The Ajarimah live in the Balqa region of Jordan.
alQalqashandi, the Egyptian medieval writer, and alSuwaidi, also a medieval writer, agree that Bani Ajramah, or the Ajarimah, are a subgroup of the Bani Tareef from Jidham (in Arabia). As for the Ajarimah themselves, the qabilah holds that it is descended from Nufal alAjrami, who came from al‘Ula oasis, north of the Hejaz. This arrival from the Hejaz brings up conjectures such as a possible relation to the Adnani “RashayidahAbassiya” qabilah. This is a not unlikely consideration, as the Rashayidah are from the qabilahs of the Hejaz and al‘Ula is one of their homes. In any case, whichever qabilah the Ajarimah come, they were Arabs who ruled the Balqa region for a long time.
The Ajarimah are composed of the following clans:
- al Sawa’eer: Also called the “Nawafiaa”, are descendants of Nufil alAjrami, they reside near Naour.
This clan consists of the following groups:
– alQudaysat: Originally from Jerusalem in Palestine, they have relatives with the same name in Ajloun, in northern Jordan.
– alRubabi'a: A branch of the ‘Amru qabilah in alKarak. It traces its ancestry to the Jidham.
– alRaheel: Branch of the Kindi Mohaydat tribe.
– alYasayin: Originally from the Hijaz.
– alHamood
– alAwdat clan: Of Saudi origin from al‘Ula, they are descended from alSaqlawi, whose name comes from the name given to the most valuable breed of horse. They are found in Naour, alYadudah, and Sahab, and they are bandits.
– alAfashat clan: longtime inhabitants of Balqa, specifically three brothers who were separated after a raid on their clan. One came to live with the Ajarimah, and was nicknamed “Afash”. The second brother went to alKarak, where his followers are called the Sarayirah clan. The third settled down with the Abbad qabilah, and his descendants were known as the Khuraribah.
– alShariqiyeen clan: This clan originated from the “bin Ghazi” branch of the Musnad clan, part of the Sirhan qabilah (the Bani Kelb, of the Quda’ah). The following story is told of how they received their name: A woman of the Sirhan came, having left her qabilah after the death of her husband in a raid that had befallen the tribe. She gave birth to a son, whose descendants were known as the Shariqiyeen, as his mother had come from the east, or alSharq, with her female slave “Um Jahran”. The camps of the Shariqiyeen are located to the north of Madaba and in Husban.
– al Shahwan clan: Also called the “Yusifah” after their ancestor Yusuf. Yusuf had two sons, Lehyan and Awad, who left Tufayla following a family dispute. Awad headed towards Balqa, settling with the Ajarimah and marrying a young woman from the tribe, becoming a member of her family. In time, he was able to claim leadership of the group. Lehyan went east, living with the clans of the Shararat. He, too, rose to lead the community, now known as the “Lehawi” due to his influence. Their camps are in Umm alBasateen (west Madaba), while a related group resides in the Golan Heights, known as the “Ajarimah alSalum”.
alHarafeesh clan: A Syrian offshoot of the qabilah of Emir Harfush, they trace their ancestry to the “Khaza’ah” qabilah. The ancestors of this clan arrived in Balqa and settled in the camps of the Ajarimah, marrying among them and joining the qabilah’s clans. Today they reside in Umm alQanafidh and al‘Al.
The Mutiriyeen clan: They trace their lineage back to the qabilah of Mutir in Najd . The founder of the group came to Balqa with his sister and settled among the camps of the Ajarimah, marrying among them and joining their clans. The two main Mutiriyeen groups are al Alyan and alMadi. The Mutiriyeen also branch off into several subgroups: alMutir, al‘Aqeel, alShufiyeen, alMekaneen and alHilalat.
Source: العجارمة
Translated from the Arabic by Andrew Leber, Brown University, Class of 2012..