tribe and politics - yemen

5/25/2018 Tribe and Politics - Yemen

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Tribe and Politics: An Example from Highland Yemen

Author(s): Charles F. SwagmanReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of Anthropological Research, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Autumn, 1988), pp. 251-261Published by: University of New MexicoStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3630259.

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TRIBEANDPOLITICS: N EXAMPLE ROMHIGHLAND EMENCharles .Swagman7446W.91stStreet,LosAngeles,CA90045

Overhepast wodecades,natural emenas beenundergoingprocessfpoliticaldevelopmentndchange. his aperxamineshe nteractionftribalocial rganizationwith heemergingtate tructuresndpoliticaldeologiesn contemporaryouthwestArabia.Evidenceroma communityear heNorthYemenorder ithSouthYemendemonstratesowtribal ocialorganizationontinueso beactivelymployednframingregionaloliticalonflicts.arallelsredrawn etweenhemassingftribalorcesnconflictituationsnNorthYemennd herapidscalationfthe1986politicalonflictin SouthYemenhateft he apitality,Aden,nruins.OVER HEPAST WOecades, natural emenhas undergone apid ocial,economic, ndculturalhange.'The mostchallengingaskhasbeento establishdemocraticoliticaltructuresrom hefragmentedemains f a toppledheo-cratic state in NorthYemen theYemenArabRepublic) nd froma colonialadministrationnSouthYemen thePeople'sDemocraticRepublicfYemen).One of the most significantmanifestationsf the difficultiesnherent n thisefforthasbeen the recentpoliticalurmoiln SouthYemen. nFebruary 986aninternal owerstrugglebetweentwo factions f the SouthYemen ocialistpartyescalated nto a short,butintensely ierce,warthat eft the capital ityof Aden nvirtual uin.Initial nalysis f this event has focusedonunderlyingpolitical ndeconomic ontradictionsnthe socialist tate whichheightenedneed forchangenthe state's oreign nddomesticpoliciesLawson 986:441-49). However,whatwasparticularlynterestingnthis nstance,andwhathasyet to be accountedor, was the swiftness with whichseeminglydisparateruralorceswere mobilized ndhowquicklyhecombatantslignedhemselvesaccordingo locality.2ThisSouthYemenncident uggeststhat otherpolitical imensions eyondthatofpartyandstate areinterwovennthefabric fcontemporaryouthwestArabian olitics.Sincethemid-1970s series of conflicts ndshortwarshaveoccurred hroughouthisregion,withtheAdenwarbeingthe mostdramaticexpressionof a muchwiderprocess.Therapidity f the massing f forcesin the Aden warsuggeststhat southArabianribalorganizationtillplaysanimportantoleinregional olitics--thatheemerging tatepoliticaltructuresandpoliticaldeologiescontinue o interactwith tribaldeologyand tribalor-ganizationo motivatepolitical ehavior.Althoughxamplesikethe Adenwartend to drawgreaterattention,such interactionsan also be found n lessdramaticettings.Thispaper xamineshow modern oliticalnstitutions ndideologies nfluenceribal tructuresand,conversely,howtribalorganizationaffectspoliticalmovements.Our xamples taken roma recentpoliticalonflict

251


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252 JOURNAL FANTHROPOLOGICALESEARCHinthe Radac istrictof NorthYemen,nearthe SouthYemenborder.As back-groundorthis discussiont is firstnecessary o outline he majoreaturesoftraditional olitical rganizationnthe region.

