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Huwala people

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Houla
الهُوِلَة
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Gulf Arabic
Religion
Sunni Islam[1]

Huwala (Arabic: الهولة, sing. Huwali هولي) also collectively referred to as Bani Huwala, is a blanket term usually used to refer to Iranian Arabs of tribal lineage who initially migrated to Iran in the 13th and 14th century and intermixed with the indigenous population of older Arabic-speaking background.[2] Such migrations continued till around 19th century to the area which is now Iran's Hormozgan Province and Fars Province, mainly Bandar Abbas, Qishm, and the mainland near Bandar Lengeh.[3][4] The Huwala follows Sunni Islam, as opposed the majority Persian Twelver Shia and similar to Sunni Peninsular Arabs. Most of the Huwala have remigrated back to the Arabian Peninsula between late 19th century and early 20th century. The imposition of restrictive economic policies by Reza Shah in the 1930s led to the migration of most of the Huwala back to the Arabian Peninsula.[5]

The term "Huwala" does not refer to Sunni Larestani Achomi families such as Awadhi, Kandari, Janahi, Khaloori, Zarooni, and Bastaki.[6][7][8][9][10] It specifically refers to the actual Arab Huwalas (Arab El-Sahel), which encompasses the Qawasem, Hammadi, Al Nasur/Nassour, Obaidli, and Bani Tamim tribes.[11][12][13][14]

The original Huwalas are commonly referred to as Arab el-Sahel el-Shargi (Arabic: عرب الساحل الشرقي),[9][8] or simply Arab Faris (Arabic: عرب فارس),[15] but some of them prefer not to be called Huwalas as the term is used for Achomis in the Gulf. On the other hand, Achomis sometimes choose to identify themselves as Huwalas due to societal pressure to assimilate.[6]

Although Huwalas and Achomis have lived in close proximity to each other in Southern Iran, they are genetically dissimilar. Huwalas are relatively recent inhabitants of Southern Iran migrating from Arabia over the past five centuries. However, some have been residing there since the Sassanians, such as the Bani Tamim tribe.

Some families of non-Arab origins have adopted the surnames of Arabian Huwala tribes.[16] For example, they are often Hammadi and Marzooqi only in name.

Etymology

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Huwala (Arabic: الهولة), is a plural Arabic term for Huwali (Arabic: هولي). The meaning of the word remains unclear, and many Gulf historians continue to debate its origins and significance. Contrary to popular belief, there is very little evidence to support the claim that it means "to change over." The term Holi or Huwala is commonly associated with certain Bedouin tribes, such as the Al-Nuaimi and Al-Suwaidi tribes in the UAE and Qatar, as well as the Al-Azmi tribe in Kuwait, who have no connection to Iran or the Arab Fars/Huwala. This suggests that the term was in use prior to the Arab migrations to the Iranian coast. Furthermore, it does not help that the original Huwala tribes themselves have no knowledge of what the word means[1], and it does not exist in their oral history or tradition. It appears that the Huwala was a tribal confederation formed in Coastal Oman, similar to the Al-Utub cofederation, who were at times their arch rivals. However, it appears that the term was abandon shortly thereafter, which explains the lack of oral tradition by the Huwalas themselves.

A book by Dejanirah Couto and Rui Loureiro into Portuguese interactions in Hormuz defines Huwala as "migrant Arabs".[17]

Little is known about the Arab migrants who settled on the Iranian coast between Bushehr and Lengeh in the late 1500s. They were a disparate group of small tribes of sailors, traders, fishermen, pearl divers, and cultivators. Although they were all referred to as the Bani Hula, they were not a uniform group. In fact, they were each other's fiercest competitors for access to the pearl banks.

