Page 59 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Two

is within this tribal confederation considerable difference in the way
of life between those sections which rely on the sea for their
livelihood and those who are predominantly nomadic. And yet this
tribal confederation was the basis for the creation of a nation-state
within a large and geographically very varied territory.33 The
coherence of the confederation was due to certain characteristics of
the Bani Yas. First of all, the subsections and allied groups did not
live separate existences; they shared, mingled and intermarried in
the villages of the Llwa, they had arrangements by which the nomads
of one section cared for the camels of another section, and those who
had no pearling boats of their own went on the boats of others.
Secondly, most families of the Bani Yas had some members living
permanently in Abu Dhabi town, so that all the sections mixed there
easily at all times. During the summer the Liwa and Dalma Island
were further meeting points where the common bonds were yearly
renewed by close contact and common concern for the few sources of
livelihood. The interchange between Abu Dhabi, the Llwa, Dalma
and Buraimi, although it meant time-consuming journeys by camel or
sailing boat, was by necessity very frequent, with daily new arrivals
and departures in all these places particularly before and after the
date harvest and the pearling season. It is therefore not surprising
that it became a characteristic of the Shaikhdom of Abu Dhabi that
their ruler could almost without fail rely on the loyalty of all Bani Yas
sections in times of war.34 This in turn meant that he was invariably
made responsible for and had to stand by any Bani Yas group which
had created or got into trouble. Last but not least the policy of the
Bani Yas not to claim exclusive possession of any of their traditional
ddr, of the wells therein or of the pearling banks near Abu Dhabi’s
coast, resulted in their winning for themselves a number of strong
allies, who in the course of time became undisputably subjects of the
A1 Bu Falah Rulers and eventually citizens of the modern State of
Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
Manasir
The Manasir are, after the Bani Yas, the most important of the tribes
which constitute the local population of the Shaikhdom of Abu
Dhabi. This numerous tribe contributed many fighting men and the
Rulers of Abu Dhabi could usually count on their support; also the
Manasir co-operated closely with some of the Bani Yas in the use of
the scant economic resources.35

34