Borama

The name Borama comes from the word booraan (pl. booraamo), which is a deep hole or geological depression (e.g. basin, valley).{{Cite web |last=C. Faarax "Barwaaqo" |first=Cabdiraxmaan |date=2003 |title=UJEEDOOYINKA MAGACYADA MAGAALOOYINKA SOOMAALIYEED* |url=http://haatuf.net/Archive2003/Barwaqo.htm |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=haatuf.net}} The city was named after the valleys in the surrounding areas, with Borama meaning place of valleys.

{{main|Adal Sultanate|Somali aristocratic and court titles}}

File:Qorgab Valley.jpg

As with several nearby towns such as Amud, numerous archaeological finds have been discovered in the Borama area that point to an eventful past. The latter include ancient remains of tombs, houses and mosques, in addition to sherds of Oriental wares, particularly Chinese porcelain. The artefacts and structures date from various historical periods, ranging from the 12th through to the 18th centuries. Most, however, are from the 15th and 16th centuries, a time of great commercial activity in the region that is associated with the medieval Adal Sultanate.Bernard Samuel Myers, ed., Encyclopedia of World Art, Volume 13, (McGraw-Hill: 1959), p.xcii.

Excavations in the late 1800s and early 1900s at over fourteen sites in the vicinity of Borama unearthed, among other things, coins identified as having been derived from Kait Bey, the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. Most of these finds were sent to the British Museum for preservation shortly after their discovery.Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain), The Geographical Journal, Volume 87, (Royal Geographical Society: 1936), p.301.

In the first half of the 20th century, Borama formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate. It was later given district status in 1925.

In 1933, Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur, a Qur'anic teacher and son of Borama's qadi (judge), devised a new orthography for transcribing the Afro-Asiatic Cushitic Somali language. A quite accurate phonetic writing system, this Borama script was principally used by Nuur, his circle of associates in the city and some of the merchants in control of trade in Zeila and Borama. Students of Sheikh Nuur were also trained in the use of this script. .David D. Laitin, Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience, (University Of Chicago Press: 1977), pp.86-87.Abdi Ismail Samatar (2001), [https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=bildhaan Borama History and the Gadabuursi script], Bildhaan Studies Macalaster College, Vol. 1, pp. 115-116 The alphabet is also generally known as the Gadabuursi script.{{cite web|title=Somali alphabets, pronunciation and language|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/somali.htm|publisher=Omniglot|access-date=3 January 2015}}

In the post-independence period, Borama was administered as part of the official Awdal administrative region of Somalia. During the Ogaden War in the late 1970s, Borama was one of several northern cities aerially bombarded by Ethiopian forces.{{cite web|last1=Mohamoud |first1=Abdulkadir |title=The Night SNM Fighters came to Hargeisa |url=http://www.wardheernews.com/Articles_10/Oct/06_snm_hargeisa_partII_abdulkadir.html |website=Warheernews |access-date=3 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528045317/http://www.wardheernews.com/Articles_10/Oct/06_snm_hargeisa_partII_abdulkadir.html |archive-date=28 May 2012 }}

File:Borama countryside.jpg

Borama is situated in a mountainous and hilly area. It has green meadows and fields and represents a key focal point for wildlife. The town's unusual fertility and greenery in the largely arid countryside have attracted many faunas, such as gazelles, birds, and camels.

The prevailing climate in Borama is known as a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). The hottest month of the year is June, with an average temperature of {{convert|24.1|°C|°F|1|disp=or}}, whilst the coolest month is January, whose average temperature is {{convert|17.1|°C|°F|1|disp=or}}. The difference in rainfall between the driest month and the wettest month is {{convert|110|mm|in|1|disp=or}}. The average temperatures vary during the year by {{convert|7|C-change|F-change|1|disp=or}}.{{cite web|title=Climate: Borama – Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table|url=http://en.climate-data.org/location/6000/|publisher=Climate-Data.org|access-date=25 September 2013}}

