'Southern Nejd: Journey to Kharj, Aflaj, Sulaiyyil, and Wadi Dawasir in 1918.' [31r] (66/100)
The record is made up of 1 volume (46 folios). It was created in 1919. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
— 53 —
the flood and an extensive patch of palm stumps, half-buried in
sand to remind its twenty or thirty inhabitants of the feuds of
their ancestors.
The ruins of Ruwaisa lie about one mile south-east of Hana-
bija and shelter about twenty persons—the sole remnant of the
prosperous Amur colony which migrated on account of the
feuds above mentioned to Tamra.
Immediately beyond these ruins lies the last or Sharafa
section of the
wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
, a scattered group of palm-groves of unequal
quality astride the channel with a number of separate qasrs
and three small hamlets in a bunch on the right bank. As the
name of the section suggests, the population belongs to a Dawasir
group called Sharafa generally reckoned as a subsection of the
Misaara and almost certainly related to it though it acts indepen
dently of the main group and claims to be an independent
section. As regards the nomenclature of the three hamlets,
one fair sized and two small shapeless unwalled groups of mud
huts, containing with the neighbouring qasrs a total population
of about 500 souls, there seems to be a difference of opinion
which is solved by calling the whole trio by the single name
of A1 Sharafa. The name of the largest hamlet appears, however,
to be Mishrif while the other two are designated Uwaidhat;
the name Thamamiya, which appears in Hunter's map, attaches
only to a single well.
It will be gathered from the above brief account that, except
for the very meagre representation of the A1 Hasan section,
the population of the
wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
is a very fair epitome of the
Dawasir tribe, a fact from which (as also from the general
trend of tribal migrations) it may be inferred that the
wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
was the first settlement occupied by the tribe on its arrival
some centuries ago from the Yemen under the leadership
of its common ancestor Zayid. What the original population
of the
wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
was local history does not relate, but it is generally
believed that Zayid and his companions first settled here as
the guests and under the protection of their predecessors and
in due course waxing strong returned evil for good and
ejected their hosts. It occurs to me as quite a plausible theory
that the subsection of the Abat Dawasir whom I have had
occasion to mention above represent the survivors of the
aboriginal settlers of the
wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
. In due course the new settlers
increasing and multiplying sought new pastures further east
About this item
- Content
Harry St John Bridger Philby's account of his journey in the southern regions of the Najd, published for the Arab Bureau by the Government Press in Cairo, 1919.
The journey was taken in May to June 1918 while the author was in Riyadh for the purpose of maintaining relations with Ibn Sa‘ud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥman bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], ruler of Najd, on behalf of the British Government. Travelling 640 miles from Riyadh to Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Dawasir [Wādī al-Dawāsir] and back along a different route, he reports any geographical, meteorological, agricultural, demographic, and historical information that he deems of use to the British government. Included are notes on the tribes and wells of the area.
Folio 46 is a foldout map of the route taken.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (46 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the inside of the back cover, on number 48.
Pagination: there is also a printed pagination sequence that begins on the first page of the account proper and continues through to the last page of the account.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Southern Nejd: Journey to Kharj, Aflaj, Sulaiyyil, and Wadi Dawasir in 1918.' [31r] (66/100), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C169, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023576000.0x000043> [accessed 20 February 2025]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023576000.0x000043
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023576000.0x000043">'Southern Nejd: Journey to Kharj, Aflaj, Sulaiyyil, and Wadi Dawasir in 1918.' [‎31r] (66/100)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023576000.0x000043"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x000190/IOR_L_PS_20_C169_0066.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x000190/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/C169
- Title
- 'Southern Nejd: Journey to Kharj, Aflaj, Sulaiyyil, and Wadi Dawasir in 1918.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:47v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence