Page 142 - UAE Truncal States_Neat
P. 142

Administering a Tribal Society

         their production in the LTwa. During 1952-4, when locusts had
         earlier invaded the LTwa, none of the producers came up to the nisab
         of 10 jirabs, and the Manasir date gardens had not been taxed for
         decades—possibly because none produced more than 10 jirabs.
         Therefore the tax collector only visited the oases to the west of
         Tharwamyah. The tax income from gardens in al 'Ain and the other
         villages in the Buraimi oasis did not amount to more than 1,200 jirabs
         in the 1950s. There the annual taxation on dales and crops was
         l/10th of the crop if the plot was watered by a falaj and l/20th if the
         water was drawn from wells.
           The owners of date gardens in every /a/aj-irrigated oasis con­
         tributed to the maintenance of these channels; but not everywhere
         were they asked to pay a tax on the water to the Ruler. In the oasis of
         Daid, for instance, the owners of date gardens paid a tax on dates to
         the Ruler of Sharjah amounting to 100 //robs, but were also taxed on
         the use of the falaj water, for which 228 M.T. Dollars were collected in
         cash per year on behalf of the Ruler.81 Such water tax (also called
         naub) was no longer paid by anyone in Mu'tirid, al Qattarah, Jimi,
         Hlli and al Muwaij'i during the 1950s, because the aflaj in these
         villages were owned by members of the Ruler’s family and in Mas'udi
         water was provided only from wells. The falaj taxation system in al
         'Ain was simplified in the early 1950s and the owners of date gardens
         eventually paid a flat rate of one Rupee for three hours and the
         proceeds were used to maintain existing aflaj and to help to refurbish
         those which had fallen into disrepair.82
           Another taxable asset was domestic animals, and some shaikhs in
         the Trucial States levied this kind of zakah. But the Al Bu Falah did
         not collect taxes on camels or any other livestock. In the rare
         incidents when individuals living in Dhafrah or even in the vicinity of
         Buraimi paid zakah on camels to tax collectors from Saudi Arabia,
         there were either political reasons behind this or it was because it
         was impossible for the scattered beduin families to oppose the well-
         armed party which sometimes accompanied the tax collector.83
         Because only a few very small gardens exist in Bainunah. Dhafrah
         proper and Batn LTwa, the Al Bu Falah did not have any occasion for
         a yearly visit of their tax collectors. For several years the beduin in
         this area, whatever the tribe, paid the customary 10 Rupees per head
         of camel they owned—if and when a tax collector from al Hasa came.
           The collection of taxes or zakah was a very important factor in the
         frontier dispute between Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.84 The

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