Honour Is in Contentment: Life Before Oil in Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE) and Some Neighbouring Regions (Studien zur Geschichte und Kultur des islamischen Orients, N.F. 25)

Based on interviews and field research, the authors explore the sets of ideas Arab tribespeople from Ras Al-Khaimah had about tribe and community; social and economic networks, and jural contracts for livelihoods and profits; their uses of their environments; the moral relations of credit, debt and labour; ruling; economic and political transformations; and ideas of regional history where conflicts were regarded as disputes over sets of ideas, and informal accounts of tribal and local histories. Their lively descriptions and explanations of life before oil portrayed tribal societies whose relationships were moral rather than political and were between jurally equal persons. All lived from their own resources; 'wealth' was material self-sufficiency; 'riches' the richness of social relationships. Political arenas were decentralised and underpinned by common cultural and moral values. Published sources give a wider context to these ideas and events which show the great complexity and differing perspectives of 'life before oil' in the Gulf. Contents 13 1 Social matters: social infrastructure, premises and practice 15 Ownership, territory, and residence 40 Group identities and their references 49 “The poetics of dwelling” 50 2 Sea people, ahl al-bahr, and how they lived 59 Sea trading and carrying 60 Pearling 70 Fishing 74 Changes in coastlines 82 3 Livelihoods and living on the coastal plains or sayh, and the sands 113 Waters, soils, and livelihood options 113 Livelihoods and profits, ma'ash wa fa'ida, and living 116 4 Ru'us al-Jibal mountains; livelihoods and living 151 Waters, soils, environments 151 Livelihoods and living in the Ru'us al-Jibal 161 5 The western Hajar mountains; livelihoods and living 205 Waters, soils, and environments 205 Livelihoods and living in the western Hajar 223 6 Distribution, trade, investment, credit and debt 253 The second section describes the activities of traders 275 7 Ruling and Rulers 312 Local terms for persons fulfilling roles in aspects of ruling 318 Local descriptions of ruling in the past 325 Rationales of ruling 347 Changes from the discovery and development of oil 383 8 'What happened to turn our world upside down?' 390 A brief economic history of the area 397 Changes in traditional sources of profits 424 Date growing areas inland from the coast 445 Sands 451 Ru'us al-Jibal 455 Western Hajar 462 The transformation through modernisation 472 9 Back to History 480 The Gulf coastal towns and places on the Shamailyya and Batinah coasts 485 Date garden areas of the Sirr 515 Sands 525 Ru'us al-Jibal history is presented as tribal history; Dhahuriyyin; Shihuh; and Habus 528 Western Hajar 543 Bibliography 573 Index 583 List of Figures 595 Plates 597 Die Studien zur Geschichte und Kultur des islamischen Orients / Studies in the History and Culture of the Islamic Orient (STIO) ist die Reihe der "Beihefte" zur Zeitschrift Der Islam. Beide werden von der Abteilung für Geschichte und Kultur des Vorderen Orients, Asien-Afrika-Institut, Universität Hamburg herausgegeben. Die Abteilung wurde im Jahre 1908 noch vor der Universität Hamburg gegründet. Sie war unter ihrem ersten Direktor C. H. Becker das erste wissenschaftliche Zentrum in Deutschland, in dem die Lehre und Forschung sich auf die historischen und kulturwissenschaftlichen und nicht allein die philologischen Aspekte bei der Erforschung der islamischen Welt konzentrierte. Viele führende Experten der deutschen Islamwissenschaft haben hier gelehrt und/oder studiert. Mit dem gleichen hohen Anspruch und der gleichen hohen Qualität wie Der Islamhaben die "Beihefte" zahlreiche Arbeiten über die Geschichte und Kultur der islamischen Welt publiziert, die jeweils Meilensteine in ihrem Feld darstellten. Die seit 2004 erscheinende "Neue Folge" der Beihefte baut auf dieser Tradition auf und bietet eine Plattform für die Publikation von Studien über die Geschichte und Kultur der islamischen Welt vom Beginn des Islams bis in die heutige Zeit. Mit Band 27 abgeschlossen, Fortsetzung der Reihe unter dem Titel "Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East (SME)".

Based on interviews and field research, the authors explore the sets of ideas Arab tribespeople from Ras Al-Khaimah had about tribe and community; social and economic networks, and jural contracts for livelihoods and profits; their uses of their environments; the moral relations of credit, debt and labour; ruling; economic and political transformations; and ideas of regional history where conflicts were regarded as disputes over sets of ideas, and informal accounts of tribal and local histories.
Their lively descriptions and explanations of life before oil portrayed tribal societies whose relationships were moral rather than political and were between jurally equal persons. All lived from their own resources; 'wealth' was material self-sufficiency; 'riches' the richness of social relationships. Political arenas were decentralised and underpinned by common cultural and moral values.
Published sources give a wider context to these ideas and events which show the great complexity and differing perspectives of 'life before oil' in the Gulf.

Based on interviews and field research, the authors explore the sets of ideas Arab tribespeople from Ras Al-Khaimah had about tribe and community; social and economic networks, and jural contracts for livelihoods and profits; their uses of their environments; the moral relations of credit, debt and labour; ruling; economic and political transformations; and ideas of regional history where conflicts were regarded as disputes over sets of ideas, and informal accounts of tribal and local histories. Published sources give a wider context to these ideas and events which show the great complexity and differing perspectives of 'life before oil' in the Gulf. William O. Lancaster and Fidelity C. Lancaster, Aberdeen University, Scotland, UK Social matters : infrastructure, premises & practices Sea people, Ahl al-Bahr : livelihoods and profits Coastal plains & sands : livelihoods & profits Mountain living : Ru'us al-Jibal Mountain living : western Hajar Distribution of produce & services Ruling and rulers What happened to turn our world upside-down? Back to history.