Ogaden (clan)

This article is about the ethnic group. For the geographical area, see Ogaden.

Main article: Somali clan

Ogaden
أوغادين

Regions with significant populations
Somalia  Ethiopia  Kenya
Languages
Somali
Religion
Islam (Sunni, Sufism)
Related ethnic groups
Jidwaq, Absame, other Darod groups.

The Ogaden (Somali: Ogaadeen, Arabic: أوغادين‎) is a Somali clan, and one of the largest Darod subclans.

Overview

Members of the Ogaden clan primarily live in the central Ogaden plateau of Ethiopia (Somali Region),^[1] the North Eastern Province of Kenya, and the Jubaland region of Southern Somalia. They also inhabit Somalia's major cities such as Mogadishu and Kismayo.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Ogaden is the largest Darod clan in Ethiopia's Somali Region, and may account for 40 to 50 percent of the Somali population in Ethiopia.^[2] The Ogaden clan "constitutes the backbone of the ONLF".^[3] In particular, the ONLF operates in areas inhabited by the Reer Abdulle sub-clan of the Mohamed Zubeir.^[4]

Clan tree

There is no clear agreement on the clan and sub-clan structures and many lineages are omitted. The following listing is taken from the World Bank's Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics from 2005 and the United Kingdom's Home Office publication, Somalia Assessment 2001.^[5][6]

• Darod (Daarood)
  • Marehan
    • Red Dini
    • Rer Hassan
    • Eli Dheere
  • Kabalah
    • Absame
      • Ogaden
        • Makabul
        • Mohamed Zubeir
        • Aulihan
      • Jidwaq
    • Harti
      • Dhulbahante (Dolbahante)
      • Warsangali (Warsengeli)
      • Majeerteen (Mijerteen)
        • Omar Mahmud
        • Issa Mahmud
        • Osman Mahmoud (Osman Mahmud)

In Puntland the World Bank shows the following:^[7]

• Darod
  • • Harti
    • Ogaden
  • Marehan
  • Awrtable
  • Lelkase

Notable persons

• Asli Hassan Abade, first Somali female pilot
• Farah Maalim, current Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya
• Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki, Islamist leader in Somalia and military leader in the Islamic Courts Union
• Mohamed Abdi Mohamed ("Gandhi"), Minister of Defense of Somalia; prominent anthropologist and activist
• Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, the Sayyid; religious and nationalist leader of the Dervish State; called the Mad Mullah by the British
• Admiral Mohammed Omar Osman, ONLF chairman
• Mohamed Yusuf Haji, Minister of State for Defence in Kenya
• Nuruddin Farah, renowned writer and winner of the 1998 Neustadt International Prize for Literature
• Ugaas Abdulrahman Muhumad Qani, former President of the Somali Region in Ethiopia
• Guled Casowe, former Information, Culture and Tourism Minister of Somali State in Ethiopia

Notes

1. ^ "Collective Punishment", p. 14
2. ^ "Collective Punishment", p. 13
3. ^ "Collective Punishment", p. 4
4. ^ "Collective Punishment", p. 27
5. ^ Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p.55 Figure A-1
6. ^ Country Information and Policy Unit, Home Office, Great Britain, Somalia Assessment 2001, Annex B: Somali Clan Structure, p. 43
7. ^ Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p.57 Figure A-3

References

• "Collective Punishment: War Crimes and crimes against Humanity in the Ogaden area of Ethiopia's Somali Regional State" (pdf), Human Rights Watch Report (2008)