Howeitat
Huwaytat الحويطات | |
---|---|
Parent tribe | Banu Judham |
Language | Arabic (Northwest Arabian dialect) |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
The Howeitat or Huwaitat (
History
Formation
Howeitat nomads were recorded as the only tribesmen living in the southern, inland area of the
Role during the Arab Revolt
The abu Tayi subclan of the tribe were supporters of the
Present-day status and Saudi displacement
Nowadays, the Howeitat tribe has largely given up its nomadic lifestyle, and settled into villages.[6] On 13 April 2020 a Howeitat man named Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti posted videos online announcing that Saudi security forces were trying to evict him and other members of the tribe from their historic homeland to make way for the development of Neom.[6] Alya Abutayah Alhwaiti, a Saudi human rights activist also of the Howeitat tribe, circulated the videos.[6] In the videos Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti said he would defy the eviction orders though he expected Saudi authorities would plant weapons in his house to incriminate him.[6]
He was later killed by Saudi security forces, who claimed he had opened fire on them.[6] This version of events was disputed by Alya Abutayah Alhwaiti who said that he did not own firearms.[6] His funeral was held near the village of al-Khoraibah and was well attended despite the presence of Saudi security forces.[6]
Eight cousins of Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti have been arrested for protesting against the eviction order but Alya Abutayah Alhwaiti said that she and human rights activists in the west hoped to challenge the arrests.[6] Alhwaiti says that the Howeitat are not opposed to the development of Neom, but do not want to be evicted from their traditional homeland.[6] Alya Abutayah Alhwaiti says she has received death threats from people she says are supporters of Mohammed bin Salman.[6] She reported the threats to British police.[6]
On 6 October 2020,
Language
The Howeitat speak a variety of Bedouin Arabic, specifically Northwest Arabian Arabic.
In literature
The Howeitat are often mentioned in Richard Francis Burton's travelogue The Land of Midian, in which he gives the following account of their origin:
According to their own oral genealogists, the first forefather was a lad called ‘Alayán, who, travelling in company with certain Shurafá ("descendants of the Apostle"), and ergò held by his descendants to have been also a
Shaykh after the demise of his father-inlaw; he drove the Ma’ázah from El-‘Akabah, and he left four sons, the progenitors and eponymi of the Midianite Huwaytát. Their names are ‘Alwán, ‘Imrán, Suway’id, and Sa’id; and the list of nineteen tribes, which I gave in The Gold–Mines of Midian, is confined to the descendants of the third brother.
They are also mentioned in T. E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom[11] and the film Lawrence of Arabia.
References
- ^ a b Bakhit, Muhammad Adnan. (1982) The Ottoman Province of Damascus in the Sixteenth Century. Beirut: Libraire du Liban. p. 194.
- ^ Harris, G. Jordan: its people, its society, its culture, HRAF, 1958, p.56
- ISBN 1-86064-331-0, pp.26-27
- ISBN 1-84511-138-9, p.162
- ^ Teitelbaum, J. (2001) The Rise and Fall of the Hashimite Kingdom of Arabia, Hurst, p.92
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gardner, Frank (23 April 2020). "Saudi tribe challenges crown prince's plans for tech city". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ^ "Neom: Ancient Saudi tribe in danger of 'disappearing off face of the earth' to make way for vanity project". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia: UN experts alarmed by imminent executions linked to NEOM project". OHCHR. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ Jankowicz, Mia. "Saudi Arabia is planning to execute three local tribe members who opposed its futuristic Neom-megacity project, UN experts warn". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
- ^ Burton, R. The Land of Midian, Chapter 5.
- ^ Lawrence, T.E. (1935). Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. pp. 225, 229, 233.
External links
Media related to Huwaitat Tribe at Wikimedia Commons