Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates Vol 2 - The Search For Mecca

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. Politically
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 generally
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.