The Bursuk Number About 5000 Shields, Own No Chief, And In 1854 Were At
War With The Girhi, The Berteri, And Especially The Gallas.
In this
country, the feuds differ from those of the plains:
The hill-men fight for
three days, as the End of Time phrased it, and make peace for three days.
The maritime clans are not so abrupt in their changes; moreover they claim
blood-money, a thing here unknown.
The Shaykhash, or "Reverend" as the term means, are the only Somal of the
mountains not derived from Dir and Darud. Claiming descent from the Caliph
Abubakr, they assert that ten generations ago, one Ao Khutab bin Fakih
Umar crossed over from El Hejaz, and settled in Eastern Africa with his
six sons, Umar the greater, Umar the less, two Abdillahs, Ahmed, and
lastly Siddik. This priestly tribe is dispersed, like that of Levi,
amongst its brethren, and has spread from Efat to Ogadayn. Its principal
sub-families are, Ao Umar, the elder, and Bah Dumma, the junior, branch.
The Hawiyah has been noticed in a previous chapter. Of the Usbayhan I saw
but few individuals: they informed me that their tribe numbered forty
villages, and about 1000 shields; that they had no chief of their own
race, but owned the rule of the Girhi and Berteri Gerads. Their principal
clans are the Rer Yusuf, Rer Said, Rer Abokr, and Yusuf Liyo.
In the Eastern Horn of Africa, and at Ogadayn, the Marayhan is a powerful
tribe, here it is un-consequential, and affiliated to the Girhi.
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