The Suiten seens to get on well with them, and their otuntude is ériendly. though shy and cautious on first approach, The Beni Kharus is a peaceful and comparatively civilised tribe in the centre of Oman proper, settled mainly at Rost:aq, Nakhl and Aeabi, the capital. The tribe supplied the late Iman's predecessor, and, on his assissination in 1920, his three sons Yahya, Abdulla and Yakub, then aged about ten, eight and six, were taken charge of and brought up by the late Imam. Yahya, who is Tamimah of the Beni Kharus used to be Wali of Samail, and his brother Abdulla, Wali of Naknl in the old so called "Imamate". In 1948 when many other Shaikhs visited the Sultan, one old Shaikh of this tribe, Khalfan bin Othman, a close friend OL" Ahmed bin Ibrahim, the Minister of the Interior, came to Tuscat, but Yahya did not come, and neither he nor his brothers here ever visited Iluscat or met the Sultan The tribe as a whole is not numerous and its members are erployed mostly in tending camels and in cultivation, Its present loyalty is not known, but it at least gives Lin service to the Sultan. 'The Beni Qitab (as the name is best transliterated) are divided into two main sections. The larger section live around DHAID in Sharjah territory with Shaikh Mohamad bin Ali bin Huwaidin as their hier, and it is understood that he gets an annual allowance of some Rs. 25,000 from the Ruler, The other section, which seems to have become completely separated live in Dhahirah, with their capital at Allaj Beni Qitab. Their Shaikh is Mohammad bin Ali bin Kabaiyan. Thouyh he accompanied the Sultan's Minister for the Interior back to luscat in 1948 to visit the Sultan when the Minister vas touring the Buraimi neighbourhood in connection with certain oil company negotiations, he appears not to be on any close terms with the Sultan, yet owning allegiance to him. Two other Shailchs named Fazil bin Rabaiyah and Amir bin Salih Walid al Matawa belong to this tribe. The latter vas involved in an attempt to ld.dnan two women from Sultanate territory for slavery but was compelled by the former Imam, Nichoumad bin Abdullah al Khalili, who sent a force of about cur hundredi men, to release them and plead for iveness. This inciden; affords evidence of the measure of co-operation between the Sultan and the former Iman in administrativo ratters, of which there were many more exarmles of normal routine. The tribe is partly Bedouin, and some are found in Jou (Buraini. EL NA'II (including Al bu Shamis) The naim tribe was formerly the most numerous and powerful tribe of the central portion of the Oman promontory partly nonadic and pazlly settied in botn Trucial and Sultanate
