Once Upon A Time In Hadhramout
Just at the beginning of the Second Wold War; the people of Hadhramout, were short of food and were starving. Many died of hunger or malnutrition; many, migrated (fled?) out. One of whom, was my late Father. He had just got married, and his wife was pregnant; as he was the most adventurous of his brothers, my Grandfather decided to encourage him to leave Hadhramout. Though he was the youngest. And he did leave. The only one in his family, who did.
Accompanied by others, including one of his cousins, he trekked from the interior (Wady Hadhramout) on foot and on camel, for almost eight days, to the sea port of She'her on the coast; She'her, a town about 50 km. east of Al Mukalla, had then been a larger port than the Mukalla one; just as Broom, another settlement 30 or so km. West of Al Mukalla, had been, too. All wanted to leave Hadhramout; the only way for the locals to leave, then, was by sea; and by dhow.
There were many others in She'her; all wanting to leave. As there were few dhows, the wait was long and hard. There wasn't enough to eat, and the sleeping quarters were poor and packed. The journey, to come, by sea - was even harder. Still, all felt joyous and excited, at the thought of leaving and going to the 'lands of plenty'. My Dad too; all that was on his mind, was that, once out - he would work hard, make some money and return to his family in Hadhramout. He would have a child then!
Most of those intending to leave, were aiming for Indonesia, or Java - to be precise. To the Hadharem, Java, was the land of opportunity. Where, opportunities and food were abundant and where - there were, already, many other Hadharem, settled. Other preferred destinations, were: Malaysia, Eastern Africa and India. A few, ventured for Iraq or Kuwait. And so, as my Dad waited - he hoped, and actually believed, he would go to Indonesia; if that fails, then - East Africa would do.
As fate would have it, his cousin managed to get a place on a dhow bound for Indonesia; and he instead, against his wish - sailed to East Africa. When leaving, little did he know that - he would never reunite with his wife, and that they would divorce due to my Dad's long absence that followed; and that his child would pass away early in childhood, without them seeing each other. That he would marry, again, twice, in East Africa; that he would return only once to Hadhramout, after, for a visit; that, both his parents and all his siblings except one, would pass away during his absence; and that, he would end up bringing back his family (us), to Hadhramout: almost forty-five years later.
In East Africa, he wandered from place to place, country to country - in such of opportunities. Later he kept on moving with us too, from one East African country to the other: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. In the end, making me feel at home in all three countries and love all, passionately. He used to tell me - East Africa was much better than the Hadhramout that he left behind, and he used to love East Africa deeply; and I used to wonder at what Hadhramout was like. But time shapes; time changes situations. By the last two decades of the last century, life in East Africa had become hard; too hard for the family. Many Hadharem, or their descendants moved back to Hadhramout or migrated to other more prosperous countries. And so, very much against my Dad's wish - the whole family migrated back to Hadhramout. Again - little did he know, that, Hadhramout had very much changed; for the better. It had abundant food, was very peaceful and was rapidly progressing. And here, in Hadhramout, we still are. All feeling very much at home. Except he is no longer with us now.
As for his cousin who went to Indonesia, he - just like the many other Hadharem there - never returned. Indonesia, still offers them better opportunities and conditions than present Hadhramout. Who knows; may be, a time will come, when they too will migrate back. And who knows: maybe too, a time will come when situation and conditions, force my progeny to leave Hadhramout for other places. And may be, go back to East Africa? Only God knows.
Other Posts From This Site On Hadhramout
References On Hadharamout: Knol, Al Bab, Wikipedia, Google News, Google Scholar, Google Map Images, Encarta Map
You touched a very recent history, but there is far older histories whch you may not be aware of. The more richer people of Hadramout and Mukalla use to sail expeditions to coastal villages in East Africa.
Once they arrived and foound their targets, they would rob and loot everything of value only to go back to Yemen.
Touching and wonderful story. Family history is fascinating, especially when intermingled with migration.
Your last paragraph is reminiscent of ancient history- ancient South Arabian tribes and their migration to other areas around them after the breaking of the dam of Ma'areb.
I guess history will keep repeating itself for ever.
Anonymous: sadly, that's a fact which I know of. In the olden days, Hadhramout was very tribal and the looting and plundering was done even in Hadhramout itself; between the different tribes.Revenge killings and murders were common. My late Dad told me all about this. Signs of those disturbing and unsettled periods, are present to date in Hadhramout - watch towers and posts, are common in many parts of Hadhramout. Do not forget: some Hadhramis were involved in slave trading too.
