Talk:Harari people

Harari people

dont delete leaders of harar and say they are not harari..the city wasnt ruled by somalis it was ruled by hararis..queen elizabeth is german but she is still considered british for being a monarch and also somalia as a nation didnt exist back than. its not clear what imam ahmed was since back than the region was a melting pot..zeila was the port of harar for a long time you can go read the book exploration of harar or east africa..if somalis were ruling harar than why isnt the city somali now? why is there another ethnic group that is native to the land? Baboon43 (talk) 01:37, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

Hi. Zeila was never situated in present-day Harar. You are perhaps confusing the first capital of the Adal Sultanate (actual Zeila in northwestern Somalia) with its second capital after it relocated (Harar in modern-day eastern Ethiopia). The ruins of the Adal Sultanate are still very much there in Zeila, Somalia to prove it too. There's also a difference between residents of Harar and Harari people. The first are simply inhabitants of the cosmopolitan city, while the second are a composite ethnic group formed within the city limits. Although the modern Harari people speak a Semitic language, they are a mixture of Cushitic-speaking ancestors (Somali, Oromo [1]) and Semitic-speaking ancestors (Agrobba). That's where some of the confusion stems from and why one cannot state that Al-Ghazi and Nur ibn Mujahid were Harari people. People of Harar in Nur's case, certainly; but not Harari people. Nur ibn Mujahid was a Somali of the Marehan clan (c.f. [2]). Al-Ghazi is likewise most often identified as a Somali, like his wife, closest associates, and most of his army. That said, I've moved the list of notable people from Harar to the Harar page where it belongs. Best regards, Middayexpress (talk) 04:55, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

i told you zeila was a PORT for hararis and the city of harar it was controlled by them..hararis were scattered all over somalia before they disappeared in places like hargeysa infact the city was named harGEYsa..gey means city..i am not confusing anything i suggest you read the history of the region ZEILA served harar just because it is in present day somalia doesnt change history..you can even go to zeila wikipage and it mentions that zeila was a port for the city of harar for sometime and when it was no longer used it declined...wrong hararis existed in that those regions long ago infact it is the somalis and oromos that have mixture of hararis..there's no confusion i am a harari and amir nur and imam ahmed were leaders in my city thats truth...amir nur was a somali who ruled which city? was it somalia or HARAR? imam ahmeds ethnicity is not clear if he was alive today he would be a harari since he would be in harar as his wife lived there as well. you dont tell a people their own leaders can not be theirs when you even have claims of how they are mixed with somali and oromo. Baboon43 (talk) 05:23, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

You contact me then blank the page when I respond? What's the point? You do realize that all edits are stored in the page history, right? At any rate, your narrative is definitely not mainstream or accurate. Zeila was the actual first capital and headquarters of the Adal Sultanate, not the port of Harar. Harar was just made the Adal Sultanate's second capital after Imam Ahmed and his troops sacked the city. The Axumite Empire for a time exacted tribute from the Zeila's Somali rulers, but they didn't actually live there or rule the place. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea published over 1000 years before that clearly describes the Barbar ancestors of the Somalis inhabiting the place and engaging in trade, so Zeila has pretty much always been a Somali city. Please re-read my earlier post and actually follow the links. The Harari people are a composite ethnic group, like the Nubians. They didn't exist as an independent ethnic group until their Cushitic and Semitic speaking ancestors intermarried to form them. You won't find references to the Harari in the distant past because of this. Regards, Middayexpress (talk) 05:40, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

i wrote that on your talk page dont copy and paste my own wordS on to my own talk page or we can discuss this on the harari people talk page than...ZEILA WAS THE FIRST CAPITAL THAN THE CAPITAL MOVED TO HARAR WHICH MADE ZEILA A PORT DO YOU UNDERSTAND? ITS THE SAME PEOPLE THAT MOVED FROM ZEILA TO HARAR..YOU DONT UNDERSTAND THE FACT THAT THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS SOMALIA Baboon43 (talk) 05:47, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

Very well. Per your request, I have moved the discussion here to the Harari people talk page. Please also remember to be WP:CIVIL and don't shout. The rest of your post is basically stating the obvious i.e. that the people of Zeila in Somalia contributed to the ethnogenesis of the composite Harari ethnic group. We already know this. My last post also wasn't about modern Somalia; it was clearly about historical Zeila and its main inhabitants, the Barbar/ancestral Somali. Middayexpress (talk) 05:58, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

Case in point: "The women of Harar, in whom Somali and Galla blood predominates, are noted for their beauty." [3] Middayexpress (talk) 06:07, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

dont shout? lol writing in capitals is not shouting it was obvious you didnt understand wat i said so bigger letters might help...no hararis are not known to be somali or galla they are their own ethnic group i should know i am one of them...but that aside if you claim they are indeed somali or galla than why r u saying imam nur and imam ahmed are not harari? this contradicts your statement..the bottom line is that imam ahmed and amir nur are known as leaders of harar imam ahmed through harar being the capital of harar and the monarch amir nur understand? so somalis didnt just disappear and hararis came along and claimed harar..as a harari i know that the hararis were close with somalis..we are technically the same. ethnically amir nur was a somali BUT somalia did not exist so he was harari as he took the throne. do you know siad barre was claiming to be harari which is why so many hararis were in the military of somali and fought in the ogaden war? Baboon43 (talk) 06:23, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

WP:SHOUT describes excessive upper case writing as "shouting". At any rate, I think I understand your perspective a bit better now. This page is still a mess, though. It has no sources and is pretty much all original research. It could use fleshing out with some of the links and material posted above. Middayexpress (talk) 06:38, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

ill try to work on it by adding citations if i can find any and expand on the page when i get the time. so we agree that the list i provided is indeed ethnic harari people or naturalized citizens? Baboon43 (talk) 11:36, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

For the reasons explained in detail above, there's no agreement that the list of people belong to the Harari ethnic group. The Habesha template that's on the page only further drives home this point; Al-Ghazi and the Marehan Nur ibn Mujahid were definitely not Habesha. So go ahead and flesh out the page. But the contentious parts (namely, who or who is not Harari) will first have to be discussed, drafted and agreed to here per the WP:BRD cycle. Middayexpress (talk) 12:39, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

habesha is nothing special it refers to people south of the red sea..the ottomans named Eritrea habasha..the hararis call themelves the people of the city so imam nur and aw abadir being arab and somali became naturalized citizens and leaders of the city and imam ahmed was not refered to as any ethnic group in futuh al habasa so his ethnicity is disputed and your point of him being born in zeila meaning he is somali doesnt add up because somalia did not exist..he was the leader in the capital of the adal sultanate which is present day harar so it would make him harari maybe not ethnically but geographical positions puts him in harar and same with abadir he was an arab who came to harar and was known as a saint also during amir nurs time the walls of harar were erected ..by the way the sheikhaal somali clan say abadir was also one of theirs in their page it doesnt matter aw abadir is refered to as father of hararis even in the section of umar aridas page so i dont know why your acting like they are not ethnically harari...these were leaders of the harari kingdom who's monarch was abolished after the amhara invasion in 1887. bottom line is that hararis are the descendents of this people...you might want to check out this information site http://www.cpamedia.com/history/harar_ethiopias_muslim_city/ Baboon43 (talk) 13:00, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

Habesha people refers specifically to the Semitic-speaking people in the Horn region who were historically called the Abyssinians. None of the men cited above were Abyssinians, so that Habesha template doesn't belong on this article. Al-Ghazi was the Emir of Zeila first, then Harar when the capital of his Adal Sultanate relocated there. He wasn't a Harari. Most modern scholars also identify him as Somali, like most of his family and entourage. But I see your point about Sheikh Abadir Ar-Rida, as he was regarded as a founding father of the Harari people; so he should probably be included. There should also be an explanation as to how the composite Harari ethnic group was formed. Middayexpress (talk) 13:51, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

look the habasha AMHARAS controlled somalia so somalis themselves have habasha in them i can give you proof of this go look up Amda Seyon he ruled parts of somalia by conquering the kingdom of ifat long before imam ahmed this somali identity was not a powerhouse back than the region was mixed with cush and semetics , the semetic people lived all over somalia and that is why im telling u the hararis lived all over somalia there is a somali tribe that speaks a language identical to the harari language in SOMALIA..stop thinking like the present and think about the past there was no borders back than also there was tribes that were refered to as mayans that lived in parts of somali that were forced to join the somali identity..the truth is somali cush moved from the kingdom of cush which is present day sudan towards somalia and the semetics moved from arabia down to ethiopia. also as this academic source points out "Though Somalis have claimed Gran as one of their own, his ethnic origins are unknown. He may have been Arab" http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA483490 Baboon43 (talk) 14:20, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

I agree that the modern national borders don't necessarily reflect the ethnic distribution of the past. I also agree that the peoples of the Horn are mainly a mixture of Afro-Asiatic influences from the Nile Valley and Arabia. But to suggest that present-day Somalia was controlled by Amhara is to suggest that Ethio-Semitic speakers ruled most of the territory, which is definitely not a mainstream view. Ifat was situated in both present-day Somalia and Ethiopia, not just Somalia. It's also for the most part the sections of the polity that were situated in present-day Ethiopia that Amda Seyon annexed. That's how those regions became parts of the Ethiopian Empire in the first place i.e. through conquest. The inhabited domain of the Abyssinians did not extend far beyond the highlands, where most Habesha today are still concentrated. That domain was politically expanded through annexation of tributary kingdoms that were established, ruled and primarily inhabited by other peoples, not through actual settlement. As I wrote, the Axumite Empire exacted tribute from the rulers of Zeila, who were not Abyssinians but rather for the most part the Barbar main ancestors of the Somalis who today inhabit that area. The earlier Periplus of the Erythraean Sea makes this clear; it mentions the area's inhabitants by name and describes their commercial interactions. The Somali Geledi Sultanate (an off-shoot of the Ajuuraan State) similarly at one point exacted tribute from the Omani Empire on the Swahili Coast, but that doesn't mean that that region's people were Ajuuraan. See what I mean? Middayexpress (talk) 14:51, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

no im not saying ethio semetics ruled im saying simply SEMETICS were dominant in the area..they could be arab semetic or jewish semetic but the bototm line is that Adal was not an empire of cush..also the silte people were soldiers of imam ahmed and they even say that when imam ahmed sent them to the ethiopian lands and imam ahmed was defeated they remained in silte guregey area in ethiopia breaking apart from hararis they also have a similar language with hararis...dont make habasha into something special by differentiating them from those you call berber..habasha simply means the people in the region south of the red sea its a nick name that was given by arabs..a mixture of black people and arabs..axumites were abyssinians on the wikipage so your saying the wiki is wrong? berber or not arab black mix = habasha even somalis r mixed with semetic arabs its that their language is cush so they have semetic blood and a cush language basically. also the term HABASHA is mainly used for the two ethnic groups tigray and amhara the rest are not viewed as habasha but the nation of ethiopia is putting all ethnic groups under habasha..speaking a semetic language doesnt mean anything..as the amharas and tigrays claim to be descendants of jewish solomonic background the hararis claim to descendents of arab but its hard to tell whats truth or false as it was a long time ago Baboon43 (talk) 15:10, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

I think we're perhaps straying a bit off-topic now. I know that various Muslim groups participated in Al-Ghazi's army. Others may dispute this, but not me. I also realize that from a biological standpoint, the Afro-Asiatic speaking peoples in the Horn are basically the same. Perhaps this is the source of the confusion. So here's what I propose, or we could be here for a long time: We include the list of prominent people of Harar, but we make it clear in a new Origins section that the modern Harari people are a composite ethnic group and we name its constituent elements. That should resolve the impasse. Middayexpress (talk) 15:34, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

that would be breaking apart the ethnic group by saying they are a mix of oromo somali afar and other ethnic tribes that simply rips apart the group..all the ethnic groups in the horn are technically composite ethnically its just that some have been more dominant than others..what defines a group is their culture region and in some cases their religion..harari population was huge until it declined as the people were not colonizers infact it is the people of somali and oromo who are composite of hararis.."The various tribes of these early Hararis are still remembered by some of the family names which are known to be carried to-date, namely, Harla, Abogn, Qaturi, Sem, Wabar". http://www.haraca.com/Heritage.html Baboon43 (talk) 15:54, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

Most ethnic group wiki pages have a section explaining the group's ethnogenesis; the Harari shouldn't be an exception in this regard. We can also add another section listing the clans and subdivisions, as you have above. What are your proposals? Middayexpress (talk) 16:10, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

well the tribes i listed above are not clans but actual tribes that existed before the harari tribe formed so they can be used as ethnogenesis..but let me paste an extract from a book written by a harari native explaining the roots of hararis and imam ahmeds origin...

