Huwala people

Al Bastakiya was built by the Huwala who remigrated back to Dubai and introduced the design of Windcatchers.

Huwala (Arabic: الهولة), is a plural Arabic term for Huwali (Arabic: هولي), which is a word derived from the Arabic verb Huwwal (Arabic: حوّل) which means "to change over". A book by Dejanirah Couto and Rui Loureiro into Portuguese interactions in Hormuz defines Huwala as "migrant Arabs".[6]

Little is known about the Arab migrants who settled on the Iranian coast between Bushehr and Lengeh in the late 1500s. They were a disparate group of small tribes of sailors, traders, fishermen, pearl divers, and cultivators. Although they were all referred to as the Bani Hula, they were not a uniform group. In fact, they were each other's fiercest competitors for access to the pearl banks.

— The Persian Gulf: The Hula Arabs of The Shibkuh Coast of Iran by Willem Floor

Author Lawrence G. Potter defines Huwala as

..Groups of Sunni Arabs that migrated from Oman and the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula to the Iranian side the Gulf, between Bushehr and Bandar Abbas, probably starting in the eighteenth century. They eventually returned to the Arab side, especially after the discovery of oil and the imposition of restrictive economic policies by Reza Shah in the 1930s

— The Persian Gulf in History by Lawrence G. Potter

In the 18th century, the Arab Al Qasimi tribal affiliation, once a major maritime power, took control of southern Iranian coasts and islands around Bandar Lengeh. In 1779 the Iranian Zand dynasty acknowledged a fait accompli and recognized a Qasimi as local ruler (farmandar) of Bandar Lengeh. At about the same time the Zands allowed the British East India Company to establish its residency and presence in Bushehr. The Qasimis remained in control of Bandar Lengeh and surrounding region until 1887, when they were defeated by the British in their self proclaimed “anti-piracy” campaign which Emirati based scholars (including current Sharjah ruler Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi) argue was a myth used to dominate trade routes to India and Iraq. The Qasimis retreated to the southern coast of the Gulf, and their Iranian domains reverted to nominal rule by Tehran.

The Achomi (Larestani) Iranian population lived on the coast alongside the Qasimis. They prospered under Al Qasimi rule as merchants in pearl trading. Author John W. Limbert argues that in response to Reza Shah Pahlavi's policies of centralization, conscription, civil status reforms, and, most important, the forced unveiling of women led to many of the Achomis to follow the Qasimis back to the Arabian Peninsula, further mixing the Huwala's Arabic and Persian roots.

Mahyawa, a tangy Iranian/Achomi cuisine fish sauce was also introduced by the Huwala Arabs to the Arabian peninsula and many associate the sauce with the Achomis. However, the Huwala Arabs do not use the word Mahyawa, they refer to it as Tarih (طريح).[5]

According to the Saudi historian Jalal Al-Haroon, there are two types of Huwalas. The first type consists of the original Arabs who migrated to Southern Iran from Coastal Eastern Arabia during the 16th and 17th centuries, such as the Bani Hammad, Qawasim, Obaildi, and Al-Harami. The second type of Huwalas refers to the indigenous people of Southern Iran who resided under the rule of the aforementioned tribes and later migrated back with them to Arabia during the 20th century after the invasion by the Iranian government.

The first type of Huwalas are now referred to Arab Fars (عرب فارس) or Arab El-Sahel (عرب الساحل).

The tribal Huwala communities distinguish themselves from the Larestani and Achomi speakers because they have maintained a purer Arabic tongue and culture, their dialect is similar to Modern Emirati dialect.

The Huwala seem to have a different origin to other Iranian Arabs such as Khuzestanis or Ahwazis, according to scholarly consensus and Huwala's own origin narrative, they immigrated from numerous areas of Eastern Arabia, some from Tarout near Al-Qatif, Bahrain and the Qatari peninsula and other areas of Eastern Arabia such as Coastal Oman (Modern day UAE). Mainly Sunni Arab maritime families moved due to economic reasons and famine, settling in Southern Iran at different times throughout the 17th to 19th century. They settled on the coasts of Southern Iran. Many Huwala are dual lingual, speaking both Arabic and Persian throughout their history.

Modern Huwala families have a greater proportion of Arab ancestry than Persian ancestry, with most individuals having Arabian lineage on their paternal side (Y-DNA). They share common paternal ancestors with Arabians from the Arabian Peninsula, and their last shared ancestors typically date back to the last few centuries. This indicates their migration to the southern coast of Iran took place during that period.

Many families speaking a Gulf dialect of Arabic in Iran before the forced partial Persianization by the Pahlavi dynasty discouraging and outright banning Arabic being taught in their areas and enacting policies that supported the break up and banning of tribal identification. Many Huwala families were forced to drop their Arab surnames in favor of city based surnames when signing up for schools or dealing with the Iranian state. These policies encouraged many Huwala families to move back to the Arab states of the Gulf, many moving to the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, who offered them refuge and citizenship.

Zur is a reasonably large town which is fortifies in the local manner and which has some pieces of artillery. it is inhabited by a tribe of Huwala called Qawasim these have been in earlier times subject to the imam of muscat but they do not recognise his authority any more

— Baron van Kniphausen, The Blood-red Arab Flag: An Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy, 1797-1820 By Charles E. Davies, p.173

• Arab-Persians
• Ajam of Bahrain
• Ajam of Kuwait
• History of Bahrain
• History of Kuwait
• Culture of Eastern Arabia

• Huwala/Arab El-Sahel DNA Project