YEMENTRIBALORGANIZATION:N OVERVIEW3The socialunit hat s thenear-equivalento whatsocialscientistsconsidera tribe s theqabila pl.qaba'il).LikemostMiddleEastern ribal rganization,the Yemen ribal tructures segmentary ndhierarchical.he highest evelofunitys the confederationf tribes hill).Forexample,nthehighlandegionsare threemajor onfederationsr associations f Yemeniribes:the Hamdan

federationsHashid ndBakiln the northern ndcentralpartsofYemen) ndthe less activeMadhhijederationnthe southern egions.Yemeni ribesvaryin size and n the number f levelsof segmentation.4Inhighland emen he tribesarepoliticalntitiesthat areintimatelyinkedto specific erritories.Whenonespeaksof a qabila, ne is referringo bothaspecificareaand he peoplewholivewithin t (Adra1982:18).Althoughhereis considerablecholarlydebateover the natureof the Yemeni ribes,at aminimumhey are namedpoliticalntitiesthatplayanimportantole in theregulation f publicaffairs.Somequestionalso exists as to whetherYemenitribes are corporate ntities. While hisdependson the definition f corpo-rateness,thegeneral onsensuss that heyare not.5Tribeshavenointernallydefinedpoliticaltructureandmaintain o economic going oncerns. How-ever, theydo havedeterminatemembershipndoccupyandholdrightsoverterritorieswithclearlydefinedandprotectedboundaries.One of the mostfrequent ausesof tribal onflictsdispute ver and ndwater ights,especiallywhen tribal ectionstry to shift theirmembership,huseffectively eappor-tioning ribalboundaries.6he significancef the tribes lies not in whetherthey are corporate ntities,per se, at a specific ime, but in theirpoliticalpotentialororganizing roupaction.Tribal tructure s segmentary,hatis, tribes are composedof sections,subsections, ub-subsectionsndso on;the actualnumber f levelscanvary.The levels of segmentationavenospecificnames,buttheyareoften abeledas fifths, fourths, eighths,andthe like.Toillustratehisratherabstractdescription,we mayadd he spatialdimension; subsectionmightnclude enor twenty villagesspreadoutovera twentyor twenty-five quarekilometerarea,depending, fcourse,on theecologicalonditions. sectionmayextendacross one hundredquarekilometers r so, include ourorfivesubsections,and total five or ten thousandpeople.A qabilas madeup of a numberofsections,coveringhundreds f squarekilometers, ndmaynumberhirtyorforty thousand members.

As Dresch (1984:33-34) suggests, the Yemenisegmentary tribal structurehas deep historicalroots and appears to be relatively stable over time. In anagrariansociety like Yemen, tribes do not move en masse, as in the typical


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TRIBEANDPOLITICSN YEMEN 253Bedouinsociety (see Peters 1967).To findexamplesof a tribeapparentlydoingso, it is necessary o go back o earlyhistoricalccounts, specially l-Hamdani's l-Iklil,written n the tenthcentury,and,even then,movesthatarerecorded re saidto have takenplaceat someunspecifiedime n thepast(Lofgren 953).Mostofthe tribesknownodayarefoundnthesame ocationsthey have occupied or centuries. Of course, given the naturalprocess ofexpansion,groups romthe powerful pperYemen ribeshavemigratedntolowerYemen,but the parent ribes have remained table.Afew tribeshaveappeared r disappearedince the tenthcentury,some are larger hantheywere and omesmaller, etinplacesconfederationorders realmostpreciselywheretheywere a millenniumgo(Dresch1984:35).

Changenthe tribal tructurenvolves he generationordisintegration)fa politicaldentity; hus,change s essentiallya political ctivity.While ribescantheoreticallyhangeallianceswithin he confederationsnd sectionscanchange ribes(thesmallerheunits,themore ikely heyare to shiftalliances),this is actuallyquiterare. The principaleason s thatpeople n an agrariansocietyarefacedwith hepracticalecessitiesof ivingwithin potentialupportgroupandmaintaininglose extended amily elationships. or anindividual,changingribalalliancemayrequire ithersellingpropertyandmoving o an-otherarea or facing he highsocialcosts of remainingnoutsider.However,fora change o occur nthe tribal tructure,anentiretribeor tribal egmentmusteither move and be integratednto another ribeor section or formanew tribal egment.Thisinvolves he creation f a newpoliticalntity.Giventhe directconnection f tribal dentitywithland,such a shift couldbecomeverycomplicated,nd,consequently,nychangentribal tructures possibleonlywhen a highdegreeof consensushas been achievedamong he potentialmembersof the new tribal egment.Changingribal ssociation,herefore, snot something hat is takenlightly,and the situationmustbe very seriousbefore t occurs.

