Page 19 - Arabian Studies (I)

FOLKLORE AND FOLK LITERATURE
IN OMAN AND SOCOTRA
by T. M. JOHNSTONE

The people whose beliefs and popular culture form the subject of
this article are the Mehris and Sheris of Dhofar, the Harasls of Oman
proper,1 and the people of Socotra. All of these peoples speak
Semitic languages distinct from Arabic and related, in a manner not
as yet defined, to the ancient languages of South Arabia. Harsusi is a
dialect of Mehri, preserving some old features lost in Mehri but now
increasingly dependent upon Omani Arabic for additions to its
vocabulary.
It seems likely that the popular beliefs of these peoples are not
radically different from those of their Arab neighbours in Southern
Arabia, but the fact that they have their own languages has tended to
preserve their beliefs by insulating them from certain outside
influences and by encapsulating certain old-established influences,
namely religious and legal structures, within the confines of a
language understood well by only a few.
Southern Arabia and Oman were not affected by the Wahhabi
religious reforms which swept away so many of the old superstitions
of the rest of Arabia. It is said by young people in the Wahhabi
regions of Arabia that these old beliefs have in reality only been
swept out of sight and that they are still as strong as ever, but that it
is not thought politic to speak of them. However it is certainly true
of Oman that no one can be long there without remarking such
beliefs and superstitions. If anyone shows interest in such things he
will be given detailed accounts of such phenomena.
There are, in a number of respects, important differences between
Southern Arabia and the North, based on an ancient cultural
dichotomy. Camels are ridden in a different way in South and
North,2 and it has been suggested that this relates to different modes
of warfare, the Northern technique, associated with the use of the
saddle, being much more efficient in the rapid disposition of
spear-carrying infantry. The people in the North dress quite

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