Khirba
Encyclopedia
Khirba is an Arabic term that refers to a secondary or satellite village on the outskirts of an agricultural village. The khirba was used intermittently during the year, primarily during the plowing or harvest seasons.
The term is often misunderstood: It is commonly believed to indicate a "ruin" or "abandoned village." In fact, the term refers to land that was uncultivated or unfit for cultivation, and thus of low value.
in the early 20th century. They consisted of a few huts on outlying agricultural land that were inhabited on a seasonal basis. From the 1920s onward, many of them developed into independent villages. In cases where the khirba was established very close to the main village, the khirba sometimes became a neighborhood within the village.
As a defense against Bedouin
raids, many villagers in Ottoman Palestine built homes in the central hills and descended to the plains seasonally to sow crops and harvest them. The satellite villages they used at these times began to grow as the population drifted westward.
The term is often misunderstood: It is commonly believed to indicate a "ruin" or "abandoned village." In fact, the term refers to land that was uncultivated or unfit for cultivation, and thus of low value.
History
Hamlets known as khirba became widespread in PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in the early 20th century. They consisted of a few huts on outlying agricultural land that were inhabited on a seasonal basis. From the 1920s onward, many of them developed into independent villages. In cases where the khirba was established very close to the main village, the khirba sometimes became a neighborhood within the village.
As a defense against Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
raids, many villagers in Ottoman Palestine built homes in the central hills and descended to the plains seasonally to sow crops and harvest them. The satellite villages they used at these times began to grow as the population drifted westward.