Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf (Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies) 3030957705, 9783030957704

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PALGRAVE SERIES IN INDIAN OCEAN WORLD STUDIES

Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf

Daniel Martin Varisco

Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies Series Editor Gwyn Campbell Indian Ocean World Centre McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada

This is the first scholarly series devoted to the study of the Indian Ocean world from early times to the present day. Encouraging interdisciplinarity, it incorporates and contributes to key debates in a number of areas including history, environmental studies, anthropology, sociology, political science, geography, economics, law, and labor and gender studies. Because it breaks from the restrictions imposed by country/regional studies and Eurocentric periodization, the series provides new frameworks through which to interpret past events, and new insights for present-day policymakers in key areas from labor relations and migration to diplomacy and trade. More information about this series at https://link.springer.com/bookseries/14661

Daniel Martin Varisco

Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf

Daniel Martin Varisco Glen Cove, NY, USA

ISSN 2730-9703     ISSN 2730-9711 (electronic) Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies ISBN 978-3-030-95770-4    ISBN 978-3-030-95771-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: CPA Media Pte Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

The Qatari man had depended on the sea for all his living – its pearls and fish. Even the Bedouin used to work in the sea and went for diving in the summer time. In brief, the sea helped them to live and saved them from poverty and death. —‘Alī ‘Abd Allāh al-Fayyāḍ Petroleum did not yield literature, culture, practices, or social customs. All literary and artistic movements in the region at the age of petroleum are nothing but an extension of the two cultures of the sea and desert, and a product of the cultural interaction with neighboring cultures and the social changes that accompanied education and urbanity. —Kalthām al-Ghānim

Acknowledgments

My interest in the lore of the Arab Gulf began on a Fulbright Islamic Civilization Grant in 1988–1989, when I was affiliated with the Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre in Doha, Qatar. There I received generous support from the head of the center, the playwright ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Mannā‘ī, and his staff. I was able to return the following year and continue research on local almanacs, including the opportunity to interview Shaykh ‘Abd Allāh al-Anṣārī, the compiler of the well-known Qatari almanac, as well as a number of Qatari men who had been sailors or pearl divers. In 2015 I received a grant from the Qatar National Research Fund for a project on “Intangible Heritage of Seasonal Navigation and Time Telling in the Arab Gulf.” This project was conducted with support from several scholars, to all of whom I owe a debt of thanks. These include Andre Gingrich, former director of the Institute for Social Anthropology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, who was able to visit Doha and assist in interviews and discussions with Qataris about the research. Roxanni Margariti of Emory University came to Doha and provided her expertise on navigation and folklore in the region. ‘Alī al-Shāwī of Qatar University assisted me in obtaining information on local tribal lore. Saad Sowayan responded to my queries about Nabati poetry and Harriet Nash shared her extensive work on star lore in Oman. Mai Lootah has also provided much appreciated assistance in better understanding Gulf poetry. I am especially grateful to Andre, Harriet, and Mai for their careful reading of a draft of this book. I thank them all for their encouragement and sharing of information.

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Conventions

Transliteration and Translation The formal system of romanizing the letters of the Arabic alphabet follows the system of the International Journal of Middle East Studies, with the exception of direct quotations. Since regular Arabic print in the sources consulted seldom applies the vowels, there are often variations in how a word is pronounced. Many of the terms used are in dialect and thus not pronounced as one might expect in the classical or modern standard systems. To the extent possible, dialectical variants are related to their classical counterparts, but reported transliteration is often followed directly from the source, especially for Oman. Commonly known place names are not transliterated. All translation is my own, unless otherwise noted. As anyone involved in translation from Arabic to English knows, it is often impossible to find the exact meaning without producing an unwieldy and inflated annotation. This is especially true for poetry, which is very difficult to reproduce effectively with a suitable rhyme or metrical scheme. Some terms do not have a convenient single term in English. A prime example is the term shajar, which in Arabic refers to any plant with a stalk (sāq). While there is little choice not to translate it as “tree” in most cases, it connotes smaller bushes and plants as well. The focus in the translation here is on clarity, explaining the etymology and lexical background of important terms as warranted. Poetic license often takes liberties with the dictionary rendering. At times this calls for creative rendering that is not literal but best presents my sense of the intended meaning of the text. It is recommended ix

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CONVENTIONS

that Arabists not rely on the translation, but refer to the original Arabic to benefit more fully from the information. For names of the astronomical system of the “stations” (anwā’ and manāzil), and several other kinds of terms, I drop the definitive rendering of the “al” unless it is needed in context.

Calendars and Dates The almanacs consulted for this study use multiple calendrical systems, often correlated in a given year with the Islamic lunar hijrī equivalent. Earlier texts, such as that of Ibn Qutayba in the ninth century, cited the Julian reckoning, which was not corrected to align properly with the solar cycle until after the Gregorian reform in 1582, when the Julian reckoning had declined about ten days from seasonal calculation of the solar year. The Gregorian reckoning did not become universal until later in many countries; it was not used in Britain until 1752 and even later in Islamic countries, especially in the Gulf. In providing dates of equivalence between the Islamic lunar calendar and the Julian/Gregorian dates, the sequence used here is AH/CE. Dates recorded in Arabic sources before the twentieth century are almost always in the Julian reckoning. A specific date quoted in an almanac may be taken from an earlier source and may not be representative of the time in which the almanac was written. For references to the solar months I use abbreviations as follows, with the month in a Roman numeral and the day of the month in an Arabic number: Month

#

Month

#

January/Kānūn al-Thānī February/Shubāṭ March /Ādhār April/Nīsān May/Ayyār June/Ḥazīrān

I II III IV V VI

July/Tammūz August/Āb September/Aylūl October/Tishrīn al-Awwal November/Tishrīn al-Thānī December/Kānūn al-Awwal

VII VIII IX X XI XII

 CONVENTIONS 

xi

References The standard Western referencing system by author and date remains the most convenient for locating a specific bibliographic reference. Rather than interrupt the text, I include these references in footnotes. Arabic names, however, do not fit comfortably into this bibliographic citation system, given the usual lack of a given name and family name. I have attempted to use the most commonly used form of a scholar’s name, often his nisba. In recent years numerous texts from the past have become available online in pdf. However, there are many manuscripts that are only available in libraries. I was able to examine several manuscripts in the Qatar National Library between 1988 and 1989. I thank Mahmoud Zaki for his assistance in finding manuscripts and sources in the contemporary Qatar Digital Library. It should be noted that webpages are often ephemeral and those cited may no longer exist.

Praise for Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf “This is an indispensable book eminently researched and written by a prominent anthropologist and historian about the rich heritage of the region and its people. Through the captivating chapters of the book, Prof. Varisco clearly demonstrates the enduring quest for knowledge and the entrepreneurial spirit of the inhabitants of the Arab Gulf, proving that their achievements and contributions to civilization date back to well beyond the age of oil. This book is an invaluable contribution to knowledge and a must read for all of those interested in the history and contemporary issues of the Arab Gulf region.” —Abdullah Baabood, Chair of the State of Qatar for Islamic Area Studies and Visiting Professor, School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University, Japan “Varisco’s Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf will remain, for years to come, as the most foundational anthropological work on the indigenous knowledge system of the Arab Gulf’s people.” —Abdullah A. Yateem, Centre for Bahrain Studies, University of Bahrain “Historians have long recognized the importance of Arabic writings on navigation in the medieval and early modern Indian Ocean, but have largely assumed that the tradition had fallen apart in the age of European imperialism. In this marvelous work, Varisco shifts the goal posts: he brings twentieth-century Arabic writings into view, showcasing a wholly new set of writers, texts, and ideas that had hitherto escaped our attention. In doing so, he transforms our understanding of the history of the Arabic nautical tradition, but also forces us to rethink the study of mobility and history in the Indian Ocean.” —Fahad Ahmad Bishara, University of Virginia, USA “Varisco’s book constitutes essential reading for ethnographic and environmental understanding of the Arabian peninsula side of the Indian Ocean through the preoil mid-20th century. Varisco’s profound ethnohistorical knowledge of the region allows him to bring alive the local perceptions of how wind, rain, heat, and cold have affected fishing, farming, herding—and survival. Lively and accessible, this book is a good read.” —Dale F. Eickelman, Dartmouth College, USA

“This is a unique study, presenting a complicated and highly sophisticated matter in a path-breaking analysis that is both convincing for the experts as it is accessible and adventurous for the interested layperson. Varisco’s insights in historical and folk astronomy of the Gulf region speak to historians, anthropologists and geographers alike - but they also will appeal to school teachers, cultural and museum experts of and in Arabia, and to anybody interested in humans’ historical engagement with climate and environment.” —Andre Gingrich, Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academies of Sciences “With over four decades of work on folk astronomy and based on rigorous ethnographic, archival-historical, and comparative research, Varisco provides yet another comprehensive compendium in his book. This book gives voice to the people of the Arabian Gulf by discussing seasonal almanac information based on traditional activities conducted on land (including those related to agriculture and livestock) and sea (including those related to pearl diving, fishing and trade). Additionally, traditional modes of navigation by sea were formulated with reference to movement and position of the stars. The book contains a wealth of local poetry, folk songs and proverbs in both Arabic and English. All in all, the book is a timely and welcome contribution to the scholarship of Arabian Gulf countries.” —el-Sayed el-Aswad, Professor of Anthropology, Retired

Contents

1 Introduction  1 1.1 Heritage and the Gulf States  3 1.2 The Importance of Intangible Heritage in the Arab Gulf  7 1.3 Approaching Seasonal Knowledge in the Gulf  9 1.4 Disappearing Dialects 13 1.5 Scope of the Book 14 Bibliography 16 Part I Analysis  19 2 Traditional Knowledge of the Stars 21 2.1 Islamic Folk Astronomy 24 2.2 Nujūm: Astronomy and Astrology 25 2.3 The Zodiacal Constellations and Planets 27 2.4 The Lunar Stations (manāzil al-qamar) and Weather Stars (anwā’) 29 2.5 Major Stars Observed in the Gulf 36 2.6 The Pleiades (thurayyā) 37 2.7 Canopus (suhayl) 41 2.8 Sirius (shi‘rā) 44 Bibliography 46

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CONTENTS

3 The Almanac Tradition 51 3.1 Almanac Lore in the Early Anwā’ Genre 53 3.2 Gulf Almanacs 59 Bibliography 69 4 Calendar Systems of the Gulf Almanacs 73 4.1 Islamic Hijrı̄ Calendar 74 4.2 Christian or Solar Shamsı̄ Calendar 75 4.3 Zodiacal Calendar 76 4.4 Suhayl (Canopus) Calendar 77 4.5 Pleiades Conjunction Calendar 80 4.6 Omani Falaj System Schedules 83 4.7 Omani Coastal Fishing Schedules 86 4.8 Shadow Lengths 90 Bibliography 92 5 Traditional Seasonal Knowledge 95 5.1 Local Seasons in Eastern Saudi Arabia and Qatar 99 5.2 Local Seasons in Kuwait107 5.3 Local Seasons in the United Arab Emirates111 5.4 Local Seasons in Oman112 5.5 Rain Periods119 5.6 Wind Periods125 5.7 Hot and Cold Weather132 Bibliography135 6 Range of Content in the Almanacs141 6.1 Cosmology of Almanac Lore141 6.2 Health and Medical Treatment143 6.3 Food, Diet, and Healthy Living143 6.4 Sex152 6.5 Migratory Birds, Falconry, and Hunting154 6.6 Insects159 6.7 Wild Plants161 6.8 Family Issues162 6.9 Religious Commemorations163 6.10 Events Outside the Gulf164 Bibliography165

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xvii

7 Seasonal Activities on Land169 7.1 The Pastoral Cycle and Camel Raising169 7.2 Horses and Donkeys173 7.3 Sheep and Goats174 7.4 Cattle174 7.5 Pasture175 7.6 Agriculture177 7.7 Najd178 7.8 Bahrain181 7.9 United Arab Emirates (UAE)183 7.10 Oman184 7.11 Cultivation Times for Crops188 7.12 Date Palm Agriculture202 Bibliography208 8 Seasonal Activities on the Sea215 8.1 Navigation in the Gulf217 8.2 Pearl Diving229 8.3 Fishing245 Bibliography251 9 The Future of Almanac Lore and Seasonal Knowledge in the Gulf259 9.1 The Relevance of Past Almanac Knowledge and Seasonal Lore261 9.2 The Relevance of Future Almanac Knowledge and Seasonal Lore264 Bibliography268 Part II Texts and Charts 269 10 Almanacs271 10.1 Almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz b. ‘Abd Alla-h al-‘Uyūnī272 10.1.1 Translation of Main Section on Stations (pp. 17–28)272

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CONTENTS

10.1.2 Translation of Agricultural Information by Zodiacal Month (pp. 33–36)281 10.1.3 Arabic Text283 10.2 Almanac Charts291 10.2.1 Qatari Almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd Alla-h Ibra-hīm al-Anṣa-rī291 10.2.2 Emirati Almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Jabba-r Muḥammad al-Ma-jid301 10.2.3 Ẓafara Almanac of Ra-shid b. ‘Uwayḍa Āl ‘Uwayḍa308 10.2.4 Bahraini Almanac of al-Sayyid ‘Alī al-Sayyid ‘Abd al-Raḥma-n al-Ha-shimī335 10.2.5 Najdī Almanac of ‘Alī b. ‘Abd Alla-h al-Shammarī343 10.2.6 Najd Almanac Chart of ‘Abd Alla-h b. Khamīs349 10.2.7 Omani Almanac of Ra-shid b. ‘Amīr b. Tha-nī b. Khalaf Ibn Ha-shim (d. 1019/1610)353 10.2.8 “The Rising Stars with Explanation” (al-Nujūm wa-al-ṭawāli‘ bi-al-tafṣ¯ı l of Abū Ṣant (2002) 356 10.2.9 “The Climate Chart for the State of Kuwait” (al-Jadāwil al-manākhiyya li-dawlat Kuwait) of al-Marzūq 363 Bibliography365 1 1 The Canopus (Suhayl) Calendar367 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-Marzūq367 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-­Nafṭı ̄), February 18, 2008369 1 2 The Pleiades Conjunction Calendar373 12.1 The Reckoning of Seasons and the Wasm (Wasm al-thurayyā) Rain Among the Bedouin, Abū Ghānim al-‘Amrānı̄ (2012)373 Bibliography375

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xix

13 Poetry377 13.1 Shiha-b al-Dı-n Aḥmad Ibn Ma-jid (d. ca. 1500 CE)377 13.2 Ra-shid al-Khala-wı- (d. Eleventh/Seventeenth Century?)378 13.2.1 Translation379 13.2.2 Arabic380 13.3 Muḥammad al-Qa-d.ı- (d. 1285/1868)381 13.3.1 Translation381 13.3.2 Arabic385 13.4 Muḥammad Ibn Shahwa-n (d. 1392/1971)388 13.4.1 Translation388 13.4.2 Arabic393 Bibliography395 14 Proverbs397 Bibliography400 Bibliography403 Index435

Abbreviations1

AH Anno Hegirae (Islamic calendar) ANS al-Anṣārī almanacs ASI al-‘Asīrī (2007) CE Common Era HASH al-Ḥāshimī (1992–1993) IM Ibn Mājid (Tibbetts 1981) MAJ al-Mājid (1988/1989) SHAM al-Shammarī (2015) UAE United Arab Emirates UJA al-‘Ujayrī (1989) UWA al-‘Uwayḍa (1988/1989)

 The abbreviations are used in the narrative and tables.

1

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List of Tables

Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 2.3 Table 2.4 Table 2.5 Table 2.6 Table 3.1 Table 3.2 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3 Table 4.4 Table 4.5 Table 4.6 Table 4.7 Table 4.8 Table 4.9 Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 5.3

Names for zodiacal constellations from Ibn Qutayba 29 Rising (ṭulū’) of the twenty-eight stations (anwā’), according to Ibn Qutayba 31 Variations in the names of some of the stations 32 The Anwā’ seasons of the Qushayriyūn34 Rising (ṭulū’) of the twenty-eight stations, according to recent Gulf almanacs 35 Contemporary dates for the rising of Canopus 42 Almanac lore for the settings of the twenty-eight stations (anwā’), according to Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj54 Almanac lore for the twenty-eight stations (anwā’), according to Abū Ḥanı̄fa al-Dı̄nawarı̄57 Solar month names used in the Gulf 75 Zodiacal month calendar, according to al-Anṣārı̄ for 1408/1987–198876 Correlation of Suhayl calendar with the stations 78 Falaj star calendar from Central Oman (Qārūt), according 83 to Wilkinson Falaj star calendar for Ḥalam, Oman, according to Nash 84 Falaj star calendar in Qarya, Oman, according to Nash 85 Major winds affecting fisheries in Oman 87 Stars mentioned by Thamna Khamis Halal from Maṣı̄ra88 Star list for coastal Dhofar, according to Alian 89 Seasonal sequence according to Abū Zayd al-Anṣārı̄ and Quṭrub97 Seasonal sequence according to Abū Naṣr97 Six-season model of al-‘Uyūnı̄, al-Anṣārı̄, and al-Mājid99 xxiii

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 5.4 Table 5.5 Table 5.6 Table 5.7 Table 5.8 Table 5.9 Table 5.10 Table 5.11 Table 5.12 Table 5.13 Table 5.14 Table 5.15 Table 5.16 Table 5.17 Table 5.18 Table 5.19 Table 6.1 Table 6.2 Table 6.3 Table 6.4 Table 7.1 Table 7.2 Table 7.3 Table 8.1 Table 8.2

Six-season model of al-Hāshimı̄ for Bahrain 100 Qatari seasons, according to al-Mālikı̄101 Contemporary seasonal calendar in Saudi Arabia, according to al-Ṣuwayān101 Almanac chart for Ṭā’if, according to al-Ḥ umaydı̄103 Almanac chart for Ṭā’if, according to al-Dhuwaybı̄104 Seasons of the stations for Najrān according to al-Ḥārithı̄ and Al Masā’id106 Asterisms for the ‘Aṣir region of Fayfā’, according to al-Madarı̄107 Risings and settings of stations in Kuwait according to Bashı̄r108 Seasons in Kuwait according to al-‘Ujayrı̄110 Seasonal sequence of Durūr in the Hajar mountains of 111 the UAE Seasonal sequence in Mahra and Dhofar, according to Bā Kurayt113 Seasonal calendar for Maṣı̄ra and Ra’s al-Ḥadd, according to al-Fārisı̄116 Sequences of rain periods in pre-Islamic Arabia 120 Rain periods according to the major Gulf almanacs 123 Wind periods according to the Gulf almanacs 128 Heat and cold periods according to the Gulf almanacs 133 The cosmological scheme, according to al-Nuwayrı̄142 Health and medical information in the Gulf almanacs 144 Times for eating or avoiding certain foods in the Gulf almanacs and from Ibn Hāshim146 Times for migration of birds 155 Crop production in al-Hasa oasis in early 1970s 181 Seasonal agricultural activities in Hajar mountains, UAE 183 Crop details according to the main Gulf almanacs 189 Major terms for traditional ships and boats in the Gulf 219 The sidereal rose used in the Gulf 226

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Before the middle of the twentieth century, everyday life in the Arab Gulf was oriented to the sea. Along the coast and on the island of Bahrain there had been a thriving pearl diving industry until the 1920s, while fishing remained one of the most important food production activities. Trade around and beyond the peninsula was still largely carried out by traditional dhows. Apart from Oman, which has a long tradition of irrigated and rainfed agriculture, most of the Gulf states faced a harsh, arid environment with limited water and only a few fertile oases. Herding of camels, sheep, and goats was one of the main ways of surviving in the arid areas. It should not be surprising that prior to the oil wealth that created a lush economic transformation of this area, the main topic of concern was the weather. Successful navigation, pearl diving, and fishing required an intimate knowledge of seasonal change, as did pastoralism and farming. Information on the seasonal sequence for the Arabian Peninsula stems back over 1000 years in collections of poetry, star lore and almanacs. One of the most important Arabic texts is the Kita ̄b al-Anwā’ (Book of Weather Stars) by Ibn Qutayba (d. 276/879), who is quoted by almanac compilers in the Gulf to this day. Ibn Qutayba describes in detail local knowledge about star risings and settings, weather seasons, pastoral activities, agriculture, and a range of environmental conditions. Unfortunately, much of this indigenous heritage has disappeared, as the folklore of generations is now rarely passed on orally within families. In recent years older © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_1

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D. M. VARISCO

individuals in the Gulf have written memoirs, preserving their knowledge of life before the Petro Utopia. This gives us a glimpse of the past, a puzzle with many missing pieces, but not the full understanding that comes with actual contact. Resurrecting the history of seasonal knowledge in the Arab Gulf and the entire Arabian Peninsula thus requires a textual archaeology. It is not enough to simply document what is written, as though one is showing off museum objects; this knowledge needs to be placed into a lived context to have a better understanding of how people went about their lives off the land and on the sea. The past is like an ocean in which we can sample only a small segment of the vast number of ideas and customs that have passed by over the years. To follow this metaphor, most of our sampling is along the shore, learning from individuals we can ask directly or engage with in ethnographic fieldwork. We can only cast our research net a short distance in trying to reach back into what really happened and was said in the past. A historian can sail as well, dropping an anchor where there seems to be something worth exploring. But there are depths in this ocean of knowledge that can never be reached. There are also reefs, barriers that interrupt smooth sailing through our disciplined search for the past. To what extent can we know what local knowledge was shared? Then there is the question of what kind of fish we are trying to catch. Is everything that has been done and said, no matter how many generations back, something we should call “heritage”? If we read about it in a book, even one written centuries ago, does that automatically make it “heritage”? How can we vouch for the accuracy of what has been written down when we cannot see it for ourselves or question the interpreter? These are not insurmountable hurdles, but they do caution us to recognize the limitations of reconstructing the past. My career as a scholar began in the highland mountains of Yemen, where I carried out ethnographic research on traditional water resource use and local agriculture in the late 1970s. Talking with farmers and observing their work for over a year allowed me to gain an understanding of local practices that no book could give me. While in the field I had access to a fourteenth-century Yemeni agricultural text, which described many of the agricultural activities I was seeing for myself. My first book was an edition and translation of a thirteenth-century Yemeni agricultural almanac; this was entitled Medieval Agriculture and Islamic Science: The Almanac of a Yemeni Sultan. Over the years I have become what is best called a historical anthropologist, someone who looks at heritage as a product evolving from a past and not simply what one sees, without

1 INTRODUCTION 

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hindsight, functioning in the present. As an anthropologist I focus on the diversity of what people do and say, giving voice to them rather than plugging them into an outside theoretical package from the start. As a historian I have an opportunity in examining texts to see the strands of past knowledge that survive and still influence the present. In 1988–1989 I had the opportunity to conduct research in Qatar on the history of the Arab almanac with a focus on the contemporary almanacs published in the Gulf region. One of the most famous was compiled by the Qatari shaykh ‘Abd Allāh al-Anṣārı ̄, who I was able to interview about his work. If I had only analyzed contemporary almanacs like that of al-Anṣārı ̄, I would not have realized how much of the material had been copied from earlier sources alongside some local weather lore. In this work I provide an analysis of several Gulf almanacs in the light of the historical texts that have informed much of their content and observations by travelers and informed individuals from the region. This almanac tradition, which reflects knowledge once considered useful, continues in the present, but it is no longer just a matter of copying from past knowledge. Advances in meteorological knowledge are widely applied in the region, as information today is more commonly communicated online rather than the quaint idea of an almanac book.

1.1   Heritage and the Gulf States Heritage in the modern Gulf states is extremely important for several reasons. Compared to Iraq, Egypt, and Syria, for example, the recorded history of people in this region is very thin. There was no Cairo, no Baghdad, no Damascus; not even a Ṣan‘ā’. Medieval travelers rarely provide information on this coastal region, where there were few important ports on the Arab side outside of Oman. From the earliest records to the middle of the twentieth century, there was no “Arab Gulf”, only a “Persian Gulf.” The Iranian side was always the more important with major trading entrepôts like Siraf, Hormuz, and the island of Qays. In his ninth-century CE account of Akhbār al-Ṣı ̄n wa-al-Hind (Report on China and India), al-Sirāfı ̄ described the sea journey south from Basra as going first to al-Sirāf on the Persian side and then on to Muscat in Oman, which was 306 nautical miles away.1 During the colonial period, Britain maintained strategic control of what were called the “Trucial States,” comprising the modern United Arab 1

 Al-Sirāfı ̄ in MacIntosh-Smith (2014:30–31).

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Emirates (UAE), until 1971, when Qatar and Bahrain also achieved independence. Kuwait had ended its formal treaty relationship with Britain in 1961. Saudi Arabia, with a coastline equal to that of the UAE, coalesced into an independent state in 1932. Only Oman has maintained itself as an independent sultanate for centuries, although with watchful British eyes nearby. Environmentally, Oman is an outlier in the so-called Arab Gulf with its fertile land, high mountains, and more hospitable climate. The Iraqi port of Basra, one of the most important ports throughout the Islamic era, certainly qualifies as part of the “Arab” portion of the Gulf, but it is not generally considered in discussions of the Gulf countries. Politically the geography of the region has been influenced by the creation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 1981, a consortium of monarchies with rapidly changing economic fortunes due to the vast quantities of underground oil and gas. The lack of a distinct geographical mandate for this group is indicated by past proposals to possibly include Jordan, Morocco, and Yemen in the GCC. The glue that has bound the current GCC states together is their monopoly on sovereign wealth and a continuing supply of petro revenue for at least several decades. In 2013 the GCC countries produced about a quarter of all total crude oil in the world and they sit on almost half of the world’s known crude oil reserves.2 However, the drawn out war, led by Saudi Arabia, against the Ḥ ūthı ̄ rebellion in Yemen from 2015, and the blockade of the Saudis and Emiratis against Qatar from 2017 to early 2021, severely damaged the fragile unity of the GCC. There is a sense in which the “Arab Gulf” is less an ethnic enclave than a recently elevated elite club. The term “Arab” is widely used nowadays for just about anyone who speaks Arabic as a native language. Its original association with the Arabian Peninsula (jazı ̄irat al-‘Arab) expanded with the spread of Arab armies creating an Islamic empire. The continuing tribal affiliations, even if in name only, in the Gulf trace Arab descent back to tribes from the southern and northern parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Those tribes who claim descent from ‘Adnān, including the genealogy of the Prophet Muḥammad, are scattered as widely as those who claim a link to Qaḥt ̣ān, the legendary founder of the southern tribes in Yemen. Although a Muslim who can trace descent to the family of the Prophet Muḥammad has a northern Arab ancestry, the division between Sunni and Shi’a is sectarian rather than based on tribal origin. Both major varieties of 2

 Stalacanin (2015).

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Islam are present in the Arab Gulf as well as a third variant of the Ibadi in Oman. The fabulous wealth in the Gulf states has created a unique niche for promoting the heritage of the region. When these states were first formed, there was limited interest in their recent past experience of poverty and dependence due in large part to the rapid change in economic fortunes. With the help of UNESCO, the Gulf Cooperation Council established the Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre (Markaz al-turāth al-sha‘bı ̄ li-duwal al-Khalı ̄j al-‘Arabı ̄) in Doha, Qatar in 1982. The center became a hub for research on the Gulf, publishing a journal, al-Ma’thu ̄rāt al-Sha‘bı ̄ya, and books in English and Arabic.3 It was disbanded in 2005 with much of its valuable documentation divided up between the member states, no longer available to the public or scholars. In recent years heritage has been promoted in all the Gulf states as a major factor in national identity. The focus of much of this “cultural heritage” is on archaeology and architecture, the tangible aspects, as reflected in the information statement of Qatar Museums.4 With their cultural institutions and museums, each country in the Gulf emphasizes what it perceives as positive heritage. The state is linked to tribal loyalty in multiple ways on National Day celebrations. The emphasis on the “tribal” heritage may also reflect the need to distance the local population from the massive influx of foreign expatriate workers. In addition to official governmental agencies concerned with culture and folklore, a number of museums and examples of “heritage” architecture have been created. One of the major attractions in Doha is the Islamic Art Museum, designed by the famous architect I. M. Pei. The vast majority of the items on display are from outside the Gulf, many from neighboring Iran. Qatar has created a cultural park called Katara, which is more about consuming the nostalgia over heritage than preserving past customs.5 The new shopping mall there features a classical Roman edifice with Islamic domes, a telling reminder of the architectural serendipity that fabulous wealth affords. In Qatar the old National Museum, once housed in the former palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani, has been transformed into an architectural novelty by Jean Nouvel. Originally designed to resemble the desert rose, its saucer-like exterior and dungeon-­ like  For the early history of this center, see Varisco (1989c).  As noted at http://www.qm.org.qa/en/area/cultural-heritage 5  The shopping area in Katara has outside air-conditioning. There are several YouTube videos of Katara, including https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COVj5b0Yas4 3 4

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interior make it one of the strangest museum designs every dreamed.6 Outside Doha is the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, a billionaire’s private collection of oddities, including Qatari heritage.7 Its Henry Ford Museum pretension is matched by its bric-a-brac similarity to the much smaller seventeenth-century Cabinet of Curiosities of Ole Worm in Copenhagen. An introduction to the role of heritage in the Gulf would not be complete without noting that it is inextricably bound up with each country’s nationalism. With the exception of Oman, all of the current Gulf states are recent creations and are ruled by monarchs who claim an elite tribal origin. Heritage, no matter how defined within the Gulf, is thus politicized from the start. “Heritage projects embody a particular emphasis on ‘Arabian Bedouin desert traditions’ and a ‘Bedouin-style cultural past,’” argue Freer and Kherfi, “despite the fact that the majority of the country’s nationals belong to settled communities, while a large proportion of the national population hail from other parts of the world and speak different languages.”8 Pride in a “Bedouin” tribal past, like that which extols the role of pearl diving along the coast, has a positive focus, usually ignoring the violent conflict the region underwent with the expansion of the Wahhabi movement in the late eighteenth century. The symbolic value of a past custom, such as falconry in the Emirates, can form a feel-good image for the entire nation.9 Recreating the past to suit the present is hardly unique to the Gulf, but it reflects a bias of self-promotion rather than critical reflection on the realities of the past. It should be noted that some items promoted as local heritage are actually imported from outside the Gulf, such as camel racing in the Emirates.10

6  The official website is at http://www.qm.org.qa/en/project/national-museum-qatar. A video of the opening on March 27, 2019, is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=3XARRMEwLlI. As argued by Mitchell and Al-Hammadi (2017:271) this museum presents “fundamentally a reimagination of Qatari heritage.” 7  The official website of this museum is at http://www.fbqmuseum.org/ 8  Freer and Kherfi (2020:18), who note as well that there are non-governmental grassroots efforts to preserve heritage. 9  For the Emirates, Khalaf (2017:277) writes: “Today the falcon has become the primary unifying symbol of the entire nation, being the state emblem on postage stamps, bank notes, coats of arms for police and army, identity cards and passports, as well as all state letterheads and logos of state companies.” 10  Khalaf (2000).

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1.2   The Importance of Intangible Heritage in the Arab Gulf The term “intangible heritage” is of recent vintage, mostly due to the influence of UNESCO.  It has largely replaced the older sense of “folklore” or just plain “lore” and parallels another modern concept, the idea of “indigenous knowledge.” Heritage implies something that survives, even if it has to be dug up in one way or another. There are historical monuments all over the globe, from the pyramids of Egypt to Neolithic settlements in Britain; these are tangible whether standing in ruins or excavated by archeologists. Intangible refers to those aspects of cultural knowledge that are not physical objects, but the range of dialects, prose and poetry, proverbs, songs and ideas of all kinds. A musical instrument is a tangible object, but knowing how to make and play it is intangible. A clay pot is a tangible object, but the way of making it is intangible heritage. The separation here is not rigid, since we humans think into order to make things and make sense of the world we create. Heritage, however, is not everything that is intangible, a vast amount of information that can never be fully documented. So the question arises of what is thought worthy of survival or remembrance. In an oral society the only thing that survives is what someone thinks worth knowing or can remember; it can never be complete. In the Arab Gulf there were until recently men who worked as pearl divers and who have passed on some of their knowledge; some have even recorded this in memoirs or videos. Once such knowledge is written down, it takes on a new dimension. It cannot be interrogated through an interchange with the author, as in ethnographic fieldwork. The mere fact that it has been recorded may seem sufficient to label it as heritage, regardless of its importance or accuracy. The context in which the knowledge evolved is thus reduced to the text or video which documents it. As historians we seldom witness heritage as it happens; we must make sense of the memories of that heritage, flawed and contradictory as these often are. Textual excavation of past oral knowledge thus becomes necessary. Textual analysis helps us understand what a text is saying, but not necessarily the accuracy of the information in daily life. Given the preponderance of oral knowledge over the centuries, only a small segment of that knowledge could possibly be recorded in texts. There is often little indication of variation in practice as texts tend to fossilize data rather than explicate what people actually say and do. For this reason it is helpful to look

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for clues from ethnographic analysis of seasonal knowledge and folk astronomy. The important study by Alois Musil of Rwala Bedouin in the early part of the twentieth century illustrates this well. Musil found that the Bedouin he met never knew exactly how long a lunar month was, nor could they always indicate the proper order of the months, nor were the days of the week counted.11 The formal models found in Arabic astronomical texts were largely unknown to most people, since they relied on observations that were relevant to their local context. In my own research on star lore in Yemen, I visited a man said to be a local expert. He said everything I needed to know was in a text, which turned out to be mainly a chart that would only be known to scholars. In analyzing the diversity of information in the written tradition of almanacs and other scholarly texts, it must be stressed that this often does not reflect local usage, which can vary considerably from place to place. The weather in the Gulf, for example, is in a sense relatively uniform along the coast itself, but there are differences in local winds and rain periods. The weather in the interior of Oman, with its high mountains, is obviously not the same as in Najd. Much of what we do know about local usage comes from a few individuals who have recorded their memories, and I draw on these in my analysis. However, as I discovered in asking questions about the seasonal Canopus calendar in Qatar in 1988, not everyone has the same memory, especially after several decades. In collecting information on Bedouin star lore in 1971, Bailey wrote that “only traces of what was once common knowledge can now be found among the present generation of ‘old people’ who, when they themselves were young, heard bits and pieces from their elders.”12 Bailey also argues that several Western authors, including Musil, related “imprecise versions of Bedouin star-­ lore.”13 Seasonal information in poetry and prose extends back over a millennium in Arabic texts, but this is usually fragmented and not sufficient to establish the differences in local usage.

11  Musil (1928:3–4). It should be noted that Musil published these remarks more than fifteen years after his field study. 12  Bailey (1974:580). 13  It is difficult to judge the accuracy of earlier accounts, since it may be due to a lack of knowledge of the writer or it may reflect local differences about that knowledge.

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1.3   Approaching Seasonal Knowledge in the Gulf The Arab Gulf states occupy the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, stretching from the mountainous zone of Oman to the arid, flat plains of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, alongside the island of Bahrain.14 Oman lies to the east of Yemen along the southern coast and up the entrance of the Gulf-facing Iran. Between 50 and 100 kilometers inland from the Gulf of Oman coast is the Hajar mountain range. The highest point is Jabal Akhḍar at around 3000 meters above sea level. The rugged mountain areas present a vastly different ecological zone than the desert areas to the north and west or the southern coastal zone. Irrigated agriculture through the ingenious falaj (underground infiltration gallery) systems has been practiced since before the Islamic era.15 While pastoralism has also been important in Oman, the details provided in early texts like that of Ibn Qutayba relate to the weather and seasons of the more arid parts of the peninsula. West of Oman is the infamous Empty Quarter (al-rub‘al-kha ̄lı ̄), the long sand desert that covers the southern border region of Saudi Arabia into the UAE.  Along the eastern coast the arid climate and relative lack of fresh water hindered agricultural production, apart from a few oases, and required a pastoral cycle dependent on seasonal rain. Coastal dwellers looked to the sea, more concerned with seasons for travel, fishing, and pearling than the needs of camel breeders and date palm farmers. Despite the geographical diversity for the region as a whole, up until about a century ago the rhythm of all life was determined by nature. With no significant urban centers, the vast majority of the sparse population was rural, poor, and subsistence-based. The combined population of Kuwait and Qatar in 1900 has been estimated at about 50,000. Half of the indigenous population of Qatar at that time may have been the Ā l Thānı ̄ tribe, now ruling the state.16 Bahrain, which had a flourishing trade network and ample agriculture, was said to have about 70,000 inhabitants. Oman supported a much larger population in 1900 of 214,000 but the majority of the people in what is now Saudi Arabia lived in the west toward the Red Sea. The major export industry linked to the Gulf was pearling, but records 14  It is worth noting that the term Bahrain historically applied to the Arab coast north of Qatar; see Wüstenfeld (1874). 15  Wilkinson (1977:123). 16  Hanieh (2011:7).

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show that the profits rarely benefited the local pearl divers, who were in continuous debt and faced grave dangers in their diving. As a whole, the Arabian Peninsula not only has a more diverse ecological setting than the vast central Arabian desert suggests, but also has long had a diverse population. The popular image of Bedouin atop their camels, although promoted in media and literature, does not do justice to the variety of ethnic groups, lifestyles, and economic pursuits. In areas with fertile land and sufficient rainfall or exploitable groundwater, farming communities developed, especially in Yemen and Oman. Along the Gulf coasts the main economic specializations were fishing, pearl diving, and trade. In large part the entire population of the peninsula was said to be tribal, at least in a genealogical sense that attributed all Arabs to either the southern ancestor of Qaḥt ̣ān or the northern progenitor of ‘Adnān.17 The term “tribal” has become such a generic term that it is important to stress the differences in tribal organization and customary practices. The nomadic Bedouin camel herders were always a marginal and small part of the peninsula’s total population. Tribes in Yemen and Oman were sedentary farmers for the most part and had been so for several millennia. But there were also migrants from Africa and India along the Red Sea and Indian Ocean trade network who settled in coastal villages and ports. In reference to the Oman port of Qalhāt, the early thirteenth-century traveler Ibn al-Mujāwir suggests that the first settlers were fishermen and not “tribal” and only later did an Arab tribal shaykh settle among them.18 There is also a long history of importing slaves, many of whom intermarried with the local population.19 Contemporary calendars divide the year into four distinct seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. This four-season model was known to the earliest Arabic sources in the Islamic era but was an imported scholarly tradition rather than local knowledge based on experience. As will be noted in this study, the seasonal sequence in the Gulf region was more complex than the simple four-season model now in common use. Ibn Qutayba’s account of the seasons on the Arabian Peninsula, at times comparable to ethnographic accounts of Bedouin reckoning, reveals a 17  For a discussion of the genealogical basis for the southern Arabs in Yemen, see Varisco (2017b). 18  Ibn al-Mujāwir (2008:269). 19  In Doha there is a museum on the history of slavery in the historic Bin Jelmood House; see https://msheirebmuseums.com/en/about/bin-jelmood-house. For a description of the slave market in Muscat in 1817, see Heude (1819:24–25).

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classification according to expected changes in the weather, periods of rain, wind, heat, and cold over the course of the year. It was important to know the nature of a season for crop production, livestock raising, and travel, but also for health in the dominant model of the humoral system before the modern era. Timing of seasonal change was generally determined by observations of star risings and settings, for which there is a rich literature, exemplified in the anwa ̄’ (weather stars) text of Ibn Qutayba, poetry, and lexical sources. Since most of the people living in the region were illiterate or had limited access to written sources other than religious texts, formal calendars were rarely used. The Islamic hijrı ̄ calendar, which is lunar, was useful mainly for liturgical purposes since it was eleven days shorter than the solar year associated with seasonal change. In an era when climate change is one of the major environmental concerns worldwide, especially in the arid Gulf region, why is it important to analyze the history of local seasonal knowledge? Historians who see value in filling in gaps in past knowledge need no justification other than an avid interest. But there is a pragmatic issue here as well. Specific details on past changes in climate, even if local, can help in better understanding scenarios for future changes. Knowing when certain major rain periods were recorded for ninth-century Arabia provides base knowledge, especially if those timings have changed significantly in the past millennium. Learning about the ways in which farming and pastoral activities negotiated seasonal change may also help identify sustainable practices in the face of climatic stress. The almanacs compiled during the Islamic era provide indicators of the timing of seasonal change and events, as well as filling in details about the pastoral cycle, agricultural activities, animal migration, and health consequences. Documenting what has been recorded is only a beginning. The first question a critical historian must ask is how to determine the accuracy of the recorded information. Unlike political commentary on dynasties, which is subject to bias, it seems probable that knowledge about weather and production reflects an experienced reality, at least when originally recorded. Poetry, proverbs, and other forms of folklore on something so pragmatic are more likely to resonate with people because they fit people’s own observations. There are also multiple texts and detailed lexical discussions that suggest much of this knowledge was widespread. A second, and more problematic, issue is the tendency for later authors to merely copy earlier information rather than adjust it for changes in a local area. The Kitāb al-Anwā’ text of Ibn Qutayba was known throughout the Arab

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World and quoted in widely divergent environmental contexts. It is even referenced in the tenth-century CE Calendar of Cordoba, which combines information for the Arabian Peninsula with that for Andalusia. This issue is especially relevant for analyzing the Gulf almanacs published during the last century, since these routinely borrow from Ibn Qutayba and other earlier sources without careful consideration of the continuing value of the information. As might be expected, this continuous borrowing of earlier information over the centuries has resulted in multiple errors and deviations from the original meaning. A related problem that the historian inevitably faces is deciding what information is still valid and useful in past travel books and reports by individuals who either had little direct knowledge of the local cultures or expressed obvious bias. In the nineteenth century a number of British military men and seafarers described the coastal region, usually not venturing far beyond the local ports where they put in for supplies. Consider the dismal reflection of Captain G. B. Kempthorne, who sailed along the Persian Gulf coast in 1828: No one but those who have actually been in the Persian Gulf can imagine the extreme barrenness and sterility of its coasts. Sun-burnt and sandy regions lie on all sides; not even a blade of grass relieves the aching eye-balls from the intense glare of the sand; the hot season, which continues for five months, is intolerable; existence is then almost insupportable; the sun is so powerful during the day, that it is almost certainly fatal to expose oneself, in the least, to its influence.20

The early nineteenth-century British officer Sir John Malcolm viewed residents of the Arab side of the Gulf in the following terms: “Their occupation is piracy, and their delight murder; they are monsters.”21 Despite the culture shock and outright ethnocentric bias, some of these reports provide valuable information on local fishing, pearl diving, livestock raising, and agriculture, as will be noted in my analysis. However, not all visitors to the region were negative. Compare the comments of the British officer Wellsted on arriving at a village in northern Oman in the early nineteenth century:

 Kempthorne (1835:278).  Quoted in Zwemer (1902:56).

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The dark verdure of fields of dhurra, dokhn, tobacco, &c, extended as far as my eyes could reach. Mingled with these, we had the soft acacia, and the stately, but more sombre foliage of the date palm; while the creaking of numerous wheels with which the grounds were irrigated, and in the distance, several rude ploughs drawn by oxen; the ruddy and lively appearance of the people, who now flocked towards us from all quarters, and the delightful and refreshing coolness of the morning air, combined to form a scene, which he who gazes on the barren aspect of the coast, could never anticipate.22

1.4   Disappearing Dialects The Arabic language evolved from Semitic stock with variants across the Arabian Peninsula. Dialects are always more abundant in the context of oral transmission, and many local Arabic dialects survived into the twentieth century despite the influence of print media and increased access to literacy. Today, however, dialectical variation is endangered by the widespread media and nationalist policies that focus on standardized Arabic. Very little of the historical documentation of early dialects on the Arabian Peninsula focuses on those spoken along the eastern coast of the Arab Gulf. The influence of Persian is evident, as is Iraqi dialect due to the past economic ties to Basra. While there exist several studies of some local dialects, variation within recognized dialects has rarely been recorded. Knowledge of local dialect variation is especially important for conducting interviews with older individuals, both male and female. There are a few general features that are found in a number of the dialects along the coast, with differences for the Bedouin in the interior.23 As Bruce Ingham notes, the dialects of the Gulf littoral in Kuwait, Qatar, and the Sunni population of Bahrain “are an offshoot of the Najdi group and resemble them in many ways, but have undergone a separate evolution probably  Wellsted (1838(1):421).  There are numerous studies on dialects of the Gulf. For Gulf dialects in general, see Holes (1984, 1990, 1996, 2001, 2011), Ingham (1980, 1982), Johnstone (1967), Mat ̣ar (1976, 1985), al-Salı ̄mı ̄ and Staples (2019), and Watson (2011). For Bahrain, see ‘Alı ̄ (1997), Holes (1983), Prochazka (1981), and Al-Tajir (1989). For Kuwait, see al-Ḥ anafı ̄ (1964), Maṭar (1970), al-Ma‘tūq (1986), Muḥammad (2009), al-Rashı ̄d (2012, 2014), and Saidān (1981). For Najd, see Holes (1984), Ingham (1990, 1994), al-Māni‘(1418), Prochazka (1988a, b), al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984), and al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (2011c). For Oman, see Brockett (1985), Davey (2016), Eades (2009), Holes (1989), Reinhardt (1894), and Webster (1991). For Qatar, see Dajani (1956), al-Kuwārı ̄ (2014), and al-Mālikı ̄ (2000). 22 23

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over the last two to three hundred years and do not show all of the characteristics of the core group.”24 For example, the jı ̄m is often replaced by the yā’, so that rajul (man or husband) is pronounced rayul. Similarly, the sa ̣ ̄d in s a ̣ bkha is at times softened to a sı ̄n. Oman has a different dialectical history with more than one contemporary South Arabic language spoken. There has also been influence from Persian and Hindi over the centuries due to navigation in the region. This book does not delve into the dialectical variations apart from what is recorded in available texts, but there is a continuing need for linguistic analysis as literacy and social media drown out long-standing local usage.

1.5   Scope of the Book This volume does not pretend to provide a comprehensive study of the breadth and history of seasonal knowledge in the Gulf, but rather to sample some of the major texts, supplemented by analysis of the earlier genres on the subject and recollections of individuals who still retain some of the information passed on by their parents and grandparents. Like an archaeological dig, it can only provide a partial view of the larger complex, much of which has not survived in the rapid socioeconomic change swirling through the Gulf states. There is an expanding literature in Arabic published in the Gulf states on local lore, but much of it is repetitive and not critically analyzed outside the region. In 1988, when I first started research on intangible heritage in the Gulf, the internet was still a novelty. Now it has become an important resource for preserving the memories of older Gulf residents. A simple Google search for key words in Arabic will reveal numerous websites, media pages, discussion groups and blog postings that become relevant sources of information. Some of this information is taken directly from printed sources, but there is also documentation that resembles what can be obtained in traditional interviews with informants. The key difference in digital ethnography is the lack of context, the give-and-take that can only take place in person. In some cases it is possible to engage with the person who contributed the information, but this would not have the salience of discussing details in the context where the information is applied. Another advantage for the researcher today is the availability online of pdfs for works in Arabic that rarely exist in Western libraries. I was fortunate in 1988 to have access to the library of the Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre, which unfortunately no longer exists.  Ingham (1994:197, note 12).

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The book is divided into two parts. I first analyze the relevant intangible heritage relative to the seasons and almanac lore. This includes background on the early sources that provide seasonal knowledge on the Arabian Peninsula stemming back over a millennium as well as what has been recorded by travelers, in local almanacs and by recent research. The second  chapter deals with traditional knowledge of the stars in Arab astronomy and folk astronomy. The most important star calendar influencing development of Gulf almanacs is the system of twenty-eight weather asterisms (anwā’), which are the same asterisms as the so-called lunar stations (mana ̄zil al-qamar). Among the most important stars marking time and direction in the Gulf is Canopus (suhayl), for which a local seasonal calendar evolved. The third chapter introduces the genre of Arab almanacs, including the most important examples from the Gulf. The fourth chapter summarizes the major calendar or time-keeping systems used in the Gulf. This is followed by a chapter on ways in which seasons have been determined and labeled with details on periods of rain, wind and temperature. The next chapter covers a wide range of information on seasonal events other than weather in the almanacs, much of this related to the prevailing cosmology of the humoral system. Two chapters look at the almanac information for what was done on land, the focus being agriculture and livestock raising, and the activities related to the sea, the focus being on navigation, pearl diving, and fishing. The final chapter addresses the future of the almanac tradition as new forms of heritage are created and earlier lore recedes even further into the past. The second part of the book is devoted to a sample of translations, the most important being both a translation and an edition of the early twentieth-­century Najdı ̄ almanac of al-‘Uyūnı ̄. Almanac details from other Gulf almanacs and charts are provided in tables. The major reckoning systems based on the stars Canopus and the Pleiades are documented from Gulf sources. There is a wealth of local poetry and proverbs, which is sampled as well. Although the bibliography is not comprehensive, it tries to cover the most important sources in Arabic and Western languages. As an outsider to the region, I recognize my own limitations in analysis of the rich tradition of local seasonal knowledge. Apart from making the range of this intangible heritage available in English, I draw on my extensive research over the past four decades on folk astronomy, seasonal lore, and traditional agriculture in the region, especially for Yemen on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. Given the relative lack of research on the Gulf almanac tradition, it is hoped that the work here will stimulate other scholars to follow up on the many gaps in my present analysis.

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Bibliography Electronic Documents Stalacanin, Stasa 2015 Oil and Gas reserves: how long will they last? BQ Magazine, February 1. http://www.bq-­magazine.com/energy/2015/02/oil-­and-­gas-­ reserves-­in-­the-­gcc (Accessed June, 2016)

Published Texts ‘Alı ̄, Muḥammad ‘Abbās 1997 al-Nakhı ̄l fı ̄ al-Baḥrayn. al-Ma’thūra ̄t al-Sha‘biyya 47:81–93. Al-Tajir, Mahdi Abdalla 1989 Language and Linguistic Origins in Baḥrain: The Baḥa ̄rnah Dialect of Arabic. New York: Kegan Paul. Bailey, Clinton 1974 Bedouin Star-lore in Sinai and the Negev. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 37(3):580–596. Brockett, A.  A. 1985 The Spoken Arabic of Khābu ̄ra. Manchester: University of Manchester. Dajani, Khalid 1956 Spoken Arabic of Qatar. Beirut. Davey, Richard J. 2016 Coastal Dhofari Arabic: A Sketch Grammar. Leiden: Brill. Eades, Domenyk 2009 The Arabic Dialect of a Shawāwı ̄ Community of Northern Oman. In Enam Al-Wer and Rudolf de Jong, editors, Arabic Dialectology, 77–98. Leiden: Brill. Freer, Courtney and Yasmine Kherfi 2020 Whose Story? Narratives of Nationalism in Heritage Production of the Arabian Peninsula. London: LSE Middle East Centre Paper Series. al-Ḥ anafı ̄, Jalāl 1964 Mu‘jam al-alfāẓ al-Kuwaytiyya. Kuwait: Maṭba‘at As‘ad. Hanieh, Adam 2011 Capitalism and Class in the Gulf Arab States. New  York: Palgrave Macmillan. Heude, William 1819 A Voyage up the Persian Gulf. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. Holes, Clive D. 2011 Language and Identity in the Arabian Gulf. Journal of Arabian Studies 1(2):129–145. Holes, Clive D. 2001 Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia. Volume 1, Glossary. Leiden: Brill. Holes, Clive D. 1996 The Arabic Dialects of South Eastern Arabia in a Socio-­ Historical Perspective. Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik 31:34–56. Holes, Clive D. 1990. Gulf Arabic. London, New York: Routledge. Holes, Clive D. 1989 Towards a Dialect Geography of Oman. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 52(3):446–62. Holes, Clive D. 1984 Colloquial Arabic of the Gulf and Saudi Arabia. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

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Holes, Clive D. 1983 Bahraini Dialects: Sectarian Differences and the Sedentary/ Nomadic Split. Zeitschrift für Arabische Literatur 10:7–38. Ibn al-Mujāwir, Jamāl al-Dı ̄n Abū‚ al-Fatāḥ Yūsuf (died 690/1291) 2008 A Traveler in Thirteenth-Century Arabia: Ibn al-Mujaw ̄ ir’s Tar̄ ı ̄kh al-Mustabṣir. Translated by G. Rex Smith. London: The Hakluyt Society. Ingham, Bruce 1990 Camel Terminology among the Ā l Murra Bedouins. Zeitschrift für Arabische Linguistik 22:67–78. Ingham, Bruce 1994 Najdi Arabic: Central Arabian. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Co. Ingham, Bruce 1982 North East Arabian Dialect Studies. London: Kegan Paul International. Ingham, Bruce 1980 Languages of the Persian Gulf. In J.  Cottrell, editor, The Persian Gulf States: a General Survey, 314–333, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Johnstone, Thomas M. 1967 Eastern Arabian Dialect Studies. London: Oxford University Press. Kempthorne, G. B. 1835 Notes Made on a Survey along the Eastern Shores of the Persian Gulf in 1828. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London 5:263–285. Khalaf, Sulayman 2017 An Emirate Goes Global: The Cultural Making of Abu Dhabi. In Ulf Hannerz and Andre Gingrich, editors, Small Countries: Structures and Sensibilities, 267–282. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Khalaf, Sulayman 2000 Poetics and Politics of Newly Invented Traditions in the Gulf: Camel Racing in the United Arab Emirates. Ethnology 39/3:243–261. al-Kuwārı ̄, Rabı ̄‘a b. Ṣabāḥ 2014 Mu‘jam musṭ ạ liḥat̄ al-ghawṣ ‘alā al-lu’lu’ wa-al-­ ḥayāt al-baḥriyya fı ̄ al-khalı ̄j. Doha: Katara. MacIntosh-Smith, Tim, editor and translator 2014 Two Arabic Travel Books: Accounts of China and India, 1–161: New York: New York University Press. Al-Mālikı ̄, Nūr ‘Abd Allāh 2000 Alfāẓ dakhı ̄la wa-mu‘arraba fı ̄ al-lahja al-Qaṭariyya. Doha: Markaz al-Turāth al-Sha‘bı ̄. al-Māni‘, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z 1418 AH Mu‘jam al-kalamāt al-­ sha‘biyya fı ̄ Najd (Mantiqat al-Washm). Riyadh. Matạ r, ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z 1985 al-Aṣa ̄la al-‘Arabı ̄ya fı ̄ lahajāt al-khalı ̄j. Riyadh: Dār ‘Ā lim al-Kutub. Matạ r, ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z 1976 Ẓ awāhir na ̄dira fı ̄ lahajāt al-khalı ̄j al-‘Arabı ̄. Doha: Jāmi‘at Qat ̣ar, Kulliyyat al-Tarbiya. Mat ̣ar, ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z 1970 Min asra ̄r al-lahja al-Kuwaytiyya. Kuwait: Kuwait University. al-Ma‘tūq, Sharı ̄fa 1986 Lahjat al-‘Ajmān fı ̄ al-Kuwayt. Doha: Markaz al-Turāth al-Sha‘bı ̄. Mitchell, Jocelyn Sage and Mariam Ibrahim Al-Hammadi 2017 Nationalism and Identity in Qatar after 2017: The Narrative of the New National Museum. Journal of Arabian Studies 10(2):256–277.

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Muḥammad, Khālid Sālim 2009 Mawsū‘at al-lahja al-Kuwaytiyya. Kuwait, privately published. Musil, Alois 1928 The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. New York: American Geographical Society. Prochazka, Theodore 1988a. Saudi Arabian dialects. London: KPI. Prochazka, Theodore 1988b. The Spoken Arabic of Al-Thōr in Al-Hasa. Zeitschrift für Arabische Literatur 18:59–76. Prochazka, Theodore 1981. The Shı ̄’i Dialects of Bahrain and their Relationship to the Eastern Arabian Dialect of Muharraq and the Omani Dialect of al-Ristaq. Zeitschrift für Arabische Literatur 6:16–55. al-Quway‘ı ̄, Muḥammad ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z 1984 Turāth al-ajda ̄d. Riyadh. Volume 2. al-Rashı ̄d, Khālid ‘Abd al-Qādir 2014 al-Mawsū‘a al-maysira li-alfa ̄ẓ al-ḥiya ̄t al-ijtima‘̄ iyya fı ̄ al-bı ̄’a al-Kuwaytiyya. Kuwait. al-Rashı ̄d, Khālid ‘Abd al-Qādir 2012 Mawsu‘at al-lahja al-Kuwaytiyya. Third edition. Online at http://www.nashiri.net/kuwaiti/. Reinhardt, Carl 1894 Ein arabischer Dialekt gesprochen in ‘Omān und Zanzibar. Stuttgart, Berlin: W. Spemann. Sa‘ı̄dān, Ḥamad Muḥammad 1981 al-Mawsū‘a al-Kuwaitiyya al-mukhtaṣara. Kuwait. al-Salimi, Abdulrahman and Eric Staples, editors 2019 A Maritime Lexicon: Arabic Nautical Terminology. Studies on Ibadism and Oman, 11. Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag. al-‘Ubbūdı ̄, Muḥammad b. Nāsị r 2011c Mu‘jam alfaz̄ ̣ al-s ̣ayd wa-al-qanṣ fi al-ma’thur̄ al-sha‘bı ̄. Riyadh: Dār al-Thulūthiyya. Varisco, Daniel Martin 2017b Yemen’s Tribal Idiom: An Ethno-Historical Survey of Genealogical Models. Journal of Semitic Studies 62(1):217–241. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1989c The Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre: A Resource for the Study of Folklore and Traditional Culture. Bulletin of the Middle East Studies Association 23/2:157–167. Webster, R. 1991 Notes on the Dialect and Way of Life of the Ā l Wahı ̄ba Bedouin of Oman. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 54(3):473–85. Watson, Janet 2011 Dialects of the Arabian Peninsula. In S. Weninger, G. Khan, M.  Streck and J.  Watson, editors. The Semitic Languages, 887–898. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Wellsted, J. R. 1838 Travels in Arabia. London: Murray. Wilkinson, Jon 1977 Water and Tribal Settlement in South-East Arabia. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Wüstenfeld, Ferdinand 1874 Baḥrein und Jemâma. Nach Arabischen Geographen beschrieben. Abhandlungen der königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen 19:173–222. Zwemer, Samuel M. 1902 Three Journeys in Northern Oman. The Geographical Journal 19(1):54–64.

PART I

Analysis

CHAPTER 2

Traditional Knowledge of the Stars

It is He who made the stars, so that they can guide you when land and sea are dark. —Surah al-An’ām 6:97 So says the one who would devise a new poem, verses that describe the far-away stars, I calculate their times from numerous sources that perhaps from reading this one will gain benefits. —Ṣaqr al-Salwa, 2016

One hundred or more years ago, if you walked out into the Arabian desert, the night sky would be lit up with stars. On the east coast of Arabia at ‘Uqayr in 1923, the British traveler Cheesman described how clear the night sky was: “The Pole-star is fairly low, but the Arabian sky is wonderfully clear, and nowhere can the stars look so magnificent as here; even from the moment of rising the smaller stars are plainly visible, and Sirius assumes the proportions and brilliance of a little sun.”1 The pace of life before electricity altered night into artificial daylight revolved around the natural distinction between day and night. While the sun was visible throughout the day, it was too bright to observe directly through its 1

 Cheesman (1926:46).

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_2

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course; its rising and setting were the main uses for time-telling. The designation of two of the five daily prayers of Islam at dawn and dusk validates the importance of these daily events for the Muslim population. Night, with stars and planets visible to the knowing eye, was important for reckoning time and finding the right direction to travel. As the Qu’ran (Surah Yūnus 10:5) states, Allāh had ordained the stages of the moon so people could mark time. This was the basis for the Islamic lunar calendar, which began on Friday, July 16, 622 CE in the Julian reckoning. Building on the pre-Islamic lunar calendar, but foregoing the intercalation to bring it into conjunction with the annual solar cycle, the lunar months were suitable for short-term time reckoning but not for noting the same seasonal time as years passed. Thus, the stars in both their nightly and annual rotations became the backbone for time-keeping of the seasons in Arabia. One could observe the risings and settings of stars, the stars directly overhead, and the course of the moon through the stellar background. As the Islamic empire expanded outside the Arabian Peninsula and came into contact with Greek, Sassanian, and Indian astronomy and calendars, a formal science of astronomy (‘ilm al-falak) evolved. The twelve zodiacal constellations (buru ̄j) and the twenty-eight stations (anwa ̄ and manāzil) became a standard feature in the scientific texts. Observations of the positions of the moon, sun, planets, and stars were recorded in zı ̄j tables. Scholars commented on the geocentric Ptolemaic planetary model, ultimately questioning its validity even before the discoveries of Copernicus.2 Elaborate formulas were invented to assist Muslims in finding the direction of Mecca.3 At the same time, knowledge of the stars and planets led to a vibrant field of astrology, despite the misgivings of some Islamic theologians. The influence of these classical and textual traditions on Islamic astronomy has been the focus of much of the earlier study in the history of Islamic science, but relatively little attention has been paid to the oral folk traditions of ordinary Muslims who developed their ideas with great regional variation.4 The information recorded over the centuries about stars and the planets has one thing in common: everything we now know was documented by 2  See Saliba (2011) for a discussion of the influence of Islamic astronomy on the European scientific renaissance. 3  See King (1999). 4  One of the most important sources for the study of both formal and folk astronomy in Islam is the work of David King, especially King (2014), which also has a major bibliography of sources.

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a scholarly elite. The technical details in scientific analysis of the celestial sphere would have been as difficult for most people of the time to understand as it is today. It is true that there is a great deal of “folk” knowledge collected in many of the texts, and there is no reason to doubt that much of this was based on what actually was observed. But it must be remembered that if it was a written text, it was probably filtered through the view of a learned scholar, who would at times adapt the local knowledge to the formal models. The many poetic excerpts are valuable for their metaphoric descriptions of the stars, but poetry is more prone to exaggeration than straightforward documentation. Scholars who wrote the major lexicons often said they were obtaining their information from the “Arabs,” usually meaning the Bedouin. But the fact that a word is described in a dictionary, even if it is all we have to go on, is more useful for telling us how the term has been used by those consulting this kind of source, rather than proving the original etymology on the ground. As valuable as the vast lexical corpus of Arabic language and dialects is, it was not compiled by trained linguists in the modern sense. This does not invalidate the meanings we are forced to deal with, but it should provide a humble pause to the hubris of assuming history can be replicated textually ab incunabulis. Although the vast amount of traditional knowledge about stars on the Arabian Peninsula has been lost over the centuries, we can still find clues as to what was actually practiced. Archaeo-astronomical research has shown the potential for learning about the astronomy of ancient civilizations from monuments and artifacts in the absence of texts, although little of this research has been conducted for the Gulf area. Ethnographic accounts of so-called simpler societies indicate that sophisticated knowledge of the heavens is possible without an awareness of modern science. Those who collect oral folklore must always apply their skills to assessing how representative the information is. How many individuals need to agree on a specific item of information for it to be deemed shared in a meaningful sense? Even if such knowledge is widespread, is it an accurate view of what is seen or one influenced by the imagination? One can easily sympathize with the traveler William Jennings-Bramley among the Sinai Bedouin: “I have inquired whether they had any legends or beliefs connected with the stars and planets, and was told one very clever man, a Terâbîn, could tell me much, for he made them up himself.”5

5

 Jennings-Bramley (1906:27).

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2.1   Islamic Folk Astronomy So what makes folk astronomy on the Arabian Peninsula “Islamic”?6 Obviously there was considerable knowledge, and worship, of the stars before the coming of Islam in the seventh century.7 The information recorded in the early texts by Islamic scholars did not appear magically at the time of the Qu’ran. The fact remains, however, that all of the knowledge recorded in these Arabic texts has been collected by Muslim authors, who at times criticize information considered pagan from the “Times of Ignorance” (al-jāhiliyya). This suggests a need to compare what individuals like the early polymath Ibn Qutayba said with the scattered information available in earlier sources, mostly in South Arabic and Safaitic.8 For example, quite a few of the classical Arabic names for stars and constellations are cognates of earlier Semitic forms. The term zubānā for two stars in Librae has a history extending back to Sumerian and Akkadian. The zodiacal constellation thawr (bull) for Taurus appears to have been borrowed in the region from Greek well before the Islamic era. The identification of this constellation with a bull, however, is attested even in Sumerian and Akkadian.9 Although the formal science of astronomy in Islamic civilization borrowed from other traditions, it also revised this information and incorporated star lore from the regions Islam spread from and to. The meaning of folk astronomy in Islam is whatever the variety of Muslims, not simply borrowing and expanding on earlier scientific traditions, thought about the heavens that were created by Allāh as a sign for anyone willing to understand. The Qur’an (al-Rūm 30:22) reads: “Another of His Signs is that he created the heavens and the earth, the diversity of your languages and your colours. There truly are signs in this for those who know.”10 A detailed formal astronomy is not provided in either the Qur’an or the traditions, but there are fragments of knowledge revealed about star lore at the time. Following the Islamic creation scenario, later scholars claimed that Adam named the stars and that astrology was founded by the antediluvian patriarch Idrı ̄s (Enoch).11 This God-given knowledge of the heavens was thus thought to be as old as humanity itself.  See Varisco (2000) for a discussion of folk astronomy in Islam.  The Gulf almanac of al-’Uyūnı ̄ mentions the pre-Islamic worship of Sirius, drawing on earlier Islamic sources. 8  For information on star lore, especially the zodiac, in Safaitic, see al-Jallad (2014, 2016). 9  See al-Jallad (2016:91) for a discussion of the Safaitic form ‘ly with Akkadian and Sumerian. 10  M. A. S. Abdel Haleem (2004:258). 11  For Adam, see al-Māwardı ̄ (1981:43) and for Idrı ̄s, see al-Damı ̄rı ̄ (1906:25). 6 7

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2.2   Nuju ̄m: Astronomy and Astrology Islamic scholars recognize a proper and an improper use of knowledge about the stars. The eleventh-century scholar al-Khat ̣ı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄ notes that there were two types of knowledge related to the stars (‘ilm al-nujūm). While it was not right to use the stars for purposes other than those ordained by Allāh, such as divination, the practical aspects were beneficial. He describes these as follows12: The first approach is knowledge of the names of stars, observations of them, their risings, their settings, their course and directional guidance by them. This is for the timing of movements by Arabs to their water sources, the best times for mating their livestock, for stallions mounting, their knowledge of different times of rainfall, their evidence for what is fortunate and what is unfortunate for them, the orientation by the stars to the qibla, knowing the prayer times and hours of the night by their appearance and their setting.

Beyond this, some scholars argued that looking at the sun, moon, and stars was beneficial when it reminded one of the creative work of Allāh. The Arabic term nujūm, literally referring to stars, was used for what today would be known as both astronomy and astrology. The thirteenth-­ century Yemeni sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf ‘Umar wrote a major text called al-Tabs ị ra fı ̄ ‘ilm al-nujūm, on all aspects of formal astronomy at the time, including use of the astrolabe. It also dealt with aspects recognized today as astrological.13 One chapter is devoted to prognostication, prediction of fortune according to the location of the moon in one of the lunar stations. As an example, when the moon conjoined with the asterism of the Pleiades (thurāyya), the following advice was given: “Make charms for love. Set free women who have been seized. Mix poisonous compounds. Make talismans. Prepare esoteric [work]. Travel at this time. Make requests and enter before rulers and communicate with them and with nobles. Marry. Buy slave girls. Erect buildings. Associate with brothers. Plant. Harvest. Wear whatever new clothing you like. This has a favorable result and perfect blessing.” This astrological information originated from India and spread into Europe through Latin translations of Arabic texts.  Al-Khat ̣ı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄ (1999:126), my translation.  For details on this text, see Schmidl (2012) and Varisco (1995). An edition and translation is being prepared by Dr Petra Schmidl. 12 13

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The almanacs in Arab tradition contain references to a number of astronomical phenomena, but rarely provide an indication of the source of this material. It is obvious that some of this information is simply copied from earlier sources without understanding the scientific significance or relating it to actual observation. The compilers of recent almanacs in the Arab Gulf had access to earlier sources, especially the Kitāb al-Anwā of Ibn Qutayba, but a fair amount of astronomical information is available in major Arabic lexicons such as Lisān al-‘Arab and Ta ̄j al-‘arūs.14 There are also major treatises on star lore, one of the most important by Abū ‘Alı ̄ Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Marzūqı ̄ (d. 431/1030) in his Kitāb al-Azmina wa-al-­ amkina.15 The major compilation of star names, combining earlier Greek sources with Arab lore, is Kitāb Ṣuwar al-kawākib of ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. ‘Umar al-Ṣūf ı ̄ (d. 376/986). Ibn Qutayba’s text, widely quoted by later authors, covers a broad range of astronomical and weather phenomena. He insists from the start that he is not using foreign sources, but focusing on the indigenous knowledge of the Arabs on the peninsula, because this was based on actual observation.16 Much of his information is derived from poetry and earlier lexical sources rather than discussions with Bedouin, which he probably did have. His text begins with a description of the twenty-eight asterisms of the anwā’ or manāzil al-qamar, providing details on each asterism that include poetry and rhymed sayings. He describes the zodiacal constellations (burūj), five planets (khunnas), sun (shams), moon (qamar), pole star (quṭb), Milky Way (majarra), celestial sphere (falak), dawn (fajr), major stars, clouds, and navigation by stars. Ibn Qutayba notes that the “Milky Way” was so called because it resembles the path or track (majarr) along which something has been dragged, also described as maṣhab.17 He calls it the “mother of the stars” (umm al-nujūm) and notes that it separates the two nasrān (eagle) stars, Vega and Altair. The Gulf almanacs mention the position of the Milky Way at mid-heaven during the station of dhirā‘, said to be from ca. VII:30–VIII:11. This timing in summer has a long history on the peninsula as a seasonal marker. Information is given 14  Lisān al-’Arab is an important lexicon by Ibn Manẓūr (d. 711/1311); Tāj al-‘arūs by al-Zabı ̄dı ̄ (d. 1205/1790), although compiled later, borrows heavily from earlier sources. 15  Shaykh al-Anṣārı ̄ would have had access to the edition of al-Marzūqı ̄ (1968) published in Doha, probably at his urging. 16  Ibn Qutayba (1956:2). Ibn Qutayba authored over 60 books on a wide variety of subjects. He also discusses stars and seasons in his Adab al-kātib (1982:85–97). 17  Ibn Qutayba (1956:127–128).

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on times for rain, wind, domestic animal production, and pastoral and agricultural activities. Although the focus in his text is on the pastoral lifestyle, some information is provided on the importance of star lore for farmers.

2.3   The Zodiacal Constellations and Planets Throughout the ancient Middle East and into the Islamic era special attention was paid to the stars and constellations along the ecliptic, the perceived course of the sun through the heavens as seen from earth. These are known as zodiacal constellations (burūj, ḥuṣūn, quṣūr), of which twelve are identified.18 The division of the ecliptic into twelve equally divided arcs of 30° each can be traced back to Babylonian astronomy in the first millennium BCE, although the primary influence in Islamic astronomy came from Greek science. The tenth-century Persian astronomer ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣūfı ̄ drew on the second-century Almagest of Claudius Ptolemy for his famous star catalogue.19 The arbitrary grid of twelve distinct sections of arc was significant for astronomers and astrologers, but does not accurately reflect the exact locations of the stars within the named constellations. When an Arab unfamiliar with the formal grid referred to the stars of the zodiacal constellations, he or she would have meant the actual stars visible. The observable rising of the zodiacal constellations did not neatly follow the grid, but actual sightings of star risings and settings were suitable for local purposes of telling time. One of the functions of the zodiacal constellation was for determining the timing of the equinoxes and solstices. Islamic astronomers were aware of their precession, which had originally been noted by the Greek scholar Hipparchus in the second century BCE.20 Almanacs compiled by  For information on Islamic views of the zodiac, see Hartner and Kunitzsch (1993:81–83).  See Kunitzsch (2008) and Toomer (1977) for a review of literature on the influence of the Almagest in Islamic science. The original Greek title of the Almagest was Mathēmatikē Syntaxis and later Syntaxis Mathematica, as well as Almagestum in Latin. The latter Latin term was derived from the Arabic title, al-Majistı ̄. The majestic compendium of stars by al-Ṣūfı ̄ (1954) builds on the first-century CE star catalogue, the Almagest, of Ptolemy. This earlier Greek work listed 1025 stars spread out in 48 constellations. Many of these star names, as copied by al-Sūfı ̄, were not used on the Arabian Peninsula before the spread of Islam and encounters with the earlier Greek texts. 20  The last time that the spring equinox was aligned with the zodiacal unit of Aries was 68 BCE, and it is currently aligned within Pisces. See Said and Stephenson (1995) for an analysis of Islamic astronomical reckoning of the equinoxes and solstices. 18 19

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individuals who knew astronomy could be accurate on the timing. In the thirteenth century the Yemeni sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf ‘Umar calculated the spring equinox at III:13 in the Julian reckoning, which is remarkably accurate.21 The Calendar of Cordoba mentions the equinox at III:17 for the year 961 CE; the correct Julian date should be closer to III:15. Some almanacs are off by a considerable amount. Ibn Māsawayh, writing ca. 850  CE, recorded the equinox for III:23  in the Julian system, but the actual Julian date should have been III:15 or III:16.22 Al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄, writing ca. 1250 CE, placed the equinox at III:18, but it would have been close to III:12 or III:13. The contemporary Gulf almanac of al-Anṣārı ̄ for 1986 uses the Gregorian date of III:21; the actual date should have been III:20 that year. Reference is made in a general way to the zodiacal constellations in the Qur’an in surah al-Burūj (85) and surah al-Ḥ ijr (15:16). However, no specific names of the zodiacal constellations are mentioned in the Qur’an. Al-Zamakhsharı ̄, in his tafsı ̄r work, notes that the reference here is not only to the twelve zodiacal constellations, but also includes the twenty-­ eight stations (manāzil), as well as being used for any large group of stars that resembles castles (quṣūr).23 In his description of these constellations, Ibn Qutayba provided alternative names used for several of them (Table 2.1).24 The famous tenth-century astronomer al-Ṣūfı ̄ argued that the pre-Islamic Arabs, at least the Bedouin who did not have access to Greek astronomy, did not use the solar zodiac, nor did they begin the year in the spring.25 Al-Marzūqı ̄ observed that starting the year with the vernal equinox at the start of Aries was borrowed from the Persians.26 Ibn Qutayba was well aware of the course of the planets (khunnas) through the zodiacal constellations, noting that for the zodiacal arc of 30° the planet Saturn (zuḥal) took thirty-two  months, Jupiter (mushtarı ̄) a year, Mars (mirrı ̄kh) forty-five  days, Venus (zuhra) twenty-seven  days,  See Varisco (1994:30). The Gregorian date would be III:20.  The astronomical text of ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn al-Ḥ abı ̄b (d. ca. 238/852–853) records III:24, which he says was taken from the earlier ḥadı ̄th scholar Mālik b. Anas (d. 179/795–796); see Kunitzsch (1994:167,190). 23  Al-Zamakhsharı ̄ (2009:1191). 24  Ibn Qutayba (1956:120–121); also see al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914/I:220–221). 25  Al-Ṣūfı ̄ (1954:11), who says the Arabs reckoned time by the twenty-eight lunar stations (manāzil al-qamar). As Ibn Qutayba (1956:104) noted, the Arabs reckoned the start of the seasons in the fall and not in the spring as the astronomers did. 26  Al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914/1:162). 21 22

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Table 2.1  Names for zodiacal constellations from Ibn Qutayba Scientific

Classical Arabic

Meaning

Alternative

Meaning

Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces

ḥamal thawr jawzā’ saraṭān asad sunbula mı‐zān ‘aqrab qaws jadı‐ dalw ḥūt

ram bull twins crab lion virgin scales scorpion archer goat bucket fish or well rope

kabsh

ram

taw’ammayn

twins

‘udhrā’

virgin

ṣawra? Rāmı‐

group of small palm trees? thrower

samaka or rishā’

fish or well rope

Mercury (‘uṭārid) seven days, and the moon (qamar) two and one third nights.27 Venus was said to be the brightest planet, then Jupiter, then Saturn, being yellow in color, and then Mars and Mercury being red due to their fire. He only provides these descriptive details and does not discuss their use in astrology for horoscopes and prognostication. Other authors, such as the thirteenth-century al-Tı ̄fāshı ̄, provide elaborate magical linkages between the planets and food types, colors, types of places, regions, gems, stones, fruits and vegetables, trees, foods, animals, body parts, and so on.28 This material is clearly copied from earlier traditions and is exclusively the work of scholars, most not coming from indigenous knowledge in the region.

2.4   The Lunar Stations (mana ̄zil al-qamar) and Weather Stars (anwa ̄’) The zodiacal constellations played a minor role in Arab folk astronomy, but there is widespread evidence for recognition of the same zodiacal stars along the course of the moon, which is within 5° of the ecliptic. This lunar zodiac, the sidereal reckoning of the moon as opposed to the synodic  For details on Islamic knowledge about the planets, see Kunitzsch (1995:101–102).  Al-Tifāshı ̄ (1980:174–195), who at times notes the information is from India. An early study of this kind of knowledge was provided by Fahd (1966). 27 28

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month from its stages, comprised a grid of twenty-eight asterisms, each assigned to 12° 51′ of arc along the moon’s orbit. In formal astronomy and astrology these were called manāzil al-qamar, literally “stations of the moon” in the sense that the moon was said to alight or station (nazala) in one of these each night.29 There are two references in the Qur’an to the moon and manāzil, but both of these clearly refer to the sense of the lunar stages, especially surah Ya ̄ Sı ̄n (36:39), which states that stages (mana ̄zil) were appointed to the moon “till it wanes into the shape of an old dry branch of a palm tree.”30 The frame of the lunar zodiac is not an indigenous Arab system, but was borrowed from India through contact with Sassanian Iran.31 There is a genre of prognostications based on which station the moon resides in on a given night.32 Ibn Qutayba and later astronomers claimed that the twenty-eight asterisms of the lunar zodiac were also plotted out over the solar year to create an annual cycle of twenty-seven 13-day periods with one period of fourteen days, generally jabha, to equal the 365 days of the year.33 Each period is said to begin with the rising of one of the twenty-eight asterisms at dawn with the sun and the setting at the same time of its opposite (at 180° on the horizon). There are rhymed sayings (saj’) for each of these periods comprising a schematic almanac that has been widely quoted, including in contemporary Arab Gulf almanacs.34 There are also numerous examples of certain of these asterisms in pre-Islamic poetry, although even Ibn Qutayba admits that he could not find poetry for some of the stations. The identification of these asterisms, called anwā’ by Ibn Qutayba, and their rising 29  These are also referred to as “mansions of the moon,” in parallel with the “towers” of the zodiacal houses, but such a meaning would have had little resonance on the peninsula. For an account of the manāzil by an eighteenth-century Gulf scholar from Najd, see Ibn al-’Afālik (2000) and also the list of Najdı ̄ writers on astronomy in Mubārik (n.d.). 30  This is the interpretation of Ibn Kathı ̄r (1399/1979:2:184, 3:123), although Ibn Qutayba (1956:16–17) and al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):184,215) link it to the twenty-eight stations. The other Qur’anic reference is in surah Yu ̄nus (10:6). 31  I explain the origins of the anwa ̄’ stations model in Arabia in Varisco (1991). 32  For an analysis of these prognostications in the work of the North African scholar al-Būnı ̄, see Varisco (2017a). 33  Al-Anṣārı ̄ chooses qalb (#18) as the station with fourteen days. 34  A French translation of the rhymed sayings was made by Pellat (1955). Other lists of these sayings can be found in Ibn Sı ̄da (1898ff(10):15–18); al-Khat ̣ı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄ (1999:146–149); al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ (1849:42–51); Quṭrub (1985:100–105); and al-Zamakhsharı ̄ (1992:103–105). There are many variations over time, including misreadings of earlier sources.

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times are shown in Table 2.2. Recorded variations in the station names are noted in Table  2.3. Regarding the station t ̣arf also being feminized as ṭarfa, Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄ argued that it could be feminine because it refers to an eye (‘ayn), which is a feminine word.35 Ibn Qutayba provides details on the location of the stations in relation to each other and nearby stars.36

Table 2.2  Rising (ṭulū’) of the twenty-eight stations (anwā’), according to Ibn Qutayba #

Station

Identification

Ibn Qutayba [Julian] ca. 850 CE

Ibn Qutayba [Gregorian]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

sharaṭān buṭayn thurayyā dabarān haq’a han’a dhirā’ nathra ṭarf jabha zubra ṣarfa ‘awwā’ simāk ghafr zubānā iklı‐l qalb shawla na’ā’im balda sa’d al-dhābih sa’d bula’ sa’d al-su’ūd sa’d al-akhbiya fargh muqaddam fargh mu’akhkhar baṭn al-ḥūt

β γ Arietis ε δ ρ Arietis Pleiades α Tauri λ ϕ1 ϕ2 Orionis γ ξ Geminorum α β Geminorum ε γ δ Cancri κ Cancri, λ Leonis ζ γ η α Leonis δ θ Leonis β Leonis β η γ δ ε Virginis α Virginis ι κ λ Virginis α β Librae β δ π Scorpii α Scorpii λ υ Scorpii σ ϕ τ ζ γ δ ε η Sagittarii vacant space α β Capricorni μ ε Aquarii c1 Capricorni, β ξ Aquarii γ π ζ η Aquarii α β Pegasi δ γ Pegasi β Andromedae

IV:16 IV:30 V:13 V:26 VI:9 VI:22 VII:4 VII:17 VIII:1 VIII:14 VIII:27 IX:9 IX:22 X:5 X:18 X:31 XI:13 XI:20 XII:9 XII:22 I:4 I:17 I:31 II:12 II:25 III:9 III:22 IV:4

IV:20 V:4 V:17 V:30 VI:13 VI:16 VII:8 VII:21 VIII:5 VIII:17 IX:1 IX:13 IX:26 X:8 X:22 XI:4 XI:17 XI:24 XII:13 XII:26 I:8 I:21 II:3 II:16 II:29 III:13 III:26 IV:8

 Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄ (2006:172).  See also the discussion of al-Ṣūfı ̄ (1954:9–16).

35 36

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Table 2.3  Variations in the names of some of the stations #

Station

Variant names

1 2 3 4 9 11 13 22 23 24 25 26

sharaṭān buṭayn thurayyā dabarān ṭarf zubra ‘awwā’ sa’d al-dhābih sa’d bula’ sa’d al-su’ūd sa’d al-akhbiya fargh muqaddam

sharaṭayn, sharaṭ, ashrāṭ, naṭḥ, nāṭḥ, naṭı̄ḥ baṭn najm mijdaḥ, tābi’al-najm, tālā al-najm, tuwaybi’ ṭarfa kharātān ‘awwā dhābiḥ bula’ su’ūd akhbiya muqaddam al-dalw, al-’arquwatān al-mu’akhkharatān, fargh awwal mu’akhkhar al-dalw, ‘arquwatā ūliyān, fargh thānı̄

27 fargh mu’akhkhar 28 baṭn al-ḥūt

rishā’, ḥūt

The plural term anwa ̄’ and its singular form naw’ are well attested in the lexical sources, although there is significant difference of opinion on their origin and connotations. In astronomy the naw’ refers to the cosmic setting of one of the twenty-eight stations. Ibn Qutayba defines it as “the setting of an asterism from the stations to the west at dawn and simultaneous rising of another opposite it to the east (suqūṭ al-najm min-hi fı ̄ al-­ maghrib ma‘a al-fajr wa-ṭulū‘ākhar yuqābilu-ha  min sā‘ati-hi fı ̄ al-mashriq).”37 However, the lexicons define the root form (n-w-’) as referring to a rising (nuhu ̄ḍ or ṭulū‘). Abū ‘Ubayd argues that this sense of a setting only applied to naw’ with regard to the stations, because the Arabs linked the coming of rain, wind, heat, or cold to the influence of a setting star.38 The varied opinions on the term imply that the astronomical meaning was not widely spread among most people. In fact the term appears to have the more general sense of rain, as is found in numerous 37  Ibn Qutayba (1956:6). This is also the definition provided by Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj (Varisco 1989a:152). See al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):183–184). There is no evidence that the Prophet knew about the system of twenty-eight anwa ̄’ later described by Ibn Qutayba. The earliest extant reference to this system is from Ibn Ḥ abı ̄b (d. 238/852–853), who claims he is taking the information from Mālik b. Anās (d. 179/795–796) (Kunitsch 1994:186–189). 38  Quoted in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisa ̄n al-’Arab, article n-w-’. The same definition is given by al-Azharı ̄ (1967(15):536). For a discussion of the various etymological readings, see Varisco (1991:10–13).

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dialects. Mu’arrij claimed that naw’ was used for the rain at the setting of a star because the rain rose up (nahaḍa) as the star set.39 Ibn al-A’rābı ̄ insisted that it could not be a naw’ unless there was rain with it (lā yaku ̄n naw’ ḥattā yakun ma‘a maṭar wa-illā fa-lā naw’).40 The Qur’an does not use the term naw’ in reference to asterisms, but it does occur in several traditions of the Prophet Muḥammad. Ibn Qutayba quotes Muḥammad as saying that one of the three things he disapproved of in the “Days of Ignorance” was divination through the anwā’, attributing rain to the stars rather than to Allāh.41 The pre-Islamic Arabs are said to have looked to certain stars as influencing the timing of rain, saying such things as “we were rained upon by the naw’ of the Pleiades, Aldebaran or Arcturus.”42 The most auspicious naw’ for rain was said to be the Pleiades (thurayyā or najm), its dawn setting associated with the important autumn rains. The station following is Aldebaran, which is said to be the most detestable of the anwā’, even though it was also associated with rain.43 Ibn Qutayba’s model of the twenty-eight stations as a solar calendar is arbitrary. There is no reason to believe that pre-Islamic or early Islamic-era Bedouin practiced such a seasonal calendar as an indigenous system. Abū ‘Ubayd claimed that the same system of twenty-eight asterisms was known in Persia, Byzantium, and India; the evidence suggests that it came from outside the peninsula.44 It is simply the lunar zodiac plotted out over the solar year. Indeed, the station of balda is actually an empty space and not an asterism at all. However, this system has been perpetuated over a millennium in Arabic texts and has filtered to the present through the almanac tradition, at least among scholars. There is, however, an early alternative model of the anwa ’̄ linked by Abū Zāyd and Quṭrub, two of the earlier compilers in the genre, to the 39  Quoted in al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):180). Abū Fayd Mu’arrij b. ‘Amr al-Sadūsı ̄ (d. ca 195/810) was a Basra scholar known to Ibn Qutayba. 40  Quoted in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-’Arab (n-w-’). Ibn Qutayba and other scholars (e.g., al-Tı ̄fāshı ̄ 1980:305–306) note that the actual naw’ in each thirteen-day period was much smaller, from only one day for ‘awwā’ to ten days for dhirā’; this suggests that the term was in reference to its influence on weather such as rain rather than simply for an entire period. 41  Ibn Qutayba (1956:14). This is widely quoted in ḥad ı̄th collections; see also al-Azharı ̄ (1967(15):536) and al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914:I:90–94). 42  Quoted in Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-’Arab (n-w-’). 43  This may be due to its association with a pre-Islamic rite of rain invocation; see Varisco (1991:23). 44  This claim is recorded by al-Azharı ̄ (1967(15):537).

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Table 2.4 The Anwa ̄’ seasons of the Qushayriyūn Rain period

anwā’

Comments

wasmı‐

fifteen days for each star period

dafa’ı‐

‘arquwatān mu’akhkharatān, sharaṭ, thurayyā jawzā’, dhirā‘ān/dhirā‘, nathra jabha, ‘awwā, ṣarfa

ṣayfı‐ ḥamı̄m

simākān dabarān

kharı̄fı̄

nasrān, akhḍar, ‘arquwatātān ūlayān

shatawı‐

some say jabha is part of shatawı‐, ‘awwā and ṣarfa not mentioned by some forty days twenty days, some say without star, some combine ḥamı̄m with kharif nasrān is Altair and Vega

pre-Islamic tribe of Qays (Table 2.4).45 This kind of seasonal star sequence, not divided into periods of arbitrary length, fits far more with the star calendars reported through ethnographic fieldwork.46 It also contains seasonal terms still used throughout the Arabian Peninsula, including the Gulf. The important seasonal marker in this system is the rain period, the most important being wasmı ̄ at the start of the pastoral cycle. For Islamic astronomers, the formal model of the twenty-eight stations begins with the start of the zodiacal constellations at the spring equinox. Thus, sharaṭan ̄ as the first station comprises the two horns of ḥamal (Aries). Each zodiacal arc of 30° comprises two and one third stations spread out over the solar year. In his discussion of the zodiacal constellations, Ibn Qutayba notes that the actual form of the stars does not always match the name.47 Thus, the Arabs were said to recognize four stations as part of ‘aqrab (Scorpio), that is, zubānā, iklı ̄l, qalb, and shawla, but some were part of the official zodiacal constellation of Libra and some in Sagittarius. Similarly, the zodiacal constellation of Pisces (ḥut̄ ) in formal astronomy comprised two and a third stations, but there was only one station named baṭn al-ḥut̄ . As noted in Table 2.2, Ibn Qutayba began the sequence with sharaṭān in Nı̄sān (April), that is, IV:16, in the Julian reckoning, equivalent to 45  The system of Abū Zayd is cited in his Kitāb al-Mat ̣ar (Gottheil 1895) and al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914/1:198–199). A similar system is attributed to Abū Manṣūr in Ibn al-Manẓūr’s Lisān al-’Arab (n-w-’). 46  See Varisco (1993) for a discussion of seasonal Yemeni star calendars. 47  Ibn Qutayba (1956:121–122).

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IV:20  in the calibration to the Gregorian system. The anwā’ texts are fairly consistent on this date, with Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj listing the rising of sharaṭān on IV:17. Later texts often copied these Julian timings verbatim, but there are important differences. The recent Gulf almanacs, including the earlier one of al-’Uyūnı ̄, indicate the dawn rising of sharaṭān almost Table 2.5  Rising (t ̣ulu ̄’) of the twenty-eight stations, according to recent Gulf almanacs #

Station

al-’Uyun̄ ı ̄ 1324/ 1906

al-Ans.ārı ̄ 1406/ 1985

Mājid 1988/89

Al̄ ‘Uwayḍa 1988/89

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

sharaṭan ̄ buṭayn Thurayyā dabarān/barakān haq’a han’a dhirā’ nathra ṭarf jabha zubra ṣarfa ‘awwā’ simāk ghafr zubānā iklı ̄l qalb shawla na’ā’im balda sa’d al-dhābih sa’d bula’ sa’d al-su’ūd sa’d al-akhbiya fargh muqaddam fargh mu’akhkhar baṭn al-ḥut̄ /rishā

V:13 V:26 VI:8 VI:21 VII:4 VII:17 VII:30 VIII:12 VIII:26 IX:7 IX:21 X:3 X:16 X:29 XI:11 XI:24 XII:6 XII:19 I:1 I:14 I:27 II:9 II:22 III:7 III:22 IV:4 IV:17 IV:30

V:12 V:25 VI:7 VI:20 VII:3 VII:16 VII:29 VIII:11 VIII:25 IX:6 IX:19 X:2 X:15 X:28 XI:10 XI:23 XII:6 XII:19 I:2 I:15 I:28 II:10 II:23 III:8 III:21 IV:3 IV:16 IV:29

V:14 V:27 VI:9 VI:22 VII:5 VII:19 VIII:1 VIII:13 VIII:26 IX:8 IX:21 X:4 X:17 X:30 XI:12 XI:25 XII:8 XII:21 I:4 I:17 I:30 II:12 II:25 III:10 III:23 IV:5 IV:18 V:1

V:13 V:26 VI:8 VI:21 VII:4 VII:17 VII:30 VIII:12 VIII:25 IX:7 IX:20 X:3 X:16 X:29 XI:11 XI:24 XI:7 XII:20 I:2 I:15 I:28 II:10 II:23 III:8 III:21 IV:4 IV:16 IV:29

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four weeks later in Ayyār (V:12–13) (Table 2.5).48 It is obvious that the station sharaṭān is not being considered here as the start of the zodiacal month of ḥamal (Aries), which al-’Uyūnı ̄ places at III:22. Al-’Uyūnı ̄ then indicates that the vernal equinox occurs during sharaṭān, which rises in May, with no explanation as to why there is a discrepancy in the timing. Ibn Qutayba makes a distinction between the Julian times of the sun’s entry (ḥalūl) into sharaṭān at III:20 and the visible rising (ṭulū‘) of sharaṭān at IV:16.49 The first date is the heliacal rising, when the asterism is not visible due to being hidden behind the sun. The visible sighting of the asterism at dawn would be about twenty-six days (the extent of two stations) later. This works for the dates provided by Ibn Qutayba but does not explain why the Gulf almanacs place the visible sighting almost a month later. Historically, the start of the year for Arabs on the peninsula was not in spring, but in autumn with the appearance of rain and lowering of the intense summer heat. Quṭrub begins the year with the setting of fargh mu’akhkhar (#27), which equals the dawn rising of ‘awwā (#13) on 23 Aylūl (September), heralding the first rain of the season called wasmı ̄.50 Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj also begins the station cycle with fargh mu’akhkhar, with a rising in spring and a setting in autumn.51 For Ibn Qutayba the first season of the year for the Arabs was in autumn and called rabı ̄‘, because of the start of the rain, and this began near the start of Aylu ̄l at the station of fargh mu’akhkhar.52

2.5   Major Stars Observed in the Gulf Ibn Qutayba’s classic text lists at least 500 terms for stars, some of them referring to the same asterism.53 The importance of his text is that it lists what he considered the most important stars observed by the original 48  Given the close variants in these Gulf almanacs, I will use the dates of al-Anṣārı ̄ for generic reference to the Gulf stations in tables. 49  Ibn Qutayba (1956:18). The actual date for the equinox should have been III:16 for ca. 850 CE 50  Quṭrub (1985:98), who gives the variant of mu’akhkhar al-dalw. 51  Varisco (1989b:153). Al-Zajjāj gives the variants of fargh al-dalw al-asfal or ‘arquwat al-dalw al-suflā. 52  Ibn Qutayba (1956:104, 115). 53  See Pellat’s index in Ibn Qutayba (1956:211–235). Although Pellat provides some identification, it is best to examine the work of Kunitzsch (1961) for their scientific equivalents.

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Arabs, usually providing poetic examples. There is, however, little indication of which dialects he was writing about. Some stars were visible anywhere on the peninsula, but there would be differences in timing, location, and names. In Yemen, for example, the bright star Sirius (al-shi’rā al-’abūr in classical Arabic) is known as ‘alib in the northern highlands and bājis in the Tihāma.54 Kuwaiti sailors at times refer to Sirius as tı ̄r, a Persian term for the star; Sinai Bedouin call it burbāra.55 In his travels through the Empty Quarter, Bertram Thomas suggests that the Bedouin referred to Sirius as mirzam.56 Pastoral activities associated with the rising and setting of certain stars were spread out over much of the area. There is no information on the seasonal round of fishing or sailing around the peninsula in Ibn Qutayba’s discussion of the anwā’. He does discuss several stars that were of major importance in the Gulf both in the past and through to the present. These are the Pleiades, Canopus, and Sirius.

2.6   The Pleiades (thurayya ̄) This is one of the most important marker stars on the Arabian Peninsula. Ibn Qutayba claims it was the most mentioned of the stations.57 In Arabic sources this is a set of six or seven visible stars within or near the constellation Taurus.58 Ibn Qutayba notes that it was considered the tail (alya) of Aries. It is also referred to as najm, which is the standard interpretation of this term’s occurrence in the Qur’an and ḥadı ̄th literature.59 Observations  Varisco (1994:102).  Bailey (1974:585). 56  Thomas (1932:228), who apparently misunderstood his informant. For Ibn Qutayba (1982:93) mirzam was used for a star associated with Sirius. 57  Ibn Qutayba (1956:23–37) provides a lengthy discussion of the Pleiades. For poetry on the Pleiades, see Ibn Manẓūr (1983:110–114), Shāmı ̄ (1980:93–96), and al-Tı ̄fāshı ̄ (1980:131–136). 58  Ibn Qutayba (1956:23) notes six. The ninth-century CE poet al-Mubarrad mentions seven (al-Tı ̄fāshı ̄ 1980:132). Ibn Mājid (1981:84) relates that Muḥammad said to his uncle ‘Abbās that the number of rulers who would come from his loins would be twice the number of stars in the Pleiades. Since there were 26 Abbasid caliphs in Iraq, this would make the number of stars thirteen. Another source claims there are six large and six small stars, for a total of twelve (Anonymous, 988 AH, 8a, in Dār al-Kurub, Cairo). 59  The term najm literally refers to a star in classical Arabic. Ibn Qutayba suggests that references to this term in the poetry and the traditions of Muḥammad indicate the Pleiades. The Qur’anic surah called al-Najm is almost always related to the Pleiades, but occasionally to Sirius, which is mentioned in al-Najm 53:49. As related in Tāj al-‘arūs, the late tenth54 55

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of its rising and setting served as markers of weather and other activities in the seasonal round. When it sets at dawn in November (Tishrı̄n al-Thānı ̄), it marks the last of the major rain season known as wasm. A Najdı ̄ poet praises the rain of the Pleiades by comparing it to rubies and musk.60 The dawn setting or evening rising in November also marks the onset of cold weather. Ibn Qutayba notes that it first appeared as an evening star in the east at the start of the cold and its later arrival at mid-heaven signaled the most intense cold. This was a cold so severe that dogs were said to be unable to bark. The dawn rising of the Pleiades in mid-May was considered an auspicious time. The Prophet Muḥammad is said to have called this the time when all harm is lifted from the earth (irtafa‘at al-‘āha min al-arḍ).61 Ibn Qutayba explains that this is a reference from the Hejaz when fruit has blossomed and is safe from harm. There is another tradition by Muḥammad who said that fruit (thima ̄r) should not be sold until it was safe from harm and that was at the rising of the Pleiades.62 In his almanac al-’Uyūnı ̄ refers to the Pleiades as the most auspicious of the stars, quoting Muḥammad and noting that this is when dates have matured and can be safely sold. Al-Anṣārı ̄ in the Qatari almanac mentions that wounds heal faster at the rising, making this a suitable time for circumcision. Soon after its heliacal rising the Pleiades disappears beneath the rays of the sun for about fifty days, after which its visible rising at dawn signals the start of the heat.63 The disappearance of the Pleiades has given rise to a number of beliefs about the season it falls in. Since this occurs at the start of the summer heat, it is common to find references to the drying up of century lexicologist al-Jawharı ̄ relates that it was only in reference to the Pleiades if it was in the definite form. 60  Ibn Khamı ̄s (1982:308). The verse reads: Law yadhaju wa-ba ̄l al-thurayyā wa-yasqı ̄h/ wa-yamṭuru bi-yāqūt wa-musk saḥābih [Were the Pleiades to come, having sent water which irrigates it, rainfall is like a ruby or musk from its clouds]. 61  There are variations of this tradition; see al-Ghazzı ̄ (2004:42); Ibn Qutayba (1956:31); al-Khaṭı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄ (1999:141–142, 2004:26); Lisān al-Arab (n-j-m); and al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914/1:200). 62  See al-Ghazzı ̄ (2004:42), al-Khat ̣ı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄ (1999:142, 2004:27), and Al-Suyūt ̣ı ̄ (2006:72–73), who also quotes an Arab saying that pestilence is taken away at its spring rising but increases at its evening rising six months before. 63  Ibn Qutayba (1956:12,26) notes that the disappearance (istisrār) of the Pleiades was for forty days among the Arabs but about fifty for astronomers. Hesiod (1982:31), writing in the seventh–eighth century BCE, described the disappearance as forty days. In Fezzan, Libya, the disappearance is said to be from V:11 until VI:20 (Pâques 1964:100).

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plants and thus less pasture for animals in the desert.64 As noted in Lisān al-’Arab, some Arabs said that between the dawn rising in mid-May (Ayya r̄ ) and setting of the Pleiades there was harm to people, camels, and crop produce (thimār), as well as sickness (amrāḍ) and infectious disease (wabā’), but this is explained in reference to the fifty days in which the Pleiades is not seen in the sky at night.65 This is referred to as kanna (channa in dialect) in Najd.66 In the Hejaz a distinction is made between twenty days known as sannat al-thurayya ̄, when the asterism appears between sunset (maghrib) and early evening (‘asha ̄’) and then sets, and kannat al-thurayyā, when it does not rise visibly for twenty days.67 It is said that the first animal to recognize the return of the Pleiades to visibility is the snake, then the goat, and then the camel. Among Bedouin in the Sinai, Burckhardt notes a belief that locusts arrived with the disappearance of the Pleiades for forty or fifty days, but dreaded it and were gone after this for the rest of the year.68 As described by al-Zafı ̄rı ̄: Regarding the disappearance of the Pleiades and its rising, the Bedouin say the following: ‘Not until the Pleiades sets, then is time that everything green takes its leave for good (la ̄ khafaqat al-thurayyā thumma wāyaqat kull khaḍrā’ wa-da’at bi-sala ̄m)’. The meaning of this is that when the Pleiades disappears and then actually reappears on 7 June, then all green pasture has left for good, when it has dried up and been made barren up by the action of the summer heat of the sun. Thus the pasture becomes barren (ḥamı ̄s), as the Bedouin say.69

64  Ibn Qutayba (1956:65) notes that at its rising, pasture (‘ushb) would spring up but then dry up because of the heat. Ibn Ḥ abı ̄b (Kunitzsch 1994:191) says that the Bedouins found that the rain of ṣayf (starting with the station Aldebaran, after the Pleiades) burned the pasture due to the heat. Musil (1928:17) notes this for the Rwala and al-Ansı ̄ (1998:306) for Yemen. 65  Lisān al-’Arab (n-j-m) and Tāj al-’aru ̄s, (n-j-m). It is reported in the history of Ibn al-Athı ̄r that the Arabs believed that between the disappearance and rising of the Pleiades there were illnesses (amrāḍ), pestilence (wabā), and plant diseases (‘a ̄ha ̄t) affecting people, camels, and fruits (Anonymous, 988 AH, 5a, in Dār al-Kurub, Cairo). The same text adds that the jinn are active in the body until the Pleiades reappears. 66  Sowayan (1985:27), who notes that this signals the start of the summer heat. The term kanna/kinna is used in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including northern Yemen (Gingrich 1994:170–171). 67  Al-Bilādı ̄ (1982:322). 68  Burckhardt (1831/1:91). 69  Al-Zafı ̄rı ̄ (2010).

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The return of the Pleiades is said to be a sign of the coming monsoon rains and thus a symbolic reference to renewed fertility. The almanac of al-’Uyūnı ̄ notes that sex is forbidden during the station of the Pleiades, reflecting a widely cited tradition in the almanacs that sex should be avoided during the heat of summer.70 The association with the rising of the Pleiades and stirring of the sea has a long tradition in Arabic sources. In the tenth century al-Hamadhānı ̄ related that during the disappearance of the Pleiades winds are variable and Allāh gives the jinn power over water sources so it is best not to travel on the sea for forty days.71 The Bedouins recognize the rising of the Pleiades in early June as a time for sandstorms (zawābi‘) and strong winds, which in the Gulf are called the bara ̄riḥ or sarāyāt of the Pleiades.72 It is also the beginning of the season of mirba‘ānı ̄ya, literally referring to a period of forty days. The Pleiades is also plotted against the new moon in each lunar month as a calendar used throughout the Arabian peninsula.73 The significance of thurayya ̄ is reflected in legends. Sālim Bashı ̄r records a story about the Pleiades and Aldebaran.74 Aldebaran was a man with no property but he was enthralled by the beauty of the Pleiades, a young girl. So he asked the moon to help him find a way to marry the beautiful girl. The moon agreed to his request and went to ask her, but she vehemently refused the marriage offer. The moon beseeched her, but she said, “What can this one do when he has no resources.” So Aldebaran set out to win the favor of the girl who had stolen his heart and he longed for. But all he could come up with were sheep, which he wanted to offer her for the marriage. He followed after her with his two dogs, but she was always ahead and he was always behind. The two stars near him are the two dogs and the others are the sheep. He is called dabara ̄n because he is always coming behind (fı ̄ dubr) her, that is, following in her path. So Aldebaran becomes a symbol of faithfulness (wifā’), while the Pleiades is faithless (ghadhr). This is reflected in the Arabic proverb: More faithful than Aldebaran and

70  This is mentioned in the genre of the Prophet’s medicine (Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya 1957:32–33). In the Saudi Tihāma, anthropologist Andre Gingrich (2012:145) was told that during this time men and women should not engage in sex, nor should there be any agriculture. There is a long tradition about the ill effects of sex during intense heat; see Varisco (1994:212). 71  Al-Hamadhānı ̄ (1885:9). 72  Al-Ẓ afı ̄rı ̄ (2010). 73  See pp. 80–82 for a discussion of the Pleiades Conjunction calendar. 74  Bashı ̄r (2005:158–159).

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more faithless than the Pleiades (awfā min al-hādı̄ wa-aghthar min al-thurayyā).75

2.7   Canopus (suhayl) The star suhayl refers to Canopus or α Carinae, the second brightest star in the sky and thus a major reference point for direction, especially since it is located to the south.76 It was visible on the Arabian Peninsula but not at latitudes higher than 37° 18′, including ancient Greece or Rome. Not being a zodiacal star, its rising was visible at different times in the region, with a difference in its sighting of over a month between the southern tip and the northern stretch of the Arabian Peninsula. Ibn Qutayba wrote that it appeared in Iraq ten days after being seen in the Hejaz.77 Its mid-­ summer dawn rising was probably the most important astronomical marker on the Arabian Peninsula. A Yemeni proverb states that there is no other star like Canopus (mā fı ̄ al-nujūm illā suhayl).78 Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ cites its appearance in Iraq in the middle of A ̄ b (August) and Ibn Qutayba indicates that it rose in the morning in the Hejaz on VIII:14 with the station of jabha but not until VIII:27 with the station of zubra in Iraq. He quotes a poet who said: “When the people of Hejaz see Canopus, that is the month of Āb in their reckoning” (idha ̄ ahl al-Ḥ ijāz ra’ūa ̄n suhayla ̄n, wa-dhalika fı ̄ al-ḥisāb li-shahr Āb). Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄, writing in the thirteenth century, placed the sighting in the Hejaz at VIII:9, Mecca at VIII:6, Egypt at VIII:20, and Iraq at VIII:28.79 Contemporary dates in the literature for the rising are noted in Table 2.6. One of the noted peculiarities of Canopus was that it disappeared shortly behind the sun’s rays after its summer rising just before dawn and was not visible for two weeks. This disappearance (istita ̄r) happened on VIII:9 in Yemen in the late thirteenth century. Thus, a distinction is made between its actual rising date, which is obscured by the sun, and the first 75  This story differs from the anwa ̄’ literature’s focus on the Pleiades as fortunate and Aldebaran as unfortunate. 76  For a history of lore on this star, see Casanova (1902:1–16). There is a major discussion by Ibn Qutayba (1956:152–158) and by al-Ṣūfı ̄  (1954:301–303). See also Varisco (1994:103–104). Macdonald (1992:2) suggests that this star name is found in Safaitic in reference to the timing of floods from rain. 77  Ibn Qutayba (1982:93). 78  Al-Akwa’ (1984(2):1056). 79  Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄ (2006:144, 146).

