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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [82] (91/748)
The record is made up of 1 volume (371 folios). It was created in 1916. It was written in English and Arabic. 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
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82
THE BEDOUIN TRIBES
For the past year, however, the paramount Sheikh, Hamud ibn
Suweit, has been at peace with Ibn Rashid, though he is said to
have rejected the latter's proposal that he should join him in
aiding 'Ajeimi ibn Sa'dun and the Turks against the British. The
Shammar sub-tribe of the 'Ajil are still hostile to the Dhafir. With
the Anazah they are always at feud, and though the Anazah sheikhs
seldom approach within four or five days' journey of their country,
the Dhafir carry their raids as far north as Shifathah, and west
into the Anazah pastures. They are on good terms with some of
the Muntefiq group, of whom the Budur camp habitually under their
protection in the spring, when the latter go out with their sheep
into the desert. But with the Sa'dun themselves their relations
have been anything but cordial, and since 1915 Hamud has definitely
sided against 'Ajeimi; but he has not succeeded in carrying his
whole tribe with him, and the Husein and Dhar'an sections, as well
as other smaller sheikhs of the Samid, have followed 'Ajeimi's lead
against us.
The Dhafir are composed of two main sub-tribes, the Butun
and the Samid, of which the Butun is the more numerous. It is
not a homogeneous tribal unit, but has been formed from sections
of other tribes which have been welded together. The various
constituents have preserved the memory of their origin ; the Suweit
and the Beni Husein are Ashraf of the Hejaz ; the Sa'id, 'Areif, and
Beni Khalid, with the Kathir who are an offshoot of the Beni
Khalid, are Qahtan; the 'Adwan are Ahl esh-Shimal, descended from
Rabi'ah or Mudhar ; the Misamir and the small Tuluh clans are
Anazah ; the Rasimi are Shammar, the Mu'aleim are Beni Tamim,
and the Juwasim are from the neighbouring Sebei'. The important
Dhar'an section are 'Abid, that is to say, they spring from the slaves
of some nomad group.
The Dhafir are wholly nomadic and do not engage in any trade.
Their country is sufficiently supplied with wells, and they own
large flocks of sheep, besides being breeders of camels. In religion
they are Sunnis of the Maliki sect. They are well armed with
modern rifles and may number some 3,000 fighting men. They
maintain good relations with the Sultan of Koweit and come into
Koweit for needful provisions and utensils. Sections of the tribe
near the Koweit territory have occasionally paid the Sultan tribute ;
while in the days of Mohammed er-Rashid the western sections of
the Dhafir yielded tribute to the Shammar. The paramount
Sheikh, Hamud ibn Suweit, is a man of about 45, intelligent, and
reckoned a fairly good politician and tribal administrator. His son,
Barghash, is a boy of 17.
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Arabia, Volume I, General (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: May, 1916) and contains geographical and political information of a general character concerning the Arabian Peninsula. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and War Office, from sources, including native information obtained for the purpose of compiling the volume, since the outbreak of the First World War. Separate chapters are devoted to each of the districts or provinces of the Arabian Peninsula and include information on the physical character, as well as social and political surveys.
The volume includes a note on official use, title page, and a 'Note' on the compilation of the volume. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following sections:
- Chapter 1: Physical Survey;
- Chapter 2: Social Survey;
- Chapter 3: The Bedouin Tribes: A. Northern Tribes, B. Tribes of the Central West, C. Tribes of the Central South, D. Tribes of the Central East, Supplement: Non-Bedouin Nomads;
- Chapter 4: Hejaz;
- Chapter 5: Asir;
- Chapter 6: Yemen;
- Chapter 7: Aden and Hadhramaut: A. Aden and the Interior, B. Hadhramaut;
- Chapter 8: Oman: A. The sultanate of Oman, B. Independent Oman;
- Chapter 9: The Gulf Coast: A. The Sultanate of Koweit [Kuwait], B. Hasa, C. Bahrain, D. El-Qatar, E. Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ;
- Chapter 10: Nejd;
- Chapter 11: Jebel Shammar;
- Chapter 12: The Northern Nefūd and Dahanah Belts;
- Chapter 13: Settled Tribes of the North-West;
- Chapter 14: Settled Tribes of the West;
- Chapter 15: Settled Tribes of the South;
- Chapter 16: Settled Tribes of the Centre;
- Appendix: Note of Topographical and Common Terms;
- Index;
- Plates.
The front of the volume includes a 'List of Maps' and a 'Note on the Spelling of Proper Names'. Maps contained in this volume are:
- Map 1: Arabia: Districts and Towns;
- Map 2: Orographical Features of Arabia;
- Map 3: Land Surface Features of Arabia;
- Map 4: Tribal Map of Arabia.
The volume also contains fifteen plates of photographs and sketches by Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Douglas Carruthers, Captain Gerard Leachman, Dr Julius Euting, George Wyman Bury, and Samuel Barrett Miles.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (371 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in chapters. There is a contents page, list of maps, alphabetical index, and list of plates.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which 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 last of various maps which are inserted at the back of the volume, on number 371.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [82] (91/748), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/E84/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037114035.0x00005c> [accessed 18 January 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/E84/1
- Title
- 'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:381, 384:726, ii-r:ii-v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence