The Battle of Chelenko in Brief
By Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Kibo (Al Harari)
Extracted from the book “Ye Afar/Denakil/Tarik ena Mereja Arki Mich/ Al manha/” written by Gamaluddin Ibrahim Khalil A-Sahmi and his son Hashim Gamaludin Ibrahim A-Shami and translated from Arabic to Amharic by Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Kibo 2000 EC/ 2007 AD. (This extract was later translated into English by his son, Azam Kibo)
I am writing this brief history on the battle of Chelenko to address the misconception of some historians who consciously or unconsciously state that Harar was captured by the “Habesha Soldiers” with a relative ease and who fail to give adequate coverage about the battle. Among all the wars the Harari Emirate fought, the battle of Chelenko is where lot of blood was spilt and highest sacrifice paid.
The battle took place in December of 1887 in the plains of Chelenko which is about 80 km away from Harar. When King Menelik became aware of the fact that Fascist Italy has started preparation to invade his country, he started advance preparations to defend it. As many historians agree, Menelik’s attempt to capture Harar was as part of his advance preparation to fend off the Italian aggression.
Menelik first started entering various treaties and agreements with local rulers, sultans and Amirs for mutual benefits. The intention of this effort was not only strengthening the source of munitions for his soldiers but was also considered to be a precautionary measure to protect his capital city from being invaded when his army marches out to defend the Italian aggression that was apparently coming soon.
After maintaining peace with local rulers and sultans, King Menelik also wanted to enter similar treaty with the King of Harar. It is to be recalled that the Harari emirate was occasionally using opportune moment to invade the peripheral regions of Shoa. Peace treaty with the Harari government was therefore not only good to Menelik but also necessary. The prudent king therefore sent a delegation to Harar. The delegates then met with the Amir, Amir Abudullahi and his officials but no agreement was reached.
Upon their return, the delegates explained to and the fruits of their discussion. Menelik then realized that Peace with as he had hoped for and therefore wrote a strong worded letter.
According to what my uncle Aw Mahi Kibo told me, Menelik in addition to his letter to the Amir, also sent a handful of “Teff” grain to imply that his Army was large. In response to Menelik’s letter and gesture, the Amir is said to have sent Menelik, “Chili pepper” to indicate that though his army is smaller than that of Menelik, that they are more pungent.
Upon receipt of Amir Abdullahi’s response, Menelik was said to have been angered and made a decision to destroy the Harari emirate. He ordered hundreds of thousands of strong troop. When the Amir heard about Menelik’s decision to invade Harar, he called his advisors and military officials for consultation. After long deliberation, the participants unanimously agreed and assured the Amir about their unreserved willingness to die in defense of their belief and honor. Series of meetings were subsequently conducted to come up with the best defense strategy. A decision was finally made to entrench the Amir’s army in the plains of Chelenko which is not far from the town of Harar. War was immediately declared and this war declaration was very different from other similar declarations made by the emirate. The declaration calls upon all Hararis regardless of gender and age to stand up to defend their town from an aggressor who was coming to their door steps to loot their properties, diminish their pride and disrespect their belief.
Except for few people who were left to guard the old walled city, the entire army marched to Chelenko. The Amir’s army was made up of different nationalities including Oromos, Somalis, Argobas and Melesay army of Harar. Each group led by its respective leader marched to Chelenko singing its own cultural war songs. They all settled in the plains of Chelenko, made the required advance preparations and started waiting for the arrival of King Menelik’s army. Finally the due date, which is dubbed “Chelenko Chell”, had arrived. “Chell” literally means “Silence” and was so named because the war was so dreadful and full of causalities that one would rather not talk much about it.
Menelik’s large army of peasants that was forced to march all the way to Chelenko on foot by their rulers whose outlook was tainted by expansionist policy was exposed to different types of diseases and many of his soldiers were slain in numbers by their enemy. The entire plains were covered with human blood. The battle continued for days and causality was very high. Despite their high casualty rate, the invaders had backup to replace their fallen soldiers while the army of the Amir was much fewer and had no back up. The invaders side subsequently started getting the upper hand. The Melesay unit that was led by the Amir was also attacked and the Amir then ordered his army to retreat according to plan. Some of the Melesay unit members headed to Harar to strengthen their defense line by entrenching with in the city. The rest accompanied the Amir and retreated to the east with the Argoba army. The Somali army retreated to the north while the Oromo army retreated to the south. The invaders then marched to Harar to loot the city. As the city was walled to protect the inhabitants from such invasion and as there were warriors with adequate skill in the use of arrows and spears, Menelik’s invading army could not easily proceed into the city.
Various attempts made by the invaders to penetrate the city in different directions failed: They were attacked by the entrenched brave warriors with arrows and spears and few snippets. The invaders were then forced to carry their dead and wounded back to their barricades.
