By Guuleed Samatar
Dear Distinguished Professor Samatar,
I read your engaging and interesting article, “Confessions of a new convert to the Geri-Koombo Clan- Family”, with fascination.
As a former covert to the most accommodating noble Geri Koombe, who has since been excommunicated from the communion of the scattered and loosely-affiliated Absame polity, I am very pleased to welcome you to the fold with an overflowing Gaawe – a traditional wooden milk vessel – with frothing, fresh, sweet and delectable camel milk – the nutritious mainstay of the men of the Hawd.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Geri share’s in the stock market rocketed 100%, fueled by the unprecedented conversion of a renowned historian, accomplished educator, author and intellectual.
As you have aptly stated, Geri Koombe enjoys position of preeminence in the rank of Darood nobility, and there is no better clan to live among the competing plethora of clan entities in my neck of the woods. Though little was written or remembered in the annals of history, the Geri dynasty, certainly, predates the cradle of Islam. Hence, in the same way as Alex Haley, Faisal Roble could trace his family lineage back twenty generations to the ancestor of the Geri clan.
Among the Geri’s goodwill that you will be party to (goodwill is an accounting term which denotes to that excess value of an entity above and beyond the total value of its assets and liabilities. The goodwill value of an entity is generally considered as a function of its good name) includes that the Geri community, like their brethren in the north, the Issa clan, have maintained over the centuries, a longstanding customary law known as the ‘Xeerka Geri’. The Geri community have maintained a single Garaad for many successive generations, and contrary to their passive nature, the Geris have been known as formidable warriors. For example, according to Fatuh Al Habash (1527 – 1543), the Geri warriors led by Garaad Mataan, took a pivotal role in Imam Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazi’s (Ahmed Gurey) expeditions into the heart of Abyssinia, as they did during Emperor Menelik’s expansionist incursions into the Somali territories in the 19th century. In the early parts of the 1940s, leading to the uprising of the Guluf, the Geri Garaad, Garaad Ali Garaad Dalal, led a fierce war against Haile Selassie and almost expelled Ethiopians out of the Somali territory.
As a part of my induction to the stately Geri habitat, I took a trip to the spiritual heartlands of the Geri Koombe in the summer of 2011. I drove from Jigjiga to Tulli-Guuleed. Instantly, I fell in love with the pristine landscape that rolled all around. I was so mesmerized by the heavenly scenic beauty of the unspoiled and refreshing vistas from the front window. The air was filled with sweet fragrances that invaded my nostrils. Songbirds of various colors flew from tree to tree with the rumbling sound of the landcruiser.
Tulli-Guuleed is a happy and hopeful place with a genuinely hospitable people. The standard of living has been stable since time immemorial and had been quite higher than that of the semi-arid, sparsely populated, parched grazing lands inhabited by their kins in the neighborhood.
The Geri habitat in the northwest of Jigjiga, strikingly, is a mighty vastness of rolling, flower-strewn, grassy plains stretching for tens of kilometers. Carpeted with luxuriant grass and lush green vegetation, the vast plains of Tulli-Guuleed is filled with sweet smelling wild flowers, green foliage and waving grass of the freshest hue.
While food production is declining elsewhere in the beleaguered Somali territories – bedeviled by unrelenting wars and disasters – the fertile soil of the Geriland is capable of producing 200 times what it yields today and could feed all of Horn of Africa.
At the time of my arrival, Tulli was bustling with productive activities. The able-bodied male were tilling the fertile lands; women were gathering fresh harvest of onions, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, peas and beans from the fields; and girls were pounding the sorghum in wooden pestles and mortars to remove the husks. Pots of barely were being prepared in the open, in front of the homesteads.
In a nearby small clear-water stream where domestic animals were being watered, goats were bleating, camels roaring, donkeys braying, young lambs gamboling and men were signing hackneyed work songs. Knee-hobbled male camels were browsing on brittle acacia and tall coarse grass.
My visit coincided with the breading season when male camels ruts. I noticed a male camel bellowing loudly and difficult to handle. The camel threatened anyone that came close to it. Its back portion of the mouth was pushed out and an inflated ball-like balloon dangled from his lower jaw. It spread out its back legs, using its tail to spray urine, over and over, its hind legs.
In the evening, a group of young and frivolous boys and girls initiated one of the most popular traditional folk dances, Hirwo – an old version of Dhanto – in the outskirts of Tulli-Guuleed. I flocked to the packed dance arena with the company of tall, well-groomed, charming and beautiful Geri women who were undoubtedly the most gorgeous among the Xaawos in my constituency. No wonder that Smith, Arte and professor Samatar, of diverse backgrounds and varied and sophisticated palates, were all equally lured by the captivating beauty, the health glow and glamor of the Geri women!
As a former cameleer who romanticized, all along, the traditional life of the Somali countryside, Tulli-Guuleed was as close to paradise as one could find in any wilderness. The Geriland offers the ideal landscape for comfortable, affordable, secure and gracious retirement living and that is why I decide to settle here for good.
Dear esteemed professor, I hope you will make the Geriland your favorite retirement destination as well.
Finally, from time to time, other Geri aspirants ask me questions regarding my decision to joining the Geri clan and would greatly appreciate if you share your reflections with me:
1. Whether your decision to joining the Geri Community is final – will you consider to opt for greener pastures if the opportunity presents itself in the future?
2. Since there are shared responsibilities among the male members of the clan, including payment of blood compensation, etc., will the esteemed professor come to the Geriland with no arrears due to his birth clan? In my experience, the Geri people made it clear to me that they were not interested in any deadbeat aspirants in their midst.
3. What rituals did you have to go through to break the ties with your birth clan?
4. Do you have lessons learned / best practices to share with future clan changers? As many may follow your footsteps, it would be ideal if you were to put together “A Primer for Clan Changers.”
5. What effects will your action have on your birth clan – the Leelkase? As this may lead to one way exodus out of Leelkase and may bring the sustainability of the entity itself as a separate clan into question.
Guuleed Samatar
Email: [email protected]
Jigjiga
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