'File 8/62 IV PRINCIPAL SHAIKHS & TRIBES OF OMAN.' [‎27r] (53/282)

Whichever is true, as has been shov/n in these notes, the Sultan
appears to have encouraged all the* loaders to visit him at
Muscat in 1948. Ho has also tightened up on religious
observances and retarded many possible developments since;
oil in particular, and has endeavoured to build up a reputation
for religious orthodoxy.
In the meantime (duly 1950) the Imam is reported to be in
excellent health and to be looking much younger than his 72
years. Khalil with which he completes his name is a sub
section of the Ruwal a#
YAh SA t AD
The Yal Sa’ad are reckoned as numerically the second
largest tribe in Oman. They live in an almost solid block
around el Khadra and Suv/aik on the Batinah coast, with their
capital somewhat inland at El Batha. Their other big villages
are Mladdah, Tharmad and Bu Abali. The present population is
about ten thousand and they may possess as many as six thousand
rifles. Some are Bedouins, wild and warlike, and some are
said to be famous for slaving, and still to engage in kidnapping
from Mekran and Africa. For the most part they are settled and
own extensive date gardens, and peaceably inclined. Many are
wealthy and engage in trade with Africa and India. Their
Tamimah is a comparatively young man of about thirty living at
el Batha, named Hamad bin Hilal bin Hamad. He succeeded his
father about three years ago- Another Shaikh of the sub-section
Yal bu Rashaid, named Khalid bin Salim bin Khalid lives at el
Khadra. Shaikh Hamad visited the Sultan in 1940, and received
Rs. 2,000/-. The tribal attitude to the Sultan and British
is good. They appear to have no special enemies and have not
been at war with any other tribe for the last thirty years;
nor have they any named allies.
AL BU SAID
This is the tribe of the Sultans of Muscat and Oman.
The present Sultan is head of it and their Tamimah. The
people are scattered and number about two thousand, with about
four hundred rifles outside the Sultan's military and personal
resources. Most of them are poor and employed in cultivation.
Some are goldsmiths, especially in Nizwa and Manah. The
tribal capital is Adam and small settlements are found in Manah,
Nizwa, Izki, Samail, Sohar, Sib, Boshar, Muttrah and, of course,
the Sultan's relations in Muscat. About three hundred are
settled in Zanzibar as cultivators, and some as traders. The
Sultan appears to have appointed many Walis from this tribe.
They are allied with the Janabah and Dura and do not appear
to be at feud with any tribe. The title "Saiyid" is officially
reserved to the Sultan and his close relatives, though many
use it.
SHARA
This is the oldest tribe of the three tribes in Dhofar
District, and may be aboriginal. The people speak a dialect
called Kazrat (so named by the Arabs from its "sizzling" sound).
The people are completely primitive and wear few clothes, living,
except for a few in Salalah, exclusively in caves in the Samhan
hills. They have a reputation for thieving and treachery, but
at present seem to be living quietly enough. Crime is in
fact