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Borama

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|temperature colour = pastel

|Jan high C = 24.6

|Feb high C = 25.4

|Mar high C = 27.5

|Apr high C = 27.8

|May high C = 29.3

|Jun high C = 30.0

|Jul high C = 28.8

|Aug high C = 28.8

|Sep high C = 29.0

|Oct high C = 27.4

|Nov high C = 25.8

|Dec high C = 24.4

|Jan low C = 9.7

|Feb low C = 11.7

|Mar low C = 13.8

|Apr low C = 15.7

|May low C = 17.0

|Jun low C = 18.3

|Jul low C = 17.8

|Aug low C = 17.6

|Sep low C = 17.3

|Oct low C = 13.7

|Nov low C = 11.3

|Dec low C = 10.4

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 6

|Feb rain mm = 21

|Mar rain mm = 36

|Apr rain mm = 86

|May rain mm = 61

|Jun rain mm = 32

|Jul rain mm = 78

|Aug rain mm = 112

|Sep rain mm = 86

|Oct rain mm = 18

|Nov rain mm = 10

|Dec rain mm = 2

|source 1 = Climate-Data.org, altitude: {{convert|1454|m|ft|0|disp=or}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.faoswalim.org/ftp/Land_Reports/Cleared/L-12%20Land%20Resources%20of%20Somalia.pdf |title=Land Resources Assessment of Somalia |date=June 2009 |publisher=Somalia Water and Land Information Management Project |page=10 |access-date=October 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005010751/http://www.faoswalim.org/ftp/Land_Reports/Cleared/L-12%20Land%20Resources%20of%20Somalia.pdf |archive-date=October 5, 2013 }}

}}

The Awdal Region in which the city is situated is mainly inhabited by the Gadabuursi subclan of the Dir who are especially well represented and considered the predominant clan of the region.{{Cite book|author=Ambroso, G (2002)|title=Pastoral society and transnational refugees:population movements in Somaliland and eastern Ethiopia 1988 - 2000 |url=https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/legacy-pdf/3d5d0f3a4.pdf|page=5|quote= Main sub-clan(s) Habr Awal, Region(s): Waqooyi Galbeed, Main districts: Gabiley, Hargeisa, Berbera. Main sub-clan(s) Gadabursi, Region(s): Awdal, Main districts: Borama, Baki, part. Gabiley, Zeila, Lughaya.}}.{{Cite journal|author=Samatar, Abdi I.|title=Somali Reconstruction and Local Initiative: Amoud University|journal=Bildhaan|date=4 November 2008 |volume=1 |issue=1 |url=http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/bildhaan/vol1/iss1/9|page=132|quote=Samaroon or Gadabursi is the clan name for the majority of people of Awdal origin.}}{{cite book |last1=Battera |first1=Federico |others=Walter Dostal, Wolfgang Kraus (ed.) |title=Shattering Tradition: Custom, Law and the Individual in the Muslim Mediterranean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4AAAwAAQBAJ&q=gadabuursi+awdal&pg=PA296|access-date=18 March 2010 |year=2005 |publisher=I.B. Taurus |location=London |isbn=1-85043-634-7 |page=296 |chapter=Chapter 9: The Collapse of the State and the Resurgence of Customary Law in Northern Somalia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pos3wAofV4UC&pg=PA278 |quote=Awdal is mainly inhabited by the Gadabuursi confederation of clans. The Gadaabursi are concentrated in Awdal.}}UN (1999) Somaliland: Update to SML26165.E of 14 February 1997 on the situation in Zeila, including who is controlling it, whether there is fighting in the area, and whether refugees are returning. "Gadabuursi clan dominates Awdal region. As a result, regional politics in Awdal is almost synonymous with Gadabuursi internal clan affairs." p. 5.{{Cite book | last1=Renders | first1=Marleen | last2=Terlinden | first2=Ulf | title=Negotiating Statehood: Dynamics of Power and Domination in Africa |chapter=Chapter 9: Negotiating Statehood in a Hybrid Political Order: The Case of Somaliland |editor=Tobias Hagmann |editor2=Didier Péclard |url=http://asia-abdulkadir.de/docs/RendersTerlinden2010.pdf|page=191|access-date=2012-01-21|quote="Awdal in western Somaliland is situated between Djibouti, Ethiopia and the Issaq-populated mainland of Somaliland. It is primarily inhabited by the three sub-clans of the Gadabursi clan, whose traditional institutions survived the colonial period, Somali statehood and the war in good shape, remaining functionally intact and highly relevant to public security."}}{{Cite book|author=Jörg, J|title=What are Somalia's Development Perspectives?|date=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DZJPm2j2iz4C&dq=Gadabursi+Awdal&pg=PA132|page=132|publisher=Verlag Hans Schiler |isbn=978-3-86093-230-8 |quote=Awdal region , populated by Dir clans : the Gadabursi and ` Cisa , is credited as being the most stable region in Somaliland . This is mainly due to peacekeeping efforts on the part of the Gadabursi clan who dominate this region.}}{{Cite book|title=Countries That Aren't Really Countries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YY94tCLBqp4C&dq=Gadabuursi+Awdal&pg=PA22|page=22|quote=The Isaaq are concentrated primarily in the regions of Maroodi Jeex, Sanaag, Gabiley, Togdheer and Saaxil. The Gadabuursi inhabit the west, pre-dominantly in Awdal, the Zeila district of Salal and parts of Gabiley.}}{{Cite book|author=Bruchhaus, E. M, Sommer, M. M.|title=Hot Spot Horn of Africa Revisited (2008)|date=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rX4MAQAAMAAJ&q=Gadabursi+Awdal|page=54|isbn=978-3-8258-1314-7 |quote=Next to the three sub-clans of the Gadabursi, a small minority of Ciisse inhabits Awdal.}}{{Cite book|author=Deutsches Institut für Afrika-Forschung|title=Afrika Spectrum Volume 43|date=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8zkOAQAAMAAJ&q=Gadabursi+Awdal|page=77|quote=Gadabursi being the major descent group in the Awdal region.}}

