Hawwara


Hawwara, also spelled Huwwara, Howwara, Hewwara or Houara, was a large Berber tribal confederation spread widely in the Maghreb and has descendants in Upper Egypt. Hawwara are amongst the most prominent tribes in Upper Egypt, with branches found mainly in Sohag, Qena, and Asyut. They are considered to be the aristocracy of Sohag to this day.

Branches

The Hawwara were composed of numerous tribes and clans. Some of them are: the Addasa, the Andara, the Awtita, the Baswa, the Gharyan, the Haragha, the Banu Irmazyan, the Kaldin, the Kamlan, the Karkuda, the Lahan or Lahana, the Maghar, the Malila, the Maslata, the Mindasa or Mindas, the Misrata, the Razin, the Satat, the Tarhuna, the Wannifan, the Warfalla, the Wargha, the Warsatifa, the Washtata, the Yaghmorasen, the Zakkawa and the Zanzafa.

History

The Hawwara's original homeland was in Tripolitania, 8th century accounts mention an ard Hawwara. From the 8th century to 12th century, the eastern boundaries of their land ran through Tawergha, Waddan, and Zella. Hawwara's territory was bordered to the east by the Mazata tribe.
A fraction of the Hawwara were part the Fatimid army that conquered Egypt in 969. After the conquest, they were given land grants by the Fatimid caliphs. The Hawwara tribe became dominant in al-Buhayra in Egypt. In 1380/1381, Barquq, Sultan of the Mamluks, established some Hawwara groups in Upper Egypt and granted the Iqta' of Girga to the Hawwari chief, Isma'il ibn Mazin. Isma'il was succeeded by Umar, the eponymous of the Banu Umar clan. After sacking al-Fayyum in 1485, the Hawwara tribes became the true rulers of Upper Egypt.
In Egypt's history, the whole southern region is the cradle of tribal settlements. By the 19th century, Upper Egypt was completely ruled by the Hawwara tribe. Governance had become decentralized as the Hawwara spread their sovereignty over ten provinces and parts of the other remaining twenty-one provinces in Upper Egypt. The Hawwara tribe were deemed to be the de facto rulers of Upper Egypt and their authority spanned across North Africa, up until the campaigns of Ibrahim Pasha in 1813, which finally crushed their dominant influence.
During the Mamluk rule in Egypt, the Hawwara were the most dominant tribe in Upper Egypt under the leadership of Sheikh Hammam. Sultan Barquq made relationships with the Hawwara in order to keep the Arab tribes from becoming powerful. Towards the end of the Mamluk dynasty, the Hawwara and Arabs began cooperating to kill Mamluks. Due to their cooperation, the Mamluks labelled the Hawwara as being Arab. Although they are originally Berber, the term "Sheikh of the Arabs" is usually bestowed upon their leaders.

Notable Hawaris