The History of Somali Communities in Sudan since the First World War
Fifth International Conference on Sudan Studies
Mahasin El-Safi
Introduction:-Sudan and Somalia are connected historically through strong ties: religious, cultural and political. Sayyid Muhamad Abdallah Hasan, known to the British Colonial authorities in Somalia as the Mad Mullah, fought the colonizers from 1898-1920. The Sayyid was a disciple of Muhammad Salih al-Rasheed, the Sudanese, who propagated the Salihhya order in mekka. Al-Rasheed appointed Sayyid muhamad Abdallah Hasan as his deputy to spread the Salihhya teachings in Somalia. Due to the efforts of the latter, the Salihhya order ranked second to the Qaddriya order in Somalia in the nineteenth century. Other sources point to the actual participation of some Sudanese in fighting with the Sayyids troops against, the British and the Italians in Somalia. Also, the same sources direct attention not only to the impact of the Sudanese Mahdi on the Sayyid, but also to the possibility of their meeting at the port of Suakin in Eastern Sudan; though this event could not be confirmed or validated.
a)
Somalis in the Sudan: The early phaseThe coming of Somalis to Sudan, according to informants, dated back to the early years of the twentieth century. This pioneer group is important for this study as it represented the elements who lived in the Sudan an integrated with local communities to the extent that it is rather difficult to distinguish them physically and culturally from the Sudanese people. Since 1918 the families of Hasan Abdu, Muhamad Arabi, Musa Haj Aden, Jami al-Royali and Warsma Ghalib lived in Gedaref town and belonged to the early group of Somali residents in eastern Sudan.
In later years these communities were enhanced further due to the fact that both Sudan and Northern Somalia were subject to British administration. The latter encouraged Somalis to move to the Sudan for better chances of living as Northern Somalia at the time was much weaker economically. In addition to corners from Northern Somalia, other groups from the Ogaden country in S. E. Ethiopia crossed over through Eritrea into Sudan from the eastern border into the Red Sea and Kassala Province. The annual report of Kassala District in 1945 shows that thirteen Somali men, six women and nineteen children out of a population of eight hundred and seventy one none-native inhabitants were present at the District. The population census of Kassala District for the years 1947-49 gives a slight increase in their numbers: thirty five men, thirty women and thirty one children. Although these figures indicate that the size of Somali communities was rather insignificant, but taking into consideration the existence of equal numbers in other towns in the region is a good proof of their presence in Sudan during the Condominium Period.
A gain,, the statistics available in the colonial records in Khartoum for the Eastern province do not reveal the exact figures of Somalis in Districts like Port Sudan and Beja. Yet upon examination of the legal reports of the same period, one finds mention of Somalis being convicted in summary and non summary cases: an indication of the existence of Somali groups in these districts.
The most significant group of Somalis in this first phase was, therefore, the community which was since the early years of the twentieth century inhabited the part of Gedaref town known as Deim al-Nur. Those Somalis having little or no education at all; and at the same time enjoying the reputation of being gee (fighters as proved in other parts of the Empire during the World Wars, were exploited by the British Administrators and attached to the army. They were particularly attached to the Sudan Defence Force. At the end of the War, they were demobilized. Some of them already spent over twenty years of service and thus became pensioners. They preferred to stay mainly in the Eastern Sudanese towns particularly in Gedaref working mainly as farmers and pastoralists. Here it is worth noting that Somalis who were traditionally unaccustomed to farming, in Sudan they were largely involve in mechanized agriculture: an indication of their being integrated in Sudanese mode of life.
This first group which lived it Gedaref also indulged in trading activities specially pioneering trade in (Tarak).
In this trade item they had even exceeded the local Sudanese people, exploring and preserving the trees found in big quantities in Gedaref area. They made good profit since prices were very high. Later, they discovered that equal quantities of the same tree grow in the Nuba Mountains area in southern Kordofan. They, thus, made their way there: again exploiting the quantities available. The family of Hasan Jami became well known in respect of trade in Tarak.
To be continued.............