Local eadershipnthe Yemen ribal ocialorganizationnvolves he officeof theshaykh.Named ribal egmentsareusually epresented yoneor moreshaykhs,depending n the size of the segment;butsomesegmentshave noshaykhs tall,andothershavemany. ndividualsrefree totake heirproblemsto anyshaykh heywish,butmost often t is expediento dealwith the localshaykh,especiallyf he alsohappenso be a close kinsman.Tribesmen elate to each otherin a genealogicaldiom;membersof thesametribeaddress achotheras brother ndrationalizehisputative inshipthrough eference o a commonribal ponym.Typically,ne finds ribal eg-ments with names suchas BaniFadl,DhuHussayn,clyalYazid, ndthe like,all of whichreflect a notionof commonancestry.7However, his tribal e-latedness is merely a statement of a commonpolitical dentityas expressed ina genealogical idiom, not a detailingof actualkinshiprelationships.It is quitecommon to find tribal subsections with names such as khums (fifth)Bani Fadlthat are composed of one or two descent groups;however, at the higherlevels


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254 JOURNALFANTHROPOLOGICALESEARCHoftribal rganization, embers rerelatedonly ntheabstract.While nemaychoose his tribalaffiliationy moving nto anotherarea,peopleare, for themostpart, simplyborn nto a qabila ndretain his tribal ffiliationhroughouttheir ives.

Finally,ribalmemberships alsoassociatedwithqabayla, powerfuldeologyor ethos thatprescribesproper annons f moralbehavior ndreciprocalb-ligations. gain, hereis debateonthe extentof the obligationf tribesmento cometo each other'sassistance,andpracticalonsiderationsftenplayanimportantole;nevertheless,the ideologyof unity s a powerfulmotivatingforce.9Yemeniribalisms conceived f interms ofhonor(sharaf, ard,wajh),and action s takenwhen the collectivehonorof the tribeor segmentis injeopardy.Typical ventsthat nvoke ollective ctionare defenseof territorialintegrityandgroup upportn violentdisputesbetweenmembersof differenttribesor tribal egments.

A second mportantspectof tribal ocialorganizationnhighland emensthe lineageorganization. oinghand n handwitha segmentarytructureoftribalpolitical nits s a segmentary ineagesystem. Becauseboth the tribalstructureandkinshipmodelemploya genealogicaldiom o characterizeheirrelationshipsi.e., use terms ikebrother nd onandmake eferenceoancientancestors),caremust be takennot to mergethe two. Thekinshipmodel s amechanismorformingocialgroupsobligatedoeachotherbyvirtueof actualcommondescent tracedthroughhe maleline.At the very lowest levels ofassociationi.e., from he nuclearamily pto the minimalgnatic nits), hesegroupsareclearlydefined ntitiesthatare oftencorporate.However,as thegenealogical istance ncreasesand the relationshipsecomemoreabstract,confusion verjust how the model s structured nd whatconstituteineagesubunits ncreases(Adra 1982; Chelhod1970;Stevenson1985). A largelexiconexists to referto the lineagedivisions,but often the termsoverlap,have multiplemeanings,or simplyrefer to different evels of segmentationaccordingo localusage.Terms uchas stomachbatn),branchfakhdh),meat(lahm),house(bayt),andsinew(habl)allareratherorganicermsforlineagedivisionsabovethe levelof the extendedhousehold. Attempts o presentaconcise, clear-cutdescription f just whichkinsmenbelongto whatlineagesubdivisionsre largely utilebecausethe nativemodel s itself flexible.Thesegmentary ineagemodel s the statementof a principleor the formation flargergroupswhen andif the need arises;it is not a definition f concisegenealogicallyefinedpoliticalntities.As Adra 1982:115)argues,the seg-mentarymodel provides oththe mind et and he rationaleo bringdiverseindividualsogetherwithout ecessitatingoercionrthecentralizationfpower.Itis notintended, owever, o defineallpossible elationshipsnvolvingmutualrights andobligation. n dailyaffairs he sociopoliticalmportanceof the largerdescent groups(e.g., fakhdh,habl) s only rarelydemonstratedandthenmostlyin an ad hoc manner. These descent groups come together in times of ritualor crisis and when collective action is needed, such as in the cases of blood


