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Shebelle River

From Wikipedia
Shebelle River
river
Native labelWebi Shabeelle Edit
Origin of the watercourseEthiopian Highlands Edit
Mouth of the watercourseJubba River Edit
TributaryWabe River, Fafen River, Erer River, Galetti River Edit
CountryEthiopia, Somalia, Eritrea Edit
Edey de administrative territorial entity insydSomalia Edit
Coordinate location0°1′57″S 42°36′15″E, 0°9′59″N 42°45′37″E, 0°10′33″N 42°45′56″E Edit

De Shebelle River (Oromo: Laga Shabeellee, Somali: Webi Shabeelle, Amharic: እደላ, Italian: fiume Uebi Scebeli) wey dem sanso historically know am as de Nile of Mogadishu,[1][2][3] dey begin for de highlands of Ethiopia insyd, den then dey flow southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, e dey turn sharply southwest, wey e dey follow de coast. Below Mogadishu, de river dey becam seasonal. During most years, de river dey dry up near de mouth of de Jubba River, while for seasons of heavy rainfall insyd, de river actually dey reach de Jubba den thus de ocean.

During periods of heavy rainfall for Ethiopia insyd, de Shebelle River den de Jubba River dey merge, den demma combined waters ultimately dey reach de Indian Ocean. Howeva, for drier years insyd, de Shebelle River dey diminish den transform into a series of wetlands den sandy plains to de northeast of de confluence plus de Jubba. De Shebelle River get a total length of 1,820 km. De area wey dey surround de Shebeli River, Arsi Oromo pippoe inhabit am, Somali pippoe for de Somali Region of Ethiopia insyd den Somali pippoe for Somalia insyd. For de lower basin of de river insyd, agriculture largely replace de traditional nomadic herding lifestyle, den de cultivation of bananas along de southern stretches of de Shebeli den Jubba rivers dey contribute significantly to Somalia ein export industry.[4]

Tributaries

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De Shebelle geta number of tributaries, both seasonal den permanent rivers. Dem dey include:

  • Erer River
  • Galetti River
  • Wabe River

De Fafen only dey reach de Shebelle for times of heavy rainfall insyd; ein stream usually dey end before e reach de main river.

History

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Ajuran Empire

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During de middle ages, de Shebelle river dey under de control of de Ajuran Empire den dem largely utilize am give ein plantations. Coming into prominence during de 13th century AD, de Ajuran monopolize de water resources of de Jubba den Shebelle Rivers. Thru hydraulic engineering, dem sanso construct many of de limestone wells den cisterns of de state wey many of dem still for use insyd today. Ein rulers develop new systems give agriculture den taxation, wey dem continue to use am for parts of de Horn of Africa insyd as late as de 19th century.[5]

Thru demma control of de region ein wells, de Garen rulers effectively hold a monopoly ova demma nomadic subjects as dem be de only hydraulic empire for Africa insyd during demma reign. Dem construct large wells wey dem make am out of limestone thruout de state, wey attract Somali den Oromo nomads plus demma livestock. De centralized regulations of de wells make am easier give de nomads to settle disputes by dey take demma queries to government officials wey go act as mediators. Long-distance caravan trade, a long-time practice for de Horn of Africa insyd, dem continue unchanged for Ajuran times insyd. Today, numerous ruin den towns wey dem abandon thruout de interior of Somalia den de Horn of Africa be evidence of a once-booming inland trade network wey e date from de medieval period.[6]

Plus de centralized supervision of de Ajuran, farms for Afgooye, Bardhere den oda areas insyd for de Jubba den Shabelle rivers insyd increase demma productivity. A system of irrigation ditches dem know am locally as Kelliyo feed directly from de Shebelle River den Jubba rivers into de plantations wey dem grow sorghum, maize, beans, grain den cotton during de gu (Spring for Somali insyd) den xagaa (Summer for Somali insyd) seasons of de Somali calendar. Numerous dikes den dams support dis irrigation system. To determine de average size of a farm, dem sanso invent a land measurement system plus dem use de terms moos, taraab den guldeed.

