Star Use by Fishermen in Oman

bs_bs_banner The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology (2017) 46.1: 179–191 doi: 10.1111/1095-9270.12204 Star Use by Fishermen in Oman Harriet Nash and Dionisius A. Agius Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, nashalbu@gmail.com Ali H. Al-Mahrooqi Ministry of Heritage and Culture, Post Box 668, Postal Code 100, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Said A. Al-Yahyai Royal Navy of Oman, Post Box 723, Postal Code 111, Al Seeb, Sultanate of Oman Ethnographic information collected by the authors on former star use along the Arabian Sea coast of Oman is presented and discussed. Although the stars were not observed directly, some were identified from detailed descriptions and astronomy software. Many are associated with winds warning of danger at sea, a few to tell the direction, and others to note productive fishing periods. Not all stars in the full-year calendars prepared by others had practical applications. To clarify the issues raised, it will be necessary to spend more time in the fishing settlements, where possible watching stars with people who still remember them. © 2016 The Authors Key words: Arabian Sea, fishing stars, traditional star knowledge, folk astronomy, star calendars. T hroughout the world, stars have been used for thousands of years to mark the seasons and forecast the weather, as well as for telling the time and finding directions at night. Such star knowledge is generally an oral tradition, handed down from one generation to the next, but with the widespread use of watches and clocks, and satellite navigation aids in modern times, as well as increasing light pollution, it has largely disappeared. Oman, however, was relatively late in modernization and stars were still in use, at least for timing the distribution of irrigation water, up to 2013 and perhaps even today. Investigation of star knowledge in present-day Oman provides a useful key to past practice and society both in Oman and the wider region, exemplifying how communities interact with nature and manage their resources. With a 2000 km-long and strategically located coastline on the Arabian Sea and the Gulf, the waters of Oman are abundant with a great variety of fish, with around 155,000 tonnes caught a year between 2005 and 2011 (FAO, 2015–2016). Fishing has always been an important livelihood, with 81% of the catch still being caught by traditional methods in the early 1990s (Sultan Qaboos University College of Agriculture, 1995: 34), enhancing the survival of related star knowledge. While researching boat typology and seafaring activities in Oman during a Leverhulme Award project (1996–1998), Agius, who later supervised Nash’s PhD on star use in irrigation timing in Oman (Nash, 2011), collected information on stars used by fishermen that was left unstudied. In 2011 and 2013 while in Oman, Nash attempted to establish the feasibility of carrying out a long-term research project into the star knowledge of people with diferent livelihoods, and much of the information obtained was related to fishing activities. This paper combines the two sets of information, focusing on star knowledge by fishermen and their families. Interviews Since the subject being investigated relates to oral heritage, written documents are few and the main source is ethnographic fieldwork by the authors. Interviews of fishermen were conducted by Agius in Raysut and Ras Al Hadd in the 1990s, and of mostly retired fishermen by Nash in Sinaw, Adam and Qantab in 2011 and in Tiwi in 2013. Nash was assisted by Ali AlMahrooqi in Adam and by Said Al-Yahyai in Qantab (Fig. 1, Table 1). Raysut is 50 km west of Salalah, capital of the Dhofar region; at the time it was visited by Agius in 1996 it © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 46.1 Figure 1. Map showing locations of places in Oman referred to in the text. was a small village known for sardine fishing. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it was an active medieval harbour of the frankincense trade (Agius, 2005: 90), and today it is the port of Salalah. Ras Al Hadd, 80 km south-east of the major port and fish market of Sur, was a small fishing village when Agius visited it in 1996. Sinaw is a thriving market town approximately 55 km east of Adam, which is an important town approximately 160 km south-west of the capital Muscat on the main road from Muscat to Salalah. Although both towns are inland, it was expected, and proved possible, to interview people living part of the time on the island of Masira and the adjacent coast, which could not be visited due to time constraints. In Adam, Ali Al-Mahrooqi identified people with star knowledge and accompanied Nash for the ensuing interviews. Tiwi is a small coastal town where fishing is still a major livelihood, 45 km north of Sur. Here, a meeting was arranged for Nash by Muhammad Al-Musharifi, Director of the Municipality, with a retired fisherman. Qantab is a fishing village located 15 km south-west of Muscat where Al-Yahyai, a lawyer, had been studying a court case on fishing rights determined by stars. He accompanied Nash to interview one of the fishermen involved. Hence this paper focuses on the coastal stretch facing the Arabian Sea, from Raysut in the south almost as far as Muscat in the north. The interviews were open, with no formal questionnaire, in order to stimulate memories and avoid the risk of people providing information they think the interviewer wants, but which may not be true to their memories. Interviews were carried out in Arabic and generally did not last more than one hour. Since the interviews by Nash were specifically about stars, the first question was: ‘What stars do you know?’ The response was usually a list of names, possibly the number of stars the name referred to, whether bright or not, and the time of year and purpose it applied to. This was followed up with more specific questions aimed at clarifying the first response and therefore varying from interview to interview. In most cases, the StarryNightTM software was then run for that latitude, generally facing east with the stars rising, to see if the interviewees recognized any of the stars. Written sources The use of stars by navigators in the Indian Ocean is relatively well documented in medieval and modern pilot guides, such as for telling the direction, and marking time and hence distance travelled at sea. Pilot guides were used by professional navigators and ships’ captains, who knew the winds and seasons for sailing the trade routes across the Indian Ocean. One of the best-known pilot guides is that by Ibn Mājid, written in the second half of the 15th century (Tibbetts, 1971), which, together with Tibbetts’ commentary in the latter part of his book, gives considerable information on winds and a scattering of information on stars associated with winds, as detailed in sections below Table 1. Information on interviews conducted by the authors (see also Fig. 1) Location Raysut Ras Al Hadd Sinaw Adam Tiwi Qantab 180 Grid Reference Interviews N E Number Age Date 16°56′ 03′′ 22°15′ 53′′ 22°30′ 56′′ 22°23′ 06′′ 22°49′ 48′′ 23°33′ 36′′ 53°59′ 33′′ 59°44′ 32′′ 58°01′ 59′′ 57°31′ 30′′ 59°15′ 18′′ 58°37′ 48′′ 8 2 1 5 1 1 40s (4 men); 50s (3 men); 70s (1 man) both (men) in their 50s c.55 (1 woman) 60s and 70s (5 men) 70s (1 man) 70s (1 man) 18–19 Nov. 1996 Nov. 1996 June 2011 June 2011 Nov. 2013 June 2011 © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. NASH ET AL.: STAR USE BY FISHERMEN IN OMAN where winds are referred to. The same stars may be used by fishermen, but fishermen generally stay close to shore and do not read or use such guides, relying on their oral heritage of star knowledge. A booklet by Alian (2006), in both English and Arabic, includes a star calendar for the coastal area of Dhofar, the southern district of Oman. The booklet is an homage to the sambūq, a boat used in modern times mainly for sardine fishing (see Vosmer, 1997: 219, 231–234, Agius, 2002: 77–86). The sardine is found in quantities on the southern Arabian coast and is commercially important, being used as fodder, fertilizer and for human consumption. The booklet focuses on the construction and use of the sambūq, and the traditional sardine industry: the stars are not discussed in any detail. A so-far-unpublished star calendar, said to be used on Masira and in Ras Al Hadd, has been collated by Juma Saleem Al-Farsi, who provided a hard copy for Musallam Al-Junaybi in Adam to give to Nash on her visit in June 2011. Stars used for timing water shares in the gravityfed irrigation systems on Oman, called aflāj (s. falaj) have been studied in some detail by Nash (for example, 2011), and that information is used for comparison of star names and identifications. The Nayrūz calendar This calendar was mentioned once in the research carried out by Nash, and is referred to in Al-Farsi’s star calendar for Masira and Ras Al Hadd. It is briefly described here to avoid long digressions in the following sections. The Nayrūz calendar, dating back at least to the rule of Yazdagird III (632–651 AD), was once used widely in Iran and the wider region. Nayrūz (more correctly transliterated from the Persian as Nowrūz) means New Year’s Day. The year had 365 days and therefore started one day earlier each four years. The start was fixed oicially at the vernal equinox around 20 March in the 11th century AD (Abdollahy, 1990), but navigators in the Indian Ocean continued to use the old system. Ibn Mājid states that the start of the New Year is at the dawn rise of Iklı̄l (the head of the constellation Scorpius), at the same time as Thurayyā (the Pleiades) sets (Tibbetts, 1971: 82, 107). The date for Nayrūz in Ibn Mājid’s sailing tables appears to have been 14 November 1488 (Tibbetts, 1971: 362) and elsewhere dates given by Tibbetts relate to a start of 25 November, the earlier day fitting best with the time of the dawn rise of Iklı̄l and setting of Thurayyā. Based on the first date, the start of this calendar would currently be in early July. Star periods and identification The stars are associated with clearly