Silcis

The Silcis (sometimes spelled "Sil'is" or "Seles" in historical texts) are a Somali subclan. They are part of the Gorgate subclan of the Hawiye clan, which is one of the major clans of Somali people. The Silcis inhabit the traditional coastal region of Benadir in the southern part of Somalia. This region should not be confused with the much smaller present day Banaadir administrative region (gobol) which contains Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. Silcis live, or have historically lived, along the Shabeelle River in towns such as Afgooye and Jowhaar, as well as along the coast, especially in Mogadishu and Warsheekh.

Emergence and early history

The Silcis rose to prominence in the Shabeelle River region following the disintegration of the Ajuuraan Sultanate, which controlled a large part of southern Somalia, and with which the Silcis are connected. Cassanelli points out that in Geledi oral history accounts, the Silcis are often viewed as "that section of the Ajuran who governed the Afgoy district". He asserts that Geledi accounts "attest to the continuity and similarity of Ajuran and Sil'is rule".