Richard Burton's illustration of the Harari people's costumes.
The
Harla people, an extinct Afroasiatic-speaking people native to
Hararghe, are considered by most scholars to be the precursors to the Harari people.[4][5][6] The ancestors of the Hararis moved across the
Bab-el-Mandeb, settling in the shores of
Somalia and later expanding into the interior producing a Semitic-speaking population among Cushitic and non-Afroasiatic-speaking peoples in what would become Harar.[7][8][9] These early Semitic settlers in the region were believed to be of
Hadhrami stock.[10]
SheikhAbadir, the legendary patriarch of the Harari, is said to have arrived in the Harar plateau in the early thirteenth century, where he was met by the Harla,
Gaturi and
Argobba people.[11] In the Middle Ages Hararis led by Abadir supposedly came into conflict with the
Shirazi people who had occupied Somalia's coast.[12][13] By the thirteenth century, the Hararis were among the administrators of the
Ifat Sultanate.[14] In the fourteenth century raids on the Harari town of Get (Gey) by Abyssinian Emperor
Amda Seyon I, Hararis are referred to as Harlas.[15]Ifat state under
Haqq ad-Din II relocated their base to the Harari plateau (
Adal) in the fourteenth century.[16][17][18] An alliance kingdom ensued between Argobba and Harari people designated the
Adal Sultanate which later included
Afar and
Somali people.[19][20][21] In the sixteenth century under
Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, the Harari state stretched to large parts of the Horn of Africa.[22][23][24][25] During the
Ethiopian–Adal war, some Harari militia (
malassay) settled in
Gurage territory, forming the
Siltʼe people.[26] Hararis once represented the largest concentration of agriculturalists in East Africa.[27]
In the sixteenth century, walls built around the city of Harar during the reign of Emir
Nur ibn Mujahid helped preserve Harari identity from being assimilated by the
Oromo.[28] Harari colonies in the middle of the seaboard and Harar were also assimilated by
Somalis putting the
Sultanate of Harar under duress.[29] Hararis confined in the walled city became the last remnants of a once large ethnic group that inhabited the region.[30][31] According to Ulrich Braukämper, the Harla-Harari were most likely active in the region prior to the
Adal Sultanate's Islamic invasion of Ethiopia.
The sixteenth century saw Oromos invading regions of the
Horn of Africa from the northern areas of
Hargeisa to its southern portions such as
Lower Juba, incorporating the Harari people.[32] Hararis were furious when Muhammad Gasa decided to move the
Adal Sultanate's capital from Harar to
Aussa in 1577 in response to Oromo threats. In less than a year after its relocation Adal would collapse.[33] Harari imams continued to have a presence in the southern
Afar Region in the
Imamate of Aussa until they were overthrown in the eighteenth century by the
Mudaito dynasty, who later established the
Sultanate of Aussa.[34]
Among the assimilated peoples were
Arab Muslims that arrived during the start of the Islamic period, as well as
Argobba and other migrants that were drawn to Harar's well-developed culture.[35] Statistics prove that a Semitic-speaking people akin to the Harari may have inhabited a stretch of land between the
Karkaar Mountains, the middle
Awash and
Jijiga.
