I have mapped all 23 villages of the Marehan woreda of Deka Suftu near Nagele in Liban, Somali Region, Ethiopia.

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Walle it is true when they say "Mareexaan waa Xassan iyo Isaaq, Xassane Itoobiyuu habsaday!"

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Deka Suftu & Liban area as traveled by Bottego over a 100 years ago:


Haile Selassie recognition of the Marehan community of Nagele during the WW II period:


Identification of Deka Suftu as a "Marehan" woreda by Ethiopian universities today:


Correction of the ridiculously inaccurate 'Abikar" map:


Deka Suftu administrative boundaries as recognized by the federal government of Ethiopia as of 2020:

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Woreda of Deka-Suftu official administrative unit today



The route the Reer Hassan-led Marehan pioneers originally took to get to Liban or Daua territory in the 'Guri Migration' [ 'Guri' or Settlers/Homesteaders as in first wave migrants in comparison to 'Galti' or Frontiersmen as in later wave migrants]



The British 'Major Grant' on the record confession to the British government having tried to "remove" the Marehan from Liban & Nagele during post-WW II period when they had control over Ethiopia under 'BMA' (British Military Administration)



Ethiopian 'Colonel Asfew' acknowledgement that 'Marehan' were in Nagele still when Ethiopia took over administration from BMA



Ethiopian award of Imperial title "Gerazmach" (Right of Arm) on Sheikh Hussein of Marehan for resistance to the burdensome control of the BMA in Nagele, Liban, & southern Ethiopia as well as the economic tax value of the Marehan with disproportionate wealth in livestock compared to all other herders, Somali as well as Borana. (Sh Hussein was the father of the current Ugas of Marehan in Liban with seat in Deka Suftu, Ugaz Abdi Dahir Ugaz Sh. Hussein)

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Bigger resolution Bottego

[theyuusuf143]

The name is Oromo. If you see U ending names like Dhuftu , zuftu or filtu. It's Oromo. Did the mareexaan took this land from the Oromos , or are they still living together. I don't think those are pure somali, they are definitely different from the ones in Somalia. Kollayba waa dad silloon sida murursadaha baabile

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No, this is a question about the chicken and the egg--which came first?

A chicken lays egg and then a is born, so who came first?

Somali and Oromo are a very closely related set of languages even "within" Cushitic; they are Low-land east Cushitic.

"Harro" for example is part of both languages in place naming; in Oromiffa it is a well watered rest stop, in Somali it is a nice shaded rest stop "with" water availability, and in both it is a place to settle.

If you notice "Deka Suftu" is the "district's" name where in it the biggest town is named "Deka."

Deka is named after "Deeqo Afwayn," a Marehan lady who galvanized the clan to fight and retake their land back in the vicinity of Nageeyle in the early 2000's after they had been dispossessed in 1993 by a tag-team from Borana and Degoodie who were taking advantage of the harrying of Marehan all throughout Somalia in that early Somali civil war period.

They came back in mid-2000's and waged a successful war of reconquest for a decade in which they won concession of the land back from Oromo State and declared the settlement of "Deka" under Somali Region.

Deka was at first a kabele (county/settlement with area) coming under the woreda (district) of Filtu in Liban, Somali Region but after fighting the Degoodie to completely close the war that started in 1993, Marehan won concession from the Degoodie administration that Deka was a woreda of its own equal to Filtu.

So the woreda of "Deka Suuf" was declared which was standardized as "SufTU" in concordance with accepted Ethiopian place naming in the area (Deka Suftu, Haysuftu, Filtu).

Anywhere you see "tu," just reflects where the Somali article "ka" was standardized as part of Ethiopian national place naming.

So the point about the chicken and the egg is---YES, the land originally did see a succession of different settlers with the most latest and currently settling being Marehan, BUT the woreda name Deka Suftu is a RECENT place naming following the settlement or kabele of Deka built within the last 20 years named after a Marehan woman.

Here is DEEQO AFWEYN, the namesake of "Deka" settlement which was the precursor to the district of "Deka Suftu" in one of her famous poems within Marehan called "Guul" or Victory;

Guul dheh! To Victory!
Daawo waa Qur'aan, My belief is my salvation!
Gaalooy Daawo waa Quraan, O ye enemy, my belief is my salvation'
Guulane waa Eebahayn! And Victorious is my Lord!



Here is Degoodiye or Degoodie with their Wobur (Sultan), going TO Marehan in DEKA settlement, a profound recognition of Marehan reconquest then because Degoodie had earlier began hostilities, including allying with Borana in the 90's, in order to permanently "dispossess" Marehan of the land near Nagele today newly organized under the woreda of Deka Suftu administered from the district capital of Deka;---by Marehan, under Liban Zone of Somali Region, Ethiopia.



In the video, Degoodie verbalize recognition that henceforth they recognize the land as "Marehan."

That peace agreement has been durable and strong since.

And yes, humans migrate. We migrated to Deka, to Garbahaarey and Baardheere, and even Caabudwaaq. We, as Marehan, even distinctly within Somalis, have had written corroboration being seen from Ras Al Khail on the of Aden to Nugaal and far west in Harar to eastern Somali Region and Haud to bordering coastal plains to Ganane and Luuq and southwest to Nageyle and Mooyaale.

This is quintessential Somali nomadic culture including with some of the largest herds of livestock!

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Are you like 16? There is lack of "maturity" that is becoming quite annoying really. It is completely juvenile.

You do not know what the hell you are talking about. Literally and that is not "mean" of me to say so since I know you are intent on "trolling" this topic due to little gutter tribal grievance you have about the history being shared.

Keep it pushing and go play nonsense with like-minded peers.

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Also, for anyone interested since clearly someone else does not truly care about the subject nor wishes to understand it even at a basic level, of the following recommended material;

However, there is quite an "extensive " amount of literature on this subject in Liban and Borana discussing in great detail all the nuances, i.e Somali vs Oromo, Somali Marehan vs Somali 'Irir' [my usage to bring together Degoodie + Garre), Oromo Borana vs Oromo Arsi/Oromo Guji, Oromo Muslim + Somali Muslim vs Borana/non-Muslim Oromo, and especially Marehan vs Others or Marehan vs Borana +Somalis but specially Borana.

Here are 3 of my recommendations, for objectivity they are all non-Somali;

Nomads in the Shadows of Empires
Contests, Conflicts and Legacies on the Southern Ethiopian-Northern Kenyan Frontier
By Gufu Oba

https://books.google.com/books/about/No ... &q&f=false

Federalism and Inter-Clan Relations along the Regional Borders of Oromia and Somali: A Case Study of Liban and Filtu Woredas
Jima, Tesfaye

http://etd.aau.edu.et/bitstream/handle/ ... sAllowed=y


Conflicts among Pastoralists in the Borana Area of Southern Ethiopia
TK Feyissa

https://munin.uit.no/bitstream/handle/1 ... sequence=2

The 1st is a book which should be easy to find online, but the last 2 are links to the exact PDF download of the material.

They are Ethiopian university thesis' on the subject by two Ethiopian graduate students who have done field interviews and site visit writing at length about both Marehan as well as other Somalis vs Borana/Oromos.

For example, I dismissed this individual on the grounds of "trolling" because he created his own justification for interposition, i.e. a non-descript yet singular livestock rustling "event," when really the issue is about land and territory.

In one of those thesis, the researcher gives the following example of Degoodiye "version" of events through personal interviews of their elders in Filtu;



That is how the Dagoodi then justified Marehan ownership of newly created woreda of Deka Suftu, the subject of this topic.

There are 3 important neutral pulls from this narrative;

1. The issue is about "land" and "ownership of land." It has nothing to do with a nondescript livestock "event."

2. That Deka Suftu is in fact a woreda with broadly recognized ownership by Marehan, including by competing Somali clans

3. Marehan overcame "everyone," both the Somali (Degoodie-led) as well as Oromo/Borana and Arsi.

Those are 3 takeaways from the Degoodie elders position just on the basis of neutrality with or without remarking on the factuality of their grievance.

It shows full concordance with the Marehan point of view that;

1. They have been fighting for [their] land.

2. Deka Sufti is their [duly reconquered] territory.

3. They fought with both Oromo and non-Darod Somalis.

I will even add if you notice the end of that page in the direct "quotation" of the Degoodie elders, it very significantly betrays that newly formed Deka Suftu "disturbed "an "existing" pact or some understanding of "non-aggression" between "Degoodie" in Filtu and "Borana" in Nagele in the land " between them."

That land, "between them" today of course being Deka Suftu and in 1993 being the land where a tag-teaming between Degoodie and Borana "dispossessed" Marehan.

Go figure.

But in any case, Degoodie and Marehan have had excellent peace and friendship since their peace agreement officially ended all hostilities.

This is just for historical overview.

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I am going to request specific posts of yours besides the ones I responded to be appropriately moderated on the basis of willful, intentional, even contemptible desire to troll and spoil a discussion for no reason other than tribal resentment.

[theyuusuf143]

I don't think deka suftu means deeqa suuf ,

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I don't think deka suftu means deeqa suuf ,

It doesn't matter what you "think" bro.

1. The settlement of Deka (Deeqo) like "Saaxo" in Mudug didn't even exist before 2008.

When Marehan "reconquered" the two areas in the vulnerable periphery they had to retreat from in the early part of civil war, they declared the new settlements of Saaxo and Deka, respectively in reconquered part of Mudug and Liban, as the two administrative centers. They literally just came into existence.



So that's Deka the settlement.

2. As for the district-wide Deka Suftu which I said comes from "Suufka," on this one I realize my error because I forgot to make you aware that Somalis from the "Mandera Triangle", especially Marehan in Gedo and the Hawiye of Mandera [Degoodie, Murule, etc] colloquially call the Mandera Triangle "Suufka."



That area is colloquially called "Suufka" by the Somali speakers who live in it sort of like how "Xamar" is the colloquial form of "Mogadishu."

So it is not a random addition the word "Suuf" pegged to "Deka" for the district name.

Deka Suftu or Deka Suuf really was saying "Deeqa IN THE Mandera Triangle" or "Deeqada Suufka ku taal."

Suufka by the way is precisely right where Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya border meet just northeast of Mandera, Kenya and Beled-Hawa, Somalia. There is also an actual but lesser known 3rd sister city to those two on the Ethiopian side of the border given that name. Yes, there is an actual town called Suufka opposite to Mandera on Kenyan side and Beled-Xaawo on Somalia side.

P.S. Beled-Xaawo itself shows the historicity of Marehan naming deegaan after important clanswomen. Like Deka named after Deeqo Afweyn, Hawa is named after Xaawo Gureey who fought British taxation in the colonial period.

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Looks like there is more trolling that needs to be moderated.