Suhmata
Suhmata
سحماتا Soukhmata[1] Sahmatah, Samueth, Samahete | ||
---|---|---|
Etymology: possibly from "black"[2] | ||
Geopolitical entity Mandatory Palestine | | |
Subdistrict | Acre | |
Date of depopulation | 30 October 1948[5] | |
Area | ||
• Total | 17,056 dunams (17.056 km2 or 6.585 sq mi) | |
Population (1945) | ||
• Total | 1,130[3][4] | |
Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces | |
Current Localities | Tzuriel,[6] Hosen[6] |
Suhmata (
History
Separated from the neighboring village of
The
Ottoman era
In the late
In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as "a village, built of stone, containing about 400 Moslems, situated on [a] ridge and [the] slope of [a] hill, surrounded by figs, olives and arable land; there are several cisterns and a spring near.[18]
An elementary school for boys was founded in the village in 1886.[12] A population list from about 1887 showed Sahmata to have about 1,500 inhabitants; 1,400 Muslims and 100 Christians.[19]
British Mandate era
During the Mandatory Palestine, an agricultural school was established.[12] The schools, a mosque, a church, two rain-fed irrigation pools, existed up until 1948.[12]
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Submata had a population of 632; 589 Muslims and 43 Melkite Christians,[20][21] increasing in the 1931 census to 796; 752 Muslims and 44 Christians, in a total of 175 houses.[22]
Over 70 percent of the village land was rocky and uncultivated, covered with oak and wild pears. The agricultural land was planted with wheat, barley, maize, tobacco, and vegetables. Suhmata's tobacco had a reputation for quality.[12]
In the 1945 statistics, Suhmata had a population of 1,130; 1060 Muslims and 70 Christians,[3] with a total of 17,056 dunams of land.[4] Of this, a total of 3,290 dunums was allocated to cereals; 1,901 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards,[23] while 135 dunams were built-up (urban) area.[24]
Israeli period
During
A naming committee established by the Jewish National Fund, which operated from 1948 to 1951 until its incorporation into a Governmental Naming Committee set up by Israel, renamed Suhmata "Hosen", meaning "Strength." Meron Benvenisti writes that the committee chose this symbolic new name after determining that there was no known Jewish historical connection to the village of Suhmata.[27]
In 1992 the village site was described: "The site is covered with debris and broken walls from fallen stone houses, all of which are scattered among the olive trees that grow there. A castle and a wall that were probably built by the Crusaders still stand. The castle is on an elevated spot on the eastern side of the site, and the wall encloses the western quarter. The surrounding lands are partly forested and partly used as pasture."[6]
Suhmata's former inhabitants founded a village committee in 1993 which organizes volunteer efforts. The village committee also conducted a survey of the displaced population from Suhmata and their distribution inside Israel.[28] The village was also the focus of the 1996 play Sahmatah by Hanna Eady and Ed Mast.[29]
See also
- Depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel
- List of villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict
References
- ^ Guérin, 1880, p. 74
- ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 54
- ^ a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 5
- ^ a b c Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 41
- ^ Morris, 2004, xvii, village #64. Also provides cause of depopulation.
- ^ a b c Khalidi, 1992, p. 30
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. 76
- ^ a b c Pringle, 1997, p. 118
- ^ Lerer, 2008, Zuri’el Archived 2012-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Lerer, 2009, Suhmata Archived 2012-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Makhul, Naji 1977, (Acre and its villages since Ancient Times. In Arabic.) p.134, quoted in Khalidi, p.29
- ^ a b c d e f Khalidi, 1992, p.29
- Department of Antiquities in Palestine 3 (2) pp. 92-105, quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 29
- ^ Dauphin, 1998, p. 636
- ^ Strehlke, 1869, pp. 11-12, No. 11; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. 156, No. 587; cited in Ellenblum, 2003, p. 45, note #10.
- ^ Ellenblum, 2003, p. 45, note #10.
- ^ Guérin, 1880, pp. 74-75, as translated in Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 192
- ^ Conder & Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.149
- ^ Schumacher, 1888, p. 191
- ^ Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Acre, p. 36
- ^ Barron, 1923, Table XVI, p. 50
- ^ Mills, 1932, p. 108
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 81
- ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 131
- ^ "Welcome to Suhmata". Palestine Remembered. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
- ^ Mansour, 2004, p. 220.
- ^ Benvenisti, 2000, pp. 34-35
- ^ Masalha and Said, 2005, p. 98
- ^ Americans for Middle East Understanding Archived 2006-02-13 at the Wayback Machine February - March 1999
Bibliography
- Barron, J.B., ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
- ISBN 0-520-21154-5.
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 1. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- ISBN 0-860549-05-4.
- ISBN 9780521521871.
- Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945.
- Guérin, V. (1880). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 3: Galilee, pt. 2. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
- Hadawi, S. (1970). Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine. Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center.
- ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
- Lerer, Yoav (2008-12-18). "Zuri'el" (120). Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - Lerer, Yoav (2009-06-21). "Suhmata, Survey Final Report" (121). Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - Mansour, Atallah (2004). Narrow Gate Churches: The Christian Presence in the Holy Land Under Muslim and Jewish Rule. Hope Publishing House. ISBN 9781932717020.
- ISBN 9781842776230.
- Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- ISBN 0-521-00967-7.
- Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- ISBN 0521-46010-7.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1856). Later Biblical Researches in Palestine and adjacent regions: A Journal of Travels in the year 1852. London: John Murray.
- Röhricht, R. (1893). (RRH) Regesta regni Hierosolymitani (MXCVII-MCCXCI) (in Latin). Berlin: Libraria Academica Wageriana.
- Schumacher, G. (1888). "Population list of the Liwa of Akka". Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund. 20: 169–191.
- Strehlke, Ernst, ed. (1869). Tabulae Ordinis Theutonici ex tabularii regii Berolinensis codice potissimum. Berlin: Weidmanns.
External links
- Abnaa' Suhmata, "Sons of Suhmata", the website of the village committee established in 1993.
- Welcome to Suhmata at Palestineremembered
- Suhmata, Zochrot
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 3: IAA, Wikimedia commons
- Suhmata is here, 29/10/2005, Zochrot.
- Hazneh Sama’an (Umm Afif), Suhmata, testimony, 2005, Zochrot.
- Suhmata at Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
- Suhmata photos, Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh
- http://www.yairgil.com/051029-zochrot/index.htm (29/10/2005)
- http://jacobk9.tripod.com/id37.html (29/10/2005)