Roba - Yemen has many descendants who migrated to other places; including other Arab countries, like Northern Africa and the Gulf countries. It's common to meet a Tunisian or a Moroccan who has a similar family name to family names in Yemen; same in the Gulf countries. Ibn Khaldoon, is probably the greatest descendant of Hadhrami migrants.
At the same time, my late Dad used to tell me that - many tribes from Hadhramout, actually migrated from Iraq.
rahim hu Allah...
thanks for sharing akhy
Luminous ramadan greetings to thee
Salaam walykum a rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
Salam and Ramadhan Mubarak to you too, Brother. God bless you wherever you are. Thank you too, for sharing those flickr photos of your travels.
Salamaat,
I had been playing around with the idea of writing a story tracing my grandparent's trek to Kenya and beyond.
I am dying to visit hadhramout and if my husband would even hear of it; move there. :) but alas, Inshaallah, I will settle for just a small peek at the land that has evoked so much of my imagination.
Take care and keep giving us these glimpses into moments in hadhramout:)
I hope your fast is going well.
That would be wonderful; did you know that there is very little reliable information on Hadhramout in English? With all the very many capable, educated Hadhramis around, that just doesn't make sense. The main reason I began this blog, was that. I hope you go ahead and write a book. It would mean, you travelling all the way here and doing research an all that. I too, have thought of that; my excuse of not going ahead, is that - I don't have time.
Ramadhan is fine, but expensive and very commercialised here; still, the mood is just great. Most human life and activity is at night. Ma as salama.
A/aleikum,
I am also fascinated with all the stories my late grandfather told me about hadhramout,he was from a village called som(saum???)from the family of al-timimi,my paternal half uncle still lives there with his vast family.I have only met him twice so far when he came to visit us in msa.I have always wondered how my grandfather came to E.Africa,from what I could gather,it was due to famine.He always spoke fondly of hadhramout,always sang to us the folk songs,I sometimes try to sing them to my babies(well,if I remember the words correctly!).My husband has always been talking about us making a trip there one day so that we can all get in touch with our culture,our people and our roots,inshallah,bi-idhniillah,one day.
sf-timimi
My mother is a Tamimi too! From Tarim, very near to Saum. Hadhramout is very tribal to this day. For instance: here a Barsawad does not marry a Tamimi - so, had my late Father married here, he could not even have thought of marrying a Tamimi. I hope you get the chance to visit our Homeland, Insha Allah.
LOL!Yes,I know that hadharmis are very,ahem,tribal,have been telling my husband all along!hehehe! :)
My uncle(amm)is in saum,he was kinda *pissed* that I got married elsewhere,but that is such an old tradition.My husband is from the al-Bameid(bamajid???)family.The only person who could really explain all this is my uncle who I pray to meet inshallah soon.We find your blog so fascinating,especially when you talk/write about hadhramout and Yemen,makes up feel as if we are there,HOME!
sf-timimi
Wow..its amazing how that story is soo similar to my family's.
sf-tamimi: Arabs being so tribal, I still find Hadhramis as the most tribal and clannish of all! At the same time, Hadhramis are very cultured and know much.
I have not heard of Bameid nor Bamajid; it could be one of the small 'gabilas' around. Tamimi is a big one, and is part of the Al' Jabry's. Your uncle and the other elders around can help you understand a lot about our culture and traditions - which is very Islamic but with a mixture of Hadhrami's own.
Thank you very much for liking my blog; I will try to write as much as I can on Hadhramout, here. I understand the feeling, I too would have loved reading about Hadhramout - had I been out of here. Insha Allah you will visit Hadhramout.
Faith: are you a descendant of Hadhramis too? I will visit your site and, may be, know.
A/aleikum,
Actually,the bameids/bamajid are from the al-sanaa family,guess it is a small "clan".I think if am not wrong,the village/town of saum is close to sanaa,or I could be wrong,have not been there,but inshallah,one day. Just to add on hadhramis,they are one proud pple.My mother is from foghmah,she is of the al-saadan family.She has great aunts and cousins there.My first cousin who is from tz is @ al-ghedha,her dad is a mahra,and so is my other khala,she is also there,her late husband moved them there from tz too.Just a quick querry,what is "ghuse" made of,which plant is that.Am talking about the powder that looks like henna that pple use for washing themselves,or for pple with skin allergies,am really fascinated by that stuff,just never knew which plant/leaves it came from.
