SUMMARY
The Abdulleh-Galmaha subclan of the Abgal clan is part of the Hawiye clan family.The Hawiye is one of Somalia’s largest clan families representing an estimated 25% of the country’s total population. Members of the clan family mainly reside in central and southern parts of Somalia (Mudug and the Benadir regions), but large numbers can also be found in neighboring countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia. The Hawiye played a major role in the ousting of former president Siad Barre, as the main rebel group that eventually succeeded in overthrowing him, USC (United Somali Congress), was primarily based among this clan. The Hawiye clan is relatively powerful in economic terms due to a large community in Mogadishu. The rural based Hawiye are commonly also involved in lucrative trade, but are also pastoralist. Many of the clans and sub-clans of the Hawiye clan family have remained influential in Somalia.
The Hawiye clan is divided into several subclans, such as the Abgal clan. The Abgal clan is subsequently divided into even smaller subclans, such as the Abdulleh-Galmaha, which has, like many others in Somalia, constructed its own militia and engaged in non-state conflicts with rivalling non-state actors in the chaotic environment that followed on Siad Barres fall from power in 1991. The prevailing context of political rivalries in Somalia is mainly based on identification along clan lines.
Like most Hawiye, the Abdulleh-Galmaha are pastoralists and mainly reside in Middle Shabelle in southern Somalia.
The complexity of the Somali clan system limits the amount of information available about the different sub-clans. Indeed, there are several perspectives on the lineage charts namely a northern, a central and a southern one. Furthermore the different subclans often disagree about their origins. Genealogy is often passed to the next generation orally and is not kept in any written form.
The Abdulleh-Galmaha subclan of the Abgal clan (Hawiye) has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.