1. All of the region between the great Rift Vally, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean were in one state during the Sultanate of Ifat (from 1267-1415) and then under the powerful Sultante of Adal (1415-1577). The dynasty was the same. It was called the "Walasma" dynasty founded by Sultan Umar Walasma. When the last Sultan of Ifat called Sa'adadin (1386-1410) was killed by Emperor Dawit of Ethiopia at the port city of Zeila (in 1410), his children escaped to Yemen and returned back to their land in 1415. They left what is beyond the Awash River to the Ethiopian Solomonic emperors, moved far to the east, and founded a new Sultanate of Adal. The capital of this newly founded sultanate was a small town of Dakar, near Harar (it staid so from 1415-1520). However, the chief center of education and trade was Harar. In 1524, under the initiative of Sultan Abubeker ibn Ahmad, Harar itself became the capital of Adal. When Adal collapsed in 1577, the seat of the Sultanate shifted to Awsa in the desert region of Afar (now around the town of Asaita). This time, Harar became a walled city vassal to the Sultan of Awsa. But in 1647, under the leadership of Amir Ali Ibn Dawud, it cut itself from the Sultan of Awsa and became an independent Emirate. The emirate existed until 1887 when it was occupied by Emperor Minilik II.

2. The "Walasma" leaders were formally called "Sultans". But some people call them "Amirs". This is wrong. The Walasma were all Sultans.

3. Zeyla was of an important port from its formation in 9th century until it was occupied by the British forces in 19th century. And it was an autonomous Emirate within the Sultanate of Ifat and then under the Sultanate of Adal. The reason was that it was a very rich province due to its owning a sea port. Likewise, some records show that Mogadishu was also an autonomous Emirate in Sultanate of Adal (It was established few time latter than Zeyla).

One important thing was that after 1468, a new kind of rulers came to the Adal Politics. This was happened as a protest to the ruling Walasma royal family because the Sultan of the time called Mohammed bin Badlay signed a peace treaty with Emperor Baida-Mariam where the Sultan was ordered to pay a high tribute each year. So the amirs, who administer the provinces, saw this act as betrayal of their independence and a retreat from the long standing Adal resistance to the Supremacy of Habasha (Abyssinia/Ethiopia). And they marched to control the central government of the Sultanate. The main leader of this opposition was the Amir of Zeyla which was the richest province in the Sultanate and who was expected to pay the highest share of the annual tribute to be given to the Abyssinian Emperor. Amir Laday Usman marched to Dakar (the seat of the Sultanate) and controlled the power in 1471. However, he didn't dismiss the Sultan from office. He made him rather a ceremonial leader who has no real power. The real power fall in the hand of the Amir. Now Adal came under the leadership of a powerful Emirs who govern from a palace of a nominal Sultan.Four of these Amirs came from Zeyla. Among them, the most powerful was Amir Mahfuz Mohammed who could fight with four successive Emperors. He killed one of them of them called Emperor Eskender (in 1492) and caused the death of the one other emperor called Naod (in 1508). But he was killed by the forces of Emperor Lenbe Dingel in 1517.

5. After Mahfuz, a civil war started for the office of Highest Amir of Adal. Five Amirs came to power in only two years. But at last, a matured and powerful leader called Garad Abuun Addus ("Garad Abogn" in Harari tradition) assumed power. He was from a district of "Hubat" (located by historians to be around the current town of Funyan Bira, 80 Kms east of Harar). According to "Al-Futhul Habash" (the chronicle of Imam Ahmed), he was the most justiful and kind Amir. And the young Ahmed bin Ibrahim Al-Ghazi and his wife called Bati Dil-Wanbara, a daughter of Mahfuz, were raised under his protection. When Garad Abogne was on power, Sultan Abubeker bin Ahmed, a cousin of the late Sultan Mohammed Azharadin, assumed the throne (as nominal leader).Look! The Sultan was still in his office then. He assumes the power due to his blood line. The Amirs didn't stop this culture. But they cut them from their actual power for fear that the sultans might be bribed by the Abyssinian Emperors. This kind of governing existed until the last Walasma Sultan called Sultan Barakat was killed in 1952 by the Abyssinian General called "Ras Hamelmal". After this time, the office of the Sultan seized to be occupied by blood lines.

6. Only one exception came here. The aforementioned Sultan Abubeker bin Ahmed made an underground deal with Emperor Libne-Dingil and revolted to retake the real power of the Sultan. He marched against Garad Abogne and killed him while the latter was at Zeyla. He formally installed the power of the Sultan and started to pay annual tribute to the Emperor. This time, not only the young Amirs revolted but the whole country of Adal raised against the deal of Sultan Abubeker because Garad Abogne was loved by the whole people of the Sultanate. Many people went to join the force of a new young rebel called "Ahmed ibn Ibrahim Al-Ghazi" who claimed a revenge for the beloved Garad Abogne. And this young man assumed the power of Adal in 1527. But he himself didn't remove the Sultan. He let him in his nominal office. When Abubeker started a secret deal again with Emperor Libene-Dingel, and waged war on him, the young Ahmed ibn Ibrahim killed the nominal sultan Abubeker and replaced him by his brother called "Omardin". This Omardin was very loyal to Ahmed. The young Ahmed not only assumed the power of Adal but began a new campaign against the Abyssinian Empire. He decisively defeated the Emperor's forces at many battlefields. Looking his young age, heroism, charisma, kindness and his justifu leadership, his followers and the mass of the population gave him a new title calling him "Imam Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim Al-Ghazi". He was the only Amir of Adal to became "Imam".

7. The history of Imam Ahmed is very vast. So I don't proceed to the detail. But one thing is that he was not from Zeyla. He was from a village called "Hubat". Hubat was inside the territory of the province of Harar. But his wife was surely from Zeila. She was a daughter of Amir Mahfouz. She was taken to be raised by Garad Abun when her father was dead. On the other hand, Ahmed himself was an orphan who lost his father in the Adal civil war of 1517-1520.

8. The genealogy of Ahmed ibn Ibrahim is very hard to trace. I say this because the Author of "Futuhul Habash" complicates the matter by mentioned a family migrated from Tigray. He says "A man called Abdella Belew came from Tigray". But for me, he was from the now extinct people of Harala.

9. Who were these Harala? Where were they living? Many historians agree that the Harala people were a Semitic speaking nation. They are not Somali or Oromo as they were wrongly assumed before. They developed a marvelous stone building architecture and irrigation system. They occupy a region from about Jijjiga in the east to Fatagar (now east and north east Shoa region in central Ethiopia) in the west. The predominate the northern section of the Harar Plateu just adjacent to the Semi-pastoralist Oromo who settled to the south, the pastoralist Somali to the east and south east, the pastoralist Afar to the north and north east and the sedentary agriculturalist Argoba and Gurage to the west. According to my recent studies, their language was a Proto-type of the Harari Language now spoken in Harar. In my findings, the Harala language also resembles the Zay language (spoken in the islands of Zuway lake in the Rift Valley), the Silte language and the Welene language. However, the Argoba language doesn't seem to have the same origin with Harari language. It has more resemblance to Amharic and the central Gurage than the Harari language.

The Harala existed as a nation until 1560s. Their language was a lingual-franca of the Sultanate of Adal. But a sever drought stroked the nation and devastated their land and reduced their number. Both the Hararis and the Oromos tell about the severe devastations happened then in their oral traditions. For example, both nations tell us a legend of the Harala families who were devastated around Metehara town. Meanwhile, a huge population movement burst out following the drought of the 1560s and most of the remains of the Harala people were assimilated by the Oromo and the Somali. Only few of them survived in the city of Harar with their ancient Semitic language. They were favored to this because of the city-wall built by Amir Nur Mujahid in late 1950s. This is the answer I got recently for the mystery why we see a small Semitic speaking nation called "Harari" who are surrounded by two huge Cushitic speaking people (Oromo and Somali). Indeed, the Hararis are native to this part of Africa and they are the descendants of the ancient Harala people, one of the oldest nations of East Africa. They didn’t come from Arabia as many historians wrote wrongly.

10. Lastly, you may question when the Hararis start to communicate with the Oromos and the Somalis. This is very hard to answer. But one thing is that all of the people we see now in East and central Ethiopia were found in the Sultanate of Adal. This list includes the Harari, Oromo, Somali, Afar, Argoba, Siltie, Walane, Alaba, Qabena,Hadiya etc… Harar was a center of Islam, education and commerce for all of these people. They have all historical attachment to Harar. They were speaking the “Harala” language (now called the “Harari language”) as their lingua-franca during the Adal Sultanate. So Harar transcends boundaries and it is a city of all peoples. Baboon43 (talk) 16:44, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

What work is this? We need to make sure that the material is in line with WP:REDFLAG. Here's what R.S. Whiteway writes with regard to Imam Ahmad in his translation of Castanhoso's historical The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia: "he was certainly not an Arab: probably he was a Somali, for we find him closely connected with many who were Somalis" (page xxxiii [4]). For the genealogy section, I think perhaps a tree of some sort can work showing the various tribes. Middayexpress (talk) 17:10, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

its an extract from a new book that i received in an email from a close friend i dont believe is published yet but the information is cited some of it are in amharic..the book is written in amharic this was a short english translation i believe but getting back to imam ahmed the major sources believe his ethnicity is disputed and your right some academics do call him somali but its disputed ...as the encyclopedia clearly states one thing it mentions is that "There are numerous passages in the Futuh where Imam Ahmad and the Somali people are mentioned together, and never once does 'Arab Faqih mention the ethnic connection. Further, the Somali warriors are described as having fled during the Battle of Shimbra Kure; had the Imam been Somali, would the Futuh which otherwise praises the Imam at every turn, mention this embarrassing detail?"http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ahmad_ibn_Ibrihim_al-Ghazi Baboon43 (talk) 17:42, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

That's a Wikipedia mirror. With regard to the Harari material, what link did you copy the info from? Middayexpress (talk) 17:47, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

no link its from a friend in an email i think he probably got it off the author directly and forwarded to me and he sent it with sources Baboon43 (talk) 17:56, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

