Bedouin shaykhs in Homs, Syria
The other day Hazaim told me very casually, almost in passing, that the Shaykh of the Sba’ah (‘Anazah) tribe Ma’jun Ibn Hudaib was his uncle’s best friend, and that Hazaim knew him personally. He even sent me his picture. He also told me that the Shaykh of the Gmassah (‘Anazah) tribe, Rakan Ibn Mirshid, lived in his neighborhood in Homs, and that he also knew his children.
It reminded me of the time my late mother, who also grew up in Homs, mentioned in a similarly casual way that Trad al-Milhim, the Shaykh of the Hssinah (also ‘Anazah) tribe, was a frequent guest at their family home. Her father was a colonel in the police force. I assume Trad al-Milhim was coming to settle issues with the law.
That is so exciting, to have such a good possible entrée into their confidence. I am vicariously thrilled for you.
Up until the 1960s and 1970s, Bedouin shaykhs in Syria tended to live very simple lives as ordinary citizens, before the Saudi Arabia ruling family coopted them and enticed them to move to Saudi Arabia, with subsidies, grants, Saudi citizenship and other material incentives. The majority of the ‘Anazah bedouins now live in Saudi and number in the hundreds of thousands, so for the Saudi royal family, having these Syrian Anazah shaykhs living in their country and being accountable to and dependent on Saudi largesse is a matter of government strategy.
Remember, the Saudi royals themselves hail from a marginal family of settled, petty ‘Anazah shaykhs. At least three dozen Anazah families seen as superior to them in rank, prestige and blood.