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30-647: It follows the line of the Shebelle River north from the Somali Sea through Somalia and into Ethiopia . Along with the Jubba Valley and nearby lakes Chamo and Abaya , the valley is considered an Endemic Bird Area by Birdlife International . 04°44′N 45°12′E  /  4.733°N 45.200°E  / 4.733; 45.200 This Somalia location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Ethiopia location article

60-503: A beating instead of the grain", as the Geledi refused to pay. When Imbia reported this event to her father, he exclaimed "waa la i afgooye", literally "they have cut off my mouth", meaning that the regime's source of provision had been terminated. Lama Jiidle's name became Afgooye to commemorate this victory over the Silcis. The Geledi mobilized and under Ibrahim Adeer a general who used to serve

90-475: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Shebelle River The Shebelle River ( Oromo : Laga Shabeellee, Somali : Webi Shabeelle , Amharic : እደላ , Italian : fiume Uebi Scebeli ) also known historically as the Nile of Mogadishu , begins in the highlands of Ethiopia , and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu . Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where it follows

120-511: Is a town in the southeastern Somalia Lower Shebelle (Shabellaha Hoose) region of Somalia . It is the center of the Afgooye District . Afgooye is the third largest city of Southwest State . Afgooye is one of the oldest towns on the lower Shebelle valley, 30 kilometers north of Mogadishu . Afgooye is the site of Lafoole college, the first college of education in Somalia , built on the site of

150-454: Is said that every household in Afgooye was wealthy and you could not find a single poor person. Afgooye merchants boasted their wealth; one of their wealthiest said Moordiinle iyo Mereeyey iyo mooro lidow, maalki jeri keenow kuma moogi malabside . Bring all the wealth of Moordiinle, Mereeyey, and the enclosures of lidow, I scarcely notice it. At the turn of the 20th century, Afgooye

180-694: Is situated about 30 kilometres west of Mogadishu , the capital of Somalia. The Shabelle River passes through the middle of the town. The Silcis Dynasty were a section of Ajuran that governed the Afgooye district. Neither the Silcis nor the Ajuran developed the town, but limited themselves to controlling the caravan routes and collecting taxes and tribute. The Silcis center of power was in Lama Jiidle (present day Afgooye). Lama Jiidle means "two roads" in Somali. The Silcis imposed taxation on their subject clans, such as

210-449: The Somali calendar . This irrigation system was supported by numerous dikes and dams. To determine the average size of a farm, a land measurement system was also invented with moos , taraab and guldeed being the terms used. The urban centers of Mogadishu , Merca , Barawa , Kismayo and Hobyo and other respective ports became profitable trade outlets for commodities originating from

240-548: The 1970s, the most devastating flood was the kabahay of 1978. In 1996, floods devastated three woredas in Ethiopia. On 23 October 1999, the river unexpectedly flooded in the middle of the night, destroying homes and crops in 14 out of the 117 kebeles in Kelafo woreda, as well as 29 of the 46 kebeles in neighboring Mustahil woreda. According to the local authorities, 34 people and an estimated 750 livestock died, with 70,000 affected by

270-520: The Ajuran drove the Silcis out of Afgooye and established the Geledi Sultanate . Afgooye was in its golden age in the early modern period under the reign of the Gobroon dynasty which was not only a powerful military machine but, by its use of Asraar or Ta'daar the feared "secret mystical language" was a formidable force in other respects as well. Afgooye at that time was a trading hub center controlling

300-557: The Horn of Africa as late as the 19th century. Through their control of the region's wells, the Garen rulers effectively held a monopoly over their nomadic subjects as they were the only hydraulic empire in Africa during their reign. Large wells made out of limestone were constructed throughout the state, which attracted Somali and Oromo nomads with their livestock. The centralized regulations of

330-701: The Shebelle River diminishes and transforms into a series of wetlands and sandy plains to the northeast of the confluence with the Jubba. The Shebelle River has a total length of 1,820 km. The area surrounding the Shebeli River is inhabited by Somali people in the Somali Region of Ethiopia and Somali people in Somalia. In the lower basin of the river, agriculture has largely replaced the traditional nomadic herding lifestyle, and

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360-522: 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

390-590: The battle of Lafoole of 1896. Afgooye is also known for the Istunka , the annual "stick fight" carnival commemorating the New Year in the riverine region. It was a trade center for the Silcis Dynasty in the medieval period then fell under Ajuran rule. Around the late 17th century, Afgooye became the capital of Geledi Sultanate . In the Somali language , Afgooye translates to split mouth or open/ split closing. It

420-524: The center, mosques, residential houses, shops, roads, and bridges. They also built an advanced plumbing system, a drainage system, and a sewage system. The city was very vibrant and developed in its time. The Sultanate ruled most of the inter-riverine region and Benadir coast. Its headquarters was located in Afgooye which was an extremely wealthy and large city. Afgooye having some thriving industries such as weaving , shoemaking , tableware , jewellery , pottery and produced other various products. Afgooye

450-565: The coast. Below Mogadishu, the river becomes seasonal. During most years, the river dries up near the mouth of the Jubba River , while in seasons of heavy rainfall, the river actually reaches the Jubba and thus the ocean. During periods of heavy rainfall in Ethiopia, the Shebelle River and the Jubba River merge, and their combined waters ultimately reach the Indian Ocean. However, in drier years,