defined periods of time. Since they rise four minutes earlier each night, with the exception of polar and sub-polar stars, they are not visible all year round. In Oman, for timing the division of irrigation water from the gravity-fed falaj systems, the beginning of the star period is consistently when the star is the last to rise at night, that is at dawn, before the sky becomes too light to see it (Nash, 2011: 39–40). The end of the period is marked by the dawn (heliacal) rise of the next star. This method of determining the start of a star’s time also applies to the Islamic stellar stations of the moon (manāzil al-qamr; see for example, Kunitzsch, 2012), but is not necessarily used everywhere and for all purposes. If a particular period is allocated to a star and the start date is known, it can be ascertained whether the start relates to the dawn rise, evening rise, dawn setting or evening setting of the star. Such checks were carried out with the use of the astronomy computer program Starry NightTM , in which the location, date, time, and direction of the horizon can be selected to ‘view’ the movement of stars, planets and other celestial objects in real time. Much of the information presented here was collected after the demise of star use: those who remember are elderly with failing eyesight and would not normally be out at night watching stars. In Adam and Sinaw, the people interviewed were not in the place where they would have watched the stars talked about, and therefore would not necessarily recognize them, even if seen. The possibilities to confirm the information given are therefore limited, but some people interviewed by Nash were either able to identify stars on the computer from Starry NightTM , or describe them in suicient detail to be reasonably confident of their identification. The names of stars given in the text may be for a single star, but often they are for pairs or groups. They are given as closely as possible to how they were written or spoken at interview, resulting in some variation in spelling. No attempt has been made to change the names to Standard Written Arabic as to do so would risk losing part of the oral tradition. A glossary of the star names mentioned in the paper is given at the end. Dhofar The information on Dhofar comes from interviews of retired fishermen by Agius in 1996 while researching the history of boat typology and boatbuilding (Table 1, Fig. 2), and a list of stars related to the seasons by Alian (2006), who lives in this area. Coastal Dhofar has four seasons: kharı̄f, the southwest monsoon season (27 June to 25 September); .sarb, the harvest season (26 September to 26 December); shitā’, the winter season (27 December to 27 March); and qayz., the hot season (28 March to 26 June). The winds and currents of the Arabian Sea during the south-west monsoon are strong and waves are high, so the harbours and anchorages are ‘closed’ and the fishing boats beached. As Saeed Masud Muhammad © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. 181 NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 46.1 Table 2. Star list for coastal Dhofar from Alian (2006) Star Nac yim Balda Suhayl Balac Dhābih. Khabā’ Manās.if Figure 2. Fishermen at Raysut, November 1996 (photograph by D. A. Agius). Al-Mashini of Salalah said when interviewed by Agius on 18 November 1996: ‘No large ship would get close to the coast during the monsoon.’ When the kharı̄f winds calm down towards the end of September, it becomes safer for fishing and ships seeking anchorage (Agius, 2005: 88–89). The .sarb season starts and the fishermen put out to the sea for sardine net fishing, which continues through the winter season. Fishing does carry on during the hot season of qayz., although according to Sabi Khamis of Raysut, interviewed by Agius in November 1996, it is limited due to the intense heat and the paucity of fish. The stars mentioned to Agius by Musallam Saeed Ahmad, Muhed Ali Amer, Mubashshir Khamis Raghab, Hafiz Awad and Raghab Khamis in Raysut were: Suhayl, Dhābih., H . ūf), . ūt (also pronounced H But.ayn, Thurayyā, and H . aqqa. The time for Suhayl and Dhābih. is in the kharı̄f season, and it appears that the periods for these two stars bring particularly heavy rains and/or strong winds. The other stars mentioned are in the .sarb season, the harvest for both arable crops and sardines. In the minds of the interviewees, all activities related to sardine fishing—the fishing itself, trading, oil production—were related to the times of stars. They calculated the time periods with a cognitive map of all the stars in sequence and considered the time of Thurayyā as particularly productive. When asked about the correspondence of the timing of these stars with Gregorian dates or the Hijri calendar, they responded that the Dhofari calendar is ‘simple and precise’, as each season has seven stars, and if a fisherman counts one star after the other he would know, for example, that if it is the fourth star of one season then there are roughly 12 days for that star plus 36 days to the end of the