[p.594] list of the Ghafeyrs of the convent, not belonging to the
Towara. These are,
El Rebabein [Arabic], a small tribe belonging to the great Djeheyne
tribe of the Hedjaz; a few families of the Rebabein have settled at
Moeleh on the Arabian coast, and in the small villages in the vicinity
of Tor. They serve as pilots in that part of the Red sea, and protect
the convents property about Tor.
El Heywat [Arabic], El Syayhe [Arabic], are small tribes living east of
Akaba, among the dwelling-places of the Omran. El Reteymat [Arabic], a
tribe about Ghaza and Hebron. El Omarein, or Omran. El Hokouk [Arabic],
the principal tribe of he Tyaha. El Mesayd [Arabic], a small tribe of
the Sherkieh province of Egypt. El Alowein, a strong tribe north of
Akaba. El Sowareka [Arabic], in the desert between Sinai and Ghaza. El
Terabein. El Howeytat. Oulad el Fokora [Arabic], the principal branch of
the tribe of Wahydat near Ghaza. Individuals of all these tribes are
entitled to small yearly stipends and some clothing, and are bound to
recover the property of the monks, when seized by any persons of their
respective tribes. In one of the manuscripts I found the name of a
Ghafeyr called Shamoul (Samuel), a Hebrew name I had never before met
with among Arabs.
On the 29th, I was visited by Hassan Ibn Amer [Arabic], the Sheikh of
the Oulad Said, who is also one of the two principal Sheiks of the
Towara, and in whose tent I had slept one night in my way to the
convent. He begged me to lend him twenty dollars, which he promised to
repay me at Cairo, as he wished to buy some sheep to be killed on the
following day in honour of the saint Sheikh Szaleh. I told him that I
never lent money to any body, but would willingly have made him a
present of the sum if I had possessed it. He then said in many words,
that if it had not been for his interference, the Bedouins would have
waylaid and
[p.595] killed me in returning from Djebel Katerin. I told him that he
and his tribe would have been responsible to the Pasha of Egypt for such
an act; and in short that I never paid any tribute in the Pashas
dominions. It ended by my giving him a few pounds of coffeebeans,
wrapped up in a good handkerchief, a few squares of soap, and a loaf of
sugar, to present to his women, and thus we parted good friends. In the
evening his brother came and also received a few trifles. He had brought
a fat sheep to kill in honour of El Khoudher (St. George), a saint of
the first class among Bedouins, and to whose intercession he thought
himself indebted for the recovery of the health of his young wife. In
the convent, adjoining to the outer wall, is a chapel dedicated to St.
George; the Bedouins, who are not permitted to enter the convent,
address their vows and prayers to him on the outside, just below the
chapel. I was invited to partake of the repast prepared by the brother
of Sheikh Hassan, and much against the advice of the monks, I let myself
down the rope from the window, and sat below for several hours with the
Arabs.
I was invited also to the great feast of Sheikh Szaleh, in Wady Szaleh,
which was to take place on the morrow, but as I knew that Szaleh, the
great chief of the Towara, was to be there, and would no doubt press me
hardly by his inquiries why I had come without the Pashas Firmahn; and
as the Arabs were greatly exasperated against me for my late excursion
to Om Shomar in addition to other causes of displeasure, I thought it
very probable that I might be insulted amongst them, and I therefore
determined to seize the opportunity of this general assembly in Wady
Szaleh to begin my journey to Cairo; by so doing, I should also escape
the disagreeable necessity of having Bedouin guides forced upon me. I
engaged Hamd and his brother with two camels, and left the convent
before dawn on the 30th, after having taken a farewell