Coastal minorities including Benadiri, Bajuni and Bravans in Somalia

Profile 

Benadiri comprise a number of different communities. Rer Hamar, living in Mogadishu (at independence about half of its population), meaning the ‘clan’ of Hamar (another name for Mogadishu), speak their own dialect of the Somali language (Af-Hamari) and are divided into a large number of different segments or sub-clans. Another group is the residents of Merca port (the former coastal capital in the thirteenth century), sometimes called Rer Merca, who also have a separate Somali dialect (Af-Donte or Maasu-doonte) related to Maay of the local Rahanweyn clans. Barawani (Bravanese), living in the coastal city of Brava, have a partially separate historical and urban cultural identity deriving from the sixteenth century when Brava, founded in the ninth century, was an important self-governing trading port and fought off Portuguese attacks. Bravanese speak Chimini as a first language, also known as Chimbalazi, which is a local Kiswahili dialect, as well as the local Tunni sub-clan dialect of Maay. Bajuni, a low-status and poor fishing community, reside in the southern port of Kismayu and the offshore Bajuni islands near the Kenyan border. They have some distant Southeast Asian ancestry reflecting trading links centuries ago between the Somali coast and China and Southeast Asia. They speak Kibajuni, a local Kiswahili dialect, as a first language. They traditionally relied heavily on fishing as a way of life, but other communities have increasingly invested in fishing fleets, and they now face fierce competition for the remaining fish stocks.  There is also a relatively small community of descendants of European, mainly Italian, settlers and Somalis who mostly live in Italy, also called ‘meticci’ (‘mixed blood’). Although historically economically better off than some minorities, they also fall outside clan structures, leaving them socially invisible and vulnerable to discrimination. 

History 

Benadiri originate from mercantile urban communities established by migrants at different periods (some up to 1,500 years ago) from what are now Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Iran and India. They settled along the ‘Benadir coast’ and inland, and built stone towns for defence and trade, becoming a key influence in the spread of Islam. They interacted with local clans in the hinterland (pastoralists, Bantu and Rahanweyn), while retaining a partly separate identity. Today, Benadiri speak Somali as a second language and have no other national identity than as Somali citizens. 

From the 1950s, Benadiri were engaged in nationalist politics through their own parties, sometimes aligned to other clan-based parties. They were not attached to or incorporated into pastoralist clans for protection, nor subject to exclusion and discrimination like Bantu and the occupational groups. During the post-1991 civil war, the formerly privileged status of Benadiri, many of them wealthy merchants and technocrats, was reversed, as they did not have an armed militia for their protection. Rer Hamar suffered heavily from warlord militia attacks, rape of girls and women, and looting of their properties and businesses. Most Benadiri fled to Kenya and ultimately other locations, with many resettling in the United States as refugees. 

Current issues 

Despite the deep insecurity suffered by the community, a few thousand Benadiri still remain with their businesses in Mogadishu, Brava and Merca, paying clan militias or privately employed gunmen for armed protection. The political authorities in all three coastal cities are now in the hands of major clans and linked militias. Bajuni fishing people remain in the port city of Kismayu and the Bajuni Islands; they have no representatives in the decision-making processes of the state government in Jubaland. 

The coastal minority groups have suffered considerable losses as a result of Somalia’s civil war and continuing insecurity and rule of law issues. Even so, their circumstances today are arguably better than those experienced by some other minorities. For example, there have been cases of Benadiri intermarrying with majority clans, providing a significant measure of security and protection for Benadiri women. Moreover, as traders, their economic marginalization has been less pronounced.