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The Tribal Structure of Society
        population under study. Here change is superimposed on a very
        clearly structured society and  on  concepts of life which are
        meticulously defined in every detail and as such are upheld by most
        of the inhabitants.
          There are three factors which are woven into the fabric of local
        society like three strands of fast colour: firstly the traditional tribal
        structures, secondly the lack of choice of economic opportunities,
        and thirdly the Islamic order of life. Besides these the contemporary
        society was influenced and moulded by the vicissitudes of history.
        Some such events which may have seemed decisive at the time have,
        however, not left much of a mark. Other events have had so strong an
        impact on the society living on this coast at the time that the
        transformation set in motion then can still be seen to be responsible
        for characteristics of the social structure of today. Some such
        historical events were caused by forces outside the area such as the
        two World Wars, others were just swirling motions in these
        “backwaters of history” while the main stream flooded past.
          On the surface it may seem today as though most of the historically
        formed characteristics and habits have almost vanished since the
        new oil-age first gathered momentum in the shaikhdoms in the late
        1950s. But the society which was contemporary with this event bore
        certain unmistakable features which stem from the age-old struggle
        of adapting to forbidding surroundings and from the equally
        formative influence of faith—the profound comfort under such harsh
        conditions of life. These features are too distinctive to be easily
        effaced or even very much altered by alien influences.
          The following chapters attempt to spell out some of the importance
        of those three “fast colour” factors, and then, in Chapters Eight and
        Nine, to point to those historical developments and events which
        conditioned the society of the present day in the UAE.

        The major migrations
        Very few facts are yet available about when and how people first
        came to live on the southern coast of the Gulf. So far, archaeologists
        are only sure about the fact that a society which seemed to live well
        above the mere subsistence level had settlements in the 3rd
        millennium BC on the island of Umm al Nar near the bridge to Abu
        Dhabi Island, and in and around the oases of the al 'Ain and Buraimi
        area. Similarities have been observed between this culture and the
        finds made in Bahrain, on the Kuwait island of Failaka and recently
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