Alright. Do you know the name of the author, though? It would be good to know for when the book comes out. Middayexpress (talk) 18:00, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

yea "Afendi Muteki" i found a promo online if you can read amharic http://www.harariworld.com/index.php?option=com_rokdownloads&view=file&Itemid=131&id=81:afendi-muteki-harar-gey-book-promotional-copy Baboon43 (talk) 18:05, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks. In the meantime, try and come up with an ordered list of the various tribal divisions you mention. We can proceed from there. Middayexpress (talk) 18:10, 27 April 2012 (UTC)

i have no records of tribal division as the tribes within harari were destroyed by a ruler after it caused chaos in harar so all tribal facts are lost except for the stuff i listed which i dont even know where it came from..so basically you wont find a harari who says he belongs to a tribe except that he is harari but ill try to dig up something online if it exists.... by the way it was amir nur who destroyed the harari tribal identity as this book clearly states http://books.google.ca/books?id=lgAUtqL-q9UC&lpg=PA149&dq=harar+saints&pg=PA156&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=nuur&f=false..on the harla harari connection here is an article that connects the two http://www.gadling.com/2011/03/29/harla-ethiopias-lost-civilization/ Baboon43 (talk) 16:40, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

That link on Amir Nur indicates that it is unavailable for viewing. Whatever the case, the Harla link appears to be describing the Megalithic Cushite complex, as coined by the anthropologist George P. Murdock but also described by G.W.B. Huntingford and many other authorities on the Horn and the larger Eastern Africa region (c.f. [5]). That sprawling civilizational complex was noted for its elaborate stone (megalithic) construction, that extended from Cape Guardafui in the Gulf of Aden (e.g. Damo in northeastern Somalia) to parts of southeastern Africa (e.g. the Engaruka ruins in northern Tanzania, structures traditionally attributed to the ancestors of the Cushitic-speaking Iraqw). The author of that link doesn't seem to be aware of this. He appears to be under the impression that these stone ruins and unique burial traditions are, at least academically, an unknown quantity, when they've actually been described in the literature for decades. Also, no modern peoples construct buildings in that precise way anymore, including the Harari. Middayexpress (talk) 18:07, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

well the book says amir nur is responsible for the current harari identity maybe it will work if you go through this link http://www.somalinet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=223605&sid=0ab245057b3b24d52359ad304991f353 Baboon43 (talk) 19:06, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Okay, found the link [6]. It says that Amir Nur was indeed responsible "for the genesis of Harari identity" since he "gathered the surrounding Muslims and re-settled them in Harrar to protect them against the Oromo" and "ordered the destruction of all genealogies so that all inhabitants of the town could be considered equal as Hararis, a term which had not been used hitherto." Middayexpress (talk) 19:23, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

i believe its talking about the harla tribe mentioned in "futuh al habasa" book..the harla were a semetic group that occupied mainly the areas of the harar region because studies have shown their language was similar to the silte hararis and "zay"..the zay are the tribes on the island which imam ahmed and his troops took over during the conquest of abysinnia...these people were not somali cush because if they were their language would not have changed and also there's an elder silte here discussing the major split with between silte and harari during imam ahmeds failed conquest on youtube...its in amharic...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZkK6_KSUyo&feature=plcp also this historian mentions that imam ahmeds forces were 5000 somalis and the rest harla people. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yELShWx24DI&feature=plcp Baboon43 (talk) 10:03, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

That gadling link falsely attributes well-known stone constructions traditionally associated with the sprawling Megalithic Cushite complex to a small, Harar-based Ethio-Semitic group called the Harla. This is likely due to the author's ignorance of the megalithic building tradition of the early Cushitic Afro-Asiatic speakers (not to be confused with the peoples of ancient Kush in Sudan). Whatever the case, it is definitely WP:REDFLAG. Further, per Shihab ad-Din, the actual writer of the Futuh Al-Habash ("Conquest of Abyssinia"), most of Imam Ahmed's troops, like his wife and entourage, hailed from Somali clans, not from the Harla. In fact, these clans are identified by name: "Somali forces contributed much to the Imam's victories. Shihab ad-Din, the Muslim chronicler of the period, writing between 1540 and 1560, mentions them frequently. The most prominent Somali groups in the campaigns were the Geri, Marrehan, and Harti — all Darod clans" [7]. That said, this discussion has gotten way off topic. Please start drafting the list of Harar tribal divisions so we can wrap this thing up. Middayexpress (talk) 13:48, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

revert back the other emir nur wall erection he did not build it but it was in his reign...the wall was built by an afar and as for the harla tribe...to be accurate put built during the time of emir nurs rule...there were semetics that fought in the war and these are the harla. even emir nurs article on wiki says "During Nur’s absence, Harar witnessed internal power struggles, and the unlucky city was disturbed by encroaching Oromo clans. It was at this time that the walls of Harar were built" by the way lots of tribes were mentioned in futuh al habasa including harla and malasay. the gurage were obviously involved in the imam ahmed war but they were not formed as an ethnic group at the time but these were semeites fighting with imam ahmed..also these semetic people controlled places like hargaysa and mogadishu..they are responsible for naming the cities hargaysa is an offshoot of harar Gey meaning city and mogadishu meant hot land in harari moga is suppose to be moka as in its hot and dishu is dashi meaning land. but wikipedia says that mogadishu is derived from persia thats very funny...there's another city called haradhere which is actually harar-dera..dera meaning hidden on the coast of somalia..keep in mind there was no somalia it was land ruled by emirs and sultans its obvious cush were not dominant they shared power with the semites by the way im not going off topic this discussion is about harari people and their connections..by the way if harar had joined somalia the ethnic group would vanish over time and i would be here telling you that hararis r somalis but by not joining somalia their identity remains as separate because the abyssinian conquerors were not muslim therefore assimilation was not possible but thats not the case in somalia as many ethnic groups vanished due to somali forceful nationalism which is not a bad thing but do you understand my point? Baboon43 (talk) 18:13, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

Actually, Nur ibn Mujahid's wiki article repeatedly states that he built the wall of Harar, including the sentence you partially quoted above: "It was at this time that the walls of Harar were built; tradition attributes them to Nur ibn Mujahid with the help of two chiefs, Ahu Abadir and Ahu 'Ali." You are also mistaken about Mogadishu and Hargeisa, but I won't elaborate because they are off-topic (please see WP:TALK for more on that). Further, I realize that although the Harari have many Somali ancestors, they are regarded as a distinct people. Hence, this separate ethnic group article. But back on topic. Please draw up a list of the Harari tribes you mentioned and let's wrap this up. Middayexpress (talk) 13:51, 1 May 2012 (UTC)

Harari people are a group of people who were around before the founding of Harar. So the 3rd Paragraph is wrong. Harari234 (talk) 20:25, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

He did not create the Harari group he restrict Harari identity within the walls, because some of them were dwelling. 23:53, 23 March 2015 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.74.238.17 (talk)

Harari-Harla connection

ill be adding this to harari people section when i get the time in the mean time whoever has this page on watch-list should get familiar with the source [8] Baboon43 (talk) 23:14, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

runehelmet dont revert sourced information just because i reverted your input in another article..I think its good to look at the source before you revert it because i dont bring information from the air than cite things. Baboon43 (talk) 07:10, 26 May 2012 (UTC)

Dear Baboon(sounds funny), you are telling me that you have added sourced info, yes that is right but only one citation for entire paragraphs is not right. The only problem is that you need more sources, as the given source is not backing the other sentences up. And I'm not edit warring, as I clearly mentioned that in the other talk page, so you could stop insulting me, that is not helping either. Runehelmet (talk) 18:17, 27 May 2012 (UTC)

on imam ahmed

if the somalis can claim him while its not confirmed than i dont see how hararis cant. Baboon43 (talk) 19:49, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

Somalis are not "claming him", but historians made a general conclusion that Ahmad was a Somali. This is not an ethnic feud, so telling that "Hararis" and "Somalis" are trying to claim people is a total violation against the rules of Wikipedia. Don't let your background be a motivation for your edits, but to contribute to the largest online encyclopedia and keep it a reliable source to editors and visitors and maintain the prestige status of Wikipedia. You can add it, but the only thing you need to do is to put a source(one is enough), that cleary states that he was a harari. Runehelmet (talk) 11:33, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

citation isnt needed in both articles the link into the article would explain his ethnic background. Baboon43 (talk) 21:22, 6 September 2012 (UTC)

Actually per WP:Citing sources, you should add the citation in every article if its discussing the relevant subject. As Wikipedia articles are not a source by them selfs, so you can't use the article as your source. Runehelmet (talk) 12:23, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

why is there no citations for notables on other articles than? and claiming my background might be a motivation to my edits is a violation of wiki policies because i never told you my background Baboon43 (talk) 14:49, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

You told me indirectly that you are a Harari, please don't be a hypocrite, as you called me Somali nearly a dozen times. Runehelmet (talk) 16:53, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

indirectly or not it has nothing to do with the topic if you like getting off topic and taking shots at other users this is not the place to do it. Baboon43 (talk) 17:02, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

I was just making it clear that you were wrong, and once more you put irrelevant subjects and accuse others of getting off topic. Still not added the source? Runehelmet (talk) 17:14, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

answer my question. why is there no citations for other lists of notables for other articles? Baboon43 (talk) 17:21, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

As most of them still live and it is undisputed, but some have citations, I bet you did not checked all of the more than 1000 "ethnic pages". And by the way I removed Umar ar-Rida. I noticed you said he was an Arab(here) but you still add him as a notable Harari? What did I told you earlier? Don't be a hypocrite, telling something and doing it the other way round. Runehelmet (talk)

if you call me a hypocrite again ill report you to an admin..you are being uncivil aside from that kindly remove umar ari-da from the somali notable list if he is arab which you will not do. Baboon43 (talk) 17:37, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

It is an description of your behavior(I think I explained above what I meant), and in your reply I see again hypocrisy, telling that I won't remove it from the Somali notable list -"kindly remove umar ari-da from the somali notable list if he is arab which you will not do"-, while you say to not make any personal attacks(wich I actually never did) and it is also not good to assume some kind of behavior from editors(WP:Civil). So I dont know why you actually added Umar ar-Rida in the article, what would you call that? And by the way you could remove it by your own as this wikipedia allows anyone to edit.

