Page 97 - Arabian Studies (I)

Bayasirah and BayadTr 83

NOTES
1. A. M. Abou-Zcid, in an unpublished paper entitled ‘Social Change in
Kuwait’ at the joint Oxford School of Oriental and African Studies Conference
on the Arabian Peninsula (1969), divided the people of Kuwait into four main
classes, the highest of which arc the assayla (i.e. those having asl). ‘The bayasra
(lit. tasteless, headless) form the second important category. They also came
from a pure Arab origin and arc Sunni Moslems as well, but their original tribes
did not lead a pure nomadic life and had no reputation in wars and raids. They
were rather sedentary and more interested in trade and commerce than in
momadism and pastoralism. Most of the bayasra came from Iraq, and although
some of them have inhabited Kuwait as early as the assayla and have contributed
largely to the advancement of the country, especially in the field of education, they
do not have the same social status or prestige.’ The other two classes lie delimits arc
the Hassawiy (ShfT Muslims from al-Hasa) and A 'ajim (ShiT Iranians).
2. Even poultry that had no pedigree were known as baysarl (cf. al-Jahiz
quoted by Serjeant 1968, 487, fn. 7). Etymologically tne word might derive from
the Persian bf (without) and sar (head), i.e. headless, tribeless. Miller,
Persian-Russian Dictionary, Moscow 1963, actually gives bi-sar with this
meaning. In Urdu besar, bisar means gleanings left in the field and bi sar-o-pa
destitute.
3. ‘Adhaq, pi. ‘udhuq (var. ‘adhaq, pi. ‘udhuq in Buraymi) (q equals j) is the
word used in the Zahirah for a bunch of dates. In Oman 'isqah is used (c.f. also
Reinhardt, 112), but in Buraymi an informant stated that ‘asaq were the small
stalks on which the individual dates hung while the main stalk was termed
shammkh. In ‘Ibn the term Kdd was used when referring to the number of
bunches borne by a palm cf. Reinhardt, 124, ‘otf, ‘idyan, Ast Stengel). It is of no
small interest to note that as early as Khalil al-Farahfdfs Kitab al-‘Ayn the use
of *isq by the Azd is noted as a dialect characteristic, apparently deriving from
the correct form *idhq — for details see C. Rabin, Ancient West-Arabian, London
1951,54.
4. Reinhardt (135) confirms that the bidar receives a set payment in kind:
bydar bejadyr: Landmann, dcr auf fremden Gut eingesetzt, einen bestimmten
Theil dcs Ertrages erhallt’.
5. Halal (vowelling?) appears to be a purely Omani word for weeding (cf.
Salimr,/tfH>/N7/\ 411, fn. 2).
6. Haris. This term was heard only in ‘IbrF but is attested both by Jayakar
and Reinhardt (6) who shows the root deriving from haras. However, it is the
writer's belief that it derives from the root HRTH and strength is given to this by
R. B. Serjeant, ‘Some Irrigation Systems in Hadramawt\Z?..$,.6M..S'., 1964, XXVII,
62, who remarks that in one type of contract in that area that ‘the tnawwal or
capitalist in a share-cropping contract who owns the palms would give the
harrath who looks after the palms, one sprig (klnl) of dates from each palm as
his share of the contract.’ This indicates that the usage of the root has nothing to
do with ploughing: in Oman his is the standard word for a plough (cf. Salimf,
Jawhar, 412, fn. 2). The reader will also note the similarity of the Hadramawt
system of the payment of a khTl to that of the Omani ‘adhq to the bidar.