الحضارم | |
|---|---|
 Map of Hadhramaut and their diaspora regions | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Arabian Peninsula,East Africa,Southeast Asia | |
| Languages | |
| Hadhrami Arabic, historicallyHadramautic | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam, mainlyShafi'i | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherArabs, otherOld South Arabian-speaking peoples,Lembas,Chaush,Sri Lankan Moors,Sodagar,Konkani Muslims,Nawayath,Malabar Muslims,Surti Sunni Vohras |
TheHadharem (Arabic:حضارم,romanized: ḥaḍārim; singular: Hadhrami,Arabic:حضرمي,romanized: ḥaḍramī) are anArabic-speakingethnographic group indigenous to theHadhramaut region in theArabian Peninsula, which is part of modern-dayYemen. The spoken language of the Hadharem isHadhrami Arabic.[1] Among the two million inhabitants ofHadhramaut, there are about 1,300 distinct tribes.[2]
Hadhramaut was under Muslim rule and converted to the faith during the time ofProphet Muhammad.[3] A religious leader from Iraq introduced the Hadharem toIbadi Islam in the mid-eighth century until in 951 AD when Sunnis took Hadhramaut and put it under their domain. To this day the Hadharem followSunni Islam, specifically theShafi'i school. Hadharem women have had more freedom and education than women in many other Arab countries.[2]
The people of the region are known as the Hadharem belong generally to the semitic south Arabians who claim descent fromYarub bin Qahtan. There is, however, a large number ofSada (Hadrami Arabic:سادة,romanized: Sadah;Singular:Sayyid), or descendant of theIslamic Prophet Muhammad, and of townsmen of northern origin, besides a considerable class of African or mixed descent. The Sada, descendants ofHusain ibn Ali, grandson of the Islamic Prophet, Form a numerous and highly respectedaristocracy. They are divided into families, tho chiefs of which are known asMunsibs, who are looked on as the religious leaders of the people and are even in some cases are regarded with great respect as saints. Among the leading families are that ofSheikh Abu Bakar bin Salem (Hadrami Arabic:الشيخ ابو بكر بن سالم) ofʽAynat,al-Aidarus (Hadrami Arabic:العيدروس) ofShihr andWadi Dawan, Bin Sumayt (Hadrami Arabic:بن سميط) ofShibam and theSakkaf (Hadrami Arabic:سقاف) ofSeiyun. They do not bear arms, nor occupy themselves in trade nor manual labour nor even agriculture; though owning a large proportion of the land, they employ labourers to cultivate it. As compared with the other classes they are well educated and are strict tn their observance of religious duties, and owing to the respect due to their descent they exercise a strong influence both in temporal and spiritual affairs.[4][5]
The Mashayikh (Hadrami Arabic:المشايخ) is another highly regarded group that is second in prestige to the Sada. Like the Sada, they don't bear arms.[6] Men from this group are given the honorific surnameSheikh (Hadrami Arabic:شيخ) and women are given the surnameSheikha (Hadrami Arabic:شيخة) which is different from the termSheikh (Arabic:شيخ) that is used to refer to atribal chief or a Muslimscholar.[6] Prominent Mashayikh families include the ‘Amudi (Hadrami Arabic:العمودي), Ba Wazir (Hadrami Arabic:با وزير), and Ba ‘Abbad (Hadrami Arabic:با عبّاد) families.[6]
The Qaba'il (Hadrami Arabic:القبائل) or tribesmen, as in the rest of Arabia, are the predominant class in the population. All the adults carry arms. Some of the tribes have settled towns and villages, others live abedouin life keeping however within the territory which is recognised as belonging to the tribe. They are divided into sections or families, each headed by a chief while the head of the tribe is called themuqaddam orsultan. He is the leader in peace and in war, but the tribesmen are not his subjects; he can only rule with their support.[4] Historically, the most powerful tribes in Hadhramaut was theQu’aiti, a branch of theYafa'a tribe. Originally invited by the Sada to protect the settled districts against the marauding tribes, they established themselves as rulers of the country, and possessed the coastal districts with the towns of Mukalla and Shihr as well as Shibam in the interior. The family had accumulated great wealth and was in the service of theNizam of Hyderabad in India as commander of the Arab levy composed of his tribesmen.[4][5]
The townsmen are the free inhabitants of the towns and villages as distinguished from the Sada and the tribesmen; they do not carry arms, but are the working members of the community, merchants,artificers, cultivators, and servants and are entirely dependent on the tribes and chiefs under whose protection they live. The servile class contains a large African element, brought over formerly when the slave trade nourished on this coast; as all Islamic countries they are well treated, and often rise to positions of trust.[4][5]The Hadharem speakHadhrami Arabic, a dialect ofArabic, although Hadharem living in the diaspora that have acculturated mainly speak the local language of the region they live in.[7]
The Hadharem have a long seafaring and trading tradition that predates Semitic cultures. Hadramite influence was later overshadowed by the rise of theSabaeans, who became the ruling class. This prompted Hadhrami families to emigrate in large numbers around theIndian Ocean basin, including theHorn of Africa, theSwahili Coast, theMalabar Coast,Hyderabad inSouth India,Sri Lanka, andMaritime Southeast Asia.[8] In the mid 1930s the Hadhrami Diaspora numbered at 110,000, amounting to a third of the total Hadhrami population.[9]
Hadharami communities exist in western Yemen, the trading ports of theArab states of the Persian Gulf, and on the coast of theRed Sea. The money changers inJeddah,Saudi Arabia have historically been of Hadhrami origin.[10]
The Hadharem have long had a presence in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti,Ethiopia andSomalia), and also comprise a notable part of theHarari population. Hadhrami settlers were instrumental in helping to consolidate theMuslim community in the coastalBenadir province of Somalia, in particular.[11] During the colonial period, disgruntled Hadharem from the tribal wars settled in various Somali towns.[12] They were also frequently recruited into the armies of theSomali Sultanates.[13]
Some Hadhrami communities also reportedly exist inMozambique,Comoros, andMadagascar.[14]
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The vast majority of theHadhrami Jews nowlive in Israel.[15]
The Hadharem presence in Singapore came from encouragement ofStamford Raffles to trade in his newly establishedcolony of Singapore.[20]
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