Page 68 - UAE Truncal States
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The Tribal Structure of Society
         camels. The decisive factor for forging together and keeping intact
         such strong links between the various groups which shared this
         pattern of migration and for growing into a confederation using one
         name, was most probably the establishment of a centre close to
         Dhafrah where they all spent the summer. This centre is the string of
         Llwa oases, where water from dew and occasional rain gathering in
         the huge sand-dunes is sufficient to provide relatively sweet water in
         quantities enough to raise dale palms and to water large herds of
         camels in the vicinity. A legend which is told by some Bani Yas may
         point to the fact that the newly found (or redeveloped) settlement
         area, the Llwa, became so strong a common bond that a common
         tribal leader was also recognised, most likely at a time when the
         tribes’ new settlements had to be defended against invaders. This
         legend has it that someone by the name of Yas dug the first water-
         hole in the Llwa and all the tribes who came to use it called
         themselves after his well. For most of these beduin groups it was
         probably the first time in generations that they had built themselves
         a home near their date gardens to which they returned at least during
         the date harvest in the summer.50
           The occupation of Dhafrah with the Lfwa oases was a gradual
         process which may have coincided with the formation of the Bani
         Yas confederation. Its beginning cannot be dated with accuracy but
         there are several records which confirm that the Bani Yas were
         certainly in possession of most of the territory of the contemporary
 I       Stale of Abu Dhabi by the middle of the 17th century. The Arabic
         chronicle with the misleading title of Kashf al Ghumma (‘‘Dispeller of
         Grief”), which describes the history of Oman from the earliest times
         until the year 1728 AD, mentions an incident occurring some time
         after 1633 when Nasir bin Qahtan raided every year the borderlands
         of Oman, and the wali of the Imam of Oman, together with a force of      !i
         beduin and settled tribesmen, fell upon him in a fort in Dhafrah
         where the Bani Yas had afforded refuge to Nasir.00 The fact that the
         Bani Yas possessed forts in Dhafrah, which could only be in the Llwa
         part of it because of readily available water supply, is mentioned
         elsewhere, and another source confirms the theory that the Bani Yas
         had become the dominant tribe in that area more than three hundred
         years previously.61

         Increasing presence on the coast
         The earlier generations of the Bani Yas who lived in and around
         Dhafrah were beduin, as had been their fathers in and around Najd.
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