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Table 2.6  Contemporary dates for the rising of Canopus Location

Dawn rising date

Source

Bahrain Dubai, UAE

VIII:25–26 VIII:17 25 Leo 5th of nathra VIII:7 VIII:24 actual rising IX:5 actual sighting VIII:24 IX:7 VIII:18 25 Leo 7th of nathra ca. VIII:28 VIII:24 VIII:24 IX:8 VII:25 VIII:17 26 Leo 6th of nathra

Serjeant (1968:512) al-Mājid (1988/89:12)

Jāzān Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait al-Aḥsā’

Najd Najd Riyadh Northern limit of Arabian Peninsula Yemen al-Ẓ afira, UAE

al-Misnid (2010) Bashı ̄r (2005:131–132) al-’Ujayrı ̄ (1989) Dickson (1951:248) al-’Uyūnı ̄ (1960:21) Dickson (1951:248) Kuwait Oil Workers (2008) al-Misnid (2010) al-Misnid (2010) al-Misnid (2010) ‘Uwayḍa (1988/89:36)

time it can be observed. ‘Abd Allāh al-Misnid explains this for Riyadh, where on August 11 Canopus would be visible two minutes before dawn but then would not actually be seen at all until about August 24. It then would be visible in the night sky culminating at mid-heaven in the middle of December.80 For Kuwait, Sālim Bashı ̄r notes that the true rising of Canopus is on August 24, but it is hidden and not visible until September 5.81 This disappearance is generally called firāq in the Gulf. Also important was the evening rising of Canopus, which Ibn Qutayba placed at the rising of sa’d al-dhābiḥ on I:17. This was the time for mating of camels and other animals. There is some controversy surrounding the recognition of Canopus, even though it is the second brightest star in the sky. Ibn Qutayba mentions two stars that rise just before Canopus and were sometimes confused with it.82 These are ḥaḍār and wazn, called muḥlifān (i.e., the two allies) because they are so closely associated with the rising of Canopus. Sālim  Al-Misnid (2010).  Bashı ̄r (2005:131–132). 82  Ibn Qutayba (1956:157). 80 81

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Bashı ̄r explains how to tell the difference between these two stars and the rising of Canopus.83 He notes that they are closer in size to mirzam al-shi’rā al-yamānı ̄ya (β Canis Majoris), which is bright but not as large as Canopus. This mirzam rises to the right of the rising point of Canopus and much earlier. In Kuwait it would appear at dawn during the last three days of July, but the visible rising of Canopus would not be until 5 September, when jabha rises. The dawn rising of Canopus happens at a significant time, heralding the coming onset of cooler weather and rain. One of the rhymed sayings about suhayl reads: “When Canopus has risen, the night cools, flooding is feared, the unweaned camel is distressed” (Idhā ṭala‘ā al-suhayl, baruda al-layl, wa-khı̄fa al-sayl,wa-kāna li-al-ḥuwār al-wayl).84 This is the time when young camels are separated from their mothers. As described by Ibn Qutayba, at the summer rising of Canopus in the Hejaz the unripe busr dates ripen to the ripe rutạ b stage.85 It is also said by Ibn Qutayba that at the rising of Canopus a fermented drink (faḍı ̄kh) made of dates is spoiled, as though Canopus had urinated in it, and thus no longer made. Indeed there was still a hot period (waghra) associated with the rising of Canopus.86 Al-’Uyūnı ̄ mentions the waghrāt for the station of dhirā‘(VII:30-VIII:11). It is also known as waqdat suhayl in reference to seven days of intense heat at the end of summer in August (Ab), as referenced by al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄, who adds that it comes half a year after the cold period of ayyām al-‘ajūz.87 In contemporary almanac lore from Saudi Arabia, it is noted that the visible rising of Canopus in late August is the time when dates are plentiful in the market. A well-known proverb states: When Canopus has risen, dates can be gathered at night (Idha ̄ ṭala‘suhayl, tilammis al-tamr bi-al-layl).88

 Bashı ̄r (2005:129–131).  Ibn Qutayba (1956:155). For other mentions and versions of this saying, see Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄ (2006:144) and Bashı ̄r (2005:133). The earliest record of this proverb regarding young camels not being weaned is in the late eighth-century proverb text of al-Sadūsi (1983:79). 85  Ibn Qutayba (1956:58). 86  Ibn Qutayba (1956:119) says there were waghra periods at the risings of the Pleiades, Aldebaran, Sirius, Orion, and Canopus, ending with the rising of Arcturus. 87  Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (1879:265). 88  Al-Misnid (2010). See also Bailey (1974:587), who explains that this is because they are ready to fall and the stem does not need to be cut off. 83 84

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There are several Arabic legends regarding the star suhayl, related to both Polaris (jāh) and the stars of Ursa Major (banāt na‘sh).89 The na‘sh refers to a funeral bier, which is being dragged by four daughters seeking revenge for the killing of their father. Instead of accusing Polaris, which is always visible, they blame Canopus because it disappears from the sky.90 A legend recorded in Kuwait describes na‘sh as a man without sons but three dutiful daughters. One day jadı‐ (Polaris) had an argument with na’sh and killed him. His daughters looked for an opportunity to seek revenge for their father’s death. But jadı̄ heard about this and asked other neighbors, farqadān, to prevent the daughters from killing him. Ever since, the daughters can be seen pulling the funeral bier and wanting to kill jadı̄, but prevented by farqadān. The two stars of farqadān are located between banāt na’sh and Polaris. In another myth Canopus was once located near al-jawzā’ and tried to marry her, but she refused and he was sent south.91 Al-Suyūtı̣ ̄ refers to suhayl as a corrupt Yemeni tax collector who was transformed into a star by Allāh or else a stubborn star that rebelled against Allāh’s commands.92 The Rwala Bedouin, as noted by Musil, say that when Canopus rises in mid-summer, Allāh sends an angel to the west to compel the clouds to drop rain, using the metaphor of camel herding.93 Suhayl figures prominently in Arabic poetry, starting in the pre-­Islamic genre.94

2.8   Sirius (shi‘ra ̄)

The bright star Sirius or α Canis Majoris (shi‘rā or al-shi’rā al-’abūr) is mentioned by name in the Qur’ān (53:50) as a star that was worshipped in the pre-Islamic era.95 Ibn Qutaba notes that a certain Abū Kabsha was the individual who worshiped this star before he was called to Islam by the

 Bashı ̄r (2005:159); see also Hess (1938:3), quoted in Henninger (1954:92).  As noted in folklore of the Sinai Bedouin by Bailey (1974:583–584). 91  Allen (1899:69). 92  Al-Suyūt ̣ı ̄ (2006:71). 93  Musil (1928:5–6). 94  The literature on poetic citations of suhayl is quite large; see Ibn Manẓūr (1983:117), Shāmı ̄ (1980:172–176), and al-Tı ̄fāshı ̄ (1980:140). For contemporary Gulf texts, see Bashı ̄r (2005:135–136). 95  Sirius as the goddess Sopdet or Sothis was worshipped in ancient Egypt due in large part to its rising about the time of the rising of the Nile floods. For information on Sirius in Arab literature, see Casanova (1902:25–34), which must be used with caution due to his speculative links with Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Kunitzsch (1997). For poetry on Sirius, see Shāmı ̄ (1980:197–200) and al-Tı ̄fāshı ̄ (1980:139). 89 90

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Prophet.96 This anecdote is quoted in the Gulf almanac of ‘Uwayḍa. There are two stars with this name, Sirius being al-shi’ra ̄ al-’abu ̄r, which is said to be part of the constellation jawza ̄’, so named because it is said to have crossed the Milky Way. The other is al-shi’rā al-ghumayṣa ̄’ (α  Canis Minoris), which is said to be the outstretched arm of Leonis. Ibn Qutayba notes that its mid-summer rising was at VII:17, some thirteen days after the rising of Procyon (al-shi’rā al-ghumayṣa’̄ ). Al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ indicates the rising of Sirius at VII:5, adding that at this time farmers laid out seeds on a plank to determine which would grow and which would not during the year. Ibn Māsawayh mentions this at VII:19 and notes that it was a Persian practice. In his almanac al-’Uyūnı ̄ places this during the station of haq’a (#5 VII:4–16). The heat at its rising is said to be the time when camels are most thirsty and in need of water. This is the time known as waghrat al-shi’rā, when a man becomes thirsty between the water basin and the well. Ibn Qutayba adds that dogs and wolves bark at its rising.97 Similar to the saj’ for the anwā’, Ibn Qutayba records the following: Idhā ṭa’lat al-shi’ra, nashifa al-tharā, wa-’ajama al-ṣarā, wa ja’la ṣah̄ ị b al-nakhl yarā (When Sirius had risen, the moist ground dried, water became stagnant, and the owner of date palms saw what the fruit will be).98 The rising of Sirius is said to mark the ripening of the red shukla date stage, which would then be harvested forty days later. Ibn Qutayba records the proverb: “Reach mid-­heaven, Oh Milky Way, and the palms of Hajar will have ripe dates” (siṭı‐ majar turṭib Hajar); this would occur during the mid-summer dawn rising of Sirius. As the brightest star in the sky, it is not surprising that a number of legends have sprung up about Sirius and its unique mid-summer rising. One suggests that both Sirius and Procyon were sisters of Canopus, although this may be figurative rather than meant literally. The proverb atlā min al-shi’ra ̄ (follows more than Sirius) refers to the fact that this star always follows Orion (jawzā’), like a dog following its master.99 Thus it is also called kalb al-jabbār in reference to Orion. It is reported that when the sun enters Aries, Sirius is no longer directly above in the sky.100 The rising of Sirius also had magical implications in Arab astrology. For example, an Egyptian text from the seventeenth century relates that when Sirius  Ibn Qutayba (1956:46).  Ibn Qutayba (1956:48). 98  Ibn Qutayba (1956:52). 99  Al-Maydānı ̄ (1955/2:#756). The Arabic germ jawza ̄’ is used both for the zodiacal constellation Gemini and the constellation Orion, which is also called jabbār. 100  Al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):208). 96 97

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rose at the same time as the zodiacal constellation of Sagittarius there would be major sandstorms, the Nile would rise to a great extent, and locusts would appear but do no harm, but there would be plenty of rats, crocodiles, and insects.101

Bibliography Electronic Documents al-Misnid, ‘Abd Allāh 2010 Suhayl al-Yamānı ̄. http://www.almisnid.com/almisnid/article-­85.html (Accessed June, 2021) al-Ẓ afı ̄rı ̄, Aḥmad b. Muḥabb 2010 Al-Thurayyā taqāran al-qamar fa-yataghayr al-mana ̄ k h.http://www.mekshat.com/vb/showthread.php?297936 (Accessed June, 2021)

Published Texts Abdel Haleem, M.  A. S., translator 2004 The Qur’an. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Al-Akwa’, Ismā’ı ̄l 1984 al-Amthāl al-Yamānı ̄ya. 2 volumes. Ṣan’ā’: Maktabat al-Jı ̄l al-Jadı ̄d. Allen, Richard Hinckley 1899 Star Names and their Meanings. New York: Stechert. Al-’Ansı ̄, Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā 1998 Al-Mā‘alim al-zirā‘iyya fı ̄ al-Yaman. Ṣan’ā’: al-­ Ma’had al-Amrı ̄kı ̄ li-al-Dirāsāt al-Yamaniyya and al-Markaz al-Fransı ̄ li-al-­ Dirāsāt al-Yamaniyya. al-Azharı ̄, Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad 1967 Kitāb Taḥdhib al-lugha. Cairo: Dār al-Maṣriyya al-‘Āma li-al-ta’līf wa-al-Tarjama. Bailey, Clinton 1974 Bedouin Star-lore in Sinai and the Negev. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 37(3):580–596. Bashı̄r, Sālim b. 2005 Kitāb al-Anwā’ wa-manāzil al-qamar. Kuwait. al-Bilādı ̄, ‘Ā tiq b. Ghayth 1982 al-Adab al-sha‘bı ̄ fı ̄ al-Ḥ ijāz. Mecca: Dār Makka li-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzı ̄’. al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄, Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad 1879 The Chronology of Ancient Nations. Edward Sachau, translator. London: W. H. Allen & Co. Burckhardt, John Lewis 1831 Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley.

101

 This is a short text found in Cairo’s Dār al-Kutub, Mı ̄qa ̄t 30, f. 8a.

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Casanova, Paul 1902 Quelques légendes astronomiques arabes considérées dans leurs rapports avec la mythologie étyptienne. Bulletin de l’Institute Français d’Archéologie Orientale 2:1–39. Cheesman, Robert Ernest 1926 In Unknown Arabia. London: Macmillan and Co.mpany. al-Damı ̄rı ̄, Muḥammad b. Mūsā 1906–08 Ad-Damı̄rıı̄s Ḥayāt al-ḥayawān (A Zoological Lexicon). Two volumes. Translated by A.  S. G.  Jayakar. London: Luzac and Company. Dickson, H.  R. P. 1951 The Arab of the Desert. 2nd edition. London: Allen and Unwin. Fahd, Toufic 1966 La divination arabe: études religieuses, sociologiques et folkloriques sur le milieu natif de l’islam. Leiden: Brill. al-Ghazzı ̄, Najm al-Dı ̄n Muḥammad 2004 Itqān mā yaḥsun min al-akhbār al-dā’ira ‘alā al-alsun. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyya. Gingrich, Andre 2012 Camels in Star Mythology and in Everyday Rural Life: Ethnographic Observations in South-West Arabia’s Tihāma Lowlands. In Eva-­ Marie Knoll and Pamela Burger, editors, Camels in Asia and North Africa: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on their Past and Present Significance, 141–149. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-­ historische Klasse, Denkschriften, 451. Band 8. Gingrich, Andre 1994 Südwestarabische Sternenkalender: Eine ethnologische Studie zu Struktur, Kontext und regionalem Vergleich des tribalen Agrarkalenders der Munebbih im Jemen. Vienna: WUV Universitätsverlag, Wiener Beiträge zur Ethnologie und Anthropologie, Band 7. Gottheil, R. J. H. 1895 Kitāb al-Maṭar. By Abū Zeid Sa‘ı ̄d ’Aus al-Anṣārı ̄. Journal of the American Oriental Society 16:282–317. al-Hamadhānı ̄, Abū Bakr Aḥmad b. Muḥammad 1885 Kita ̄b al-Buldān Edited by M. J. de Goeje. Leiden: Brill. Hartner, Willy and Paul Kunitzsch 1993 MINṬ AḲAT AL-BURŪ DJ. The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Second Edition. 7:81–87. Henninger, Joseph. 1954 “Über Sternkunde und Sternkult in Nord- und Zentralarabien.” Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 79:82–117. Hesiod 1982 Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica. Hugh G. Evelyn-White, translator. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Hess, Johann Jakob 1938 Von der Beduinen des inneren Arabiens. Zurich: Max Niehans Verlag. Ibn al-’Afālik, Muḥammad b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān (d. 1164/1751) 2000 Sullam al-’uru ̄j ila ̄ ‘ilm al-manāzil wa-al-buru ̄j. al-Aḥsā’: Mu’assasat Mundhir. Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄, Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhı ̄m (d. 650/1251) 2006 Al-Azmina wa-al-anwa ̄’. Edited by ‘ı ̄zza Ḥ asan. Rabāt:̣ Manshūrāt Wizārat al-Awqāf wa-al-Shu’ūn al-Islāmiyya.

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Ibn Kathı ̄r, Abū al-Fidā’ Ismā‘ı ̄l (d. 774/1373) 1399/1979 Mukhtaṣar tafsı ̄r Ibn Kathı ̄r. Three volumes. Beirut: Dār al-Qu’rān al-Karı ̄m, 1399/1979. Ibn Khamı ̄s, ‘Abd Allāh b. Muḥammad 1982 [1402] Al-Adab al-sha’bı ̄ fı ̄ al-Jazı ̄rat al-’Arabiyya. Saudi Arabia. Ibn Manẓūr, Abū al-Faḍl Jamāl al-Dı ̄n Muḥammad 1983 Nithār al-azhār fı̄ al-­layl wa-al-nihār. Beirut: Manshūrāt Dār Maktaba al-Hayāt. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Shams al-Dı ̄n Muḥammad 1957 al-Ṭ ibb al-nabawı ̄. ‘Abd al-Ghānı ̄ ‘Abd al-Khāliq, editor. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr. Ibn Qutayba, Abū Muḥammad ‘Abd Allāh (d. 276/889) 1982 Adab al-kātib. Beirut: Mu’assasat al-Risāla. Ibn Qutayba, Abū Muḥammad ‘Abd Allāh (d. 276/889) 1956 Kitāb al-Anwā’. Hyderabad: Mat ̣ba’at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma’ārif al-’Uthmāniyya. Ibn Sı ̄da, Abū al-Ḥ asan ‘Alı ̄ 1898ff Kitāb al-Mukhaṣs ạ s .̣ Bulāq: al-Matḅ a’a al-Kubrā al-Amı ̄riyya. al-Jallad, Ahmad 2014 An Ancient Arabian Zodiac. The Constellations in the Safaitic Inscriptions, Part I. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 25:214–230. al-Jallad, Ahmad 2016 An Ancient Arabian Zodiac. The Constellations in the Safaitic Inscriptions, Part II. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 27:84–106. Jennings-Bramley, William E. 1906 The Bedouin of the Sinaitic Peninsula. Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement for 1906:23–33, 103–109, 197–205, 250–258. al-Khat ̣ı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄, Abū Bakr ‘Alı ̄ b. Aḥmad (d. 463/1071) 1999 Al-Qawl fı ̄ ‘ilm al-nujūm. Riyad: Dār Aṭlas li-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi‘. al-Khaṭı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄, Abū Bakr ‘Alı ̄ b. Aḥmad (d. 463/1071) 2004 Risāla fı ̄ ‘ilm al-nuju ̄m. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyya. King, David A. 2014 In Synchrony with the Heavens. Two volumes. Leiden: Brill. King, David A. 1999 World-maps for Finding the Direction and Distance to Mecca: Examples of Innovation and Tradition in Islamic Science. Leiden: Brill. Kunitzsch, Paul 1961 Untersuchungen zur Sternnomenklatur der Araber. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Kunitzsch, Paul 2008 Almagest: Its Reception and Transmission in the Islamic World. In Helene Selin, editor, Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. 1:141–142. Dordrecht: Springer. Kunitzsch, Paul 1997 AL-SHI’RĀ . The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, 9:471–773. Kunitzsch, Paul 1995 AL-NUDJŪ M, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, 8:97–105. Kunitzsch, Paul 1994 ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn Ḥ abı ̄b’s Book on the Stars. Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften 9:161–194. Kuwait Oil Workers 2008 Jadwal mawāsim al-sanna bi-manṭiqat al-Khalı ̄j, Mawqi‘ al-‘Ā milı ̄n bi-al-Qiṭā‘ al-Nafṭı ̄. http://www.q8ow.com/vb/ threads/6259/ (Accessed June, 2021)

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Macdonald, M.  C. A. 1992 The Seasons and Transhumance in the Safaitic Inscriptions. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ser. 3, 2(1):1–11. al-Mājid, ‘Abd al-Jabbār Muḥammad 1988/1989 Al-Natı ̄ja al-sanawiyya li-awqāt al-Imārāt al-‘Arabiyya li-sannat 1409 H al-mawāfiq 1988/1989. Dubai: Dawlat al-Imārāt al-’Arabiyya al-Mutaḥḥida. al-Marzūqı ̄, Abū ‘Alı ̄ 1968 Kitāb al-Azmina wa-al-amkina. Two volumes. Doha: Published under authority of Shaykh ‘Alı ̄ b. ‘Abd Allāh al-Thānı ̄. al-Marzūqı ̄, Abū ‘Alı ̄ 1914 Kitāb al-Azmina wa-al-amkina. Two volumes. Hyderabad: Mat ̣ba’at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma’ārif al-‘Uthmānıya. al-Māwardı ̄, Abū Ḥ asan ‘Alı ̄ b. Muḥammad 1981 A‘lām al-nubūwa. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyya. al-Maydānı ̄, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad 1955 Majma‘ al-amthāl. Cairo: Maṭba’at al-­ Sunna al-Muḥamadiyya. Musil, Alois 1928 The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. New York: American Geographical Society. Pâques, Vivianna 1964 L’arbre cosmique dans la pensée populaire et dans la vie quotidienne du nord-ouest africain. Paris: Institut d’Ethnologie. Pellat, Charles 1955 Dictons rimés, anwā’ et mansions lunaires chez les Arabes. Arabica 2:17–41. al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄, Zakarı ̄yā b. Muḥammad (died 682/1293) 1849 Kitāb ‘ajā’ib al-mahlūqāt wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūdāt. Ferdinand Wüstenfeld, editor. Leiden: Brill. Qut ̣rub, Abū ‘Alı ̄ Muḥammad 1985 Kitāb al-Azmina wa-talbiyyat al-jāhilı̄ya. Edited by Ḥ anna Jamı ̄l Ḥ addād. Al-Zarqā’: Maktabat al-Manār. al-Sadūsı ̄, Mu’arrij b. ‘Amr 1983 Kitāb al-Amthāl. Beirut: Dār al-Nahḍa al-’Arabiyya. Said, S. S. and F. R. Stephenson 1995 Precision of Medieval Islamic Measurements of Solar Altitudes and Equinox Times. Journal for the History of Astronomy 26:117–132. Saliba, George 2011 Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance. Cambridge: MIT Press. Schmidl, Petra 2012 Magic and Medicine in a Thirteenth-century Treatise on the Science of the Stars. In Ingrid Hehmeyer and Hanne Schönig, editors. Herbal Medicine in Yemen: Traditional Knowledge and Practice, and Their Value for Today’s World, 43–67. Leiden: Brill. Serjeant, R. B. 1968 Fisher-Folk and Fish-Traps in al-Baḥrain. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 31(3):486–514. Shāmı ̄, Yaḥyā ‘Abd al-Amı ̄r 1980 Al-Nujūm fı̄ al-shi‘r al-‘Arabı̄ al-qadı̄m ḥatā awākhir al-‘aṣr al-Umawı.̄ Beirut: Manshūrāt Dār al-Jadı ̄da. Sowayan, Saad 1985 Najdi Poetry: The Oral Poetry of Arabia. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

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al-Ṣūfı ̄, Abū al-Ḥ usayn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān 1954 Ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thamāniyya wa-al-arba‘ı̄n. Hyderabad: The Dāiratu’l-Ma‘rifi’l-Osmania. al-Suyūt ̣ı ̄, Jalāl al-Dı ̄n ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Abı ̄ Bakr (d. 911/1505) 2006 al-Hay’a al-saniyya fı ̄ al-hay’a al-sunniyya. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya. Thomas, Bertram 1932 Arabia Felix: Across the Empty Quarter of Arabia. London: Jonathan Cape. al-Tı ̄fāshı ̄, Abū al-‘Abbās Aḥmad b. Yūsuf 1980 Suru ̄r al-nafs bi-madārik al-ḥawās al-khams, Iḥsān ‘Abbās, editor. Beirut: al-Mu’assasa al-‘Arabiyya li-al-Dirāsāt wa-al-Nashr. Toomer, G. J. 1977 Essay Review: Ptolemaic Astronomy in Islam. Journal for the History of Astronomy 8:204–210. al-’Ujayrı ̄, Ṣāliḥ b. Muḥammad 1989 Taqwı ̄m al-‘Ujayrı ̄. Kuwait. ‘Uwayḍa, Rāshid b. ‘Uwayḍa Ā l 1988/1989 Taqwı ̄m al-Ẓ afara. Abu Dhabi: Dār Ṣuḥuf al-Waḥda. al-’Uyūnı ̄, ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z b. ‘Abd Allāh 1960 [1380] Taqwı ̄m al-‘Uyu ̄nı ̄. Edited by Shaykh ‘Abd Allāh al-Anṣārı ̄. Doha. Varisco, Daniel Martin 2017a Illuminating the Lunar Mansions (manāzil al-­ qamar) in al-Būnı ̄’s Shams al-ma‘ārif. Arabica 64:487–530. Varisco, Daniel Martin 2000 Islamic Folk Astronomy. In Helaine Selin, editor, The History of Non-Western Astronomy. Astronomy Across Cultures, pp.  615–650. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1995 The Astrological Significance of the Lunar Stations in the 13th Century Rasulid Text of al-Malik al-Ashraf. Quaderni di Studi Arabi 13:19–40. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1994 Medieval Agriculture and Islamic Science: The Almanac of a Yemeni Sultan. Washington: University of Washington Press. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1993 The Agricultural Marker Stars in Yemeni Folklore. Asian Folklore Studies 52/1:119–42. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1991 “The Origin of the Anwā’ in Arab Tradition.” Studia Islamica 74:5–28. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1989a The Anwā’ Stars according to Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj. Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften 5:145–166. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1989b Al-Ḥ isāb al-zirā‘ı ̄ fı ̄ urjūzat Ḥ asan al-‘Affārı ̄: Dirāsat fı̄ al-taqwı̄m al-zirā‘ı ̄ al-Yamanı̄. al-Ma’thūrāt al-Sha‘biyya 16:7–29. al-Zamakhsharı ̄, Abū al-Qāsim Mahmūd b. ‘Umar 1992 Rabı ̄‘ al-abrār wa-nuṣu ̄ṣ al-akhbār. Beirut: Mu’assasat al-A‘lamı ̄ li-al-Maṭbū‘āt. al-Zamakhsharı ̄, Abū al-Qāsim Mahmūd b. ‘Umar 2009 Tafṣir al-kashshāf. Beirut: Dār al-Ma’rifa.

CHAPTER 3

The Almanac Tradition

This book comprises an account of the reckoning and seasons of the year, the number of months and their days, the course of the sun through the zodiacal constellations and stations, the degrees of its risings, the extent of its declination and altitude, the differences in its shadow lengths according to its equatorial location, the transition of times for the succession of increase and decrease in the days, the seasons of cold and heat and what is temperate between them, the timing of each season and number of their days... —Calendar of Cordoba, tenth century CE

Much of the traditional knowledge about the seasons, weather, and star lore has been preserved in texts that today we would call almanacs, documenting the seasonal sequence of events according to a calendar. There is no single Arabic term that defines the genre over the centuries that such texts have been written.1 The early anwā’ texts focused on the star calen1  While there had been speculation that the term derives from the Arabic manākh, this was disputed by George Sarton (1928:492), who notes correctly that the sense of climate is not found in Arabic dictionaries until relatively recently. The usage in Spanish Arabic is probably a loan word from the Latin (Klein 1966:54). A curious and far-fetched etymology is provided by Brady (1815(1):43), who quotes the seventeenth-century scholar Richard Verstegan as saying that the origin of the term is from the Saxon “al-mon-aght” in reference to sticks that

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_3

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dar of the twenty-eight stations, with much of this information incorporated into later almanac texts. Almanac data arranged in a tabular form are commonly labeled taqwı ̄m, as in the Qatari almanac (al-Taqwı ̄m al-Qaṭarı ̄) of Shaykh al-Anṣārı ̄. The terms natı ̄ja, which is now commonly used for a calendar, and rūzna m ̄ a, derived from Persian, are also used. The seasonal or astronomical information itself is often called tawqı ̄‘āt (that which is recorded). Although it is a popular belief, the English term “almanac” does not come from the Arabic al-mana ̄kh, recently used for climate, but from the Greek, as noted earlier. Apart from the anwā’ texts, the earliest extant almanacs in Arabic date from the third/ninth centuries, including the texts of Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawārı ̄ and the Iraqi Christian physician Ibn Māsawayh, the latter focusing on medical aspects and Christian religious festivals.2 One of the most famous almanacs is the tenth-century Calendar of Cordoba, translated into Latin in the thirteenth century.3 Many of the agricultural treatises include an almanac for agricultural activities throughout the seasons. The tenth-century agricultural text al-Fila ̄ḥa al-Nabaṭı ̄ya was one of the most quoted texts in later works, as was the Kita ̄b al-Fila ̄ḥa al-Ru ̄miyya, based on an earlier seventh-century Byzantine text.4 The thirteenth-­ century almanac composed by the Persian scholar al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ in his major cosmological text also traveled widely.5 The major almanacs in Egypt were compiled during the Ayyubid and early Mamluk periods, including texts by al-Makhzūmı ̄ (d. ca. 580/1185), Ibn Mammātı ̄ (d. 606/1209), al-Qalqashandı ̄ (d. 821/1418), and al-Maqrı ̄zı ̄ (d. 845/1442).6 In Islamic were inscribed with the timing of the phases of the moon; he quotes several other non-Arabic sources for the term. The term “almanach” appears as early as the thirteenth century in Latin texts and by 1267 in an English text of Roger Bacon. Most consensus today is that the term is originally derived from the Greek term “almenichiaká,” which is mentioned by the thirdcentury CE bishop Eusebius regarding an Egyptian belief. This suggests that it was originally used in Coptic Egypt and spread first to Latin and then to Arabic. 2  For information on the details in the almanac of Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄, see pp. 57–59. Ibn Māsawayh’s almanac is available in Arabic (Sbath 1932–1933) and French (Troupeau 1968). 3  Dozy and Pellat (1961). 4  For the agricultural calendar of al-Filāḥa al-Nabat ̣iyya, see Fahd (1974); the almanac information in al-Fila ̄ḥa al-Ru ̄miyya has not yet been properly edited. 5  Al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ (1849, 1859). 6  Several of these Coptic calendar almanacs have been edited and translated by Pellat (1979, 1986).

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53

Spain the agricultural treatise of Ibn Baṣsạ ̄l (d. 499/1105) traveled widely, including to Yemen, where the fourteenth-century Yemeni sultan al-Malik al-Afḍal quoted from it for his own agricultural text. Yemen has an especially rich collection of almanacs detailing local agriculture.7 Although hundreds of almanac texts have survived, relatively few have been analyzed or translated.8

3.1   Almanac Lore in the Early Anwa ̄’ Genre In order to properly analyze the information in contemporary Gulf almanacs, it is important to indicate the range of seasonal knowledge stemming back to the anwā’ texts. Compilers of almanacs rarely indicate the source of their information, so it is difficult to know if it is relevant to a specific location or simply copied from an earlier source. Ibn Qutayba’s main contribution, apart from his discussion of star risings and settings and lexical knowledge, is the rhymed sayings, which are oriented toward weather, camels, and dates. These are often quoted in later texts, including the Gulf almanacs. A more detailed presentation of almanac lore is found in the anwa ̄’ texts of Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj (d. 311/923)9 and Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ (d. 283/896),10 near contemporaries of Ibn Qutayba. These details are provided in Tables 3.1 and 3.2. As can be seen in these 1000-year-old traditions, the range of information includes star risings, weather, pastoral activities, agriculture (especially date palms), when to cut wood, stages of the Nile river, appearance of birds and insects, and other aspects of nature. Most of this early lore was copied over and over again in later almanacs and azmina texts, including the recent Gulf almanacs. It is important to remember that the inclusion of this older information, especially for the twenty-eight stations, is not necessarily relevant for the Gulf region, especially since there are important climatic differences from the southern coast of Oman to Kuwait.

 See Varisco (1994) for a discussion of the Yemeni almanacs from the Rasulid era.  See Varisco (1998) for a brief discussion of the genre. 9  These are taken from Varisco (1989a). 10  This is taken from al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(2):280–282). 7 8

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Table 3.1  Almanac lore for the settings of the twenty-eight stations (anwa ̄’), according to Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj #

Station

Setting

Information

1

sharaṭān rising of ghafr (#15)

X:19

2

buṭayn rising of zubānā (#16)

X:31

3

thurayyā rising of iklı̄l (#17)

XI:12

4

dabarān rising of qalb (#18)

XI:24

5

haq‘a rising of shawla (#19)

XII:7

6

han‘a rising of na‘ā’im (#20) dhirā‘ rising of balda (#21)

XII:20

nathra rising of sa‘d al-dhābiḥ (#22)

I:15

date palms are harvested sugar cane is cut truffles grow from its rain people enter their houses in Babel (Iraq) truffles also grow from its rain cold intensifies the leafy rabl plant springs up on the tenth night after the new moon, the moon conjuncts with the Pleiades autumn (kharı‐f) rains in the west heavy rain clouds increase lush rainfall cold intensifies cold winter winds blow sap settles in the roots of plants all leaves fall rain and drizzle (radhādh) increase north wind blows the Bedouin settled near water separate sometimes there is heat in the Tihāma most intense cold greatest extent of sun’s descent water freezes cold intensifies grapevines are planted meadows and gardens are denuded of lush growth and grass during this Sirius and Procyon (al-shi‘rā al-ghumayṣā’) set Cassiopeia (al-kaff al-khadı‐b) rises in the early morning sap rises in tree branches walnut and almond trees send out shoots coldest part of winter at the new moon, called the coldest ‘aqārib (scorpions) of winter moon conjuncts with the Pleiades on the seventh night after the new moon rain is expected, but wind if it does not come

7

8

I:2

(continued)

3  THE ALMANAC TRADITION 

55

Table 3.1  (continued) #

Station

Setting

Information

9

ṭarf rising of sa‘d bula‘ (#23)

I:28

one of the anwā’ with rain the frog croaks sparrows mate the hoopoe (hudhud) lays eggs first pasture south winds blow trees bud Pleiades at mid-heaven in the evening driest part of the year second coal (jamra) falls to earth, followed by the third after one week first pasture springs up cats are aroused birds sing trees gain leaves the swift is hunted excellent rain sheep graze on new pasture (baql) camels sent out to pasture the moon conjuncts with the Pleiades on the fifth night after the new moon planting of lily, narcissus, and other aromatic flowers much winter rain, but with intense cold grapevines gain leaves

10 jabha rising of sa‘d al-su‘ūd (#24)

II:10

11 zubra or kharātān rising of sa‘d al-akhbiya (#25) 12 ṣarfa rising of ‘arquwat al-dalw al-‘ulyā (#26)

II:23

13 ‘awwā’ rising of ‘arquwat al-dalw al-sufla (#27)

III:20

14 simāk rising of baṭn al-ḥūt (#28)

IV:3

15 ghafr rising of sharaṭān (#1)

IV:17

III:7

third coal (jamra) sets almonds, apples, and apricots form ‘aqrab for winds, which will destroy fruit if it is very cold pasture increases lotus fruit (nabq) ripens fava bean (bāqillā’) ripens noxious vermin emerge from ground abundant rain first harvest of barley (sha‘ı̄r) almonds (lawz) are ready fruits (thimār) form barley is harvested parched green wheat (farı‐k) is eaten spring rain (continued)

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Table 3.1  (continued) #

Station

16 zubānā rising of buṭayn (#2)

17 iklı̄l rising of thurayyā (#3)

18 qalb rising of dabarān (#4)

19 shawla rising of haq‘a (#5)

20 na‘ā’im rising of han‘a (#6)

21 balda rising of dhirā‘ (#7)

22 sa‘d al-dhābih rising of nathra (#8) 23 sa‘d bula‘ rising of ṭarf (#9) 24 sa‘d al-su‘ūd rising of jabha (#10)

Setting

Information

IV:30

pasture dries up barley harvest ends start of wheat harvest last rain of spring and first of summer V:13 winds stir heat intensifies apples and melons are ready pasture dries up Nile rises near end of it figs are plentiful V:26 first of the barāriḥ winds hot wind at night heat increases during day samā’im winds blow grapes ripen VI:9 fruits and melons ripen heat intensifies barāriḥ and samā’im winds continue to blow rain is called ḥamı̄m VI:23 sun at highest point in sky and nearest the pole start of heat’s intensity unripe (busr) dates and figs are ready rain is called ḥamı̄m water settles into the ground VII:6 greatest intensity of hot bawāriḥ and simoom winds pomegranates ready unripe dates redden sugar cane (al-qaṣab al-Nabat ̣ı ̄) is cut VII:19 greatest intensity of hot bawāriḥ and simoom winds pests which harm fruit (thimār) appear VIII:1 bawāriḥ and simoom winds ripe dates (ruṭab) are eaten grapes are picked VIII:14 Canopus seen in the Hejaz samā’im winds break off fresh dates increase dew falls breaking of the heat start of rains and grazing (continued)

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Table 3.1  (continued) #

Station

25 sa‘d al-akhbiya rising of zubra (#11) 26 fargh muqaddam rising of ṣarfa (#12)

27 fargh mu’akhkhar rising of ‘awwā (#13) 28 baṭn al-ḥūt rising of simāk (#14)

Setting

Information

VIII:27 Canopus seen in Iraq night cools, but hot winds (ḥarūr) at night and simoom winds during the day IX:10 known for rain and winds night cools and less heat during the day winds are variable the leaves of rabl spring up with the start of the cold first stirring of the north wind IX:23 night and day are equal during it Arcturus rises kharı̄f rain falls X:6 wood is cut first harvest of dates walı̄ rain falls after the wasmı̄ rain evening rising of Canopus

Table 3.2  Almanac lore for the twenty-eight stations (anwa ̄’), according to Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ #

Station setting

Information

1

sharaṭān rising of ghafr (#15)

2

buṭayn rising of zubānā (#16)

3

thurayyā rising of iklı̄l (#17)

4

dabarān rising of qalb (#18) haq‘a rising of shawla (#19) han‘a at XII:20 rising of na‘ā’im (#20)

first planting of wheat Persian cane is harvested date palms are cut first beneficial rain people enter their houses the leaves of rabl, which sprout up at the end of summer (qayẓ), fall night becomes cold there are rain clouds kites (ḥidā’), swifts (khaṭāṭı̄f), and vultures (rakhm) migrate to lower areas cold winter winds blow

5 6

all the leaves fall rain and drizzle (radhādh) increase pastoralists branch out with their herds (continued)

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Table 3.2  (continued) #

Station setting

Information

7

dhirā‘ rising of balda (#21) nathra rising of sa‘d al-dhābiḥ (#22) ṭarf rising of sa‘d bula‘ (#23)

gardens are bare grapevines are planted rain is expected, but wind if it does not come

8 9

10 jabha rising of sa‘d al-su‘ūd (#24)

11 zubra or kharātān rising of sa‘d al-akhbiya (#25) 12 ṣarfa rising of ‘arquwat al-dalw al-‘ulyā (#26) 13 ‘awwā’ rising of fargh al-dalw al-mu’akhkhar (#27)

14 simāk rising of baṭn al-ḥūt (#28) 15 ghafr rising of sharaṭān (#1) 16 zubānā rising of buṭayn (#2)

17 iklı̄l rising of thurayyā (#3)

18 qalb rising of dabarān (#4) 19 shawla rising of haq‘a (#5) 20 na‘ā’im at VI:22 rising of han‘a (#6)

the frog croaks sparrows mate the hoopoe (hudhud) lays eggs the land has pasture south winds blow first of the pasture trees gain leaves the swift comes excellent rain much winter rain grapevines gain leaves fear of pests (āfāt) at this time almonds and apples form start of spring (rabı̄‘) green pasture is cut fava bean (bāqillā’) ripens early fruits ripen in Iraq noxious vermin emerge from ground first harvest of barley (sha‘ı̄r) in Iraq parched green wheat (farı̄k) is eaten there are more clouds barley harvest ends start of wheat and legume harvest fruits are abundant in Iraq and Syria major wheat harvest apples are ready pasture dries up Nile rises near end of it samā’im winds blow grapes ripen fruits and melons ripen unripe (busr) dates and figs are ready water settles into the ground (continued)

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Table 3.2  (continued) #

Station setting

21 balda rising of dhirā‘ (#7) 22 sa‘d al-dhābih rising of nathra (#8) 23 sa‘d bula‘ rising of ṭarf (#9) 24 sa‘d al-su‘ūd rising of jabha (#10) 25 sa‘d al-akhbiya rising of zubra (#11) 26 fargh muqaddam rising of ṣarfa (#12)

27 fargh mu’akhkhar rising of ‘awwā (#13) 28 baṭn al-ḥūt rising of simāk (#14)

Information Sirius rises unripe dates redden sugar cane (al-qaṣab al-Nabatı̣ ̄) is harvested grapes are cut in Iraq both balaḥ and ripe dates are eaten in the Hejaz all fruits are ready in Iraq and Syria fruits increase milk increases in udders for feeding babies the Nile floods for the people of Egypt fresh dates increase dew falls Canopus rises in Iraq night and water cool rule of summer (qayẓ) night cools winds are variable first stirring of the north wind roots (of trees) are cut date palms are cut medicinal drinks are drunk honey is bought in all low areas harvest of dates pomegranates and quince are gathered end of the lowering of water levels east wind blows wood is cut east wind is calm

3.2   Gulf Almanacs The earliest Gulf almanac known so far is a calendar (rūznāma) of ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Aḥmad al-Zahāwı ̄, who died around 1793; he completed the work of Shaykh Khalı ̄fa b. Muḥammad b. Khalı ̄fa.11 It was calculated for Zabāra, a thriving port at the time on the inner coast of Qatar. After a four-page introduction explaining what the almanac contains, there is a series of nine charts of prayer times according to the zodiacal month, starting with Cancer (sarat ̣ān). This starts with correlation to the Coptic months and solar months, but not to the Islamic hijrı ̄ calendar. The first  This is preserved in the Qatar National Library in Doha.

11

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day of Cancer is said to equal 17 Ba’una in the Coptic reckoning and 11 Ḥ azı ̄ra ̄n (June) in the standard solar calendar. This is correct for the Julian reckoning, although in actual fact the start of Cancer in the year 1790 CE would have been eleven days later at VI:22. Information on the first three zodiacal months (Aries, Taurus, Gemini) follows two charts relating the hijrı ̄ calendar to the zodiacal months for the years 1250/1834–1835 through 1277/1860–1861. If the almanac was originally compiled for sometime around 1790, this suggests that several pages are missing. The fact that the first three zodiacal months are out of place indicates that the pages of the text have been reassembled. There is no colophon, nor does the existing manuscript cover all the material mentioned in the introduction. Linking to the Coptic almanac suggests that the author may have had access to Egyptian sources, although there does not appear to be any specific data on Egyptian agriculture or the stages of the Nile. The almanac notes that the start of Aries is equivalent to 13 Baramhāt, the same as in Coptic almanacs for the Julian reckoning; the Julian date is 9 A ̄ dha ̄r (March). Many of the marginal notes about activities and events for each station are cut off due to destruction of the edges of the manuscript. Apart from correlating the start of the station to the months, the information in the margins is for each station, similar to the later Gulf almanacs. This differs from Coptic almanacs, which are usually arranged by day of the month. There is some overlap of agricultural information with the later almanac of al-‘Uyūnı ̄, but it does not appear that this almanac was known to either al-‘Uyūni or the more recent Gulf almanac compilers. The most famous Gulf almanac in the last half of the twentieth century was the Qatari almanac, published by Shaykh ‘Abdallāh Ibrāhı ̄m al-Anṣārı ̄ from 1377/1957–58 until his death in 1989. Among the antecedents consulted by al-Anṣārı ̄ was the earlier almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z b. ‘Abdallāh al-‘Uyūnı ̄ from al-Hasa in eastern Saudi Arabia.12 The Taqwı ̄m al-‘Uyu ̄nı ̄ was published under the patronage of the Qatari ruler Shaykh Aḥmad b. ‘Alı ̄ Ā l Thānı ̄ in 1380/1960, although it was compiled for the year 1324/1906. Shaykh al-Anṣārı ̄ edited the small volume and added to it. Shaykh al-Anṣārı ̄, the editor, provides a one-page foreword in which he praises al-‘Uyūnı ̄ for the quality of this work, although he leaves out some of the information (such as the correlation to the Coptic calendar). Added to the volume edited by al-Anṣārı ̄ are several sections with more details. 12  It is not surprising that a Qatari author should rely on an almanac from Najd, since there was a caravan route for trade between Qatar and Hasa (see Cheesman 1926:40).

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This foreword is followed by photographs and short biographical details on the ruler of Qatar in 1960, Shaykh ‘Alı ̄ b. ‘Abdallāh, as well as two other major members of the Ā l Thāni family: Shaykh Aḥmad b. ‘Alı ̄ and Shaykh Khalı ̄fa b. Ḥ amad. A short introduction by al-‘Uyūnı ̄ is provided in which he explains that several individuals had asked him to write down his knowledge of the zodiac and almanac lore.13 The introduction by al-‘Uyūnı ̄ explains that he is computing the information for the latitude (‘arḍ) of Bahrain and the nearby areas of al-Hasa, Qatif, and Oman. This is followed by several charts that are actually computed by al-Anṣārı ̄. The first identifies the date for each zodiacal month correlated to the hijrı ̄ dates 1380–1405, stretching over two pages. This is followed by a chart of the sun’s declination (mayl) for each day of the zodiacal month. The almanac tables cover twelve pages, one page for each zodiacal month. The information provided for each zodiacal month and rising star (t ̣a ̄li‘) is provided to the side of the chart. The chart itself, from right to left, contains the following columns: days of the zodiacal month, days of the Canopus (suhayl) calendar, days of the solar calendar, rising star at dawn (t ̣āli‘ fajr), and shadow lengths for each day at dawn, noon, and mid-afternoon prayers. For this edition the correlation is as follows: day one of the zodiacal month of Aries (ḥamal) = 217 days after rising of Canopus = March or A ̄ dha ̄r 22 = rising of sa‘d al-akhbiya. No attempt is made to relate these dates to the Islamic lunar calendar; the primary arrangement is based on the locally recognized zodiacal months. Following the almanac charts are a number of pages with further information on a variety of topics. First is a listing of eleven wise sayings and proverbs, not unlike the anecdotal additions in the seminal Poor Richard’s Almanack of Benjamin Franklin.14 After this is a chart of the most famous rising stars of summer, then two short mnemonic poems on the zodiac and twenty-eight stations, as well as a poem on the days of the zodiacal months by Shaykh Ibrāhı ̄m al-Anṣārı ̄, the father of the editor. A second set of information for each zodiacal month is provided, but it is unattributed and appears to have been compiled by the editor. The final chart lists the stars used for navigation in the Gulf mariner’s calendar. Since the text has

13  It appears that al-‘Uyūnı ̄ is taking information from a treatise by an individual named al-Ḥ atṭ ạ ̄b, but no details are provided. 14  This popular American almanac was published between 1732 and 1758.

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been heavily edited by al-Anṣārı ̄, it is not always clear what information actually comes from al-‘Uyūnı ̄’s original text. For eastern Saudi Arabia there are several online sources of almanac lore, arranged either by the twenty-eight stations or the locally recognized seasons. The almanac information for eastern Saudi Arabia, especially the eastern parts of Najd and the Gulf coast, differs from the western areas of the kingdom. The almanac calendars from the ‘Aṣı ̄r region, for example, have close links to northern Yemen.15 The earliest information we have on star calendars and seasons from Najd is in Nabat ̣ı ̄ poetry.16 One of the most important Najd almanacs is the Taqwı ̄m Ibn ‘Amı ̄ra, stemming from Rāshid b. ‘Amı ̄ra al-Maṭrafı ̄ al-Dhuwaybı ̄, an original compiler in the eleventh/nineteenth century.17 This almanac has been continued in recent years by Ṣāliḥ ‘Ayḍa b. ‘Amı ̄ra al-Dhuwaybı ̄. The current almanac is also available as an app. This is organized by a set of fifteen asterisms, repeated twice over the course of the year. Most of the information is about the weather, with some limited details on agriculture. In Taif, there is the Taqwı ̄m al-Thaqafı ̄, which is arranged by the four main seasons and a local variant of the twenty-eight asterisms system, mostly but not all from the formal model of the stations.18 The copy I examined was only linked to the lunar calendar, with a limited amount of information on the weather and agriculture for each season. One of the most substantive Saudi almanacs is the Taqwı ̄m al-awqāt li-arḍ al-Mamlaka al-‘Arabiyya al-Sa‘ūdiyya, published by the government in 1362/1943. This consists of 352 pages, divided into three main sections. The first provides a general introduction to methods of dating in the pre-Islamic era, the Islamic lunar calendar, and the solar calendar, as well as details on the seasons, twenty-eight stations, various stars, and winds. This is followed by charts noting the zodiacal coordinates for the lunar calendar from 1362 to 1410 AH and details on the properties of each zodiacal month. The final section presents almanac details for each zodiacal month by region: the Hejaz, Najd, and ‘Ası ̄r. Of particular

15  An almanac for Fayfā (al-Madarı ̄ 2015) combines the stations with the Pleiades calendar found among the Munebbih tribe in northern Yemen (Gingrich 1994). 16  See pp. 378–396 for discussion and translation of this poetry. 17  Al-Dhuwaybı ̄ (1435 AH). 18  al-Thaqafı ̄ (1439/1440). This is currently written by ‘Abı ̄dān b. ‘At ̣iyya al-Thaqafı ̄, but previously by other members of the family.

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relevance is a section on agricultural activities for these regions; this is copied verbatim from the earlier almanac of al-‘Uyūnı ̄.19 The almanac most widely distributed in the Gulf from the 1960s is that of the Qatari Shaykh ‘Abd Allāh al-Anṣārı ̄. Al-Anṣārı ̄ was trained in the Islamic sciences in Saudi Arabia and returned to Qatar, where he founded the first religious institute in Qatar in 1374/1954. As a youth he had experience as a pearl diver and took a keen interest in astronomy and seasonal knowledge. His major work on time-keeping, basically the conversion of hijrı ̄ dates to solar between 1350/1931 and 1450/2029, was Ma‘rifat al-ṣawa ̄b fı ̄ mawāqı ̄t al-ḥisa ̄b (Proper Knowledge on Time Reckoning), published in 1987. He continued the Qatari almanac started by his father Ibrāhı ̄m al-Anṣārı ̄ from 1377/1957–1958 until his death in 1989. The content of the almanac varied from year to year, but it usually included an introduction with a religious message and religious aphorisms. Correlations are provided between the lunar hijrı ̄ calendar, which is the basic calendar of the text, days of the week, Gregorian months, zodiacal months, each rising star (t ̣āli‘) of the anwā’, and the number of days elapsed since the mid-summer rising of Canopus. Prayer times are also provided for each day of the lunar calendar. The year is divided into six seasons: wasmı ̄, shitā’, rabı ̄‘, s a ̣ yf, ḥamı ̄m, and kharı ̄f. This is an ancient rendering mentioned by Quṭrub around 200/815.20 The stars of the navigation calendar used in the Gulf are listed, as well as distances between Doha and other places. A far more glitzy Qatar almanac was published by the Katara Cultural ̄ al-Kuwārı ̄ in English and Arabic. The Village Foundation in 2016 by ‘Isā English version is to be avoided for its faulty transliteration. This is in the form of a flip chart organized primarily by the twenty-eight stations described only as stars (nujūm) connected to the solar constellations. The information is confused and misleading from the start, as the author notes thirteen zodiacal constellations (abra ̄j), when he is actually referring to so-called months (shahr, sg.) comprising combinations of the twenty-­ eight stations. This is a different use of the notion of a zodiacal month than that in al-Anṣārı ̄ and the other Gulf almanacs, where they simply add days as relevant to the twelve zodiacal constellations as months. Al-Kuwārı ̄’s  For the translation of this agricultural information, see pp. 281–283.  Qut ̣rub (1985:98); see also Kunitsch (1994:189) for Ibn Ḥ abı ̄b’s claim that this sequence was known earlier to Mālik b. Anas. This early model has been widely recorded over time, for example by the eleventh-century scholar Ibn Raḥı ̄q. 26a. 19 20

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designation of the season of winter (shita ̄’) is identified locally as mirba‘a ̄niyya (i.e., forty days) and said to begin on XII:7 under Scorpio for a total of thirty-nine days, comprising the stations of iklı ̄l, qalb, and shawla. There is no mention in this almanac of the traditional Canopus calendar. For each of the twenty-eight stations there is a page with an image of the location of the station within the zodiacal constellation, as well as a brief description of the star, average temperature, and some general information on weather, agriculture, and pastoral activities. The author includes the standard kind of personal astrological advice for each of the zodiacal months. Regarding the station iklı ̄l (XII:7–19), it is said that this is the season for camel mating and eating watercress, pepper, citrus fruits, and both green and dry onions. The average temperature is listed as 19.5  ° C. As a “water constellation” in the humoral system, Scorpio is for “passionate people with strong emotions and romantic. Positive aspects: emotional and helpful. Negative aspects: sensitive, hasty and defenseless.”21 Some of the information is targeting a local audience, such as suggesting for balda (I:28-II:9) that this is a “perfect and beautiful period to travel by road to GCC states, and also for walking, sports and camping.” Another major almanac tradition is found in Kuwait. The most famous almanac is the Taqwı ̄m al-‘Ujayrı ̄, which has been published in Kuwait since 1952, and became the official government time table.22 The Kuwaiti astronomer Ṣālı ̄h al-‘Ujayrı ̄ was born January 23, 1920. He grew up at a time when there was little modern technology in Kuwait and he made frequent trips to Bedouin camps, especially among the al-Rashāyda. He studied both the Qur‘an and local astronomy under his father, a mulla. After World War II he traveled widely in Arab and Western countries, gaining a wider knowledge of astronomy, including studying astronomy at King Fu’ād University in Cairo in 1946. In 1944 he published his first simple almanac in Baghdad, followed by a larger one the following year. Al-‘Ujayrı ̄’s knowledge of astronomy is evident in his almanacs, since he incorporates contemporary information as well as the traditional star and seasonal lore. Although sequenced by the Gregorian reckoning, this  Al-Kuwārı ̄ (2016:11).  Details on the history of this almanac can be found at the following website: http:// www.astronomyland.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%83%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8% B1%D9%8A/ 21 22

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almanac is linked to the Islamic calendar, with the start of the hijrı ̄ year 1410 on VIII:2. It mentions the dates in 1989 for the ascension of Muḥammad to the heavens (III:5) and Muḥammad’s birthday (X:12). The almanac refers to the conjunction of the planet Uranus with the sun at XII:27 in 1989. His almanac also notes the perigee (ḥaḍı ̄ḍ) and apogee (awj) of the moon, as well as eclipses, even if not seen in Kuwait.23 Most of the entries in his 1989 almanac relate to the weather and tidal times, with a few notes on planting times for various crops in Kuwait. He also includes a number of official holidays, including the National Days for Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, as well as international days for Human Rights (XII:10), the Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (XI:29), and the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration (XI:2). Before al-‘Ujayri there was an earlier almanac from 1933 by two boat captains, Muḥammad b. ‘Absı ̄ b. ‘Uṣfūr (d. 1986) and Ḥ usayn b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-‘As‘ūsı ̄ (1908–1962).24 Both captains were from al-Mahra and were trained by the British. Their almanac was forty-one pages in length. The almanac was compiled for the hijrı ̄ year 1350, linked to the solar month of May in 1931 with correlation details provided for sixty years forward. The chart format for each day is similar to other Gulf almanacs, with details on the zodiacal month, navigational nawrūz al-Hindı ̄,25 number of days since the rising of suhayl, rising station, and prayer times. For each station there is information on what it is called, its relation to other stations, and the saj‘ saying, which is probably taken from Ibn Qutayba. Also copied in this almanac is part of the almanac poem by Ibn Shahwān.26 The Kuwaiti scholar Sālim Bashı ̄r provides a detailed analysis of the local star lore in Kuwait with almanac details, although it is not presented

23  In Qatar, people in the past would at times be afraid of a solar eclipse (khusu ̄f) or eclipse of the moon (kusūf). One of the local folk beliefs about the lunar eclipse was that a giant fish (ḥu ̄t) had eaten the moon. While the men prayed, the women and children would sing and bang on available kitchen pans and so on to drive the fish away and release the moon (al-Mālikı ̄ (2010:59). A similar anecdote is told in Oman among the Mahri that the moon is eaten by wolves (Rubin 2018:447). 24  See ‘Uṣfūr and al-‘As‘ūsı ̄ (1352/1933). This is described by al-Kandari (2015), from which I take the information presented here on their almanac. 25  For details on this calendar, see p. 378. 26  For the almanac poem of Ibn Shahwān, see pp. 388–395.

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as a formal almanac with details for each day of the year.27 His text is important because it relates the traditional tradition of seasonal lore to contemporary astronomical knowledge. A similar effort combining traditional almanac knowledge with contemporary images of stars is made by Muhannā Rāshid al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄ for Qatar.28 There are several almanacs for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For example, the Taqwı ̄m al-Ẓ afara of Rāshid b. ‘Uwayḍa Ā l ‘Uwayḍa covers a wide area that stretches from the UAE into Saudi Arabia.29 It includes details on time-telling and local calendrical systems, including the twenty-­ eight stations called here manāzil al-shams, with images of each station.30 The almanac chart contains information on the zodiacal month, day of the week, hijrı ̄ date, Gregorian date, Canopus calendar, rising lunar station (ṭāli‘), and shadow lengths for dawn (fajr), sunrise (shuru ̄q), noon (ẓuhr), and mid-afternoon (‘aṣr). To the far left on the page there are details on events and activities for each station. This almanac also provides advice on agriculture for various crops and a description of the various districts within al-Ẓ afara. It is clear that ‘Uwayḍa is basing much of his information on the anwa ̄’ text of Ibn Qutayba. For example, in his discussion of the station ṣarfa, the description is copied directly from that of Ibn Qutayba.31 However, in copying the information on the term na ̄b al-dahr, ‘Uwayḍa miscopies the text. Ibn Qutayba states al-s a ̣ rfa na ̄b al-dahr li-annaha ̄ taftarra ‘an faṣl al-zama ̄nı ̄n (s ạ rfa is the “dog tooth of time” because it “shows the teeth” of the turning of the seasons), but ‘Uwayḍa writes wa-tusammı ̄ na ̄b al-­ dahr ma‘a annahā taqtara ‘an qaṣad al-zama ̄n), which appears to be printing error.32 There are other examples where it is clear ‘Uwayḍa substituted an alternative word or simply miscopied. Some of his information appears to be for the wrong star. His reference to the hiding of gazelles  Bashı ̄r (2005).  Al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄ (2008). 29  See al-‘Uwayḍa (1988–1989). The first day of Aries (ḥamal) was on a Monday, 3 Sha‘bān, 21 March, day 217 since the disappearance of Canopus and day 211 since its rising, and the first day of the station sa‘d al-akhbiya. 30  The Gulf almanacs use the term mana ̄zil al-shams, that is, stations of the sun, in reference to their linkage throughout the year to their rising vis-à-vis the sun. Thus they are the same asterisms as the earlier designation of anwa’. 31  See ‘Uwayḍa (1988–1989:47) and Ibn Qutayba (1956:59). 32  It appears that the error is replacing taftarra with tarqtara/taqtarra, but the latter makes no sense here. 27 28

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after being hunted is for the rising of the Pleiades, but Ibn Qutayba relates this to the mid-summer rising of Sirius, due to the intense heat.33 For Dubai there is the natı ̄ja of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Jabbār Muḥammad al-Mājid, which is organized primarily according to the hijrı ̄ calendar.34 The 1409/1988–1989 edition starts with a quote from surah al-Usrā’ on time reckoning by night and day and a tradition of Muḥammad that one should know the stars for guidance during the darkness on land and sea. The chart includes information on the day of the hijrı ̄ month, the day of the week, the Gregorian date, the Canopus calendar, the zodiacal month, the station, and the prayer times. Following the charts for the Islamic months there are brief details on events, including some of the saj‘ sayings, for the stations. Similar to the Qatari almanac of al-Anṣārı ̄, six seasons are recognized: wasmı ̄, shitā’, rabı ̄‘, s a ̣ yf, ḥamı ̄m, and kharı ̄f. Distances between locations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are listed at the end of the almanac. In Bahrain there was al-Taqwı ̄m al-Baḥraynı ̄ of al-Sayyid ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Hāshimı ̄, published in al-Ḥ ūra from 1380/1960–1961.35 This same almanac for 1413/1992–1993 was eighty-four pages in length in a small 12 × 16.5 cm format. As in the case of the Qatari almanac, it was ̄ b. Salmān Ā l published under the name of the emir at the time, ‘Isā Khalı ̄fa. It is arranged according to the Islamic lunar calendar, starting with Wednesday, 1 Muḥarram 1413/1 July 1992, equivalent to day 319  in the Canopus calendar. The arrangement is similar to the Qatari almanac with the prayer times noted for each day and brief remarks on the zodiac and stations for each month. A second set of charts for the lunar year provides the timing for noon. Al-Hāshimı ̄ quotes a poetic line from the earlier almanac of al-‘Uyūnı ̄, indicating he was familiar with the earlier tradition. This almanac notes six different traditional seasons: shita ̄’, mara ̄bi‘ı ̄n al-shita ̄’, al-ḥusūm al-tha ̄nı ̄, the setting of the Pleiades, marābi‘ı ̄n al-qayẓ, or al-jawzā’ al-thāniyya, wasmı ̄. Information is also provided on Islamic holidays, leap years, and distances between locations in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

 Ibn Qutayba (1956:43).  Al-Mājid (1988–1989). The first day of 1409 AH began on Saturday, August 13, day 363 in the Canopus calendar, the 21st of Leo (asad), and the first day of the station nathra. 35  Serjeant (1968:512) refers to a copy he saw from 1962/1963. For a translation of details from the 1413/1992–1993 almanac, see pp. 333–341. 33 34

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While references to well-known observable stars are common in traditional Arabic poetry, it is rare to find descriptions of star calendars in verse. There are many excerpts from pre-Islamic and early Islamic poets that mention specific stars and weather periods. These are often found in anwā’ texts like that of Ibn Qutayba and later azmina texts, such as the eleventh-­ century al-Marzūqı ̄’s al-Azmina wa-al-amkina. Several of the Gulf almanacs quote poetry from these earlier sources. A major example is the verse of Dhū al-Rumma, mentioned by al-Anṣārı ̄ and others for the station Aldebaran: Aldebaran progresses in the track of the Pleiades, it is not in advance, nor is it overtaking (yadibbu ‘alā athārhā dabara ̄nha ̄, fa-lā huwa masbu ̄q wa-la ̄ huwa la ̄ḥiq).

In his almanacs al-Anṣārı ̄ provides short poems for the recognition and memorization of specific star sequences, especially the zodiacal constellations (buru ̄j) and stations (anwā’ and mana ̄zil al-shams), but rarely do these provide details of local observations about the seasons. There is a popular tradition of poetry in the region known as Nabat ̣ı ̄, centered on the region of Najd. As Saad Sowayan notes in his introduction to the genre, this term should not be confused with the earlier ethnic name Nabataen; early Arab philologists applied it to “any speech that did not strictly conform to the rules of classical Arabic.”36 Much of this genre reflects the tribal context of the poets, including their knowledge of the seasons as pastoralists and, at times, farmers. Stars commonly mentioned included those important for direction, such as the Pole Star (jadı ̄),37 or for the start of a weather season.38 Unlike the formal tradition of classical Arabic poetry, there are few early examples preserved of this genre, although some poems have been recited over generations. One of the most famous early Nabaṭı ̄ poets is Rāshid al-Khalāwı ̄, who has frequent references to stars and seasons in his poetry. It is not clear when this Najdı ̄ poet lived, but it could have been as early as  Sowayan (1985:1).  The tribal poet Si‘dūn al-‘Wāji said, “Ride your mount and follow the tracks in the wilderness; travel north, keeping the pole Star before your eyes” (Sowayan 1985:55). 38  The poet Rāshid al-Khalāwı ̄ said: “When the Pleiades appears above as the shining light; all the green pasture is destroyed by the heat and perishes” (Ibn Khamı ̄s (1985:128, my translation). 36 37

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the eleventh or early twelfth century AH/seventeenth or eighteenth CE.39 This makes him one of the earliest known examples of local poetic star lore in the Gulf region. Another notable Saudi Nabat ̣ı ̄ poet is Muḥammad b. ‘Abd Allāh al-Qāḍı ̄.40 He was born in ‘Anı ̄za in 1224/1809 and died in the same place in 1285/1868. Al-Qāḍı ̄ was trained in fiqh and memorization of the Qur’ān, but also took an avid interest in literature and history. All of his four sons were known as poets. A more recent Najdı ̄ poet is Shaykh Muḥammad Ibn Shahwān (d. 1392/1972), who wrote a major poem on the seasons. An earlier poetic tradition in the Gulf is the work of the late fifteenth-century CE navigator Ibn Mājid, with detailed descriptions of the stars important for sailing in the Gulf and Indian Ocean network. Recently a number of Gulf region poets have published poems on almanac lore and stars online.41

Bibliography Electronic Documents al-Dhuwaybı ̄, Rāshid b. ‘Amı ̄ra al-Maṭrafı ̄ 1435/2013–2014 Taqwı ̄m Ibn ‘Amı ̄ra al-zirā‘ı ̄ wa-al-manākhı ̄ li-‘a ̄m 1435 H. https://www.facebook. com/287020794648357/photos/pcb.78753256126384 2/787531744597257/?type=3&theater (Accessed June, 2016) al-Kandarı ̄, Yaḥyā 2015 Taqwı ̄m falakı ̄ Kuwaytı ̄ nādir. Madawanat Yaḥya ̄ al-Kandarı ̄. Kuwait. http://yahyahistory.blogspot.co.at/2015/03/blog-­ post.html (Accessed June, 2021) al-Madarı ̄, ‘Alı ̄ Jibrān 2015 al-Taqwı ̄m al-zirā‘ı ̄ fı ̄ Fayfā. Fayfaonline, 8/20/15. http://www.faifaonline.net/portal/2015/08/20/207666.html (Accessed June, 2016)

Published Texts al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄, Muhannā Rāshid 2008 Dalı ̄l al-nujūm fi samā’ Qatạ r wa-al-Khalı ̄j. Doha: Tawzı ̄‘ Maktabat al-Thaqāfa. Bashı ̄r, Sālim b. 2005 Kita ̄b al-Anwa ̄’ wa-manāzil al-qamar. Kuwait.  For information on al-Khalāwı ̄, see pp. 378–380.  His major poem on the anwā’ and seasons is edited and translated on pp. 381–388. 41  See, for example, the qas ı̣ ̄da poem on the seasons by Ṣaqr al-Salwa: https://twitter. com/sagr2121/status/761565714536947713 39 40

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Brady, John 1815 Clavis Calendaria: or, a Compendious Analysis of the Calendar. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. Third Edition. Cheesman, Robert Ernest 1926 In Unknown Arabia. London: Macmillan and Co.mpany. Dozy, Reinhart and Charles Pellat 1961 Le calendrier de Cordoue. Leiden: Brill. Fahd, Toufic 1974 Le calendrier des travaux agricoles d’après al-Filāḥa al-Nabaṭiyya. Orientalia Hispanica 1:245–272. Gingrich, Andre 1994 Südwestarabische Sternenkalender: Eine ethnologische Studie zu Struktur, Kontext und regionalem Vergleich des tribalen Agrarkalenders der Munebbih im Jemen. Vienna: WUV Universitätsverlag, Wiener Beiträge zur Ethnologie und Anthropologie, Band 7. Ibn Khamı ̄s, ‘Abd Allāh b. Muḥammad 1985 [1405] Ra ̄shid al-Khala ̄wı ̄: ḥaya ̄tuh, shi‘ruh, ḥikmuh, falsafatuh, nawa ̄diruh, hisābuh al-falakı ̄. Third edition. Saudi Arabia, privately published. Ibn Qutayba, Abū Muḥammad ‘Abd Allāh (d. 276/889) 1956 Kitāb al-Anwā’. Hyderabad: Maṭba‘at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmāniyya. Klein, Ernest 1966 A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Kunitzsch, Paul 1994 ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn Ḥ abı ̄b’s Book on the Stars. Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften 9:161–194. ̄ Sa‘ad Rabı ̄‘a 2016 Solar Calendars of the Constellations in the State al-Kuwārı ̄, ‘Isā of Qatar/al-Ta’rı ̄kh al-shamsı ̄ li-abra ̄j al-shamsiyya fı ̄ dawlat Qatạ r. Doha: Katara. [English and Arabic] al-Mājid, ‘Abd al-Jabbār Muḥammad 1988/1989 Al-Natı ̄ja al-sanawiyya li-awqa ̄t al-Imārāt al-‘Arabiyya li-sannat 1409 H al-mawāfiq 1988/1989. Dubai: Dawlat al-Imārāt al-‘Arabiyya al-Mutaḥḥida. al-Mālikı ̄, Khalı ̄fa al-Sayyid Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ 2010 Al-Mu‘taqadāt al-sha‘bı ̄ya li-­ ahl Qaṭar. Doha: Mat ̣ābi‘ Rinūdā al-Ḥ adı ̄tha. al-Marzūqı ̄, Abū ‘Alı ̄ 1914 Kita ̄b al-Azmina wa-al-amkina. Two volumes. Hyderabad: Mat ̣ba‘at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmānıya. Pellat, Charles 1986 Cinq calendriers égyptiens. Textes Arabes et Études Islamiques, 26. Cairo: Institut Française d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire. Pellat, Charles 1979 Le “calendrier agricole” de Qalqashandı ̄. Annales Islamologiques 15:165–185. al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄, Zakarı ̄yā b. Muḥammad (died 682/1293) 1849 Kita ̄b ‘aja ̄’ib al-mahlūqa ̄t wa-gharā’ib al-mawjūda ̄t. Ferdinand Wüstenfeld, editor. Leiden: Brill. al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄, Zakarı ̄yā b. Muḥammad (died 682/1293) 1859 Calendarium Syriacum. G. Volck, editor and translator. Lipsae: E. Bredt. Qut ̣rub, Abū ‘Alı ̄ Muḥammad 1985 Kitāb al-Azmina wa-talbiyyat al-ja ̄hilı ̄ya. Edited by Ḥ anna Jamı ̄l Ḥ addād. Al-Zarqā’: Maktabat al-Manār. Rubin, Aaron D. 2018 Omani Mehri: A New Grammar with Texts. Leiden: Brill.

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Sarton, George 1928 Answer No. 10. – Tacuinum, taqwı ̄m. With a digression on the word almanac. Isis 10:490–492. Sbath, Paul 1932–1933 Le Livré des temps d’Ibn Massawaïh, médecin chrétien célébre décéd_é en 857. Bulletin de l’Institut d’Égypte 15:235–257. Serjeant, R. B. 1968 Fisher-Folk and Fish-Traps in al-Baḥrain. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 31(3):486–514. Sowayan, Saad 1985 Najdi Poetry: The Oral Poetry of Arabia. Los Angeles: University of California Press. Thaqafı ̄, ‘Abı ̄dān b. ‘Aṭiyya 1439/1440 al-Taqwı ̄m al-Thaqafı ̄. Al-Ṭ ā’if: Al-Ḥ umaydı ̄ li-Tijāra wa-al-Zirā‘a. Troupeau, G. 1968 Le livre des temps de Jean Ibn Māsawayh, traduit et annoté. Arabica 15:113–142. ‘Usfūr, Muḥammad b. ‘Absı ̄ b. and Ḥ usayn b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-‘As‘ūsı ̄. 1352/1933 al-Natı ̄ja al-Kuwaytiyya. al-Basṛ a: al-Matḅ a‘a al-Watạ niyya. ‘Uwayḍa, Rāshid b. ‘Uwayḍa Ā l 1988/1989 Taqwı ̄m al-Ẓ afara. Abu Dhabi: Dār Ṣuḥuf al-Waḥda. ̄ 2. Agricultural almanacs. The Encyclopaedia Varisco, Daniel Martin 1998 TAKWIM. of Islam (second edition), 9:146–148. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1994 Medieval Agriculture and Islamic Science: The Almanac of a Yemeni Sultan. Washington: University of Washington Press. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1989a The Anwā’ Stars according to Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj. Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften 5:145–166.

CHAPTER 4

Calendar Systems of the Gulf Almanacs

Each of the nations scattered over the different parts of the world has a special era, which they count from the times of their kings or prophets, or dynasties, or of some of those events which we have just mentioned. And thence they derive the dates, which they want in social intercourse, in chronology, and in every institute (i.e. festivals) which is exclusively peculiar to them. —al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄, tenth century CE

Most earlier almanacs in Arabic are arranged according to the solar calendar, which would have been the Julian reckoning throughout most of the Islamic era.1 Almanacs of the Arabian Peninsula, Levant, and Iraq cite the Syriac month names, sometimes referred to as Ru ̄mı ̄ (Byzantine) months, starting with Tishrı ̄n al-Awwal (October). In North Africa and Spain the Roman month names, starting with January, were simply Arabized, as in the well-known Calendar of Cordoba. The Coptic calendar, consisting of twelve months of thirty days followed by an interstitial period of five days, was standard in Egypt. The Islamic hijrı ̄ calendar was lunar, some eleven days shorter than a solar year.

1

 For information on calendars used in the Islamic era, see Varisco (2021).

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_4

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4.1   Islamic Hijrı ̄ Calendar The Gulf almanacs are primarily organized according to the Islamic lunar calendar (hijrı ̄) of twelve months. These months are: (1) al-Muḥarram, ̄ ̄, (2) Ṣafar, (3) Rabı ̄‘ al-Awwal, (4) Rabı ̄‘ al-Thānı ̄, (5) Juma ̄da al-Ula ̄ (6) Jumāda al-Akhira, (7) Rajab, (8) Sha‘ban, (9) Ramaḍa ̄n, (10) Shawwal, (11) Dhū al-Qa‘da, and (12) Dhū al-Ḥ ijja. The Islamic month names have antecedents in the earlier Arabic calendars of the Arabian Peninsula.2 For example, the month name Ramaḍa ̄n is derived from the hot summer rain of ramḍa ̄’, when the pre-Islamic calendar used an intercalation. Because the synodic lunar month reckoning is about eleven days shorter than the sidereal month derived from the annual solar cycle, the lunar calendar is not practical for planning seasonal activities unless it is correlated to the solar calendar or a star calendar. Thus, new calculations must be made for every new lunar year to correlate it with the solar calendar and seasons. Before the rise of the internet, it was necessary to either apply a formula for converting dates from the lunar calendar or consult a published text.3 One of the most important texts in a European language was Ferdinand Wüstenfeld’s Vergleichungs-Tabellen der Muhammedanischen und Christlichen Zeitrechnung, first published in 1854. This was revised and updated by Eduard Mahler in 1874 and later by Joachim Mayr and Bertold Spuler in 1961. Wüstenfeld starts the Islamic calendar in the month of Muḥarram on Friday, June 16, 622. By the time of the 1961 revision the calendars had been expanded to the Byzantine, Seleucid, Coptic, and Persian calendars, along with the formulas for conversion from one to another. In 1963 a far simpler listing of the relation of the hijrı ̄ calendar to the “Christian” months was provided by G. S. P. Freeman-Greenville; this has been republished as late as 1996.

2  There are many discussions of the origin of these month names, but one of the most useful is by Abū Zakarı ̄yā Yahyā al-Farā’ (1980:41–59), who died in 207/822. See also al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (1879:70–71). 3  There are several online conversion pages; for a list of these, see https://webspace.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/islam/islam_tabcal_others.htm. One of the more useful is at https://www.linktoislam.net/islamic-calendar/hijri-date-converter/

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4.2   Christian or Solar Shamsı ̄ Calendar

The solar (shamsı ̄) calendar used in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula was derived from the Syriac Christian reckoning, usually referred to as “Byzantine” (Rūmı ̄) months, although Arabic use of the Western terms is now common in official documents. It is doubtful that use of the solar months was common among the general population more than a century ago on the peninsula. In 1883 Eduard Glaser relates that the tribesmen of northern Yemen did not use the solar months but relied on local star calendars.4 There were twelve solar months (Table 4.1), which were based on the Julian reckoning until recently. As al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ in the eleventh century admits, “These months have become widely known, so that even the Muslims adopted them, and fixed thereby the dates of practical life.”5 This explains their value in relating almanac lore regarding the seasons to the hijrı ̄ calendar. Although more accurate than the lunar calendar, the Julian calendar gained a day about every 134 years.

Table 4.1  Solar month names used in the Gulf #

Month name

Equivalent

# days

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Tishrı̄n al-Awwal Tishrı̄n al-Thānı ̄ Kānūn al-Awwal Kānūn al-Thānı ̄ Shubāṭ ̄ r Adhā Nı̄sān Ayyār Ḥazır̄ ān Tammūz Ab̄ Aylūl

October November December January February March April May June July August September

31 30 31 31 28 31 30 31 30 31 31 30

4  Glaser (1885:92), who mentions that only the scholars used this system in their calendars (jadaw ̄ il). 5  Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (1879:70).

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4.3   Zodiacal Calendar Although the zodiacal system consists of twelve equal divisions of the ecliptic from 360°, this is close enough to the number of days in a year to create a zodiacal calendar by adding five days in the overall sequence (Table 4.2). Thus, the almanacs of al-‘Uyūnı ̄ and al-Anṣārı ̄ provide a chart detailing the links between these enhanced zodiacal months, the lunar calendar, and the local Canopus calendar. This reckoning of zodiacal months appears to be a relatively recent scholarly creation, since it is not recorded in earlier texts like those of Ibn Qutayba or the Mamluk-era almanacs.6 It is doubtful that such a distinction of zodiacal months has Table 4.2  Zodiacal month calendar, according to al-Anṣārı ̄ for 1408/1987–1988 #

Month name

1

sunbula Virgo mı ̄zān Libra ‘aqrab Scorpio qaws Sagittarius jadı ̄ Capricorn dalw Aquarius ḥut̄ Pisces ḥamal Aries thawr Taurus jawzā’ Gemini saraṭan̄ Cancer asad Leo

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

# days

Lunar date start

Canopus calendar

31

30 Dhū al-Ḥijja

30

1 Ṣafar

39

30

2 Rabı ̄‘ al-Awwal

69

29

2 Rabı ̄‘ al-Thānı̄

99

29

2 Jumādā al-Ūlā

128

30

1 Jumādā al-Thāniyya

157

31

2 Rajab

187

31

3 Sha‘bān

218

31

5 Ramaḍan̄

249

32

7 Shawwāl

280

31

9 Dhū al-Qa‘ida

312

31

11 Dhū al-Ḥijja

343

8

 Recognizing the need for a perpetual almanac, in the fourteenth century the Rasulid Yemeni sultan al-Malik al-Afḍal created a unique almanac according to the degree of the zodiacal arc rather than the specific day of the month (Varisco and Smith 1998:97–114). 6

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local roots among Bedouin or sea-faring groups, who were more likely to focus on the moon and specific stars rather than the astronomical rendering of the zodiac. Transforming the formal astronomical zodiac creates a problem that the almanac compilers do not address. Al-Uyūnı ̄ defines the start of the zodiacal month of ḥamal (Aries) as equivalent to the spring equinox on III:22, but the first station associated with the constellation Arietis is sharaṭayn (β γ Arietis), which is not listed as rising until V:13. The date given for the equinox is accurate in the Gregorian reckoning, but no explanation is given for the timing of sharat ̣ayn, which Ibn Qutayba in the ninth century listed at IV:16.7

4.4   Suhayl (Canopus) Calendar The most unique star calendar in the Arab Gulf is an annual cycle based on the days after the mid-summer rising of the southern star Canopus. This Canopus (suhayl in Arabic) reckoning is widely used, especially for activities at sea. It is usually referred to as duru ̄r (darr, singular) in Oman and the UAE.8 This system divides the year, in theory, into thirty-six ten-­ day units. The timing of the heliacal rising differs according to the latitude, but the Gulf calendars more or less agree that the start of the calendar is on August 17 or 18 with an immediate temporary disappearance (firāq) of Canopus.9 Both the Qatari almanac of al-Anṣārı ̄ and the Emirati almanac of ‘Uwayḍa note that the visible rising is not until a full week after the star’s disappearance from the sky. The almanac treatment of the Canopus calendar is a scholarly exercise designed to unify the different local variations. Individuals did not keep a running tab of the number of days since the disappearance of Canopus. Conversations with Qatari informants indicate that the reckoning was from the actual visible rising of Canopus, and not its disappearance. This would be at VIII:27 according to al-Anṣārı ̄ or VIII:24 according to another source on Najd.10 Umm Sheikha notes that the start of this calendar in Abu Dhabi is at VIII:20, but that there are  The Gregorian equivalent would be about IV:4 in the ninth century.  For a discussion of this system in the UAE, see Umm Sheikha (2008). 9  See pp.  41–42 for a discussion of the rising times of Canopus. In the Gulf of Aden, according to Grosset-Grange (1972:47), the start of this navigational calendar at the rising of Canopus was said to be VIII:10. It is important to note that it is not always clear if the rising is on a flat horizon or is affected by the local point of view. 10  See the translation of the account on the site of the Kuwait Oil Workers on pp. 369–372. 7 8

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differences between the individual emirates.11 The number of days after the dawn rising was used as an approximate system, but the basic unit was a measurement of ten days or several ten-day periods. It was a local pragmatic guide alongside other reckoning systems, especially locally recognized stars, rather than a year-long calendar. The Gulf almanacs, however, correlate the start of each anwa ̄’ station to the days after the start of the Canopus calendar (Table 4.3). Table 4.3  Correlation of Suhayl calendar with the stations #

Station

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

sharaṭan̄ buṭayn thurayyā dabarān haq‘a han‘a dhirā‘ nathra ṭarf jabha zubra ṣarfa ‘awwā’ simāk ghafr zubānā iklı ̄l qalb shawla na‘ā’im balda sa‘d al-dhābih sa‘d bula‘ sa‘d al-su‘ūd sa‘d al-akhbiya fargh muqaddam fargh mu’akhkhar baṭn al-ḥut̄ /rishā’

 Umm Sheikha (2008).

11

al-‘Uyūnı ̄ 1324/1906

al-Anṣar̄ ı ̄ 1986

‘Uwayḍa 1988/89

al-Mājid 1988/1989

269 282 295 308 322 334 347 360 8 21 35 48 61 74 88 100 113 126 139 152 165 178 191 204 217 230 243 257

269 282 295 308 321 334 347 360 8 21 34 47 60 73 86 99 112 125 139 152 165 178 191 204 217 230 243 256

270 283 296 309 322 335 348 361 9 20 35 48 61 74 87 100 113 126 139 152 165 178 191 204 217 230 243 256

271 284 297 310 323 337 350 363 10 23 36 49 62 75 88 101 114 127 141 154 167 180 193 206 219 232 245 258

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Reference to the days from the rising of suhayl related primarily to the autumn and winter, not for the entire year. Thus, according to some informants, the first forty days after the rising were called arba‘ı ̄na and linked up with the season locally known as s ̣firı ̄ (ṣafariyya), followed by another forty-day period known as wasmı ̄. The linking of this season to forty days after the rising of suhayl goes back to the ninth-century azmina text of Quṭrub. Each unit, whether ten days or forty days, was useful for noting weather changes, when certain kinds of fish arrived, when various types of plants were available, and similar seasonal information. Another important period, starting around day 150 of the Canopus calendar, was mirbi‘āniya/mirba‘āniya, another forty-day period of winter’s cold. The Canopus calendar is unique to the Gulf, at least in recent years. It is similar in design to the navigational nayru ̄z calendar documented from as early as the thirteenth century, but no doubt in use before then.12 The Arabic term nayru ̄z is derived from the Persian for the first day of the year in the Persian calendar, which in the Achaemenid era fell on the vernal equinox.13 Because the Persian calendar did not contain a leap year, it suffered from a time lag, even in relation to the Julian reckoning, of about one day every four years. By the first year of the Muslim hijrı ̄ calendar the Persian nayrūz was at VI:18 in the Julian reckoning. The caliph al-Mu‘taḍaḍ bi-Allāh Abū al-‘Abbās Aḥmad established an official nayru ̄z calendar in 282/895 Baghdad for collecting the kharāj tax, placing the start at VI:11. In 471/1079 the Seljuk sultan Jalāl al-Dawla Mālik Shāh reverted the start to the vernal equinox. The thirteenth-century Yemeni almanac of al-Malik al-Ashraf ‘Umar placed the start of the navigational Persian nayrūz calendar at I:8, which would have been accurate for the years 1269–1272 in the Julian reckoning; the same text also mentions the start of the Indian nayru ̄z two days later. By 1337 the start of the nayru ̄z calendar began at XII:20, according to a later Yemeni text.14 By 1488, as noted in the work of Ibn Mājid, the starting date was X:14 in the Julian reckoning.15 Given the fact that the Persian calendar lost a day every four years, use of the nayrūz calendar for 12  Based on the Persian nayrūz the earlier navigational calendar lost four days per year, but it provided a system of reckoning the number of days, as opposed to star periods or seasons, from the nayrūz (Varisco 1994:73–74). 13  For details on the use of the Persian nayru ̄z calendar in the Islamic era, see Abdollahy (1990). In the Abbasid period this was also celebrated as an annual festival. 14  See Varisco (1994:73–74) for details on this navigational calendar. 15  Khūrı ̄ (1990(1):196).

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navigation was useful only for a specific time frame and had to be adjusted over time to accommodate the monsoon seasons. Knowledgeable navigators in the past would have known the seasons from experience without the need to check a written source. In the Canopus calendar of the Gulf there are alternative uses of the stations with local seasons. For Najd,  one source describes a system of fourteen seasons. The rising of suhayl at VIII:24 defines the start of the calendar for fifty-two days as the heat lessens and humidity increases. This is followed by the onset of the autumn rains in wasm, a period also said to last fifty-two days. In early December a forty-day period, locally known as mirba‘āniyya, with intense cold and plentiful rain occurs. The rest of the seasons have thirteen, twenty-six, or thirty-nine days, an obvious correlation with the formal model of twenty-eight stations. A similar model of thirteen seasonal months is presented for Qatar by al-Kuwārı ̄. This must be distinguished from the Canopus calendar used by al-Anṣārı ̄ and the other almanac compilers and the local usage that divides up the calendar into ten-day periods.

4.5   Pleiades Conjunction Calendar One of the oldest seasonal calendars relates to the conjunction (qirān) of the Pleiades with the moon during each lunar month. This differs from the reference to the Pleiades as a station, rising and setting at known times during the year. The basis for this system of reckoning is the fact that the new moon and the Pleiades are in conjunction once a year in April or May. In relation to the lunar calendar, the Pleiades conjuncts with the new moon in each lunar month, culminating in the spring just before its disappearance from view in the sky. In each previous month this conjunction is said to take place two days before in the lunar calendar. The reason for this reckoning is that the sidereal month is about twenty-seven and one third days, which is on average about two days shorter than the synodic month based on the moon’s phases. Ibn Qutayba quotes a poetic verse about this system: “When the moon is in conjunction with the Pleiades on the fifth [night], then winter departs” (idha ̄ ma ̄ qa ̄ran al-qamar al-thurayyā li-kha ̄mis fa-qad dhahab ̄ ̄r (March). al-shitā’).16 Ibn Barı ̄ claimed that this occurred on 5 Adha 16  Ibn Qutayba (1956:86; al-Khatị b al-Baghdādı ̄ 2004:28). Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj places conjunction #5 under jabha (II:10–22). In Palestine Dalman (1928(I/1):23) notes that conjunction #5 occurs in Nı ̄sa ̄n.

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However, in Lisān al-‘Arab (‘-d-d) the poet Abū al-Haytham Lu’saydı ̄ b. al-Ḥ ulāḥil is quoted as saying, “When the moon is in conjunction with the Pleiades on the third [night], then winter departs” (‘idhā mā qa ̄ran al-­ qamar al-thurayyā li-thālatha, fa-qad dhahaba al-shitā’), this being the start of spring (rabı ̄‘) and end of winter (shita ̄’). This reckoning tradition continued in Yemen, where it is recorded in the early eighteenth-century almanac poem of Ḥ asan b. Jābir al-‘Affārı ̄.17 In Yemen these Pleiades conjunction dates start with the evening rising of the Pleiades in October, when the moon and Pleiades would be in conjunction on either the nineteenth or seventeenth day of the lunar month. Thus it serves as a partial calendar for seasonal activities and not for the entire annual cycle. This conjunction calendar is known in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf and even as far away as Afghanistan. The Saudi Aḥmad b. Muḥābb al-Ẓ afı ̄rı ̄ provides a detailed commentary on the Pleiades conjunction calendar.18 Noting that Arab Bedouin on the Arabian Peninsula since before the Islamic era depended on stars to mark their seasons, the Pleiades (thurayya ̄) is said to be the most famous marker. The Bedouin, he argues, were not aware of the solar calendar used by scholars. It was readily observable to Bedouin that each month the moon was in conjunction with thurayya ̄ along its orbit, so counting the number of days between this conjunction and the new moon served as an approximate calendar. This conjunction is called qira ̄n ḥashū, literally referring to the use of a rope (qirān) to bind the female camel to its young (ḥashū). This serves as an apt metaphor for the conjunction of stars and planets. Al-Ẓ afı ̄rı ̄ starts the sequence with the conjunction on the eleventh day between the new moon and the Pleiades, known locally as qirān ḥa ̄dı ̄. This was said to be the start of the cold in the first ten days of December, and known as mirba‘a ̄niyya al-shitā’. He quotes a saying: the eleventh conjunction is cold for the Bedouin (qira ̄n al-ḥa ̄dı ̄ bard ba ̄dı ̄).19 Then in Kānu ̄n al-Thānı ̄ or January there is the conjunction on the ninth day (#9) with the phrase qirān tāsi‘ bard lāsi‘, in reference to the biting cold at the

17  This poem is edited and analyzed in Varisco (1989b) and translated in Varisco (1997:#XI). For more details on the use of the Pleiades conjunction calendar in Yemen, see al-Ansı ̄ (1998:81–87) and Gingrich (1994:214–215). The same system is found in Palestine (Dalman 1928(I/1):23) and Afghanistan (Bausani 1974). 18  Al-Ẓ afı ̄rı ̄ (2010). 19  This saying is recorded in al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (1979(3):964).

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time.20 During conjunction #7, some animals go hungry and some are satisfied (qira ̄n sābi‘ majı ̄‘ wa-shābı ̄‘) in reference to the start of the earliest ̄ pasture.21 In conjunction #5, during March or Adhār, spring is on its way (qirān khāmis, rabı ̄‘ ṭāmis) due to the increase in pasture.22 Then in conjunction #3 comes spring with the departing of pasture (qirān tha ̄lith, rabı ̄‘ dhālif ), the local term dhālif meaning inṣira ̄f (going away or departure) during the first part of April or Nı ̄sān.23 This sentiment, as al-Ẓ afı ̄rı ̄ notes, was present in the early anwā’ literature. The final conjunction is when the new moon and the Pleiades conjunct in May or Ayyār and is known as one (ḥadı ̄), not to be confused with the earlier reference to ḥa ̄dı ̄ in reference to ḥa ̄dı ̄ ‘ashr. At this time the animals return to water sources (qira ̄n ḥa ̄dı ̄ ‘ala ̄ al-ma ̄’ tura ̄dı ̄) due to the coming of the heat and drying up of pasture.24 Another Saudi writer, Abū Ghānim al-‘Amrānı ̄, notes that there were differences between the Bedouin in the south and the north due to when they were able to see the Pleiades.25 He begins the calendar with conjunction #19, the season called ṣafarı ̄ or kharı ̄f, which is known as wasm in reference to the first rain of the year after the heat of summer. This rain results in the appearance of truffles and pasture, with less variety of truffles and pasture in conjunctions #17 and #15. By conjunction #13 there is no vegetation as winter has set in. Conjunction #9 occurs during the month of Shubat̄ ̣ (February). The final conjunction is called māsh, which means nothing certain.26 This is said to be because the Pleiades disappears beneath the rays of the sun for fifty-two days.

20  This saying is recorded in al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (1979(3):964). Rāshid al-Khalāwı ̄ also refers to this conjunction. 21  This saying is recorded in al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (1979(3):965). 22  Al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (1979(3):965) reads gha ̄mis rather than t ̣a ̄mis, explaining that ghāmis refers to plenty and abundance. 23  This saying is recorded in al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (1979(3):965). 24  Al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (1979(3):965) reads al-qalı ̄b (well) rather than al-mā’, explaining that it is the start of qayẓ and domestic animals do not abstain from going to the well for water. 25  See the translation of al-‘Amrānı ̄ (2012) on pp. 373–375. 26  In Yemen this last conjunction is called layla wa-lā shı ̄’ (the night when there is nothing), as noted by Glaser (1885:91) around V:18 in the late nineteenth century.

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4.6   Omani Falaj System Schedules A unique star calendar has evolved in Oman in order to determine timed shares in the irrigation from the falaj systems. There are several variations recorded in the fieldwork of J. C. Wilkinson and Harriet Nash.27 Wilkinson lists the names for a system of twenty-four asterisms he recorded in Qārūt, but with limited analysis (Table 4.4).28 The choice of twenty-four stars in the cycle reflects the need to determine hours for shares during the night over the course of the year. He found that none of the farmers he talked to knew astronomy and most simply passed on what they had learned from their fathers and grandfathers. A more thorough analysis of this kind of star calendar has been made by Nash for several communities in northern Oman, including identification of local star names. By 2008 it was reported by Nash that only eight of the estimated 3000 falaj systems had individuals who still used the stars for timing and that this art would soon be lost.29 The increase in light at night due to urbanization also makes it more difficult to observe stars in some locations. In her research in Ḥ alam of Ḥ ajar al-Sharqı ̄, Nash found a similar system of twenty-four asterisms used for timing falaj water allocation Table 4.4  Falaj star calendar from Central Oman (Qārūt), according to Wilkinson 1. al-sha‘ara 2. al-janab 3. al-dhir‘ayn 4. al-buṭayn 5. al-waqurt 6. al-mithāb 7. al-dhakarayn 8. al-ghufar 9. zabān 10. ghaḍı ̄r 11. kuwi al-awwal 12. kuwi al-thānı ̄

13. al-munṣaf 14. al-mūfi 15. al-ghurūb 16. al-ladam 17. al-ṣar̄ a 18. al-sa‘d 19. al-kawkabayn 20. al-fatḥ 21. al-najm 22. bū qābil 23. al-shābik 24. al-ẓalmi

27  Wilkinson (1974:47, 1977:110). For the work of Harriet Nash, see Nash (2011a, b, 2007); Nash and Agius (2009); and al-Ghafrı ̄, Abdullah, Harriet Nash, and Mohammed alSarmi (2013). 28  Wilkinson (1974:47), who does not identify the scientific names for the stars. 29  Nash and Agius (2011:166).

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Table 4.5  Falaj star calendar for Ḥ alam, Oman, according to Nash 1. ath Thurayyā Pleiades 2. ad Dabrān Aldebaran 3. ash Shābik λ + φ1 + φ2 Orionis 4. ad Dalmı̄ γ+ ξ Geminorum 5. ash Sha‘rah β + α Canis Minor 6. al Janb ζ Hydrae + others 7. adh Dira‘ayn α + η Leonis 8. blank 9. Ma‘atah al awwal δ + θ Leonis 10. Ma‘atah al-mu’akhar β + 93 Leonis 11. an Nijm ε Virginis Bū Zubayrah η Boötis 12. Bū Khārif ε Boötis

13. al Khalū α + β Cr Borealis 14. Shqāq al-āwwal β Herculis 15. Shqāq al mu’akhar α (+ δ) Herculis 16. an Nāsif around π Hercules 17. at Tayr β, α + γ Aquili 18. la Ghurāb α, β, δ + λ 2 Delphini 19. al Ad̄ am ε Pegasi 20. as Sārah α Pegasi 21. ar Rākadah α Pegasi 22. as Sa‘d around 36 Andromedae 23. al Kawkabayn β + γ Arietes shuhūd Kawkabayn α Arietes 24. al Fat-h γ + β Trianguli

I list the Arabic names and the identification as recorded by Nash in Nash, Al Musharafi, and Al Harthi (2014:68). I was not able to see the terms in Arabic, but there are several transliteration errors in the listing. A similar listing of twenty-four stars is provided in the article for the Omanı̄ location of ‘Abāt

(Table 4.5). As is evident, the local star names differ considerably, with a different starting date indicated. Only a few of the star names are similar to the formal system of twenty-eight stations, although the sequence of actual asterisms appears to be about the same. It is the setting of the star, not the rising, which is observed here. The main observation point is next to the main mosque. In actual usage each of the sightings is between a quarter hour and two and a half hours, since the asterisms do not rise or set at equal intervals. As Nash notes, a star calendar from the village of Qarya in northern Oman is based on observations of twenty-one asterisms throughout the

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Table 4.6  Falaj star calendar in Qarya, Oman, according to Nash Star (after Nash) kuwı ̄ mūfı ̄ ghurāb adam ṣar̄ a al-awliyya ṣar̄ a al-akhı ̄ra sa‘d kawkabayn thurayyā dabarān shubka jawzā’ sha‘arā janb dharā‘ buṭayn sufā‘ mawāthı ̄b dhakarayn ghafr ‘aqrab

# stars

Starting date

# days

Time to next star (minutes)

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 9 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 1 7 2 1 2

12/21 1/14 1/30 2/15 3/3 3/19 4/4 4/20 5/16 6/1 6/17 7/3 7/19 8/4 8/20 9/5 9/21 10/6 10/22 11/15 12/1

24 16 16 16 16 16 16 24 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 24 16 24

115 40 75 45 65 40 90 90 60 70 50 75 60 (80) 70 (60) 55 40 80 60 70 +/− 2 90 70

year (Table 4.6).30 The starting date is its heliacal rising, the last star to be seen rising at dawn rather than its setting at sunset. The times recorded for the time between risings is approximate, but Nash was able to determine that at least some of this information was in fact reliable. The system is more complicated than a simple observation of the rising of stars, since the purpose is to define a water share, which can vary from a few minutes to several hours, within a defined share period (athar). There are also “divider” (munṣa ̄f ) stars that divide the time between star risings. While some of the stars equate with the stations along the zodiacal belt, others (such as Sirius and Vega) do not. Thus, the system used at Qarya is unique to its location, even if shared over a region. The fact that most of the oral knowledge about these current star calendars has been lost obscures what was no doubt more diversity in the past. It is not clear how this knowledge will survive when the current local experts are gone.  Nash (2011b:40).

30

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Although the lists of stars generally include twenty-one or twenty-four separate asterisms, this does not mean each one is actually observed. In her fieldwork in the village of Al Fath, Nash found that only a few  asterisms were used as indicator stars (maqiya ̄s): dhakarayn (Arcturus), kuwı ̄ (Vega), ‘ayyāq al-thurayyā (Capella), and sha‘arā (Sirius). “The method of star use does not involve looking at the horizon,” explains Nash, “the main stars are not watched directly, but other stars are used as indicators of the time of rise and divisions between the main stars.”31 Each of these stars is bright and readily observable, although a star like Sirius would not be observable year-round. In Al Fath there are marks on the local mosque to direct observation of the indicator stars. When stars were not visible, wrist watches were used. Before watches were available in Oman water clocks would have been used in some locations, as is common in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

4.7   Omani Coastal Fishing Schedules Fishing along the Omani coast, both the southern and eastern parts, was influenced by a range of variables. Seasonal variation in fish species and knowledge of where to find groups of fish were of major importance, but so was the impact of the winds, especially those associated with the monsoons. The Sultanate of Oman released a volume in 2015 with contemporary details on the weather for fisheries. As noted in this volume there were important differences depending on which part of the coast was discussed. The focus of the book is on the major monsoon seasons, with the term ḍarba used to denote a major period of strong winds. Included in the documentation is a set of asterisms or periods associated with major winds throughout the year (Table  4.7).32 This list of eleven asterisms includes some of the stations, such as the Pleiades and Shawla, but also Canopus and Sirius. It also discusses reckoning according to the Canopus calendar, as well as to the stars Vega and Achernar (sahla). Along Oman’s southern coast, between Salāla (old Dhofar) and Rās al-Ḥ add, the primary use of star calendars would have been for fishing and local sailing seasons. Much of the information on star use has been lost, making it difficult to reconstruct local variations. An example of the fragmentary nature of current memories of past star reckonings is recorded for  Nash (2011b:66).  Oman (2015:34, 82–84). The text is not always clear on where the heritage information is taken from. 31 32

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Table 4.7  Major winds affecting fisheries in Oman #

Rising or setting of the asterisms

Dates

Comments

1 2

shawla ṭı ̄r Sirius shillı ̄ Sirius or Capella thurayyā Pleiades nayrūz new year suhayl Canopus ḥuwaṭim kı ̄dhab Muphrid lhaymir Arcturus or Antares

start of I middle of I

rises at 140 Canopus calendar

start of VI

wind: na‘shı ̄ or maṭla‘ı ̄

middle of VI

rises at 230 Canopus calendar

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 kuwı ̄ Vega 11 ‘aqrab

end of VII ca. VIII:22 ca. IX:20 ca. X:20 end of X, start of XI after XII:8

wind: kaws wind: na‘shı ̄ or maṭla‘ı ̄ or Fārisı ̄ rises at 40 Canopus calendar wind: na‘shı ̄ with rain for four–seven days rises at 50 Canopus calendar rises at 90 Canopus calendar

middle of XII

the island of Maṣı ̄ra on the southeastern coast (Table 4.8). This is a reflection of a 55-year-old woman, at a time when stars were no longer as important for determining local seasons. This list is what she remembered and not necessarily a seasonal sequence in chronological order or directed at fishing seasons. However, it suggests that some star names were local and had limited distribution, while others (such as kuwı ̄, usually for Vega) were common in Oman and elsewhere. As Nash indicates in her research, it is very difficult to identify the exact stars since many informants have long since ceased using stars as seasonal markers.33 In recent years almanac compilers have attempted to standardize local star lore as though it were a systematic accounting for the entire solar year. An example of this tendency for Dhofar was presented by Alian, linking each of the four seasons with twenty-eight stars, mostly from the stations, but also including Canopus (Table  4.9).34 The calendar starts with the 33  See Nash, Agius, Al-Mahrooqi, and Al-Yahyai (2016:189–191) for Nash’s tentative identification of local star names in southern coastal Oman. 34  This calendar is recorded in Nash, Agius, Al-Mahrooqi, and Al-Yahyai (2016:182).

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Table 4.8  Stars mentioned by Thamna Khamis Halal from Maṣı ̄ra Local star name

Number, description, time, impact

Comments

luqmān

wind (kaws)

sha‘rā

five spread out wind and then rain four or five wind from India for one month several together wind (azı ̄b or kaws) from the sea a group, described as babies wind from the sea (azı ̄b) three like a bird stars of summer, possibly June wind from the sea (azı ̄b) many stars strong wind (azı ̄b and kaws) ruba‘—June, July, and August strong wind (kaws) from the direction of India for 24 hours Seven September a less strong wind (kaws) for one month like a bunch of grapes very strong wind to the south strong wind (shillı ̄) sign of the north used for navigation, for example to Africa bright, also known as zuhara sign of dawn time to milk the animals

Luqmān is a pre-Islamic wise man mentioned in the Qu’ran; he is sometimes identified with Orion perhaps in reference to either Sirius or Procyon among other stars given the root meaning of “red,” it could refer to several stars, as noted by Nash

ḥamr

‘aqrab kuwı ̄ ṭayr

ḥassan suhayl

suwābi‘

thurayyā aklı ̄ ya’

ḥalāba

generally used for the stars in Scorpio azı ̄b refers to the south or southwest wind known as azyab usually Vega, but not clear here Altair, often with two other stars of _Aquilae

Canopus usually seen as rising in late August

this refers to the evening rising of Ursa Major (banāt na‘sh), which are important markers in Yemen Pleiades probably for the station iklı ̄l shillı ̄ winds are said to be during Arcturus north pole star jāh, part of the compass rose the term is derived from ḥalı ̄b, the Arabic term for milk zuhara is said by Nash to possibly be related to Venus

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Table 4.9  Star list for coastal Dhofar, according to Alian #

Local star Dates

1

na‘yim

VI:27–VII:9

2 3 4 5 6

balda suhayl bala‘ dhābiḥ khabā’

7 8

manāṣif dalw

VII:10–22 VI:23–VIII:4 VIII:5–17 VII:18–30 VIII:31– IX:12 IX:13–25 IX:26–X:8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

ḥut̄ naṭḥ buṭayn thurayyā burkān ḥaqqa hana

X:9–21 X:22–XI:3 XI:4–16 XI:17–29 XI:30–XII:12 XII:12–26 XII:27–I:8

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

dhirā‘ nathra ṭaraf jubha zubra ṣarfa ‘awı ̄

I:9–21 I:22–II:3 II:4–16 II:17–III:5 III:6–14 III:15–27 III:28–IV:9

23 24 25 26 27 28

simāk ghafar zabbān kalı ̄l qalb shul

IV:10–22 IV:23–V:5 V:6–18 V:19–31 VI:1–13 VI:14–26

Comments start of kharı ̄f (southwest monsoon season) during this season: waves high and harbors closed

start of ṣarb (harvest season) during this season: sardine net fishing

start of shitā’ (winter season) during this season: sardine net fishing

start of qayẓ (hot season) during this season: no fishing due to heat and paucity of fish

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arrival of the monsoon at the end of June, when high waves make fishing difficult. By the end of November sardines can be netted, as well as at the start of January. During the hot season of qayẓ, defined here at the end of March, it is too hot to fish and there are few available. However, there are a number of inconsistencies in this account, especially placing qayẓ so early. In another calendar from the northern coastal town of Tiwi stars were combined with the Canopus calendar.35 National borders do not necessarily define boundaries of use, especially on Oman’s southern coast, where some local knowledge of the seasons and stars is shared with Mahra and Hadramawt in Yemen.36

4.8   Shadow Lengths During the daytime when the sun is shining, a common method of telling time is the observation of shadow lengths; this is generally by use of a gnomon or a standing man. Known as ‘ilm al-mı ̄qa ̄t (the science of time-­ keeping), there is a long history describing the measurement of shadow lengths in Islamic sources, because of their importance for prayer times.37 The shadow length schemes are approximate arithmetic measures and these are rarely discussed by formal astronomers. Of primary importance was the timing of the noon (ẓuhr) prayer, when the shadow would be observed to start an increase, with mid-afternoon (‘as ̣r) being defined by an increase of the length of the shadow cast by a given gnomon. The Gulf almanacs still provide the shadow lengths for the major prayers, despite the fact that most people today rely on watches and cell phones to tell time. Regarding the shadow lengths recorded in al-Anṣārı ̄’s Qatari almanac, King concludes that these figures are “for all practical purposes, quite useless.”38 Another use of shadow lengths is documented for timing irrigation shares during the day in Omani falaj systems.39 Nash observed a sundial in the village of Qarya that consisted of a pole with lines marked on the  Nash, Agius, Al-Mahrooqi, and Al-Yahyai (2016:187).  For Mahra, see Bā Kurayt (1992), discussed on pp. 112–115. 37  See King (1990) for a thorough discussion of shadow lengths as a feature of Islamic folk astronomy as well as the astronomical theory underlying the schemes. The system of shadow lengths cast by a person’s body extends back to Greek tradition. 38  King (1990:242). The same conclusion was reached by Neugebauer (1979:209–210) for Ethiopian shadow lengths. 39  These are discussed by Charbonnier (2014), al-Ghafri et al. (2013), and Nash (2011b). 35 36

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ground to distinguish time intervals in the progression of the shadow length. Sometimes personal markers, such as stones or date packets, are used to indicate a specific share time. In Qarya the pole measures 1.64 m in height and the distance between three red lines on the ground is equal to a unit called a sahm, roughly 45 minutes. Nash describes the procedure as follows:40 Once the shadow reaches the awaited point, the watcher walks at a brisk pace to the village, and for lower land drops dry leaves and twigs (waraqa) in the falaj channel; when these markers reach the appointed division, the dam is moved. For intermediate land, the dams are changed directly, without the use of waraqa. The mark watched for at the sundial takes into account the time for the above procedures, i.e. it is before the start time of that person’s water.

