Digil-mirifle.com

Digil iyo Mirifle is one of the 5 major clans in Somalia. They live in southern Somalia in the regions of Baay, Bakool, Gedo, Middle Juba, Lower Juba, Lower Shabelle and Banadir. They also live in the Somali regions of Kenya and Ethiopia. Digil y Mirifle makes approximately about 20% of the entire Somali population.

The Digil subclans are mainly farmers and coastal people. The land they inhabit is the most fertile in Somalia. Mirifle subclans are Agro pastoralists with farming communities and some semi nomadic peoples.

Digil iyo Mirifle people speak a distinct version of Somali called maay maay, while most other clans speak maxaa tiri. Maay maay falls into the East Cushitic language groups. It is distinct enough that most standard Somali speakers will not understand it. Other languages spoke by Digil iyo Mirifle clans are Af Jiddu, Af Dabbare, Af Garre, and Af Baraawe/Tunni. These clans also speak maay maay and or maxaa tiri to communicate with other Somali’s.

Digil iyo Mirifle have 28 subclans. There are 7 subclans in Digil, and 21 in Mirifle. Mirifle are split into Siyeed (8) and Sagaal (9) subclans. The name Rahanweyn is often times used in reference to Mirifle.

Digil-mirifle.com

The so called Baardheere Jihad was between the Baardheere Jamaaca (religious settlement) and the Geledi Sultunate. The war was for political and religious domination of southern Somalia. Both sides had wide support and claimed religious mysticism and political control. The historical event is very well known in southern Somali history and is a world known event. The war ended with the Baardheere Jamaaca being destroyed and the city of Baardheere being burnt to the ground.

The Baardheere Jamaaca was established in 1819 on the upper Juba river. The jamaaca would end up founding the city of Baardheere. The jamaaca was founded by Sheik Ibrahim Hassan Jeberow a native of Dafeed. Sheik Ibrahim was refused to practice his reformist ways in Dafeed and relocated to Baardheere to start his reformist Islamic jamaaca. The Baardheere jamaaca started out as a small jamaaca with less than 100 believers. It steadily grew in number and influence.

There is confusion of the exact tariiqa (religious order) of the jamaaca. Sources from the locals of Dafeed say that Sheik Ibrahim Hassan Jeberow followed the Ahmediya order. The Baardheere jamaaca’s emphasis on being a militant group also mirrors other Ahmediya orders in eastern and northern Africa. Several European explorers identified the jamaaca as being Wahaabi reformers, but there is no concrete evidence that Wahaabism ever reached the interior of Somalia. There are also major thoughts that the group was a part of the Qadiriya. Others say it was an independent religious congregation with no specific tariiqa.

From is beginning the jamaaca targeted their fellow Somali neighbors as they sought to reform the people. They banned tobacco and abolished traditional dances and social gathering . They also prohibited the ivory trade as they proclaimed elephants were dirty creatures.

In the mid 1830’s the Baardheere jamaaca entered a phase of militancy first under the leadership of Sheik Ali Duure (d. 1836) and Sheik Abiker Adan Dhurow (d. 1838 or 1839) and then later under the renowned Sheik Sherif AbdiRahman and Sherif Ibrahim.

Population: 2,500,000-5,000,000 (No official census)
Religion: Islam

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NARRATIVE PROFILE

Location: The Maay-speaking peoples are found primarily in the Lower Jubba Valley of central Somalia, between the Shabeelle and Jubba Rivers and south of the Jubba River.

These are primarily the Digil and Rahawiin peoples. The latter name is often seen spelled Rahanweyn or Rahanwin, following the Northern Somali pronunciation. Mirifle is another name used fairly interchangeably with Rahawiin.

Because their language is called Maay, this cluster of clans is sometimes called the Maay people. Many of the Gosha people also speak Maay language.

Since the civil war and aid efforts, Baidhowa is a well-known town of the Digil-Rahawiin. Ajuuran speakers of Northern Somali live to the southwest of the Digil-Rahawiin. However, many different clans and tribes are interspersed in the inter-River area (between the Shabeelle and Jubba Rivers), and to the southwest of the Jubba.