'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎678] (733/1050)

678
HADHEAMAUT
similar village, and El Hafa is another thriving village on the coast from which 9,000
cwt. of frankincense is exported annually, principlly to Bombay.
The Townsmen are the free inhabitants of the towns and villages as distinguished from
the Seyyids and the tribesmen ; they do not carry arms, but are the working members of
the community, merchants, citizens, cultivators, and servants, and are entirely dependent
on the tribes and chiefs under whose protection they live, and it is to be noted that taxes
fall almost exclusively on them.
The Servile class contains a large African element, brought over formerly when the
slave trade flourished on this coast. They follow the profession of their masters— the
slaves of a member of a tribe carry arms or cultivate the fields ; those of a townsman
follow the occupation of the master. As in all Mohammedan countries, they are generally
well treated and often rise to positions of trust.
A large number of Arabs from Hadhramaut go abroad; many of the Kaiti take service
in the irregular troops of Hyderabad, and emigration to the Dutch colonies in Java and
Sumatra has also gone on since the beginning of the nineteenth century. On the other
hand, a large number of Parsee and British Indian traders have established themselves
in the Hadhramaut parts, which carry on a considerable coasting trade with the Red Sea
and Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
The combatant portion of the population is composed of bands of irregulars and con
sists generally of the members of the tribes and their families who know all the use of
arms. Some chiefs have in addition a kind of particular and more disciplined guard
and corps of armed slaves. Thus the Jemadar has an army, though somewhat irregular,
of about 5,000 men and 1,500 slaves, which is mainly in garrison in the different towns
which recognize his authority ; they are lodged and nourished at his expense and receive
a small pay. The 4 Lord' of Saiyun has also about 1,000 armed slaves. There is no
cavalry in the Hadhramaut.
Of government administration as a whole, in spite of the comparative homogeneity of
the region, in the usually accepted sense of the term, there is none. The tribal lords
have no care regarding what is considered in Europe as the duties of government. Edu
cation, police, and public works are left entirely to private intiative, from which
it results that the two last are almost entirely non-existent. Instruction alone,
in a comparative sense, flourishes, and that only among the Seyyids and Towns
men. There are some schools for so-called primary, secondary, and higher instruction ;
in the two former the teaching is almost exclusively confined to language, grammar, and
religion. The chief centre of higher instruction is at Saiyun, where the school,
known by the name Robat, is a sort of annexe to the Great Mosque, and where there are
about 100 students who receive free board and lodging and 300 outside students who
pay fees of varying amounts. Here, too, the teaching is confined to the intensive study
of grammar, the law, and theology, to the almost entire exclusion of the so-called modern
sciences, astronomy (as interpreted by the Arabs) alone excepted. The study of medi
cine, among others, is entirely and absolutely non-existent.
The Law and Magistracy. The influence of the Seyyids is a powerful curb on any
oppression by the Moqaddams or tribal lords, and in the Hadhramaut there is a suffi
ciently independent magistrature. The Seyyids have the greatest interest that the
Mussalman law is honoured and respected, because the law and religion are one— the
decadence of religion would inevitably bring about the loss of that superstitious respect
which the people have for them as descendants of the prophet.
Each town or village of any importance has a Qadi with a Sub-Qadi (suppliant) for
the country district round about. The Qadis are nominated by the Moqaddams, who
all the same have recourse to the Seyyids and renowned savants before fixing on their
choice ; Sub-Qadis are nominated by the Qadis. The Qadis have both civil and criminal
jurisdiction, and base their decisions on the works of the jurists of the Shafei rite. Judg
ments must be drawn up in writing and signed and sealed by the Qadi by whom delivered,
but can only be put into execution on authorization by the Moqaddam, who, however,
uses this prerogative but rarely. The jurisdiction of the Sub-Qadis is limited to marriage
and other acts relating to family life, this being explained by the fact that the majority of
the inhabitants of the country rarely have recourse to the judge in their general affairs.
Differences between persons of the same family are in general adjusted by the " Abu' "
and differences between persons belonging to entirely different families by the Moqad-