Talk:Barawa

Proposed split
I see no problem with the proposed split. Those ought to exist as separate articles. Based on current content, the language article would be extremely short, but that isn't a real reason for it not to exist. Gailtb 07:47, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Ditto, split would be fine with me. Eric Wester 21:13, 27 August 2007 (UTC)
 * ✅ Done. See Bravanese people, Bravanese language. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 02:21, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

External links modified
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Reverted
I just reverted the article to the version from 20 November 2017‎. Vandalism all over. I'm not sure what template I should add to this but the article should be checked. Alexis Jazz (talk) 09:30, 7 April 2018 (UTC)

Origin of Barawa
RahmanBarawe Let's discuss our difference here and come to the conclusion as we put our evidence forward.

The Tunni clan have inhabited Lower Shabelle since 2000 B.C.E so to suggest foreigners come out of nowhere and established a settlement on their coast is absurd and goes against historical context because there were pre-existing ports established on their territory and were described to be as Proto-Somali city-states way before Barawa was founded. Please see Essina, Toniki, and Nikon.

"2000 B.C.E The Tunni group occupy the lower Shabelle valley. Early herding communities in the horn. -- Source: Historical Dictionary of Somalia page: XXV"

Aw Ali is credited to be the founder of Barawa. Please read the source below.

"Barawa. An ancient town on the southern Somali coast. Oral tradition relates that Aw Ali from the interior in a forest between Arra Guduud (the red dunes and Deeho (the white sands). Aw Ali linked the freshness of the ocean and air and called help from his people in the interior to clear the forest and build several houses for him and his family. Eventually, the settlement, much of which now is underwater, grew into a town named Barawa Ban Ali (Barawa, the open space of Aw Ali). -- Source: Historical Dictionary of Somalia page: 50"

When Barawa grew into a town it managed to attract foreign Muslims to settle which further contributed to the city but to suggest it was founded by foreigners is historically inaccurate. Arabs came after when Barawa grew into port after the settlement Aw Ali founded grew. Please see (See:)

The book you posted was a political book, not a historical one that goes against the guidelines of Wikipedia. Plus, the claims made by the book is outdated and has been discredited by modern scholars.

As GoldenDragonHorn stated the medieval 'Arab/Persian' origins this issue has also been addressed with several RECENT sources that highlight the Arab and Persian founding myths were once a popular answer to the origins of Somali cities, but have since been considered outdated. Ross E. Dunn makes it clear that these cities were in-fact African owned and founded, while the Arabs and Persians were nothing more than immigrants that were given permission to stay after fleeing their war-torn kingdoms and regions. What you're doing is placing undue weight using an unambiguous political source calling Barawa merchants as "Arab merchants" and have weaved a non-neutral POV narrative that completely takes the Somali people out of their own history, despite archaeological evidence, medieval accounts, and modern scholars all contradicting this point of view.

"Neither Mogadishu nor any other town on the coast could be described as alien enclaves of Arabs or Persians, ethnically isolated from the mainland populations. On the contrary, these were African towns, inhabited largely by people of African descent, whether Somali or Bantu-speaking stock. -- Source: The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century Page 124 by Ross E Dunn"

and another recent source:

"Despite the tradition that Muslim immigrants “founded” the Benadir ports, it is now widely accepted that there were pre-existing communities here with African leadership who welcomed these exiles, although the Arab traders had to gain permission to stay, and they had to settle in particular quarters of the town. -- Source: Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia Page 252 by Michael Dumper, Bruce E. Stanley"

Just for your information, Swahili and Arabs are two different ethnicities with two different languages and cultures. Swahili are racially considered Bantu while Arabs are Semitic so if you want to claim Barawa was a Swahili town it's a weak argument because that source called Barawa merchants Arabs.

As Ragnimo stated the original population speaking a different language is an assumption made by Virginia Lulling & co in connection with the Kitab Al Zunuj foundation origins which has also been investigated in the archeological study and it states: "Addressing the origins of this Swahili dialect in the Barawa of today, Hersi (1977), writes that, towards the end of the fifteenth century, a new group of Arab refugees from Spain wandered up and down the East African coast before finally settling in Barawa, and this, together with Barawa's strong trade ties with the south, may account for the Swahili linguistic ties. Other scholars maintain that the Swahili dialect called Chimini, spoken in Barawa, indicates that, the original population was strong enough to resist the influence of both Somali and Arabic. Oral traditions collected for this research support the former position"

I also don't understand why you remove the Ajuran domain from Barawa when it was stated by Tunni tradition they were once under the Ajuran Sultanate. In fact, multiple sources suggest it too and I will post them below for you.

