Issa (clan)

Main article: Somali clan

Issa
عيسى

Regions with significant populations
Djibouti  Somalia  Ethiopia  United Kingdom
Languages
Somali and Arabic
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Gadabuursi, other Dir groups and Somali clans

The Issa (Somali: Ciise, Arabic: عيسى‎) are a Somali clan, a sub-clan of the Dir.^[1] The Issa primarily reside in Djibouti, the extreme northwestern fringe in the Awdal district of Somaliland in northern Somalia, as well as the Shinile Zone located in the Somali Region of Ethiopia.

Lineage

The Issa traditionally traces its Arabian connexions through its Dir affiliations to Aqeel ibn Abi Talib. However, by 1962 it had become the practice to regard the clan founder as a sheikh or even saint in much the same way (and no doubt at least partly in response to their claims) as the eponyms of the Darod and Isaaq clans. Although I.M. Lewis knows of no printed hagiologies in honor of the Issa ancestor, by the time of Lewis's writing a number of hymns (or qasiidas) have been composed for him, and there is a shrine in Djibouti City where he is said to have appeared miraculously. His actual grave lies close to that of Sheikh Ishaq ibn Ahmad al- Hashimi, in northeastern Somalia.^[2]

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.^[3][4]

• Dir
  • Gadabuursi (Gadabursi)
  • Biinaal
  • Issa

In the south central part of Somalia the World Bank shows the following clan tree:^[5]

• Dir
  • Isaac
    • Garhajis
    • Habar Je'lo
    • Habar Awal
    • Habar Tol
  • Gadabursi
  • Isse
  • Biyomal
  • Gadsan
  • Qubeys

Prominent figures

• Hassan Gouled Aptidon 1916-2006, First President of Djibouti from 1977 to 1999.
• Ismail Omar Guelleh, Current president of Djibouti
• Abdourahman Waberi, Novelist
• Aden Robleh Awaleh, president of the National Democratic Party PNh
• Roble OlhayeThe Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Republic of Djibouti.
• Yacin Elmi Bouhs a Djiboutian politician.

Notes

1. ^ King, Preston (1987). An African Winter. Puffin. ISBN 0140523650. http://books.google.ca/books?id=ANEwAAAAMAAJ. , p.169.
2. ^ Lewis, "Historical Aspects of Genealogies in Northern Somali Social Structure", Journal of African History, 3 (1962), p. 46
3. ^ Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p.55 Figure A-1
4. ^ Country Information and Policy Unit, Home Office, Great Britain, Somalia Assessment 2001, Annex B: Somali Clan Structure, p. 43
5. ^ Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p.56 Figure A-2

References

• King, Preston (1987). An African Winter. Puffin. ISBN 0140523650. http://books.google.ca/books?id=ANEwAAAAMAAJ.