Page 35 - Arabian Studies (I)

Folklore and Folk Literature in Oman and Socotra 21
Although they share much in the way of traditions, the poetry of
the Mehra is quite different formally from that of the Sheri-speakers.
Mchri poems usually have eleven or more verses and their language is
not complicated, though certain words are confined to poetry and
the word-order is not that of prose. The following may serve as an
example:
(On the Awkehayt valley)
(Wadi) 1 felt a desire to weep and tears came to my eyes
When 1 saw the small band of camels spread over the valley
And caught sight of Kadet sauntering into sight behind
them.
‘What came over you to take you away
[and] for ten years to pass [over us] ?’
(Man) Time turned against us, that which we could not bear,
But we contended with it till now it has gone.
We have come to you sliding slowly along;
We know the land without needing directions,
That this is Awkehayt and those its sides,
And (there) the two islands in the lengthening evening
shadow.

In Sheri, as in Socotri, poems are almost invariably in couplet
form. Their substance is complex, as for example:34
Say to that loved one: ‘The rain-star has spoilt the autumn rains.’
If the man wants to pay heed, [good]: otherwise he should let her
know by letter.
This warns a man away from his home and wife that a rival has
appeared and suggests he come back or send a notification of
divorce.
The language of the verses is also complex and it is a medium of
communication confined solely to poetry. The basis is Mehri which,
it would appear, has become more and more Sherized over a long
period. It is a language known only to people of some social
standing, though many Mehris know it and think of it as Sheri.
The position in Dhofar reminds us that poetry is a riddle for which
we must find the key. This is something which the public is no longer
willing to accept or admit in Europe,3 s but it is something that no
true poet ever forgets.
The culture of the Southern peoples which is briefly described
here is in many respects also that of their Arab neighbours in the
South. But I have tried, without I hope overstating the case, to
represent some of the features which are confined to it. Although the
spirit world is real and omnipresent to all Southerners, the