An early Hargeisa religious leader secured British favor by saving Lord Delamere’s life

Evidence

Sheikh Maddar’s reputation extended far into the Ogaden and he had contacts with the leaders of most of the surrounding Somali clans. In 1893, the Sheikh helped to save Lord Delamere’s life after he had been mauled by a lion in the course of a hunting expedition in the interior. In return, Delamere gave Sheikh Maddar an imposing stone house which he had had constructed near the settlement. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 755

Categorization

• XREF: Provides the early context that frames Sheikh Maddar as a counterpoint to the Sayyid’s later confrontational religious politics.