luxuriant than on the open plateau. Of herbaceous plants the kissenia, the See also:sole representative of the See also:order Loasaceae, which is common in See also:America but very rare elsewhere, is found in Somaliland, which also possesses forms belonging to the eastern Mediterranean flora.
See also:Fauna.—Somaliland is See also:rich in the larger See also:wild animals. Among them are the See also:lion (Somali name libah) and See also:elephant, though these have been to a large extent driven from the northern coast districts; the See also:black or See also:double-horned See also:rhinoceros, common in central Ogaden; leopards, abundant in many districts, and daring—they have given their name to the Webi Shebeli (" River of the Leopards "); panthers; spotted and striped hyenas (the latter rare); foxes, jackals, badgers and wild See also:dogs; giraffes and a great variety of antelopes. The antelopes include the beisa See also:oryx, fairly common and widely distributed; the greater and lesser See also:kudu (the greater kudu is not found on the Ogaden plateau) ; the Somali See also:hartebeest (Bubalis Swaynei), found only in the Haud and Ogo districts; See also:waterbuck, rare except along the Webi Shebeli and the Nogal ; the See also:dol or Somali See also:bushbuck; the dibatag or See also: Birds of See also:prey are numerous and include eagles, vultures, kites, ravens and the carrion See also:stork. Among See also:game birds are three varieties of See also:bustard, See also:guinea See also:fowl, partridges, See also:sand See also:grouse and wild geese. See also:Snakes are common, an See also:adder, a variegated rock snake and a
See also:Hadramut with See also:forty followers about the 13th century. Other traditions trace their origin to the Himyaritic chiefs Sanhaj and Samamah, said to have been coeval with a See also: (Dermo).t ~ del d'Agoa a Eno,: Eago Rrdge d S t y 1 w` Gm Ovr p'r q ~~ • i c` i f I Xo Daratol ~ e ri $s I J.Darag alt. R u.5g a I t rOm ,, 0 g Walwal d "°• M u d u <r f v , - ~F / °•,j nhi aunt.. „^^~~aladi 6alkay k) ,.~ J - ~~ ur\ °u h'3 ! l t\` a ' - o c ',.'. (Y Gorobube`~y 4, „¢' -~ tr 4,, riey T. •. l J Sehc t X: C. Carad .”, ~•'j i• p Gedogubi ) • )K' fa,Karanlet d t.•' y ,.:,~L a C.Awad •. r 1'e. r t Iiilswen-a •\~ ;- :.~ ~`~ as Awat J - •~~:! f' I ~J Getedi ter:- ~e h.:~ rp t ~•ii .~-~ „y 6!1 Ba '\~ 77 _ /_ .~•~ andlebo-'i CT,~ On '' J.1~:`WaanOfakp4P lasan° C~~ tri -:i.. r r-. L i b a n e t_/ a uBodle a .. wa, r ;'••\~ `i c~ t<<~\r A e i. .. aaRns See also:Mond \ 1 'V BlUlgkras l~ El nk» El Ch Ilak Oi f ~• oQ ^'l ! - n.• J .uJ~~\ Dolo "'\-\1"\,\«~~\\~~``~~'\"\ r ° a ~,. '~, I • N;.. •,:' Mereg 's• t Lugft •~M ulimad co Rm R I T I S H See also:Wale,. °•,, oHakarra •( ,See also:fir -' 6Caulo \ tiJ Manlle t O B \` •Lehel: Ma rdero -a e6 f y P ~+ o El Wak ,• " 'dli • Itala (EI Adhate) OOa ro bi ' Co!rtnq Sala_lq••• i s Kulmis Garas Oma r araweino Ras Malable ardera4-1 ?~ ~• \ ' Dakaah Birri Ballad L A haka '\,.~. =~ b¢ o ukdishu arsheik ~•/ 5r~ -R—A--S uasur Q ezirat T =' 2• •__ YakaJilu le Gorse° A Marks •'.• Munguya [See also:Orion • • : ~'~ Swamp - Torre SOMALILAND ~•k'"'° ~rtr I •,~ ~•`•'-. Mfudo •~~t.di~o- •°~~rahanl Bra"a °akdeia• -• o~~ -Fue i, Kaskera See also:English See also:Miles zoo Afmadu ; t WO9, J,e1tD le I i 4ab; . - ~ •° F o 20 40 6o 8o too ii Deshek :Wnma l/ See also:Equator r See also:Rail°ags.: t+—...~ _ " See also:Lang-See also:auk East 46°of See also:Greenwich E 48° F so° G Ernerr Walkrr.o are See also:series of Arab immigrations, the last two of which are referred to the 13th and 15th centuries. But these intruders seem to have ftenpover been successively absorbed in the Somali stock; and the See also:Arabs never succeeded in establishing permanent communities in this region. Their See also:influence has been very slight even on the tubers are Somali See also:language, whose structure and vocabulary are essentially 1 and the Hamitic, with marked See also:affinities to the Galla on the one See also:hand a. They and to the Dankali (Afar) on the other. The See also:present Somali peoples are possessed of no general type. however, They are not pure Hamites, and their physical characteristics vary considerably, showing signs of interbreeding with Galla, sled from Afar, Arabs, Abyssinians, Bantus and Negroes. They are a 3 4 6 5 4 a rt 42 40 istnayu 44 black snake called muss being those most dreaded. Mosquitoes rarely troublesome; gadflies, and a large spider (hangey spins a See also:web resembling See also:golden See also:silk, are common, as are and centipedes. Termites See also:rear See also:sharp pointed " hills," o 20 ft. high. A See also:species of See also:lizard grows nearly 4 ft. See also:long.