De urban centers of Mogadishu, Merca, Barawa, Kismayo den Hobyo den oda respective ports becam profitable trade outlets give commodities wey dey originate from de interior of de state. De Somali farming communities of de hinterland from Jubba den Shebelle rivers bring demma crops to de Somali coastal cities, wey dem sell am to local merchants wey maintain a lucrative foreign commerce plus ships sailing to den coming from Arabia, Persia, India, Venice, Egypt, Portugal, den as far away as Java den China.[7]

Modern period

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According to Thomas Wakefield, wey visit de region, dem sanso know de river as de "Adari River".[8] De Arsi Oromo cultivate de source of de Shebelle River. A sacred enclosure dey surround am wey demn wood am plus juniper trees, wey as of 1951 dey under de protection of a Muslim member of de Arsi.[9]

For 1989 insyd, plus de help of Soviet engineers, dem build Melka Wakena dam for de upper reaches of de Shebelle River top for de Bale Mountains insyd. Producing 153 megawatts, dis dam be Ethiopia ein largest hydroelectric generator.[10]

Frequent destructive flash floods mark recent history of de Shabelle. Dem say de Shabelle flood every oda year prior to de 1960s; dat decade get only two devastating floods, de hidigsayley for 1965 insyd, den de soogudud for 1966 insyd. For de 1970s insyd, de most devastating flood be de kabahay of 1978.[11] For 1996 insyd, floods devastate three woredas for Ethiopia insyd. For 23 October 1999 top, de river unexpectedly flood for de middle of de night insyd, wey e destroy homes den crops for 14 out of de 117 kebeles insyd for Kelafo woreda insyd, as well as 29 of de 46 kebeles for neighboring Mustahil woreda insyd. According to de local authorities, 34 people den an estimated 750 livestock die, plus 70,000 wey de floods affect'em den for need of assistance insyd.[12] Two more recent floods be de dawdle for 2003 insyd, wen e wash away about 100 livestock den 119 pippoe, den de flood of April 2005, wen floodwaters surround about 30,000 persons den de floods wash away 2,000 camels den 4,000 shoats; sam locals dey consider dis de worst flood for 40 years insyd.[11]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Philips, John Edward (2006). Writing African History (in English). University Rochester Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-58046-256-3.
  2. ↑ Fage, J. D.; Oliver, Roland (1975). The Cambridge History of Africa (in English). Cambridge University Press. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-521-20981-6.
  3. ↑ ʻAlī, Abū al-Fidāʾ Ismāʻīl ibn (1848). Géographie d'Aboulféda (in French). Imprimerie nationale. pp. 232–233.
  4. ↑ "Shebeli River | Kenya, Somalia & Ethiopia | Britannica". www.britannica.com (in English). Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  5. ↑ Njoku, Raphael Chijioke (2013). The History of Somalia. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 26. ISBN 9780313378577. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  6. ↑ Cassanelli, Lee V. (1982). The shaping of Somali society: reconstructing the history of a pastoral people, 1600-1900. Ethnohistory. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 149. ISBN 978-0-8122-7832-3.
  7. ↑ Journal of African History pg.50 by John Donnelly Fage and Roland Anthony Oliver
  8. ↑ Wakefield, Thomas. Somal and Galla Land; Embodying Information Collected by the Rev. Thomas Wakefield (PDF). Blackwell Publishing. p. 261.
  9. ↑ J. Spencer Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (Oxford: Geoffrey Cumberlege for the University Press, 1952), p. 260.
  10. ↑ Lulseged Ayalew, "Something that We Need to Know about Our River’s Hydropower Potential" Archived 2006-05-22 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 20 April 2006
  11. 1 2 Ayele Gebre-Mariam, The Critical Issue of Land Ownership Archived 2020-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, Working Paper No. 2 (Bern: NCCR North-South, 2005), pp. 35f (accessed 19 January 2009)
  12. ↑ "Drought and Floods: Stress Livelihoods and Food Security in the Ethiopian Somali Region" UNDP Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia report, dated November 1999 (accessed 28 December 2008)
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