During My Stay At Aaere News Arrived There, That A Body Of
One Hundred And Twenty Druses Had Left The Western Mountains, And Were
Coming To Settle In Haouran.
The Pasha of Damascus has entrusted to the Druses of the Haouran, the
defence of the neighbouring villages against such of the Arabs as may be
at war with him; but the Druses perform this service very badly:
They
are the secret friends of all the Arabs, to whom they abandon the
villages of the plain, on the condition that their own brethren are not
to be molested; and their Sheikhs receive from the Arabs presents in
horses, cattle, and butter. While at Aaere I witnessed an instance of
the good understanding between the Druses and the Arabs Serdie, whom I
have already mentioned as having been at war with the Pasha, at the time
of my visit to the Haouran: seeing in the evening some Arabs stealing
into the court-yard of the Sheikh's house, I enquired who they were, and
was told that they were Serdie, come in search of information, whether
any more troops were likely to be sent against them from Damascus. It is
for this kind of treachery that the Fellahs in the Haouran hate the
Druses.
[p.306] The authority both of the Druse and Turkish village Sheikh is
very limited, in consequence of the facility with which the Fellahs can
transport themselves and families to another village. I was present
during a dispute between a Christian Fellah and a Druse chief, who
wished to make the former pay for the ensuing year at the rate of the
same number of Fedhans that he had paid for the preceding year, though
he had now one pair of oxen less. After much wrangling, and high words
on both sides, the Christian said, "Very well, I shall not sow a single
grain, but retire to another village;" and by the next morning he had
made preparation for his departure; when the Sheikh having called upon
him, the affair was amicably settled, and a large dish of rice was
dressed in token of reconciliation. When disputes happen between Druses,
they are generally settled by the interference of mutual friends, or by
the Sheikhs or their respective families, or by the great chiefs; or
failing these, the two families of the two parties come to blows rather
than bring their differences before the court of justice at Damascus.
Among the Turks litigations are, in the last extremity, decided by the
Kadhi of Damascus, or by the Pasha in person. The Christians often bring
their differences before the tribunal of priests or that of the
Patriarch of Damascus, and before the Kadhi in times when it is known
that Christians can obtain justice, which is not the case under every
governor.
The Bedouins of the Haouran are of two classes; those who are resident,
and those who visit it in the spring and summer only. The resident Arabs
are the Fehily [Arabic], Serdie [Arabic], Beni Szakher [Arabic], Serhhan
[Arabic]; the Arabs of the mountain Haouran, or Ahl el Djebel [Arabic],
and those of the Ledja [Arabic]. By resident, I do not mean a fixed
residence in villages, but that their wanderings are confined to the
Haouran, or to some particular districts of it. Thus the four first
mentioned move through every part of the country from Zerka up to the
plains of Ard
[p.307]Zeikal, according to their relations with other tribes, their own
affairs, and the state of pasturage in the different districts. The Beni
Szakher generally encamp at the foot of the western mountains of Belka
and the Heish, the Serhhan near them, and the Fehily and Serdie in the
midst of the cultivated districts, or at a short distance from them,
according to the terms they are upon with the Pasha.[When I was in the
Haouran the Fehliy were encamped near the Szaffa, the Beni Szakher near
Fedhein, the Serhhan at the foot of the Belka, and the Serdie near Om
Eddjemal.] The Ahl el Djebel move about in the mountain; those of the
Ledja seldom venture to encamp beyond their usual limits in that
district. But I have spoken more largely of these tribes and their
mutual interests in another place. The Fehily and Serdie are called Ahl
el Dyrel, or national Arabs, and pay tribute to the Pasha, who, however,
is often at war with them for withholding it, or for plundering his
troops or the Fellahs.
If the Pasha happens to be at war with other tribes, they are bound to
join his troops; but in this they are guided entirely by the advantage
which they are likely to derive from the contest. They receive Khone
from all the villages of the Haouran, the Djolan, and many of those in
the Djebel Adjeloun.
The Ahl el Djebel and the Arabs el Ledja are kept in more strict
dependence upon the Pasha than the other tribes; both are subject to an
annual tribute, which is levied on each tent according to the wealth of
its owner; this is collected from the Arabs el Ledja by the Sheikh of
the Fellahs, and ascends from ten to sixty piastres for each tent. It
seldom happens that the Arabs el Djebel prove rebels, but those of the
Ledja often with-hold the tribute, in the confidence that the recesses
of their abode cannot he forced; in this case nothing makes them yield
but want of
[p.308]water, when their own springs failing, they are obliged to
approach the perennial sources of the Loehf.
The Arabs of the Djebel Haouran are the shepherds of the people of the
plains, who entrust to them in summer and winter their flocks of goats
and sheep, which they pasture during the latter season amongst the rocks
of the mountains. In spring the Arabs return the flocks to their owners,
who sell a part of them at Damascus, or make butter from the milk during
the spring months.
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