season. The information on stars published by Alian is given here with some amendments (Table 2), mainly to provide a transliteration from Arabic more consistent with that in the rest of the paper. In relation to the list, he writes about the h.isāb, the traditional, and 182 Period Kharı̄f (south-west monsoon) season 27 June 9 July 10 July 22 July 23 July 4 August 5 August 17 August 18 August 30 August 31 August 12 September 13 September 25 September Dalw H . ūt Nat.h. But.ayn Thurayyā Burkān H . aqqa S . arb (harvest) season 26 September 9 October 22 October 4 November 17 November 30 November 13 December 8 October 21 October 3 November 16 November 29 November 12 December 26 December Hana Dhirāc Nathra T.araf Jubha Zubra S.arfa Shitā’ (winter) season 27 December 9 January 22 January 4 February 17 February 6 March 15 March 8 January 21 January 3 February 16 February 5 March 14 March 27 March c Awı̄ Simāk Ghafar Zabbān Kalı̄l Qalb Shūl Qayz. (hot) season 28 March 10 April 23 April 6 May 19 May 1 June 14 June 9 April 22 April 5 May 18 May 31 May 13 June 26 June largely illiterate, Dhofari calendar keepers: it appears that the information came from them and he was told that they knew not only the number of days but also the remaining hours to the start of the next star (Alian, 2006: 17 English and Arabic). The time for one star is usually 12 days, but there is some variation as expected with a star calendar, the number of days being determined by which stars are selected for use. Alian does not describe what the stars portend other than for big-net sardine fishing, which starts with H . ūt, the second star of the .sarb season, and lasts until the end of the star S.arfa on 27 March (Alian, 2006: 12; Arabic: 13). Many of the star names in Table 2 are the same as, or similar to, the names of the stations of the moon (lunar mansions) and it is likely that some are the same stars, but others, such as Suhayl, are not. Suhayl is the name for Canopus (␣ Carinae), which was widely used at sea in these latitudes as a rough marker for the south, rising south-southeast and setting southsouthwest. It is quite certain that Canopus is referred to: the name is not often given to other stars and it is © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. NASH ET AL.: STAR USE BY FISHERMEN IN OMAN Table 3. Stars known by Thamna Khamis Halal from Masira Star name Number and description of stars Luqmān Shac rā’ Ḥamr c Aqrab Kuwı̄ T.ayr — five spread out four or five several together a group, described as babies three like a bird Ḥassan Suhayl many stars — Suwābic seven Thurayyā’ Aklı̄ Yā’ Ḥalāba like a bunch of grapes to the south sign of the north also known as Zuhara, shining Time for the star What it brings — — — — — ‘stars of summer’, possibly June — rubac – June, July and August September wind (kaws) wind and then rain wind from India for one month wind (azı̄b or kaws) from the sea wind from the sea (azı̄b) wind from the sea (azı̄b) — — — sign of dawn unlikely that fishermen would give this name without some additional explanation if it were not Canopus. Checking on Starry NightTM , in this region Canopus rises above the horizon at dawn in the third week of July, the starting time given in the table. For other stars whose identification is as certain, such as Thurayyā (the Pleiades), or nearly so, such as Qalb (Antares, ␣ Scorpii), the dates are not related to the heliacal rise of the star, but to their rising as night falls or possibly to their setting at dawn. Given the seasonal nature of fishing activities, it is unlikely that all of these stars are related to fishing or coastal activities. Varisco (for example 2000: 622 and 625–626) argues that the original pre-Islamic rain stars (anwā’) related to agriculture in Yemen were fewer than 28 but were later modified in Islamic times to incorporate the stellar stations of the moon introduced from India. It appears that this may also be the case for the Dhofari calendar. Masira and the nearby coast Many people from Masira or the mainland nearby traditionally make a living there from fishing and animal herding for much of the year. In the summer months, however, they live in Sinaw, Adam, and other interior towns to tend their date palms, especially around the time of the date harvest. In modern times, many families have houses in the interior towns where the younger generation is more likely to find salaried work. One interview was carried out in Sinaw in 2011 by Nash, the introduction having been made by Saud Abdullah Al-Habsi, Postmaster of Sinaw. Several interviews in Adam and nearby villages were held in 2011 by Nash and Al-Mahrooqi, who had identified a number of people willing to talk about the stars they remembered. strong wind (azı̄b and kaws) strong wind (kaws) from the direction of India for 24 hours a less strong wind (kaws) for one month very strong wind strong wind (shallı̄) used for navigation, eg to Africa time to milk the animals Figure 3. Thamna Khamis Halal, June 2011 (photograph by H. Nash). Interview with Thamna Khamis Halal Thamna Khamis Halal (Fig. 