"كُتيّب اليمن" [و‎‎١‎١] (١٩٠/٢٦)

a sense, "trimmers." They hold that a true leader of the
faithful must be of the Prophet's own seed; for only so can
he have the esoteric knowledge and supernatural qualities
such as infallibility, which their instinct for incarnationism
and desire to worship their ruler as semi-divine demand.
The first three Caliphs were not such leaders, but Zeidists
accept them on the principle that leaders, worthy of
reverence, but not of worship, can be appointed now and
then for reasons of expediency. An Imam who is a true
leader and a Caliph who is 1 a political expedient can,
therefore, co-exist. The dwellers on the eastern plateau
are all Orthodox Moslems, who regard the Sunna as
canonical, and guide their conduct thereby. There is no
love lost between the two great sects in Yemen. In the
Tihamah also, the Sunni (Shafe'i) doctrine is paramount.
At Hodeidah, however, a few Zeidis from up country may
be found. The Sunni creed and practices extend in some
parts (Hajjeilah, for instance) some distance back into the
maritime range. The .Yemeni is not particularly fanatical.
Seeing the sects into which his own people are divided,
he realizes that there are two sides to every question.
Hence his not unfriendly attitude to the Jews.
Tribes.
Tribal Organization is dealt with more fully in Section
IX. Practically all the native Yemenis, settled as well
as nomad, are members of tribes, and think and fight as
such. Enumerated from north to south, first in the Tihamah
then in the Highlands, the chief tribes with their localities
are :—
1. Tihamah.
In the extreme north are the Wa'azat immediately above
Loheiah and in touch and continual feud with Idrisi and the
Beni f Abs. Consequent favour and support accorded to
them by the Turks have unduly magnified them and their