372 



ARAB TRIBES. 



the rival tribes still occupy separate quarters ; 

 they will not connect themselves by marriage, 

 and they seldom meet without a 6 faction fight.' 

 Even at Zanzibar, where the climate has softened 

 them, they rarely preserve that decency of hate 

 which is due by Arabs of noble strain to here- 

 ditary and natural enemies. 



Here the principal clan of the Hinawi tribe 

 is the Harisi (plural Hurs), under Abdullah bin 

 Salim and Husayn bin Mahommed : once 

 flourishing in Oman, it now barely numbers 

 15,000 sabres, and in the Island it may amount 

 to 300, mostly merchants and wealthy planters. 

 The other divisions are the Bii (or Ayyal) Sa'id ; 

 the ruling race which forms one large family — 

 that of the Sayyid. There are also about a dozen 

 of the Benu Lamk, whose preponderance in Oman 

 was broken down by the Yu'rabi Imams. The 

 minor sections of the Hinawi are the Benu Yas 

 of Sar; the Benu Menasir near Sharjah ; the 

 Benu Ali ; the Benu Baktashi ; the Benu 

 Uhaybi ; the Benu el Hijri ; the Benu Kalban ; 

 the Benu el Abri; and the Benu bu Hasan, 

 generally pronounced Bohsan. A few of the 

 Benu Dafri or Dafil at times visit the Island : 

 they are professional carriers, and therefore they 

 have no blood feuds with other tribes. Besides, 



