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Chapter Two

                  At the turn of the century the Shihuh were estimated to number
                about 21,500 people; this was almost certainly an over-estimate.  127
                They are divided into two main sections, the Bani Hadiyah and the
                Bani Shatair. Both sections are further divided, such as the
                Kumzarah and Habus, and the latter is sometimes considered  as a
                separate tribe. Under the leadership of their muqaddam, the
                subsections are probably more independent of the leaders of the two
                main sections than would be the case in most other tribes of Oman.
                The reason is probably the sheer physical problem of co-ordination
                between the isolated communities. In order to gain the maximum
                benefit from the meagre resources which the country offers, most
                Shihuh families seasonally change their domicile. During the cooler
                winter months, when the infrequent rainfall can be expected, they
                live high up on the few fertile terraces on gentle slopes and shoulders
                of the otherwise barren limestone mountains. There they have rough
                stone houses, the floors of which are often dug into the ground. Such
                winter settlements are often occupied just by one extended family; in
                other cases a community of several related extended families forms a
                larger settlement.128 Nearby are a few terraced fields for the
                cultivation of wheal and barley. As far as is known there are no
                springs anywhere in the mountains and valleys of Ru’us al Jibal, and
                wells are not sunk because the limestone does not retain the little
                water there is. Thus rainwater, stored in man-made underground
                tanks and fed into the fields along channels, has to suffice for men,
                beasts and crops during the winter months. In the vicinity of the
                hamlets goats graze on the sparse vegetation of the slopes.
                  During the summer the entire family or village community moves
                down to the coast into musaif; these are summer settlements
                consisting of palm frond huts erected in the vicinity of date gardens
                either on the coast north of Ra’s al Khaimah, or near Dibah, or in the
                few wadi mouths of the northern Ru’us al Jibal.129 Some Shihuh go to
                the shore nearest to their winter settlement and then proceed by boat
                to their date gardens. During the height of the pearling industry
                many Shihuh participated in the seasonal dive, but only as hired
                hands on boats belonging to Ra’s al Khaimah, Rams or Sha'am. Very
                few Shihuh live entirely off fishing, but many do go fishing during the
                summer months while living on the coast. Dostal’s research into the
                seasonal movement, tahwll, and the economic pattern of the people
                inhabiting the Musandam Peninsula also verified that there are no
                purely beduin sections of the Shihuh. Almost the entire population

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