Palestine Tribes and Clans: Difference between revisions

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* ''Dictionary of Genealogies of the Tribes of the Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic).'' Majid Nasser Al-Zubaidi. Beirut, Lebanon: Al-Furat, 2010. {{WorldCat|60980949|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}

* ''Gold Necklaces in Knowing the Genealogies of Arab Tribes (in Arabic)'', by Mustafa Hamidi bin Ahmed al-Kurdi al-Balawi al-Dimashqi. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar and Library of Al-Hilal, Bir al-Abd, 2000. {{WorldCat|4770797255|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}

* ''Genealogical Trees of Arab Tribes and Families: With Historical and Geographical Notes (in Arabic)'', by Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. Beirut: Dar Al-Warak, 1852. {{WorldCat|1334563942|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}

*''Register zu den Genealogischen Tabellen der Arabischen Stämme und Familien: Mit Historischen und Geographischen Bemerkungen. (Register of the genealogical tables of the Arabian tribes and families : with historical and geographical notes)'' By Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. London: Reprint: Forgotten Books. 2009. {{WorldCat|1110711401|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}

*''Ǧamharat an-nasab : das genealogische Werk des Hišam Ibn Muḥammad al-Kalbī (Band I und II) (Ǧamharat an-nasab : the genealogical work of Hišam Ibn Muḥammad al-Kalbī (Volume I and II)).'' By Werner Caskel. Leiden, Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1966. {{FSC|4134132|item|disp=FS Catalog book INTL 953 D2c}}; {{WorldCat|29957469|disp=At various libraries (WorldCat)}}

Tribes have traditionally played a critical role in the structure of Arab society and continue to be extremely important in many parts of the Arab world, including Palestine. In Palestine, the term "tribe" (<big>قبيلة</big>) typically refers to Bedouin, nomadic or semi-nomadic Arab groups that are found throughout the Middle East. Today, many Palestinian Bedouin have moved towards a sedentary lifestyle by choice or necessity, so the term today does not strictly refer to nomadic peoples. Tribal are most common in the Gaza Strip, where many have formed large confederations and include the 'Azazmah (<big>العزازمة</big>), Tayaha (<big>التياها</big>), and Tarabin (<big>الترابين</big>). Bedouin tribes also live in the West Bank, concentrated primarily in the hill country east of Hebron, with scatterings east of Jerusalem and on the west banks of the Jordan River<ref>Robinson, Glenn, "Palestinian Tribes, Clans, and Notable Families," ''Center for Contemporary Conflict,'' https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254648296_Palestinian_Tribes_Clans_and_Notable_Families, accessed 27 January 2025.</ref>.  

A much more common familial unit in Palestine is the clan or "<big>حمولة</big>", consisting of a small group of families that trace their lineage back to a common ancestry through the fathers' lines. The clan structures are most common in rural areas. Traditionally, women who married outside of the clan are counted, along with their children, with their husbands' clan rather than their clan of birth<ref>Robinson, Glenn, "Palestinian Tribes, Clans, and Notable Families," ''Center for Contemporary Conflict,'' https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254648296_Palestinian_Tribes_Clans_and_Notable_Families, accessed 27 January 2025.</ref>. It is important to note that inclusion within a clan does not necessarily entail a direct kinship relationship to that clan. Occasionally, families are adopted into clans due to economic or other factors, sometimes leading to the fabrication of ancestral lines aimed at justifying the inclusion.   

Additionally, urban regions of Palestine are typically centers of notable families, many of which served as officials or administrators under the Ottoman regime. Such prominent families include the Husayni (<big>الحسيني</big>), Abd al-Hadi (<big>عبد الهادي</big>), Nabulsi (<big>النابلسي</big>), Khoury (<big>الخوري</big>), Tamimi (<big>التميمي</big>), and others<ref>Robinson, Glenn, "Palestinian Tribes, Clans, and Notable Families," ''Center for Contemporary Conflict,'' https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254648296_Palestinian_Tribes_Clans_and_Notable_Families, accessed 28 January 2025.</ref>.

Tradition holds that all Arab tribes trace their lineage to two primary ancestors: Qahtan (<big>قحطان</big>), progenitor of the "pure" Arabs originating from modern Yemen, and Adnan (<big>عدنان</big>), ancestor of the "Arabicized" Arabs and a descendent of Abraham's son Ishmael.<ref name=":0">"People of Arabia," ''Britannica'', https://www.britannica.com/place/Arabia-peninsula-Asia/People, accessed 5 September 2024.</ref>

It is important to note that affiliation with a particular tribe does not necessarily entail direct kinship to that tribe. In some cases, new tribes formed as the result of alliances between pre-existing tribal groups. Individual families may have occasionally become clients of a different tribe and eventually adopted as members. On an even smaller scale, individuals were sometimes adopted into a tribe. This was particularly true during the first centuries of Islam, when non-Arab converts to Islam were required to become clients, or "mawali" (Arabic مَوالٍ), of an Arab tribe.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Spread of Islam," ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia,'' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_of_Islam, accessed 8 October 2024.</ref> Therefore, association with a tribe does not automatically imply descent or kinship relationship within a given lineage.

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