"AJURAN. An imamate or dynasty that emerged in Somalia to control the ''Shabelle valley from Qallafo, on the upper Shabelle, to the shores of the Indian Ocean, and from Mareeg on the central coast of Somalia to the Kenyan frontiers in southwest, thus controlling most of the south-central regions contemporary Somalia, from about the mid-13th to the late 17th centuries. -- Source: Historical Dictionary of Somalia page 35"

Ajuran literally ruled the south and central coast of Somalia that included Barawa. Here is another reference.

"Ajuran Imamate, the largest multi-clan and longstanding Somali state that emerged in the fourteenth century and continued until the seventeenth century. It was headquartered in Merca and its territory included much of southern Somalia. It extended from Mareeg in the north (elder district in the Galmudug State of Somalia); to Qalafo in the west; to Kismayo in the south. -- Source: Making Sense of Somali History: Volume 1 page 59"

Here is a whole map of Ajuran Sultanate showing Barawa was under the kingdom. Go see: (See:)

I suggest you refrain from edit war and have a civil discussion on this talk page. I've already proven to you why Barawa has been founded and ruled by Somalis and how the Arabs arrived in Barawa as refugees so to claim our territory as your own history is disingenuous. Thanks WanderingGeeljire (talk) 07:47, 11 November 2020

Baraawe history 92.40.216.136 (talk) 20:28, 24 January 2024 (UTC)


