Page 70 - UAE Truncal States
P. 70

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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