Dul Madoba
Dul Madoba (Somali: Dulmadoobe) is a hill ridge 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Burao in Somaliland. Dul Madoba is located at an elevation of 922 metres above sea level.[1] It was also the location of a famous battle in which the Dervishes won a victory against the British, and wherein Ibraahin Xoorane (English: Ibrahim Hoorane) killed Richard Corfield.[2] A native Somali account of the battle is found in the poem Annagoo Taleex naal.[3]
Dul Madoba
Dulmadoobe | |
|---|---|
Hill ridge | |
  Dul Madoba Location in Somaliland  Dul Madoba Dul Madoba (Somaliland) | |
| Coordinates: 9°6′0″N 45°52′0″E | |
| Country |  Somaliland |
| Region | Togdheer |
| District | Burao District |
| Elevation | 922 m (3,025 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
Ibraahin Xoorane and Corfield
Dervish veterans of the Dul Madoba battle have claimed that Ibraahin Xoorane (English: Ibrahim Hoorane) killed Richard Corfield: [2]
Koofil waxa hadal ugu dambeeyey ‘Bes! Bes! Bes!’ ujeeddaduna tahay ‘Iga daa’ ... Hase ahaatee waxa la weriyey inuu diley Darwiish la oran jirey Ibraahin Xoorane |
Corfield's last words were 'bes, bes, bes,' by which was meant 'leave me'. Nonetheless, it was reported that the killing was carried out by a Darawiish by the name of Ibraahin Xoorane |
The colonial version of events leading to the death of Richard Corfield at the hands of Ibraahin Xoorane (English: Ibrahim Hoorane) is as follows: [4]
Corfield, who throughout had been in the thickest of the fight, made a gallant effort to get the feed block out ; and it was then, about 7.15 a.m., that he was shot through the head and died instantly. As a well-known Somali remarked on hearing the news of his death, " Better a thousand Somalis had died than Corfield Sahib : for where shall we find another Corfield ?
— Douglas Jardine
Battle
Five British-friendly tribes were reported looted by Dervishes.[5] This was followed by a battle that took place on 4 August 1913, between 116 men of the Camel Constabulary of British Somaliland, commanded by Colonel Richard Corfield, with the initially accompanying Dhulbahante tribesmen not partaking in the fight,[6] and some 2,750 well-armed Dervish personnel lead by Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, nicknamed by the British as the Mad Mullah. Thirty-six of the Constabulary including Corfield were killed in action and 21 were wounded. Many of the Dervishes were also killed or wounded.[7]
References
- "Buuraha Dulmadoobe (Dulmadoobe Buuraha) Map, Weather and Photos - Somalia: hills - Lat:9.1 and Long:45.8667". www.getamap.net. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
- Taariikhdii daraawiishta iyo Sayid Maxamad Cabdille Xasan, Jaamac Cumar Ciise · 2005 , PAGE 275
- Research in African Literatures - Volume 11, Issue 4 - 1980, PAGE 462
- Battersby, Henry Francis (1914). "Richard Corfield of Somaliland".
- Glazebrook, MR (1914). Commons Sitting.
A Dervish raid with 2,200 man had taken place, and it was reported that five Somali friendly tribes had been looted, and their camels and their stock had been driven off.
- Douglas Jardine, 1923, p. 224, "At the first shot the 300 Dolbahanta tribesmen on the extreme left flank broke and fled"
- Irons, Roy (4 November 2013). Churchill and the Mad Mullah of Somaliland: Betrayal and Redemption 1899-1921 p.156. ISBN 9781783463800.
- Bartholet, Jeffrey. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Newsweek, Oct. 12, 2009, pp. 43–47.
- Battersby, Henry Francis Prevost. Richard Corfield of Somaliland (1914), ASIN: B000WFUQT8.
- Jardine, Douglas. The Mad Mullah of Somaliland.
- Skoulding, F.A. With 'Z' Unit in Somaliland, RAF Quarterly 2, no.3, (July 1931), pp. 387–396.