3) lives on Masira and comes to Sinaw for two months each summer in June and July. Her daughter lives in Sinaw, where she has a job in the post oice. In advance of the interview, Thamna had written a list of the stars she knew, which, with additional information provided during the interview, is given in Table 3. Most of the stars remembered by Thamna are related to winds, clearly important to fishing activities on the island. She recognized Thurayyā’ (the Pleiades) and T.ayr (the flying eagle, Altair, ␣ Aquilae) on the computer, but could not identify others without prompting. The stars T.ayr, Suhayl, Suwābic , Thurayyā’ (the Pleiades) and Yā’ appear to be the same as elsewhere in Oman: she describes T.ayr as having three stars, and the other two are expected to be ␤ and ␥ © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. 183 NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 46.1 Aquilae, forming the wings of the eagle; Suhayl, as noted above, is usually Canopus; Suwābic was sketched by Thamna as the seven stars of the Plough, giving a clear identification; Yā’ (more frequently Yāh, a variation on the standard modern Arabic Jāh, the substitution of /j/ by /y/ being common in the Gulf and Oman) is Polaris, the Pole Star (␣ Ursae Minoris), the marker for North. Luqmān (the giant or twins) is an old Arab name for the constellation of Orion (Tibbetts, 1971: 87–88). With five stars, Shac rā’ cannot be Procyon (␣ Canis Minoris) or Sirius (␣ Canis Majoris) as found in the literature and other areas of Oman. Ḥamr means red, and most stars given this name are red in colour: its description as four or five stars means that it is unlikely to be either Arcturus (␣ Boötis) or Aldebaran (␣ Tauri), but it could refer to the head of Taurus in which Aldebaran is the brightest star, as in Halam in Wadi Bani Jabr where the star name Dabrān is for the whole head of Taurus (Nash, Al-Musharifi and Al-Harthi, 2014: 68). Allen (1963: 383) states that the name Dabarān was originally given to the entire group of the Hyades (the head of Taurus) as in Halam, but does not specify the source of this information or the era that it refers to. Kuwı̄ also appears to be diferent to the star by that name used for timing falaj water, which is normally identified as the single, bright star, Vega (␣ Lyrae). The description of Ḥassan is insuicient to attempt identification. Aklı̄ is possibly a variant of Iklı̄l, meaning coronet, and the southern Iklı̄l is commonly identified as the head of Scorpio, ␤ ␦ ␲ Scorpii. Ḥalāba means ‘milking’, while Zuhara is the standard Arabic name for Venus, the ‘dawn star’, and this is the most likely identification for Ḥalāba. Three types of winds were mentioned: azı̄b, kaws and shallı̄. Ibn Mājid writes about winds by these names in many places: azyab is the north-east monsoon season, approximately late October to March; kaws is the south-west monsoon, approximately June to September; the winds associated with the setting of Sirius are also called kaws; the shillı̄ winds are the winds of Arcturus, a north-west wind that blows down the Oman coast during the north-east monsoon (Tibbetts, 1971: 144). Tibbetts (1971: 384) comments that Sulaymān Al-Mahrı̄, who wrote navigational texts in the 1500s, identifies the shillı̄ winds with the tisc ı̄n storms that occur during late January and early February. Tisc ı̄n means ninety and refers to the number of days after the start of the Persian Nayrūz year in November. The impression given in the interview with Thamna and later assessment is that the winds she mentioned are diferentiated on the basis of direction and strength, and they do not necessarily correspond with those described in Tibbetts. Interviews in Adam In Adam, Mahmud bin Hamud Al-Junaybi (Fig. 4) gave a list of stars with names that were familiar to him: Ḥaymer, described as a bright star; Kaydhib; Suhayl; 184 Figure 4. Mahmud bin Hamud Al-Junaybi (right) June 2011 (photograph by H. Nash). Ḥamurrya; c Aqrab; Yāh; Ḥazyen; Nac sh; Benet Nac sh, also called Suwābic (seven); and T.ayr. He said ‘people would start sailing for Zanzibar on the first star of Suwābic , coming to land for services after five days’. Suhayl, Yāh and T.ayr are likely to be Canopus, Polaris and Altair respectively. Ḥaymer, is a diminutive of aḥmar, meaning red, and is probably a red star; Kaydhib, meaning false or liar (also a diminutive), is the name commonly given in Oman to Muphrid (␩ Boötis), which rises shortly before Arcturus and might be mistaken for that brighter star. Ḥamurrya is possibly also a red star. c Aqrab (meaning scorpion) probably refers to stars in the constellation Scorpius. Ḥazyen is a name not known to the authors, and with no description cannot be identified. Nac sh, a funeral bier, is the four stars of the Plough forming a rough rectangle, with the three following stars (Benet) being the daughters of the dead person. Benet Nac sh (see above) also called Suwābic (seven), is almost certainly the Plough. Salmeen bin Salim Al-Janaybi lives in Rihab, a small settlement near Adam built by the government