PS:Look unto Blocking for incivility, before you try to report me. If you do, I wish you luck. Runehelmet (talk) 17:46, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

You are telling me that other articles can't be edited in reference to an other talk page? here you call it flip flopping if you change you the consensus if you are on an other article. I don't know why you are being a hypocrite lately but it seems it is getting worse. Don't blame me of personal attacks, I'm just showing that all of your statements here are contradicting your other statements, you are bending it for your own profit/goal. Why do you tell here in plural from? Did I call more than one user a hypocrite? Nor turned this discussion personal, lying is also a bad thing. Runehelmet (talk)

on talk Talk:Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi you say i have an agenda so that is personal and you also take jabs on this page saying my background should not play a role on my edits. Baboon43 (talk) 18:16, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

So you are implying that it is okay that your background is playing a role in your edits? Why are you going off topic again? Umar ar-Rida was not a Harari from the Hejaz region and thought to return to his homeland. So you should remove him from the list or tell the Ip-user that he also could be a Somali, as you told him/here that he was an Arab and reverted his edit. And again on Ahmad al-Ghazi, let's keep that discussion on his article. Runehelmet (talk) 19:03, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

he died in harar there's even a grave there so i dont know what you mean by "he is thought to return to his homeland" he is arab but can be claimed as the father of the clan somali sheikhall or harari people and still be included on their respective pages but hararis say sheikhall are in fact harari not somali but thats a subject for another topic. im sure even the sheikhalls will tell you they are harari but based on my research it seems sheikhal were influenced by somalis and they were assimilated that way. Baboon43 (talk) 19:09, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

So you are now accepting that he could be included in the Somali people article?(as you removed it recently) I don't think it is good to make such compromises, only willing to accept if it's also included in this article. And if you look into it that way, why won't the Hararis and Sheekhal be Arabic? If their ancestor is Arabic."im sure even the sheikhalls will tell you they are harari but based on my research it seems sheikhal were influenced by somalis and they were assimilated that way", in this Wiki we use reliable source from the academic world, and not the opinions and research of editors, WP:OR. Runehelmet (talk) 19:28, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

arguments put forth can be used to defend other articles there's nothing wrong with that..do you understand? arabic or not they view themselves as one and since one is somali and the other is not than there's nothing wrong with putting it in here...Baboon43 (talk) 19:37, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

You are only saying that to keep him in this article. You clearly stated that he wasn't a Somali but Arabic, and that doesn't make him a Harari either, but nevermind. Let's keep him in this article then. Runehelmet (talk) 20:05, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

just as emir nur is a somali and abadir is a arab they are both said to have contributed to the formation of the harari ethnic group depending on the sources you list. Baboon43 (talk) 20:12, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

You keep suprising me; you added Nur ibn Mujahid in the list of notables Hararis. He is clearly a Somali, and you know it(here you go). Why did you put him in the list? There are plenty of other Hararis(politicians, sporters etc) so if you have the need to fill the list, you could foccus on "modern day" Hararis. Runehelmet (talk) 20:14, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

You are very confusing, now you are telling me that the Somalis created the Harari ethnic group? While you said earlier that the Somalis did not even existed in the middle ages? And told that the Harari were an older group then the Somalis? Could you give the a source that says that he was created the ethnic group, and also how, as it's true that he made it, it still doesn't make sense to list him as a Harari, as he was a Somali. In the meantime it will be removed from the article, and please don't revert it again. And by the way, the Harari ethnic group didn't formed in the 16th century, it is much older. Runehelmet (talk) 20:20, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

abadir is clearly arab but he is put under somali because he was the father of somalis and had influence on them am i right? therefore emir nur according to academics not me is that he built the walls and therefore formed the harari single identity. ill find the source but next time dont revert its better to discuss first i have told you many times that i dont just add info without backing it up. Baboon43 (talk) 20:30, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

No offence but you didn't put a single source for Nur ibn Muhajid. And I'm not the one who is reverting, I'm removing it and you reverted it, but to stay on topic;That he built the wall is certain, but if that's the reason that he could be a Harari is very odd. You are coming with a source wich states that? Runehelmet (talk) 20:42, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

if you read the talk page than this would not be an issue..[9]. It says that Amir Nur was indeed responsible "for the genesis of Harari identity" since he "gathered the surrounding Muslims and re-settled them in Harrar to protect them against the Oromo" and "ordered the destruction of all genealogies so that all inhabitants of the town could be considered equal as Hararis, a term which had not been used hitherto." Baboon43 (talk) 20:56, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

I know that he built the wall of Harar to protect the people inside. But the source says that he abolished the genealogic traditions and made them one, as Muslims. But that doesn't make him a Harari self, but he made the identity of the Hararis, but the Hararis already existed, as an independent ethnic group. You put it totally out of the context. Because Nur created the wall and gathered the Muslim tribes to settle in Harar, some disputes came. Thus to solve this issue he declared that every non-Harari settler was equal to a Harari, thus the Harari kept their identity even with all the other tribes that settled in Harar. Thus he as a non-Harari, maintained the identity of the Hararis, kept them safe from the Oromo, making him a one of the popular saints of Harar. You must not put the citation out of their context. Here is the full citation:

• However, this view neglects an important and mostly overlooked aspect; oral histories point out that it was Amir Nur who gatheret the surrounding Muslims and re-settled them in Harar to protect them against the Oromo. Due their hetero-genous backgrounds, fights roke out between the initial and later settlers. Amir Nur arbitrated in the dispute and ordered the destruction of all genealogies so that all inhabitants of the town could be considered equal as Hararis, a term which had not been used hitherto. This means that Amir Nur was not only responsible for the wall, but also for the genesis of a Harari identity. Seen from this perspective, sancity in Harar is related to the exclusion of the foreign and the inclusion of the self- showing strenght to the outside and at the same time endowing identity." - Dimensions of Locality: Muslim Saints, Their Place and Space, page 156

Making people to keep their identity does not make the leader one of them. Many historical leaders did this, for example:Muhammad Ali of Egypt, he is an Albanian, but modernized Egypt and is regarded as the founding father of Egypt, its military, economy and culture. But that doesn't make him a Egyptian, he is an Albanian, but shaped Egypt to what it is known today. You can add that he was responsible for the genesis of a Harari identity, but not as a Harari self. Runehelmet (talk) 11:39, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

There appear to be no reliable sources which unambiguously identify Emir Nur (who, incidentally, was Al-Ghazi's nephew) as a Harari forefather. What that passage above seems to be saying is that 1) Nur ibn Mujahid gathered the various Muslim peoples in the Ethiopian interior and resettled them in Harar so as to protect them from Oromo raids; 2) friction between these newcomers and the earlier settlers of Harar then developed; 3) to resolve the conflict, Nur did away with the genealogical traditions of the two groups of settlers so that everyone in the area would identify with the city alone. The new "Harari" designation referring to the "people from Harar" was thus born. This would imply that Nur ibn Mujahid is the architect of the modern Harari ethnic identity, which in fact consists of a mixture of various historical Muslim peoples who inhabited the Ethiopian interior and the earlier settlers of Harar (the latter of whom presumably spoke what is today the Harari language). As such, this would not have made Emir Nur himself a Harari hereditary patriarch because the modern Harari people don't actually trace blood descent from him, unlike apparently with Sheikh Abadir. Middayexpress (talk) 13:51, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

What about those that are said to be descendants from him like nur family in harar..are they refered to as somalis or hararis?. Baboon43 (talk) 02:12, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Those are, at most, a handful of descendants. At any rate, Google books brings up only six hits of Nur ibn Mujahid and Harari, none of which specify that he was from the Harari ethnic group (which would be odd since he apparently created it) [10]. Middayexpress (talk) 12:13, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Harla & Harari languages

A passage attributed to Ulrich Braukämper appears to link the initial settlers of Harar with the mysterious Harla, and the Harla in turn with Semitic speakers. However, according to the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica [11], Enrico Cerulli identified a modern group called the "Harla" living amongst the Somali between Harar and Jijiga, which "may be a remnant group of the old [Harla], that integrated into the Somali genealogical system, but kept a partially separate identity by developing a language of their own." Cerulli published some linguistic data on this "Harla" community's language (called af Harlaad), and it apparently resembles those spoken by the Yibir and Midgan low-caste groups, both of whom speak Cushitic dialects.

It would indeed make sense if the Harla originally spoke a Cushitic language because the Harari language itself contains a Sidama substratum. This suggests that the initial inhabitants of the Harar region spoke a Sidama language and only later adopted the Harari language, in the process retaining certain features of their original Sidama tongue ("Cerulli (1926:440) has analysed Harari, the language spoken at Harar, and has concluded that the Sidama language formed the substratum on which Harari was originally superimposed" [12]). This is further supported by the fact that the Gurage language, which is closely related to Harari, likewise has a Sidama substratum ("The hypothesis that the ethnogenesis of the Gurage took place on a substratum of Cushitic- speaking "Sidama" populations is common among the scholars engaged on that problem" [13]). Middayexpress (talk) 14:56, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

Based on my research the harla are identified as Semites they may have been thought to be cush before but now the studies are revealing they may have been semites which is why ulrich says that..the harla tribe and malasay is said to have fought in the adal ethiopian war and for some reason became extinct..the malasay tribe is unable to be identified because the closest data available is that in harari language, malasay means soldier so it doesnt help much. the majority of harari history is said to have been lost during the somali civil war Baboon43 (talk) 02:19, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

What linguistic research might that be? Because Braukämper doesn't mention any in his book. What he does actually concede is that "the linguistic proof is lacking" [14]. So basically, his statements on the language of the Harla are conjecture.

Like Cerulli, Braukämper indicates that there is a Sidama substratum in Harari and Gurage, much like the Agaw substratum in Amharic [15]. Braukämper also describes the actual autochthones of Harar as Cushitic speakers, and indicates that the modern Harari consist of a mixture of them with later Semitic-speaking migrants from the north. Unlike Cerulli, however, Braukämper doesn't specify that those Cushitic natives were probably Sidama: [16] "after a thorough analysis of all available information sources, we can draw the general conclusion that the Harari ethnogenesis resulted from a mixture of northern Semitic-speaking groups with an unknown (possibly Cushitic-speaking) autochthonous population."

The only significant linguistic research that has been done on a people called the "Harla" is by Cerulli. And that research indicates that these "Harla" -- likely descendants of the ancient Harla, per the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica -- spoke a Cushitic dialect, as did the original Sidama inhabitants of the Harar region. Despite this and the fact that "Azais and Chambard and also Huntingford suggest that the builders of these sometimes gigantic ruins were a kind of proto-Somali", Braukämper believes that the Harla were Semitic speakers in part because "the Futuh al-Habasa explicitly ascribes a non-Somali ethnic origin to the Harla". In actuality, the Futuh doesn't mention the Somali as an ethnic group but does name various modern Somali clans individually, such as the Harti and Marehan. So by that logic, the Harti and Marehan couldn't both be Somali since they are mentioned separately. The main reason, though, that Braukämper believes that the Harla couldn't have been Cushitic is because he feels that "it is somewhat doubtful that a predominantly nomadic population without a distinct tradition of stone architecture - as far as the Ethiopian Somali are concerned - would have been able to accomplish such work." However, as already explained in detail elsewhere [17], such stone/megalithic architecture is in fact quite common throughout the Somali territories and all of the other major areas of Cushitic inhabitation because those structures are the work of the Megalithic Cushites -- a fact which Braukämper doesn't seem to be aware of at all. Those monumental edifices and cairns are associated with the Cushitic peoples' old monotheistic belief system called Waaq, much like how the affiliated Ancient Egyptians built entire pyramids for what were essentially religious reasons [18]:

"Early Cushites left behind materials that await further research and study; among those are monumental shrines in the Horn of Africa. The best known of these is a series of monumental graves and raised cairns situated in northern Somalia, which extend to southern Ethiopia up to the Dawa River, where the ancestors of the Oromo settled. These monumental graves are unknown in areas not associated with early Cushitic settlement. The building of these monumental graves points to a highly organized and ritualized religion."

Middayexpress (talk) 12:13, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

A harla article is needed in wiki as well as other tribes mentioned in the futuh that are extinct today ill make those when i get the time. If you remember that promo book i sent you a few months ago written by afendi muteki, he says that he has investigated the harla language and it is identical to east gurege as well as harari language also that many historians agree they were semites.. yes ulrich mentions sidama influencing harari but still doesnt refer to harari as cush perhaps only a small portion is cush, although burton didnt have time to study the language fully he says " The Harari appears, like the Galla, the Dankali, and the Somali, its sisters, to be a Semitic graft inserted into an indigenous stock. (376) The pronouns, for instance, and many of the numerals are clearly Arabic, whilst the forms of the verb are African, and not unlike the vulgar tongues of modern India. Again, many of the popular expressions, without which conversation could not be carried on (e.g. Labbay, "here I am," in answer to a call), are pure Arabic. We are justified then in determining this dialect to be, like the Galla, the Dankali, and the Somali, a semi-Semite" [19] keep in mind he was not aware of the east gurege languages which also had a similar tone to harari Baboon43 (talk) 17:01, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Braukämper does not present any linguistic evidence supporting his theory that the Harla may have been Semitic speakers, and actually prefaces that hypothesis with the admission that "the linguistic proof is lacking" [20]. In that quote above on Harari, Burton is basically stating what both Cerulli and Braukämper assert with regard to the evident substratum in Harari i.e. that Harari is a Semitic language that was superimposed/grafted on an autochthonous tongue. Also have a look at Harla people. Middayexpress (talk) 18:27, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

5th century formation?

