Page 120 - UAE Truncal States_Neat
P. 120

Administering a Tribal Society

        Daid
        The most important of the villages of the Qasimi Empire which are
        not located on either of the coasts is Daid. Strategically it is important
        because it commands the entrance to the Wadi Slji, which together
        with the Wadi Ham forms the easiest of the natural routes between
        Sharjah and its eastern dependencies. There is abundant grazing in a
        wide area around Daid; “the water supply is excellent and ample,  ” 43
        which makes Daid a place of great economic importance for the
        beduin of the whole region. The date groves form an oasis of about
        one mile in diameter, watered by one falaj which divides into
        channels. According to the Gazetteer the village consisted of about
         140 houses, 70 of which belonged to the settled section of Tanaij, a
         tribe otherwise found chiefly in Rams near Ra’s al Khaimah. The
         Bani Qilab and a subsection of the NaTm, the Khawatir, owned
         between them the remainder of the palm-frond houses; both the
        Tanaij and the Khawatir had fortified mud-brick towers. The main
         characteristic of Daid is that it is the meeting-point of the settled and
         the beduin sections of the three tribes. The shaikhs of 'Ajman and
         Hamrlyah, both belonging to subsections of the Na'Im, own gardens
         in the oasis.44 The fort of the Qawasim overlords, built on the
         standard pattern with two round and two square towers forming its
         four corners, was built across the vital falaj, but the flow of the falaj is
         so strong that it would be difficult to interrupt it forcibly to coerce the
         inhabitants of the village.
           Daid was at the turn of the century a perfect example of a wall’s
         seat. Whoever administered the oasis on behalf of the Ruler of
         Sharjah collected for him dates, which were paid in kind as a royalty
         (100 jirabs in 1906), and the cash derived from the falaj water rates
         (about 228 M.T. Dollars in 1906). The income was not for the use of
         the wali, who was at that time a trusted old negro retainer of the
         Qasimi family, but was remitted to the Ruler of Sharjah.
           The revenues derived from Daid featured largely in the financial
         claims and counter-claims after the deposition of Shaikh Khalid bin
         Ahmad of Sharjah in November 1924. In June 1927 an agreement was
         reached between him and his nephew the new Ruler, Sultan bin
         Saqr, regarding compensation and upkeep of Khalid’s family.45 The
         latter obtained in this agreement certain subsidies, the fort of Daid as
         the residence of his and his brother 'Abdullah’s families, and
         permission to collect for his own use the customary and other
         revenues in Daid. Khalid did not take up residence there but
                                                                  95
   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125