Inhabitants.—The Somali belong to the Eastern Hamitic See also:family of tribes, of which the other See also:chief me the neighbouring Galla and Afar, the Abyssinian Agau See also:Beja tribes between the Nubian See also:Nile and the Red Se have been identified with the See also:people of See also:Punt, who we to the Egyptians of the early dynasties. The Somali,
declare themselves to be of Arab origin, alleging their progenitor to have been a certain Sherif Ishak b. Ahmad, who cro
(Ethiopic) were known
u), which
See also:race of magnificent physique, tall, active and robust, with fairly See also:regular features, but showing Negro See also:blood in their frequently black complexion and still more in their kinky and even woolly See also:hair. Their See also:colour varies from the Arab See also:hue to black, and curiously enough the most regular features are to be found among the darkest See also:groups.
There are four classes in Somaliland: (r) nomads who breed ponies, See also:sheep, See also:cattle and camels, live entirely on See also:milk and See also:meat, and follow the rains in See also:search of grass; (2) settled Somali, comparatively few, living in or near the coasts; (3) outcast races, not organized in tribes but living scattered all over Somaliland; they are hunters, workers in See also:iron and See also:leather, and the chief collectors of See also:gum and See also:resin; (4) traders. The See also:national See also:dress is the " tobe," a See also:simple See also:cotton See also:sheet of two breadths sewn together, about 15 ft. long. Generally it is thrown over one or both shoulders, a turn given See also:round the See also:waist, and allowed to fall to the ankles. The " tobes " are of all See also:colours from See also: The Somali are a fighting race and all go armed with See also:spear, See also:shield and See also:short See also:sword (and guns when they can get them). During the rains incessant intertribal lootings of cattle take See also:place. Among certain tribes those who have killed a See also:man have the right to wear an See also:ostrich-See also:feather in their hair. They are geat talkers, keenly sensitive to ridicule, and See also:quick-tempered. Women hold a degraded position among the Somali (wives being often looted with sheep), doing most of the hard See also:work. The Somali love display; they are inordinately vain and avaricious; but they make loyal and trustworthy soldiers and are generally See also:bright and intelligent. The Somali have very little See also:political or social cohesion, and are divided into a multiplicity of rers or fakidas (tribes, clans). Three See also:main divisions, however, have been clearly determined, and these are important both on political and ethnical grounds. I. The HASHIYA (Abud's Asha), with two great subdivisions: Daroda, with the powerful Mijertins, See also:War-Sangeli, Dolbohanti and others; and Ishak, including the Gadibursi, Issa (Aissa), Habr-Wal, Habr-Tol, Habr-Yuni, Babibli, Bertiri. All these claim descent from a member of the Hashim branch of the Koreish (See also:Mahomet's tribe), who founded a powerful See also:state in the See also:Zaila district. All are See also:Sunnites, and, although still speaking their Somali national See also:tongue, betray a large infusion of Arab blood in their See also:oval See also:face, somewhat light skin, and remarkably regular features. Their domain comprises the whole of British Somaliland, and probably most of Italian Somaliland. II. The HAWTYA, with numerous sub-groups, such as the Habr- Jalet, Habr-Gader, Rer-Dollol, Daji, Karanle, Badbadan, Kunli, ajimal and Ugass-Elmi; mostly fanatical Mahommedans forming the powerful Tarika See also:sect, whose influence is See also:felt throughout all the central and eastern parts of Somaliland. The Hawiya domain comprises the Ogaden plateau and the region generally between the Nogal and Webi-Shebeli rivers. Here contact has been chiefly with the eastern Galla tribes. Of the outcast races the best known are the Midgan, Yebir, and Tomal. The Midgan, who are of slightly shorter stature than the average Somali, are the most numerous of these peoples. They are great hunters and use small poisoned arrows to bring down their game. The Yebir are noted for their leather work, and the Tomal are the blacksmiths of the Somali. Prehistoric Remains.