The Al Bu Muhair (singular Al Muhairi or Al Mheiri or Al Mehairi) are a tribe of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), closely associated with the
Bani Yas
Bani Yas ( ar, بَنُو ياس) is a tribal confederation of Najdi origin in the United Arab Emirates. The tribal coalition which consists of tribes from Dubai to Khawr al Udayd southeast of Qatar, was called the Bani Yas Coalition. The tribe has ...
of
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
but settled throughout the western coastal areas of the Emirates.
At the turn of the 20th century, the Al Bu Muhair were mostly settled, with a minority of some 20 households in Abu Dhabi still following a
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
lifestyle. At the time, some 500 Muhair were settled in Abu Dhabi, with another 500 members of the tribe living in Al Bateen. The Bateen settlement and its associated creek, Khor Al Bateen, were south of Al Maqta and consisted of some 130 ''areesh'' houses made of ''barasti'', or date branches. Of these, 30 houses, some 150 people, were members of the
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
tribe and another 100 Muhair.
Elsewhere on the coast, the Al Bu Muhair were found in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
(400 houses);
Al Khan
Al Khan is a southern suburb of the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The suburb is located on the Al Khan Bay, which serves as a boundary between Sharjah and Dubai. Until recently, the area was deserted and home to a collection of crumbling ...
(60 houses);
Sharjah
Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area.
Sharjah is the capital o ...
(60 houses);
Ajman
Ajman ( ar, عجمان, '; Gulf Arabic: عيمان ʿymān) is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is the fifth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain. Located along the Persian Gulf, it is ...
(80 houses);
Umm Al Quwain
Umm Al Quwain is the capital and largest city of the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates.
The city is located on the peninsula of Khor Al Bidiyah, with the nearest major cities being Sharjah to the southwest and Ras Al Khaimah ...
(30 houses) and 120 houses in
Ras Al Khaimah
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...
.
Walker, in 1901, disagrees with Lorimer's 1906 estimate and puts the number of Al Bu Muhair in Ras Al Khaimah as 200 houses, divided equally between ''areesh'' and stone/gypsum construction. The Al Bu Muhair first settled in Ras Al Khaimah from Abu Dhabi with the establishment of
Al Qawasim rule in the 1750s.
Lorimer records the Al Bu Muhair as being of Mahra origin (Southern
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
) and notes they integrated into each of the communities in which they settled.
Notable members
Notable members of the Al Bu Muhair in the Emirates today include Emirati Minister for Food and Water Security
Mariam Almheiri
Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri ( ar, مريم بنت محمد سعيد حارب المهيري) is an Emirati politician who currently serves as Minister of Climate Change and Environment in the United Arab Emirates.
Education
Almhe ...
and paralympian
Ahmed Saif Zaal Abu Muhair
Ahmed Saif Zaal Abu Muhair is a paralympic athlete from United Arab Emirates competing mainly in category T36 track events.
Ahmed competed in Sydney, Australia at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the X ...
.
References
Tribes of the United Arab Emirates
Arabic-language surnames
Tribes of Arabia
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