Oromo migrations have effectively split this putative ethnolinguistic block to the
Lake Zway islands,
Gurage territory, and Harar.[36][37] Following the decline of the
Adal Sultanate's ascendancy in the area, a large number of the Harari were in turn reportedly absorbed into the
Oromo community.[35] In the
Emirate of Harar period, Hararis sent missionaries to convert Oromo to
Islam.[38] The loss of the crucial
Battle of Chelenqo marked the end of Harar's independence in 1887.[39] Hararis supported the designated but uncrowned Emperor of Ethiopia
Lij Iyasu, and his presumed efforts to make Harar the capital of an African Islamic empire.[40] Iyasu was however overthrown in 1916, and many of his Harari followers were jailed.[41]
Harari woman in traditional attire
Chafing under imperial Ethiopian rule, Hararis made several attempts to cut ties with Ethiopia and unify
Hararghe with
Somalia, among them launching the nationalist Kulub movement which was linked to the
Somali Youth League. These events led to the
Haile Selassie government's
ethnic cleansing efforts on Hararis.[42] A Harar Oromo proverb alludes to this occasion: "On that day Hararis were eliminated from earth."[43] Former Mayor of Harar
Bereket Selassie reported that both the Amhara and Oromo viewed Hararis with contempt.[44] Haile Selassie's overthrow by the
Derg communist regime made minor differences for the Harari; they describe it as "little more than a transition from the frying pan into the fire".[45] The 1975 rural act disenfranchised Hararis from their farm land, forcing many to emigrate.[46] The surviving Harari relatives of Kulub movement members would join the
Somali Armed Forces; and some, having been promoted as high-ranking military officers, fought in the
Ogaden War to free Harari and Somali territory from Ethiopian rule.[47][48] Hararis were also involved in the
WSLF.[49][50] After Ethiopians won the war in Ogaden, Derg soldiers began massacring civilians in Harari areas of
Addis Ababa for collaborating with
Somalis.[51] The aftermath of the Ogaden war resulted in 200,000 Hararis being held at southern Somalia's refuge camps in 1979.[52] Today Hararis are outnumbered in their own state by the
Amhara and Oromo peoples. Under the
Meles Zenawi administration, Hararis had been favored tremendously. They acquired control of their
Harari Region again, and have been given special rights not offered to other groups in the region.[53] According to academic Sarah Vaughan, the
Harari People's National Regional State was created to overturn the historically bad relationship between Harar and the Ethiopian government.[54]
Some Hararis as well as the Somali
Sheekhal and Hadiya
Halaba clans assert descent from
Abadir Umar ar-Rida, also known as Fiqi Umar, who traced his lineage to the
first caliph,
Abu Bakr. According to the explorer
Richard Francis Burton, "Fiqi Umar" crossed over from the
Arabian Peninsula to the
Horn of Africa ten generations prior to 1854, with his six sons: Umar the Greater, Umar the Lesser, the two Abdillahs, Ahmad and Siddiq.[55] According to Hararis, they also consist of seven Harla subclans: Abogn, Adish, Awari,
Gidaya,
Gatur,
Hargaya, and
Wargar.[56] The Harari were previously known as "Adere", although this term is now considered derogatory.[57]
Arsi Oromo state an intermarriage took place between their ancestors and the previous inhabitants Adere (Harari) whom they call the
Hadiya.[58][59] Hadiya clans claim their forefathers were Harari however they later became influenced by
Sidama.[60][61] Moreover, the Habar Habusheed, a major branch of the Somali
Isaaq clan family consisting of the
Habr Je'lo,
Sanbur,
Ibran and Tol Je'lo clans in Somaliland and Ethiopia, hold the tradition that they originate from an intermarriage between a Harari woman and their forefather
Sheikh Ishaaq.[62]
Language
Harari pendant, held at the Museum of Natural History and Ethnography in
Colmar.
The Harari people speak the
Harari language, an
Ethiosemitic language referred to as Gey Sinan or Gēy Ritma ("Language of the City"). It is closely related to the eastern
Gurage languages and similar to
Zay and
Silt'e, all of whom are linked to the
Harla language.[63][64] Old Harari already had many
Arabic loanwords, proven by the ancient texts.[65]Northern Somali dialects use Harari loanwords.[66] The
Zeila songs of thirteenth century origin, popular in
Somaliland are considered to be using Old Harari.[67] Historians states the language spoken by the Imams and Sultans of
Adal would closely resemble contemporary
Harari language.[68][69]
Modern Harari is influenced more by
Oromo than
Somali and the presence of
Arabic is still there.[70] After the eighteenth century Egyptian conquest of Harar, numerous
loanwords were additionally borrowed from
Egyptian Arabic.
