The Bedouins Of
That Country, And Those Especially Around Mekka, Are Very Poor In
Horses; A Few Sheikhs Only Having Any, Pasture Being Scarce, And The
Expense Of A Horse's Keep Being Three Piastres A Day.
In the Eastern plain, behind Tayf, horses are more numerous, although
much less so than in Nedjed and the
Deserts of Syria, in consequence of
the comparative scarcity of corn, and the uncertainty of the rain; a
deficiency of which often leaves the Bedouin a whole year without
vegetation; a circumstance that rarely happens in the more northern
deserts, where the rains seldom fail in the proper seasons.
[p.219] GOVERNMENT OF MEKKA.
The territories of Mekka, Tayf, Gonfade, (which stretches southwards as
far as Haly, on the coast,) and of Yembo, were, previous to the Wahaby
and Egyptian conquests, under the command of the Sherif of Mekka, who
had extended his authority over Djidda also, though this town was
nominally separated from his dominions, and governed by a Pasha, sent
thither by the Porte, to be sole master of the town, and to divide its
revenue with the Sherif. The Sherif, raised to his station by force or
by personal influence, and the consent of the powerful Sherif families
of Mekka, held his authority from the Grand Signor, who invariably
confirmed the individual that had possessed himself of it. [The
government of the Hedjaz has often been a subject of dispute between the
Khalifes of Baghdad, the Sultans of Egypt, and the Imams of Yemen. The
honour attached, even to a nominal authority over the holy cities, was
the only object they had in view, although that authority, instead of
increasing their income, obliged them to incur great expenses. The right
of clothing the Kaaba, and of having their name inserted in the Friday's
prayers in the mosque, was the sole benefit they derived. The supremacy
of Egypt over Mekka, so firmly established from the beginning of the
fifteenth century, was transferred, after the conquest of that country
by Selim I., to the Sultans of Constantinople.] He was invested annually
with a pelisse, brought from Constantinople by the Kaftandji Bashy; and,
in the Turkish ceremonial, he was ranked among the first Pashas of the
empire. When the power of the Pashas of Djidda became merely nominal,
and the Porte was no longer able to send large armies with the Hadj
caravans of the Hedjaz, to secure its command over that country, the
Sherifs of Mekka became independent, and disregarded all the orders of
the Porte, although
[p.220] they still called themselves the servants of the Sultan,
received the annual investiture of the pelisse, acknowledged the Kadhi
sent from Constantinople, and prayed for the Sultan in the great mosque.
Mohammed Aly has restored the authority of the Osmanlys in the Hedjaz,
and usurps all the power of the Sherif; allowing to the present Sherif
Yahya a merely nominal sway.
The Sherif of Mekka was chosen from one of the many tribes of Sherifs,
or descendants of the Prophet, who settled in the Hedjaz; these were
once numerous, but are now reduced to a few families of Mekka. Till the
last century, the right of succession was in the Dwy [Dwy means Ahl, or
family.] Barakat, so called after Barakat, the son of Seyd Hassan
Adjelan, who succeeded his father in A.H. 829; he belonged to the sherif
tribe of Katade, which was originally settled in the valley of Alkamye,
forming part of Yembo el Nakhel, and was related, by the female side, to
the Beni Hashem, whom they had dispossessed of the government of Mekka
in A.H. 600, after the death of the last Hashemy, called Mekether.
During the last century, the Dwy Barakat had to sustain many wars with
their rival tribes, and finally yielded to the most numerous, that of
Dwy Zeyd, to whom the present Sherifs belong, and which, together with
all the Ketade, form part of the great tribe of Abou Nema. Most of the
Barakat emigrated; many of them settling in the fertile valleys of the
Hedjaz, and others in Yemen. Of the Sherifs still existing in and about
Mekka, besides the tribes above mentioned, the following five were named
to me: Abadele, Ahl Serour, Herazy, Dwy Hamoud, Sowamele. [In addition to
these, I find several others mentioned by Asamy, as Dwy Masoud, Dwy
Shambar, Dwy el Hareth, Dwy Thokaba, Dwy Djazan, Dwy Baz. It would
demand more leisure than I enjoy, to compile a history of Mekka from the
above-mentioned sources. D'Ohsson has given an historical notice on the
Sherifs of Mekka, in which are several errors. The long pedigrees that
must be traced, to acquire a clear notion of the rulers of any part of
Arabia, render the history of that country extremely intricate.]
The succession to the government of Mekka, like that of the Bedouin
Sheikhs, was not hereditary; though it remained in the same tribe as
long as the power of that tribe preponderated. After the
[p.221] death of a Sherif, his relative, whether son, brother, or
cousin, &c. who had the strongest party, or the public voice in his
favour, became the successor. There were no ceremonies of installation
or oaths of allegiance. The new Sherif received the complimentary visits
of the Mekkawys; his band played before the door, which seems to be the
sign of royalty here, as it is in the black country; and his name was
henceforth inserted in the public prayers. Though a succession seldom
took place without some contest, there was little bloodshed in general;
and tho[u]gh instances of cruelty sometimes occurred, the principles of
honour and good faith which distinguish the wars of the Desert tribes,
were generally observed. The rivals submitted, and usually remained in
the town, neither attending the levees of their victorious relative, nor
dreading his resentment, after peace had once been settled. During the
war, the rights of hospitality were held as sacred as they are in the
Desert; the dakhyl, or refugee, was always respected:
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