El Nasser: the new information
Back to El Nasser. An earlier post identified his sire, “Douhaymane El Ajarrache”, as a Dahman (or Duhayman) ‘Amer from the al-‘Ajarrash family of the Shammar Bedouin tribe. “Douhayman El Ajarrache” was actively breeding in 1937, when El Nasser’s dam was bred to him to produce El Nasser in May 1938.
Last year – and here is the fresh information I promised – I stumbled on the hujjah (certificate of authenticity) of a desert-bred mare tracing to a stallion that could be “Douhaymane El Ajarrache”. The mare is now dead but she has descendants alive today in Syria, in the very area El Nasser was born, the Upper Jazirah.
Here is the full translation of this mare’s hujjah:
“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, I, the undersigned, ‘Ali al-Blaybil son of Husayn, from the village of Qartaba born in 1915, from the tribal section of al-Yassar, from the the tribe of Tai, testify by God Most High, that the grey mare which I sold to Mr. Nawaf al-Sulayman al-‘Abd al-Rahman in 1950, is from my horses, called Jilfat Stam al-Bulad; the sire of her dam is the horse of Sa’ud al-‘Ajarrash, a chestnut Dahman ‘Amer, and I did that breeding myself. And Gost is bears witness to what I say.
Testifier: Ali Husayn al-Balybil, ID #: […], owner of the marbat of Jilfan Stam al-Bulad, born in Qartaba in 1915 [signature].” [End of translation]
A Dahman ‘Amer, owned by a man of al-‘Ajarrash family, and the grandsire of a mare alive in 1950? Could this be El Nasser’s sire?
Everything matches: the strain, the marbat, the family name of the owner, the geographical area, and the date. The date is particularly illuminating. “Douhayman El Ajarrache” was active in 1937, and the Dahman ‘Amer of al-‘Ajarrash in the above hujjah is the grandsire of a mare that was alive in 1950.
How many Dahman ‘Amer stallions from the al-‘Ajarrash family were there in that small area around 1937? In the best case scenario the two horses are one and the same; in the worst case, they are brothers or close relatives. Given the rarity of the Dahman ‘Amir strain among the Shammar, and the matching dates, I would opt for the first option. What’s your sense?
Well, Edouard, I am known for sometimes being too quick to leap to conclusions :>, but I think there is a good likelihood you are correct.
Is there any way of contacting people of this family today to see if recollections of an important sire such as this might be found?
The family of al-‘Ajarrash is from the clan of al-‘Amar, from the section of al-Thabit (headed by the clan of al-Hadb, the owner of the Davenport import *Abeyah), from the tribe of Shammar.
One could ask Musa’id al-Hadb who is the current head of al-Thabit, to which the family of al-‘Ajarrash belongs to. We have his number.
Turki son of Muhammad son of Turki son of Muhammad son of Hayshan son of Jafran son of Nawman son of Nasir son of ‘Udamah al-‘Ajarrash is active on the chat forums of tribal websites.
Also, Ali al-Blaybil the Tay Bedouin owner of the mare in the hujjah is still alive, but he is blind and deaf. He was the one who bred the grandmother of the mare to the stallion of Saud al-‘Ajarrash, as stated in the hujjah. So he must know him.
That sounds positive. (You notice how I am always encouraging you to do something? :>)
Even if they did not remember Didane himself, if they remembered that the al-‘Ajarrash had this one well-known Dahman ‘Amer stallion, it would certainly increase the odds on your hypothesis being correct.