III
12. Bani Qitab
87. The large tribe of Bani Qitab (singular: Qitabi)consists of two main groups, one north of Buraimi and theother south thereof, isolated from each other both by distanceand by mode of life but sharing a common allegiance toSaudi Arabia. One group is made up mainly of Bedouinsliving between the mountains of al-Hajar and the TrucialCoast. The other group lives in the southern part of alDhahirah in the villages known as Aflaj Bani Qitab.
88. The northern group is under the leadership ofMuhammad ibn 'Ali ibn Huwaidin, whose headquartersare in the oasis of al-Dhaid (see Chapter II, paragraphs76, 77, supra). The dirah of this group reaches downsouthwestwards towards Abu Dhabi and the northernlimits of the range of Al Bu Shamis of Nu'aim, but in thesouth it is separated from Buraimi by the intervening rangeof Bani Ka'b. The tribe holds a commanding positionacross the entrance to Wadi al-Qaur, the only motor routethrough the mountains of al-Hajar. Muhammad ibn 'Aliibn Huwaidin and many other notables of the northerngroup of Bani Qitab confirm their allegiance to SaudiArabia in the document which forms Annex 63 of thisMemorial.
89. The southern group of Bani Qitab, whose villagesare described in Chapter II, paragraph 9o, supra, are ledby Dhiban ibn 'Ali ibn Rubayyi' and his nephew 'Ali ibnMuhammad ibn Rubayyi', both of whom live in al-Ma'mur.Annex 135 of this Memorial consists of a declaration ofallegiance by the former, and Annex 140 of a recent letterfrom the latter to H.M. King Saʻud, which contains, inaddition to a reaffirmation of allegiance, a complaint aboutBritish intrusions in the region of Aflaj Bani Qitab.
