'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎160v] (325/470)

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The main part of the nahiyah, namely the part situated on the right bank of the
Euphrates, is enclosed by a circular bund and contains good date gardens, but that
on the left bank is, except for small isolated gardens, unenclosed and open to floods.
There are, however, good date gardens on the left bank at Huwair.
(8) Chabaish .—In Chabaish too there was at the beginning of the year
considerable trouble. Shaikh Majid, who had been made Shaikh of Chabaish when
Shaikh Salim had been sent to India as a prisoner of war, had proved consistently
unsatisfactory. In November it was found necessary to remove him, and Shaikh
‘Abdul Hasan was appointed Mudir. He did not act with sufficient tact in his
dealings with the people, and was suspected of having taken bribes from several
parties and consequently he so enraged the people against him that he had to be
removed. It was then decided to make Ealih, Shaikh Salim’s young brother,
Wakil Elected representative or attorney, acting in legal matters such as contracting marriage, inheritance, or business; a high-ranking legal official; could also refer to a custodian or administrator. -Shaikh until Salim should come back from India. No small difficulty was
experienced in finding him a mustashar, but, after a time, Salih al Hajjaj, the Basrah
agent of the Chabaish Shaikhs, was persuaded to accept the position, and things
have since then been satisfactory. Salih has shown ability in his work, tact in
dealing with the people, and commendable firmness in dealing with his young ward,
and Falih should have learned a lot from him. Falih is intelligent, but very ignorant,
but it is hoped to get him away to school shortly. He should then be of use as a
Government servant. With the cessation of hostilities Shaikh Salim will soon return
to Chabaish and another change will take place. He will be welcomed there, as he
is extremely popular.
Chabaish is divided into two sections: the Bani Asad, to which the ruling house
belongs, and the Al Ghuraij. There has always been antagonism between the two
sections, partly no doubt owing to the partiality shown by the shaikhs for the Bani
Asad, but the feeling has now improved and there has been no trouble between
them for some time. The Bani Asad tribesmen are chiefly employed in making
mats, while the Al Ghuraij tribesmen are boatbuilders and cultivators.
Here, too, there is a strong Sabaean element. They claim to have been very much
oppressed under the Turks, but no complaints of oppression have been made of late.
(9) Bani Hutait .—The nahiyah of Bani Hutait includes Bani Hutait, Bani
Musharraf, Al Husaini and Tbadah. In the flood season the greater part of the
nahiyah is submerged, but in the low flood season there is a large area which produces
rice and millet.
The nahiyah is in charge of a Mudir, Ibrahim al ‘Amari, who was appointed in
November 1917 when Saiyid ‘Abdul Hasan was transferred to Chabaish. He had
a very difficult position for some time owing to the intrigues of Sabti ibn Shunaiyan,
the late Shaikh of Bani Hutait, whose idea was to keep the mukhtars in a constant
state of opposition to the mudir in order to discredit him in the eyes of Government.
He succeeded in causing constant trouble, but since his death in August there has
been no further trouble. The four Mukhtars of Bani Hutait signed an agreement
to keep the peace and to keep their hamulahs in order, and were made directly
responsible to the Mudir for the good behaviour of their hamulahs.
Bani Musharraf is owned entirely by Mutlaq al Humad as Sa‘dun and is almost
entirely submerged in the flood season. It is divided into seven hamulahs, each
with its mukhtar directly responsible to the mudir. One of these mukhtars,
Faraj al Dahash, picked a quarrel with two other mukhtars in June, but his troubles
were easily settled.
Al Husaini is a small piece of land adjoining Bani Musharraf and under its
Mukhtar, Qannas al Mozan. It is important as being one of the principal stopping
places on the mahailah route from Suq al Shuyukh and Nasiriyah to Qurmat ‘Ali.
Ibadah lies to the west of Bani Musharraf and is divided into four hamoulahs,
each with its mukhtar. Of these by far the most influential is Haji Sharif al Haji
Asad, who is rapidly spreading his influence over the mukhtars of Bani Musharraf.
He is most helpful in all matters connected with the affairs of the nahiyah and is
of the greatest assistance to the mudir. The spread of his influence alarmed his
next-door neighbour and rival, Yasir al Najm, who immediately tried to pick a quarrel
with him and caused some trouble for a time. The cause of the quarrel was the
boundaries of the two hamoulahs, but the matter was settled to the satisfaction of
both parties by refereece to the ‘ Ahl al Khibrah.’
Every year at the harvest time in Hammar there is a large influx of Arabs from
the Gharraf, who come to assist in gathering in the harvest, and cause trouble when
they depart by stealing everything they can lay their hands on.