Howayek (surname)

File:HowayekTree.JPG

Howayek Family Tree. circa 1970

Family Hawayek (also Hoyek, Hoayek, Howayek, Huwayyik, Hwayek, Juayek, Huayek, Juallek (Arabic: الحويك) a large and prominent Christian Catholic Maronite family from Lebanon. The major part of the Hawayek family is settled over three Lebanese towns Bdadoun, Hsarat and Helta. There are also a sizeable amount of members of this family that have migrated from Lebanon to other parts of the world, mainly the Americas and Europe. What follows is a brief history of this family which aims to bring to life a more intimate aspect of Lebanon's history.

History

Roots
Howayek have origins in the Arab Christian tribe the Ghassanids (Bani Ghassan). Those families are mostly recognised today by holding Arabic sounding surnames, but following the Christian faith. Some of those families are Christian Maronite such as, Sfeir, Khazzen, Hellou, Howayek, Hbeish and Aridah. While the majority of those families are either Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic including the Maalouf and Jebara families. Those families originally settled in Houran, Syria. [1] The Hawayek family was mostly settled in Sirghaya[2], in what is now Syria. It was known there mostly by the name "Shalhoub El3ouwwaem".

Emigration to Mount Lebanon
It was after the Crusaders' departure from the Middle East that the Christian communities fell victim to the persecution of the Mameluk Arabs and the Ottoman Turks after them. The Mameluks had conquered Syria and Lebanon and remained rulers until the early 1500s when they themselves fell to the expanding Ottoman Empire.

The Hawayek family refugees were able to regroup and reconstruct their community life around their Maronite patriarchate. This they did along with the majority of the Maronite families who saw in this congregation the independence from an oppressive ruling system. The choice fell on the relatively uninhabited Keserwan region in Lebanon which allowed for Maronite settlement. The patriarchate was established in Batroun, North Lebanon. The Hawayek clan was known to centre on the town of Hsarat, North Lebanon in the 1700s.

Registering the name Hawayek
With the move to Mount Lebanon, the families were required to register with the Ottoman Turkish authorities. Due to the fact that the majority were weavers, the registration office in Batroun signed them up as Hawayek (meaning weaver).
Another theory is that the name is after an itchy plant (Haeik) which is known to spread in Mosul.

Expansion in Lebanon
As the demographic expansion of the Maronites continued towards the Chouf and Metn. This resulted in the Hawayek family splitting into the main three locations they are found in today. With the Chouf exodus went the Hawayeks that settled in Bdadoun, and in the 1800s part of them moved and settled in Helta in the North of Lebanon.
Since then they have spread into other parts of the Lebanon: Amshit, in Jbeil. Jdeidet, in Metn. They are known to be also located in the following: Ain Saadeh, Bsaeba, Baabda, Hadath, Bawshriyeh, Jezzine, Rashkideh and Aoura.

Agriculture and peasantry
The peasants in the Lebanon did not own the land they worked. The feudal lords owned the land and gave the farmers an allowance for the work they did.

Land Ownership
Unlike North Lebanon, the Chouf region belonged to the Druze lords and did not fall under the Christian fiefdoms. This now meant that the Hawayeks that moved there had to take farmer jobs under new rules - they were not allowed to own land. The Hawayeks who remained in the North took to owning the land they worked on.
As the population grew, the Druze lords allowed the peasants to build Churches on their land. In later years, the Druze chieftains paid the farmers by allocating them land. It is only at that time that Hawayeks got to own land in the Chouf and Aley districts.
Education
At the turn of the 20th century the improved financial status of the family allowed its children higher education than was previously possible. Many received their education from the country's higher education institutions and some travelled abroad to study.
Immigration
With all the Lebanese waves of immigration went people from the Hawayek family. The Ottoman period, the Civil war and the later economic decline were all reasons that caused members of the Hawayek to flee Lebanon seeking security and economic stability. A large section of this family has immigrated to countries outside of Lebanon, mainly to the United States and France.

Different Transliterations and Spellings

Different transliterations and spellings for the Arabic word for Howayek have been taken.

Hawayek is used by the majority of English educated members of the family, as well as those that migrated to North and South America (United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, etc).

Hoyek, Huayek and Juayek is mostly used by the French educated members of the family. Also, the Maronite Church chose Hoyek as a spelling for the Patriarch Hoyek.

The name has even been changed considerably to "Howard" in the United States. The Dynamics of American Ethnic, Religious, and Racial Group Life. By Philip Perlmutter. Published 1996. Praeger. ISBN 0275955338.

Use of the name

[3] Shaqif al Huwayyik, a hill in the Beqaa, Lebanon

Alternative Name: Shaqif al Houwayek Area: Al Beqaa, in Lebanon Coordinates & Location type: Area Type: Hypsographic Location Type: Slope Latitude: 33.54306 Longitude: 35.75278 (Decimal degrees) Latitude (DMS): 33° 32' 35 N Longitude (DMS): 35° 45' 10 E (Degrees, minutes and seconds)

Prominent Members

Name	Birth and Death	Legacy
Elias Peter Hoayek	1843 - 1931	Maronite Patriarch of Antioch
Saadallah Howayek	1853 - 1915	Member of Mount Lebanon's first administrative council
Youssef (Joseph) Howayek	1883 - 1962	Sculptor and Painter

Mayors and Judiciarys

• Gebran Khalil Hoyek (1919-1991), was a Judge for 40 years in judiciary system - 21 years as president of the Baalbek-Hermel court of justice, Member of the supreme court of justice - awarded with the Commodore National Cedars Medal وسام الأرز الوطني من رتبة كومندور’ from the President of the Lebanese Republic . President of the Hoyek family society.
• José Hawayek, (189? - 198?) mayor of Hatillo from 1940 to 1944 [4]
• The late Mr. Chafic Saad Hoyek (1928-1999) served as mayor of Bdadoun for several years. During his tenure, many projects were completed, one of which was building the current municipality office center.
• Habib Youssef Hawayek, mayor of Bdadoun
• Michel Abdelnour Hawayek, current mayor of Bdadoun

Artists, Writers and Thinkers

• Elias Howayek (1904 - 1986) artist
• Elias Leon Howayek, journalist
• Suleiman Howayek, from Jezzine, active at time of French Mandate in Lebanon
• Elias Tannous (Anthony) Howayek, from Bdadoun, Foreign language scribe at Ottoman times
• Sabeh Najib Asaad Hoyek (1907-1991) from Bdadoun, Historian and Poet: awarded an Honorary Medal of Knowledge from the Lebanese Ministry of Education in 1974.
• Antoine Joubran Hoyek, from Bdadoun, an agronomist

Community Leaders

• Elias Huayek Huayek (1904 - 1987), nephew of Patriarch Elias Pedro Huayek was born in Aaoura in the region of Batrun in 1904. He emigrated to Mexico in 1923 and settled in Villa Guerrero, México. In the year 1943 moved to México City where he passed away on the 27th of March, 1987. He is held with high regard by both the Lebanese and Mexican communities.
• Leon Michel Hoyek, born in 1944, founder and president of three Health Dispensaries established in 1987 under the name of "Human Development Movement" [5] in Batrun, Lebanon. He played an important role during the Lebanese civil war supplying individuals in need with the proper health and food services, despite the gravity of the situation. He is the current occupant of Patriarch Elias Hoyek's house in Helta, Batrun.
• Khalil Saeed Asaad Hawayek (1892 - 1977), born in Bdadoun, The Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge in Puerto Rico and U.S.A.