for Bedouin families. He remembers two stars from the desert: Shellı̄, meaning a wind or storm, and Khawātim, meaning rings, as in jewellery. It appears that the term Shellı̄ is used both for a star and the associated wind. Salmeen said that the time of Shellı̄ is the start of the summer season on about 20 May; it is a faint star, and diicult to see. If this timing is correct, it is not related to the shillı̄ winds described in Tibbetts. Khawātim is said to be known to most people in the desert; it is also called H . aymer and thought to be a single star. Both of them bring strong storms: after the star rises, a storm can be expected within ten days, otherwise there will be no storm under that star in that year. This is useful for fishermen and seafarers, as they avoid going to sea and risking their lives in that ten-day period. Musallam bin Abdullah Al-Junaybi (Fig. 5) lives in Al Hajeer, about 15 km south of Adam. He used © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. NASH ET AL.: STAR USE BY FISHERMEN IN OMAN Figure 5. Musallim bin Abdullah Al-Junaybi (left) with Ali Al-Mahrooqi (right), June 2011 (photograph by H. Nash). to go fishing from Mahut when younger, and learned about the stars from men in Duqm, Mahut and Salalah. Ḥaymer is a red star, which heralds strong winds, rain and even cyclones. Three to four months later, T.ayr is a single star that also heralds a storm within five to six days. It is best not to go to sea until this period is over, to avoid the dangers of the storm. Jāh is in the north and was used when travelling to Zanzibar, as was the star marker for the south (probably Canopus). An older relative, Hamad Said talked about the month of the seven stars of Sawābic , which is good for fishing, each star bringing its own wind. These stars probably have the same identifications as given previously. If T.ayr is Altair, the timing given means that Ḥaymer is probably Arcturus. Two members of the Hashmi family living in Adam were more familiar with agricultural applications of Figure 6. stars. Eid bin Muhammed Al-Hashmi (Fig. 6, second from left) remembered the following: Kuwı̄, winter, cold; Muns.if; Mūfı̄; Ghurāb, the time for flowering of the date palm; Adam, end of winter; S.āra al-awliyya; S.āra ath-thāniyya; Sac d, end of summer; and Suhayl. The association of Kuwı̄ with cold weather and Adam with the end of winter indicates that, provided Kuwı̄ is Vega (␣ Lyrae) and Adam is Enif (ε Pegasi) as elsewhere for falaj stars, the start of the star period was its dawn rise. Saif bin Ali Al-Hashmi (Fig. 6, left) remembers a number of stars used mainly for timing falaj water shares some 20 years ago. The list of stars is close to those recorded in the area of Sinaw (Nash, 2011: 55, 61, 67, 79) and he described Thaqı̄la (meaning heavy) as a faint, small star, as described to Nash in one of the villages, so it is reasonable to assume that some of the same stars were used. The star Shac rā, also used for falaj timing, brings the start of the kaws (monsoon) winds, while T.ā’ir (Altair, ␣ Aquilae, often called T.ayr, as by Thamna Khamis Halal) is known to him but was not used for the falaj. The Shac rā used for the falaj is usually identified as Procyon (␣ Canis Minoris) and more rarely as Sirius (␣ Canis Minoris), which both have their heliacal rise in the second half of July. Masira and Ras Al Hadd calendar Juma Saleem Al-Farsi provided Musallam Al-Junaybi with a star calendar in Arabic for Masira and Ras Al Hadd to give to Nash on her visit to Adam. A rough translation is provided in Table 4. The sources of information are not given, and Juma notes some discrepancies in dates in the margin. On the basis of the times given for well-known stars such as Thurayyā, the periods relate to the dawn rising Members of the Al-Hashmi family, June 2011 (photograph by H. Nash). © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. 185 NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 46.1 Table 4. Star calendar from Masira and Ras Al Hadd: a rough translation of that provided by Juma Saleem Al-Farsi Period Star name Start of period Comment Afkūk Suhayl Jubha 24 Aug. 6 Sep. The season starts with the setting of Suhayl; the climate ameliorates at night; the kaws winds start bringing humidity to coastal areas; end of season for swimming in the sea. As.frı̄ Zubra S.arfa 20 Sep. 3 Oct. A relatively cold season; equal length of day and night; dangerous to swim in the sea; increase in colds and influenza. Wasm (autumn rains) c Awā’ Simāk Ghafar Zabānan 16 Oct. 29 Oct. 11 Nov. 24 Nov. Start of rainy season; the weather changes, tending to be cold at night and hot by day; start to wear winter clothes; the star Uh.aymer sets, bringing strong winds; high waves at sea; the probability of rain increases. Marbic āna Iklı̄l Qalb Shawla 7 Dec. 20 Dec. 2 Jan. A cold season when one wears heavy winter clothes; as the red star (probably Qalb = Antares, ␣ Scorpii) appears, it indicates the end of lengthening of nights and shortening of days. Bard al but.ayn (cold of the stomach/heart) Nac āyim Balda S.ac