In the Omani village of Zahib the local gnomon was a steel pole 2.4 m in height. This was located near the spot where stars were observed at night. In the Omani area of Ḥ alam observation was made during the day by measuring shadows cast over three different locations on a nearby hillside. This is said to cover the daylight hours as follows: “one from sunrise to about 10:30 am, the next from about 11:00 to late afternoon, and the third for sunset.”41 The irrigation shares from the falaj here are at least six athār, ca. three hours, each; thus, it appears that this rather broad division of time by the location of the shadow is linked directly to the local need. Given the transit of the sun over the course of the year, it is not clear if this system would function for the entire year.42 Such a system would not be practical for short periods of time. It would also need to have a back-up system on overcast days.

 Nash (2011b:34).  Nash, Al Musharafi, and Al Harthi (2014:66). 42  In al-Ahjur, Yemen, the shadow cast by a nearby mountain plateau either progresses along the western mountain wall of the valley or reaches a defined marker throughout the day to allow for a very general local method of time-telling for roughly three-hour periods during the day (Varisco 1982:264–265). Serjeant (1974:31) observed a similar shadow scheme on a hill near the town of Rayda in Yemen for marking the time to plant sorghum. 40 41

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Bibliography Electronic Documents al-‘Amrānı ̄, Abū Ghānim 2012 Ḥ isa ̄b al-fuṣūl wa-wasm al-maṭar ‘inda al-Badū (wasm al-thurayya ̄).http://www.al3mran.net/vb/showthread.php?t=3492. (Accessed June, 2016) Umm Sheikha 2008 Ḥisāb ‘al-durūr’ ṭarı̄qa ahl al-Imārāt li-ma‘rifat al-ṭaqs. h t t p s : / / f o r u m . u a e w o m e n . n e t / s h o w t h r e a d . p h p / 8 6 6 7 4 3 -­ %D8%AD%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A8-­%C2%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D 8 % B 1 % D 9 % 8 8 % D 8 % B 1 % C 2 % B B -­% D 8 % B 7 % D 8 % B 1 % D9%8A%D9%82%D8%A9-­%D8%A3%D9%87%D9%84-­%D8%A7%D9%84%D8 %A5%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-­%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9 %D8%B1%D9%81%D8%A9-­% D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%82%D8%B3 (Accessed June, 2021) al-Ẓ afı ̄rı ̄, Aḥmad b. Muḥabb 2010 Al-Thurayya ̄ taqāran al-qamar fa-yataghayr al-mana ̄kh.http://www.mekshat.com/vb/showthread.php?297936 (Accessed June, 2021)

Published Texts Abdollahy, Reza 1990 CALENDARS: ii. In the Islamic Period. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/calendars#pt2 Al-‘Ansı ̄, Yaḥyā b. Yaḥyā 1998 Al-Ma ̄‘alim al-zirā‘iyya fı ̄ al-Yaman. Ṣan‘ā’: al-­ Ma‘had al-Amrı ̄kı ̄ li-al-Dirāsāt al-Yamaniyya and al-Markaz al-Fransı ̄ li-al-­ Dirāsāt al-Yamaniyya. Bā Kurayt, Sa‘d Sālim Aḥmad 1992 Taqwı̄m al-Mahra bi-ḥisāb Sa‘d Sālim Aḥmad Bā Kurayt. Privately Published. Bausani, Alessandro 1974 Osservazioni sul sistema calendariale degli Hazāra di Afghanistan. Orient Moderno 54:341–354. al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄, Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad 1879 The Chronology of Ancient Nations. Edward Sachau, translator. London: W. H. Allen & Co. Charbonnier, Julien 2014 In the Shadow of the Palm Trees: Time Management and Water Allocation in the Oasis of Ā dam (Sultanate of Oman). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 44:83–97. Dalman, Gustave 1928 Arbeit und Sitte in Palestina. Vol. 1. Gutersloh: Bertelsmann. al-Farāˀ, Abū Zakariyā Yaḥyā ibn Ziyād 1980 Kitāb al-Ayyām wa-al-layālı̄ wa-alshuhūr. Cairo: Dār al-Kutub al-Maṣriyya.

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al-Ghafri, Abdullah, Harriet Nash and Mohammed al-Sarmi 2013 Timing Water Shares in Wādı ̄ Banı ̄ Kharūs,̣ Sultanate of Oman. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 43:1–10 Gingrich, Andre 1994 Südwestarabische Sternenkalender: Eine ethnologische Studie zu Struktur, Kontext und regionalem Vergleich des tribalen Agrarkalenders der Munebbih im Jemen. Vienna: WUV Universitätsverlag, Wiener Beiträge zur Ethnologie und Anthropologie, Band 7. Glaser, Eduard. 1885 Der Sternkunde der südarabischen Kabylen. Sitzungsberichte der Akademie des Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe 91:89–99. Grosset-Grange, Henri 1972 Comment naviguent aujourd’hui les Arabes de l’Océan Indien? Suivi d’un glossaire de la navigation arabe dans l’Océan indien. Arabica 19(1):46–77. Ibn Qutayba, Abū Muḥammad ‘Abd Allāh (d. 276/889) 1956 Kitāb al-Anwā’. Hyderabad: Maṭba‘at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmāniyya. al-Khaṭı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄, Abū Bakr ‘Alı ̄ b. Aḥmad (d. 463/1071) 2004 Risa ̄la fı ̄ ‘ilm al-nujūm. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya. Khūrı ̄, Ibrāhı ̄m [Ibrahim Khoury] 1990 Ibn Ma ̄jid. Rās al-Khayma: Markaz al-Dirāsāt wa-al-Wathā’iq fı ̄ al-Dı ̄wān al-Amı ̄rı ̄ bi-Rās al-Khayma. 2 volumes. King, David A. 1990 A Survey of Medieval Islamic Shadow Schemes for Simple Time-reckoning. Oriens 32:191–249. Nash, Harriet 2011a Star Lore and Use in Oman. Journal of Semitic Studies 56(1):167–182. Nash, Harriet 2011b Water Management: the Use of Stars in Oman. Society for Arabian Studies Monographs No. 11. Oxford: Archaeopress. Nash, Harriet 2007 Stargazing in Traditional Water Management: a Case Study in Northern Oman. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 37:157–170. Nash, Harriet and D. A. Agius 2011 Folk Astronomy in Omani Agriculture. In The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture. Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 260, 2009, D. Valls-Gabaud & A. Boksenberg, eds., 161–171. Nash, Harriet and D. A. Agius 2009 Folk Astronomy in Oman: the Use of Stars for Timing Water Shares. In The Role of Astronomy in Science and Culture, 166–171. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nash, Harriet, D. A. Agius, A.H. Al-Mahrooqi and S.A. Al-Yahyai 2016 Star Use by Fishermen in Oman. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 46(1):179–191. Online at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1095-­9270.12204 Nash, Harriet, Muhammad ibn Hamad Al Musharafi and Ahmad ibn Saif Al Harthi 2014 Timing Falaj Water Shares in the Ḥ ajar ash Sharqı ̄. Journal of Oman Studies 18:63–75. Neugebauer, Otto 1979 Ethiopic Astronomy and Computus. Vienna: Österreiches Akademie der Wissenschaften, Sitzungsberichte der philosophisch-historischen Klasse, Band 347, Heft 22.

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Oman, Sultanate of 2015 Ma‘ādin al-asrār fı ̄ ma‘rifat al-ṣayyādı ̄n wa-al-bahhāra al-‘Uman̄ iyyin bi-aḥwāl al-biḥa ̄r. Muscat: Wizārat al-Zirā‘a wa-al-Tharwa al-Samakiyya. Serjeant, R.  B. 1974 The Cultivation of Cereals in Medieval Yemen. Arabian Studies 1:25–74. al-‘Ubbūdı ̄, Muḥammad b. Nāsị r 1979/1399 Al-Amthāl al-‘a ̄mmı ̄ya fı ̄ Najd. Riyadh: Dār al-Thulūthiyya. 5 volumes. Varisco, Daniel Martin 2021 Traditions and Practices in the Medieval Islamic World. In Matthias Heiduk, Klaus Herbers and Hans-Christian Lehner, editors, Prognostication in the Medieval World, 2:636–649. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1997 Medieval Folk Astronomy and Agriculture in Arabia and the Yemen. Aldershot: Ashgate. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1994 Medieval Agriculture and Islamic Science: The Almanac of a Yemeni Sultan. Washington: University of Washington Press. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1982 The Ard in Highland Yemeni Agriculture. Tools and Tillage 4(3):158–172. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1989b Al-Ḥ isāb al-zirā‘ı ̄ fı ̄ urjūzat Ḥ asan al-‘Affārı ̄: Dirāsat fı ̄ al-taqwı ̄m al-zirā‘ı ̄ al-Yamanı ̄. al-Ma’thūrāt al-Sha‘biyya 16:7–29. Varisco, Daniel Martin and G. Rex Smith, editors 1998 The Manuscript of al-Malik al-Afḍal al-‘Abba ̄s b. ‘Alı ̄b. Dā’ūd b. Yūsuf b.‘Umar b. ‘Alı ̄b. Rasūl: A Medieval Arabic Anthology from the Yemen. Warminster: Aris & Phillips Ltd. Wilkinson, Jon 1977 Water and Tribal Settlement in South-East Arabia. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Wilkinson, Jon 1974 The Organisation of the Falaj Irrigation System in Oman. Research Paper No 10, School of Geography, University of Oxford.

CHAPTER 5

Traditional Seasonal Knowledge

The Arabs did not delineate the times of the seasons according to [the four season model] and did not place the first of the days of the year in spring, but rather they determined the times according to what they in their regions knew about the onset and departure of heat and cold, the sprouting and withering of plants, the growth and drying of pasture. They determined the number of their seasons from the start of the autumn season, which they called rabı̄ ‘ because it was the first of the rain known as rabı̄ ‘ occurring in it. —Ibn Qutayba, ninth century CE

Before the advent of modern calendars and clocks, the primary way to designate time was according to the seasons in the annual cycle. The dominant model that has emerged in the West as well as the Arab world is one of four seasons defined according to the spring and autumn equinox and the summer and winter solstice. In classical Arabic spring is rabı ̄‘, summer is s ̣ayf, autumn is kharı ̄f, and winter is shita ̄’. However, this was an imported model to the Arabian Peninsula, perhaps before the Islamic era due to contacts with the Greco-Roman world. Ibn Qutayba says that the mathematical astronomers (aṣḥa ̄b al-ḥisāb) determined the start of spring with the sun entering the first of the stations, sharaṭa ̄n, which was also the first

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_5

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part of Aries, at the spring equinox.1 He also relates that the Arabs used the term s ayf ̣ rather than rabı ̄‘ for the spring season.2 The Arabs, he adds, reckoned the seasons in their locales according to local seasonal changes in the weather and nature. The autumn (kharı ̄f ) season was called rabı ̄‘, because this was the season for rain, followed by winter (shitā’) and then spring as s ̣ayf, a term which meant less water available, although some called this a second rabı ̄‘. The final season was qayẓ for the summer.3 This would appear to be Ibn Qutayba’s scholarly appropriation of local terminology, since he goes on to say that some divided the year into two parts, a male shita ̄’ and a female ṣayf, dividing each into two parts.4 In an orderly fashion Ibn Qutayba described the two middle months of each season as having special names.5 Thus, the two coldest months of winter were called qumāḥ, because during it the camels would raise their heads since the water was so cold to drink. These months were also known as milḥa ̄n and shaybān due to the ground made white with frost.6 Similarly, the two hottest months of the year were known collectively as na ̄jir, because the camels’ thirst is not quenched by drinking in such heat. He was unable to find any reference to a similar designation for spring. Having established the four-season model as his frame, he then discusses the rain in each season. Alternative seasonal models are provided by Abū Zayd al-Anṣārı ̄,7 and Quṭrub8 as noted in Table 5.1, and Abū Naṣr,9 listed in Table 5.2. The terms used in these alternative sequences expand upon the four-­ season model, reflecting the concerns of a pastoral society with an  Ibn Qutayba (1956:100).  This was also the case for the Rwala Bedouin, who use rabı ̄‘ for the abundance of plants due to the rain rather than a specific season denoting spring (Musil 1928:13–14). In the United Arab Emirates a camel born in the spring is known as sạ yfı ̄ (Ḥanẓal 1978:360). 3  This same sequence with its variant names is recorded in al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):174–175). Note that this term is also found as qayḍ. 4  See also al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):168). This parallels the distinction made by Rwala Bedouin of a female sun and masculine moon (Musil 1928:1–2). 5  Ibn Qutayba (1956:105). 6  Qut ̣rub (1985:114) notes that these two month names were equivalent to the first and second months of jumāda ̄ in the pre-Islamic calendar before the intercalation was dropped; this is also quoted in al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):175,279). 7  See Gottheil (1895:282–283). Abū Zayd is also quoted in Lisān al-‘Arab (ṣ-f-r). 8  Qut ̣rub (1985, 100). Note that the editor misreads wuqu ̄‘ in the sense of setting as tulu ̣ ̄‘ for jabha. 9  See Lisan̄ al-‘Arab (s ̣-f-r). 1 2

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Table 5.1  Seasonal sequence according to Abū Zayd al-Ansạ̄ rı ̄ and Qutrub ̣ Season

Stars

Days

qayz ̣

Rising of Pleiades to rising of Canopus ṣafariyya Rising of Canopus to rising of sima ˉk shita ˉ’ Rising of sima ˉk to setting of jabha dafa’ı‐ Setting of jabha to setting of s ̣arfa ṣayf Setting of Spica to Arcturus

First forty nights are temperate (mu‘tadila ˉt)

Ca. forty days

Table 5.2  Seasonal sequence according to Abū Naṣr Season Description ṣaqı‐‘ı‐ ṣafarı‐ shatwı‐ dafa’ı‐ sạ yfı‐ qayẓı‐ kharfı‐

Also known by some as shamsı‐ or qayẓı‐; so called because the heads of domestic animals are whitened by the sun Time for date harvest In the season called rabı‐‘ So called because the sun makes things warm

agricultural focus on date palms. The use of ṣaqı ̄‘ı ̄, for example, relates to the effect of the sun on domestic animals, just as ṣafarı ̄ is said to also refer to sheep and goats born during the season at the rising of Canopus, one of the most important star markers in the peninsula, in addition to the time for the date harvest. The use of ṣafariyya and its cognates has a long and continuous history on the peninsula.10 It refers to the last of the heat and expectation of cooler weather, as well as the plants that spring up at the start of the kharı ̄f season. For the Rwala Bedouin it refers to a ninety-­ day period known by the stars Canopus, the Pleiades, and Gemini, from October through December.11 Ṣafar was also the first month of the pre-­ Islamic lunar calendar and survives as the second month of the Islamic 10  See especially Lisa ̄n al-‘Arab (s-̣ f-r). It is reported in all parts of the Gulf and Najd (e.g., al-Muṭayrı ̄ 1984:13–14). 11  Musil (1928:8), who notes that Canopus lasts for forty nights. It is also the first season of the year among Saudi Bedouin (Mandaville (2011:56).

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hijrı ̄ reckoning.12 Ibn Qutayba notes that the rain that fell at the rising of Canopus was called ṣafar.13 Shitā’, said by some to be the plural of shatwı ̄, and its variants are clearly associated with the coldest season on the Arabian Peninsula. Among the Rwala this refers to a forty-day period associated with the rising of Sirius.14 The intense cold of winter is also called s ̣abārra. The term dafa’ı ̄ stems from an Arabic root signifying heat (sukhu ̄n), the opposite of the most vehement cold (naqı ̄ḍ ḥiddat al-bard).15 It refers to the rain at this time, the provisions gathered in anticipation of the ṣayf season, and the camel offspring born at this time. It is also the time that truffles appear. The Arabic term is derived from an earlier Semitic root, d-th-’, in Safaitic and South Arabic, stemming back as a cognate to Akkadian and Hebrew. Pliny called the spring incense crop in Arabia Felix dathiathum, clearly borrowing from the South Arabic. The term ditha ̄’ is widely used in Yemen for a spring period of harvest, perhaps even for the month of January in the Himyaritic calendar.16 A cognate survives in Mahri in the term dōte/dōter (Arabized as dūth) used for a season and a star. Ṣayf is the classical term for summer in the four-season model, but it can also refer to the spring season, as in Iraq, Khorasan, and Yemen.17 Abū Ḥ anifā al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ placed the start of ṣayf at the dawn rising of the Pleiades in mid-Ayyār (May).18 The rain during this time is generally referred to as s ̣ayyif and the provisions taken as s ̣ayfiyya. Ibn Kunāsa calls this season al-rabı ̄‘ al-akhir. This is also known as rabı ̄‘ al-nabāt to separate it from rabı ̄‘ al-mā’ earlier.19 The term qayẓ is widely used for the heat of summer, defined as the heart of the summer (ṣamı ̄m al-ṣayf ) or the intense heat of summer (ḥamārra al-ṣayf ), usually linked to the time between the dawn 12  The timing of this pre-Islamic month, which was part of a luni-solar calendar, suggests the autumn season, although the surviving early Islamic accounts are, as Ioh (2014:512) suggests, very confusing. 13  Ibn Qutayba (1956:117). 14  Musil (1928:8). 15  Lisan̄ al-‘Arab (d-f-’), which recognizes the cognate datha’ı ̄. 16  For details on the Arabic term, see Lisān al-‘Arab (d-th-’), Landberg (1920:699–700), and Varisco (1994:67). In classical Arabic the tha ̄’ is at times transformed into a fa ̄’ (Ibn Sı ̄da 1964(9):80). For its use as a Himyarite month name, see Robin (1981:44–45; 2012:126–130). The term dt’ in Safaitic refers to the season of rains after winter and before summer (al-Jallad 2016:86). 17  The mention of Iraq and Khorasan is by al-Azharı ̄, quoted in Lisān al-‘Arab (ṣ-y-f). For the usage in Yemen, see Varisco (1994:84). 18  Al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914:(1):288). This was also said to be the start of the sama ̄’im winds. 19  Al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):164).

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risings of the Pleiades and Canopus. Kharfı ̄ is a variant of kharı ̄f, the designation of autumn in the four-season model and summer in Yemen and among pre-Islamic tribes.20 The Himyaritic month name in Yemen was dhū kharāf. The meaning of the term is said to stem from the fact that this is the time when fruit (thimār) is collected. Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ notes that it was not originally a seasonal marker, but rather for the rain of qayẓ.21

5.1   Local Seasons in Eastern Saudi Arabia and Qatar As was true for most of the Arabian Peninsula until recently, the four-­ season model was not generally used, apart from in the scholarly tradition. The Gulf almanacs used in eastern Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Dubai record a six-season model, recorded in Arabic sources since the ninth century, that still correlates with the solar year and the stations, as described by al-‘Uyūnı ̄, al-Anṣārı ̄, and al-Mājid (Table 5.3). A second six-season model is proposed by al-Hāshimı ̄ (Table  5.4) for Bahrain, although this seems confused and is not attested in other Gulf sources. Although these accounts expand the generic four-season model, it is still a scholarly exercise that systematizes the entire year rather than reflecting actual local usage in the past. The fact that each season in the first model contains four complete stations plus two-thirds of another station is due to the arbitrary fit of 360° with the solar year of 365 days. All of Table 5.3  Six-season model of al-‘Uyūnı ̄, al-Anṣārı ̄, and al-Mājid Season

Stations

wasmı‐ shita ˉ’ rabı‐‘ ṣayf ḥamı‐m kharı‐f

‘awwa ˉ, sima ˉk, ghafr, zuba ˉna ˉ, 2/3 iklı‐l 1/3 iklı‐l, qalb, shawla, na‘a ˉ’im, balda,1/3 dha ˉbiḥ 2/3 dha ˉbiḥ, bula‘, su‘u‐d, akhbiya, muqaddam mu’akhkhar, risha ˉ, sharatˉ ̣an, buṭayn, 2/3 thurayya ˉ 1/3 thurayya ˉ, dabara ˉn, haq‘a, han‘a, dhira ˉ‘, 1/3 nathra 2/3 nathra, ṭarf, jabha, zubra, ṣarfa

20  See al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(I):200). For a study of the use of kharı ̄f among Arab tribes, see Miller (2017). 21  Al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):170). This may have been in reference to areas further north, although it is hard to determine the exact location.

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Table 5.4  Six-season model of al-Hāshimı ̄ for Bahrain shita ˉ’ mara ˉbi‘ı‐n al-shita ˉ’ ḥusu‐m tha ˉnı‐ ghuru‐b al-thurayya ˉ mara ˉbi‘ı‐n al-qayẓ Or al-jawza ˉ’ al-tha ˉniyya (among farmers) wasmı‐

From 6 zuba ˉna ˉ until 3 sa‘d al-su‘u‐d 9 zuba ˉna ˉ until 3 balda sa‘d al-su‘u‐d 1 risha ˉ Rising of the Pleiades until rising of han‘a After fifty days from rising of suhayl

these seasonal terms are derived from the information readily found in the anwā’ genre and later sources on weather lore and folk astronomy. Starting the system with the wasmı ̄ rain reflects the pastoral history described by Ibn Qutayba. The term ḥamı ̄m is also derived from a hot period of rain in the summer, noted by Quṭrub and al-Marzūqı ̄ to be fifteen–twenty nights at the rising of Aldebaran.22 These two rain period terms are known throughout the peninsula and reflect continuous usage, given their importance at key points during the seasonal weather cycle. A more elaborate Qatari model of the seasons is presented by ‘Abd Allāh b. Fahad al-Mālikı ̄, as noted in Table 5.5.23 Like many of the Gulf seasonal reckonings, his seasonal sequence starts with the mid-summer rising of suhayl (Canopus). Unlike the formal almanacs of al-‘Uyūnı ̄ and al-Anṣārı ̄, no attempt is made to link these local units with the classical four-season model. It also draws on the classical autumn season known as ṣafarı ̄. Two seasons are indicated solely by their length of either forty or fifty  days, both lengths commonly cited in the lore of the region. The forty-day period figures prominently in both biblical and Qur’anic references.24 Noah was rained upon for forty days; Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness; Muḥammad fasted and prayed in the cave for forty days. As a whole, however, the sequence reflects the weather, especially periods of rain and wind, that are vital for travel and work, especially for seafaring. An expanded set of local seasons occurs in Saudi Arabia, although it is often not clear which part of the kingdom is referred to. In the massive 22  Quṭrub (1985:100), who notes that this was not considered a naw’; see also Ibn Qutayba (1956:114) and al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914/1:198–199). Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ claimed that ḥamı ̄m was the same rain as dafa ̄’ı ̄, a cognate of the spring ditha ̄’ rain (Ibn Sı ̄da 1964(9):80). 23  Al-Mālikı ̄ (2013:312–313). 24  For a detailed analysis of the symbolism and use of the number forty in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic contexts, see Schimmel (1993:245–253).

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Table 5.5  Qatari seasons, according to al-Mālikı ̄ Season

# of days

Starting date

isuhayl iṣfarı‐ wasmı‐

50 26 52–60

VIII:20 IX:15 Mid-X

arba‘ı‐niyya or mirba‘ı‐nı‐iya khamsı‐niyya sara ˉya ˉt

40

Mid-XII

50 About two months

I:25 III:25

ba ˉriḥ mishmish ṣaghı‐r, ba ˉriḥ About two End of al-thurayya ˉ, jawza ˉ’, ba ˉriḥ weeks May al-sara ˉya ˉt ba ˉriḥ ‘awd 30–40 days First week of June

Comments

Start of rain that sprouts truffles; ends with cold in December

Violent winds and thunderstorms that raise dust and are especially common at night bawa ˉriḥ are violent (‘awa ˉs ̣if) winds from end of May until start of August Most intense heat and stirring of dust all day long with hot nights

Table 5.6  Contemporary seasonal calendar in Saudi Arabia, according to al-Ṣuwayān Season rising of suhayl wasm arba‘a ˉniyya al-shita ˉ’ shubṭ ‘aqa ˉrib ḥamı‐m dhira ˉ‘a ˉn kanna thurayya ˉ jawza ˉ’ u‐la ˉ jawza ˉ’ tha ˉniyya mirzam kulaybayn

Days after rising of suhayl   1–52 53–104 105–144 145–170 171–209 210–235 236–261 262–300 301–313 314–326 327–339 340–352 353–365

Days in season 52 52 40 26 39 26 26 39 13 13 13 13 13

Date VIII:24-X:15 X:16-XII:6 XII:7-I:14 I:15-II:9 II:10-III:20 III:21-IV:15 IV:16-V:11 V:12-VI:19 VI:20-VII:2 VII:3-VII:15 VII:16-VII28 VII:29-VIII:10 VIII:11–23

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encyclopedia of Saudi culture edited by Sa‘d al-Ṣuwayān, the local seasons are matched to the Canopus calendar (Table 5.6), which begins with the mid-summer rising of suhayl in late August.25 This compilation is based on a reading of the almanac poems of the Nabat ̣ı ̄ poets Muḥammad al-Qāḍı ̄, Rāshid al-Khalāwı ̄, and Muḥammad Ibn Shahwān.26 A shortened version was known among the Rwala Bedouin, who divided the year into five seasons, as mentioned by Musil: “s ̣feri, ninety nights (from the beginning of October to the beginning of January); aš-šta’ forty nights (to about February 20), followed by a period sometimes called the second part if aš-šta’, ending about March 4; as-smâk, fifty nights (to the middle of April); as-s ̣ejf, to the beginning of June, and the four months of al-ḳêẓ.”27 Musil adds that this is the only division of the year known among them. Seasonal sequences in the western areas of Saudi Arabia and the ‘Ası ̄r region differ notably from the Gulf examples, reflecting less of a Bedouin tradition. An almanac compiled for Ṭ ā’if in 1410/1990 by ‘Abd al-Raḥı ̄m b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Zā’ir al-Ḥ umaydı ̄ is arranged according to fifteen asterisms, each repeated twice (Table 5.7). Most of the asterisms are stations, but with several local names. The calendar recognizes four seasons, starting with autumn (kharı ̄f ). There are few similarities to the seasonal sequence in Najd and Gulf, apart from the reference to ḥamı ̄m in the summer. A similar almanac is the Taqwı ̄m Ibn ‘Amı ̄ra al-zirā‘ı ̄ wa-al-manākhı ̄ li-‘a ̄m 1435 H, said to be a continuation of an almanac tradition stemming back to Rāshid b. ‘Amı ̄ra al-Maṭrafı ̄ al-Dhuwaybı ̄, who was born in the eleventh century AH (Table 5.8).28 He was named after his mother, since he never saw his father and grew up in poverty, becoming blind. This almanac has continued in recent years by Ṣāliḥ ‘Ayḍa b. ‘Amı ̄ra al-Dhuwaybı ̄. Apart from variation in spelling, this is the same sequence as in the chart of al-Ḥ umaydı ̄. Almanacs for Najrān, which is close to Yemen, include those by al-Ḥ ārithı ̄ and Al Masā’id (Table 5.9).29 Both of these follow the formal  Al-Ṣuwayān (2000(5):127); this sequence is also given by Kuwait Oil Workers (2008).  Ibn Khamı ̄s (1972:319–340) provides a detailed summary of local lore for each of the stations, based mainly on his analysis of the poetry of Rāshid al-Khalāwı ̄. 27  Musil (1928:8). 28  Al-Dhuwaybı ̄ (1435/2013–2014). The current almanac is available as an app. For a similar almanac for Ṭ ā’if, see ‘Abı ̄dān b. ‘Aṭiyya al-Thaqafı ̄ (1439/1440). 29  Al-Ḥ ārithı ̄ (2008), Al Masā’id (2005). 25 26

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Table 5.7  Almanac chart for Ṭ ā’if, according to al-Ḥ umaydı ̄ Number

Asterism

Zodiacal month

Date

Season

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

‘aqrab ‘aqı‐rab kaff dalw majı‐diḥ jawza ˉ’ mirzam dhira ˉ‘ nathra t ̣arf jabha zubra ‘ut ̣uf sima ˉk samı‐k ‘aqrab ‘aqı‐rab kaff dalw majı‐diḥ jawza ˉ’ mirzam dhira ˉ‘ nathra t ̣arf jabha zubra ‘ut ̣uf al-sima ˉk al-samı‐k

1 Libra 13 Libra 25 Libra 7 Scorpio 19 Scorpio 1 Sagittarius 13 Sagittarius 25 Sagittarius 7 Capricorn 19 Capricorn 1 Aquarius 15 Aquarius 27 Aquarius 9 Pisces 21 Pisces 4 Aries 16 Aries 28 Aries 9 Taurus 21 Taurus 2 Gemini 14 Gemini 26 Gemini 7 Cancer 19 Cancer 31 Cancer 15 Leo 27 Leo 8 Virgo 20–31 Virgo

IX:23 X:5 X:17 X:29 XI:10 XI:22 XII:4 XII:16 XII:28 I:9 I:21 II:4 II:16 II:28 III:12 III:24 IV:5 IV:17 IV:29 V:11 V:23 VI:4 VI:16 VI:28 VII:10 VII:22 VIII:6 VIII:17 VIII:30 IX:11

shita ˉ’ akhir “ tharwı‐ “ “ “ asadiyya “ “ “ niha ˉyat al-rabı‐‘ “ bida ˉyat al-ṣayf “ “ faḍ ḍ a “ kanna “ “ “ ḥamı‐m/qayẓ “ “ “ niha ˉyat al-ṣayf “ shita ˉ’ al-awwal/bida ˉyat al-rabı‐‘ “ “

sequence of the stations, linking these to several seasons found in other parts of Saudi Arabia. For the ‘Ası ̄r region, there is an agricultural almanac by ‘Alı ̄ Jibrān al-Madarı ̄ for the region of Fayfā’ (Table 5.10). This is divided according to twenty-eight asterisms, only some of which are from the formal stations model. The use of im- rather than al- for the definite article is a major feature of the Tihāma dialect. This is a very different set of terms for the

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Table 5.8  Almanac chart for Ṭ ā’if, according to al-Dhuwaybı ̄ Star

Dates

Comments

kaff (rabı‐‘) thurayya ˉ (rabı‐‘) mijda ˉḥ (rabı‐‘) jawza ˉ’ (rabı‐‘)

XI:4

mirzam (rabı‐‘)

XII:22

dhira ˉ‘ (rabı‐‘)

I:3

nathra (rabı‐‘)

I:15

t ̣arf (rabı‐‘)

I:27

jabha (rabı‐‘) zubra (rabı‐‘) ‘at f̣

II:8

sima ˉk (ṣayf)

III:18

samı‐k (ṣayf)

III:30

Cold weather at night Rain season, Allāh willing Cold weather at night End of irrigating trees with fallen leaves Cold weather at night Sunny during the day with some dust suspended in the air at night Cold weather at night Warm (da ˉfin) during the day Moderate winds Cold weather at night Warm during the day Plant wheat (qamḥ) First of the asadiyya days Night and day are equal Cold weather at night Warm during the day End of planting wheat Night and day are equal Very cold weather at night Plant winter crops Rainfall occurs, Allāh willing Moderate winds Very cold weather Has four days of asadiyya and eight of dhuku‐r Prune trees Moderate winds Some days are warm and some are cold Moderate winds Cold at night and sunny during the day Irrigation of trees Six days of rabı‐‘ and six days of ṣayf Last days of dhukūr Cold at night and warm during the day Warm during the day Plant date palms Rainfall occurs, Allāh willing Moderate winds Cold weather at night Sunny during the day Moderate winds Start of rose blooming

XI:16 XI:28 XII:10

II:22 III:6

(continued)

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Table 5.8 (continued) Star

Dates

Sunny during the day Cold at night Rainfall occurs, Allāh willing ‘aqı‐rab IV:23 Cold weather at night (ṣayf) Sunny during the day Transplant winter crops of tomatoes, peppers, and vegetables (khuḍ a ˉr) kaff V:5 Six days of ṣayf and six days of qayḍ Plant vegetables Temperate weather at night Sunny during the day thurayya ˉ V:17 Temperate weather at night (qayḍ) Sunny during the day Best time for planting Rainfall occurs, Allāh willing mijda ˉḥ V:29 Temperate weather at night (qayḍ ) Sunny during the day jawza ˉ’ VI:10 Intensely hot weather during the day (qayḍ ) Temperate at night mirzam VI:23 Intensely hot weather during the day (qayḍ) Temperate at night dhira ˉ‘ VII:4 Six days of qayḍ and six days of kharı‐f Intensely hot weather nathra VII:16 Clear weather during the day (kharı‐f) Temperate at night t ̣arf VII:27 Intensely hot during the day (kharı‐f) Rainfall occurs, Allāh willing Jabha VIII:9 Most pleasant weather (kharı‐f) Intensely hot weather during the day Temperate at night zubra VIII:23 Intensely hot during the day (kharı‐f) Temperate at night ‘aṭf IX:4 Six days of kharı‐f and six days of ṣayf Sunny during the day Temperate at night simāk IX:16 Sunny during the day (shita ˉ’) Inclined to cold at night Rainfall occurs, Allāh willing samı‐k IX:28 Sunny during the day (shita ˉ’) Cold weather at night ‘aqrab X:14 Sunny during the day (shita ˉ’) Cold weather at night ‘aqirab X:22 (shita ˉ’)

‘aqrab (ṣayf)

IV:11

Comments

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Table 5.9  Seasons of the stations for Najrān according to al-Ḥ ārithı ̄ and Al Masā’id

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Station

Rising

sharat ̣ayn buṭayn thurayya ˉ tuwaybi‘ haq‘a han‘a dhira ˉ‘ nathra ṭarf jabha zubra s ̣arfa ‘awwa ˉ’ sima ˉk ghafr zuba ˉna ˉ iklı‐l qalb shawla na‘a ˉ’im balda sa‘d al-dha ˉbih sa‘d bula‘ sa‘d al-su‘u‐d sa‘d al-akhbiya fargh muqaddam fargh mu’akhkhar risha ˉ

V:11 V:25 VI:7 VI:20 VII:3 VII:16 VII:29 VIII:11 VIII:24 IX:6 IX:20 X:3 X:16 X:29 XI:11 XI:24 XII:7 XII:20 I:2 I:15 I:28 II:10 II:23 III:8 III:21 IV:3 IV:16 IV:30

Season al-Ḥa ˉrithı‐

qayẓ tuwaybi‘ jawza ˉ’ “ mirzam kulaybayn suhayl “ “ “ wasm “ “ “ mirba‘a ˉniyya “ “ shubt “ ‘aqa ˉrib “ “ ḥamı‐mı‐n “ dhira ˉ‘ayn “

Season Āl Masa ˉ’id thurayya ˉ “ thurayya ˉ tuwaybi‘ jawza ˉ’ “ mirzam kulaybayn suhayl “ “ “ wasm “ “ “ mirba‘a ˉnya “ “ shubṭ “ ‘aqa ˉrib “ “ ḥamı‐mı‐n “ dhira ˉ‘ayn

asterisms than is found in Najrān or northern Yemen. It appears that the choice of twenty-eight asterisms is an attempt to relate local usage to the formal model of the anwā’, similar to the agricultural marker stars called ma‘ālim al-zirā‘a in Yemen, although the inclusion of suhayl (Canopus) and ‘alib (Sirius) shows that local star sightings were more important.30 30  Although there is some similarity with particular asterisms to the star calendars studied by Gingrich (1994) for northern Yemen, this is a scholarly merging of local lore with the formal model of twenty-eight asterisms.

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Table 5.10  Asterisms for the ‘Aṣir region of Fayfā’, according to al-Madarı ̄ Number

Asterism

Number

Asterism

1

dhawa ˉt fajr al-u‐la ˉ Start of spring (ṣayf) dhawa ˉt fajr al-tha ˉniyya kı‐ma/thurayya ˉ kalb suhayl ‘alib jawza ˉ’ nathı‐ra Start of summer (kharı‐f) ṭarf al-s ̣iqa?/imstiqa? al-naṣaba?/imnastaba? ‘irāfa al-sa ˉdis/imsa ˉdı̄ sa ˉbi‘

15

tha ˉmin Start of autumn (shita ˉ’) ta ˉsa‘ ‘a ˉshar al-ḥa ˉdı‐/imḥa ˉdı‐ ‘ishwa u‐la ˉ ‘ishwa tha ˉniyya ‘ishwa tha ˉlitha markad Start of winter (rabı‐‘) ḥarfa sa‘u‐diyya u‐la ˉ sa‘u‐diyya tha ˉniyya dalw awwal dalw tha ˉnı‐ ḥu‐t

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

5.2   Local Seasons in Kuwait Although the formal almanacs refer to the twenty-eight stations, the specific seasons reflect a local usage found in Najd as well. This is evident in the sequence described for Kuwait by Bashı ̄r (Table 5.11).31 According to Bashı ̄r, the period from the dawn rising of Canopus at VIII:24 in Kuwait has several names besides suhayl, including s ̣afariyya, which is locally known as ṣfirı ̄, and mu‘atadilāt suhayl, which is taken from the early anwā’ literature. He notes that the latter term refers to the fluctuation of heat and cold rather than one constant temperature range, as opposed to the same period of fluctuation at the end of winter known as bard al-‘ajūz (the cold of the old woman). A source for Najd states that during this period falls the autumnal equinox, and summer clouds come from the west, while the early autumn rains come near the end.32 This is followed by the period of wasm, relating back to the wasmı ̄ rain that occurs at this time. This is said to last for fifty-two days, starting at 15 October. The third period mentioned is arba‘āniyya, referring to forty days. The first part of this is locally called juwayrid, because at this time the cold  Bashı ̄r (2005:20, 92–98).  See http://www.aleqt.com/2007/12/08/article_120462.html

31 32

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Table 5.11  Risings and settings of stations in Kuwait according to Bashı ̄r #

Station

Rising

Evening rising at ‘asha’̄

Evening setting at ‘ashā’

Season

1

sharat. an̄

V:12

IX:20

IV:3

V:25 VI:7 VI:20 VII:3 VII:16 VII:29 VIII:11 VIII:24 IX:6 IX:20 X:3 X:16 X:29 XI:11 XI:24 XII:7 XII:20 I:2 I:15 I:28 II:10 II:22 III:7 III:22 IV:3

X:3 X:16 X:29 XI:11 XI:24 XII:7 XII:20 I:2 I:10 I:28 II:10 II:23 III:8 III:21 IV:3 IV:16 IV:29 V:12 V:25 VI:7 VI:20 VII:3 VII:16 VII:29 VIII:11

IV:16 IV:29 V:12 V:25 VI:7 VI:20 VII:3 VII:16 VII:29 VIII:11 VIII:24 IX:6 IX:20 X:3 X:16 X:29 XI:11 XI:24 XII:7 XII:20 I:2 I:15 I:28 II:10 II:23

kanna al-thurayyā “ thurayya ̄ tawbı̄ ‘ jawza ̄’ “ mirzam kulaybayn suhayl “ “ “ wasm “ “ “ arba‘ı̄ niyya “ “ shubt “ ‘aqa ̄rib “ h. amı̄ m “ dhira ̄‘a ̄n

IV:16

VIII:25

III:8

“

IV:29

IX:6

III:21

kanna al-thurayyā

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

but. ayn thurayyā dabarān haq‘a han‘a dhirā‘ nathra t. arf jabha zubra s. arfa ‘awwa’̄ sima ̄k ghafr zubānā iklı̄ l qalb shawla na‘ā’im balda sa‘d al-dhābih sa‘d bula‘ sa‘d al-su‘ū d sa‘d al-akhbiya fargh muqaddam 27 fargh mu’akhkhar 28 bat. n al-h. ū t/ rishā

Bashı ̄r (2005:20). Parts of this system have been recorded for Saudi Arabia (Philby 1928:60)

winds strip foliage from trees and hinder the growth of plants for forty days. The arba‘āniyya begins with the rising of iklı ̄l on XII:7, which is linked to the Pleiades conjunction of 11. This is the period of most intense cold. It is followed by shubṭ, which is so named because it falls during the

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solar month of shubāṭ.33 Bashı ̄r indicates that this is also known as ayyām al-‘ajūz, although this is not the usual dating for this well-known period at the end of winter. The cold at this time can be more intense than the preceding forty days. If there is rain, it will indicate a good spring for rain and pasture. Next is the period of ‘aqārib (the scorpions of winter), which begins February 10 with the rising of sa‘d al-dha ̄bih. .34 This differs from the reference by Ibn Qutayba to ‘aqa ̄rib as named for the earlier risings of iklı ̄l, qalb, and shawla in Scorpio, which is the most intense cold. Bashı ̄r explains this as a reference to the fact that at this time the moon is in the zodiacal constellation of Scorpio at the end of the lunar hijrı ̄ month. This period is said to begin the moderation of the cold weather. He quotes a Bedouin saying: “seven poison, seven blood, seven fatness” (sab‘a samm, sab‘a dam, sab‘a yusayl al-dasim).35 The first week refers to cold so severe it can kill, the second to blood coming from the noses of camels, and the third to the coming of warm weather when animals start to fatten after winter. The cold in this period is also called bard al-ṭawı ̄layn for the cold that affects both the camel and the date palm. The spring season starts in earnest with ḥamı ̄m, a term for a summer rain in the anwā’ texts. The Emirati almanac of ‘Uwayḍa notes a second h. amı ̄m associated with the station muqaddam (IV:3-15). This is said to be the last beneficial rain. Next comes dhirā‘ān (the two forearms), starting on March 4 with the rising of muqaddam. In Najd this is the end of spring, when pasture starts to dry up and dust storms increase in the desert. The following period of kanna al-thurayya ̄ (the retreat or disappearance of the Pleiades) is when the Pleiades disappears (i.e., its ikhtifa ̄’) from view for thirty-nine days until it rises to signify the start of the summer (qayz ̣) season. Following this are four seasons leading up to the start of 33  Al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:327) defines this as the plural of Shuba ̄t ̣ for a twenty-one-day cold period in Saudi Arabia. 34  There is some confusion in Bashı ̄r’s text, since in his chart (p.  20) he only indicates dhābiḥ and bula‘, but in this description (p. 96) he adds muqaddam, which he links with the start of dhirā‘ān in his chart. 35  This description is also given by Kuwait Oil Workers and in the almanac chart of Ması̣ ̄ra. For Saudi Arabia al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:327) describes three parts of the ‘aqa ̄rib for twenty-­ one days with the following saying: al-awwal samm wa-al-thānı ̄ayzu ̄‘al-ḥima ̄r dam wa-akhir-­ ha ̄ dasm (the first is poisonous, the second has the donkey bleeding, and the third is an increase in animal fat). He also mentions a saying about four parts of the ‘aqārib cold. See Musil (1928:17) for a variation of this saying. He adds that the intense cold can make a camel’s nose bleed. For earlier details on the ‘aqārib, see Varisco (1994:119).

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Table 5.12  Seasons in Kuwait according to al-‘Ujayrı ̄ Season

Dates

Information

wasim mirba‘āniyya bard al-‘ajū z shubbak sara ̄yāt bāriḥ li-zghir tuwaybi‘ bārih ̣ al-‘ū d mirzam chilabayn (kulubayn) dalū k suhayl

X:15–XII:5 XII:6–I:15 III:10–16

Season of rain beneficial to the ground Start of the cold Cold and rain Before sara ̄yāt winds Likelihood of rain and dust storms Called bārih ̣ al-mishmish

From IV:14 From V:6 From VI:20 VI:31–VII:10 VII:29–VIII:10 VIII:11–23 VIII:24

Called ba ̄rih ̣ al-khalāl Intensification of the heat Last of the intense heat Weakening of the summer heat

suhayl: tuwaybı ̄‘f  or Aldebaran, jawzā‘ for haq‘a and han‘a in Gemini, mirzam in Leo, and kulaybayn for nathra. A related seasonal sequence for Kuwait is provided by al-‘Ujayrı ̄, as noted in Table 5.12.36 Unlike the example of Bashı ̄r, this is an attempt to time several local weather periods with their likely occurrence without linking directly to the stations or zodiacal months. Thus, the bard al-‘ajūz is moved forward toward the middle of March rather than the traditional placement of seven days between February and March. Another Kuwaiti writer calls this a wind that creates waves at the end of winter from II:26 to III:8.37 It appears that another name for the widely known wind season of bārih ̣ mishmish is here described as the small bārih ̣ in Kuwaiti dialect.38 The term dalūk (also known as dalūq) for suhayl connotes the summer rising, which forms the start of the Canopus calendar in the Gulf.39

  Aspects of this system are also indicated for the Hejaz (al-Bilādı ̄ 1982:320).  Muḥammad (2009:54). 38  According to al-Sa‘ı ̄dān (1981(1):147), the small ba ̄rih ̣ is also known as sarāya ̄t, which is treated separately by al-‘Ujayrı ̄. Al-Sa‘ı ̄dān times this northwest wind from IV:15-V:27. Dickson (1951:249) describes it as a time with a north wind that starts out strong and then weakens. Um Sheikha (2008) indicates this strong wind for the durūr thirty through sixty in the UAE. 39  The origin of the term appears to be dalu ̄q in the sense of coming forth. 36 37

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5.3   Local Seasons in the United Arab Emirates The Dubai almanac of ‘Abd al-Jabbār Muḥammad al-Mājid follows the same six-fold sequence as the Qatari almanac of Shaykh al-Ansarı ̣ ̄: wasmı ̄ (starting with ‘awwa ̄), shitā’ (starting with the last third of iklı ̄l), rabı ̄‘ (starting with second third of dha ̄bih)̣ , ṣayf (starting with mu’akhkhar), ḥamı ̄m (starting with the last third of thurayyā), and kharı ̄f (starting with the second third of nathra). The start of the sequence at the wasmı ̄ season is at October 17, which is equivalent to day sixty-two in the Canopus calendar and twenty-four mı ̄zān (Libra) of the zodiacal month.40 The Emirati almanac of Rāshid b. ‘Uwayḍa Ā l ‘Uwayḍa notes that the wasm season is only known as thurayyā al-wasm. For all practical purposes al-Mājid copies the information found in the earlier Qatari almanacs of al-Ansạ̄ rı ̄. The anthropologist Abdullah Yateem conducted a major study in the Ḥ ajar mountains, which border Oman. He notes a local calendar of six distinct seasons: wasmı ̄, shitā’, mis ̣āyif, khams al-masa ̄rı ̄q, ghuyūb, and qayz ̣ (Table 5.13). This is actually a five-fold sequence, if the five days of the leap year are considered. Relating the seasons to an entire calendar year is probably a recent innovation, especially given the round numbers for the star markers (durūr) and days. A unique feature of the calendar is that there is no rabı ̄‘ in the sense of spring. As Yateem explains, “This is because the temperature in this period suddenly rises from 20 degrees C in February to 30 degrees C in March leaving no time for rabi.”41 He also notes that the basic distinction is between winter (shitā’) and summer (qayz ̣), with Table 5.13  Seasonal sequence of Duru ̄r in the Hajar mountains of the UAE Season

Time

Number of darr

Number of days

wasmı̄ shita ̄’ mis ̣a’̄ yif khams al-masar̄ ı̄ q ghuyū b qayz ̣ Total

August–October November–January February–April Late April May June–July

10 10 6

100 100 60 5 30 70 365

3 7 36

Yateem (2018:135)

 See pp. 299–305 for a translation of the information in this almanac.  Yateem (2009:29).

40 41

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winter also including mis ̣āyif and summer having three divisions (ghuyūb, qayz ̣, wasmı ̄). The distinction between two main seasons is one noted by Ibn Qutayba in his anwā’ text. The solar year here is said to consist of thirty-six ten-day periods called duru ̄r (darr, sg.). Among the terms for the specific duru ̄r are darr al-nawru ̄z for the start, as well as mirba‘āniyya. This system is clearly a variant of the Canopus calendar used in the Gulf region. Local farmers use this system of ten-day  units rather than the Islamic or solar months for their activities. Yateem discovered that this system was not written down but was a source of prestige and power by village elders who had memorized the system. However, Yateem later shows an image of a circular almanac chart from 2015/2016 for the UAE with a different seasonal sequence.42 In this spring is called sayf, summer is qayz ̣, autumn is s ̣afarı ̄, and winter is shitā’. The durūr are labeled by number and correlated to the solar calendar and the formal model of twenty-eight stations.

5.4   Local Seasons in Oman Oman is a country with diverse ecological zones.43 There is no single seasonal sequence, although most now conform to a four-season model. At Izki in Central Oman Wilkinson found a four-fold sequence, starting with autumn (rub‘), when crops are planted, and followed by winter (shitā’), which is a period of cold winds and the start of blossoms on trees. Spring (s ̣ayf) is a time of harvest, with the heat of summer (qayz ̣) associated with the first ripe dates.44 The use of rub‘ or a cognate for autumn is quite old on the Arabian Peninsula, since Ibn Qutayba notes that autumn among Arab pastoralists was known as al-rabı ̄‘ al-awwal, which was linked to the August dawn rising of Canopus.45 Citing s ̣ayf for spring rather than summer is also documented by Ibn Qutayba and was common in Yemen and other parts of the peninsula. Wilkinson notes that in northern Oman the term s ̣firi was used for autumn, another term that has a long history in the region. The southern coast of Oman, especially the region of Dhofar, used a calendar from Mahra. One of the most famous examples is the almanac of Shaykh Sa‘d Sālim Aḥmad Bā Kurayt (Table 5.14).46 This calendar follows  Yateem (2018:138).  For the annual cycle of Bedouin in the Musandam Peninsula of Oman, see Zimmerman (1981:69–78); for inner Oman, see Scholz (1981:183–212). 44  Wilkinson (1977:110). 45  Ibn Qutayba (1956:96). 46  This is reported by Sālim al-Mahrı ̄ (1992), who also includes information from the thirteenth-century almanac of al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ and from the almanac of al-‘Uyūnı ̄. 42 43

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Table 5.14  Seasonal sequence in Mahra and Dhofar, according to Bā Kurayt Station/local Setting star time ‘awwā

III:22

sima ̄k ghafar zubān

IV:4 IV:16 IV:29

iklı̄l qalb shawl

V:12 V:26 VI:9

daf‘āt (na‘a ̄’im)

VI:22

Balda Sa‘d dhābih ̣ (mirzam) maftı̄ qah ̣ (suhayl or sa‘d bula‘) sa‘d al-su‘ū d (bā ‘arı̄ q) sa‘d khibā far‘al-awwal dalw

VII:4 VII:17

hụ ̄ t ̣ natḥ ,̣ sharatayn ̣

Comments Start of qayz ̣ (summer) at III:21 dū th (spring) weather Always maghlı̄ l weather, but sometimes with hạ mı̄ ma dū th weather dū th weather Half dū th/half hạ mı̄ ma climate Strong winds Strong winds Strong winds maghlı̄l weather Breaking of the greatest extent of the winds Start of kharı̄ f (autumn rains) at VI:24 During this season: dū th weather; rain in eastern area of Mahra; not a time for collecting dates, as it is in the Ḥ aḍramawt; may expand to eight stations if there is no rain

VII:30

VIII:14 VIII:28 IX:10 IX:23 sarb ̣ (agricultural winter) starts IX:24, unique to the Mahra calendar During this season: Season between the rainfall and the cold; temperate temperature; weather turns dry; leaves fall from trees; springs have less water; domestic animals are taken to high hills where there is pasture and green vegetation; harvest of fruit (thima ̄r); halfway through there is no longer any frankincense resin; ships sail northwest for India (mawsim al-hind al-awwal); season for fishing sardines (‘awma), when there is a plentiful supply, most of which are dried, although oil is extracted from some of them; strong and violent winds; northeast monsoon winds blow, known as saba ̣ ̄ or azyab by sailors and hị zya ̄b in Mahra X:6 X:19 Equal to star of hạ ymar Strong and violent winds blow, uprooting trees and roughening the sea (continued)

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Table 5.14 (continued) Station/local Setting star time but ̣ayn thurayya ̄ baraka ̄n haq‘a han‘a

X:21 XI:14 XI:27 XII:9 XII:22

dhira ̄‘ nathra tarf/t ̣ ̣arfa jabha zubra sarfa ̣

I:4 I:17 I:30 II:12 II:25 III:9

Comments

Wind sometimes from southeast shita ̄’ or rabı̄ ‘ (winter) starts XII:24 Strong north winds blow for at least eight days and are known as baylū t in Mahra or balāt by captains from al-Shiḥr Northeast monsoon winds blow

a four-fold seasonal sequence linked to the settings of the twenty-eight stations. The seasons are qayz ̣ (starting III:21), kharı ̄f (starting VI:24), s ̣arb (starting IX:24), and shitā’ (starting XII:24).47 Qayz ̣ (Ḳayḍ in Mahri) is the usual term for the hot period of summer. The term ṣarb (sáyreb in Mahri) is related to the Yemeni term s ̣ira ̄b, used for the harvest season in late autumn and also designating October in the Himyarite calendar.48 The term as ̣irab is also used in Mahri for the spring season.49 The Bā Kurayt almanac distinguishes three kinds of weather in Mahri terms. Dūth refers to the likelihood of rain, light winds, and the growth of pasture.50 This is a variant of the Arabic dithā’, derived from the South Arabic, where it is also a term used for January in the Himyarite calendar. In most parts of Yemen ditha ̄’ refers to the spring rains. Ḥamı ̄ma is in reference to the blowing of strong winds with rain during the hot season of qayz ̣. Maghlı ̄l 47  The same sequence is reported for Dhofar by Mohamed Alian, with slightly different dates. Among the Qarā in the Dhofar region, Dostal (1975:36) reports a different ordering of the four-fold seasonal distinction: qe ̄dh or qōdh (summer), khorf (autumn), setı ̄ (winter), and sẹ rb (spring) 48  Johnstone (1987:365). For s ̣ira ̄b/s ̣ura ̄b, see Varisco (1994:65–66). 49  Al-Mahrı ̄ (2006:23); Dostal (1975:36). 50  Sam Liebhabier, personal communication, notes that references to this star are often part of the conventional opening of Mahri poems.

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is used for temperate weather with calm winds. This may refer to the monsoon fog (g ̇allōt in Mahri) that sets in after the monsoon season.51 In his discussion of the almanac of Bā Kurayt, Sālim al-Mahrı ̄ mentions an older Mahri system in which winter (shita ̄’) begins on the sixth day of zubānā and ends at a third of the station sa‘d. The forty days of winter (mirāba‘ı ̄n) start the ninth day of zuba ̄na ̄ and last until the third of balda. A period known as ḥus ̣ūm occurs in the second part of sa‘d al-su‘u ̄d.52 The start of rishā is with the setting of the Pleiades. The forty days of summer (mirāba‘ı ̄n al-qayz ̣) are from the rising of the Pleiades until the rising of han‘a and is known by farmers as al-jawza ̄’ al-thāniyya. The start of wasmı ̄ is fifty days after the rising of Canopus. This is obviously a partial calendar, but it shows similarities to other parts of Oman and the Gulf. In a calendar recorded for the island of Mas ̣ı ̄ra, off the southeastern coast of Oman, al-Fārisı ̄ recorded a chronological sequence of nine recognized seasons in relation to the twenty-eight stations (Table 5.15).53 The names of the seasons include some common terms from the region, but with a focus on weather periods. At the dawn setting of suhayl on VIII:24, the start of the Canopus calendar, known as afkūk, is known for the blowing of the southwest monsoon. This is followed by is ̣firı ̄, a variant of the term s ̣afarı ̄ for autumn, and the well-known wasm period of rain. The forty days of winter, known as mirba‘āniyya, are marked by the appearance of the Arcturus (uhạ ymir), the period of the most intense cold.54 The winter season contains the three cold ‘aqrab periods and the bard al-‘aju ̄z known throughout the Gulf. Spring is referred to as rabı ̄‘, probably a contemporary usage; this includes the season known as ḥamı ̄m, which is found in the Mahri almanac. The next two seasons, sara ̄yāt and bawa ̄rih,̣ refer to intense winds. The final season of bāhụ ̄ra relates to the classical term for 51  Sam Leibhaber, personal communication. This season may be related to the Mahri star-­ name ghél recorded by Johnstone (1987:599). 52  The term ḥusu ̄m appears in the Qur’ān in surah 69:7, where it refers to successive days and nights that Allāh sent a destructive wind to the pre-Islamic South Yemeni tribe of Ā d. As Ibn Khamı ̄s (1972:321) notes, in Najd it can refer to the Days of the Old Woman (ayyām al-‘ajūz); this is also mentioned in the almanac chart of Maṣı ̄ra. 53  This is from a work in progress called Kita ̄b al-Shillı ̄ Abu ̄ al-Haba ̄yib, provided to me by Harriet Nash. This is my translation. There is an alternative translation in Nash, Agius, Al-Mahrooqi, and Al-Yahyai (2016:186). 54  The Saudi author al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:327) notes that this forty-day period of winter follows the cold time known as shubt,̣ which is considered the mother (umm) and the mirba‘āniyya the sons in terms of the cold weather for over eighty days.

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Table 5.15  Seasonal calendar for Mas ı̣ ̄ra and Ra’s al-Ḥ add, according to al-Fārisı ̄ Season

Star

afkū k

isfirı̄ ̣

wasm

mirba‘āniyya

Length Dates (days) 26

suhayl jabha

13 13 26

zubra sarfa ̣

13 13 52

‘awwa ̄’ simāk ghafar zubāna ̄

13 13 13 13 40

iklı̄ l qalb

13 13

Comments

VIII:24–9/19 Begins with [dawn] rising (dalū k) of Canopus Weather is temperate at night The wet southwest (kaws) wind blows in the coastal areas End of swimming in the sea VIII:24–IX:5 IX:6–19 IX:20–X:15 One of the cold periods when night and day are equal in length Swimming in sea is dangerous Colds and influenza increase IX:20–X:2 X:3–15 X:16–XII:5 Start of rain season The weather is variable, becoming colder at night but with greatest warmth during the day First wearing of winter clothing The star uhạ ymir (Arcturus) sets, an indicator of the blowing of strong winds, which create high waves at sea Chance for greater rainfall than before X:16–28 X:29–XI:10 XI:11–23 XI:24–XII:6 XII:7–I:14 One of the cold periods when thick winter clothes are worn The star uhạ ymir (usually Arcturus) appears, an indicator of the greatest extent of night and shortness of day The cold is intense, reaching its maximum XII:7–19 XII:20–I:1 (continued)

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Table 5.15 (continued) Season

Star

Length Dates (days)

shawla

14 52

I:2–14 I:15–III:7

13 13 13

1:15–27 I:27–II:9 II:10–22

13 52

II:23–III:7 III:8–IV:28

13 13 13 13

III:8–20 III:21–IV:2 IV:3–15 IV:16–28

bard al-butayn ̣

na‘ā’im balda sa‘d al-dhab̄ ih ̣ bula‘ rabı̄ ‘

su‘ū d akhbiya muqaddam mu’akhkhar

Comments

Frost occurs on the ground at night On the last four days of na‘ā’im and first four of balda are char-wa-­char (tasha ̄r and tashār) or the cold of azrı̄ q with tashār and tasha ̄r meaning four and four in Hindi The three ‘aqa ̄rib occur: ‘Aqrab al-samm, ‘aqrab al-dam, and ‘aqrab al-dasim At the end of the ‘aqārib the cold begins to break

Start of the warmth and flowing of sap in wood Time of the hụ sū m or cold of the old woman (bard al-‘ajū z) when night and day are equal Time known as bard bayā‘al-khabal ‘aba ̄tah (the lunatic sells his winter cloak) at III:25, which does not come every year The wind season of hạ mı̄ m comes (before the sara ̄ya ̄t), with the start of the sea being locked up and lack of sailing on it Light clothing worn

(continued)

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Table 5.15 (continued) Season

Star

Length Dates (days)

Comments

40

IV:29–VI:6

Season of intense winds Also known as kanna or ghurū b najm al-thurayya ̄ (the setting of the Pleiades) for a period of forty days The rain with the strong sara ̄ya ̄t or madmara falls, usually in the afternoon or evening Season for pollenating date palms Major increase in the heat

rishā sharat ̣ayn butayn ̣

13 13 13 40

IV:29–V:11 V:12–24 V:25–VI:6 VI:7–VII:15

thurayya ̄ tuwaybi‘ haq‘a

13 13 13 40

VI:7–19 VI:20–VII:2 VII:3–15 VII:16– VIII:23

han‘a mirzam

13 13

kulaybayn

13

VII:16–28 VII:29– VIII:10 VIII:11–23

sarāya ̄t

bawārih ̣

bāhụ ̄ ra

bawa ̄rih ̣ are winds that blow in the afternoon with suspended dust/ sand which descends at night The Pleiades rises after being hidden for forty days and this is the end of the sea being locked up and return of ships to the sea Greatest extent of daylight The hot samoom winds blow At the end of this time the bawārih ̣ become calm with less dust in the air

Known as qayẓ with the highest degree of heat Called al-jawza ̄’ al-tha ̄niyya, which is the end of the dryness and start of the intense humidity and high temperatures, which continue until the end of bāhụ ̄ ra and rising of Canopus, at the start of the “Persian” new year, which is August 11 every year

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heat during the hot month of Tammu ̄z and is the equivalent of qayz ̣.55 I strongly suspect that this is a scholarly compilation by someone familiar with texts like that of Ibn Qutayba in combination with local terms. The author is also aware of terms for seasons elsewhere in the Gulf.

5.5   Rain Periods The focus of the text of Ibn Qutayba’s anwā’ regarding the sequence of rain periods on the Arabian Peninsula highlights the importance of rain as a major seasonal marker for both pastoralists and farmers. The system of anwā’ is claimed to be directly associated with rain. The twelfth-century Persian scholar al-Zamakhsharı ̄ even suggests that the term naw’ was related to the Arabian goddess Manāt, who certain tribes prayed to for rain.56 Up to nine different terms are used to describe specific rain periods in the early anwa’̄ genre and similar texts, as noted in Table 5.16.57 Ibn Qutayba and Abū Ish ̣āq al-Zajjāj link the rain periods to the formal model of the twenty-eight stations, but there is an alternative system that includes non-zodiacal stars and periods of unequal length. Abū Zayd al-Ans ̣ārı ̄ describes this as the system of the tribe of Qays, although Qutrub ̣ and al-Marzūqı ̄ link it to the tribe of Qushayr.58 This sequence lists six major rain periods. The first rain season is the wasmı ̄, which has the anwa ̄’ of ‘arquwatān mu’akhkharatān from dalw, followed by sharat ̣ and then the Pleiades (thurayyā), with about fifteen days between each two asterisms. The wasmı ̄ rain is always linked to the Pleiades in one way or

55  Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (1879:259–262) places these days at VII:18 with the summer rising of Sirius; see Varisco (1994:129–130). 56  Quoted in Gätje (1976:142). 57   Key to the table: a =  Ibn Qutayba (1927(I):76); b  =  Qut ̣rub (1985:99–100); c = al-Nuwayrı ̄ (1923(I):75); d=Abū Zayd in Haffner and Cheikho (1908); e = Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄ (1963:98), Quṭrub (1985:22); f  =  Abū Zayd in Gottheil (1895:282–283) and Lisa ̄n al‘Arab (kh-r-f); g  =  Abū Zayd in al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(I):198), Quṭrub; h  =  Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ in Ibn Sı ̄da (1964(9):79), al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):214–215); i = al-Aṣmā‘ı ̄ in Lisa ̄n al-‘Arab (kh-r-f), al-Nuwayrı ̄ (1923(I):75); j  =  Abū ‘Ubayd in Ibn Sı ̄da (1964(9):87); k = Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Jadalı ̄, Kitāb Tashı ̄l al-matạ ̄lib fı ̄ ‘ilm al-nuju ̄m wa-al-kawākib, ms. Ṭ al‘at mı ̄qa ̄t, 160, Dār al-Kutub, Cairo; l  =  Dozy (1961:11ff); m  =  Based on the sequence of anwā’ by Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj (Varisco 1989a). For a list of terms associated with rain and clouds on the Arabian Peninsula, see al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (2011b). 58   See Gottheil (1895) for an edition of Abū Zayd’s text. See also al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):198–199), who quotes Abū Zayd and Qut ̣rub, as well as al-Zamakhsharı ̄ (1982:44).

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Table 5.16  Sequences of rain periods in pre-Islamic Arabia Slate

Sequence

a b c d e f g h i j k l m

wasmı̄ , rabı̄ ‘, sayyif, ̣ hạ mı̄ m wasmı̄ , rabı̄ ‘, s ̣ayyif, kharı̄ f or hạ mı̄m wasmı̄ , walı̄ , rabı̄ ‘, sayyif, ̣ hạ mı̄ m wasmı̄ , kharı̄ f, shatwı̄ , dafa’ı̄ , s ̣ayf, hạ mı̄ m wasmı̄ , shatwı̄ , rabi‘, s ̣ayyif, hạ mı̄ m, kharı̄ f, wasmı̄ , shatwı̄ , dafa’ı̄ , sayyif, ̣ hạ mı̄ m, kharı̄f wasmı̄ , shatı̄ , dafa’ı̄ , rabı̄ ‘, sayyif, ̣ hạ mı̄ m, kharı̄ f wasmı̄ , walı̄ , shatwı̄ , dafa’ı̄ , sayyif, ̣ hạ mı̄ m, ramaḍı̄ , kharı̄ f kharı̄ f, wasmı̄ , rabı̄ ‘, s ̣ayyif, hạ mı̄ m kharı̄ f, wasmı̄ , rabı̄ ‘, s ̣ayyif, hạ mı̄ m, ramaḍ ṣayyif, walı̄ , hạ mı̄ m, ramḍā’, shamsı̄ , wasmı̄ , rabı̄ ‘ ṣayyif, dafa’ı̄ or datha’ı̄ , hạ mı̄ m, ramaḍı̄ , shamsı̄, wasmı̄ , walı̄ , rabı̄ ‘ rabı̄ ‘, s ̣ayyif, hạ mı̄ m, kharı̄ f, wasmı̄ , walı̄ , shitā’

another.59 The wasmı ̄ rain was considered the start of the year for the preIslamic Arabs on the peninsula and in the contemporary Hejaz. The term is derived from the sense that this rain literally marks (yasimu) the ground with vegetation.60 The wasmı ̄ rain period could last four months, as noted in a rhymed saying for its months: “month of first moist soil, month of full-grown pasture, month of pasturing, month of mature plant growth” (shahr tharā, shahr tarā, shahr mar‘ā, shahr istawā).61 This is an important rain for both the first fresh pasture and for truffles. The next rain after the wasmı ̄ is the shatwı ̄ with the anwā’ of jawzā’, dhirā‘an, followed by nathra and then jabha. The last asterism is at the end of the shatwı ̄ rain and the first of the dafa’ı ̄ rain, which is from the last part of jabha. This is followed by ‘awwā’ and s ̣arfa, which are either part of the dafa’ı ̄ rain or the season between that and s ̣ayf. The anwā’ of the s ̣ayf rain period are the asterisms simak̄ ān al-awwal and al-a‘zal. This s ̣ayf period lasts for about forty days between the two simāk stars. The following hạ mı ̄m rain lasts for fifteen–twenty days from the rising of dabara ̄n, 59  Al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):183). As a seasonal marker, for example, Ibn Ḥ abı ̄b in the ninth century claimed that the wasmı ̄ season started with the autumnal equinox during the station of ḥut̄ and ended after two-thirds of Aldebaran, the station after the Pleiades (Kunitzsch 1994:190). 60  Ibn Qutayba (1956:116); Lisa ̄n al-‘Arab (w-s-m). 61  Ibn Qutayba (1956:118), which misreads tara ̄ as nazā. The correct form is found in Lisān al-‘Arab (th-r-ā), and al-Aṣmā‘ı ̄ (1972:30), where this phrase is explained.

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coming between ṣayf and kharı ̄f, but it is not a naw’ for rain. After dabarān, its anwā’ are nasrān, akhḍar, and ‘arquwatā al-dalw. Abū Zayd adds that the rains of the wasmı ̄ through the dafa’ı ̄ are also called rabı ̄‘. Ibn Qutayba and other authors in the anwā’ genre reckoned the timing of rain according to periods defined by star risings and settings, a practice that has continued through to the present day in the Arabian Peninsula. Despite the claim by some that there had to be rain for a star period to be called naw’, it is obvious that rain was not always likely and did not fall in every one of the twenty-eight stations. In his discussion of the four seasons, Ibn Qutayba identified the potential rains, which were locally seasonal.62 Starting with spring (rabı ̄‘), which comprised sharaṭān (#1) through dhirā‘(#7), he claims that all the rain during this time was s ̣ayf, since that term indicated that the heat was coming and plants would dry up. However, the rain falling in sima ̄k, the first station of summer, could be considered rabı ̄‘ because it was so close to the previous period. The rain called s ̣ayf was also linked in the poetry to the setting of stations in Scorpio, which occurred in the spring. The rain falling at the end of spring, according to Ibn Qutayba, was dafa’ı ̄ or datha’ı ̄. Ibn Kunāsa says that ditha ̄’ is a rain that falls when the heat follows the cold of winter.63 Abū Zayd and Qut ̣rub (Table 2.4) place this rain between winter and spring, although Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ equates it with the ḥamı ̄m rain. The main stations associated with this rain are jabha through s ̣arfa, but it is their dawn setting rather than rising that is linked to the season and this rain. This was followed in summer (qayz ̣), with the rising stations of nathra through ‘awwa ̄’. The summer rain is called ḥamı ̄m, although it could also be called s ̣ayyif, ramd ̣iyā,64 or shamsı ̄yā; all these terms imply heat or warmth. This summer rain was said only to be useful in Yemen and not elsewhere on the peninsula. As the Arabs say, “All the annual rains bring forth leaves on thorny trees except for the hạ mı ̄m rain” (kull amt ̣ār al-­ sana tunbita lih al-ard ̣ wa-tumshira lih al-‘id ̣āh ilā mat ̣ar al-hạ mı ̄m). The autumn rain was kharı ̄f, defined either as the rain of qayz ̣ or the rain at the coming of winter (shitā’), when dates were harvested.65 Abū Zayd claimed  The following information is taken primarily from Ibn Qutayba (1956:103–120).  Quoted in al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(I):200). This fits the root d-f-’, which refers to heat. 64  Note that this term is related to the month of Ramaḍa ̄n, which implies a time of heat (al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):168). 65  Quoted in Lisān al-Arab (kh-r-f). 62 63

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that this rain fell in the Hejaz, including al-Rukba, and the Upper Jordan Valley (al-Ghawr), but not in Najd.66 Quṭrub notes that kharı ̄f was the term used in the Hejaz for what those in Tamı ̄m, who were located to the east of the Arabian Peninsula, called hạ mı ̄m.67 The importance of rain is reflected in the wide variety of terms used for different kinds of rain and rain clouds, as well as the timing of rain periods. Rain was often welcomed, since it provided water for animals and pasture, but it could also be a problem if it came at the wrong time of the year or in the day. The rain that came during intense heat was said to harm pasture, because the heat would immediately dry up what sprouted. Ibn Qutayba quotes a poet who praised the rain that falls on the last day (sarār) of the lunar month, because it would be especially good and bring forth pasture.68 It is important to remember that rainfall varies timewise and even where it falls within a small area. The Lancasters record the experience of an Emirati farmer:69 It doesn’t always rain everywhere. Sometimes there would be rain high in the mountains, but not low down, or it might rain heavily on one face of a mountain but not on the others. This is why we have fields scattered around in different mountains and at different heights.

Many of these early names for rains survive to the present in the Gulf, although it is important to remember that contemporary accounts often mix information from earlier textual sources with local lore. There is regional variation in specific rain periods, some of which are not predictable. A summary of mentions of rain in the local Gulf almanacs is provided in Table 5.17. One of the most important rain periods still recognized is that of wasmı ̄, traditionally associated with the dawn setting (naw’) of the Pleiades, which Ibn Qutayba in the ninth century dates as XI:11–23. Ibn Sı ̄da argues that there was no wasmı ̄ rain after the naw’ (dawn setting) of the Pleiades, which occurs in mid-November.70 According to al-‘Uyūnı ̄ and several of 66  Miller (2017:4), in his lengthy discussion of the usage of kharı ̄f for a rain, notes that due to the lack of the kharı ̄f rain, pastoralists in Najd faced a longer and dryer summer. 67  Qut ̣rub (1985:98). However, hạ mı ̄m in reference to a wind is said to occur during spring (III:8-IV:28) in the Omani almanac chart of Maṣı ̄ra. 68  Ibn Qutayba (1956:180). 69  Lancaster and Lancaster (2011:138). 70  Ibn Sı ̄da (1964:9:80).

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Table 5.17  Rain periods according to the major Gulf almanacs Station or zodiac

Date

Description

but ̣ayn (#2)

V:25–VI:6

zubra (#11)

IX:19–X:1

sarfa ̣ (#12)

X:2–14

‘awwa ̄ (#13)

X:15–27

sima ̄k (#14)

X:28–XI:9

Rain during this time will lead to dry year (UWA) End of the rain season (ASI) Heavy rain sometimes (UWA) Plentiful and beneficial rain (HASH) Rain may fall (ANS, MAJ) Strong rain known as qala ̄yid can occur, before the wasmı̄ (ASI) First beneficial rain leading into the wasmı̄ rain, along with wind and cold at night; appearance of rain clouds from west; first truffles, pasture, and desert flowers (ANS, ASI, MAJ, UWA, UYU) First of the thurayya ̄ al-wasm rains (MAJ, HASH, UWA, UYU) Truffles sprout with rain (HASH) Plentiful rain at times (ANS) Planting legumes and some flowers if there is plentiful rain (MAJ) Truffles sprout with rain (HASH)

ghafr (#15)

XI:10– XI:22 qaws XI:23– Some rain falls (MAJ) Sagittarius XII:22 zubānā (#16) XI:23–XII:5 Beneficial rain at times (ANS) Truffles sprout with rain (HASH) iklı̄ l (#17) XII:6–18 Rain increases (ANS, HASH, UWA) hụ ̄ t II:20– Rain increases in most places, Allāh willing (MAJ) Pisces III:21 sa‘d bula‘(#23) II:23–III:7 Rain increases (HASH, UWA) Rain falls (MAJ) sa‘d al-akhbiya III:21–IV:2 If there is no rain, there will still be intense cold (ANS, (#25) UYU) If there is rain, it will be cold (MAJ) fargh IV:16–28 Rain at this time promotes pasture (UYU) mu’akhkhar Plentiful rain is beneficial for a crop and pasture (ANS) (#27) Rain is beneficial and plentiful (HASH) Its usual seven days of rain is very good and a blessing (ANS, MAJ) Rain helps form pearls in oyster shells (UWA) thawr IV:22–V:22 Nı̄ sān rain promotes pearl formation and is useful for Taurus kneading dough faster (UYU) risha ̄’ (#28) IV:29–V:11 Rain occurs (UYU) Usually a plentiful rain (ANS) Rain usually falls (MAJ)

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the contemporary Gulf almanacs, the dawn setting of the Pleiades lasts from X:16–28 during the dawn rising of ‘awwa ̄ and setting of mu’akhkhar. Rain clouds (muzin) appear from the west and this rain assists the growth of truffles, pasture, and desert flowers. For Kuwait Bashı ̄r notes that the Bedouin divide the wasmı ̄ rain into three parts: wasmı ̄, simākı ̄, and kharı ̄fı ̄ (which is sometimes called shatwı ̄).71 If there is rain during the first part, then sufficient new pasture will spring up as well as truffles. For the Rwala Bedouin the wasmı ̄ rain was said to be the decisive factor for grazing.72 If it is delayed until the second part there will only be half as much pasture and not all the varieties of truffles. In the last part only some types of plants will come up and there will be no truffles. Another important local rain period occurs in the month of Nı ̄sa ̄n or April during the zodiacal month of Taurus and the station of Aldebaran. Among the Rwala this is known as the rain of tuwaybi‘, an alternative name for the asterism.73 Al-‘Uyūnı ̄ cites older legends about the beneficial impact of rain in Nı ̄sān. First, it is said that this rain helps form pearls in their oyster shells, obviously an important issue for those residents along the Gulf coast.74 A second benefit of this rain is that flour kneaded with it rises in the least amount of time. When there was no rain, people in Qatar would perform the prayer (istisqā’) for rain. After meeting for the prayer, the men would put their cloaks on inside out and return home, hoping that the rain would come as soon as possible.75 During summer it is said to be dangerous to sleep at night under an open sky out in the open or on the roof, according to Qatari folklore, because of the possible falling of rain. As a result they ask Allāh to relieve their anxiety of sleeping indoors in the intense heat by sending the rain clouds away.76 The almanac of al-‘Uyūnı ̄ notes that is it alright to sleep at night under a clear sky in mid-September under the station jabha. Among the Rwala the spring s ̣ayfı ̄ rain is said to destroy annuals but strengthen perennial plants and fill the wells, although the hot weather brings swarms of frogs and insects that can make the water undrinkable.77  Bashı ̄r (2005:93).  Musil (1928:9). 73  Musil (1928:9). 74  See page 247 for a discussion of the influence of rain on pearl formation. 75  al-Mālikı ̄ (2010:96). 76  al-Mālikı ̄ (2010:26). 77  Musil (1928:9–10). 71 72

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5.6   Wind Periods The appearance, direction, and force of wind were important weather variables for everyone living on the Arabian Peninsula. In the formal sense there were four cardinal wind directions. Ibn Qutayba defines these as shamāl (north), janūb (south), ṣabā (east), and dabūr (west).78 From an astronomical and geographical perspective, the north wind came from the direction of the north pole (al-qut ̣b al-a‘lā) and the south wind from the South Pole (al-qut ̣b al-asfal). The other directions were simply the midpoints between the poles. Any wind that blew between these cardinal directions was labeled nakba ̄’. This was the system of the astronomers (as ̣hạ ̄b al-hisa ̄b), but there was a different set of directional markers based on the ka‘ba in Mecca. According to this system, as defined by al-As ̣ma‘ı ̄, the east wind is also called qabūl because it blows from the direction one faces at the ka‘ba (i.e., to the east) and west is dabu ̄r because it is the wind coming from behind at this point. As David King argues, these wind directions suggest a scheme linked to the orientation of the sacred ka‘ba in Mecca.79 The orientation toward the east is validated by the linking of Shām to the north and left and Yemen to the south and right, when one is facing east at the ka‘ba. Ibn Qutayba provides a variety of lore about each of the major winds.80 The south wind is said to produce dew (nada ̄) from the sea and is especially known to occur at night. It is said to be best to plant when there is a north wind rather than a south wind, which will expose the plant. The north wind is said to disperse clouds and bring cold weather. Among the benefits is that there is more moisture in the ground and this wind is accompanied by mist (d ̣abāb), as though the ground had received rain. There is also a north wind known as jirbiyā’, which is said to be the coldest wind. In general the north wind is said to predominate in winter and summer.81 The west wind also blows in winter and summer but is less common. There is also a southwest wind, coming from the direction of Canopus, that is said to harm wood with its heat. Several wind names mentioned in almanacs and texts on weather lore are found in the Qur’an. One of these is ‘ās ̣if (plural, ‘āwa ̄s ̣if ) in reference to winds of strong force, as noted in surah Yu ̄nus 10:22. Ibn Khālawayh  Ibn Qutayba (1956:162).  King (1991,1999:47–124). 80  Ibn Qutayba (1956:165–166). See also the discussion in Ibn Khālawayh (1984:56–64). 81  For the Rwala the north wind blows mostly in winter (Musil 1928:18). 78 79

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defines this as a wind with great force (rı ̄h ̣ dhāt ‘us ̣u ̄f ).82 It is the kind of fast-moving wind that moves dust and sand and is often present in violent wind storms at sea. During his travel by ship near Oman around the year 1220  CE, Ibn al-Mujāwir describes this as a wind which is “stormy, destructive and very strong,” adding: When it blows, dust blocks up all the windows of the houses, and the openings in the walls. It is said that, when it blows… it is so strong that stones tumble down from the top of the mountains so that they now bring the mountain right to the sea, even though [originally] it was a whole day’s journey between the mountain and the sea.”83

He equates it with a strong southern wind called azyab that blows all along the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. As al-Mas‘ūdı ̄ remarked, “There are several winds in those seas which are known to sailors to blow in particular directions at certain times. This peculiar knowledge is acquired by theory, practice and long experience.”84 Ibn al-Mujāwir equates the violent wind with the wind called ‘aqı ̄m that destroyed the southern tribe of  ‘Ā d, as written in the Qu’ran (al-Dhariyāt 51:41). This refers to a “barren” wind that does not aid in pollenating plants. Al-Ans ̣ārı ̄ mentions ayyām al-hụ s ̣ūm at the station of sa‘d al-su‘ūd (III:8–20) as a reference to the violent wind noted in the Qu’ran (al-Ḥa ̄qqa 69:7) for the destructive wind of seven or eight days inflicted on the tribe of ‘Ā d. The term for pollenating winds is lawāqih,̣ also mentioned in the Qu’ran (al-Ḥijr 12:22). Quoting Abū ‘Ubayda, Ibn Qutayba notes that this is the wind that is said to create rain from clouds.85 This is also defined as a southern wind, with the north wind being barren (‘aqı ̄m), although Ibn Qutayba notes that this is true for the Hejaz but not for Iraq. Ibn Khālawayh notes that these pollenating winds come from the east (ṣabā).86 This is a wind said to pollenate date palms, and the timing of this wind is often designated as a distinct period in almanacs, usually in late winter.

 Ibn Khālawayh (1984:50).  Ibn al-Mujāwir (2008:262). 84  Al-Mas‘ūdı ̄ (1841:270). 85  Ibn Qutayba (1956:167). 86  Ibn Khālawayh (1984:57). 82 83

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An important term in the anwā’ literature is bawāriḥ (singular, bārih)̣ , which Ibn Qutayba defines as hot summer winds from the north that stir up dust (‘ajāj).87 One of the explanations for the term is that it comes (tabrahụ ) from the north of the ka‘ba, again linking back to the sacred cosmology of Mecca.88 Ibn Sı ̄da also notes that the same term could refer to a wind that stirs up dust or even an intensely cold wind, so that the sense of stirring up dust seems to be essential.89 The early almanac sources refer to the bawārih ̣ winds as stirring after the dawn rising of the Pleiades in Ayyār (May). Abū Ḥanı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ places both the bawāriḥ and the samā’im winds as occurring at the same general time, with both lessening in the middle of Ab̄ (August).90 Al-Marzūqı ̄ claims that the bawārih ̣ winds occurred during the stars of the Pleiades, Aldebaran, jawzā’, Sirius, and ‘aqrab.91 In the late thirteenth-century Yemeni almanac of al-Malik al-­Ashraf ‘Umar the bawārih ̣ winds occur just before the hot simoom winds, starting after the dawn rising of the Pleiades in mid-Ayyār (May) for a week.92 As is the case for rain periods, there is variance in when a wind blows depending on location.93 A summary of wind periods mentioned in the Gulf almanacs is provided in Table 5.18. This variance can be illustrated in reference to the winds labeled ba ̄rih ̣ in the Gulf and Saudi Arabia.94 The poet Ibn Shahwān equates the bawa ̄rih ̣ winds with the start of summer (s ̣ayf ) in Ḥazı ̄rān (June). Al-Ans ̣ārı ̄ suggests that thurayyā is the first star of the bārih ̣ wind at VI:7. This date stems back to Ibn Qutayba, who equates the hot bawārih ̣ winds with simoom (samūm), at the rising of the Pleiades in Ḥazı ̄ra ̄n.95 This usage appears to be for the interior of the peninsula rather than in the Gulf,  Ibn Qutayba (1956:172).  Ibn Qutayba (1956:88). 89  Ibn Sı ̄da (1964(9):85). 90  Al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):288,290). 91  Al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914(1):216). 92  Varisco (1994:33) 93  There are many terms in local dialects for wind, both on land and sea, in the Gulf. For Qatari terms, see al-Mālikı ̄ (2013:307–308). For the Emirates, see al-Shaybānı ̄ (2020:79–105). Musil (1928:18) provides terms used by the Rwala, who range to the northwest of the Gulf. Hess (1926) provides details on information about older Bedouin lore on winds. 94  For a contemporary analysis of the bawārih,̣ see al-Ẓ āhirı ̄ (2011), who notes that these winds an reach sixty kilometers an hour with temperatures between 40 and 46 ° C. 95  Ibn Qutayba (1956:88). Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ placed the start of the simoom winds at V:16 and also at VI:24. 87 88

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Table 5.18  Wind periods according to the Gulf almanacs Station or zodiac

Date

Description

sharat ̣a ̄n (#1)

V:12–24

jawza’̄ (Gemini)

V:22–VI:21

but ̣ayn (#2)

V:25–VI:6

thurayyā (#3)

VI:7–VI:19

dabarān (#4) haq‘a (#5)

VI:20–VII:2 VII:3–15

han‘a (#6)

VII:16–28

asad (Leo) dhira ̄‘(#7)

VII:23–VIII:22 VII:29–VIII:10

nathra (#8) zubra (#11)

VIII:11–24 IX:19–X:1

sarfa ̣ (#12) ghafr (#15) zubānā (#16)

X:2–14 XI:10–22 XI:23– XII:5 XII:19–I:1 III:8–20

ba ̄rih ̣ al-nuffa ̄kh wind blows (ANS, ASI, UWA, UYU) North wind strengthens (UWA) Simoom wind intensifies (ANS, UWA) North winds blow (ANS, UWA) ba ̄rih ̣ al-hụ ffa ̄r blows (ANS, ASI, HASH, MAJ, UWA) Strong north wind stirs up Gulf and Indian Ocean (UYU); known as h-̣ l-s? (UWA) Simoom wind intensifies (ASI, UWA, UYU) Strong north winds last for about seven days (ASI) Strong north wind called ḍarbat al-thurayyā usually blows (ASI) Strong wind called al-bārih ̣ al-‘awd blows (ASI) sama ̄’im winds blow (ASI, MAJ, UWA, UYU) Strong north wind and the ‘awa ̄s ̣if winds intensify (ASI) Middle star of the bārih ̣ period (ANS) Violent winds blow on the sea (ANS, MAJ, UWA, UYU) Hot and wet southeast wind blows and sometimes switches to north wind (ASI) Violent winds blow on the sea (UWA) Simoom wind intensifies (UWA) Simoom can blow (ASI) Less breeze and wind is at times calm (ASI) Winds can damage fruit (MAJ, UYU) Simoom wind blows during the day (UWA, UYU) North wind blows (ANS, ASI, UYU) Some winds blow (MAJ) Wind with rain and cold at night (MAJ) South wind blows (UWA, UYU) Violent winds increase (ANS, UWA, UYU) Violent winds on sea in the Gulf (HASH) Cold winds blow (MAJ, UWA, UYU) Wind called na‘a ̄yāt al-shitā’ blows

qalb (#18) sa‘d al-su‘ū d (#24) sa‘d al-akhbiya (#25)

III:21–IV:2

Winds increase (UWA, UYU) Winds blow (MAJ) (continued)

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Table 5.18  (continued) Station or zodiac

Date

Description

fargh muqaddam (#26) fargh mu’akhkhar (#27) rishā’ (#28)

IV:3–15

Farmers fear winds harming crops (HASH)

IV:16–28 (UWA, UYU) IV:29–V:11

Violent wind (UWA, UYU) ba ̄rih ̣ al-mishmish wind blows (ANS, HASH, UWA, UYU) A north wind blows (ANS) High winds usually blow (MAJ)

although it is said to blow as a strong northwest that stirs up waves and carries dust in the UAE.96 There are a number of specific bārih ̣ winds mentioned in the almanac lore of the Gulf. Al-Ans ̣ārı ̄, al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄, and al-‘Uyūnı ̄ mention bārih ̣ al-mishmish (the apricot wind) at the dawn rising of rishā’ in early May, calling it a high wind that occurs at the time to plant date palm offshoots. According to al-Ans ̣ārı ̄, the wind during but ̣ayn at V:25 is known as ba ̄rih ̣ al-hụ ffār. Lorimer added a wind called the rose (ward) bārih ̣ for twenty days before the apricot ba ̄rih.̣ 97 Another major wind from the north is called bārih ̣ al-nuffākh at the rising of sharat ̣ayn in mid-May, according to al-‘Uyūnı ̄. The verbal form of n-f-kh refers to blowing in general and nafkha can refer to a gust of wind, reflecting the intensity of the blowing. The use of minfākh for a bellows in stoking fire also comes into play, given the start of the heat, as does the sense of flatulence (Lisān al-‘Arab, n-f-kh). Al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄ calls this al-bārih ̣ al-ṣaghı ̄r (the lesser bārih ̣ wind) as well as bāriḥ al-hạ mas (the wind of the turtles) due to its blowing when turtles lay eggs.98 It is said to be a very strong wind from the north, which intensifies during the day and lessens at night. During the risings of the Pleiades and Aldebaran in June the bārih ̣ al-‘awd (wind of the return) occurs. Al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄ calls this the greater ba ̄rih,̣ when the wind blows intensely night and day. It is reported that during these strong winds people are more likely to become insane.99 The term samūm (known as simoom in English), with a plural of samā’im, is widespread throughout Arabic dialects for the hot summer  Al-Ḥimyarı ̄ (2012:46).  Lorimer (1915(1:II):2206–2207). 98  Al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄ (2008:30) records this as nuffa ̄kh. 99  Al-Ẓ āhirı ̄ (2011). 96 97

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wind. The term itself can refer to a cold wind as well, whether at night or during the day, according to Lisa ̄n al-‘Arab. Most references are to the intense heat of the wind, which can be destructive and cause death. Marco Polo described the effect of this wind at the port of Hormuz as “so overpowerlingly hot that it would be deadly if it did not happen that, as soon as men are aware of its approach, they plunge neck-deep into the water and so escape the heat.”100 Based on his experience in Kuwait, Harold Dickson says that these hot summer winds appeared to be “driven out of a great furnace by some gigantic bellows.”101 It is interesting to note that even hot food can be referred to as sama ̄’ma, reflecting the sense of heat. The timing of the samu ̄m (singular) often differs from the sama ̄’im (plural) in Arab almanacs. In the thirteenth-century Yemeni almanac of al-Malik al-Ashraf ‘Umar, for example, the simoom blows at V:29 and the sama ̄’im at VI:2, intensifying in the following month.102 Abu Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄, one of the earliest sources, places the samā’im winds at the dawn rising of the Pleiades in mid-Ayyār (May) as an east wind (ṣaba ̄).103 He also describes both the bawārih ̣ and sama ̄’im as blowing at the dawn rising of Aldebaran at the end of Ayyar̄ as north winds. This conflation of bawārih ̣ and samūm for intense winds occurs in the Gulf almanacs as well, generally indicating a wind from the north, starting near the end of Ayyār and lasting through the hot summer months.104 The northwest wind in Qatar and the UAE is also called na‘shı ̄, apparently in reference to the constellation of Ursa Major (banāt na‘sh).105 There is also a strong northeast wind in the southern part of the Gulf known as nāshı ̄ that can blow for up to five days.106

 Polo (1958:67).  Dickson (1951:252). 102  Varisco (1994:34). 103  Al-Marzūqı ̄ (1914:2:288). 104  Burckhardt (1831(1):225) writes that the Bedouin he observed considered the north wind pernicious to the health of man and beast. The association of the north wind as strong and violent is not universal on the Arabian Peninsula, since the climate is variable. Ibn Khālawayh (1984:56), for example, notes that the north wind is more like a breeze (nası ̄m) in southern Iraq. 105  In the UAE the wind na‘shı ̄ is also called al-kaws and is said to be intensely cold in winter (al-Ḥimyarı ̄ 2012:130). 106  Hydrographic Office (1920:26). In classical Arabic the root n-sh-y is often used for a gentle wind. Perhaps the English is actually for na‘shı ̄, as this source does not provide the Arabic. 100 101

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Northern winds are the most prominent and significant in the Gulf, especially in late spring and early summer. In the northern part of the Gulf the north wind is especially strong in April. During winter these winds can reach gale force, and made travel difficult even for steamships during the first part of the twentieth century.107 Regarding the climate around Qatar, Ibrahim Ahmed describes the north winds as follows: “The shamals are dry and occasionally dustladen, and may blow for days or weeks at a time, varying in strength from light to near gale or even gale force (more than 35 knots) especially off-shore.”108 These northern winds are responsible for creating the sand dunes in the south of Qatar.109 Sulaymān al-Mahrı ̄ mentions a northern wind called shillı ̄ for storms during January and the start of February.110 This term is also found on the southern coast of Oman, where it refers to both a wind and a star in May.111 Besides janūb for the south wind, a common term used by sailors for the south wind is azyab; it could also refer to a southeast wind, as recorded by Sulaymān al-Mahrı ̄.112 According to Ibn Sı ̄da, the origin of the term is from the Hudhayl dialect, but it became widespread.113 A term used for winds from the southwest in the Gulf is suhaylı ̄ in reference to the southern marker star of Canopus.114 The traveler Cowper remarks that this generally lasted only for a few hours and was followed by the kaws wind, which carried thunder and rain.115 The term kaws refers to the southwest monsoon that started off the coast of Africa and traveled east, as noted by Ibn Mājid and Sı ̄dı ̄ Celebı ̄.116 In his early thirteenth-century lexicon, al-Ṣaghānı ̄ (k-w-s) states that kaws refers to the wind that the Indians return east on and the azyab wind is when they leave India and sail west. Along the southern Omani coast, including Mahra, kaws was used for a 107  Hydrographic Office (1920:25). This source notes that north winds in winter can appear without warning from the barometer. 108  Ahmed (2002:20). 109  Ferdinand (1993:54). 110  Tibbetts (1971:384). 111  Nash, Agius, Al-Mahrooqi, and Al-Yahyai (2016:184). 112  Ferrand (1925:38v). 113  Ibn Sı ̄da (1964(9):85). 114  This southwest wind is feared because it blows into many of the sheltered anchorages on the Persian side. It only occurs in winter and brings rain and lightning (Hydrographic Office 1920:26). 115  Cowper (1894:430). The kaws wind is associated with the rising of Canopus in the southern Omani calendar of Maṣı ̄ra. 116  Ferrand (1914:485).

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wind coming from the south.117 Another local term used on the peninsula for the south wind during the heat in summer is hayfiyya.118 In classical usage, as recorded by Ibn Sı ̄da, the term hayf could refer to a hot wind from the southwest, during which leaves fall from plants and dried dates and for every wind considered simoom, but it could also be used for a cold wind.119 In the Hadramawt hayf refers to the intense heat of summer, coming from the south and bringing misfortune.120 A number of Arabic terms for winds were also used in Persian dialects on the coast of Iran.121

5.7   Hot and Cold Weather Both hot and cold weather were important points of reference in the almanac tradition. This was the case for pastoralists, farmers, and travelers on land and sea, as well as for health in the humoral system. The major distinctions about heat and cold are noted in Table 5.19. The heat in the Gulf is well-known and there are several local terms used to label periods of heat. As the missionary Harrison wrote, echoing so many other Western visitors to the region, “The heat in summer is extreme and the air is practically always moist, so that for three or four months in the summer the climate is almost unbearable.”122 For the Rwala Bedouin, one of the most intense hot periods is hạ mm al-kulaybayn during qayz ̣.123 Qayz ̣ is the classical term for the hottest part of summer, although it is not used in the formal four-season model of earlier Arab scholars. The anwā’ genre contains a number of terms for hot periods during the summer, but the main reference in the Gulf almanacs is to hot wind periods such as the simoom, with ‘Uwayḍa saying it starts in sharat ̣ayn (V:13–25), intensifies in the succeeding station of but ̣ayn (V:26-VI:6), and is still present in the day during zubra (IX:20-X:2). Al-Marzūq refers to the hot period known as bāhụ ̄ra, starting at VI:27 after day 321 of the Canopus calendar.124 For the Omani island of Mas ̣ı ̄ra the hot ba ̄hụ ̄ra 117  Hess (1926:589). In Qatar the kaws wind blows from the southeast to the northwest and is moist (al-Dabbāgh 1961:35). 118  Hess (1926:587). 119  Ibn Sı ̄da (1964(9):85).  120  Landberg (1901:734) refers to this as “el-hēfije” and notes it was used by the ‘Utayba tribe for a hot summer wind. 121  Gazsi (2013). 122  Harrison (1924:72). 123  Musil (1928:17). 124  Al-Marzūq (2019).

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Table 5.19  Heat and cold periods according to the Gulf almanacs Station or zodiac

Date

Description

jawza’̄ (Gemini) dabarān (#4) haq‘a (#5)

V:22-VI:21 VI:20-VII:2 VII:3–15

han‘a (#6)

VII:16–28

dhira ̄‘(#7)

nathra (#8)

VII:29-­ VIII:10 VII:23-­ VIII:22 VIII:11–24

Heat intensifies (UWA) If there is less wind, the weather is hotter (ASI) Hot weather increases (ASI) Heat and humidity intensify (MAJ) Heat intensifies (ANS, HASH, MAJ) Hot period known as jamrat al-qayz ̣ (ASI) Underground cools (ANS, MAJ) Highest humidity (ASI) Heat intensifies (MAJ) Heat intensifies (MAJ, UWA)

jabha (#10)

IX:6–18

zubra (#11)

IX:19-X:1

sarfa ̣ (#12)

X:2–14

zubānā (#16)

XI:23XII:5 XII:6–18

asad (Leo)

iklı̄l (#17) qalb (#18) shawla (#19) dalw (Aquarius) balda (#21 sa‘d al-dhābiḥ sa‘d al-su‘ū d (#24) sa‘d al-akhbiya (#25) fargh muqaddam (#26)

XII:19-I:1 I:2–14 I:21-II:19

Most intense heat and humidity of summer (ASI) Early morning heat (HASH) Heat is broken with hot days but temperate nights (ASI) Night cools (ANS, MAJ, UYU) Hot weather during the day (ANS) Fires lit in cold areas (UYU) Temperature moderate in daytime and colder at night (ASI) Heat departs at rising and cold departs at setting (HASH) Cold at night (MAJ) Departure (insira ̣ ̄f) of the heat (MAJ) Cold increases (ANS, MAJ) Vapors rise from inside the body (ANS) Cold intensifies (HASH) Vapors rise from inside the body (UWA) Intense cold (HASH) Cold intensifies (ANS) Cold intensifies (ANS)

I:28-II:9 II:10–22 III:8–20 III:21-IV:2 IV:3–15

Water freezes in cold regions (HASH) Breaking of the cold is hoped for (MAJ) Temperature moderates (ANS) Cold increases if not rain (ANS) Cold can destroy fruit (ANS, MAJ)

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period occurs from VII:16 to VIII:23. The term jamrat al-qayz ̣ (the ignited coal of hot summer), according to al-Shammārı ̄, occurs during han‘a (VII:16–28) and refers to the most intense heat.125 In Kuwait the term jār wa-jār, derived from Persian, refers to a transitional temperature period of eight days, four of which are hot and four cold.126 A number of local terms refer to periods of cold. One of the more common is bard al-‘ajūz (the cold of the old woman), also known as ayya ̄m (days) or layal̄ ı ̄ (nights) of the old woman in Arab folklore.127 In Arab almanacs this period is generally linked to seven days, the last three days of ̄ r (March). The classical sources Shuba ̄ṭ (February) and first four of Adhā provide names for each of these seven days: s ̣inn, s ̣innabr, wabr, āmir, mu’tamir, mu‘allil, and mutfı ̄ al-jamr.128 This cold spell is said to occur during the dawn setting of the naw’ of s ̣arfa, so named because of the departure (ins ̣irāf ) of the cold in early March. An informant in Qatar told me in 1988 that when an old woman was told to shear her sheep, she said it was still winter. That night a cold rain storm came, killing both her and her sheep. One of the more unique interpretations is that an old woman wanted to marry again after the death of her husband. Her sons said that she should stay naked in the open for seven days, during which she died.129 A second term common in the Gulf is the cold period known as ‘aqa ̄rib al-shitā’ (the scorpions of winter). This refers to the onslaught (s ̣awla) and intensity of the winter’s cold, as related in Lisān al-‘Arab. Ibn Qutayba says that it could not be named for the zodiacal constellation of Scorpio (‘aqrab), which is in autumn.130 Rather it refers to the conjunction of the new moon (hị la ̄l) with the lunar stations of iklı ̄l (November), qalb (December), and shawla (January). Several almanacs, including that of al-Ans ̣ārı ̄ and the almanac poem of al-Qāḍı ̄, mention a cold so intense that vapors (dukhān) come out of the inside (jawf ) of the body during the 125  This jamra should not be confused with the three periods called jamra, starting in February. 126  Muḥammad (2009:97). The Arabized term ja ̄r is a cognate of the number four in Persian. The same term is used in Hindi, reflecting its use along the Indian Ocean navigation network. This term is also mentioned in the Omani calendar of Ması̣ ̄ra. 127  For stories about the origin of this seasonal term, see al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (1879:244–246), al-Jawālı ̄qı ̄ (1967:134), and Varisco (1994:124–126). 128  Al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ (1859) and Ibn al-Aḥmar (al-Rāzı ̄ 1971:274, ‘-j-z), although Ibn Qutayba (1956:119) only mentions five, dropping āmir and mu’tamir and adding mukfı ̄ al-z ̣a‘n; for variations of these terms, see al-Jawālı ̄qı ̄ (1967:134). 129  Ibrāhı ̄m (2014). 130  Ibn Qutayba (1956:118, 119).

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month of Kānūn al-Thānı ̄. The earlier almanac attributed to Ja‘far al-Ṣadiq describes it as follows: vapors come out of people’s mouths because the heat collects inside everything that breathes (yakhruj al-dukhān min afwāh al-nās wa-dhālik in al-hạ rāra tajma‘fı ̄ jawf kull dhı ̄ nasama).131

Bibliography Electronic Documents Ā l Masā‘id, Khālid 2005 Al-Taqwı̄ m al-falakı̄ . http://www.yanbu1.com/vb/ showthread.php?t=39881 (Accessed June, 2016) al-Dhuwaybı ̄, Rāshid b. ‘Amı ̄ra al-Maṭrafı ̄ 1435/2013–2014 Taqwı̄ m Ibn ‘Amı̄ ra al-zirā‘ı̄ wa-al-manākhı̄ li-‘ām 1435 H. https://www. facebook.com/287020794648357/photos/pcb.78753256126384 2/787531744597257/?type=3&theater (Accessed June, 2016) al-Ḥ ārithı ̄, Māni‘ b. Fahı ̄d 2008 Qaṣı̄ da naẓamthā fı̄ al-manāzil...http://www. mekshat.com/vb/showthread.php?700105-­% DE%D5%ED%CF%C9-­ % C C % C F % E D % C F % C 9 -­% E 4 % D 9 % E 3 % C A % E 5 % C 7 -­% D D % E D -­ %C7%E1%E3%E4%C7%D2%E1 (Accessed June, 2021) Ibrāhı ̄m, ‘Abd al-Karı ̄m 2014 (Bard al-‘ajūz) wa (al-jilla al-kharṣa) wa (juwı ̄rı ̄d) ḥakāyāt min dhākira al-ajdād. Al-Ḥ aqı̄ qa, 1/1/2014. http://www.alhakikanews.com/index.php/permalink/6866.html (Accessed June, 2021) Kuwait Oil Workers 2008 Jadwal mawāsim al-sanna bi-mantị qat al-Khalı̄ j, Mawqi‘ al-‘Ā milı ̄n bi-al-Qiṭā‘ al-Nafṭı ̄. http://www.q8ow.com/vb/ threads/6259/ (Accessed June, 2021) al-Marzūq, ‘Ādil 2019 Mā ‘alāqa dulūq suhayl bi-fitrat al-wasm wa-alamṭār? al-Akhbār (Kuwait). https://www.alanba.com.kw/ar/kuwait-­ news/930303/20-­1 0-­2 019-­% D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8 %B2%D9%88%D9%82-­% D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A9-­ %D8%AF%D9%84%D9%88%D9%82-­% D8%B3%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%84-­ %D8%A8%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A9-­%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%85-­ %D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1/ (Accessed June, 2021) ̣ Umm Sheikha 2008 Ḥ isāb ‘al-durūr’ t ̣arı̄ qa ahl al-Imārāt li-ma‘rifat al-taqs. h t t p s : / / f o r u m . u a e w o m e n . n e t / s h o w t h r e a d . p h p / 8 6 6 7 4 3 -­ %D8%AD%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A8-­%C2%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8 %B1%D9%88%D8%B1%C2%BB-­%D8%B7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%A9-­ %D8%A3%D9%87%D9%84-­%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%85%D8%A7%D8 131  The copy consulted of the almanac attributed to Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq is in the Western Library of the Great Mosque in Ṣan‘ā’ and was copied in 827/1424.

