"دليل الجزيرة العربية المجلد II" [‎١‎٣‎٢‎٣] (٦٨٨/٣٧٢)

MUTAIR
1323
The Bani 'Abdillah appear to be the most western portion of the tribe, and their com,
position has not been clearly ascertained ; they include however the following groups-
some of which are probably quoted here merely by the names of their chiefs :—
Askiyan (Ibn). Jabrll (Ibn).
Darwish {Bin). Jarnas (Bin).
Dhimnah (Ibn). Maimun.
Harish (Ibn). Sharar (Bin).
It seems certain that, of these, the Maimun are an important sub-division.
Sections of the Mutair known as Dhawi'un, Shahaba and Shakir are said to be known
in Hasa, but it is uncertain to which division of the tribe they belong.
From estimates given it may be inferred that the total strength of the Mutai amounts
to not less than 4,000 fighting men,* that is, males who are neither infants nor
decrepit with age ; and the total number of souls may thus be 10,000 or more.
Character and customs. —The Mutair are typical Bedouins, which is to say that they
are poor, hardy, restless, impatient of control, much engaged in tribal warfare and ready
to fight,—in the desultory nomand fashion,—where there is either hope of plunder or
an injury to be revenged. In religion they are not fanatical, but, as compared with
other Bedouins, they are perhaps somewhat deficient in hospitality.
The principal customs of the Mutair mostly refer to marriage, to compensation and
retaliation, and to crime and punishment.
A sum, called Muhar, is paid to the father or guardian of a bride ; among Shaikhs and
headmen it is $200, but among ordinary tribesmen it averages $40 to 50; Muhar is
generally given at the time of the marriage, but occasionally the paj^ment of half the
amount is postponed. The customary bride-price among the Mutair is said to be the
same as it has always been. If the Mutair happen to be near a town the "Aqd or cere
mony of marriage is performed by a Qadhi, but in the desert his presence is dispensed
with. The Fuqamah sub-section (see above) will marry the daughters of other sub-sections
of the Sahabah, but they will not give their own daughters in marriage except to men of
Shaikhly class such as the Dhil Ghanaiman. The Dhil Ghanaiman on the other hand
will give their daughters to certain selected classes only in their own section (the Malai-
bah), but they do not refuse them to any sub-section of the Sahabah.
Compensation for a man slain is called IdTyah and among the Mutair it consists of
§800 in cash, a slave, a riding camel and a rifle. The blood-price of a woman iss half that
of a man, and if a slave or animal be killed the actual value must be made good. Injury
causing the loss of both eyes must be compounded for at the same rate as homicide,
while the loss of one eye or of the nose, the fracture of a bone and the severance or per
manent disablement of a limb are each treated as entitling the sufferer to half the Idly ah.
In cases of flesh-wounds, loss of fingers and deafness suitable compensation is assessed
by the Shaikhs. Teeth knocked out must be paid for at the rate of one she-camel per
tooth. A peculiar provision of the tribal code is one which auhorises a man whose beard
has been pulled in anger or by way of insult to cut off the hand or nose of the offendeir
without recourse to the tribal authorities and without incurring any liabilitv to pay
compensation. A murderer can go in safety for the settlement of his case only in com
pany of a member of the opposite party who consents to act as his escort. Disputed
points are settled to a great extent by oath. The formula in swearing to a homicide is
" I bear witness, being adjured, that thou art the slayer the established phrase o£
denial is " By God neither do I know nor have I become aware." A solemn form of
oath is one by which a man declares his wife to be divorced in the sight of Heaven in
case what he is asserting be not true. •
Thieves are punished with the loss of the nose and one hand, but the delinquent may-
ransom his hand by payment of half Idiyah ; only the paramount Shaikh of the Mutair
and the chief Shaikhs of the Jiblan and Braih have power to order this penalty. In case
of seduction of an unmarried girl she is put to death, and the paramour also is killed if
caught in the act. In case of adultery the husband kills the adulterer if he can, and the
woman is handed over to her blood-relations to be put to death or otherwise punished ;
the disgrace is considered to fall on her own family rather than on her husband's. Adul
tery cannot be compounded. The adulterer is not regularly outlawed, but his goods
♦Tribal estimates of fighting strength are in Arabia as a rule too greatly exaggerated to be of any value, la
tne present ease the estimate may perhaps be accepted, subject to some deduction, the tribe being well known at
ituwait ana their fighting strength having been a question directly in issue during the past several years.
8g2 j