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TRIBE NDPOLITICSNYEMEN 255feud,economicdisaster,or threat romoutside orces. The existenceof kin-basedcorporate roups s generallyimited o the level of the minimalgnaticgroups.The responsibilitiesnd oyaltiesowed to the tribalgroupwith whomoneresidesappearo be more mportanthan hose owed to one'sdescentgroup.Whenposedthehypotheticaluestion floyaltyna conflict etween wotribalgroups,informantstate that the tribesmans obliged o side withthe groupwithwhomhe is resident,even if the opposinggroup s his descentgroup.Residency s analogouso citizenship, ndin localpolitical ffairs t is moreimportanthankinship.Whena familymoves ntoanother ribal rea, t makesa formal greementwith he hostgroupand akes a pledgeofloyaltyo insuresecurity,shared esponsibilities,nd hebenefitsofgroupmembership.ftheagreements notmade,theright o purchaseandwillbe denied,or thefamilywillsimplybe left to fend for itselfin timesof trouble.Thiswouldcreate anintolerablyerilous xistence.Insum,tribal tructures definedbyreference o a distantapical ncestor,and the conventionornamingribesand tribal egmentsfrequently, ut notnecessarily, mpliesa common escent.Furthermore,n muchof tribalYemena close empiricalelationshipetween ribeand ineage ometimes xists, andmaximalineagesandtribal egmentsmaybe isomorphic.However, ineagesalso oftenspreadoutacross ribal oundaries. oth ineage tructure nd ribalstructure reexpressed nagenealogicaldiom,but he tribe annot eproperlyconceived f intermsofdescent.Tribeand ineageare not thesame-lineagesare agnaticdescentgroups; ribesarepoliticaldentities.

CONTEMPORARYOLITICSAND TRIBALORGANIZATION:A POINTOF INTERACTION

Political onflictprovidesan excellentsituationn which he interaction fcontemporaryoliticalmovementsand ocaltribal tructure an be analyzed.Between 1978 and 1982 considerable oliticalunrestin the borderregionsbetween he twoYemens ook heformof localandregionalmilitarykirmishes.The case underconsiderationnvolved he tribe of al-cArish,which n 1981split ntotwo tribal egmentsas a resultofinvolvementntheregionalonflict.The tribe al-cArishs locatedon the highplainsnear the town of RadacnsoutheasternYemen,aboutan hour'sdrive rom heSouthYemenborder.Theareais comparativelylat,punctuatedwith volcanic xtrusions,and receivesrainfalln two monsoon easons,thespring ainsbetweenMarch ndMayandthe summermaxima etweenJulyandSeptember.Rainfalls variable ndcanrange rom300 to 1000mmper year, makingarming high-risk ctivity.Themajorityof the al-cArish ribesmen are farmers who cultivate sorghum (thestaple cereal crop)andqat(a shrubwhose leaves are chewed for their stimulanteffect). Agriculture in the region is based on rain-fed techniques, althoughirrigationthrough the use of tube wells is increasing. The Radacarea has a