By the 5th century, an easterly outlier of these south Ethiopic societies speaking a language ancestral to the present day Harari tongue had moved into parts of the Chercher highland and become the western neighbors of the Ahmar-dharoor peoples.-The invention of Somalia p.242 Baboon43 (talk) 01:58, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

That passage says that south Ethiopic societies speaking a language ancestral to Harari (not Harari itself) moved into the Harari area by the 5th century. This would imply that the original homeland of the Proto-Harari speakers would've been somewhere in the south, from where they later expanded northward. However, a general north-to-south movement of Proto-Harari speakers from the Ethiopian highlands is the standard theory. That whole book, by the way, is a polemical piece which attempts to revise a lot of regional history, concentrating the bulk of it in the south (where its authors are from; c.f. [21]). Middayexpress (talk) 15:08, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

history

the first paragraph should not include that modern history says such and such if you want to put that in then include it in the harla people article which you have made. the article should focus on harari people. you pasted the exact same thing in the harla people page why? on the harla page it should say harla is connected with the somali tribes and then separately it can say ulrich links harari people with harla as well. it isnt neutral if academics are compared in articles..the majority dont want to read what other academics say so stick with the articles subject. this method is downplaying one source over another & it may be appropriate if this article was Harla Baboon43 (talk) 00:15, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

ill make these adjustments when i get the time

• harari ethnic identity formed sometime during abadirs arrival
• emir nur is noted for starting to restrict harari identity within the walls as their population dwindled and those outside the walls became oromo which is why a large portion of oromos around harar have harari blood..Baboon43 (talk) 01:10, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

The Harla, who are associated with the original inhabitants of Harar, are mentioned here because you variously insisted that they were basically ancestral to the Harari (see discussion above). However, it is neither neutral nor proper weighting to claim outright that they were Semitic speakers, while at the same time removing info asserting that the bulk of the actual evidence suggests otherwise (as Braukämper himself admits). That is why that material on the Darod, etc. is included.

As for Emir Nur restricting Harari identity to within Harar's walls and some Oromos outside of Harar having Harari blood, that is presumably a reference to that quote you posted on the Al-Ghazi t/p on September 13th. However, in full, the quote says nothing about the Oromos around Harar having Harari blood. It says with regard to the Hararis outside of Harar that their "last trace is the record of their decimation" [22]. This basically means that there are no traces of them left, supposedly because the Oromos killed them off. However, note that the Harla and Harari languages are completely separate. So either it was a Harari-speaking people that were widespread (highly unlikely and no linguistic evidence to suggest this) or a Harla-speaking people (likely). Middayexpress (talk) 12:10, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

Also, the Harla practised a pre-Islamic religion and were only later introduced to Islam by Ismail Jabarti, who was an early proselytizer and the forefather of the Somali Darod clan: "At Harar, one believes that this religious sense sprung from the pre-Islamic religion practiced by the Harla people before they were converted to Islam most probably by Ismael Jeberti." [23]

This further suggests Cushitic origins for the Harla since, as pointed out in my post above from 12:13, 9 September 2012 (UTC), the monumental edifices and cairns in Somalia and Ethiopia are associated with the Cushitic peoples' old monotheistic belief system called Waaq. This is, again, similar to how the affiliated Ancient Egyptians built whole pyramids for what basically were religious reasons. Middayexpress (talk) 12:10, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

I added the harla part because it had something to do with this article now you have confused the whole article its not even clear anymore if harla is being connected with hararis or just harla who are somalis. You removed the part where he connects harla with hararis so what is the point of adding this? you want people to read about harla on a harari people article? the paragrapgh starts as "initial settlers of harar" but this is not an article about harar its about the ethnic group that call themselves "harari".. secondly my post was an extract of ulrich which mentioned hararis might have extended to other regions not that harla were semitic or not..also i gave you a source a while back that harla were Semitic speakers..it has been centuries since oromo has been in the harar region so why would there not be harari blood in them? as i have mentioned before there is somali tribes that speak a proto harari language so there is no doubt that a bulk of oromos and somalis have harari blood in them.

Since this is a harari people article the following must be mentioned if quoting ulrich.

• ulrich connects hararis with harla people
• ulrich believes hararis may have occupied large regions
• the connection between hararis, silte and zays having a linguistic connection and that oromo wave split their belt after ethiopian adal war

although ulrich says linguistic data is lacking he means its lacking to connect harla with harari language linguistically but it is a mainstream view already that harla were semitic speakers..some quote indicating harla were semities

"The Hareri, who played such a crucial role in the transformation of the Oromo, spoke a language that belonged to the Semitic family and lived within the walls of the city of Harer. There are several theories regarding their origin, but the most likely are postulates that they represent remnants of the Semitic-speaking Harla". Leaf of Allah:Khat & Agricultural Transformation in- p.35

"With the exception of the Semitic language speaking Argoba, Harla, and Harari of the Harar highlands". The journal of Oromo studies-p.205

also the book author on the recent history of harar which i had sent you says this

Who were these Harala? Where were they living? Many historians agree that the Harala people were a Semitic speaking nation. They are not Somali or Oromo as they were wrongly assumed before. They developed a marvelous stone building architecture and irrigation system. They occupy a region from about Jijjiga in the east to Fatagar (now east and north east Shoa region in central Ethiopia) in the west. The predominate the northern section of the Harar Plateu just adjacent to the Semi-pastoralist Oromo who settled to the south, the pastoralist Somali to the east and south east, the pastoralist Afar to the north and north east and the sedentary agriculturalist Argoba and Gurage to the west. According to my recent studies, their language was a Proto-type of the Harari Language now spoken in Harar. In my findings, the Harala language also resembles the Zay language (spoken in the islands of Zuway lake in the Rift Valley), the Silte language and the Welene language. However, the Argoba language doesn't seem to have the same origin with Harari language. It has more resemblance to Amharic and the central Gurage than the Harari language. Baboon43 (talk) 01:29, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

We need to differentiate here between a) speculation of modern researchers vs. actual evidence, and b) the weighting of that evidence.

Those quotes above are just declarations/more speculation that the Harla spoke a Semitic language, not actual evidence. As already explained, Braukämper himself concedes outright that "the linguistic proof is lacking" [24]. So basically, his statements on the language of the Harla, like the excerpts above, are conjecture.

Like Cerulli, Braukämper indicates that there is a Sidama substratum in Harari and Gurage, much like the Agaw substratum in Amharic [25]. Braukämper also describes the actual autochthones of Harar as likely Cushitic speakers, and indicates that the modern Harari consist of a mixture of them with later Semitic-speaking migrants from the north who hailed from various groups. According to Braukämper himself, this is based on a comprehensive analysis of all of the available data: [26]

"after a thorough analysis of all available information sources, we can draw the general conclusion that the Harari ethnogenesis resulted from a mixture of northern Semitic-speaking groups with an unknown (possibly Cushitic-speaking) autochthonous population."

The only professional linguistic research that has been done on a people called the "Harla" is by Cerulli. And that research indicates that these "Harla" -- likely descendants of the ancient Harla, per the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica -- spoke a Cushitic dialect (af Harlaad) similar to the Cushitic tongues spoken by the Yibir and Midgan groups [27]. The original Sidama inhabitants of the Harar region likewise spoke a Cushitic language, so these may be one and the same people.

Braukämper also points out that modern traditions link the Harla with the Ismail Jabarti and the Darod ancestors of the Ogaden Somali, in addition to Somali language speakers living amongst the western Issa and in areas below Harar.

So here's a summary of the actual evidence on the Harla, as opposed to personal beliefs/speculation:

• The only linguistic research on what may be Harla suggests Cushitic affinities for that language (per Cerulli's analysis).
• The original natives of Harar were Cushitic speakers who later mixed in situ with various Semitic-speaking groups from the north; this formed the modern Harari people (per all of the available data, according to Braukämper)
• The modern traditional evidence generally associates the Harla with Somali groups (per Braukämper)
• The Harla practised a pre-Islamic religion until they were introduced to Islam by Ismail Jabarti, the Darod ancestor (per Pankhurst et al.). This means that the Harla followed a pagan religion as recently as the 10th or 11th century (when Jabarti lived), which in turn further supports Cushitic origins for them via Waaq.

Whether or not the Harla contributed to Harari ethnogenesis specifically is an open question. However, since, according Braukämper, the bulk of the actual data on Harari ethnogenesis suggests that they are a mixture of Cushitic speaking authocthones and northern Semitic-speaking groups, this should at the very least be made clear. So should the well-established Sidama substratum in the Harari language and what its presence implies. Middayexpress (talk) 16:47, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

I dont think there's anything wrong with adding in speculations since this article is a stub..is there a wiki policy against that by RS sources? Baboon43 (talk) 09:56, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

Braukämper's belief that the Harla may have spoken a Semitic language was already included. However, you removed it for some reason and all of the other material on the Harla that's enumerated above (material that wasn't, by contrast, speculation). Middayexpress (talk) 10:38, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

i meant the gurege zay connection but yes the harla part as well but your input had no mention of hararis whats so ever. Baboon43 (talk) 10:52, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

The material was all on the Harla so perhaps it was off-topic. Anyway, could you quote the Gurage-Zay connection material to give me an idea of what you're referring to? Middayexpress (talk) 11:11, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

generally believed Silt'e people ended up west of harar before or after imam ahmed launched the adal-ethiopian war also it seems either the people of zay on the island of Lake Zway either were already influenced by harari or that when imam ahmed attacked the islands (mentioned in futuh al habasa) the harari or harla army influenced their language because its similar to harari. The modern ethiopian historians says the bulk of imam ahmeds army were harla and somalis...now ulrich quote "As in the case of the Hadiyya-Sidama, the Oromo expansion also split the semitic block to small spots in gurageland, the islands of lake zway and the town of Harar" Baboon43 (talk) 18:09, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

That passage is a reference to the Harla area of inhabitation. As you know, Braukämper believed that they were Semitic speakers related to the peoples who first introduced the Harari language to the originally Cushitic-inhabited Harar region. He conceded, though, that linguistic proof of this is lacking. He believed that they may have been Semitic speakers mainly because he was under the misimpression that the Somali and Oromo "possessed no tradition of stone architecture, and state organization". This is of course an absurd assumption. Somalis have long had multiple kingdoms, empires and sultanates. That's in addition to elaborate stone architecture dating back to the pre-Islamic period, which is found throughout their territory as well as other Cushitic areas of inhabitation. Some of the most characteristic such structures are actually found in the northeast, far away from any possible Abyssinian influence (e.g. the monuments, cairns, etc. at Damo, Somalia). Middayexpress (talk) 13:43, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

i believe your incorrect on some of your previous points as i have said earlier the only linguistic data thats lacking is that harla's ties with the harari language that about it..harla have been proven to be semites or else academics wouldnt just say they were without proof.. harla are already believed to be semitic by modern historians but currently ulrich says research has not been done yet to connect the harari language with the harla one..the connection of harar with cushitic speakers was a long time ago it may predate the arrival of other semitic dominance like harla..unlike semitics its believed cush didnt cross the red sea into the horn but came through sudan at the fall of kingdom of kush and a large population move began from west to east but this is not to say harla did not take over the cushitic areas or were perhaps neighbors.