d al-Dhābih. Balac 15 Jan. 28 Jan. 10 Feb. 23 Feb. Frost appears on land at night; for the last four days of Nac āyim and the first four of Balda, some illnesses (tashār, azrı̄q); three hardships (scorpions): of poison, blood and fat; at the end of the hardships, the extreme cold is over. Rabı̄c (spring) Sac ūd Akhbiya Muqaddam Mu’akhar 8 March 21 March 3 April 16 April Start of warm weather: sap runs in the c ūd trees; includes a period of fatality or (literally) old women’s cold when the length of day and night are equal, and what is known as ‘cold of the seller of injuries’, which does not come every year; 25 March, start of the warm season. Sirāyāt Rishā Sharatayn But.ayn 29 April 12 May 25 May Season of strong winds and heavy rain, also known for the absence of Thurayyā for 40 days; the heavy sirāyāt rains fall, usually in the afternoon or evening; season for date pollination; big rise in temperature. Buwārih. (hot northerly winds) Thurayyā Tawaybic Haqc a 6 June 20 June 3 July Winds around midday bring dust, which settles at night; Thurayyā appears after an absence of 40 days; end of the closed season, boats return to the sea; it is fiery all day; hot simoom winds blow in the latter part; the buwārih. winds subside and dust in the air reduces. Bāh.ūra (the root is b.h.r, meaning sea) Hanc a Marzim Kalaybayn 16 July 29 July 11 Aug. Time of high temperatures; called the second Jawzā’; end of the dry period; start of period of high humidity and temperature. This lasts until the end of Bāh.ūra and the setting of Suhayl; the Persian Nayrūz calendar starts on 11 August. of the star. As with the Dhofari calendar, many of the star names are those of lunar mansions. This, and the fact that all of the stars have a period of 13 days, indicates that the list is somewhat artificial, since with most selections of stars there will be some variation. However, many of the comments indicate that the use of several stars is specific for the area. The information for Suhayl tallies with that given by Thamna Khamis Halal for Masira. The beginning of the closed season for boats is not mentioned, but the end is in June-July, much earlier than in Dhofar and months before the end of the south-west monsoon. It appears that the monsoon winds lessen northwards from Dhofar and the closed season becomes shorter. The star Uh.aymer is often identified as Arcturus in the region, and Simāk could also be Arcturus. However, Arcturus has its heliacal rise at the time given for Simāk, so either Uh.aymer is a diferent star or the comment should be for its rise rather than setting. Tibbetts (1971: 383–384) mentions 186 winds called ‘Uh.aimir’, which are violent squalls in autumn, and it is possible that the winds may have taken their name from the star. The list does not include several stars associated with winds known to Thamna Khamis Halal, although they may be there under a diferent name. More surprising is that there is no mention of stars related to the Plough, even though in relation to Benēt Nac sh, fishermen in Ras Al Hadd told Agius that: ‘many a ship sailing from Aden or the Dhofar region to the Gulf got caught around this time of Ras Al Hadd’ (Agius, 2005: 193). He was warned by fishermen in Qalhat, some 25 km along the coast north-west of Sur, about ‘the strong of-shore winds that would blow in March for days, from midnight to noon bringing sand storms’. Indeed, he personally experienced such winds in March 1998, which blew strongly for a week, blowing away the tents of the Oman Navy and underwater archaeological team he was working with in Qalhat. According to © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. NASH ET AL.: STAR USE BY FISHERMEN IN OMAN Sulaymān Al-Mahrı̄, the storms of Benēt Nac sh blow from the north-northwest away from the Arabian coast in January and February and quoting other sources, Tibbetts comments that they blow from December to March ‘from midnight to noon often for several days bringing clouds of dust...’ (1971: 383–384). The comment noted under Kalaybayn that the Persian Nayrūz calendar starts on 11 August indicates that the calendar is known in this area, but the start date is diferent to that of Ibn Mājid. If it is related to the same calendar, the time refers to the second half of the 19th century. Tiwi In November 2013, Abdullah Muhammad Al-Tamimi (Fig. 7), a former fisherman explained to Nash that, in Tiwi, everyone fishes together as one team, so there are no disputes over the allocation of fishing days as in Qantab (see below). He remembers a number of stars, but now cannot see and therefore could not confirm any of their identities, even on the computer. The stars he recited were: Suhayl: one star; seven days to Nac ūsh: seven stars; seven days to Kaydhib: seven days to Ḥaymer: 45 days to Nijm ash-Shac ra: one star; ten days to c Ishrı̄n (meaning 20): one star; ten days to Thalāthı̄n (30): one star; ten days to Arbac ı̄n (40): one star, ten days to Khamsı̄n (50): one star; ten days to Sittı̄n (60): one star; ten days to Sabac ı̄n (70): one star; ten days to Thamānı̄n (80): one