Arab Tribal System

basic characteristics

 

Association to a tribe is an important part of their social and cultural identity The tribe has offered to the people of the Arabian Peninsula a sense of loyalty and worked as a wellfare system or a mutual insurance policy As population in the Arabian Peninsula becomes more and more urban, the tribes take up new roles

The tribe continues to represent the main focus of identity for many Arabs, who consider it to be less important than the family but certainly more important than the state

The Structure of the Tribe



A tribe is divided into related sub-tribes, which are further divided into clans, and then into extended families. Usually, individuals are more strongly bound by these tribal ties and a strict code of honor than by ethnic origin or religion. A tribe can number from a few thousand individuals to even a couple of millions.

The smallest functional unit is the bayt (house). The bayt is made up of all closely related individuals who live together under the same roof and are dependent upon one another for their livelihood. Five to seven generations of a bayt form a hamula (also fakhd in some parts of the Arabian Peninsula) or clan (hamula can be translated as clan or lineage), which is made up of descendants of a common, relatively distant male ancestor.

The clan still is the repository of family honor and tends to be endogamous. The clan serves as a major source of identity and psychosocial support and social status. The clan is often led by one individual, a mukhtar

The largest segment below the tribe is the ashira which is made up of a number of clans which share a common ancestor. The sheikh of a ashira is usually a member of its wealthiest and most powerful bayt Several ashiras which share a common ancestor form a qabila, a tribe, also under the leadership of a sheikh.

All units of the tribal structure are united by blood relation In a tribe great importance is placed on the concept of honor (ird). Each level of tribal structure maintains its autonomy until threatened by danger

Famous tribes in Libya an Iraq

 

There are more than 140 known tribal networks in Libya Qaddafa/ Qadadfah/ Gaddafa/ Gaddadfa/ Gadhadhfa/ Qathathfa/ Gathafi - Arabised Berber tribe, centred around Sert [Sirte). An influential ruling tribe in today's Libya, originally found around the present-day Sert in central Libya and Sabha in the south, the present capital of Fazzan. Col. Mua'mmar al-Qaddafi, belongs to the Qaddafi tribe.

Al-Magarha, al-Magariha, al-Megrahi: one of the largest tribes in the central-western region of Libya, and traditionally strong allies of the Gaddadfa tribe. The former Libyan Prime Minister Abdessalam Jalloud belongs to this tribe. Also the release of the alleged Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was secured by AlQaddafi family.

 

The Shammar are supposed to be Iraqs biggest tribal confederation, counting more than 1.5 million people Al-Tikriti - the late General Ahmad Hassan Al-Bakr, former president of the republic, former commander-in-chief of the armed forces, command member of the Baath party from 19731977, and Saddam Hussein came from a section of the Albu Nasir Tribe, the group of tribes usually called al-Takarita (or the Tikritis.) The Albu Nasir tribe is believed to have more than 350,000 young men.In July 2003, Abdullah Mahmoud alKhattab, leader of Saddams section of the tribe, was gunned down in Tikrit, a few weeks after he publicly spoke against Saddam.

The Dulaymi, Jibur, and Ubayd albu Amir are of Zubaydi origin.