before the Oromo Boran and Warday entered the region. According to the Garre that inhabit the southern Ethiopia there ancestors originally came from Merca, on the Somali coast. Evidence for this comes from the fact that Garre tribesmen are found on the islands of Bajun, just off the Southern Somalia coast, and they are also found in the strength near Merca. Examination of ancient muslim graves found in the Garre country were found to be identical to those found in the North-Western Somalia; A.I. Curle made the following observation in 1933: ...around the mosque oat Au Bakadleh in the Hargeisa District of the British Somaliland, there are many graves of this type, exact replicas of those on the Dawa some found some 500 miles distance in the Garre country. The History of the Garre appears to be similar to that of the Gurgura. Both of these tribes were involved with trades; the Garre traded products from the southern Ethiopia to the Bajun Islands and Merca, while the Gurgura brought goods from the Hawash region to Zeila. Gerald Hanleys's description of the Somalis is extremely accurate. During the Second World War Hanley was in charge of Somali troops. His description of Mohamed, a Garre from El Wak, is fascinating:"The Garre are even harder, fierce, more emotional than the Somalis( to whom they are related through the Hawiya tribal group), but this lad, Mohamed, was like a quivering black harp which burst into flames during emotional stress. He turned out to be the most savage, hysterical, loyal and dangerous human being i ever had with me in the bush. If he felt rage he acted upon it at once, with a knife, or with his nails and teeth, if he felt generous he gave everything away in sight, most of it your" Distribution The pre-hawiye tribe comprises seven families excluding Irir:- Gardhere, Garjante, Yahabur, Meyle, Magarre, Hariire, Karuure. The largest pre-Hawiye clans are the Garre, Hawadle, Degodia, Galjaal and the Garre are the most ancient of all the pre-Hawiye clans. The Hawadle live north of the river Shebelle, adjacent to the Marehan Darod and just north of the Abgaal Hawiye. The Galjaal live next to the Hawadle, they are also found further south near the River Jubba. The Degodia inhabit northern kenya and southern Ethiopia. The Garre are the most important tribe of the pre-Hawiye family. They occur in four large autonomous