| al-Dawayima | |
|
al-Dawayima
|
|
| Arabic | الدوايمة |
| Also Spelled | ad-Dawayima |
| District | Hebron |
| Coordinates | |
| Population | 3,710[1] (1945) |
| Area | 60,585 dunums
60.585 km²[1] |
| Date of depopulation | 29 October 1948[2] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Amatzya |
Al-Dawayima (Arabic: الدوايمة) was a Palestinian town, located 18 kilometers (11 mi) northwest of the city of Hebron. It is identified with the Old Testament town of Bosqat. According to a 1945 census, the town's population was 3,710, and the village lands comprised a total land area of 60,585 dunums of which nearly half was cultivable. The population figures for this town also included the populations of nearby khirbats, or ancient villages.
Contents |
The "core clan" of Al-Dawayima were the Ahdibs, who traced their origin to the Muslim conquest and settlement of Palestine in the seventh century.[3]
In the late nineteenth century, al-Dawayima was described as a village on a high stony ridge that had olive groves beneath it. On a higher ridge to the west stood a shrine that was topped by a white stone.[4]
The people of al-Dawayima were Muslims. They maintained several religious shrines, chief among them the shrine of Shaykh ´Ali. This shrine had a large courtyard, a number of rooms, and one large hall for prayers, and was surrounded by fig and carob trees and cactuses. It attracted visitors from the neighboring villages.[5] A mosque was located in the village center, it was maintained by the followers of al-tariqa al-khalwatiyya, a Sufi mystic order founded by Shaykh Umar al-Khalwati (d.1397)[6] The villagers expanded and renovated the mosque in the 1930s, and added a tall minaret.[5]
By 1944/45 21,191 dunums of village land were allotted to cereals, while 1,206 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.[7][8]
Al-Dawaymima was captured by Israel's Eighty Ninth Battalion (commanded by Dov Chesis) of the 8th Armored Brigade led by the founder of the Palmach, Yitzhak Sadeh, after Operation Yoav on 29 October 1948. Five days after the start of the truce. It was the site of the al-Dawayima massacre in which 80-100 people were killed including women and children.
The massacre was cited by Yigal Allon as the reason for the halting of the creeping annexation that included Bayt Jibrin, Qubeiba and Tel Maresha.[9]
The Jewish town of Amatzya is located on lands belonging to Al-Dawayima.[10]
According to the Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi :
"The site has been fenced in. A cowshed, a chicken coop, and granaries have been built at its center (which has been leveled). The southern side of the site contains stone terraces and the remnants of a house. The eastern side is occupied by the residential area of the moshav."
A woman's thob (loose fitting robe with sleeves) dated to about 1910 that was produced in Al-Dawayima is part of the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) collection at Santa Fe. The dress is of hand-woven blue indigo linen. The embroidery is in predominantly red silk cross-stitch, with touches of violet, orange, yellow, white, green and black. The upper half of the qabbeh (the square chest panel) is embroidered with alternating columns of diamonds, (a pattern known as el-ferraneh), and eight-pointed stars, (called qamr ("moons")). The lower half of the qabbeh is in the qelayed ("necklaces") pattern. The side-panels of the skirt are completely covered with embroidered columns. Among the patterns used here are: nakhleh ("palm") motif, ward-wil-aleq ("rose-and-leech") and khem-el-basha ("the pashas tent"). Each column is topped with various trees. There is no embroidery on the long, pointed sleeves.[11]
