Gurgura
| غرغرة | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Oromo, Somali and Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (Sunni) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Issa, Gadabursi, Surre, Bursuuk, Biimaal , Garre and other Dir clans. |
The Gurgura, Gorgorah or Gurgure (Somali: Gurgura, Arabic: غرغرة) people are a Somali clan that is part of the large Dir clan. They inhabit large portions of the Oromia Region (Zone 4) of Ethiopia, also the Somali Region and Afar Region of that country.
Distribution
The Gurgura are of the Madahwein Dir, making them directly related to the Gurre and Gariire and other Madahwein Dirs.[1] They also have lineal ties with the Issa, Gadabursi, Biimaal, Bajimal, Quranyow-Garre, Surre, Madigan, Bursuuk and other Dir subclans.[1][2]
History
Oromo political organizations sought to coerce the Gurgura, (who's identity was very contentious for the city of Dire Dawa) who largely speak the Oromo language (Oromiffa), to identify themselves as Oromo, though they belong to the Dir clan family of the Somalis. Oromo political organizations claimed that "the Gurgura people who speak Oromiffa belong to the Oromo nation and they only started to identify themselves with the Somali after the 1974 change of the Haile Selassie regime".[3] This is false since the Gurgura are mentioned in the Futuh Al Habasha : Conquest of Abyssinia as source dating back as far as the 16th century, by author: Shihabudin Ahmad bin Abd al-Qadir 'Arab Faqih or 'Arab Faqih. It is recorded that the Gurgura were Somalis who fought along side Ahmed Gran or Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi with knights, spear-men and foot-soldiers and their leader Garād 'Abd.[4]
Many prominent Gurgura in Dire Dawa, including traditional leaders, have identified as Somali, to the dislike of the Oromo. [5]
References
- 1 2 Lewis, I. M. (1998). Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho. Red Sea Press. ISBN 9781569021057.
At the end of the book "Tribal Distribution of Somali Afar and Saho"
- ↑ Verdier, Isabelle (1997). Ethiopia: the top 100 people. Indigo Publications. p. 13. ISBN 9782905760128.
- ↑ Sindjoun, Luc (2010). The Coming African Hour: Dialectics of Opportunities and Constraints. African Books Collective. p. 210. ISBN 9780798302302.
- ↑ ʻArabfaqīh, Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd al-Qādir (2003-01-01). The conquest of Abyssinia: 16th century. Tsehai Publishers & Distributors. pp. 120, 123 and 401.
- ↑ Asnake Kefale (2014). "Ethnic decentralization and the challenges of inclusive governance in multiethnic cities: The case of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia". Regional & Federal Studies. 24 (5): 589–605. doi:10.1080/13597566.2014.971772.