- Garre
The Garre are a Somali
pastoralist clan that live inSomalia ,Kenya , andEthiopia . They are sub clan ofDigil clan family of Somalia. Almost all speak theGarre language , though it may be secondary toMaay .The origins of the Garre are not clear, and there are some conflicting traditions among clan members. One tradition assumes that the Garre are of
Samaale origin being descendants ofGaredheere Samaale . However, there are other traditions that associate the Garre Tuuf to theHawiye clan, while theQuranyow Mohamed have traditional links to the Dir subclans ofMohamed Xinfitire . Complicating matters further is the recent Garre association with theDigil subclan of theRahanweyn , which would make the Garre closely affiliated with theTunni andJiido of the lower Jubba valley.According to the legend, the first Garre ancestor, Aw Mohamed, crossed the
Gulf of Aden into present day Somalia in 652AD. He was anIslam ic scholar and a preacher. Because he was bearded, the Somalis named him "Garrow" or Gardheer." He married a Hawiye woman who sired two boys and a girl. The first-born was Tuff and Qur'an, the second born and the daughter was named Makka.The Garre migrated to the
Gedo region of Ethiopia where they met theOromo s who were expanding towards the Coast of Kenya in13th century . They were defeated and subdued by the more populous Oromos. However, during the famous Kedh-gurai, the majority of Garres, under thee leadership of King Bulle Hussein and other members of the council of elders; Aw Anabo Osman, Aw Aloiw Hache, Aw Bakal Bashar and Aw Abbey Umur Mudhow Muss, migrated back to Somalia via Afmadhow and into Luq.Another group, under Ali Abdi, migrated into Ethiopia and settled in "Did Libaan" or the Libaan's plains. These are the Garre-Libiin or Garre Ali Abdi.
The Garres who migrated to Somalia under the leadership of Aw Bulle Hussein are referred to as Garre Konfur. Many people doubt that the Tuff and Quran are children of the same father. However, this is historical fact. Geneologically, the Tuff Garre and Quranyowa Mohamed are brothers. One using the actual name of his father, while the other uses the nickname of his father
The Garre are divided into Tuff and Quranyowa sub-clans; the Tuffs further into Ali and Adola; the Quranyow into Asare and Furkesha.
External links
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=gex Ethnologue profile]
* [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/a04944b64975d95ac12569890047d39b "Ethiopia: Over 150 killed in clashes in southern district" at Reliefweb]
* [http://www.ksafe.com/profiles/p_code3/2482.html Garre profile, with focus on intended Christian evangelism]
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