'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎679] (734/1050)

HADHRAMAUT
679
dam. In the latter cases, failing accord, justice is settled by the law of the strongest, but;
if blood is spilt, there generally arises a vendetta of long duration—there are examples
of vendetta of 20 to 30 years' duration for puerile reasons—and these sometimes involve
and draw in whole tribes.
The political conditions of the Hadhramaut are further discussed under the Section
Aden.
Industries and Aoricxjl'Ture.
Of great industries there are naturally none in the Hadhramaut. A small amount of
Weaving is carried on in the houses, especially at Terim, but the amount is decreasing
owing to the importation of stuffs from abroad. Formerly the cultivation and prepara
tion of indigo for the dyeing of locally woven stuffs was carried on to a considerable extent,
but that industry too has greatly declined except in the more remote districts of the
interior. Boat-building, fishing and the salting of fish are the occupation of many along
the littoral.
It has been remarked that the inhabitants of the Hadhramaut mountains become tho
most intrepid sailors ; not only the Arabs of Shehr and MukaUa, but even those of the
mountain regions show an innate disposition for navigation, even those who may never
have seen a boat before.
For the most part the land in the settled centres is in the hands of the Seyyids or of
other influential members of a tribe. The chief agricultural products are wheat, maize,
millet, indigo, tobacco, sesame, dates and cocoanuts, the latter grown only on the littoral.
Cotton is cultivated here and there, but in insufficient quantities to supply the needs of the
district; lucerne is much grown for fodder. A kind of tobacco, known as Hamumi, is
grown round Ghail ba Wazir Minister. and has a great local reputation. There are plantations of
ithl (tamarisk) and ilb, two kinds of wood suitable for making utensils and for building
construction.
Irrigation is almost entirely artificial; neither the rains nor the variable streams are in
general directly suitable for this purpose, but the watering of the soil is done almost
entirely from wells. These may be sunk practically everywhere in the valleys. The
water is drawn up in a large bucket by the aid of oxen attached to a cord which passes
over a pulley fixed to a wooden beam supported on two upright pieces of wood ; the water
thus obtained is received in a larged wooden trough, whence it is spread over the land by
means of little canals.
The solar, not the lunar, months of the Mussulmans are followed and the ends of the
seasons are determined by the stars.
Cattle-rearing is the principal occupation of the Bedouin. Camels and donkeys are
reared for transport purposes; sheep for killing and for milk; cows only for milk and
irrigation work ; oxen exclusively for ploughing. Horses are very rare ; and are consider
ed as animals de luxe. Bees are very numerous, and much honey is produced.
The wild animals most largely found are the rabbit, gazelle, wild goat, jerboa, hyet^aj
hedgehog, a large species of lizard (permitted as food to Mussulmans) and the panther,
tiger, wolf; and monkey (not permitted as food).
Trade and Commeboe.
The only ports of importance commercially are Mukalla and Shihair, and even at
these the trade carried on is purely coastal, with the near coast of Africa, the Red Sea, the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and the southern coast of Arabia, and above all with Aden and Mascat.
Trade by caravans is carried on from these ports with the whole of the interior of the
Hydhramaut and with the southern Arabian littoral as far as Yemen on the west and
Oman on the east. Borum, Qosair, and Saihut are small fishing villages.
There are no made routes of transport; the routes follow the courses of the wadis or
natural paths. Transport by wheeled vehicles is impossible everywhere ; all is carried on
by camels or donkeys. Transport, however, is relatively cheap; e.g., a camel from
Shehr or Mukalla to Saiyun costs only 5 florins in the good season, but in summer when
forage is scarce it is higher, but never above 10 florins.
The chief exports are dates, stuffs dyed with indigo, a superior quality of wheat, and
honey ; smaller exports of shells and fins of fish, the latter exported to India and China.
Imports: wheat, butter, cocoanuts, coffee, sugar, rice, cotton and cotton stuffs, pottery^
bars of iron and worked iron, sesame oil, petroleum, and tinware*