— The Persian Gulf: The Hula Arabs of The Shibkuh Coast of Iran by Willem Floor

Author Lawrence G. Potter defines Huwala as

..Groups of Sunni Arabs that migrated from Oman and the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula to the Iranian side the Gulf, between Bushehr and Bandar Abbas, probably starting in the eighteenth century. They eventually returned to the Arab side, especially after the discovery of oil and the imposition of restrictive economic policies by Reza Shah in the 1930s

— The Persian Gulf in History by Lawrence G. Potter


History

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In the 18th century, the Arab Al Qasimi tribal affiliation, once a major maritime power, took control of southern Iranian coasts and islands around Bandar Lengeh. In 1779 the Iranian Zand dynasty acknowledged a fait accompli and recognized a Qasimi as local ruler (farmandar) of Bandar Lengeh. At about the same time the Zands allowed the British East India Company to establish its residency and presence in Bushehr. The Qasimis remained in control of Bandar Lengeh and surrounding region until 1887, when they were defeated by the British in their self proclaimed “anti-piracy” campaign which Emirati based scholars (including current Sharjah ruler Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi) argue was a myth used to dominate trade routes to India and Iraq. The Qasimis retreated to the southern coast of the Gulf, and their Iranian domains reverted to nominal rule by Tehran.

The Achomi (Larestani) Iranian population lived on the coast alongside the Qasimis. They prospered under Al Qasimi rule as merchants in pearl trading. Author John W. Limbert argues that in response to Reza Shah Pahlavi's policies of centralization, conscription, civil status reforms, and, most important, the forced unveiling of women led to many of the Achomis to follow the Qasimis back to the Arabian Peninsula, further mixing the Huwala's Arabic and Persian roots.

Culture

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Mahyawa, a tangy Iranian/Achomi cuisine fish sauce was also introduced by the Huwala Arabs to the Arabian peninsula and many associate the sauce with the Achomis. However, the Huwala Arabs do not use the word Mahyawa, they refer to it as Tarih (طريح).[5]

Identity and origin

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Contemporary historians of that period, such as Niebuhr, Lorimer, David Seton, and others, did not neglect to record for us a huge number of political and social events in the Gulf during the period preceding the period of the recent migration of the inhabitants of the southern Iranian region to the Gulf states during the reign of Shah Reza Pahlavi at the beginning of the twentieth century AD.[12][14][18] We find in these historians a clear description of the identity of the true Huwala Arabs according to geographical and social standards.[12]: 17 [14]: 63 [18]

These historians agree geographically that the Huwala Arabs live in a specific geographical area starting from Bandar Kanj in the south and reaching Bandar Kangan in the north, and from the coast of the Arabian Gulf in the west to the region of the (Shibkoh) mountains in the east. This geographical area is called the Shibkoh (شيبكوه) region, meaning the sloping mountain, and there are no Huwala Arabs according to this description in the regions outside this region, such as the Bandar Abbas, Bastak, Bushehr, Falamarz, Ahvaz or Abdan regions.[12]: 17-18, 19 [14]: 63-64, 67 [18]

According to the Saudi historian Jalal Al-Haroon, there are two types of Huwalas:[12][14]

  • The first type consists of the original Arabs who migrated to Southern Iran from Coastal Eastern Arabia during the 16th and 17th centuries, such as the Bani Hammad, Qawasim, Obaildi, and Al-Haram.[12][14] The first type of Huwalas are now referred to Arab Fāris (عرب فارس) or Arab al-Sāḥil (عرب الساحل).[12][14][19]
  • The second type of Huwalas refers to the indigenous people of Southern Iran who resided under the rule of the aforementioned tribes and later migrated back with them to Arabia during the 20th century after the invasion by the Iranian government.[12][14]

The Huwala seem to have a different origin to other Iranian Arabs such as Khuzestanis or Ahwazis, according to scholarly consensus and Huwala's own origin narrative, they immigrated from numerous areas of Eastern Arabia, some from Tarout near Al-Qatif, Bahrain and the Qatari peninsula and other areas of Eastern Arabia such as Coastal Oman (Modern day UAE). Mainly Sunni Arab maritime families moved due to economic reasons and famine, settling in Southern Iran at different times throughout the 17th to 19th century. They settled on the coasts of Southern Iran.

