Hawwara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Egyptian archaeological site, see Hawara. For the Palestinian town in the West Bank, see Huwara. For the town in northern Jordan, see Huwwarah. For the ancient town in southern Jordan, see Humeima.
Hawwara
Ihuwwaren
الهوارة
Tribal confederation
EthnicityBerber
LocationMainly Tripolitania
DemonymAl-Hawwari
BranchesAddasa, Andara, Awtita, Baswa, Gharyan, Haragha, Banu Irmazyan, Kaldin, Kamlan, Karkuda, Lahan or Lahana, Maghar, Malila, Maslata, Mindasa or Mindas (Mandasa, Mandas), Misrata, Razin, Satat, Tarhuna, Wannifan, Warfalla, Wargha, Warsatifa, Washtata, Yaghmorasen, Zakkawa and Zanzafa
ReligionIslam

Hawwara (Berber: Ihuwwaren, Arabic: الهوارة), also spelled Huwwara, Howwara, Hewwara or Houara, is a large tribal confederation of Berbers and Arabized Berbers spread widely in the Maghreb, with descendants in Upper Egypt and Sudan.[1] Hawwara are amongst the most prominent tribes in Upper Egypt, with branches found mainly in Qena. In Sudan, they are labelled as Hawwaweer (Arabic: هواوير) (plural of Hawwara), and have a significant political presence.[2]

Branches[]

The Hawwara were composed of numerous tribes and clans. Some of them are: the Addasa, the Andara, the Awtita, the Baswa, the Gharyan, the Haragha, the Banu Irmazyan, the Kaldin, the Kamlan, the Karkuda, the Lahan or Lahana, the Maghar, the Malila, the Maslata, the Mindasa or Mindas (Mandasa, Mandas), the Misrata, the Razin, the Satat, the Tarhuna, the Wannifan, the Warfalla, the Wargha, the Warsatifa, the Washtata, the Yaghmorasen, the Zakkawa and the Zanzafa.[3]

History[]

The Hawwara's original homeland was in Tripolitania (Modern day Libya), 8th century accounts mention an ard Hawwara (country of the Hawwara). From the 8th century to 12th century, the eastern boundaries of their land ran through Tawergha, Waddan, and Zella. Hawwara's territory was bordered to the east by the Mazata tribe.[3]

Families belonging to the Hawwara founded and ruled small islamic kingdoms in Al-Andalus (Spain) such as the Taifa of Toledo and Taifa of Albarracín. The latter still being the name of a Spanish town named Albarracín or Al Banu Razin, a sub-tribe of Hawwara. Other Spanish cities including Alhaurín el Grande and Alhaurín de la Torre also get there name from the Hawwara (Al Hawwariyin).

A fraction of the Hawwara were part the Fatimid army that conquered Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Jordan. After the conquest, they were given land grants by the Fatimid caliphs.[3] The Hawwara tribe became dominant in al-Buhayra in Egypt. In 1380/1381, Barquq, Sultan of the Mamluks, established some Hawwara groups in Upper Egypt and granted the Iqta' of Girga to the Hawwari chief, Isma'il ibn Mazin. Isma'il was succeeded by Umar, the eponymous of the clan.[4] According to Al-Maqrizi in his book ‘kitāb as-sulūk’, a group of Hawwara together with a group of Arabs from Upper Egypt attacked the wali of Aswan in the month of Rajab 798 (April 1396 A.D.) and made an alliance with the Arab tribe of Banu Kanz who inhabited Aswan. Al-Maqrizi also writes in his book ‘Al Khetat’ that in the month of Muharram 815 (1412 A.D.) the Hawwara tribesmen proceeded to Aswan and attacked the Banu Kanz Arabs. The Arab men fled, but many of them were killed while the women and children were taken into slavery. They destroyed the walls of the city and left it in ruins, without inhabitants. After sacking al-Fayyum in 1485, the Hawwara tribes became the true rulers of Upper Egypt.[5]