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%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-­%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%A9-­ %D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B7%D9%82%D8%B3 (Accessed June, 2021) al-Ẓ āhirı ̄, Hizā‘ 2011 Riyāḥ al-bawāriḥ. Markaz al-‘A ̄ ṣifa li-Ḥ uwāt al-Ṭ aqs. http://www.storm.ae/vb/showthread.php?t=34924 (Accessed June, 2021)

Manuscripts Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq 827/1424 Mukhtasạ r fı ̄ ma‘rifat sana ̄ al-‘Arab wa-shuhur̄ hā. Ṣan‘ā’, Great Mosque Library.

Published Texts Ahmed, Ibrahim Fouad 2002 Qatar & the Sea. Third Edition. Doha: National Council for Culture, Arts & Heritage. al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄, Muhannā Rāshid 2008 Dalı ̄l al-nujūm fi samā’ Qat ̣ar wa-al-Khalı ̄j. Doha: Tawzı ̄‘ Maktabat al-Thaqāfa. Al-Aṣma‘ı ̄, Abū Sa‘ı ̄d ‘Abd al-Malak b. Qurayb 1972 Kitāb al-Nabāt. ‘Abd Allāh Yūsuf al-Ghanaym, editor. Cairo: Maktaba al-Mutanabbı ̄. Bashı ̄r, Sālim b. 2005 Kitāb al-Anwā’ wa-manāzil al-qamar. Kuwait. al-Bilādı ̄, ‘Ā tiq b. Ghayth 1982 al-Adab al-sha‘bı ̄ fı ̄ al-Ḥ ijāz. Mecca: Dār Makka li-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzı ̄‘. al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄, Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad 1879 The Chronology of Ancient Nations. Edward Sachau, translator. London: W. H. Allen & Co. Burckhardt, John Lewis 1831 Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. Cowper, H. Swainson 1894 Through Turkish Arabia. London: W. H. Allen & Co. al-Dabbāgh, Musṭ afā ̣ māḍı ̄hā wa-hạ d̄ ị rhā. Beirut: Dār al-Ṭalı ̄‘a. ̣ Marād 1961 Qatar Dickson, H.  R. P. 1951 The Arab of the Desert. 2nd edition. London: Allen and Unwin. Dostal, Walter 1975 Two South Arabian Tribes: Al-Qarā and al-Ḥarāsı ̄s. Arabian Studies 2:33–41. Dozy, Reinhart and Charles Pellat 1961 Le calendrier de Cordoue. Leiden: Brill. Ferdinand, Klaus, editor 1993 Bedouins of Qatar. London: Thames and Hudson. Ferrand, Gabriel 1914 Relation de voyages et textes géographiques arabes, persans et turques relatifs à l’Extrême-Orient. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. Ferrand, Gabriel 1925 Instructions nautiques et routiers arabes et portugais des XVe et XVIe siècles. Tome II: Sulaymān al-Mahrı ̄ et Ibn Mājid. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. Gätje, Helmut 1976 The Quran and its Exegesis. Berkeley: University of California Press. Gazsi, Dénes 2013 The Deceptive, the Reddish and the Ursa: Arabic Wind Terminology on Iran’s Gulf Coast. In Renaud Kuty, Ulrich Seeger and Shabo

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Talay, editors, Nicht nur mit Engelszungen, 101–108. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. Gingrich, Andre 1994 Südwestarabische Sternenkalender: Eine ethnologische Studie zu Struktur, Kontext und regionalem Vergleich des tribalen Agrarkalenders der Munebbih im Jemen. Vienna: WUV Universitätsverlag, Wiener Beiträge zur Ethnologie und Anthropologie, Band 7. Gottheil, R. J. H. 1895 Kitāb al-Mat ̣ar. By Abū Zeid Sa‘ı ̄d ’Aus al-Ansạ̄ rı ̄. Journal of the American Oriental Society 16:2820317. Haffner, August and Louis Cheikho 1908 Dix anciens traités de philologie arabe. Beirut: Imprimerie catholique. Ḥanẓal, Fāliḥ 1978 Mu‘jam al-alfādh al-‘āmiya fı ̄ dawlat al-Imārāt al-‘Arabiyya al-Mutahḥ ị da. Abu Dhabi: Mu’assasat Dār al-Fikr al-Jadı ̄d. Harrison, Paul 1924 The Arab at Home. London: Hutchinson and Company. Hess, Johann Jakob 1926 “Die Namen der Himmelsgegenden und Winde bei den Beduinen des Inneren Arabiens.” Islamica 2:585–589. al-Ḥ imyarı ̄, Khalı ̄fa Aḥmad 2012 Mawsu’at al-Ima ̄rāt al-bahṛ ı ̄ya. Dubai: Hay’at al-Ma‘rifa wa-al-Tanmiyya al-Basharı ̄ya. Hydrographic Office 1920 Persian Gulf Pilot. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄, Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhı ̄m (d. 650/1251) 1964 Al-Azmina wa-al-anwā’. Damascus: Dār Samirāmı ̄s li-al-Ṭibā’a wa-al-Nashr. Ibn Khālawayh, al-Hu ̣ sayn b. Ahmad (d. 370/980) 1984 Kitāb al-Rı ̄h.̣ Edited by Ḥusayn Muḥammad Sharaf. Privately Published. Ibn Khamı ̄s, ‘Abd Allāh b. Muḥammad 1972 [1392] Ras̄ hid al-Khalāwı ̄: hạ yātuh, shi‘ruh, hị kmuh, falsafatuh, nawādiruh, hisābuh al-falakı ̄. Saudi Arabia. Ibn al-Mujāwir, Jamāl al-Dı ̄n Abū‚ al-Fatāḥ Yūsuf (died 690/1291)2008 A Traveler in Thirteenth-Century Arabia: Ibn al-Mujāwir’s Tārı ̄kh al-Mustabṣir. Translated by G. Rex Smith. London: The Hakluyt Society. Ibn Qutayba, Abū Muḥammad ‘Abd Allāh (d. 276/889) 1956 Kitāb al-Anwā’. Hyderabad: Matba‘at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmāniyya. ̣ Ibn Sı ̄da, Abū al-Ḥasan ‘Alı ̄ 1964 al-Mukhaṣṣaṣ. Beirut: Dār al-Ā fāq al-Jadı ̄da. Ioh, Hideyuki 2014 The Calendar in Pre-Islamic Mecca. Arabica 61(5):471–513. al-Jallad, Ahmad 2016 An Ancient Arabian Zodiac. The Constellations in the Safaitic Inscriptions, Part II. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 27:84–106. al-Jawālı ̄qı ̄, Abū Mansụ̄ r Mawhūb b. Aḥmad (d. 540/1144) 1967 Sharh ̣ adab al-kātib. Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-‘Arabı ̄. Johnstone, Thomas M. 1987 Mehri Lexicon and English-Mehri Word-List. Oxon: Routledge. King, David A. 1999 World-maps for Finding the Direction and Distance to Mecca: Examples of Innovation and Tradition in Islamic Science. Leiden: Brill. King, David A. 1991 MAKKA. 4. As the Centre of the World. The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition. VI:180–187. Kunitzsch, Paul 1994 ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn Ḥabı ̄b’s Book on the Stars. Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften 9:161–194.

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Lancaster, William and Lancaster Fidelity 2011 Honour is in Contentment: Life Before Oil in Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) and Some Neighboring Regions. Berlin: De Gruyter. Landberg, Carlo 1901 Etudes sur les dialectes de l’Arabie Méridionale. Ḥ aḍramoût. Leiden: Brill. Landberg, Carlo 1920 Glossaire Datînois. Volume 1. Leiden: Brill. Lorimer, John Gordon 1915 Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, ‘Omān, and Central Arabia. Volume 1. Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing. al-Mahrı ̄, Muḥammad b. Muslim 2006 Tatakallam al-lahja al-Mahriyya. Oman: Masna‘ ̣ ‘Umān li-Intāj al-Lawāzim al-Madrasiyya al-Maktabiyya. al-Mahrı ̄, Sālim Yāsir, editor 1992 Taqwı ̄m al-Mahra bi-hị sāb Bākrı ̄t. Al-Mahra. al-Mālikı ̄, ‘Abd Allāh b. Fahd 2013 Dalı ̄l al-ghaws ̣‘alā al-lu’lu’ wa-al-bahṛ fı ̄ dı ̄rat Qaṭar. Doha: Dār al-Thaqāfa. al-Mālikı ̄, Khalı ̄fa al-Sayyid Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ 2010 Al-Mu‘taqadāt al-sha‘bı ̄ya li-­ ahl Qat ̣ar. Doha: Matạ̄ bi‘ Rinūdā al-Ḥadı ̄tha. Mandaville, James 2011 Bedouin Ethnobotany: Plant Concepts and Uses in a Desert Pastoral World. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. al-Marzūqı ̄, Abū ‘Alı ̄ 1914 Kitāb al-Azmina wa-al-amkina. Two volumes. Hyderabad: Maṭba‘at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmānıya. al-Mas‘ūdı ̄, ‘Alı ̄ b. al-Ḥusayn 1841 El-Mas’údí’s Historical Encyclopaedia entitled Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems. Aloys Sprenger, Translator. London: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. Miller, Nathaniel 2017 Seasonal Poetics: The Dry Season and Autumn Rains among Pre-Islamic Naǧdı ̄ and Ḥiǧāzı ̄ Tribes. Arabica 64:1–27. Muḥammad, Khālid Sālim 2009 Mawsu ̄‘at al-lahja al-Kuwaytiyya. Kuwait, privately published. Musil, Alois 1928 The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. New York: American Geographical Society. al-Mutayrı ̣ ̄, Shāhir Muḥsin Farrāj al-Asqah 1984 al-Dı ̄wān al-atharı ̄. Saudi Arabia, privately published. Nash, Harriet, D. A. Agius, A.H. Al-Mahrooqi and S.A. Al-Yahyai 2016 Star Use by Fishermen in Oman. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 46(1):179–191. Online at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1095-­9270.12204 al-Nuwayrı ̄, Aḥmad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhāb 1923ff Nihāyat al-‘Arab fı ̄ funūn al-­ adab. Cairo. Philby, H. St. John 1928 Arabia of the Wahabis. London: Constable & Co. Polo, Marco 1958 The Travels of Marco Polo. Translated by R. Latham. Middlesex: Penguin. al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄, Zakarı ̄yā b. Muḥammad (died 682/1293) 1859 Calendarium Syriacum. G. Volck, editor and translator. Lipsae: E. Bredt. Qut ̣rub, Abū ‘Alı ̄ Muḥammad 1985 Kita ̄b al-Azmina wa-talbiyyat al-jāhilı ̄ya. Edited by Hạ nna Jamı ̄l Hạ ddād. Al-Zarqā’: Maktabat al-Manār. al-Quway‘ı ̄, Muḥammad ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z 1984 Turāth al-ajdād. Riyadh. Volume 2.

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al-Rāzı ̄, Muḥammad b. Abı ̄ Bakr (d. 660/1262) 1971 Mukhta ̄r al-sih ̣ ạ h.̣ Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya. Robin, Christian J. 2012 Nouvelles observations sur le calendrier de Ḥimyar. Rassegna di Studi Etiopici New Series, 4:119–151. Robin, Christian J. 1981 Le calendrier himyarite: nouvelles suggestions. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 11:43–53. Sa‘ı ̄dān, Ḥamad Muḥammad 1981 al-Mawsū‘a al-Kuwaitiyya al-mukhtasara. ̣ Kuwait. Schimmel, Annemarie 1993 The Mystery of Numbers. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Scholz, Fred 1981 Beduinen in Inner-Oman und ihre “Teilnahme” am Gesamtgesellschaftlichen Entwicklungsprozess der Sultanats seit Beginn der Erdölwirtschaft. In Fred Scholz, editor, Beduinen im Zeichen des Erdöls, 161–394. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. al-Shaybānı ̄, Mu’ayyad 2020 Sa‘ı ̄d b. ‘Atı ̄j al-Hāmilı ̄ furu ̄siyyat al-hạ bb wa-al-shi‘r. Dubai: Mu’assasat Sultạ̄ n b. ‘Alı ̄ al-‘Uways al-Thaqāfiyya. al-Ṣuwayān, Sa‘d, editor 2000 Al-Thaqāfa al-taqlı ̄diyya fı ̄ al-Mamlaka al‘Arabiyya al-Sa‘u ̄diyya. Riyāḍ: Dār al- Dā’ira li-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawthı ̄q. 12 volumes. Thaqafı ̄, ‘Abı ̄dān b. ‘Atiyya 1439/1440 al-Taqwı ̄m al-Thaqafı ̄. Al-Ṭā’if: ̣ Al-Ḥumaydı ̄ li-Tijāra wa-al-Zirā‘a. Tibbetts, Gerard R. 1971 Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean before the Coming of the Portuguese, being a translation of Ahmad Ibn Majid al-Najdi. London: The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. al-‘Ubbūdı ̄, Muḥammad b. Nāsiṛ 2011b Mu‘jam alfāz ̣ al-matar ̣ wa-al-sihạ ̄b. Riyadh: Dār al-Thulūthiyya. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1994 Medieval Agriculture and Islamic Science: The Almanac of a Yemeni Sultan. Washington: University of Washington Press. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1989a The Anwā’ Stars according to Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj. Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften 5:145–166. Wilkinson, Jon 1977 Water and Tribal Settlement in South-East Arabia. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Yateem, Abdullah [Yātı ̄m] 2018 al-Iqtisạ ̄d wa-al-mujtama‘a fı ̄ ba ̄diya al-imārāt: dira ̄sa anthru ̄bu ̄lu ̄jiyya. Bahrain: Markaz Dirāsāt al-Baḥrayn, Jāmi‘at al-Baḥrayn. Yateem, Abdullah [Yātı ̄m] 2009 Agriculture and Pastoralism in the Hajar Mountains of the Emirates: A Historical Ethnography. Journal of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies 35(135):17–85. al-Zamakhsharı ̄, Abū al-Qāsim Mahmūd b. ‘Umar 1982 Asās al-balaḡ ha. Beirut: Dār al-Ma‘ārif. Zimmerman, Wolfgang 1981 Die Beduinen von Musandam. In Fred Scholz, editor, Beduinen im Zeichen des Erdöls, 55–100. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag.

CHAPTER 6

Range of Content in the Almanacs

The almanac as a genre covers other aspects beyond the astronomy, time-­ keeping, and weather described in previous chapters, and agriculture, pastoralism, navigation, pearling, and fishing, to be described in future chapters. Details also relate to Islamic cosmology, stages of the environment, animals, plants, life cycle events, and religious commemorations. Much of this lore dates back more than a millennium to the anwa ̄’ genre, but this has been filtered through generations of oral as well as literate culture. The contemporary compilers of almanacs in the Gulf build on local knowledge, but also include information from the past, whether it is still relevant or not.

6.1   Cosmology of Almanac Lore With the appearance of the early anwa ̄’ genre, an entire cosmological system evolved among Islamic scholars for the zodiacal constellations, stations, and solar calendar, as described in the account by the fourteenth-century Mamluk scholar al-Nuwayrı ̄.1 This universal “systems theory” should be understood as the backdrop for much of the

1  See al-Nuwayri (1923(I):158–173). I replace ha ̄ḍima with hādima for the power in autumn.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_6

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Table 6.1  The cosmological scheme, according to al-Nuwayrı ̄ Item

Spring rabı̄‘

Summer ṣayf

Autumn kharı̄f

Winter shitā’

nature ṭab‘ zodiac burūj conduct

hot and wet ḥārr and raṭb Aries, Taurus, Gemini activity ḥaraka infancy ṭufūlı̄ya and ḥadātha south janūb 1,2,3 attraction jādhiba blood dam

hot and dry

cold and dry bārid and yābis Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius activity

cold and wet

mature adult kuhūla

old age shayūkha

north shamāl 7,8,9 destroying hādima black bile al-­mirra al-sawdā’ Saturn zuḥal

west dabūr 10,11,12 pushing dāfi‘a phlegm balgham

age sinn winds riyāḥ hours power quwwa humors ‘akhlāṭ

planets moon and Venus kawākib qamar and zuhara stations part of fargh manāzil muqaddam through part of haq‘a # of 94 days

Cancer, Leo, Virgo silence/calm sukūn adolescence shabāb east ṣabā 4,5,6 seizing māsika yellow bile al-­mirra al-ṣafrā’ Mars and sun mirrikh and shams part of haq‘a through part of ṣarfa 93

Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces silence/calm

part of ṣarfa through part of shawla

Jupiter and Mercury mushtarı̄ and ‘uṭarid part of shawla through part of fargh muqaddam

89

89

information recorded in the Arab almanacs. The connections of this cosmology are shown in Table 6.1. The foundation of the cosmology of all living things is the humoral system (akhlāṭ).2 Following on Greek tradition, everything was defined as being either hot or cold, wet or dry, with four products in the human body. Blood, considered to be hot and wet, was said to be superior because it feeds the body. Early Islamic scholars believed blood was produced in the liver from the remains of digested food. Phlegm, cold and wet, helps convert blood into sustenance for the body, and keeps the organs and 2  For an introduction to this system, see Pormann and Savage-Smith (2007:43–45) and Ullmann (1978:57–60).

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various parts of the body moist. The gall bladder stores the body’s supply of yellow bile, viewed as hot and dry. This bile was thought to help the blood through narrow vessels and to be responsible for the color of feces. Black bile, produced in the spleen and considered cold and dry, thickened the blood and assisted in bone growth. By entering the stomach it also helped create the appetite for food. Despite the obvious inaccuracy of the humoral qualities in a modern scientific light, it was a neat, closed system that seemed to explain the complicated nature of the human body in its relation to all of nature for many generations of scholars and physicians.

6.2   Health and Medical Treatment Due to the influence of the humoral system, health and medicine were directly concerned with seasonal change and diet. Advice is provided in the almanacs on preventive measures for health during each season. An overview of the variety of information is provided in Table 6.2. The almanacs reflect knowledge of sources like the genre of the Prophet’s Medicine (al-ṭibb al-nabawı ̄) rather than folk usage.3 Although scholars in the Gulf may have had access to earlier texts on Islamic medicine, the vast majority of knowledge about health and disease would have been local and reflected folk medicine. One of the published medical works from the Gulf is the early seventeenth-century medical treatise Fa ̄kihat al-sabı ̄l by the Omani scholar Rāshid b. ‘Amı ̄r b. Thānı ̄ b. Khalaf Ibn Hāshim (d. 1019/1610), who builds on earlier texts that include the Greek knowledge attributed to Hippocrates and Galen. In a chapter on the seasons, Ibn Hāshim describes the medical treatments and appropriate foods to eat or avoid for each of the four seasons.4

6.3   Food, Diet, and Healthy Living Food and diet, as defined in the humoral system, are frequently mentioned in the almanacs, as noted in Table 6.3. The Arabic herbals and the genre of the Prophet’s Medicine define the humoral qualities of every

3  There are several important Arabic texts in this genre, most notably Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (2009) and al-Dhahabı ̄ (1990). There is an English translation of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1998). The genre draws on traditions related to Muḥammad as well as aspects of Islamic medicine derived from Greek tradition. 4  In Ibn Hāshim (1984:49–59); the almanac details are translated on pp. 352–355.

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Table 6.2  Health and medical information in the Gulf almanacs Item

Advised

bathing

bathing with cold water in the morning #8 VII:13–25 (MAJ) VII, IX with cold water (Ibn Ḥ āshim) #15 XI:11–23 (UYU) not needed #26 IV:4–16 (UWA, UYU) #27 IV:16–28 (UWA) I, XI (Ibn Ḥ āshim) VI (Ibn Ḥ āshim) #15 XI:11–23 (HASH, UYU, UWA) #8 VIII:12–24 (UYU) #27 IV:16–28 (UWA)

blankets

bloodletting faṣd body, warming clothing, broadcloth jūkh clothing, light

clothing, wool (ṣūf)

#1 V:13–25 (MAJ, UWU, UYU) V (Ibn Ḥ āshim) IX for light woven linen (Ibn Ḥ āshim) #14 X:29–XI:10 (UYU, UWA) X, XI, XII (Ibn Ḥ āshim) #17 XII:6–18 (UWA, UYU)

Prohibited

#14 X:29–XI:10 (UYU, UWA) #20 I:14–26 (UYU)

#1 V:13–25 (UWA,UYU)

cold, common zukām

cupping ḥijāma

Miscellaneous

spread out to avoid worms (sūs) #9 VIII:26–IX:9 (MAJ, UWA, UYU)

active #8 VIII:12–24 (UYU), #9 VIII:26–IX:9 (UYU), #17 XII:6–18 (UYU), #26 IV:3–15 (ANS, UWA) Aries III:22–IV:21 (UYU) #27 IV:17–29 (UWA, UYU) III, IV, V, VI (Ibn Ḥ āshim)

winter (UYU) I (Ibn Ḥ āshim)

(continued)

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Table 6.2  (continued) Item

Advised

disease treatment mu‘ālajāt al-amrāḍ eye disease waj‘ al-‘ayn

begins #26 IV:4–16 (UWA, UYU)

Prohibited

stirred up #6 VII:17–29 (UYU, UWA)

head dress ‘imāma

not needed #26 IV:4–16 (UWA, UYU),

headache ṣudā‘ hot bath ḥammām medicinal drinks shurb al-dawā’

medicinal plaster or oil ṭilā’ medical practices pestilential disease ṭā‘ūn sinus drainage nazalāt sleep at night

stirred up #26 IV:3–15 (ANS, UWA) XII (Ibn Ḥ āshim) #26 IV:4–16 (UWA, XI (Ibn Ḥ āshim) UYU), Taurus IV:22–V:22 (UYU) #27 IV:16–28 (UWA) IV, V, VI (Ibn Ḥ āshim) III, V (Ibn Ḥ āshim) I (Ibn Ḥ āshim) IX (Ibn Ḥ āshim) raised up #6 VII:17–29 (UYU, UWA) active #17 XII:6–18 (UYU) under clear sky #10 IX:7–20 (HASH, UWA, UYU) #13 X:15–37 (HASH) people avoid sitting in sun #24 III:8–20 (ANS)

sun, sitting in

toothbrush siwāk wounds, healing

Miscellaneous

I (Ibn Ḥ āshim) time for rapid healing of wounds during #3 VI:7–19 (ANS)

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Table 6.3  Times for eating or avoiding certain foods in the Gulf almanacs and from Ibn Hāshim Item

Advised

apple tuffāḥ

Taurus IV:22–V:22 (UYU), #27 IV:16–28 (UWA) IV (Ibn Hāshim) VI (Ibn Hāshim)

beef laḥm al-baqar

birds chives kurrāth citron utrunj cold foods cold and dry foods cold and wet foods cress ḥurf cucumber, snake qiththā’ cumin dates eggplant bādhinjān endive hindibā’ fish

garlic thūm ghee samn

Prohibited

#12 X:3–15 (ANS, UWA, UYU) winter (UYU) X, XI (Ibn Hāshim)

X (Ibn Hāshim) XII (Ibn Hāshim) I (Ibn Ḥ āshim) #27 IV:16–28 (UWA) IX, I (Ibn Hāshim) Aries III:22–IV:21 (UYU) eat after cupping #27 IV:17–29 (UYU) #3 VI:8–30 (UWA, UYU) #4 VI:21–VII:3 (ANS, MAJ, UWA) #8 VIII:12–24 (UWA, UYU) XII (Ibn Hāshim) V (Ibn Hāshim)

in lukewarm water at breakfast #22 II:9–21 (UYU) VII, VIII (Ibn Hāshim)

Taurus IV:22–V:22 (UYU) #27 IV:16–28 (UWA) IV (Ibn Hāshim) VI, X (Ibn Hāshim)

#18 XII:19–31 (UWA, UYU) #20 I:14–26 (UWA, UYU) XII, I (Ibn Hāshim) I (Ibn Hāshim)

#26 IV:3–15 (HASH) #8 VIII:12–24 (UYU) #12 X:3–15 (UYU)

I, XII (Ibn Hāshim)

IV, X (Ibn Hāshim) #12 X:3–15 (ANS, UWAn UYU) X (Ibn Hāshim)

#26 IV:3–15 (ANS, MAJ, UWA) V (Ibn Hāshim) VII (Ibn Hāshim)

(continued)

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Table 6.3 (continued) Item

Advised

ginger zinjibı̄l

#17 XII:6–18 (HASH) #18 XII:19–31 (UWA, UYU) #20 I:14–26 (UYU) XII (Ibn Hāshim) VI (Ibn Hāshim) #8 VIII:12–24 (UWA, UYU)

goat gourd qar‘ grapes ‘inab honey ‘asal hot foods hot and dry foods hot and wet foods lamb legumes baql lemonade lettuce khass meat laḥm milk products

mustard khardal onions baṣal pepper filfil pomegranate rummān plum ‘ijjās purslane al-­baqla al-hamqā

Prohibited

VII, VIII (Ibn Hāshim) #22 II:9–21 (UYU) II (Ibn Hāshim) #17 XII:6–18 (UYU) X, I (Ibn Hāshim) XII (Ibn Hāshim) #13 X:16–28 (MAJ, UWA, UYU) #20 I:14–26 (MAJ, UWA, UYU) X, I (Ibn Hāshim) #4 VI:20–VII:2 (ANS)

VII, VIII (Ibn Hāshim) VI (Ibn Hāshim)

Aries III:22–IV:21 UYU XII (Ibn Hāshim) I (Ibn Hāshim)

#10 IX:7–20 (UYU) V (Ibn Hāshim) XII (Ibn Hāshim) Aries III:22–IV:21 (UYU) V, VI, VII, VIII (Ibn Hāshim) buttermilk #8 VIII:12–24 (HASH, UWA) #18 XII:19–31 (UWA, UYU) XII (Ibn Hāshim) #1 V:14–26 (MAJ) #18 XII:19–31 (UWA, UYU) sour variety VII, VIII (Ibn Hāshim) #8 VIII:12–24 (UWA, UYU) VII, VIII (Ibn Hāshim) Taurus IV:22–V:22 (UYU)

X (Ibn Hāshim)

(continued)

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Table 6.3 (continued) Item

Advised

onion baṣal purslane al-­baqla al-ḥamqā’ salty foods Sweets

#1 V:13–25 (UWA, UYU), #4 VI:20–VII:2 (ANS) IV (Ibn Hāshim)

quince safarjal walnuts jawz water

#1 V:13–25 (UWA) #21 I:27–II:8 (MAJ, UWA, UYU) I (Ibn Hāshim) Taurus IV:22–V:22 (UYU) #27 IV:16–28 (UWA) IV (Ibn Hāshim)

Prohibited

V (Ibn Hāshim) Aries III:22–IV:21 UYU

IV, X (Ibn Hāshim) drinking cold on an empty stomach in summer: Cancer VI:23–VII:23 (ANS, UYU), #4 (VI:22–VII:4) (MAJ) drinking warm water: #17 XII:6–18 (UWA, UYU), wash in morning: #8 VIII:12–24 (UYU, UWA) drinking lukewarm water with cumin in the morning: #22 II:10–22 (UYU)

drinking cold after sleeping #15 XI:11–23 (ANS, UYU, UWA) drinking cold at night #16 XI:24–XII:5 (ANS, MAJ, UYU) drinking at night #20 I:14–26 (UYU)

food and drink.5 Each plant has a quality of being either hot or cold, wet or dry, in varying degrees. Certain foods, by their very nature, were said to heat the body and could lead to illness if taken in excess or at the wrong time. Thus, in the hot summer it was advised to avoid “hot” foods and rather eat cold foods, such as cucumber, to counteract body heat. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya reports a tradition that Muḥammad ate fresh dates (ruṭab) and snake cucumber (qiththa ̄’) at the same time. Because the dates were hot and the cucumber was cold there was a balance in the overall effect. “This is the basis of all treatment,” writes Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, “and a basis for the preservation of health; even more, the whole science of medicine makes use of this principle.”6 The problem was not just with 5  One of the basic texts is the sixteenth-century herbal of al-Ant ̣ākı ̄ (1952), which was widespread on the peninsula. 6  Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1998:76).

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the inherent properties of a specific food, but the potential impact of eating or drinking on the balance in the body. As a result, the most basic medical principle for the Muslim was to eat and drink in moderation. In addition to nourishment, any physical exercise affected this balance. Movement was said to generate heat and rest helped cool the body. Sleep cooled the body on the outside, an observation based on experience, but the soul could dream and thus excite the inner nature of man. Islamic physicians also recognized the emotions as a form of movement or excitement. Thus anger, apprehension, grief, and joy heated the body. The body in a sense regulated itself through excretions, including sweat and seminal fluid as well as wastes. In the case of an excess of a particular quality, especially due to eating, vomiting was seen a natural way that the body maintained its own balance. Similarly, “bleeding” with a leech or by cupping was recommended to relieve a perceived imbalance of blood. In the Prophet’s Medicine genre moderate exercise was considered one of the best ways to preserve a healthy constitution. It was best to be physically active before rather than after a meal. Walking was recommended to help food digest and assist the bowels in getting rid of waste products. Prayer, which involves physical exercise in Islam, was also said to be beneficial after a meal. Sleep should never come right after a meal, but when food has had time to be digested. While Muḥammad looked down upon sleeping in the daytime in general, he often took a short nap in the heat of the day and praised this as an aid in staying awake for evening prayers. The Gulf almanacs warn that sleeping under an open sky during jabha (IX:7–20) is not advised due to the humidity. In Mecca there is a proverb that states: “At the time of Scorpio, do not sleep under an open sky” (Fı ̄ zaman al-‘aqrab, taḥt al-sama ̄’ lā tiqrab).7 Similarly, the almanacs warn against drinking water after sleeping during ghafr (XI:11–23). For XI:22, Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ and al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ suggest that this is a prohibition of drinking cold water during the night because of the cold and humidity. Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ adds that it is forbidden to drink cold water after rising from sleep on XII:29. A tradition of the Prophet Muḥammad states that all cures are suitable on the following days of the lunar month: 17, 19, 21, which are soon after the full moon.8 One of the medicinal cures often mentioned in the almanacs is cupping (ḥijāma), in which blood is drawn by placing a cup or carved animal horn against the skin to create a vacuum around a small skin  Robertson (1930:381).  Al-Dhahabı ̄ (1990:55).

7 8

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incision. This was widely followed as a traditional treatment in the past throughout the Gulf.9 According to al-‘Uyūnı ̄, cupping is recommended during the zodiacal month of ḥamal (Aries), especially during the station al-mu’akhkhar (IV:17–29), but prohibited in winter. Ibn Hāshim prohibited cupping during Kānūn al-Thānı ̄, but suggests it was suitable from ̄ r through Ḥazı ̄rān. In the genre of the Prophet’s Medicine cupping Adhā is said to be suitable in spring and winter, but not in summer.10 The early caliph Abū Bakr prohibited cupping on Tuesday because of a tradition of the Prophet Muḥammad saying that there is an hour on Tuesday in which blood does not flow out. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya adds that cupping is not recommended on Wednesday or Saturday.11 In the Prophet’s Medicine, bloodletting (fas ̣d) is suitable in spring but should be avoided in summer. Ibn Hāshim prohibited bloodletting in Tishrı ̄n al-Thānı ̄ and Kānūn al-Thānı ̄, but advocated it in Tammu ̄z.12 Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ notes that bloodletting should not be done on I:23. Also practiced in the Gulf is cauterization (kayy), used for both people and camels.13 It is said to be a medicinal practice of Muḥammad. Another medicinal practice was the use of a medical plaster or oil on the body, known as t ̣ila ̄’. Ibn Hāshim prohibited the use of oils in Ka ̄nūn al-Tha ̄nı ̄, but they could ̄ be used in Adha ̄r and Ayyār. A variety of cures involved medicinal drinks (shurb al-adwiya). Ibn Hāshim prohibited their use in Tishrı ̄n al-Thānı ̄, but indicates it was suitable from Nı ̄sān through Ḥazı ̄rān. Many of the plants found in the Gulf, as well as those imported as medicants, were said to have specific medicinal uses.14 Folk medicine was widely practiced in the past for a variety of illnesses.15 The traveler Wallin writes that fevers were common all along the Persian Gulf coast in the mid-nineteenth century.16 An illness often mentioned in 9   For details on cupping in the Gulf, see Ḥ anā (1998:157–189), Ibn Hāshim (1984:115–119), and Muṣayqar, al-Shiryān, and ‘Awaḍ (1996). 10  Al-Dhahabı ̄ (1990:55). 11  Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (2009:51–52). The Gulf almanacs do not mention specific days of the week, but only a specific station. 12  Traditional methods of bloodletting in Islamic medicine are discussed by Ibn Hāshim (1984:104–119). 13  For details on the method of cauterization and the illnesses it is used for in the Gulf, see Anqar (n.d.: 29–106). 14  For a list of these plants and their uses, see Anqar (n.d.:107–231). 15  For diseases in Qatar and their traditional treatment, see al-Makkāwı ̄ (1996:64–67) and al-Sulayṭı ̄ (1998). For Saudi Arabia, see al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:139–151). 16  Wallin (1854:174).

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the almanacs is the common cold (zuka ̄m), which is said to be active around the change in seasons.17 Al-‘Uyūnı ̄ writes that colds were active under the stations of muqaddam (IV:4–16), nathra (VIII:12–24),18 ṭarf (VIII:25–IX:6), and iklı ̄l (XII:6–18). The Yemeni almanacs record this for Nı ̄sān and Kānu ̄n al-Awwal and al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ mentions the onslaught of colds in late August. Related to colds is sinus drainage (nazalāt), which al-‘Uyūnı ̄ placed in iklı ̄l, along with colds. This combination is mentioned in a fourteenth-century Rasulid Yemeni almanac. Headaches (s ̣uda ̄‘) are mentioned by al-‘Uyūnı ̄ for muqaddam, along with colds. One of the more common diseases in the history of the region is eye disease (waj‘ al-‘ayn), especially ophthalmia (ramad), mentioned by ‘Uwayḍa for han‘a (VII:17–28). Al-‘Ujayrı ̄ mentions eye diseases at X:14. The eleventh-century almanac of al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ placed eye disease at VII:20. The thirteenth-century almanac of al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ mentions ophthalmia for VII:24 and VIII:26, but the Yemeni almanacs generally place this in Nı ̄sa ̄n. In his description of the eye disease of ramad (ophthalmia) in Saudi Arabia, al-Quway‘ı ̄ notes that the traditional treatment was cauterization of certain veins.19 A proverb from Kuwait states that eye disease is feared the most because it can cause blindness.20 Almanacs often refer to pestilential disease in general, which is not surprising given the various diseases which have ravaged the region in the past. The two terms cited in the almanacs are t ̣ā‘ūn and wabā’. In his analysis of the etymology of these terms, Conrad argues that waba ̄’ refers to “a pestilential corruption of the natural environment that causes various specific diseases, one of which is t ̣a ̄‘ūn.”21 By the fourteenth century, however, these two terms were often used interchangeably, although in the early sources ṭā‘u ̄n referred to the Bubonic plague. Al-‘Uyūnı ̄ placed t ̣a ̄‘ūn in han‘a (VII:17–28). A number of earlier almanacs, including those ̄ although of al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ and several Yemeni examples, also note this for Ab, ̄ Adhār and Ayyār are also said to be months in which such disease occurs. The term waba’̄ , according to the Najdı ̄ author al-Muṭayrı ̄, is associated 17  Traditional cures for the common cold in Islamic medicine are discussed by Ibn Hāshim (1984:202–203). 18  During nathra (#8) in August the heat results in the appearance of the disease known as bu ̄shnı ̄tir? or ‘anqar (ASI). 19  Al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:142). 20  Al-Sa‘ı ̄dān (1981(3):1249). 21  Conrad (1982:274); see also Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1998:28).

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with the wasmı ̄ rain at the start of winter.22 In al-Qat ̣ı ̄f and al-Hasa under the star Canopus there is said to be a risk of pestilence (wabā’).23 The Yemeni almanacs place this in Aylūl and Tishrı ̄n al-Tha ̄nı ̄, noting that it occurs in Egypt in Kānūn al-Awwal.

6.4   Sex The goal of the sexual act in Islamic teaching was first and foremost to have children, but it was also recognized that the release of the sexual urge was part of a normal healthy life for men and women alike. Since Muslim males were forbidden by religious law and for supposed medical reasons to masturbate, the legitimate act of sex between a man and his wife was the only recourse for a believer, apart from slave girls. Abstinence, from this medical perspective, led to an excess of semen in the male body. This could not only result in depression and unhappiness, but also affect the appetite and ultimately lead to blindness. Not engaging in sex was said to lead to madness or epilepsy and other major illnesses. Ibn Hāshim notes that in Ḥazı ̄rān the prophet David of Israel was infatuated by a woman he saw and warned that if “a man does not prevent himself from such, it will alter his mind.”24 While a number of the aphrodisiacal prescriptions in the medical literature might seem exotic by present-day standards, there was a genuine interest in ensuring sexual potency for both the male and female. Certain foods were recommended for increasing the virility of men, including chickpeas, cowpeas, carrots, turnips, asparagus, onions, grapes, most nuts, eggs, roosters, and small birds.25 The almanacs contain advice about when to have sexual activity (nika ̄ḥ and jimā‘) and when to avoid it. It is a long tradition in the almanac genre to quote Hippocrates that the sexual act should not be practiced in July due to the intense heat.26 The almanacs of al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ and al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ relate

 Al-Muṭayrı ̄ (1984:14).  Mandaville (2011:57–58). 24  Ibn Hāshim (1984:50). The reference is to Bathsheba in the story told in II Samuel, chapter 11. 25  For the translation of a thirteenth-century Arabic text on aphrodisiacs, see al-Ṭ ūsı ̄ (2014). 26  This relates to a statement by Hesiod (1982:47) that when Sirius rises in mid-summer “women are most wanton. But men are feeblest.” Al-Ṭ ūsı ̄ (2014:91) advised that apart from spring, sex during summer, autumn, and winter required medication for it not to be harmful. 22 23

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this for VII:25.27 Al-‘Uyūnı ̄ quotes this prohibition for han‘a (VII:17–29). He also states that sex is forbidden when the Pleiades disappears in June, as does al-Anṣārı ̄ in his almanacs. Ibn Hāshim indicates that sex should be avoided on Saturday, Wednesday, the first, middle, and last days of the month, and during the two religious festivals. In the genre of the Prophet’s Medicine it is recommended to have less sex in summer, at the same time as one refrains from bloodletting and from frequent bathing, while spring and winter are appropriate times for sex.28 According to Ibn Hāshim, sleeping (ghashayān) with a woman is recommended in Tishrı ̄n al-Tha ̄nı ̄ and Kānūn al-Awwal. Al-‘Uyūnı ̄ notes that sexual desire starts during sa‘d al-dhābiḥ (II:9–21), although one should approach it cautiously, while it comes into full force after the spring equinox, when the humor of blood is stirred. The best time for sexual activity, according to the Prophet’s Medicine, was after food had been digested in the stomach, but not on an empty stomach when one is hungry, nor when one is tired, nor after a bath or evacuation, nor when one is anxious, worried, or overjoyed.29 It is also said to be necessary that a man not rush into the act, but fondle and kiss the woman. The Omani physician Ibn Hāshim says that individuals with a tendency to blood and phlegm humors have more sexual power than those who have yellow or black bile.30 The former can engage in sex up to three times a week, but not more than once a night. Men are said to have a greater sexual drive in winter and women in summer. A man should not engage in sex with someone he hates, is under major stress, is menstruating, is too old or too young, or who has not reached maturity. In Ibn Hāshim’s medical text, the preferred sexual position is described.31 The woman should be on her back and the man on top, raised above her two open thighs. He should first play with her, stimulate her breasts, kiss her lips, and sometimes even suck her cheeks. Then he will be ready to insert his penis into her vagina, holding her closely. When her desire is aroused and her breathing is heavy, the sperm can reach and be 27  Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (1879:237–238) also notes that sex is objected to on XII:11, but questions why this is the case when it is not approved at the start of winter. Ibn Māsawayh suggests that during XII a woman’s body is receptive to having a child, so it is a good time to engage in sex. 28  Al-Dhahabı ̄ (1990:56–57). 29  Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (1998:190). 30  Ibn Hāshim (1984:67–68). 31  Ibn Hāshim (1984:69).

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sucked into the opening of her womb. After this the man should turn on his right side and wait for an hour until the semen has settled. He can then rise up from her, but leaving her with her legs close together is beneficial.

6.5   Migratory Birds, Falconry, and Hunting Almanacs frequently mention the seasonal activities of animals in nature. The Gulf almanacs mention several migratory birds, which is not surprising given the location of the Arabian Peninsula on major bird migration routes. Specific information for migration in the Gulf from the almanacs and similar sources is provided in Table 6.4. There are specific periods for migration of birds through the Gulf. In Kuwait there are two main routes: the Eastern Flyway for birds like raptors coming southward from near the Caspian Sea via Kuwait to Africa and another coming from Eastern Europe. The season runs from late August through winter for birds seeking to escape the cold weather in the north, with a return migration starting around March back north. Of about 315 species of birds observed in Qatar, almost 260 are migratory or winter in the country.32 For Oman, Gallagher says that the majority of 300 land birds recorded for Oman are Palearctic migrants.33 In the Gulf small birds (‘aṣa ̄fir) are said to mate during the rising of balda (I:27–II:8). Birds gain their voice and sing in sa‘d al-su‘ud̄ (III:7–19). Spring birds appear at IV:15 in Kuwait, according to al-‘Ujayrı ̄. Names of birds in Arabic do not always correspond with a specific English common term or scientific nomenclature. For details on the migratory birds seen in and near al-Hasa in the early 1920s, see Cheesman (1926), especially pp. 368–388 where he provides a list of birds he saw. For Kuwait, see al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ (1987:217–219) and Dickson (1951:455–464). Wellsted (1838(1):308–309) and Gallagher (1977) discuss birds seen in Oman. A number of wild animals, especially migratory birds, were hunted in the Gulf, although their numbers are limited today. There is great interest in the Gulf in falconry so it is not surprising that the almanacs refer to both hunting birds (siba ̄‘) and their prey. Hunting birds lay their eggs during 32  Reported in The Peninsula, November 6, 2016. Electronic document: https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/06/11/2016/Migratory-birds-start-arriving-in-Qatar 33  Gallagher (1977:33, 38–40), who lists the known migratory birds in Oman and provides a useful bibliography of sources.

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Table 6.4  Times for migration of birds Arabic term

Variety

Approximate start of migration

‘aṣradān

shrike

baṭṭ

duck

dakhal warbler

warbler

daraj gharānı̄q (pl.)

courser crane

ḥubāra

bustard

hudhud

hoopoe

jūnı̄ karawān

sandgrouse curlew

khawāḍir (pl.)

European roller

khuṭṭāf kudrı̄ qaṭā

swift sandgrouse sand grouse

al-qaṭā al-ma‘a‘ı̄ or naghāq qirdān qumārı̄

sandgrouse

nathra (#8) VIII:12–24 (UYU, ANS) ṣarfa (#12) X:3 (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002, Ā l Masā‘id 2005) muqaddam (#26) IV:3 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) nathra (#8) VIII:11 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) ṭarfa (#9) VII:29 (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002; Ā l Masā‘id 2005) dhirā‘ (#7) VIII:24 (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002) zubra (#11) IX:20–X:2 (ASI) ṣarfa (#12) X:3 (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002, Ā l Masā‘id 2005) zubra (#11) IX:20–X:2 (ASI) ‘awwā’ (#13) XI:11 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) plentiful in October through December and return in March in Qatar (Nash 2011c:1) jabha (#10) IX:6–19 (ASI) during mirzam in Qatar (Nash 2011c:1) iklı̄l (#17) XI:11 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) zubra (#11) IX:20–X:2 (ASI) ‘awwā’ XI:11 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) rishā’ (#28) IV:29 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) dhirā‘ (#7) VII:29 (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002) nathra (#8) VIII:11 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) ṭarfa (#9) VIII:24 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) jabha (#10) IX:6–19 (ASI) jabha (#10) IX:6–19 (ASI, Ibn Khamı ̄s 1985) iklı̄l (#17) XI:11 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) ghafr (#15) XI:11–23 (ASI) iklı̄l XII:7 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) shawla (#19) I:2 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005)

rakhm samaq ṣafārı̄

vulture

egret turtle dove, wild pigeon (ḥamām)

oriole

nathra (#8) VIII:12–24 (UYU, ANS) muqaddam (#26) IV:3 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) mu’akhkhar (#27) IV:16 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) zubra (#11) IX:20 (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002, Ā l Masā‘id 2005) ghafr (#15) XI:11–23 (ASI, Ibn Khamı ̄s 1985) ‘awwā’ (#13) XI:11 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) rishā’ (#28) IV:29 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) ṭarfa (#9) VIII:24 (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002) (continued)

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Table 6.4  (continued) Arabic term

Variety

Approximate start of migration

salḥūt

white wagtail Motacilla alba saker falcon Falco cherrug winter goose spring goose

zubra (#11) IX:20–X:2 (ASI)

saqr al-wizz al-shatwı̄ al-wizz al-rabı̄‘ı̄

jabha (#10) IX:6–19 (ASI) qalb (#18) XII:20 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005) akhbiya (#25) III:21 (Ā l Masā‘id 2005)

sa‘d al-dhābiḥ (II:9–21). The vulture (rakham) bears its young during February (Shuba ̄ṭ), according to Ibn Hāshim. Musil records that among the Rwala the return of the vulture in March/April is greeted with joy because in ten to fifteen days the weather will turn warm.34 Although falconry nowadays is considered a sport, in the past it was an important part of finding food in the harsh arid conditions of the Gulf.35 Regarding nomads in Oman, Henderson observes, “Hunting was not just a sport, it was necessary for life….”36 In Kuwait the main hunting season is from October to the end of April, taking advantage of the migrating birds.37 As described by Thesiger, the season along the Trucial Coast of Oman was from November through March.38 The almanac of ‘Uwayḍa notes that in Pisces (II:20–III:20) it is forbidden to hunt birds because this is the season for the greatest number of eggs. Likewise, the hunting of animals like rabbits and gazelles is forbidden at this time. When the hunters also have salūqı ̄ dogs, the prey of a rabbit seldom escaped both falcon and dog. In Bahrain, Bent describes the use of falcon and  Musil (1928:36). Al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ indicates that vultures appear in Syria at III:13.  Allen and Smith (1975:114) note: “The harsh conditions of the true bedouin existence have not permitted the sophistication of hunting as a sport in the exact sense of the word.” This has obviously changed with the oil wealth in the Gulf. For details on falconry, see Allen and Smith (1975:115–120), who note that the earlier work of Viré (1960) is primarily about the literary aspects of hunting and not the actual practice. For a local Bedouin account, see al-Muṭayrı ̄ (1984:195–200). The richly illustrated study of falconry in Qatar by Al-Timimi (1987), who has a degree in veterinary medicine, is the best introduction to modern falcon hunting in the region. 36  Henderson (1982:33). 37  Dickson (1951:366). 38  Thesiger (1950:143). He describes the way in which peregrines are captured in Oman. Al-Muhanadı ̄ (1992:94) and Al-Timimi (1987:77–93) describe the method of capture and training in Qatar. 34 35

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greyhound: “When the gazelle is sighted the falcon is let loose, it skims rapidly along the ground, attacks the head of the animal and so confuses it, that it falls an easy prey to the hounds in pursuit.”39 Several varieties of falcons were used, most notably the saker (Falco cherrug), which migrates across the region in order to winter in East Africa. The peregrine or sha ̄hı ̄n (Falco peregrinus) and lanner falcons (Falco biarmicus) have also been caught and trained. Thesiger says that the peregrine was more common in Oman than the saker, which was the major falcon in the Najd. Trained goshawks and sparrow hawks, common in Persia and Turkey, were not used in the Arab Gulf. It takes two to three weeks to train a falcon, familiarizing it with frequent handling and food. According to Dickson, the Rashayda and al-Murrah tribesmen were the most skillful in training successful hawks. The most significant birds hunted with falconry were the bustard (ḥuba ̄ra) and the sandgrouse (qat ̣a ̄), especially in winter. The bustard (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii) was the most important bird as a source of food in the region. Dickson describes the appearance and hunting of the bustard: On first reaching Arabia the hubara makes for the small new green shoots of grass that come up with the early rains or wasm season (October). As the rainy season develops and grass comes up everywhere, the birds scatter and proceed deeper and deeper into the interior… Round about Zubair, Kuwait and further south as far as Qatar, the birds are very plentiful throughout the winter, and many thousands of birds are each season killed for food by the local Arabs… A good hawk will only kill four or five hubara in one day, an exceptional hawk has been known to kill as many as seven or eight.40

The sandgrouse was one of the most plentiful varieties of birds in the Syrian desert, where it was hunted for both its meat and eggs. According to Burckhardt, the eggs were fried with butter.41 For Kuwait, al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ mentions hunting with falcons of gazelles (ghizlān), rabbits (arānib), foxes (tha‘ālib), and wolves (dhi’āb).42 When hawks were used to hunt gazelles in Kuwait, it was generally in

 Bent (1890:8).  Dickson (1951:367), who provides a thorough description of falconry in Kuwait. 41  Burckhardt (1831(1):223). 42  Al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ (1987:80); see also Dickson (1951:465–472). 39 40

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association with salūqı ̄ dogs.43 Horses were also used in hunting gazelles.44 Al-‘Uyūnı ̄ and ‘Uwayḍa state that gazelles were hunted during the station of risha ̄’ (IV:29–V:12) between the disappearance of the Pleiades and its rising. During the early nineteenth century Burckhardt observed that gazelles were plentiful in the Syrian desert.45 One method he describes is driving a herd of gazelles into an enclosed area, where they can be shot. In addition to their value as food, the skin was dried and used to cover a small drum (t ̣abl). The hides had a number of practical uses and some were exported. Among other animals, the lizard (ḍabb) was also hunted and eaten; in Kuwait the Bedouin called it the “fish of the desert.”46 In the past the Gulf was also a habitat for the ostrich (na‘a ̄m). In the 1930s Dickson observed that it was rare but still seen between Hail and the Jawf in Saudi Arabia.47 Unfortunately, the ostrich was hunted to near extinction soon after. It is reported that a single ostrich was seen in a flood north of Ma‘an, Jordan, in 1966.48 Ibn Qutayba says that the ostrich laid its multiple eggs at the rising of ‘awwa ̄’ in March.49 Burckhardt mentions that the ostrich mates in mid-winter and will produce twelve to twenty-­ one eggs, which are placed in a nest (madḥa), half buried in sand.50 Musil’s informants told him that it lays ten to thirty eggs during the local season of simāk in March/April and these hatch after twenty-one days. He adds that it was easiest to hunt the ostrich when it was near its nest.51 Both the eggs and meat were said to be eaten in the Jawf. Some birds were caught with elaborate traps, including the kite.52 Although not an animal hunted, cats (sana ̄nı ̄r) are said to be active in sa‘d al-su‘ūd (III:8–20). In Qatar the mating season for cats was called nayrūz.53 43  Dickson (1951:372–373), who provides a description (pp. 374–378) of hunting with the saluq̄ ı ̄. In the former Trucial States salu ̄qı ̄ dogs were hard to keep because they needed to be fed meat (Heard-Bey 1982:171). For details on the salu ̄qı ̄, see Allen and Smith (1975:120–129). These dogs were only useful in lowland and coastal areas, not in high mountains. 44  Raswan (1945:117) notes: “The Bedouins call the blood of gazelles ḥinnâ and rub it on the throat and neck of their horses after a gazelle hunt.” 45  Burckhardt (1831(1):220). 46  Harrison (1924:20). 47  Dickson (1951:466). Heard-Bey (1982:172) reports that ostrich were not seen in the former Trucial States since about the 1930s. 48  Stone (1982:10). 49  Ibn Qutayba (1956:95). Ibn Qutayba simply says the rising, but it must be the evening rising in March rather than the dawn rising in September. 50  Burckhardt (1831(1):217). 51  Musil (1928:38). 52  Al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:48). 53  Al-Mālikı ̄ (2010:99).

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6.6   Insects Information on insects and other noxious vermin is common in the almanacs, which is not surprising. Old houses in Kuwait usually had many insects inside, including fleas and bedbugs.54 However, the major reason such creatures are mentioned in the almanacs is that they are often linked to seasonal change. For Kuwait, a type of dragonfly called Abū Bishı ̄r is said to announce the coming of spring.55 Al-‘Uyūnı ̄ and ‘Uwayḍa warn against the bites or stings of hawa ̄mm or “noxious vermin” at the rising of t ̣arf (VIII:25–IX:6). This term includes animals that creep along the ground but are not eaten, such as snakes, scorpions, ants, cockroaches, beetles, bedbugs, etc. These appear during sa‘d al-dhābiḥ (II:10–22). One of the suggested reasons for the naming of sa‘d al-akhbiya (III:22–IV:3) is that this is the time when insects come out of the ground.56 Al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ mentions their disappearance during the cold of winter at XI:5. Ants are said to burrow underground during ghafr (XI:11–23). Most earlier almanacs mention their disappearance around the start of November, but suggest that ants reappear by the middle of February. Fleas (bara ̄ghı ̄th) are especially active during fargh muqaddam (IV:4–16).57 Flies (dhabāb) begin to appear in Kuwait on I:21 and are active at IV:27, increasing at IX:23, swarming on X:8 and perishing at XII:18, according to al-Ujayrı ̄. The mosquito (nāmūs) increases at IV:20. Silkworms are said to appear during sa‘d al-su‘ūd (III:8–20). This is an old tradition stemming back to the Calendar of Cordoba.58 Bee’s honey is available during fargh mu’akhkhar (V:16–28) or during the zodiacal month of Taurus (IV:22–V:22). One of the delicacies of the past was the locust, a major pest that attacked both pasture and cultivated plants in swarms that could be devastating. Dickson says that in Kuwait there were two varieties, the desert locust called jarād (Schistocerca gregaria) and a red-colored kind  Ḥ usayn (1984:66).  Al-Sa‘ı ̄dān (1981/1:199). 56  The almanac of ‘Uwayḍa and the text of al-Khaṭı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄ (1999:146). The Rasulid Yemeni and the Mamluk Coptic almanacs routinely place their appearance during this station. 57  For Nabaṭı ̄ poetry on fleas, see al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:211–213). Earlier almanacs, such as those of Ibn Māsawayh and al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄, mention the activity of fleas in February and their demise in June or July. 58  The Rasulid almanac of al-Ashraf records the mating of silkworms at II:4 and the bearing at III:10. Silkworms were not used in the Gulf. 54 55

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(Nomadacris septemfasciata). It is estimated that a locust swarm can contain billions of individuals and a swarm can migrate up to 10,000  km, sometimes moving at 200 km per hour, and can fly continuously for up to twenty hours.59 A major locust plague in Saudi Arabia started in 1949 in the Empty Quarter due to high rainfall and lasted for thirteen years. The southern and central parts of the Arabian Peninsula have been especially vulnerable to swarms, which thrive in areas with intense heat, little rainfall, and strong winds. Dickson reports a swarm extending four miles that he observed in 1930: The ground was seething with them, like a moving and undulating carpet, each dibba [hopper] marching shoulder to shoulder with his neighbour, and in such a thick mass that as the car drove through them the wheels left regular lanes, as if we were driving through yellow-black snow. The millions of insects which were crushed in this process were instantly devoured by their companions and in a few seconds our car tracks were obliterated. The country through which the insects had passed was stripped quite bare, and where bushes had previously been seen, nothing but bare desert and sand remained. Even the thick stalks of large bushes 3 feet high were entirely devoured.60

Not everyone feared the locusts. Dickson was told by in Kuwait that they were glad to see a locust swarm because it meant that it would be a prosperous year with plenty of pasture. Locusts provide a source of food for people and animals. Musil describes the taste of the locust as being like the tail of a crawfish, adding that they are burnt, dried, and ground into powder, strung on long threads, or scooped into leather bags.61 In Bahrain, the Bents write that locusts were pressed and pickled in barrels, a dish popular among the poor.62 Lady Anne Blunt in northern Arabia visited an area where there had been no autumn rain and they had no grain or dates, but were surviving solely on grilled locusts.63 In his almanac for Bahrain, al-Hāshimı ̄ warns that locusts are feared during muqaddam (IV:3–15). 59  For details on the desert locust, see Cressman (1998). For Najdı ̄ sayings on locusts, see al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (2010a:229–230). Dickson (1951:447–454) describes the impact of locusts in Kuwait in the 1930s. 60  Dickson (1951:450). 61  Musil (1928:94). 62  Bent and Bent (1900:6). 63  Blunt (1881/2/353), who adds, “Great piles of these insects, dried over the fire, may be seen in every tent.”

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Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ mentions locusts at the rising of the Pleiades in mid-May and their perishing in the cold of winter during November, but other almanacs suggest there can be locusts in mid-November.64

6.7   Wild Plants The presence or lack of natural flora, apart from pasturage, was an important seasonal marker. The almanacs record the budding of trees and the falling of foliage. The falling of leaves occurs in winter during iklı ̄l (XII:7–19) and concludes in shawla (I:1–13). ‘Uwayḍa notes that tamarisk (sidr) leaves fall during the rising of but ̣ayn (V:26–VI:7). This is apparently due to the heat, since it is not the onset of winter. Sap begins to flow in trees after winter during the rising of sa‘d al-dhābiḥ (II:10–22). This is widely reported in earlier almanacs for February. The wind known as bāriḥ al-‘awd in June dries up natural herbage, according to al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄. According to al-‘Uyūnı ̄, it is best not to cut wood from trees or date palms during sa‘d al-dhābiḥ, since they will gain worms (su ̄s) and other kinds of wormlike insects (dūd). Abu Ḥ anı ̄fa relates that anything planted (ghars) in late February would be damaged by the sūs worm. However, wood cut during sima ̄k (X:29–XI:10) will not get wormy. According to ‘Uwayḍa, tamarisk and date palms cut during ‘awwa ̄’ (X:16–28) will not have worms. The almanac of al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ places this at X:15 and XI:13, the latter also being the date for al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄. The early almanac of Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ indicates that wood cut in XI:15 will not be attacked by the termite (araḍa). The termite was especially common during the summer heat at the start of the monsoon.65 In the rising of sa‘d al-su‘ūd (III:8–20) trees start to bud. Among the natural food plants collected is the truffle (kamāt or faq‘), which the almanacs place at the rising of s ̣arfa (X:3–15).66 According to Abū Ḥ anı ̄fa, the term faq‘ originally referred to the white part of the plant that emerges, while the best part for eating needed to be unearthed.67 Khamı ̄s al-Sulaytı ̄ 64  Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ notes that every dabba, the term for crawling insects without bones, dies at XI:20. 65  Al-Sa‘ı ̄dān (1981/1:62–63). It is usually called al-naml al-abyaḍ (the white ant) in Kuwait (Ḥ usayn 1984:69). 66  For details on truffles in Qatar, see al-Sulaytı ̄ (2012:21–22), who lists a number of local names for the truffle; for the Rwala Bedouin, see Musil (1928:15), who describes three kinds. For Saudi Arabia, see al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:299–301). 67  As reported in Lisa ̄n al-‘Arab (f-q-‘).

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defines the faq‘ as a wild plant without a root (as ̣l), bean pod (baql), stalk (sāq), branches (aghṣān), twigs (furū‘), or blossom (zahr).68 In the Gulf it is also known as zubaydı ̄, a large variety said to be the best tasting.69 With the rain in ‘awwa ̄ (X:16–28) the truffles become more intensely white. The wasmı ̄ rain in ghafr (XI:11–23) is useful for truffles, the last occurring in iklı ̄l (XII:6–18) if there is rain. Truffles are also said to be plentiful in sa‘d al-dhābiḥ (II:9–21) and sa‘d al-su‘ūd (III:7–19). Another wild plant that could be used as food was samḥ, seeds from the annual herbs Mesembryanthemum forsskalei Hochst, M. nodiflorum L., and Aizoon canariense L70 The mid-nineteenth-century traveler George Augustus Wallin described this as a plant that grew in the northern Arabian desert when the rain at the evening rising of the Pleiades fell:71 The pods are gathered and soaked in water until they open and ascend to the surface, while the seed settles. This done, the seed is dried in the sun and ground to flour, of which a well-tasted, though somewhat indigestible bread of a reddish colour, besides other dishes, is prepared… in Ma‘ân and Algawf, where it is much used as a nutritious aliment, especially if kneaded or boiled together with dates.

Not long after, Charles Doughty also praised the bread and especially the porridge kneaded with dates, which could be eaten raw when it was not advisable to start a fire.72

6.8   Family Issues The almanacs rarely mention issues related to the life cycle or the family, apart from the use of medicine and diet. One item found in the almanacs of al-Anṣārı ̄, al-Mājid, ‘Uwayḍa, and al-‘Uyūnı ̄ for sa‘d al-akhbiya (III:21– IV:2) is that a child weaned (faṭama) at this time will no longer look for breastmilk. This is an ancient tradition recorded in many earlier almanacs, including the Calendar of Cordoba, the anwa ̄’ text of Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄, and the almanac of al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄, although al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ recommends weaning on  Al-Sulaytı ̄ (2012:14).  Al-Sa‘ı ̄dān (1981/3:1141–1142), who quotes a legend stemming back to Jāhiz that truffles can turn into vipers under the sạ yf rain. 70  Mandaville (2011:116–119) provides a description of its use by Saudi tribes. 71  Wallin (1854:126). This is the period known as wasm (al-Quway‘ı ̄ 1984:181). 72  Quoted in Mandaville (2011:116–117). The original is in Doughty (1936(1):357). 68 69

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IX:16. Circumcision (khitān) of boys is recommended during thurayyā (VI:7–19) because of the dry climate and hot wind, which allows wounds to heal fast. This differs from the earlier almanacs of al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄, Ibn ̄ Māsawayh, and al-Ajdābı ̄ in which circumcision is recommended in Adha ̄r (III). However, the Egyptian almanac of Ibn Mammātı ̄ suggests that it is permissible in Ba’una, the Coptic equivalent of Ḥazı ̄ran (VI).

6.9   Religious Commemorations Muslim scholars often provided dates for when they believed certain biblical events occurred. One of these is the reference to Joshua commanding the sun to stand still when fighting the Amorites at Gibeon. ‘Uwayḍa suggests that this happened during the station of haq‘a (VI:4–16). Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄, quoting Ka‘b the Rabbi, relates this for I:17.73 There are conflicting accounts of this event in the Islamic sources. As al-Ṭ abarı ̄ related, some versions suggest that Moses was still alive and had sent Joshua to Jericho, where this occurred, but others claim that Joshua did this after the death of Moses. When the sun was setting and the battle was not yet over Joshua prayed to Allāh and said to the sun “Verily, you and I are both obedient to Allāh. Oh Allāh! Turn the sun back for me.”74 Yet another account mentions that the battle took place at Gibeon and adds that Joshua asked for the moon to rise. Al-Nı ̄sābūrı ̄ added that the sun only stood still for an hour.75 Another common item mentioned in Arab almanacs is the falling of manna in Syria, which al-‘Uyūnı ̄ and al-Anṣārı ̄ mention for the station of han‘a (VII:17–29). Ibn Māsawayh mentions the falling of manna and quails in Syria during VIII.  The ultimate reference is to the miraculous provision of manna and quails to the Israelites in the desert, referred to in both the Bible (Exodus 16) and the Qur’an (2:57, 7:160, 20:80). There are several interpretations by Muslim scholars of what “manna” was. Ibn Kathı ̄r, for example, said it could have been honey, ginger, or something falling from trees.76 The thirteenth-century traveler Ibn al-Mujāwir relates

 Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (1879:239).  Al-Ṭ abarı ̄ (1991:95). 75  Al-Nı ̄sābūrı ̄ (1981:248). 76  Ibn Kathı ̄r (1979/1399(1):66–67) for surah 2:57. 73 74

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that manna fell on trees in the mountains of the Byzantine Empire, but more commonly it was said to fall in Syria.77 Unlike the almanacs from areas where there is a sizeable Christian community, like Egypt and Syria, there are hardly any references to Christian celebrations in the Gulf almanacs, even to the birth of Jesus. An exception is the almanac chapter of Ibn Hāshim, who notes that XII:25 is the birth ̄ b. Maryam. Ibadi views of Christianity as People of of Jesus, al-ması ̄ḥ ‘Isā the Book recognize their rights in Qur’anic teaching whether they are considered infidels (ka ̄firu ̄n) or unbelievers (mushrikūn), because the original teaching of the Prophet Jesus was pure. In the late nineteenth-­ century Ibadi treatise by Abū Muslim Nāsị r b. Sālim al-Bahlānı ̄, Mary is praised for her submission to the will of Allāh, although her divinity is denied.78

6.10   Events Outside the Gulf In the history of Arab almanacs there is often reference to the various stages of major rivers in the Middle East. The Gulf almanacs do not mention the Nile of Egypt, although the stages of the Nile are frequently noted in earlier almanacs from the overall region. There is, however, reference to the maximum flood stage of the Euphrates river. ‘Uwayḍa notes that this occurs during the station of rishā’ (IV:29–V:12). In the thirteenth-­ century Yemeni almanac of al-Malik al-Ashraf ‘Umar, this is indicated for IV:24, the date also recorded in the earlier almanac of al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄. Al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ placed this at IV:27. Al-Malik al-Ashraf places the end of the flood stage at VII:22 and lowering at VII:24, with sailing on the Euphrates made difficult on V:31 due to the flood stage. Also mentioned by ‘Uwayḍa is the stirring of waves in the Mediterranean (baḥr al-Rūm) during ghafr (XI:11–23). Arabic sources dating back to the Calendar of Cordoba place this in the middle of November. It is obvious that this mention of the Euphrates is copied from past sources and not based on current observation. Al-‘Uyūnı ̄ relates that the waves of the Mediterranean surge under ghafr (XI:11–23). Abū Ḥ anifa al-Dı ̄nawarı ̄ indicates that the Mediterranean becomes rough around XI:15 at the setting of the Pleiades, with no major sailing after XI:25. Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ says that sailing out of Alexandria ended at 77  Ibn al-Mujāwir (1954:277–278); for Syria see al-Nuwayrı ̄ (1935(11):329). For details on this reference in the almanacs, see Varisco (1994:76–77). 78  See Hoffman (2012:220–225) for his Ibadi view on treatment of Christians.

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XI:13, since “the sea has certain days when it is in uproar, when the air is turbid, the waves roll, and thick darkness lies over it.”79 The Greek author Hesiod warned in the eighth century BCE that gales raged on the Mediterranean at the setting of the Pleiades.80 The Roman author Vegetius mentions the closing of the Mediterranean from the third day before the middle of November until the sixth day before the middle of March.81

Bibliography Electronic Documents Abū Ṣanṭ 2002 Al-Nujūm wa-al-ṭawāli‘.http://www.mekshat.com/vb/ s h o w t h r e a d . p h p ? 2 1 3 3 9 -­% C 7 % E 1 % E 4 % C C % E 6 % E 3 -­% E 6 % C 7 % E1%D8%E6%C7%E1%DA-­(%C8%C7%E1%CA%DD%D5%ED%E1) (Accessed June, 2021) Ā l Masā‘id, Khālid 2005 Al-Taqwı ̄m al-falakı ̄.http://www.yanbu1.com/vb/ showthread.php?t=39881 (Accessed June, 2016) Stone, Caroline 1982 The Camel Bird of Arabia. ARAMCO World 33(2):10–11, March/April. http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/198202/the.camel. bird.of.arabia.htm (Accessed January, 2018)

Published Texts al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄, ‘Ā dil Muḥammad 1987 al-Iqtiṣād al-Kuwaytı ̄ al-qadı ̄m. Mat ̣ābi‘ al-Qabas al-Tujjāriyya. Second Edition. Allen, M. J. S. and G. R. Smith 1975 Some Notes on Hunting Techniques and Practices in the Arabian Peninsula. Arabian Studies 2:108–147. Al-Timimi, Faris A. 1987 Falcons and Falconry in Qatar. Doha: Ali Bin Ali Printing Press. al-Anqar, Ibrāhı ̄m Sulaymān n.d. al-Ṭ ibb al-sha‘bı ̄. Abu Dhabi: Lajnat al-Turāth wa-al-Ta’rı ̄kh, Dawlat al-Imārāt al-‘Arabiyya al-Muttaḥida. Anṭākı ̄, Dāwūd ‘Umar 1952 Tadhkira u ̄la ̄ al-albāb wa-al-jāmi‘ li-al-‘ajab al-‘ujāb. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr. Bent, Theodore 1890 The Bahrein Islands, in the Persian Gulf. Proceedings of the Royal Geographic Society 12(1):1–19.

 Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (1879:236).  Hesiod (1982:49). 81  Casson (1971:270). 79 80

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Bent, Theodore and Mabel Bent 1900 Southern Arabia. London: Smith, Elder & Co. al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄, Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad 1879 The Chronology of Ancient Nations. Edward Sachau, translator. London: W. H. Allen & Co. Blunt, Lady Anne 1881 A Pilgrimage to the Najd. London: John Murray. Burckhardt, John Lewis 1831 Notes on the Bedouins and Wahabys. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley. Casson, Lionel 1971 Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Cheesman, Robert Ernest 1926 In Unknown Arabia. London: Macmillan and Co.mpany. Conrad, Lawrence I. 1982 “Ṭ a ̄‘u ̄n and Wabā’. Conceptions of Plague and Pestilence in Early Islam.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 25:268–307. Cressman, Keith 1998 Monitoring Desert Locusts in the Middle East: An Overview. Yale F&ES Bulletin (Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Bulletin) 103:123–140. Al-Dhahabı ̄, Abū ‘bd Allāh Muḥammad b. Aḥmad 1990 Al-Ṭ ibb al-nabawı ̄. Beirut: Dār Iḥyā’ al-‘Ulūm. Dickson, H.  R. P. 1951 The Arab of the Desert. 2nd edition. London: Allen and Unwin. Doughty, Charles 1936 Travels in Arabia Deserta. London: Jonathan Cape. Gallagher, M. D. 1977 Birds of Jabal Akhdar. In The Scientific Results of the Oman Flora and Fauna Survey 1975, 27–58. Oman: Ministry of Information and Culture. Ḥ anā, Sāmı ̄ 1998 Laḥjat ṣunnā‘ al-sufun bi-minṭaqat al-Nu‘aym bi-al-Baḥrayn. al-Ma’thur̄ āt al-Sha‘biyya 49:24–43. Harrison, Paul 1924 The Arab at Home. London: Hutchinson and Company. Heard-Bey, Frauke 1982 From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates: A Society in Transition. London: Longman. Henderson, E. F. 1982 Tribal Organisation in Eastern Arabia in the Islamic Era. Proceedings of the Fifteenth Seminar for Arabian Studies, 29–34. Hesiod 1982 Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica. Hugh G. Evelyn-White, translator. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Hoffman, Valerie 2012 The Essentials of Ibadi Islam. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. Ḥ usayn, Ayyūb 1984 Ma‘a dhikriya ̄tna ̄ al-Kuwaytiyya. Kuwait: Dār al-Salāsil. Ibn Khamı ̄s, ‘Abd Allāh b. Muḥammad 1985 [1405] Ra ̄shid al-Khalaw ̄ ı ̄: ḥayātuh, shi‘ruh, ḥikmuh, falsafatuh, nawādiruh, hisa ̄buh al-falakı ̄. Third edition. Saudi Arabia, privately published.

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Ibn al-Mujāwir, Jamāl al-Dı ̄n Abū‚ al-Fatāḥ Yūsuf (died 690/1291) 2008 A Traveler in Thirteenth-Century Arabia: Ibn al-Mujāwir’s Tārı ̄kh al-Mustabṣir. Translated by G. Rex Smith. London: The Hakluyt Society. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Shams al-Dı ̄n Muḥammad 2009 Al-Ṭ ibb al-nabawı ̄. Cairo: Dār al-Ghadd al-Jadı ̄d. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Shams al-Dı ̄n Muḥammad 1998 Medicine of the Prophet. Penelope Johnstone, Translator. Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society. Ibn Qutayba, Abū Muḥammad ‘Abd Allāh (d. 276/889) 1956 Kitāb al-Anwā’. Hyderabad: Maṭba‘at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmāniyya. al-Khaṭı ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄, Abū Bakr ‘Alı ̄ b. Aḥmad (d. 463/1071) 1999 Al-Qawl f ı ̄ ‘ilm al-nujūm. Riyad: Dār Aṭlas li-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi‘. al-Makkāwı ̄, ‘Alı ̄ 1996 al-Tadāwı ̄ bi-sl-a‘shāb fı ̄ al-mujtama‘ al-Qaṭarı ̄. al-Ma’thūrāt al-Sha‘biyya 42:50–69. al-Mālikı ̄, Khalı ̄fa al-Sayyid Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ 2010 Al-Mu‘taqadāt al-sha‘bı ̄ya li-­ ahl Qaṭar. Doha: Maṭābi‘ Rinūdā al-Ḥ adı ̄tha. Mandaville, James 2011 Bedouin Ethnobotany: Plant Concepts and Uses in a Desert Pastoral World. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. al-Muhanadı ̄, Ḥ asan 1992 Tarbiyya wa-ṣayd al-ṣuqūr fı ̄ Qaṭar. al-Ma’thurāt al-­ Sha‘biyya 7(28):93–99. Muṣayqar, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān, Aḥmad al-Shiryān, Hādı ̄ Salmān ‘Awaḍ 1996 Istikhdām al-ṭibb al-sha‘bı ̄ fı ̄ arba‘a duwwal Khalı ̄jiyya. al-Ma’thūrāt al-­ Sha‘biyya 42:97–107. Musil, Alois 1928 The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. New York: American Geographical Society. al-Muṭayrı ̄, Shāhir Muḥsin Farrāj al-Asqah 1984 al-Dı ̄wān al-atharı ̄. Saudi Arabia, privately published. Nash, Harriet 2011c Trip Report. Qatar 6–12 December. Unpublished document al-Nı ̄sābūrı ̄, Abū Isḥāq Aḥmad b. Muḥammad 1981 Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā’ al-musammā ‘ara ̄’is al-maja ̄lis. Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-‘Ilmiyya. al-Nuwayrı ̄, Aḥmad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhāb 1923ff Nihāyat al-‘Arab fı ̄ funūn al-­ adab. Cairo. Pormann, Peter E. and Emilie Savage-Smith 2007 Medieval Islamic Medicine. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. al-Quway‘ı ̄, Muḥammad ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z 1984 Turāth al-ajda ̄d. Riyadh. Volume 2. Raswan, Carl 1945 Vocabulary of Bedouin Words concerning Horses. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 4(2):97–129. Robertson, Edward 1930 Arab Weather Prognostics. The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland No. 2:377–389. Sa‘ı ̄dān, Ḥ amad Muḥammad 1981 al-Mawsu‘̄ a al-Kuwaitiyya al-mukhtaṣara. Kuwait. al-Sulayt ̣ı ̄, Khamı ̄s b. Muḥammad 2012 Istinba ̄t al-faq‘ fı ̄ dawlat Qaṭar. Doha.

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al-Sulayt ̣ı ̄, Ẓubya ‘Abd Allāh 1998 al-Mu‘jam al-mukhtaṣar li-musammayāt al-amrāḍ fı ̄ al-t ̣ibb al-sha‘bı ̄ fı ̄ Qaṭar. al-Ma’thūrāt al-Sha‘biyya 50:7–25. al-Ṭ abarı ̄, Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad 1991 The History of al-Ṭ abarı ̄. Volume III. The Children of Israel. Albany: State University of New York. Thesiger, Wilfred 1950 Desert Borderlands of Oman. The Geographical Journal 116(4/6):137–168. al-Ṭ ūsı ̄, Nāsị r al-Dı ̄n (d. 672/1274) 2014 The Sultan’s Sex Potions: Arab Aphrodisiacs in the Middle Ages. Daniel L. Newman, editor. London: Saqi Books. al-‘Ubbūdı ̄, Muḥammad b. Nāsị r 2010a Ma ̄’thu ̄ra ̄t sha‘biyya. Riyadh: Dār al-Thulūthiyya. Ullmann, Manfred 1978 Islamic Medicine. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1994 Medieval Agriculture and Islamic Science: The Almanac of a Yemeni Sultan. Washington: University of Washington Press. Viré, F. 1960 BAYZARA. The Encyclopaedia of Islam. 2nd Edition I:1152–1155. Wallin, George Augustus 1854 Narrative of a Journey from Cairo to Medina and Mecca by Suez, Arabá, Tawilá, al-Jauf, Jubbé, Hâil, and Nejd, in 1845. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society 24:115–207. Wellsted, J. R. 1838 Travels in Arabia. London: Murray.

CHAPTER 7

Seasonal Activities on Land

Throughout its history the Gulf region has experienced livelihoods in two directions: on land with pastoralism and agriculture in the interior and along the coast toward the sea. This chapter addresses the two major activities on land of livestock raising and agriculture, the latter of which was most prominent in Oman, parts of the United Arab Emirates, and Najd. Like the earlier almanac lore and anwa ˉ’ literature, the information is primarily about the timing of activities. Given the arid nature of much of the region, it is tempting to treat this timing as fixed, but in fact there have been and continue to be differences in climate, including the specific seasonal timing of rain essential for promoting growth of pasture. A thorough analysis of the relationship of the textual information stretching back a millennium with the historical study of climate data has yet to be written and is beyond the scope of this book. The following sections provide the context for better understanding the rather fragmentary notices about the major life ways in the region’s past.

7.1   The Pastoral Cycle and Camel Raising Given the past importance of pastoral activities, especially regarding camels, of Bedouin in the region, there is a wide range of information available on these in the local poetry, commentary by travelers, and recollections of older individuals. It is not surprising that the camel is called the “ship of the © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_7

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desert” for inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. Arabic has a rich vocabulary associated with the camel and its raising.1 The collective term ibl is commonly used throughout the region, but there are many other words for camels, depending on sex, age, color, location, etc. For the Rwala Bedouin a single camel is generally referred to as ba‘ıˉr, the female as na ˉqa, and the male as fah·l, all classical terms.2 The term jamal among them is for a grown camel between six and twenty years. Among the Āl Murrah, camels are often referred to as h·ala ˉl or dibash, both with a connotation of flocks. An important classification is by age. For the Āl Murrah the terms in dialect are as follows: h·wa ˉr (during the first year), mafru ˉd (at one year), h·iggah (two years), lagiyyah (three years), jda‫؟‬ah (four years), tiniyyah (five years),3 rba ˉ‫( ؟‬six years), sidis (seven years), and ša ˉgg (eight years). As Ingham notes, the last three terms refer to the loss of the first set of teeth.4 Until the introduction of wheeled transport in the twentieth century, the camel was the workhorse of the Gulf. Although there were horses, these were much harder to take care of than camels and not affordable for most people. The camel could serve for riding or transport over harsh arid terrain, with its fabled ability in extreme conditions to survive for weeks and even months without drinking, but it also provides milk,5 meat, wool, and uses for its hide. As late as the 1980s many households in the Emirates kept a female camel for milk.6 Camel dung makes an excellent fuel for fires; camel urine is said to have medicinal properties. In the hot summer most camels need to be watered daily, which is why Bedouin have long encamped 1  The basic source on camels to start from is Bulliet (1975), especially his bibliographic essay (pp. 271–277), supplemented by the articles in Knoll and Burger (2012). For camels in Kuwait, see Dickson (1951:409–446); for Qatar, see Ferdinand (1993:64–74); Ingham (1990); and al-Nu‘aymı ̄ (1988); for Oman, see Watson, Eades, and al-Mahri (2013); Webster (1991:479); Wellsted (1838(1):292–303); and Wilkinson (1977:60–61); for the UAE, see Heard-Bey (1982:165–169); Murād (2005); Qāyid (1990:98–110); and al-‘Utayba (1977:84–88). For Arabic terminology relating to camels, see al-Aṣma‘ı ̄ (2003) and Ibn Sı ̄da (1898ff(7):1–175. Al-Māni‘ (1418:60–82, 291–293) and al-Suwaydā’ (1983, 85–120) discuss camel terms in Najd. Dostal (2012) provides a study of the techniques for riding camels in Arabia. 2  Musil (1928:330). 3  According to Cheesman (1926:159), camels were not put to work until they were five years old. 4  Ingham (1990:71). See also Burckhardt (1831(1):197). 5  The availability of camel milk in areas with limited access to water is important to note. It is said that among the Harasis tribe in Oman, they hardly ever drank water but survived on camel and goat milk (Chatty 1987:17). 6  Heard-Bey (1982:165).

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near water sources during the hottest part of the year. As Bertram Thomas explains while traveling through the Rub‘al-Khālī: “In summer, when camels require frequent, if not daily, water, they will be found never far from waterholes; in winter they may move off after fresh pastures and stay away from water for a month or two on end.”7 Among Kuwait Bedouin there was no need to water camels during the winter if grazing was good, but as the weather turned warm they would be given water every seven to nine days and during the heat of summer at least every other day. Camels from Oman are reputed to be the swiftest, especially the Ba ˉ.tiniyya variety. There is a Kuwaiti Bedouin proverb that says, “Do not ride an Omani she-camel, and do not marry a girl of the Za’ab tribe. The former will upset the pace of the army, the latter will upset your wives.”8 As Wellsted notes, “the Omany in all ages is celebrated in the songs of the Arabs as the fleetest; their legs are more slender and straight, their eyes more prominent and sparkling, and their whole appearance denotes them of higher lineage than the ordinary breed of the animal.”9 It is said that camels from Bedouin in the Ḥadramawt have the best endurance for long journeys with little water.10 As a riding camel, females are preferred. According to Dickson, different tribes preferred breeding unique colors. The Ẓāfir and Rwala preferred white, the ‘Uṭayba and Āl Murrah went for dark, almost black, camels, while the ‘Ajmān, Muṭayr and ‘Awāzim liked fawn or red varieties.11 With the arrival of vehicles, the camel quickly became a novelty, useful for camel races but no longer needed for commerce or transportation. By 1959, for example, few camels were to be found in the north of Qatar.12 In Kuwait the rutting season for camels is during the cold weather in December and January, when the males are kept securely tied up, but in  Thomas (1931:218).  Dickson (1951:338), who explains that this is because the Omani camel is so fast and the Za’ab girl is beautiful and clever. He also notes (p. 410) that an Omani camel can travel up to fourteen miles per hour. Among the Ā l Wahı ̄ba Bedouin of Oman camels are called bôsh in dialect (Webster 1991:477). 9  Wellsted (1838(1):292). He adds (p.  300) that the average pace in Oman is six– eight hours per hour for up to twenty-four consecutive hours, but up to thirteen–fifteen miles per hour when necessary. 10  Heard-Bey (1982:166). 11  Dickson (1951:409). For an account on local camels from a Muṭayrı ̄ writer, see al-Muṭayrı ̄ (1984:204–219). 12  Ferdinand (1993:63). For an analysis of the factors that led to the demise of traditional Bedouin culture on the Arabian Peninsula, see Cole (2003). 7 8

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summer they are allowed to graze with the females.13 It is said that one stud camel (fah.l) can serve 100 females. The rutting season in the Emirates is earlier, during the zodiacal month of Scorpio (X:22-XI:20), according to the almanac of ‘Uwayḍa. Weaning is said to occur during the autumn season under the star Canopus.14 Burckhardt writes that in the Syrian desert in order to encourage grazing of young camels on plants, the Bedouin place a piece of wood about four inches in length between the palate and the nostrils or cover the mother camel’s teats with a bag or piece of wood in a foal’s second year.15 Bedouin were aware of camel illnesses and produced a number of preventive measures and cures.16 In the past, Western travelers to the region wrote extensively about the Bedouin practice of camel raiding, usually branding it as brigandage, feud, and outright warfare. This led to much ethnocentric prejudice, even by those who otherwise admired Bedouin culture. In the early nineteenth century, for example, John Lewis Burckhardt notes: “It may almost be said, that the Arabs are obliged to rob and pillage,” adding that the shaykh was obliged to lead such raids.17 The anthropologist Louise Sweet, however, argued that the reciprocal raiding of the Arabian Bedouin in the north was an ecological adaptation to the harsh environment. Noting that the literature suggested the raids tended to avoid killing, her analysis suggests that the raids helped exchange camels widely, especially when pasture was limited in a particular area, and thus served to preserve camel life overall.18 Although her analysis draws only on Western travel texts, her point is well taken that raids on camels, which often involved negotiation between rivals afterward, served an economic function and may have been an important way to adapt to an environment where rain and pasture were hard to predict, as in the areas in and near the Gulf. The large corpus of Arabic poetry on tribal raiding suggests that it was far more than mere brigandage. As Dickson observes, “Raiding brings out all that is hard, brave and skilful in man, so the occupation is honored and encouraged….”19 13  This is also the timing reflected in the almanac of al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄, who places the mating at I:25. The Rasulid Yemeni almanacs indicate the mating season between XI:20 and 26. 14  Mandaville (2011:57). 15  Burckhardt (1831(1):196). 16  See Anqar (n.d.:233–265). 17  Burckhardt (1831(1):71). 18  Sweet (1965:1131). 19  Dickson (1951:341). He further notes that in fighting and war there are regular rules that need to be observed and discusses the resolution of camel disputes (pp. 431–446).

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7.2   Horses and Donkeys The Gulf almanacs do not directly discuss horses and donkeys, although both were present and important in the past. The thirteenth-century Yemeni almanac of al-Malik al-Ashraf ‘Umar, for example, mentions the start of pasturing horses in Mamluk Egypt for two months from XII:27.20 The Arabian Peninsula is famous for its horses, although they have not been nearly as common or affordable as camels, especially in the Gulf.21 In Kuwait, according to Harrison, horses were considered a luxury item for wealthy shaykhs and few Bedouin could afford them.22 Those Bedouin who did, according to Dickson, held little value in horses, apart from mares. “It is charming,” he wrote, “to see the way the mares enter the tent for shelter at night when it is cold, or walk into the women’s quarters in the midday heat of an Arabian summer to escape the stinging rays of a fierce sun.”23 Dickson further notes that mares among the Kuwait Bedouin can go for days without drinking and in January and February the moisture from the grass eaten is sufficient without a need to drink. From May on, as the heat intensifies, the mare needs water three times a day. The donkey has been more commonly used for travel than horses and were shipped from Oman to eastern Iran.24 In Bahrain a variety of “white donkeys,” known to be strong and swift, was used to transfer items from boats to the shore at the end of the nineteenth century.25 Donkeys were fed green dates and seaweed in Bahrain.

20  Varisco (1994:27,45,154). The Coptic almanacs mention the time for pasturing horses in Ṭ ub̄ a (January); see Pellat (1986:220). 21  One of the major studies of horses on the Arabian Peninsula is by Carl Raswan (1941, 1947, 1955), who provides a list of Bedouin words relating to horses (Raswan 1945). See also Burckhardt (1831(1):203–217) and al-Mut ̣ayrı ̄ (1984:178–194). For Kuwait, see Dickson (1951:379–398). Heard-Bey (1982:169) notes that horses were not widely used, accept among the wealthy, in the former Trucial States. Wellsted (1838(1):306–307) discusses horses in Oman. 22  Harrison (1924:23). 23  Dickson (1951:380). 24  Wellsted (1838(1):307). 25  Bent (1890:1–2). This variety was traded to Tanzania in the early part of the twentieth century (Belgrave 1934:618).

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7.3   Sheep and Goats The generic term for sheep and goats as small livestock is ghanam. The timing of pasture would be as relevant for sheep and goats as it is for camels. Ibn Khamīs, drawing on the poetry of al-Khalāwī, notes that sheep are pastured on the wasm rain in the latter part of October. In Kuwait the mating season is in late spring with a period of gestation of about five months. Lambs are born between October and February and shearing is done in March and April.26 In the earlier anwa ˉ’ literature the first of the mating season for sheep on the peninsula was said to be at the rising of harra ˉrayn in reference to the joint rising of qalb al-‘aqrab and Arcturus.27 However, this was said to be a less suitable time because of the intensity of the cold and lack of pasture. Dickson was amazed to discover that Kuwait Bedouin knew each ewe individually and that they would answer to the name he used. In winter sheep can go no longer than four days without being given water. Both sheep and goats provide wool or hair, but goat hair is said to be superior for the black tents of the Bedouin. Goats are more likely to be encountered in small towns than sheep, since they will eat garbage as well as pasture. In northern Oman goat meat is generally preferred over lamb.28

7.4   Cattle No direct mention is made of cattle in the Gulf almanacs, although they would have been important draft animals in Najd and Oman. The Gulf is not a friendly environment for cattle, which were mainly found in oases with a plentiful supply of water for fodder. In Shamayliyya of the Emirates bulls were used for ploughing and were fed with dried sardines boiled with old dates and other vegetation found in the date gardens.29 In Bahrain dates that did not reach maturity are boiled with ground date-stones and  Dickson (1951:399), who provides a lengthy description (pp. 399–408).  Al-Khatı̣ ̄b al-Baghdādı ̄ (1999:156). Ibn Khamı ̄s (1985) places this during the station of ‘awwa ̄’ at X:17. Al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ mentioned the mating of goats in the middle of Shuba ̄ṭ (February). 28  Webster (1991:479). In the mid-twentieth century goats increased at the expense of sheep in the Trucial States because they were less particular in their diet (Heard-Bey 1982:170). 29  Heard-Bey (1982:169). Wellsted (1838(1):307–308) notes that cattle near the coast were fed on dates or fish. 26 27

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fish bones as fodder for cattle.30 Bulls could also be used to draw water from traditional wells with pulley systems and inclined slopes. Paolo Costa observed a well system in Oman in 1982 that still used bulls on an inclined slope to pull up water with the pulley system from a traditional well, although he suggests that such a system had more or less died out in the 1960s.31 Cows were kept for milk and other dairy products. A unique use of a deposed cow skull was to ward off the evil eye in fields of crops, as reported by Cheesman for Hofuf.32

7.5   Pasture Bedouin in the Gulf have a detailed knowledge of the types of vegetation useful for their livestock. As James Mandaville notes, in his important analysis of Bedouin ethnobotany, “For the Bedouins of Arabia, the use of wild plants as livestock forage, defining as it does their very subsistence mode and ruling virtually all aspects of their annual cycle of movements and activities, dominates their interest in desert plant life.”33 The ninth-­century Arab botanical texts of al-Aṣma‘ī and Abū Ḥanīfa al-Dīnawarī record many of the names of plants used as pasture by the Bedouin.34 The early anwa ˉ’ texts and most almanacs record when pasture is available, depending on the rains. According to al-‘Uyūnī and most other almanacs, pasture (‘ushb) was available when the wasmıˉ rain fell in the station of .sarfa (X:3–15), increasing during sa‘d al-dha ˉbih· (II:9–21) and in sa‘d al-su‘u ˉd (III:7–19). According to the almanac of al-‘Ujayri, the desert surface sprouts small pasture plants from I:12. Pasture is also verdant under al-mu’akhkhar (#27) in late April. Among the Rwala, the term ‘ushb refers primarily to the annual grasses that spring up in the desert after the rain, while shajar refers to perennials,

 Bent (1890:4); Bent and Bent (1900:19).  Costa (1991b:247), who gives a detailed description of the use of draft animals at wells in Oman. 32  Cheesman (1926:91); other animal skulls were also used. 33  Mandaville (2011:79). Besides Mandaville, a major source of information on the major plants for pasturage in Najd is al-Suwaydā’ (1983:55–67). See also al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:170–182). 34  For a discussion of this literature of pasture for camels, see Murād (2005:121–149); Varisco (2012b). 30 31

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often woody plants.35 In classical usage ‘ushb refers to fresh pasture (kala’ rat.b). It generally refers to the annual grasses and plants that spring up in spring but do not remain. For the Syrian desert Burckhardt says that green plants freshly appearing were called rabıˉ‘, the seasonal term discussed by Ibn Qutayba, and herbage dried by the sun was humra ˉ.36 There are many specific varieties that are known to be beneficial for camels. One of the most important for Gulf Bedouin is ‘arfaj (Rhanterium epapposum), which can be consumed wet or dry. This is a plant which is a late bloomer, outlasting many other types of pasture. Cheesman writes about camels grazing south of Hasa on ‘abal (Calligonum comosum), ‘arfaj, and h.alam.37 Also important for camels are plants with a salty taste, referred to as h.amd.. In Oman camels fed on the mangrove (gurm or Avicennia marina) produce salty milk and need water daily as do those who feed on h·arm (Zygophylaceae sp.).38 Dickson notes that if such salty plants are not available, camels should be given salt by hand.39 In the early 1920s Cheesman records that camels in Hofuf of the al-Hasa oasis were fed thirty to forty “aquba” of lucerne per day, an “aquba” defined as “the amount gathered up from the elbow to the finger-tips, literally an armful.”40 There are also toxic plants which camels should be kept away from.41 According to al-‘Uyūnī, the rain falling during the rising of sima ˉk (X:29-XI:10) brings up a plant called nashr, which causes camels to become ill. The term nashr refers to plants that spring up with a rain, then dry due to a lack of further rain, then receive more rain and sprout more after that rain, but this is harmful (radıˉ’) for camels, sheep, and goats if they graze on that which has newly sprouted.42 In some parts of northern

35  Musil (1928:9). As Mandaville (2011:182) suggests, ‘ushb/‘ishb is best translated as annuals and shajar as perennials. 36  Burckhardt (1831(1):223–224). 37  Cheesman (1926:216, 229). Ḥ alam is defined as Moltkiopsis ciliata (Forssk.) by Mandaville (2011:283). 38  Wilkinson (1977:60–61). He also notes that those that feed on rimth (Haloxylon salicornicum) produce bitter milk. 39  Dickson (1951:414). 40  Cheesman (1926:203), who notes that at the same time a donkey was fed fifteen “aquba” per day. 41  See Mandaville (2011:98–100) and Varisco (2012b:157–159). 42  This is described in Lisa ̄n al-‘Arab (n-sh-r).

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Oman the pasture is so limited that camels are fed on fish.43 It is reported that camels, as well as donkeys, were fed seaweed in Bahrain.44

7.6   Agriculture Agriculture in the Gulf varies considerably according to climate and geography. The best agricultural land and most plentiful supply of groundwater for agriculture are to be found in Oman and the mountains of the current United Arab Emirates. The oasis of al-Hasa (al-Aḥsā’) in the Najd region also boasts a long tradition of agriculture. The island of Bahrain similarly has an agricultural tradition that stems back to its early heritage as Dilmun in the Bronze Age. Qaṭīf had date palms and limited fruits and vegetables.45 But in Qatar and along most of the eastern coast of the peninsula up until Iraq agriculture was severely limited, apart from occasional date palm plantations. In his gazetteer, Lorimer remarks that for Qatar “fields and date groves there are almost none, and such gardens as exist near towns and villages are small and unproductive, while hardly a tree is to be seen anywhere.”46 Thus, the agricultural information in the Gulf almanac of al-Anṣārī for Qatar relates primarily to the Najd, especially the earlier almanac of al-‘Uyūnī. The inland oases offered more dependable water for agriculture than anywhere along the coast. Apart from Yemen, western Arabia, and Oman, the history of agriculture on the Arabian Peninsula is not well known. This is partly because of the harsh desert conditions and lack of fresh water along much of the eastern coast. Writing in the 1920s, Paul Harrison is sanguine: Nothing can exceed the barrenness of the coast where these men live. From Kuwait in the north to Ras el Kheima in the south, a distance of three hundred miles, scarcely a green thing is to be seen, except for a few miles of date gardens at Katif and a small number at Dibai, the water available for drink Dostal (1972:1).  Bent (1890:4). 45  Lorimer (1908:1543), who lists the springs here. Ebert (1965:799) describes the Qaṭı ̄f oasis as the most intensely utilized land along the coast of Saudi Arabia. The products made from pomegranate in Qaṭı ̄f Oasis are discussed by al-Darūra (1996). 46  Lorimer (1908:1506). Date pressers (mada ̄bis) found at al-Zubāra on the west coast of Qatar indicate that dates were present here and there is a mid-nineteenth-century reference to date palms here (Richter et al. 2011:327–329). Al-Dabbāgh (1961:67) notes that cereal grains were not grown in Qatar, but there had recently been investments in growing a variety of vegetables and fruits. 43 44

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ing is brackish and almost undrinkable in many places. The inhabitants of Umm el Qaiwain, one of these towns, ‘drink mud,’ to quote the Arabs. The coast is so utterly unproductive that all food must be imported, and in some places even fuel and drinking water.47

Before it became a state, Kuwait depended on the import of fresh water from Basra, Iraq, in tankers, even though there were plans as early as 1930 for extension of an Iraqi canal.48 Some of the inhabitants along the coast who engaged in fishing and pearling during the appropriate seasons would also migrate for seasonal labor in agriculture. While irrigation was usually necessary for successful crop production, some dry farming was practiced, especially in Saudi Arabia. Al-Quway‘ī mentions the term ‘aytharıˉ as the common Bedouin term for cultivation based solely on rainfall.49 As he notes, this is known as ‘aththarıˉ in urban contexts. This is an old term referenced in the lexicon of al-Jawharī (‘-th-r) as agriculture watered only from rain, similar to the local term ‘idhıˉ. In the northern Yemeni region around Ṣa‘da the term is rendered as antharıˉ.50 The sowing on rainfed land in Najd is called ba‘l, a common term for this in Arabic dialects.51 In classical Arabic a related term is ba‘l, said to have the same meaning as ‘idhıˉ, specifically land watered from the sky, as also mentioned by al-Jawharī (b-‘-l).

7.7   Najd The information in the almanacs on cultivation for Najd relates mainly to the oasis of al-Hasa, which has a long history of agriculture due to its estimated fifty to sixty springs.52 As the thirteenth-century geographer Yāqūt notes, its name in Arabic refers to water that infiltrates and remains in the  Harrison (1924:71).  Abi-Aad and Grenon (1997:147). For information on agriculture in Kuwait, see al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ (1987:183–201). 49  Al-Quway‘ı ̄ (1984:60). 50  Gingrich and Heiss (1986:30). 51  Al-Suwaydā’ (1983:50). Al-Jawharı ̄ (b-‘-l) defined this as a crop which is not watered by irrigation. 52  For an overview of agriculture in Najd, see al-Shammarı ̄ and al-Jal‘ūd (2015) and al-Suwaydā’ (1983:33–78). A list and brief description of springs in the oasis is provided by Cheesman (1926:200–201) and Vidal (1955:117–131). Depending on how the origin of the spring is defined, this number could reach more than 160 (Al-Jabr 1984:39). For an overview of agriculture and irrigation in the oasis, see Al-Jabr (1984), Labban (1974), and 47 48

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sandy soil so that it is easy to dig out.53 Historically it came to refer to a large region in eastern Arabia beyond the oasis itself, a region also known in the past as Ḥajar and Baḥrain. Due to the irrigation potential, the oasis had been cultivated long before the Islamic era. Agriculture was the dominant economic activity, only slowing down after the discovery of oil in 1935. In the past both men and women were involved in agricultural production.54 Two methods of irrigation were practiced: gravity flow called sayh· and the use of water lifting (mugharraf ), the latter mainly for lucerne and vegetables.55 Wallin says that in the mid-nineteenth century only camels were used for raising water used for irrigation in Najd.56 With the introduction of pump wells in the 1950s, the traditional methods of lifting water with the use of donkeys declined rapidly. Over the years there was a tendency to overuse water with the result of increased soil salinity.57 The term for the traditional ard in Najd is sharkh; it is described by al-Suwaydā’ as having a wooden beam of about three and a half meters with an iron blade and an attached yoke for the camel or bulls.58 In the oasis itself at Hofuf, Cheesman reports in the early 1920s that ploughs were not used.59 In the past the dominant crop in al-Hasa was the date palm. By the early 1970s 70 percent (over 4120 hectares) of the land area in the oasis was devoted to dates.60 The best variety here is said to be khala ˉ.s, which is more digestible than other dates. Ibn Baṭṭūṭa writes in the early fourteenth century that the town Ḥajar, now called al-Hasa, “has become the subject of a proverb ‘Carrying dates to Ḥajar,’ because there are more palms there than in any other district, and they even feed their beasts with the dates.”61 Lucerne (or alfalfa) is often grown in the date Vidal (1955). Lorimer (1908:656, 1354) records apricots, barley, citron, dates, fig, garlic, grape, lime, lucerne, onion, peach, pomegranate, radish, rice, and wheat. 53  Yāqūt (1906(1):136). 54  Al-Suwaydā’ (1983:47–48, 51–52). 55  Harrison (1924:45) provides a description of the water lifting in al-Hasa. For a description of the traditional irrigation well in Saudi Arabia, see al-Quway‘ı (1984:41–48,55-57,72–73), ̄ al-Suwaydā’ (1983:34–46), and Wallin (1854:177). 56  Wallin (1854:179). 57  In the early 1950s it is estimated that the total irrigated area of the oasis was 16,000 ha, but this declined to 4000 ha by 1965 due to sand movement and deteriorating conditions of soil and drainage (Al-Jabr 1984:36). 58  Al-Suwaydā’ (1983:51). 59  Cheesman (1926:56). 60  The Turkish census of 1877 recorded 2,000,000 palms in al-Hasa (Popenoe 1926:118). 61  Ibn Baṭuṭt ̣a (1983:122).

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plots, due in part to the demand for fodder for the many donkeys engaged in trade in and outside of al-Hasa.62 In the past this was said to be one of the few parts of Saudi Arabia where rice was grown, but this has declined in recent years and the quality is poor.63 Cheesman provides details on the local cultivation in Hofuf:64 Some of the gardens grew lime and orange trees with dates overhead. Strange to say, the orange crop was over in the middle of November, while in Iraq they would be just beginning to gather the earliest fruit—a difference of two months for which I have no explanation, although a fortnight for dissimilarity in climate and latitude would not have been surprising. Preparation for wheat cultivation was in progress on small patches of land outside the palm area where a maximum of sunshine is obtained. In the shade of the palms the straw is thin, and only grain of second quality can be grown. The ground was being chopped by hand with an instrument like a spade with a handle like that of a hoe. Ploughs are unknown in Hasa. A surprisingly small area is put under wheat, considering that barley is not grown,65 one reason being that the plain is far from level, and flats suitable for irrigation are difficult to bring under water; and when expense is incurred it pays better to grow lucerne, rice, or oranges, with dates overhead, that is, two crops in the year, than to be limited to one crop of wheat, which does not flourish under palms. Sowing of wheat takes place immediately after the ground is broken up, and water is then run over it. As these wheats were in ear on February 4, the harvest would be about the middle of March, a month to five weeks earlier than in Iraq, although sowings in the two countries are made more or less at the same time. Bur is the name used in speaking of corn generally.

The crops reported to be grown in the oasis in the early 1970s are listed in Table  7.1.66 Other crops not mentioned directly in this list include 62  Cheesman (1926:54–55, 90). Harrison (1924:50) suggests that lucerne or alfalfa was the most important oasis crop next to dates and was cut every six weeks. 63  Cheesman (1926:88) provides a description of the rice harvest and threshing. Musil (1928:19) says that the Rwala Bedouin very seldom ate rice and this is no doubt the case for most Bedouin not along the coast in the past. Ibn Baṭt ̣ūt ̣a (1983:118) writes that at Qalḥāt ̣ the local population received rice from India and were dependent on what came from the sea, most of them being traders. 64  Cheesman (1926:56); see also pp. 414–420 for his discussion of cultivated plants. 65  In northwestern Arabia Lady Anne Blunt (1881/1:128) noticed barley fields surrounded by a hedge of date palm branches. 66  From Al-Jabr (1984:24), quoting Humaidan (1980:31).

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anise, apricots, bananas, bean varieties, carrot, castor plant, citron, cotton, figs, garlic, henna, lemon, lime, lotus, maize, mango, millet, mint, papaya, peaches, sesame, sorghum, spinach, sunflower, and tobacco.67

7.8   Bahrain Bahrain with its natural springs had long practiced cultivation of dates, although it was not a major agricultural center.68 The fresh-water springs were exploited in a major irrigation channel system, regulated by customary legal practice.69 The timing of water shares, which was in use until the Table 7.1  Crop production in al-Hasa oasis in early 1970s Crop

Area (ha)

Area (%)

Production (tons)

Yield (tons/ha)

Date palms Pomegranates Other fruits Tomatoes Dry onions Okra Watermelons Eggplant Radishes Squash Pumpkins Green onions Lettuce Cucumbers Other vegetables Alfalfa/lucerne Other fodder crops Rice Wheat Barley Total

4121 191 89.4 103.8 51 14.4 12.7 12.2 12.1 11.5 8.8 7.6 7.3 7.2 14.4 1133.6 12.5 49.8 30 17.4 5907.8

69.75 3.23 1.51 1.76 0.86 0.24 0.21 0.20 0.20 0.19 0.15 0.13 0.12 0.12 0.24 19.19 0.21 0.84 0.51 0.29 100.00

46,751 4506 2.067 1937 518 100 333 265 119 147 163 66 274 151 222 93,593 – 72 45 29

11.35 23.58 23.12 18.66 10.16 6.94 26.22 21.72 9.83 12.78 18.52 8.68 37.53 20.97 15.42 82.56 – 1.45 1.50

67  Vidal (1955:156–160). Blunt (1881/1:137) was told in northwestern Arabia that figs and apricots were eaten fresh but not preserved as dates were. 68  For agriculture in Bahrain during the Islamic era, see Insoll (2005:253–280). 69  See Rudolff and Alzekri (2014).