Many Huwala are bilingual, speaking both Arabic and Persian throughout their history.[citation needed][according to whom?]

Many families speaking a Gulf dialect of Arabic in Iran before the forced partial Persianization by the Pahlavi dynasty discouraging and outright banning Arabic being taught in their areas and enacting policies that supported the break up and banning of tribal identification.[citation needed] Many Huwala families were forced to drop their Arab surnames in favor of city based surnames when signing up for schools or dealing with the Iranian state.[citation needed] These policies encouraged many Huwala families to move back to the Arab states of the Gulf, many moving to the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, who offered them refuge and citizenship.

Genetics

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Modern Huwala families have a greater proportion of Arab ancestry than Persian ancestry, with most individuals having Arabian lineage on their paternal side (Y-DNA). They share common paternal ancestors with Arabians from the Arabian Peninsula, and their last shared ancestors typically date back to the last few centuries. This indicates their migration to the southern coast of Iran took place during that period.

Huwala families

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Zur is a reasonably large town which is fortifies in the local manner and which has some pieces of artillery. it is inhabited by a tribe of Huwala called Qawasim these have been in earlier times subject to the imam of muscat but they do not recognise his authority any more

— Baron van Kniphausen, The Blood-red Arab Flag: An Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy, 1797-1820 By Charles E. Davies, p.173

Historical sources tell us that the "Al-Hawla Arabs" do not descend from a single tribe, but rather they descend from a union of several specific Arab tribes. We must focus here on the word “specific,” as the tribes belonging to the "Huwala Arabs" are the following tribes:[12]: 18 [14]: 64-66 

  1. Al Qasimi or Al-Qawasim[8][9][12][14]
  2. Al Marzooqi or Al-Marazeeq[8][9][12][14]
  3. Al-Ali[8][9][12][14]
  4. Bani Bishr[8][9][12][14]
  5. Bani Hammad or Al-Hammadi[8][9][12][14]
  6. Bani Obaidel or Al-Obaidly[8][9][12][14]
  7. Al-Haram or Al-Harami[8][9][12][14]
  8. Bani malik or Al-Malki[8][9][12][14]
  9. Bani Tamim or Al Tamim[8][9][12][14]
  10. Al Nasur/Nassour or Al-Mathkur[8][9][12][14]

Intentional confusion with Achomis

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The people of Bastak, Khonj, and Awad (Persian: عوض, romanized: Evaz) in Iran are surprised by the claim of their Arab lineage and completely reject it. As the saying goes, "The people of Mecca know its pathways best," so why do some insist on claiming the "Arabness" of these regions?

— A forum user commented.[9]

