Family and clan
Tunni (Digil, Rahanweyn)
The Tunni are a Digil clan of the Rahanweyn. They live between Baraawe and Qoryooley in Lower Shabelle, and east of the Juba around Jamaame. Some farm and keep livestock inland, and others are traders and fishers in Baraawe. Abbink lists five Tunni lines, and Wikipedia records a Tunni sultanate before the Ajuran.
Name and family tree
The Tunni are a clan of the Digil, part of the Rahanweyn. The name is also written Tuni.
| Source | Line it gives |
|---|---|
| Abbink 2009 | TUNNI, as its own heading beside the Digil and Rahanwen (Abbink, The Total Somali Clan Genealogy, 2009) |
| EUAA 2025 | "Tunni are part of Rahanweyn/Digil" (EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.4.3) |
| ACCORD 2009 | "The Tunni are also part of Digil" (ACCORD, Clans in Somalia, 2009, p. 20) |
| World Bank 2005 | Under the Digil, with the Geledi, Garre, Jiiddo, Begedi and Shanta-Alen (World Bank, Conflict in Somalia, 2005, Appendix 2) |
| ACLED 2025 | Rahanweyn > Digil > Tuni (ACLED clan actor list, September 2025) |
See the Rahanweyn tree.
Main branches
Abbink lists five Tunni lines (Abbink 2009, Tunni chart):
| Line | Groups named under it |
|---|---|
| Daffarat | Arweri, Boqolle, Reer Mudun and Geesi |
| Weriille | Mudove, Gafle, Tera (Yare) and Furur |
| Ajiuwa | Hura, Waaqsheyn, Mabagolle and Nijey |
| Daqtira | Min-horaad, Waransille, Bedelamma and Kummurto |
| Goigal | Hamar, Doile, Matangalle and Fadiido |
Wikipedia names the same five: Da'farad, Dakhtira, Goygali, Hajuwa and Waridi (Wikipedia, Tunni Sultanate, backup).
The EUAA describes a third group, the Tunni Torre. It says they are "people of Bantu origin, possibly ex-slaves and/or former clients of other Tunni groups" (EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.4.3).
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).
| Place | What the sources record |
|---|---|
| Inland Lower Shabelle | "Some Tunni live as agriculturalists and pastoralists in the hinterland of the southern Benadir coast" (EUAA Country Focus 2025) |
| Baraawe | Others "are city dwellers and live in Barawa. They are traders and/or fishermen" (EUAA Country Focus 2025) |
| Lower Juba | The Tunni "occupy grazing areas south of Jamaame town to the coast and up to Baraawe" (EASO, Somalia: Security situation, 2021) |
| Lower Juba | The EUAA lists "the Tunni (Digil-Mirifle)" among the region's people (EUAA 2025, Lower Juba) |
See Lower Shabelle and Lower Juba.
History on record
- About 900s to 1200s. Wikipedia describes a Tunni Sultanate with its centre at Qoryooley, and later Baraawe (Wikipedia, Tunni Sultanate, backup).
- Same period. It says a Tunni saint, Aw-Al, founded Baraawe. It cites Ibn Sa'id, who called Baraawe "an Islamic island on the Somali coast" (same source). See Somali coast towns, 1331 to 1586.
- Mid-1200s. Wikipedia says the Ajuran took over the Tunni lands (same source). See the Ajuran state.
- To the early 1990s. The EUAA says the Rahanweyn, Tunni included, "have been marginalised until the early 1990s" (EUAA Country Focus 2025).
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 records a Tunni treaty with the Jiiddu that split the Shabelle banks between them (Wikipedia, Tunni Sultanate, backup). See Jiiddu and xeer, Somali customary law.
In recent conflict records
The EUAA's 2025 list of major clan conflicts does not name the Tunni (EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.5.1). It says coastal Tunni "face discrimination based on clan politics" (section 1.4.3). The EUAA reports high clan tension in the Baraawe area in 2024 (EUAA 2025, Lower Shabelle). See clan conflicts, district by district.
Where sources differ
- Place in the tree. The EUAA, ACCORD, World Bank and ACLED put the Tunni in the Digil. Abbink gives them a separate heading.
- Language. The EUAA says coastal Tunni have "cultural and linguistic ties to the Benadiri", and some also speak Maay. The UK Home Office notes a "Tunni subclan dialect of Af-Maymay" in Baraawe (UK Home Office 2019).
Read more
Sources
- Abbink, The Total Somali Clan Genealogy, 2009 · hdl.handle.net
- EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.4.3 · coi.euaa.europa.eu
- ACCORD, Clans in Somalia, 2009, p. 20 · ecoi.net
- World Bank, Conflict in Somalia, 2005, Appendix 2 · openknowledge.worldbank.org
- ACLED clan actor list, September 2025 · acleddata.com
- Wikipedia, Tunni Sultanate, backup · en.wikipedia.org
- EASO, Somalia: Security situation, 2021 · coi.euaa.europa.eu
- EUAA 2025, Lower Juba · euaa.europa.eu
- UK Home Office, CPIN Somalia: clans, 2019, quoting EASO 2014 · ecoi.net
- EUAA 2025, Lower Shabelle · euaa.europa.eu
Toosoo!
Calankii is made by Toosoo, which works for one united, prosperous Somalia.
Can you help with Tunni (Digil, Rahanweyn)? Tell us what you can give.
I want to help with this
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Somali clan tree: DarodEvery Darod clan, sub-clan and lineage in Abbink 2009 and ACLED 2025, level by level, as one part of the Somali clan tree.
- Somali clan tree: DirEvery Dir clan, sub-clan and lineage in Abbink 2009 and ACLED 2025, level by level, as one part of the Somali clan tree.
- Somali clan tree: every clan, sub-clan and lineageThe full Somali clan tree, family by family down to diya-paying groups, from Abbink 2009, ACLED 2025 and the World Bank, with a download.
- Somali clan tree: groups outside the clan familiesGroups Abbink places outside the Somali clan families, and the Somali Bantu groups in ACLED 2025: part of the Somali clan tree.
- Somali clan tree: HawiyeEvery Hawiye clan, sub-clan and lineage in Abbink 2009 and ACLED 2025, level by level, as one part of the Somali clan tree.
- Somali clan tree: IsaaqEvery Isaaq clan, sub-clan and lineage in Abbink 2009 and ACLED 2025, level by level, as one part of the Somali clan tree.