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256 JOURNAL FANTHROPOLOGICALESEARCHhighemigrationate,andtheexpatriateemittances ave stimulatedhe localeconomy.Manynew businesses,particularlyetailshops,havesprungupinthe region,and considerablenvestmenthas been made n drillingwellsandbuildingwatersupply ystems.However,most of the irrigation ater s usedforincreasinghe productionf cashcrops,especiallyqat.The al-cArish, ho number oughlybetween fifteenandtwentythousand,consider hemselvesto be membersof the Bakil ederation.'2 hey live invillages hatrange n size fromtwo hundred o over six thousand esidents.Inall,the tribal reaencompasses ver250squarekilometers,with hehighestconcentrationf settlements nthe fertileqacal-Fayid alley.Thestagefor heentanglementfalocal ribal isputewith hewider egionalpoliticalonflictwas set many earsearlier.Forgenerationshe most mportantshaykhof al-cArishwas from the al-Barashiamily.Some forty years ago,ShaykhMuhammadl-Barashi doptedcAbdulWahab l-Hamdani, youngorphaned oyfrom he villageof ad-Drayba.Inadditiono hisadopted on,ShaykhMuhammadlso had six natural ons anda brother.cAbdulWahabproved o be a goodstudentof localpolitics,and over the yearshe traveledthroughouthe tribeanddevelopeda reputation s a competent, air,andintelligentman.At the sametime,one of Muhammadl-Barashi'saturalons,Hassan,was also interestedna career n localpoliticsandwas, so to speak,incompetitionwithcAbdulWahab.Additionally,Ali l-Barashi,he brotherofShaykhMuhammadl-Barashi,who hadheretoforebeen a secondaryigure,alsohadpoliticalmbitionsndwaswaitingnthewings.Familyensionsbeganto intensify n the late 1970s afterthe deathof ShaykhMuhammad.Alial-Barashi,an olderman,wasina strongpositiono assumethe responsibilitiesand he clientele eftbyShaykhMuhammadndbegan o consolidate isclaimas shaykh f al-cArish. owever, AbdulWahab adalready stablished widereputation, ndmany ribesmenwere bringingheirproblemso himforar-bitration;movement proutedo havehimrecognized s the head haykh fal-cArish.he internal onflictwithin heshaykhlyamilywascrystallized henHassan decided to supportcAlial-Barashi'sclaimas shaykh.

Competition etweenfamilymembers s quitecommon n Yemeni ribalsocietybecauseno strictrules exist for the succession o the roleof shaykh,andundernormal ircumstanceshis case wouldprobably ave been settledinternally.However, ntheearly1980sthe politicalnvironmentnthe regionchangeddramatically.TheNationalDemocratic ront hereaftereferred o as thejubha),a leftistpolitical ppositionmovementoundedn 1976by expatriatemembersof theYemeniLeft,becamemoreactive nthe ruralpoliticalrenashortlyafterthe1977assassination f President brahim l-Hamdi. hestatedpurposeof thejubhawas the continuationf some of the late president'spopulistdomesticpolicies, particularlyhe eventual unification f the YemenArabRepublic YAR)and the People's Democratic Republicof Yemen (PDRY), and oppositiontoperceived SaudiArabianhegemony in the region. 4The distinct tenor of the


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TRIBE NDPOLITICSNYEMEN 257jubha'spolitical deologywas socialist,and in the late 1970s it was drawntogether nalliancewithsocialist actionsbased nSouthYemen.Politicalen-sionswereheightenedntheRadacegionnFebruary979whentroops romthe PDRYoverran he provincialapital, l-Baydha, earthe borderandpen-etratedto withiness thananhour'sdrive romRadac.Afterthe briefborderwar subsided, he jubha,whichreceivedsignificantupport romthe PDRY,becamevery activein the area.In 1981 thejubhawas at peakstrengthandcarriedout guerrillamaneuversn a wide stripwhichranroughly rom al-Baydhan the east toJibalRaymanthewest, near heportcityofal-Hudayda.Thejubhanearly ucceeded ncuttinghecountryntwo. Thisareaofconflictincluded he Radacdistrict,wherethe jubhahadsignificant opularupportamong ome of thetribesmen.Central overnmentorcesweremobilized ndlaunched series of counteroffensivesn coordination itha people'smilitiadrawn rom he Hashid ndBakil ribesnorthof Sanaca.Afternearlya year'sfightinghat included he use of heavyartillery,hejubhawas defeated,andefforts were begunto negotiatea peacesettlementbetweenthe supportersof thejubhaandthe government.Theimportancef tribal ocialorganizationnpoliticalffairs egan oemergeaseffortswere made o settlewhathadheretofore eenthought f asaregionalconflictbetweenpoliticalactionswitha progressive r socialistdeology ndthe politicallyonservativeupporters f the centralgovernment.Soonafterthe cessationof fighting,he leaderof thejubhan the Radacegion,Hamudbi-Salama, egana series of politicalmaneuvers o havethe settlementne-gotiatednthe traditionaltyleand hewholeconflictreatedas ifithadbeena tribalwar.Byframinghe conflictn traditionalerms,he sought o invokethe customsof tribal aw.By adjudicatinghe settlement na local orum hatwasregulatedby codesof honorandshame,that nvolved ocalpersonalities,and that wouldbe opento publicopinion,hejubha ought o avoid rial n agovernment ourton possiblechargesof seditionand treasonand to escapethe seriousrepercussionshatwouldnevitablyollow.5Hamud i-Salamauc-ceededinplacinghe issue ina tribal ontextby approachingAlial-Barashiandaskingthat he, in his capacityas shaykhof al-cArish, ct as mediatorbetween thejubhaandthe governmentepresentatives.Problemsover who was actually haykhof the regionbeganto intensifywhencAlial-Barashi, fteralreadyagreeing o arbitratehe case, refused ointercedewith hegovernmentn Hamud i-Salama'sehalf.While egotiationswereunderway,hegovernment egan o takereprisal ctionsagainstHamudbi-Salamaor his role in the jubhaactivities;governmentroopstore downHamudbi-Salama'souse, andin the words of one informant,errorizedhisfamily.

