Family and clan
Udeejeen (Udejeen, Ciise Mudulood, Hawiye)
The Udeejeen (Udejeen), also called Ciise Mudulood, are a Hawiye clan in the Mudulood line of the Hiraab. The EUAA lists them among the smaller clans of north-east Hiiraan. Somali Wikipedia places them in Hiiraan, Middle Shabelle, parts of Mogadishu and the Somali Region of Ethiopia, and names Aden Abdulle Osman, Somalia's first president, as Udeejeen.
Name and family tree
The Udeejeen are a clan of the Hawiye family. Somali Wikipedia says they are "also known as Ciise Mudulood" and places them in the Mudulood line of the Hiraab (Somali Wikipedia, Udeejeen, backup).
| Source | Line it gives |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia, Hawiye clan tree (backup) | Hawiye > Gorgaarte > Hiraab > Mudulood > Udejeen (Wikipedia, Hawiye, backup) |
| Somali Wikipedia (backup) | Hawiye > Hiraab > Mudulood > Udeejeen (Ciise) (Somali Wikipedia, backup) |
| EUAA 2025 | Named among the "smaller clans living in the region's northeast" in Hiiraan, without a lineage (EUAA 2025, Hiraan) |
Abbink lists Mudulood under Hirab but names no lineages below it (Abbink, The Total Somali Clan Genealogy, 2009, p. 27). The ACLED 2025 coding list has no entry for the Udeejeen (ACLED clan actor list, September 2025).
Somali Wikipedia names their closest Mudulood relatives as the Abgaal, Moobleen, Wacdaan and Hilibi. See the Somali clan tree.
Main branches
Somali Wikipedia says the Udeejeen first divide into four groups: Abaadir Ciise, Aadan Yacquub, Yuusuf Yacquub and Cali Yacquub, the youngest (Somali Wikipedia, backup). Its tree gives these lines (same source):
- Aadan Yacquub: Reer Nuur, Reer Caalim, Cali Yacquub and Maxamed Gaab (with Reer Raage).
- Yuusuf Yacquub: Xasan Yuusuf (Reer Ugaas), Ifiyo Yuusuf, Suleymaan Yuusuf and Macalin Maxamuud. Under Macalin Maxamuud are Xirsi, Kheyre, Siyaad, Dudub and Faatax Macalin.
- Abaadir: Maxamed Samatar.
- Abokor.
The English Wikipedia Hawiye tree names two Udejeen lines, Kheyre Macalin and Adan Yacqub (Wikipedia, Hawiye, backup). Both appear on the Somali clan tree.
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 |
|---|---|
| North-east Hiiraan | "Smaller clans living in the region's northeast include Udeejeen, Faqi Omar and Faqi Muhmed (both Dir), Rer Aw Hassan and Makanne" (EUAA 2025, Hiraan) |
| Hiiraan districts | Somali Wikipedia names Jawiil, Baarmagoog, Qalqalooc, Matabaan and Beledweyne (Somali Wikipedia, backup) |
| Middle Shabelle | Qalimow town (same source) |
| Mogadishu | Somali Wikipedia names Cabdicasiis and Shingaani districts (same source) |
| Somali Region of Ethiopia | Mustahil, Ferfer and Shilaabo districts (same source) |
See Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle.
History on record
- 1600s to 1899. Somali Wikipedia says the Udeejeen were part of the Hiraab Imamate of Mogadishu. It dates the Imamate from the early 1600s, after the end of the Ajuran Sultanate (Somali Wikipedia, backup).
- 1960 to 1967. Aden Abdulle Osman was Somalia's first president. Somali Wikipedia lists him as Udeejeen (same source).
- 2010 to 2014. Mohamed Nur (Tarsan) was mayor of Mogadishu. Somali Wikipedia lists him as Udeejeen (same source).
Somali Wikipedia also names the politicians Osman Mohamud Dufle and Mohamed Hussein Addow. It names the poets Muxyadin Subkane, Rashid Mohamud Sheikh, Cali Xuud and Mohamed Subkane (same source).
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).
Somali Wikipedia lists six Udeejeen ugaas (Somali Wikipedia, backup):
- Cismaan Macalin Nuur
- Faqa Eebakar
- Macalin Nuur Aw-Muxummad
- Cumar Ugaas Daahir
- Cilmi Ugaas Cumar
- Cismaan Ugaas Cilmi Ugaas Cumar, the current ugaas
The Reer Ugaas line sits under Xasan Yuusuf in its tree (same source). See xeer, Somali customary law.
In recent conflict records
The EUAA conflict list for April 2023 to March 2025 does not name the Udeejeen (EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.5.1). Its Hiiraan entry quotes Horn Observer. That outlet called the region the "epicenter" of the clan militias' fight against al-Shabaab in 2022 to 2024 (EUAA 2025, Hiraan). See the offensive against al-Shabaab, 2022 to 2025 and clan conflicts, district by district.
Where sources differ
- Rank. The EUAA calls the Udeejeen one of the smaller clans of Hiiraan. Somali Wikipedia presents them as a full Mudulood clan.
- Name. Somali Wikipedia also calls them Ciise Mudulood. They are a different group from the Ciise of the Dir.
- Branches. English Wikipedia lists two lines. Somali Wikipedia lists four first branches and a longer tree.
Read more
Sources
- Somali Wikipedia, Udeejeen, backup · so.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, Hawiye, backup · en.wikipedia.org
- EUAA 2025, Hiraan · euaa.europa.eu
- Abbink, The Total Somali Clan Genealogy, 2009, p. 27 · hdl.handle.net
- ACLED clan actor list, September 2025 · acleddata.com
- ACCORD, Clans in Somalia, 2009, p. 11 · ecoi.net
- UK Home Office, CPIN Somalia: clans, 2019, quoting EASO 2014 · ecoi.net
- EUAA Country Focus 2025, section 1.5.1 · coi.euaa.europa.eu
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Where this matters
Same era
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- 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.