'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎327] (346/1050)

BAH-BAH
Wavell says tliat the village of Baharah is supposed to be half-way between
Jiddali and Mecca, but that in his opinion it is very much nearer Jiddah than Mecca.
According to the same authority, " it consists (1909) of a few shops, where provisions
and fodder may be bought, some eating-houses, and kraals for cattle and goats.
There are some date-plantations near by; and a large fort with a garrison, a company or
more, affords the village the much-needed protection. Baharah lies in an open plain
some few miles in width, bounded on the Jiddah side by a range of low stony hills
which run out into sand-dunes to the east. Water seemed fairly plentiful, and was not
noticeably salt.''
bah A rat sharhan—
See Shammar (Jabal).
bah A ri—
See Qatif (Al) (Oasis).
BAHARIMAH (T ribe)—•
See Hajriyin (Tribe).
bah A rinah—
Singular Bahrani. The name of the race or class to which nearly all the Shi'ahs of
the Bahrain Islands of the Hasa and Qatif Oases and of the Qatar promontory belong.
The mistake of supposing that Baharinah means " natives of Bahrain " must be carefully
guarded against; on the contrary the Sunni inhabitants of Bahrain repudiates the
name of " Bahrani" and describes the class to which he himself belongs as " Ahl-al-
Bahrain." As employed along the western coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the term Bahrani
is practically a synonym for a Shi'ah Muhammadan whose mother tongue is Arabic.
Numbers and distribution. —In Bahrain the number of the Baharinah appears to be
about 38,000 souls ; in the Hasa Oasis, if we include the Shi'ah population of the towns
of Hofuf and Mubarraz, they are about 30,000 persons ; in the Qatif Oasis, inclusive of
Qatif Town, they are perhaps 28,000 souls. In Qatar they have about 60 houses at
I)5hah and 40 at Wakrah, representing in all about 500 heads. Some of the tribe have
emigrated at various times to other parts of the Gulf, especially to some of the districts
of^fche Persian Coast, such as Dashti and perhaps Dashtistan ; about 250 Baharinah are
Settled at Sohar Town in the Sultanate of 'Oman and about 600 at the towns of Abu
Dhabi and Dibai in Trucial 'Oman ; and the total number of the Baharinah cannot now
be assessed at much less than 100,000 persons.
Religion and character. —All Baharinah are Shl'ahs. They are unwarlike in character
and tend to peaceful pursuits, the richer among them living by trade and the poorer
by husbandry, pearl diving and various manufactures. They are as a rule inferior in
the methodical work of business and in book-keeping to the 'Omams and Indians settled
amongst them, but they excel in handicraft, e.g., as weavers, workers in metal, wood,
leather, etc., and as tailors and dyers. A great many Baharinah emigrated from Bahrain
to the island of Qais, on the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , between 1850-60.
Leading families. —The Baharinah have no tribal cohesion or organization, but some
of their leading families are distinguished by names. The prominent Bahrani families
of the Hasa and Qatif Oases, if we except the 'Alaiwat, who are found at 'Anik in
the Qatif Oasis, and the Al Bin-Ghanim, whose Shaikhs ruled Qatif Town until they
were subverted by the Wahhabis—have not been ascertained ; but among the wealthier
and more important in the Bahrain Principality are the following:—
'An'abirah ^ Majld (Al)
'Asafirah
(or Al 'Asfur)
'Asakirah
Ghabarah
Hadadid
Muslim (Al)
Rafyah (Al)
Rahmah (Al)
and
Suwar (Al Bin-)
besides numerous families of Saiyids who are now recognised as Baharinah. The above
are mostly large families of which branches are found in different parts of Bahrain. The
Baqaqalah of Bahrain—but not those of Qatar who are Sunnis — are considered to be
Baharniah ; so are the Hamidah.