Federico Battera (2005) states about the Awdal Region:

"Awdal is mainly inhabited by the Gadabuursi confederation of clans."{{cite book |last1=Battera |first1=Federico |others=Walter Dostal, Wolfgang Kraus (ed.) |title=Shattering Tradition: Custom, Law and the Individual in the Muslim Mediterranean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z4AAAwAAQBAJ&q=gadabuursi+awdal&pg=PA296|access-date=2010-03-18 |year=2005 |publisher=I.B. Taurus |location=London |isbn=1-85043-634-7 |page=296 |chapter=Chapter 9: The Collapse of the State and the Resurgence of Customary Law in Northern Somalia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pos3wAofV4UC&pg=PA278 |quote=Awdal is mainly inhabited by the Gadabuursi confederation of clans.}}

A UN report published by Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (1999), states concerning Awdal:

"The Gadabuursi clan dominates Awdal region. As a result, regional politics in Awdal is almost synonymous with Gadabuursi internal clan affairs."

Roland Marchal (1997) states that numerically, the Gadabuursi are the predominant inhabitants of the Awdal Region:

"The Gadabuursi's numerical predominance in Awdal virtually ensures that Gadabuursi interests drive the politics of the region."{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WeuSqpJeoEoC&q=Gadabuursi |title= United Nations Development Office for Somalia: Studies on Governance: Awdal Region|year=1997|df=dmy-all|quote=The Gadabuursi's numerical predominance in Awdal virtually ensures that Gadabuursi interests drive the politics of the region.|last1= Marchal|first1= Roland}}

Marleen Renders and Ulf Terlinden (2010) both state that the Gadabuursi almost exclusively inhabit the Awdal Region:

