Biyomaal (Biimaal, Bimal, Dir)

Name and family tree

The Biyomaal are a clan of the Dir. The name is also written Biimaal, Bimaal, Bimal and Biyamal. Somali Wikipedia gives Jamaal as the proper name (Somali Wikipedia, Biimaal, backup).

See the Dir tree.

Main branches

Gaadsen. Wikipedia counts the Gaadsen (Cabdiraxmaan Eremage) as a Biyomaal line. It places them mainly in Ethiopia's Somali Region, in Afdheer, Qoraxay and Liban. It adds Bakool, Gedo, the two Juba regions and north-eastern Kenya (same source). ACLED codes the Gadsan separately under the Dir (ACLED 2025).

Where they live

No census counts Somalis by clan. ACCORD notes that Somalis often claim more members than their groups have, "in order to demonstrate strength" (ACCORD, Clans in Somalia, 2009, p. 11).

See Lower Shabelle, Lower Juba and Middle Juba.

History on record

• Late 1600s to 1700s. Wikipedia says a group called the El Amir pushed the Ajuuraan out of Marka. It says the Biyomaal later took Marka from them (Wikipedia, Bimaal, backup).
• 1800s. It says they fought the Geledi sultanate over Marka. It says Sultan Yusuf Mahamud of Geledi was killed in battle near Marka in 1848 (same source). See the Geledi sultanate.
• 1800s. It says Biyomaal farms used enslaved Bantu labour. It says slavery was still found there when Italy's governor arrived in 1923 (same source). See minority communities.
• 1896 to 1926. It says the Biyomaal fought Italian rule around Marka for about thirty years. This is called the Bimal revolt (same source).
• 1990s. Abbink lists the Southern Somali National Movement (SSNM) as a Bimaal and southern Dir front (Abbink 2009, p. 39).

Elders and customary law

Senior Somali clan leaders carry titles such as suldaan, ugaas or issim. Their role is "mainly judicial and representative" (UK Home Office, CPIN Somalia: clans, 2019, quoting EASO 2014).

Wikipedia says the Italians renamed elders capo qabiil and drew them into colonial government (Wikipedia, Bimaal, backup). The EASO says Habar Gidir and Biyomaal elders signed a peace agreement in Marka in March 2018. It says the federal and South West governments and the UN backed it (EASO 2021). See xeer, Somali customary law.

In recent conflict records

The EUAA lists two Biyomaal disputes for April 2023 to March 2025 (EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.5.1):

• with the Habar Gidir in Marka district. It says the Biyamal, Digil, Benadiri and Bantu "claim historical rights to the region over the Habar-Gedir".
• a dormant dispute with the Ogaden in Jamaame, over "land ownership, governance structure, and power-sharing".

The EASO says the Biyomaal seek "a fairer share of the control over the security apparatus" in Marka (EASO 2021). See Habar Gidir, Ogaadeen and clan conflicts, district by district.

Where sources differ

• Lines. Abbink names Da'ud, Soliman, Yasmin and Sa'ad. Wikipedia names different sets in two places on the same page.
• Place in the Dir. Abbink lists the Bimaal on p. 17 and again as Biyamaal under Maahe > Hassan on p. 18, beside the Bajimal and Quranyow.
• Gaadsen. Wikipedia counts the Gaadsen as Biyomaal. ACLED codes them as a separate Dir group.
• Size. Somali Wikipedia gives population figures for several countries without a source. The EASO calls them a minority in Lower Shabelle. No census counts Somalis by clan.

Read more

• Dir
• The Dir tree
• Lower Shabelle
• Lower Juba
• Surre