some quotes

"On the Harar plateau (Hararge) there is clear evidence of a presence of peoples speaking an Ethio-semitic language, Tadesse Tamrat has argued that they formed the dominant section of the population in the area."-Localising Salafism Religious change among Oromo Muslims in Bale, Ethiopia-p.46

"There are several theories regarding their origin, but the most likely one postulates that they represent remnants of the semitic-speaking harla, an autochthonous population that existed in the region prior to the arrival of the oromo."-Leaf of Allah: Khat & Agricultural Transformation in-p.36

"It is also in reference to Yishaq's reign that we have the earliest historical mention of the somali in ethiopian documents. The somali and the simur are said to have submitted and paid tribute to him. Dr enrico cerulli has shown that simur was an old harari name for the somali, who are still known by them as Tumur."-The cambridge History of Africa, Volume 3-p.154

Yes it seems ulrich makes a connection with some harla type tribe stretching from harar to lake zway but do you know why he does that? aside from his harla connection those areas all speak a similar language with harari. "the eastern ones come closely to harari and have several features in common with north ethiopic. There must have been a territorial continuity between the east gurage and the harari speakers, later disrupted by population movements".-Semitic Languages: Outlines of a comparative Grammar-p.89..the movement disruption is most likely adal ethiopian war.

on your recent edit: Argobba didnt assimilate all they did was copy harari homes and dress and some of them spoke harari but they didnt assimilate because hararis didnt let them..argobba settled around harar ever since tigray chased them out of their former region somewhere in abyssinia because they refused to convert to Christianity. Baboon43 (talk) 11:05, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

It's actually Braukämper that asserts that the Argobba were assimilated in Harar. He also readily admits that there is no linguistic evidence to support his theory that the Harla spoke a Semitic language. Further, the quotes above are just more unqualified assertions, not actual evidence. Evidence includes things like linguistic analysis, such as that conducted by Enrico Cerulli (see post from 16:47, 27 September 2012 (UTC)). But enough going in circles. Let's cut to the chase: the Harla left behind some distinctive graves in the Harari region and in their other areas of occupation (c.f. [28]). These graves have been analysed by various scholars, including I.M. Lewis. He found that the skeletons contained within them closely resembled Somali and Oromo remains across a battery of physical measurements, and that they were only a couple of hundred years old:

"The Series A mounds are seen all over the British Protectorate; they occur also in French Somaliland and in Harar Province of Ethiopia, and are especially common in the Mijertein Province of Northern Somalia. They are also found in central Somalia and more sparsely distributed in Southern Somalia, and they become extremely common again in the Northern Province of Kenya[...] These results taken with what has been said above of former Somali burial customs suggest that some, if not many, of the Series A cairns in Northern Somaliland are comparatively recent and contain Somali remains. If this is generally the case the term 'Galla graves' is a misnomer."

So the skeletal evidence plus the linguistic evidence (Cerulli's analysis), as well as the fact that they apparently practised a pagan religion as recently as the 10th or 11th centuries, all strongly suggest that the Harla were a Cushitic-speaking people. Middayexpress (talk) 22:07, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

I would like for you to read the book "on the harla" by r.p azias and r chambard..this book analyzes the semitic origin of the group as you seem to think academics like to call a group semitic then say it lacks linguistic data..ill put the source pointed above that indicates hararis were connected with east gurege groups and not use ulrich one because you seem to think he is referring to just harla people when he makes the connection..how did argoba assimilate when they still exist today near harar? so it should be removed

"The Argobba around Harar call themselves "Adiya" and are mixed with the oromo".A short History of the Argobba-p.175

"and we may assume that the Argobba copied Harari houses, as they copied the traditional Harari women's gown, though in locally made and simpler material"-Harar and Lamu A comparison of two east african muslim societies-p.1

"and to distinguish the harari from oromo, amhara, somali, gurage and argobba neighbors in harar"-Anthropologica 2002-p.57 Baboon43 (talk) 22:50, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

That's doubtful since, according to Braukämper, Azais and Chambard (Huntingford as well) actually held that the builders of these monumental edifices were ancestral to the Somali (i.e. "proto-Somali"). Looking at the aforecited physical evidence, that appears to have been not far off the mark. Those quotes above also do not address Braukämper's claims that some Argobba were assimilated in Harar by the city's authocthones. In other words, what Braukämper is saying is that the modern Harari themselves are a mixture of Cushitic and Semitic speaking peoples. The Sidama substratum in the Harari language certainly supports this too. Middayexpress (talk) 16:18, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

well it does not matter if they said they are ancestral to somali or not if they call them semitic then thats what they are by the way ancestors can be those who were assimilated by the somalis in that case they would be ancestors. every group assimilates but its misleading to say argoba assimilated with harari because they still exist today but perhaps some small percentage may have just like amharas somalis arabs and others. 18:19, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

Actually, there is no linguistic evidence on what language the Harla may have spoken since of course their language is extinct, with no written records left of it. There's only analysis on other, modern languages that may be remnants of Harla, in addition to plenty of physical evidence of actual Harla burials, all of which suggest that they were likely Cushitic speakers. Middayexpress (talk) 14:43, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

i see you have a strong opinion on this matter ok so the academics are just analyzing when they say harla are semities? as discussed the harla were incorrectly thought to be cush but linguistic evidence that has recently come up suggests otherwise but if you can get me recent sources that call harla cushitic then there's no problem..otherwise us simply discussing they were cush or semitic isnt really going to go anywhere because everyone has their own opinion. Baboon43 (talk) 22:39, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

Unlike the conjecture that the Harla language was Semitic, the notion that Harla was instead likely a Cushitic language is based on actual linguistic analysis. As explained, Cerulli analysed a language called "Harla" (which is believed to represent a remnant of the old Harla language) and concluded that it showed affinities with the Yibir and Midgan Cushitic dialects. Had this actual linguistic analysis not existed, the assertion of Cushitic affinities for the Harla language would likewise be guesswork. Middayexpress (talk) 18:30, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

reer hamar - harari connection

i believe there's a connection between these two groups but there is no RS i can find. Baboon43 (talk) 09:58, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

It's theoretically possible. But that would only strengthen the Harari's connections with the Darod because Ismail Jabarti was a kinsmen to and leader of the early Muslims that made their way to Xamar/Mogadishu. Jabarti is also mentioned in the Fath Madinat, though he probably lived a century or more before Sheikh Abadir. Middayexpress (talk) 10:38, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

Im not too familiar with the somali clans but there's a story of a man named ali garad who went to mogadishu from harar around emir nur time and it may be the time the two groups interacted perhaps. Baboon43 (talk) 10:50, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

The Garad/Gerad title was used by both northern Somali rulers (mainly the Darod) and also Muslims in the Ethiopian interior, where it was sometimes transliterated as Al-Jarad. It was a quite common honorific in the Warsangali Sultanate, and there just so happened to have been one Garad Ali who ruled the kingdom from 1612 to 1655. This was not long after Emir Nur's death. Middayexpress (talk) 11:11, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

There's also apparently a sub-clan of the Dhulbahante (a northern Darod group) that is called Ali Garaad. It was ostensibly named after one Ali Garaad [29]. Middayexpress (talk) 11:28, 29 September 2012 (UTC)

Garad is an old harari title but RS is needed to add these connections unfortunately Baboon43 (talk) 17:39, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

the language of reer hamaris and hararis is similar it seems..came across another connection even though the writer is inaccurate about what it means "However, Maryan had a full head of long hair, as was the custom among the Reer Hamar, earning her the nickname of tuurkuhalesh, “the long-hairedgirl." [30] in harari it means she has turk in her not that she has long hair. Baboon43 (talk) 23:50, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

As already pointed out, Reer Xamar speak a dialect of the Somali language, an Afro-Asiatic language of the Cushitic branch. Their Yemeni/Omani ancestors spoke Arabic, not an Ethiosemitic language like Harari. Middayexpress (talk) 16:18, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

mogadishu was occupied by semitic speakers (arabs) you do know there's sources that says harar was founded by yemenis right? harar province is known as the arab state during adal so there might be a connection plus does the word "halesh" exist in somali vocabulary?? Baboon43 (talk) 18:27, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

it can be assumed out of the arabic developed harari with the mixture of cushitic and semitic dialects..this source seems to point out a more vivid connection between the people " religion endowed with some divine blessing, who came from Arabia hence they are known as the four who came, afarta timid. Cumar Diine is said to have lived in Harar and by some is identified with the sixteenth century Sultan of Harar of that name. Another brother was Fakhri Diine , who later became sultan of Muqdisho". Somali Sultanate-p.272 Baboon43 (talk) 22:16, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

Your argument is all over the place. The Harari language is an Ethiosemitic language, with a Sidama substratum. It did not evolve out of Arabic nor is there any competent linguistic authority that suggests it did. That quote above (which is from an important book on the Geledi sultanate by the Somalist Virginia Luling) reads as follows: "The ancestor of the Geledi Nobles, Cumar Diine,1 was one of four brothers, all men of religion endowed with divine blessing, who came from Arabia; hence they are known as 'the four who came', afarta timid. Cumar Diine is said to have lived in Harar and by some is identified with the sixteenth century Sultan of Harar of that name. Another brother was Fakhri Diine (Fakhr-ad-diin), who later became Sultan of Muqdisho.2 The names of the other two are given variously as Shamse Diine (Shams-ad-diin), Umudi Diine, Alahi Diine and Axmed Diine." The Geledi are a Somali sub-clan, part of the Rahanweyn group. And the Geledi nobles referred to there are the Gobroons. Middayexpress (talk) 14:43, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

oh really what is ethio-semitic? i suggest you read the article on it..it says "Afro-Semitic) is a language group, which together with Old South Arabian forms the Western branch of the South Semitic languages" it simply does not matter evolved or not it influenced hamar..sources say harar was founded by yemenis so what is the difference between mogadishu and harar in that sense? you say hamar's ancestors were arabs but then you turn around and say harar were ethio semitic? you do know the ethiopians themselves have considerable arab in them right? your missing the point that a group becomes a somali clan after it loses its identity it does not mean they were always somalis understand?. my analysis is simple tradition states mogadishu and harar had ties so both cities influenced eachother..i can careless who is more cush or semitic if you are influenced by arab you are considered semitic which is why the nation of somalia joined arab league claiming they are arab which is not true..in that sense we can say somalia is the land of the semities.Baboon43 (talk) 22:18, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