SeeingthatShaykhAli l-Barashi asunable o standupto thegovernmenton his behalf,Hamudbi-Salama hen turnedto cAbdulWahab orhelp.AlthoughcAbdulWahabhad not been an active supporterof the jubha,he saw his chanceto further his reputation;he quickly protested the government's action and


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258 JOURNAL FANTHROPOLOGICALESEARCHassumedhenegotiationsetween he ubha nd hegovernment.AbdulWahabwas quitesuccessful.Agreementswere reached,andhis prestigerose con-siderablyhroughouthe region, especiallyamonghis kinsmen n his natalcommunitynandaround d-Drayba.These events renewed hedebateoverwhowas really haykh fal-cArish.cAbdulWahab onfronted Ali l-Barashiver hisfailureo intercede n behalfofHamud i-Salamandprevent hegovernmentrom earing own hehouse.cAbdulWahab rgued hatby not interceding,Alial-Barashi ad shamed heshaykhly amily nd,byextension, he collectivehonorof the tribeal-cArish.InYemen ribal ustom,once a caseis acceptedbya shaykh,t is theshaykh'sresponsibilityoguaranteehatallpartiesothedispute uspendheirhostilitiesand take no further ndependentction.The shaykh,by acceptinga case,guarantees he behaviorof the clients.In this case, ShaykhcAlial-Barashimade no effort to restrain he governmentromdestroying he house;hetherefore ailed n his roleand,by demonstrating eakness,brought hameon the family ndthe tribe.The argument etween the two shaykhs scalated, he policewere calledin, andbothpartieswere detained.News of the arrestspreadquickly, ndconsiderable utragewas expressed, especiallyby the tribesmen rom ad-Drayba, AbdulWahab's atalvillage.Some of the villagescloselyassociatedwithHamudbi-Salama ndthe jubhaalso came to cAbdulWahab's efense.Motivated yaperceptionhat heir ribal onor sharaf, ard) adbeenthreat-ened by the arrest of theirrepresentative,he tribesmen romad-Draybaquicklymobilized,bringingheirrifles, and protestedthe arrestof cAbdulWahab.Veryquicklyrmed ribesmenmassedaroundhepolice acilities.But,despiteconsiderableommotion,he situationwasdefusedbeforeanyshootingbegan.The arrest ncidentwas a catalytic vent;after the two shaykhswere re-leased,the tribeal-cArishplit ntotwo tribes, d-Draybandal-cArish.hepeopleof the communitiesf Maghraba,s-Sadac, ndad-Drayba egantocollectivelyeferto themselvesnthe tribal diom s brothers -members fa newtribecalled d-Drayba.hisnewpoliticalntityrecognizedAbdulWahabas shaykh.The remainder f al-cArishontinued o supportcAlial-Barashi,who,no longer acedwith nternal pposition,was ableto solidify ispositionas shaykh.16

