'Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys Collected During his Travels in the East, by the Late John Lewis Burckhardt' [‎242v] (267/470)

242
ADDITIONS TO THE
The Hodheyl occupy the steep mountainous region on the
road from Mekka to Tayf, and especially about the Djebel Kora.
They muster one thousand matchlocks, and are reputed the best
marksmen in the whole country. They are a famous tribe, emi
nent for their bravery. The Wahabys killed above three hundred
of their best men before the tribe would submit. They have but
few horses or camels ; their sheep and goats, however, are nume
rous. They are subdivided into the three small tribes of Alowyein,
Nedowyein, and Beni Khdled.
The Toweyrek. These live southward of the Hodheyl upon the
same mountain; in numbers they amount to about five hundred
matchlocks. They have the character of being expert thieves ;
which charge is not made against the Hodheyl, although these
latter are very daring highway-robbers.
The Thekyf. This is a very powerful tribe, possessing the pro
ductive country about Tayf, its gardens, and other equally fertile
spots on the eastern declivity of the great Hedjaz chain of moun
tains. Many of them are settlers. Half of the inhabitants of
Tayf belong to this tribe: others of them continue to dwell in
tents. Like all those mountaineers, they have few horses or
camels, but are rich in flocks of sheep and goats.
The principal tribes of the Thekyf are Beni Sofyan^ who live
altogether as Bedouins ; they can muster from six to seven hun
dred matchlocks. Two minor tribes, the Modher and Rabya,
reside with the Thekyf and participate in their interests, although
I doubt whether they properly belong to them. It is these Beni
Rabya, whose emigrants have peopled a considerable part of Nubia,
and whose descendants are the Kenouz (erroneously called Bera-
bera in Egypt), above the first cataract. The Thekyfs can raise
two thousand matchlocks ; they defended Tayf against the Wa
habys.