| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Languages | |
| Harla | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Harari,Argobba,Somalis,Afar,Siltʼe,Wolane andZay |
TheHarla, also known asHarala,Haralla[1] were an ethnic group that once inhabitedEthiopia,Somalia, andDjibouti. They spoke the now-extinct Harla language, which belonged to either theCushitic[2] orSemitic branches of theAfroasiatic family.[3][4][5]
The Harla are credited by the present-day inhabitants of parts ofEthiopia,Somalia, andDjibouti with having constructed various historical sites.[6] Although now mostly lying in ruins, these structures include stonenecropoleis, store pits,mosques and houses. Cave drawings are also attributed to the Harla.[7]
Tradition states one of Harla's main towns wasMetehara and the area betweenHarar andDire Dawa is still referred to as Harla.[5] The Harla inhabitedChercher and various other areas in theHorn of Africa, where they erected varioustumuli.[8] According to historian Richard Wilding, tales indicate Harla lived in the interior ofOgaden and by the seashores prior to Somali andOromo movements into these regions.[9]
TheHarla Kingdom existed as early as the sixth century; it would later be influenced byIslam sometime in the eighth century.[10] Archaeological sites associated with the Harla reveal camel bone remains in the oldest layers, suggesting an initial foundation of the settlements by a camel-herding pastoralist population.[11] A lowland orientation for Harlaa is further indicated by the food remains recovered at the site, which show a lack of reliance on highland staples such as injera and kisra.[12] In the ninth century, the earliest known Muslim kingdom in the Horn of Africa, the Maḥzūmī dynasty sprang up in Harla country. The Maḥzūmī capital of Walale was in NorthernHararghe.[13][14] Harla state leaders were commonly known asGarad and their religious elite carried the honorific titleKabir.[15][16]
According to folklore, the Harla reportedly had a queen namedArawelo, who ruled much of the eastern parts of the Horn of Africa. InZeila, a clan called Harla claims to be related to the ancient people. Locals inZeila also attested that the old town ofAmud was built by the Harla.[17]
The influx of Arab immigrants such asĀbadir ʻUmar Āl-Rida into Harla territory would lead to the development of the town ofHarar, known then as Gēy.[18] Harar would become the leading center of Islam in the Horn of Africa.[19] ArchaeologistTimothy Insoll discoveredstoneware in Harla town resembling that found in Harar.[20]
According to theHarari chronicle, Abadir led prayer asImam and inquired about the states grim condition.[21]
After the prayer nobody stayed in the mosque except for the crowd mentioned (from Mecca). They asked each other: 'What is it about us? We see neither their emir nor their vizir. Rather, they are all of one rank. Then a man of them said: 'I also heard from them (the natives) that 25 years prior, they were a people, the Harla, until death destroyed them and they scattered, fleeing from disease and famine.
— Yahya Nasrallah, Fath Madinat Harar
According to thirteenth century Arab geographerIbn Sa'id al-Maghribi, the country of Harla was east of theEthiopian Empire and north ofZanj. Harla clans descendant fromSa'ad ad-Din II participated in the sixteenth centuryEthiopian–Adal War.[22] Ibn Said further states the Harla territory passed theBlue Nile, north east and ended near the shores, the Harla made a living in the gold and silver mines.[23]
According to Ethiopian accounts, in the 14th century, the Harla led by their ImamSalih allied with theIfat Sultanate[24] and battled the forces of emperorAmda Seyon I in what is nownorthern Somalia.[25][26] In the 15th century, EmperorZara Yaqob of Ethiopia sold severalAbba Estifanos of Gwendagwende supporters to Harla slave traders ofAdal as punishment for joining the Stephanite sect labelled heretic by theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[27] A power struggle had developed in the early 16th century between Harla emirs of Harar andWalashma dynasty in whichAhmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi would assume power by executing the Walashma SultanAbu Bakr ibn Muhammad.[28]
According to Adal writerArab Faqīh, in the middle of the 16th century, theAdal Sultanate led by Harla and theirSomali allies invaded Abyssinia.[29] Harla were part of Adal's elite military unit called theMalassay.[30] The Ethiopian–Adal War was in response to the death of Harla leader of Adal, ImamMahfuz, killed in single combat, by the warrior-monk Gebre Andrias in the early reign of EmperorDawit II.[31][32][33] According to Chekroun, during the war the Harla clans were organized in a manner similar to the Somali clans.[34] In the wars against EmperorSarsa Dengel, the Harla were led by the SultanMuhammad ibn Nasir.[35][36][37]
The late sixteenth century saw theOromo people penetrate portions of Ethiopia andSomalia, expansively invading upward from theLower Jubba eventually incorporating Harla territory.[38] The Harla would move the Adal capital to the oasis ofAussa in 1577, and later establish theImamate of Aussa before being overthrown by the Afar dynasty ofMudaito in the eighteenth century.[39][40][41] In 1893 British led expeditions, came across an ancient town inNugaal Valley,Somalia, the localDhulbahante clan alleged the Harla had lived in the area before the Oromo invasions.[42] In 2017, a Harla town that produced jewelry was discovered by archaeologists. The architecture of a mosque found affirmed Harla had ties with Islamic centers inTanzania andSomalia.[43] The Harla tribe's disappearance could have been due to the Ethiopian–Adal War in the sixteenth century, destitution, or assimilation.[44]
