"التحكيم المتعلق بالبريمي والحدود المشتركة بين أبو ظبي والمملكة العربية السعودية" [مع خرائط] [و‎‎٣‎٣] (٥٤١/٧٠)

51
PART V
THE TRIBES
This Part relates to Articles IV (/ , ) and IV (c) of the Arbitration Agreement, by
which the Tribunal is required to take into account the traditional loyalties of the
Inhabitants of the Areas, and the Organization of the Tribes inhabiting the Areas.
1. The most numerous and ubiquitous tribe of the disputed area, as well as
the most powerful, is the Bani Yas. They are found throughout the disputed area,
in undisputed Abu Dhabi territory, and in certain of the other Shaikhdoms of
Trucial ‘Oman. Their main centres of settlement are the islands of the Abu Dhabi
archipelago, Abu Dhabi and Dubai towns, and the oases of Liwa and Buraimi.
Intermingled with them are the Manasir, a predominantly Badawln, and much less
numerous, tribe. The other principal tribes of the disputed area are:—
(i) A Badawin section of the Awamir frequenting, in the main, the Ramlat
al-Hamra’, Batin and Kidan;
(ii) The Dhuwahir, a settled tribe, who predominate in 5 of the 9 villages
of the Buraimi Oasis;
(iii) The Na‘im (including the A1 bu Shamis), a semi-settled tribe who pre
dominate in 3 villages of the Buraimi Oasis, and along the strip of gravel
between the Hajar mountains and the Rub‘ al-Khali, including the
town of Dhank.
Every tribe has its sections, sub-sections, and lesser divisions ; and it is sometimes
difficult to state with precision whether or not certain people constitute a separate
tribe or section.
2. In addition to the tribes referred to in the preceding paragraph, which
are considered in detail in the following Sections, members of the following tribes
are to be encountered in the area:—
(a) Ahbdb. A Badawin tribe of Najdi origin, of whom 50-60 families have,
for over half a century, made their home in the neighbourhood of the
Buraimi Oasis and on the foothills of the Jabal Hafit to the south.
Those in the Buraimi zone owe allegiance to the Rulers of Abu Dhabi 11) .
(b) Rawashid, a small tribe numbering, in all, about 250 men, and originating,
like the Manahil, in the Hadhramaut. They are the most widely
ranging of the desert tribes, and one of the few whose members dare to
cross Rub‘ al-Khali by camel. They are to be found in all the terri
tories surrounding the Rub‘ al-Khali. Some live in Dhafir where they
acknowledge allegiance to the Sultan of Muscat (2) . Others have
settled in the Buraimi Oasis, where they have attached themselves to
Shaikh Zaid bin Sultan <3) . They should not, however, be confused
with the section of the Bani Yas of the same name.
(c) Al-Murrah described by Lorimer (4> as “ the wildest, most dangerous and
least civilised of the nomad tribes in this part of Arabia ”, are Badawin
who roam the Jafurah desert, and who—depending upon the incidence
of the rainfall—sometimes visit Qatar or the disputed area, in search
of grazing. A few also visit Liwa for the date-harvest ; and one ot
them has acquired, by marriage settlement, three small lots of palms
near Dhafir, at Hamarur, and at Tharwanlyah. To-day, they would
probably class themselves as a Sa‘udi tribe, although their history
is one of constant feuds with their neighbours, and of fierce opposition
to authority. In 1908, they were not feudatories of the Sa ud.
(1) See Annex F, No. 10.
(2) See ibid.. No. 11.
<3) See ibid.
(4) Op. cit., ii. 1239.