 * Baraawe history breifly
 * A BRIEF HISTORY OF BARAAWE LONG BEFORE THE YEAR 800 A.D
 * A BRIEF HISTORY OF BARAAWE LONG BEFORE THE YEAR 800 A.D
 * NAME OF THE CITY
 * Baraawe or Brava is an ancient city on the southern coast of Somalia. The town progressively prospered and became one of the Major Islamic centers in Horn of Africa. Many people considered the city to be the trade center of the whole region at the time with farming and fishing being the leading resources of the area.
 * Chinese sailors and historians recorded a brief history about the coastal cities of Somalia such as Adale, Baraawe, Kismayo, Merca, and Mogadishu. The historians undeniably confirmed that in or around the beginning of 1400 A.D., a fleet of vessels used to visit and dock at the southern coasts of Somalia, particularly the harbor city of Baraawe according to the Chinese travelers, a structured barrier surrounded the city on all sides. The architects used stone and bricks to construct the houses of this town.
 * ECONOMIC
 * The primary economic resource of the region was from farming and fishing and live stocks, The Chinese traders use to bring many goods such as Silk clothes, kitchen utensils, rice, and various textiles. In exchange, the sailors extracted profitable materials that consisted of Tiger skins, Lion skins, elephant tusks, fracases, myrrh, and other wild life coats. Although there were many uncertainties from number of historians about the establishment of Baraawe city, the oral history transmitted from one generation to another recounts that Aw-Ali and his family to be the first group from the interior to settle in the area.
 * Aw-Ali inhabited in a wooded area between Aro Gaduud and Deeho (The red sand and the white sand). In early 900 A.D., before Aw-Ali settled in Baraawe, he observed large area between Goobwayn and Baraawe. Aw-Ali was looking for a place that best suited his family needs. One fact Aw-Ali could not resist was the freshness of the ocean breeze and immediately asked the collaboration of his people. With the help of his fellow clansmen, Aw-Ali cleared a wooded area in which he built several homes. Oral history relates before Aw-Ali moved into the city of Baraawe, most of the Tunni population and their livestock resided in an area that surrounded Baraawe and the surrounding vicinity. In fact, the Tunni presence in the territory played a big role in Aw-Ali’s decision to choose Baraawe as his place of residence. Most historians have identified that Aw-Ali himself to be from a Tunni clan of the Dacfarad sub clan
 * After Aw-Ali set the groundwork to his new residence more Tunni moved in to the area, most of them migrated from inland and ocean shores. Oral history recognizes that this group to be the first inhabitants to live in the city of Brava.
 * Gala Warday who was under King Brawt is the second group to move into the town of .Baraawe Many historians believe the name Baraawe comes from the Gala Warday’s king Brawt. The Tunni clan and Gala Warday lived together and made a peace treaty that lasted 300 years.
 * Based on the oral tradition Tunni were the first to reside in Baraawe . However, the Tunni people themselves traveled from Adar through Qaraw near Ganaane River; this is the area, which is now known as Juba River. Around 891 A.D., before relocating to Baraawe Tunni resided in a place called Koyaama near Kismaayo on southern region of Somalia. Soon after that, the tribe started their migration towards Baraawe .Although; theTunni people were living in Baraawe long before the year 800 A.D. Half way into their trip toward Baraawe the Tunni halted in an area called Jamboo and broke into two groups. The first group consisted of the Goygaal and Dakhtira Sub clans opted to maintain their journey through the ocean shores. Second group consisted of Dacfarad, Werile, and Hajuwa sub clan choosing a passage through the inlands. After 300 years of living together in peace, the Tunni and the Gala Warday also clashed.The battle between these two tribes carried on for a long time. The fight finally ended with another alliance that was signed in Jumbo the place we now know as Goobwayn, between the Tunni and the Gala Warday. After the treaty was signed, the Tunni settled on the west bank of the river, and the Gala Warday settle on the opposite side of the river, which was the east bank. These two zones were known as KHAD TUNNI AND KHAD GALA (Tunni limit and Gala limit). The land was also divided into three sections. One portion for the Tunni, another section for the Gala Warday and third portion was designated no man’s land and was left for the livestock. No groups were allowed to go beyond their boundary; both clans lived that way until the Colonial Era.
 * According to Italian historian named Gerullo who wrote several books about the History of Banadir Region acknowledged in his book the Tunni to be the largest population in south Somalia and the areas that surrounded Baraawe, Buulo, Golweyn, and Xaramka, Jilib, Jamaame, upto Kismaayo for ages. In early 1281 A.D.,
 * BIIDA AND HATIMI
 * The Biidda clan who were ethnically Middle Eastern relocated to Baraawe. This group arrived with boats from Arabian Peninsula, the Tunni accepted the new arrival. At this point a joint language called CHIMBALAZI.(Chimini) Was developed the vocabulary words of this language consisted of Tunni dialect, Maay dialect, and Mahaa dialect. This language is along the lines of the Swahili language spoken on the northern parts of Kenya. The Biidda was accompanied by the Hatimi family who appeared around 1481 A.D., the Hatimi emigrated from Yemen. This group known now of the name GIBILCAD and was originally traveling to the Andulus Strip in Spain where their famous Sheik Muhidiin Bin Arabi Tai was born. Later on, Mohamed Bin Sa’eed Bin Muslim who was Sheik Muhidiin’s son and his children moved to Baraawe around 1481 A.D. In the year 1506 A.D., the historians reported that a group of Portuguese Army came offshore and attacked the city trying to seize control of the town. Some people believed close to a 1000 men participated in the attack. The TUNNI defended the community from the Portuguese aggressors.
 * The Historians also reported that the fight only lasted three days. Despite the horrendous act by the Portuguese army, the TUNNI people still dominated their attackers, even thought the Portuguese troops were using the most sophisticated weapons at that time.
 * Many people noted that the courageous TUNNI men and women used their conventional weapons such as knifes, arrows, bows, and slingshots to fight the invaders. The Historians believed people of Baraawe lost close to 1500 men in that battle; Portuguese Sailors raped the women and looted many valuables. In early 1673 A.D.,