In Egypt's history, the Southern region is the cradle of tribal settlements. By the 19th century, Sothern Egypt and Northern Nubia were completely ruled-over by the Egyptian Hawwara tribe. Governance had become decentralized as the Hawwara spread their sovereignty over ten provinces and parts of the other remaining twenty-one provinces in Upper Egypt.[6] The Egyptian Hawwara branch was deemed to be the de facto rulers of Upper Egypt and their authority spanned across North Africa, up until the campaigns of Ibrahim Pasha in 1813, which finally crushed their dominant influence,[7] and made them flee in masses to the Sudan.[8]

According to Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in his book ‘Travels in Nubia’, many christian Copts in Upper Egypt were slaves to the Hawwara chieftains. In the villages of Nubia where Copts were settled, they would choose one of the Hawwara sheiks as his master, whom he called “my bedouin” while the sheik would call him “my christian”. The Copt then became like a member of his masters family; if he was poor, his master sent to his house provisions of corn and butter and gave him clothes every year; but in return, he was obliged to be constantly attending to his masters orders; assisting him in his field labours, doing all kinds of work for him and accompanying him like a servant whenever the sheik went to meet equals or superiors. If the Copt happened to be in good circumstances, he was obliged to make occasional presents to his master, who exempted him on that account from hard work and protected him from the oppressions of any other sheik. If the daughter of a Coptic servant was to get married, his Hawwara master would enter her house on the wedding night and put an iron chain around her ankles which he secured with a padlock, and the bridegroom was obliged to make him a present in order to have the padlock opened and the girl restored to freedom. The possession of these christians was transmitted by the sheiks to their descendants[citation needed]. According to Burckhardt, the Hawwara claim their origin to be from the Maghreb.

In past times, during the Mamluk rule in Egypt, the Hawwara were the most dominant tribe in Upper Egypt under the leadership of Sheikh Hammam.[9] Sultan Barquq made relationships with the Hawwara in order to keep the Arab tribes from becoming powerful.[10] Towards the end of the Mamluk dynasty, the Hawwara and Arabs began cooperating to kill Mamluks. Due to their cooperation, the Mamluks labelled the Hawwara as being Arab. Although they are originally Berber, the term "Sheikh of the Arabs" is usually bestowed upon their leaders.

Notable Hawaris[]

  • , chieftain who played an important role in the great Berber revolt.
  • Sheikh Hammam, leader of the Hawwara tribes during the 18th century of Egypt.

References[]

  1. ^ Lewicki, T. (1986) [1971]. "Hawwāra". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, C.; Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. III (2nd ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. BRILL. p. 296. ISBN 9004081186.
  2. ^ "الهواوير".
  3. ^ a b c Lewicki, T. (1986) [1971]. "Hawwāra". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, C.; Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. III (2nd ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. BRILL. p. 296. ISBN 9004081186.
  4. ^ Holt, P.M. (1986) [1971]. "Hawwāra". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, C.; Schacht, J. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. III (2nd ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. BRILL. p. 299. ISBN 9004081186.
  5. ^ Levanoni, Amalia (2010). Fierro, Maribel (ed.). The New Cambridge History of Islam. Volume 2, The Western Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries. Cambridge University Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-1-316-18433-2. |volume= has extra text (help)
  6. ^ Zaalouk, Malak (2006). The pedagogy of empowerment : community schools as a social movement in Egypt. American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774160264.
  7. ^ Baer, Gabriel. "Studies in the Social History of Modern Egypt." (1969).
  8. ^ "Om Durman University - Research", search.mandumah.com
  9. ^ Petry, Carl F., ed. The Cambridge History of Egypt. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
  10. ^ Petry, Carl F. "A Geniza for Mamluk Studies? Charitable Trust (Waqf) Documents as a Source for Economic and Social History." Mamluk Studies Review 2 (1998): 51-60.
  1. ^ "Egypt: Are there really three million atheists?", bbc.com
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