They twice repulsed the Wahaby
chief Saoud, who had subdued all the other Arab tribes except the Beni
Sobh, of the Harb race, in the northern parts of the Hedjaz. The Beni
Yam made a kind of treaty with the Wahabys, and were allowed to perform
the pilgrimage annually. Some of them visit the tomb of Aly, at Meshehed
Aly, but under circumstances of great difficulty; for their lives would
pay the forfeit of their religious zeal, should they be detected on the
road; and this frequently happens,
[p.453] as they are betrayed by their peculiar accent or dialect: one
who has performed his devotions at Aly's tomb is regarded as a saint at
Nedjran.
When a man of this Beni Yam tribe undertakes a journey, he sends his
wife to the house of a friend, who, it is understood, must in all
respects supply the husband's place during his absence, and restore the
lady to him at his return. It may be here remarked, that the name of
Nedjran el Yemen is mentioned in the Catechism of the Druses; one of the
questions being, "Is Nedjran of Yemen in ruins or not?" The tanneries of
Nedjran are famous throughout Arabia.
The less mountainous districts mentioned here, south of Mekka, are even
in time of peace accessible only to Bedouins, or Bedouin merchants, and
have not any regular communication with Mekka by caravans - Taraba
excepted, the inhabitants of which carry their dates in monthly caravans
to Mekka and Djidda.
