COPY (EA 1824/1) Odd Notes on Muscat tribes. SHIHUH A large fragmented tribe numbering about 9,000 people living in the mountainous area of Ruler Al Jibal, the majority of whom Her Majesty's Government regard as being under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Muscat. They are divided into two main sections of the Bani Shaitair and the Bani Hadiyah. Inland these sections are divided into further tribal subsections, but on the coast the people are listed by the towns they inhabit (e.g. Ahl Khassab etc.). Those settled on the coast occupy themselves with fishing, pearling and date cultivation. Some of the inland Shihuh own palem, on the coast or in the large Wadi towns, and in winter they cultivate grain, figs etc. and rear mountain goats and poultry. In the summer many of them descend from the heat of the hills where the scant water supplies dry up (there are few wells natural reservoirs in the rocks being used) and go to their palms on the coast op in the larger Wadis. The Shihuh speak their own dialect of Arabic with some non Arab words interspersed innit. They are good fighters, wild and independant. They are full of superstition believing in spirits of all sorts, and Mohamne danism bas become somewhat twisted ja thair hands. They abhor cows. A slightly separate section of the Shihuh known as the Kama zara live in the area of Kumzar village near the northern end of the Musandam premonitory. They speak their own language (slightly akin to Persian) and exist by fishing and pearling. Some of them own palms in Khassab and most of them Summer there. The Kama zara are closely allied with the Bani Shaitair section of the Shihuh and provided the latters present Shaikh Mohammed Bin Saleh living at Baiah who is chief of the Bani Shaitair and is generally regarded as the most important Shihuh shaikh. Other Shaikhs of importance are Shaikhs Hamdan Bin Ahmad and Ahmad Bin Shaikh Ali of the Bani Hadiyah who live at Baiah or in the mountains; Shaikh Mohammed Bin Ahmad Bin Sulaiman. Bani Hadiyah Shaikh of Bakha, and Shaikh Hamdan Bin Hassan of Khassab. I believe that Zaid Bin Mohammed is Shaikh of the Kamazara. The Sultan keeps a Wali at Khassab but he appears to have little or no influence in the interior. Shihuh sections are as follows Bani Shaitair Kama zara - Kumzar Area Bani Assam - Musallain (above Limah) Ahl Hail (1) - Miskan Al Ha11 (Baian) Ahl Ha11 (2) - Hail - Jiri Plain (R.A.K.) /Bani