480-512: The cultivation of bananas along the southern stretches of the Shebeli and Jubba rivers contributes significantly to Somalia's export industry. The Shebelle has a number of tributaries , both seasonal and permanent rivers. They include: The Fafen only reaches the Shebelle in times of heavy rainfall; its stream usually ends before reaching the main river. During the middle ages, the Shebelle river

510-475: The festival evolved into a local attraction; particularly during the 1970s and 80s. It is still practised annually in the town. Afgooye has a population of around 79,400 inhabitants. The broader Afgooye District has a total population of 135,012 residents. Afgooye District is predominantly inhabited by the Geledi and Garre clans with a small minority of Begedi clan all sub-clans of Digil/Rahanweyn . Afgooye

540-449: The floods and in need of assistance. Two more recent floods were the dawdle in 2003, when about 100 livestock and 119 people were washed away, and the flood of April 2005, when about 30,000 persons were surrounded by floodwaters and 2,000 camels and 4,000 shoats were washed away by the floods; some locals consider this the worst flood in 40 years. Afgooye Afgooye ( Somali : Afgooye , Arabic : أفجويى , Italian : Afgoi )

570-431: The interior of the state. The Somali farming communities of the hinterland from Jubba and Shebelle rivers brought their crops to the Somali coastal cities, where they were sold to local merchants who maintained a lucrative foreign commerce with ships sailing to and coming from Arabia , Persia , India , Venice , Egypt , Portugal , and as far away as Java and China . According to Thomas Wakefield, who visited

600-605: The medieval period. With the centralized supervision of the Ajuran, farms in Afgooye , Bardhere and other areas in the Jubba and Shabelle rivers increased their productivity. A system of irrigation ditches known locally as Kelliyo fed directly from the Shebelle River and Jubba rivers into the plantations where sorghum , maize , beans, grain and cotton were grown during the gu ( Spring in Somali) and xagaa ( Summer in Somali) seasons of

630-407: The new year and one of the best known tourist attractions in the region. The festival was developed during the medieval Ajuran period . It was later expanded upon by Sultan Ahmed Yusuf (Gobroon) becoming a centralized tournament separate teams were established, each supported by an assembly of poets, female vocalists and dance groups throughout the duration of the contest. In the modern era,

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660-556: The region, the river was also known as the "Adari River". The source of the Shebelle River is cultivated by the Arsi Oromo , Sidamo and mostly Somalis , respectively. It is surrounded by a sacred enclosure wooded with juniper trees, which as of 1951 was under the protection of a Muslim member of the Arsi. In 1989, with the help of Soviet engineers, the Melka Wakena dam was built on

690-450: The taxes levied by the Silcis. The final ruler of the Silcis in Lama Jiidle (Afgooye) was the sultan 'Umur Abukar Abroone. According to Luling, "His daughter Imbia used to go round collecting the daily tribute of grain, accompanied by her slaves" from her father's Wacdaan and Geledi subjects. Oral accounts hold that one day, "when the Sultan's daughter came round to collect the tribute, she got

720-458: The town during the holy month of Ramadan . After the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, parts of the town became a place of refuge for many of southern Somalia's internally displaced people. On May 25, 2012, Somali government forces backed by AMISOM tanks re-captured Afgooye from Al-Shabaab , which had established a base in the area. Istunka , also known as isgaraac , was the name for annual mock combat festival in Afgooye, which marks

750-478: The trade route between the coast and interior. All roads were linked to Afgooye which gave the city immense leverage. During the early 19th century, the city's population was estimated to have exceeded 80,000 making it one of the largest cities in East Africa of that time. The city was surrounded by a large wall with five fortified gates. It had many complex structures such as multi-story high buildings, big palaces in

780-519: The upper reaches of the Shebelle River in the Bale Mountains . Producing 153 megawatts, this dam is Ethiopia’s largest hydroelectric generator. The recent history of the Shabelle is marked by frequent destructive flash floods . The Shabelle is said to have flooded every other year prior to the 1960s; that decade had only two devastating floods, the hidigsayley in 1965, and the soogudud in 1966. In

810-409: The wells made it easier for the nomads to settle disputes by taking their queries to government officials who would act as mediators. Long-distance caravan trade, a long-time practice in the Horn of Africa, continued unchanged in Ajuran times. Today, numerous ruined and abandoned towns throughout the interior of Somalia and the Horn of Africa are evidence of a once-booming inland trade network dating from

840-530: Was incorporated into Italian Somaliland . The Italians occupied the town in 1908 and in the process abolished the local slave market . There was also a station in Afgooye on the Mogadishu-Villabruzzi Railway , which connected the town to the capital Mogadishu . In the 1980s, Afgooye was a common destination for investors from the Gulf States . The Emir of Kuwait also reportedly used to visit

870-487: Was the crossroads of caravans bringing ivory, leopard skins, and aloe in exchange for foreign fabrics, sugar, dates, and firearms. Afgooyans also traded livestock and slaves. The outside inhabitants of Afgooye grew sorghum, beans, cotton, bananas, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. The Afgooyans say "Laka Beere beerwaye" (you can count on your farm), as opposed to the nomads who counted their camels. Afgooyans raised cows, goats, sheep, and chicken for meat, milk, and ghee. It

900-530: Was under the control of the Ajuran Empire and was largely utilized for its plantations. Coming into prominence during the 13th century AD, the Ajuran monopolized the water resources of the Jubba and Shebelle Rivers. Through hydraulic engineering , they also constructed many of the limestone wells and cisterns of the state many of which are still in use today. Its rulers developed new systems for agriculture and taxation, which continued to be used in parts of

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