—The See also:discovery of See also:flint implements of the same types as those found in See also:Egypt, Mauritania, and See also:Europe show Somaliland to have been inhabited by man in the Stone age. That the country was subsequently occupied by a more highly civilized people than the Somali of to-See also:day is evidenced by the ruins which are found in various districts. Many ofthese ruins are attributable to the Arabs, but older remains are traditionally ascribed to a people who were " before the Galla." Blocks of dressed stone overgrown by grass See also:lie in regular formation; a series of parallel revetment walls on hills commanding passes exist, as do See also:relics of See also:ancient water-tanks. This ancient See also:civilization is supposed to have been swept away by See also:Mahommedan conquerors; before that event the people, in the See also:opinion of several travellers, professed a degraded form of See also:Christianity, which they had acquired from their Abyssinian neighbours. Of more See also:recent origin are the ruins known as Galla See also:graves (Taalla Galla). These are See also:cairns of piled stones, each stone about the See also:size of a man's head. The cairns are from 12 to 15 ft. high and about 8 yds. in See also:diameter. Each is circular with a central depression. Exploration.—Somaliland was one of the last parts of Africa to be explored by Europeans. The occupation of Aden by the British in 1839 proved the starting-point in the opening up of the country, Aden being the chief See also:port with which the Somali of the opposite coast traded. The task of mapping the coast was largely undertaken by See also:officers of the Indian See also:navy, while the first explorers of the interior were officers of the Indian See also:army quartered at Aden—Lieut. Cruttenden (1848), Lieut. (afterwards See also:Captain See also:Sir See also:Richard) See also:Burton, and Lieut. J. H. See also:Speke (the discoverer of the Nile source). In 1854 Burton, unaccompanied, penetrated inland as far as Harrar. Later on the expedition was attacked by Somali near Berbera, both See also:Bur-ton and Speke being wounded, and another officer, Lieut. Stroyan, R.N., killed. For twenty years afterwards no See also:attempt was made to open up the country. The occupation of Berbera by the Egyptians in 1875 was, however, followed by several journeys into the interior. Of those who essayed to See also:cross the waterless Hand more than one lost his See also:life. In 1883 a party of Englishmen—F. L. and W. D. See also: V. See also:Aylmer, and E. Lort-See also:Phillips—penetrated from Berbera as far as the Webi-Shebeli, and returned in safety. At the instance of the Indian See also:government surveys of the country between the coast and the Webi-Shebeli and also east towards the Wadi Nogal were executed by See also:Major H. G. C. Swayne and his See also:brother Captain E. J. E. Swayne between 1886 and 1892. Meanwhile a French traveller, G. Revoil, had (1878–1881) made three journeys in the north-east corner of the See also:protectorate, especially in the Darror valley. The first See also:person who reached the Indian Ocean, going south from the Gulf of Aden, was an See also:American, Dr A. See also:Donaldson See also: Prince Ruspoli in 1893 reached Lugh from the north, thence turning north-west. He was killed in the Galla country by an elephant. In 1895 Bottego, with three See also:European companions, left Brava to investigate the river See also:system north of Lake Rudolf, and succeeded in tracing the Omo to that lake. Subsequently in the Abyssinian highlands the expedition was attacked by Galla and Captain Bottego was killed. Dr See also:Sacchi, who was returning to Lugh with some of the scientific results of the See also:mission, was also killed by natives. An English expedition under H. S. H. See also:Cavendish (1896–1897) followed somewhat in Donaldson Smith's steps, and the last named traveller again crossed Somaliland in his journey from Berbera via Lake Rudolf to the Upper Nile (1899-1900). In 1902-1903 a survey of the Galla-Somali borderlands between Lake Rudolf and the upper Juba was executed by Captain P. Maud of the British army. Military operations during 1901-4 led to a more accurate knowledge of the south-eastern parts of the British See also:protector-See also:ate and of the adjacent districts of Italian Somaliland. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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