Another original document from the Tahawi website
The Tahawi website maintained by Mohammed al-Tahawy is a wonderful resource of original testimonies about the horses that this Bedouin clan bred throughout the XXth century. A few months ago, English translations of some of the hujaj (Arabic certification documents) of some of the foundation horses acquired by the Tahawi were featured on this website, as part of the collective effort of getting the three Tahawi mares of Egypt’s Hamdan stables accepted in the roster of Al Khamsa, Inc, the North American preservation organization.
Here is a translation of another one of these original documents; this one is not a hujjah but rather a letter written to a member of the Tahawi tribe:
To our beloved brother Faysal Abu Abdallah [al-Tahawi] may God protect him,
Greetings and salutations, and longings to see your beautiful face, and after that, I would like to congratulate you on the advent of this holy month [of Ramadan], may God make you witness its advent again in health and well-being. You had asked us about the lineage of the colt, and in accordance to your demand, we are writing to you about the lineage of his dam and her ancestors, and that of his sire and his ancestors.
The dam of the horse is al-Dahmah al-‘Amiriyah, and her sire is al-Ma’naqi of the horses of Trad al-Siml [actually al-Sbayil, owner of the Ma’naqi Sbaili marbat – EDOUARD] ; and this mare is the dam of the bay mare which you took [from us] last year, and the dam of your horse “Amer”.
As to his sire, he is al-Saqlawi of the horses of Ibn Zubayni, and the sire of al-Saqlawi is [Kuhaylan] al-Dunaysi of the horses of Ibn Dakhin, and the sire of al-Dunaysi is [Kuhaylan] Krush, and this is what you should know.
Please send our greetings to Husayn al-Hilal and remind him not to forget the ‘tent’ which we asked him for, because, from our side, spring is nearing. Our nephew Munzhir sends you his best, and [he sends his best] to Abu Hilal too, and I dedicate my greetings to your father, your brother and anyone who asks about us from your side.
Written by: Ibrahim al-Na’san [al-Barazi] [a seal not a signature]
We the undersigned, witness to what we know, and God is the custodian of what we say
Witnesses [signatures]:
Abd al-Karim al-Ahmad al-Barazi
Muhammad Salim al-Murad
Mukhtar al-Shaqfah
Mundhir al-Barazi
Hasan [illegible middle name] al-Shaqfah
This letter was written by the most prominent Hamawi (as in, from Hama, an ancient city in Central Syria that was a preferred market for the Sba’ah Bedouins) breeders, Ibrahim Agha al-Na’san al-Barazi, the scion and head of the aristocratic Barazi family. Ibrahim al-Na’san had an excellent marbat of Hamdani Simri and of Dahman ‘Amir too.
The witnesses read like a who’s who of Hama’s foremost horsbreeding families: the Shaqfah family owned a prestigious marbat of Kuhaylan al-Mimrah (straight from the owner of the marbat, Ibn Muwayni’ of the Sba’ah); a mare of this marbat was sold to Turkey in the 1920s, (see her hujjah here, click on “Turkish Studbook Report” on the left, then scroll down to AL MUMRUHIYE, towards the end of the page).
The letter shows the extent to which the Tahawi breeders in Egypt went to trace the pedigrees of their horses after they had acquired them from some of the most respected horse breeders in Syria, whether Bedouin or landed aristocrats.
Compare with the Hujjah of the mare AL MUMRUHIYE, below — she is a foundation mare in the Turkish studbook. Note that two witnesses in the hujjah of the Tahawi-imported horse above are also present in the hujjah of Al Mumruhiye below:
AL MUMRUHIYE. Chestnut mare. 1931. Purchased in the city of Hama in 1936.
A testimony about the chestnut Mimrehieh purchased by the Republic of Turkey from Hama by the committee formed from Nurettin Aral Bey and Ihsan Akhun Bey, December 1936, at the age of five years old.
Allah Almighty said in his precious book the Q’uran ‘The love of passion that comes from women and children has attracted mankind, as well as accumulated gold and silver treasures, pedigreed horses, livestock and crops.’ The Asil Horses are blessed and valued for that Allah Almighty mentioned them many times in his precious book.
The Republic of Turkey purchased from Hama by the help of Ali Saif Aldeen from the people of Hama some Asil Horses. Among them is the chestnut Kehaileh Mimrehieh, her family tree is shown above. We witness that her fourth grandmother the bay is the mare of Hilal Bin Adnan from the Sbaah (Anezeh) and her father is Ma’anagi Sbeli. At Anezeh, she gave birth to the chestnut Kehaileh Mimrehieh whose father is the Ma’anagi Sbeli, the horse of Ibn Daffak from Sbaah, and her daughter is the chestnut Kehaileh Mimrehieh. And her daughter is the chestnut Kehaileh Mimrehieh and her father is Ma’anagi Sbeli the horse of Ibn Fnaitel from the Risaleen Anezeh. And her daughter is the grey Kehaileh Mimrehieh and her father is Kehailan Nowaq the horse of Hitmi Bin Roshda from Sbaah Anezeh. And she gave birth to the chestnut mare that the Republic of Turkey purchased from Hama by the committee formed from Nurettin Aral Bey and Ihsan Akhun Bey in December 1936. And her father is the Ma’anegi Sbeli in Hama and as because the mentioned mare is a Kehaileh Mimrehieh from the horses of Ibn Adnan (Anezeh) which are from the famous Asil horses of the Anezeh as shown above, we came with the testimony for Allah and his Messenger.
Witnessed and Signed by:
Mokhtar Mohammad Al Shaqfeh
Hasan Mohammed Al Shaqfeh
Shafeeq Shaqaqi
Saad Aldeen Al Saffaf
Hamdo Al Zakkar
Ahmead Ashour
And others
Dear Edouard
A new article has been added to our website that shows new certificates in addition to contents from the diary of Abdullah Saoud (owner of Dahman Amer, sire of Barakat). It includes a long list of horses imported or bred by him since 1875 and also names of many figures who sold horses to or bought famous race horses from the Tahawies. Thought it might be of interest to you.
Here is the link:
http://www.eltahawysaoud.com/?action=page&cat=12
Best Regards,
Yasser Ghanim
Al-Tahawiya families
tayyib da khabar 3azim awi!
wonderful news!
Hi i find these translations of the old pedigrees so interesting, I am a breeder of Arabian horses of predominantly Crabbet lineage, nothing as exotic as these, but I am trying to preserve a slowly diminishing gene pool.
I am trying to get some information on the mare Mahawillihah bred in the desert by the Yissar as I have a nunber of descendents of her.
The Yassar/Yissar are a nomadic branch of the Tai Bedouins that used to nomadize in Upper Mesopotamia in today’s north east Syria and northern Iraq. They are a core part of the Tai unlike other clans that came to be attached to the Tai later on.