cu.xxvii.] Bedotdn Nobility. 235 



These five, they say, have from all time killed a 

 lamb for their guests. Next to these come : 



The Ibu Si'iik of the Jerba Shamiuar. 



The Sheykhs of the Tai.* 



The 11311 Hecleb of the Moiiyaja. 



The Roos of the Mehed. 



The Ibn Mershid of the Gomussa. 



The Sheyklis of the Moali ; 



and others which I cannot enumerate. 



The Ibn Shaalan of the EoaJa have but a noblesse 

 d'epee ; and Jedaan is a iKiTveim. 



These however are but social distinctions. Poli- 

 tically and before the law, all members of a tribe are 

 equal, whether high or low born, rich or poor, the 

 only exceptions to this rule being perhaps certain 

 families who are allowed some small privileges in the 

 distribution of spoils of war. 



To ascend, next, from the individuals composing 

 the tribe to the tribe itself, it may be stated gener- 

 ally that the same sovereignty, which these possess, 

 is possessed also by the tribe. Each tribe, in fact, 

 is a separate nation with its own rights of peace and 

 war, and its own political independence. Some of 

 them, such as the Roala or the Shammar, are strong 

 enough to stand alone, but most remain grouped 

 together by ties of ancient consanguinity or for 

 mutual protection. Thus the Sebaa consists of 



* The family of the Tai Sheykhs and that of the Jerba Shammar 

 are probably equal to the five first mentioned. But I have given 

 them in the order I heard them named among the Anazeh. 



