Hawiye
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Languages | |
| Somali | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (Sunni, Sufism) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Dir, Darod, Isaaq, Rahanweyn, other Somalis |
The Hawiye (Somali: Hawiye, Arabic: بنو هوية) is a Somali clan. Members of the clan traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia, Ogaden and the North Eastern Province (currently administered by Ethiopia and Kenya, respectively). Like many Somalis, Hawiye members trace their paternal ancestry to Irir , one of the sons of Samaale.
Hawiye is one of the major Somali clans, with a wide traditional territory. It is the dominant clan in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
According to an official Military Survey conducted during the colonial period, Hawiye clan members are by tradition believed to be descended from a forefather named Hawiya Irrir. Hawiya Irrir is held to be the brother of Dir. I.M. Lewis and many sources maintain that the Dir together with the Hawiye trace ancestry through Irir son of Samaale to Banu Hashim Arabian origins with Aqeel Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
The first written reference to the Hawiye dates back to a 13th-century document by the Arab geographer, Ibn Sa'id, who described Merca at the time as the "capital of Hawiye country". The 12th century cartographer Muhammad al-Idrisi may have referred to the Hawiye as well, as he called Merca the region of the "Hadiye", which Herbert S. Lewis believes is a scribal error for "Hawiye", as do Guilliani, Schleicher and Cerulli.
Due to ancient pastoralist migrations and population movements across the Somali peninsula in search of water wells and grazing land over a period of thousand years, Hawiye clans today can be found inhabiting an area stretching from the fertile lands of southern Somalia between Barawa and Kismayo, to the regions surrounding Merka, Mogadishu and Warsheikh in the hinterland, west to the modern city of Beledweyne in the Hiran region, and north to the ancient port town of Hobyo in the arid central Mudug region.
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