On the other hand, the invaders camps often encountered surprise attacks by the brave army of Oromos and Somalis that were scattered in the north and south of the city. When Menelik realized that it was not easy to destroy the emirate and capture their king in a short time, he started negotiation through his commander in chief, Ras Mekonnen about peaceful surrender with the Amir. After consultation with his advisors, the Amir agreed with the request and further detailed negotiations into the terms of the treaty then started. After lots of discussion the treaty was finally signed.
It is to be recalled that I was teaching subject matters on “Islamic Religion” and “Arabic Language” in Harari Islamic School, a school that is famous for producing many young intellectuals. I later served the school as a director for over 25 years. During this period, I used to be called upon by the provincial administration to assist them in translating some works from Arabic into Amharic on a part time basis. This job had given me a golden opportunity in getting access to books, magazines and newspapers that were otherwise not available in the market. I also believe that this has helped me tremendously in broadening my outlook.
The governor’s driver once came to the school on a working day and told me that I was urgently required for translation at the governor’s office. I was immediately taken to the governor’s office. When I entered his office, I met the governor drinking coffee with a gentleman who was said to be an official from Addis.
I was then briefly introduced to this gentleman who then gave me a hand written paper and asked me to read it. The paper was written with a good hand writing and the title was written in bold letters and read “Muahadatul Chelenko” which means “The Chelenko Treaty”. When I told them the meaning of the title, the gentleman took a piece of paper and a pen and started writing in Amharic what I verbally translated from Arabic. When the oral translation was over, the gentleman took the paper from me and they saw me out. Though I did not have the chance to keep the copy of the paper, I still have a vivid memory of the paper. According to that paper, the major points of the treaty were:-
- From this day onwards, the Amir is not allowed to get involved in political affairs or to arm the public with weapons.
- The properties of the fallen soldiers who died fighting against Menelik’s army shall be appropriated by the government.
- The Amir shall pay a penalty of 40,000.00 Maria Teresa shillings to Menelik.
- The Amir shall also pay 30,000 rolls of cheese cloth to Menelik.
On the other hand,
- The faith and culture of the Harari people shall be respected and the people shall continue to live in peace.
- No one shall be allowed to boast and claim oneself to be “a killer of Harar “
- No Harari shall be lashed with a whip for penalty.
- No Harari shall be made to work on forced labor.
After the treaty was signed and implementation started, the invaders pulled their army back and left behind only a few administrative staff and few others who were tasked to guard the administration staff. Many among the Amir’s army especially those with skill in the use of heavy artillery are said to have joined Menelik’s army and are also said to have fought against Italy at the Battle of Adwa. Ahmed Ali Diab who was the head of the artillery unit and his brother Basha Ali Diab are among those Harari soldiers who joined Menelik’s army and later fought against the Italian aggression in the battle of Adwa.
Though the Harari government lost the battle, the people were not exposed to slavery but continued to exercise their faith and live peacefully and with dignity. On the other hand, the fact that the properties of those martyrs who died in defense of their faith and pride were confiscated by Menelik has created a permanent scar in the heads of the Melesay family.
In “Asma Din Beri” which is now called “Shewa Ber” in Harar, there is an old house known as Aw Kibo’s House. To the south of Aw Kibo’s, there is a house where the family of Imet Bogalech lives and another house in the north where the family of Kegn Azmach Tesfaye lives. My grandmother Aisha told me that these two houses were owned by two brothers, Melasay martyrs and were later appropriated by Menelik’s government.
My grandmother who was blessed with age was a close relative of Aw Abdullahi Sadiq. She, like the rest of Aw Abdullahi Sadiq’s family, had a very good insight on the history of Harar.
Aw Abdullahi Sadiq was the right hand of Lij Eyasu who played important role in establishing strong relationship between Lij Eyasu and the Germans as well as with the Turks. When Lij Eyasu was finally captured, Aw Abdullahi Sadiq was among Lij Eyasu’s officials who were detained with him and he later died in prison. May Allah bless him!
My grandmother (May Allah let her soul rest in peace!) was weeping when she told me about the battle of Chelenko. According to her, when war was waged, the two brother who were members of the Melesay army joined the Amir’s army and went to Chelenko leaving behind their much younger brother, Abubakar. The two brothers perished there and did not come back. When she lost two of her children in one battle, the heart of their mother who single handedly brought up her sons was broken. In line with Harari tradition, neighbors and relatives often used to come to her to pay their respect. These people were very happy to hear the young Abubaker tried to soothe his mother by repeatedly telling her not to worry as he will one day grow up and avenge the killers of his brothers.
One of the mourners then told the grieving mother that she hopes (God willing) that this young boy will one day grow up and pay her back and console her. She said that this little boy “Yikibishal” which in Harari language means “He will console you”. Hence, their mother started calling the Young Abubakar, (i.e. my grandfather) my “Kibo” which means “one who consoles”. My grandmother Aisha did not stop weeping when she told me the entire story about young Abubaker “Kibo” to whom she was later married.
I believe it is injustice for historians who consciously or unconsciously try to belittle the sacrifices paid in the war. I am therefore writing this briefly to bring back to memory some of the aspects of the battle and correct some of the errors made by some historians.
Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Abubaker Kibo.