Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf (Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies)

This book is the first in English to survey indigenous knowledge of seasonal, astronomical, and agricultural information in Arab Gulf almanacs. It provides an extensive analysis of the traditional information available, based on local almanacs, Arabic texts and poetry by Gulf individuals, ethnographic interviews, and online forums. A major feature of the book is tracing the history of terms and concepts in the local seasonal knowledge of the Gulf, including an important genre about weather stars, stemming back to the ninth century CE. Also covered are pearl diving, fishing, seafaring, and pastoral activities. This book will be of interest to scholars who study the entire Arab region, since much of the lore was shared and continues through the present. It will also be of value to scholars who work on the Indian Ocean and Red Sea Trade Network, as well as the history of folk astronomy in the Arab World. Daniel Martin Varisco is an anthropologist and historian with research experience in Yemen, Egypt and the Arab Gulf. He has written about Arabic folk astronomy and astrology, traditional agriculture and the history of the Arab almanac. He is currently President of the American Institute for Yemeni Studies Acknowledgments Conventions Transliteration and Translation Calendars and Dates References Contents Abbreviations List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Heritage and the Gulf States 1.2 The Importance of Intangible Heritage in the Arab Gulf 1.3 Approaching Seasonal Knowledge in the Gulf 1.4 Disappearing Dialects 1.5 Scope of the Book Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Part I: Analysis Chapter 2: Traditional Knowledge of the Stars 2.1 Islamic Folk Astronomy 2.2 Nujūm: Astronomy and Astrology 2.3 The Zodiacal Constellations and Planets 2.4 The Lunar Stations (manāzil al-qamar) and Weather Stars (anwā’) 2.5 Major Stars Observed in the Gulf 2.6 The Pleiades (thurayyā) 2.7 Canopus (suhayl) 2.8 Sirius (shi‘rā) Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Chapter 3: The Almanac Tradition 3.1 Almanac Lore in the Early Anwā’ Genre 3.2 Gulf Almanacs Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Chapter 4: Calendar Systems of the Gulf Almanacs 4.1 Islamic Hijrı̄ Calendar 4.2 Christian or Solar Shamsı̄ Calendar 4.3 Zodiacal Calendar 4.4 Suhayl (Canopus) Calendar 4.5 Pleiades Conjunction Calendar 4.6 Omani Falaj System Schedules 4.7 Omani Coastal Fishing Schedules 4.8 Shadow Lengths Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Chapter 5: Traditional Seasonal Knowledge 5.1 Local Seasons in Eastern Saudi Arabia and Qatar 5.2 Local Seasons in Kuwait 5.3 Local Seasons in the United Arab Emirates 5.4 Local Seasons in Oman 5.5 Rain Periods 5.6 Wind Periods 5.7 Hot and Cold Weather Bibliography Electronic Documents Manuscripts Published Texts Chapter 6: Range of Content in the Almanacs 6.1 Cosmology of Almanac Lore 6.2 Health and Medical Treatment 6.3 Food, Diet, and Healthy Living 6.4 Sex 6.5 Migratory Birds, Falconry, and Hunting 6.6 Insects 6.7 Wild Plants 6.8 Family Issues 6.9 Religious Commemorations 6.10 Events Outside the Gulf Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Chapter 7: Seasonal Activities on Land 7.1 The Pastoral Cycle and Camel Raising 7.2 Horses and Donkeys 7.3 Sheep and Goats 7.4 Cattle 7.5 Pasture 7.6 Agriculture 7.7 Najd 7.8 Bahrain 7.9 United Arab Emirates (UAE) 7.10 Oman 7.11 Cultivation Times for Crops 7.12 Date Palm Agriculture Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Chapter 8: Seasonal Activities on the Sea 8.1 Navigation in the Gulf 8.2 Pearl Diving 8.3 