The Gurgura, Gorgorah or Gurgure are a “trans” clan divided between Somali and Oromo. They were historically Somali and were part of the large Dir clan. They make the majority in the Erer district in the Sitti Zone but also live in Dire Dawa, Harar region, large portions of the Oromia Region of Ethiopia and the Afar Region of that country.
Distribution
The Gurgura are of the Madahwein Dir, making them directly related to the Gurre and Gariire and other Madahwein Dirs. They also have lineal ties with the Issa, Isaaq, Gadabursi, Biimaal, Bajimal, Bursuuk, Layiile, Dabruube, Quranyow-Garre, Surre, Madigan, and other Dir subclans.
History
The city of Dire Dawa was originally called Dir Dhabe and used to be part of Adal Sultanate during the medieval times and was exclusively settled by Dir clan which is a major Somali tribe and after the weakening of Adal Sultanate, the Oromos took advantage and were able to penetrate through the city and settle into these areas and also assimilate some of the local Gurgura clan. Oromo political organizations sought to coerce the Gurgura, who largely speak the Oromo language, to identify themselves as Oromo, though they belong to the Dir clan family of the Somalis. Oromo political organizations claimed that "the Gurgura people who speak Oromiffa belong to the Oromo nation and they only started to identify themselves with the Somali after the 1974 change of the Haile Selassie regime". This is false since the Gurgura are mentioned in the Futuh Al Habasha : Conquest of Abyssinia as source dating back as far as the 16th century, by author: Shihabudin Ahmad bin Abd al-Qadir 'Arab Faqih or 'Arab Faqih. It is recorded that the Gurgura were Somalis who fought alongside Ahmed Gran or Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi with knights, spear-men and foot-soldiers and their leader Garād 'Abd. Many prominent Gurgura in Dire Dawa, including traditional leaders, have identified themselves either Oromo or Somali. Since 1991, majority of them identify themselves as Somalis though we have still others that identify themselves as Oromos.