sf-timimi
I have asked around, and as you say, maybe Bameids come from the North of Yemen. As for Saum, I do not know of any that is near Sana'a which is the largest city and capital of Yemen; neither have I heard of Al' Sana'a gabilla, but any one who comes from Sana'a or is a resident of Sana'a is refered to as a 'Sana'ani'. I have been to Foghma several times, since 1985. It's remote and before, the roads leading there were very bad - but now have been greatly improved. When one travels from Mukalla at the coast, after about 270 kms. one reaches Wady Hadhramout. The first main town is: Al'Qatn, where Barsawads are from; 15 kms after is - Shibam and then Seiyoun after about, another 25 kms. Tarim is a further 15 or so kms ahead. Then on to Eenat, then Saum and then Foghma. All these, within the valleys and mountains of Hadhramout. Further ahead, near Mahra province but still ln Hadhramout - is Thamood. Mahra comes after; Al'gheidha is on the coast of Mahra.
In Foghma just as in Saum, I was surprised to find many East African born Hadhramis; some behave and look like bedouines, and yet speak perfect Swahili!
By 'ghuse' I guess you mean 'ghusl'. It's from a plant called 'sidr' or 'elb'; the plant, which grows in to a small tree, has thorns and its seeds called 'dowm' are considered valuable and nutritious. They are found in abundance in Wady Hadhramout, and the famous, valuable Hadhrami honey bees - feed on these plants; in Do'an in particular. The powder that you mention, is from the small leaves of 'elb' (sidr).
I undersatnd this plant (sidr) is mentioned in the Holly Quran in Surah:56 Ayah:26.
Thanks for your reply,I was kinda confussed on which plant it came from,and yes,it got lots of healing properties,my khale from al-ghaedha usually sends some to msa and my mom sends some to me when she gets pple coming over.The al-sanaa,am talking about it not the san'a (capital)I guess I have to inquire more about it,many pple from the al-sanaa community are mostly found in msa around the kuze area and are lots there.shukran. sf-timimi
Well Omar i guess you have helped clear my theory of why we were often called "wa shihiri" in East Africa. The port of Sheher sure served as major transit point. love your blogg.Pictures of Mukalla are amazing.
nahdy
Anonymous - I found out that there is a tribe from the Northern part of Yemen, that are called Al' Sana'ani. Could be that's the one.
Nahdy - you are right: the term 'shihiri' comes from the way Hadhramis migrated using the port of Sheher. I guess, when they reached on the East African coast, they said that they had come from Sheher, hence, then, being refered to as 'shihiri'.
Salams,
I just googled Hadhramis in E-Africa and i found your blog. It's so interesting to learn about other families reasons for their migration to Africa.I know for a fact that my grandfather was born in Kenya in the year 1900 or so, but there still exists the question of who migrated to Kenya in the first place. And When?
I know i have cousins in Indonesia and some of my family (intermarried with the Javas) migrated to Mombasa and have adapted names onto their lastname "Jaweyye" - which comes from "Java". All i know about Yemen is i am from Wadi el-Hanah and i have family from my maternal side living in Tarim. I've never heard anything about Yemen from my paternal side in Mombasa except for my grandfather (Allah yerhamuh)who visited Hadramout and built a mosque there under some sort of Waqf. My family has relocated to Canada over the last decade.
I have already added Yemen on my to-do-list once i get married, insh'Allaah. Anyways, do you know of Wadi-el-Hanah?
Mayra: do you know your family name? Here in Hadhramout, it's always easy to know where one is from by family name. I know of Wadi Heynan and have heard of Wadi El Hana; Tarim is a large ancient town.
You should vist your Homeland. I am sure you will like it.
My great grandfather had migrated from hadramout to India in 1920s I don't have much information abt which town/village he came from. Our tribe's name is Bahamam. does anyone have any idea which town they hail from?
Salam.
Dear Omar Barsawad,
Stumbled upon your site while doing some searches on Hadhramout. I'm a Malaysian-born Hadrami, a third-generation born in Malaysia to be exact.
My greatgrandfather came from a village/town called Alhauta Ahmed Ben Zein, near Seiyun. Like your father, he left Hadhdramout with a wife and left for Indonesia and finally settled down in Malaysia.
Our clan name is Belwael (or Bal-wael, in Indonesia we're known as Balweel). My grandfather told me that my clan belongs to the Alkathiri tribe. Of which I had confirmed with the Hadrami elders in Malaysia and Singapore.
After the passing of my grandfather, I've been very much interested to trace my roots and hopefully, if God wills it, return to my greatgrandfather's village this year.
