File 600/1905 Pt 6 'Aden Hinterland: Upper Yaffai; treaties with Sultan Kahtan and other Chiefs' [‎88v] (172/212)

not know the details of the story, nor are they of importance for present
purposes. The main fact is that the descendants of Sheikh Ali became Sultan
of the Yaffai-as-Saffal, comprising about two-thirds of the whole tribe. The
family is now very numerous, numbering, according to Captain Warneford,
some 400 persons. They form, therefore, what would be called in a Pathan
tribe a “ Khan Khel ” of considerable strength. Jealousies and rivalries are,
of course, rife among so large a number of persons all belonging to a ruling
family, and several of whom are pretenders to the position of Sultan. I
append a genealogical table which shows the principal members of the family,
and their relationship to one another. It will be seen that there are two
branches, viz., the direct descendants of Sheikh Ali Harhara, known as Ahl
Khel Sheikh Ali, and a collateral branch, the descendants of Kahtan, a brother
of Sheikh Ali. Until recently the Sultans appear to have been selected from
the Ahl Sheikh Ali, but the present Sultan, Kahtan-bin-Omar, belongs to the
other branch.
6 . The strength of the Yaffai tribe appears to be greater than we
supposed. Hunter placed that of the Upper Yaffai at 15,000 fighting men.
Captain Warneford, who has had good opportunities for arriving at a conclu
sion, says that the Yaffai themselves compute their fighting strength at
between forty and fifty thousand. He himself thinks they ma^ have as many
as 30,000 fighting men altogether, though this is a maximum estimate. The
fighting strength of the Lower Yaffai is about 10,000 men. Even if the
Yaffai-as-Satfal can only turn out 20,000 to 25,000 men all told, they are a
formidable tribe, though they are not yet so well armed as some of the other
tribes in Southern Arabia.
7. The Yaffai-as-Saffal are sub-divided into five sections as below :—
Fighting strength
about
(1) Mausatta—Nakib Ali Askar ... ... ... 10,000
(2) Dthubi—Sheikh Muhammad Muthanna-bin-Atif Jaber ... 7,000
(3) Muflahi—Sheikh Abdul Rahman ... ... ... 3,000
(4) Bosi—Sheikh Salim-bin-Ali ... ... ... 500
(5) Daudi—Sheikh Saleh-bin-Abdul Rab, A1 Fardi ... ... 500
The above is Captain Warneford’s enumeration, but there is a little doubt
about the Daudi, who may be dependents, and not a regular section of the
tribe.
In addition to the above, there are—
Fighting strength
about
(6) The Shaibi—Sheikh Maneh-bin-AH, As Sakladi ... ... 2,500
The Shaibi, though of Yaffai origin, are dependents of the Mausatta.
They have a number of sub-sections who are more or less at feud with each
other, and they are altogether a very disunited clan.
The dependencies of Yaffa-as-Saffal appear to be—
(1) Kubaten,which adjoins the Shaibi country.
(2) Rayu.
(3) Juban.
(4) Ard-al-had. This district occupies, it is understood, the eastern
portion of Yaffa, and marches with the Homakani tribe of Beda.
8 . The leading Sheikh of the Mausatta, who bears the title of Nakib,
claims to be the actual head of all the Yaffai-as-Saffal, on the ground that he
is the principal Sheikh of the principal section. At the election of a Sultan
the Nakib binds the turban on the head of the latter, and theoretically no
election is complete until this ceremony has been performed. The Sultans have
no direct authority over any of the sections of the Yaffai proper, who claim and
exercise complete independence in the management of their own affairs, and
in settling disputes with each other.
9. The election of Kahtan-bin-Omar to the position of Sultan was
not accepted by the Mausatta, who have never acknowledged his authority;
and as this section, together with the Shaibi, amounts to about half of the