Page 70 - UAE Truncal States

The Tribal Structure of Society

Chapters Five and Six. Al this point it suffices to slate that the Bani
Yas of the twentieth century have come to depend for their livelihood
as much on their boats as on their camels and palms, and that in
order to make full use of all three resources they developed a pattern
of seasonal movements for al least part of the family unit.

Sharing the area with other tribes
The dominance of the Bani Yas over all of Dhafrah, which after all
could manifest itself only in the undisputed right to the use of the
area’s resources, was maintained and at times successfully defended
by the tribe under the leadership of successive Rulers from one
family within the Al Bu Falah subsection of the Bani Yas. However,
possession of Dhafrah was never exclusive, for all parts of it were
shared with other tribes—perhaps with the exception of the islands
close to the shore where only some Bani Yas sections knew their way
through the reefs and shallows. The Manasir seem to have for a long
time and at least throughout the 19th century considered the entire
territory of the Bani Yas as their rightful abode as well. Other beduin
tribes such as the 'Awamir, Al Murrah, Manahll and 'Afar came
frequently enough to the area, for the purpose of grazing, to be
counted by some observers as subsections of the Bani Yas.64 Unlike
some other areas of the Arabian Peninsula, which were known
“homelands” of certain tribes, the wells of Dhafrah (but not all of
those actually in the Llwa) are and probably always have been free
for the use of any group of beduin and their camels. They were not the
exclusive possession of the family or tribe who originally dug them.
The extent to which the Bani Yas and other tribes shared the area
and its economic opportunities varied from one group to another. The
Manasir, for instance, have, for as long as their presence in Dhafrah
has been recorded, which is throughout all of the 19th century,
shared this area with the Bani Yas as their principal abode. Being
mostly beduin, their way of life differed in some aspects from that of,
for instance, the Rumaithat subsection of the Bani Yas who owned
no date gardens and were predominantly fishermen. But unlike the
also exclusively beduin 'Awamir, the Manasir did own date gardens
in certain parts of the Llwa, though none were occupied the whole t
year round. Of the tribes with whom the Bani Yas share all or part of
their territory, the Manasir were the first ones to become loyal
subjects to the Al Bu Falah Rulers, certainly as far as contacts with
third parties were concerned. On numerous occasions the Manasir
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