"Awdal in western Somaliland is situated between Djibouti, Ethiopia, and the Issaq-populated mainland of Somaliland. It is primarily inhabited by the three sub-clans of the Gadabursi clan, whose traditional institutions survived the colonial period, Somali statehood and the war in good shape, remaining functionally intact and highly relevant to public security."{{Cite book | last1=Renders | first1=Marleen | last2=Terlinden | first2=Ulf | title=Negotiating Statehood: Dynamics of Power and Domination in Africa |chapter=Chapter 9: Negotiating Statehood in a Hybrid Political Order: The Case of Somaliland |editor=Tobias Hagmann |editor2=Didier Péclard |url=http://asia-abdulkadir.de/docs/RendersTerlinden2010.pdf|page=191|access-date=2012-01-21|quote="Awdal in western Somaliland is situated between Djibouti, Ethiopia and the Issaq-populated mainland of Somaliland. It is primarily inhabited by the three sub-clans of the Gadabursi clan, whose traditional institutions survived the colonial period, Somali statehood and the war in good shape, remaining functionally intact and highly relevant to public security."}}

There is also a sizeable minority of the Issa subclan of the Dir who mainly inhabit the Zeila district.{{cite book

| last1 = Janzen

| first1 = J.

| last2 = von Vitzthum

| first2 = S.

| author3 = Somali Studies International Association

| title = What are Somalia's Development Perspectives?: Science Between Resignation and Hope? : Proceedings of the 6th SSIA Congress, Berlin 6-9 December 1996

| publisher = Das Arabische Buch

| series = Proceedings of the ... SSIA-Congress

| year = 2001

| isbn = 978-3-86093-230-8

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DZJPm2j2iz4C&pg=PA132

| access-date = 20 July 2018

| page = 132

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180720102419/https://books.google.com/books?id=DZJPm2j2iz4C&pg=PA132

| archive-date = 20 July 2018

| url-status = live

| df = dmy-all

}}

File:Amoud University2.jpg

File:Annalena Deaf School - Borama, Somaliland.JPG

Currently, there are 52 primary and secondary schools in Borama.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} These schools can be divided into three main categories: public primary and secondary schools, private primary and secondary schools and Religious schools.

Total number of students in Borama is 15,314.{{cite web|title=2011/2 Primary School Census Statistics Yearbook|url=https://www.unicef.org/somalia/SOM_resources_primschoolcensus20112.pdf|access-date=2018-02-13|archive-date=2023-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303002340/https://www.unicef.org/somalia/SOM_resources_primschoolcensus20112.pdf|url-status=dead}}

File:Boracity.jpg

For air transportation, Borama is served by the Borama International Airport.{{cite web|title=Borama International Airport|url=http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Travel/borama-international-airport-bxx.html|publisher=Altius Directory|access-date=31 August 2013}} It is the only airport in the Awdal region. The facility was named in honor of Aden Isaq Ahmed, Somalia's first Minister of Education. The airport is not in use; however, there are plans to rejuvenate it.{{cite web|url=http://www.somalilandinformer.com/minister-of-aviation-pledges-to-rejuvenate-borama-airport/ |title=Minister of Aviation pledges to rejuvenate Borama airport | SOMALILANDINFORMER |access-date=2015-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403133013/http://www.somalilandinformer.com/minister-of-aviation-pledges-to-rejuvenate-borama-airport/ |archive-date=2015-04-03 }}

• Sheikh Abdurahman Sh. Nur - Inventor of the Gadabuursi Somali Script
• Yussur A.F. Abrar – former Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia
• Hassan Sheikh Mumin - Somali poet, playwright, broadcaster, actor and composer.
• Suleiman Ahmed Guleid - President Of Amoud University
• Sh. Abdillahi Sh. Ali Jawhar - Son of Sh. Ali Jawhar and religious leader

• Baki District
• Zeila
• Lughaya
• Dilla

{{Portal|Somaliland}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{commons category|Borama}}

• {{cite book

| author = Borama Local Council. Economic and Project Management Committee

| title = The Statistical Abstract of Borama Municipality: Borama, Regional Capital of Awdal

| publisher = Borama Local Council

| year = 2003

| url = http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOMALIAEXTN/Resources/Boroma_Statistical_Abstract.pdf

}}

• [https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=bildhaan Somali reconstruction and Local Initiative: Amoud University]. Published in World Development (2001).

Category:Populated places in Awdal

Category:Cities of the Adal Sultanate

Category:British Somaliland in World War II