Marehan

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Marehan (Mareexaan)
مريحان
Total population

2,000,000 to 2,500,000 (1950s est.) [1]
Regions with significant populations
 Somalia[2]
 Ethiopia[2]
 Yemen[2]
 Kenya[2]
 Great Britain[2]
 United States[2]
Languages
Somali and Arabic
Religion
Islam (Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
Mehri, Facaayo Sade, Sade (clan) and other Darod groups.

The Marehan (Somali: Mareexaan; Arabic :مريحان, Marehan bin Ahmed bin Abdirahman bin Is'mail bin Ibrahim al Jaberti), are a Somali clan. They are one of the major Darod sub-clans and part of the Sade clan family. The majority of the Marehan live in Jubbada Hoose, Gedo and Jubbada Dhexe regions (gobolka) in southwest Somalia; the Galguduud and Mudug regions in central Somalia; the Ogaden; and northeast Kenya.

Contents

Marehan Sultanate

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Between the 17th and 18th centuries, the Marehan Sultanate was an important sultanate which extended from Bender Ziyade on the Gulf of Aden to beyond Ras el-Khail on the Indian Ocean[3], or much of northern Somalia. They were recorded as having played a major role in Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi's campaigns against Ethiopia. During the 16th century, the Marehan forces played an important part of al-Ghazi's campaigns against the Ethiopians. The commander of the Somali forces and the closest deputy of the Imam was a Marehan commander, Garad Ahmed bin Hirabu. The Marehan helped push westward into the plains of Jijiga and farther, playing an important part against the highland Christian empire. Evident in these battles were the Somali archers, namely the Marehan and the Gerri archers, through whom al-Ghazi was able to defeat the numerically superior Ethiopian Army that consisted of 16,000 cavalry and more than 200,000 infantry.[4].

Nearing the 19th century, the Marehan sultanate declined and withdrew from the Nugaal area and became confined to the Sool and Sanaag regions.[5] The Marehan were also the allies of the Somali hero Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, and fought against the British. In a boast of Hassan, he declares his power and reach is such that he can climb even the highest trees that exist; the trees of the Marehan. This is meant to signify that Hassan is so powerful that he even has the support of the powerful Marehan and only they, out of the rest of the Somalis, can aptly describe the reach of his power. As early as 1850, the Marehan were recorded moving into Jubaland. It was recorded that, "To the east the Somalis were once more on the move. By 1850, one of the Darod Somali groups, the Marehan crossed the Juba in force. In 1865 they went on to break the Tana Galla [sic] and by 1880 had turned on the Boran. Pagan peoples in this region were now being dominated by Muslims, and peasants by nomads from the north."[6]

Myrrh

According to some authorities, the term 'Myrrh' might have been derived from the Somali tribe Marehan (Murryhan - Mareexaan). According to Encyclopedia: The Earth and Its Inhabitants: The Universal Geography: "On the hills and uplands the prevailing forms are gum-yielding acacias, mimosas, cuphorbias, and the aromatic growths from which are obtained by the frankincense and myrrh of commerce, and for which the region, like the opposite coast of Arabia, has always been famous. Some authorities have even derived the word myrrh itself from the Marehan (properly Murreyhan) tribe, in whose territory it is obtained in the greatest perfection."[7]

Major subclans

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There is no clear agreement on the clan and sub-clan structures. The divisions and subdivisions as here given are partial and simplified. Many lineages are omitted. For a comparison of different views on the clan-lineage-structures see the World Bank's Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics.[8]

Political organizations

Prominent figures

References

  1. ^ Cerulli, Enrico. Texts of the consuetudinary law of the Marrehan Somali, pp 26-27
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cerulli, Enrico. Texts of the consuetudinary law of the Marrehan Somali, pp 14-16
  3. ^ Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Part 12 by James Hastings, ISBN 0766136876
  4. ^ Richard Pankhurst, An Introduction to the Economic History of Ethiopia, from Early Times to 1800
  5. ^ map
  6. ^ The New Encyclopedia Britannica Issue 1974
  7. ^ Encyclopedia: The Earth and Its Inhabitants: The Universal Geography
  8. ^ Worldbank, Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics, January 2005, Appendix 2, Lineage Charts, p.56