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1960s, was based either on three periods between the major prayer times or the use of a gnomon. As noted by Serjeant, the major time unit for irrigation was the wadah·, a measure of twelve hours, calculated during the day in the past by shadow lengths from the gnomon.70 Observation of the stars by a local expert was the basis for telling time at night. Writing in the late ninth century, Ibn Khurradādhbih reports that there were date palms and camels in Bahrain and the extension along the coast that is now Qatar but no other agriculture.71 Writing in the early nineteenth century, Buckingham found dates, figs, citrons, peaches, and almonds on the main island of Bahrain, noting that even the almond husks were eaten. Traditionally a wide variety of crops were cultivated in Bahrain. Based on a trip in 1332/1914, Al-Nabhānī listed pomegranate, white fig, citron, peach, apricot, pear, Christ’s thorn (nabq or kina ˉr), tamarind (h·umar or .suba ˉr), lemon, orange, mulberry, mango, Assyrian plum (mukhayyat. or Cordia myxa), snake cucumber (t.arh·), eggplant, okra, purslane, radish, chive, and lucerne.72 Cheesman, however, comments on the limited role of agriculture in Bahrain in the 1920s:73 One sees some really good date groves, extending for miles along the northern coast, and fruit gardens of pomegranates and orange trees. The tamarisk and tamarind trees grow to perfection, as well as the Indian ‘almond’ (Terminalia catappa); but one gets the idea that horticulture is regarded here more as a lucrative hobby of the wealthy than as an industry.

In 2008 it was noted that the number of date palms in Bahrain had declined from over 892,000 in the 1970s to about 535,000. This was due to several causes, including increased salinity of groundwater and invasive pests.74

70  Serjeant (1993:482, 487), who translates a Bahraini legal document on irrigation law from 1960. 71  Ibn Sı ̄da (1889:60). 72  Al-Nabhānı ̄ (1986:25). Christ’s thorn (Ziziphus spina-christi) was planted in Hofuf near irrigation wells to provide shade to the men and animals working on the pulley system (Cheesman 1926:419). 73  Cheesman (1926:10). 74  Almansoori, Al-Khalifa, and Mohamed (2014:355).

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7.9   United Arab Emirates (UAE) Apart from date palm production, especially on the al-‘Ayn oasis, the UAE is not known as having a major agricultural tradition. However, an important exception is documented by the ethnographic analysis of Abdullah Yateem in the Ḥajar mountains, which are shared between Oman and the UAE.75 This area receives limited rainfall, sometimes none in a given year, and is thus dependent on wadi flow and the falaj systems that are also prominent in Oman. Yateem provides a seasonal breakdown of the agricultural activities, especially for two major crops of dates and tobacco, as shown in Table 7.2.76 In Wadi Ḥām two-thirds of the falaj gardens were cultivated with date palms. Although tobacco is a major export crop here, it is considered impure by local farmers.77 In addition to these, the main crops grown are wheat, barley, sorghum, maize, alfalfa, mango, and lime. In Ḥajar there are two locally recognized types of land. Land suitable for agriculture is called ramm, which is divided into two parts: that

Table 7.2  Seasonal agricultural activities in Hajar mountains, UAE Season

Months

Agricultural activity

wasmı ̄

VIII-X

shita ̄’

XI-I

miṣayif Khams al-masārı ̄q ghuyūb

II-IV Leap year, end of IV V

Ploughing, planting of early winter crops such as wheat, sorghum, barley, etc., irrigating, use of manure, and trimming date palms Harvest of early winter crops, transplanting of tobacco plants, pollinating date palms Continuing pollination of date palms, harvest of tobacco –

qayẓ

VI–VII

No farming work due to dry and hot summer wind, seasonal move of highland pastoralists (Shawāwī) to summer camps Date harvest

75  Yateem (2009, 2018), who notes that only one tenth of the Ḥ ajar region is within the formal boundaries of the UAE; see also Qāyid (1990:137–143) for a brief description of the falaj system in the UAE and al-‘Utayba (1977:66–83). 76  Yateem (2009:39; 2018:137). 77  Yateem (2009:51; 2018:162) says that tobacco farmers here do not light their pipes in front of shaykhs or Islamic scholars and consider their cultivation of the crop as their fate (nas ̣ı ̄b).

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irrigated by falaj systems and that irrigated by wells (t.awıˉ).78 The other type of land is h·aram, which is for grazing. Most of the cultivation is by falaj, which requires little expense or maintenance and allows fertile land in the wadis to be farmed. Wells here are less reliable and need either a traditional pulley system or a pump to provide irrigation water.

7.10   Oman The most extensive and productive agricultural land in the Gulf is in the mountains of Oman.79 Agriculture was widespread in Oman, especially wheat, barley, and dates, from the Um an-Nar period of the third millennium BCE.80 One of the most important crops near the coast and low-­ lying areas was the date palm, with 4,000,000 trees reported by the turn of the twentieth century.81 Arab geographers and travelers indicate some of the main crops grown in Oman, besides the obvious date palms. Ibn al-Mujāwir, for example, in the early thirteenth century describes the cosmopolitan nature of local agriculture in Dhofar, modern Salalah, on the southern coast of Oman: Fruits of all varieties are produced there: from India, betel nut and coconut; coastal fruits [include] sugar cane and bananas; from Iraq, pomegranates, grapes and many date palms; from Egypt, lemons, citrons and oranges; from Sind nabk; from the Hejaz, doum, which is muql.82

However, Ibn al-Mujāwir adds that the staple food there was sorghum (dhura) and finger millet (kinab), which were both grown in the region. In the mountains near the port of Qalhāṭ, Ibn al-Mujāwir mentions that thyme (sa‘tar) was common.83 An early nineteenth-century British traveler writes that in Oman from April to September the market was extremely well supplied with grapes, 78  In classical Arabic the term rimm can refer to herbage and the verbal form refers to making something suitable. 79  On the Musandam Peninsula crops are only grown on runoff irrigation, which is dependent on the unreliable rainfall (Costa 1991a:27). Wilkinson (1977:28) remarks that there was virtually no cultivation in Oman that was totally dependent on rainfall. 80  Al-Jawhari (2009:124). 81  Popenoe (1926:118). 82  Ibn al-Mujāwir (2008:262). 83  Ibn al-Mujāwir (2008:270).

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melons, mangoes, oranges, limes, pomegranates, and other fruits, as well as greens, pumpkins, onions, and an abundance of other vegetables.”84 Visiting Muscat in the mid-nineteenth century, Joseph Osgood records the following crops: “dates, oranges, white and purple grapes, superior pomegranates, musk melons, mangoes, figs, limes, almonds and luscious bananas….”85 In 1876 Miles records seeing the following crops at Jabal Akhḍar: wheat, sorghum, pomegranate, figs, walnut, almond, apple, peach, apricot, lime, grapes, coffee, plantain, mango, palm, legumes, melons, and sugarcane.86 Miles also records the cultivated crops in the Batineh region of Oman:87 The indigenous vegetation of the Batineh is scanty, but the cultivated fringe or belt is rich in fruit trees, among which are the date, mango, mulberry, pomegranate, banana, guava, papaya, betel vine, orange, lime, citron, peach (known as mishmish), fig, apricot, tamerind, jumbo, almond and melon. The aspect is varied by the growth of lucerne, indigo, dhurra or jowari, tobacco, sugar cane, maize, wheat, barley, pulse and other legumes, and cotton, besides various vegetables.

In his early nineteenth-century travel to the interior of Oman, Wellsted observed the abundance of almonds and that they were “the composition of all their made dishes, whether of grain, sweetmeats, or animal food.”88 By the late nineteenth century it appears that coffee production had greatly declined and that in some areas in Oman grape vines had been infected with disease.89 84  Milburn (1825:82). Wellsted (1838(1):288–291) describes the fruits and vegetables, also noting that potatoes had recently been introduced. Wellsted (1838(1):134) notes that in the interior of Oman wine was made from pomegranate juice mixed with grapes. 85  Osgood (1854:84). 86  A list of crops is also given by al-Sālimı ̄ (1913–1914), including flowers such as roses, saffron, myrtle, narcissus, pennyroyal, rue, and jasmine, as well as two wild medicinal plants, bu ̄t (Reptonia mascatensis) and nimt (Sageretoa spiciflora), which have edible berries; see Mandaville (1977:231) 87  Miles (1919(2): 379–380); see also Miles (1919(2):391–395) for a comprehensive list of cultivated and utilized plants in Oman in the late nineteenth century. 88  Wellsted (1838(1):139). Throughout his text he describes crops encountered during his travels through Oman in 1835–1836. 89  Miles (1901:475, 477). Miles (1901:481) also notes that Persians living in Oman made wine from grapes, remarking, “The wine thus made is consumed in the long winter evenings

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In his research among the al-Qarā near Dhofar, Dostal found that the farmers here did not use a plough, only a hoe (fa ˉs), with the plough only found along the coastal zone.90 The traditional ard in northern Oman was described by Zwemer at the start of the twentieth century:91 “The Oman plough is better than that of Mesopotamia, where they use a crooked stick with a sharp prong to cultivate the loamy soil. In this mountain region the law of the survival of the fittest has given the peasant skill in making a real coulter of iron, fitted to a heavy frame and braced with an upright handle of three bars set at right angles to the frame. The common name for plough is not miflah, but hais.” The major innovation in Omani agriculture is the extensive use of the underground infiltration galley, called falaj in Oman and qana ˉt elsewhere in the region.92 As early as the thirteenth century, the Arabic term falaj (afla ˉj, plural) was recorded to signify water flowing from a spring (al-ma ˉ’ al-ja ˉrıˉ min al-‘ayn) and a watercourse (nah·r), as defined in Lisa ˉn al-‘Arab. It is a cognate of the Semitic root (p-l-g) which refers to dividing something.93 In his major analysis of the falaj systems in Oman, Wilkinson shows that the term refers to the entire irrigation system, especially as “an organization for distributing water amongst those who have rights to it.”94 When the water comes from a distant spring through an underground channel, this is the falaj as qana ˉt; when it comes from directed flow in a wadi it is known as ghayl, a term used in Yemen to denote flowing spring water. The basic principle for the qana ˉt is to locate a spring at a higher elevation, dig a tunnel with periodic shafts to the surface, and transport water to eventual canals where It is used both both agriculture and domestic supply. The late nineteenth-century traveler to Oman, Miles, described by the Sheraizi men, whose wine-bibbing propensities are notorious and reprobated throughout Oman.” 90  Dostal (1975:36), who reports that the cultivated plants included wheat (ḥabb), sorghum (dhurah), maize (muhindo ̄), sweet potatoes (qandel), varieties of beans (diqer, munj, lubı ̄yeh), and melon (batṭ ̣ı ̄kh). The dialectical renderings, which are in modern South Arabian languages, are those of Dostal. 91  Zwemer (1902:63). This is said to be the Omani term for any tool used in farming a field, according to Nashwān b. Sa‘ı ̄d al-Ḥ imyarı ̄ (h-y-s). For a discussion of the Omani ard, see Glob (1974). 92  There is an extensive literature on the falaj system (e.g., Beaumont 1989; Boucharlat 2003; Charbonnier 2014; Lightfoot 2000). The most extensive research on Oman has been conducted by Wilkinson (1983, 1977, 1974) and Nash (2011b). 93  This is the origin of the biblical antediluvian Peleg, mentioned in Genesis 20:25. 94  Wilkinson (1977:74).

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the falaj as “a kind of artificial river, and is one of the most ingenious institutions for bringing water to stimulate the prodigal hand of nature that could possibly be conceived.”95 Five of Oman’s most important falaj systems are on the UNESCO World Heritage list.96 The largest system in the interior near Nizwa is Falaj Daris with two branches, one some 1700  meters long with an average depth of 17.5  meters and the other 1900  meters long with an average depth near 16 meters. The water flow is said to exceed 2000  liters per second. It is estimated that the total agricultural area fed by this falaj is 1,715,402 square meters. Among the crops irrigated here are date palms, mango, lemon, banana, sugarcane, lucerne, and a variety of vegetables. Wilkinson notes that the main crops irrigated by a falaj are the date palm, other less important tree crops, and lucerne (jatt), the latter capable of being cut every month.97 In areas where pump wells have been introduced, the water supply of the falaj system can be undermined; such wells tend to be dug and operated by wealthier individuals and tend to break down the traditional sharing in community systems. Since the falaj water runs day and night, there is generally a need to allocate shares to the water throughout an entire 24-hour day. In general each day is divided into two parts, each called ba ˉda or badda. Each of these is further divided into 24 units for a total of 48 athar, each athar equal to about a half hour.98 Measurement of the share units before modern watches was generally done according to a shadow scheme or water clock during the day and by observations of star movements at night.99 In her study of a falaj system in al-Hamra, Nash found that the sundial and stars as markers stopped being used around 1966.100 In her fieldwork in northern Oman, Nash records local observations on agriculture in relation to the local star calendar.101 One informant told her that date palms are planted in chuwıˉ/kuwıˉ (Vega), which rises around XII:21, sugar cane juice is available under mu ˉfıˉ (Altair?), which rises at

 Miles (1901:488).  Oman (2008). 97  Wilkinson (1977:95–96). 98  Nash (2011b:114). 99  The water clock is called ṭas̄ a in Oman. 100  Nash (2011b:31). See pp. 86–90 for a description of the star calendars used for falaj in Oman. 101  Nash, personal communication. 95 96

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I:14, garlic is available in miyatha ˉb (ε + γ Virginis or δ γ β ε Corvi), which rises at X:6, wheat is ready in the hot season of Aldebaran, and bags are full of dates when the sun rises in ghura ˉb (α, β, δ + λ2 Delphini) at I:30. Another informant said that wheat was available under mıˉyatha ˉb and onions under sha‘ra ˉ’ (Procyon) at VII:19.

7.11   Cultivation Times for Crops Despite the harsh arid conditions in the Gulf with limited access to water, a wide variety of crops were cultivated in select places. An overview of the crops mentioned in the main almanacs, including their seasonal timing, is shown in Table  7.3. It is important to note that most of this almanac information is derived from the almanac of al-‘Uyūni and is mainly relevant to the Najd region. The most detailed advice on crop production is provided by ‘Uwayḍa alongside his general almanac data by stations.102 He discusses recently imported fruits like guava, which are rare in the region, as well as several vegetables not mentioned in the other Gulf almanacs. Most of the cereal crops were cultivated in the spring with ploughing started in February. The Kuwaiti almanac of al-‘Ujayrī notes the ploughing season from III:8 to IV:2. In the Emirates there was also a ploughing with fertilizer during Virgo (VIII:23-IX:23) with planting of cereal crops under Scorpio (X:24-XI:22). Tree crops were first planted under balda (#21) from I:30 to II:11 during Aquarius as well as during mu’akhkhar (#27) from IV:18 to 30, according to al-Mājid and al-‘Uyūnī. After the whole field was ploughed, individual furrows were formed for irrigation. Both men and women were involved in ploughing, the woman leading and feeding the draft animal. Some garden greens and herbs were planted in fall with the wasm rain by women, including fenugreek, garden cress (rasha ˉd), anise (al-h·abba al-h·alwa), fennel (al-h·abba al-samra ˉ’), cumin, and safflower. It is said to have been a very exhausting time, as they worked all day long. There are several notices in the almanacs about times when it is not appropriate to engage in agricultural activities. Nothing should be planted under qalb (XII:19-I:2) due to the cold weather. Except for alfalfa, lettuce, and carrots, nothing should be planted during the station of na‘a ˉ’im (#20) for I:15–27. Al-‘Uyūnī notes that this is the time for the first lettuce 102

 ‘Uwayḍa (1988/1989:26–29, 42–45, 58–61).

Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU) #22 II:9–21 (MAJ, UYU),

After wasm rain (al-Suwaydī 1983:52) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU)

Almond lawz

Anise al-ḥabba al-ḥalwa

Black cumin al-ḥabba al-sawda ̄’, shawnı ̄z

Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU)

Asparagus hindiba ̄’ Banana mawz Barley sha‘ı ̄r

Cereal crops Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU) Cereal crops #14 X:30–XI:11 (MAJ) Cereal crops Scorpio X:24–XI:22 (UYU) #15 XI:10–22 (HASH) Sagittarius XI:23–XII:20 (UYU) #17 XII:7–19 (SHAM) Last planting Capricorn XII:21–I:18 (UYU) #19 I:2–14 (UWA, UYU)

Virgo VIII:23–IX:21 (MAJ, UWA, UYU)

#19 I:2–14 (SHAM) #22 II:10–22 (SHAM)

Apricot mishmish

Apple tuffa ̄ḥ

Plant

Crop

Table 7.3  Crop details according to the main Gulf almanacs

Fruit forms #26 IV:3–15 (ANS, HASH, SHAM, UWA, UYU) Ripens #28 IV:29–V:12 (UWA) Increases #1 V:13–25 (UWA, UYU) Ripens in Taurus IV:22-V:22 (UYU), #27 IV:16–28 (UWA) Increases #1 V:13–25 (UWA, UYU)

Fruit forms #26 IV:4–16 (ANS, HASH, SHAM, UYU, UWA)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

Harvest

(continued)

Leaves appear #22 II:9–21 (ANS, SHAM, UWA, UYU)

Leaves appear #22 II:10–22 (SHAM)

Miscellaneous

Cowpea lu ̄biya ̄/lu ̄biya ̄’

Cotton qut ̣n

Citron utrujj coriander kuzbara

Celery karafs Chick pea ḥimmas ̣ Chive, Chinese kurra ̄th

X:23 (al-‘Ujayrī) #19 I:1–13 (UYU) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UWA, UYU) Sometimes planted Capricorn XII:21–I:18 (UYU) #21 I:27–II:8 (MAJ, UWA, UYU) Taurus IV:21–V:21 (UWA, UYU) Virgo VIII:23–IX:21 (MAJ, UWA, UYU) Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU) #25 III:21–IV:2 (UWA, UYU) Virgo VIII:23–IX:21 (MAJ, UWA, UYU) Pisces II:18–III:19 (UYU)

Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU) #12 X:3–15 (MAJ, UWA UYU) IX:13 (al-‘Ujayrī) After wasm rain (al-Suwaydī 1983:52)

IX:26 (UJA) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UWA, UYU) #18 XII:2-I:1 (SHAM) #12 X:3–15 (ASI) End of August to end of January (UWA) #12 X:3–15 (ASI, MAJ) #20 I:14–26 (MAJ, UWA, UYU) #21 I:28–II:9 (UWA) #22 II:9–21 (UYU) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UWA, UYU) October. November (UWA)

Broad beans baqla ̄ or fu ̄l

Cabbage malfu ̄f/kurunb Carrots jazar

Plant

Crop

Table 7.3  (continued)

Colors #15 XI:11–23 (MAJ, UYU)

Ripens #17 XII:7–19 (UWA)

Ripens #21 I:27–II:8 (UWA, UYU)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

Harvest

Miscellaneous

Date palm nakhl

Cumin kammu ̄n

#14 X:29–XI:10 (MAJ, UYU, UWA) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UWA, UYU) After wasm rain (al-Suwaydī 1983:52) Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU) Pisces II:18-III:19 (UYU) Plant afra ̄kh #24 III:8–20 (SHAM) Aries III:21–IV:20 (UWA,UYU) Taurus IV:21–V:21 (UWA, UYU) #27 IV:16–29 (ANS, SHAM) #28 IV:30–V:11 (SHAM) plant afra ̄kh #28 IV:30–V:12 (ANS, HASH, UWA, UYU) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU) Transplant fasa ̄’il #12 X:3–15 (ASI) Do not plant during disappearance of Pleiades and Taurus IV:21–V:21 (UWA, UYU)

#28 IV:30–V:11 (SHAM) #1 V:12–24 (SHAM) #5 VII:3–15 (SHAM) #4 VI:20–VII:2 (SHAM) Cancer VI:24–VII:24 (UYU)

Cucumber khiya ̄r

Cucumber, snake qiththa ̄’

Plant

Crop

Early palms blossom #18 XII:19–31 (ANS, HASH, UYU, UWA); #20 I:15–27 (SHAM, UWA); Capricorn XII:21–I:18 (UYU)

First available #1 V:14–26 (MAJ) increases #1 V:13–25 (UWA, UYU), Gemini V:22–VI:21 (UWA) Ripens Taurus IV:22–V:22 (UYU), #27 IV:16–28 (UWA) Increases Gemini V:22-VI:21 (UWA)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

Harvest

(continued)

Prune palm leaves Sagittarius XI:23–XII:20 (MAJ, UYU); #16 XI:23– XII:5 (ANS) Palm tree cut will be wormy #22 II:10–22 (ANS) Palm tree cut will not be wormy Scorpio X:22–XI:20 (UWA); #15 XI:11–24 (MAJ) Palm cut will dry #22 II:12–24 (MAJ, SHAM) Palm trunks cut #22 II:10–22 (SHAM) Pollination increases #25 III:21–IV:2 (SHAM) Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU) Pisces II:18–III:19 (UYU) Plant afra ̄kh Last pollination #27 IV:16–28 (ANS, SHAM)

Miscellaneous

Date busr, rut ̣ab

Crop

Plant

Table 7.3  (continued)

Early varieties of busr in Gulf Gemini V:22–VI:22 (MAJ, UWA); #2 V:27–VI:8 (HASH, MAJ) Early varieties of busr begin in al-Aḥsā’ and Oman (ASI) rut ̣ab ready in al-‘Ayn Cancer VI:23– VII:23 (UWA) Dates are ripe in Najd, Ḥajar, and Bahrain and plentiful in Oman #5 VII:3–15 (HASH) First of the shı ̄shı ̄, khala ̄s ̣, gharr, and baraḥı ̄ and shaḥal rut ̣ab varieties during #5 II:3–15 (ASI) busr date forms and collected #8 VIII:13–15 (MAJ) Increase in early varieties #5 VII:4–16 (MAJ, UYU) Increase in Basra #5 VII:3–15 (ANS) Increase in al-Aḥsā’ and Najd #8 VIII:11–24 (ANS) Abundance of good-quality dates VII:30 (al-‘Ujayrī) Increase of rut ̣ab Leo VII:23–VIII:22 Increase of rut ̣ab in Qatar and the Gulf during #5 VII:3–15 (ASI) Increase of rut ̣ab during #7 and #8 VII:29–VIII:24 (ASI) busr good to eat #6 VII:17–29 (UWA) In al-Hasa #6 VII:17–29 (UYU) Libra IX:24–X:24 (SAL)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase Harvest (s ̣ira ̄m) #3 VI:8–30 (UYU) Harvest for storage #10 IX:6–18 (HASH) jada ̄dh #10 IX:6–19 (ANS, SHAM, UYU); Libra IX:22–X:21 (UWA) Increases #11 IX:21–X:2 (UWA, UYU) Last of the um Arḥı ̄m, razı ̄z, lu’lu’, kabka ̄b, and hala ̄lı ̄ rut ̣ab varieties during #5 (VII:3–15) (ASI)

Harvest

Less busr in al-Aḥsā’ #2 V:26–VI:7 (UYU) Less busr in Gulf #2 V:26–VI:7 (UWA) Less bearing of dates #4 VI:20–VII:2 (ANS)

Miscellaneous

Figs tı ̄n/ḥama ̄t ̣

Endive hindiba ̄’ Fennel al-ḥabba al-samra ̄’/ shamar Fenugreek ḥilba

Eggplant ba ̄dhinja ̄n

Doum fruit (du ̄m)

Crop

After wasm rain (al-Suwaydī 1983:52) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU) #17 XII:6–18 (ANS, HASH MAJ, SHAM, UWA) #18 XII:2–I:1 (SHAM) After wasm rain (al-Suwaydī 1983:52) Aries III:21–IV:20 (UWA)

Red and black varieties Leo VII:23–VIII:22 (UWA, UYU), #8 VIII:12–24 (SHAM, UWA) #12 X:3–15 (ASI) Start of winter (UYU) #18 XII:20–I:1 (MAJ, SHAM, UWA) #19 I:2–14 (HASH) Sometimes planted Capricorn XII:21–I:18 (UYU) Pisces II:18–III:19 (UYU) Libra IX:22–X:21 (UWA)

Plant

Blossom #22 II:10–22 (HASH) Ripen #1 V:13–25 (MAJ, UWA, UYU), Plentiful #4 VI:20–VII:3 (SHAM) Available on hard soil #15 XI:10–22 (HASH)

Increases #1 V:13–25 (UWA)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase Last of the doum fruit Taurus IV:22–V:22 (UWA)

Harvest

(continued)

Leaves appear #22 II:9–21 (MAJ, UYU) Prune trees Sagittarius XI:23–XII:20 (UYU) Prune trees Aquarius I:21– II:19 (MAJ) Prune #24 III:8–20 (SHAM)

Miscellaneous

Green beans fa ̄s ̣u ̄liya ̄ Herbs, sweet-smelling raya ̄ḥı ̄n Jujube

Grapes ‘Inab

Flax katta ̄n Flowers zuhu ̄r Garlic thu ̄m Ginger zinjabı ̄l Gourd yaqt ̣ayn or qar‘

Crop

Aries III:21–IV:20 (UWA), Taurus IV:21-V:21 (UWA) #18 XII:2-I:1 (SHAM)

II:28 (al‘Ujayrī) February, March, September, October (UWA) #5 VII:3–15 (SHAM)

After wasm rain (al-Suwaydī 1983:52) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UWA, UYU)

Pisces II:18–III:19 (UYU)

Plant

Table 7.3  (continued)

Ripens #4 VI:21–VII:3 (UYU)

Blossoms #24 III:7–19 (UYU)

Gain color #1 V:13–25 (MAJ, UWA, UYU) Reddens Gemini V:22–VI:21 (UWA) Ripens #4 VI:21–VII:3 (MAJ, UWA) Cancer VI:23–VII:23 (UWA), VII:5 (UJA)

First available #1 V:14–26 (MAJ)

Blossoms #17 XII:6–18 (MAY, UWA, UYU) Increases #25 III:21–IV:2 (UWA. UYU) #12 X:3–15 (UWA)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

#28 IV:29–V:12 (UWA) #1 V:13–25 (UYU)

Harvest

Leaves appear III:27 (al-‘Ujayrī) Grape vinegar pressed #4 VI:21–VII:3 (UYU) Mature plants but not watered due to lack of leaves #15 XI:11–23 (UWA) Prune #18 XII:2–I:1 (SHAM) Prune Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU) Prune #24 III:8–20 (SHAM)

Miscellaneous

Mallow mulukhiyya

Maize al-dhura al-Sha ̄miyya

Lucerne or alfalfa qatt or birsı ̄m

#15 XI:10–22 (HASH) #18 XII:2–I:1 (SHAM) X:3–6 (al-‘Ujayrī), #12 X:3–15 (ASI) #20 I:15–27 (MAJ, UWA) #21 I:28–II:9 (UWA) Aries III:21–IV:20 (UWA), Taurus IV:21–V:21 (UWA) #9 VIII:25–IX:6 (UWA, UYU) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UWA, UYU) #12 X:3–15 (SHAM) #13 X:16–28 (SHAM) #18 XII:2–I:1 (SHAM) #21 I:28–II:9 (SHAM) #24 III:8–20 (SHAM) #28 IV:30–V:11 (SHAM) #1 V:12–24 (SHAM) #4 VI:20–VII:2 (SHAM) #8 VIII:12–24 (SHAM, UWA) Cancer VI:24–VII:24 (UYU) #4 VI:20-VII:2 (SHAM) #6 VII:16–28 (HASH, MAJ, SHAM, UWA) Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU)

Scorpio X:22–XI:20 (UWA) #12 X:3–15 (SHAM) #13 X:16–28 (SHAM) #14 X:29-XI:10 (MAJ, SHAM, UYU) #15 XI:10–22 (HASH, UWA) #25 III:21–IV:2 (HASH)

Legumes buqu ̄l

Lemon lı ̄mu ̄n Lentils ‘adas Lettuce khass

Plant

Crop

#10 IX:7–19 (UWA)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

Harvest

(continued)

Called jatt in Qatar (al-Dabbāgh 1961:67)

Miscellaneous

Orange burtuqa ̄l

Mung bean ma ̄sh Narcissus narjis Nigella al-ḥabba al-sawdā’ Okra ba ̄miya Onion bas ̣al

Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU) Pisces II:18–III:19 (UYU) #8 VIII:12–24 (SHAM, UWA) Leo VII:23–VIII:22 (UWA, UYU) Virgo VIII:23–IX:21 (MAJ, UWA, UYU) IX:18 (al-‘Ujayrī) Libra IX:24–X:24 #12 X:3–15 (ASI) #15 XI:10–22 (HASH) At start of winter (UYU)

#19 I:2–14 (SHAM)

#14 X:29–XI:10 (MAJ, UWA, UYU)

#3 VI:8–30 (UWA, UYU)

Pisces II:18–III:19 (UYU)

#18 XII:20–I:1 (MAJ, UWA) #19 I:2–14 (HASH, SHAM, UWA), #21 I:27–II:8 (UWA, UYU), • VII:17 (al-‘Ujayrī) Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU) Yellow melon #21 I:30–II:11 (MAJ) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU)

Melon bit ̣t ̣ı ̄kh

Millet dukhn Mint na‘na ̄‘ Mulberry tu ̄t

Plant

Crop

Table 7.3  (continued)

Blossoms III:1 (al-‘Ujayrī)

Good to eat #1 V:14–26 (MAJ, UWA)

Increases #24 III:8–20 (UWA)

Early yellow melons available #2 V:26– VI:7 (MAJ, SHAM, UWA, UYU)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

Harvest

Leaves appear #22 II:9–21 (MAJ, HASH, UYU)

Miscellaneous

#28 IV:30–V:11 (SHAM) #1 V:12–24 (SHAM) November, December (UWA)

Peanuts

Quince safarjal Radish fijl, ruwayd

Poppy khashkha ̄sh Potato bat ̣t ̣a ̄t ̣a ̄

Pomegranate rumma ̄n

Peas basila ̄’ Pepper filfil

#11 IX:20–10:2 (ASI) September to March (UWA)

#12 X:3–15 (ASI) November (UWA) #18 XII:2–I:1 (SHAM) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UWA, UYU)

#15 XI:11–23 (UYU)

August, September and transplant after thirty–forty days (UWA) VIII:26 (al‘Ujayrī) #11 IX:20–10:2 (ASI) Aries III:21–IV:20 (UWA) Taurus IV:21–V:21(UWA) Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU)

#4 VI:20–VII:2 (SHAM) #12 X:3–15 (ASI) November (UWA) Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU) #19 I:2–14 (SHAM)

Parsley baqdu ̄nis

Peach khawkh

Plant

Crop

Ripens #9 VIII:26–IX6 (HASH, MAJ, UWA, UYU) Sweetens Libra IX:22–X:21 (UWA) Plentiful #12 X:3–15 (SHAM)

Ripens #6 VII:16–28 (ANS) Increases #6 VII:17–29 (UYU)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

Harvest

(continued)

Not watered due to lack of leaves#15 XI:11–23 (UWA) Leaves appear #22 II:9–21 (ANS, HASH, MAJ, SHAM, UWA, UYU) Prune trees Sagittarius XI:23–XII:20 (UYU)

Leaves appear #22 II:9–21 (ANS, HASH, MAJ. UWA, SHAM, UYU)

Miscellaneous

Spinach saba ̄nij Sugar cane qas ̣ab al-sukkar, (al-qas ̣ab al-Fārisī)

Safflower qurt ̣um or ‘us ̣fur Sesame simsim Sorghum dhura

#19 I:1–13 UYU after wasm rain (al-Suwaydī 1983:52) #8 VIII:12–24 (SHAM, UWA) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU) Aries III:21–IV:20 (UWA) #26 IV:4–15 (SHAM) Taurus IV:21–V:21 (UWA) #28 IV:30–V:11 (SHAM) #1 V:12–24 (SHAM) Cancer VI:24–VII:24 (UYU) #6 VII:16–28 (ANS, MAJ, HASH, SHAM) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU) #12 X:3–15 (ASI) Pisces II:18–III:19 (UYU) 2 V:25–VI:7 (SHAM)

Aries III:21–IV:20 (UWA. UYU) #26 IV:4–16 (ANS, SHAM, UWA, UYU) Taurus IV:21–V:21 (UWA) Increased planting and transplanting #3 VI:8–30 (UWA, UYU)

Rice arruz

Rose ward

Plant

Crop

Table 7.3  (continued)

Blossoms #24 III:7–19 (UWA, UYU) Increases #25 III:21–IV:2 (UWA, UYU)

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

#15 XI: 11–23 (MAJ, UWA. UYU) crushed #18 XII:19–31 (UWA, UYU)

Libra IX:25-X:23 (UWA, UYU) #12 X:3–15 (SHAM)

Harvest

Rosewater distilled Aries III:22–IV:21 (UWA, UYU)

Threshing and winnowing #17 XII:6–18 (ANS, UWA, UYU)

Miscellaneous

Watermelon juhh, ḥabḥab

Watercress jirjı ̄r or rasha ̄d

Violet banafsaj Walnut jawz

Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU) #12 X:3–15 (UYU, UWA) Aquarius I:19–II:17 (MAJ, UYU) #22 II:12–24 (MAJ) #4 VI:20–VII:2 (SHAM) #11 IX:20–10:2 (ASI) After wasm rain (al-Suwaydī 1983:52) Leo VII:25–VIII:24 (UYU)

#24 III:8–20 (SHAM) Aries III:21–IV:20 (UWA) Taurus IV:21–V:21 (UWA) #28 IV:30–V:11 (SHAM) 10 IX:6–19 (SHAM) 11 IX:20–X:2 (SHAM) Winter vegetables #12 X:3–15 (SHAM) #13 X:16–28 (SHAM) #14 X:29–XI:10 (SHAM) #15 XI:10–22 (HASH, UWA) Scorpio X:24–XI:22 (UWA, UYU) #14 X:29–XI:10 (MAJ, UWA, UYU)

Virgo VIII:23–IX:21 (UYU) Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU) #8 VIII:12–24 (SHAM, UWA) IX:7 (al‘Ujayrī) #12 X:3–15 (ASI) Winter and summer plantings (UWA) September to January (UWA)

Swiss chard salq Tomato t ̣ama ̄t ̣am

Turnip shalgham/lift Vegetables, green khadrawa ̄t ˙

Plant

Crop

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

Harvest

Miscellaneous

(continued)

Libra IX:25–X:23 (UWA, UYU) #15 XI:10–22 (HASH) Cereal crops Libra IX:25–X:23 (UYU) Cereal crops #14 X:30–XI:11 (MAJ) Cereal crops Scorpio X:24–XI:22 (UYU) #17 XII:7–19 (SHAM) Last planting Capricorn XII:21–I:18 (UYU) Aquarius I:19–II:17 (UYU)

#4 VI:20–VII:2 (SHAM) #5 VII:3–15 (SHAM) September to March (UWA)

Wheat ḥint ̣a

Zucchini ku ̄sa

Ripen/first Fruits/increase

The # refers to the number of the station. The exact dates vary slightly in the almanac sources

Plant

Crop

Table 7.3  (continued) Miscellaneous

Harvest Aries Do not plant during III:21–IV:20 disappearance of Pleiades (UWA, Taurus IV:21–V:21 (UWA) UYU) #26 IV:4–16 (UYU, ANS, SHAM, UWA) #27 IV:16–28 (UWA) Taurus IV:22–v:22 (UYU)

Harvest

7  SEASONAL ACTIVITIES ON LAND 

201

and carrots, but he also states that it is a time for planting and irrigating tree crops. During the disappearance (ghut.u ˉs) of the Pleiades from view on IV:30 no planting should be done. During the station of han‘a (VII:16–28), al-Anṣārī and al-Mājid say only mulukhiyya and sorghum (dhura) should be sown by broadcast. Al-‘Asīrī, however, says that no trees should be planted or grain crops sown. ‘Uwayḍa records this for the zodiacal month of Cancer (VI:23-VII:23). This is also said to be the time when all roots of plants sprout growth. Al-‘Uyūnī, al-Anṣārī, and al-Hāshimī note that during thurayya ˉ (VI:7–19) harm (talaf ) or blight (‘a ˉha) is lifted from plants and they suggest that this is reflected in a prophetic tradition, recorded by Ibn Qutayba and others: “When the Pleiades has risen, no pest remains on land” (Idha ˉ ˉhat).103 During nathra (VII:29-­ .tala‘al-najm lam yabaqq fıˉ al-ard. ‘a VIII:10), however, al-Anṣārī and al-‘Asīrī say a pest (a ˉfa) appears every day. The almanacs note that by mid-summer during the station of dhira ˉ‘(VII:30-VIII:11), when the Milky Way is at mid-heaven, farmers everywhere know whether their crops will be successful or spoiled. According to al-‘Uyūnī and al-Anṣārī, most fruits start to form in sa‘d al-­ akhbiya (III:22-IV:4). The cold in fargh muqaddam (IV:17–29) can harm the ripening fruit. During nathra (VIII:13–25) the wind can impact fruit produce, according to al-Mājid. During ghafr (#15) for XI:11–23, ‘Uwayḍa notes that one should not restrain from irrigating fruit trees like pomegranate and grapes which have lost their leaves, lest they become diseased, when it would be necessary to apply a Sulphur compound (kibrıˉt.) early in the morning. For the UAE, al-Mājid notes that during risha ˉ’ (1:1–13) it is important to increase irrigation of trees so the newly ploughed land does not dry out. It is advised to increase the application of irrigation during the hot summer weather during Aldebaran (VI:20-VII:2) and .tarfa (VIII:24-IX:5), according to al-‘Asīrī.

 For discussion of this saying, see page 38.

103

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7.12   Date Palm Agriculture There is a large literature on the date palm in the Gulf and Arabia.104 Probably originating in lower Mesopotamia, dates spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula. There is evidence that dates have been utilized since the Neolithic (7500–5000 years ago (ca. 5500–3000 BCE) in the Arab Gulf.105 They represent an ideal food crop for those parts of the peninsula which were hot, dry, and had saline water. It is hard to imagine a food better adapted to the harsh environmental conditions that generations of Bedouin lived in. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of local names exist for date varieties. For example, in Oman, it is reported that there are 148 varieties of dates according to one source and 239 according to another.106 The late tenth-century scholar Badī‘ al-Zamān al-Hamadhānī described the best date varieties at the time in the region. For al-Yamāmā, which would have included Qaṭīf and al-Hasa, he mentions burda ˉ, zarqa ˉ’, and juda ˉmiyya; for Baḥrain, ta‘d.u ˉd., mukra ˉ, aza ˉdh, and qarıˉtha ˉ’; for Oman fard., bal‘aq, and khabut.107 Among the Shiḥūḥ of northern Oman there were reported to be twenty-one local varieties of dates in 1971.108 Details on dates and their production in Muscat in the mid-nineteenth century were given by Joseph Osgood: 104  A major recent source in Arabic is the historical survey by al-Qāḍı ̄ (2014), which covers all aspects of the date palm and dates and has a superb bibliography of Arabic sources (pp. 538–564). Volume 5 of al-Ṣuwayān (2000(5):435–492) has an informative discussion in Arabic, with details on dates in al-Hasa, as well as a short description in al-Suwaydā’ (1983:48–50). For date varieties in Najd during the Umayyad period, see al-Sayf (1983:66). For al-Hasa, see Cheesman (1926:96–97, 197–198); Al-Jabr (1984:25–28); al-Māni‘(1418:48–59); al-Mudayris (2009:34–39); al-Qāḍı ̄ (2014:366–374); al-Shāyib (2003); and Vidal (1955:163); for Qat ̣ı ̄f, see al-Darūra (2003). For dates in Oman, see al-Hāshimı ̄ (2003); al-Ḥ ajrı ̄ (2003); al-Mudayris (2009:76–99, 130, 131); and al-Qāḍı ̄ (2014:393–394). For the UAE, see al-Anqar (1980:57–62); Faraj (2004); Heard-Bey (1982:176–181); al-Jarwān (1987); al-Mudayris (2009:60–75); al-Qāḍı ̄ (2014:376–386); ‘Uwayḍa (1988–1989:26–27); and Yateem (2018:151–152). For Kuwait, see al-Mudayris (2009:13–29). For Bahrain, see ‘Alı ̄ (1997); al-Mudayris (2009:20–33); and al-Qāḍı ̄ (2014:375). For proverbs on dates from al-Hasa, see al-Shāyib (2003). Al-Wahhāb (1971:133–138) has compiled Iraqi proverbs on dates. 105  Beech (2003a). 106  Al-Hāshimı ̄ (2003:19). 107  Al-Hamadhānı ̄ (1885:30). Al-Sijistānı ̄ (2002:41) mentions that Baḥrain, Ḥ ajar, Qat ̣ı ̄f, and al-Yamāma had plentiful dates in the ninth century CE. 108  Dostal (1972:4), who notes that this was the only crop with a surplus. Barley and wheat were said to be insufficient even for subsistence.

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A date tree is valued at from seven to ten dollars and its annual produce from one to two dollars. There are male and female date trees, the latter bearing pistilate flowers, and the former staminate blossoms, which may be distinguished by the peculiar color and shape of each. To further the designs of nature, both kinds are cultivated together, otherwise the fruit grows without a kernel and is worthless. Rather than depend solely on capricious breezes, an ancient custom is still practised of gathering the male blossoms and strewing their pollen over the fertile trees. Some bind the blossoms of the former to those of the latter. The trees being fecundated in July, the bumey or red date ripens in August and the furd or black date in October; good fruit of both kinds can be obtained as late as March. When the fruit ripens it assumes an acorn shape, and owing to its resemblance to the tip of a finger, from dactylus derives its name. It must be gathered several days before wholly ripe or it will quickly decay. Its color at the time is a bright yellow, and its taste is vinous and not unlike that of an unripe chestnut. A fruitful tree will project beneath its noble spreading evergreen tuft of long smooth pinnate leaves, ten or twelve axiliary clusters of dates which will weigh from five to thirty pounds each. When the fruit is first forming, large numbers of ants are collected and placed on the trees, where by destroying small destructive insects they do a much more valuable service than is compensated by their own slight injury to the fruit. When the dates are gathered they are put into baskets made of the date palm leaf, and preserve themselves without further care as they are offered for sale in the American markets; but in this very palate pleasing state they convey no adequate idea of the delicious flavor found in a fresh ripe date. From the fruit an excellent molasses is expressed by the Arabs, who also make use of a hot and unwholesome liquor made therefrom. It is said that the date or great palm, in common with all trees of the palm species, has several well known properties that render it an emblem of a human being, among which are, that if the head be cut off the tree dies, and if a branch be cut off another does not grow in its place.109

Another description of the importance of the date in Oman is provided by Miles:110 109  Osgood (1854:86–87), who adds (p. 85): “The immense annual supply of dates which Muscat furnishes, principally for the south-east and southern coast of Arabia, cannot be less than thirty or forty thousand tons.” 110  Miles (1919(2):395). McCulloch (1839:809) notes that Omani dates were so highly valued they were exported and inferior dates from Bushehr and Basra were imported. Wellsted (1838(1):189), however, was told that Omani dates were inferior in quality to those from Basra and Bahrain.

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In the first place the fruit is the bread of the people, the staff of life, and except as regards two or three varieties, it will keep for months and even years, while the only other foods to compete with it are rice and barley; when half ripe the date is soft and sweet at the top and is then a delicacy. The wood supplies timber, the leaves roofing for huts, the fibres are used for making ropes, and a segment of the tree is often used as a ladder, the tree being split lengthwise, up which the Arabs climb like cats; date sticks are used for making boats called Shasha, also for fences, and a hundred other purposes. The date matures when about eighteen years old and produces from 100 to 300 lbs. of fruit, while it requires no attention but irrigation. Female dates have all to be impregnated; one male, Fahil, is sufficient for 600 or 700 female trees. The male rises to 130 feet, and a sprig often costs several dollars, when it has a good reputation, for male palms are like stallions. The pith of the tree is considered a delicacy as is also the fruit in early stages, when about a quarter of an inch long, as it has a nutty taste and is cut off then to thin the produce in the same way as grapes are thinned; half-ripe dates are very nice.

In the nineteenth century, Omani dates were exported far and wide, even to America. Miles also observed the making of dried dates for export:111 The preparation of dried dates, known in Oman as ‘bisr,’ and in India as ‘kharak,’ is carried on largely at Awabi, and as the season had now commenced, I took the opportunity to observe the process, and was taken round the factories by the sheikh. The dates selected are almost exclusively of the ‘Mubsili’ and ‘Khanaizi’ varieties, and are picked before they are quite ripe. The factory had a chimney about 15 feet high, and contained several open, circular, copper boilers, capable of holding five gallons each, and nearly full of water. Into these vessels the dates are put, and allowed to simmer over a slow fire. As the water in the copper decreased from evaporation, it was filled up again, but it gradually became inspissated by the extraction of the juice of the date. The fruit is left in the water about half an hour, and is then taken out and spread on mats or cloths in the sun to dry, after which it becomes hard and of a pale red colour. It is exported in large quantities from Muskat to India.

According to the almanacs of al-‘Uyūnī and al-Anṣārī, the main season for planting date palms was under bat.n al-h·u ˉt (IV:30-V:12). The Emirati 111  Miles (1901:474). The main export of Omani dates in the past was to India (Wilkinson 1977:31).

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almanac of ‘Uwayḍa places the planting during the zodiacal months of Aries (III:21-IV:20) and Taurus (IV:21-V:21), except during the time when the Pleiades disappears. These dates are similar to those mentioned as early as the ninth century.112 The reason that date offshoots are planted in spring is that this is when sap flows in wood, so the growth will be faster.113 Planting appears to be mainly from offshoots rather than seeds.114 This ensures the same quality, whereas seeds may differ in quality and production potential. Al-‘Asīrī mentions a transplanting of the offshoots (fasa ˉ’il) under .sarfa (X:3–15). The spacing between palms is ideally between six and seven meters in Najd. In Bahrain, according to the late nineteenth-century traveler Bent, a manure from the fins of a ray-fish called “awwal” was used to manure date palms after they are steeped in water.115 A small fish called qa ˉshi‘ is used in the UAE for this same purpose.116 In Kuwait old dry palm fronds were cut off in spring, and were used as fuel, leaving the fresh growth.117 It takes about three–seven years for the average palm to mature and be productive. A date palm produces on an average about thirty–forty years. A number of authors have noted the resemblance of the date palm to a person, including the fact that its lifespan is about the same, around seventy years. Date palms have male and female trees, so pollination is needed.118 The timing for this differs according to the location. Al-Anṣārī notes that the last of the pollination is during fargh mu’akhkhar (IV:16–28), but pollination can occur as late as July in Oman.119 Various sources indicate that pollination can occur from February to May. The inflorescence (t.al‘) is taken from the male tree and carefully applied to the female tree. In 112  Al-Sijistānı ̄ (2002:49) notes that date seed (‘ajama) was planted at the end of winter and start of spring. 113  Al-Suwaydā’ (1983:48), who notes that in Najd new date palms are at times planted between tamarisk trees. Wallin (1854:162) states that tamarisk was planted in the Najd for use of its wood in construction. It was planted in Kuwait as a wind break for towns (Muḥammad 2009:21). 114  For the Emirates, ‘Uwayḍa (1989:26) says this is the case there; he also provides a description of planting methods. 115  Bent (1890:9); Bent and Bent (1900:41), who define it as meaning “first.” 116  Al-Anqar (1980:31). 117  Harrison (1924:48). 118  Popenoe (1922) has a good introduction to date palm pollination in the Arab world. For pollination in Kuwait, see Harrison (1924:48–49); for the UAE, see Faraj (2004:81–93). 119  Osgood (1854:86).

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Bahrain, according to the Bents over a century ago, the male spathes are dried for twenty hours and then deposited to the female blossom.120 In Oman it is claimed that one robust male tal‘ can service 600–700 female trees.121 In the Emirates the male .tal‘ is considered edible and when placed in water provides a drink aiding digestion. In Bahrain, the fresh spathe is distilled to make a liquid for making sherbet.122 After pollination the first stage of growth is the inflorescence (t.al‘). There are numerous dialect terms in Arabic for the stages of date fruit growth.123 In classical usage the term balah· refers to the date when it is green and busr/bisr when it turns red or yellow.124 The fully ripe date is known as rut.ab. The generic term tamr refers to dates that have been harvested and dried. In the Emirates it takes about four months from the start of the balah· stage until the date is ripe and ready to harvest. Al-Anqar notes that the ripe date (rut.ab) is dried in the sun for three or more days in order to preserve it for eating in winter.125 A type of busr date called khashaf, which is unfit for human consumption, is fed to domestic animals. The date harvest varies slightly between parts of the Gulf. Ibn Qutayba quoted a saying that when the asterism ‘udhra (five stars in Canis Majoris) rose, there were no longer any unripe dates (busr), only ripe dates (rut.ab) and processed dates (tamr), due to the heat there.126 In Oman, for example, al-Hāshimī describes three main harvest seasons. The first occurs in the month of Ḥazıˉra ˉn and includes twenty-four varieties, the second in Tammu ˉz for 123 varieties, and the third from Āb until Tishrıˉn al-Awwal for seven varieties.127 The harvest of dates in the heat of summer (qayz.) involves the whole family, who separate the good from the spoiled dates.128 The traveler Osgood, writing in the mid-nineteenth century, says that red  Bent and Bent (1900:19).  Miles (1919(2):395). 122  Bent and Bent (1900:20). 123  Miles (1919(2):396) records nine progressive stages of the ripening of the date fruit in Oman: “Talla, Aukzeez, Khatal, Safoor, Bissir, Basoom, Gereen, Ratab, Hamad al-Tamr.” 124  Al-Sijistānı ̄ (2002:70). 125  Al-Anqar (1980:35). There are more than twenty varieties of dates in the Emirati oasis of al-‘Ayn (Stevens 1970:414). 126  Ibn Qutayba (1956:48), who also notes that when there were unripe dates in Basra, they were being harvested in Oman. 127  Al-Hāshimı ̄ (2003:19–20). Wilkinson (1977:29) estimated that three-fourths of the cultivated area of Oman was devoted to dates. 128  Al-Ḥ ajarı ̄ (2003:108). 120 121

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burnıˉ dates ripened in August and the fard. or black date in October, although its fruit can be obtained as late as March.129 In the 1920s in Oman’s al-Baṭīna area there were twelve to fifteen clusters on a palm tree, each cluster weighing about seven kg with the average yield of a palm about 45 kg.130 The date palm and the fruit at various stages experience a range of pests and diseases. Al-Anqar describes some of the traditional treatments in the Emirates.131 A young tree of two or three years can be attacked by a white worm (du ˉd) with a black head; this is called ‘a ˉqu ˉr. It is treated by applying the bitter herb called h·armal (Peganum harmala) or else black ashes to the trunk, both of which kill the worm. Strong winds could also be dangerous, which is why date clusters are often protected by baskets. Birds are also a problem, which is why date clusters may be wrapped. In al-Hasa the farmer may put out a dish of fruit to divert the attention of the birds.132 Another alternative has been to station children in the fields to ward off the birds. In addition to the fruit, the date palm also provided branches and trunks for building houses and huts, firewood, and raw material for baskets, mats, fans, and ropes.133 The importance of the date in the traditional cultures of the Gulf region cannot be overestimated. Joseph Osgood provides an anecdote that indicates just how important dates were: An intelligent captain of the Indian navy once suggested to several Arabian merchants that the inhabitants of the south coast of Arabia might be easily punished for any offence they had committed; as a blockade would reduce them to starvation. When they clearly understood him one of them exclaimed:—‘That is not the idea of a man, but of a devil; for into man’s imagination such a thought for the wholesale destruction of his species could never enter. Say no more about it; for dates are bread, and bread is the staff of life.’

 Osgood (1854:86).  Reported in Wilkinson (1977:29). 131  Al-Anqar (1980: 53–54); see also Faraj (2004:115–124). One of the major pests of date palms in Oman is the sucking insect known as dūba ̄s (Ommatissus lybicus) (The Research Council N.D.:3). 132  Cheesman (1926:156). 133  Al-Jabr (1984:25). For a description of baskets and other items from palm leaves, see Jones in Costa (1991a:145–149, 161–176). 129 130

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Lorimer, John Gordon 1908 Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, ‘Oma ˉn, and Central Arabia. Volume II. Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing. Mandaville, James 2011 Bedouin Ethnobotany: Plant Concepts and Uses in a Desert Pastoral World. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Mandaville, James 1977 Plants. In The Scientific Results of the Oman Flora and Fauna Survey 1975, 229–267. Oman: Ministry of Information and Culture. al-Māni‘, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. ‘Abd al-‘Azīz 1418 AH Mu‘jam al-kalama ˉt al-­ sha‘biyya fıˉ Najd (Mantiqat al-Washm). Riyadh. McCulloch, John Ramsey 1839 A Dictionary, Practical, Theoretical, and Historical, of Commerce and Commercial Navigation. New Edition. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans. Milburn, W. 1825 Oriental Commerce. London: Kingsbury, Parbury, and Allen. Miles, Samuel B. 1919 Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf. Two volumes. London: Harrison and Sons. Miles, Samuel B. 1901 Across the Green Mountains of Oman. The Geographical Journal 18(5):465–498. al-Mudayris, Jāsim Muḥammad 2009 Atlas as.na ˉf al-tumu ˉr (al-shajara al-t.ayyiba) fıˉ al-Khalıˉj. Kuwait. Muḥammad, Khālid Sālim 2009 Mawsu ˉ‘at al-lahja al-Kuwaytiyya. Kuwait, privately published. Murād, Muḥammad Muṣṭafā 2005 Mala ˉmih· fıˉ taghdhiyya al-ibl wa-tarbiyyatha. al-‘Ayn: Markaz li-al-Turāth wa-al-Ta’rīkh. Musil, Alois 1928 The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins. New York: American Geographical Society. al-Muṭayrī, Shāhir Muḥsin Farrāj al-Asqah 1984 al-Dıˉwa ˉn al-atharıˉ. Saudi Arabia, privately published. al-Nabhānī, Muḥammad b. Khalīfa b. Ḥamad 1986 al-Tuh·fa al-Nabha ˉniyya fıˉ ta’rıˉkh al-jazıˉra al-‘Arabiyya. Bahrain: al-Maktaba al-Waṭaniyya. Nash, Harriet 2011a Star Lore and Use in Oman. Journal of Semitic Studies 56(1):167–182. Nash, Harriet 2011b Water Management: the Use of Stars in Oman. Society for Arabian Studies Monographs No. 11. Oxford: Archaeopress. Nash, Harriet 2011c Trip Report. Qatar 6–12 December. Unpublished document al-Nu‘aymī, Ḥamad Muḥsin 1988 al-Rah·ˉı l ‘inda ahl al-ba ˉdiya. Doha: Idārat al-Siyāḥa wa-al-Āthār. Oman, Sultanate of 2008 Aflaj Oman in the World Heritage List. Muscat: Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources. Osgood, Joseph 1854 Notes of Travel; or, Recollections of Majunga, Zanzibar, Muscat, Aden, Mocha, and Other Eastern Ports. Salem: George Creamer. Pellat, Charles 1986 Cinq calendriers égyptiens. Textes Arabes et Études Islamiques, 26. Cairo: Institut Française d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire.

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Popenoe, Paul 1926 The Distribution of the Date Palm. Geographical Review 16(1):117–121. Popenoe, Paul 1922 The Pollination of the Date Palm. Journal of the American Oriental Society 42:343–354. Qāyid, Ḥasan 1990 Ba ˉdiyat al-Ima ˉra ˉt: taqa ˉlıˉd wa-‘a ˉda ˉt. Abu Dhabi: Mu’assasa al-Itiḥād li-al-ṣaḥāfa wa-al-Nashr. al-Qāḍī, Ḥāzim Thābit 2014 al-Nakhla ramz al-h·aya ˉt: Mawsu ˉ‘a al-‘us.u ˉr ‘an al-­ nakhla wa-al-tumu ˉr. Doha: Qatar National Printing Press. al-Quway‘ī, Muḥammad ‘Abd al-‘Azīz 1984 Tura ˉth al-ajda ˉd. Riyadh. Volume 2. Raswan, Carl 1955 The Arab and His Horse. Oakland. Raswan, Carl 1947 Black Tents of Arabia. New York: Creative Age Press. Raswan, Carl 1945 Vocabulary of Bedouin Words concerning Horses. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 4(2):97–129. Raswan, Carl 1941 Drinkers of the Wind. New York: Creative Age Press. Richter, Tobias, Paul Wordsworth and Alan Walmsley 2011 Pearl Fishers, Townsfolk, Bedouin, and Shaykhs: Economic and Social Relations in Islamic al-Zubārah. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 41:317–332. Rudolff, Britta and Muhammad alZekri 2014 A Network of Traditional Knowledge: The Intangible Heritage of Water Distribution in Bahrain. International Journal of Intangible Heritage 9:83–97. al-Sayf, ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad 1983 al-Ḥaya ˉt al-iqtis.a ˉdıˉya al-ijtima ˉ‘ıˉya fıˉ Najd wa-al-Ḥijaz ˉı al-‘as.r al-Umawıˉ. Riyadh: Mu’assasat al-Risāla. Serjeant, R. B. 1993 Customary Irrigation Law among the Baḥārnah of al-Baḥrayn. In Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Khālid al-Khalīfa and M. Rice, editors, Bahrain through the Ages: The History, 471–496. London: Kegan Paul International. al-Shāyib, ‘Abd Allāh ‘Abd al-Muḥsin 2003 al-Nakhla madkhal min khilāl al-amthāl fī al-Aḥsā’ bi-al-Mamlaka al-‘Arabiyya al-Sa‘ūdiyya. al-Ma’thu ˉra ˉt al-Sha‘biyya 68:43–73. al-Shammarī, ‘Alī b. ‘Abd Allāh and ‘Abd Allāh al-Jal‘ūd 2015 al-Buru ˉj wa-‘aliqa ˉtuha ˉ bi-al-zira ˉ‘a fıˉ al-Mamlaka al-‘Arabiyya al-Sa ˉ‘u ˉdiyya. Riyāḍ: al-­ Hay’a al-‘Arabiyya li-al-Kitāb. al-Sijistānī, Abū Ḥātim Sahl 2002 Kita ˉb al-Nakhla. Beirut: Dār al-Bashā’ir al-Islāmiyya. Stevens, J. H. 1970 Changing Agricultural Practice in an Arabian Oasis. Geographical Journal 136(3):410–418. al-Ṣuwayān, Sa‘d, editor 2000 Al-Thaqa ˉfa al-taqlıˉdiyya fıˉ al-Mamlaka al‘Arabiyya al-Sa‘u ˉdiyya. Riyāḍ: Dār al- Dā’ira li-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawthīq. 12 volumes. al-Suwaydā’, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Zayd 1983 Najd fıˉ al-ams al-qarıˉb. Riyadh: Dār al-‘Ulūm li-al-Ṭibā‘a wa-al-Nashr. Sweet, Louise E. 1965 Camel Raiding of North Arabian Bedouin: A Mechanism of Ecological Adaptation. American Anthropologist 67(5):1132–1150.

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Thomas, Bertram 1931 A Camel Journey across the Rub’ Al Khali. The Geographical Journal 78(3):209–238. al-‘Utayba, Māni‘ Sa‘īd 1977 al-Bitru ˉl wa-al-iqtis.a ˉda ˉt li-al-Ima ˉra ˉt al-‘Arabıˉya al-Mutah·h·ada. Kuwait: Maṭābi‘ Dār al-Qabas. ‘Uwayḍa, Rāshid b. ‘Uwayḍa Āl 1988/1989 Taqwıˉm al-Ẓafara. Abu Dhabi: Dār Ṣuḥuf al-Waḥda. Varisco, Daniel Martin 2012b What Camels Eat: A Study in Arabic Ethnobotany. In Eva-Marie Knoll and Pamela Burger, editors, Camels in Asia and North Africa: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on their Past and Present Significance, 151–161. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-­ historische Klasse, Denkschriften, 451. Band 8. Varisco, Daniel Martin 1994 Medieval Agriculture and Islamic Science: The Almanac of a Yemeni Sultan. Washington: University of Washington Press. Vidal, F. S. 1955 The Oasis of al-Hasa. Arabian American Oil Company. Wallin, George Augustus 1854 Narrative of a Journey from Cairo to Medina and Mecca by Suez, Arabá, Tawilá, al-Jauf, Jubbé, Hâil, and Nejd, in 1845. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society 24:115–207. al-Wahhāb, ‘Izzī 1971 al-Nakhla fī ṣinā‘atnā wa-mu‘taqad ithnā al-sha‘biyya. al-Tura ˉth al-Sha‘bıˉ 2(9):121–138. Watson, Janet, D. Eades, M. al-Mahri 2013 Camel Culture and Camel Terminology amongst the Omani Bedouin. Journal of Semitic Studies 58:169–186. Webster, R. 1991 Notes on the Dialect and Way of Life of the Āl Wahība Bedouin of Oman. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 54(3):473–85. Wellsted, J. R. 1838 Travels in Arabia. London: Murray. Wilkinson, Jon 1983 The Origin of the Aflaj in Oman. Journal of Oman Studies 6:177–194. Wilkinson, Jon 1977 Water and Tribal Settlement in South-East Arabia. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Wilkinson, Jon 1974 The Organisation of the Falaj Irrigation System in Oman. Research Paper No 10, School of Geography, University of Oxford. Yāqūt, Shihāb al-Dīn Abū ‘Abd Allāh 1906 Kita ˉb Mu‘jam al-bulda ˉn. Cairo: Maṭba‘a al-Sa‘āda. Yateem, Abdullah [Yātīm] 2018 al-Iqtis.a ˉd wa-al-mujtama‘a fıˉ ba ˉdiya al-ima ˉra ˉt: dira ˉsa anthru ˉbu ˉlu ˉjiyya. Bahrain: Markaz Dirāsāt al-Baḥrayn, Jāmi‘at al-Baḥrayn. Yateem, Abdullah [Yātīm] 2009 Agriculture and Pastoralism in the Hajar Mountains of the Emirates: A Historical Ethnography. Journal of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Studies 35(135):17–85. Zwemer, Samuel M. 1902 Three Journeys in Northern Oman. The Geographical Journal 19(1):54–64.

CHAPTER 8

Seasonal Activities on the Sea

The tribal Arabs in the region considered pearl diving, the dhow trade and raiding honorable activities, but not commerce and running shops, which were left mainly to Persians and Indians who settled in the region. —M. Morsey Abdullah

Until the mid-twentieth century the gulf between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran was known as the Persian Gulf, the Sinus Persicus of the Roman era, and baḥr Fāris of early Islamic texts, as reflected in the many maps made of the region.1 During the mid-twentieth century, with the formation of independent Arab states in the Gulf, it became known as the Arabian or Arab Gulf on the Arab side.2 The Persian or Arab Gulf is about 1  A collection of 121 maps regarding the Persian Gulf can be found on the website of The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Geography/persian. gulf/persian_gulf_historical_maps.htm). See also al-Samārı ̄ (1421/2000) for a collection of early maps. For a history of the terms used for the Persian Gulf, see Bosworth (1997), who also translates the detailed information from al-Mas‘ūdı ̄ on the Gulf. 2  Choosing between Persian Gulf and Arabian Gulf has become a politicized issue. I respect the view of Rudi Matthee (2012:185): “I use the term Persian Gulf unapologetically, not to please the lranians, who insist on it, but because they are right, since this is the term for the waterway that has been in use since antiquity.” In my work I will refer to the region primarily as simply the “Gulf.”

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_8

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1000 km long and 56 km wide at the strait of Hormuz with an average depth of 50 m and up to 90 m.3 It is shallower than the Red Sea largely because of the silt deposited over thousands of years by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Gulf opens up into the vast Indian Ocean trade network that linked Asian sea trade from as far as Japan, China, and India to the Red Sea and the East African coast. Regular maritime trade with Southeast Asia and China can be traced back to the second half of the eighth century CE.4 Activity in the Gulf increased dramatically with the transfer of the Islamic caliphate from Damascus to Baghdad. During the Islamic era there were several major ports that ships would stop at for water and supplies or to unload cargo.5 On the Arab side the most important ports were in Oman, especially Suhar and Qalhat, but there were also important harbors on the Persian side, including Siraf, Hormuz, and the island of Qays. Bahrain, the legendary Dilmun of ancient Mesopotamia, was also a major location, especially for local pearling. The Portuguese arrived In the Gulf in 1507. Although they were never able to control shipping here, they did establish several forts at Hormuz, Bandar Abbas, and Qishm, with limited forays elsewhere. Their main commercial interest was in India, but they were able to establish treaty relations in the region due to the insecurity of the local political systems.6 The Portuguese also assisted local shipping by providing safe conduct (cartazes) out of the strait of Hormuz for over a century. By 1622 the British East India Company had established a factory at the port of Hormuz, forcing out the Portuguese. As the British Empire spread to India in the mid-eighteenth century, Britain became the dominant sea power in the Persian Gulf, although it was of peripheral interest to their quest for control of India. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the main concern of the British fleet was with ending Arab piracy in the Gulf.7 Writing as early as 3  Al-Mas‘ūdı ̄ (1841:347) suggests that the length of the Persian Gulf from Basra to southern Oman was 400 farsangs. 4  Bosworth (1997:81). One of the earliest first-person accounts is the Akhbār al-Ṣı ̄n wa al-Hind from 851 CE (Macintosh Smith 2014; Sauvaget 1948). 5  For information on the major Persian Gulf ports since antiquity see Potter (2009), and Whitcomb (2009);  for the early Islamic era; for the period between 1500 and 1730, see Floor (2006). 6  Matthee (2012:7). When the Safavid state collapsed in 1722, the Portuguese no longer played either a commercial or diplomatic role in the Persian Gulf. 7  Writing near the start of the nineteenth century, Milburn (1825:83) notes, “On the Arabian side of the Gulph, the coast, extending Upwards of 400 miles, from Cape Mussendom to the Bahreen Islands, is denominated the Pirate Coast,” with Ra’s al-Khayma as its main city.

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the late ninth century, Ibn Khurradādhbih discredited Baḥrain, including the area on the Arabian coast, as a den of thieves who preyed on ships, noting that there were date palms and camels but no other agriculture.8 Piracy had long been a scourge for regional commerce in the region. The early thirteenth-century traveler Ibn al-Mujāwir was told that local pirates along the southern coast would use the island of Socotra as a base, selling their loot there and engaging in acts that pirates are known for, like sleeping with the local women.9 During the Rasulid era with the dominance of the port of Aden as a major entrepôt, the sultans established a coast guard known as the shawa ̄nı ̄, and imposed a tax on ships entering Aden to support this. After a major campaign against the so-called Pirate Coast which stretched from the current United Arab Emirates to Qatar, the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 facilitated the transition to safe shipping lanes. By 1853 the former Pirate Coast became known as the “Trucial Coast” with the signing of the Treaty of Maritime Peace in Perpetuity.

8.1   Navigation in the Gulf10 Travel throughout the Persian Gulf before 1860, when steam-engine ships started to function in open waters, was by traditional sailing ships. Even in the era of steam ships, it was considered dangerous to sail along the Arabian coast at night due to the shallow reefs and shoals.11 A number of ships, small and large, were used, but the key to success was the lateen sail.12 This triangular sail was important in the Gulf and wider Indian Ocean trade network because it allowed the boat to tack against the wind and thus sail even when the wind was blowing against it. The term commonly used in English to describe many of the traditional ships is dhow, which appears to be derived from the Swahili dau for a small nineteenth-­ century vessel, popularized by the British engaging slave ships at the time.13 The most common boats used in the Gulf for short-distance

 Ibn Khurradādhbih (1889:60).  Ibn al-Mujāwir (2008:265). 10  For a  survey of  the  basic principles of  navigation in  the  Gulf and  Indian Ocean, see Constable (2013) and Tibbetts (1971), who provides a translation of the important work of the fifteenth-century Ibn Mājid. Another local account of navigation in the Gulf region is provided by Sulaymān al-Mahrı ̄ (Ferrand 1925; Lunde 2013a, b) in the early sixteenth century. For methods of navigation after 1850, see al-Hijji (2013). 11  Hydrographic Office (1920:15). 12  See Rowand (1915:2320) for a description of how this sail was made and used. 13  Sheriff (2010:79). 8 9

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fishing and pearling were the sanbūq, batı ̄l, jālbūt, and Omani badan, but there were many local varieties (Table 8.1).14 Ships and small boats in the region were used for a variety of purposes, with the large ships like the baghla important for long-distance trade.15 Villiers reports that the baghla was out of fashion by the late 1930s in Kuwait because it was more costly to build and more unwieldy than the popular būm.16 Miles considers the badan in Oman “the most remarkable, numerous, and generally useful craft” among the smaller ships. He provides a detailed description from the end of the nineteenth century: It is twenty to thirty-five feet in length and from ten to twenty tons, built of thin teakwood planks with jackwood topstreak. They have very fine lines and have a double keel, which forms a narrow fiat bottom to enable them to stand upright when beached; the keel is slightly curved up at each end so that when afloat the stem and stern barely touch the surface of the water. The deck is a light movable structure formed of bamboos or date sticks laid athwart and laced together with string. It is carvel built and has a single lofty mast carrying a large spread of sail, which enables her to slip through the water with amazing rapidity. Having, however, no depth of keel and being narrow in the waist the badan has no hold on the water and is easily blown over by sudden squalls and land gusts, when plying along the shore. Being provided with oars, the crew are able to row in rough weather, but accidents frequently occur nevertheless.17

In the 1940s, as reported by Villiers, there could have been as many as 2000 dhows in operation around the Arabian coast, employing perhaps as many as 40,000 men.18 In addition to the active trade network, long-­ distance ships also carried passengers. As Villiers, who traveled for more 14  Agius (2010:26). In addition to the excellent analysis by Agius, for details on ships and boats of the Gulf see Dickson (1951:473–483); Gharı ̄b (1994); al-Hijji (1988, 2001); al-Ḥ imyarı ̄ (2010:206–215); al-Jarwān (1985:133–135); Lancaster and Lancaster (2011:96–98); Miles (1919(2):412–414); al-Qut ̣āmı ̄ (1976:242–247); Al Salimi and Staples (2019:27–124); al-Shamlān (1986:119–120; 1990); and Sheriff (2010:79–103). For drawings and photographs of traditional boat building and Gulf boats, see Agius (2010:191–198); Ghidoni in Al Salimi and Staples (2019:625–631); and Lockerbie (n.d.). 15  For the local items traded via dhows in the early twentieth century, see Villiers (1948:403–404). 16  Villiers (1948:410). 17  Miles (1919:(2): 412–413). 18  Villiers (1948:400).

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Table 8.1  Major terms for traditional ships and boats in the Gulf Term

Description

Uses

‘āmla

Large surf boat that could hold twenty-five–thirty crew (Heard-Bey 1982:173) Omani coastal trading and “fishing vessel, double-­ ended and double- keeled, characterized by her long Slim hull with a sharp needle-nose and high unswept sternpost, one mast” (Agius 2008:400) See Martin (1980:81–82); Al Salimi and Staples (2019:39–42); Vosmer et al. (1992:8–24, 56) “a deep-sea Kuwaiti vessel characterized by her low bow and high unswept, quarter deck, square galleon-type stern with rear windows and quarter galleries, rigged with two or three masts” (Agius 2008:400) Similar to an Indian boat called kutiyya (al-Jādir 2014:293) Carries a small boat at the stern (Lorimer 1915:2329) See al-Ḥ ijji (1988:34–36); Martin (1980:82); Al Salimi and Staples (2019:45–47) Small boat, used for fishing in Oman (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:31–32) Similar to batı̄l, both sailing and rowing “Emirati and Omani double-ended, fishing and pearling vessel with some hybrid features of the badan but with a sharp pointed bow” (Agius 2008:401) See al-Hijji (1988:30–32); Al Salimi and Staples (2019:48–49); Vosmer et al. (1992:24–27, 56) Warship (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:30) Usually eighty feet long, seventeen feet wide, and eight feet high (al-Ḥ imyarı̄ 2012:51) “Emirati and Qatari double-ended coastal trading, pearling and pirate vessel, with a fiddle-headed bow, a high sternpost and double forward leaning masts; also Musandam (Oman) double ended Fishing vessel characterized by her low pointed prow, high stern post and projections “(Agius 2008:401) See al-Hijji (1988:30–32); Al Salimi and Staples (2019:33–36); Vosmer et al. (1992:38–49, 56)

Fishing

badan

baghla

banūsh baqqāras

bārija batı̄l

Pearling, fishing for short trips, trade

Long-distance trade

Fishing Pearling, fishing Not used for trade, according to Lorimer (1915:2329)

Warfare Pearling, fishing, trade; Not used for trade, according to Lorimer (1915:2329)

(continued)

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Table 8.1  (continued) Term

Description

Uses

būm

“Kuwaiti cargo vessel, double-ended, distinguished by her straight, sharp-pointed stemhead, ordinarily painted black and white, with a curved stern” (Agius 2008:402) Cheaper to build than baghla (Lancaster and Lancaster 2011:96) Best boat for long-distance trade (al-Ḥ imyarı̄ 2012:65) See al-Hijji (1988:36–39, 73–146); al-Jādir (2014:286); Al Salimi and Staples (2019:51–52) Warship, used at island of Qays (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:44) Large warship (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:67) Boat made of iron without an engine and towed by larger ships (al-Jādir 2014:288) Similar to baghla “an Omani deep-sea vessel distinguished by her curved stempost and a parrot’s beak on the stemhead, square-shaped stern with a high poop” (Agius 2008:406) See Al Salimi and Staples (2019:98–99); Vosmer et al. (1992:56) Warship (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:96–97) Any small boat, often a dugout canoe “an Indian Ocean dugout vessel, punted or sailed” (Agius 2008:407) See al-Jādir (2014:297); Martin (1980:81); Al Salimi and Staples (2019:121–123); Vosmer et al. (1992:29–38, 56–57) Light transport and pilgrimage, primarily in the Red Sea, but also in Indian Ocean (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:59–60) Usually 20–60 feet long, 6–16 feet wide, 3–7 feet high (al-Ḥ imyarı̄ 2012:113) Especially strong in waves (al-Hijji 1988:26) See Al Salimi and Staples (2019:55–56) Transport ship used at Qays (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:55) Small sewn-plank ship in Oman (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:110–111)

Pearling, long-­ distance trade Not used for pearling, according to Lorimer (1915:2329)

burma daww dūba/ dawba ghanja

ghurāb hūrı̄

jalba

jālbūt

jāshūjiyya kambārı̄

Warfare Warfare Transport Long-distance trade

Warfare Fishing

Transport

Pearling, fishing, trade

Transport, warfare Trade, transport (continued)

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Table 8.1  (continued) Term

Description

Uses

khayṭiyya

Sewn-planked ship (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:63–65) Small boat used to transport sailors from a large boat to the shore (al-Jādir 2014:293) General term for small boat (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:114) Larger ones with up to seven pairs of oars used for pearling (Lorimer 1915:2329) Large trade ship up to 600 tons (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:74–75) Fishing and pearling sanbūq (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:89) Generic term for a sailing ship for the history of the sanbūq, see Agius (2008:310–316); al-Hijji (1988:27–28); Martin (1980:83–84); Al Salimi and Staples (2019:78–81); Vosmer et al. (1992:50) Fishing boat using nets (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:89) Warship (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:84–85) Light sailing galley, sometimes used as an escort (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:85) Small fishing boat (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:84) Made from spines of palm leaves (Martin 1980:81); “a North-Eastern Emirati and Eastern Omani beach canoe made of palm leaf spines bound together with coir” and propelled by one or two oars (Agius 2008:420) Called warjiyya in Kuwait (al-Hijji 1988:42) Could only carry one–two persons (Heard-Bey 1982:173) See Vosmer et al. (1992: 24–28,57) “Ņan Arabian Gulf and Omani fishing vessel almost identical to the square-sterned sanbūq characterized by her straight stem ending in a double curve and transom stern with projecting quarter strakes” (Agius 2008:421) See al-Hijji (1988:29); Martin (1980:82–83); Al Salimi and Staples 2019:85–88); Vosmer et al. (1992:57)

Trade

māshūh mashuwwa

saffār ṣam‘ā sanbūq/ sambūq

ṣayyād shādha shaffāra shaḥūf shāsha

shū‘ı̄

Transport Light transport, pearling

Trade Fishing, pearling Pearling, fishing

Fishing Warfare Trade Fishing Small fishing craft

Pearling, fishing

(continued)

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Table 8.1  (continued) Term

Description

Uses

ṭarrād

Small and fast ship (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:90–91) Small sail boat (al-Jādir 2014:286) Similar to a būm and also known as shāla (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:54) Fast ship used in war and trade (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:53) Two-masted cargo badan (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:96) Like a sanbūq (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:69) Double-ended fishing boat, mainly in Oman (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:70–71) “Western Indian Ocean skiff; a lifeboat” (Agius 2008:424); Small boat used for fishing (Qatar, Al-Ghānim 1995:26) See Agius (2008:307–308)

Fishing, transport

tashāla

trankı̄ ‘uwaysı̄ zārūk zārūqa awraq

Used to transport cargo from ship to shore Trade, warfare Trade Trade Fishing Fishing

than a year on such dhows, says, “At the same time, the dhow carries all the passengers she can prevail upon to make a voyage, anywhere, for the Arab of Oman, and the Hadhramaut in particular, is an inveterate wanderer, and every dhow is a passenger vessel by the mere possession of deck enough to lie upon.”19 European travelers, on the other hand, considered the Gulf a problem for tourism, given the prevalence of diseases in the major ports. “It possesses a climate almost unbearable to Europeans except during certain seasons and, although it can hardly be said to lead to nowhere, the places it does lead to are so unprovided with the comforts of European travel, that the ordinary tourist shuns them, and so wound up in the net of Eastern bigotry and backwardness, that as yet trade has not been able to make great advances in the centres of population,” concluded the later nineteenth-century traveler H. Swainson Cowper.20 The principles of navigation in and out of the Gulf are described in detail by two major treatises. The first is the fifteenth-century Kitāb al-Fawā’id by Ibn Mājid, whose fame led to the claim, which seems to be legendary, that he was the pilot for the Portuguese admiral Vasco da  Villiers (1948:403).  Cowper (1894:426–7).

19 20

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Gama.21 Ibn Mājid provides a detailed description of the art of navigation, including timing and distances of travel. This art is said to cover the following: “ishārāt, the study of landmarks and other visible signs; siya ̄sa ̄t, the running of the ship and control of the crew—a branch which we would not really regard as part of navigation; mawa ̄sim, the correct estimation of monsoon dates; the science of majra or compass bearings, qiya ̄sa ̄t, the technique of taking stellar altitudes; masāfāt, longitudinal measurements.”22 Three types of courses for sailing are identified. Hugging the coast is known as dı ̄rat al-mul/al-mūl; traveling directly from one coast to an opposite coast is dı ̄rat al-mat ̣laq; and changing course when out of sight of land is known as dı ̄rat al-iqtidā’. According to the Qatari captain Al-Bin‘ali, writing in 1920, most ships at the time traveled about six nautical miles per hour. The local distance measure for sea travel was the zām, which was equal to twelve miles or about eight hours sailing.23 He further notes that on a clear day it was possible to see a ship mast of 30 ba ̄‘ high at about nine miles distance, said to be about an hour’s sailing with a sail.24 In his poem al-Ḥāwiyya, Ibn Mājid records the knowledge needed by traditional pilots:25 Knowledge of the winds is necessary    for the closing (mughlaq) and opening (miftāḥ) of the sea (za ̄khir). The closing remains a quarter of the year,    a time span of ninety days. When Aldebaran rises at dawn    ships must not set sail during it until zubra is see at dawn.  For the Arabic, see Ferrand (1923) and Ibn Mājid (2004). This has been translated into English by Tibbetts (1971). Ibn Mājid also wrote several poems on navigation, documented by Khūrı ̄ (1989, 1987–1988, 1985–1986, 1982) and al-Mubārak (n.d.) 22  Tibbetts (1969:6). It should be noted that the plural term mawāsim and its singular mawsam for the pilgrimage and later for a season in general, including the monsoon, are not directly related to use of the rain period wasmı ̄. For a more recent account of navigation techniques in the Gulf, see Grosset-Grange (1972). 23  Al-Jādir (2014:289). 24  Al-Bin‘ali (1988:131). He describes measurements as follows: barı ̄d = four farsakh; farsakh = three miles; mile = 1000 bā‘; bā‘ = four dhirā‘; dhirā‘ = 24 iṣba‘; iṣba‘ = six shu‘ayra (thread); shu‘ayra = six sha‘ra (hair of a mule’s tail). According to al-Jādir (2014:285), the bā‘ is equal to two outstretched arms or about six feet. 25  Ibn Mājid (1989:13–14  in the Arabic section). This is my own translation from the Arabic rather than the somewhat vague one offered by Khūrı ̄ on pp. 18–19 in the English section. 21

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   Then travel along the coast and in open water. [The closing is] from the start of the 200th [day of the nayru ̄z calendar],26 my smart friend,    to the start of the 290th [day of nayrūz). These ninety days are the closing time,    and so anyone who travels will be in distress from the anguish of    loneliness, regret, great misgivings and pain. When necessary how many venture out    to travel, such a stupid and dangerous thing. The one who is smart will not    decide to do this in the forty days before the Tirma ̄ḥ27 season because that is for violent storms    that a true leader avoids.

He adds that the pilot should make sure he has the equipment he needs, including a compass and tools to measure the location of the stars. The most important person in the crew was the ship captain or owner, usually referred to as nawkhu ̄dha/nākhūdhā.28 This term is of Persian origin from nāw (ship) and khuda (master) and was widely used in the Indian Ocean trade network. This in turn appears to be a combination of the Hindı ̄ na ̄o and Persian khudā’.29 In some cases the nawkhūdha owned the vessel. Villiers reports that this suited the merchants, since the loss of a ship or its cargo would not fall on their heads.30 According to Serjeant, the captain dealt with disputes on board and had authority over both sailors and passengers even when in a port.31 Another term used at times for the 26  Ibn Mājid (1989:25 in English section) records the start of the Arab nayrūz with the dawn setting of the Pleiades (al-najm) and rising of iklı ̄l. He indicates this at XI:14 in his time ca. 1488 CE. Days 200–290 would then fall from VI:2 to VIII:30. 27  Tirmāh is the Persian month name originally designating the hot summer period in June–July, but here it stands for the southwest monsoon of late summer. In the late thirteenth century, the Yemeni almanac of al-Malik al-Ashraf began this period at VIII:21 (Varisco 1994:117). 28  In Arabic texts this term is spelled in various ways, including nawkhadha, nawkhadha ̄ (Al Salimi and Staples 2019:350), nawkhudha, nākhudha, and na ̄khudha ̄t. For details on the role of the ship captain, see Agius (2008:178–181). There are several published accounts of ship captains, especially for Kuwait (e.g., al-Jādir 2014). 29  Nadvi (1941:437). 30  Villiers (1948:401), who writes: “Since Islam forbids all forms of ordinary insurance, this arrangement is to the merchant’s liking. The nakhodas must accept it, for in most cases there is no other way by which they can acquire a big dhow.” 31  Serjeant (1970:202).

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ship captain or pilot was rubba ̄n, defined as ra’ı ̄s al-malla ̄ḥı ̄n by the thirteenth-century lexicologist al-Ṣaghānı ̄.32 The size of the crew depended on the type of ship and purpose of the voyage. On long voyages a navigator (mu‘allim or rubba ̄n) would be employed. Among his duties were determining the course, inspecting the gear and cargo on the ship, and supervising the docking and landing. In addition to the ordinary seamen (baḥḥa ̄r), it was necessary to have a helmsman (sakkūnı ̄). Other members could include a clerk, cook, or pearl divers on pearling ships. Payment to the crew and captain was traditionally made according to shares. The traditional mode of navigation on the sea was by reference to stars. In the Gulf there evolved a star compass or rose (dayra or būṣila) of thirty-­ two points, each angle equivalent to 11.25° of arc (Table 8.2). This system has been in use for hundreds of years, even though the actual positions of the stars have changed since its early usage.33 Despite the implication of regular intervals, this is still an approximate system, as noted by Ibn Mājid. Ibn Mājid provides details on about seventy different methods for measuring visibly bright stars in navigation, the most important being the pole star. A simple device for measuring the altitude of a star was called the khashaba (literally, “wood’) or kamal̄ , a piece of wood with a hole in the center through which a string passes.34 The aim of this device is to stretch out the arm with four fingers perpendicular to the line of sight in order to measure the distance by finger-width (ca. 1° 36′). It may have been the first instrument in the history of navigation, apart from the lead line.35 Latitude could be determined by a process known as abdāl, when the altitude is measured of two stars at equal heights above the horizon; this was common when the Pole Star was not visible.36 Sophisticated pilots may have used astrolabes, which existed from the start of the ninth century in the Islamic world.37  Al-Ṣaghānı ̄ (r-b-b). This is a term with Aramaic roots (Agius 2008:417).  Constable (2013:3). Several accounts have been written about the specific stars for travel itineraries in the Gulf, such as Ibn Mājid, Sulaymān al-Mahrı ̄, and Sidi Celebi. See Ferrand (1928, 1925, 1921–23, 1914) and al-Qut ̣āmı ̄ (1985/1400, originally written in 1343 AH). 34  For details on the nautical instruments, see Prinsep (in Ferrand 1928:1–30); al-Quṭāmı ̄ (1976:91–93); Al Salimi and Staples (2019:398–399,467–468); Shihab (2013:26–29); and Tibbetts (1969:9). 35  Pereira (2003:21), who provides the results of his own experiment. 36  Al Salimi and Staples (2019:363). 37  For the most extensive analysis of Islamic-era astrolabes, see King (2014). 32 33

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Table 8.2  The sidereal rose used in the Gulf Direction

Arabic name

Common name

Scientific name

N N by E NNE NE by N NE NE by E ENE E by N E E by S ESE SE by E SE SE by S SSE S by E S S by W SSW SW by S SW SW by W WSW W by S W W by N WNW NW by W NW NW by N NNW N by W N

quṭb al-jāh al-farqadayn al-na‘sh al-nāqa al-‘ayyūq al-nasr al-wāqi‘ al- simāk al-thurayyā or al-najm al-nasr al-ṭā’ir al-jawzā’ al-tır̄ al-iklıl̄ qalb al-‘aqrab al-ḥimārān suhayl al-sulbār quṭb suhayl al-sulbār suhayl al-ḥimārān qalb al-‘aqrab al-iklı ̄l al-tır̄ al-jawzā’ al-nasr al-ṭā’ir al-thurayyā, al-najm al-simāk al-nasr al-wāqi‘ al-‘ayyūq al-nāqa al-na‘sh al-farqadayn quṭb al-jāh

Polaris Kocab, Pherkad Dubhe or Mizar Shedir, Caph Capella Vega Arcturus Pleiades Altair Orion’s belt Sirius Dschubba Antares Agena, Rigel K Canopus Achernar Pole of Canopus Achernar Canopus Agena, Rigel K Antares Dschubba Sirius Orion’s belt Altair Pleiades Arcturus Vega Capella Shedir, Caph Dubhe or Mizar Kocab, Pherkad Polaris

α Ursae Minoris βγ Ursae Minoris α ζ Ursae Majoris α (β) Cassiopeiae α Aurigae α Lyrae α Boötis Taurus α Aquilae δ ε ζ Orionis α Canis Majoris β Scorpii α Scorpii α β Centauri α Carinae α Eridani α Eridani α Carinae α β Centauri α Scorpii β Scorpii α Canis Majoris δ ε ζ Orionis α Aquilae Taurus α Boötis α Lyrae α Aurigae α (β) Cassiopeiae α ζ Ursae Majoris βγ Ursae Minoris α Ursae Minoris

Based on Constable (2013:4–5); see also de Saussure (in Ferrand 1928:32–127); Pereira (2003:15); al-Quṭāmı ̄ (1976:179); Shihāb (2013:24); and Tibbetts (1971)

By the thirteenth century the magnetic compass appeared in the Indian Ocean network, although it had first been discovered in China a millennium earlier. Ibn Mājid claims that the “lodestone” was invented by David and was the stone with which he killed Goliath, or perhaps was from the

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legendary al-Khiḍr.38 A Persian text from 1232 mentions an iron, fish-like compass for use in the Gulf, and an Arabic source from 1282 describes a magnetic needle in a bowl of water.39 By the fourteenth century the term bussola, Italian for box, came into use on the Mediterranean for a compass, and this term survives in the Gulf. In his description of sailing in the Red Sea during the mid-nineteenth century, Charles Didier complained that the compass on the local ships was little consulted during the day and not lit at night.”40 By the start of the twentieth century the larger baghla ships in the Gulf had compasses, mostly taken from wrecked or captured vessels.41 For meals at sea, al-Qut ̣āmı ̄ records the following for sailors on Kuwaiti ships: bread, date syrup (dibs), and tea and coffee for breakfast (faṭu ̄r); rice, dates, and fish for the main meal at lunch (ghadhā’); and rice, dried meat strips, or lentils and dates for the evening meal (‘asha ̄’).42 On a voyage from Zanzibar to Muscat on a mid-nineteenth-century ship, Joseph Osgood described the food on board as “dishes of rice cakes, juwariie cakes fried in ghree, dates, holwah, boiled fowls and curry, hashed meats and coke.” He adds that an earthen jar served as the on-board oven for baking small cakes of bread. There were also ships which would bring food supplies to the pearling fleet. Although ship building was found along the coast, the lumber was generally imported from India, including teak, puna, and jackwood.43 Among the native species of wood used for boat building was ‘ilb (Zizyphus spina-christi).44 Sailing in and out of the Persian Gulf was dependent in large part on the seasonality of the winds, especially the major monsoons affecting travel in the Indian Ocean network.45 There are two major monsoon seasons, one from the northeast in winter and the other from the southwest in summer. The northeast monsoon tends to have gentle winds for smooth sailing from India and points east to the Gulf and from the Gulf to the  Tibbetts (1971:73–75).  Schmidl (2014). See also Tibbetts (1969:7–8). The compass was used by European sailors in the Mediterranean in the twelfth century (Constable 2013:3). 40  Didier (1857:96). 41  Rowand (1915:2321). 42  Al-Qutạ ̄mı ̄ (1976:238). 43  Miles (1919(2):412). 44  Grosset-Grange (1972:60). 45  For information on the major monsoons affecting sea travel around the Indian Ocean, see Sheriff (2010:20–23). 38 39

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African coast and Red Sea. The southwest monsoon, assisting traffic in the opposite direction, is more precarious with the potential for stronger winds and storms. Above Ras al-Ḥ add in Oman the southwest monsoon is rarely felt.46 Although travel inside the Gulf was not as directly affected by monsoon winds as the open sea of the Indian Ocean, there were seasonal differences in wind patterns. According to al-Mas‘ūdı ̄, writing in the tenth century, the Persian Gulf becomes stormy around the time of the autumnal equinox in September until the sun enters Pisces in February, with the most violent part during the time the sun is in Sagittarius in late November, while it is the most calm at the end of Spring when the sun enters Gemini in May.47 Al-Mas‘ūdı ̄ quotes the astrologer Abu Ma‘shar who argued that it was impossible to travel from Oman to India during June except with special ships that have light cargoes. In Kuwait the violent monsoon winds creating huge waves in the Indian Ocean from V:26 to VI:7, making it difficult to travel by sea to India, are known as baras ̣a ̄t.48 As an early twentieth-century Gulf mariner advised, “Those who overload their ships, no doubt, when the wind rages, shall sink.”49 The Omani almanac of al-Ẓ afı ̄rı ̄ notes that the disappearance of the Pleiades in June is a time with strong winds (al-riya ̄h al-sarāyāt) that create major waves, making travel in the Gulf difficult. For Kuwait, Dickson (1951:249) says that sailors did not go to sea during the northwest wind of the Pleiades (ca. IV:15–V:27) because it was as though the Pleiades hungered to destroy sailors at this time. Al-Ası ̄rı ̄ warns that the captain needs to be 46  Hydrographic Office (1920:27), which provides a description of the impact of the monsoons on the Oman coast. “The southwest monsoon is not felt inside Ras al Hadd. From about June to September light variable winds prevail westward of a line between Eas al Hadd and Cape Jashk, and south-easterly winds, force 2–3, eastward of this line; shamals rarely occur; calms are frequent and of short duration. Occasionally very hot, dry northwesterly winds, lasting not more than a day, have been experienced in the gulf. The passage of a sailing vessel out of the gulf is very tedious. The sea is generally smooth, with a slight swell in the eastern part. During the northeast monsoon, shamals and nashis prevail, but calms are frequent and sometimes last for days. The general direction of the shamal is northwest. The nashi blows very hard in the gulf, and is much dreaded by native craft, as the Batina coast is to leeward and affords no shelter. The suhaili occurs infrequently, but it is especially felt off Ras al Kuh. Seamen say that there is either too much wind or none at all in the gulfs, and this is nearly moderate, steady breezes being almost unknown.” 47  Al-Mas‘ūdı ̄ (1841:343). 48  Al-Sa‘ı ̄dān (1981/2:182); al-Shamlān (1986:452). 49  Saad Bin Salim al-Badeed al-Mannai (quoted in Al-Fayyadh 2013:23).

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c­autious when entering the sea during the strong hot wind (ḍarbat al-thurayyā) in June. Al-‘Uyūnı ̄ refers to the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden being stirred up during the station of buṭayn (V:26–VI:7), with the north wind strengthening before then. He adds that the Indian Ocean is calm during ghafr (XI:11–23) but cold and violent winds appear in zubānā (XI:24–XII:5) and strong waves intensify in the Gulf during iklı ̄l (XII:6–18).50 Al-Qazwı ̄nı ̄ says that the Persian Gulf was disturbed on XI:13. Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ notes that this is for ships heading for Persia and Alexandria, adding that “the sea has certain days when it is in uproar, when the air is turbid, the waves rolls, and thick darkness lies over it,” making navigation difficult if not impossible.51 The Nabat ̣ı ̄ poet Ibn Shahwān notes that it is safe for ships to go out to sea at the mid-summer rising of suhayl, the start of a nawru ̄z cycle of the Canopus calendar.

8.2   Pearl Diving52 The Arabs of the Gulf and the Red Sea, who, like the Phoenicians, are masters of the sail and lovers of the watery vast, have discovered an object of trade, more precious – and more profitable perhaps – than the murex. they did not content themselves with what was brought to the beach by the washing waves; they dived into the depths and found the pearl. (Amin Rihani) He who seeks pearls must dive into the sea Because those who are after glorious deeds must pass the nights awake;

50  In 1988 an informant in Qatar told me that there were violent winds that made it very difficult to travel by sea around day ninety of the Canopus calendar; this is about the middle of November. 51  Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (1879:236). 52  There is a wide range of literature on the history and tradition of pearling in the Persian Gulf in  English, French, and  Arabic. This includes: al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ (1987:41–64); Aḥmad (2002:63–92); Bowen (1951:395–400); Carter (2017, 2005); Dickson (1951:484–496); al-Ghānim (1995, 2011), al-Ghunaym (2017, 1998), Hansman (1985), al-Jarwān (1985:133–156); KATARA (2014); Khuri (1980:56–67); Kunz and  Stevenson  (1908:85–99); Lorimer 1915 (2220–2293); Murād (1988); al-Nabhānı ̄ (1986:14–21); al-Quṭāmı ̄ (1976:197–227); Rihani 1930:275–283); Rosenthal (1919:27–32); Al Salimi and  Staples (2019:555–558); Sheriff (2010:47–50); Sunān 1955:144–150; Sulaymān (1998); al-‘Utayba (1977:36–57); Wilkinson (1977:20–26); and Wilson (1833). The Qatar Digital Library (https://www.qdl.qa/en) contains a wealth of reports and photographs regarding the pearl industry in the Gulf. For references to earlier sources on pearls by Islamic authors, see al-Ghunaym (1998:39–58).

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If you want to achieve high aims but sleep at night You are then tantalising yourself with impossible dreams. (Rashed bin Fadil Al-Bin‘ali)

The Arabian Peninsula side of the Gulf was an ideal location for pearls with a vibrant tradition in which pearls were collected as early as 5500 BC in the Neolithic of the region now known as the UAE.53 In the first century CE the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea refers to the importance of pearls in the Gulf, as does Pliny in his Natural History. By the fourteenth century the traveler Ibn Bat ̣ṭūt ̣a notes that Bahrain was the center of pearling, and that on the Persian side at Siraf or Qays there was a tribe of Arabs who were pearl divers and the ships of divers and merchants came there in April and May. There are earlier references to pearling at Julfār on the Emirati coast by al-Idrı ̄sı ̄ in the twelfth century. The Gulf pearl industry flourished after 1820 until the introduction of Japanese cultured pearls in the early decades of the twentieth century. The decline in pearling in the Gulf was due to several factors. The depression in the United States and Europe led to a major decline in demand just as Japan introduced cultured pearls.54 Belgrave reports that a single pearl that sold for 15,000 British pounds in 1930 was going for only 3000 four years later.55 Agius suggests that an even more serious reason was the “shocking working conditions imposed on the divers and their sons” in Kuwait and Bahrain.56 There was no relief until the Bahraini Shaykh Ḥ amad passed a reform that debts could not be inherited by a man’s heirs.57 The most common term in Arabic for the pearl is lu’lu’, but in the Gulf it has traditionally been called qumāsha. In classical Arabic the term durr refers to large pearls and marjān to small pearls.58 There are three species collected in the Gulf waters. The pearl oyster proper is Pinctada radiata and Pinctada margaritifera, with Pteria macroptera for mother-of-pearl.  Charpentier, Phillips, and Méry (2012:1).  Gulf writers who mention the impact of the cultured pearl industry from Japan include al-Jarwān (1985:156) and al-‘Utaiba (1977:55–57). 55  Belgrave (1934:450). 56  Agius (2010:27). For another analysis of the multiple reasons for the demise of pearling in the Gulf, see al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ (1987:62). 57  This is discussed by Belgrave (1934:452). For details on the loan and debt arrangements for pearling in Bahrain, see Khuri (1980:59–65). For the impact of debt, see Hightower (2013). 58  Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ in Krenkow (1941:403), who provides a detailed study of the knowledge of pearls in the eleventh century. For details on terminology for the pearl, see KATARA (2014:746–767) and al-Shamlān (1986:117–118). 53 54

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Less than a third of oysters yielded pearls and most were seed pearls and not valuable.59 The oyster bed is known as hayr, with the term najwa used for an oyster bed on top of an underwater mound surrounded by deeper water.60 As described by Lorimer, the main pearl beds began along the coast of Trucial Oman to the west of Dubai, reaching north to the island of Sı ̄r Bū Na‘ayr and then curving about twenty or thirty miles from the coast past Qatar and Bahrain and mostly ending at Abū ‘Alı ̄ island.61 The richest pearl beds are to be found around Bahrain.62 Ameen Rihani writes that around 1930 Bahrain produced about seven to ten million dollars a year worth of pearls, Kuwait about a quarter of that, Qaṭı ̄f about a seventh, and Oman only half as much as Bahrain.63 One of the most important accounts of the locations of oyster beds in the Bahrain and Qatar parts of the Gulf is the Majārı ̄ al-Hidāya of Rāshid bin Fādị l al-Bin ‘Alı ̄, published in Bahrain in 1920.64 Following on the tradition of his father, Rāshid became a ship captain based in Doha, Qatar. His work is valuable for measuring the depth of the oyster beds and other maritime details rarely recorded. His coordinates are based on the traditional star compass (dı ̄ra) used in the Gulf, both for routes between major locations and for the location of oyster beds.65 In addition to these geographical details, Rāshid  Bowen (1951:398).  For a detailed study of the term hayr, see Ḥ anẓal (1978:648–649). He quotes the Kuwaiti ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z al-Rashı ̄d that the term was original from hijra and the jı ̄m was replaced with a ya ̄’ in dialect. 61  Lorimer (1915:2221). McCulloch (1839:810) reports that the pearl trade in the early nineteenth century was centered on Muscat, because of its location near the entrance to the Gulf. For a list of pearl beds at the turn of the twentieth century, see Lorimer (1915:2262–2280). For oyster beds near Kuwait, see al-Quṭāmı ̄ (1976:217–219). For oyster beds near Qatar, see KATARA (2014). Milburn (1825:84) defines the stretch of the oyster beds from about 25° N. latitude to 26° 40 N. 62  Agius (2008:69); Bowen (1951:396); Lorimer (1915:2221); Wilson (1833:283). 63  Rihani (1930:275–276). 64  Al-Bin‘ali (1988). This edition has been reissued and translated into English. 65  An example of the instructions for traveling from Doha to Abu Dhabi is recorded as follows: “From Khor al-Bida‘the capital of Qatar (nowadays Doha) to Abu Zabi, the route is on the left side of the ascension of al-Tir” 112°″. This route leads you north closer to alKhifan, Shra‘oh, and Diyyı n ̄ ah islands. Suddenly Izrikouh Island will appear. And while you are on your course north of the ascension of al-Tir “112°″, Abu Zabi will appear before your eyes with a few palm trees. In front of the bandar there is a coral reef and a shallow ford, and the bandar is in the centre of the reef between the dı r̄ ah (town) and the reef. So enter it and drop anchor” (Al-Bin‘ali 1988:57). For another account of sailing itineraries by the stars, see al-Qutạ ̄mı ̄ (1985). 59 60

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collected local poetry, especially in the mawwāl genre famous in the region. It is also reported that some pearl fishers would wade at low tide in shallow water on the small island of al-Bushayra off the coast of Wakra in Qatar.66 Pearl diving, known as ghaws, was a seasonal activity. In the tenth century al-Mas‘ūdı ̄ places the pearling season in the Gulf from Nı ̄sān (April) until the end of Aylu ̄l (September) and there was no pearl fishing during the winter.67 Writing at the end of the nineteenth century, the traveler Theodore Bent writes that the season in general lasted from April until October.68 Al-Mājid, al-‘Uyūnı ̄, and al-‘Ası ̄rı ̄ note that boats can set out for pearl diving as early as sharaṭayn (V:13–25).69 Wilson says that there were two seasons in the early nineteenth century: a short and cold one in June when diving was done near the coast, and a long and hot season during July through mid-September near Bahrain.70 This is echoed in the Qatari almanac of al-Anṣārı ̄, who starts the pearling season under han‘a (VII:16–28), and it is said to be best after the rising of the previous station haq‘a (VII:3–15), also known as al-jawza ̄’ al-ūlā. The season continues through dhirā‘ (VII:29–VIII:10) and, according to al-Ası ̄rı ̄, ends during zubra (IX:19–X:1). The main season (ghaws al-kabı ̄r) starting in late May or June lasted for about 130 days. The water temperature reached around 85  ° F in June and over 100  ° F in August.71 There was also an earlier season known as ghaws al-bard in April for forty days, when the water was still quite cold. According to Lorimer, this was only in shallow water and the divers would work in alternate half-hour shifts.72 During the winter, Lorimer continues, it was possible to wade near the coast when the tide was out and look for lesser-quality pearls; this was known as mujanna.  Lorimer (1908:1507).  Al-Mas‘ūdı ̄ (1841:344). This timing is common in the literature, e.g., al-Ghunaym (1998:97). 68  Bent and Bent (1900:8), who add: “The three seasons for fishing are known as ‘the spring fishing’ in the shallow water, ‘the summer fishing’ in the deep waters, and ‘the winter fishing’ conducted principally by wading in the shoals.” Traveling to Bahrain in the 1920s, Amin Rihani (1930:277) and Belgrave (1934:450) describe the season from May until September in Bahrain. 69  Dickson (1951:484) observed that the pearling season in Kuwait began in mid-May and lasted through mid-September, with a month before and after outside the official season. 70  Wilson (1833:284). 71  Bowen (1951:395). 72  Lorimer (1915:2228). When it was not possible to pearl dive due to the cold, there was some searching in the shallow water near the coast, but the pearls found were generally of little value (Hydrographic Office 1920:19). 66 67

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In Qatar the first pearling season was known as ibshı ̄riyya, starting around day 110 in the Canopus calendar and followed by the khanjiyya, a term also used in the Emirates.73 The latter is synonymous with al-ghaws al-sạ ghı ̄r (the small pearling season). The khanjiyya is said to last about a month, usually in March when the weather is still cold, but this is mainly in shallow water near the coast so that ships could return home at night. The main pearling season for the UAE and Qatar was during the hot period of qayẓ, generally starting in May and lasting up to four months while the sea was calm. After the main season came a short period called raddā (the return), generally said to last up to twenty days. There were no formal rules during this time, but the sea was no longer as calm. There was also a possible period in October called kaḥḥa/qaḥḥa with pearling near the shore.74 In Kuwait, according to al-Sa‘ı ̄dān, the pearling season lasted four months or 120 days starting May 23 at the start of Gemini until the zodiacal month of Virgo on September 23.75 After the main season (al-ghaws ̣ al-kabı ̄r) there was a short season called al-ridda for no more than a month, and an even shorter period called al-radı ̄da, but with very few boats.76 Harrison, writing in the 1920s, says that the diving off Kuwait would be for five months with the boats returning to a port every three weeks or so for supplies and fresh water.77 In Kuwait the celebration known as quffāl heralded the return of the divers from pearling in mid-September due to the water becoming too cold.78 The term quffāl refers to the official end of the pearling season. In Kuwait this was announced by a specialist on the seasons known as sirdār or sirdāl79 or by the ruler.80 Women and children would line up on the beach to welcome home the divers.

