One of the earliest mentions of this Somali clan may be by the JesuitJerónimo Lobo, who attempted to enter Ethiopia by way of the Jubba River in 1624. He learned of an ethnic group known as the Maracatos, whom C.F. Beckingham identifies as the Marehan, and whom Lobo located in the approximate location of the Somali clan.[4]
Between the 17th and 18th centuries, the Marehan were reported to have lived in an area that extended from Bender Ziyade on the Gulf of Aden to beyond Ras el-Khail on the Indian Ocean, or much of northern Somalia.[5] Marehan are recorded as having played a significant role in ImamAhmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi's campaigns against Ethiopia during the 16th century. The commander of the Somali forces and the closest deputy of the Imam was a Marehan commander, Garad Ahmed bin Hirabu. The Marehan along with the Habar Makadi/Makadur of the Gadabuursi;[6][7][8] helped push westward the enemies into the plains of Harar and farther, helping destabilize the highland Christian empire. Evident in these battles were the Somali archers, namely the Marehan and the Gerri archers, through whom al-Ghazi was able to defeat the numerically superior Ethiopian Army that consisted of 16,000 cavalry and more than 200,000 infantry.[9]
As early as 1650, the Marehan were recorded lived in Jubaland. Marehan also live NFD Kenya and Somali region of Ethiopia, Galgaduud , Somalia.
There is no clear agreement on the clan and sub-clan structures and many lineages are omitted. The following listing is taken from the World Bank's Conflict in Somalia: Drivers and Dynamics from 2005 and the United Kingdom's Home Office publication, Somalia Assessment 2001.[14][15]
In the Marehan clan-family, component clans are divided into two uterine divisions Marehan In Jubaland, Galgaduud and Mudug Somalia the World Bank shows the following clan tree:[16] In the World Bank shows the following Marehan clan tree.
Aden Ibrahim Aw Hirsi, Author, Politician – Former minister of planning of Jubaland state of Somalia, Current Minister of State for Environment & Climate Change of Somalia
Abdullahi Anod, Former Head Commander of Somali Military Forces.
Abdi Shire Warsame, Former Somali Ambassador to Kenya and China and Former Foreign Affairs State minister in Transitional National Government.
Abdulahi Sheik Ismael Fara-Tag, Former Head of Jubba valley alliance, Member of sen of upper house in Somalia, Former Vice President Of Jubaland State of Somalia.
Ahmed Farah Ali ''Idaaja'' is a Somali literary scholar and publisher of written folklore.
Mohamed Aden Sheikh, Premier Somali intellectual and former head of Somali Technological Development, Minister of Information, Minister of Education, Head of the Ideology Bureau SRRC.
^Lewis, I.M. (1998). Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho. The Gadabursi .There are two main fractions, the Habr Afan and Habr Makadur, formerly united under a common hereditary chief (ogaz). Red Sea Press. p. 25. ISBN978-1569021040.
^Richard Pankhurst, An Introduction to the Economic History of Ethiopia, from Early Times to 1800