Ughaz

Ughaz (sometimes spelled Ugass, Ugas or Ougaz) is a traditional Somali title.[1][2] It is primarily used by the Issa, Dhulbahante, Ogaden and Gadabuursi clans.[3]

Etymology

According to Italian linguist Giorgio Banti, the term "Ughaz" is of Ethio-Semitic origin.[4] However Djiboutian researcher, Ali Moussa Iye, states that the term "Ughaz" is composed of the two Somali terms "ul" and "gaas" meaning "the stick of the warrior’s chief".[5][6] American archeologist, Julien Cooper, labeled "gas/gos" as a pan-Cushitic kinship root word with various reflexes such as "Ughaz" in Somali and "Gosa" in Burji. He later stated that this required further research.[7][8][9][10][11]

History

Ughaz Dodi of the Gadabuursi clan in the 1950s

After the downfall of the Adal Sultanate in the sixteenth century, the region descended into turmoil, which led to the establishment of the Ughaz. This figure was endowed with the authority to resolve conflicts among the different Somali clans, in addition to other responsibilities.[12] In the Issa clan, the Wardiq sub-clan traditionally elects the Ughaz.[13]

In the late 1800s French trader Alfred Bardey states the Ughaz were responsible for ensuring the safety of the route connecting Harar and Zeila from any disturbances.[14] The Ughaz appeared to exert significant influence in the Emirate of Harar, as the sister of Emir Abdullahi II was wed to a member of the Ughaz.[15]

In the early 1900s, subsequent to the deposition of the appointed Ethiopian emperor Iyasu V, Abdullahi Sadiq, the governor of Ogaden, was apprehended along with several Ughaz by Ethiopian authorities in Harar. This group included Ughaz Hasan from Ogaden, Ughaz Omar representing the Malingoor, Robleh Nur of the Gadabursi, and members of Rer Dalal, among others.[16]

Places

• Ugaas Noor Airport, airport in central Somalia
• Ugaas Khaliif International Airport, airport in southern Somalia
• Ugaas Mirad Ugaas Leyli Airport, airport in eastern Ethiopia

Notable Ughaz

• Nur II
• Elmi Warfa
• Yasin Ugas Abdurahman
• Hassan Ugas Yasin
• Roble I

References

1. Dostal, Walter. Shattering Tradition Custom, Law and the Individual in the Muslim Mediterranean. I.B.Tauris. p. 296.
2. Boqor, Maryan. Memories of a Mogadishu Childhood, 1940-1964: Maryan Muuse Boqor and the Women Who Inspired Her. Boston University African Studies Center. p. 107.
3. Ugaas. Encyclopedia Aethiopica.
4. Banti, Giorgio. Strata on loanwords from Arabic and other Semitic languages in Northern Somali. De Gruyter Mouton. p. 202.
5. Uhlig, Siegbert (2010). Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. Eisenbrauns. pp. 1015–1016. ISBN 978-3-447-06246-6.
6. Iye, Ali Moussa (2014). Le verdict de l'arbre: le Xeer Issa : essai sur une démocratie endogène africaine (in French). Dagan Éditions. p. 256. ISBN 978-2-919612-50-5.
7. Cooper, Julien (2020-08-03). Toponymy on the Periphery: Placenames of the Eastern Desert, Red Sea, and South Sinai in Egyptian Documents from the Early Dynastic until the End of the New Kingdom. BRILL. p. 91. ISBN 978-90-04-42221-6.
8. Leslau, Wolf (1979). Etymological Dictionary of Gurage (Ethiopic): Individual dictionaries. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 288–299. ISBN 978-3-447-02041-1.
9. Allan R. Bomhard. Hudson - Highland East Cushitic Dictionary (1989). p. 112.
10. Larajasse (père.), Évangéliste de (1897). Somali-English and English-Somali Dictionary. K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Company. p. 137.
11. Hudson, Grover (2013). Northeast African Semitic: Lexical Comparisons and Analysis. Harrassowitz. p. 159. ISBN 978-3-447-06983-0.
12. Lawson, Bill. Faces of Environmental Racism Confronting Issues of Global Justice. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 220.
13. Ambroso, Guido. CLANSHIP, CONFLICT AND REFUGEES: AN INTRODUCTION TO SOMALIS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA (PDF). Roma Tre University. p. 7.
14. Nieuważny, Adam. Civil status documents from Harar under Egyptian Administration 1875-1885. Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Warsaw. p. 17.
15. Caulk, R. A. Harär Town and its Neighbours in the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge University Press.
16. Barnes, Cedric. Provinces and Princes - Power and the Eastern Ethiopian Periphery C 1906-1916. Institute of Ethiopian Studies. p. 114.