Yafaʿ () is an Arab tribe, geographical area, and a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of the

Lahij Governorate Lahij ( ) is a governorate of Yemen. Geography Adjacent governorates * Taiz Governorate (northwest) * Dhale Governorate (north) * Abyan Governorate (east) * Aden Governorate (south) Districts Lahij Governorate is divided into the following 15 ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. As of 2003, the district had a population of 75,014 inhabitants.

Tribe

The tribe of Yafa' is an

Arab tribe The tribes of Arabia () have inhabited the Arabian Peninsula for thousands of years and traditionally trace their ancestry to one of two forefathers: Adnan, whose descendants originate from West Arabia, North Arabia, East Arabia, and Central A ...

in southern

. It is one of the biggest tribes that descended from the ancient

Himyarites Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to class ...

. Today, most members of the tribe can be found across the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, in particular

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

The United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, and

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, wherein it is estimated that the Yafa' tribe makes up the second-largest Arabian tribe among the Qatari society, with the

Al Murrah The Al Murrah () (singular 'Al Marri') are an Arab tribe descended from the Banu Yam tribe. They mainly reside in countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain. Historically, the Al Murrah were a tribe of camel- ...

tribe coming first. According to Arab historian

Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Hamdānī (, 279/280-333/334 A.H.; 947;) was an Arab Muslim geographer, chemist, poet, grammarian, historian, and astronomer, from the tribe of Banu Hamdan, western 'Amran, Yemen. He was ...

, the genealogy of Yafa' is of the following: "Yafa' bin Qawel bin Zaid bin Naaitah bin Sharhabel bin Al Harth bin Yareem dhi Raain bin Zaid bin Sahal bin Amer bin Qais bin Muawiyah bin Joshom bin Abd Shams bin Wael bin Al Ghawth bin Al Humaysaa bin Himyar bin Saba."Al Hamadani, v.2, pp. 306 Yafa' has gone through a complex structuration of different tribal forms in the last several centuries. The division comprises Yafi' bani Qasid (

Lower Yafa Lower Yafa, Lower Yafa'i ( '), or the Sultanate of Lower Yafa ( ''),'' was a sultanate in the British Aden Protectorate ruled by the Al Afifi dynasty. Its capital was at Jaar. Lower Yafa was one part of Yafa'a, the other part being Upper Yafa. ...

or Yafa' as-Sufla) and Yafi' bani Malik (

Upper Yafa Upper Yafa or Upper Yafa'i ( ''),'' officially the State of Upper Yafa ( '')'', was a military alliance in the British Aden Protectorate and the Protectorate of South Arabia. It was ruled by the Harharah dynasty and its capital was Mahjaba, ...

or Yafa' al-Ulya), each including five branches and sheikhdoms. Branches of Yafa' * Al-Harm (آل هرم) Branches of Yafa' bani Qasid: * Kaladi (كلدي) * Saadi (سعدي) * Yazeedi (يزيدي) * Nakhibi (ناخبي) * Yehri (يهري). Branches of Yafa' bani Malik: *

Maflahi Muflihi, Muflahi ( '), Muflihi or the Muflahi Sheikhdom ( '), was a state in the British Aden Protectorate. Its last sheikh, Kassim Abdulrahaman Al-Muflihi, was deposed in 1967 upon the founding of the People's Republic of South Yemen and the are ...

(مفلحي) *

Mawsata Mawsata, Mausata (), or the Mawsata State ( '), was a state in the British Aden Protectorate. Mawsata was located in the western and southwestern part of Upper Yafa. The main mountain in the area is Jabal Darfan. Mawsata was the most populated of ...

(الموسطة) *

Al-Dhubi Al-Dhubi, Al-Dubi ( ''Dhubī''), or the Dhubi Sheikhdom ( ''Mashyakhat ad-Dhubī''), was a small state in the British Aden Protectorate. Dhubi was located between Mawsata in the southwest, Hadrami in the northeast, Lower Yafa in the south and U ...

(الضُبي) * Al-Busi (البعسي) * Hadhrami (الحضرمي). The area is located northeast of the port city of

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. In ancient times, the area was referred to as Dehsim or Saro Himyar. The once ruling

Qu'aiti Qu'aiti, '), officially the Qu'aiti State of Shihr and Mukalla ( or the Sultanate of Shihr and Mukalla, ' was a sultanate in the Hadhramaut region of the southern Arabian Peninsula, in what is now Yemen. Its capital was Mukalla, and it was di ...

dynasty of Hadramaut was Yafa'i in origin. Yafa' was united with the rest of Arabia under the

Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...

References

{{coord, 13, 39, N, 45, 13, E, type:city_source:kolossus-arwiki, display=title Regions of Yemen Tribes of Arabia Yemeni tribes

Tribe

See also

References