 Noted by an informant in Qatar in 1989; see also Ḥ anẓal (1978:185).  Ḥ anẓal (1978:288); see also al-Jarwān (1985:139). 75  Al-Sa‘ı ̄dān (1981/):1093). This is also mentioned by al-Quṭāmı ̄ (1976:216). June to September was also the time for the pearling season in Ras al-Khaimah (Lancaster and Lancaster 2011:57). 76  Al-Ghunaym (1998:118). In the UAE this occurred during the hot season of qayẓ (Ḥ anẓal 1978:442); see also al-Jarwān (1985:139) for the pearling season in the UAE. 77  Harrison (1924:74). 78  Al-Shamlān (1986:300). 79  Al-Qut ̣āmı ̄ (1976:216). 80  Dickson (1951:488). 73 74

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At both the start and end of the pearling season, music and dance were very important.81 On the ship itself there was often a nahha ̄m, a singer who would encourage the divers. The most important quality was the singer’s voice, which should be “a deep, loud and powerful voice that could be heard over the ocean.”82 A respected nahha ̄m would also perform, sometimes in competition, on the shore during the off-season. There were different types of songs, some called yāma ̄l during life on the ship throughout the pearling, others when the sail was lifted or lowered to change direction.83 Most of the songs focused on asking Allāh for protection, given the difficulties of pearl diving and sailing on rough seas. Festivals celebrating the art of the nahha ̄m are found today in the Gulf states. Pearling was so important locally that names of boys and girls were often terms for pearls.84 As a seasonal activity, preparation for the start of the pearling generally takes about two months. As described by Lorimer in the first decade of the twentieth century, financial support was needed to fund the boats and their crews.85 This was often done through an individual called a musaqqam, who either had money of his own to lend or needed to borrow from merchants at a rate of 10–25% interest. This advance “took the combined form of coin, rice and coffee” along the coast of the Emirates.86 The division of the profits varies over time and place. For Kuwait, as described by al-Ghunaym, the owner of the boat receives a fifth, deducting from him or the captain the value of the food and drink consumed by those on the boat. The rest is divided, with the captain receiving a share, each diver receiving a share and each hauler receiving a third of a share.87 The captain was often the owner of the boat. The size of the crew depended on the type of boat and the length of time it was out at sea. In addition to the captain, there were the pearl divers (ghawwa ̄ṣ, singular), 81  See al-Ghānim (2014), al-Khān (2002), Nūr al-Dı ̄n (2011), al-Rifā‘ı ̄ (1985, 1982), and Ulaby (2012). 82  Ulaby (2012:51). 83  Nūr al-Dı ̄n (2011). The term nahha ̄m is said to be related in meaning to the classical sense of ḥudā’ for a high-pitched voice, which is characteristic of this genre of singing. 84  Al-Ghānim (2014:33). 85  Lorimer (1915:2227), who has an excellent discussion of pearl diving in the region. Wilkinson (1977:23) notes a greater need for capital financing because the pearling season only lasted about four months. 86  Kazim (2000:163). 87  Al-Ghunaym (1998:119).

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the haulers (sayb, singular), one or more extra hands (raḍı ̄f, sg.), and an apprentice, who caught fish, cooked, and helped with the coffee, tea, and waterpipes. For Bahrain, Robert Taylor writes: “The larger [ships] are manned by one master, fourteen divers, and fourteen assistants, in all twenty-nine men; the intermediate with one master, none divers, and nine assistants, in all nineteen men; the least with one master, seven divers, and seven assistants, in all fifteen men.”88 A ship could also have a cook and a singer (nahha ̄m). Theodore Bent notes that the seasonal crews of pearl diving ships in Bahrain in 1889 were eight  to  twenty men.89 Lorimer writes that the average number of men on a pearling vessel was sixteen, with variations between ten and forty. Belgrave, however, suggests that the largest vessel could accommodate 100 men.90 A variety of vessels could be used for pearling.91 In the 1760s Niebuhr estimated the number of pearling/fishing ships as around 800  in the Persian Gulf.92 In 1833 Kuwait had about 1500 pearling vessels, but this had been reduced to some 509 by 1920 and only 82 in 1948, with no pearling at all after 1956.93 In the first part of the nineteenth century, Taylor reports 1400 sail boats at Bahrain, 700 of which were larger, 300 intermediate, and 400 small.94 Two decades later Wilson reports 1500 ships for pearling near Bahrain. In the 1890s Cowper estimated several thousand pearling vessels, from four to ten tons each, in Bahrain.95 Theodore Bent, around the same time, suggests that there were only 400 pearling ships in Bahrain.96 The Qatar fleet at the turn of the century included about 13,000 men.97 In 1907 the total number of pearling ships on the Arab side was said to be 3577 with about 924 boats on the Persian  Taylor (1818:86).  Bent (1890:71). 90  Belgrave (1934:450). 91  See Table 8.1 for the types of ships and boats in the Gulf. Agius (2008:308) describes the dūnij as an early pearl diving boat, quoting al-Idrı ̄sı ̄ (d. 1165 CE) that some 200 of these were engaged in pearling near Bahrain. 92  Carsten Niebuhr (1792/2:127). 93  Al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ (1987:57). 94  Taylor (1818:86). Buckingham (1829:455) estimated 1000 pearling boats. 95  Cowper (1894:439). 96  Bent (1890:3); Bent and Bent (1900:8). 97  Lorimer (1908:1533). Al-Dabbāgh (1961:45) was told by older Qatari seamen that there were about 875 pearling boats out of Qatar at the turn of the twentieth century, but only about 400 by 1928. In the early part of the twentieth century it appears that the main occupation of residents of Doha was pearl fishing (Hydrographic Office 1920:116). 88 89

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side, for a grand total of more than 74,000 men engaged in the pearl industry.98 By the 1920s, before the crash of the local pearl market, Harrison estimated that as many as 100,000 engaged in pearl fishing along the Gulf coast.99 While there were still 3000 pearling dhows in 1925, this declined to around 500 in 1951.100 Given the antiquity of pearl diving in the region, it is not surprising that it has been discussed in many accounts throughout the Islamic era. One of the earliest accounts in Arabic is in Kita ̄b al-Jawāhir wa-s ̣ifa ̄tha ̄ by Yaḥyā Ibn Māsawayh, who died in 243/857. His text provides details on pearls and their value, noting that the pearls of Qatar in the Bahrain area were the best. The pearling season is said to last from April (Nı ̄sa ̄n) to October (Tishrı ̄n). He also provides a description of the diving:101 The divers sail on a boat with 6–12 men, half of which are divers and half being haulers for the divers, each one linked man to man. They are sponsored financially by well-known merchants and on every boat there is a trusted agent (amı ̄n) of the merchant. They use a rope made of flax (kattān) some 20–50 cubits (dhirā‘) in length. Most of the diving in the sea is to a depth of 14 stature lengths (qı ̄mān),102 although in the past it could reach 20 stature lengths, depending on the patience in the water. The greater the depth, the more intense for them and the more beneficial. At the end of the rope a stone is attached weighting about 30 manna. The diver places puts this under his foot as he descends naked except for a wrap-around (fūtạ ) in the water to the sea bottom, with him being a bag (mikhlat̄ ) held by a cord around his neck. He has a noseguard (mulāzim) from sea turtle shell (dhabal), ivory or horn stuffed in his nose to prevent water from coming in. The diver does not return to his diving until he has taken off what is between his ears, shaving it so that it draws blood and is burst open. Then he remains breathing weakly…103 Between the morning and midday there are three dives, with nothing eaten but dates. If they 98  Lorimer (1915:2259, 2261). In 1905 there were an estimated 3411 pearling boats with a total crew population of 64,390, about a third of the total population (Hydrographic Office 1920:18). 99  Harrison (1924:71). 100  Bowen (1951:400). In 1939 there were between 100 and 150 pearling boats in Kuwait (Villiers 1948:399). 101  Ibn Māsawayh (1388/1968:40–43). I have only translated part of the description. 102  This is equal to one ba‘̄ , the standard stature of a man, or two dhira‘̄ as an approximate measure of length. 103  This training to make it possible to spend a longer time underwater without breathing is described by al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ and others; see al-Ghunaym (1998:100–102).

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emerge hungry from the dive, they eat salted and fresh fish and dates. Sometimes they are granted a little bread.

Another early description of pearling is provided by the tenth-century Arab geographer al-Mas‘ūdı ̄, who claims that the diver should only eat dates, fish, or grain.104 He also notes that their feet and legs are blackened with soot, since this will help keep away dangerous sea animals. Ibn Baṭṭūtạ , who came through the region in the mid-fourteenth century, left the following account:105 Before diving the diver puts on his face a sort of tortoiseshell mask and a tortoiseshell clip on his nose, then he ties a rope round his waist and dives.106 They differ in their endurance under water, some of them being able to stay under for an hour or two hours or less. When he reaches the bottom of the sea he finds the shells there stuck in the sand between small stones, and pulls them out by hand or cuts them loose with a knife which he has for the purpose, and puts them in a leather bag slung around his neck. When his breath becomes restricted he pulls the rope, and the man holding the rope on the shore feels the movement and pulls him up into the boat. The bag is taken from him and the shells are opened. Inside them are found pieces of flesh which are cut out with a knife, and when they come into contact with the air solidify and turn into pearls. These are then collected, large and small together; the sultan takes his fifth and the remainder are bought by the merchants who are there in the boats. Most of them are the creditors of the divers, and they take the pearls in quittance of their debt or so much of it as is their due.

At the start of the sixteenth century the Italian traveler Ludovico de Varthema described the mode of pearl diving in Bahrain:107 There are certain fishers with some little boats, who throw out a large stone attached to a thick rope, one from the stern and one from the prow, in order that the said boats may remain firm: they thrown down another rope, also with a stone, to the bottom. In the middle of the boat is one of these fishers, who hands a couple of bags round his neck, and ties a large stone to his feet, and goes fifteen paces under water, and remains there as long as he is able,  Al-Mas‘ūdı ̄ (1841:345).  Ibn Baṭtụ ̄tạ (1983:121–122). 106  Al-Nabhānı ̄ (1986:15) adds that this could also be made of an ibex (wa‘il) horn. 107  Di Varthema, The Travels of Ludovico de Varthema (1863:95). 104 105

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in order to find the oysters in which are pearls. As he finds them he puts them into the bags, and then leaves the stone which he had at his feet, and comes up by one of the said ropes.

By the early nineteenth century, there are British reports on the diving and the pearl trade. In his gazetteer, for about the year 1817, Milburn writes:108 The fishery generally commences in June, and lasts about two months. It is carried on by the Persians, and the divers are Persians. The duty on what is taken, is one third to the Sovereign, which the collector receives every day, either pearls, or their equivalent in money, as the divers, or those who contract with them, can agree. It sometimes happens that a diver, or contractor, makes his fortune in a season. The boats are all numbered, and no oysters are allowed to be opened in a boat, but must be brought on shore by a certain hour, when they are opened in the presence of an officer. The pearls which are found, are then carried to the collector, who receives the duty, and the day’s business is concluded. The oyster banks have from 15 to 30 feet water on them, and some more. It frequently happens that a man will bring up 300 to 400 oysters in a day, and not find as many pearls as are worth five shillings; as there are more which have not any, than those that have, and of these many have only small pearls, which are denominated seed pearl. The oyster shells are always the property of the divers, whether they fish for themselves, or contract with others. Some of these shells are from 8 to 10 inches in diameter, nearly of a round form, and thick in proportion. The oysters are seldom eaten, as they are generally rank. The sorts and sizes vary so much, that the smallest are not two inches in diameter: these are eaten by the people on the spot. The largest shells have not always the greatest quantity, nor do they contain the largest pearls, as neither the size nor colour indicates their contents, it being mere chance. The round pearls are always found in the fleshy part of the oyster, and many of those which have an irregular shape: some adhere to the inner part of the shell, which are deformed, and flat on that side which is attached to it.

The British Colonel Wilson, in an important article, wrote:109

 Milburn (1825:84).  Wilson (1833:284).

108 109

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When they dive, they have a small piece of horn that compresses the nostrils tightly and keeps the water out; they stuff their ears with bees-wax for the same purpose. They also attach a net to their waists, to contain the oysters; and aid their descent by means of a stone, whilst they hold by a rope attached to the boat, and shake it when they wish to be drawn up. From what I can learn, two minutes may be considered as rather above the average time of their remaining under water; and the employment of diving, although severe labour, and very exhausting at the time, is not considered very injurious to the constitution, – even old men practice it; and a person usually dives from twelve to fifteen times in a day in favourable weather, but when it is not so, three or four times only. The work is performed on an empty stomach. When the diver becomes fatigued, he goes to sleep, and does not eat until he has been refreshed by doing so.

In the 1870s another British army officer, appointed to Oman as a political agent, drew the following portrait of pearling:110 The depth of water in which the divers’ operations take place is usually from twenty-five to fifty feet, but as some of the richest banks are much deeper, the divers on them may have to descend 100 feet; the nature of the ground on which the oysters lie differs considerably being either sand, rock, or loose coral. The boats contain from five to fifteen men with an average of nine, composed of the Nakhoda or captain, four divers called ghoass, and four rope haulers. On arriving at the bank, the divers descend by means of a heavy stone attached to a rope and begin at once to collect the oysters and put them in a bag, basket or net, suspended from the waist or neck; they are able to pick up from eight to fifteen oysters, and on jerking the rope are hauled up to the boat. The diver remains down from half a minute to two minutes, and takes a rest before he repeats the exertions, his fingers being sometimes protected by leather tips, and his nostrils are always closed by pincers of bone, horn, or wood.

The most descriptive account of local pearl fishing was compiled by Lorimer in his gazetteer, reflecting practice from the early twentieth century. Among the details is the following:111 The divers, before they commence operations for the day, are allowed a light meal of half a pound of dates and a few cups of coffee each. Once they have  Miles (1919(2):415–416).  Lorimer (1915:2230–2231).

110 111

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entered the water, work is continued without interruption until Dhuhr (in the pearling seasons about 1-30 or 2 P.M.) when it is suspended for prayers, a few cups of coffee, and an hour’s rest; nor is it again interrupted, after being resumed in the afternoon, until the approach of evening. Soon after Maghrib or evening prayer the divers take a substantial meal of fish, rice and dates, and then, after a little smoking and coffee-drinking, retire to rest for the night. The Ghais [diver] before entering the sea, strips off his clothes, places a pair of horn pincers called Faṭām (plural, Afṭamah) on his nose to compress his nostrils, plugs his ears with cotton-wool, or bees’ wax, and puts on leather finger-stalls, called Khabaṭ (singular, Khat ̣aba) to protect his fingers from abrasions; he also attaches a small bag or Dı ̄yı ̄n (plural, Diyā’ı ̄n) of coir matting to his person, by hanging it round his neck or fastening it to his waist. To aid him in his descent he has a stone or lead sinker weighing 10–14 lbs.; this is fastened to a rope called Zaibal (plural, Ziyābil), having above the weight a noose, in which the diver places his foot and so is low̄ (plural Ayādı ̄), is ered to the bottom of the sea; a second rope, called Ida fixed to his girdle and is used to raise him to the surface again. On reaching the bottom the diver removes his foot from the noose in the Zaubal, which is immediately hauled up by the attendant Saib, and proceeds to grope his way along the bottom with one hand and one foot, using the second foot to propel himself and the disengaged hand to collect oysters within his reach, and place them in the Hı ̄yı ̄n. It is said that the oysters are generally found open-mouthed, but close up when approached. When he cannot hold his ̄ to which breath any longer, the diver signals to the Saib by jerking the Ida he clings, and is immediately pulled up to the surface and relieved of the shells he has brought. The shells gathered by a Ghais in a single plunge or Tabba (plural, Tabbāt) generally number from 3 to 20; sometimes however he returns empty-handed. The time occupied by the plunge is usually from 40 to 75 seconds, but only a few divers can remain below water for more than one minute. In the intervals between plunges, the Ghais, unless the sea is rough, rests in the water, supporting himself by an oar or by a rope which hangs over the side of the boat. The same diver will make as many as 50 plunges in a day if the weather is favourable, but only 10 or 20 if the water is cold.”

Amin Rihani, a Lebanese American writer visiting the Gulf in the 1920s, left the following description:112

112

 Ameen Rihani (1930:278–279).

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Each one attaches the iron weight – this may also be a stone – to his foot; ties the basket of palm fibre around his neck; places the air-stopper, which is like a clothes-pin, upon his nose; and having taken a last breath, he covers his face with his hands, which are sometimes protected with gloves, and plunges into the depth. To the iron weight and the basket are attached two ropes, which are held by the diver’s assistant, who remains in the boat. As soon as the diver reaches bottom, he opens his eyes and releases the weight, which is lifted by the assistant. He then begins to pick the oysters and place them in the basket, whose rope is held between his toes. So, when it is filled, or when he no longer can hold his breath, he jerks his foot, and the assistant straightway pulls him up, crying nabar (he’s out).

From these accounts and other sources, it is possible to reconstruct the basic sequence for the diver, although there were clearly variations in the region. One important issue is the amount of time that a diver can spend submerged. Wilson and Miles suggest that this can take up to two minutes, but Lorimer says that few can remain underwater for more than a minute. Based on personal observations in Kuwait, Alan Villiers says that divers spend forty–ninety seconds underwater and average about a minute.113 Another major point is the depth to which the diver can go. Lorimer, no doubt drawing on the earlier account by Wilson, notes that the average depth for the pearl beds fished was between three and seven fathoms (eighteen to forty-two feet), with Bowen noting that the maximum depth for divers is twelve fathoms (seventy-two feet).114 Miles notes that the average depth is twenty-five  to  fifty  feet up to a maximum of 100 feet.115 In local terms, al-Nabhānı ̄ suggests that the depth was between three and fourteen ba‘̄ near Bahrain, but up to thirty off Oman, the ba ̄‘ being the average height of a man.116 The number of dives made during a day also varies, with Wilson suggesting twelve–fifteen in favorable weather and Lorimer indicating as many as fifty times. For Kuwait it is said the

113  Villiers (1940:392). Cowper (1894:439) suggests one and a half minutes as the limit. Boehm (1904:9) simply says about two minutes. The estimate by Buckingham (1829:455) of up to five minutes is not possible. 114  Lorimer (1915:2221); Bowen (1951:397), 115  Rihani (1930:278) mentions ten–fifty feet. Al-‘Utayba (1977:39) says that a diver can go down 100 feet or so. 116  Al-Nabhānı ̄ (1986:15).

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diver can plunge up to forty times a day117 or with numerous dives over six–eight hours a day.118 The timing of the dives is also variable. In the UAE, al-‘Utaiba reports that the first dive is about an hour before sunrise and the diving lasts for about three hours, after which the boat may go to a different oyster bed and dive for around two hours, and then between 1 pm and sunset is the third diving period, which is the most important.119 The actual timing would depend on the condition of the water and weather. A short rest and coffee followed the midday prayer. After the diving, the oyster shells were generally opened to extract any pearls.120 In Kuwait it was expected in a normal year that about one in 1000 oyster shells would contain a pearl.121 In terms of meals, Harrison was told that it was impossible to dive on a full stomach, so little more than some coffee and a couple of dates would suffice.122 He adds that in addition to fish caught, they would eat rice from India, wheat, and mutton from inland Persia. For pearling vessels out of Kuwait, al-Quṭāmı ̄ relates that the main foods were dates, rice, and fish, and only occasionally meat.123 The pearl divers on ships out of Qaṭı ̄f would eat dates and drink coffee in the morning after the fajr prayer, and after the sun set they would have boiled or grilled fish and rice sweetened with sugar.124 Oysters were not eaten.125 Diving was a dangerous act with a variety of risks. Rihani writes of the “poor diver, who had already survived many dangers and whose diseased lungs may not last him another plunge, and who may drop dead below…”126 Lorimer, on the other hand, suggests, perhaps in ignorance, that although  Sheriff (2010:49).  Dickson (1951:487). 119  Al-‘Utaiba (1977:38). 120  Al-‘Utaiba (1977:38). 121  Dickson (1951:491). 122  Harrison (1924:74). Al-Quṭāmı ̄ (1976:219) notes that this was between sunrise and sunset, after which rice and fish would be served. 123  Al-Qut ̣āmı ̄ (1976:219). Khuri (1980:58) lists the foods on a pearling ship as rice, dates, sugar, butter, dried limes, coffee or tea, and freshly caught fish. For more information on food during pearling, see Ḥ anā (1998:435–444). 124  Al-Darūra (2003:87). It is also likely that date syrup (dibs) would have been part of the diet since it was easily stored and contained high energy (Richter et al. 2011:329). 125  Wilson (1833:286). 126  Rihani (1930:278). For information on diseases that affected pearl divers, see Aḥmad (2002:88–92); Ḥ anā (1998:453–486); Lorimer (1915:2231); al-Nabhānı ̄ (1986:18–19); and al-Quṭāmı ̄ (1976:219–222). 117 118

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it is a severe form of work and causes fatigue, those who dive do not consider it “particularly injurious to the health” so that even old men practice.127 Pearl divers in Oman feared sawfish but not sharks, according to Miles.128 Also dangerous was a jellyfish known as dawl with two to three-­ foot tentacles.129 One way of keeping dangerous sea animals away was to put olive oil (zayt) in and around the divers’ mouths, since it was said that this would ward them off.130 The nature of the water itself could be a problem, due to cold temperatures, strong currents, or foul-smelling, floating fish spawn in the summer months.131 The pearl divers were usually from the poorest part of the society, mostly Arabs who lived along the coast, but also Persians. Some of these were Bedouin who worked in pearling during the summer season, when herding duties were modest.132 Qatari divers may have had the least debt and it was apparently rare that Bedouin serving as divers were cheated. Young divers from the Emirates would sometimes work on fishing or long-distance trade boats during the winter.133 Although Britain had outlawed slavery as early as 1833 and in 1843 for the areas under the East India Company, there were still black slaves employed as divers in the first part of the twentieth century.134 Despite the final destination price of  Lorimer (1915:2231).  Miles (1919(2):409, 416). Lorimer (1915:2231) mentions an unusual number of sharks in 1900 that attacked some thirty divers and killed two. For other sea animals that attacked pearl divers, see Sunān (1955:149–150). 129  Bowen (1951:397). 130  Al-Ghunaym (1998:34) quotes a line of poetry mentioning this. 131  According to Miles (1919:407), “During the summer months the surface of the sea for many miles off shore is covered with floating fish spawn in immense patches of rusty red or yellowish colour and which gives off a disagreeable odour, which is eventually hatched by the heat of the sun.” 132  Al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ (1987:60) notes that a large number of Bedu participated in the Kuwait pearling fleet. See al-Ghānim (1995:26–28) for details on women’s role in pearl diving culture. In the Red Sea some divers were known as having superior skills and were celebrated (Andre Gingrich, personal communication). 133  Lancaster and Lancaster (2011:57). 134  Lorimer (1915:2228). The Bents (1900:7) observed that in Bahrain most of the divers were black slaves from Africa. It was not until 1970 that slavery was formally abolished in Oman. For a review of the failure of British anti-slavery measures in the Gulf, see Reilly (2015). Harrison (1924:80), however, thought that it may have been easier for a black slave to escape than for a diver from Bahrain to regain his freedom once in debt. In 1939, Villiers (1948:407) observed that an “astonishingly high proportion” of the 10,000 qualified sailors operating out of Kuwait were descendants of Black slaves. 127 128

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pearls, divers made little profit and were often deeply in debt. As noted by Fuad Khuri for Bahrain, “Whether the catch was large or small, the divers or pullers continued to be in debt to the pilot, who in turn was in debt to the merchant.”135 Even in the thirteenth century Ibn al-Mujāwir says that pearl divers remained poor with the profit going to financial officials and tax collectors.136 Wilson remarks that the divers, especially in a bad season, were “at the mercy of the rapacious capitalist.”137 “A more vile form of slavery does not exist,” declared the British traveler Cowper. The management and profits were dominated by merchants, many of whom were Indian and resided in Bahrain and other coastal ports. Rihani refers to the merchant as the “Shylock of the divers” since he took two-fifths of the profit when he visited Bahrain.138 In addition, payment was made in the early part of the nineteenth century for warships to protect the pearl diver boats from pirates.139 There are a number of legends about the formation of pearls.140 One of these is the effect of rain in the month of Nı ̄sān (April).141 An Arabic proverb notes that “The rain of Nı ̄sān is for the pearl in the sea and wheat on land” (Maṭar Nı ̄sān fı ̄ al-baḥr durrān wa-fı ̄ al-arḍ burrān).142 According  Khuri (1980:63).  Ibn al-Mujāwir (2008:286). 137  Wilson (1833:286). Boehm (1904:9) mentions that the divers in Bahrain received two or three rupees a month, but in fact they were “lucky if they got anything.” Villiers (1948:407–408) writes that the fate of a pearl diver is generally to die young, and refers to pearling as a kind of purgatory. 138  Rihani (1930:279). See Lorimer (1915:2232–2244) for details on distribution of the profits, trade, and other financial aspects of the pearling industry. He also documents the value of pearls traded out of the Gulf between 1873 and 1906. Abdullah (1975:169) notes that the high-interest advance payments fueled the disaster with the decline in the pearl trade by 1929 due to huge debts that could not be paid. 139  Buckingham (1829:455) and Taylor (1818:87). Sheriff (2010:48) makes an interesting observation: “Quarrels were rare on the pearling ground, and during the season some kind of truce was observed in any feud that may have existed, so that boats of even hostile tribes were seen peacefully anchored together.” 140  For an overview of classical Islamic accounts of the formation of pearls, see al-Ghunaym (1998:59–78). Traveling through the Persian Gulf in the late twelfth century, Benjamin of Tudela recorded the benefit of the rain of Nı ̄sa ̄n for the formation of pearls. 141  See Donkin (1998:1–4) and al-Nabhānı ̄ (1986:20). Al-Bı ̄rūnı ̄ (in Krenkow 1941:406) records an Indian story that rain falling between the stations of ghafr and zubāna ̄ can create pearls in the tubes of bamboo. Buckingham (1829:458) heard that not only the rain but also the freshwater springs near Bahrain were instrumental in the formation of pearls. For the blessings of rain during Nı ̄sān in Morocco, see Westermarck (1926(1):117). 142  Freytag (1843:495, #2971). 135 136

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to the almanac of al-‘Uyūnı ̄, during the zodiacal month of Taurus (22 Nı ̄sān–22 Ayyār) the seven days of rain in Nı ̄sān are important for forming pearls. Ibn al-Mujāwir was told that the oyster would come to the surface during the rain of Nı ̄sān and open up to let in some of the rainwater and then sink back down to the bottom of the sea. He also provides comments from a qa ̄ḍı ̄ in al-Rayy: The oyster only opens to receive the rain well out to sea beyond the real and corrupt world. When an abundance has entered into the oyster, the latter swims to the bottom of the sea, moving from place to place, until it settles in its pearl-fishing ground, Bahrain, Kish, al-Ma‘bar, Saylān and various other places. Oyster fishing begins only on the day the palm puts out the spadix and closes on the day the raceme is cut. This is because the sea is calm during this season.143

The almanac also said that flour kneaded with this rain will rise in the least amount of time. This is a point commonly referred to in several Arab almanacs. In addition to engendering pearls, in Iranian folklore the rain of Nı ̄sān can help heal the sick and make head hair thicker.144

8.3   Fishing For people living along the western coast of the Gulf, especially in areas with very limited nearby agriculture, fishing was a necessity. Indeed, it was the primary means of subsistence for the local people. Given the heritage focus on pearl fishing, there has been far less research on the ordinary fishing that sustained life. Yet, as Noah Haiduc-Dale argues, such fishing “serves as a window into the lives of often invisible non-elite Gulf

143  Ibn al-Mujāwir (2008:286). Compare the Sufi poem “Being is of the Sea” by Mahmud Shabistari (in Jamal 2009), who writes: “I have heard that in the month of Nisan/The pearl oysters rise to the surface of the sea of Uman./From the lowest depths of the sea they come up/And rest on the surface with opened mouths./The mist is lifted from the sea,/And descends in rain at the command of ‘The Truth.’/There fall some drops into each shell’s mouth,/And each mouth is shut as by a hundred bonds./Then each shell descends into the depths with full heart,/And each drop of rain becomes a pearl./The diver goes down to the depths of the sea,/And thence brings up the glittering pearls.” 144  Massé (1954:173).

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residents.”145 The pearl divers were certainly non-elite but most would also have engaged in regular fishing as well. There are many varieties of fish in the Gulf, perhaps as many as 700.146 In autumn when less saline water from the Indian Ocean passes through the Strait of Hormuz there is a rich harvest along the coast of Oman and the Emirates in pelagic fish, such as bonito, mackerel, tuna, and sardines.147 However, it should be noted that these are not readily fished near the shore, where the depth is shallow. Near Dhofar the fishing season for sardines (‘awma) starts in the season of ṣarb, starting around IX:24, and extends into winter (shitā’), starting XII:27 when there are fewer sardines to catch. Little fishing is done during the heat of qayẓ, starting III:28, when there are few fish around.148 Fish have served many purposes as food, fodder, fertilizer, and as an oil to make wooden planks of ships seaworthy and to keep nails from rusting. Given the wide variety of traffic through the region, it is not surprising that fish names are mixed, some in Arabic, some in Persian, and some even in Swahili. Among the more common are hamu ̄r (grouper), ṣa ̄fı ̄ (rabbit fish), and shi‘rı ̄ (emperor fish). The shark (qarsh) has also been of great value in the past, as mentioned by Miles: “Of all fish, however, the most valuable to the Arabs for its economic products is the shark, which is pursued not only in the Arabian Sea but by the coast dwellers of Southern and Eastern Asia, who value it as food, the meat being considered sustaining and invigorating, and almost the whole of the body of this formidable creature is made use of by the Arabs.”149 Sardines were important as a fish that could be dried and 145  Haiduc-Dale (2019:99), who describes artisanal fishing methods before and during the twentieth century. 146  Agius (2010:28). For details on the varieties of fish in the Gulf, see Dickson (1951:592–595); al-Ḥ imyarı ̄ (2010); Kuronuma and Abe (1986);  Lorimer (1915(I):2308–2318); Miles (1919(2):404–411); al-Quṭāmı ̄ (1976:206–209); and  Al Salimi and Staples (2019:495–586)  and Vine and Elders (1986:52,57). For fish varieties caught in the UAE, both historically and at present, see Beech (2003b), who has an extensive listing, and al-Ḥ imyarı ̄ (2012), who provides photographs. For freshwater fish on the Arabian Peninsula, see Banister and Clarke (1977). 147  Heard-Bey (1982:172). McCulloch (1839:810) notes that the bay of Muscat “literally swarms with the greatest variety of most excellent fish.” 148  An informant from Raysut along the southern Oman coast informed Agius that stars were used for all the activities regarding sardine fishing, trading, and oil production (Nash, Agius, Al-Mahrooqi, Al-Yahyai 2017:182). 149  Miles (1919(2):404). Wellsted (1838(1):351) remarks, “Of fish, the largest, such as the shark and dolphin, are, by some strange perversion of taste, the most valued.”

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exported or to provide oil. Some fish were recognized as poisonous or dangerous to eat out of season.150 Dugong (Sirenia dugong) was considered a delicacy in the former Trucial States.151 Fishing inside the coral reefs and in the open water of the Gulf has a long history, as far back as the fifth millennium B.C.E.152 The main season for fish spawning is in spring, March and April, when temperatures are moderate. In recent years there has been a ban on fishing during the spawning period. In Kuwait there were traditionally five main fishing seasons.153 The first, in April, is at a place called al-Qayd; the second in June is for zubaydı ̄ fish in al-Wakr and al-Ḥ add; the third in October is known as the season of al-ḥada ̄q for catching ha ̄mūr, nūbı ̄, shi‘rı ̄, and naqa ̄rı ̄r; the fourth is in December for ḥaẓa’ir; and the fifth in February is for khaba ̄t ̣. In describing fishing during the 1970s for Kuwait, al-Qut ̣āmı ̄ mentions five different methods.154 The first is the use of nets, which come in various sizes.155 The second is the use of the qarqu ̄r or karkūr, a basket-shaped fish trap about five–six meters in height with an opening on one side for fish to enter, with the other side blocked. This is used in depths up to twenty meters, with a rope attached to pull it up. The third method is the use of a fence-like structure (ḥaẓra) made of cane (qas ̣ab) or bamboo as a fish trap. The fourth is the use of a line and fish hook (shis ̣ṣ) and the final method is the use of fire or an electronic light at night to draw more fish to be caught. Cuttlefish were commonly used as bait.156

150  Hulton (1841:160) describes how the local fishermen in the Curia Islands determined if a fish was not suitable to eat: the pad-fish “the natives invariably reject, as their exclusively fish-diet obliges them to be most particular in their choice; and even those of the most approved sort—as, for instance, the rock-cod—when lean and out of condition, share the same fate. To ascertain their fitness, the stomach is torn open, and by an inspection of the mesentery the natives are enabled to pronounce upon the condition of the fish.” 151  Heard-Bey (1982:175). 152  Beech (2003b:306). For details on fishing in Bahrain see Bowen (1951:384–393), Erdman (1950), Serjeant (1968), and al-Khalifa (1983); for the Emirates, see Heard-Bey (1982:172–175), al-Ḥ imyarı ̄ (2010:104–119), Jarwān (1985:156–157), and al-‘Utayba (1977:58–65); for Kuwait, see al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ (1987:65–79) and Sunān (1955) (1963:233). 153  Al-Sa‘ı ̄dān (1981(2):762). See also al-‘Abd al-Mughnı ̄ (1987:67–68). 154  Al-Qut ̣āmı ̄ (1976:249). 155  For details on nets and stone net line sinkers, see Beech (2003b:290–291); Miles (1919(2):401–402); and Wellsted (1838(1):186–187). 156  Bowen (1951:385).

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The almanac of al-Ası ̄ri notes that the fishing season during the night in the Gulf starts in Nı ̄sān (April) at the station of buṭayn (V:25–VI:6) and also at the end of Ayyar̄ (May). During Ab̄ (August) at the station of dhirā‘(VII:29–VIII:10), there is said to be fewer fish in the market and thus prices increase. In some areas, like the coast of Oman and southern Yemen, the northwest monsoon stirs up the nutrient-rich water and results in increased fish yields.157 In the past, by August and September many of the fishermen worked in the interior for the date harvest, so only larger ships would go out for fishing.158 For the UAE, however, Umm Sheikha writes that silverbiddy (badḥ), millet (bayāḥ), and seabream (sha‘m), among other species, were fished during the period of is ̣firı ̄, the first 100  days of the Canopus calendar.159 Serjeant notes that tribesmen in Bahrain engaged in fishing with no loss of honor, although in many areas along the coasts of the peninsula interior tribesmen viewed fishermen as inferior.160 There is a long tradition of fish traps along the Gulf coast. In the early thirteenth century Ibn al-Mujāwir describes a trap in Muscat in which there was a look-out who was able to estimate how many fish would follow the first to enter.161 A detailed study of the fish trap (ḥaḍra or ḥaẓra) in Bahrain is provided by Serjeant.162 There the traps were made by experts and could be inherited, rented, sold, or designated as waqf. The main fish caught in the Bahraini fish traps, as listed by Serjeant, are: prawns (ribya ̄n/ rubyān), crabs (qubqub), sardines (‘u ̄m), jwāf/yiwa ̄f, ṣa ̄fı ̄, firya ̄l, qurqufān, waḥar, sibayṭı ̄, or burt ̣a ̄m/birṭām, and su ̄lı ̄. During hot weather, however, there are fewer fish caught in traps. Line fishing is also important. In Bahrain the main catch along the shore with line fishing is sbe ̄ṭı ̄ and shi’m; in shallow and deep water the main catch is shi‘rı ̄ and hāmūr.163 Along the sandy Omani coast sardines 157  Sheriff (2010:21). According to Bowen (1951:391), the haul of fish in weirs will be good when the north wind is blowing with strength. 158  Miles (1919(2):401). 159  Umm Sheikha (2008). 160  Serjeant (1970:196). 161  Ibn al-Mujāwir (2008:279). For details on the archaeological remains of fish traps in the UAE, see Beech (2003b:294). 162  Serjeant (1968), who provides an illustration of a Bahraini fish trap. See al-Khalifa (1983:230–231) and Serjeant (1970:197). Most fish traps around Bahrain were owned collectively, mainly by Shi’a families or institutions (Khuri 1980:56). 163  Al-Khalifa (1983:229).

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are one of the main fish caught in winter, while shark and tuna are caught when the coastline is rocky.164 Among the Ā l Wahı ̄ba Bedouin of Oman, fishermen would swim out to fish on inflated goatskins and use nets made of palm fiber.165 In the Curia Islands, off the southern coast of Oman fishing in the early nineteenth century was done by line and basket from a rock protruding into the water. It is said that the basket could bring up twenty–thirty fish.166 The nature of the sea floor is important for noting the types of fish to be caught. As described by Serjeant, “When sea-fishing as opposed to trapping, it is only on the rocky sea-floor (qu ̄‘) that one is likely to catch the best fish such as shi’rı ̄, sulı ̄, ha ̄mūr, burt ̣ām, or sibat ̣ı ̄, etc. The less-favoured fish such as lukhum (ray or roach) and waḥar, are caught where the sea-floor is sandy. Where there is mud one takes shark or cat-fish, and where mas‘ūrah seaweed grows only very small fish like yimyām and yimā, or very poor quality fish like lazza ̄q.”167 One of the more useful descriptions of local fishing is provided by Joseph Osgood, who visited Oman in the mid-nineteenth century:168 Different means of navigation are used by different classes of the Muscat fishermen. Some have good boats, others canoes, and others depend on the frail catamaran, constructed of two or three slender logs lashed together with a grass rope. Upon such a raft, not more than four or five feet long by two wide, its proprietor will go several miles to sea, propelling his float with a double bladed paddle plied dexterously on either side. When fishing, he sits with his feet dangling in the water, with a rush sack for the caught fish lashed to his back, and a spare line or two hanging from his neck. As his catamaran is sunk from sight by his weight and danced up and down by the waves, he has the appearance of a person treading water and holds a very enviable position in the opinion of observers sweltering with heat upon the housetops of Muscat. Whenever an unwary baracoota or other fish has been hooked it receives a mortal blow from a short club wielded by the rigid Mussulman, an article of whose faith enjoins such humane treatment. Sharks, bonitas, baracoota, dolphin, excellent seer fish and sardines abound in the waters of the harbor and vicinity, and great quantities of them  ElMahi (2000:99), who provides a description of preserving fish in Oman.  Webster (1991:479). 166  Hulton (1841:160). 167  Serjeant (1968:510). 168  Osgood (1854:75–76). His reference to “biddens” is the ship known locally as badan. Wellsted (1838(1):309–310) also discusses fish on the Oman coast, noting that in some years an epidemic kills a great number of fish which are thrown up on shore. 164 165

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are taken and cured for home consumption and exportation. Large sharks are caught with hooks. The smaller ones are caught in nets. As the shark when salted and dried forms with rice the chief food of Arab seamen, much attention is paid to its capture, and in fair weather several hundred biddens, or boats of about fifty tons burden, manned by Muscat fishermen, are employed in shark fishing, from which they derive considerable profit. Smaller craft are also engaged in the business, and the fishermen not unfrequently draw to the surface sharks much larger than their frail boats. These are stunned by a severe blow on the head and towed on shore. The flesh is cut off in long strips and salted for food; the liver is saved and boiled down for oil; and the tails, maws and back fins, which are the only ones saved, are cut off and dried in the sun. As the Arabs make but little use of the fins, tails and maws, after being cured, they are usually sent to China, via Bombay, and are there esteemed a great luxury for an epicure. The manner of using seins in the capture of small fish is peculiar. The fisherman standing in the bow of his boat with the net gathered upon his arm, by a skilful cast spreads it in a circle over the water; when the weights attached to its ends have sunk it sufficiently, a second person dives under the water, and closing the bottom of the net brings it to the surface, frequently enclosing a barrel or more fish at one time.

Fishing was especially important in winter along the Ra’s al-Khayma coast of the UAE.169 In the past, crew members of the fishing ships cleaned the fish and took them to soaking pools, some of which could contain up to 8000 large fish. Fish would be left in these covered pools for about six months. After this, salting of the fish for export throughout the Gulf region was done by crew members who were local people from the coastal area, including those in between pearling seasons. The profit for the fish would not be realized until after the salted fish had been sold. This was said to be divided into six shares, with the ship’s owner and captain (nākhudhā) each receiving a share, three shares given to the supplier of the equipment and materials needed for both the ship and the salting process, and only one share for a crew of about fifteen members.

169  This information on fishing is taken from Kazim (2000:186), who relies on ‘Abd al-Raḥmān (1990).

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ElMahi, Ali Tigani 2000 Traditional Fish Preservation in Oman: The Seasonality of a Subsistence Strategy. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 30:99–113. Erdman, D. S. 1950 Fishing in Arabia. Scientific Monthly 70:58–65. al-Fayyāḍ, ‘Alı ̄ ‘Abd Allāh 2013 The Influence of the Sea on Folk Literature in Qatar. In Studies in Qatari Folklore, 1:13–45. Doha: Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. Ferrand, Gabriel 1914 Relation de voyages et textes géographiques arabes, persans et turques relatifs à l’Extrême-Orient. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. Ferrand, Gabriel 1928 Instructions nautiques et routiers arabes et portugais des XVe et XVIe siècles. Tome III: Introduction a l’astronomie nautique arabe. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. Ferrand, Gabriel 1925 Instructions nautiques et routiers arabes et portugais des XVe et XVIe siècles. Tome II: Sulaymān al-Mahrı ̄ et Ibn Mājid. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. Ferrand, Gabriel 1921–23 Instructions nautiques et routiers arabes et portugais des XVe et XVIe siècles. Tome I: Ibn Ma ̄jid. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. Floor, Willem 2006 The Persian Gulf: A Political and Economic History of Five Port Cities, 1500–1730. Washington, DC: Mage Publishers. al-Ghānim, Kaltham 2014 The Collective Unconscious: The Model of the Qatari Relationship with the Sea. al-Ma’thūra ̄t al-Sha‘biyya 23:7–34. al-Ghānim, Kaltham 2011 al-Iḥtifa ̄la ̄t al-jamā‘iyya wa-ba‘ḍ al-ashkāl al-thaqāfiyya al-maṣa ̄ḥiba fı ̄ al-mujtama‘ al-ghawṣ. Doha: Qatar Marine Festival. al-Ghānim, Kaltham 1995 Itijāha ̄t al-tanmiyya al-ijtimā‘iyya al-iqtiṣa ̄diyya fı ̄ al-­ mujtama‘ al-Qat ̣ariyya. Doha: Dār al-Thaqāfa. Gharı ̄b, Ṣāliḥ 1994 Ṣinā‘at al-sufun fı ̄ ṣuwar bi-sult ̣anat ‘Uman. al-Ma’thūrāt al-­ Sha‘biyya 35:100–105. al-Ghunaym, ‘Abd Allāh Yūsuf 2017 Wathā’iq min ‘as ̣r al-lu’lu’. Kuwait: Markaz al-Buḥūth wa-al-Dirāsāt al-Kuwaytiyya. al-Ghunaym, ‘Abd Allāh Yūsuf 1998 Al-Lu’lu’. Kuwait: Dār al-Bashā’ir al-Islāmiyya. Grosset-Grange, Henri 1972 Comment naviguent aujourd’hui les Arabes de l’Océan Indien? Suivi d’un glossaire de la navigation arabe dans l’Océan indien. Arabica 19(1):46–77. Haiduc-Dale, Noah 2019 Fishing in the Persian Gulf: the Merits of Mediocrity. Journal of Arabian Studies 8(1):99–117. Ḥ anā, Sāmı ̄ 1998 Laḥjat ṣunnā‘ al-sufun bi-minṭaqat al-Nu‘aym bi-al-Baḥrayn. al-Ma’thu ̄rāt al-Sha‘biyya 49:24–43. Hansman, John 1985 Julfa ̄r, an Arabian Port: Its Settlement and Far Eastern Ceramic Trade from the 14th to the 18th Centuries. London: Royal Asiatic Society.

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Jamal, Mahmood, editor 2009 Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi. London: Penguin. al-Jarwān, Muḥammad Rāshid 1985 Risāla ilā waladı ̄. Al-Shāriqa: Dār al-Khalı ̄j li-al-Ṣiḥāfa wa-al-t ̣ibā‘a wa-al-Nashr. KATARA 2014 Al-Ghawṣ ‘alā al-lu’lu’ fı ̄ al-Qaṭar. Doha: Al-Mu’assasa al-‘Amma li-al-Ḥ ayy al-Thaqāfı ̄. Kazim, Aqil 2000 The United Arab Emirates A.D. 600 to the Present. Dubai: Gulf Book Center. Khalifa, A. M. 1983 Fishing in Bahrain: Some Techniques and Technical Terms. In Robin L.  Bidwell and G.  Rex Smith, editors, Arabian and Islamic Studies: Articles presented to R. B. Serjeant on the occasion of his retirement from the Sir Thomas Adam’s Chair of Arabic at the University of Cambridge, 229–231. London: Longman. al-Khān, Wahı ̄d Aḥmad b. Ḥ asan 2002 Aghan̄ ı ̄ al-ghawṣ fı ̄ al-Baḥrayn. Doha: Markas al-Turāth al-Sha‘bı ̄. Khuri, Fuad I. 1980 Tribe and State in Bahrain: The Transformation and Political Authority in an Arab State. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Khūrı ̄, Ibrāhı ̄m [Ibrahim Khoury] 1989 The Stars of Arab Navigation in Ibn Māǧid Works. Revista de Universidade de Coimbre 35:395–405. Khūrı ̄, Ibrāhı ̄m [Ibrahim Khoury] 1987–1988 Les poèmes nautiques d’Aḥmad b. Māǧid: 3eme _partie. Bulletin d’études orientales 39/40:191–420, 422, 424. Khūrı ̄, Ibrāhı ̄m [Ibrahim Khoury] 1985–1986 Les poèmes nautiques d’Aḥmad Ibn Māǧid: 2eme _partie. Bulletin d’études orientales 37/38:163–276. Khūrı ̄, Ibrāhı ̄m [Ibrahim Khoury] 1982 The Poem of Sofala. Coimbra: Coimbra Editora. King, David A. 2014 In Synchrony with the Heavens. Two volumes. Leiden: Brill. Krenkow, F. 1941–42 The Chapter on Pearls in the Book on Precious Stones by Al-Beruni. Islamic Culture 15:399–421; 16:21–36. Kunz, George Frederick and C. H. Stevenson 1908 The Book of the Pearl. New York: The Century Company. Lancaster, William and Lancaster Fidelity 2011 Honour is in Contentment: Life Before Oil in Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) and Some Neighboring Regions. Berlin: De Gruyter. Lorimer, John Gordon 1915 Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, ‘Omān, and Central Arabia. Volume 1. Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing. Lorimer, John Gordon 1908 Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, ‘Omān, and Central Arabia. Volume II. Calcutta: Superintendent Government Printing. Lunde, Paul 2013a Sailing Times in Sulaymān al-Mahrı ̄. In A. R. Constable and W. Fahey, editors, The Principles of Arab Navigation, 75–82. London: Arabian Publishing Ltd.

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Lunde, Paul 2013b Sulaymān al-Mahrı ̄: Maritime Routes in the ‘Umda and Manhaj. In A.  R. Constable and W.  Fahey, editors, The Principles of Arab Navigation, 61–74. London: Arabian Publishing Ltd. MacIntosh-Smith, Tim, editor and translator 2014 Two Arabic Travel Books: Accounts of China and India, 1–161: New York: New York University Press. Martin, Esmond Bradley 1980 The Decline of Omani Dhows. The Great Circle 2(2):74–86. Massé, Henri 1954 Persian Beliefs and Customs. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files. al-Mas‘ūdı ̄, ‘Alı ̄ b. al-Ḥ usayn 1841 El-Mas’údí’s Historical Encyclopaedia entitled Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems. Aloys Sprenger, Translator. London: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. Matthee, Rudi 2012 The Portuguese Presence in the Persian Gulf: An Overview. In Jeffrey R.  Macris and Saul Kelly, editors, Imperial Crossroads: The Great Powers and the Persian Gulf, 1–11, 185–186. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. McCulloch, John Ramsey 1839 A Dictionary, Practical, Theoretical, and Historical, of Commerce and Commercial Navigation. New Edition. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans. Milburn, W. 1825 Oriental Commerce. London: Kingsbury, Parbury, and Allen. Miles, Samuel B. 1919 Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf. Two volumes. London: Harrison and Sons. Murād, Majdı ̄ Kāmil 1988 Al-Ghawṣ fı ̄ dawlat al-Imāra ̄t al-‘Arabiyya al-Muttaḥida. Abu Dhabi: UAE Lajnat al-Turāth al-Sha‘bı ̄. al-Nabhānı ̄, Muḥammad b. Khalı ̄fa b. Ḥ amad 1986 al-Tuḥfa al-Nabhāniyya fı ̄ ta’rı ̄kh al-jazı ̄ra al-‘Arabiyya. Bahrain: al-Maktaba al-Wat ̣aniyya. Nadvi, Syed Sulaiman 1941 Arab Navigation. Islamic Culture 15:435–448. Nash, Harriet, D. A. Agius, A. H. Al-Mahrooqi and S. A. Al-Yahyai 2017 Star Use by Fishermen in Oman. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 46(1):179–191. Online at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1095-9270.12204 Niebuhr, Carsten 1792 Travels through Arabia. Edinburgh: Morison and Son. Osgood, Joseph 1854 Notes of Travel; or, Recollections of Majunga, Zanzibar, Muscat, Aden, Mocha, and Other Eastern Ports. Salem: George Creamer. Pereira, José Manual M. 2003 The Stellar Compass and the Kamal: An Interpretation of its Practical Use. Lisbon: Academia de Marinha. Potter, Lawrence G., editor 2009 The Persian Gulf in History. New York: Palgrave. ̄ 1985 al-Mukhtas ̣ar al-khāsṣ ̣ li-al-masāfir wa-al-t ̣awāsh wa-al-­ al-Quṭāmı ̄, ‘Isā ghawa ̄s ̣. Doha: Maṭābi‘ Qat ̣ar al-Watạ niyya. ̄ 1976 Dalı ̄l al-muḥtar fı ̄ ‘ilm al-baḥa ̄r. Kuwait: Mat ̣ba‘at al-Quṭāmı ̄, ‘Isā Ḥ ukūmat Kuwayt. Reilly, Benjamin J. 2015 A Well-Intentioned Failure: British Anti-slavery Measures and the Arabian Peninsula, 1820–1940. Journal of Arabian Studies 5(2):91–115.

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Richter, Tobias, Paul Wordsworth and Alan Walmsley 2011 Pearl Fishers, Townsfolk, Bedouin, and Shaykhs: Economic and Social Relations in Islamic al-Zubārah. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 41:317–332. al-Rifā‘ı ̄, Ḥ iṣsạ t al-Sayyid Zayd 1985 Aghānı ̄ al-baḥr: Diras̄ at fūlklur̄ iyya. Kuwait: Dhāt al-Salāsil. al-Rifā‘ı ̄, Ḥ iṣsạ t al-Sayyid Zayd 1982 AI Nehmah Wal Nahham: A Structural, Functional, Musical and Aesthetic Study of Kuwaiti Sea Songs. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Indiana. Bloomington. Rihani, Ameen 1930 Around the Coasts of Arabia. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Rosenthal, Léonard 1919 Au royaume de la perle. Paris: Payot & Cie. Rowand, A. 1915 Sailing Craft of the Persian Gulf. In Lorimer (1915/I/ II:2319–2321). Sa‘ı ̄dān, Ḥ amad Muḥammad 1981 al-Mawsu‘̄ a al-Kuwaitiyya al-mukhtas ̣ara. Kuwait. al-Salimi, Abdulrahman and Eric Staples, editors 2019 A Maritime Lexicon: Arabic Nautical Terminology. Studies on Ibadism and Oman, 11. Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag. al-Samārı ̄, Fahd b. ‘Abd Allāh 1421/2000 al-Kharı ̄t ̣a al-‘Arabiyya fı ̄ al-khara ̄’it ̣ al-urubiyya al-qadı ̄ma. Riyadh: Dār al-Malik ‘Abd al-‘Azı ̄z. Sauvaget, Jean 1948 Akhbār al-Ṣı ̄n wa-al-Hind. Relation de la Chine et de l’Inde. Paris: Société d’édition Les belles lettres. Schmidl, Petra G. 2014 Compass. In Ibrahim Kalin, editor, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam, 144–146. Oxford University Press. Serjeant, R.  B. 1970 Maritime Customary Law off the Arabian Coasts. In M. Mollet, editor, Sociétés et compagnies de commerce en Orient et dams l’Océan Indien. Actes du VIIIième Colloque International Maritime (Beyrouth 5–10 septembre 1966, 195–207. Paris: S.E.V.P.E.N. Serjeant, R. B. 1968 Fisher-Folk and Fish-Traps in al-Baḥrain. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 31(3): 486–514. al-Shamlān, ‘Abd Allāh Khalı ̄fa 1990 Bina ̄’ al-sufun al-khashabiyya fı ̄ dawlat Baḥrayn. Bahrain: Markaz al-Baḥrayn li-al-Dirāsāt wa-al-Buḥūth. al-Shamlān, Sayf Marzūq 1986 Ta’rı ̄kh al-ghawṣ ‘alā al-lu’lu’ fı ̄ al-Kuwayt wa-al-­ Khalı ̄j al-‘Arabı ̄. Kuwait: Manshūrāt Dhāt al-Salāsil. Second Edition. Sheriff, Abdul 2010 Dhow Cultures of the Indian Ocean: Cosmopolitanism, Commerce and Islam. New York: Columbia University Press. Shihab, Hasan Salih 2013 Stellar Navigation of the Arabs. In A. R. Constable and W. Fahey, editors, The Principles of Arab Navigation, 21–34. London: Arabian Publishing Ltd. Sulaymān, al-Ṣādiq Muḥammad 1998 al-Lu’lu’ fı ̄ al-Khalı ̄j: ta’rı ̄kh .. tharwa wa-thaqāfa. Doha: Markaz al-Turāth al-Sha‘bı ̄.

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CHAPTER 9

The Future of Almanac Lore and Seasonal Knowledge in the Gulf

The written genre in the style of Shaykh al-Anṣārı ̄’s Qatari almanac is rapidly becoming a relic of the past. There was a time in which such a textual almanac could serve a useful purpose for determining prayer times, even if not accurate. However, the use of shadow lengths was probably relevant mainly to mosque imams who gave the call to prayer rather than to individual users. But today the prayer times are officially published by the Qatari government, local newspapers, multiple websites, and cell phone apps. The risings and settings of the twenty-eight stations recorded in the almanac represented a centuries-old and arbitrary zodiacal grid along the ecliptic and were not useful for actual observation of the asterisms associated with each station. The information on times for rain, wind, and temperature change was broadly conceived and varied within the area, but such knowledge would have been passed on orally in the past and not taken from written almanacs. Today meteorological information is readily available in multiple forums. The low level of literacy in Qatar and most of the Gulf before 1970 would have limited access to written almanacs, but the literacy rate today in Qatar is over 93%.1 Today a version of the Qatari almanac made famous by Shaykh al-Anṣārı ̄ is still published in print by his son. There is also time-keeping information 1  There are no reliable statistics on literacy in Qatar until recently, but in 1970 it was estimated that literacy was less than 30% overall in Arab states.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_9

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available on the web at the Qatar Calendar House (Dār al-Taqwı ̄m al-Qaṭarı ̄), which is dedicated to the work of Shaykh al-Anṣārı ̄.2 A single page indicates the correlation of the Islamic and solar calendars for each day, the time of day the page is accessed, the prayer times (including shuru ̄q), and a saying for the day. What is not provided on this page is the range of almanac information for the stations. A major part of content on the website, however, is promoting Islamic knowledge rather than meteorological or astronomical information. The Qatari almanac also exists as an app for mobile phones.3 For 9 Sha‘bān/March 22, 2021, as an example, the opening page of the app shows the dates in the lunar and solar calendars, the day (2 ḥamal) of the zodiacal month, the day (211) of the Canopus calendar, the prayer times indicated by the exact time rather than shadow lengths, and the season (start of sarāyāt). By clicking on the seasonal prompt the almanac details for some of the days of March are provided, including illness (III:2), pollenating date palms (III:5), end of the season of ‘aqārib (III:7), start of the season of ḥamı ̄m (III:8), start of the Days of the Old Woman (bard al-‘aju ̄z) (III:9), activity of fleas (III:11), equinox (III:16), planting of date seedlings, plentiful fish (III:24), planting of fruit trees (III:30), etc. Much of this information has not changed over the centuries and has limited practical impact today. There is even a prompt on the app to listen to the call to prayer, as well as for the word of the day, and detailed coordinates on the locations for asterisms and planets for various days. The Qatari Almanac from its inception has been motivated by religion. Shaykh al-Anṣārı ̄ was trained as a religious scholar, with some knowledge from his father of local knowledge of the seasons and stars. In his edition of the earlier almanac of al-‘Uyūnı ̄, the title page includes the Qur‘anic verse 36:39: “We have ordained phases for the moon, which daily wanes and in the end appears like a bent and withered twig” (wa-al-qamar qadarnāhu manāzil ḥatā ‘ad ka-al-‘urjūn al-qadı ̄m). While most of the early local readers of the almanac would have found the listed prayer times useful, few would have lacked knowledge of the local heritage of seasonal lore. Over the years the annual Qatari Almanac included inspirational material for fellow Muslims. Some of this relates to praise of the Prophet  The url is https://qatarch.com/.  This is readily available as an app. In August 2020 the Qatari newspaper al-Ra ̄’ida reported that there had already been more than 50,000 downloads of the app for the new Islamic year. 2 3

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Muḥammad, but al-Anṣārı ̄ also discusses family issues such as proper behavior and sexual contact with women and raising children. It should be noted that the contemporary print version of the almanac is published by the Ministry of Waqfs and Islamic Affairs in Qatar.

9.1   The Relevance of Past Almanac Knowledge and Seasonal Lore Much of the heritage celebrated in the Gulf, from pearling to tribal life in the desert, is gone forever. Pearl diving ceased close to a century ago and it is doubtful that there are still any living pearl divers. Bedouin no longer pasture their camels, which used to serve a livelihood purpose, at the whim of the rains. To the extent that agriculture is practiced, the care of date palms today is most often left to foreign workers. The suggestion by al-Anṣārı ̄ that no crops other than sorghum or mallow should be sown during the station han‘a (VII:16–28) has no meaning for an economy that now boasts hydroponic farming of vegetables. While the passion for falconry is probably greater today in Qatar than in the past, it is a hobby and not about food supply.4 A few dhows still travel the waters around the Gulf, but not without modern engines. Tourists can rent space on dhow rides around the harbor in Doha or to relax on a nearby island. As suggested by Lawrence Potter, “What has not been appreciated is that the present-day Gulf differs in important respects from the historic Gulf.”5 As is the case with much intangible heritage, including local dialectical variation and oral performance of poetry, stories, proverbs, and sayings, the lore of the past often becomes something to be studied rather than something to live by. This is true virtually everywhere in the globalizing world of the third millennium, but especially given the recent fast pace of socioeconomic change and universal education in the modern Gulf states. Mass literacy and invasive media sources tend to systematize dialects in a way that oral transmission in the past did not. Newspapers, television, and internet news sites standardize the way we hear and understand any language. The mega Qatari news station Al Jazeera does not broadcast in traditional Qatari dialect and most of its reporters and commentators are not native speakers of the local dialects. The legacy of “modern standard 4  In the past falconry was more common among the elites, but now anyone can pursue the practice and there is a vibrant tradition of care and medical treatment available. 5  Potter (2017:2).

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Arabic,” useful as it is for communication across dialects, is at the same time the enemy of dialect diversity. Qatari youth are not likely to preserve the intricacies of the dialects from past generations, even though there are local television stations and websites that feature contemporary recitals of poetry and performances of music and dance. Vocabulary changes far more rapidly than most people are aware of. There are terms which are so specific to a local area that they will die out as soon as the generation using them passes. Some star names, such as those still able to be recorded in rural Oman, will no longer be used when there is no longer a need to observe stars or the more standard name for the star is accepted. Other terms common in the Gulf almanacs survive after centuries of usage, but are little more than quaint expressions today. The cold period at the end of February and start of March known as the Days of the Old Woman (ayyām al-‘ajūz), the Nights of the Old Woman (layālı ̄ al-‘ajūz), or simply the cold of the old woman (bard al-‘ajūz) is documented over a millennium ago. The term persists for a late cold period in the contemporary almanacs but the numerous explanations for the origin of the term are known today only from past texts. Seasonal terms for rain and wind also have older antecedents and now survive as general markers for locations far from their original usage. The content in the mobile app of the Qatari Almanac follows the heritage in the earlier Gulf almanacs, but it is doubtful that the seasonal terms still resonate with today’s youth and many adults in Qatar. The notion of a zodiacal month for time-telling is a case in point. Al-Anṣārı ̄ begins a month of thirty days called ḥamal (Aries) at the spring equinox, although noting that this is not actually the time that the sun is entering the zodiacal constellation of Arietis. While the 30° of the zodiacal arc segment is relatively the same as thirty or thirty-one days in a solar month, such a year-­ long calendar only makes sense in relation to the solar calendar, with which it is correlated in the almanac. This is a scholarly creation, not a practical time-reckoning system recorded for either Bedouin or fishermen in the Gulf’s past. The so-called Solar Stations (mana ̄zil al-shams), also known as the twenty-eight anwā’, and plotted in the almanacs according to the solar calendar, are arbitrary creations of thirteen days (with one of fourteen days) each, and are impractical for actual observation.6 The specific stars 6  The use of the stations on a given night can provide an approximate system, but this is because of the relative arc of the transit of an individual star or asterism. It is also possible to

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recognized within or near the zodiacal constellations do not visibly rise or set in thirteen-day intervals. The heliacal rising, which cannot be observed, only serves as a useful marker in an astronomical table. Ironically, while the saj‘ sayings quoted to this day in Gulf almanacs refer to information for the rising time of a star, the classical sense of the influence of these stations in Islamic astronomy was for their setting. Much of the information for these stations is of little practical value today, even if it was at one time. For example, most of the recent Gulf almanacs say that during the rising of the station sa‘d al-akhbiya in March a child that is weaned will not ask for breastmilk. This is recorded in the tenth-century Calendar of Cordoba for March at the setting of the station ṣarfa, which is in theory the rising time for sa‘d al-akhbiya.7 Given the timing of a child’s birth, its individual growth, and the influence of modern medicine and dietary practices, this is a dubious and unnecessary claim to follow today. The traditional Gulf almanacs evolved out of the cosmological system of the humors in Islamic medicine. Advice on what to eat or avoid was based in this system of the humoral qualities of a given food as hot or cold, wet or dry. Thus, when al-Anṣarı ̄ relates that beef and eggplant should not be eaten at the rising of s ̣arfa in October, this was advice stemming back centuries. Whether this ancient humoral system is seen as having benefits or not, it has been replaced in the Gulf by modern medicine and eating habits. None of the numerous restaurants, most of which are foreign chains, in Qatar would stop serving beef or eggplant during October; none are probably even aware of the dietary restrictions of humoral medicine in the past. There is probably no danger in continuing to follow some of the humoral restrictions, but today’s younger “Burger King” generation is unlikely to even know about them or follow them. Does this mean that the centuries of almanac lore, including that in the recent Gulf almanacs, have no continuing value apart from reflecting past heritage? This is a difficult question to answer, since so much of the information is no longer relevant or needed. The references to rain and wind can be useful for a better understanding of climate change, but only if the recorded timing is linked to specific locations. Use of a term like wasmı ̄ for a major rain period is found wherever almanacs have been compiled, from

plot the general course of the moon through the stations from night to night and over the months. For details on this system, see pp. 29–36. 7  Dozy and Pellat (1961:55).

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Islamic Spain to Iran, but it is obvious that the probable time for rain is not the same across such a broad regional scope. In the Gulf there is no exact timing of rainfall from Kuwait to Oman, despite the annual monsoon cycles. This is the case even within the single state of Qatar. Rainfall recorded at Doha International Airport from 1962 through 2011 averaged 76.5  mm per year, but with considerable variation. In 1964 some 300 mm were recorded at the airport, but in 1967 only about 20  mm were noted.8 The few annual rain events spread throughout Qatar are known to occur between October to May with June through September usually completely dry, but this does not mean that a specific rain period in the almanacs will occur throughout the region covered by the almanacs. The Qatari almanac of Shaykh al-Anṣārı ̄ from 1986, and for other years, recorded the first rainfall at the start of October with the wasm rain associated with the Pleiades starting at the rising of ‘awwa ̄ (X:16-X:28). During all of 1985 at the Doha airport virtually no rain fell at all, but about 75 mm was recorded for 1986. While the almanac is correct in predicting rain somewhere in Qatar in October, it could not account for local variation, as current meteorological methods might do. Even without the almanacs, the likely occurrence of rain would have been known by experience in the past and orally transmitted without the need to consult an almanac.

9.2   The Relevance of Future Almanac Knowledge and Seasonal Lore Cultural heritage is not static, despite the tendency to view most past knowledge as “traditional” with little attention paid to what that means beyond being something from the past. The only way to discover heritage from several generations past is through its documentation in texts, images, and archaeological or material remains. For a little over a century there are some audio recordings that preserve voices and music.9 Cultural production at all levels is ongoing as new forms are created in the present and some will be seen as important cultural items or “heritage” in future remembrance of a past not yet passed. The contemporary architectural  Mamoon and Rahman (2014:738).  In 1302/1885 Snouck Hurgronje recorded part of a Qu’ranic recitation in Mecca on an Edison wax cylinder (Witkam 2018: 807–20). This can be heard online at https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=RKBAoCzzLzg. 8 9

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marvels of the Palm Islands off Dubai and the new National Museum of Qatar in Doha will certainly enter the scope of past heritage, far eclipsing the current notion of what is “traditional” architecture of the region.10 Local poets will no doubt continue to create new genres in free Arabic verse, but how distant will this become from the tribal bards of old? Considering how quaint the fashion of a century ago looks today, what will “modern” dress, especially the hijab, look like in 2120? The Arabic slang used by youth in the Gulf on social media may not seem worthy of being designated “heritage” today, but how will it be viewed in another 100 years? Consider the change in cultural production over the past century. In 1920, 100 years before I finished writing this book on Gulf almanac knowledge, there was only a “Persian Gulf” and the villages and small harbors that dotted the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula were poverty-­stricken and under British domination. The total population of the major port towns in the area now considered the “Arab Gulf” in 1900 was about 100,000 with a sizeable minority of slaves.11 The combined population of this area (not including Saudi Arabia) in 2020 was over 23 million, with a large percentage of foreign workers. In 1920 there was no major city south of Basra, which is said to have had a population of 40,000, along the Gulf coast. Coastal towns had very little access to fresh water; Kuwait imported water from Basra. Agriculture was minimal, with a focus on date palms in scattered oases. Most travel on land was still carried out on donkey or camel. The pearl industry was still thriving, before the introduction of Japanese cultured pearls, but with little benefit to the actual pearl divers. The population was a mix of Arabs, Persians, Indians, other South Asians, and relatively few Europeans. The weather was blistering hot with no air-conditioned buildings, frequent sand storms, and seasonal storms that made travel by sea dangerous for dhows. If you had prophesied in 1920 that in a century this region would boast some of the richest countries in the world, you would have been considered a lunatic. It would be half a century before the formal states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates evolved out of the Trucial 10   For Dubai’s Palm Islands project, see McFadden (2019); for the new National Museum of Qatar, see the official website at https://www.qm.org.qa/en/project/nationalmuseum-qatar 11  The estimate for the towns is quoted in Potter (2017:13). The rural population of Bedouin and small coastal villages would no doubt have been smaller.

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alliance pact initiated by the British in 1820. Kuwait became the first independent state in the region in 1961. Although Oman had remained a sultanate, its history was influenced by treaty relations with the British. The engine for the overnight, historically speaking, transition from abject poverty to unprecedented wealth was oil, discovered in Bahrain in 1932 and not long after in Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Oil in the underground deposits of the UAE was not found until 1958, more than a decade before it achieved independence from Britain. Combined with large reserves of natural gas and worldwide investments from the resulting capital profits, the Gulf is currently the “Gold Coast” of the Arab world. Whether the cities built by oil will dissolve like salt in water when the oil runs out is more than a novel idea.12 If I were to predict what the situation will be in the Gulf in another century, I would no doubt be engaging in lunacy of my own. There will still be oil and natural gas to exploit, but will the revenues be as lucrative as countries switch to alternative forms of clean energy? In 2020 the IMF warned that the Gulf countries could run out of money before they run out of oil unless there were major changes in their budgeting. Just imagine the economic costs of potential future conflict in the region if the current tensions between states are not mitigated. Despite the influence of the ultra-conservative Wahhabi version of Islam in the region for over a century, there is no way to predict what Islamic thinking and observance will be in another century. Will there be the kind of “reform” with greater tolerance that other major religions have embraced? Will there still be royal families who benefit from the oil/gas revenues for luxury estates abroad and Disneyfied palaces at home? Will there be several ski slopes in the Emirates? Will the phobia of homosexuality, which has always existed here and worldwide, abate? And who will clean the toilets? It is far too early to predict what will be considered the heritage worth preserving and studying after another century. Short of an apocalypse, the danger of which has haunted humanity for millennia, the world will be far more global with yet more mouths to feed and environmental crises not averted today. If local Gulf almanacs are still compiled, will they still reach back a millennium to Ibn Qutayba and to long-dead Najdı ̄ poets, or will meteorology be so calculated that local climate data will be just a finger click away? What will the memories of pearl diving be almost two centuries beyond its demise? The current Gulf states have all refashioned their  See the well-known novel of Abelrahman Munif (1989) entitled in English Cities of Salt.

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history, and thus their heritage, to bolster national and familial prestige. How will the not-yet-past of the future be manipulated for political, nationalistic, and religious purposes? Unlike the situation a century ago, the vast amount of potential heritage being created in the Gulf today and for the next 100 years will be far better documented. There may come a point when virtually nothing is private as Google Earth expands its universal coverage and our digital archives absorb more gigabytes than anyone could possibly imagine. The problem for the future scholar will not only be deciding what deserves to be called heritage, but how to wade through mountains of data and for what purpose. Perhaps in 100 years or more research will be left to computers or humanoid robots, which can translate with near-perfection from Arabic to any other language. If everything being written now could be scanned, this is not as far-fetched as it might seem. Meanwhile we live in the present and there is still much to be studied in the heritage of the Gulf, including the wide range of information preserved in almanacs and related lore deemed to be “traditional.” More recollections of older men and women of life in their youth need to be documented, preferably on video. The scattered accounts of local culture in a variety of online formats call out for comparative study. This is especially the case for the closely related heritage on the Persian side of the Gulf. The artificial political borders obscure the centuries of cross-­ fertilization in what was once only known as the “Persian” Gulf. The same applies to the need to study the youth who are producing future culture as I write these words. As important as analyzing a culture’s past, which is the goal of this book, is paying attention to what is bound to become “traditional” in the future. The study of heritage must move beyond the idea that what is “modern” is somehow an ending and that heritage is only what we locate in the past. Everything we see happening today is a transition that will hopefully become clearer to see in the future. The same must be said about the past, the extended time from which we now use new methods to glean information from the fragments recorded. But what about what has not been preserved: the vast amount of oral poetry, songs, stories, and proverbs that were spoken but not written, the writings that were never published and perished before being preserved, the architectural structures and cultural objects that have not survived? There is an old saying that the past is prologue, but at the same time we should not fall into the trap of thinking the future is only an epilogue. I

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was trained as a cultural anthropologist and carried out participant observation fieldwork in rural Yemen in the late 1970s and in Qatar in the late 1980s and 2016. Much of my academic writing has been about centuries-­ old Arabic textual sources describing seasonal lore, star knowledge, and agriculture in the Arabian Peninsula, especially Yemen. As an outsider it is my passion, inexplicable as it might seem to many people, for understanding this “traditional” knowledge that has directed my research. I do not know what future scholars will think of the information analyzed in this book, but my hope is that the value of knowing about both the reality and the perceived reality of the past will not become a thing of the past.

Bibliography Electronic Documents McFadden, Christopher 2019 7+ Curious Facts about Dubai’s Palm Islands. Interesting Engineering. https://interestingengineering.com/7-­curious-­facts-­ about-­dubais-­palm-­islands (Accessed June, 2021)

Published Texts Dozy, Reinhart and Charles Pellat 1961 Le calendrier de Cordoue. Leiden: Brill. Mamoon, Abdullah and Ataur Rahman 2014 Identification of Rainfall Trends in Qatar. International Conference on Environmental Systems Science and Engineering, Sydney, Australia 8(12), Part V:735–739. Munif, Abdelrahman 1989 Cities of Salt. Peter Theroux, translator. New  York: Vintage Books. Potter, Lawrence G. 2017 Society in the Persian Gulf: Before and after Oil. Doha: Center for International and Regional Studies, Georgetown University in Qatar. Witkam, Jan Just 2018 Written in Wax: Quranic Recitational Phonography. Journal of the American Oriental Society 138(4): 807–20.

PART II

Texts and Charts

CHAPTER 10

Almanacs

Throughout the Arab world knowledge of the seasons and star lore was recorded in almanacs, much of this drawing on the long tradition of such knowledge for the Arabian Peninsula. While research has been conducted on the Coptic and Yemeni almanac traditions, the local tradition preserved in the Arab Gulf has received scant attention outside the region. This section provides an edition and translation of the influential early twentiethcentury Najdī almanac of Shaykh al-‘Uyūnī. Other local almanacs, including the Qatarī almanac of Shaykh al-Anṣārī, are documented in chart form with the details listed for each of the anwa ˉ’ asterisms or stations and at times for the zodiacal months. Much of the information is copied from other almanacs and some of this may not accurately reflect local conditions or practices.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_10

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10.1   Almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz b. ‘Abd Allāh al-‘Uyūnī Taqwı‐m al-‘Uyu‐nı‐, edited by Shaykh ‘Abd Allāh al-Anṣārī. Doha, 1380/1960. This was published under the patronage of the Qatari ruler Shaykh Aḥmad b. ‘Alī Āl Thānī, although it was compiled for the year 1324/1906.1 10.1.1  Translation of Main Section on Stations (pp. 17–28)  irst of the Spring Season and Persian nawru¯z2 F Daylight takes an increase and night a decrease. Start of the activity of the blood humor in bodies. Sexual desire strengthens. The ruling humor of phlegm weakens. Milk products are agreeable. Cupping and sex are suitable in it. Eating sweets and everything hot and wet is refrained from. Everything cold and dry is used. Rose water is distilled. Rising of sa‘d al-akhbiya (III:22–IV:3) These are three stars like the Arabic letter “th” with a star in the middle resembling the tent. A poet (sa ˉji‘) of the Arabs said: “When sa‘d al-akhbiya has risen, waterskins are oiled and structures are vacant.”3 Zubra, the naw’ of which is linked to Leo, sets. If there fails to be rain during it, there will be intense cold. Haq‘a comes before it at a quarter of the night. Flowers and roses increase. Cowpeas (lu‐biya ˉ) are planted. Winds increase. Most of the fruit of plants forms. They claim that if a baby is weaned during it, it will not exert itself asking for breastmilk. Rising of muqaddam (IV:4–16) Setting of ṣarfa. Han‘a comes before it at a quarter of the night. Almonds and apples form. Its cold ruins fruit. Season for breaking off the phlegm humor in bodies. Season for planting rice and harvest of wheat. Powerful 1  Several obvious errors in the published text may have been introduced by al-Anṣārı ̄; unfortunately I do not have access to the original manuscript used. 2  The term used is nawruz̄ al-‘ajam and  it refers to  the  start of  the  zodiacal calendar at the spring equinox. 3  The first part of this saying is taken from Ibn Qutayba (1956:80), but the second line differs in saying that their tents or houses are vacant, since Ibn Qutayba suggests the tents are nearby.

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activity of fleas. [Eating] fish from the sea during it is forbidden. Colds and headaches are common. Medicinal drinks are used. They instruct not using blankets and taking off the head dress (‘ima ˉma) during it. First of the treatment of diseases. Rising of mu’akhkhar (IV:17–29) Setting of ‘awwa ˉ, at which there is a violent wind. This is not mentioned in the previous poetry, but is mentioned in the poetry of the emir Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn al-‘Uyūnī, who says: Let mid-afternoon rain with lightning and thunder drench al-Jifan near the homeland of al-Shaqrā’ with roaring and rumbling thunder. When ‘awwa ˉ sets in the west in the morning and buṭayn passes al-sharaṭ, the weather is rainy.4

This is a time of abundant rain, which promotes plants and their blossoms to flourish. Pasture is verdant. Cupping and eating cold foods afterwards is recommended. Dhira ˉ‘ comes before it at a quarter of the night. Last of the Christ’s thorn fruit (nabq).5 First fruits of snake cucumber and apricot. First of bee’s honey. Eating of endive, purselane, quince, and apple is recommended. Taking off of broadcloth and outer garments. Medicinal drinks are commended during it. Fruit forms. Most of the wheat harvest is during it. Entering of the blessed rain of Nīsa ˉn, which is seven days of mercy and blessing. It is said that the forming of the pearl in the oyster shells is one of the special aspects of its rain. When flour is kneaded with this rain, it rises in the least amount of time. Rising of risha ˉ’ (IV:30–V:12) Setting of al-sima ˉk al-a‘zal. Nathra comes before it at a quarter of the night. At its rising, the Pleiades (thurayya ˉ) sets with plentiful rain and is 4  It is difficult to understand the sense of this verse without access to the entire poem. I thank Saad Sowayan for pointing out that al-Jafin and al-Shaqrā’ are place names. Yāqūt records a ḥadı ̄th of Muḥammad mentioning “ḥimı ̄ bayn al-Shaqra’̄ wa-al-Sa‘diyya,” adding that al-Shaqrā’ is the name of a water source in al-Yamāma. The term la‘la‘ here does not appear to be a place name in Najd, but I interpret it as a reference to the rain that falls at midday during the time of intense heat with lightning and thunder, as noted in The Arabic Lexicon (Hawramani 2004), online at http://arabiclexicon.hawramani.com/search/. 5  The reference here is to the Christ’s thorn (usually Zizyphus spina-christi, but also Z. nummularia), which flourishes from March to May in Qatar; it is also known as sidr (Norton et al. 2009:60). This term is often confused with jujube or Zizyphus sativa.

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rarely delayed. Gazelles are hunted between the setting of the Pleiades and its rising, since when it rises, it is hidden from view. Usually during this a high wind called ba ˉriḥ al-mishmish blows, this being the time to plant date palm offshoots. Rising of sharatayn (V:13–25) ˙ Setting of ghafr. Ṭarf comes before it at a quarter of the night. Imperative during it is the wearing of light clothing, refraining from wool clothing and taking pleasure from the cool air. The Arabs say, “When sharaṭayn has risen, time [day and night] becomes equal, areas of watering holes are returned to, neighbors exchange gifts, the poor spend the night everywhere.” The first fruits of figs, abundance of apples, apricots, gourds, and cucumbers. Eating everything salty is forbidden. Start of the ba ˉriḥ al-nuffa ˉkh. Activity of yellow bile in bodies and weakening of phlegm as a master humor. Strengthening of the north wind. Grapes mature with color. Onion is good to eat. It is a good time to set out in the Persian Gulf for pearl diving. Rising of butayn (V:26–VI:7) ˙ Setting of zuba ˉna ˉ. Jabha comes before it at a quarter of the night. Its naw’ is connected to the blowing of the north winds and the sailors call this naw’ ḥils due to the intensity of its blowing. The Indian Ocean and [Gulf of] Aden are stirred up. First fruits of yellow melon. Intensity of the simoom [wind]. Time for much fewer busr dates among the early varieties in al-Aḥsa’. Rising of thurayya ˉ (VI:8–20) Setting of iklīl. Zubra comes before it at a quarter of the night. No star is known which is more auspicious than its rising. As the Prophet of Allāh, may Allāh send prayers and peace upon him, has said, “When ‘the star’ [Pleiades] has risen, no crop disease remains on the earth.” The prophet meant, as Allāh knows best, that this time is the most auspicious for people due to the bearing of date palms which have matured and dates are suitable to sell from the tops of the palms. The Arabs say: “When ‘the star’ has risen, the time has come to harvest.” Water on the ground dries up until the setting of ḥūt. Sex is forbidden. Time for planting mung bean (ma ˉsh). It is imperative during this to use items which are cold and wet. Strength of the planting and transplanting of rice.

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Rising of dabara¯n (VI:21–VII:3) Setting of qalb. Ṣarfa comes before it at a quarter of the night. This is a bright red asterism consisting of five stars in the path of the Pleiades. Dhū al-Rumma said: “Advancing slowly (yadubbu) on the Pleiades track is its dabara ˉn, which is neither out-distancing nor overtaking” (yidabbu ‘ala ˉ atha ˉri-ha dabara ˉnuha ˉ fa-la ˉ huwa masbūq wa-la ˉ huwa laḥiq).6  irst of the Summer Season F Everything cold and wet is used. Cold water on an empty stomach is desirable. End of the lessening of night and lengthening of daytime. Time for ripening of grapes and they are good to eat. Grape vinegar is pressed. Jujube ripens.7 The other fruits improve. Rising of haq‘a (VII:4–16) Setting of shawla. ‘Awwa ˉ comes before it at a quarter of the night. Haq‘a is commonly called mīza ˉn and it resembles Vega (al-nasr al-wa ˉqi‘). Its two feet are two bright stars. One of these is Sirius (al-shi‘ra ˉ al-‘abūr), about which Allāh, praise the most high, delared “He who is the lord of Sirius” because a people in the Days of Ignorance (ja ˉhilīya) worshipped it.8 Abū Kabsha was the first to worship Sirius because it cut a path across the sky that no other star did. The Quraysh rejected this and did not start worshipping it. Blowing of the sama ˉ’im winds. The heat intensifies. Early fresh dates are plentiful. Rising of han‘a (VII:17–29) Setting of na‘a ˉ’im. Sima ˉk comes before it at a third of the night. At the rising of han‘a is the star kulaybayn. The heat intensifies and this is the “summer coal” (jamrat al-qayḍ). The interior of the earth cools. Aches in the eyes are stirred up. Pestilential disease is eliminated. Greatest extent of pearling in the Persian Gulf. Peaches ripen and are good to eat. Intensifying of the heat so that Hippocrates cautions against engaging in sex. Strongest time for fresh dates in Basra. Manna falls in Syria. Violent winds blow on the sea. 6  This verse is widely quoted, including by Ibn Qutayba (1956:40). However, the formal dı ̄wān of Dhū al-Rummā uses the verbs yadiffu and yalḥaqu (Dhū al-Rumma 1919:401, qaṣı ̄da 52, line 49), as does Ibn al-Manẓūr (d-f-f). 7  The term ‘unnāb used here is usually for Zizyphus sativa, commonly known as jujube. This is often confused with Z. spina-christi. 8  Surah al-Najm, 53:49.

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Rising of dhira¯‘, which is mirzam (VII:30–VIII:11) Setting of balda. Ghafr comes before it at a quarter of the night. Dhira ˉ‘ is for the outstretched and folded legs of Leo (dhira ˉ‘ al-asad mabsūṭa wa-maqbūḍa). Near the folded leg are stars known as “the claws” (aẓfa ˉr) and the bright star in the outstretched leg is al-shi‘ra ˉ al-ghumayṣa ˉ’ and the other red star is mirzam. The heat and the “boiling heat” (waghra ˉt) intensify. The Milky Way (majarra) is directly overhead in the sky. Rising of nathra (VIII:12–24) Setting of dha ˉbiḥ. Zuba ˉna ˉ comes before it at a quarter of the night. Nathra is the same as the star kulaybayn. It is desirable during it to eat that which is cold and wet, like plum (ijja ˉṣ) and gourd (qar‘). It is imperative during it to wash with cold water every morning. Arrival of the shrikes (‘aṣrada ˉn)9 and desert (barriyya) birds. Common colds are active. Everything cold and dry is to be avoided. Withdrawal from sight (fa ˉriq) of Canopus (suhayl) on the twenty-fifth of [the zodiac of] Leo. The last part of the night cools. The activity of yellow bile lessens. Winds blow and the impact on fruit is feared. Rising of tarf (VIII:25–IX:6) ˙ Setting of sa‘d bula‘. Iklīl comes before it at a third of the night. The Arabs say: “When ṭarfa has risen, fresh dates are picked early in the morning and there is hardly any cost for a guest” (Idha ˉ ṭala‘at al-ṭarfa, tukrahu gharfa (!), wa-ha ˉnata li-al-ḍayf al-ḥirfa (!)).10 Start of the ripening of pomegranates. Time to plant alfalfa (qatt). The stings of noxious vermin are to be feared. Wool clothing and broadcloth are spread out to avoid worms sometimes entering them. Phlegm surges in bodies. Common colds are active. Rising of jabha (IX:7–20) Setting of sa‘d al-su‘ūd. Qalb comes before it at a quarter of the night. It is said that the water during jabha does not fill the wadi without a fullness

9  I suspect that al-‘Uyūnı ̄ is referring to the passerines know as ṣurad/ṣirdān, which prey on smaller birds. 10  This differs from Ibn Qutayba (1956:55), which reads: bakirat al-khurfa wa-kathurat al-t ̣urfa wa-hānat li-al-ḍayf al-kulfa. I assume that the almanac reading here is simply a printing error.

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of pasture.11 Start of the date harvest (ṣira ˉm). Lemon juice is extracted. Sleeping at night under a clear sky [is prohibited]. Rising of zubra (IX:21–X:2) Setting of sa‘d al-akhbiya. Shawla comes before it at a quarter of the night. During this the night cools with hot wind in the day. The north wind blows. The harvest of dates increases. Start of lighting fires in cold areas.  irst of the Autumn Season F The eating of whatever is cold and dry is to be avoided. The night and daytime become equal and the night begins to increase. Rising of s·arfa (X:3–15) Setting of muqaddam. Na‘a ˉ’im comes before it at a third of the night. It is called ṣarfa because of the departure (inṣira ˉf ) of the heat at its rising and departure of the cold at its setting. It is called “the tooth of time” (na ˉb al-dahr) because it intentionally marks the time.12 This is the first of the anwa ˉ’ for beneficial rain, which locally is before the wasmī rain.13 During its naw’ there is rain, wind, and cold at night. Appearance of rain clouds (muzin) from the west. First entering of the wasmī rain days, which bring forth truffles and various pasture and flowers. Chickpea (ḥimmaṣ) and walnut (jawz) are planted. Eating that which is cold and dry is to be avoided. Eating beef and eggplant is forbidden. Rising of ‘awwa ˉ (X:16–X:28) Setting of mu’akhkhar. Balda comes before it at a quarter of the night. This is the first of the wasmī rain anwa ˉ’ and is only known among farmers as thurayya ˉ al-wasm. Eating of that which is hot and wet is desirable. Rising of sima ˉk (X:29–XI:10) Setting of risha ˉ. Dha ˉbiḥ comes before it at a quarter of the night. It is called “the unarmed fish” (al-sima ˉk al-a‘zal) since there is no star nearby. This is the border between the northern and southern stars because it is  This is taken from Ibn Qutayba (1956:58).  The text reads t-q-t-r, but it is taftarra in Ibn Qutayba (1956:59), who explains this term as due to baring the teeth at the two times (li-anni-ha taftarra ‘an faṣl al-zamānı ̄n). Ibn Manẓūr (f-r-r) notes that at the rising of ṣarfa buds appear and plants become widespread. 13  The text may be in error here in reading wa-huwwa al-baladı ̄; this is dropped by al-Anṣārı ̄ in his almanac. 11 12

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D. M. VARISCO

near the rising point of the equator. When the rising is above sima ˉk it is northern but when it is below it is southern. This is [a time of] abundance, causing it to rain less than what follows except for the sprouting of the nashr plant. Camels get sick on this plant if they pasture on it. Start of planting cumin. Trees cut during this will not have worms or decay. Sexual desire is weakened. Black bile increases. Wearing light clothing is advised against and wool clothing is desirable. Narcissus, violets (banafsaj), and legumes (buqu‐l) are planted. Middle of the Autumn Season Rising of ghafr (XI:11–23) Setting of sharaṭayn. Sa‘d bula‘ comes before it at a quarter of the night. Blankets are necessary. Drinking water after sleeping is prohibited. Cane (al-qaṣab al-Fa ˉrisī) is cut.14 Poppy (khashkha ˉsh) is planted. Warming the body is desirable. The south wind blows. The vulture (rakham) and kite (ḥida ˉ’) depart. Ants settle underground. Start of the coloring of citron (utrujj). Waves surge in the Mediterranean, but the Indian Ocean is calm. Trees or date palms that are cut during this will not have termites. Setting of the star uḥaymir15 at day 25 of the zodiacal sign of Scorpio. Rising of zuba ˉna ˉ (XI:24–XII:5) Setting of buṭayn. Sa‘d al-su‘ūd comes before it at a third of the night. The cold weather takes on an intensity. Violent winds increase. Drinking cold water at night is prohibited. The power of the black bile humor is broken. Rising of iklīl (XII:6–18) Setting of thurayya ˉ. Sa‘d al-akhbiya comes before it at a third of the night. Rain and clouds increase. The cold intensifies. Vapors come out from inside the body while breathing. Season for planting fenugreek (ḥulba). Carrots are ready. Foliage falls. The Persian Gulf [waves] intensify. Warm water is drunk during it. Imperative in it is wearing of wool and eating that which is hot, especially intensely hot. Most common time for threshing 14  The term al-qaṣab al-Fa ̄risı ̄ generally refers to Arundo donax, from which pen quills are taken. It is also cultivated in Iraq (Husain and Kasim 1975:149). However, it is more likely that the reference here is to sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum), which earlier almanacs note is cut at this time and crushed later. 15  Mispelled as al-wḥı ̄mr.

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and winnowing of rice. Phlegm is active in bodies. Sinus drainage and colds are active. Flax blossoms. Rising of qalb (XII:19–31) Setting of dabara ˉn. Muqaddam comes before it at a quarter of the night. Its naw’ is inauspicious. The Arabs say: “When qalb has risen, sweets are avoided,16 winter arrives like a dog, and the Bedouin are in distress” (Idha ˉ ṭala‘a al-qalb, imtina‘u al-‘adhab, wa-ja ˉ’ al-shita ˉ’ ka-al-kalb, wa-ṣa ˉr ahl al-bawa ˉdī fī al-karb).17 During it the cold intensifies and cold winds blow. Sugar cane (qaṣab al-sukkar) is crushed. For their special benefits, garlic, ginger, mustard, and pepper are eaten. Start of the blossoming of early date palms.  irst of the Winter Season F It is imperative during it to use that which is hot and wet. End of the shortening of daylight and lengthening of the night. Start of the intensity of the cold. Eating beef and cupping are prohibited. Start of the planting of melon and eggplant. Rising of shawla (I:1–13) Setting of haq‘a. Mu’akhkhar comes before it at a quarter of the night. Remaining foliage falls. The Arabs say, “When al-shawla has risen, the night increases its length, and the old man hurries to urinate, and it is difficult to provide sustenance for one’s dependents” (Idha ˉ ṭala‘at al-shawla, ṭa ˉl al-layl ṭu‐la, wa-a‘jalat al-shaykh al-bawla, wa-‘a ˉlat ‘ala ˉ al-‘iya ˉl al‘awla).18 The dominant humor of phlegm strengthens. Season for planting black cumin (al-ḥabba al-sawda ˉ’), coriander, and safflower. The cold intensifies. Rising of na‘a ˉ’im (I:14–26) Setting of han‘a. Risha ˉ’ comes before it at a quarter of the night. The Arabs say, “When na‘a ˉ’im has risen, the domestic animals always become white from the long-standing ice, the cold rouses every sleeper, the night increases for one who rises, and headresses become larger” (abyaḍat  The text reads ‘-d-b, but this is a mistake for ‘adhb, as recorded in al-Mājid’s almanac.  The first part of this saying is not recorded by Ibn Qutayba (1956:70–71). 18  The first part of this saying is not from Ibn Qutayba (1956:82) and the last line is slightly different (wa-ashtaddat ‘ala ̄ al-‘ā’il al-‘awla). 16 17

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D. M. VARISCO

al-baha ˉ’im min al-ṣaqī‘ al-da ˉ’im, wa-ayqaẓa19 al-bard kull na ˉ’im, wa-ṭa ˉl al-layl li-al-qa ˉ’im, wa-kubarat al-‘ama ˉ’im).20 It is desirable to eat that which is hot and wet, such as garlic and ginger. It is forbidden to wear light clothing and drink water at night. Start of planting and irrigating tree crops. The dominant humor of phlegm is stirred up. First of lettuce and carrots. Rising of balda (I:27–II:8) Setting of Dhira ˉ‘. Sharaṭa ˉn comes before it at a quarter of the night. The naw’ of balda is auspicious and is rarely otherwise. Water freezes during it. The “dog” of winter intensifies.21 The Arabs say, “When balda has risen, the old man begins to shiver” (akhadhat al-shaykh al-ra‘da).22 Start of the appearance of swifts (khaṭa ˉṭīf ). Start of sap flowing in trees. Melon and cotton are planted. Broad beans are ready. Small birds (‘aṣa ˉfīr) mate. Eating that which is sweet is commendable. Rising of sa‘d al-dhaˉbiḥ (II:9–21) Setting of nathra. Buṭayn comes before it at a quarter of the night. During its naw’ sap advances to tree branches. Carrots and almonds are planted. The Arabs say, “When dha ˉbiḥ has risen, the barking dog protects its people” (Idha ˉ ṭala‘a al-dha ˉbiḥ, ḥama ˉ ahlu-hu al-na ˉbiḥ23). Sexual appetite 24 should be exercised with caution. Birds of prey lay eggs. Leaves appear on trees of peaches, pomegranates, apricots, mulberries, and figs. Truffles increase in their seasonal areas. It is imperative in it to have cumin in lukewarm water at breakfast and use honey. If fruit trees or date palms are cut, they will have worms and decay. First demise of the cold and breaking of its vehemence. Sexual desire is active. Pasture increases. Noxious vermin appear.  The text reads ayqaḍa [sic].  Only the second part of the saying is in Ibn Qutayba (1956:74), who uses the verb khalaṣa in the sense of “reaches.” Ibn al-Ajdābı ̄ (2006:126) records t ̣a ̄l al-layl ‘alā al-na ̄’im wa-qaṣr al-nahār ‘alā al-ṣa’̄ im, which suggests that the night is longer for sleeping and daytime is shorter for the one fasting. 21  This refers to the fact that dogs bark due to the intense cold. For the next station sa‘d al-dhābiḥ, Ibn Qutayba (1956:77) notes that due to the cold dogs stay close to their masters. 22  This line is not from Ibn Qutayba (1956:76). 23  The text reads al-na ̄’iḥ [sic], but this is corrected from Ibn Qutayba (1956:76). 24  The medical text of al-Azraq (1978:70) notes common medical advice that sex should be avoided when it is extremely hot or extremely cold, even if sexual desire is active. 19 20

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Rising of sa‘d bula‘ (II:22–III:6) Setting of ṭarf. Dabara ˉn comes before it at a quarter of the night. Rain increases during it. The Arabs say, “When bula‘ has risen, recent offspring scamper about and cannot be caught and weak offpspring cling to their mothers” (Idha ˉ ṭala‘a al-bula‘, iqtaḥam al-ruba‘ wa-laḥiqa al-huba‘).25 First of the “Days of the Old Woman” (ayya ˉm al-‘ajūz). Rising of sa‘d al-su‘u‐d (III:7–19) Setting of jabha. Haq‘a comes before it at a third of the night. Pasture increases during it. Birds sing. The rose blossoms and trees gain foliage. Truffles increase. All sweet-smelling herbs (raya ˉḥīn) blossom. Cats (sana ˉnīr) are aroused. The Arabs say, “When sa‘d al-su‘ud has risen, everything frozen melts, and every wooden tree becomes green and sitting in the direct sun is discourged” (tha ˉba kull jamūd,26 wa-akhḍaru kull ‘ūd,27 wa-kuriha f ī al-shams al-‘uqūd). 10.1.2   Translation of Agricultural Information by Zodiacal Month (pp. 33–36) Aries (ḥamal) This is the first of the spring season zodiacal months. Trees and shrubs (i.e., shajar) grow during it and it is suitable for the growth of plant produce (athma ˉr). All kinds of seeds are sown. Trees, date palms, rice, and vegetables are planted. The harvest of wheat and other grains occurs. Taurus (thawr) This is the second of the spring season zodiacal months. Plant what is planted in Aries. Plant all trees and date palms and cotton, even though it is considered a late planting. It is necessary to cultivate with irrigation more than in the previous zodiacal month. In this zodiacal month it is necessary that the cultivated land with the recent planting does not dry out. The disappearance (ghut·u‐s) of the Pleiades is from the thirteenth to the seventeenth of the month so never plant seeds, trees, and especially date palms during this disappearance. 25  This is garbled in the text as wa-liha ̄ ahlu-ḥu al-huba‘ [sic], but is corrected from Ibn Qutayba (1956:78). 26  Ibn Qutayba (1956:89) reads al-majmūd. 27  Ibn Qutayba (1956:89) simply says naḍira al-‘ūd.

282 

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Gemini (jawzā’) This is the last of the spring season zodiacal months. All the seeds sown during this will have very weak growth. It is necessary to have much irrigation and it should not be lessened from the fourth [day] except for date palms, trees, and lucerne, but there should be sufficient irrigation on the fifth. Fruits and vegetables need to be irrigated every day or every third day. Cancer (sarat ̣ān) This the first of the summer zodiacal months. All tree roots stop expanding and they need much irrigation, especially on high-altitude land. Nothing is sown except sorghum, mallow, and snake cucumber. In this zodiacal month the first fruit, which is rut·ab or zahw, of the date palm is ready. Leo (asad) This is the second of the summer zodiacal months. It is a second sowing season called rabī‘a. Seeds of red and white eggplant, onions, and watermelons (juh·h·) and melon (jibs?) are sown. Virgo (sunbula) This is the last of the summer zodiacal months. This is the time for the most irrigation. The ground is plowed and fertilized. Onions, cotton, cowpeas, banana, and Swiss chard are planted. Libra (mı ̄zān) This is the first of the autumn zodiacal months. Date palms and tree seedlings are planted because of the temperate weather. Harvest of rice. The most water is needed for agricultural plots. The following are planted: spinach, anise, broad beans, lucerne, carrots, wheat, chickpeas, millet, ginger, quince, Swiss chard, sesame, fennel, cowpeas, cumin, coriander, asparagus, and walnuts. Scorpio (‘aqrab) This is the second of the autumn zodiacal months. The best time for planting cereals is at its start. There is less irrigation than in the previous zodiacal month due to its high humidity. Grafting of similar trees takes place in this zodiacal month and varieties of vegetables and legumes are planted.

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Sagittarius (qaws) This is the last of the autumn zodiacal months. Cereal grains are planted in it as the last planting until the middle of Capricorn. Pruning (taqnīm), that is, cutting the overgrowth, of pomegranate and figs (h·ama ˉṭ) takes place. The last cutting off of growths on date palms and trees. Capricorn (jadı ̄) This is the first of the winter zodiacal months. Start of the inflorescence of date palms. Lemons are in blossom. Nothing is planted due to the intense cold, apart from a few cereal grains, but this is their last planting time. Sometimes a few vegetables like eggplant and coriander are planted. Aquarius (dalw) This is the second of the winter zodiacal months. The roots of date palms and trees come along as you plant the young offshoots of the date palm and trees and it is necessary that the moisture does not dry up. Grapevines are pruned in the last week of this month. The following are sown: seeds, okra, watermelons (juh·h·), mallow, cotton, walnut, almond, peaches, pomegranates, and melons. Pisces (ḥūt) This is the last of the winter zodiacal months. The work in it is like that of spring. The planting of date palms and trees during it is better than the planting in Aries. Okra, eggplant, cowpeas, green beans, mint, flowers, and sugar cane are planted. Last pruning of thin branches. 10.1.3   Arabic Text28 ‫تقويم العيوني‬ ١٣ ‫ ص‬-- ‫ولتعلموا عدد السنين والحساب‬ ‫بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬ ‫الحمد هللا رب العالمين والصالة والسالم على مصباح الظالم سيدنا محمد وآله واصحابه‬ ‫االئمة االعالم اما بعد فيقول العبد الفقير الى هللا عبد العزيز بن عبد هللا العيوني قد طلب مني‬ ‫بعض االخوان ان اجمع لهم وريقات لمعرفة االوقات مع البروج العربية والقبطية واالفرنجية فبعد‬

28  I copy this verbatim from the published text so the reader can experience the original text. I do not correct missing initial ḥamzas or shaddas, nor do I add punctuation, but I do correct obvious printing errors as indicated in the footnotes.

