"شخصيات، شبه الجزيرة العربية" [‎٢‎١‎١] (٣٧٤/٢١٥)

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48. Beni Shihir.
The BENI SHIHIR are one of the most populous tribes of Asir.
They are a tall and well-made race, and their women are noted for their
beauty. They inhabit the country from the Tihamah 25 miles east of
Qunfudah up the main mountain range and across the watershed almost
to Wadi Shahran.
The tribes which adjoin them are, on the north, starting from the
Tihamah, the Bal'aryan, Bulqarn, and Beni 'Amr, on the east the Shahran,
on the south the Balasmar, the Reish, the Al Musa ibn 'Ali, the Humeidah,
and the Rabi'ah Mujatirah. On the west, where their boundary has
narrowed to about 15 miles, are the Zobeid. Their territory is funnel-
shaped, widening out as it goes inland, till it reaches the Shahran in the
east, with whose boundary it marches for over 60 miles.
The settled portion of the tribe have shown little sympathy with
Idrisi, and are almost entirely pro-Sherif and Turk. They are divided
into three main sections, the north, south, and Tihamah, ruled over by
different Sheikhs, who are usually on bad terms with each other, but unite
against common enemies.
The largest section and the most important politically is the Beni
Shihir esh-Sham, who live chiefly along the Ibha-Ta'if road, between
'Asabili and 'Uqrum. The leading family and one of the noblest of Asir,
is that of Ibn Qurum, closely connected with Mecca, both by sympathy
and relationship, Sherif Mohammed ibn 'Abd el-Mu'in ibn 'Ann, the grand
father of the present Sherif, having married into the family.
The present head of the family is Sa'id ibn Fa'iz, an old man now, with
two sons, both born of a Circassian mother, Faraj Bey ibn Sa'id, who has
been one of the Hejaz representatives in the Ottoman Parliament, and
Fa'iz ibn Sa'id. They all visit Constantinople and Mecca regularly, have
a house in Ibha, and have furnished their house at 'Asabili in semi-
European style, and having also adopted the western habit of smoking
and drinking, are looked at with dislike and suspicion by other tribes.
They are, however, large landowners and rich men and are a decided
asset on the side of the Turk and Sherif. In the event of a split between
the two, they would probably join the latter.
Faraj Bey ibn Sa'id is a tall man of about 38, with a fair skin, which
he gets from his mother. He was formerly Kaimmakam of Qunfudah,
Muha'il, and Hali district, where his cruelty when in his cups made him
greatly feared. He speaks Turkish and French and has a Circassian wife
in Constantinople. He is a notorious libertine and drunkard, but is a
force to be reckoned with.
His brother, Fa'iz ibn Sa'id, a young man of 25, is much more steady
and takes greater interest in tribal matters.
About a third of the Beni Shihir esh-Sham are nomads, whose main
subdivision is that of the Neid. They have little to do with the settled
parts, and do not acknowledge Sa'id ibn Fa'iz, the Sherif, or the Turks.
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