"شخصيات، شبه الجزيرة العربية" [‎١‎٨‎٥] (٣٧٤/١٨٩)

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Their chief Sheikh, 'Ali ibn Fayy, is a man 45 years old, and helps
Idrisi to maintain law and order. His house is in Wasm, where he
owns considerable property. He has seen much fighting, and always
leads his tribe in battle.
Chief Sheikh : 'Ali ibn Fayy. 6,000 men.
[a) Settled. 1,000 men.
Chief villages are :—
Qahmah 'A'idh ibn 'Isa.
Wasm Mohammed ibn Fayy.
Rehasa'ah Mohammed ibn Tali'.
Raqabah 'Omar ibn Mohammed.
Wahlah Mohammed ibn Gharamah.
[b) Nomad ; Mohammed ibn Zeid. 5,000 men.
Chief clans are :—
A1 Umm Khareis Mohammed ibn Zeid.
A1 'Abdlyah.
A1 Zeid.
Al Umm Hadish.
A1 Sariyah.
Al esh-Shihbi.
Weled Islam.
29. Al Musa.
The AL MUSA own the town of Muha'il and the country round within
a radius of from 5 to 10 miles. They are mostly settled, but the clans of
Umm Jirban and Beni Yazld are nomad. The tribe is a mixed one, the
nomads and a few of the townsmen being of pure Arab blood, the rest
being blacks, originally of some African strain. No doubt they were at
one time slaves, but they have long since earned their emancipation by
their courage, and are now on an equality with the Arab portion of the
tribe, although no intermarriage takes place. The tribe is fairly rich in
flocks and herds, and although their country, w^hich stands comparatively
low, cannot rival the fertility of the highlands, it nevertheless pioduccs
good crops in the rainy seasons.
The enmity between the Turks and Idrisi has disorganized the tribe,
and divided it into two opposing factions. Sheikh Suleiman ibn 'Ali, who
is by right of inheritance the paramount chief, has thrown in his lot with
theTurks, and has behind him theUmm Jirban and about half the villagers.
The remainder have broken loose under the leadership of Dhakir ibn
Sha'r, and many of them have retired to live at Jannah in the Bahr Ibn
Sekeinah country, refusing to stay at Muha'il so long as there is a Turkish
post there. From Jannah they carry on a guerilla warfare, closing the
roads and cutting off Turkish convoys whenever they can.
The tribe is bounded on the north by the Al ed-Dureib and Reish,on the
east by the Reish and Beni Thuwwah, on the south by the Beni I huwwah
a. a a