Strong evidence suggests that during theOromo migrations, the remaining Harla retreated behind the walls of Harar and were able to survive culturally.[3] Local folklore from the Harla village near Dire Dawa, however, claim the Harla were farmers from theOgaden and went extinct because of their arrogance, refusing to fast inRamadan, and attempts to have theQuran written in Harla, hence were cursed by God.[45] According to theGadabuursi clan, the Harla committed major sins through excessive pride.[46] According to another local tradition from the Harar region, the Harla were decimated by a combination of famine and plague.[47]Enrico Cerulli and others state Harla were a distinct group originating from theHarari region; however, due to the collapse of Adal, they were assimilated by Somalis as well as Afars.[48][49][50] According to Pavel Červíček and Ulrich Braukämper, local tradition from the Harar region indicates that the Harla had already met their demise prior to the Oromo incursions into the area.[51]
TheHarari people are considered to be the closest remaining link to the Harla people, as the Hararis were founded by seven Harla clans.[3] Harar and its inhabitants are the only remnant of the old Harla civilization. According toHararis, the Harari ethnic group consist of seven Harla subclans: Abogn, Adish, Awari,Gidaya,Gatur,Hargaya, andWargar.[52] Some sources claim Harla were a less Semitic version of the Harari.[53] Other sources state the Harla were a mixed Harari–Somali population.[54]
TheSiltes (East Gurage) are also believed to be the descendants of the Harla people. Harari, Silte and Zay are the only people who speak a language that is related to Harla.
TheHadiya people, associated with theHadiya Sultanate, have been connected with the Harla people in some sources, but this remains unsubstantiated.[55]
Many Somali clans mention they are of Harla descent. Most particularly theIssa subclan of theDir.[56] Within theIssa, the Harla are found within 2 clan divisions. The first being the Horroone clan division, where they are called Harla, and they are also found within the Eeleye clan division as Bah Harla and Harla Muse. Nonetheless, the Harla segments amongst Issa retain a geneaology tracing them not to Issa or Dir but to Koombe Darood.[57] The Issa traditions regarding the induction of the Harla groups revolve around saintAwBarkhadle and theWardiq sub clan.[58][59][60]
Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin Abd al-Qader's Futūh al-Habaša describes a distinct ethnic origin to the Harla however modern oral traditions connect Harla toAbdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti andDarod, forefathers of theOgaden clan. This does not provide enough evidence to suggest that Harla are of Somali descent[61] In the modern era, the Harla have been reduced to insignificance under the Somali Darod clan.[62] According to historianAli Jimale Ahmed, the surviving Harla dwelling in the Harari kingdom were absorbed by Darod Somalis after the sixteenth century.[63] The Darod sub clanHarti and Geri are furthermore according to tradition, the brothers of Harla.[64][65] TheKaranle sub clan ofHawiye also claims to have birthed the Harla.[66]
According to some sources, the Karrayyu and Ittu clans are regarded as Oromised Somalis with Harla descent.[67][68] Ittu had occupied theChercher region from theHarari people and perhaps also Harla.[69] It is believed the extinctHarla were incorporated into Karrayyu and Ittu in easternShewa as well as westHararghe.[70][71]
TheAfar also have tribes linked to Harla descent called Kabirtu.[72] The Kabirtu Afar, descended from the Harla, maintain a Somali genealogy linking them to the Harla Koombe Darood.[73] In the seventeenth century the Harla ofAfar Region were assimilated by Afar people following the collapse of Adal Sultanate.[74] In Afar region, clans named after Harla are still found among farmers inAussa, andAwash district betweenDubti andAfambo. The moniker of clans proposes a fusion between native and immigrating tribes.[75]
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According to historian Richard Wilding Harla were ancient Cushitic.[2] However ethnologist Ulrich Braukämper suggests a Semitic variation which he labels "Harala-Harari" later developed in the Islamic period. Harala-Harari speakers were evidently disrupted by theOromo migrations, leading to isolated related Semitic languages ofHarari surviving in the walled city ofHarar,Zay language on the island ofLake Zway and in parts of easternGurage territory such asSiltʼe language.[5]
Nicholas Tait proposes Harla language was indistinguishable withArgobba and Harari linguistic classifications.[76] Ewald Wagner believes Harla were Semitic speakers related to Harari and Silte languages.[77]
Field research byEnrico Cerulli identified a modern group called the "Harla" living amongst the Somali in the region between the cities of Harar andJijiga.Encyclopaedia Aethiopica suggests that this population "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 data on this Harla community's language, calledaf Harlaad, which resembled theSomali languages spoken by theYibir andMadhiban low-caste groups.[78] According to Barbara Wenger, the dialect's core vocabulary is Somali,[79] and as Swadesh notes, core vocabulary is rarely borrowed from a foreign language.[80]