Howeitat

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Huwaytat
الحويطات
The Negev, Sinai, Sharqia
Parent tribeBanu Judham
LanguageArabic (Northwest Arabian dialect)
ReligionSunni Islam
1838 map of the Red Sea region; the Howeitat are marked with a red arrow in the north section, to the east of the Gulf of Aqaba.
1838 map of the Red Sea region; the Howeitat are marked with a red arrow in the north section, to the east of the Gulf of Aqaba.

The Howeitat or Huwaitat (

Arabic: الحويطات al-Ḥuwayṭāt, Northwest Arabian dialect: ál-Ḥwēṭāt) are a large Judhami tribe that inhabits areas of present-day southern Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula and Sharqia governate in Egypt, the Negev, and northwestern Saudi Arabia
. The Howeitat have several branches, notably the Ibn Jazi, the Abu Tayi, the Anjaddat, and the Sulaymanniyin, in addition to a number of associated tribes.

History

Formation

Howeitat nomads were recorded as the only tribesmen living in the southern, inland area of the

Wahhabite-associated bedouin of central Arabia; by the late 18th century the Howeitat were already laying claim to areas around Aqaba and northwards;[3] they also laid claim to land in Egypt. They developed into a partly settled tribe, combining farming in the fertile areas of al-Sharat with pastoralism, but early in the 20th century were rendered more or less nomadic by the activities of two rival shaikhs, Abtan ibn Jazi and Auda Abu Tayi, who concentrated on raiding, collection of tribute and camel-herding.[4]

Role during the Arab Revolt

Auda abu Tayi, chief of the Howeitat tribe, offers allegiance to King Faisal in 1917.

The abu Tayi subclan of the tribe were supporters of the

Royal Jordanian Land Force
.

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,

Mohammed Bin Salman promised the tribe in 2016 to be a part of the Neom project along with a share in the development and improvement of the area. However, in 2020 the Howeitat tribe was instead forced to leave their land without a place to stay in exchange.[7] In May of 2023, the Saudi Arabian government convicted six members of the Howeitat tribe of terrorism due to their opposition to the planned city's development. Three of the convicted men received the death penalty, while the other three received sentences ranging 27 to 50 years. UN Special Rapporteurs working on behalf of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights dispute the veracity of the charges and sentencing, stating that the men were "arrested for resisting forced evictions", along with alleging torture of the detained.[8][9]

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.

— Richard Francis Burton[10]

They are also mentioned in T. E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom[11] and the film Lawrence of Arabia.

References

  1. ^ a b Bakhit, Muhammad Adnan. (1982) The Ottoman Province of Damascus in the Sixteenth Century. Beirut: Libraire du Liban. p. 194.
  2. ^ Harris, G. Jordan: its people, its society, its culture, HRAF, 1958, p.56
  3. ISBN 1-86064-331-0
    , pp.26-27
  4. ISBN 1-84511-138-9
    , p.162
  5. ^ Teitelbaum, J. (2001) The Rise and Fall of the Hashimite Kingdom of Arabia, Hurst, p.92
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Saudi Arabia: UN experts alarmed by imminent executions linked to NEOM project". OHCHR. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Burton, R. The Land of Midian, Chapter 5.
  11. ^ 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

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