‫‪D. M. VARISCO‬‬

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‫توفيق هللا جمعتها على ما ذكره الحطاب‪ 29‬في رسالته على ان الفضاء في كل بلد بقدر عرضها اال‬ ‫واحد فصارت مطابقة لعرض البحرين وما جاورها كاالحساء والقطيف وقطر وعمان وبينت في‬ ‫حاشيتها الطالع والغارب ومعرفة القبلة باالسترشاد على الطوالع ورسمت الشبكة من سنة الف‬ ‫وثالثماية واربع وعشرين الى سنة الف واربعماية وخمس هجرية على مهاجرها ازكى السالم‬ ‫واشرف التحية اال انني جعلت بدالً من النوروز الهندي سهيل وابتداء فراقه في خمس وعشرين‬ ‫من برج االسد وقد حصل الفراغ من جمعها في السادس من جمادي الثانية سنة ‪ ١٣٢٤‬وألجل‬ ‫زيادة الفائدة جعلت شبكة لمعرفة ميل الشمس و منه تعرف الغاية والغرض اذا جهل احدهما‬ ‫وصلى هللا على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم‬ ‫‪٣:٢٢‬‬ ‫رج الحمل من ‪٢٢‬‬ ‫برج‬ ‫اول فصل الربيع ونوروز العجم ياخذ النهار في الزيادة والليل في النقص ابتداء حركة الدم في‬ ‫االلبدان وتقوى شهوة الجماع ويضعف سلطان البلغم وتطيب االلبان وتصلح فيه الحجامة والجماع‬ ‫وترك اكل الحالوه وكل حار رطب يستعمل فيه كل بارد يابس ويستقطر الورد‬ ‫طالع سعد االخبية‬ ‫وهي ثالث كواكب كالثاء في وسطها كوكب كانها خبأته قال ساجع العرب اذا طلع سعد االخبية‬ ‫دهنت االسقية و خلت من الناس االبنية وتسقط الزبرة ونوءها‪ 30‬منسوب الى االسد فان اخلف فيه‬ ‫‪32‬‬ ‫المطر كان البرد شديدا ً وتكون الهقعة قبله‪ 31‬ربع الليل وتكثر الزهور والورد ويزرع اللوبيا وتكثر‬ ‫الرياح وتنعقد اكثر ثمار االشجار وزعموا‪ 33‬ان الصبى اذا انفطم فيه لم يكد يطلب اللبن‬ ‫طالع المقدم‬ ‫سقوط الصرفة تكون الهنعة‪ 34‬قبله ربع الليل ينعقد فيه اللوز والتفاح وبرده يهلك الثمار اوان انقطاع‬ ‫البلغم من االبدان واوان زرع االرز وحصاد الحنطة وقوة هيجان البراغيث نهوا فيه عن اكل السمك المالح‬ ‫يحترك الزكام والصداع ويشرب الدواء امروا فيه بترك الدثار وقلع العمامة اول معالجة االمراض‬ ‫طالع المؤخر‬ ‫سقوط العوا ولسقوطها ريح عصيفة ولم يذكر في الشعر المتقدم بل ذكره االمير محمد بن الحسين‬ ‫العيوني في شعره فقال‬ ‫سقي لعلعا ً في الجفن من جانب الحمي‬ ‫فشقراء رجاس الرواعد هادر‬ ‫اذا سقط العوا في الغرب غدوة‬ ‫وحل البطين الشرط فالجو ماطر‬

‫‪ Abū ‘Abd Allāh Shams al-Dı ̄n Muḥammad b. Muḥammad al-Ru‘aynı ̄, known as‬‬ ‫‪al-Ḥ atṭ ạ ̄b (d. 954/1547. This appears to be from his work Risāla fı ̄ istikhrāj awqa ̄t al-ṣala ̄t‬‬ ‫‪wa-al-a‘māl al-falakiyya.‬‬ ‫‪30‬‬ ‫نؤها باالصل ‬ ‫‪31‬‬ ‫قبلة باالصل ‬ ‫‪32‬‬ ‫يكثر باالصل ‬ ‫‪33‬‬ ‫زعمو باالصل ‬ ‫‪34‬‬ ‫الهقعة باالصل ‬ ‫‪29‬‬

‫‪285‬‬

‫ ‪10 ALMANACS‬‬

‫وهو غزير وان امطر صلح الزرع وطالت نضارته ويخضر العشب ويستحب فيه الحجامة واكل‬ ‫المبرد بعدها يكون الذراع قبله ربع الليل‬ ‫‪٤:٢٢‬‬ ‫برج الثور من ‪٢٢‬‬ ‫‪36‬‬ ‫اخر النبق باكورة القثاء والمشمش اوائل عسل النحل ويستحب اكل الهندباء‪ 35‬والبقلة الحمقاء‬ ‫والسفرجل والتفاح ابتداء خلع الخوخ والجبب يحمد فيه شرب الدواء‪ 37‬وتنعقد الثمار وفيه معظم‬ ‫حصاد الحنطة دخول مطر نيسان المبارك وهي سبعة ايام ايام رحمة وبركة ويقال ان من خواص‬ ‫مطره انعقاد اللؤلؤ في االصداف واذا عجن به الدقيق خمر بأقل الزمان‬ ‫‪38‬‬ ‫‪.‬طالع الرشا‬ ‫طالع‬ ‫سقوط السماك األعزل تكون النثرة قبله ربع الليل وطلوعه غيوب الثريا غزير المطر قل ما‬ ‫يخلف وتصاد الضباء فيما بين غيوب الثريا الى طلوعها فاذا طلعت كمنت وتهب فيه في الغالب‬ ‫ريح عالية يقال لها بارح المشمش اوان غرس افراخ النخل‬ ‫طالع الشرطين‬ ‫سقوط الغفر يكون الطرف قبله ربع الليل يؤمر فيه بلبس الرقيق وترك لبس الصوف يلتذ بالهواء‬ ‫البارد وتقول العرب اذا طلع الشرطان اعتدل الزمان واخضرت االوطان وتهادت الجيران وبات‬ ‫الفقير في كل مكان بواكر التين وفرة التفاح والمشمش واليقطين والخيار ينهي عن اكل كل مالح‬ ‫‪٢٣:٥‬‬ ‫‪٢٣‬‬ ‫رج الجوزاء‪٥ 39‬‬ ‫برج‬ ‫ابتداء البارح النفاخ وحركة الصفراء في االبدان ويضعف سلطان البلغم قوة ريح الشمال ابتداء‬ ‫تلون العنب وطيب البصل يطيب ركوب بحر فارس لغياصة الدر‬ ‫طالع البطين‬ ‫سقوط الزبانا تكون الجبهة قبله‪ 40‬ربع الليل ونوءها‪ 41‬منسوب الى هبوب الرياح الشمالية وتسميها‬ ‫البحرية نوء حلس لشدة هبوبها يهيج بحر الهند واليمن باكورة البطيخ االصفر وتشتد‪ 42‬السموم ابان‬ ‫نوادر البسر من بواكر النخل باالحساء‬ ‫طالع الثريا‬ ‫سقوط االكليل تكون الزبرة قبله‪ 43‬ربع الليل وال يعلم نجم ايمن منه عند طلوعه وقد قال رسول‬ ‫هللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم اذا طلع النجم لم يبق في االرض عاهة اراد وهللا اعلم ان ذلك الوقت قد‬ ‫امن الناس على حمل النخل و قد بلغ وصح بيعه على رؤس النخل والعرب تقول‬ ‫اذا ما النجم قد طلعا‬ ‫فان الدهر قد ينعا‬ ‫الهندبا باالصل ‬ ‫الحمقا باالصل ‬ ‫‪37‬‬ ‫الدوا باالصل ‬ ‫‪38‬‬ ‫الرشا باالصل ‬ ‫‪39‬‬ ‫الجوزا باالصل ‬ ‫‪40‬‬ ‫قبلة باالصل ‬ ‫‪41‬‬ ‫نؤها باالصل ‬ ‫‪42‬‬ ‫تشدة باالصل ‬ ‫‪43‬‬ ‫قبلة باالصل ‬ ‫‪35‬‬ ‫‪36‬‬

‫‪D. M. VARISCO‬‬

‫ ‪286‬‬

‫وتغور مياه االرض الى سقوط الحوت نهوا فيه عن الجماع ابام زرع الماش امروا فيه باستعمال‬ ‫البارد الرطب قوة غرس االرز وتحويله‬ ‫طالع الدبران‬ ‫سقوط القلب تكون الصرفة قبله‪ 44‬ربع الليل وهو كوكب احمر نير في جملة خمس كواكب على‬ ‫اثر الثريا قال ذو الرمة‬ ‫يدب على اثارها دبرانها‬ ‫فال هو مسبوق وال هو الحقص‬ ‫‪٦:٢٤‬‬ ‫ربرج السرطان من ‪٢٤‬‬ ‫اول فصل الصيف يستعمل كل بارد رطب ويستحب الماء البارد على الريق نهاية قصر الليل‬ ‫وطول النهار اوان نضج العنب وطيب اكله ويعصر العنب الخلي وينضج العناب ويجود‬ ‫سائر الفواكة‬ ‫طالع الهقعة‬ ‫سقوط الشولة‪ 45‬يكون العواء‪ 46‬قبله ربع الليل والهقعة هي التي تسميها العامة الميزان وتشبه‬ ‫النسر الواقع ورجاله كوكبان نيران احدهما الشعرى العبور التي ذكرها هللا سبحانه وتعالى في قوله‬ ‫وانه هو رب الشعرى الن قوما ً من الجاهلية عبدوها واول من عبدها ابو كبشة‪ 47‬لقطعها السماء‬ ‫عرضا ً وال يقطع السماء من النجوم عرضا سواها وخالفته قريش فلم تعبدها تكثر هبوب السمائم‬ ‫ويشتد الحر ويكثر الرطب من بواكر النخل‬ ‫طالع الهنعه‬ ‫سقوط النعائم‪ 48‬يكون السماك قبله ثلث الليل وطلوع الهنعة هو الكليبين يشتد الحر جمرة القيض‬ ‫يبرد باطن االرض يهيج وجع العين يرتفع الطاعون معظم غياصة الدر في بحر فارس ينضج الخوخ‬ ‫ويطيب اكله‬ ‫‪٧:٢٥‬‬ ‫برج االسد من ‪٢٥‬‬ ‫اشتداد الحر تحذير بقراط عن الجماع وقوة رطب البصرة يسقط المن بالشام تهب‬ ‫عواصف بحرية‬ ‫طالع الذراع‬ ‫‪49‬‬ ‫وهو المرزم سقوط البلدة يكون الغفر قبله ربع الليل والذراع هو ذراع االسد مبسوطة‬ ‫ومقبوضة ويقارب المقبوضة كواكب يقال لها االظفار واحد كواكب المبسوطة النير منها هو الشعراء‬ ‫الغميصاء والكوكب االمر هو المرزم يشتد الحر والوغرات وتتوسط المجرة في السماء‬ ‫طالع النثرة‬ ‫سقوط الذابح تكون الزبانا قبله ربع الليل النثرة هي الكليبين يستحب فيه اكل البارد الرطب‬ ‫كاالجاص والقرع ويؤمر فيه بالغسل كل غداة بالماء البارد اوان مجيء العصردان والطيور البحرية‬ ‫قبلة باالصل ‬ ‫الشوله باالصل ‬ ‫‪46‬‬ ‫العوا باالصل ‬ ‫‪47‬‬ ‫كبشه باالصل  ‬ ‫‪48‬‬ ‫النعائيم باالصل ‬ ‫‪49‬‬ ‫مبسوطه باالصل ‬ ‫‪44‬‬ ‫‪45‬‬

‫‪287‬‬

‫ ‪10 ALMANACS‬‬

‫يتحرك‪ 50‬الزكام ويجتنب فيه اكل كل بارد يابس فراق سهيل في خمسة عشرين من االسد يبرد اخر‬ ‫الليل تقل حركات‪ 51‬االخالط الصفراوية تهب الرياح ويخاف منها على الثمار‬ ‫‪٨:٢٥‬‬ ‫برج السنبلة من ‪٢٥‬‬ ‫طالع الطرف‬ ‫سقوط سعد بلع يكون االكليل قبله ثلث الليل وتقول العرب اذا طلعت الطرفة تكره الغرفة وهانت‬ ‫للضيف الحرفة ابتداء نضج الرمان ابان زرع القت ويحذر من لسع الهوام وتنشر اقمشة الصوف‬ ‫والجوخ لئال يدخلها السوس يضطرب البلغم باالبدان ويهيج الزكام‬ ‫طالع الجبهة‬ ‫سقوط سعد السعود يكون القلب قبله ربع الليل ويقال ما امتالء واد من الجبهة اال امتالء عشبا ً‬ ‫ابتداء الصرام واخذ ماء الليمون والنهى عن النوم بالليل تحت اديم السماء‬ ‫طالع الزبرة‬ ‫سقوط سعد االخبية تكون الشولة قبله ربع الليل وفيها يبرد الليل مع السموم بالنهار وتهب ريح‬ ‫‪52‬‬ ‫الشمال يكثر صرام النخل ابتداء ايقاد النار في البالد الباردة‪.‬‬ ‫‪٩:٢٥‬‬ ‫برج الميزان من ‪٢٥‬‬ ‫اول فصل الخريف يجتنب فيه اكل البارد اليابس يتساوى‪ 53‬الليل مع النهار ويأخذ الليل‬ ‫في الزيادة‬ ‫طالع الصرفة‬ ‫سقوط المقدم تكون النعائم قبله ثلث الليل وسميت صرفة النصراف الحر عند طلوعها وانصراف‬ ‫تفتر‪ 54‬عن قصد الزمان وهي اول انواء المطر النافع‬ ‫البرد عند سقوطها وتسمى ناب الدهر النها ّ‬ ‫وهو البلدي البتداره قبل الوسمي وفي نوءها‪ 55‬مطر ورياح وبرد بالليل وابتداء نشوء‪ 56‬المزن من‬ ‫المغرب ابتداء دخول ايام الوسمي المنبت للكماة وانواع االعشاب واالزهار يزرع الحمص والجوز‬ ‫ويجتنب اكل البارد اليابس وينهى عن لحم البقر والباذنجان‬ ‫طالع العوى‬ ‫سقوط المؤخر تكون البلدة قبله ربع الليل وهو اول انواء الوسمي وال يعرف عند اهل الحرث اال‬ ‫بثريا الوسم يستحب اكل كل حار رطب‬ ‫‪١٠:٢٤‬‬ ‫‪١٠‬‬ ‫برج العقرب من ‪٢٤‬‬ ‫طالع السماك‬

‫تتحرك باالصل ‬ ‫حركاة باالصل ‬ ‫‪52‬‬ ‫البارده باالصل ‬ ‫‪53‬‬ ‫يتواسا باالصل  ‬ ‫‪54‬‬ ‫تقتر باالصل ‬ ‫‪55‬‬ ‫نؤها باالصل  ‬ ‫‪56‬‬ ‫نشو باالصل ‬ ‫‪50‬‬ ‫‪51‬‬

‫‪D. M. VARISCO‬‬

‫ ‪288‬‬

‫سقوط الرشاء‪ 57‬يكون الذابح قبله ربع الليل ويسمى السماك االعزل اذ ال نجم بين يديه وهو الحد‬ ‫بين النجوم الشامية واليمنية لقربه من مطلع االستواء فما كان مطلعه فوق السماك فهو شمالي وما كان‬ ‫تحته فهو جنوبي وهو غزير انه امطر قل ما يخلف اال انه ينبت النشر وهو نبت اذا رعته االبل‬ ‫مرضت ابتداء زرع الكمون يقطع فيه الشجر فال يسوس وال ينخر تضعف حركة الجماع وتزيد المرة‬ ‫السوداء‪ 58‬وينهى عن لبس المبرد ويستحب لبس الصوف يزرع النرجس والبنفسح والبقول‬ ‫توسط فصل الخريف‬ ‫طالع الغفر‬ ‫سقوط الشرطان يكون سعد بلع قبله ربع الليل يؤمر فيه بالدثار وينهى عن شرب الماء بعد‬ ‫الهجوع وينقطع فيه القصب الفارسي ويزرع الخشخاش و تستحب فيه تدفئة الجسم وتهب ريح‬ ‫الجنوب ويذهب الرخم والحداء‪ 59‬ويسكن النمل باطن االرض ابتداء تلون االترج اضطراب بحر‬ ‫الروم وهدوء‪ 60‬بحر الهند ان قطع فيه شجر او نخل ال تقع فيه االرضة غيوب نجم االحيمر‪ 61‬في‬ ‫‪ ٢٥‬من برج العقرب‬ ‫‪١١:٢٣‬‬ ‫‪١١‬‬ ‫برج القوس من ‪٢٣‬‬ ‫طالع الزبانا‬ ‫سقوط البطين يكون سعد السعود قبله ثلث الليل يأخذ البرد في القوة وتكثر العواصف ينهى عن‬ ‫شرب الماء البارد بالليل وينكسر سلطان السوداء‬ ‫طالع االكليل‬ ‫سقوط الثريا يكون سعد االخبية قبله ثلث الليل تكثر فيه االمطار والغيوم ويشتد البرد ابتداء‬ ‫خروج الدخان من الجوف مع االستنكاه وابان زرع الحلبة وادراك الجزر وسقوط اوراق الشجر‬ ‫واشتداد بحر فارس ويشرب الماء فيه ساخنا وامروا‪ 62‬فيه بلبس الصوف واكل كل حار شديد‬ ‫الحرارة وفرة دياسة االرز وتنقيته يتحرك البلغم باالبدان وتتحرك النزالت والزكام يزهر الكتان‬ ‫طالع القلب‬ ‫سقوط الدبران يكون المقدم قبله ربع الليل ونوئه مذموم وتقول العرب اذا طلع القلب امتنع‬ ‫العذب‪ 63‬وجاء الشتاء كالكلب وصار اهل البوادى في كرب وفيه يشتد البرد وتهب الرياح الباردة‬ ‫ويعصر قصب السكر ويؤكل الثوم والزنجبيل والخردل والفلفل لخاصيته فيه ابتداء طلع بواكر النخل‬ ‫‪١٢:٢١‬‬ ‫‪١٢‬‬ ‫رج الجدي من ‪٢١‬‬ ‫برج‬ ‫اول فصل الشتاء امروا‪ 64‬فيه باستعمال كل حار رطب نهاية قصر النهار وطول الليل ابتداء‬ ‫اشتداد البرد ينهي عن اكل لحم البقر والحجامة‪ 65‬ابتداء زرع البطيخ والباذنجان‬ ‫طالع الشولة‬ ‫الرشا باالصل ‬ ‫السودا باالصل ‬ ‫‪59‬‬ ‫الحدء باالصل ‬ ‫‪60‬‬ ‫هدو باالصل ‬ ‫‪61‬‬ ‫الوحيمر باالصل ‬ ‫‪62‬‬ ‫امرو باالصل ‬ ‫‪63‬‬ ‫العدب باالصل ‬ ‫‪64‬‬ ‫امرو باالصل ‬ ‫‪65‬‬ ‫الجحامة باالصل ‬ ‫‪57‬‬ ‫‪58‬‬

‫‪289‬‬

‫ ‪10 ALMANACS‬‬

‫سقوط الهقعة يكون المؤخر قبله ربع الليل يسقط باقي ورق الشجر وتقول العرب اذا طلعت‬ ‫الشولة طال الليل طوله واعجلت الشيخ البولة‪ 66‬وعالت على العيال العولة‪ 67‬وفيه يقوى سلطان البلغم‬ ‫ابان زرع الحبة السوداء والكزبرة‪ 68‬والقرطم ويشتد فيه البرد‬ ‫طالع النعائم‬ ‫سقوط الهنعة يكون الرشاء قبله ربع الليل وتقول العرب اذا طلعت النعائم ابيضت البهائم من‬ ‫الصقيع الدايم وايقظ‪ 69‬البرد كل نائم وطول الليل للقائم وكبرت العمائم يستحب فيه اكل كل حار‬ ‫رطب كالثوم والزنجبيل وينهى عن لبس المبرد وشرب الماء بالليل‬ ‫‪٩١‬‬ ‫‪١:١‬‬ ‫برج الدلو من ‪١‬‬ ‫ابتداء غرس االشجار وسقيها يهيج سلطان البلغم اول الخس و الجزر‬ ‫طالع البلدة‬ ‫سقوط الذراع يكون الشرطان قبله‪ 70‬ربع الليل نوء البلدة محمود قل ما يخلف وفيها يجمد الماء‬ ‫ويشتد كلب الشتاء وتقول العرب اذا طلعت البلدة اخذت الشيخ الرعدة ابتداء ظهور الخطاطيف‬ ‫وابتداء جريان الماء في العود يزرع البطيخ والقطن ويطيب الباقالء‪ 71‬وتتزاوج العصافير ويحمد‬ ‫اكل كل الحلويات‬ ‫طالع سعد الذابح‬ ‫سقوط النثرة يكون البطين قبله‪ 72‬ربع الليل وفي نوئه يصعد الماء الى فروع الشجر يغرس الجوز‬ ‫واللوز وتقول العرب اذا طلع الذابح حما اهله النابح‪ 73‬يعنون به انكسار البرد تسرع الباه في االنتباه‬ ‫وتبيض سباع الطيور و يورق الخوخ والرمان والمشمش والتوت والتين وتكثر الكمأة في االرض‬ ‫الموسومة امروا فيه باالصطباح بالكمون بالماء الفاتر واستعمال العسل ان قطع فيه ثمرا والنخل‬ ‫سوس ونخر‬ ‫‪٢:١٨‬‬ ‫برج الحوت من ‪١٨‬‬ ‫اوان موت البرد وانكسار حدته وتتحرك شهوة الجماع ويكثر العشب وتظهر الهوام‬ ‫طالع سعد بلع‬ ‫سقوط الطرف يكون الدبران قبله ثلث الليل يكثر فيه المطر وتقول العرب اذا طلع بلع اقتحم‬ ‫الربع ولها اهله الهبع‬ ‫اول ايام العجوز‬ ‫طالع سعد السعود‬

‫البوله باالصل ‬ ‫العوله باالصل ‬ ‫‪68‬‬ ‫الكزبر باالصل ‬ ‫‪69‬‬ ‫ايقض باالصل ‬ ‫‪70‬‬ ‫قبلة باالصل ‬ ‫‪71‬‬ ‫البقال باالصل ‬ ‫‪72‬‬ ‫قبلة باالصل ‬ ‫‪73‬‬ ‫النايح باالصل ‬ ‫‪66‬‬ ‫‪67‬‬

‫‪D. M. VARISCO‬‬

‫ ‪290‬‬

‫سقوط الجبهة يكون الهقعة قبله‪ 74‬ثلث الليل يكثر فيه العشب وتصوت الطيور ويزهر الورد‬ ‫ويورق الشجر وتكثر الكمأة ويزهر سائر الرياحين و تهيج السنانير وتقول العرب اذا طلع سعد‬ ‫السعود ذاب كل جمود واخضر كل عود وكره في الشمس القعود‬ ‫ص‪٣٦ .‬‬ ‫ص‪ ٣٤ .‬الى ص‬ ‫تفاصيل الزراعة بشهور البروج من ص‬ ‫برج الحمل‬ ‫هذا البرج هو اول بروج فصل الربيع‪ ،‬فيه نمو االشجار‪ ،‬وصالح االثمار‪ ،‬وترمى فيه جميع‬ ‫البذور وتغرس االشجار والنخيل واالرز والخضروات وفيه يكون حصاد الحنطة‬ ‫والحبوبات االخرى‬ ‫برج الثور‬ ‫هو البرج الثاني من بروج فصل الربيع‪ ،‬يزرع فيه مايزرع في برج الحمل‪ ،‬ويغرس جميع‬ ‫موخرة‪ ،‬ويقتضى االعتناء بالسقى اكثر من البرج‬ ‫الشجر والنخل والقطن غير انها تعتبر زراعة ُ‬ ‫السابق ويشترط في هذا البرج ان ال يجف تراب االرض المغروسة فيها غرسا ً حديثاً‪ ،‬وفيه غطوس‬ ‫الثريا في الثالث عشر منه الى السابع عشر‪ ،‬وال يرمى في الغطوس بذر وال ويغرس شجر وال‬ ‫نخل مطلقا ً‬ ‫برج الجوزاء‬ ‫هذا البرج هو آخر بروج فصل الربيع‪ ،‬وجميع ما يرمى فيه من البذور يضعف نموه جداً‪ ،‬و‬ ‫يحتاج لكثرة السقي‪ ،‬وال اقل في ذلك من الرابع ما عدا النخل والشجر والبرسيم فيكفي فيه السقي‬ ‫على الخامس واما الفواكه والخضروات فيجب ان يكون سقيها يوما ً بعد يوم او على الثالث‬ ‫برج السرطان‬ ‫هذا البرج هو اول بروج فصل الصيف‪ ،‬فيه تقف جميع عروق الشجر ويحتاج الى كثرة السقى‬ ‫خاصة في االراضى المرتفغة‪ ،‬وال يرمي في هذا الفصل شيء سوى الذرة والملوخية والقثاء‪ ،‬وفي‬ ‫هذا البرج يدرك اول ثمر النخل وهو الرطب او الزهو‬ ‫برج االسد‬ ‫هذا البرج هو الثانى من بروج فصل الصيف وفيه تزرع الزراعة الثانية التى يقال لها الربعية‬ ‫ويرمى بذر الباذنجان االحمر واالسود والبصل والجح والجبس‬ ‫برج السنبلة‬ ‫هذا البرج هو آخر بروج فصل الصيف‪ .‬ويجب في هذا الوقت االكثار من السقى‪ .‬و فيه تحرث‬ ‫‪75‬‬ ‫االرض وتسمد‪ ،‬ويزرع لبصل‪ ،‬والقطن واللوبيا‪ ،‬والموز‪ ،‬والسلق‪.‬‬ ‫برج الميزان‬ ‫هذا البرج هو اول بروج فصل الخريف‪ .‬وفيه يغرس صغار النخل والشجر العتدال طقسه‬ ‫وحصاد االرز‪ ،‬وينبغى االكثار من الماء للمزروعات ويزرع فيه ايضا ً‪ :‬السبانج‪ - ‬انيسيون‪ - ‬الفول‪- ‬‬ ‫البرسيم‪ - ‬الجزر‪ - ‬الحنطة‪ - ‬الحمص‪ - ‬الدخن‪ - ‬الزنجبيل ‪-‬السفرجل‪ - ‬السلق‪ - ‬السمسم‪ - ‬شمر‪- ‬‬ ‫الفاصوليا‪ - ‬الكمون ‪-‬الكزبرة ‪-‬الهندباء‪ - ‬الجوز‬ ‫قبلة باالصل ‬ ‫سق باالصل ‬

‫‪74‬‬ ‫‪75‬‬

‫‪291‬‬

‫ ‪10 ALMANACS‬‬

‫برج العقرب‬ ‫هذا البرج هو الثانى من بروج فصل الخريف وتستحسن‪ 76‬زراعة الحبوبات في بدايته‪ .‬والسقى‬ ‫فيه اقل من البرج السابق نظرا ً لرطوبته و يجري في هذا الفصل تطعيم الشجر المماثل ويزرع فيه‬ ‫انواع الخضر والبقول‬ ‫برج القوس‬ ‫موخرة الى منتصف الجدي‬ ‫هذا البرج هو آخر بروج فصل الخريف فيه تزرع الحبوبات زراعة ُ‬ ‫و يجري تقنيم‪( 77‬اي قطع الزوائد) الرمان والحماط‪ ،‬وآخر تقشير النخل والشجر‬ ‫برج الجدي‬ ‫هذا البرج هو اول بروج فصل الشتاء‪ ،‬وفيه ابتداء الطلع في النخل‪ ،‬والزهر في الليمون ال‬ ‫يغرس فيه شيء لشدة برودته اال بعض الحبوبات و هي زرعة مؤخرة‪ .‬ويمكن زراغة الخضروات‬ ‫كالباذنجان والكزبرة‬ ‫برج الدلو‬ ‫هذا البرج هو الثانى من بروج الشتاء‪ .‬فيه يمشي عروق النخل والشجر كما يغرس ودى النخل‬ ‫والشجر بشرط ان ال ينشف ثراها‪ .‬وفي االسبوع االخير منه تجرى تقنيم العنب‪ .‬و فيه تبذر‬ ‫بذور‪ - ‬البامية‪ - ‬والحبحب‪“ - ‬الجح”‪ - ‬والملوخيا‪ ،‬والقطن‪ ،‬والجوز و‪ 78‬اللوز‪ ،‬والخوخ والرمان‪،‬‬ ‫والبطيتخ‬ ‫برج الحوت‬ ‫هذا البرج هو آخر بروج فصل الشتاء‪ ،‬وعمله عمل الربيع‪ ،‬وفيه يغرس النخل واالشجار و هي‬ ‫اجود من غرسة الحمل‪ ،‬وفيه يزرع الباميا والباذنجان والفاصوليا واللوبيا والنعناع والزهور وقصب‬ ‫السكر وفي آخره تقطع العيدان الرفيعة‬

‫‪10.2   Almanac Charts‬‬ ‫‪10.2.1  Qatari Almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd Alla¯h Ibra¯hı‐m‬‬ ‫‐‪al-Anṣa¯rı‬‬ ‫‪The Qatari almanac, published by Shaykh ‘Abd Allāh Ibrāhīm al-Anṣārī‬‬ ‫‪from 1377/1957–58 until his death in 1989, has been continued to the‬‬ ‫‪present by his son, following in his father’s footsteps. The information in‬‬ ‫‪the chart is from the almanacs for 1406/1986 and 1407/1987.‬‬

‫يستحسن باالصل ‬ ‫بمعني تقليم ‬ ‫‪78‬‬ ‫نقص الواو ‬ ‫‪76‬‬ ‫‪77‬‬

sharaṭayn

buṭayn

thurayyā

1

2

3

Station

VI:7

V:25

V:12

Rising

Gemini enters V:22 last zodiacal month of spring yellow bile is active and phlegm is weakened start of al-bāriḥ al-nuffa ̄kh winds, northern winds and the simoom grapes and yellow melon gain color time for rare busr of the early date palms in the region of al-Aḥsā’, but they are later if the winter rains were late

Zodiacal month

295

282

269

Suhayl calendar

three faint stars said to be the stomach of Aries [quotes saj‘] known for the bāriḥ al-ḥuffa ̄r wind the northern winds are usually intense during this star in the Gulf region and nearby most famous of the stations and it comes across as pale due to its grouping together harm is raised from fruit produce and perhaps this is the meaning of the sacred tradition (“When the Pleiades has risen, there is no more harm on the earth”) known as a time for rapidly healing wounds due to the dry weather, if Allāh wills circumcision of young boys goes well during it

two stars said to be the horn of Aries [quotes rhymed prose [saj‘] called thurayya ̄ al-ṣayf first of the northern stars no distressful heat or dangerous cold

Information

292  D. M. VARISCO

dabaran̄

haq‘a

han‘a

4

5

6

VII:16

VII:3

VI:20

Leo from VII:24 second zodiacal month of summer heat intensifies violent winds blow on the sea manna falls in Syria noon shadow is one and a half feet at the start reaching two feet at the end humidity declines along the sea coast, especially if there are east winds

Cancer enters VI:23 first zodiacal month of summer end of shortening of night and lengthening of day drinking cold water in the morning before eating is commended season for ripening of grapes in the Hejaz no noon shadow, which is not present from the north earliest varieties of busr dates in al-Aḥsā’

334

321

308

(continued)

second and middle star of the bārih period, its brightness being faint fires are not needed and branches dry out the soil dries eating legumes and onion is commended and the use of everything cold and wet A poet [Dhū al-Rumma] says: “Advancing slowly on the Pleiades track is its dabarān, which is neither out distancing nor overtaking” (yadibbu ‘alā atha ̄rha ̄ dabara ̄nha,̄ fa-la ̄ huwa masbu ̄q wa-la ̄ huwa la ̄ḥiq) shortening of night ends during it for three days then the night begins to increase on the VI:29 dust storms increase and the simoom intensifies three small stars said to be the head of Gemini known among people of the sea as the first jawzā’ the work of pearl diving is good after this ripe dates are plentiful in al-Aḥsā’, al-Qaṭīf, Najd, and Qatar but in Oman the maturing is about a month before this season two white stars in the anwā’ of Jawzā’ at its end the underground cools at its start all roots of trees cease to grow no seed is sown except sorghum and mallow no trees are planted except in cold regions like Syria and Lebanon

10 ALMANACS 

293

nathra

t ̣arfa

8

9

10 Jabha

VII:29

dhira ̄‘

7

Zodiacal month

VIII:24 Virgo from VIII:24 last zodiacal month of summer necessary to increase irrigation of crops planting of onion, cotton, cowpea, banana, and chard (salq) IX:6

VIII:11

Rising

Station

(continued)

21

8

360

347

Suhayl calendar

This is the outstretched forearm of Leo (dhira ̄‘ al-asad al-maqbu ̄ḍa), commonly known as mirzam by sailors at its rising the Milky Way is at mid-heaven time for extracting pearls from oyster beds in the sea [quotes saj‘] three closely spaced stars called kulaybayn by the Arabs it is said that every day in this naw’ there is harm (āfa) [quotes saj‘] fresh dates increase in al-Aḥsā’ and Najd disappearance (firāq) of Canopus on the sixth day of this rising of ṭarfa is at the start of Virgo and this is commonly said to be the rising of Canopus and its disappearance seven days before (which happened on 23 Dhū al-Ḥijja, 1407) and the Canopus reckoning is based on the disappearance four stars behind ṭarfa this naw’ is precious and beneficial it is said if the wadi fills during jabha, it will fill with pasture and this is because the roots are predisposed to be ready, may Allāh so will, for the coming of winter

Information

294  D. M. VARISCO

IX:19

X:2

X:15

11 zubra

12 s ̣arfa

13 ‘awwa’̄

Scorpio from X:24 planting of cereal grains is commendable grafting of similar trees first excitement and rutting of camels and less drinking of water second of the autumn zodiacal months

60

Libra 34 from IX:24 first zodiacal month of autumn night and day are equal, with nighttime increasing noon shadow is four feet reaching six ft at its end, like the start of Scorpio, the rain season is announced for the Bedouin 47

(continued)

single bright star with small stars around it blotted out called s ̣arfa because of the departure (ins ̣ira ̄f) of heat at its rising and cold at its setting first of the beneficial stars (anwā’) for rain start of entering the wasmı ̄ season, in which sprout truffles, pasture, and flowers [quotes saj‘] eating everything hot and dry is recommended eating beef and eggplant prohibited four stars [quotes saj‘] first of the wasmı ̄ rising stars the Bedouin seeks areas with excellent rainfall

night cools blowing of north winds increases weather is less hot in the daytime rain during it is suitable, if Allāh so wills

10 ALMANACS 

295

X:28

XI:10

XI:23

15 ghafr

16 zubāna ̄

Rising

14 sima ̄k

Station

(continued)

Sagittarius enter XI:23 cut off excess tree branches and date palm branches noon shadow is seven feet at the start and reaches eight feet at the end, like the start of Capricorn

Zodiacal month

99

86

73

Suhayl calendar

bright star that the moon stations in and is called al-sima ̄k al-a‘zal with no star alongside it plentiful rain, if Allāh wills but a plant named nashr sprouts up which causes sickness and poison to camels who pasture on it second part of the wasmı ̄ season planting of winter seed crops is recommended three faint stars use of blankets is necessary drinking water directly after sleeping is prohibited third rising star of the wasmı ̄ season this season is suitable for transplanting seedlings and date palm offshoots and most transplanting of trees last and fourth of the wasmı ̄ stars if Allāh wills, he brings benefit to his creation by sending beneficial rain drinking water at night is forbidden violent winds usually increase the humor of black bile is broken its naw’ is suitable for excellent truffles when Allāh ordains it, a rain will follow this

Information

296  D. M. VARISCO

XII:6

XII:19

I:2

17 iklı ̄l

18 qalb

19 shawla

138

Capricorn 125 enters XII:22 cold intensifies last of the shortening of day and lengthening of night start of planting melon and eggplant noon shadow is eight feet at the start

112

(continued)

three bright stars horizontally aligned [quotes saj‘] When the Most High Allāh provides abundant rain, it brings excellent truffles last expectation of truffles in seasonal areas when it is followed by abundant rain reddish star behind iklı ̄l and between two stars called al-nayya ̄t [quotes saj‘] very favorable naw’ some people hate traveling in this if the moon is waning during its rising, but this is a false belief that Islam does not recognize unless they think this due to the cold and ice always fourteen days long planting seeds in cold areas ceases due to the intense cold and lack of sap flowing in tree roots two nearby stars on the tail of Scorpionis [quotes saj‘] the humor of phlegm (balgham) stirs up third rising star of winter the affliction of colds increases due to the intense cold

10 ALMANACS 

297

I:15

I:28

II:10

21 balda

22 sa‘d al-dhab̄ ih

Rising

20 na‘a ̄’im

Station

(continued)

Pisces enters II:19 last zodiacal month of the year and third of winter thirty days, except thirty-one days in a leap year noon shadow is six feet, dropping to four feet at the end

Aquarius enters I:20 planting of trees and date palms is recommended in the Gulf pruning of grapevines and figs is better cold intensifies second of the winter zodiacal months sowing of okra, melons, and cotton planting of almond, walnut, peach, and pomegranate trees first flowing of sap in wood, if Allāh, the Most high, wills

Zodiacal month

177

164

151

Suhayl calendar

six faint stars in a circle “the first of it is a burning fire, the latter green” (ulāuh muḥraq wa-ak̄ hiruh mūriq) planting of melon and cotton during it fifth rising star of winter first early pollenation of date palms in the Gulf transplant date palm offshoots at the end of it two stars, not bright, one raised to the north and the other falling to the south cut the trunk of the date palm during it peach, pomegranate, apricot, and almond trees gain leaves third part of winter and part of it is in spring when wood is cut from its source it will not have worms (su ̄s), if Allāh the Most High wills

eight stars following shawla [quotes saj‘] nothing is planted due to the intense cold fourth rising star of winter the cold recedes in the south

Information

298  D. M. VARISCO

III:8

III:21

24 sa‘d al-su‘u ̄d

25 sa‘d al-akhbiya

26 muqaddam IV:3

II:23

23 sa‘d bula‘

Aries first of the zodiacal months of spring night and day are equal

230

217

204

191

(continued)

two stars next to each other in the Milky Way, one of which can only be seen with difficulty and the other is clearly seen rains increase in most areas, if Allāh wills [quotes saj‘] three stars, one which is bright and two which are faint during its rising the time is equal pasture blossoms wood gains green hides become soft people do not like sitting in the sun the days of husūm are entered during it four closely packed stars like the foot of a duck, one being bright and three faint [quotes saj‘] trees come into bud and fruit produce thrives many kinds of summer cereals are sown fruit trees are planted the right kind of seeds are sown date palms are sometimes pollenated at this time this is fargh dalw, dalw being four stars in a square, two as fargh muqaddam and two as fargh mu’akhkhar almond and apple form fruit during it its cold damages fruit products season for the breaking of the humor of phlegm planting of rice and sowing of wheat headaches and colds are stirred up the eating of salted fish is forbidden

10 ALMANACS 

299

Rising

28 risha ̄

IV:29

27 mu’akhkhar IV:16

Station

(continued)

Taurus enters IV:21 second zodiacal month of spring plant what was planted under Aries work the soil so that the soil newly worked will not dry up and finish its attention with irrigation, especially in the Gulf

Zodiacal month

256

243

Suhayl calendar

disappearance (ghiyāb) of the Pleiades at its rising high winds blow and usually bring plentiful rain, if Allāh the Most High wills planting date palms is commended there is not much useful benefit from its rain the Pleiades comes after it

this is fargh mu’akhkhar, which follows fargh muqaddam their stations are both fortunate the transplanting of date palm offshoots and fruit trees is good summer cereals are planted

Information

300  D. M. VARISCO

10 ALMANACS 

301

10.2.2  Emirati Almanac of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Jabba¯r Muh·ammad al-Ma¯jid 1988 al-Natı‐ja al-sanawiyya li-awqa¯t al-Ima¯ra¯t al-‘Arabiyya bi-altawqı‐tayn al-ghuru‐biwwa-al-zawa¯lı‐ li-sana 1409  h al-muwwa¯fiq 1988/1989 m. Dubai: Al-Awqaˉf wa-al-Shi’u¯n al-Islaˉmiyya. This sixty-six-page UAE almanac from Dubai consists of a series of charts, correlated to the lunar calendar. For 1409 AH Muḥarram 1 fell on a Saturday, equivalent to VIII:13 CE, the start of the station nathra, day twenty-one of the zodiacal month of Leo (Asad), and day 323 of the Canopus calendar. Prayer times, both counting from sundown and from noon, are provided for dawn (fajr), sunrise (shuru‐q), noon (ẓuhr), midday (‘aṣr), sunset (maghrib), and evening (‘isha ¯’), the latter two only for the reckoning from noon. Almanac information is provided for the twentyeight stations and the zodiacal months. The year is divided into six seasons: wasmī, shita ¯’, rabī‘, ṣayf, h·amīm, and kharīf. The almanac also contains religious exhortations and distances between cities in other parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

barakān/ dabara ̄n

VI:9

thurayya ̄

3

4

V:27

buṭayn

2

VI:22

V:14

sharaṭayn

1

Rising

Station

#

Gemini 31

Gemini 18

Gemini 5 north wind strengthens grapes start to color first of the early busr dates in the Gulf

Taurus 23

Zodiacal month

310

297

284

271

Suhayl calendar wear light clothing first of figs, gourds, and cucumbers grapes start to color onions are good to eat good time for pearl diving in the Gulf [quotes saj‘] pearl diving in the Gulf is good at the start of the season The Indian Ocean and Gulf of Yemen are stirred up early busr dates noon shadow is one foot first of the bāriḥ stars the ba ̄riḥ al-ḥuffa ̄r wind is known for early yellow melons the most trusted star the Messenger said: “When ‘the star’ has risen, no harm remains on the land.” [quotes saj‘] use cold and wet foods drinking cold water on an empty stomach is recommended grapes ripen most fruits are present during it eating legumes and onions is commended

Information

302  D. M. VARISCO

nathra

t ̣arfa

8

9

10 jabha

VIII:1

dhira ̄‘

7

Cancer 27

Cancer 13 end of shortening of the nighttime and increase in daytime no noon shadow most fruits available

VIII:26 Virgo 3 it is necessary to increase watering of crops plant onion, cotton, cowpea (lūbiyā’), and banana plow and fertilize the ground IX:8 Virgo 16

Leo 9 heat intensifies noon shadow is 1 foot at start and two feet at the end violent winds blow at sea VIII:13 Leo 21

VII:19

han‘a

6

VII:5

haq‘a

5

23

10

363

350

337

323

– (continued)

bathing with cold water in the morning is commended blowing of some winds feared for their effect on fruit produce the busr date forms and dates are collected dawn rising of Canopus on the fifth of nathra [quotes saj‘] pomegranates start to ripen air out wool clothing so it is not harmed by mothworms (su ̄s) [quotes saj‘]

the dry air of the simoom wind increases heat and humidity intensify fresh dates (ruṭab) increase the noon shadow disappears this time is known as al-jawzā’ al-ūla ̄ to people of the sea heat intensifies underground cools most of the pearl diving in the Gulf some violent winds blow sowing sorghum and mallow only is suitable the Milky Way is at mid-heaven at its rising time for pearl diving heat intensifies

10 ALMANACS 

303

X:4

X:17

X:30

XI:12

12 s ̣arfa

13 ‘awwa’̄

14 sima ̄k

15 ghafr

Rising

IX:21

Station

11 zubra

#

(continued)

Scorpio 7 good time for planting cereal crops start of camel rutting noon shadow is at six feet at start reaching seven feet at the end grafting of similar trees Scorpio 20

Libra 24

Libra 11 night and day are equal

Virgo 29

Zodiacal month

88

75

62

49

36

Suhayl calendar

Indian Ocean is calm tree wood or palms cut will not be infected with termites Persian cane (al-qaṣab al-Fārisı ̄) is cut citron gains color

night cools some winds blow date harvest increases rain sometimes falls night and day are equal and nightime increases so called because of the departure (ins ̣ira ̄f) of heat at its rising and cold at is setting first beneficial rain, which is the wasmı ̄ and causes truffles to grow noon shadow is four feet, increasing up to six feet rain, winds, cold at night plant chickpeas and carrots first of the wasmı ̄ anwa’̄ only known as thurayyā al-wasm by farmers eating everything hot and wet is recommended wood cut during this will not get wormy or decay plant legumes (buqu ̄l) and some kinds of flowers if there is plentiful rain start of planting of cumin, narcissus, and violet

Information

304  D. M. VARISCO

XI:25

XII:8

XII:21

I:4

I:17

16 zubāna ̄

17 iklı ̄l

18 qalb

19 shawla

20 na‘ā’im

Capricorn 26

Capricorn 13

Sagittarius 29

Sagittarius 3 cut off excess tree branches and palm branches some rain falls Sagittarius 16

154

141

127

114

101

(continued)

last of the wasmı ̄ stars the cold increases it strength drinking cold water at night is prohibited start of winter is at 6 zuba ̄na ̄ some of the foliage falls the Arab Gulf is stirred up colds are increased noon shadow is at seven feet the truffle (faq‘) appears fenugreek is planted flax blossoms cold winds blow star of florescence (t ̣al‘) of early dates melon and eggplant planted [quotes saj‘] remainder of the foliage falls noon shadow is eight feet [quotes saj‘] eating everything hot and wet is recommended, like garlic and ginger planting of lettuce and carrots planting of trees begins [quotes saj‘]

10 ALMANACS 

305

II:12

II:25

III:10

22 dha ̄bih

23 bula‘

24 su‘ud̄

Rising

I:30

Station

21 balda

#

(continued) Suhayl calendar

Pisces 19

Pisces 6 rain increases in most places, if Allāh wills

206

193

Aquarius 10 167 pruning grapevines and fig trees is commended cold intensifies planting of seeds of okra, melon, mallow, cotton, as well as walnut, almond, peach, pomegranate, and similar kinds of trees first flowing of sap in trees planting of date palms and trees commended Aquarius 23 180

Zodiacal month

a beneficial naw’ period planting of melon eating sweets is commended it is said, “the first of it is a burning fire, the latter green” (ula ̄uh muḥraq wa-a ̄khiruh mu ̄riq) noon shadow is 6 feet start of planting trees and irrigating them melon and cotton are planted [quotes saj‘] sap rises in the tree branches breaking of the cold is hoped for truffles appear planting of walnut and almond peach, pomegranate, mulberry, and fig trees gain leaves tree wood or palm cut will dry [quotes saj‘] rain falls winter ends at the third day of bula‘ noon shadow is six feet [quotes saj‘] pasture springs up birds sing trees gain foliage day and night become equal and daylight increases first days of ḥamı ̄m entered [quotes saj‘]

Information

306  D. M. VARISCO

28 risha’̄

V:1

245

232

219

Taurus 10 258 do not plant during the disappearance of the Pleiades (twelve–seventeen of it) noon shadow is two feet and one foot at end increase the irrigating of trees so the newly plowed land does not dry out

Aries 28

27 mu’akhkhar IV:18

Aries 2 night and day are equal

Aries 15

III:23

26 muqaddam IV:5

25 akhbiya

if it rains, this will be cold most fruit produce forms winds blow they believe that a child weaned during this will not ask for breastmilk [quotes saj‘] cold at this time is a reason for destroying fruit produce eating salty fish is prohibited colds are stirred up blankets are thrown off plentiful rain is beneficial for a crop and prolongs its health pasture is verdant some fruit produce forms wheat is harvested planting date palms and fruit trees is commended its usual seven days of rain is very good and a blessing the Pleiades disappears at its rising rain usually falls gazelles are hunted high winds usually blow the offshoots of palms are planted noon shadow is two feet

10 ALMANACS 

307

1

Rising

V:13

Station

sharaṭa ̄n

Suhayl calendar

Gemini 270 enters V:21 last of the spring zodiacal months daytime continues to increase by 4° 16’ from the start at the end of the month with an average of half a minute each day noon shadow is one foot start of the forty days of qayẓ travel [by sea] goes well in the Arab Gulf for pearling to extract pearls snake cucumbers and cucumbers increase grapes begin to redden the heat and simoom intensify there is increased need for irrigating trees except when there is a need, watering of trees should be shut off when they blossom lest the fruit fall off northern winds strengthen immature busr dates from early date palms in the Gulf region

Zodiacal month

setting of ghafr with ṭarf a quarter of the night before it called the Pleiades of summer heat (thurayyā al-qayẓ) by farmers wearing light clothing is advised, but no longer wool a cool breeze is delightful [quotes saj‘] first figs apples, apricot, cucumber, and eggplant are plentiful every salty food is prohibited star of the wind bāriḥ al-nuffa ̄kh yellow bile stirs and is active in bodies and the power of phlegm weakens the north wind strengthens grapes gain color onion is good to eat sailing in the Arab Gulf for pearling goes well

Information

10.2.3  Ẓafara Almanac of Ra¯shid b. ‘Uwayd∙a Al ‘Uwayd∙a 1408–1409/1988–1989 Taqwı‐m al-Z.afara. Abu Dhabi: Daˉr S.ah.af al-Wah.da.

308  D. M. VARISCO

2

buṭayn

V:26

283

(continued)

three faint stars like a tripod setting of ẓubāna (!) with jabha a quarter of the night before it said to be the least rain for the anwā’ stars pasture dries up when there is no rain at this naw’, it points to a dry year [quotes saj‘] first of the qayẓ season the blowing of the north winds is linked to this naw’ and is called naw ḥ-l-s (?) by sailors due to the intense blowing and waves in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Yemen early yellow melon simoom winds intensify first of the immature busr dates from early date palms in the Gulf extracting pearls in the Gulf goes well and this is the first of its season the noon shadow is one foot first of the stars of the bāriḥ winds, known as bāriḥ al-ḥuffar̄ leaves of tamarisk fall the brilliance (suṭu‘̄ ) of the sun is concealed first of the forty days of the s ̣ayf season

10 ALMANACS 

309

3

Rising

VI:7

Station

thurayya ̄

(continued)

Zodiacal month 296

Suhayl calendar

seven visible stars surrounded by numerous faint stars setting of iklı ̄l with zubra a quarter of a night before it no more faithful rising of a star is known. The prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, said: “When the Pleiades (najm) has risen, no plant disease (‘a ̄ha ̄) remains on the land.” This means that, as Allāh knows best, this is the safest time for people to deal with their date palms since their sellable dates from the top of the palms have reached maturity and are safe from harm the Arabs say: “If the Pleiades had risen, this is the time of ripening” water sources settle blight is lifted from fruit return from the sea pasture dries up season for planting mung bean (māsh) it is advised to use what is cold and wet strengthening of the planting of rice and transplanting it the most trustworthy star

Information

310  D. M. VARISCO

4

dabaran̄

VI:21

Cancer 309 begins VI:23 until VII:23 first of the zodiacal months of ṣayf it has twelve days of the station of dabarān, as well as haq‘a and six days of the station of han‘a for a total of thirty-one days at its start the shortening of the night and lengthening of the day ends and the night increases by 4° from the start to the end, which is 12° and about half a degree each day first of the jawzā’ wind (ba ̄riḥ) then the sun changes direction and the noon shadow is lacking the roots of trees are worked around there is a need for much irrigation, especially in the highlands grapes are ripe and good to eat, as well as the early fresh dates in al-‘Ayn and Līwa oases eating of cold foods is recommended and the use of what creates coldness and wetness like zucchini (kūsa ̄), snake cucumber, cucumber, gourd, milk products, and fresh vegetables nothing is sown during it except for sorghum, mallow, and snake cucumber, which are a late planting drinking water on any empty stomach is recommended (continued)

setting of qalb with ṣarfa a quarter of the night before it bright red star between five stars in the track of the Pleiades Dhū al-Rumma said: “Advancing slowly on the Pleiades track is its dabarān, which is neither out distancing nor overtaking” first of the ṣayf season everything cold and wet is used grapes ripen and other fruits are also ready to take

10 ALMANACS 

311

5

haq‘a

Station

(continued)

VII:4

Rising

Zodiacal month 322

Suhayl calendar

This is the first jawzā’, the head of jawza ̄’ being three stars resembling a small tripod setting of shawla with ‘awwā a quarter of the night before ithaq‘a is what is commonly called mı ̄zan̄ and it resembles Vega; its legs are two bright stars, one of which is Sirius, which Allāh mentioned in his saying “and he is the lord of Sirius” because the people of the Days of Ignorance worshipped it, the first being Abū Kabsha, since when it was present it cut apart the sky like no other star, but Quraysh opposed this and did not worship it Ibn ‘Abbās said to a man divorcing his wife, “The number of stars in the sky is enough for you, such as haq‘a in the sky.” This means that the number of stars being three is known rain is rare and the sama ̄’im wind blows, intensifying the heat and dry air it is said at the rising of the first jawzā’ the sun stopped in the sky for Joshua, the son of Nun, peace be upon him, at the conquest of Askalan the noon shadow is three feet

Information

312  D. M. VARISCO

6

han‘a

VII:17

335

(continued)

this is the second jawzā’ two white stars with a whip length between them following haq‘a in the Milky Way the second jawza ̄’ is only mentioned as from the stars of rā‘ı ̄ (Ophiuchi) setting of na‘ā’im with simāk a third of the night before it heat intensifies and the underground cools eye diseases are stirred up pestilence is raised greatest extent of pearling in the Gulf peaches ripen and are good to eat strengthening of the fresh busr date manna falls in Syria violent sea winds blow sowing of mallow is suitable [quotes saj‘]

10 ALMANACS 

313

7

Rising

VII:29

Station

dhira ̄‘

(continued) Suhayl calendar

Leo 348 begins VII:23 until VIII:22 second of the summer zodiacal months with seven days in the station of han‘a, thirteen days of the station of dhira ̄‘, and twelve days of the station of nathra for a total of thirty-one days the increase of night and decrease of day continues, the night taking 8° from the start to the end of the zodiacal month or about 1° each day the second planting season called rabı ̄‘a sowing of the seeds of red and black eggplant, onion, watermelon, and yellow melon heat intensifies the noon shadow is one foot at the start and two feet at the end at its end fresh dates increase violent sea storms blow unseen appearance (fira ̄q) of Canopus on the sea horizon on the twenty-sixth of Leo

Zodiacal month

this is mirzam (mirdham!) setting of balda with ghafr a quarter of the night before it the dhirā‘ of Leo is both the outstreched and the grasping; facing the grasping part are several stars said to be claws the bright star of the outstretched is shi‘ra ̄ ghumays ̣a and the red star is mirzam (mirdham!) this is fortunate with rare rainfall in summer rain areas and the Arabs claim that when there is no rain during the year there will not follow any in dhirā‘ heat and simoom winds intensify the Milky Way is at mid-heaven season for extracting pearls [quotes saj‘] at its rising the Arabs and Persians know the success or failure of their crops and fruit the noon shadow is one foot

Information

314  D. M. VARISCO

8

nathra

VIII:12

361

(continued)

this is kulaybayn setting of dhābiḥ with zuba ̄na (!) a quarter of the night before it three closely-spaced stars, the middle like nose mucus (laṭkha) [quotes saj‘] rain is rare unseen arrival (fira ̄q) of suhayl on the sixth day, which is the twenty-sixth day of the zodiacal month of Leo eating everything cold and wet, like plum and gourd, is recommended, as well as washing with cold water every morning season for the migration of the shrikes (‘aṣrada ̄n) and sea birds drinking buttermilk is recommended the autumn planting is for tomatoes as well as eggplant, onion, sesame, and maize (dhura Sham ̄ iyya) the noon shadow is one and a half feet

10 ALMANACS 

315

9

t ̣arf/t ̣arfa

Station

(continued)

Zodiacal month

Suhayl calendar

VIII:24 Virgo 9 from VIII:23 until IX:21 last zodiacal month of summer contains two days of nathra, twenty-six days of ṭarfa and jabha, and two days of zubra for a total of thirty days the lengthening of night and shortening of day continues with about 12° from the start to the end, which is 48° at the start of Virgo Canopus is seen with the naked eye in the United Arab Emirates it is necessary to increase irrigation the ground is plowed and fertilized onions, cotton, cowpeas, banana, and Swiss chard (s-q !) are planted

Rising

setting of sa‘d bula‘ with iklı ̄l a quarter of the night before it at its rising the star Canopus is seen in the Gulf regionṭarf al-asad comprises stars between the two sides of the breast (jabha) and is the most praised of the stars of rā‘ı ̄ (Ophiuchi) night is cool [quotes saj‘] start of the ripening of pomegranate season for planting lucerne (qatt or birsı ̄m) beware the sting of noxious insects woolen clothing is spread out lest there be bugs (sus̄ ) in it phleghm is less potent in bodies colds are active the fruit of the date palm drops to the ground

Information

316  D. M. VARISCO

10 jabha

IX:7

22

(continued)

setting of sa‘d al-su‘ūd with qalb a quarter of the night before it this is the forehead (jabha) of Leo, four stars behind ṭarf with a whip length between them visually it is spread from south to north and is a beneficial station (naw’) it is said that the water filling a wadi in jabha will always fill it with pasture it is not known among farmers except as the ashrāt ̣ of ra ̄‘ı ̄ the rising of Jupiter the noon shadow is three feet beginning of the date harvest (s ̣ira ̄m) the lemon ripens sleeping under an open sky at night is prohibited

10 ALMANACS 

317

11 zubra

Station

(continued)

IX:20

Rising

Suhayl calendar

Libra 35 first of the autumn zodiacal months night and day are equal at the start, with night increasing over the day starts IX:22 until X:21 the night increases 13° from the first to the last of it or about 48 minutes with more than one and a half minutes each day comprises eleven days of the station of zubra, thirteen days of ṣarfa, and seven days of ‘awwa ̄’ for a total of thirty days first entering of the wasmı ̄ truffles sprout up for fifty-two days noon shadow is five feet harvesting (jada ̄d) of date palms increases pomegranates sweeten and are good to eat rice is harvested the most water is needed for agricultural plots broad beans, lucerne, carrots, wheat, ginger, quince, cumin, asparagus, and coriander are planted eating what is cold and dry is recommended start of the migration of sea fowl to the region of the Arab Gulf

Zodiacal month

setting of sa‘d al-akhbiya with shawla a quarter of the night before it night cools with simoom during the day north wind blows harvest of dates increases start of lighting fires in cold areas rain is heavy at times night and day are equal and the night begins to increase

Information

318  D. M. VARISCO

12 s ̣arfa

X:3

48

(continued)

bright, single star following zubra with several small stars obscured called s ̣arfa because of the departure (ins ̣ira ̄f) of the heat at its heliacal rising called the Dog Tooth of Time (na ̄b al-dahr) because it makes visible the turn of the season [the reading is corrupt in the text] first of the beneficial station rains, which are local before the season rain and wind cold at night start of the formation of rain clouds in the west start of the entry to the sprouting season of truffles (faq‘), pasturage, and flowers chickpeas and walnuts are planted eating beef and eggplant is prohibited noon shadow is four feet until it reaches six feet [quotes saj‘]

10 ALMANACS 

319

13 ‘awwa ̄’

Station

(continued)

X:16

Rising

Suhayl calendar

Scorpio 61 second of the autumn zodiacal months the increase in night and decrease in daytime continues about 8°, which is equivalent to thirty-two minutes all the days of it, with about one minute or so in the first day it comprises seven days of ‘awwā’, thirteen days of simāk, and ten days of ghafr for a total of thirty days starts from X:22 until XI:20 tamarisk and date palm that is cut during this will not have worms (sus̄ or qa ̄diḥ) heavy clothing is worn during it start of camels in heat noon shadow length is six feet and reaches seven feet at its end good time at the start for planting grains irrigation is less than the previous zodiacal month due to its humidity vegetables and legumes are planted trees are grafted, as in the previous zodiacal month

Zodiacal month

four stars in the track of ṣarfa they think that it is a dog following Leo and another group said it was the two thighs of Leo truffles intensify in whiteness due to its rain [quotes saj‘] setting of mu’akhkhar with balda a quarter of the night before it first of the wasmı ̄ stations it is only known among farmers as thurayya ̄ al-wasm everything hot and wet is recommended to eat

Information

320  D. M. VARISCO

14 sima ̄k

X:29

74

(continued)

setting of rishā with dhābiḥ a quarter of the night before it called al-sima ̄k al-a‘zal (Spica) when there is no star around it border between the northern and southern stars due to being near the ecliptic at its rising at which time risings above Spica are northern and those below are southern this is lush with little holding back of its rain, except that which is problematic, such as when the plant called nashr sprouts up and camels become sick grazing on it start of planting cumin black bile increases wearing light clothes is advised against and wearing woolen clothing is recommended narcissus and violets are planted al-Sha‘_bī said: “Sima ̄k does not rise without much cold at its tail.”

10 ALMANACS 

321

15 ghafr

Station

(continued)

XI:11

Rising

Zodiacal month 87

Suhayl calendar

setting of sharaṭayn with sa‘d bula‘ a quarter of the night before it one of the wasm stations its rain grows truffles, Allāh willing drinking cold water before sleeping is prohibited and warming the body is recommended vegetables and legumes are planted cane (qas ̣ab) is cut south wind blowsthe vulture and kite depart ants go underground heavy waves in the Mediterranean but the Indian Ocean is calm watering of fruit trees like grapes and pomegranate is restricted until their leaves fall in winter with less irrigation according to the location if the agricultural plots have any harmful issues (amrāḍ), disperse smoke on them early in the morning

Information

322  D. M. VARISCO

16 zubāna ̄

XI:24

Sagittarius 100 starts XI:21 until XII:20 last of the autumn zodiacal months night increases and day decreases about 4° or sixteen minutes with about half a minute each day noon shadow is seven feet the strength of the cold increases in this zodiacal month comprises three days of the station of ghafr, twenty-six days of the stations of zubāna ̄ and iklı ̄l, and 1 day of qalb for a total of thirty days late planting of grains until the middle of Capricorn pruning of trees, i.e., cutting of the overgrowth of pomegranate and fig trees last stripping (taqshı ̄r) of date palms and trees (continued)

setting of buṭayn with sa‘d al-su‘ūd a quarter of the night before it these are the claws (zuba ̄niyan̄ or qarnān) of Scorpio with a distance of about five cubits between them by the naked eye the Arabs describe it as having intense winds [quotes saj‘] the end of the wasm is at the rising of Vega

10 ALMANACS 

323

17 iklı ̄l

Station

(continued)

XII:7

Rising

Zodiacal month 113

Suhayl calendar

setting of the Pleiades with sa‘d al-akhbiya a quarter of the night before it This is iklı ̄l al-‘aqrab, three stars in a line on its head rain and clouds (ghuyūm) increasecold intensifies [quotes saj‘] vapor (dukhān) comes out from inside (jawf) of the body fenugreek is planted carrots are ready foliage falls warm water is drunk wearing woolen clothing is called for waves in the Arab Gulf intensify threshing and sorting of rice pleghm stirs in bodies flax blossoms noon shadow is seven feet truffles appear

Information

324  D. M. VARISCO

XII:20

I:2

18 qalb

19 shawla

Capricorn 126 first of the winter zodiacal months starts XII:21 until I:19 end of the day shortening and night increasing with day increasing more than night from the start to the end for 4° or twelve minutes, about half a minute each day noon shadow is eight feet comprises twelve days of qalb, thirteen days of shawla, and five days of na__’ā’im for a total of thirty days inflorescence of date palms begins and blossoming of lemons nothing is sown during it due to the cold except some grains as a late planting perhaps some vegetables like eggplant, coriander, and melon can be planted everything hot and wet is called for eating beef and cupping are prohibited 139

(continued)

setting of haq‘a with mu’akhkhar a quarter of the night before it two closely spaced stars as though they were promenading it is called shawla from the saying of the Arabs that the she-camel raises her tail [quotes saj‘] falling of remaining foliage second nasr (Arcturus) rises season for planting nigella and eggplant

setting of Aldebaran with muqaddam a quarter of the night before it this is a blameworthy station qalb al-‘aqrab is a red star behind iklı ̄l and between two stars [quotes saj‘] cold intensifies and cold winds blow sugarcane is crushed garlic, ginger, mustard, and pepper (q-l-q-l!) are eaten due to their suitability start of inflorescence of the early date palms melon and eggplant are planted

10 ALMANACS 

325

20 na‘a ̄’im

Station

(continued)

I:15

Rising

Suhayl calendar

Aquarius 152 second of the winter zodiacal months the daytime continues to increase and night decrease with the increase reaching 8° from the start to the finish about more than a minute in a single day comprises eight days of na‘ā’im, thirteen days of balda, and eight days of sa‘d al-dha ̄biḥ, for a total of thirty days noon shadow is six feet from I:20 to II:18 is [the local season of] shuba ̄t ̣ roots of the offshoots of date palms and trees are worked around so that the moisture does not dry up pruning of grapevines in the last week sowing of seeds of okra, watermelon, mallow, cotton, walnut, almond, and pomegranate start of flowing of sap in wood on the 30th of Aquarius the north [violent wind] of shimal̄ al-thama ̄nun̄ hits

Zodiacal month

setting of han‘a (haq‘a!) with rishā a quarter of the night before it eight southern stars following shawla with four in the Milky Way and four outside [quotes saj‘] only known commonly as the first shubāt ̣ from the stars of rā‘ı ̄ culmination of Mars, i.e., its highest point first inflorescence of early date palms nothing is planted due to the cold except a few things like sesame, lettuce, and carrots eating that which is hot and wet, like garlic, is recommended

Information

326  D. M. VARISCO

21 balda

I:28

165

(continued)

setting of dhirā‘, which is mirzam, with sharatạ yn a quarter of the night before it this is a space in the sky with no stars between na‘a ̄’im and sa‘d al-dha ̄biḥ beneficial with no absence of rain water freezes and the “Dog of Winter” (kalb al-shitā’) intensifies [quotes saj‘] melon and cotton planted cowpea is good to eat small birds mate eating sweets is beneficial it is said during it that the first is a burning fire and the last is green noon shadow is six feet season for sowing lettuce and carrots

10 ALMANACS 

327

Rising

II:10

Station

22 sa‘d al-dha ̄bih

(continued)

Zodiacal month 178

Suhayl calendar

setting of nathra with buṭayn a quarter of the night before it two dim stars about a cubit (dhirā‘) between them to the naked eye, one raised to the north and the other declined to the south [quotes saj‘] it is only commonly known as the first ‘aqrab [winter] in the stars of rā‘ı ̄ sexual desire is more quickly realized birds of prey lay eggs peach, pomegranate, and apricot gain leaves pasture and truffles increase sap flows in the wood of known trees when trees or date palms are cut, they will have worms (sūs and dūd and nakhz) it is called for to wake up drinking cumin in warm water and the use of honey noxious vermin increase

Information

328  D. M. VARISCO

23 sa‘d bula‘

II:23

Pisces (ḥut̄ ) 191 starts II:20 until III:20 last of the winter zodiacal months day increases 12°, which is forty-eight minutes, from the start to the last of the zodiacal month with about a minute and 3/5 each day comprises three days of the station of dhab̄ iḥ, thirteen days of the station of sa‘d bula‘, and fourteen days of the station of sa‘d al-su‘ūd for a total of thirty days increase of the day over the night ends and both are equal in the zodiacal month of Ariesnoon shadow is five feet falling of the cold First Coal (jamra) its work is that of spring (rabı ̄‘) date palms and trees are planted okra, eggplant, and cowpeas are planted rain increases, if Allāh so wills also cowpeas, mint, blossoms, and sugarcane are planted overgrowth is trimmed at the end of it it is thirty-one days in a leap year in Pisces it is forbidden to hunt birds like the bustard, kite, quail, partridge, and all birds because this is the season for the most eggs of these birds and likewise hunting of animals like rabbits, gazelles, and others is forbidden (continued)

setting of ṭarfa with Aldebaran a quarter of the night before it two equally sized stars in the Milky Way, one faint and the other visible, which is called ẓāhir bul‘ān because it appears to have swallowed the faint one connected to it and taken its light this is the second ‘aqrab [of winter] [quotes saj‘] rain increases the “Days of the Old Woman” (ayyam ̄ al-‘ajūz) starts on the fifth of this station, being seven days with three in Shubat̄ ̣ and four in Ādhar̄ and it is exceedingly cold during it the Arabs say that regarding these seven days the month of Ādhār says to the month of Shubat̄ ̣ “Oh brother, oh Shuba ̄ṭ, three are for you and four for me to fill the floodbeds lushly.”

10 ALMANACS 

329

24 sa‘d al-su‘u ̄d

Station

(continued)

III:8

Rising

Zodiacal month 204

Suhayl calendar setting of jabha with haq‘a a third of the night before it three stars, one bright and the other two not bright pasture increases birds sing roses blossom trees gain leaves truffles increase [quotes saj‘] it is not known among farmers except as the third ‘aqrab of the stars of rā‘ı ̄ the third hot coal (jamra) falls the silkworm is seen mulberries increase increase of violent storms called the death notice of winter (na‘āyāt al-shitā’) Venus rises higher spring is temperate the days of ḥusūm are entered at its start cats (sana ̄fı ̄r!) are active it has fourteen days in a leap year

Information

330  D. M. VARISCO

25 sa‘d al-akhbiya

III:21

Aries (ḥamal) 217 starts III:21 until IV:20 first of the zodiacal months of the solar year and of the spring season comprises twenty-six days of sa‘d al-akhbiya and muqaddam and five days of mu’akhkhar for a total of thirty-one days night and day are equal at the start of it with day increasing over the night some 12°, which is forty-eight minutes, from the start to the last days of Aries are suitable for planting lucerne and sorghum fruit trees, like grapes, pomegranate, and fig, are planted in the first half of Aries date palms, rice, and vegetables are planted harvest of wheat and other grains first arousal of blood in bodies as phlegm is weakened milk is good to drink cupping is suitable sweets and everything hot and wet is abstained from, while everything dry is used rosewater is distilled (continued)

four closely spaced stars, one of which is in the middle and resembles the foot of a duck it is called sa‘d al-akhbiya because it rises when it is warm and the noxious vermin that were hibernating come out [quotes saj‘] setting of zubra, the station of which is linked to Leo it will be very cold if rain fails in ithaq‘a is a quarter of the night before it roses and flowers increase cowpeas are planted winds increase most fruits are in bud they say that a baby weaned during it will not ask for breastmilk noon shadow is three feet

10 ALMANACS 

331

Rising

26 muqaddam IV:3

Station

(continued)

Zodiacal month 230

Suhayl calendar

two stars among four in a wide square, the other two being mu’akhkhar and this is a fortunate station setting of ṣarfa with han‘a (haq‘ā!) a quarter of the night before it almonds and apples form fruit cold harms fruit only known by farmers as the second ḥamı ̄m of ra‘̄ ı ̄ called the first dhirā‘ [by farmers] season for planting rice harvest of wheat strengthening of the activity of fleas eating salted fish is prohibited colds and coughs are active medicinal drinks are drunk blankets are advised against as is taking off the skullcap season for treating illnesses

Information

332  D. M. VARISCO

27 mu’akhkhar IV:16

Taurus enters IV:21 noon shadow is two feet during this zodiacal month farmers do not leave off [irrigating] their land cultivated with trees lest it dry and after this there is no planting of seed or trees.

243

(continued)

commonly called the second dhirā‘, notable for its rain bloodletting is beneficial only known by farmers as the second dhira ̄‘ of the stars of rā‘ı ̄ setting of ‘awwā with a violent wind at its setting not mentioned in earlier poetry, but it is by the emir Muḥammad b. Ḥusayn al-‘Uyūnī, who said: “Let mid-afternoon rain with lightning and thunder drench al-Jifan near the homeland/ al-Shaqrā’ with roaring and rumbling thunder/ When ‘awwā sets in the west in the morning/and buṭayn passes al-sharaṭ/, the weather is rainy.” when ‘awwa ̄ sets in the west in the morning… the weather is rainy cupping and eating cold foods is advised dhira ̄‘ is a quarter of the night before it last of doum fruit earliest snake cucumber and apricots first bee honey eating asparagus, quince, and apple is advised first taking of peaches and yellow melons drinking medicinal drinks is advised fruit forms greatest wheat harvest the blessed rain of Nı ̄sa ̄n is entered for seven merciful and blessed days one of the qualities of this rain is the forming of pearls in oysters if one uses it for baking flour, it will yield the least time

10 ALMANACS 

333

28 risha ̄

Station

(continued)

IV:29

Rising

Suhayl calendar

Taurus (thawr) 256 starts IV:21 until V:21 second of the spring season zodiacal months the increase of day continues with 8° or thirty-two minutes increase from the first to the last of it comprises eight days of the station mu’akhkhar, fourteen days of rishā, and nine days of sharat ̣ayn for a total of thirty-one days that which is planted in the zodiacal month of Aries is planted all trees, date palms, and cotton are planted even though it has become a late planting application of irrigation is greater than the previous zodiacal month working the soil is done in this zodiacal month so that the soil of recent planting is not dried out disappearance of the Pleiades on the ninth day of it and no seeds are sown or trees and date palms planted at all

Zodiacal month

many stars in what looks like the stomach of a fish [quotes saj‘] earliest of the gourd and apples high point of the Euphrates setting of Spica with nathra a quarter of the night before it the Pleiades sets at its rising hunting of gazelles between the setting of the Pleiades and its rising when gazelles hide at its rising mostly high winds called the apricot (mishmish) winds blow season for planting date palm offshoots noon shadow is one plus one-third feet

Information

334  D. M. VARISCO

Rising

V:12

V:25

VI:7

VI:20

Station

sharaṭa ̄n

buṭayn

thurayya ̄

dabaran̄

1

2

3

4

Cancer no noon shadow with it dates are ripe

Gemini enters V:22 noon shadow is one foot first travel by sea to pearl beds in the Gulf last of the spring zodiacal months daytime continues to increase

Zodiacal month

308

295

282

269

Suhayl calendar

(continued)

last of the spring season stars three faint northern stars called ba ̄riḥ al-ḥuffa ̄r wind first of the early busr dates seven visible stars surrounded by many faint stars from the northern stars and the most famous of the stations first of early summer (ṣayf) at its rising blight is lifted from fruits circumcision is good during it bright northern star between five stars rises in the south 2° from the rising place of the Pleiades last of the shortening of night last day of Gemini and longest day of the year

first of the northern stars two stars said to be the horn of Aries called thurayya ̄ al-ṣayf

Information

10.2.4  Bahraini Almanac of al-Sayyid ‘Alı‐ al-Sayyid ‘Abd al-Rah·ma¯n al-Ha¯shimı‐ 1413/1992–1993 al-Taqwı‐m al-Bah·raynı‐. Bahrain: Wizaˉrat al-A‘laˉm, 84 pp.

10 ALMANACS 

335

VII:16

VII:29

han‘a

dhira ̄‘

6

7

VII:3

haq‘a

Rising

5

Station

(continued)

Leo from VII:24 noon shadow is one foot heat intensifies ripe dates increase

Zodiacal month

347

334

321

Suhayl calendar

three bright northern stars shaped like a tripod called the first jawzā’ from the stations during ḥamı ̄m the ripe dates of Najd, Ḥajar, and Bahrain increase and dates are plentiful in Oman Ibn ‘Abbās said to a man divorcing his wife, “The amount of stars in the sky are enough for you, such as haq‘a,” since the number of its stars are three following haq‘a are two white, northern stars in the stations of ḥamı ̄m the summer heat (qayẓ) intensifies called the second jawzā’ sorghum and mallow are planted single, bright northern star with a favorable naw’ called mirzam the Arabs say, “When dhira ̄‘ has risen, the sunlight results in containers of fresh dates and the mirage radiates everywhere.” at its rising both Arab and Persian farmers know whether their crops and fruit will be good or spoiled

Information

336  D. M. VARISCO

IX:19

11 zubra

Libra from IX:24 noon shadow is four feet first of the autumn zodiacal months night and day are equal, with nighttime increasing from the first of it to the last of it with 12° equal to one and a half minutes both day and night

VIII:24 Virgo from VIII:24 noon shadow length is two feet last zodiacal month of summer necessary to increase irrigation of crops increase in daytime continues

IX:6

ṭarf/ṭarfa

9

VIII:11

10 jabha

nathra

8

34

21

8

360

(continued)

three closely spaced stars called kulaybayn a midday nap and cooling are desired The Arabs say, “When nathra has risen, busr dates turn red.” there is much collecting of dates early morning is stricken with heat Canopus rises between dawn (fajr) and the rising of the sun swimming and drinking buttermilk are suitable two faint northern stars from the constellation of ra ̄‘ı ̄ (Ophiuchi) the ground is plowed pomegranates are good to eat The Arabs say, “When ṭarfa has risen, fresh dates are early and pleasurable things are abundant and there is no inconvenience for guests.” four different sized, bright stars resembling the letter kāf first of the autumn stars, which are five start of the harvest and storage of dates sleeping under an open sky at night is prohibited for fear of the humidity two visible closely spaced northern stars, one of which is brighter than the other at their rising Canopus is seen in Iraq suitable rain is good

10 ALMANACS 

337

X:2

X:15

X:28

XI:10

13 ‘awwa ̄’

14 sima ̄k

15 ghafr

Rising

12 ṣarfa

Station

(continued)

47

Suhayl calendar

86

Scorpio 60 from X:24 noon shadow length is six feet second of the autumn zodiacal months the increase in night and decrease in daytime continues about 8° which is equivalent to twenty-two minutes all the days of it tamarisk and date palm that is cut during this will not have worms heavy clothing is worn during it 73

Zodiacal month

This is uḥaymir and the border between the northern and southern stars second of the rising stars of wasmı ̄ three stars circling around the south pole third of the wasmı ̄ anwa ̄’ its rain grows truffles, Allāh willing it is desirable to warm the body during it is the planting of various vegetables, legumes, wheat, barley, lentils, and onion seedlings watering of fruit trees, like grapes and pomegranates, is restricted until the leaves fall in winter figs are available on hard soil

large and bright northern stars, which are seven departure of the heat at its rising and departure of the cold at its setting this is wakidhab (the deceitful one)? first of the wasmı ̄ rain called thurayya ̄ al-wasmı ̄ four stars in the track of ṣarfa truffles intensify in whiteness due to its rain The Arabs say, “When ‘awwa ̄’ has risen, the tent is set up, the climate is agreeable, sleeping in the open air is disliked, and the waterskin is worn out.”

Information

338  D. M. VARISCO

XI:23

XII:6

XII:19

I:2

16 zubāna ̄

17 iklı ̄l

18 qalb

19 shawla

Capricorn enters XII:22 noon shadow is eight feet first of the winter zodiacal months daytime begins to increase more than night and in Capricorn daytime increases 4° or about half a minute every day as an approximation

Sagittarius enter XI:23 noon shadow is seven feet last of the autumn zodiacal months the strength of the cold increases in this zodiacal month

138

125

112

99

(continued)

two closely spaced southern stars last of the lengthening of the night and shortening of daytime falling of remainder of leaves that fall in winter season for planting melon and eggplant

called iklı ̄l al-‘aqrab this is three stars in a line on its head, the bright one separate to the south rain and mist increase, Allāh willing the Arabs say, “When iklı ̄l has risen, stallions are aroused, the lower part of a garment is lifted up and floods erode channels.” The cold intensifies and mists come out from inside the body fenugreek is planted drinking ginger is desirable qalb al-‘aqrab is a red star behind iklı ̄l season for intense cold inflorescence of the early date palms last day of Sagittarius is the longest night of the year

two separated southern stars its rain grows truffles violent winds increase on the sea in the Gulf the Arabs say, “When zuban̄ a ̄ has risen, every father of children has cause to worry.”

10 ALMANACS 

339

I:15

I:28

II:10

II:23

21 balda

22 sa‘d al-dha ̄bih

23 sa‘d bula‘

Rising

20 na‘a ̄’im

Station

(continued) Suhayl calendar

Pisces enters II:19 noon shadow is six feet last of the winter zodiacal months date palms and trees are planted flowers are planted

191

177

Aquarius 151 enters I:20 noon shadow is seven feet second of the winter zodiacal months the daytime increases in it reaching 8°, about more than a minute in a single day 164

Zodiacal month

seven southern stars its naw’ is beneficial farmers call it al-sima ̄k al-a‘zal (Spica) there is less variability in rain in it in its naw’ water freezes in many cold regions two southern stars about a cubit (dhira ̄‘) between them first of the [winter] ‘aqārib sap flows in tree branches sexual desire starts to be paid attention to birds of prey lay eggs peach, pomegranate, apricot, and mulberry trees gain leaves the fig tree blossoms pasture increases last days suitable for planting (ghars) two equally sized southern stars rain increases beautiful birds (‘as ̣a ̄fir) mate birds (ṭuyu ̄r) and birds of prey hatch eggs called the second ‘aqrab [of winter] by farmers

eight southern stars winds of na‘a ̄’im arouse everyone sleeping thus the Arabs say, “the shortening of the day is for the one fasting and the herders spread rumors among themselves.”

Information

340  D. M. VARISCO

243

Taurus enters IV:21 noon shadow is two feet during this zodiacal month farmers do not leave off [irrigating] their land cultivated with trees lest it dry and after this there is no planting of seed or trees

217

27 mu’akhkhar IV:16

Aries entered III:21 noon shadow is four feet first of the zodiacal months of spring the days of Aries are suitable for planting trees 230

III:21

25 sa‘d al-akhbiya

204

26 muqaddam IV:3

III:8

24 sa‘d al-su‘u ̄d

(continued)

sap flows in wood the third of the su‘u ̄d stars seven southern stars seasonal violent storms continue trees gain leaves “When al-su‘ūd has risen, people detest sitting in the sun.” fourth of the su‘ūd stars three southern stars with a faint star in the middle night and day are equal blossoms increase legumes (buqūl) are planted two bright southern stars called the first dhirā‘ [by farmers] farmers fear winds affecting their crops (ḥarth) and fear locusts during this almond and apple form fruit during it last of the spring season everything which is inclined to cold [in the humoral system] of food and drink is forbidden two equally sized stars following muqaddam both are said to be the square of Sagittarius planting of date palms its rain is beneficial and plentiful called the second dhirā‘ by farmers

10 ALMANACS 

341

28 risha ̄

Station

(continued)

IV:29

Rising

Zodiacal month 256

Suhayl calendar

brilliant bright asterism in a group of small stars shaped like a fish called the “heart of the fish” (qalb al-samaka) last of the southern stars the Pleiades sets during it high winds called the apricot (mishmish) winds blow The Arabs say, “When samaka has risen, thorns stick to the clothing, bird nests are prepared, the poor wanderer is pleased with the season.” start of the pearling season in the Gulf

Information

342  D. M. VARISCO

sharaṭayn

buṭayn

thurayya ̄

dabara ̄n

1

2

3

4

Station

Local season

VI:20

VI:7 17 Gemini

V:25 4 Gemini

tuwaybi‘

V:12 thurayya ̄ al-s ̣ayf 21 Taurus

Rising

(continued)

the weather inclines to heat blowing of winds increases sorghum and peanuts are planted last of cucumbers are planted daylight continues to increase and nighttime decrease hot weather becomes greater hold back watering flowering trees until the fruit is formed first collecting of early melons need for water by trees increases sugarcane is planted causes of harm for plants are lifted period when wounds are most quickly healed, as Allāh wills, due to the dry weather good time for circumcision of boys heat becomes intense pasture dries up spring insects disappear shortest night and longest day, as nighttime increases there is no noon shadow hot weather intensifies date inflorescence increases in color figs are plentiful maize, mallow, snake cucumber, zucchini, parsley, watercress are planted

Information

10.2.5  Najdı‐ Almanac of ‘Alı‐ b. ‘Abd Alla¯h al-Shammarı‐ 2015 al-Buru‐j wa-‘aliqa¯tuha¯ bi-al-zira¯‘a fı‐ al-Mamlaka al-‘Arabiyya al-Sa¯‘u‐diyya. Riyaˉd.: al-Hay’a al‘Arabiyya lil-al-Kitaˉb.

10 ALMANACS 

343

haq‘a

han‘a

dhira ̄‘

nathra

ṭarfa

5

6

7

8

9

Station

(continued)

VIII:24

VIII:11

VII:29

VII:16 25 Cancer

VII:3 12 Cancer

Rising

kulaybayn

Local season daytime decreases and nighttime increases strong winds (‘awās ̣if) carrying dust and simoom increase after this diving for pearls intensifies first ripening of early date palms vegetables like gourd, zucchini, and cucumbers planted the heat becomes the most intense with jamrat al-qayẓ the simoom is greater winds become calm nothing is planted except sorghum and mallow irrigating agricultural plots increases at its end the underground cools ripe dates are plentiful intense hot weather continues sometimes there are strong winds with dust ripe dates and summer fruits increase start of planting date palm offshoots night weather is a little more temperate blowing of winds is greater start of planting date palm offshoots start of early autumn planting, like tomatoes, eggplant, onion, sesame, and maize last of the rising stars of summer weather is temperate, but the daytime does not cease to be hot beneficial for planting date palm offshoots and trees vegetables, as in the naw’ of nathra, are planted some migratory birds appear

Information

344  D. M. VARISCO

IX:6

IX:20

X:3

X:16

X:29

10 jabha

11 zubra

12 ṣarfa

13 ‘awwa’̄

14 sima ̄k

wasm starts

suhayl ends

(continued)

first of the rising stars of autumn sleeping under an open sky is forbidden weather at night is temperate, but the daytime does not cease to be hot rain during it is beneficial, Allāh willing first of the harvest of date palms planting of date palm offshoots trees dry up vegetables are planted night and day are equal weather is pleasant in daytime and cold at night winds are calm if there is heavy rainfall, according to Allāh’s wishes, it will be plentiful planting of date palms and vegetables continues weather is temperate during the day and the cold at night is greater planting of date palms and trees continues pomegranates are plentiful rice is harvested lucerne, legumes, and winter vegetables are planted weather is temperate during the day but cold at night its rain is commendable, if Allāh wills wormwood (shı ̄ḥ), truffles, clover (nafal), and wild pastoral herbs spring up planting of date palms continues lucerne, legumes, and vegetables are planted last of the northern rising stars cold at night is greater south winds blow its rain is plentiful, if Allāh wills start of planting wheat and barley in the middle of the kingdom [i.e., Saudi Arabia] planting of legumes and vegetables fertilizing of trees

10 ALMANACS 

345

XI:11

XI:24

XII:7

XII:20

I:2

16 zubāna ̄

17 iklı ̄l

18 qalb

19 shawla

Rising

15 ghafr

Station

(continued) Information

first of the southern stars cold at night is greater but the day does not cease to be temperate its rain causes truffles to spring up drinking water before sleep is forbidden planting of wheat and barley continues last of wasm anwa ̄’ end of autumn the cold is greater cold winds intensify its rain causes truffles to spring up watering deciduous fruit trees, like grapes and pomegranates is blocked in the winter season if the ground is sandy, lessen its irrigation start of cold intensifies mirba‘āniyya palm leaves and tree branches off (rising of iklı ̄l, qalb, fenugreek, wheat, and barley are planted in the north of the kingdom and shawla) less irrigating of wheat and barley fields truffles spring up longest night and shortest day of the year and daytime begins to be greater than the night cold and winds increase start of planting of grapevines and trees, and their pruning it is possible to plant lucerne and some vegetables, like potatoes, lentils, broad beans, and fenugreek last of mirba‘a ̄niyya shortening of night and lengthening of day continues cold and frost continue the power of the phlegm humor is weakened last time for planting wheat and barley in the north of the kingdom apricot, peach, Nigella, melons, and eggplant are planted.

Local season

346  D. M. VARISCO

I:28

II:10

II:23

III:8

21 balda

22 sa‘d al-dhābih

23 sa‘d bula‘

24 sa‘d al-su‘u ̄d

25 sa‘d al-akhbiya III:21 1 Aries

I:15

20 na‘a ̄’im

(continued)

shubṭ cold and frost are greater or bard al-ṭawı ̄layn nothing is planted due to the intense cold it is good to fertilize perennial plants and prune the dry parts from them start of inflorescence of early date palms shubṭ increase of day and lessening of night continues or bard al-ṭawı ̄layn best time for planting lucerne melons and cotton are planted branches of date palms are transplanted last three days are the sowing of “six,” suitable for planting all trees ‘aqa ̄rib first three days are the sowing of “six,” suitable for planting all trees sap rises in tree branches trunks of date palms cut peach, pomegranate, apricot, and almond trees gain leaves ‘aqa ̄rib last rising star of winter its cold is intense and harms agricultural crops winds intensify rains increase, if Allāh wills, in most places ‘aqa ̄rib first rising star of spring weather is temperate, especially in the daytime rains increase, if Allāh wills offshoots of date palms planted grapevines and fig plants pruned lucerne and vegetables planted trees are planted night and day equal insects emerge from underground and noxious vermin from their holes pollination of date palms increases all summer seed crops and lucerne are planted plants start to grow crop produce thrives migration of spring geese

10 ALMANACS 

347

IV:16 26 Aries

27 mu’akhkhar

IV:30

IV:3 14 Aries

26 muqaddam

28 risha ̄

Rising

Station

(continued)

8 Taurus

Local season rice is planted wheat is harvested branches of grapevines are pruned almond and apple fruit form sorghum is planted the warbler (dakhal) and turtle dove (quma ̄rı ̄) migrate weather is temperate at night and is inclined to heat in the afternoon conclusion of pollination of date palms offshoots of date palms planted fruit trees transplanted summer seed crops planted trees fertilized which were not fertilized earlier the turtle dove and magpie (‘aq‘aq) increase the Pleiades disappears weather is temperate at night and hot during the day, especially in the afternoon high winds blow planting of date palm offshoots continues vegetables, sorghum, maize, and peanuts are planted last of cucumbers are planted start of migration of small birds, like the oriole (s ̣afa ̄rı ̄) and European roller (khawa ̄ḍı ̄r)

Information

348  D. M. VARISCO

VII:17

VII:30

buṭayn

qayẓ/ ṣayfthurayyā dabara ̄n

haq‘a

han‘a

dhira ̄‘

nathra

ṭarf

2

3

5

6

7

8

9

4

V:13

sharaṭa ̄n

1

VIII:25

VIII:12

VII:4

VI:21

VI:8

V:26

Date of rising

Station

suhayl

kulaybayn

mirzam

arba‘a ̄niyya al-qayẓ

miḥlafa al-shi‘rā or al-jawza ̄’ al-ūla ̄

–

–

tuwaybi‘ or tuwaybi‘ al-wasmı ̄

–

Local name

(continued)

ba ̄riḥ wind blows first figs and end of apples, apricots, gourds, and eggplant one of the least star periods for rain pasture dries up; suitable for planting lucerne (qaḍb) wilting of crop produce pasture dries up first of the heat summer solstice heat of summer intensifies various vegetables and fruits planted and will not fall to ground when ripesama ̄’im intensifies and quickly covers tracks in sand last summer planting wood is cut but should be covered from sun heat and samā’im intensify first ripening of dates shadow length is one foot pests appear every day and harm fruit of crops preparation for date harvest night cools dates plentiful shadow length is two feet

Information

Ra ˉshid al-Khala ˉwı‐: h·aya ˉtuh, shi‘ruh, h·ikmuh, falsafatuh, nawa ˉdiruh, hisa ˉbuh al-falakı‐. Third edition. Saudi Arabia, 1985,

10.2.6  Najd Almanac Chart of ‘Abd Alla¯h b. Khamı‐s

10 ALMANACS 

349

IX:7

IX:21 X:4

X:17

X:29

XI:12

11 zubra 12 ṣarfa

13 ‘awwa ̄’

14 sima ̄k

15 ghafr

Date of rising

10 kharīfjabha

Station

(continued)

–

–

thurayya ̄ al-wasmı ̄

– –

–

Local name heat broken forbidden to sleep under open sky because of cold and dew intense rain autumnal equinox al-nayru ̄z al-Hindīwasmı ̄ starts ten days after rising with rain from west lemons ripe alfalfa plentiful dew abundantpomegranate is sweet planting of date palms harvest of rice shadow length is five and a half feet wasmı ̄ rain comes truffles turn white most sheep mate first rutting of camels wood and palm cut will not get wormy tenth day is start of winter planting seasons known for its rain; cumin planted shadow length is six feet rain produces truffles shadow length is seven feet south wind blows kites, vultures, and swifts fly to lowlands ants go underground first yellowing of citron olives picked in Syria winds variable not suitable for cutting wood because of termites

Information

350  D. M. VARISCO

XII:8

XII:21 I:3

I:16

I:29

II:11

II:22

18 qalb 19 shawla

20 na‘ā’im

21 balda

22 sa‘d al-dhābih

23 sa‘d bula‘

XI:25

17 shitā’ iklı ̄l

16 zubāna ̄

al-‘aqrab al-ūla ̄

–

al-shuba ̄t ̣ al-awwal

– last of al-arba‘āniyya al-shita ̄’

first of al-arba‘a ̄niyya al-shita ̄’

–

(continued)

wasmı ̄ ends on seventh day cold intensifies rain produces truffles flood season in Najd cold intensifies vapors come out of mouth planting of fenugreek carrots ready foliage falls shadow length is seven and a half feet winter solstice first planting of Nigella (al-ḥabba al-sawdā’, coriander, and safflower second nasr (Vega) rises shadow length is seven and a half feet hoopie appears on twelfth day sap flows in olive wood even though temperature is cold on tenth day comes six-day period for planting date palms, cotton, melon, alfalfa, and all vegetables birds mate swallows appear shadow length is six feet birds of prey lay eggs peach, apricot, and mulberry bud pasture and truffles are plentiful sap flows in all trees cutting wood from trees forbidden –

10 ALMANACS 

351

III:23

IV:4

IV:17

IV:30

26 al-muqaddam

27 al-mu’akhkhar

28 baṭn al-ḥu ̄t

III:9

Date of rising

25 sa‘d al-akhbiya

24 rabı ̄‘ sa‘d al-su‘u ̄d

Station

(continued)

bar̄ iḥ al-mishmish

–

al-ḥamı ̄m al-thānı ̄

al-ḥamı ̄m al-awwal or dhira ̄’

al-‘aqrab al-thālitha

Local name first three days are last of ayyam ̄ al-‘ajūz pasture is plentiful in fertile year birds hatch and come into voice roses blossom; plants gain foliage truffles are plentiful planting lucerne (qatt), vegetables, eggplant, and date palms spring equinox shadow length at noon is three and a half feet harvest of wheat shadow length at noon is two and a half feet cold can damage fruit first planting of rice beneficial rain horses brought into settlements suitable for planting melon, gourd, cotton, date palms but not for alfalfa end of rains in Najd bāriḥ al-mishmish blows first of gourd and apple Pleiades disappears beneath rays of sun fortunate rain of Nı ̄san̄ for seven days that sets pearls in oyster shells shadow length is one and a third feet

Information

352  D. M. VARISCO

10 ALMANACS 

353

10.2.7  Omani Almanac of Ra¯shid b. ‘Amı‐r b. Tha¯nı‐ b. Khalaf Ibn Ha¯shim (d. 1019/1610) 1405/1984 Fa¯kihat Ibn al-Sabı‐l. Muscat: Wizaˉrat al-Turaˉth al-Qawmı- wa-al-Thaqaˉfı-. Second Printing.

This early seventeenth-century Omani medical text by an Ibadi scholar provides details on diet, health, and a limited amount of other almanac lore. The author writes in the tradition of Islamic medicine that combines earlier Greek sources, such as those attributed to Galen and Hippocrates, with earlier Islamic sources and the genre of the Prophet’s Medicine. The almanac by month is found in Chap. 5. In addition to the information for each month, which is recorded here, Ibn Ha-shim discusses more general diet and health information for each of the four seasons. Month

Rising station

Nı ̄san̄ (April)

natḥ ̣ IV:18

Ayyār (May)

Ḥazı ̄rān (June)

Information

daytime is thirteen hours (IV:23) blood is active water sources and rainfall increase cupping (ḥijāma) and moderate medicinal drinks are in order avoid hot foods like dates and walnuts purselane (al-baqla al-ḥamqa ̄’) and endive (hindibā’) with quince (safarjal) and apple (tuffāḥ) recommended to eat but ̣ayn V:1 daytime is daytime hours (V:25) thurayya ̄ V:14 cupping, medical plaster, or oil (t ̣ilā’) and medicinal dabarān V:27 drinks are in order eating of snake cucumber (qiththā’) and lettuce after dawn’s rising recommended avoid salty food and too much eating of fish light clothing is worn milk can be drunk haq‘a VI:9 the People of the Book claim that God’s prophet David, peace be upon him, was infatuated with a woman. If a man does not prevent himself from such, it will alter his mind at VI:25 is the longest day of the year and shortest night daytime is fifteen hours and night is nine hours heat of summer (ṣayf) intensifies water is drunk first thing in the morning fish is eaten and milk is drunk in the morning goat and beef are eaten medicinal drink, cupping, and bloodletting (faṣd) are in order (continued)

354 

D. M. VARISCO

(continued) Month

Rising station

Information

nathra VII:18 yellow bile is active ṭarf VII:30 fleas arrive locusts and worms die plum (ijja ̄ṣ) and bitter pomegranate are eaten avoid eating honey (shahd) and garlic and everything hot wash with cold water in the morning milk is drunk grapes and dates are eaten there should be less sex Āb jabha VIII:13 rising of Canopus at VIII:23 in Yemen and perhaps (August) zubra VIII:27 seen in Iraq, but people in the mountains do not see it the underground cools daytime is fourteen hours and night is eleven hours at VIII:26 winds are stirred up that which is prohibited in Tammūz is also prohibited and what is recommended to eat is eaten the last third is in the zodiac of Virgo Aylūl ‘awwa ̄ IX:9 night and day are equal on IX:24 (September) the heat is broken everything hot or cold is eaten time for medical practices wearing of light woven linen lessen exercise bathe with cold water Tishrı ̄n simak̄ (X:5) black bile is active al-Awwal ghafr (X:18) trees and palms that are cut will not have termites (October) zubāna ̄ (X:31) day is eleven hours and night is thirteen hours everything wet or dry and warm is eaten avoid cold weather clothing avoid eating endive, purselane, dates, walnuts wear wool cloaks lamb, fowl, and fish are eaten avoid eating beef TishrIn al-Thānı ̄ iklı ̄l (XI:13) day is ten hours and night is thirteen hours on XI:25) (November) qalb (XI:16) cold intensifies wear wool sleeping (ghashaya ̄n) with women is advised every night avoid bloodletting and medicinal drinks Tammūz (July)

(continued)

10 ALMANACS 

355

(continued) Month

Rising station

Information

shawla (XII:9) longest night and shortest day on XII:25, the day on na‘a ̄’im which the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon (XII:22) him, was born cold intensifies wearing of thick and woolen cloaks warm water is drunk everything hot and dry is eaten, such as ginger, garlic, chives (kurrāth), cress (ḥurf), mustard sleeping with women, much activity, and entering the hot bath are advised avoid meat and snake cucumber first bearing (ḥaml) of date palms is seen Kānūn al-Thānı ̄ balda (I:4) at I:17 the heat of the ground meets the heat of the (January) dha ̄biḥ (I:17) air sa‘d bula‘ day is ten hours and night is thirteen hours (I:30) the siwa ̄k (toothbrush) is advised everything cooked, roasted, garlic, all sweets, ghee, and lamb are eaten avoid bloodletting, cupping, and medical plaster or oil avoid eating cold foods such as citron, legumes (baqal), and snake cucumber trees are irrigated and planted Shubāt ̣ sa‘d al-su‘ūd Days of the Old Woman (ayya ̄m al-‘aju ̄z) are the last (February) (II:12) three days and first four of Adhār sa‘d al-akhbiya the vulture raises its chicks (II:25) the cold weather is broken day is eleven hours on II:24 it is necessary to drink warm water with cumin honey is eaten wind and rain are stirred up the cold intensifies Ādha ̄r(March) fargh shadow length is three feet on III:23 muakhkhar night and day are equal on III:24 as the sun enters (III:10) Aries boys (ṣubya ̄n) are circumcised on III:29 heat and cold are the same everything sweet or sour, cold, wet, dry, and piquant is eaten cupping and medical plasters of oils are in order Kānūn al-Awwal (December)

356 

D. M. VARISCO

10.2.8  

“The Rising Stars with Explanation” (al-Nuju¯m wa-al-ṭawaˉli‘ bi-al-tafṣı-l of Abu‐ S.ant (2002)

This almanac is on the website mekshat.com, posted by someone with the name Abū Ṣanṭ, who posts on Saudi heritage.79 In addition to the almanac data translated here, the text includes the rhymed sayings of the anwa ˉ’. It also provides details on specific stars, including the disappearance (kinna) of the Pleiades, Ursa Major (bana ˉt na‘sh), the pole star (quṭb), and the planet Saturn. It begins with the wasm season rather than the first station of sharaṭayn. Station

Rising

Information

13

‘awwa’̄

X:16

14

Simāk

X:29

15

ghafr

XI:11

start of wasm season for fifty-two days weather is temperate during the day and cold at night rain is commendable growth of shı ̄ḥ, truffle (faq‘), nafal, and natural pasture planting of date palms continues lucerne, legumes, and vegetables planted during it start of the migration of the bustard (ḥuba ̄ra ̄), curlew (karawān and sumaq) birds consists of four stars last of the northern stars (which appear to the north) cold is greater at night southern winds blow plentiful rains, if Allāh wills start of planting wheat and barley in the middle of the kingdom legumes and vegetables planted trees fertilized it is said: Simāk does not rise without plunging what follows in coldness (lā yat ̣la‘ al-simāk illa ̄ wa-huwa gha ̄riz dhanabah fı ̄ bard) comprises three stars first of the southern stars (appearing to the south) greater cold weather at night, but the day does not cease to be temperate its rain causes truffles to grow drinking water before sleep is prohibited continue planting wheat and barley in the middle of the kingdom plant green vegetables in it start of the migration of the kite (qaṭa ̄) to Najd (continued)

79  http://www.mekshat.com/vb/showthread.php?21339-%C7%E1%E4%CC%E6%E3%E6%C7%E1%D8%E6%C7%E1%DA-(%C8%C7%E1%CA%DD%D5%ED%E1)

10 ALMANACS 

357

(continued) Station

Rising

Information

16

zubānā

XI:24

17

iklı ̄l

XII:7

18

qalb

XII:20

19

shawla

I:2

20

na‘a ̄’im

I:15

comprises two stars last of wasm and last of autumn (kharı ̄f) cold weather is greater cold winds intensify its rain causes truffles to grow continue planting wheat, barley, vegetables, and legumes in the middle of the kingdom sap is shut off in deciduous fruit trees, such as grapes, in winter if soil is clay, use less irrigation than if it is sandy start of winter (shita ̄’) and mirba‘a ̄niyya cut palm and tree branches plant fenugreek, wheat, and barley in the north of the kingdom lessen irrigation of plots that still have wheat and barley truffles grown among the birds that migrate at this time are the kite and sandgrouse (kudrı ̄ and jawnı ̄) longest night and shortest day of the year during it the day begins to take from the night the cold intensifies the winds intensify start the planting of grapevines and trees and their pruning possible to plant lucerne and some of the vegetables, such as potatoes and lentils, broad bean (ful̄ ), and fenugreek among the birds that migrate when qalb rises is the winter goose (al-wizz al-shatwı ̄) last of mirba‘āniyya cold and frost continues phlegm (balgham) is active last occasion for planting wheat and barley in the north of the kingdom plant apricot, peach, nigella, melon, and eggplant among the birds that migrate is the kite (al-qat ̣a ̄ al-ma‘a ̄‘ı ̄ or al-naghaq̄ ı ̄) start of shubt ̣ for twenty-six days correlates with 25 Capricorn and day 145 of Canopus cold and frost is greater nothing is planted due to the intense cold it is a good idea to fertilize perennial plants and prune the dry parts from them first inflorescence (t ̣al‘) of the early date palms na‘a’̄ im is eight stars following shawla fourth rising star of winter (continued)

358 

D. M. VARISCO

(continued) Station

Rising

Information

21

balda

I:28

22

sa‘d al-dha ̄bih

II:10

23

sa‘d bula‘

II:23

correlates with 9 Aquarius and day 158 of Canopus six faint stars in a circle first part is muḥriq (burning) and second part is mawriq (green) fifth rising star of winter daylight increases and night lessens best time for planting lucerne plant during it melon and cotton transplant date offshoots the last three days are part of the “sowing of the six” (badhrat al-sitt), suitable for planting all trees start of ‘aqa ̄rib for thirty-nine days correlates to 22 Aquarius two stars which are not bright, one rising to the north and the other descending to the south cut the trunks of date palms peaches, pomegranate, apricot, and almond gain leaves two-thirds of this in winter and one-third in spring the first three days are part of the “sowing of the six” (badhrat al-sitt), suitable for planting trees sap rises in tree branches cut the bottom trunks of date palms peaches, pomegranate, apricot, and almond gain leaves migration of the sandgrouse (al-qat ̣a ̄ al-naghāq) for two weeks correlates to 4 Pisces and day 183 Canopus two stars in the Milky Way, one of them faint and not seen without effort and the other shining bright rains increase, if Allāh wills last of the anwa ̄’ of winter its cold is intense and harms crops winds intensify rains increase in most areas first planting of date palm offshoots (fasa ̄’il) first pollination of date palms a common saying is: when Pisces rises, the cold dies (idhā t ̣ala‘a al-ḥut̄ al-bard yamūt) start of the migration of the ringdove (al-daḥru ̄j al-mutạ wwaq) for about two weeks (continued)

10 ALMANACS 

359

(continued) Station

Rising

Information

24

sa‘d al-su‘u ̄d

III:8

25

sa‘d al-akhbiya

III:21

26

muqaddam

IV:3

correlates to 14 Pisces and day 193 Canopus comprises three stars, one bright and the others faint entry into first of ḥusu ̄m first of the spring anwa ̄’ the weather is temperate, especially during the day rains increase offshoots of date palms are planted grapevines and figs are pruned lucerne and vegetables are planted during this is conjunction [with the moon and Pleiades] #5, which is the start of spring (rabı ̄‘ ṭa ̄mis) at its rising the time becomes equal pasture blossoms start of ḥamı ̄m for twenty-three days correlates to 30 Pisces and day 210 of Canopus, which is first zodiac of spring four stars close together like a duck’s foot; one is apparent and three are faint trees are planted night and day are equal underground insects and noxious pests (hawa ̄m) exit from their holes planting of trees pollination of date palms increases sow all summer seed crops and lucerne the spring goose (al-wizz al-rabi‘ı ̄) migrates correlates to 13 Aries and day 223 of Canopus its cold harms fruit produce season for the end of phlegm rice is planted wheat is harvested branches of grape vines are pruned almonds and apples form fruit spring sorghum is planted the warbler (dakhal) and turtle dove (quma ̄rı ̄) migrate back (continued)

360 

D. M. VARISCO

(continued) Station

Rising

27

mu’akhkhar IV:16

28

rishā

IV:30

1

sharaṭayn

V:12

2

buṭayn

V:25

Information start of dhira‘̄ ayn for twenty-six days correlates to 26 Aries and day 236 of Canopus mu’akhkhar is al-far‘ al-mu’akhkhar, which follows al-far‘ al-muqaddam, the naw’ of both being commendable the weather is temperate at night and inclined to heat in the afternoon plentiful rains it is good to pollinate date palms plant date palms and fruit trees plant summer seed crops fertilize trees that have not been fertilized before increase in turtle dove and magpie (‘aq‘aq) correlates to 8 Taurus and day 249 of Canopus at its rising the Pleiades disappears there is usually rain, if Allāh, the Most High, wills last of the southern stars weather is temperate at night and hot during the day, especially in the afternoon high winds blow date palm offshoots are planted vegetables are planted sorghum (al-dhura al-rı ̄fiyya), maize (al-dhura al-Shāmiyya), peanuts (al-ful̄ al-Sudānī), and others like cucumber are planted start of the return of small birds like the oriole (s ̣afar̄ ı ̄) and European roller (khawa ̄ḍı ̄r) correlates to 21 Taurus and day 262 of Canopus start of thurayya ̄ al-ṣayf season on V:17 weather inclines to heat blowing of winds increases sorghum and peanuts are planted last taking of cucumbers correlates to 4 Gemini and day 275 of Canopus intense northern winds in the Gulf and what is nearby last of the spring anwa ̄’ and first of mirba‘āniyya al-qayẓ increase of daytime and decrease of night continues hot weather increases hold off water from flowering trees until fruit forms early melon is picked trees need more water sugarcane is planted (continued)

10 ALMANACS 

361

(continued) Station

Rising

Information

3

thurayyā

VI:7

4

tuwaybi‘

VI:20

5

haq‘a

VII:3

6

han‘a

VII:16

correlates to 17 Gemini and day 278 of Canopus during it the reasons for harm to fruit increase season known for quick recovery from wounds, if Allāh so wills, due to dry weather good time for circumcision of boys first of the summer anwa ̄’ the heat intensifies rain is less and pasture dries up spring insects disappear the inflorescence of early date palms begins alternate name for Aldebaran correlates to 30 Gemini and day 302 of Canopus second bar̄ iḥ star walls become dry eating pulses (buqūl) and onions is commended everything cold and wet is useable a poet says: “Aldebaran progresses in the track of the Pleiades, it is not in advance, nor is it overtaking” (yidabbu fı ̄ athnā’h dabarānhā fa-lā huwwa masbūq wa-lā huwwa lāḥiq) on the second of this is the end of night shortening, which stops for three days and then begins to increase on the ninth of it longest day and shortest night during it the night begins to increase hot weather intensifies the coloring of the inflorescence of date palms increases figs are plentiful maize, mallow, parsley, and arugula are planted season of al-jawza ̄’ for twenty-six days simoom winds increase daytime decreases and night increases violent winds raise dust and intensify after this pearl diving intensifies first of the early dates are ripe some vegetables like gourd, zucchini, and cucumber are planted the heat reaches its maximum at the “summer coal” (jamrat al-qayẓ) the simoom increases and winds become calm the only things planted are sorghum and mallow irrigation of crops increases at its end the underground begins to cool ripe dates are plentiful (continued)

(continued) Station

Rising

7

dhirā‘

VII:29

8

nathra

9

ṭarfa

10

jabha

11

zubra

12

s ̣arfa

Information

equivalent to mirzam intensity of the hot weather continues violent winds that raise dust sometimes occur season of pearl diving ripe dates and summer fruits increase during it date palm offshoots are planted VIII:11 equivalent to kulaybayn the weather at night is somewhat temperate the blowing of winds increases planting date palm offshoots continues start of the early autumn planting, such as tomatoes, eggplant, onion, sesame, and maize the migration of the warbler (dakhal) and European roller (khawad̄ ̣ı ̄r) begins VIII:24 start of suhayl period for fifty-three days last of the summer anwā’ the weather is temperate but the heat during the day does not cease beneficial for planting date palm offshoots and trees the same vegetables as in nathra are planted migratory birds appear and the migration of the warblers continues and that of the oriole starts IX:6 first of the autumn anwa ̄’ sleeping under an open sky is to be prevented the weather at night is temperate but the heat during the day does not cease beneficial rain, if Allāh so wills harvest of date palms begins date palm offshoots are planted and tree seedlings are transplanted vegetables are planted IX:20 night and day are equal the weather is pleasant during the day and cools at night winds are calm if rain falls it will be plentiful planting of date palm offshoots continues planting of vegetables as in jabha migration of the turtle dove (quma ̄rı ̄) begins X:3 last of suhayl period the weather is temperate during the day but coldness increases at night planting of date palms and trees continues pomegranates increase rice is harvested lucerne, pulses, and winter vegetables are planted start of migration of water fowl such as ducks (bat ̣t ̣) and cranes (gharānı ̄q)

X:3 X:16

X:29 XI:11

XI:24 XII:7 XII:20

s ̣arfa ‘awwa ̄’

simak̄ ghafr

zubāna ̄ iklı ̄l qalb

shawla na‘a ̄’im balda sa‘d al-dhābih

12 13

14 15

16 17 18

19 20 21 22

14 13 13 13

13 13 13

13 13

13 13

13 13 13

Days blowing of the humid kaws wind at its end the start of the suhayl calendar (afku ̄k) ends night and day are equal swimming is detested colds and influenza increase the weather changes awareness of cold at night start of wearing winter clothing disappearance of the star uḥaymir winds and high waves less awareness of the heat temperature wearing of thick winter clothing appearance of the star uḥaymir extent of the lengthening of night and shortening of day intensity of the cold and start of its greatest extent at its end is the first of char wa-char (tashār), which is the cold of azrı ̄q at its start is the first of char wa-char, which is the cold of azrı ̄q start of ‘aqrab al-samm, al-dam, and al-dasm

Comments

80

 http://www.al-marzook.com/table 1.htm

I:2 I:15 I:28 II:10

VIII:24 IX:6 IX:20

suhayl jabha zubra

Rising

9 10 11

Station

(continued)

This is an online chart introduced as: Names of the local astronomical periods according to the ancient Kuwaiti reckoning.80

10.2.9  “The Climate Chart for the State of Kuwait” (al-Jadāwil al-manākhiyya li-dawlat Kuwait) of al-Marzu‐q

10 ALMANACS 

363

III:8

IV:16

IV:29 V:12 V:25 VI:7

su‘u ̄d

akhbiya

muqaddam

mu’akhkhar

risha ̄ sharat ̣ayn buṭayn thurayya ̄

tuwaybi‘ haq‘a han‘a mirzam kulaybayn

24

25

26

27

28 1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8

VI:20 VII:3 VII:16 VII:29 VIII:11

IV:3

III:21

II:23

bula‘

Rising

23

Station

(continued)

13 13 13 13 13

13 13 13 13

13

13

13

13

13

Days break in the vehement cold starts last of the ‘aqa ̄rib ḥusu ̄m or bard al-‘ajūz night and day are equal in some years on III:25 there appears bayya ̄‘ al-khabil ‘aba ̄tah (the crazy seller of his abaya) start of ḥamı ̄m or sabq al-sarāyāt wind season season that ships are landlocked wearing of light clothing kinna or disappearance of the Pleiades for period of forty days falling of sara ̄yāt rains major rise in the temperature of heat rising of the Pleiades start of the bawa ̄riḥ end of the season that ships are landlocked greatest extent of day and lessening of nightsimoom winds blow end of the bawa ̄riḥ with less dust in the weather the second jawzā’end of the dryness and start of the humidity intense humid weather and high heat start of the nayru ̄z yearthe humidity continues

Comments

364  D. M. VARISCO

10 ALMANACS 

365

Bibliography Electronic Documents Abū Ṣanṭ 2002 Al-Nujūm wa-al-ṭawa ˉli‘.http://www.mekshat.com/vb/ showthread.php?21339-%C7%E1%E4%CC%E6%E3%E6%C7%E1%D8%E6%C7%E1%DA-(%C8%C7%E1%CA%DD%D5%ED%E1) (Accessed June, 2021) Hawramani, Ikram 2004 The Arabic Lexicon. http://arabiclexicon.hawramani. com/search/ (Accessed June, 2021)

Published Texts al-Azraq, Ibrāhīm b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Bakr (d. 890/1485) 1978 Tashīl al-mana ˉfi‘ fī al-t·ibb wa-al-ḥikma. Beirut: Al-Maktaba al-Sha‘biyya. Dhū al-Rumma 1919 Dīwa ˉn Shi‘īr Dhī al-Rumma. Carlile Henry Hayes Macartney, editor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Husain, Syed Mushtaq and Mahmood Haj Kasim 1975 Cultivated Plants of Iraq. Mosul: University of Mosul. Ibn al-Ajdābī, Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm (d. 650/1251) 2006 Al-Azmina wa-al-anwa ˉ’. Edited by ‘īzza Ḥasan. Rabāṭ: Manshūrāt Wizārat al-Awqāf wa-al-Shu’ūn al-Islāmiyya. Ibn Qutayba, Abū Muḥammad ‘Abd Allāh (d. 276/889) 1956 Kita ˉb al-Anwa ˉ’. Hyderabad: Maṭba‘at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmāniyya. Norton, John et  al. 2009 An Illustrated Checklist of the Flora of Qatar. Doha: UNESCO.

