The Tiyaha or Tiyahah () is a
Negev Bedouin
The Negev Bedouin ( ar, بدو النقب, ''Badū an-Naqab''; he, הבדואים בנגב, ''HaBedu'im BaNegev'') are traditionally pastoral nomadic Arab tribes ( Bedouin), who until the later part of the 19th century would wander between Sa ...
tribe. Their traditions state that they originated from near
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
and settled in the
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...
during the early years of the
Muslim conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
. They were led by one named Rabab and the five main sub-groups trace their roots to his five sons.
The word Al-Tiyaha means "the lost ones" in Arabic, the tribe is called Al-Tiyaha relative to the Al-Tiyah area (the country of Al-Tiyaha, ) in central of Sinai, which is the land where the children of Israel were lost for forty years. it is unknown if the Al-Tiyaha tribe has Israelite roots.
Al-Tiyaha bedouins along with "Al-Badara bedouins" are thought to be the indigenous pre-Islamic bedouins of Negev and Sinai. Probably related to ancient biblical Arabians who inhabited the area like the Nabateans and the Arabs. Their alleged Arab ancestry is mysterious and despite claiming a Najdi Arabian origin, their surrounding Arab neighbors like the Tawarah bedouins to the south and Tarabin bedouins to the North see them as foreigners. They are recorded to be the oldest Arab tribe to arrive and settle Sinai due to the Islamic conquest of Egypt.
Their name "Al-Tiyaha" came from the Al-Tih plateau (in Arabic: ) which means the "lost land" and this is a very strange occasion since Arab tribes usually don't change their name to the name of the region easily.
At-Tih plateau is an isolated unwanted desert, a perfect shelter for a fleeing people who were displaced from their homelands by new settlers.
Sub-Groups
The Hukuk
Formerly the paramount clan, the Hukuk grazed the land from Jebel al-Khalil (
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
) to Wadi al-'Araba, south of the
Dead Sea and taxed anyone wishing to cross their territory. In the 1930s their leader was one Sheikh Suleyman whose grandfather had been hung by the Turkish authorities for abducting women and levying illegal dues on bedouin around
Gaza.
The 'Allamat
In the 1930s this clan numbered less than 2,000. After the British authorities put their Sheikh, Salama ibn Musa Abu Shunnar, in prison for "misbehaviour" they split into three sub-groups, each with their own Sheikh.
'Iyal 'Umari
Taking their name from one of Rabab's sons called 'Umari who had a reputation as a Tiyaha war leader. Despite this he has an evil reputation and his grave on the left bank of Wadi al-Abya regarded as a place of bad-omen. In the 1930s the clan numbered some 500, divided into two sub groups: The 'Urur and the Rawashida.
The Nutush
Also known as the 'Atawina. One of their Sheikhs, Salim, was killed fighting
Ibrahim Pasha. Exceeding 2,000 in 1930, they were one of the senior branches of the Tiyaha. In the nineteenth century they levied taxes on the people of Gaza and Hebron. Two of their Sheikhs, 'Awda and 'Amir, played a leading role in the war with the
Tarabin, which weakened their influence over other sections of the Tiyaha including the Hukuk leading tribe Alhuzayyel. During the early years of the twentieth century they were led by Shaykh Ali ibn 'Atiya, who was widely respected, serving on local official bodies as well as the General Council in Jerusalem. Unusually he sent his sons to school.
The Qadirat
Numbering 4,000: during the early years of the British occupation a number of them, under the leadership of Ibrahim ibn Salama, committed numerous acts of lawlessness, living as outlaws until making peace with the government. Many of the residents of
Lakiya
Lakiya, or Laqye ( ar, اللقية, he, לָקִיָּה) is a Bedouin town ( local council) in the Southern District of Israel. In it had a population of .
History
Lakiya was founded in 1985 as part of a government project to settle Bedouin ...
, north of
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
, identify themselves as Qadirat.
The Dhullam
The grave of one of their ancestors, Mahna, in Wadi al-Hafir is a place of pilgrimage. Numbering 2,000 in 1930, they had a reputation as fighters. They lost eighty horsemen in one engagement with the Tarabin during the nineteenth century.
Other sub-groups
A number of other tribes and clans were allied to the Tiyaha: The Shallaliyin (1,000); The Bani 'Uqba living around
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
; The Qatatiwa also arriving in the Negev in the early nineteenth century; The Qalazin (200) and the Badinat (350).
Nineteenth century
In 1843 a Scottish missionary was amongst a small group that set out from Cairo to explore possible routes taken by
Moses across
Sinai
Sinai commonly refers to:
* Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God
Sinai may also refer to:
* Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
. Their itinerary included
Saint Catherine's Monastery
Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...
, central Sinai, then East to
Petra and to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
via
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
. In Cairo they hired a guide and 47 camels from the Aleika bedouin, a branch of the Tawarah bedouin. For part of their journey West from
Suez
Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same bou ...
they were accompanied by Sheikh Saleh, the leader to the Tawarah, who was based in Wadi esh Sheikh west of Mount Sinai. North West of Saint Catherine's, near the fort at
Nakhl where the
Haj road enters Jebel Tih, their progress was stopped by a large group of Tiyaha who refused to allow the Tawarah to cross their territory. In the negotiations that followed it was agreed that the Tawarah would continue to
Gaza with half of the party and the Tiyaha would provide 20 camels to transport the rest to Petra and back as far as
Dhahariya at a cost of 220 piasters per camel. The writer observed that the Tiyaha were armed with guns plundered from the retreating Egyptian army in 1841, and on the way back from Petra, south of the
Dead Sea, they came across bones and complete skeletons of soldiers who had been attempting to reach Gaza. He comments on several occasions of finding areas of rye planted for grazing and that the Tiyaha were more observant about prayers than his previous escort. He does speculate this might be due to the appearance of a
large comet during the journey. The Tiyaha's territory did not extend to
Wadi 'Arabah, they had poor relations with the bedouin living there. Negotiations were required with the residents of Petra before the party were allowed to set up camp because of antagonism towards the escorts. On the way back across Wadi 'Arabah they were joined by four Tiyaha men escorting 40 camels from grazing East of
Mount Seir
Mount Seir ( he, הַר-שֵׂעִיר, ''Har Sēʿīr'') is the ancient and biblical name for a mountainous region stretching between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba in the northwestern region of Edom and southeast of the Kingdom of Judah. I ...
which they were taking to Gaza to sell. The journey ended outside Dhahariya when the Tiyaha escort refused to enter the town due to a murder that had been committed in the recent past.
In an 1874 list of Bedouin tribes produced by a member of the
Palestine Exploration Fund survey team, the Tiyaha are described as "in the Desert of the Tih".
In April 1875,
Lieut. Claude R. Conder, who was surveying
Gaza District for the Palestine Exploration Fund, reported that part of the territory belonging to the Tiyaha included 200 square miles north of Beersheba.
[Palestine Exploration Fund ''Quarterly Statement for 1875.'' London. Page 158. "in the country of the Teiaha Arabs."]
References
{{reflist, 30em
Bedouins in Israel
Bedouin groups