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Profile of Somali Minority communities

Introduction of Somali minorities

Somali minorities groups are numerous. The population of Somali minorities are estimated about 2,000,000 according to a study on Minority Groups in Somalia published by the United Nations Coordination Unit (UNCU) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Somalia in September 2002. Somali Minority communities constitute one third of the total Somali population 2 million. The minority communities can be roughly categorized under the following main groups:

Discrimination Factors inside Somali communities

a) Occupationally discriminated groups (ODGs): This group is discriminated based on their traditional labour occupations. They are scattered in all over Somalia up to Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya, they are the most marginalized, miserable, scornful, separated and oppressed groups all over Horn of Africa. There are five groups in this category namely: (1) Gabooye (a)- Madiban (b)- Muse Dario), (3) Yibir, (4) Tumaal and (5) Yahar etc. These groups’ perform all activities needed to the society such as agriculture, hand-crafts, small hand industries, fishing and boat building, blacksmith, carpentry, tannery, shoe making, leather products, hairdressing, herbal medicine, astronomy and metal work considered by Somalis as menial work or tasks.
Historically, they are the indigenous people of Somalia which are referred collectively as Sab. There are other minority clans found out of Somalia including Hawleh, Hawrar Same, Habar Yacquub who are mainly found outside Somalia and Somaliland.

b) Physically discriminated groups (PDGs). This is called physical and colour based discrimination (PCBD): This group is mainly divided into two main groups namely the relatively white Bandiri and black Bantu/Jareer.

(1) The Black Bantu/Jareer (Negroid Features).
The Bantus or Jareer are living in Southern Somalia up to Ethiopia and Kenya, they are Called Bantu/ jarreer meaning (Kinky Hair) as the opposed name is timo jilee’ (Soft Hair). They are divided into many sub clans, such as reer shabelle, Makane, shidle, mushungli, Gosha etc. Historically Somalis treat Bantu as descendants of slaves and Negroid groups. They are agriculture community living beside Somali rivers, mainly, the Bantu sub clans are agricultural community which reside beside and across the rivers, they performing, all hand-crafts, small hand industries, fishing and boat building, blacksmith, carpentry, tannery, leather products, hairdressing, metal work which Somalis consider all that as menial work or tasks.

(2) The white skin Gibil ‘ad (Banadiri clans).
The white includes the Banadiri sub groups including Bravenese, Bajuni, Bajuun, Banadiri-Ashraf and Jaji. This Banadiri group is a collection of various ethnic groups under this umbrella name. It is further sub-divided into white, and black. The black group includes Dhabarweyn (Bantu). Banadiri groups are urban people living mainly in the coastal cities of Mogadishu, Merca renamed Mogadishu and Benadir, constitute a clear example of this type of manipulation. The name does not correspond to any well defined sociological reality. It rests on an administrative entity whose citizens do not merit the name "Benadiri" any more than the people of Rift Valley province in Kenya would merit the name "Riftians. The Benadir Protectorate was a Colonial designation centred around the city of Mogadishu and Brava). The Banadiri Community are divided to minor tribes e.g., the Bandhabow, the Morshe- Iskashato, the bdisamad, the Sadiq GedT, the- Bafadal, the Amudi, the Duruqo, the rer Shikh, the rer anyo, the Gudmane in Hamar-Weyne section and the rer Faqi in Shangani section.

c) Number-wise discriminated groups (NDGs).The group can be categorized as minorities based on their fewer populations or numbers although the number crosscuts all other groups. It warthy to mention that this group doesn’t face any social and economic exclusion similar to Bantu and Occupational groups. This group includes Somali clans who mainly do not belong to any of the four major Somali tribes such as Hawiye, Isaaq, Daraod and Digile & Midhifle. This group includes Ashraf, Sheikhal, Eyleh, Qalimoshube, Akisho, Madigan, Gurgure, Arab, Gahayle, Lo’jir, Herla, Garjante, Ashraf, Meheri (Arabta reer Mohamed Salah), Ajuran, Yahar, Arab-Somali, and Reer Aw Xassan in Somalia.

 

Clans in Somalia

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IDPS in Somalia fact sheet

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Report - Southern Somalia security situation

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Did you know that...
Somalia has the longest coastline in
Africa at 3,025 kilometres.

Seventy-nine percent of people in Somalia are without access to safe water.
more...

The two perennial rivers in Somalia are called the Juba and Shabelle.

 

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