Lady Anne Blunt on the Meleyhan strain
Evidence on the Mlayhan strain about the Gmassah, and the Shammar of both Mesopotamia and the Najd, from her book “Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates”:
Wilfrid then inquired about the horses, or rather mares, in Jebel Shammar, and asked if the Arabs there had the same breeds as the Mesopotamian Shammar. “Just the same,” he answered. ” They have Kehilehs, and Jilfehs, and Dakhmehs, and Meleyhas, just as with us. There are not many horses (kheyl) bred there.
And here:
Several Arabs of the Gomassa have been here, talking principally about horses, for they are the great breeders of horses in the desert. Among others, they spoke of a wonderful mare, a Meleyha, which they said a certain European had once offered 6oo for, when they were in their summer-quarters near Aleppo ; but the manner of his dealing seems to have impressed them with the idea that he was out of his mind, and they would not sell the mare. They made very merry over this.
We asked them the usual question about the horses of Nejd, and the existence of separate breeds there, and they gave the usual answers. […] Our horses are the same as those of our forefathers, before they came from Nejd, and the same as those of the tribes which have remained there.”
The same episode, but in the Journals and Correspondence, April 6, 1878:
Two Gomussa Arabs came to the tent door and sat there. One of them asked Mr. Skene, “do you remember the Meleyha?” Mr Skene put his hand to his mouth holding his fingers like a parrot’s beak, “Yes, that mare”. The Gomussa replied “She has turned out the most wonderful runner as you said”. “I heard that already at Aleppo”, Mr Skene answered. This parrot-mouthed mare was seen by Captain Upton at ibn Mirshid’s at Kharreyel Shayhamm [sic], a place in the desert about three days from Aleppo, two years ago. She was then a 2 year old and her owner brought her for sale. Mr. Skene could have bought her for 60 or 70 pounds but Captain Upton allowed his admiration of her running qualities to be understood by the seller so well that he could not get for 300 pounds. We knew if we wished to treat for her it would be impossible to deal with any of the Gomussa […]
More interestingly, In the Persian leg of her travels, this account from a Arab tribe settled in the Persian area of Khuzistan:
This village as well as Sultanabad belongs to the family of Mohammed Jafar. He […] tells us […] that his family is of the Safyeh tribe and came from Nejd formerly and brought their horses with them […]. Note: he particularly mentioned that they possess now, among his tribe, (besides Hamdani Simri) Seglawi, Kehilan, Abeyan, Hadban, Wadnan, Meleyhan.
This last account is interesting. I am going to track this Safeyh tribe down. It may provide a clue into the origin of the Mlayhan strain. I suspect it is with the Tai in North East Syria, not the current Tai but the larger, original tribe, from which some of the Shammar sections branched off.
Edouard… Thanks for your writing on this related Topic abut this rare strain
Regarding Mlayhan or al malhyia in al ahwaz or arabstan and even in Syria…yes it was came from Iraq Specifically from Tayy tribe ( al fadoul) and taking back originally to kuhaylah Al Wathana yes.. kuhaylah Al Wathnan khursan…And later it moved or (madraj in arabic) from al-Fudool, grandfather al-Khursan to bani khalid tribe And to a branch called Melehi They are mainly from the Subaie tribe and have joined or were later allied to the Bani Khalid tribe and also they interested to keep with them for long time . When they was ruling Al-Ahsa and al malhyia it was thir with them in al ahsa and for more information mostly of al ahwaz of arabstan of /Iran they know’st this story that the marbat it came originally from Al-ahsa’a. and look’t to hamad al jaser and Abbas Pasha manuscript you will explore this story through it.
Thank you. Part of this story makes sense. The Tai Bedouins who own the strain nowadays in Syria are from the al-Nahhaab of al-Hrayth of Tai .They are Tai but not Fudul-Tai. They say that they brought the strain with them when they came from Iraq.
I am not convinced that al-Mlayhia is from al-Wadhna. I also did not see a reference to al-Mlayhia in the Abbas Pasha Manuscript, but maybe I am wrong. Let me look more and I will respond later.