Archive

Habbani Warrior Tribal Group, Habban, Yemen

Description

Habbani Warrior Tribal Group:

Known as one of the oldest Jewish communities in South Yemen, Habbani Jews were completely isolated from other Jewish communities due to their insular and distant community. This allowed the Jews of Habban to retain ancient traditions with fewer major alterations than other diasporic communities.

There is no one concrete origin story for the Jews of Habban. Some claim that the southern Yemenite Jews are descendant of Judeans who settled in the area after the destruction of the Second Temple. Supposedly, the military groups sent by King Herod to assist the Roman troops fought in this region (2). Some scholars believe that the Habbani Jews came to Southern Yemen around 3,000 years ago during the reign of the Queen of Sheba. Others claim that the Habbani could have been Himyarite proselytes converted by Babylonian Jews during the reign of Jewish king Abu Dhu Nuwas, circa 525 C.E. (3). It is interesting to note that in Habbani genealogy is that there is no trace of Kohen or Levite ancestry, two out of the twelve tribes of Israel.

By the 16th century the Habbani Jews already resided in a Jewish Quarter (Ḥārat al-Yahūd), located on the slopes of a hill (4). Suleiman al-Hakim, a Jew, advised the Sultan in military strategies to end an ongoing siege of Habban. In return, the Suleiman received living area right next to the palace, the best residential location in the city, which became the Jewish Quarter (5). The Jewish Quarter and the Muslim Quarter were separated by the sultan’s palace (6). 

Most Jews were gold or silversmiths, but Habban was known to produce incense, d̲h̲ura and barley. Habban is located on a trade route between Bāl Hāf and Mark̲h̲a and was known to trade tobacco, cotton and cloth against coffee and salt (7).

The major Jewish families of Habban were the al Adani, Doh, Hillel, Maifa'i, Ma'tuf, Shamakh, Bah'quer and D'gurkash. Nowadays all but two of the tribes still remain. The Bah’quer and D’gurkahs clans were wiped out during a severe drought in the 1700s. As the town was dying the two clans left to seek sustenance for their families. The community reached its lowest population numbers during the drought with only around 50 Habbani Jews left in the village (8). When the travelers returned they discovered that their families had died of starvation. The two clans then left the village to start a new life elsewhere (9). 

Southern Yemen is known for its strict caste structure, and Jews were highly placed in the caste system (10). Furthermore, they were allowed to wear a belt and jambiyya, a decorated and curved dagger, that symbolized belonging to a higher caste (11). Habbani Jewish men had long hair but no sidelocks, and wore multi-colored fabrics with a decorated belt, just like their Muslim tribal neighbors. Women wore nets decorated with silver jewelry around their heads and were also allowed to wear wide silver belts. Before Operation Magic Carpet, they used to carry weapons and took part in inter-tribal battles of the Muslims. Furthermore, the homes of Habbani Jews were usually between two and five stories, which were taller than local regulations allowed (12).

When Zionist emissary, Shmuel Yavnieli was captured by eight Bedouins in Southern Yemen in 1912, the Habbani Jews paid his ransom and rescued him. He described his rescuers as:

"The Jews in these parts are held in high esteem by everyone in Yemen and Aden. They are said to be courageous, always with their weapons and wild long hair, and the names of their towns are mentioned by the Jews of Yemen with great admiration."(13)

Around the middle of the 20th century the Jewish quarter was made up of sixteen buildings, with two ritual baths, a cemetery outside the city, and two synagogues with adjoining schools. These synagogues observed an amalgamation of the local old rite (baladī) and the newer Sephardi rite (shāmī) from abroad (14). The synagogues also functioned as religious courts.

Due to the isolation of the Habbani Jewish community – it would take a week’s walk by foot to reach another Jewish community – most of the community was inbred and polygamy was common (15). The rise of Arab nationalism worsened the situation for Habbani Jews who were used to a relatively peaceful existence in Southern Yemen. By the middle of the 20th century the Jewish population of Habban was 375 Jews (16). 

After the creation of the state of Israel, only 10% to 15% of Habbani Jews left for Aliyah. Even their Muslim neighbors did not want the Jews to leave, offering bribes so that the community would remain. Moreover, Sultan Sulṭān Nāṣir ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Muḥsin barred Habbani Jews from leaving Yemen. Jews were only allowed to leave to Aden and then fly to Israel once the sultan suddenly died and messengers from the State of Israel paid a ransom for each Jew that left (17). Most Habbani Jews did not want to leave Yemen, but the fear of being the only Jewish community left on the Arabian Peninsula eventually led to their evacuation during “Operation Magic Carpet”, in 1950 (18). Around 1,600 Habbani Jews live in Israel now (19).                      

Abir:
While the Habbani Jews were primarily silver and goldsmiths, many Jews also served as mercenaries and bodyguards for the sultans, imams, and sheiks due to their astonishing capabilities as warriors (20). The Habbani Jews had a special fighting style, known as Abir, that mimicked the shapes of the Hebrew alphabet. The origin of the fighting style is unknown, but is said to have been passed down through generations, starting with Abraham who learned the style from his father Abir-Qesheth (21). The fighting technique was used during the wars against the Babylonians and the Romans. After the destruction of the Temples, the art was brought to Persia and the Arabian Peninsula, where Jewish warriors formed the Bani Abir society (“son’s of Abir”) (22). Ultimately, many these warriors ended up settling in Habban (23).

Rav Yoseph Maghori Kohen shlit”a, 60-year old, Yemenite-born (Baladi) Torah scholar and scribe:

“The Habbanis were mighty heroes. I heard a lot from elders in my youth about the Habbanis, about their wars, how they would fight ‘according to names’. What does it mean ‘according to names’? –the letters: They would make the shape of the [Hebrew] letters with their hands, and by this they would be victorious.…”

The fighting style went “underground” during the emigration to Israel in the 1940’s. Only in 2001 was Abir reintroduced to the Israeli people, and allowed to be openly taught. In 2008, the Israel Sport Authority recognized Abir as an Israeli self-defense system and fighting art (24).

Habban, Yemen

© Mapbox, © OpenStreetMap

Gallery

‹ › ×