Silcis

The Silcis (sometimes spelled "Sil'is" or "Seles" in historical texts) are a Somali subclan. They are part of the Gorgate subclan of the Hawiye clan, which is one of the major clans of Somali people. The Silcis inhabit the traditional coastal region of Benadir in the southern part of Somalia. This region should not be confused with the much smaller present day Banaadir administrative region (gobol) which contains Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. Silcis live, or have historically lived, along the Shabeelle River in towns such as Afgooye and Jowhaar, as well as along the coast, especially in Mogadishu and Warsheekh.

The Silcis rose to prominence in the Shabeelle River region following the disintegration of the Ajuuraan Sultanate, which controlled a large part of southern Somalia, and with which the Silcis are connected. Cassanelli points out that in Geledi oral history accounts, the Silcis are often viewed as "that section of the Ajuran who governed the Afgoy district". He asserts that Geledi accounts "attest to the continuity and similarity of Ajuran and Sil'is rule".

The Silcis centre of power was in Lama Jiidle (present day Afgooye). Lama Jiidle means "two roads" in Somali. Barile erroneously claims that Afgooye's previous name was simply "Seles" (the common Italian spelling of Silcis).

The Silcis imposed taxation on their subject clans, such as the Wacdaan, a fellow subclan of the Gurgate Hawiye, and the Geledi, a Rahanweyn subclan. According to Virginia Luling, "The Sil'is imposed their dominion on the Geledi, who had to pay as tribute a measure (suus) of grain every day from each household; it was collected and loaded on a camel, others say a donkey. A tax was also imposed on those who brought their stock to water at the river”. Barile also describes the taxes levied by the Silcis.

A controversial aspect of traditional Geledi and Wacdaan accounts of Silcis rule is the imposition by the Silcis sultan of ius primae noctis. According to Eno, "it was ‘Xeer’ [customary] for every Geledi bride... to celebrate her honeymoon [first] with a Silcis-Gorgaate male before she could celebrate the occasion with her official marital husband".

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Wikipedia