About three or four days' journey to the E. and S.E. of
Beishe, the plain is covered with numerous encampments of the Kahtan
Arabs, one of the most ancient tribes, that flourished long before
Mohammed, in the idolatrous ages. Some of these Beni Kahtan emigrated to
Egypt, where the historian Mesoudi knew them as inhabitants of Assouan.
The Wahabys found great difficulty in subduing this tribe, which,
however,
[p.452] subsequently became attached to the conquerors, and still
continues so. The Beni Kahtan possess excellent pasturage, and breed
many fine horses: the vast number of their camels have become proverbial
in Arabia. The tribe is divided into two main branches, Es Sahama, and
El Aasy. In December 1814 the Kahans made an incursion towards Djidda,
and carried off the whole baggage of some Turkish cavalry, stationed to
protect the road between Djidda and Mekka: large parties of them
sometimes pasture their cattle in the province of Nedjed.
From Beishe to Aryn, in the country of the Abyda Arabs, is a journey of
five days, according to the Bedouin mode of travelling, but six or seven
days as the Kebsy pilgrims march. Beishe itself is about two days
distant from the western mountain. It is a journey of at least four days
from Beishe to the district of Zohran: all the Arabs from Taraba to
Beishe, and from thence westward, are cultivators or agriculturists;
those due south and east, are Bedouins, or wandering Nomades.
South-east of Beishe, four or five days, live the Dowaser Arabs during
the winter; but in summer they remove to the more fertile pasture-lands
of Nedjed, the nearest frontiers of which are only eight days distant.
They have no horses, but furnish to the Wahabys in their wars about
three thousand camel-riders. The Dowaser are said to be very tall men,
and almost black. In former times they used to sell at Mekka ostrich
feathers to the northern pilgrims, and many pedlars of Mekka came here
in winter to exchange cotton stuffs for those feathers.
Adjoining the Dowaser, but I cannot exactly ascertain in what direction,
are the Beni Kelb, Bedouins of whom many absurd fables are related in
the Hedjaz: thus it is said, the men never speak Arabic, but bark like
dogs; a notion, perhaps, arising from the name Kelb, which signifies a
dog. Their women, however, it is allowed, can speak Arabic; but the
truth is, that the stranger who alights at their tents is entertained by
the women, and not by the men.
Half way between Wady Dowaser, or the winter pasture-land of the Dowaser
tribe, and Sanaa the capital of Yemen, a short day's journey east of
Thohran, (the territory of the Wadaa Arabs,) and four or five days from
the town of Sada, lies the Wady Nedjran, on the first of the great chain
of mountains.
