Al-Qubayba, Hebron
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Al-Qubayba (), also known as Gbebah, Qubeiba or Qobebet Ibn 'Awwad, was a
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
village, located 24 kilometers northwest of
Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
.


Name

The eponym of the village, "Ibn 'Awwad" or "Ibn 'Awadh", was named after the clan residing therein.


History

Known in Crusader times as Deirelcobebe, the ruins of the ancient
Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
ite and Judean city of
Lachish Lachish (; ; ) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite city in the Shephelah ("lowlands of Judea") region of Canaan on the south bank of the Lakhish River mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. The current '' tell'' by that name, kn ...
lay adjacent to the village, which was subject to extensive
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
excavations by the British Mandatory authorities in
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
, and by
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i authorities subsequent to its capture during the
1948 Arab-Israeli war Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
. In 1136 the King of Jerusalem, Fulk confirmed ''Deirelcobebe'' as a casale under the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
s.


Ottoman Empire

In 1517, Al-Qubayba was incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
with the rest of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the ''
nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...
'' (subdistrict) of Gaza under the ''
liwa' A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...
'' (district) of Gaza. It had a population of 33
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
household, an estimated 182 persons. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25 % on agricultural products, including
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
,
barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...
,
sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...
, and fruit trees, as well as goats and beehives; a total of 4,600 akçe. 11/24 of the revenue went to a
Waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...
. In 1838 Edward Robinson noted 200
reaper A reaper is a farm implement that reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass, especially wheat. The first documented reaping machines were Gallic reapers that were used ...
s and gleaners at work in a field near Al-Qubayba (which he called ''Kubeibeh''). He added: "Some were taking their refreshment, and offered us some of their "parched corn." In the season of harvest, the grains of wheat, not yet fully dry and hard, are roasted in a pan or an iron plate, and constitute a very palliative article of bread; this is eaten along with bread, or instead of it." Robinson further noted ''Kubeibeh'' as a Muslim village, in the Gaza district.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p.
119
/ref> In 1883, the PEF's '' Survey of Western Palestine'' described Al-Qubayba as a large village built of adobe brick, situated on rolling hills near a plain, surrounded by a barren and stony area.


British Mandate

In the
1922 census of Palestine The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...
conducted by the British Mandate authorities, ''Al-Qubaiba'' had a population of 646, all Muslims,Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Hebron, p.
10
/ref> increasing in the 1931 census to 800, still all Muslim, in a total of 141 houses.Mills, 1932, p
33
/ref> The village had a school, a
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
, and a number of small shops. Two wells located northwest and southwest of it provided drinking water. In the 1945 statistics the population of Al-Qubayba was 1,060, all Muslims, who owned 11,912
dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...
s of land according to an official land and population survey. 8109 dunams were for cereals while 35 dunams were built-up (urban) land.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p
143
Al-Qubayba was in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan.


Israel

The village was first attacked during Operation Barak. Though defended by
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian forces, al-Qubayba was taken by Israeli forces in the final stages of
Operation Yoav Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Eg ...
on 28 October 1948. The population had fled and the village was destroyed. The area was subsequently incorporated into the
State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
and in 1955 the
moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...
of Lakhish was established to the southwest of the village site on what had been village lands. Of the village
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
, an elementary school, and more than 141 houses that made up al-Qubayba, Walid Khalidi notes that all that remains to mark the site in contemporary times are cacti and a handful of
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
trees.


Culture and village life

The inhabitants of the village mostly grew cereals; wheat and barley were grown by the well off, and corn by the rest. The village mostly bartered with surrounding villages such as
Al-Dawayima Al-Dawayima, Dawaymeh or Dawayma () was a Palestinian people, Palestinian town, located in the former Hebron Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine, Hebron Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, and in what is now the Hevel Lakhish, Lakhish region, some 15 ...
and Beit Gibrin, most of the cereals harvest was used to sustain sheep herds, from where in most of the village income is derived. A woman's ''thob'' (loose fitting robe with sleeves), from Qubeiba dated to about 1910 forms part of the
Museum of International Folk Art The Museum of International Folk Art is a state-run institution in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It is one of many cultural institutions operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. History The museum was founded by Flor ...
(MOIFA) collection at Santa Fe. The dress is a collage of different fabrics, textures and colors. The front and the upper half of the back are of black
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
. The chest panel, the side panels and the lower back of the skirt are handwoven
indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...
. Colorful
silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
cross-stitch Cross-stitch is a form of sewing and a popular form of counted-thread embroidery in which X-shaped stitches (called cross stitches) in a tiled, raster graphics, raster-like pattern are used to form a picture. The stitcher counts the threads on a ...
embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...
, in red, violet, orange, yellow, green and black, create an effect described as "particularly gay, twinkling" The ''qabbeh'' (square chest panel) is embroidered with the ''qurunful'' ("clove") motif, and it has vertical rows of eight-pointed stars, called ''qamr'' ("moons"), and a row of the ''mushut'' ("combs") pattern. There are eight embroidered columns on each side panel of the dress. The patterns which are used are ''fanajin qahweh'' ("coffee cups"), ''khem-el-basha'' ("the pashas tent"), ''irq el-ward'' ("rose branch"), and ''miftah Khalil'' ("key of Hebron"). There is also a pattern (with flowers, moons, trees, tents and tiles) not seen anywhere else in the MOMA collection. Finally, there is also some embroidery at the wrists.


See also

* Depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel * List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict * Palestinian costumes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (A catalog of the
Museum of International Folk Art
( MOIFA) at Santa Fe's collection of Palestinian clothing and jewelry.)


External links


Welcome to al-Qubayba al-Qubayba (Hebron)
Zochrot *Survey of Western Palestine, Map 20
IAA
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{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Hebron