I also have a granduncle (still alive today) who lives in Tanzania. He was born in Malaysia and was sent back to Hadramout as child by my greatgrandfather (a common thing to do during the pre-WW2 times). He never returned and eventually ended up in Tanzania. He finally visited Malaysia back in the 90s and a couple of times few years back.
That is how I learned about my ancestral village and lineage.
Having said that, would you know of any Belwaels around in Hadhramout? I would love to reconnect with the relatives/families there.....and also learn more about my greatgrandfather, our clan/tribe and history.
I have made my journey back to Yemen but time only permitted me to visit Sana'a. Hopefully to make it back to Yemen.....this time I'll be visiting Seiyun...
Kind regards,
H Belwael
Belwael: thank you for your comment.
I will check on the Belwaels and post a comment/reply here in 3 weeks time.
Assalamualaikum Omar
What a touching story and all too familiar. My grandfather and two of his three brothers left Hadramaut for south-east Asia. One brother went to Indonesia. My grandfather and his other brother went to Singapore.
Singapore by the way has a large Hadrami community, about 10 000 strong consisting of both gabilis and sayyids.
There are over 100 Hadrami family surnames in the community including Alkhatib, Baledram, Bin Hassan, Alkaff, Alhabshi, Alhadi, Alattas, Altuway, Baharon, Baobed, Basalamah, Bajrai, Bamadhaj, Alhaddad, Mari'e and Barosh.
Interestingly, my grandfather had a second cousin who went to Uganda. His children are still over there.
All three were to die far from their homeland. Some of us still keep in touch with the family in the old country.
BTW, my grandfather was borned in Al-Ghurfa, that's very near to Sayyun and there's a place named after my family, Qal'at Bin Abdat.
Until the next time, insha allah.
Wassalam
Faris bin Osman bin Said bin Umar bin Mubarak bin Ubaid bin Salleh bin Mubarak bin Khalid bin Umar bin Jaafar Abdat
p.s you don't know any Bin Abdat over there do you ? Anyway, if you ever in Singapore, let me know.....I'll show you around, insha allah.
Anonymous - I wrote about the Hadhramis in Singapore late last year here: http://hadhramouts.blogspot.com/2007/09/hadhramis-of-singapore.html.
I have been to Al Ghuraf several times. I have heard of Bin Abdats but I don't know of any.
Wherever there are Hadhramis, I feel more at home.
assalaamu alaikum Ndugu Omar Basawaad kw kwapatia jamaa na sisi pia njia ya kujulianan hali na matokeo kutoka pande zote ambako tuwaishi wana wa East Afrika ambao tuna aili ya kiahadhrami na mungu akusahalishie mambo yako yote Aameen. lakini ikiwezekana tupatie sehemu ya kiswahili ili tusiahau lugha yetu ambayo tumekulia nacho toka utotoni hadihivi sasa.
washukran
Anonymous: shukran kwa dua zako. Kwa sasa sina namna ya kuweka sehemu ya Kiswahili. Iki wezekana siku za mbele, nita fanya hivyo.
Salam alaykum ya omar.
Hope you are well. Finally, I will be making a trip to Seyun in December, Inshallah. Can't wait to experience the life, culture and taking loads of photos when I'm there.
I also hope to find my ancestral village. I have reason believe that the alhauta ahmed bin zein that I mentioned earlier could be Alhawta city in between Shibam and Seyun.
Inshallah, I'm still trying to find a local contact through my hadrami friends/relatives in Singapore and Indonesia.
It would be nice to actually connect with my Balweel/Belwael relatives in Hadramout.
Any luck in finding out about my clan? Please dont feel obliged to doing so....Im just trying my luck.
Perhaps if I could hook up with other Alkathiris in Seyun i.e. Bin Abdat and Bin Talib would be helpful too. After all we're all from the same gabilah.
Lastly, thanks for this site. It's really nice to see other hadrami descendants flocking in here and posting interesting comments about "home".
Ramadhan Kareem ya akh.
maa salama.
h belwael
My parents are of Hadhrami descent (Tarim). My grandparents had left Hadramout to come to East Africa as well, settling in Uganda. My parents were born and raised in Uganda until they reached the age of 17 and 18 and became refugees after leaving Uganda due to Idi Amin's regime. They were separated for a while and eventually after a couple of months were reunited in America where my brothers and sisters were born and raised. It's interesting to see a somewhat similar story to mine. We are Baghouths and it has been difficult finding any other distant relatives (besides the ones we already know) and hard to find how far our roots go back. Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Belwael: I just found out that there are many Bilwaels in my home twon - Al'Qatn. I haven't yet been able to find any knowledgeable person who can tell me the real roots of Belwaels - some are now saying it's Al'Qatn.