I'm not going to waste any further time going over the basic Ethiosemitic classification of Harari. It is what it is. I will say, though, that you seem unclear on the difference between a Semitic speaker and an Arab. An Arab is a person whose mother tongue is Arabic. Arabic is only one specific Semitic language. It's famous because it is the most widely-spoken Semitic language. There are many other Semitic languages besides Arabic, such as Hebrew. The fact that many Jews speak Hebrew (without a substratum) does not make them "Arab". The same logic applies to speakers of other non-Arabic, Semitic languages. While the Harari also speak a non-Arabic, Semitic language nowadays, we know from linguistic analyses conducted by Cerulli and others that there is a marked Sidama substratum in the language. According to the experts, this suggests that the autochthons of Harar originally spoke a Sidama language, onto which the Harari language was later superimposed. Regarding clan genealogies, all Somali clans ultimately trace descent from Arabia (c.f. [31]). The same could be said for many other Afro-Asiatic speakers in the Horn, including the Harari (via Sheikh Abadir). Whether or not any of these groups are actually paternally descended from Arabs is another matter. The fact remains, though, that Cumar Diine is the ancestor of the Geledi nobles. He and his brother Fakr ad-Din of Xamar are not patriarchs of the Harari, who instead assert descent from Sheikh Abadir. Middayexpress (talk) 18:30, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

did i say they are patriarchs of harar? the point is some form of proto harari speakers entered hamar it could be through invasion or immigration and they influenced some percentage of the population just as persians or arabs are said to have influenced the city and its possible vice versa..although i have not found sources online if you ask "hamars" they will tell u some of their people are from harar also most somali clans trace some of their lineage from harar hence why harar is regarded as a holy city after zeila and mogadishu. Baboon43 (talk) 21:08, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

tampering my edits

the source says exactly what i had input until you came along and began selectively including what you wanted from the RS. ulrich said the following so you can add what you want to put but dont remove what i put in Baboon43 (talk) 17:35, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

As discussed and quoted extensively above, Braukämper's central thesis on Harari ethnogenesis is that they are a mixture of an authochthonous Cushitic-speaking group and various Semitic speaking migrants who entered the Harari region from a northern direction (c.f. [32]). Your edits removed this. Braukämper's proposed original distribution of the Semitic speakers can be included alongside that central thesis, but not in place of it. Also have a look at WP:TALKNEW for details on the importance of neutral discussion page headings. Middayexpress (talk) 19:46, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

you are the one that altered my edit at first..i didnt decide to include ulrich's source for which you put in regarding cushitics in harar..so i would appreciate it if you dont remove my input and if you want to include your bit about ulrich go ahead but dont remove my edit. Baboon43 (talk) 19:50, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

FYI, Braukämper himself asserts this: "After a thorough analysis of all available information sources, we can draw the general conclusion that the Harari ethnogenesis resulted from a mixture of northern Semitic-speaking groups with an unknown (possibly Cushitic-speaking) authocthonous population" [33]. The Sidama substratum in the Harari language certainly supports this too. Middayexpress (talk) 20:23, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

these ulrich points must be introduced into this article which u have again removed

• harar city and ancient harla sites similarities of architecture and technology
• the region between harar and dire dawa still being called harla
• his quote specifically when he says harla-harari population Baboon43 (talk)

Actually, Harla material was already in the article. You removed it, "per talk" (c.f. [34]). Middayexpress (talk) 20:10, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

ulrich specifically says on the eve of adal war there was a sidama-cush and harari-harla semites that needs to be included..the thing i removed pertalk is going off topic and away from harari people. it may be introduced when this article has more depth on harari history Baboon43 (talk) 20:15, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

I'm afraid that's only half Braukämper's thesis on Harari ethnogenesis. The other half involves an authochthonous, Harar-based Cushitic-speaking population. The passage that was removed in the link above makes this clear:

The initial settlers of Harar are said to have been connected with the ancient Harla people, a community credited by the present-day inhabitants of Hararghe with having constructed various historical sites found in the province. Although now mostly lying in ruins, these structures include stone necropoles, store pits, mosques and houses. According to the scholars Azais, Chambard and Huntingford, the builders of these monumental edifices were ancestral to the Somali ("proto-Somali"). Modern traditions similarly link the Harla with the Ismail Jabarti and the Darod ancestors of the Ogaden Somali, in addition to Somali language speakers living amongst the western Issa and in areas below Harar. Despite this, Ulrich Braukämper argues that the Harla may instead have belonged to another Afro-Asiatic community speaking a Semitic language, although he concedes that linguistic evidence supporting this theory is lacking.

Middayexpress (talk) 20:23, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

so what exactly are you saying? inorder for ulrich's hypothesis to be included in the article that the above quote must also be included? Baboon43 (talk) 18:58, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

References

Recent edits

Harari234 just come to the talk page already. AcidSnow (talk) 04:35, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

Zekenyan please come here as well to discuss your changes. AcidSnow (talk) 07:53, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

What is it can you please quote the exact phrase? It has nothing to do with relations. Zekenyan (talk) 07:57, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

Sheekaal is a clan, so what exactly do you not understand? For the rest please see the page itself. AcidSnow (talk) 08:01, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

They are not related to those groups. Bring a source. Zekenyan (talk) 08:06, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

They are but I am not sure why you are denying this. AcidSnow (talk) 18:22, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

On Terminology Edits, & Removal of Great Zimbabwe section

I have updated the terminology used in this article; 'Cushite' is no longer a used term to refer to Cushitic populations / languages, due to the fact that it can easily be confused with 'Kushite' (itself referring to the kingdom of Kush). I have therefore changed that.

I have also removed the word 'Hamitic', and replaced it with 'Afro-Asiatic'. The idea of 'Hamites' has been thoroughly abandoned by modern academia, due to no evidence of a unified 'Hamitic' people. The term 'Afro-Asiatic' fares just fine in this context, but other words could work too.

I have also removed the bit about Harar and Great Zimbabwe. This is, quite simply, dated and false bullocks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by HiddenHistoryPedia (talk • contribs) 02:46, 26 March 2019 (UTC)

Fringe theories

There are major claims made on this page that goes the contemporary sources and in Wikipedia, we must keep articles of high standards. I want to address few false claims mentioned on this page.

1. The Harari ethnic group did not settle on the shores of Somaliland. They were a sedentary people who lived in the highlands of Ethiopia specifically the Hararghe region. The source literally says "And settled among the Cushites of the Harar-Chercher plateau produced the semitised culture". [35] Nowhere does it say they settled the shores of Somaliland.

2. Yasin is not a reliable source especially since he conflicts with multiple major scholars and academic sources. In Wikipedia, if it's just one unreliable source that goes against multiple major sources then it's best you leave it because you're pushing a minority unsupported view that goes against the wiki policy.

The seaboard was always settled by ethnic Somalis. Like I said before the Harari people were a sedentary people who lived in the highlands. The arid plains of the lowland were always controlled by Somali pastoralists for seven thousand years according to archeological evidence. [36]

Somali people pre-date Ethio-Semitic people and are native to greater Somalia so when you say Somalis are very recent to the seaboard and assimilated the Hararis it is not only inaccurate but you're promoting fringe theories because according to the Cambridge History of Africa Somalis were the predominant inhabitants of Zeila during the medieval period. [37] They even show a map during the middle ages showing the Somali settlement across northern Somalia and how they were part of Adal Sultanate when you scroll down and go to page 141.

3. Oromos never expanded nor lived anywhere in Somalia prior to Somalis. [38] The source breaks down the myth of Oromos even reaching Somalia. If you scroll down it says Garre pre-Hawiye were the first Cushitic stock to live between Jubba-Tana.

1000 BCE proto-Somali speakers (earliest herding communities in the horn), who were the Garre and the Tunni, occupied the Juba valley. [39]

So I've established that lower Juba has always been inhabited by Somalis so where the hell did Hararis come from? There is no oral tradition or archeological evidence to support this because during the middle ages lower Jubba was under the Ajuran rule. [40] They held sway over the Jubba river and built limestone wells, cisterns, and canals to irrigate crops and to store and conserve spring and rainwater. The Oromo expansion in southern Somalia happened way after the fall of the Adal Sultanate and the Ajuran army successfully repelled them. [41]

Please don't restore revision without reaching census as I will immediately revert back and file a report against you to the edit-warring board since you have been previously warned and banned. I will also take this to the fringe theory noticeboard because these erroneous and unhistorical claims cannot stay on this page. Cheers. Ayaltimo (talk) 03:49, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

The references have nothing to do with the text removed. It doesnt state they settled in Somalia, it states they crossed into Somalia and settled in Harar. Their presence in Somalia is not fringe, they were part of the Adal Sultanate, Sa'ad ad-Din II is considered a Harari Emir and ruled the entire coastal area, see p.20 [42]. Richard Pankhurst explains the wars between Harari leaders and Oromo-Somali on the coast/interior [43] Magherbin (talk) 10:37, 23 March 2021 (UTC)

The first two sources state "who crossed the Bab - elMandab and settled among the Cushitic people of the Harar - Chercher plateau produced the Semitised culture of the Adare of Harar". Bab-el-Mandeb is not located in Somaliland. You're approaching original research.

The second source is also wrong. Sa'ad ad-Din II was born in Zeila and was headquartered in Zeila. He was the last Sultan of the Ifat Sultanate. He had nothing to do with Harar and to consider the coast of Ifat Sultanate a "Harari colony" is wrong and contradicting. Richard never made any mention of Somalis assimilating Hararis. You need more than Yasin to make that claim.

The third source is clearly fringe theory. I've just proved to you Oromos never penetrated or lived anywhere in northern Somalia. Hararis never lived or had anything to do with southern Somalia. There is no evidence of Hararis living in southern Somalia. Ayaltimo (talk) 11:08, 23 March 2021 (UTC)

The content was on the page for close to 2 years hence you need consensus to have it removed. I dont believe this is a a fringe theory you can take it to dispute resolution. The claims you're making about Harar not having anyting to do with Ifat Sultanate is whats fringe actually.

• Chiming in here to note that I've restored the status quo version of the content at issue from before March 2021. As the claims at issue are a rather significant portion of the article, I've added a {{disputed}} to the article, to be removed once consensus is formed one way or another. _signed, Rosguill ^talk 23:27, 23 March 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for chiming in. Magherbin (talk) 03:18, 25 March 2021 (UTC)

Origin Traditions

@Magherbin Why are you removing the sources? They aren't "fringe theories", I specifically stipulated that this was according to Afar tradition and also mentioned by a French explorer who visited the region. You shouldn't delete references you don't think are true. This isn't the place for that, refer to Wikipedia:Truth. I've seen you remove sources you aren't happy with and claim them to be 'fringe theories'.

Replayerr (talk) 22:47, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

"A Haräri tradition, which was already recorded in the writings of the Ethiopian scholar Abäbä Gashaw Bassa, tells that during the rule of a mysterious king, Kanafro, seven groups moved from Hanasen in Eritrea to the region of Harar and that the Harari are consequently--at least to some extent--of Tigray origin. 27 This migration is dated in the time of Emperor Dawit I (1382-1413)." [44]

According to Harari tradition which has been recorded by Ulrich Braukämper and Abäbä Gashaw Bassa, Hararis may to some extent have Tigrayan origin? Replayerr (talk) 23:02, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

Read Wikipedia:Fringe theories, you can find sources for any claim that doesnt mean it should be included, there's even references from French travellors which states Hararis are followers of Shia Islam, see p.518 [45] however Hararis are actually Sunnis [46] other sources claim Harar had its own Sultan in the 1940s, these are sources that are fringe and inaccurate. Hararis are not Tigrayans nor Somalis, they're their own ethnic group hence why this page exists, I think we know what Ulrich's conclusion about Hararis which you left out. Immigrants coming from Tigray region doesnt prove anything, they certainly didnt settle in Harar city, theres a difference between Harar city and Harar region. The Tigryans from that era are likely Oromo today as most of Harar region is now part of Oromo. Hence its a stretch to claim immigrants from Tigray converting Hararis from Somalis to Tigrayans. The Tigrayan language isnt even related to Harari language, Harari is closer to Amharic since the Amhara region use to be its old neighbor. The Hamasien tradition doesnt make sense, there was no Harar city during the 1300s which Tigrayan immigrants allegedly came to [47]. This is why the articles go by the mainstream view which is that Harar was an Arab settlement in Harla. Mainstream sources links Harari to Harla an extinct group not Tigrayans and Somalis, this can be found on this article [48] Get consensus on the talk page before restoring content. If we include all fringe theories then wikipedia wont be taken seriously, as editors its our duty to analyze the sources. For example this 1800 British travelor claimed Adal was an Amhara Muslim state that was taken over by Afar and how this Amhara Muslim state survived in Harar (see.p.428 [49], the argument here is that even this false claim should be added onto wikipedia. Has even Ethiopian historians claimed Adal and Harar was an Amhara state? Can you also explain why Harari Region is one of 10 ethnic states in Ethiopia? Why didnt it just merge with the Somali Region or Tigray Region based on the Dankali and Hamasien tradition recorded by an Abyssinian? Magherbin (talk) 03:03, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

As stated in the source that I provided below:

"A Haräri tradition, which was already recorded in the writings of the Ethiopian scholar Abäbä Gashaw Bassa, tells that during the rule of a mysterious king, Kanafro, seven groups moved from Hanasen in Eritrea to the region of Harar and that the Harari are consequently--at least to some extent--of Tigray origin. 27 This migration is dated in the time of Emperor Dawit I (1382-1413)." [44]

The source mentions this to be a Harari tradition and to some extent present them to have partial Tigrayan origin. When it discusses the "region of Harar", he means the "Harari Region" which confuses you. You even put forth the notion that "the Tigryans from that era are likely Oromo today as most of Harar region is now part of Oromo." when this was based in the 14th century with a large distribution of Harla peoples who intermingled with these migrants.. We aren't discussing why Amharic is closer to the Harari language. We are discussing about a portion of their ancestry originating from Hamasien.

