Huwala people facts for kids

The Huwala (Arabic: الهولة) are a group of people with Arab roots. They are also sometimes called Bani Huwala. They originally moved from the Arabian Peninsula to parts of what is now Iran, mainly Hormozgan Province and Fars Province. This happened between the 13th and 19th centuries.

The Huwala people follow Sunni Islam. This is different from most people in Iran, who are Shia Muslims. Many Huwala families moved back to the Arabian Peninsula in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This was partly because of new rules set by Reza Shah in the 1930s.

It's important to know that "Huwala" usually refers to specific Arab tribes. It does not include all Sunni families from the Larestan region of Iran, like the Achomi people. The true Huwala are often called Arab el-Sahel el-Shargi (Arabic: عرب الساحل الشرقي), meaning "Arabs of the Eastern Coast."

Even though Huwala and Achomi people lived close to each other in Southern Iran, they have different family backgrounds. Huwala people generally arrived in Southern Iran more recently from Arabia. However, some, like the Bani Tamim tribe, have lived there for a very long time.

What Does Huwala Mean?

The word "Huwala" (Arabic: الهولة) is a plural term for "Huwali" (Arabic: هولي). The exact meaning of this word is still a mystery. Many historians in the Gulf region are still discussing where it came from. There is not much proof to support the idea that it means "to change over."

It seems that the Huwala might have been a group of tribes that joined together in Coastal Oman. This was similar to another group called the Al-Utub. However, the term "Huwala" was not used for long, which is why the Huwala people themselves don't often use it in their stories.

A book by Dejanirah Couto and Rui Loureiro says that Huwala means "migrant Arabs."

We don't know much about the Arab migrants who settled on the Iranian coast between Bushehr and Lengeh in the late 1500s. They were different small tribes of sailors, traders, fishermen, pearl divers, and farmers. Even though they were all called the Bani Hula, they were not a single group. In fact, they often competed fiercely for access to the pearl banks.

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

Another writer, Lawrence G. Potter, describes Huwala as:

Groups of Sunni Arabs that moved from Oman and the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula to the Iranian side of the Gulf. This probably started in the 1700s. They eventually returned to the Arab side, especially after oil was found and new economic rules were made by Reza Shah in the 1930s.

—The Persian Gulf in History by Lawrence G. Potter

Huwala History

In the 1700s, the Arab Al Qasimi tribe became very powerful at sea. They took control of the southern Iranian coasts and islands around Bandar Lengeh. In 1779, the Iranian Zand dynasty officially recognized a Qasimi leader as the ruler of Bandar Lengeh.

The Qasimis stayed in charge of Bandar Lengeh until 1887. At that time, the British defeated them in what the British called an "anti-piracy" campaign. However, some scholars from the United Arab Emirates believe this was a story used by the British to control trade routes. After their defeat, the Qasimis moved back to the southern coast of the Gulf. Their lands in Iran then came under the control of Tehran.

The Achomi (Larestani) people also lived on the coast with the Qasimis. They did well as merchants, especially in pearl trading, under Al Qasimi rule. Later, when Reza Shah Pahlavi became ruler of Iran, he brought in new rules. These rules included making the government more central, requiring people to join the army, and changing civil laws. These changes led many Achomis to follow the Qasimis back to the Arabian Peninsula. This further mixed the Arab and Persian backgrounds of the Huwala people.

Where Did Huwala Come From?

Historians like Niebuhr and Lorimer wrote a lot about the Gulf region. They described the true Huwala Arabs based on where they lived and their way of life.

These historians agree that the original Huwala Arabs lived in a specific area. This area stretched from Bandar Kanj in the south to Bandar Kangan in the north. It went from the coast of the Arabian Gulf in the west to the Shibkoh mountains in the east. This region is called Shibkoh, which means "sloping mountain." According to these descriptions, there were no Huwala Arabs in other areas like Bandar Abbas or Bushehr.

According to Saudi historian Jalal Al-Haroon, there are two main types of Huwalas:

• The first type are the original Arabs. They moved to Southern Iran from the eastern coast of Arabia in the 1500s and 1600s. Examples include the Bani Hammad, Qawasim, and Obaidli tribes. Today, they are often called Arab Fāris (عرب فارس) or Arab al-Sāḥil (عرب الساحل).
• The second type refers to the local people of Southern Iran, known as the Achomi people. They lived under the rule of the Arab tribes. Later, they moved back to Arabia with these tribes in the 1900s, after changes in the Iranian government.

Huwala Families

Historical records show that the "Al-Hawla Arabs" do not all come from one single tribe. Instead, they are a group of several specific Arab tribes that joined together. The main tribes that belong to the "Huwala Arabs" are:

Zur is a fairly large town with some defenses and cannons. It is home to a Huwala tribe called Qawasim. They used to be under the rule of the imam of muscat, but they no longer follow his authority.

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

See also

• Arab-Persians
• Ajam of Bahrain
• Ajam of Kuwait
• History of Bahrain
• History of Kuwait
• Culture of Eastern Arabia