DISCUSSIONIn the case of al-cArish,he interaction etween a contemporaryoliticalmovementandthe tribal ocialorganizationent bothways.Alliance hiftsandchanges n patronageypically o not generatechange n the structuralrelationshipetween ribesortribalegments.As Dresch 1984:32) aspointedout, tribal tructureconsistsprimarilyn the opposition f tribalnames totribal amesand ectionnames o sectionnames. Thecaseofal-cArishnvolved


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TRIBEANDPOLITICSNYEMEN 259more than internal hifts of power.The intensityof feeling n this case wasmuchgreater hanusual,and he membersof the newtribebegan o refer tothemselves within he tribal diom.The significantactor n this case, whatmarks t as an instanceof tribal egmentation,was the creationof a new andheretoforenonexistentpolitical ame andidentity,ad-Drayba.More than amerepolitical ealignment ithina tribe,a newpoliticaldentity-a newtribalname-was generatedwithin he tribal ystem.The segmentationf al-cArish asprecipitated y stress emanatingromanumber fsources.External olitical ressurewasgenerated yboth hejubhaand the briefborderwarwiththe PDRYwhichaccompaniedhe emergenceof new politicaldeologiesandagendasn the region.The situation scalatedto a state of civilwar in which wo external actions, he centralgovernmentandthejubha,were dominant. hese conditionsuperchargednalready x-isting omplexntratribalroblemverthesuccession ftribaleadership.Whenthese political vents finallywere framed n terms of collectivehonor,theculturaldeologyhat s usedto define ribalism,ufficienttress wasgeneratedto force the break.The case ofal-cArishlsodemonstrates owYemen tribalism an have anactiverole ncontemporaryoliticalmovements.The ubhawasveryconsciousof the role thattribaldeology qabayla)lays n motivatingocalpolitical e-havior.By enlistingribal entiment nthe settlementof the civilconflictwiththe centralgovernment,hejubhawas ableto bind ts security o the defenseof tribalhonor.Thejubhawas able o suffermilitary efeatyet not loseevery-thingbyexploitinghe local ribal rganization.naddition,he case of al-cArishshowshowachallengeo apoliticaleadercanactivate set ofsocialandmoralobligationshatquickly ndefficientlyrings largegroup fmenwithdifferentpoliticaldeologies o arms ncommon auseagainsthose who threaten heirhonor.Constructivearallelsanbe drawn etween he situationhat edupto thespectacular onflict n Adenandthe dramaplayedout on the localstage inRadac.The case fromRadacuggeststhatnot far beneath he surfaceof themodern oliticaltructuresn southArabiaies a networkof tribal elationswith a powerful et of tribalvaluesandobligationshat has the capacityoinfluencepolitical ehavior.Whenpoliticalensionsreach a crisispoint,it ispossibleto appeal o the underlyingnddeep-seated ribalsentimentsandtraditions nd,by invokinghese obligations,o mobilize onsiderableorce.In Radac, he massingof forces led to tribalsegmentation nd a peacefulsettlement,buta few hundred ilometerso the south,a citywasdestroyed.

NOTES1. Inthispaper haveelected o use datarom othNorth ndSouthYemen,hatis, natural Yemen, al-Yaman at-tabici.The borders between the two countries arelargely productf the British olonialnterprise,nd hepeople f bothYemensconsiderhemselvesssharingneculturaldentity.