Al Kathiris are certainly mainly based in the Seiyoun-Tarim area. When you come, you will be surprised by many things about Hadhramout. I know you will love most of it.
Baghouth: indeed your story is very similar to mine. During the Amin era, my parents and most of the Family were in Uganda; while I was mostly in Kenya. They fled Uganda too in 1979, and came to Hadhramout.
Are you in any way related to the Baghouth who was in the Soroti-Tiriri area?
Assalamu alaikom. keifal hal ya omar? My name is Yahya bin Jakfar bin Sa'id bin Awad bin Kuddah. I'm in jakarta Indonesia. my grand father (jiddi) was from alhauta ahmed bin zein seywun Hadramout, his wife is Balweel her name Limih balweel. i hope some day i can go to hadramaut to visit my grand father village... Insyaallah
ps: for balweel please send an e_mail to yahya_kuddah@yahoo.com 'cos i now some balweel in Seywun
Assalamu Alaikom
Omar:
Both of my parents were born and raised in Busembatia, Uganda. My grandparents were born in Yemen and immigrated to Uganda. My father is Baghouth and my mother is Bawazir. My parents lived in Busembatia, Uganda. When I look at a map of Uganda, I see that Busembatia is South of Soroti. I'm not sure if the two towns are far from each other, but from the map they don't look too far. So you are saying that there are Baghouths (from my father's side) in the Soroti area? Do you have any more information on this inshaAllah? Ma'asalama
Salamalaikum.
Minal aidin wal faizin to you, Omar.
This is certainly good news for me. Where exactly is AlQatn in yemen?
As for Yahya,"salam lebaran dari malaysia" (Eid greetings from Malaysia).
The bin kuddah are definitely from the alkathiri gabilah and its wonderful to know that Alhauta really does exist :) I will email you for more details, inshallah.
Thanks for making my day!
H Belwael
Assalaam-aleykum.
Thanks Omar for such wonderful blog and we also happen to have similar upbringing. Warm greetings.
Baghouth: I have been trying to get the first name of the Baghouth who was living in the Teso area, but have failed. Any way, there is a Baghouth family who live here in Aden - the Omar Baghouth family, who I belive come from Kamuli. Incidentally: my maternal grandma comes from Busembatia too, though I have never been there.
Foud: thank you and warm greetings to you too.
Beautifully written. Thanks!
You're building a network here.
There's quite a lot of Hadrami history in the British Library in Euston, London.
Keep writing / keep posting!
Omar: The Omar Baghouth family in Aden is my family! I believe he is my father's half brother (brother from another mother). What is your maternal grandma's name if I may ask?
My maternal grandmother passed away in 1977; her name was Barqah.
I have been to the home of the Baghouth in Aden, maybe 2, 3 times in the early 1990s; a secluded home with trees and flowers - very much African like.
Dear Fariz,
Is there anyway that I can contact you? I am a descendant of Bin Abdat and I'm currently doing research. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Abdul Rahman
Assalamualaikum Abdul Rahman, you may contact me at frovpt@singnet.com.sg
It's always great to know another Bin Abdat. Insha allah, talk to you soon.
Faris Abdat
assalam alaaikum. i just returned from a three month visit in my homeland foghma.my god one of the most -i dont have a word for it- moments and times of my life. but alhamdillah i saw my cousins.am definately going back again.
k. salim al-khamis
Am very suprisf to read ur history omar coz its almost familiar to my grand parents.they also fled to east africa,married and produced my parents.it was my grandfather and his brother who come to e.a.unfortunately they never returned to hathramout.some of their relatives remained in yemen and others went to singapore who am stil searching for. My mom always tels me my grand parents history.she says that it was my grandfathers uncle who was the king before the overthrow of the yemen gov't by the british.We are the only ABDATS living in east africa up today.from fahad abubakar.
Salam,
i loved your blog i am very surprised that your story so similar to mine.
my granddad and his brother traveled to East Africa then to Indonesia India and finally in KSA.
It is amazing that most stories of descendants of Hadhramy migrants are very similar.
woow, love this blog, so I am not the only one lool. thanks Omar your great blog. Arwa - ( my granddad and his brother traveled to East Africa then to Indonesia India and finally in KSA)I think we are so similar infact my name is Arwa :&