Page 251 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Six

had once been a garden in that location and that he was entitled to its
possession, then the wali in the Llwa or the Ruler’s qadi, if he
happened to be in the vicinity, dealt with the dispute.
In falcij-irrigated oases the ruler or his representative had to be
asked for permission if someone wanted to start a new garden; but
the principal obstacle to expansion of the oasis was the limited
supply of water. A substantial increase in the cultivated area in an
oasis such as Buraimi was only possible after the introduction of
mechanical pumps. The establishment of new gardens in areas with
good soil meant either the rehabilitation of a dilapidated falaj or the
digging and operation of water wells; both required an immense
community effort. For an individual to engage in such a project meant
that he would require quite large amounts of money to pay labourers
to dig the wells and prepare the land. Therefore the few extensions
established since the beginning of this century in the major oases
were mostly owned by members of the ruling families.

Summary
For the first five decades of this century there are no statistics to
show how many of the date gardens in the Trucial States were owned
by those who worked in them. But it appears that the date gardens
were owned less and less by the people who worked in them, nor
were they even owned by people who lived permanently in the village
to which the gardens were attached. The absentee landowners were
frequently members of the ruling families who enjoyed having, and
could afford, such retreats away from the ports of the coast; their
large households and many retainers consumed large amounts of
dates provided by the gardens. Some, such as the A1 Bu Falah, used
the private acquisition of property as part of a policy of gaining
influence in an area. Many gardens were bought up by Arab pearl
merchants and traders.
Allowing for many exceptions one may say that in general black
servants worked in the gardens near the coastal towns, baluch
servants in the gardens of the east coast, bayadlr in many places
including Dibah, Buraimi and Ra’s al Khaimah, and tribeless but
settled immigrants and original inhabitants of uncertain ethnic
background worked in places where agricultural labour, other than
date gardeners, was needed.67 During the date harvest, when a few
extra hands were welcome, beduin helped with this seasonal work.
Payment for such work was usually only in kind, but in some cases it
consisted of a share of the crop as well as money.

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