The Krayan strain in Burkhardt’s writings (ca. 1815)
One of the Western travelers to write about Arabian horse strains was the Swiss Johann Ludwig Burkhardt. His Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys: Collected During His Travels in the East were only published in 1831, but were based on information collected in the Hijaz between 1814 and 1815. Burkhardt died in Cairo in 1817. His book featured this anecdote:
“The favourite mare of Saoud, the Wahaby chief, which he constantly rode on his expeditions, and whose name, Keraye, became famous all over Arabia, brought forth a horse of uncommon beauty and xceellence. The mare, however, not being of the khomse, Saoud would not permit his people to use that
fine horse as a stallion; and not knowing what to do with it, as Bedouins never ride horses, he sent it as a present to the Sherif. The mare, Keraye, had been purchased by Saoud from a Bedouin of
the Kahtan Arabs for fifteen hundred dollars.”
This account ties the strain of Kuhaylan al-Kray, a branch of the Krush strain that was present with the ‘Ajman Bedouins at the time of the Abbas Pasha Manuscript (ca. 1850), to the Qahtan Bedouins from a very early date. It corroborates the information which ‘Ubayd al-Hafi al-‘Utaybi (a.k.a. “Pure Man”) shared on this blog some 14 years ago, about the Krayan strain going back to either the Ajman or the Bani Hajar (a splinter tribe of the Qahtan).
“Saud, the Wahaby chief”, who Burkhardt referred to, was Saud bin Abd al-Aziz Aal Saud (1748-1814). I like it that he rode a Kuhaylat al-Kray mare.
I hadn’t realised the Kray was a branch of the Krush, how interesting. I suppose the Kray is still not to be mated in Bahrain, as I can’t recall seeing a Krayaan stallion used in the pedigrees I have seen (though one of the stallions I liked best in the photos from the WAHO conference was a Krayaan).
Could either or both elaborate about the Bahraini non-use of Krayaan stallions?
*either Kate or Edouard…
Yes, it is not. That’s what Jenny Lees (was chatting with her this morning) was told when she got hers, and she added that she had hesitated to use him because of that. Glad she did use him in the end.
Tuwaisaan also not to be mated, I think, but Mlolshaan is, based on the pedigrees I’ve seen.
Carrie, my understanding is that, in Bahrain, the Krayaan is asil but not shubuw, so the mares can breed on, but the stallions are not used.
Not just “not to be mated” in Bahrain until recently, but also per Dr Mabrouk who visited in Jalawi in 1936 in Easter Arabia and saw two mares of the Krush al-Karry there, and also per Burkhardt in 1815. There are two instances of Bedouins breeding from in at the APM.
Mlolshaan was certain bred from in Bahrain, from the early times.
Thank you both.
I am sensing a T.E. Lawrence approach to spelling the transliterated strain name here, from Kray to Karry 😀
i am trying..
He would be proud of your efforts.
k. kray, krush, Kuheila’t Aafas k. Al-Harqa is the same Source . the country, the strain, and the roots even k. Abn wabra or om al -Ma’arif, Al-Shahib, and it is said that al-Hadaba it is originally from Al-shahib, and I am not exclude k. Al-Jalabi, and ibn Ibn Fajri(umm arqob).