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Syria Tribes
The precise size of Syria's beduin population is not known,
although in the mid-1980s it was estimated at less than 7
percent. The number of actual nomads among the tribesmen is
steadily decreasing because of government settlement policy and
the extension of law to the desert. Nevertheless, the nomad
remains a highly romantic and admired figure in folklore, and his
pride, independence, sensitive honor, and disdain for
agricultural or other manual labor are influential values among
villagers, especially near the margins of the desert. However,
the Baath Party views the nomadic way of life as primitive and
hopes to settle all beduin. Ordinarily tribesmen settle in their
own villages rather than merging with peasant communities.
In Syria, only eight wholly nomadic tribes remain, sometimes
overlapping international boundaries. They are the Ruwala (by far
the largest) and the Hassana of the Syrian Desert; the Butainat
and the Abadah, near Tadmur in central Hims Province; the Fadan
Walad and the Fadan Kharsah of the Euphrates Desert; and the
Shammar az Zur and the Shammar al Kharsah in Dayr az Zawr
Province.
Tribal society consists of semiautonomous bands of kinsmen
moving their flocks within their respective territories. Each
band is defined by its members' descent from a common male
ancestor, and bands are grouped together according to their
supposed descent from a more distant male. Each tribal group,
from the smallest band to the largest confederation, ordinarily
bears the name of the common ancestor who supposedly founded the
particular kin group.
The tribal community itself is defined in terms of kinship,
with patterns of behavior, both within and between groups,
governed by kinship relations. The kinship system also served to
stabilize relations among different bands and groups of bands.
The individual tribesman is placed in the center of ever-widening
circles of kinship relations that, in theory at least, eventually
link him with all other tribesmen within a particular region of
the country--that is, with all tribesmen with whom he is likely
to come into contact.
Within the basic tribal unit, the nomadic band, the
individual's status is ascribed at birth in terms of the kinship
relations existing between him and all other members of his band.
He is considered subordinate to his elder kinsmen and equal to
his age-mates. However, a tribesman may gain prestige because of
his special skills at riding horses, hunting, herding animals, or
handling men--particularly in the settlement of disputes. His
standing within the band will also be enhanced by his relative
wealth in terms of the kind and number of animals and the special
gear and equipment he owns. Beduin in Syria are not considered
poor or underprivileged people; in fact, many beduin tribes are
regarded as very wealthy by Syrian standards because of their
ownership of large flocks of sheep--a valuable commodity.
High-prestige animals are horses, camels, sheep, and goats,
in that order. A tribesman who owns a horse has more prestige
than one who does not; one who has two horses is more esteemed
than another who has only one. Otherwise, the relative social
differences between tribesmen, other than for members of the
mukhtar's and shaykh's lineages, are slight.
The mukhtar has a special, superior relationship to other
tribesmen in that band; he is elected from among the adult male
members of a specific lineage segment within the band. Generally
the most prominent member of the lineage segment, he is selected
by his close kinsmen and approved by the tribesmen at large and
by the leaders of the superordinate tribal group. Although the
office of mukhtar does not necessarily pass from father to son,
it tends to remain within the same lineage segment. This lineage
segment is likely to have a good deal of the band's wealth in
terms of animals and gear and probably most of the money to be
found within the band.
The mukhtar exerts most of his influence as the leader in the
majlis (tribal council), which is composed of all adult males of
the band, and the views of its most senior and respected members
carry the most weight in council. The mukhtar holds open majlis
daily in his guest tent, where the tribesmen discuss all matters
of importance to the band. In addition, individual tribesmen
appear before the majlis to air their own problems and to press
grievances against fellow tribesmen. The mukhtar and his majlis
try to solve all these problems and disputes within the tribal
unit.
When settlement within the band is not reached or when the
dispute involves members of two or more bands, the problem
becomes a matter for consideration by the leaders of
superordinate tribal groups who stand in a senior position both
to the mukhtar of the single band and to the parties to the
dispute. Final appeal is to the paramount shaykh of the entire
tribe. The Kurdish tribal groups have essentially the same
structure as the Arab tribes but apply different titles to their
leaders, and their political and economic tribal unit appears to
be smaller than that common among Arabs.
Data as of April 1987
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