The Ghāfirī (also ''Ghafiri'' or ''al-Ghafiriyah'') are one of two major tribal confederations of

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

and the

Trucial Coast The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had s ...

, the other being the Hināwī. Both confederations claim their origin to the

Bedouin tribe The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and ...

and the Ghafiri also trace their roots to the

Nizari The Nizaris ( ar, النزاريون, al-Nizāriyyūn, fa, نزاریان, Nezāriyān) are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent ...

Adnani The Adnanites ( ar, عدنانيون) were a tribal confederation of the Ishmaelite Arabs, traces their lineage back to Ismail son of the Islamic prophet and patriarch Ibrahim and his wife Hajar through Adnan, who originate from the Hejaz. T ...

tribes. Both groups provided support to the ruling sultans to further their own interests. The Ghafiri are Sunni Muslim.

History

The Ghafiri confederation of the Ibāḍī

Imamate {{expand Arabic, date=April 2021 The term imamate or ''imamah'' ( ar, إمامة, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a state ruled by an ''imam''. Theology *Imamate, in Sunni doctrine the caliphate :* Naqshb ...

was established in the mid 8th century. In the election of a new imam (leader) who functioned as ”both temporal and religious leader of the community”, the leaders of both confederations played an important role in governance. The Ghafiris and Hinawis confederations existed during the civil wars in Persia which had resulted from

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian ...

’s intervention in the period between 1737–38 and 1742–44. The confederations played a role in the political history of Oman, with Omani tribes being affiliated with one or the other confederation. Because of the Ghafiri's support of Saif ibn Sultan II, a clash occurred between the two confederations in 1748 in which leaders of both tribes died. In the late 19th century, Ghafiri, numbering approximately 20,000 people, lived in the areas of Bereymi Proper and Su'areb. Ghafiri tribes of that time were the Na'im, the Beni Ka'ib, the Beni Kattab and El-Daramikeh. A constant feature of the rivalry of the two groups was also witnessed in the support they provided to the ruling sultans to further their own interests. During the conflicts between the two groups and the rivalry of the imam and the sultan, the British eventually played an intermediary role, and this resulted in a stable Sultanate in Oman which lasted between 1920 and 1954.

Culture

The Ghafiri's religious affiliation is Sunni Muslim, abiding by the

Wahhabi Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, an ...

tenets.

Na'im The Na'im () (singular Al Nuaimi ) is an Arab tribe in the United Arab Emirates. The tribe is also present in other gulf countries. The Na'im is divided into three sections, the Al Bu Kharaiban, the Khawatir and the Al Bu Shamis (singular Al Sha ...

are Ghafiri by political affiliation. Although rivalry continues in the modern day between Ghafiri and Hinawis, it is generally limited to their opposing football teams.

References

;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * {{Demographics of Oman Ethnic groups in Oman Ethnic groups in the Middle East