Wells .. the most valuable possession of desert residents

Al-Tawaya ... a source of life and signs of the road

• A traditional water well in the city of Al-Ain (Al-Twi) 1968. The National Archives

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«Memory of the Nation»

A weekly page provided by "Emirates Today", in cooperation with the "National Archives" of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, with the aim of introducing the way life in the Emirates before the federation, and during its early beginnings, and the great effort made by the founding fathers of the state for its establishment, and linking it to what the UAE leaders achieve, Today, her children are among the achievements the world has witnessed.

Water in the desert is the most valuable thing that desert dwellers can search for or possess, and for its sake they lived their lives moving in search of a well to reside around, or a spring that sprang up in the sand, and trees and plants grew around it, to become their home until it ran out, to set off again in search of others.

With time, the water wells, which they called in the Emirates the name Al-Tawaya, became signs that draw them their way in the desert, and inferred to describe their locations or to make sure that they are on the right path during their travels, and certain tribes were known for their skill in inferring the locations of fresh water and digging wells. Maintenance and preservation.

Great importance

Sheikha Subha Muhammad Jaber Al-Khaili stresses the importance of wells in the life of the desert, explaining in her book “Where Al-Taroush .. The Badia of Abu Dhabi during the Thirties to the Sixties of the Twentieth Century”: “As we talk about the Tuwaiyan in the Badia, we must mention that Tuwaiyan or water springs and wells are of great importance. Among the desert Bedouins, they live on its waters, and these resources are an important stop for those crossing the desert, as they gather to water their livestock and supply fresh water for drinking. From that time, the fold was of the utmost importance to the members of the Bedouin community, and settlements were established around them and became inhabited by them. Because it is the main source that spreads life in living organisms, and at the head of which is man. She was an inspiration to the poets among them, and with them they set proverbs, and weave around them (the sheep) and the narrations that the Bedouins transmitted with great love and pleasure. ”

Bida Salma

Sheikha Sabha points out that the importance of Al-Tuwayan was not only limited to being a source of water, but also as signs and indications of the road: “I also mention about the areas from which we traveled to and from that each place we passed by has special features and features, whether in the form of (hills), meaning hills, or trees. , Or wells, or the nature of the land ».

And she touches on her memories about one of these places, Bida Salma, which is located north of "Baqa'a" point, on the Dubai road: “Bida Salma is a well of water that we used to provide for drinking and watering water, and I do not forget the truth about what lived the good days that we witnessed and lived. In that place, and I remember that in a year of years we took up residence in that area, and we were in the blessed month of Ramadan, and God blessed it with torrential rains that lasted seven days, during which we did not see sun or light during the day, and although the well in that area was Deep, except that it was filled with water after the rain to its end, and the water flowed from it in a way that pleased the heart and the eye. ”

And she continued, “After more than 50 years we visited Bida Salma, as if time had not passed by this place, its features had not changed, so its sleep is still as tall as we had previously known it, and I returned in my memory to those old days, so I recalled with my imagination the location of our homes, and the heroes of the desert who inhabited it in the summer, Where was the (zhihara) of Bida Salma was crowded with residents at this time, and how was the chivalry of the Bedouin man who used to stand at the well of water to water the women first, whether they were neighbors or acquaintances from afar, so all of them were watered from one well, as I remembered the plain that was (the permissible) He takes care of it ».

She pointed out that the name “Bida Salma” was given to the place in reference to Salma bint Ali al-Kutbi, who was ordered to dig a well in the area that still exists until now, and she is a well-known woman in the desert, and the well was dug by Rashid al-Hafir, who is from the people of Al-Ain, and was famous for this. The nickname for his skill in drilling wells.

About drilling

The narrator Salem Muhammad bin Kabainah Al Rashdi, who gained extensive experience in the desert from a young age and was part of the British traveler team Wilfred Thesiger on his famous journey to explore the Empty Quarter, also discusses in his memoirs contained in the book "Their Memory Our History", issued by the National Archives, to search for water and how Digging wells, saying: “In ancient times Bedouins searched for water, they used to dig wells in different spots, and they might find water, or they might not find it.

As for the spots where they find water, they dig wells with a depth of up to two stays or longer than them by two, or maybe three or four, and it may reach more than that.

Some of these wells were near, and another was far away, and they used to dig and continue digging until they found water. Therefore, the depths of these wells ranged to the lengths I mentioned earlier.

He explained that they used to dig wells with iron tools, with which they would dig the ground, then remove the dirt using jafran - a basket made of palm fronds, the sole of which is Juffair - to raise it until the depth of the hole increases, and there are those who dig wells with a dagger, and the driller remains in the hole until his peers remove it by means of a bribe rope It is the rope that was used to raise the bucket from the well, but there are those who have the strength and strength to get out of the hole.

And about the importance of the Tawaya as road landmarks in the past, the researcher Khalifa bin Dalmouk spoke from the city of Dhaid, explaining in an interview with the researcher Sheikha Al Ghawi: “The convoys of civilization used to come from Sharjah and Dubai at the beginning of the heat, heading towards the farms in Kalba, and passing by Tawi Suhaila and Towa Hawira behind Manama is near Thawbaan and on Wadi Al-Siji, then Masafi, Al-Blida and Al-Batna, then entered Kalba, as most of its members owned farms there .. As for the people of Dibba, Al-Tayyibah, Al-Ayniah and Al-Ghail, they passed by Tawi Suhaila, then Tawi Bin Ghurair old in the area of ​​Falaj Al Mualla, then on Tuwai Saif, and Rashid folded east and west, and after that they disperse each according to their destination, either to Ajman, Sharjah or Dubai, where the convoys coming from Al-Ain were passing by Tawi Suhaila, heading north and divided into two parts, a section for shopping, and a section heading to the grass area in Daqdaga for grazing. .

Bin Dalmouk also mentions that the other group of convoys came from the northern region of Sha'am and Ghaleela, as they used to bring fresh fish alongside the passengers, and the people called them "the Tarradians", and they arrived as far as Buraimi and Al-Ain, and passed through Dhaid, and whoever wanted to go to Dubai would pass by Tawi Suhaila, Tawy Saif, Tawy bin Ghurair, and some of them pass by Tawi Zubaida.

As for the convoys that came from and around the Eastern region, they would pass by Tawi Suhaila, Towi Rashid, and Towi Saif, and arrive at Sweihan near Sharjah Airport behind the ADNOC station now, and from there they would go to Sharjah or Dubai.

While the convoys coming from Khor Fakkan used to pass through Dhaid, and from Dhaid to the west, on Tawi Al Nabeej at Bridge No. 9 now, and arrive at Sharjah or Dubai.

Not inferred only by grandparents

The Tawaya decreased in the eastern region because it is a mountainous land that is difficult to dig, according to the researcher Khalifa bin Dalmouk, who pointed out that many of the wells and the Tawaya lost their features under the sand, and only a few fathers and grandparents can tell their location.

• The main source that spreads life in living organisms, on top of which is man. She was an inspiration to poets and used to proverbs.

• “Bida Salma” was named after Salma al-Ketbi, who ordered the drilling of the well.

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