Gafat language, now extinct, was once spoken in the
Blue Nile was related to a Harari dialect.[71] Harari language has some form of correlation with
Swahili and
Maghrebi Arabic.[72] Prior to Oromo encircling the Harar region, its postulated Harari speakers were in direct contact with
Sidama,
Afar and Somali.[73][74]
The first known Harari language dictionary in English was published by British traveler
Henry Salt in 1814.[75]
The Harari language was historically written using the
Arabic script and in characters known as "Harari secret script" of unknown origin.[76] More recently in the 1990s, it has been transcribed with the
Ge'ez script. Harari is also commonly written in
Latin outside of Ethiopia.[77]
The 1994 Ethiopian census indicates that there were 21,757 Harari speakers. About 20,000 of these individuals were concentrated outside Harar, in Ethiopia's capital
Addis Ababa.[78]
Most Harari people are bilingual in
Amharic and
Oromo, both of which are also Afro-Asiatic languages. According to the 1994 Ethiopian census, about 2,351 are monolingual, speaking only Harari.[78]
Religion
Virtually all Harari are Sunni
Muslim. The earliest kabir or Islamic teacher in the community was
AwSofi Yahya, a Harari scholar who was contemporary of the patron saint of Harar called Shaykh Abadir and it was from him that the first
Qur'anic school was built around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the south of the city center.[79] The predominant strand or self-identification adopted by Harari people is
Sunni or
non-denominational Islam.[80]
Some of the luxurious Harari baskets, called "Mot" (
Harari = ጌይ ሞት), today registered and certified as a Harari trademark.An old Harari woman making a pair of Hamat Mot, one of the most expansive Harari basket.
The Hararis are known to be the masters of basketry in Ethiopia, decorated with complex geometric patterns, and renowned for their quality and beauty. Those baskets are often used for special occasions such as weddings, mournings, but mostly for house decoration. In addition, the
Mesob (traditional basketwork table) was invented by the Harari people. Harari baskets are considered valuable handicrafts, mainly used by wealthier Harari families, and are highly appreciated and prized not only locally, but also in the Ethiopian craft market and among crafts collectors from all over the world. They are a remarkable example of traditional Ethiopian craftsmanship and demonstrate the cultural richness of the Harar region.
Harari traditional houses
Harari house doors, carved in stone and wood.Main room of a Harari house (ጌይ ጋር).Harari traditional "Aflala" pots in a wealthy Harari house.
Harari houses are known to be richly decorated with beautiful handcrafted wall baskets with very intricate designs (made by Harari women), as well as enameled plates with floral patterns (plates imported to Ethiopia after the
Second World War by Japanese traders). The ground floor is dedicated to the kitchen and living room. The main room has large steps covered with carpets and pillows, called "Nedeba", where family members and guests take their seats according to their rank. The floors are devoted to bedrooms. In the wealthiest families, 4 black clay pots, called "Aflala", are placed on a stone shelf, carved into the wall, where all valuable goods were stored, such as gold, coins, medicine and coffee beans.
^Carmichael, Tim (1998). Political Culture in Ethiopia's Provincial Administration: Haile Sellassie, Blata Ayele Gebre and the (Hareri) Kulub Movement of 1948. Boston University African Studies Center Press. p. 207.
^Wehib, Ahmed (October 2015).
History of Harar and the Hararis(PDF). Harari People Regional State Culture, Heritage And Tourism Bureau. p. 172. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
^Richard Burton, First Footsteps in East Africa, 1856; edited with an introduction and additional chapters by Gordon Waterfield (New York: Praeger, 1966), p. 165
^Wehib, Ahmed (October 2015).
History of Harar and the Hararis(PDF). Harari People Regional State Culture, Heritage And Tourism Bureau. p. 29. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
^Brugnatelli, Vermondo. "Arab-Berber contacts in the Middle Ages and Ancient Arabic dialects: new evidence from an old Ibadite religious text." African Arabic: approaches to dialectology. Berlin: de Gruyter (2013): 271-291.
^Wehib, Ahmed (October 2015).
History of Harar and Harari(PDF). Harari people regional state, culture, heritage and tourism bureau. p. 141. Retrieved 26 November 2017.