Origin of the Egyptian Kuhaylan Khallawi strain of Futna
Sheykh Tahawi Saeed Mejalli al-Tahawi who is in his nineties was interviewed recently by Yehia Abdel-Satar Eliwa al-Tahawi. The old man, who is the memory of the Tahawi clan of Egypt, told him that the original Kuhayla Khallawiyah mare had come to Shaman Ghumah al-Tahawi from the Mawali Bedouins.
I had hypothesized this connection of the Futna line to the Mawali tribe some seven years ago on this blog, here. It is now confirmed. This makes the Egyptian Kuhaylan Khallawi strain of Bint Futna one of the most prestigious strains of Northern Arabia, that of Khallawiat al-Nesswan [“of the women”, not sure why they are called this way].
A branch of the Mawali leading family, the Aal al-‘Aabed, who had settled in Damascus, and provided Syria with its first president, Muhammad ‘Ali al-‘Aabed, owned a Khallawi line that survived in Asil form until the late 1990s, in both Lebanon and Syria. I owned the last such mare in old age. These were quite the race horses.
When Ottoman Sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid was on his way from Istanbul to Mecca on pilgrimage, he was hosted by the leader of the Mawali Bedouins near Hama, in central Syria, and presented with a Khallawia mare. In Syria, these horses were widely thought to be worthy of kings.
While that Mawali branch of the strain disappeared in Syria and Lebanon, it’s heartening to know it survived in Egypt. Below, the 2000 mare Rowayah, tracing to Futna through Fahda. You get what I mean.
Nice pure movement- relaxed good flexion and extension. Refreshing to see a mane that covers the mares length of neck, all four hooves are airborne, and she has a good expression. Someone with some smarts trained that mare!
best
Bruce Peek
Great article,
I own a granddaughter ( through the dam line) of Rowayah (mare on the picture below). Rowayah unfortunately passed away in 2016, leaving only 2 daughters. Both daughters , KZ Trowyah and KZ Tahera have had fillies, in Israel or Palestine if you will. Rowayah was bred in the USA , exported by Israeli Breeder KZ Arabians where she lived the rest of her life. Remaining offsprings are in Italy, Germany and Israel. I think, politics aside, for research reasons it is important to mention where the horses are located. Rowayah has one daughter in Italy , KZ Tahera, her only filly is owned by me (Israel), Rowayah’s second daughter KZ Trowyah ( who has produced 3 fillies) is also locatedin Israel. 2 sons of Rowayah are in Israel and one is in Germany (unfortunately sold to a circus ). Again, for research reasons or if someone was actually interested to find a horse of this line, to breed from, it is important to mention where these horses can be found.
Best regards
Melanie Peres