Dir (clan)

The Dir (, ), or Theyr bin Abdalla as mentioned in the book "Futuh al-Habasha", is a Somali clan. Its members mostly live in northwestern Somalia and Djibouti, in addition to southern and central Somalia and the Ogaden.

The main sub-clans of the Dir are the Issa of Djibouti and Ethiopia, as well as the Gadabuursi, Akisho, Biyomaal, Surre and Gurgura. The Isaaq are also sometimes classified as a Dir sub-clan, but this designation is rejected by Isaaq members who maintain that they represent a clan of their own.

History

According to tradition, Dir clan members are descended from a forefather named Dir. Dir is held to be the great grand-son of Ram Nag, an Arab migrant who landed in Zeila on the northwestern Somali coast.John Anthony Hunt, A general survey of the Somaliland Protectorate 1944-1950: final report on "An economic survey and reconnaissance of the British Somaliland Protectorate 1944-1950," Colonial Development and Welfare Scheme, Part 484, (To be purchased from the Chief Secretary: 1951), p.151.I. M. Lewis, Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho, (Red Sea Press: 1998), p.14.

Dir is also reputed to be the uncle of Esa Madoba, the patriarch of the Issa Dir sub-clan, as well as the brother of Hawiya Irrir, who founded the Hawiye clan. In addition,...
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