Fishing Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Chapter 9: The Future of Almanac Lore and Seasonal Knowledge in the Gulf 9.1 The Relevance of Past Almanac Knowledge and Seasonal Lore 9.2 The Relevance of Future Almanac Knowledge and Seasonal Lore Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Part II: Texts and Charts Chapter 10: Almanacs 10.1 Almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz b. ‘Abd Allāh al-‘Uyūnī 10.1.1 Translation of Main Section on Stations (pp. 17–28) First of the Spring Season and Persian nawru ̄z Rising of sa‘d al-akhbiya (III:22–IV:3) Rising of muqaddam (IV:4–16) Rising of mu’akhkhar (IV:17–29) Rising of rishaˉ’ (IV:30–V:12) Rising of sharat ̇ayn (V:13–25) Rising of but ̇ayn (V:26–VI:7) Rising of thurayyaˉ (VI:8–20) Rising of dabara ̄n (VI:21–VII:3) First of the Summer Season Rising of haq‘a (VII:4–16) Rising of han‘a (VII:17–29) Rising of dhira ̄‘, which is mirzam (VII:30–VIII:11) Rising of nathra (VIII:12–24) Rising of t ̇arf (VIII:25–IX:6) Rising of jabha (IX:7–20) Rising of zubra (IX:21–X:2) First of the Autumn Season Rising of s·arfa (X:3–15) Rising of ‘awwaˉ (X:16–X:28) Rising of simaˉk (X:29–XI:10) Middle of the Autumn Season Rising of ghafr (XI:11–23) Rising of zubaˉnaˉ (XI:24–XII:5) Rising of iklīl (XII:6–18) Rising of qalb (XII:19–31) First of the Winter Season Rising of shawla (I:1–13) Rising of na‘aˉ’im (I:14–26) Rising of balda (I:27–II:8) Rising of sa‘d al-dhaˉbiḥ (II:9–21) Rising of sa‘d bula‘ (II:22–III:6) Rising of sa‘d al-su‘u‐d (III:7–19) 10.1.2 Translation of Agricultural Information by Zodiacal Month (pp. 33–36) Aries (ḥamal) Taurus (thawr) Gemini (jawzā’) Cancer (saraṭān) Leo (asad) Virgo (sunbula) Libra (mı̄zān) Scorpio (‘aqrab) Sagittarius (qaws) Capricorn (jadı̄) Aquarius (dalw) Pisces (ḥūt) 10.1.3 Arabic Text 10.2 Almanac Charts 10.2.1 Qatari Almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd Alla ̄h Ibra ̄hı‐m al-Anṣa ̄rı‐ 10.2.2 Emirati Almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Jabba ̄r Muh·ammad al-Ma ̄jid 10.2.3 Ẓafara Almanac of Ra ̄shid b. ‘Uwayd∙a A-l ‘Uwayd∙a 10.2.4 Bahraini Almanac of al-Sayyid ‘Alı‐ al-Sayyid ‘Abd al-Rah·ma ̄n al-Ha ̄shimı‐ 10.2.5 Najdı‐ Almanac of ‘Alı‐ b. ‘Abd Alla ̄h al-Shammarı‐ 10.2.6 Najd Almanac Chart of ‘Abd Alla ̄h b. Khamı‐s 10.2.7 Omani Almanac of Ra ̄shid b. ‘Amı‐r b. Tha ̄nı‐ b. Khalaf Ibn Ha ̄shim (d. 1019/1610) 10.2.8 “The Rising Stars with Explanation” (al-Nuju ̄m wa-al-ṭawaˉli‘ bi-al-tafṣı-l of Abu‐ S.ant (2002) 10.2.9 “The Climate Chart for the State of Kuwait” (al-Jadāwil al-manākhiyya li-dawlat Kuwait) of al-Marzu‐q Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Chapter 11: The Canopus (Suhayl) Calendar 11.1 “Chart for Navigational Astronomical Reckoning of the Past: The durūr” (Jadwal li-al-ḥisāb al-falakı̄ al-baḥrı̄ al-qadı̄m (al-durūr)) of al-Marzūq 11.2 “Annual Seasonal Chart for the Region of the Gulf” (Jadwal mawāsim al-Sanna bi-manṭiqat al-Khalı̄j, Mawqi‘ al-‘Āmilı̄n bi-al-Qiṭā‘al-Nafṭı̄), February 18, 2008 Chapter 12: The Pleiades Conjunction Calendar 12.1 The Reckoning of Seasons and the Wasm (Wasm al-thurayyā) Rain Among the Bedouin, Abū Ghānim al-‘Amrānı̄ (2012) Bibliography Electronic Documents Chapter 13: Poetry 13.1 Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad Ibn Mājid (d. ca. 1500 CE) 13.2 Rāshid al-Khalāwī (d. Eleventh/Seventeenth Century?) 13.2.1 Translation 13.2.2 Arabic 13.3 Muḥammad al-Qāḍī (d. 1285/1868) 13.3.1 Translation 13.3.2 Arabic 13.4 Muḥammad Ibn Shahwān (d. 1392/1971) 13.4.1 Translation 13.4.2 Arabic Bibliography Published Texts Chapter 14: Proverbs Bibliography Electronic Documents Published Texts Bibliography Electronic Documents Manuscripts Published Texts Index