 * there was another party called Asharaf or Shariifs (the descendants of Prophet Mohamed PUH) also moved to Baraawe . The Asharaaf family moved out from Mugadisho, the modern day capital of Somalia about 250 km north of .Baraawe
 * The Hatimi and The Biidda who are called Laba Tol (The two kin/family) were fully accepted by the Tunni. They established a strong relationship that was by virtue of a mutual respect. The groups eventually became so close to one another which resulted on the inter marriage among the clans. The Biida family allied with the Goygaal clan and the Hatimi allied with Daktira clan. Some people claimed that the Hatimi paid large amount of gold to settle in to the city, an account that was later dismissed. There were unfounded reports that implied the Arab Descendants were given a piece of land that was measured with a cowhide. Apparently, the clever Arabs expanded the hide throughout the darkness of the night. Shariif Aydrus a Somali historian later dismissed this report and described the content of this report to be false and unjustified. This report is beyond anyone’s imaginations that someone will treat guests like that. The Tunni will never let such act to occur in their soil.
 * The main language is TUNNI Dialect. spoken in Baraawe. This is very similar to the Maay dialect.The Tunni dialect is widely spoken in the city of Baraawe, and around all River lands. The lingo is the same family of Maay, a language spoken in the south Somalia. The Maay alone has 17 different dialects, mainly the same but with a few minor differences.
 * JURISDICTION
 * Close to 800 years, Baraawe was under the Tunni jurisdiction. The Egyptians, British, and Italian historians all agreed Brava to be a Tunniland without any uncertainty, as reported in the following history books:The Modern History of SomaliLand by I.M. Lewis, The Shaping of Somaliaby Lee V Cassanelli The Story of Somalia by Shariif Aydrus.
 * In 1873, Baraawe became under the Sultan Barqash Bin Said’s regime. This was because the customary Tunni elder’s acceptance of Said Barqash’s government and control over Baraawe Many people recognized the city of Baraawe as the Center for Islamic Studies.
 * In 1874, the Khidwiyin of Egypt took over the city without any bloodshed. However, the Khidwiyin rule lasted for three months and ten days, the beginning of the months of Ramadan through the tenth of Dul Hajj. This was an effort promoted by the British government to demolish Sultan Said Barqash’s involvement in the slave trading from the Eastern region of Africa. After Eid-Al-Adha Said Barqash recovered control of the town again, this was due to Khidwiyin deserting the city.
 * In 1893, Baraawe fell under the Italian Fascist rule after a lengthy discussion with TUNNI Elders and the Sultan of the TUNNI Suldan Haaji Cabdulkadir Cabdiyoow Hassan. This was the same year that the Suldan traveled to Zanzibar, to sign an agreement that authorized Italians to take over the Baraawe Region. The Tunni elders made unanimous decision empowering the take over. This was not an easy decision but rather, an effort to safeguard lives and not fight the militarily powerful Italians. After the Zanzibar treaty was signed, the TUNNI and the Italians maintained a good relationship that was based on a mutual respect. Italians did not try to interfere with people of TUNNI religion and culture.
 * The fact of the matter is the Italians helped the TUNNI build more mosques and extended facilities to those who wanted to go to Hajj (The pilgrimage to Mecca). Baraawe became the center of Islamic Studies for the whole region. Baraawe is also known to be a home for number of Muslim Scholars their knowledge reached beyond the limits of Baraawe. The scholars were very popular in and around the region.
 * Many people distinguish the people of Baraawe to be very religious and peace loving, the TUNNI believe in the fine manners they inherited from their religious leaders such as Sheik Aweys Al-Qadiri the great Islamic Scholar, who many religious people knew him to be from the TUNNI clan native. The other well-known and respected scholars include Sheik Nuuraani Bin-Ahmed Sabir, Sheik Kassim Al-Barawa, Sheik Hajji Sadiq, Sheik Moalin Nuur Hajji Abdulkadir, Sharif Mubiidi, Akhwaan Cabdow Munye, Sheik Omar Hiraale, Sheik Mohamed Gaduudow and many more whom cannot be descried in a single story. These scholars were all raised in city of Baraawe. Not only many well-respected religious scholars came from the Baraawe Region, there were also several well-respected politicians. These Native Politicians included Abduikadir Sheik Saqawadiin and Mohamed Osman Baarbe, who were among the 15 founding fathers of Somali Youth League, the SYL. These politicians fought for the Independence of Somalia. and the were from the TUNNI clan
 * The other known who always stood up for his people, fought for peace, justice, and equal rights were Faqi Hajji Awiis who was Nabadoon, a peace mediator and greatest TUNNI politician Hajji Omar Shegow, Hajji Abdulkadir, Hajji Beytula and many more.
 * Many people in the region give consideration to remember the experience of Suldaan Aw Munye Suldaan Hajji Abdulkadir, his leadership and trusted judgments. When there is a dispute, the TUNNI still remember Suldaan Aw Munye because he was a firm believer of justice and equal rights. The people of Baraawe and the surrounding cities still use his excellent ideas to resolve disagreements and other issues.
 * When Somalia acquired their independence, one of the first people who took over the front offices from the colonist. Was Mohamed Hajji Mumin who became the first commander of the first police station.
 * The TUNNI people have a long tradition of developing and becoming national and regional leaders. The people of TUNNI continue to lead the country despite the current difficulties that are facing our nation.The many reasons why the bond between Italians and the people of TUNNI achieved that level of respect were that the Italians encouraged them to keep their own Islamic rule of law.(Some of the above paragraphs were the script of Sheik Mo’allim Nur Al-Dacfaradi)
 * As references of the above history the Sultan is an act of hermitages as now current Suldaan of the TUNI shangmaas clans is Suldaan Xeydar Suldaan Suufi Suldaan Aw Munye Suldaan Hajji Abdulkadir cabdiyoow
 * ESTIMATED POPULATION LIVING IN BARAAWE CITY
 * The estimated people living in the city are around 1000,000,000
 * Baraawe is located in lower Shabeele Region and is now the capital city of South West State Autonomous administration led by His excellence Shariif Hassan Sheikh Adan
 * CURRENT BARAAWE LEADERS 2015 of the Hasan Sheikh Mohamud Goverment
 * Ibraahim Cali Omar Sheegow, Somali parliamentarian member
 * mohamed Nuraani bakr Somali parliamentarian member
 * Muumina Sheikh Omar Somali parliamentarian member and Wasiir ku xigeenka wasaarada haweenka iyo arimaha qoyska 92.40.216.136 (talk) 20:33, 24 January 2024 (UTC)