'Personalities, Arabia' [‎137] (141/374)

137
The Dhafir are foes of the Muteir and are almost always on bad terms
with the Shammar, whom they raid when they are in their spring pastur
ages east of the Nefud. They harry the Darb Zobeidah and hold up the
Emir's caravans from Ha'il to Nejef; indeed the Darb Zobeidah has become
so unsafe that the western pilgrimage road is now almost always chosen
by caravans in preference to it. For the past year, however, the Paramount
Sheikh, Hamud ibn Suweit, has been at peace with Ibn Rashid, though
he is said to have rejected the latter's proposal that he should join him
in aiding 'Ajeimi ibn Sa'dun and the Turks against the British. The
Shammar sub-tribe of the 'Ajil are still hostile to the Dhafir. With the
Anazah they are always at feud, and though the Anazah sheikhs seldom
approach within four or five days' journey of their country, the Dhafir
carry their raids as far north as Shifathah, and west into the Anazah
pastures. They are on good terms with some of the Muntefiq group, of
whom the Budur camp habitually under their protection in the spring, when
the latter go out with their sheep into the desert. But with the Sa'dun
themselves their relations have been anything but cordial, and since 1915
Hamud has definitely sided against 'Ajeimi ; but he has not succeeded
in carrying his whole tribe with him, and the Husein and Dhar'an sections,
as well as other smaller sheikhs of the Samid, have followed 'Ajeimi's lead
against us.
The Dhafir are composed of two main sub-tribes, the Butun and the
Samid, of which the Butun is the more numerous. It is not a homo
geneous tribal unit, but has been formed from sections of other tribes
which have been welded together. The various constituents have pre
served the memory of their origin ; the Suweit and the Beni Husein are
Ashraf of the Hejaz ; the Sa'id, 'Areif, and Beni Khalid, with the Kathir,
who are an offshoot of the Beni Khalid, are Qahtan ; the 'Adwan are
Ahl esh-Shimal, descended from Rabi'ah or Mudhar; the Misamir and the
small Tuluh clans are Anazah; the Rasimi are Shammar; the Mu'aleim
are Beni Tamim, and the Juwasim are from the neighbouring Sebei'.
The important Dhar'an section are 'Abid, that is to say, they spring
from the slaves of some nomad group.
The Dhafir are wholly nomadic and do not engage in any trade.
Their country is sufficiently supplied with wells, and they own large
flocks of sheep, besides being breeders of camels. In religion they are
Sunnis of the Maliki sect. They are well armed with modern rifles, and
may number some 3,000 fighting men. They maintain good relations
with the Sultan of Koweit, and come into Koweit for needful provisions
and utensils. Sections of the tribe near the Koweit territory have occa
sionally paid the Sultan tribute; while in the days of Mohammed er-
Rashid, the western sections of the Dhafir yielded tribute to the Shammar.
The paramount Sheikh, Hamud ibn Suweit, is a man of about 45, intelli
gent, and reckoned a fairly good politician and tribal administrator. His
son, Barghash, is a boy of 17.