CHAPTER 11

The Canopus (Suhayl) Calendar

The local Gulf calendar that begins at the summer rising of Canopus is also the basis of almanac charts and commentaries on seasons in the Gulf.1

11.1   “Chart for Navigational Astronomical Reckoning of the Past: The duru ̄r” (Jadwal li-al-­hị sa b ̄ al-falakı ̄ al-bahr ̣ ı ̄ al-qadı m̄ (al-duru r ̄ )) of al-Marzuq ̄

This chart was posted online by ‘Ā dil Yūsuf al-Marzūq in 2006.2 Before the chart itself the description reads: The beginning of the reckoning is VIII:24 every year, the day of the rising of the star Canopus in the sky. This is observed on VIII:29 in Kuwait. Al-Marzūq is a well-known Kuwaiti expert on the seasons with many online posts, including a chart on the tides in Kuwait.

1 2

 For a discussion of this calendar, see pp. 77–80.  http://www.al-marzook.com/table2.htm

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_11

367

368 

D. M. VARISCO

Start date

Nayruz time

Nayruz name

Durūr indications

VIII:11

1–10

‘ashara

VIII:21

11–20

‘ishrı̄n

VIII:31 IX:10

21–30 31–40

thalāthı̄n arba‘ı̄n

IX:20

41–50

khamsı̄n

IX:30

51–60

sittı̄n

X:10

61–70

sab‘ı̄n

X:20 X:30 XI:9

71–80 81–90 91–100

thamānı̄n tis‘ı̄n mi’a

XI:19

101–110

‘ashara

XI:29

111–120

‘ishrı̄n

XII:9

121–130

halāthı̄n

XII:19

131–140

arba‘ı̄n

XII:29

141–150

khamsı̄n

I:9 I:19

151–160 161–170

sittı̄n sab‘ı̄n

I:29

171–180

thamānı̄n

II:8

181–190

tis‘ı̄n

II:18

191–200

mi’a

II:28

201–210

‘ashara

III:9

211–220

‘ishrı̄n

Start of kulaybayn Temperate heat and high humidity Rising (dalūq) of Canopus Temperate weather at night Blowing of humid, southern kaws wind Intensity of the heat broken Swimming in sea is detested Entry into iṣfarı̄ Night and day are equal Noticeable temperate change in weather End of season for swimming in the sea Entry into wasm Awareness of the cold at night Influenza increases Weather changes and inclines to cold at night Start of wearing winter clothing Setting of the star uḥaymir The sea is stirred up with waves Less awareness of the heat temperature, especially at night Entry into mirba‘āniyyāt Start of the rainfall season Intense cold Heavy winter clothes appear Appearance of the star uḥaymir Last of the lengthening of night and shortening of day Entry of naw’ of shawla Most intense cold Entry into the intense cold of buṭayn Cold of azrı̄q or tashār [char], the latter being the last four days of sabi‘ı̄n Cold of azrı̄q or tashār?, the latter being the last four days of sab‘ı̄n Cold of ‘aqrab al-samm and ‘aqrab al-dam for a period of two weeks Entry of cold of ‘aqrab al-dasm End of the cold and start of warmth Entry into spring Sap flows in wood of trees Cold of bard al-‘ajūz or ḥusūm for a week Night and day are equal (continued)

11  THE CANOPUS (SUHAYL) CALENDAR 

369

(continued) Start date

Nayruz time

Nayruz name

Durūr indications

III:19

221–230

thala ̄thı̄n

III:29

231–240

arba‘ı̄n

IV:8

241–250

khamsı̄n

IV:18

251–260

sittı̄n

IV:28

261–270

sab‘ı̄n

V:8

271–280

thama ̄nı̄n

V:18

281–290

tis‘ı̄n

V:28

291–300

mi’a

VI:7

301–310

‘ashara

VI:17

311–320

‘ishrı̄n

VI:27

321–330

thala ̄thı̄n

VII:7 VII:17

331–340 341–350

arba‘ı̄n khamsı̄n

VII:27 VIII:8

351–360 361–365

sittı̄n ā̄khir al-nayrūz

In some years on III:25 there appears bayya ̄‘ al-khabil ‘abātah (the crazy seller of his abaya) End of spring and start of ḥamı̄m or sabq al-sarāya ̄t Intense winds Season that ships are land locked Start of the heat and wearing light clothing The sarāya ̄t rains are possible in the evening because of the changing weather condition Entry into sarāya ̄t of kinna Disappearance of the Pleiades for 40 days Blowing of the northern winds called ba ̄riḥ al-mishmish End of the rain season Start of swimming in the sea Northern winds calm for a short time Appearance of the Pleiades The bawa ̄riḥ blow carrying dust in the afternoon and subside at night Extent of increase in day and lessening of night ba ̄riḥ al-‘inab blows Northern bawa ̄rı̄h winds with dust continue Blowing of the simoom wind End of the bawāriḥ with less dust in the weather bāḥur̄ a or killa al-qayẓ Start of humid weather Intense humid weather and high heat End of the durūr and the Persian nayrūz year

11.2   “Annual Seasonal Chart for the Region of the Gulf” (Jadwal mawa ̄sim al-Sanna bi-mantị qat al-Khalı j̄ , Mawqi‘ al-‘Ā milın ̄ bi-al-Qitạ ̄‘al-Naftı̣ ̄), February 18, 20083 This anonymous posting was made on the website of Kuwait Oil Workers. Annual Seasons The people of Najd know that the lunar months are not in agreement with the actual seasons of the year. Thus, they resort to a method for knowing the seasons and period according to the solar year. They place the 3

 http://www.q8ow.com/vb/threads/6259/

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start of this year with the rising of the star Canopus (suhayl), which occurs 24 August every year. They chose Canopus due to its appearance at the first opening of the seasons, since they are residents of an arid desert with the blowing in summer of the simoom wind. The rising of Canopus refers to many things. 1. The shadow length (ẓill) reappears after it was absent during the summer (s ̣ayf) season. 2. The lengthening of night and lessening of day, and cooling of late evening. 3. The humid south wind blows and the flaming hot weather lessens. 4. The sun inclines to the south after it was absent in the summer season. 5. Start of the period of new humidity and end of collecting ḥawı ̄l dates. 6. Livestock are more at ease and their milk is abundant. The solar year begins on day 1 and ends on day 365, being distributed according to the seasons and periods of the solar year. What follows is for knowledge of the names of the periods: 1. suhayl (Canopus): It is called the days of Canopus (ayya ̄m suhayl), which is the first of the Canopus year. The intensity of the heat is broken. The night begins to be temperate. Time for summer clouds in the west. At its end the early autumn rain starts. 2. wasm: It is called the days of wasm. When rain falls during it, this announces goodness and the truffles spring up. It begins fifty-two days after the appearance of Canopus. During it the clouds arrive to the east. 3. arba‘ı ̄n al-shitā’ (forty days of winter): It is called mirba‘āniyya because its length is forty  days. It starts following al-wasm. The intense cold reaches people under their blankets, and thus vapors come out of their mouths. Plentiful rain falls during it, usually continuing in its intensity. 4. shubt ̣: This is the cold and humid season, not dry. It may be that the term shubt ̣ derives from the Syrian month Shubāt ̣, which occurs during this season. 5. ‘aqārib (the scorpions): There are three ‘aqar̄ ib. The first ‘aqrab is one of poison (samm), because its cold kills like poison kills. The second ‘aqrab is one of blood (dam), because the cold causes one to bleed but does not kill. The third ‘aqrab is one of dasim (fatness) because its cold is during early spring (rabı ̄‘) when domestic animals gain weight. In the middle of the ‘aqārib season the spring rain

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(marāwı ̄ḥ) begins and the ground sprouts vegetation when the water reaches it and truffles arrive. 6. ḥamı ̄m: This is also called bard al-‘ajūz (the old woman’s cold), so called because an old woman sheared her sheep thinking the cold had gone, but the cold killed the sheep. Crops blossom in it. 7. dhir‘ān: This is the end of the spring season with the drying up of pasturage. During it there is an increase in winds that carry dust and dirt. 8. kanna: This is the season of the disappearance of the Pleiades (thurayyā). The start of the heat and still air. People’s temperament feels bored and ill at ease. 9. thurayyā (Pleaides): This is the blowing of the bawa ̄riḥ winds, which are from the northwest and are dry and stir up dust. At times they are intense unless they are orderly and do not come all of a sudden. These begin at the start of the day (naha ̄r) with the heat of the sun, lifting up dust and then depositing it during the calmness of the night. This happens every day. 10. tuwaybi‘: This is the season of scorching hot and dry air. It is called tuwaybi‘ because it follows the star of the Pleiades. The ancient Arabs called it dabarān because it came after the Pleiades. 11. jawzā’ ūlā: This is the season of the blowing of simoom winds. The early dates begin to take color. The season for the summer clouds coming from the west. 12. jawzā’ thāniyya: The simoom wind, which is the last of the bawāriḥ winds, blows. 13. mirzam: This is the most intense shining of the sun, with the temperature of the heat rising along with calm wind. 14. kulaybayn: This is the last of the annual suhayl season, when humidity is spread along with the rise in hot temperature. The number of days in the seasons: 1. suhayl: 8/24–10/14 (fifty-two days), the heat lessens 2. wasm: 10/15–12/5 (fifty-two days), rain season 3. mirba‘āniyya: 12/6–1/14 (forty days), intense cold 4. shubt ̣: 1/15–2/9 (twenty-six days), cold and humid 5. ‘aqārib: 2/10–3/7 (twenty-six days), last of the cold 6. ḥamı ̄m: 3/8–4/2 (twenty-six days), cold of the old woman

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7. dhir‘ān: 4/3–4/28 (twenty-six days), last of spring 8. kanna: 4/29–6/6 (thirty-nine days), start of the heat 9. thurayyā: 6/7–6/19 (thirteen days), bawāriḥ winds 10. tuwaybi‘: 6/20–7/2 (thirteen days), hot air 11. jawzā’ u ̄lā: 7/3–7/15 (thirteen days), simoom wind 12. jawzā’ thāniyya: 2: 7/16–7/28 (thirteen  days), last of the bawāriḥ winds 13. mirzam: 7/29–8/10 (thirteen  days), the summer coal (jamrat al-qayḍ) 14. kulaybayn: 8/11–8/23 (thirteen days), humidity

CHAPTER 12

The Pleiades Conjunction Calendar

Although more prevalent in Najd and other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, this ancient calendar based on the monthly conjunction of the new moon and the Pleiades is still known.1

12.1   The Reckoning of Seasons and the Wasm (Wasm al-thurayya ̄) Rain Among the Bedouin, Abū Ghan ̄ im al-‘Amran ̄ ı ̄ (2012)2 Before the spread of writing and websites, the Arabs counted the days and months according to the advent of the new moon (ḥila ̄l). The year consists of twelve months, but since the lunar month has about twenty-nine and a half days, it was shorter than the solar year. Because necessity is the mother of invention, they needed to know the times for winter, spring, autumn, and summer seasons. In looking for a way to have knowledge of the timing, they found the appearance of planets and stars, which were what they sought. Their observations were drawn to the stars of the Pleiades in relation to the moon. This was a knowledge they had, so they built their reckoning on this astronomical event called a conjunction (qirān), the conjunction of the Pleiades and the moon.  For details on this calendar, see pp. 80–82.  http://www.al3mran.net/vb/showthread.php?t=3492. No longer accessible.

1 2

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_12

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The Arabs were interested in the occurrence of the conjunction of the moon and the Pleiades, so they made a calendar to know the seasons with it. The conjunction is two days earlier than in the preceding month, that is, the interval between each conjunction is twenty-eight days. When the conjunction occurs at the beginning of the lunar month, that is the kināya signaling the entry into summer (ṣayf ). As a result they say, “The first conjunction is for the arrival at the water source,” the kina ̄ya being the arrival of camels at the water source. This differs from the conjunction of “the first is for cold in the desert,” which means the beginning of winter (shita ̄’), which occurs on the eleventh night of the lunar month. The Pleiades refers to a group of stars, which glimmer and are very visible and bright. The name al-thurayyā is from tharwā’ (abundance) and is the diminutive of tharwa, which is a collection and a large number. It is said that it is called this because the rain that falls at its naw’ is abundant, very lush, and of excellent value. This explains what is seen of the stars of the Pleiades in the winter season. The Pleiades is hidden from view under the rays of the sun for forty days from the last week of Nı ̄sa ̄n (April) until the end of the first week of Ḥ azı ̄rān (June). It is difficult to see with the naked eye before 6 Ḥ azı ̄ra ̄n, which is because its rising is before the rising of the sun by a very short time so that it cannot be visible along with it. It is common knowledge that the Pleiades moves from the east to the west every night until it disappears from view in fifty-two days, and its disappearance is called kanna al-thurayya ̄. There were slight differences between Bedouin of the south and Bedouin of the north, which are due to the delay in seeing the stars for several days in the north than is the case at the time of its appearance in the south. The reference for the southern Bedouin is to the desert population in the south and center of the Arabian Peninsula and for the northern Bedouin for the desert population in the north of the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, and Iraq. They designated the term wasm for the season of rain. When rain falls before the dated time, they call it the early wasm (wasm badrı ̄); when it is late, they call it the late wasm (ta’khir al-wasm). It is called wasm because it marks (yasim) the ground with pasture. The population of the desert, like other human beings past and present, wait for rain impatiently, as they say that it is the life of their spirit and that of their livestock. Most of their desire is for the rain period, then winter, and then the spring that follows. This is because they depend on their livestock, camels, sheep, and goats, so they pursue water and the places it gathers, and thus spring pasture and the places of its appearance. For this

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reason there is a lack of knowledge on this reckoning among the Bedouin for the conjunctions of the Pleiades and the moon for defining the times of winter weather. The reckoning of the observations and experience is an ancient record of the associated appearances of the conjunctions of the wasm season in respect to the Bedouin: • Conjunction 19 is the first conjunction they are concerned with and is called the early wasm and the praiseworthy (harı ̄f) conjunction; when it rains in the naw’ of conjunction 19, the earth brings forth all kinds of truffles and pasture; • Conjunction 17 is the plentiful (tharwı ̄) conjunction or wasm conjunction; when it rains in conjunction 17, the earth brings forth some kinds of truffles and half the kinds of pasture; • Conjunction 15 is called the jawza ̄wı ̄ (Gemini) conjunction as last of the wasm; when it rains in the naw’ of conjunction 15, the earth brings forth one kind of truffle and some kinds of pasture; • Conjunction 13 is without vegetation (ajrad or jarı ̄da ̄n)’; • Conjunction 11 is called the “star” (fahl) of winter or Kānūn; • Conjunction 9 is called Shubāt ̣; • Conjunction 7 or the seventh, and then 5 or the fifth, then conjunction 3 or nothing certain (ma ̄sh), and ma ̄sh means the possibility of observing the Pleiades and the possibility of not observing it because in this conjunction it is with the sun and after that the Pleiades disappears from view for fifty-two days; • The months of conjunctions 19, 17, and 15 are the months of ṣafarı ̄ or kharı ̄f; • Conjunctions 13, 11, and 9 are winter; • Conjunctions 7, 5, and 3 are spring (rabı ̄‘); • Conjunctions 25, 23, and 21 are summer (qayẓ, i.e., ṣayf).

Bibliography Electronic Documents al-‘Amrānı ̄, Abū Ghānim 2012 Ḥ isāb al-fuṣūl wa-wasm al-maṭar ‘inda al-Badū (wasm al-thurayyā). http://www.al3mran.net/vb/showthread.php?t=3492. (Accessed June, 2016)

CHAPTER 13

Poetry

13.1   Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad Ibn Mājid (d. ca. 1500 CE) Ibn Mājid is considered one of the most famous navigators for the Gulf network, including his alleged role in guiding the Portuguese.1 He wrote several poems (ara ˉjı‐z) on navigational stars. His prose work, Kita ˉb ‐ al-Fawa ˉ’id fı uṣūl al-baḥr wa-al-qawa ˉ’id, was written around 1489–1490 and is a finely detailed account of astronomical coordinates and navigational insight for the Red Sea and Indian Ocean trade network, available in English translation. In his Kita ˉb al-Fawa ˉ’id there are a number of poetic excerpts on stars and stations, including one on the Christian solar calendar, known as the Rūmī months.2 His poetic works have been edited and translated by Ibrāhīm Khūrī.3 Serjeant suggests that Ibn Mājid’s

1  For details on his life and work, see Ahmad (1986). The Arabic text of Kitab̄ al-Fawā’id is available in several sources, including Ibn Mājid (2001), edited by Ibrāhı ̄m Khūrı ̄, and a manuscript in the American Library of Congress (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage? collId=amed3&fileName=amed0001_200149130page.db&recNum=0). An English translation was made by Tibbetts (1971). See also the earlier analysis of Ferrand (1921–23, 1925, 1928). 2  This is translated by Tibbetts (1971:158–159). 3  In addition, the work of Khūrı ̄ (1985–1986, 1987–1988, 2001), see Shumovsky (1957).

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_13

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poems are part of a tradition that extends back at least to the tenth century.4

13.2   Rāshid al-Khalāwī (d. Eleventh/Seventeenth Century?) Rāshid al-Khalāwī is one of the most important early Nabaṭī poets of Najd. Although there is no written source available from his lifetime, his poems have circulated widely through to the present. It is virtually impossible to learn anything about his life apart from his poetry. In a major study of his poetry, the Saudi author Ibn Khamīs suggests that al-Khalāwī lived in the eleventh or early twelfth century AH (ca. 1591–1703 CE), although other authors have placed him earlier.5 There may be a clue in his poetry that Ibn Khamīs missed. For the station ṣarfa, noted from X:4 to 13, al-Khalāwī mentions the nawru‐z al-Hindī, which is closely linked to the Persian new year in the old Yazdagird reckoning. The Indian new year began during October in the writing of Sidi Ali Celebi, whose book on Ottoman-era navigation was written in 1554. At that time Sidi Celebi notes that the tenth day of the navigational new year was XI:7, which means that the new year began on X:28. Thus, it is possible that this places al-Khalāwī near the start of the sixteenth century.6 Al-Khalāwī’s poetry is full of references to locations in Najd and shows a broad understanding of the risings and settings of stars, periods and locations for rain, changes in the winds, and various agricultural activities. His knowledge of the stars is found in other poems as well. In a poem about his son he describes the sequence from thurayya ˉ through jawza ˉ’, mirzam, kulaybayn, nasra ˉn, and suhayl; all of these are well-known local star seasons in the region.7 Below is a translation of the first ten hemistiches in a poem edited by Ibn Khamīs, followed by an excerpt from his published version.8  Serjeant (1970:198).  Ibn Khamı ̄s (1972:18), based on a reference in his poetry to the Ḥ umaydiyya emirate in al-Aḥsā’. The work of Ibn Khamı ̄s is essential for the study of al-Khalāwı ̄ for both its collection of poetry and glossary of Najdi terms used in the poetry. 6  Von Hammer-Purgstall (1836:459). 7  Edited in Abā Buṭayn (1988:114–116). 8  Ibn Khamı ̄s (1972:107–108) and Ibn Khamı ̄s (1985:128–130). I follow the explanation of al-‘Ajjājı ̄ (https://sites.google.com/site/falakiyat/daliyat_alkhalawi). 4 5

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13.2.1  Translation 1 When the Pleiades peeks from above the shining light9 at daybreak all the green pasture is destroyed by the heat and perishes.10 2 Following it is a star,11 like the calf of a female camel which is seen to follow it with a returning gait. 3 During the hot bawa ˉriḥ winds of jawza ˉ yellow dates (busr) mature with the colors varying between the branches. 4 At the appearance of mirzam, every date farmer (ka ˉlif)12 is satisfied 13 with his dates and the severe nights have been humbled. 5 At the stars of kulaybayn the water (jamm)14 that refills the well dries up quickly and the clear water in sought after springs declines. 6 For the dawn setting of Spica and Arcturus (i.e., nasrayn) small baskets (makha ˉrif)15 [for fresh dates] are now used in the tender palm branches. 7 After eight plus four16 [days] have passed, on the next day17 the rising of Canopus is not seen rising on the horizon. 8 Seen like the heart of a wolf (qalb al-dhi’b) with its light flickering and glancing off the tender palm branches. 9 Then after fifty-one nights have passed do not feel safe from the floods that come from the continually thundering clouds.

9  The text reads sanā, but I think it refers to the meaning of sanna ̄ as a brilliant light (al-Zabı ̄dı ̄, s-n-y). As explained by al-‘Ajjājı ̄, sanā/sannā al-ṣubḥ refers to the bursting out of dawn’s light (inshiqāq nūr al-fajr). This is the first sight of the Pleiades after its disappearance (kinna/kanna) for forty days. The verbal form ayqat is a colloquial term for peeking above something (Mai Lootah, personal communication). 10  The phrase wadda‘t bi-al-sana ̄’id refers to the destruction, disappearance, and perishing of the green pasture. 11  This is the lunar station Aldebaran, known as either tuwaybi‘ or tuwaylı ̄ in the Gulf. 12  Ibn Khamı ̄s (1972:372) defines this as a sharecropper (ajı ̄r) or worker (‘āmil). 13  Both ghayd and ghayn refer to dates. 14  The term jamm refers to water that refills or filters back into the well after the well water is scooped out. 15  Ibn Khamı ̄s (1972:373) defines this as a small basket (zabı ̄l) used to collect fresh dates. 16  The reference is to eight plus four plus another day, mentioned here as the fifth (khāmis). Al-Ajjājı ̄ notes that this occurs on VIII:24 in the middle of the Arabian Peninsula. 17  The “fifth day” here refers to the day after eight plus four, i.e., the thirteenth day.

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‫‪ 10 The hot qayẓ season ends, when horses18 were not ridden, and nothing‬‬ ‫‪remains of qayẓ except for the sagging of the camels’ breasts (murkhiya‬‬ ‫‪ˉt‬‬ ‫‪al-qala‬‬ ‫‪ˉyid) from thirst.19‬‬

‫‪13.2.2  Arabic‬‬ ‫صبْحْ َوايِقَـت‬ ‫‪َ ١‬مت َى الثُريَّا َم ْع َ‬ ‫سنَا ال َ‬ ‫ع ْ‬ ‫سنَايِـدْ‬ ‫ت بِال َّ‬ ‫علَى ُك ِّل َخض َْرا َودَّ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ـرخ مِ تْ ِل ْي‬ ‫‪ ٢‬مِ ْن ُ‬ ‫ع ْقبَ َها نَجْ ٍم َك َمـا فَ ْ‬ ‫‪20‬‬ ‫علَى ال َّ‬ ‫شوف يَتْ ِل ْي َها بِ َمشِي ْه ْيعَا ِود ْ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫‪َ ٣‬وبَ َو ِارح ال َج ْوزَ ا َربَـا فِي ِه بُس ْْرهَـا‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫واخت َْلفَتَ‪ 21‬الَ ْل َوان بَيْـنَ ال َج َرايِـدْ‬ ‫‪ ٤‬وإلَى ْ‬ ‫َبع ُك َّل كَالِـف‬ ‫ظ َه َر المِ ْرزَ ْم ش ْ‬ ‫مِ ن ال ِغيْد‪َ 22‬وا َ ْن َح َّ‬ ‫شدَايدْ‬ ‫ـن اللَّيَالِي ال َ‬ ‫ل ُكلَ ْيبَيْن التِّي تِ ْنشَـف ال َجـ ْما موُجْنو ‪٥‬‬ ‫الوكَايِـدْ‬ ‫يَ ُ‬ ‫غو ْر فِي َهـا مـَا ال ْعـد ُْودَ َ‬ ‫ع ِلقُّ ْـوا‬ ‫‪ ٦‬وإلَى غَابْتَ النَّسريَ ْن بالفَجْ ر َ‬ ‫ـرايِـدْ‬ ‫َمخَـارفٍ فِي لَيَ ْنـَات َال َج َ‬ ‫ـع‬ ‫ضى ُ‬ ‫ان مـَع ْ‬ ‫اربَ ْ‬ ‫‪ ٧‬وإلَى َم َ‬ ‫ع ْقبَ ْه ث َ َم ٍ‬ ‫سـ ْه َ‬ ‫س َهيْـ ٍل ْي َحايِـدْ‬ ‫طالِع ُ‬ ‫الخ ْ‬ ‫َام َ‬ ‫‪ ٨‬تَ ُ‬ ‫ب ال ِذّيْبْ يَ ْلعَجْ ْبنُ ْـوره‬ ‫ش ْوفِ ْه َكقَ ْل َ‬ ‫علَى غ َِّرات حِ ـدْب ال َج َرايِـ ْد‬ ‫ْم ِويق َ‬ ‫ضى َواحِ ْد وخِ ْمسِين لَ ْيلَه‬ ‫‪َ ٩‬وإلَى َم َ‬ ‫عايِـ ْد‬ ‫فَ َال ت َْامنَ ال َما مِ ن َحقُوق َّ‬ ‫الر َ‬ ‫ضى القَي ْ‬ ‫سبَايَا َوالبَقِى‬ ‫ع ْن ِج ْردَ ال َّ‬ ‫‪ ١٠‬قَ َ‬ ‫ْظ َ‬ ‫مِ ن القَيْـظ اال ُم ْرخِ يَاتَ القَاليِـد‬

‫‪ The term jird al-sabāyā refers to horses (khayl).‬‬ ‫‪ This is the season during kulaybayn and the start of Canopus, when it is intensely hot.‬‬ ‫‪During the heat of summer it is too hot to ride horses, but in autumn they are used exten‬‬‫‪sively. The reference here to murkhiyāt al-qalāyid is to the sagging of the camel’s breasts late‬‬ ‫‪in the day due to thirst after the intense heat during the day. It may relate to the period‬‬ ‫‪known as ‘ikāk or mu’tadhilāt al-suhayl.‬‬ ‫‪20‬‬ ‫اكيد يف العجايج ‬ ‫‪21‬‬ ‫ختالفت يف العجايج ‬ ‫‪22‬‬ ‫العني يف العجايج ‬ ‫‪18‬‬ ‫‪19‬‬

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13.3   Muḥammad al-Qāḍī (d. 1285/1868) Muḥammad b. ‘Abd Allāh al-Qāḍī, a nineteenth-century Saudi Nabaṭī poet, wrote a famous almanac poem.23 According to his grandson, Muḥammad b. ‘Abd Allāh traced his ancestry back to ‘Adnān, father of the so-called Northern Arabs in the genealogy of the Arabian Peninsula. He was born in ‘Anīza in 1224/1809 and died in the same place in 1285/1868. Al-Qāḍī was trained in fiqh and memorization of the Qur’ān, but also took an avid interest in literature and history. He is recognized as a major Nabaṭī poet, particularly known for his poems of praise (madḥ). It is reported that he was a kind and hospitable man with an excellent writing style. Among the books he copied was the Ṣaḥı‐ḥ of al-Bukhārī. All of his four sons were known as poets. His poem on the stars and seasons is one of al-Qāḍī’s most famous works. Several versions have been documented, but this study is based on the published dı‐wa ˉn edited by the Qatari emir ‘Alī b. ‘Abd Allāh b. Qāsim al-Thānī (d. 1960).24 The purpose of the present analysis is not to fix an “original” text but rather to have a better understanding of information regarding the local star calendar and seasonal sequence in the author’s region. As can be noted by comparing recorded versions, there are minor variations. 13.3.1  Translation25 1 Through sharp contemplation Allāh formed for you the everlasting stars, their substance was gathered together and condensed by order of the Creator.

 For details on the life of al-Qāḍı ̄, see al-‘Ajjājı ̄ (2012:15–16) and al-Ḥ ātim (1984:5–6).  This version is taken from the text of the Qatari emir ‘Alı ̄ b. ‘Abd Allāh b. Qāsim al-Thānı ̄ (1389 AH). I follow Shaykh al-Thānı ̄ in not providing the ḥarakat̄ , which vary according to dialect. Other versions of this oral poem available with the ḥarakāt can be found in al-Ḥ ātim (1984) and al-‘Ajjājı ̄ (2012), also available online at http://www.mekshat. com/vb/showthread.php?550156-%C7%E1%D4%D1%CD-%C7%E1%DF%C7%E3%E1%E1%DE%D5%ED%CF%C9-%E3%CD%E3%CF-%C7%E1%DA%C8%CF%C7%E1%E1%E5%C7%E1%DE%C7%D6%ED-%D1%CD%E3%E5-%C7%E1%E1%E5-%DD%ED%C7%E1%C3%E4%E6%C7%C1-%E6%C7%E1%E4%CC%E6%E3 25  Notes to  the  translation are provided by Shaykh al-Thānı ̄ with  supplemental details from the work of al-‘Ajjājı ̄ (1434/2012). 23 24

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2 Look to the first of the summer stars, a cluster of seven (sab‘a rasˉ ̣a’if),26 coming out like the glimmering bare chest of a youth with buttons undone. 3 Or like the silver end of a scabbard,27 with Aldebaran (tuwaybi‘)28 following it like a twisted letter da ˉl in the zodiacal constellation of jawza ˉ.29 4 The wilting of fruit (athma ˉr) ceases at it and its pasture suffers from the scorching heat of the simoom wind.30 5 For twenty-six days, the noon-time shadow is expanding, the shortest night being ten hours and a few minutes. 6 Then Orion rises to its north something like a short lance, the belt of Orion like a shiny white string of pearls. 7 Then Haq‘a closely rises, ending with han‘a. The hot sama ˉ’im winds blow in it and the shadow length increases. 8 For twenty-six days its zodiacal constellation is Cancer, when everything sweet or sour to eat is suitable. 9 The forearm of the Lion (layth), which is mirzam,31 appears as a torch shining brightly at night. 10 Flirting with its light, all of it flashing and flickering like the amorous gesture in the eye of a beautiful woman for her lover. 11 There is wind and the hot simoom, with pests appearing on some crops and fruits being less.32  This refers to al-thurayya ̄, the usual term for the Pleiades, which is often said to have seven small stars in it. 27  Al-‘Ajjājı ̄ (1434/2012:38) identifies na‘l al-shākh with the na‘l al-sayf, in reference to a silver part of the Prophet’s silver sword, based on a tradition in al-Bukhārı ̄. The shape of the Pleiades also resembles a cluster of grapes. 28  The local name al-tuwaybi‘ is so called because it follows (yatba‘) the Pleiades. 29  The reference here is to Orion. 30  As Shaykh al-Thānı ̄ notes, this is in reference to a ḥadı ̄th of the Prophet about the fruit not being wilted at the rising of the Pleaides. 31  Shaykh al-Thānı ̄ defines mirzam as a large bright star at the time of intense heat in dhirā‘al-asad. There is some confusion over use of the term mirzam, since it can refer to several different stars. Ibn Qutayba (1956:19–53) defines mirzam as the less bright star in al-dhira ̄‘al-mabsu ̄t ̣a, the brighter star being al-shi‘ra ̄ al-ghumais ̣ā’, but there was also a mirzam alongside Sirius. Ibn Kunāsa in Lisa ̄n al-Arab (r-z-m) argues that there were two stars by this name that accompanied the rising of Sirius: one was al-dhira‘̄ al-maqbuḍa (ζ Geminorum) or the outstretched leg and the other folded leg was β Canis Majoris, which was close to Sirius (al-shi‘rā al-yaman̄ ı ̄ya). It is commonly confused for the bright star Sirius (al-shi‘rā al-yaman̄ iyya) in dialect. 32  Al-‘Ajjājı ̄ (1434/2012:60–61) replaces māḥiq with ṣa ̄fiq in reference to the drying up of dates due to a pest. 26

13 POETRY 

383

12 Twenty six [days]33 are seen in the zodiacal constellation of Leo, the shadow length stopping at one foot and well water34 declining. 13 The southern star (i.e., suhayl) and ṭarfa35 appear for you, shimmering with the changing light like a pearl in the ring on a vain man’s hand. 14 Broadcloth and wool clothing are spread out in the sun so that worms will not makes holes in the folded fabric. 15 Its seasonal reckoning has four stars with this star, along with jabha and zubra and with ṣ arf 36 following. 16 When thirty nights of these have passed, day and night are of equal length. 17 Ten days later clouds come from the west, as the dust whirlwinds glisten as the clouds drive them.37 18 Twelve days remain in suhayl and then after these the stars of wasm appear for the harvest of date gardens. 19 For fifty-two days there are four stars, with ‘awwa ˉ appearing in them shaped like the letter la ˉm. 20 Then sima ˉk along with ghafr, looking like a bow and zuba ˉna ˉ, two horizontal stars like a lance.38 21 Violent winds increase during it and the shadow length is seven feet, and physicians forbid us from cupping and purgatives. 22 Now comes the cutting of trees, like tamarisk and date palm, for it is suitable for them to be free of burrowing worms. 23 Iklı‐l, qalb, and shawla ˉ then rise for you, this is the forty nights when leaves have perished. 24 These are thirty-nine days, but when a third of them have gone by is the end of daylight lengthening, a distinction for qalb. 25 The shadow length stops increasing at seven feet, its cold causing vapors from the chest to start rising. 26 Then na‘a ˉ’im begins, an arrangement of nine stars, the ninth raised up above them and shining brightly.  This appears to be a reference to the preceding two stations of dhira‘̄ and nathra.  The term kharā’iq refers to wells that are not producing their normal amount of water. 35  This is the station t ̣arf in the formal system. 36  This is the station s ̣arfa in the formal system. 37  I interpret the verb aftar in the text as aftarr in the sense of glistening. This is a different reading from both al-‘Ajjājı ̄ and al-Ḥ ātim, who read the line as “like a herd of white-haired camels led by their herder,” substituting dhı ̄da ̄n for dawlab. 38  Shaykh al-Thānı ̄ does not explain the term bi-‘at̄ iq, which could mean relating to a man’s shoulder. Al-Ḥ ātim reads the term as ma‘an̄ iq in the sense of long. 33 34

384 

D. M. VARISCO

27 Following this comes balda, there being two strings for six stars above which are qila ˉda, if you are a discerning observer.39 28 Two stars are called sima ˉkayn, and some of them call them shubt ̣, commencing the cold. 29 Look for their zodiacal constellation Aquarius, with a shadow length of seven [feet], reckoning them rising for twenty-six [days]. 30 The three asterisms of su‘ūd appear,40 these being the ‘aqa ˉrib41 (“scorpions” of winter), according to some people. 31 Dha ˉbiḥ is two stars looking like the letter alif, near the upper star being a bright star to the north.42 32 Roses, pomegranates, and peaches are in bud during Aquarius and the supple young branches of figs are seen. 33 The second (‘aqrab, i.e., sa‘d bula‘) is the last of the cold and start of pasturing of the anwa ˉ’ of spring (s ̣ayf) as roots extend into the ground. 34 At the third (‘aqrab, i.e., sa‘d al-su‘u‐d) all trees are in bud, aromatic plants blossom, and the cold is on its way out. 35 Timing of its day and night is balanced, the [spring] season marked by the coming of the start of Pisces. 36 The as‘ada are thirty-nine nights the first at the start of the zodiacal constellation of Aquarius, with Pisces at the end. 37 Two other stars rise for you, their name being akhbı‐ya, then muqaddam is attached closely to it.43 38 Al-akhbiya is described like the foot of a duck and the description of muqaddam is two shining stars. 39 Twenty-six days are in their zodiacal constellation of Aries, suitable in it is medicine, bleeding, and cupping. 40 Fargh mu’akhkhar appears for you with risha ˉ, two stars to which the name of dhira ˉ‘ayn is attached.44  Note that balda is a station with no stars in it, but above it is qila ̄da, six stars in Sagittarius.  These are the stations of sa‘d al-dhab̄ iḥ, sa‘d bula‘, and sa‘d al-su‘ūd. 41  Al-Qāḍı ̄ equates sa‘d al-dha ̄biḥ with the first ‘aqrab, sa‘d bula‘ with the second, and sa‘d al-su‘u ̄d with the third. 42  In legend this nearby star is said to be a sheep that was slaughtered, as noted by Ibn Qutayba (1956:76). 43  These are sa‘d al-akhbiya and fargh muqaddam. 44  The term risha ̄’ (rope) is commonly used as a synonym for batṇ al-ḥut̄ (β Andromedae), the twenty-eighth station, as noted by Ibn Qutayba (1956:85). The term literally refers to a rope used in a well, which explains its relation to the preceding two stations which refer to a well bucket (dalw). 39 40

13 POETRY 

385

41 The stars of fargh mu’akhkhar are like muqaddam, each fargh with two white stars. 42 Risha ˉ’ is described as bright stars like a fish, with the light of the eleventh distinctive. 43 At the end of the zodiacal constellations Aries and Taurus the shadow length is a foot, which is correlated with the spring season. 44 The number of nights for these two asterisms are twenty-six, being the time for planting plants and in gardens. 45 Sharaṭayn appears to you as a tilted letter alif, three stars, one of which is faint. 46 After this buṭayn appears, its stars being three arranged like the small pulsating dots over the letter sha ˉ’. 47 At the end of the late spring (s ̣ayf) season it is suitable for medicines, blood letting, and cupping, with blood actively flowing. 48 Sharaṭayn and Buṭayn are two stars, their shadow length being a foot and their dawn rising is for twenty-six nights. 49 Whoever sees a flaw should make right any shortcoming, and finally prayers on the chosen one [i.e., Muḥammad] who shines like the sunrise. 50 Along with the gracious and generous family and companions, first in knowledge of the learned west and east.

13.3.2  Arabic ‫ القاضي وهي على ترتيب نجوم الفلك‬45‫محّمد العبداللة‬ ‫ سبك لك نجوم الدهر بالفكر حادق‬١ ‫حوى واختضر مضمونها بامر خالق‬ ‫ ترى أول نجوم القيض سبع رصايف‬٢ ‫كما جيب وضحا ضيع الدلق دالق‬ ‫ أَو نعل شاخ واتويبع تبيعها‬٣ ‫في برجها الجوزا كما الدّال دالق‬ ‫ يرفع بها عاهات االثمار ويتلتوي‬٤ ‫وم وحرايق‬ ُ ‫به العشب من حر ال‬ َ ‫س ُم‬ ‫ سته وعشرين بها الظل باسط‬٥ ‫نهاية قصر الليل عشر او دقايق‬ ‫ عقب تطلع الجوزا كشلفا شمالها‬٦ ‫نظم تالال كالدرارى لواهق‬ ٍ  He is also known as ‘Abd Allāh.

45

‫‪D. M. VARISCO‬‬

‫ ‪386‬‬

‫‪ ٧‬عقب تطلع الهقعه وبالهنعة انتهت‬ ‫تهب السموم و فيهن والظل سايق‬ ‫‪ ٨‬سته وعشرين السرطان برجها‬ ‫يصلح بفصله كل حلو وحاذق‬ ‫‪ ٩‬ويظهر ذراع الليث هو المرزم الذي‬ ‫كما مشعل الساري بنوره تشاعق‬ ‫‪ ١٠‬يرفرف بنور كلما بان واختفى‬ ‫كما عين عمهوج غنوج لعاشـــــق‬ ‫‪ ١١‬ريح وسموم وقيل يظهر به آفه‬ ‫لبعض الزرع وبعض االثمار ماحق‬ ‫‪ ١٢‬سته وعشرين ترى الليث برجهن‬ ‫يقف ظلها قدم تغور الخرايق‬ ‫‪ ١٣‬ويظهر لك النجم اليماني وطرفه‬ ‫ينقلب‪ 46‬كدرة خاتم بيد مايق‬ ‫‪ ١٤‬ينشر قماش الجوخ والصوف ال يقع‬ ‫به الدود في مثنا مطاويه خارق‬ ‫‪ ١٥‬ويحسوبه أربعة نجوم بنجمه‬ ‫مع الجبهة الزبرة‪ 47‬لها الصرف الحق‬ ‫‪ ١٦‬إلى مضى منهن ثالثين ليلة‬ ‫تواسا نهاره هو وليله مطابق‬ ‫‪ ١٧‬وعشر ويبدا المزن يمشي مغرب‬ ‫‪48‬كما افتر دوالب حداهن سايق‬ ‫‪ ١٨‬واثنا عشر باقي سهيل وبعدهن‬ ‫تظهر نجوم الوسم صرم‪ 49‬الحدايق‬ ‫وخمسن نجومه اربعة‬ ‫‪ ١٩‬اثنين‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫ويظهر لها العوا كما الالم الهـــق‬ ‫‪ ٢٠‬وسماك مع غفر كما القوس وصفه‬ ‫وزبانا نجمين كرمح بعاتق‬ ‫‪ ٢١‬تكثر عواصفها به الظل سبعة‬ ‫عن الفصد والمسهل نهونا الحواذق‬ ‫‪ ٢٢‬بها قطع االشجار واالثل والنخل‬ ‫يصلح عن القادح من الدود عاتق‬ ‫‪ ٢٣‬ويطلع لك اكليل وقلب وشولِه‬ ‫هي المربعانيه لالوراق ماحــــق‬ ‫يتقلب باالصل ‬ ‫الصرفة باالصل ‬ ‫‪48‬‬ ‫كمغتر ذيدان حداهن سابق بكتاب عبد هللا الخالد الحاتم ‬ ‫‪49‬‬ ‫صم بااالصل ‬ ‫‪46‬‬ ‫‪47‬‬

‫‪387‬‬

‫ ‪13 POETRY‬‬

‫‪ ٢٤‬تسع وثالثين الى فات ثلثهن‬ ‫نهاية طول الليل بالقلب فارق‬ ‫‪ ٢٥‬يقف ظلها عن سبع االقدام زايد‬ ‫به البرد دخانه من الجوف عالق‬ ‫‪ ٢٦‬وتبدي النعايم تسع نجمات سبكهــا‬ ‫و تاسعهن مرتفع عليها وشاعق‬ ‫‪ ٢٧‬وبدت بعده البلدة نظمين سته‬ ‫خلف القالده وان تحققت رامق‬ ‫‪ ٢٨‬نجمين يسمن السماكين بعضهن‬ ‫يسمونهن الشبط بالبرد عالق‬ ‫‪ ٢٩‬ترى برجهن الدلو والظل سبعة‬ ‫ومحسوبهن سته وعشرين شــارق‬ ‫‪ ٣٠‬و يظهر سعودات النجوم ثالثة‬ ‫وهن العقارب عند بعض الخاليق‬ ‫‪ ٣١‬فالذابح نجمين كاأللف وصفه‬ ‫بجنب العلو نجم شمال مشارق‬ ‫‪ ٣٢‬والورد والرمان والخوخ يورق‬ ‫بالدلو ينضر التين غض المطارق‬ ‫‪ ٣٣‬والثانيه هي آخر البرد مبتدى‬ ‫ربيعه مع انوى الصيف والعرق عالق‬ ‫‪ ٣٤‬والثالثه يورقن االشجار كلهن‬ ‫و تزهــر رياحينه به البرد طافق‬ ‫‪ ٣٥‬عدال الزمان بليلها مع نهارهــــا‬ ‫تواسن براس الحوت فصل موافق‬ ‫‪ ٣٦‬فاالسعده تسع وثالثين ليله‬ ‫االول براس الدلو والحوت الحق‬ ‫‪ ٣٧‬وتطلع لك نجمين االخرين اسمهن‬ ‫االخبي ْه ثم المقدم بعاتق‬ ‫‪ ٢٨‬فاالخبيه وصفه كما رجل بطه‬ ‫ووصف‪ 50‬المقدم كوكبين شعايق‬ ‫‪ ٣٩‬سته وعشرين ترى الحمل برجهن‬ ‫فيه الدوا‪ 51‬والفصد والحجم اليق‬ ‫‪ ٤٠‬ويظهر لك الفرغ الموخر مع الرشا‬ ‫نجمين لهن اس َْم الذراعين عالق‬ ‫‪ ٤١‬فرغ الموخر كالمقدم نجومه‬ ‫ترى كل فرغ نجمتين لواهق‬ ‫وصق باالصل ‬ ‫الدلو باالصل ‬

‫‪50‬‬ ‫‪51‬‬

388 

D. M. VARISCO

‫ وصف الرشا سمكة نجوم زواهر‬٤٢ ‫وحادي العشر نوره عليهن فارق‬ ‫ وبآخر الحمل والثور ظله‬٤٣ ‫قدم وهو فصل الربيع المواف‬ ‫ بعدادهن سته وعشرين ليله‬٤٤ ‫يوافق بهن غرس الشجر بالحدايق‬ ‫ ويظهر لك الشرطين كاأللف به مثل‬٤٥ ‫ثالث نجمات احداهن غامق‬ ‫ ويظهر عقب هذا البطين نجومه‬٤٦ ‫ثالث كنقط الشاء صغــار خوافق‬ ‫ باخر فصل الصيف يصلح به الدوا‬٤٧ ‫وفصده وحجمه هايجة الدم دافق‬ ‫ والشرطين و البطين نجمين ظلهن‬٤٨ ‫قدم ولهن ستة وعشـرين فالق‬ ‫ يسد الخلل من شاف عيب وختمه‬٤٩ ‫صالة على المختار ما ذر شارق‬ ‫ مع ًاالل واالصحاب ذوي الفضل والندى‬٥٠ ‫اولى العلم سادات غربها والمشارق‬

13.4   Muḥammad Ibn Shahwān (d. 1392/1971) Shaykh Muḥammad b. Shahwān b. ‘Abd Allāh Ibn Shahwān was born in 1293/1876 in al-Zubayr in Najd and died in 1392/1971.52 He began his religious studies at age 16 and in 1335/1916 became the imam of the Rashīdiyya mosque. He taught in many places and traveled to Egypt, where he received a degree from al-Azhar, and the Hejaz, and he spent six years in India. His poem on the seasons is entitled manz ̣u‐mat al-buru‐j wa-al-nuju‐m and was written around 1345/1926.53 13.4.1  Translation 1 I thank Allāh, Lord of the Universe, with thanks to the one who set the measure of years. 2 And placed the zodiacal constellations in the heavens for us as markers which are clearly seen.  Ā l Bassām (1419(5):565), who provides a short biography.  I am using the text edited in al-Thānı ̄ (1389:204–207).

52 53

13 POETRY 

389

3 So pray, oh friend, in the name of the Prophet, who gave us guidance and truth in religion. 4 Prayer for all times to be recited and on all his family and companions. 5 After that – these nice lines of poetry are beneficial for those who desire to know the rising stars. 6 May Allāh reward me in this and may it be of benefit for men who listen. 7 When sharatˉ ̣an is visible to us in the morning the Christian month of Ayya ˉr is entered, oh sons. 8 In sharaṭa ˉn the heat begins while pasture and plants wither. 9 When but ̣ayn rises at the dawn rising on the fifth [day] of Gemini (jawza ˉ’) with certainty. 10 The season of summer enters a [humoral] regime with yellow bile (ṣafra ˉ’) accounting for sadness. 11 The bawa ˉriḥ winds begin to blow and during this the precious pearl is extracted. 12 Following this is thurayya ˉ on the eighteenth, a vision that is clear to the one observing. 13 Diseases on crop produce end in it, the first of it [thurayya ˉ] entering the forty days (arba‘ı‐n). 14 Its last ten days come in the Christian month of Ḥazı‐ra ˉn, oh whoever has a good memory. 15 At the end of Gemini a star appears called the follower (ta ˉbi‘) of the beautiful Pleiades (al-najm). 16 Know that the start of Cancer (saraṭa ˉn) is on the third [day] of Aldebaran, for those who are knowledgeable. 17 Sunrise on the third (du‐na al-‘ashr sab‘) [of Aldebaran] is known as the solstice (inqila ˉb) by those who render [seasons]. 18 Haq‘a rises on the twelfth [day] of Cancer, the jawz period of the farmers 19 The winds are intense at the naw’ of Sirius (shi‘ra ˉ) known as nuffa ˉkh54 to those who rhyme. 20 The tenth of haq‘a is in Tammu‐z, with its heat sucking up the spring water. 21 Han‘a rises with the hot wind (simoom) of Cancer with seven [days] remaining. 22 In the seasonal month of jawza ˉ’, hunters go hunting.  This is a Gulf wind known as ba ̄riḥ al-nuffa ̄kh.

54

390 

D. M. VARISCO

23 When the sun rises in the zodiac of Leo (layth), there is the hot summer coal (jamra). 24 The close companion of the well-known mirzam begins with dhira ˉ‘ of Leo (fahd), calling on those who make things clear. 25 A burning (muḥriqa ˉt) naw’ comes during it famous for the violent heat of baḥu‐ra. 26 Sex is prohibited due to its weather and during this ripe dates are plentiful. 27 Nathra appears, with the drying up of water when twenty [days] of Leo have passed. 28 At the third of nathra Aˉb comes and during it pests of crop produce (thima ˉr) are feared. 29 The star ṭarf rises with Canopus (suhayl) on the second of Virgo (‘adhra ˉ’) as its companion. 30 If you desire autumn (kharı‐f), by the third day of ṭarf, it will be made clear. 31 This is for certain the first of nawru‐z, when the sea becomes safe for travelers. 32 Jabha rises at the middle of Virgo, there possibly being plentiful rain (ghayth). 33 There is heat with hot wind during the day and cold at night with heavy dew. 34 At the twenty second of Virgo Aylu‐l is the start of the cold season. 35 When twenty-seven [days] have passed in Virgo, zubra appears. 36 When Libra is entered by the sun, the time [of day and night] is equal for certain. 37 Ṣarfa is visible on the tenth of Libra, during which is the best naw’ that can be. 38 The Christian55 Tishrı‐n is on the tenth of Libra’s remaining days. 39 ‘Awwa ˉ enters on the 5th of the wasmı‐ period, its raindrops quenching the buried root. 40 After eight days have passed the sun takes up its position in Scorpio (‘aqrab). 41 After its entry plus six [days] Spica (sima ˉk a‘zal) begins to be visible. 42 Winter legumes grow well,56 all kinds of varieties when Spica becomes clear. 55  Arwām, the plural of Rūm, in reference to the Christian solar calendar. As recorded in the almanac of al-‘Uyūnı ̄, the first Tishrı ̄n begins on the eighth day of Libra. 56  The text reads yat ̣ban, but perhaps the original was yuṭı ̄b (made excellent).

13 POETRY 

391

43 This is the last of the northern (sha ˉmı‐) [stars] and now we shall mention the stars starting in the south (yamı‐n). 44 With eleven days remaining in Scorpio the star ghafr begins to be visible. 45 Tishrı‐n Tha ˉn57 comes after its rising, with thick clothing being worn in it. 46 On the second of ghafr the sun enters and embraces the zodiac of Sagittarius (qaws). 47 When zuba ˉna ˉn rises the second day of Sagittarius, the cold at that time persists with us. 48 On the fifth of Sagittarius winter is entered for us, as it is for our farmers. 49 After fifteen [days] have passed know that iklı‐l is like your view of a camel-borne litter.58 50 There is plentiful rain in iklı‐l, and its days are known as the arba‘ı‐n. 51 On the seventh of iklı‐l is Ka ˉnu‐n59 [Awwal] withered foliage falls in it. 52 The star of qalb rises when the twenty-eighth of Sagittarius (qaws) has passed. 53 The sun enters Capricorn (jadı‐) on the third and the fire place is lit for warmth. 54 The time changes over as does night’s length, and the cold intensifies making one sad. 55 The rising of the sun is at thirteen (jı‐m wa-ya ˉ’)60 hours and the ‐ minutes are fifty (nun). 56 After twelve days of Capricorn shawla appears for those who are observant. 57 With seven [days] remaining in Capricorn is Ka ˉn Tha ˉnı‐, which is 61 shubṭ for those who reckon [seasons]. 58 With five days remaining in Capricorn, na‘a ˉ’im appears to people in the morning. 59 The sun enters Aquarius (dalw) on the fifth of shubt ̣ after the arba‘ı‐n.

 Tishrı ̄n al-thānı ̄, which is shortened here, is the month of November.  The Arabic is ḍa‘ı ̄na, but it should be ẓa‘ı ̄na, which I interpret as a reference to a camelborne litter. 59  The poem reads Kānu ̄ without the nu ̄n as poetic license. 60  The letters here refer to numbers in the abjad system. 61  The reference here is to the local season of shubt ̣ and not the month of Shubāt.̣ 57 58

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60 With the arrival of the tenth of Aquarius balda appears, oh those who memorize. 61 When eight days remain in Aquarius sa‘d al-dha ˉbih is for those who are passionate. 62 In it sap rises in branches, food and pasture are good for us. 63 At five days remaining in Aquarius is the Christian Shuba ˉṭ. the sun entering Pisces (ḥu‐t) for some time. 64 If spring brings forth plants, bulu‐‘62 enters when the fifth of Pisces has passed. 65 If su‘u‐d63 rises, in it are winds of the ḥusu‐m,64 we are informed. 66 The days of su‘ūd is at the end of Pisces when fleas start among us. 67 In its days if rain clouds (ghaym) come, it is a mark of fertility for those with experience. 68 On the twenty-seventh is the equinox (i‘tida ˉl), with night equal to day. 69 For certain on the fifth of Christian Aˉdha ˉr is the new year (nawru‐z), as is known, oh our brothers. 70 When the sun arrives at the zodiacal constellation of Aries, the gardens of spring (rabı‐‘) bloom for us. 71 Akhbiya rises on the second of Aries with fleas harming our learned men. 72 A time for purgatives with medicinal cures, people leave dwellings and mud [houses]. 73 Muqaddam rises at the middle of Aries, its cold ruining dates and figs. 74 Nı‐sa ˉn is at the ninth of Aries, in the naw’ of muqaddam every year. 75 Mu’akhkhar comes along at the twenty-eighth [of Aries], and this is most certain. 76 Pasture blossoms from the plentiful rain in it, with harvesting of wheat (burr) among farmers. 77 The sun enters Taurus at the ninth of Nı‐sa ˉn, a month [name] of the foreigners. 78 In it blood letting (faṣd) improves the blood and some people are satisfied with cupping (ḥija ˉma). 79 The stars of risha ˉ’65 appear66 at dawn at the tenth of Taurus with dried pasture plants.  Sa‘d al-bula‘.  Sa‘d al-su‘ūd. 64  The term ḥusūm refers to a period of seven days and is at times linked to the cold of the old woman (bard al-‘aju ̄z). 65  Bat ̣n al-ḥut̄ . 66  The text reads y-s-b-n, but I suspect it should be yubayyin. 62 63

‫‪393‬‬

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‫‪ 0 If our Spica is opposite risha‬‬ ‫‪8‬‬ ‫‪ˉ’. The stars of the Pleiades disappear.‬‬ ‫‪ 81 Oh respected friend, pray upon the Prophet, who gave life to us and‬‬ ‫‪puts to shame the unbelievers,‬‬ ‫‪82 the intercessor on the Resurrection Day (ḥashr wa-nashr), and‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫‪prayers extended to his family and his followers.‬‬

‫‪13.4.2  Arabic‬‬ ‫‪ ١‬حمدت هللا رب العالمينا               وشكرا ً للذي أحصى السنينا‬ ‫‪ ٢‬وأجرى في السماء لنا بروجاً                عالمات وفيها يستبينا‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫والحق دينا‬ ‫‪ ٣‬وص ّل يا كريم على نبي                  أتانا بالهدى‬ ‫‪ ٤‬صالة دائم األوقات تتلى                 وآل والصحابة اجمعينا‬ ‫‪ ٥‬وبعد فتلك أبيات حسان                 تفيد طوالعا ً للقاصدينا‬ ‫‪ ٦‬فأرجو هللا لي فيها ثواباً                 ونفعا ً للورى والسامعينا‬ ‫‪ ٧‬إذا الشرطان بان لنا صباحاً               أيار الروم يدخل يا بنينا‬ ‫‪ ٨‬وفي الشرطين حر فيه يبدو                وأعشاب وأشجار ذوينا‬ ‫‪ ٩‬إذا طلع البطين طلوع فجر                ففي الجوزاء خامسها يقينا‬ ‫‪ ١٠‬وفصل الصيف يدخل فيه حكماً              وذو الصفراء تحسبه حزينا‬ ‫الدر الثمينا‬ ‫‪ ١١‬وتبتدئ البوارح في هواها                وفيه يخرج ّ‬ ‫ثمان                 وعشر رؤية الرائي تبينا‬ ‫‪ ١٢‬وتعقبه الثريا في‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫‪ ١٣‬وعاهات الثمار تزول فيها                وأولها دخول األربعينا‬ ‫‪ ١٤‬وباقي عشرها من شهر روم               حزيران أتى يا حافظينا‬ ‫‪ ١٥‬ويبدو آخر الجوزاء نجم                يسمى التابع النجم الحسينا‬ ‫‪ ١٦‬ترى السرطان يدخل في ثالث              من الدبران عند العارفينا‬ ‫‪ ١٧‬شروق الشمس دون العشر سبع             ويعرف بانقالب الحاسبينا‬ ‫‪ ١٨‬وتطلع هقعة في ثان عشر              من السرطان جوز الحارثينا‬ ‫‪ ١٩‬وتشتد الرياح بنوء شعرى                وبالنفاخ عند الساجعينا‬ ‫‪ ٢٠‬وعاشر هقعة تموز فيها               ويرشف حره الماء المعينا‬ ‫حر               من السرطان سبع قد بقينا‬ ‫‪ ٢١‬وتطلع هنعة بسموم ّ‬ ‫‪ ٢٢‬وبالجوزاء شهرتها وفيها                يصاد الصيد عند القانصينا‬ ‫‪ ٢٣‬إذا طلعت ببرج الليث شمس              ففيه جمرة الصيف السخينا‬ ‫‪ ٢٤‬قرين المرزم المعروف يبدو              ذراع الفهد يدعى مستبينا‬ ‫‪ ٢٥‬فنوء المحرقات يكون فيه                وبالباحورة اشتهرت لدينا‬ ‫‪ ٢٦‬وينهى عن جماع من هواها              وفيها تكثر األرطاب حينا‬ ‫‪ ٢٧‬وتظهر نثرة ويغور ما ُء               إذا العشرين من أسد مضينا‬ ‫‪ ٢٨‬وثالث نثرة يأتيك آب                 وآفات الثمار به خشينا‬ ‫‪ ٢٩‬ونجم الطرف يطلع مع سهيل              بثاني العذراء فهو لها قرينا‬ ‫‪ ٣٠‬وإن رمت الخريف في يوم ثالث             بنجم الطرف يعرف إذ يبينا‬

‫‪D. M. VARISCO‬‬

‫ ‪394‬‬

‫‪ ٣١‬وذلك أول النوروز جزما               ويغدو البحر للسفراء أمينا‬ ‫‪ ٣٢‬وتطلع جبهة في نصف عذراء             وفيها الغيث يمكن أن يكونا‬ ‫وحر مع سموم في نهار                وبرد الليل مع طل هتونا‬ ‫‪٣٣‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫‪ ٣٤‬وفي يومين مع عشرين عذراء               فأيلول بدا بالبرد حينا‬ ‫‪ ٣٥‬إذا العشرين تمضي بعد سبع              من العذراء فالزبراء تبينا‬ ‫‪ ٣٦‬إذا الميزان حلت فيه شمس                فيعتل الزمان به يقينا‬ ‫‪ ٣٧‬وتظهر عاشر الميزان صرفه             وفيها النوء أحسن ما يكونا‬ ‫‪ ٣٨‬ولألروام تشرين لعشر                 من الميزان أيام بقينا‬ ‫عواء             فيروي قطرها العرق الدفينا‬ ‫‪ ٣٩‬ويدخل خامس الوسمي ّ‬ ‫‪ ٤٠‬وبعد مضيه سبع ويوم                تحل الشمس عقربها مكينا‬ ‫‪ ٤١‬وبعد حلولها ومضي ست                سماك أعزل يبدو مبينا‬ ‫‪ ٤٢‬بقوالت الشتاء يطبن‪ 67‬نبتاً               إذا بان السماك لها فنونا‬ ‫‪ ٤٣‬وهذا آخر الشامي منها                 ونذكر أنجما ً تبدو يمينا‬ ‫‪ ٤٤‬وباقي عقرب عشر ويوم                فنجم الغفر يبدو مستبينا‬ ‫‪ ٤٥‬وبعد طلوعه تشرين ثان                 وفيه ألبس الهدم الثخينا‬ ‫‪ ٤٦‬تحل الشمس في أثناء غفر              ببرج القوس فهو لها حضينا‬ ‫‪ ٤٧‬إذا طلع الزبانا يوم ثان                من القوس استمر البرد فينا‬ ‫‪ ٤٨‬ويدخل خامس القوس الشتاء                لدينا وهو عند الحارثينا‬ ‫‪68‬‬ ‫‪ ٤٩‬وبعد مضيه خمسا ً وعشراً              ترى األكليل رؤياك الظعينا‬ ‫‪ ٥٠‬وفي األكليل أمطار غزار                وأيام تسمى األربعينا‬ ‫‪ ٥١‬وفي سبع من األكليل كاني                وتسقط فيه أوراق خوينا‬ ‫‪ ٥٢‬ونجم القلب يطلع في ثمان              مع العشرين من قوس مضينا‬ ‫‪ ٥٣‬تحل الشمس في جدي بثالث                ويؤخذ للدفاء به كنونا‬ ‫‪ ٥٤‬وينصرف الزمان وطول ليل               وفيه البرد شد له حزينا‬ ‫‪ ٥٥‬شروق الشمس بالساعات جيم               وياء والدقائق كان نونا‬ ‫‪ ٥٦‬وماضي الجدي يومان وعشر               فتظهر شولة للناظرينا‬ ‫‪ ٥٧‬وباقي الجدي سبع كان ثاني               وفيه الشبط عند الحاسبينا‬ ‫‪ ٥٨‬وباقي الجدي خمس في النعايم               تبدى للخاليق مصبحينا‬ ‫‪ ٥٩‬تحل الشمس في الدال لخمس              مضت في الشبط بعد األربعينا‬ ‫‪ ٦٠‬وفي عشر من الدلو توالت                تبدى بلدة يا حافظينا‬ ‫‪ ٦١‬وباقي الدلو أيام ثمان                  فسعد ذابح للعاشقينا‬ ‫‪ ٦٢‬ويصعد في الفروع الماء فيه              يطيب العيش والمرعى لدينا‬ ‫‪ ٦٣‬شباط الروم باقي الدلو خمس             تحل الشمس فيه الحوت حينا‬ ‫‪٦٤69‬وإن رمت الربيع ففي بلوع             لخمس الحوت يدخل إذ مضينا‬ ‫‪ ٦٥‬إذا طلع السعود فإن فيه                رياحا ً بالحسوم لها روينا‬ ‫لعل يطيب ‬ ‫الضعينا باالصل ‬ ‫‪69‬‬ ‫ناقص في كتاب صوايان ‬ ‫‪67‬‬ ‫‪68‬‬

13 POETRY 

395

‫ وأيام السعود تمام حوت                 وفيه يبدأ البرغوث فينا‬٦٦ ‫ وفي أيامه إن جاء غيم                دليل الخصب عند مجربينا‬٦٧ ‫ وفي سبع وعشرين اعتدال                فليل مع نهار مستوينا‬٦٨ ‫ آذار الروم خمس فيه جزماً               وبالنوروز يعرف يا أخينا‬٦٩ ‫ إذا حلت ببرج الحمل شمس              فروضات الربيع به زهينا‬٧٠ ‫ ويطلع أخبيا ً في ثان حمل               به البرغوث يؤذي العالمينا‬٧١ ‫ أوان المسهالت مع التداوي               وتخلى الناس أبنية وطينا‬٧٢ ً ‫ طلوع مقدّم في نصف حمل                ويهلك برده تمرا ً وتينا‬٧٣ ‫ ونيسان يكون بتسع حمل                 بنوء مقدّم ك ّل السنينا‬٧٤ ‫ ويأتيك المؤخر في ثمان               مع العشرين جزم الجازمينا‬٧٥ ‫البر عند الزارعينا‬ ّ ‫ غزير الغيث يزهو المرعي فيه             حصاد‬٧٦ ‫ تحل الشمس في ثور بتسع              من النيسان شهر األعجيمنا‬٧٧ ‫ وفيه الفصد يحسن للدماء              وبعض الناس يكفي الحاجمينا‬٧٨ ‫ ونجمات الرشاء يبن فجراً               بعشر الثور أعشاب جفينا‬٧٩ ‫ وأن سماكنا يرقب رشاء                ونجمات الثريا يختفينا‬٨٠ ‫ وصلى يا كريم على نبي                لنا أحيا وأخزى الكافرينا‬٨١ ‫ شفيع الخلق في حشر ونشر                تعم اآلل ثم التابعينا‬٨٢

Bibliography Published Texts Abā Buṭayn, ‘Abd al-Laṭīf al-Sa‘ūd 1988 Min ‘uyu‐n al-shi‘r al-sha‘bı‐. Saudi Arabia. Ahmad, S. Maqbul 1986 IBN MĀDJID. Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, III:356–359. Leiden: Brill. al-‘Ajjājī, Khālid bin ‘Abd Allāh 1434/2012 Sharḥ qası‐̣ dat Muḥammad al-‘Abd Alla ˉh al-Qa ˉḍı‐ fı‐ al-anwa ˉ’ wa-al-nuju‐m. Riyadh. Privately published. Online at https://sites.google.com/site/falakiyat/alqadhi. Āl Bassām, ‘Abd Allāh b. ‘Abd al-Raḥmān b. Ṣāliḥ 1419 AH ‘Ulama ˉ’ Najd khila ˉl thama ˉniya quru‐n. Third Edition. Riyadh. Āl Thānī, ‘Alī b. ‘Abd Allāh b. Qāsim 1389 AH Dı‐wa ˉn al-Shaykh Qa ˉsim Ibn Muḥammad Aˉl Tha ˉnı‐ wa-qasˉ ̣a’id ukhra ˉ Nabaṭiyya. Doha: Dār al-Kutub al-Qaṭariyya. Ferrand, Gabriel 1928 Instructions nautiques et routiers arabes et portugais des XVe et XVIe siècles. Tome III: Introduction a l’astronomie nautique arabe. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. Ferrand, Gabriel 1925 Instructions nautiques et routiers arabes et portugais des XVe et XVIe siècles. Tome II: Sulayma ˉn al-Mahrı‐ et Ibn Ma ˉjid. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner.

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Ferrand, Gabriel 1921–23 Instructions nautiques et routiers arabes et portugais des XVe et XVIe siècles. Tome I: Ibn Ma ˉjid. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. von Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph 1836 Extracts from the Mohi’t, that is the Ocean, a Turkish work on Navigation in the Indian Seas. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 5:441–468. al-Ḥātim, ‘Abd Allāh al-Khālid 1984 Dı‐wa ˉn al-sha ˉ‘ir Muḥammad al-‘Abd Alla ˉh al-Qa ˉḍī. Kuwait: Dhāt al-Salāsil. Ibn Khamīs, ‘Abd Allāh b. Muḥammad 1985 [1405] Ra ˉshid al-Khala ˉwı‐: ḥaya ˉtuh, shi‘ruh, ḥikmuh, falsafatuh, nawa ˉdiruh, hisa ˉbuh al-falakı‐. Third edition. Saudi Arabia, privately published. Ibn Khamīs, ‘Abd Allāh b. Muḥammad 1972 [1392] Ra ˉshid al-Khala ˉwı‐: ḥaya ˉtuh, ‐ shi‘ruh, ḥikmuh, falsafatuh, nawa ˉdiruh, hisa ˉbuh al-falakı. Saudi Arabia. Ibn Mājīd 2001 Kita ˉb al-Fawa ˉ’id fı‐ usu‐l ‘ilm al-baḥr wa-al-qawa ˉ‘id wa-al-fus ̣u‐l. Edited by Ibrāhīm Khūrī. Ras al-Khayma: Markaz al-Dirāsāt wa-al-Wathā’iq. [Original 1971]. Ibn Qutayba, Abū Muḥammad ‘Abd Allāh (d. 276/889) 1956 Kitāb al-Anwā’. Hyderabad: Maṭba‘at Majlis Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmāniyya. Khūrī, Ibrāhīm [Ibrahim Khoury] 2001 Aḥmad bin Ma ˉjid: shi‘ruh al-mala ˉḥı‐. ‐ al-ara ˉjız wa-al-qaṣa ˉ’id. Ra’s al-Khayma: Markaz al-Dirāsāt wa-al-Wathā’iq. Khūrī, Ibrāhīm [Ibrahim Khoury] 1987–1988 Les poèmes nautiques d’Aḥmad b. Māǧid: 3eme _partie. Bulletin d’études orientales 39/40:191–420, 422, 424. Khūrī, Ibrāhīm [Ibrahim Khoury] 1985–1986 Les poèmes nautiques d’Aḥmad Ibn Māǧid: 2eme _partie. Bulletin d’études orientales 37/38:163–276. Serjeant, R.  B. 1970 Maritime Customary Law off the Arabian Coasts. In M. Mollet, editor, Sociétés et compagnies de commerce en Orient et dams l’Océan Indien. Actes du VIIIième Colloque International Maritime (Beyrouth 5–10 septembre 1966, 195–207. Paris: S.E.V.P.E.N. Shumovsky, T.  A., editor 1957 Thala ˉth ra ˉhma ˉnaja ˉt al-majhu‐la. MoscowLeningrad: Oriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences. Tibbetts, Gerard R. 1971 Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean before the Coming of the Portuguese, being a translation of Ahmad Ibn Majid al-Najdi. London: The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

CHAPTER 14

Proverbs

There are many proverbs recorded for the Gulf region, some of which are ancient and others widely shared across the Arab world. The following is a small sample of proverbs recorded for the Gulf region.1 Ab̄ al-luḥab ̄ is for intense heat. August (Ab) (Abū Ṣant ̣ 2002 for dhirā‘/mirzam (at VIII:11) Awwaluh muḥriq wa-ākhiruh mūriq (ANS for balda #21 at I:28 and UWA for balda) The first of it is a burning fire, the latter green. ‘Aylu ̄l la qaylu ̄l September is for rest. (Abū Ṣant ̣ 2002 for jabha (at IX:6) Bayn suhayl wa-al-mirzam najm bi-yabis ghazı ̄r al-jam Between Canopus and Procyon comes a star when the abundant supply of water dries up.  For proverbs in Najd, the primary source is al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (1979 and online at al-‘Ubbūdı ̄ (N.D.); see also al-Shāyib (2003). For Qatar, see al-Mālikı ̄ (2005) and al-Murrı ̄ (1985). 1

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1_14

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(al-‘Ubbūdı ̄, #438) [The star in between is the rising of kulaybayn. This is related to the Iraqi proverb: In July the water of a small pot dries up (tammūz yanshuf al-­ may bi-al-kūz)]. Idhā ṭāḥ al-kinār tusāwā al-layl wa-al-nahār When Christ’s thorn (Zizyphus spina-christi) is ready, night and day are equal. (Al-Nabhānı ̄ 1986:25 notes that this happens at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.) Idhā ṭala‘suhayl talamis al-tamr fı ̄ al-layl wa-lā ta ̄min al-sayl When Canopus has risen, the dates can be gathered at night and do not trust the flood. (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002 for suhayl at VIII:24) Idhā t ̣ala‘at al-thurayyā ‘ashiyān yarāfiq al-burr hayya ̄ When the Pleiades rises in the evening, it is accompanied by lots of wheat. (Oman, Nash 2011b:95) Idhā tanbat al-nakhla fi al-mūf ı ̄ tajı ̄ jurāb wa-tūfı ̄ If you cultivate date palms in mūf ı ̄ [Altair], it will bring bags full of dates and plenty (prosperity). (Oman, Nash 2011b:95) In kān ba ̄riḥ anā ṭa ̄rih If there is a strong wind with dust, I am not going out to sea. (al-Māliki 2013:336) Al-kulayban mudd wa-muddayn In the season of kulaybayn there are many mudd measures. (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002 for nathra/mirzam (at VIII:11) [The term mudd is a measure used for dates; this indicates the time of the date harvest.] Lā yaṭla‘al-simāk illā wa-hūwa ghāraza dhanabih fı ̄ bard Simāk does not rise without its tail end punctuated by cold. (‘Uwayḍa almanac)

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Mā fı ̄hi yawm zayna, amā hawā’ wa-la ghayma There is no nice day in it, just wind without rain clouds. [Qatari proverb] [This is for the station of but ̣ayn (#2).] Al-mirzam mil’ al-miḥzam The star mirzam is full of dates. (Abū Ṣanṭ 2002 for dhirā‘/mirzam (at VIII:11) [This is the time when containers of dates are full due to the harvest.] Qirān ḥa ̄dı ̄ bard bādı ̄ Conjunction 11, cold is felt. [This is the start of the cold, about the middle of mirba‘āniyya in December.] Qirān tāsi‘bard lāsi‘ Conjunction 9, cold is sharp. [This is the intense cold, about the time of shubṭ in January.] Qirān sābi‘majı ̄‘wa-shābi‘ Conjunction 7, hunger and satiation. [This is the start of spring, about the time of the first ‘aqrab in February.] Qirān kha ̄mis rabı ̄‘ṭāmis Conjunction 5, spring is in blossom [Blossoming (izdiha ̄r) of spring, about the time of the third ‘aqrab in March]. Qirān thālith al-rabi‘dhālif Conjunction 3, retreat of spring. [The retreat (idbār) of spring, about the time of the last of ḥamı ̄mayn in April]. Qirān ḥa ̄dı ̄ ‘alā al-qalı ̄b taradı ̄ or qirān al-ḥa ̄dı ̄ tisma“alā al-ma ̄’ munādı ̄ Conjunction 1, wells are visited or Conjunction 1, the invitation to the water is heard. [Camels crowd around the wells due to the heat, about the time of the Pleiades in May and the start of summer (qayẓ).] (al-Misnid 2017) Yā Alla ̄h bi-ṣayfiyya nar‘ā bi-hā dahr wa-lā wasmiyya nar‘ā bi-hā shahr (Abābaṭayn 2015)

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Oh Allāh, on the spring rain we go to pasture a long time, while we only go to pasture a month on the wasmı ̄ rain. Yā Allāh ṣayfiyya nar‘ā bi-ha ̄ ḥawliyya, wa-lā wasmiyya nar‘a bi-hā shatwiyya (al-‘Ubbūdı ̄, #2702) By Allāh, on the spring rain we would go to pasture for a long time, but we only go to pasture on the wasmı ̄ rain in winter. [This is interpreted as the rain of spring being more beneficial than the rain of autumn, because it is the spring growth of pasture with warm weather. It is related to the well-known proverb that the rain of Nı ̄sān is better than 1000 lifting water from a well (maṭara fı ̄ Nı ̄sa ̄n khayr min alf sān).]

Bibliography Electronic Documents Abābaṭayn, Khālid 2015 Twitter Feed (April 2). Online at https://twitter.com/ khalidababatain/status/583739333485568001 (Accessed June, 2021) Abū Ṣant ̣ 2002 Al-Nuju ̄m wa-al-ṭawāli‘.http://www.mekshat.com/vb/ s h o w t h r e a d . p h p ? 2 1 3 3 9 -­% C 7 % E 1 % E 4 % C C % E 6 % E 3 -­ %E6%C7%E1%D8%E6%C7%E1%DA-­(%C8%C7%E1%CA%DD%D5%ED%E1) (Accessed June, 2021) al-Misnid, ‘Abd Allāh 2017 ‘Abqariyya al-‘Arab al-falakiyya.https://www.almisnid.com/almisnid/article-­276.html (Accessed June, 2021)

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al-Shāyib, ‘Abd Allāh ‘Abd al-Muḥsin 2003 al-Nakhla madkhal min khilāl al-amthāl fı ̄ al-Aḥsā’ bi-al-Mamlaka al-‘Arabiyya al-Sa‘ūdiyya. al-Ma’thūrāt al-Sha‘biyya 68:43–73. al-‘Ubbūdı ̄, Muḥammad b. Nāsị r 1979/1399 Al-Amthāl al-‘āmmı ̄ya f ı ̄ Najd. Riyadh: Dār al-Thulūthiyya. 5 volumes.

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© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1

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Index1

A ‘Abal, 176 ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn al-Ḥabīb, 28n22 ‘Abd al-Raḥmā n b. Aḥmad al-Zahāwī, 59 Abū Bishīr, see Dragonfly Abū Ḥanīfa al-Dīnawarī, 41, 52, 53, 99, 121, 127, 130, 161, 164, 175 Abū Isḥāq al-Zajjāj, 32n37, 35, 36, 53, 119 Abū Kabsha, 275 Abu Ma‘shar, 228 Abū Naṣr, 96 Abū ‘Ubayd, 32, 33 Abū ‘Ubayda, 126 Abū Zayd al-Anṣārī, 33, 96, 119, 121 Achernar, 86 ‘Ād, 126 Aden, 77n9, 217, 274 Afghanistan, 81 Afkūk, see Canopus

Agriculture, 177, 281–283 Bahrain, 181 Najd, 178 Oman, 184 Qatar, 177 United Arab Emirates, 183–184 ‘Ajmān, 171 al-Anṣārī, ‘Abd Allāh, 3, 60, 63, 99, 232 al-‘Ayn, 183 al-Bushayra, 232 Aldebaran, 33, 40, 68, 100, 120, 127, 130, 188, 275, 382, 389 al-Dhuwaybī, 102 al-Farā’, 74n2 al-Filāḥa al-Nabaṭı̄ya, 52 al-Hasa, 60, 61, 152, 154, 176, 179, 202 ‘Alib, 106 See also Sirius Al Jazeera, 261

 Note: Page numbers followed by ‘n’ refer to notes.

1

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 D. M. Varisco, Seasonal Knowledge and the Almanac Tradition in the Arab Gulf, Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95771-1

435

436 

INDEX

Almagest, 27, 27n19 al-Mahra, 65 al-Mājid, 67, 99 al-Makhzūmī, 52 Almanac, 2, 26, 51, 59, 263, 271 Abū Ṣant, 355–362 al-Anṣārī, 291–301 al-Mājid, 301–308 al-Hāshimī, 335–342 al-‘Uyūnī, 272–291 Ibn Hāshim, 352–355 Ibn Khamīs, 348–352 al-Marzūq, 362–364 al-Shammārī, 342–348 ‘Uwayḍa, 308–335 Yemen, 2 Almonds, 182, 185, 272, 280 Āl Murrah, 157, 170 al-Qarā, 186 al-qaṣab al-Fārisı̄, 278 al-Qaṭīf, 152 al-quṭb al-asfal, 125 al-Rashāyda, 64 al-Rayy, 245 al-Shaqrā’, 273 al-shi’rā al-’abūr, see Sirius al-shi’rā al-ghumayṣā’, 45 See also Procyon Altair, 26 al-Taqwı̄m al-Baḥraynı̄, 67 al-ṭibb al-nabawı̄, see Prophet’s Medicine al-‘Uyūnī, 35, 38, 43, 45, 60, 61, 63, 67, 99, 122, 129, 150, 151, 153, 161, 163, 164, 175, 188, 204, 245 al-Ẓafara, 66 Anise, 188, 282 Ants, 159, 278 Anwā’, 32, 52, 53, 63, 119, 121 See also Lunar stations Aphrodisiac, 152

Apples, 272, 273 Apricots, 182, 273, 280 ‘Aqārib, 109, 134, 260, 384, 399 ‘Aqrab, see Scorpio Arab Gulf, 4, 9 Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre, 5, 14 Arabic, 13, 23 dialects, 13 lexicons, 26 Araḍa, see Termites Arba‘āniyya, 107 Arcturus, 33, 86, 115, 174, 379 ‘Arfaj, 176 Aries, 27n20, 37, 45, 61, 77 ‘Asīr, 62, 102, 103 al-Aṣma‘ī, 125, 175 Asparagus, 282 ‘Aṣradān, 276 Astrology, 22, 24, 45, 64 Astronomy, 22, 34, 63, 83 ‘ilm al-falak, 22 ‘ilm al-nujūm, 25 Babylonian, 27 folk, 24 Autumn, see Kharı̄f ‘āwās ̣if, 125 ‘Awāzim, 171 ‘Aytharı̄, 178 Ayyām al-‘ajūz, 109 Azyab, 126, 131 B Bā‘, 241 Badan, 218 Baghla, 218 Bahrain, 4, 9n14, 61, 67, 156, 160, 173, 174, 206, 216, 230–232, 241, 248 Baḥūra, 115, 132, 390 Bājis, see Sirius

 INDEX 

Bā Kurayt, 114 Ba‘l, 178 Bananas, 282 Barāghı̄th, see Fleas Barāriḥ, 110 See also Wind Baraṣāt, 228 Bard al-‘ajūz, 107, 115, 134, 260, 281 Bard al-ṭawı̄layn, 109 Bāriḥ al-‘awd, 129, 161 Bāriḥ al-ḥamas, 129 Bāriḥ al-ḥuffār, 129 Bāriḥ al-nuffākh, 129, 274, 389 Barley, 180, 183 Bashīr, Sālim, 42, 65 Basra, 3, 178, 265 Bathing, 153 Batı̄l, 218 Bāṭiniyya camel, 171 Bawāriḥ, 115, 127, 129, 130, 379 Bedbugs, 159 Bedouin, 6, 8, 10, 23, 26, 40, 64, 81, 102, 124, 130n104, 158, 169, 171, 174, 175, 178, 202, 243, 279 pre-Islamic, 33 Beef, 159, 263, 277, 279 Birds, 53, 154–158, 207, 276, 280, 281 al-Bīrūnī, 75, 149–152, 163, 164, 229 Black cumin, 279 al-ḥabba al-sawdā’, 279 Blindness, 152 Blood letting/bloodletting, 149, 150, 153, 384, 392 Boats, see Ships Bonito, 246 Breastmilk, 162, 272 Broad beans, 280, 282 Būm, 218 al-Bū nī, 30n32

437

Burbāra, see Sirius Burckhardt, John Lewis, 39 Burnı̄, 207 Burūj, see Zodiac Busr, 274 Bustard, 157 C Calendar of Cordoba, 12, 28, 159, 162, 164, 263 Camel, 39, 42, 43, 45, 98, 109, 109n35, 150, 169–172, 176, 179, 278 racing, 6 raiding, 172 Canopus, 41–44, 63, 86, 97, 99, 100, 106, 152, 172, 229, 379, 390, 397 calendar, 61, 64, 66, 67, 77–80, 86, 90, 110, 112, 115, 132, 233, 367–372 disappearance, 41, 66n29, 276 Capella, 86 Carrots, 188, 278, 280 Cats, 158, 281 Cattle, 174 Cauterization, 150 Chickpeas, 277 ḥimmaṣ, 277 Chive, 182 Christ’s thorn, 273, 398 Circumcision, 38, 163 Citron, 182, 278 Climate change, 11 Cockroaches, 159 Common cold, 151 Compass, 223, 226 Coriander, 282, 283 Cosmology, 141–143 Cotton, 280, 282, 283 Cowpeas, 272, 282 lūbiyā’, 272

438 

INDEX

Crabs, 248 Crops, 188–201 Cucumbers, 274 Cumin, 188, 278, 280 Cupping, 149, 272, 279, 383, 384 Cuttlefish, 247 D Dabāb, 125 Dabb, see Lizards Dabūr, 125 Dafa’ı̄, 98, 120, 121 Dalūk, 110 Darba, 86 Dates, 38, 43, 45, 112, 121, 126, 132, 148, 161, 162, 173, 174, 179, 182, 184, 202–208, 260, 275, 277, 279, 282, 283, 379, 390, 398, 399 Date varieties, 202 balaḥ, 206 black, 207 busr, 206 khashaf, 206 ruṭab, 206 Dawl, see Jellyfish Declination, 61 mayl, 61 Dhofar, 87, 113–114, 114n47, 246 Dhow, see Ships Dhū al-Rumma, 68, 275 Diet, 143–152, 273, 275–277, 279, 280 Disappearance, 393 Disease, 39, 273, 275 amrāḍ, 39 wabā’, 39 Dithā’, 98, 114, 121 Dogs, 156, 158 Donkeys, 173, 179 Dragonfly, 159

Drinking water, 149, 278 Dūd, see Worm Dugong, 247 Dung, 170 Durr, 230 Durūr, 77, 111 Dūth, 114 E Eclipse, 65n23 Eggplant, 182, 263, 277, 279, 282, 283 Egypt, 44n95, 173 Endive, 273 Epilepsy, 152 Equinox, 96 Ethnography, 8, 23 digital, 14 Euphrates, 164 Evil eye, 175 Eye disease, 151, 275 F Faḍ ık̄ h, 43 Falaj, 9, 83, 90, 183, 186 Falconry, 6, 154–158, 261 Faq‘, see Truffles Farqadān, 44 Faṣd, see Blood letting/bloodletting Fayf ā, 62n15, 103 Fennel, 282 Fenugreek, 188, 278 Figs, 182, 185, 274, 280, 283 Finger millet, 184 Firāq, 77 See also Canopus Fish, 86–90, 178, 205, 245–250, 260, 273 sardines, 90 Flax, 279

 INDEX 

Fleas, 159, 260, 273, 392 Flies, 159 Fog, 115 Foods, 146–148 Frogs, 124 G Garden cress, 188 Garlic, 188, 279, 280 Gazelles, 66, 156–158 Ghashayān, see Sex Ghaws, 232 Ghayl, 186 Ghuyūb, 111 Ginger, 279, 280, 282 Goats, 174 Gourd, 274, 276 Grapes, 184, 274, 275 Greece, 41 Greek, 52 Gulf Cooperation Council, 4 H Haḍār, 42 Haḍra, 248 Hadramawt, 90, 171 Hajar, 45, 179, 183 Ḥajar Mountains, 111 Ḥ alam, 91, 176 al-Hamadhānī, 40, 202 Ḥ amārra al-ṣayf, 98 Ḥ amḍ , 176 Ḥ amı̄m, 63, 67, 100, 109, 111, 115, 120, 121, 260 Ḥ āmūr, 248 Ḥ arm, 176 Harrārayn, 174 al-Hāshimī, 67, 99 Hawāmm, 159 Hayf, 132

439

Hayfiyya, 132 Hayr, 231 Ḥ aẓra, 247 Headaches, 151 Health, 143 Hejaz, 38, 39, 41, 62, 120, 122 Heritage, 6, 262, 264 intangible, 7 tangible, 7 Hesiod, 165 Ḥ ijāma, see Cupping Hijrī calendar, see Month Ḥ ils, 274 Himyarite calendar., 114 Himyaritic calendar, 98, 99 Hindi, 14 Hipparchus, 27 Hippocrates, 152, 275 Historiography, 11 Honey, 159, 163, 273, 280 Hormuz, 130, 216 Horses, 158, 170, 173, 380 Hot periods, 132–135 Ḥ ubāra, see Bustard Humoral system, 142 akhlāṭ, 142 Humors, 263 Hunting, 154–158 Ḥ usūm, 67, 115, 126, 392 Ḥ ūt, see Pisces I Ibn al-A‘rābī, 33 Ibn al-Ajdābī, 41, 162 Ibn al-Mujāwir, 10, 126, 163, 184, 217, 245, 248 Ibn Barī, 80 Ibn Baṣṣāl, 53 Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, 230, 237 Ibn Hāshim, 143, 150, 152, 153, 164

440 

INDEX

Ibn Kathīr, 30n30, 163 Ibn Khālawayh, 125, 126 Ibn Khurradādhbih, 182, 217 Ibn Kunāsa, 121 Ibn Mājid, 69, 79, 222, 377–378 Ibn Mammātī, 52, 163 Ibn Māsawayh, 28, 45, 52, 163, 236 Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, 148, 150 Ibn Qutayba, 1, 10, 11, 26, 28, 30–32, 34, 36, 41, 42, 45, 65, 66, 95, 112, 119, 122, 125, 134, 158, 176, 206 Ibn Shahwān, 65, 69, 102, 127, 229, 388–395 Ibn Sīda, 122 al-Idrīsī, 230 Ijjās ̣, 276 Ikhtifā’, see Pleiades ‘ilb, 227 ‘ilm al-mı̄qāt, 90 India, 216 Indian Ocean, 10, 216, 224, 227, 246, 274, 278 Inflorescence, 205, 283 Insects, 46, 53, 124, 159 Iraq, 41, 98 Irrigation, 179, 280, 281 sayḥ, 179 ‘Īsā al-Kuwār ī, 63 Iṣfirı̄, 115 Istisqā’, 124 J Jabal Akhḍar, 9 Jadı̄, see Polaris Ja‘far al-Ṣadiq, 135 Jalāl al-Dawla Mālik Shāh, 79 Jālbūt, 218 Jamrat al-qayḍ , 275 Janūb, 125 Jār wa-jār, 134

Jawz, see Walnuts Jellyfish, 243 Jesus, 164 al-Jifan, 273 Jirbiyā’, 125 Joshua, 163 Jujube, 275 Julf ār, 230 K Kaḥha ̣ , 233 Kalb al-jabbār, see Orion Kamāl, 225 Kamāt, see Truffles Karkūr, 247 Kaws, 131 Kayy, see Cauterization Khams al-masārı̄q, 111 Khanjiyya, 233 Kharı̄f, 63, 67, 82, 96, 99, 102, 111, 121, 390 Khashaba, 225 al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, 25 Khorasan, 98 Khunnas, see Planets Kitāb al-Anwā’, 11 Kitāb al-Azmina wa-al-amkina, see al-Marzūqī Kite, 158, 278 Kulaybayn, 110, 132, 275, 276, 379, 398 Kuwait, 4, 9, 43, 64, 107–111, 124, 130, 151, 154, 157, 159, 171, 173, 178, 205, 228, 231, 233, 241, 247 L Lateen sail, 217 Legumes, 278, 282 buqūl, 278

 INDEX 

Lemons, 182, 277, 283 Lettuce, 280 Limes, 183 Lizards, 158 Locusts, 46 Lucerne, 176, 179, 182, 183, 187, 282 Ludovico de Varthema, 237 lu’lu’, 230 Lunar, 97–98 Lunar stations, 22, 29–36, 259 M Ma‘ālim al-zirā‘a, 106 Mackerel, 246 Madness, 152 Maghlı̄l, 114 Mahra, 90, 131 Mahri, 98, 114, 115 Maize, 183 Majarra, 276 al-Malik al-Ashraf ‘Umar, 25, 28, 79, 164, 173 Mālik b. Anas, 28n22 Mallow, 261, 282 Manākh, see Almanac Manāt, 119 Manāzil al-shams, 262 See also Anwā’ Mango, 182, 183 Mangrove, 176 gurm, 176 Manna, 163, 275 al-Maqrīzī, 52 Mary, 164 al-Marzūqī, 26, 28, 100, 119, 127 Maṣīra, 109n35, 115–118 al-Mas‘ūdī, 228, 232, 237 Mecca, 22, 125, 127, 149 Medical plaster, 150 Medicine, 150 Mediterranean, 164, 278

441

Melons, 185, 274, 279, 280, 282, 283 Milḥān, 96 Milky Way, 26, 276 Millet, 282 Mint, 283 Mirāba‘ı̄n, 115 Mirba‘āniyya, 64, 79, 81, 112 Mirzam, 110, 276, 379, 382, 399 See also Sirius Miṣāyif, 111 Mı̄z ān, 275 Mobile phones, 260 Monsoon seasons, 227 Month, 8 Coptic, 59 eclipse, 65 Gregorian, 63, 64, 66, 67, 77 Julian, 28, 34, 60, 75–76, 79 lunar, 8, 11, 22, 63, 67, 74, 149 Persian, 79, 79n12 zodiacal, 60, 61, 63, 67, 76–77, 281–283 Mosquito, 159 Mu‘atadilāt suhayl, 107 al-Mubarrad, 37n58 Mugharraf, 179 Muhammad, 33, 37n58, 38, 65, 67, 100, 148–150, 261, 274 Muḥlifān, 42 Mulberries, 182, 280 Mung bean, 274 Munṣāf, 85 Musaqqam, 234 Muscat, 202, 227, 248 Mustard, 279 al-Mu‘taḍaḍ bi-Allāh, 79 Muṭayr, 171 N Nāb al-dahr, 277 Nabq, 273

442 

INDEX

Nadā, 125 Nahhām, 234 Najd, 62, 68, 77, 80, 107, 122, 157, 188 Nājir, 96 Najm, see Pleiades Najrān, 102 Najwa, 231 Nakbā’, 125 Nākhūdhā, 224, 250 Narcissus, 278 Nāshı̄, 130 Nashr, 176, 278 Natı̄ja, see Almanac National Museum of Qatar, 265 Navigation, 217–229 Navigational calendar, 65 Naw’, see Anwā Nawkhūdha, see Nākhūdhā Nayrūz, 79 Nazalāt, see Sinus drainage Neolithic, 202, 230 Nikāḥ, see Sex Nile, 44n95, 46, 53, 60, 164 Nı̄sān, 124, 244, 273 Nizwa, 187 Noxious vermin, 276, 280 al-Nuwayrī, 141 O Oil, 266 Okra, 182, 283 Oman, 4, 9, 61, 112–119, 154, 171, 174–176, 202, 206, 218, 231, 241, 249 Onion, 185, 274, 282 Ophthalmia, 151 Oranges, 182 Orion, 45, 382 Ostrich, 158

P Pasture, 82, 120, 174–177, 277, 280, 384, 392, 400 ‘ushb, 175 Peaches, 182, 275, 280, 283, 384 Pearling, 178, 227, 229–245, 274, 275 Pearls, 124, 182, 230, 236, 244, 273 Pepper, 279 Peregrine, see Falconry Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 230 Persian Gulf, 12, 215 Pestilential disease, 151 Physical exercise, 149 Piracy, 12, 216 Pisces, 34 Planets, 22, 23, 26–29, 65, 81, 260, 356, 373 Pleiades, 25, 33, 37–41, 37n58, 67, 97, 99, 115, 119, 122, 127, 153, 161, 162, 164, 201, 228, 273, 274, 379, 389, 398 calendar, 80–82, 108, 373, 399 disappearance, 39, 109, 201, 228, 281, 374 Pliny, 98, 230 Ploughing, 174, 179, 186, 188 Plum, 182, 276 Poetry, 23, 44, 67, 68n38, 80, 109, 120, 223, 265, 273, 275, 377–395 Nabaṭī, 62, 68 rhymed sayings, 30 Polaris, 44 jāh, 44 Pole Star, 68 Pollination, 205 Pomegranate, 182, 185, 276, 280, 283, 384 Poppy, 278 Portuguese, 216, 222, 377 Prawns, 248

 INDEX 

Prayers, 61, 65, 67, 90, 124, 149, 259 Procyon, 45, 188, 397 Prognostication, 25 Prophet’s Medicine, 143, 149, 150, 153 Proverb, 40, 41, 43, 45, 149, 151, 179, 244, 397–400 Purgatives, 383 Purselane, 273 Purslane, 182 Q Qabūl, 125 al-Qāḍī, 69, 102, 134, 381–388 Qalhāṭ, 184, 216 al-Qalqashandī, 52 Qar‘, 276 Qarqūr, 247 Qarsh, see Sharks Qārūt, 83 Qarya, 85, 90 Qaṭā, see Sandgrouse Qatar, 4, 5, 9, 59, 66, 80, 124, 131, 134, 158, 171, 177, 231, 233, 235, 263 Qatari almanac, 67, 259, 291–301 See also al-Anṣārī, ‘Abd Allāh Qaṭīf, 61, 202, 231, 242 Qatt, 276 Qays, 34, 119, 216, 230 Qayẓ, 67, 90, 96, 99, 111, 114, 119, 121, 132, 206, 233, 246, 380 al-Qazwīnī, 28, 45, 52, 149, 151, 152, 159, 162, 164, 229 Qirān, see Pleiades Qiththā’, see Snake cucumber Quails, 163 Qubqub, see Crabs Quff āl, 233 Quince, 273, 282 Qumāh,̣ 96

443

Qumāsha, 230 Qur’an, 22, 24, 28, 30, 33, 37, 44, 64, 69, 125, 260 Qushayr, 119 Qushayriyūn, 34 Quṭrub, 33, 63, 79, 96, 100, 119, 121, 122 R Rabbits, 156, 157 Rabı̄‘, 63, 67, 81, 96, 111, 121, 176 Raddā, 233 Radish, 182 Rain, 36, 119–124, 264, 272, 273, 390 Rakham, see Vulture Ramad, see Ophthalmia Ramḍ ā’, see Rain Ramḍ iyā, 121 Ramm, 183 Ra’s al-Ḥadd, 86, 116–118, 228 Ra’s al-Khayma, 250 Rashayda, 157 Rāshid al-Khalāwī, 68, 102, 349, 378–380 Rāshid bin Fāḍil al-Bin ‘Alī, 231 Rhymed sayings, 43, 274, 276, 279–281 saj‘, 67 Ribyān, see Prawns Rice, 180, 274, 281, 282 Ridda, 233 Rome, 41 Rose water, 272 Roses, 281, 384 Rub‘, 112 Ruṭab, 282 Rūznāma, see Almanac Rwala, 8, 44, 96n2, 97, 102, 124, 132, 156, 170, 171

444 

INDEX

S Sabā, 125, 126, 130 Ṣabārra, 98 Sa‘d al-su‘ūd, 161 Ṣafarı̄, 82, 97 See also Autumn Ṣafariyya, 79, 97, 107 Safflower, 188 Sagittarius, 34, 46 Sahm, 91 Saj‘, 274, 276, 279–281 See also Poetry; Rhymed sayings Saker, see Falconry Salāla, 86 Salūqı̄, see Dogs Samā’im, 127, 275 Samḥ, 162 Samūm, 127, 130 Sanbūq, 218 Sandgrouse, 157 Sandstorms, 40, 46 Sarāyāt, 115, 260 See also Wind Ṣarb, 114, 246 Sardines, 174, 246, 248 Saudi Arabia, 4, 43, 62, 66, 102, 151, 160 Sawfish, 243 Ṣayf, 63, 67, 96, 98, 111, 121, 384 Scorpio, 34, 64, 109, 121, 149 Scorpions, 159 Seasons, 10 four-season model, 10 Seaweed, 173, 177 Sesame, 282 Sex, 40, 152–154, 272, 274, 275, 278, 280, 390 Ṣfirı̄, 79, 107 Shadow lengths, 66, 90–91 Shamāl, 125 Shamsı̄yā, 121 Sharkh, 179

Sharks, 243, 246 Shatwı̄, 120 Shaybān, 96 Sheep, 174 Shiḥūḥ, 202 Shillı̄, 131 Ships, 217 crew, 224, 234 meals, 227 Shi‘rı̄, 248 Shitā’, 63, 67, 81, 96, 111, 112, 115 Shrikes, 276 Shubṭ, 115n54, 391, 399 Shukla, 45 Sibā‘, see Falconry Sidereal rose, 226 Silkworms, 159 Simoom, 127, 129, 274, 382 Sinai, 23, 39 Sinus drainage, 151 S ̣irāb, 114 Siraf, 216, 230 al-Sirāfī, 3 S ̣irām, 277 Sirius, 37, 44–46, 67, 85, 86, 98, 127, 275 Slavery, 217, 243, 265 Slaves, 152 Sleep, 149, 277, 278 Snake cucumber, 148, 182, 273, 282 Snakes, 159 Socotra, 217 Sorghum, 183, 184, 201, 261, 282 Spica, 379, 390 Spinach, 282 Ṣudā‘, see Headaches al-Ṣūfī, 26, 27 Sugar cane, 187, 279, 283 Suhar, 216 Suhayl disappearance, 77 See also Canopus

 INDEX 

Sulaymān al-Mahrī, 131 Summer, see Qayẓ Sūs, see Worms Ṣuwar al-kawākib, see al-Ṣūfī Swifts, 280 Swiss chard, 282 T Taif, 62 Ṭ al‘, see Inflorescence Tamarind, 182 Tamarisk, 383 Tamīm, 122 Taqwı̄m, see Almanac Taqwı̄m al-awqāt li-arḍ al-Mamlaka al-‘Arabiyya al-Sa‘ūdiyya, 62 Taqwı̄m al-Thaqafī, 62 Taqwı̄m al-‘Ujayrī, see Al-‘Ujayrī Taqwı̄m al-Ẓafara, 66 Taqwı̄m Ibn ‘Amı̄ra, 62 Ṭarḥ, 182 Ṭ ā‘ūn, see Pestilential disease Taurus, 37 Ṭawı̄, 184 Termites, 161, 278 Threshing, 278 Thurayyā disappearance, 158 See also Astronomy Ṭ ilā’, see Medical plaster Tı̄r, see Sirius Tobacco, 183 Trees, 161, 260, 278, 280–282, 383 Trucial States, 3 Truffles, 82, 98, 120, 161, 277, 280 Tuna, 246 Turtles, 129 Tuwaybı̄‘, 110, 124

U UAE, 233, 242, 248 Uḥaymir, 278 See also Arcturus Al-‘Ujayrī, 64, 110, 188 Underground infiltration gallery, see Falaj United Arab Emirates, 3–4, 66, 111–112 ‘Uqayr, 21 Uranus, 65 Urine, 170, 279 Ursa Major, 44, 130 ‘Uṭayba, 171 ‘Uwayḍa, 66, 109, 111, 132 V Vega, 26, 85, 86, 187, 275 Vegetius, 165 Violets, 278 banafsaj, 278 Vulture, 156, 278 W Wabā’, see Pestilential disease Wadaḥ, 182 Waghra, 43 Waghrat al-shi‘rā, see Sirius Waj‘ al-‘ayn, see Eye disease Walnuts, 277, 282 Waqdat suhayl, see Canopus Wasmı̄, 38, 63, 67, 79, 82, 107, 111, 115, 119, 122, 162, 174, 188, 263, 277, 383, 390, 400 Water clocks, 86 Watermelons, 282 juḥh,̣ 282 Wazn, 42

445

446 

INDEX

Weather, 8, 132–135 cold periods, 132–135 Weather Stars, see Anwā’ Wells, 175, 179, 184, 187, 383 Wheat, 180, 183, 272, 281, 282, 392, 398 Wild plants, 161–162 Wind, 40, 86, 125–132, 278, 383 Winnowing, 279 Winter, see Shitā’ Wolves, 157 Wood, 161 Worm, 161, 207, 276, 278, 280, 383

Y Yāqūt, 178 Yemen, 8, 10, 41, 53, 62, 81, 98, 112, 121, 125, 178, 186 Z Zabāra, 59 Zahw, 282 al-Zamakhsharī, 28, 119 Zanzibar, 227 Zawābi‘, see Sandstorms Zodiac, 22, 27, 34, 63 lunar, 29, 33 Zubaydı̄, see Truffles Zukām, see Common cold