"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [و‎‎٢‎٣‎٤] (٧٣٨/٤٧٢)

JUDAEA
461
as they afford better shelter and protection in this exposed
region. There is little or no cohesion between the various
tribes ; were it otherwise they might be more troublesome
to the governing authority and to the fellahin on their western
border. Their water places are the few springs, such as
‘Ain el-Qelt and ‘Ain Jidi, to be found within the region,
standing pools of rainwater, and cisterns roughly cut in the
rock in the valley bottoms, all of which they jealously guard,
but, in spite of this, with the exception of the springs, there
are but few places where the water holds out through the year.
On the border between the cultivated land and the desert,
the people tend to change their mode of life—the sedentary
to become semi-nomadic and the nomadic to become semi-
or wholly sedentary. Thus the people on the western edge of
the Desert of Judaea go out into the desert with their cattle
and live a nomadic life, as, e.g., the Ta‘amireh of the village
of Beni Na‘Im and other places who were originally fellahin.
On the other hand, genuine Bedouin in the desert region, as,
e.g., the Rasha’ideh of ‘Ain Jidi, remain so long in certain
places as to become almost sedentary.
The following are the chief tribal families to be found in
Judaea :
Ta‘amireh. Range, Tequ‘ to the Dead Sea. About
7,000 souls ; the most numerous of the tribes. 3,000 sheep
and 2,000 donkeys and a few cattle and camels. Semi-
settled cultivators for the most part, as well as carriers and
contrabandists ; they wander to Madeba for hire. Among
their watering places is Mutukh Hasasah, a rain-filled pool
in W. Hasasah.
Jahalin. Range from Wadi el-Ghar to Tell ‘Arad and Wadi
Zuweireh. According to Musil, some 50 families. Their chief
watering place is the very fine spring in Wadi Umm Bagheq.
Dhullam. Range, south of the Jahalin, between Beersheba
and the Dead Sea ; see further, p. 471.
Rasha’ideh. Range round the spring of ‘Ain Jidi which
they own. Now a small and insignificant tribe, said to be
under the protection of the Ta‘amireh ; formerly much more