VZCZCXRO7268
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0297/01 0321349
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011349Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5526
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000297 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SBU 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: IZ
SUBJECT: PRT MAYSAN: MAYSAN'S TRIBAL LANDSCAPE 
 
¶1.  (U) The material in this cable is sensitive but 
unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶2.  (U) This is a PRT Maysan reporting cable. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Summary: Maysan,s tribal landscape is primarily 
made up of five tribal confederations and over thirty tribal 
organizations.  The Bani Lam, the Albu Muhammad, and the 
az-Zairaj are the most prominent tribal confederations and 
each provincial region features a number of notable tribal 
organizations.  End Summary. 
 
Tribal Structure 
---------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Maysan,s tribal landscape is primarily made up of 
five tribal confederations (qabeela) and over thirty tribal 
organizations ('ashira).  The most basic unit of Iraqi tribal 
structure is the extended family (khams or bayt).  A number 
of extended families can form a clan (fakhdh) and a group of 
clans can form a tribal organization.  Finally, a group of 
tribal organizations can form a confederation. 
 
Tribal authority 
---------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The authority of tribal leaders, called shaykhs 
(plural shuyukh) historically stemmed both from personal 
influence and largesse as well as from nobility and lineage. 
In theory, especially among Shi'a tribes, leadership is 
confined to one lineage.  In practice, though, authority 
often turns out to be a function of the success of a leader 
in defending the tribal patrimony and resolving and managing 
conflict.  The heart of the tribal system is theoretically a 
fairly democratic process of consultation in the tribal 
council and, in some cases, the ability of members to 
challenge the shaykh.  Likewise, tribal confederations by 
their very nature are voluntary alignments from which each 
tribe is free to secede at will.  Historically, tribal 
alliances were not hard and fast, but the tribal system 
supplied the people with a needed identity and sense of 
security and a blueprint for the resolution of conflicts. 
Finally, the tribal system in much of the Shi,a Arab south 
is somewhat different from that of the Sunni Arab 
center-north, in that southern tribes are reportedly more 
fragmented: the tribal shaykh often shares leadership with 
sayyids (descendents of the Prophet ) plural: sadah) and the 
 ulama (learned religious leaderhip). 
 
The Confederations 
------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Bani Lam, Albu Muhammad, and az-Zairaj are the 
most significant confederations.  The Bani Lam is a pastoral 
confederation that migrated from the lower Tigris into 
Persian territory (now Iran).  The Iranian province of Ilam 
to the northeast of Maysan shares the name of the founder of 
the Iraqi section of the tribe.  The Albu Muhammad reportedly 
descend from the Zubayd  Azza tribe (located north of 
Baghdad in provinces like Diyala) and is made up of both 
settled cultivators (fallah) and the Ma,dan.  The az-Zairaj 
traditionally cultivated rice along the branches of the 
Tigris in the southwestern corner of the province. 
 
Areas of influence 
------------------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Maysan confederations are the Bani Lam, the 
Albu Muhammad, the az-Zairaj, the al-Muntafiq, and the Ka'ab. 
 Historically, the Bani Lam,s area of influence stretched 
from northern Maysan to al- Amara and covers the following 
regions:  Ali al-Gharbi and al- Amara.  The Albu Muhammad 
are influential south of al- Amara in the following regions: 
al- Amara, al-Majjar al-Kabeer (MAK), Qal,at Salih, and 
al-Kahla.  Al- Amara was established during the Ottoman 
period at the boundary between the Bani Lam and the Albu 
Muhammad.  The az-Zairaj groupings are primarily found in the 
al-Maymona region and the al-Muntafiq (mostly in Dhi Qar) and 
Ka'ab (mostly in Iran) reach into the southwestern and 
southeastern corners of the provinces respectively. 
 
Notable tribes 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Each of the major Maysan confederations consists of 
several tribal organizations.  In the  Ali al-Gharbi region, 
the as-Suwaid reside along the border with Iran.  The 
as-Sa'adi tribe also reside along the border near the at-Teeb 
border crossing.  The Albu Darraj, the al-Bahadil, the 
al-Gharrawi, the al-Mussawi, and the at-Tameem reside in the 
al- Amara region.  The al-Ba'azun, the al-Issa, and the 
ash-Shaghanba are in al-Maymona.  The al-Fartus and the Albu 
 
BAGHDAD 00000297  002 OF 002 
 
 
'Ali are located in al-Majjar al-Kabeer (MAK).  The 
al-Faraijat and the Albu Bakhait straddle MAK and Qal,at 
Salih.  In addition to these two cross-regional sub-tribes, 
in Qal,at Salih there are the Bani Malik, the at-Turaba, the 
al-Aanza, the ash-Shamus, the al-Hedrea, the Albu Ghanam, and 
the an-Nawafil.  These final two tribes in addition to the 
Albu Bukhait make up what is known as the Shadda or a region 
in southeastern Maysan that traditionally contained a &large 
and unruly8 portion of the Albu Muhammad.  Finally, al-Kahla 
is home to the remainder of the as-Sudan.  This is not an 
exhaustive list of the sub-tribes present in each region, but 
represents some of the more significant tribes.  Moreover, 
many of these tribes can be found in other regions of the 
province, particularly in the urban centers of al- Amara and 
MAK. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Comment: Maysan is a relatively opaque province, 
but PRT efforts continue to shed light on the overall social 
and political environment in the province.  In discussions 
regarding the social and political structure of Maysan, 
tribal affiliation has taken a backseat to religio-political 
association, but tribes maintain an important place in Maysan 
society and may prove to wield significant social, if not 
political, influence.  The PRT will continue to develop a 
more comprehensive understanding of Maysan,s tribes in order 
to facilitate broader engagement with the people of Maysan. 
END COMMENT. 
BUTENIS