It is known that many Achomi sunni families changed their names (especially in Bahrain), having added Arabic "Al-" (ال) to their names,[6] whilst others completely changed their names.[16] Based on a study in 2013, the researcher noted: the linguistic and religious situation of Sunni Persians in Bahrain is thorny and sometimes it is intentionally confused between "Hole\Hawala Arabs" and "Sunni Persians".[10] The same study also claims that Sunni Achomis did not face any systematic racism.[10] In Achomi/Laristani blogs they claim they changed their names to either avoid racism or easily blend in.[6] There is a similar issue in Kuwait. Likewise some sources intentionally (or unintentionally) list non-Arab families are "Huwala Arabs."[20] Additionally; the Arabic Wikipedia page used to list non-Arab families as Huwala Arabs, this can be connected to the bias and politicization of Arabic Wikipedia.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 7 By William Bayne Fisher, P. Avery, G. R. G. Hambly, C. Melville, P.512
  2. ^ Al-Atiqi, Imad, 2019, The Late Arabs of Iran a reading in historical sources before three centuries, Al-Darah, vol 45 no. 3, July 2019
  3. ^ Studia Iranica - Volumes 1-2 و P. Geuthner, 1972 Page 80
  4. ^ Waqai-I Manazil-I Rum; Tipu Sultan's Mission to Constantinople – January 1, 2005 by Mohibbul Hasan, p20
  5. ^ a b Limbert, John W. (16 August 2016). "Iranian and Arab in the Gulf: Endangered Language, Windtowers, and Fish Sauce". University of Durham, Institute for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.
  6. ^ a b c d ADMIN (2016-07-19). "Persian (Larestani/Khodmooni) Sunnis – A shaping force in Bahrain". Archived from the original on 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  7. ^ McCoy, Eric (2008). Iranians in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates: Migration, Minorities, and Identities in the Persian Gulf Arab States (PDF). The University of Arizona. pp. 101, 102, 103. OCLC 659750775.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "مُتخيّلات الهوية لدى "الهوله" في الخليج" [Identity imaginations of “Al-Huwala” in the Gulf]. البيت الخليجي للدراسات والنشر (in Arabic). 2019-09-01. Archived from the original on 2024-09-07. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "كيف يكونون هولة وهم لم يتحدثوا العربية اطلاقا ولم يتعلموها الا في دول الخليج" [How can they be a Huwala when they never spoke Arabic and only learned it in the Gulf countries?]. arabalsahel.com. Archived from the original on 2024-09-03. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  10. ^ a b c "العجم السنة في الخليج لم يواجهوا تمييزاً عرقيا" [Sunni Ajams in the Gulf did not face racial discrimination]. مركز المسبار للدراسات والبحوث (in Arabic). 2013-09-15. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
  11. ^ کوخردی, مهران. تاريخ جنوب فارس لارستان و بستك [History of South Persia Laristan and Bastak]. p. 207.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s الهارون, جلال خالد; الأنصاري, جمال خالد الهاورن (2008). تاريخ القبائل العربية في السواحل الفارسية (النسحة الالكترونية) [History of Arab tribes on the Persian coast] (in Arabic) (1st ed.). pp. 13, 16, 18, 20, 22.
  13. ^ MBC1 (2024-03-29). مالك بالطويلة 6 | كيف وصلت القبائل العربية إلى إيران وما هي قصة الهولة. Retrieved 2024-09-07 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s تاريخ عرب الهولة والعتوب [History of Huwala Arabs & Utubs] (in Arabic). Jalal Khalid Al-Haron Al-Ansari, Ahmed Yousif Al-Obaidly (1st ed.). الدار العربية للموسوعات. 2011. pp. 63–66. ISBN 978-9953-563-10-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ^ aref mikaniky (2022-05-19). هبان ساحب ابراهيم مايد_نخل جمال(عرب فارس). Retrieved 2024-09-22 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ a b الفردان, هاني (2015-02-22). "موضة تغيير الألقاب". صحيفة الوسط البحرينية (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2017-05-11. Retrieved 2024-09-07. قد يسأل البعض لماذا؟ ولكن مجرد أن تعرف اللقب الأول أو المستبدل ستفهم المغزى والهدف من التبديل والتحول والتعري منه، في موقفٍ غير منطقي سوى التبرؤ من أصولهم وعوائلهم وأنسابهم طمعاً في تحقيق مكاسب آنية [Some may ask why? But once you know the first or replaced surname, you will understand the meaning and purpose of the change, transformation and stripping away from it, in an illogical position other than disavowing their origins, families and lineages in the hope of achieving immediate gains.]
  17. ^ Revisiting Hormuz: Portuguese Interactions in the Persian Gulf Region in the ... edited by Dejanirah Couto, Rui Loureiro p.93
  18. ^ a b c Niebuhr, Carsten (1792). Travels through Arabia, and other countries in the east. University of Michigan Libraries. pp. 144–145.
  19. ^ "مـنتدى عرب الجزر و الساحل الشرقي للخليج العربي الـرسمي". arabalsahel.com. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  20. ^ "عوائل الهولة التي إستقرت في المنطقة الشرقية بعد عودتهم من بر فارس" [The Hawala families that settled in the Eastern Province after returning from the coast of Persia]. Archived from the original on 2024-09-28.
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