Hospitality Generosity

History of the Village Tanbourit

There between the pine and olive trees and the chirping of the various types of birds and the smell of the fresh and fragrant air, if you stand in the far southern side of the city of "Sidon" and looked to the east, a mountain not exceeding the 350 meters (1,148 feet) in height from sea level will draw your attention. It is surrounded by two valleys, in which a river flows in the northern valley and a brook flows in the southern valley, leaving you spellbound with awe. You say: "Glory to the creator! Is this God's heaven on earth?" No, it's rather the village "Tanbourit".

The number of inhabitants of the village "Tanbourit" does not exceed the 1,500 people, including those living abroad. The majority of the inhabitants work in agriculture, but there are also a number of educated, intellectual, knowledgeable, artistic, and religious people occupying various positions such as medicine, law, engineering, journalism, education, poetry, in addition to a number of military officials, sworn experts, and businessmen.

The naming convention of the village is taken from the mandolin (Tanbour in Arabic). The mandolins are musical instruments, with a long neck and six silver strings. The origin of the name is Persian: "Danbah Barrah", meaning the incitement instrument. The Tanbourani is the player of the mandolin (Tanbour) and its owner, and the additional two letters "i and t" at the end of the word "Tanbourit" come from the Syriac feminization of the word "Tanbour".

"Tanbourit" according to Abdo Saouma (Abou Saouma), the eldest living man of the village and the most knowledgeable about its history, was private property of the prince Hamam from the village "Ankoun" in the district of the city of "Sidon". A woman emigrated to it from the village "Jaj" in the district of the city of "Jebeil", resulting from an incident that occurred to her husband, accompanied by three of her sons, as one of them remained in "Tanbourit" and the other two separated. The mother remained with her son working in agriculture. The posterity of the son grew and proliferated and the following families ramified from it: El Hajj, Khattar, Saad, Saouma, Abdallah, Aziz, Francis, Kmeid, and Moussa.

Then the following families emigrated to "Tanbourit": Assaf and Chalhoub from the village "Kfarjarra" in the district of "Sidon", Makhoul and Assad from the village "Kfartai" in the upper Matn of the district of Mount Lebanon, Mighaizel from the village "Meharbieh" in the district of "Sidon", in addition to Mikhael from the village "Jadra" in the district of "Shouf". These families have mixed and intermarried from each other and the inhabitants of the village have multiplied until the number of its homes reached no less than 130 scattered everywhere in the village, and it adds beauty and splendor to it.

According to what was stated in the family tree that was created by Massad Mansour Massad in August 2, 1950, the Shidyak Shaheen El Mashrouki who was born in Lebanon in the year 1470, and settled in the village "Hassroun" planted the lineage tree in the village and today he is known as the first Great Grandfather of the village "Tanbourit".

On your way to the village "Maghdouché" winding towards the village "Darb El Sim", a small mountain appears to your right, on which you will see a shrine of the Virgin Mary (Our Lady of Mantara) holding the baby Jesus in her arms in the village "Maghdouché". As you travel through the village "Darb El Sim", and at the end of the road you will find a metal street sign guiding you to the road leading to the village "Tanbourit". A road that extends to four meters (13 feet) wide and is significant with its ascending zigzag shape shaded by the fields of pine and olive trees, in addition to the vernal fields that cover the modest stone walls, until you reach the inside of the village, following a trip that is 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from the center of the city of "Sidon", and 53 kilometers (33 miles) away from the city of "Beirut", the capitol of Lebanon. If you stood at the highest point of the village and look east you will see the village "Ankoun", where the sun rises from behind the lofty mountains. If you turned your face to the west you will see the village "Darb El Sim", as well as the fascinating view of the sea, where you could watch the sunset as it disappears behind the glittering water to indicate the end of a day in "Tanbourit" and the beginning of a new day in another world. If you look south, you will see the village "Maghdouché", where the shrine of the Virgin Mary (Our Lady of Mantara) draws your attention. And finally, if you look north you will see the village "Mijaidel", where a series of lofty mountains appear from behind it.

The hospitality of the town is a historical story dating back to the origin of the village as Abou Saouma says, recalling a local saying "either you will eat or else you will be beaten". Whoever visits "Tanbourit" has to carry a number of jackets along, not because of theft nor fear of the desire of the inhabitants for gifts, but it is because as much as they grasp their guest, they may tear up a jacket or two for him until they gain him as a guest even if he was a stranger.

This is the equality of hospitality and generosity in "Tanbourit" so it is evidently known as the "hospitality generosity" and this expression became a part of the heritage of the village. Also giving expression to that the abundant restaurants that are planted amid the nature without any cement disfigurements, and overlooking the most marvelous, most beautiful and fascinating scenery so you can enjoy your food.

The general obsession joins and unites the inhabitants of the village, and they like to take the initiative and not wait or expect any aid from the government or any others. The inhabitants established many projects, such as building the road that leads to the village at their own expense, and keeping all the roads in the village clean even though they lack a municipality. They also preserve their heritage and traditions and celebrate their religious feasts at the church of Saint Abda, the patron of the village and its protector. The church was also established at the expense of their Grandfathers on January 17, 1886, with a permission from His Excellency Archbishop Boutros Boustany, who was then Archbishop of the cities of "Tyre" and "Sidon". As the number of inhabitants of the village was small, they plucked out the stones from a place known as "Zaghrine" located Northeast of the village 2000 meters away from the current location of the church. They then transported them on the back of donkeys and the shoulders of the inhabitants to the center of the village, and each of them had patience in agony and hunger until the deprivation astonished from the asceticism of a patient. They built their first church that carried the name of Saint Abda and in which they celebrate the Maronite mass on the part of Fathers that succeeded one another to serve its altar. The current one is Father Louis El Mondalek from the village "Mijaidel" in the district of the city of "Jezzine", and he remains the servant of the congregation since 1962.

With the dignified intensity of Saint Abda within the congregation of the village "Tanbourit" and with the increased number of believers the need arisen for years to build a new church that fits all the believers worship seekers in which they perform their religious duties and meet to worship their God. The devoted committee of Saint Abda prepared the tools and concluded their intention to pursue building the new church of its patron with the support of the church's committee and the inhabitants abroad and present, and with the blessing and sponsorship of the Maronite parish in Sidon headed by His Excellency Archbishop Tanios Khoury and his general associate Monsignor Youhanna Hilou. On Sunday, August 29, 1998, the entire South complied with the invitation of the inhabitants of "Tanbourit" to share with them the celebration to lay the foundation stone to build a new church in the presence of an enormous congregation of the district people, including official individuals and southern authorities all working together.

Even though the village "Tanbourit" is small and the number of its inhabitants is small, that does not prevent them from taking the initiative to accomplish their ambitions. The inhabitants of the village insisted on establishing an athletic, cultural and social club that comprised many activities performed by the elected members. In the year 1970, the club's establishing committee that consisted of four people carried out building the club that was named "The White Eagle Club", and the inhabitants of the village as well as the immigrant Emiline Elias contributed to building it. A number of elected administrative committees, that are elected annually, succeeded one another to manage the club. The most promising activity that is currently led by the club is the volleyball team, where a number of competing teams from the inhabitants of the neighboring district and the vicinity are summoned and play tournaments on the volleyball playground located in the public square of the village.