'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎69v] (143/180)

Bainunah is doubtful; but it is probably on the east while Bainunah is on the west
and the distances of the two from the sea are similar. The wells of Kafaifah, it
may be added, seem to be near the point at which the tracts of Bainunah and
Dhafrah proper meet one another and the tract of Taff,
Following then the opinion which seems most worthy of acceptance we may
provisionally arrange the divisions of Dhafrah as follows:—
1. Along the coast a strip 15 miles wide, which for nearly 100 miles on the
east is called Taff, and for 50 miles on the west Taff Bainunah.
2. Behind the coastal strip a belt 40 miles wide composed of Dhafrah proper,
Bainunah and Qufa: of these Dhafrah proper (30 miles broad) adjoins
Taff throughout its length, and Bainunah (20 miles broad) adjoins Taff
Bainunah, also throughout its length, while Qufa fills the space remaining
on the south of these two.
3. Inland of Qufa, and like Qufa roughly parallel to the sea, another belt
measuring about 175 miles in length and perhaps 20 miles in breadth:
this belt is Liwah.
Physical characteristics. —The maritime tracts of Taff and Taff Bainunah
contain no features of interest except a few small hills, which are possibly volcanic.
The shore is stony, and at a little distance inland swamps are said to exist, inter
spersed with stony mounds. Vegetation is chiefly Abal and Hams.
Dhafrah proper and Bainunah are said to resemble one another in character:
they form, apparently, a fairly level expanse of heavy red sand or reddish soil with
occasional sand dunes of lighter colour and gravelly patches. Dhafrah proper, at
least, is somewhat higher in level than Taff. Neither tract possesses any trees;
but in Dhafrah proper there is some vegetation of Arta and Hadh, and in Bainunah
the Arta, Markh and Abal are found: both districts afford a considerable amount
of grazing for camels. The wells of Dhafrah proper seem to vary in depth between
1 and 2 fathoms and those of Bainunah between \\ and 7 fathoms, the average in
the case of the latter tract being 3 fathoms.
Qufa is an inhospitable region of sandy ridges with no vegetation except a
few shrubs of Arta and very little water; but the few wells that occur are shallow,
not exceeding 2 fathoms.
Liwah is the most remarkable of all the tracts. Tt consists mainly of white
undulating sand dunes, altogether without vegetation; but it contains over a score
of small depressions, disposed in series or chains from east to west. These
depressions are divided from one another by sandy wastes; but at the bottom of
each depression there is fertile soil, supporting the cultivation of a village which
generally stands upon a sandy eminence near by. These low-lying oases contain
plantations o( date palms, which in a few cases are of considerabTe extent. The
water level in Liwah, doubtless in the depressions, appears to be on the average at
2 fathoms beneath the surface; and except at Tharwaniyah a depth of 4 fathoms
is not, it would seem, ever exceeded.
Throughout Dhafrah, to speak generally, the water of the wells is of fairly
good quality, and not very scarce. The wells themselves are either unlined or
lined only with date sticks and leaves; the only exceptions to the rule appear to
be the Babah well in Bainunah, which is reported to be half lined with masonry,
and a well called Saqar, also in Bainunah but not precisely located, which is said
to be entirely so lined. This peculiarity is no doubt due largely to the shallowness
of the wells, but it also seems to indicate firmness in the soil.
Inhabitants.—-\n the whole of Dhafrah only two tribes are found, the Bani
Yas and the iManasir ; the former are settled rather than nomadic, while the latter
arc altogether Bedouins. Of Liwah they are jointly occupants, but the permanent
villages, called Mahdhar, all belong to the Bani Yas, the settlements of the Manasir
being untenanted except in summer while the date harvest is in progress. Among
the Manasir date plantations are joint tribal property, but with the Bani Yas they
belong to individual owners. The Bani Y'as of Dhafrah are semicivilised; some
of them trade with Abu Dhabi and even Dibai and correspond with those places.
The dwellings of both tribes are huts of date sticks and leaves: the Manasir, when
their sojourn in Liwah is over for the year, close theirs up and stop the adjacent
wells ^ said, with sand. Dhafrah proper is the principal grazing ground of
the Manasir while^Bainunah contains the favourite pastures of the Bani Yas; but
m winter the Manasir range as far west as Qatar and in summer their camels are