MAKKAH: Until a few decades ago when police patrols were rare, the responsibility of securing the holy city’s residential and commercial neighborhoods fell on night watchmen. Armed only with a staff and whistle, these night watchmen patrolling the narrow alleyways of Makkah still exist in the memories of old-time residents of the city.
Most often these watchmen were volunteers who did not receive any regular wages, except for nominal handouts from local residents. Although they were not heavily armed, their sticks and domineering personalities were enough to frighten off thieves and bandits in the dead of night.
Mahmoud Bitar, mayor of Makkah’s Al-Hijla district, underlined the important role played by these volunteers in guarding people’s lives and property while they slept. “The patrolmen used to guard and protect against thieves and unruly elements at night when people slept. Each watchman used to be assigned to a special area,” he said.
Bitar said watchmen would carry wooden staffs to defend themselves and a whistle to warn and pass messages to watchmen in neighboring areas of impending dangers.
“The night patrol used to be the responsibility of district mayors before it was shifted to the police. The night watchmen disappeared from the scene over time and those few who remained were phased out nearly 10 years ago. These men were then made the emissaries of mayors and given the duty of handing out writs and summons to local residents,” he added.
Bitar said mayors selected watchmen on the basis of their acquaintance of a particular neighborhood and its residents.
Suhail Al-Majnoni, a former watchman who is now 55 years old, reminisces about the good old days when watchmen used to protect residents free of charge. “Our work would begin at 11 p.m. and end at 6 a.m. the next day but we enjoyed every minute of it because we were protecting the lives and properties of fellow residents,” he said.
Recalling some unforgettable incidents during his work as a watchman, Al-Majnoni said one night he heard some people shouting there was a thief and so he went to investigate. “I entered the house and was confronted by a thief dressed in a thobe and ghutra. The thief was quick and escaped. I gave chase from house to house until I caught up with him and stopped him,” he said.
However, to his surprise the thief was a woman dressed in men’s clothing. “She was a Yemeni woman. She told me that she sneaked into the home early evening and hid in a room waiting for the occupants to fall asleep. She, however, awoke them in the process and they managed to raise the alarm,” he added.
Duhairan Al-Jahdali, another former watchman who is 56 now, explained that watchmen would communicate through their whistles and that the different styles of whistling had different meanings.
“A long whistle meant everything was normal but an intermittent one signaled help was needed,” he said, adding they sometimes used whistles to alert residents to be vigilant.
Al-Jahdali recalled that a thief eluded him one night because he had covered his entire body with oil. “Whenever I tried to catch him, he slipped away,” he said.
Attiatalla Al-Hadhli, a former watchman who is now working as the chief emissary at a district mayor’s office, said the job of guarding residents in his neighborhood used to be a source of pride for him. “We still need watchmen as there are narrow alleyways and difficult terrain in Makkah that cannot be reached by police patrols,” he said.
