The speakers of Rijāl Almaʿ are a rather unique presence in Asir given their historical autonomy both on cultural and political terms, which resulted in a more complicated relationship between them and the Saudi state. Matters of tribal law and customs are handled by the tribal leaders themselves and not the Saudi authorities, leading some to describe it somewhat as a "tribal reservation".Gingrich, Andre. “Trading Autonomy for Integration: Some Observations on Twentieth-Century Relations between the Rijāl Alma’ Tribe and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” Études Rurales, no. 155/156, 2000, pp. 75–91, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20122828. Accessed 15 May 2022. The speakers of Rijāl Almaʿ are seemingly mocked for their way of speech and thus this is fueling language change amongst younger speakers, amongst other factors. Rijāl Almaʿ historically remained economically and politically independent from neighboring areas, but upon the discovery of oil and modernization of Saudi Arabia remaining in Rijāl Almaʿ became a matter of lack of opportunities. The modern village of Rijāl Almaʿ is a popular tourist destination in Saudi Arabia and is a tentative UNESCO world heritage site.
