"ملف ١/A/٣٧ I شيخ رأس الخيمة" [و‎‎١‎٨‎٤] (٥٦٠/٣٧٢)

© 144.
know them are tyrannous and. hostile alv/ays to individual
interests. It, in other words, tends to perpetuate the
patriarchal or tribal system, which admits only the Shaikh
or the head of the family(hamoula) as the authority to be
obeyed. Hence the perpetual hostility, for instance, of the
tribes of Arabia, to being ruled by a King like Ibn Saud,
and hence the lack of ’’patriotism” as we know it, and the
impossibility of getting tribes ever to cooperate together
in big or small things - The beginning and end of a man’s
ideas on life being the family and the tribe.
VIII. To turn now to system (b) - See para 1 above:
A ’’tribe” always owns its grazing and tribal lands
(including wells etc.) jointly, and never individually. And
in consequence the tribe as a whole jealously guard its
possessions against aggression from outside tribes. Under
the system also the position of the tribal boundaries are
known exactly, by every man woman and child, and are handed
down from father to son. Wells also are more often than
not marked with tribal mark (Wasm) in similar way to their
camels.
The Shaikh of the tribe may of course detail certain
wells and grazing areas during the Summer months to certain
sections and families of the tribe, as he thinks tit, but
this is purely for convenience sake. He may of course
not sell or part with any portion ol fhe tribe s lands or
grazing grounds to anyone. Every man knows this. The
tribes lands are his ’’trust”.
IX. Under the same system, if a neighbouring tribe,
on friendly terms, happens to be short ct grazing in its
own country, it is always permitted to enter the tribal
lands of its neighbours on payment of a nominal tribute to
the Shaikh of the tribe acting the part of ’’host”. This
(although /