With the question provided on why the Harari Region is one of the ten regions. This is blatant straw-manning as we are discussing the oral traditions relating to the ethnogenesis of the Harari people. Some Somalis and Afars also have a Harla origin, does this mean that they should merge? With the source, it was recorded by an Abyssinian scholar. Replayerr (talk) 11:47, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

To clarify. The source does not mention the Oromos of the region to have some ancestry from the Tigrayan peoples but the ethnic Hararis which is why I ask you to refrain from speculation, Braukamper states this in detail. Does this mean they're fully Tigrayan? No, but this just forms a part of their formation. Replayerr (talk) 11:50, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Harar region was large see Hararghe. I thought the edit was about Somali origin? Hararis are their own ethnic group. Fringe tradition isn't acceptable in articles. You fully ignored all my points. Apparently you believe that only the area of the walled city refers to Harar I advise you to read on the Harar plateau. Hararis do not claim Tigray origin hence you need more references from academics not a fringe tradition. Immigrants entering the region should be on the Hararghe article if this tradition is even notable. Bad example with the Harla comparison of Somalis merging with Harla, theres nothing to merge into, Harla doesnt exist. This is the ethnography of Harari according to Encyclopaedia Aethiopica no mention of tigray origins [50]Magherbin (talk) 19:10, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

The source discusses a tradition that they migrated from the Hamasien province of Eritrea. Ulrich Braukämper concluded that the Harari then might have some Tigrayan origin not the Oromo. Do you have multiple references to state that the Hararis were formed from an influx of Hadharem migrants? My point was that these peoples who came from the province no longer exist but formed part of the Harari ethnogenesis. Replayerr (talk) 19:31, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Read the Aethiopica link it states the following "The historical literature suggests that Harari are in fact multi-ethnic in origin, most likely result of intermarriage between Arab immigrants and local residents" This is the mainstream consensus and the local residents were the Harla according to multiple sources. Insinuating local residents were Somalis and that Tigray immigrants formed the population of Harar after 14th century is wrong and blatant fringe. You need references stating Harari language is a mix of Tigray and Somali to forward this theory, I dont think you'll find that. Tigray immigrants did not form the core of population of Harar thats why its not included in most sources. Encyclopedia Britannica states Harar city was "Probably founded in the 7th century CE by immigrants from Ḥaḍramawt in southern Arabia". A more common feature of Himyaritic influence is actually found within Amharic, Gurage and Harari than it is in Tigrayan language. This is explained by Oxford published book "It is also a feature of the modern Ethio-Semitic languages Amharic, Gurage, and Harari spoken on the other side of the Read Sea. But how did it spread so widely to regions far from south-western Arabia?" see p.129 [51] More recently sources appear to dismiss this Arab colony foundation of 7th century because Harar was not a town until later on. See [52] "The excavations indicate that occupation in Harar post-dates the late 15th century, and until evidence to the contrary is found, it is suggested that the city and its mosques date from this era and were linked with the establishment of Harar as the capital of the Sultanate of Adal (c. 1415 to 1577) (Insoll 2017; Insoll and Zekaria 2019).Prior to this the Harari, likely in the form of the ‘Harla’, were elsewhere, possibly at Harlaa or one or more of the largely uninvestigated abandoned stone town sites, such as Ganda Harla, that are found across the eastern Harar Plateau and the Chercher Mountains". Regardless since the Arab colony tradition theory which is repeated should remain because its notable until we can find better evidence put forth thats taken up widely. This is why I stated Oromo occupy those former stone town regions hence we dont know exactly what Harar region indicates, this new evidence presented by Insoll was not previously available. The common belief use to be that Harar town existed with its walls since ancient times which is false. Another misconception is that Harar referred solely to the modern town when historically it refers to a people as Henry Salt compares languages of Hurrur, Somauli, Galla and Adaeil in his 1814 book [53]. The old Harari population is most likely not connected solely to a tiny region as it is in modern day. Let me also point out that Alfred Bardey believed that Hararis are a mix of Arab and "Galla slaves", this is a fair conclusion for someone in 1900s who didnt know the language of Harar nor of the Oromo migrations but its not a source we should be using. The belief that some Harar leaders were Somali which you've been adding onto articles [54] is irrelevant. This is just a process sometimes called strategic alliances common even in the UK see for example Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who is of Greek origin, it doesnt mean UK monarch originates from a Greek dynasty. Do you even believe Harari people are an ethnic group? I know that you dismiss Harari connection to Harla despite the abundance of sources but this statement of yours implies Harari came into existence in the 20th century. [55] Magherbin (talk) 22:23, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

What are you insinuating? Of course, Hararis are an ethnic group and that they came into existence prior to the time era you mentioned.

As I said before, Ulrich Braukämper mentions the Harari ethnicity

"A Haräri tradition, which was already recorded in the writings of the Ethiopian scholar Abäbä Gashaw Bassa, tells that during the rule of a mysterious king, Kanafro, seven groups moved from Hanasen in Eritrea to the region of Harar and that the Harari are consequently--at least to some extent--of Tigray origin. This migration is dated in the time of Emperor Dawit I (1382-1413)."

He doesn't mention the Oromo. Also you're using false equivalence, Ulrich is a reputable source producing works in the 90s-2000s, used multiple times in this article and various others. Replayerr (talk) 13:27, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Fringe sources are not to be added if it was notable enough it would be included in the History of Harar document see [56]. Migrations doesnt mean same origin, there were large scale Argobba immigrants into the region of Harar, there's no belief that Argobba and Harari are the same ethnicity, they did however suggest that Harla, Harari and Argobba are the same which is why you will find sources that state so. For example this source [57]. We dont note suggestions especially if its not widely taken up, the Harla theory is but not so much the Argobba. Making note of a political union between Argobba and Harari is the most accepted and thats noted in the article. There were migrants from various places in Eritrea and Sudan into Harar, this is something that should be discussed on regions. If groups themselves claim a certain origin especially the Arab theory, its widely taken up and we are forced to include it of course as a tradition only. Since Ulrich is repeatedly mentioned did you read his conclusion? Let me quote what he states "During their huge expansion in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Oromo occupied a territory as far as Hargeisa and the lower Juba and had assimilated its inhabitants of Hadiyya-Sidama and Harala-Harari stock." p.136 [58]. Ulrich goes further and states this "Harala-Harari' group also occupied Lower Juba but have since been assimilated. One reference from a historian thats ignored by numerous others is not enough hence you need more sources. Magherbin (talk) 01:20, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Why are Somalis slandered?

Why are Somalis constantly being slandered and lied about? This page is Ethiopianized and needs to be revised. Philantro Man (talk) 15:17, 11 March 2024 (UTC)

This is not a Somali ethnic group, its an Ethiopian group. Magherbin (talk) 05:39, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

Why are Somali being lied about? Philantro Man (talk) 08:19, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

Hararis are Habesha

Magherbin The term Habesha in Ethiopia and Eritrea denotes members of ethnic groups that speak Ethiopian Semitic languages. While it has been used historically to refer to Abyssinian Semitic speaking Orthodox Christians like the Amhara people and Tigrayans, the inclusion and exclusion of certain groups based on religion is a bias. Whether you like it or not, Hararis are Habesha as they speak an Ethiopian Semitic language related to the Siltʼe language and Zay language. Just because they are Muslim does not exclude them of the Habesha identity as they are more ethnically and linguistically related with these peoples than with Cushitic peoples. So trying to remove the disambiguation link of the Habesha peoples page on the main Harari people page is not very honest of you as the Siltʼe and Argobba are also Habesha Muslims who speak Ethiopian Semitic languages with Argobba being ethnically, historically, linguistically, and culturally related to the Amhara people. So once again please don't remove the Habesha peoples disambiguation link page when the Siltʼe and Argobba people also have those disambiguation pages. Thank You. Cookiemonster1618 (talk) 00:05, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

Term Habesha historically denotes Semitic speakers from nothern Ethiopia and Eritrea not eastern speaking Harari, today to simply people from the modern state of Ethiopia. The wider sense of the term includes all groups see "Ethiopians and Eritreans both generally identify as ‘habesha’. This term is used to describe the unique culture and people of the Ethiopian/Eritrean region, regardless of ethnicity. Historically, “habesha” exclusively referred to the Semitic tribes and ethnicities in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia (such as the Amhara, Tigray and Tigrinya people). Today, however, habesha is commonly used as a unifying word to describe all people in the region, regardless of ethnicity or tribe" [59] Provide a reference that states Argobba, Silte and Harari (btw silte article page makes no mention of Habesha) are known as Habasha. Not personal experiences of them calling themselves Habasha. Wikipedia articles contain original research all the time. Amharas are not Habesha proper themselves so no having relations linguistically to Amharic is irrelevant. It's mainly Tigray that's Habesha and to some extent the Amhara (mainly due to the fact that their monarch claims connections with Axum). The other usage of the term refers to all inhabitants of modern day Ethiopia. Not solely semitic speakers hence don't edit war on here. The definition is as follows "Habesha or Abesha in Amharic is used to self-designate the Tigrinnya and Amhara Highlanders living in the realm of the pre-nineteenth century Christian kingdom of the highlands, Ityop'ya. Its from this ethnic term that the European terms Habessinia later Abyssinia was coined" p.66 [60] . Also I dont know what you mean by it leads to bias to exclude Muslim groups? The term you believe it means excludes the majority of people living in Ethiopia such as the Oromo, who were actually apart of the Shewan dynasty that ruled Ethiopia see Yejju. Yejju despite being Oromo adopted Amharic and ruled Ethiopia, they adopted the language of the Habasha. Harar on the other hand was a seperate state until its invasion by the Abyssinians, they were not part of the state until recently. The semitic only identification of Habasha is whats actually bias. Either include all groups who live in Ethiopia or we stick to the traditional definition of the term. An Ethiopian is not just someone who speaks a semitic language. Magherbin (talk) 01:36, 14 April 2024 (UTC)