'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎75v] (155/180)

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Name.
Position.
Nature.
Remarks.
Sila'
(D5hat-as-)
The chief indentation in the
coast of Mijan, which it
divides from Sabakhat Matti
to the eastward; it is about
46 miles south-east by south
of the entrance of Khor-al-
'Odaid.
A bay.
The country in the neighbour
hood is desert descending in
terraces to the sea.
MORRAH The singular is Morri. A considerable Arab tribe, altogether Bedouin, of
Eastern Arabia; they are notorious for their misdeeds; but otherwise less is known
[pp. 1239-42] them than of any other tribe of equal size and importance in the same region
of Arabia.
Distribution. —The A1 Morrah inhabit the country in the south of the Hasa
Sanjaq and that adjoining it but lying beyond its border on the same side: some
are generally to be found in Kharmah near the wells of ZarnOqah; they visit Barr-
adh -Dhahran; and their raiders sometimes infest Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Faruq. They are the only
inhabitants of the Jafurah desert; Jabrin is their property; they sometimes visit
Qatar in their peregrinations; and they frequent the district of 'Aqal to a certain
extent. A few A1 Morrah are among the Bedouins who resort annually to 'Anik
in the Qatif Oasis and who are regarded as having a permanent connection with
the place.
Religion, character, mode of life and language. —The A1 Morrah are Hanbali
Sunnis in name, but concern themselves little with religion.
They appear to be the wildest, most dangerous, and least civilised of the
nomad tribes in this part of Arabia, and to exist, to an appreciable extent, by
plunder. They are said to be staunch friends to those whom they recognise as
neighbours; but otherwise they are treacherous and untrustworthy, and they
sometimes betray persons who take sanctuary with them.
The principal wealth of the Al Morrah is in camels; but they have also some
horses and many sheep and goats. Their tents are small and black: some of
them have no tents. Of the sections enumerated below only the Al 'Adhbah, Al
Bahaih, Al Fahaidah and Al Shabib have either kerchiefs or 'Abas. The tribe as
a whole avoid towns and villages. Those of the Al Morrah who enter Jafurah do
so in winter, and while there they have often no drink other than the milk of their
camels and are reduced to boiling their rice in the same. It is said that the sections
which frequent Jafurah wear a specially thick footgear made of camel hair to
protect their feet from the burning sand, that their complexion is of a swarthiness
unusual among Arabs, and that their camels_are generally dark-coloured.
The dialect of Arabic spoken by the Al Morrah is peculiar, and to other
Arabs they appear to talk " in a stammering way."
Divisions and numbers. —The following table contains all that is known about
the internal structure of the tribe:—
Section.
Subsection.
Fighting
strength.
Remarks.
'Ali-bin-Morrah (Al)
Ghiyathin
20
Do.
Jaraba'ah
25
Do.
Nabit (Al)
60
Their Shaikh is 'Ali-bin-Nabit.
Bishr (Al)
See Al Shabib below.
Jabir (Al)
Ghadhban (Al)
45
Do.
Na'am (Al Bin-)
30
Shabib (Al) or Al
Bishr
'Adhbah (Al)
250
The proper Shaikh of this subsection is
'Abdur Rahman-bin-Niqadan, but a num
ber of his people live under the Shaikh of
the Al Fahaidah.