SomaliNet Forums

It was a week ago when we were discussing the take over of Harar by the Abyssinians in 1887 due to Britain capturing the Somali coast . I posted an excerpt of a book by Swayne in his trip into the enterior of Somali Territory.


But the city have such an extremely beautiful women. It has to do with the intermarriage of Arab and Somali.

http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2007/sept/ ... rists.aspx

To hell with the Media. Do some Research and you will find out that Harar is a Somali city, not in administrative wise at the moment but still population wise.

The biggest somali clans in the city are Akisho and Gurgure and yes it was a somali city.

It was settled by Somalis even during Sh. Ahmed Gurey's time. So Yes, it is a Somali city.

No, you are wrong. Baritire still form the majority in the city. When the city was under sultan Abdullah. He used to appoint his Emir from the Baritire clan. Read the ancient books that recorded the history of Harar.

[quote="Biif Baaf"]It was settled by Somalis even during Sh. Ahmed Gurey's time. So Yes, it is a Somali city.[/quote]


There are other people called Harari, neither Somali nor Ethiopian. What is their Origin?

^You are right about the Harari people, they are ancient settlers in Harar. Their women are quite beautiful, usually light skinned & slender. I have no clue as to their origin though.

Not harari, Adare

Harrar is the home of Amin Nuur Ciis, boqorki Mareexaan

Some of the coffee products are exported from Harar. Starbucks have a number of picture frames affixed on their wall about the destination of the high quality coffee. Harar is one of them.

It is becoming a tourist city.

There is no reliable source as to who truly the hararii people are but if u go the city u will see the people they intermarry the most out of their race usually tend to be the Somalians and slightly the Oromo. and the reason they intermarry the most with somalians is Dire Dawa isnt far away and we all know who inhabits that city in massess.

Somali2003: Yes. Harari tea is also very good, they use it at some coffee/chai shops in North America.

What language do they speak?

Thanks for the correction DowladSade. Adari, but we Somalis call Harari just like Axmed Gurey is Ahmed Graghne for the Ethiopians.

they speak harari.

Harar was the capital of Adal state at one time, which was mixed Afar, Somali and Harari. The article is quite a bit longer and is interesting.

http://www.angelfire.com/on/ethiopia/history.html#ONE

"There are many legends related to the foundation of the city. However, shakih Abadir, " the patron Saint" comes first when the name of Harar is mentioned. He is said comes with his entourage in the tenth century from Arabia. It is belived that he was the one who organised the administrative system of the city and also gave Harar its name. With its numerous mosques and shrines, Harar is considered the "fourth holy city of Islam" after Mecca, Mediana and Jerusalem.Perched on a gentle hill, drained by network of rivres, Harar is an ancient walled city. It was founded a millennium ago, between the seventh and ninth AD, by a Semitic- speaking people. The agricultural system of Harar was effective and efficient. Using terracing and irrigation as well as intercropping which is useful for tropical soil and a symbolically correct practice, the harar farmers were able to produce grain and cash crops in adequate supplies for local consumption and export. It is also considered as the original cultivation center of the world famous coffee arabica and the mild stimulant leaf called (cath edulis). Both are lucrative export items, which provide the Ethiopian economy with substantial financial resources. "

Thanks Grant. The link is quite enlightening, but I still don't get where the Harari folk originated from.

"The Harari hold foreigners in especial hate and contempt, and divide them into two orders, Arabs and Somal.26 The latter, though nearly one third of the population, or 2500 souls, are, to use their own phrase, cheap as dust:"[Burton, 1855, First Footsteps of Africa, ]

In this case Somalis and Arabs are considered by the Harari as foreigners.

Sometimes historical origin doesn't mean anything. People claim to originate from where ever they want, sometimes it may be far from reality. For example Harari, if you take their language and religion into consideration, I believe some of them may be habashas brought from Ottoman Garisson town of Massawa, through Zeyla and settle in the prairie the city was built on. Their small population and degree of alienation also attests to this. Of course after that they intermarried with groups in the area such as Oromo, Somali, Argobba etc. but they still maintain their seperate identity.