The Geledi are a Somali clan that live predominantly in the environs of Afgooye city. They are a sub-clan of the Rahanweyn and led the Geledi sultanate during the late 17th to early 20th century. They are divided into two main lineage groups: the Tolweyne and the Yabadhaale. History Origins The Geledi people like the other Rahanweyn are of true Somali stock and like the Darod claiming Arab lineage was a phenomenon. Aw Kalafow a descendant of Omar is stated to be the first to use the title Garad. Ajuran Sultanate The Geledi and their Wacdaan allies were under the rule of the Ajuran client Silcis. The grandfather of Ibrahim Adeer was an Ajuran general who inflicted a large defeat on invading Oromo at Lafagaale. Following the weakening of the Ajuran the two notable rebellions came from the Geledi and Hiraab with Ibrahim Adeer carving out his own sultanate and defeating the Silcis. Geledi Sultanate The new Geledi Sultanate rose to become a powerful state that ruled large parts of the Horn of Africa exerting heavy influence on the Banaadir coast and dominating trade on the Jubba and Shabelle rivers. The sultanate grew to encompass nearly all of the Rahanweyn under the reign of Mahamud Ibrahim reaching its apex under Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim. The sultanate conducted foreign policy with neighbors on the Swahili Coast and was connected with rulers of southern Arabia. Facing two jihadist insurrections the state was able to defeat and resubjugate lost territory on its western frontier as a result of these wars. Ultimately failing to end a rebellion in the key city of Merca the sultanate declined steadily but still managed to fend off the Ethiopian Empire before the death of its last final ruler Osman Ahmed. Modern Following the end of the Sultanate and its incorporation into Italian Somaliland, the Somali Republic would soon be born in 1960. The Geledi people had gone from one of the most dominant subclans in all of Southern Somalia to humble farmers in the wake of illegal land grabbing and marginalization by the Somali government. Large scale movement into Afgooye by Somalis not native to the city and the grants of land traditionally reserved for Geledi cultivation caused significant tension in the community. Culture New Years celebrations in the town of Afgooye are well marked by the Geledi people and they continue until this day. With men and women