"كتيّب الجزيرة العربية. المجلد I. ١٩١٧" [‎٦‎٠] (٧٤٨/٦٩)

60
THE BEDOUIN TRIBES
B. T ribes op the C entral W est
1. TheHuweitdt
The HUWEITAT are a stout and warlike tribe whose country
extends from near Teima in the south to Kerak in the north, and
on the east to the Nefud and the Wadi Sirhan. On the west it is
scattered down the Gulf of Akaba and through Sinai into Egypt.
Huweitat are nomads in the desert north-east of Cairo, and settled
as cultivators round Tanta. The Huweitat of Akaba, Sinai, and
Egypt have no political link with the Sheikhs whose head-quarters
are at or near Ma'an ; but they recognize certain claims of kinship,
and if a Huweiti of the Tawayah or Beni Jazi got into difficulties
with the Ottoman Government, he would seek refuge, if he could
escape, in Sinai or in Egypt. The Huweitat have, however, an
exceptionally bad name for treachery. They are divided among
themselves, and do not respect their own blood-ties. One clan will
set upon a caravan under the convoy of a of another clan,
shoot the rafiq, and rob and murder the merchants.
On the Syrian side the leading sub-tribe is the Beni Jazi, and
'Arar ibn Jazi is nominally the paramount Sheikh ; but he is not
recognized by the Abu Tayy, and the two groups are frequently
at feud. The Tayy are an offshoot of the Jazi, and owe their
position to the restless energy of their Sheikhs. The late chief,
'Audah, was one of the most famous raiders of his time, and did not
hesitate to carry his expeditions across the Hamad to the Euphrates,
where he raided Ibn Hadhdhal of the' Amarat. On one occasion, when
he was out against the Siba', he pushed almost as far north as Aleppo.
The Huweitat are on close terms of friendship with the Beni
'Atiyah, and are at liberty to camp through all the 'Atiyah country.
The Sheikh Ahmed ibn Tuqeiqah occupies the Red Sea coast between
Muweilah and Dhaba, with his head-quarters at Dhaba. They are
at war with the Shammar, except the clan of the Rammal, which
is connected by marriage with the Tayy ; and they are usually on
bad terms with the Wuld Suleiman and the Euqara. With the
Sukhur relations are always delicate, and the two tribes often break
into sharp conflict. In 1914 the jealousy between Ibn Jazi and Abu
Tayy led to continuous raids between the sub-tribes. Ibn Jazi
took refuge with the Sukhur, and the Tayy with the Ruweilah. But
the outbreak of war between Great Britain and Turkey filled
tribes with a common fear that their camels might be requisitioned
by the Ottoman Government for transport purposes ; the Huweitat
made up their differences, and together with the Sukhur retired
east into the Anazah dira, where the Government could not reach