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260 JOURNALFANTHROPOLOGICALESEARCH2. Lawson 1986:446) eports hata largenumber f thecombatantsame rom hehighlandegions hatborder he YemenArabRepublic.3. Given he underlyingulturalimilarityf the tribalpeoplesof both emens,areview of tribal rganizationrawnprimarilyromethnographicesearch onductedinthe partof natural emen hat s now the YemenArabRepublics applicableo anunderstandingf the generalprinciplesf tribal rganizationndstructure.4. See Dresch(1986:34-35) or differentxamples.5. Compare,orexample,Adra 1982),Dresch(1984),andSwagman1988).6. Duringmy four-year tay in Yemen,I personally ncountered oursignificantconflictswhichresulted romattemptedribal ealignments.n one event, a disputebetweena tribal egment n-Utama nda tribal egment nAnis,we were evencaughtin cross fire.7. A literal ranslationf BaniHushayshs offspringf Husaysh,andl'yalSurayhis dependentsf Surayh. oth terms mplya genealogicalelationship.8. See Adra 1982) or a fullerdiscussion f what t means o be a tribesman.9. Dresch(1986)rightlyarguesthat the supposedmassingeffect of the tribesisrareandbyno meansautomatic.However, alsorecallhowa coworker, repatriatedYemeniborn n Ethiopia,xpressed ear andcautionuponencountering stranger ta gas station.He explainedo me that some kindof feud was goingon betweenthetribes,andeven thoughhe wassocially eryfarremoved rom he situation, e couldbe, and felt he mightbe, shot as partof the feud. The courseof events playsa bigpart n suchmatters,but the ideologys stillpresent.10. Fora fullerdiscussion f tribal rganization,ee Dresch 1984)andAdra 1982).In the western centralhighlands,he tribal tructures considerably eaker han nthe areasreportednthese studiesand nmanyareas s ineclipse.11. Chelhod eems to mergethe lineagesystemwith the tribal ystemwhen heargues hatqabila esignates he tribeandbatnandfakhdh reits two maindivisions.My evidence ndicates hat these latterare terms used to refer to lineage,andnottribal tructure.12. The namesof the Yemeni ribessouthof the Sanaeaovernorate arelyappearon the publishedistsof tribes. While hese tribesmaybe secondary, istant ousinsof the northernribes,theyneverthelessare Yemeni ribes.Theirabsencemaywellreflectthe biasof researchers,or almostall studiesof Yemeniribeshavebeen madeinthe Sanacaovernorate, r north.13. Althoughhe actorsin this dramaare semipublicigures,the names of theindividualsave beenchanged.The tribal ndcommunityameshave, however,beenretained.14. Thisaccounts basedon aninterviewwithrank-and-fileembersof thejubhawhomI encountered ychance nDamt,a hotspringsnear he SouthYemenborder.15. Earlier hatyearhadoccurred muchpublicizedrial,conviction,ndexecutionof cAbdullahsnaj,a conservative olitician ho,withallegedSaudiArabian acking,hadattempted noverthrow f theregime.16. I am indebtedo cAbdulRahmanKalaz or the detailsof the events in Radae.Their nterpretation,owever, s solelytheresponsibilityf the author.

REFERENCESCITEDAdra,N., 1982,Qabayla: heTribalConceptnthe CentralHighlandsfthe YemenArabRepublic. h.D. diss., TempleUniversity, hiladelphia.


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TRIBE NDPOLITICSNYEMEN 261Chelhod, ., 1970,L'organizationocialeauYemen.L'Ethnographie4:61-86.Dresch, P., 1984,The Positionof Shaykhs mong he NorthernTribesof Yemen.Man19(1):31-49.Dresch,P., 1986,The Significancef the CourseEventsTake nSegmentary ys-tems. American thnologist 3(2):309-24.Lawson,F., 1986,SouthYemen'sTroubles.ORIENT 7(3):441-49.Lofgren,0., 1953, Al Hamdani-Sudarabisches ustabih.Uppsala:Almqvist ndWiksellesBotryckeriAB.Peters, E., 1967,Some Structural spectsof the Feudamong he Camel-HerdingBedouin f Cyrenaica. frica 3(3):261-82.Stevenson, T., 1985, SocialChangen a YemeniHighland own. Salt LakeCity:University f UtahPress.Swagman,C.F., 1988,DevelopmentndChangenHighlandemen.SaltLakeCity:University f UtahPress.

tribe and politics - yemen

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