Page 17 - Arabian Studies (II)

OATH-TAKING AND VOWS IN OMAN

by T. M. JOHNSTONE

The taking of oaths and the making of vows has always been an
important part of life except in the industrial societies, in which
social relations are largely governed by the cash nexus. Even in the
less sophisticated areas of such societies a solemn or sworn
declaration is felt to have some binding force that transcends the
words themselves, though the words on such occasions are made to
add force to such an affirmation by their archaic and majestic nature.
In pre-industrial societies, however, there is no doubt in the minds
of people that words once uttered take on a concrete reality which
can alter the course of events, always provided that the words or
formulae are uttered in a correct sequence and according to the
proper rules governing such declarations. In Dhofar a man who omits
from an oath any group of persons, for example, cannot expect such
a group to observe the terms of his oath since he has not specifically
mentioned them. A man who breaks an oath, his own or one agreed
to by his group, is held to be excluded in the future from any oaths
made by any group, in other words all protection is withdrawn from
him and he can be killed without his tribe demanding for him
blood-money or vengeance. The words of the oath itself are felt to
have caused him this harm, in much the same way as the curses of the
old Mehri tribeswomen are thought to send harm to their enemies in
times of war, when they tie their knots and chant archaic formulae
barely intelligible to their listeners.
The Dhofari province of Oman, even before the onset of the
present troubles, was an area beset by ancient feuds and enmities,
some tribal, some arising from differences between nomads and
settled folk, and some arising out of the conflicting interests of camel
raisers, goat-herds and cow herders. In order to move through the
territory of an unfriendly group or groups, it is necessary to arrange a
safe conduct for oneself for a certain period, anything from a few
days to a few months, and in the oath-taking woe betide the one that
did not enumerate every kind of person in the unfriendly group that
might cause him harm. An oath with such a loophole would
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