star; ten days to Tisc ı̄n (90): one star; ten days to Mı̄’a (100). At the interview, he gave the time for more of these stars as seven days, but soon after, telephoned to correct the error. After Mı̄’a comes Thurayyā, bringing a wind. They are all ‘winter’ stars and herald some sort of danger: winds, storms or rains. Summer is said to be more dangerous, but does not have a star account, possibly because fishing activity is much reduced in the summer. Abdullah said that many fishermen know this calendar and that it is the same in Fins, further north along the coast. He also knows the stars Surı̄ and Kuwı̄, as well as Shac ra al-Bayd.a (usually Sirius) and Shac ra alH . amra (usually Procyon), which are both also known as Kaydhib (small liar). The reason for this is unclear, but if only one is visible, it could possibly be mistaken for the other; this statement tends to confirm that Kaydhib in the above list is Muphrid and Haymer is Arcturus, which rises at dawn some six days later than Muphrid. The dawn rise of Muphrid is towards the end of October, indicating that the list starts in early October, while the Pleiades (Thurayyā) rise towards the end of May. This is generally consistent with Abdullah’s statement that they are winter stars, and means that Nijm ash-Shac ra, which would start in about midDecember is unlikely to be Procyon or Sirius, as their heliacal rise is in July. There is a possible link to the Canopus calendar of the Gulf region described by Varisco (1990: 11–14; Figure 7. Abdullah Mohammed Al-Tamimi, November 2013 (photograph by H. Nash). 2000: 629) and mentioned by Wilkinson (1977: 11), which comprises ten-day periods following the dawn rising of Canopus in late summer and covering the seasons of autumn and winter. A significant diference in Abdullah Al-Tamimi’s calendar is that for several stars following Canopus, the period is not ten days, and then each ten-day period is marked by a star, not simply by the number of days. A Canopus calendar is used in Qatar, but not on a ten-day basis. Faisal Abdullah Al-Naimi (Qatar Museums Authority) still uses it for falconry and gave the following details to Nash on 7 December 2011: 1 Suhayl (24 August): camels moult, cool weather arrives; 13 Suhayl: falcons start coming; good for catching falcons for three months; 14–120 Suhayl: if there is rain, trules are found in the desert. A more tenuous link is to the arbac ı̄n (40) and c tis ı̄n (90) storms described in Tibbetts (1971: 383–384). However, the start date is not the end of December, as for the storms described in Tibbetts and without further details the similarity of names should be considered a coincidence. Immediately prior to the meeting in Tiwi, Hamad AlUraymi, who works in Sur Municipality, told Nash that fishermen knew where to go to find the treasure of the sea (Fig. 8) using the landscape and the Pole Star. He said that the beginning of the Nayrūz calendar used in the area is 28 July, which would correspond to the first half of the 20th century, and every ten days there is an event, often related to weather conditions; at 170, 180 and 210 days (the latter being towards the end of February) from the beginning, there is a very cold wind © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. 187 NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 46.1 Figure 8. a) Fishing boats near Tiwi, November 2013; b) The treasure of the sea in Sur fish market, November 2013 (photographs by H. Nash). from the north. The first two of these may be the shillı̄ winds of late January and early February mentioned above. Stars and fishing rights in Qantab The fishing community of Qantab comprises two teams. In June 2011, Nash and Al-Yahyai interviewed Suleiman bin Zahir Al-Hassani (Fig. 9) about the division of fishing rights by stars, which had been the subject of a dispute between the teams and had gone to court. The dispute was settled in October 1970 (Table 5). Suleiman Al-Hassani is a member of Team One. When asked why they agreed to fewer days fishing in the period 22 August to 17 October, he was clear that for their fishing days, the sea was calmer, so that they would catch as much or more fish than the other team. According to Suleiman, the best season for fishing is winter, as the fish prefer a cooler sea, and, as he stated, it is not the star that matters but the time of the year. Before the dawn rise of the star Sahla, the sea is hot Figure 9. Suleiman bin Zahir Al-Hassani, September 2014 (photograph by Yusuf Suleiman Al-Hassani). and there are few fish. Between Sahla and Suhayl, there are two months of fair fishing, with many diferent varieties; in this period, fishing days are divided equally between the two teams and the times have not been Table 5. Summary of court decision on timing of fishing rights in Qantab Team 1 Team 2 Members named in the Decision Zāhir bin Masc ūd bin Salı̄m Al-H . assanı̄; c Alı̄ bin Salı̄m bin Masc ūd Al-H . assanı̄ Muh.ammad bin c Uthmān Al-Qāsimı̄; c H . assan bin Abd Al-Rah.mān bin c Uthmān Al-Qāsimı̄ Period of fishing rights 22 August–29 August (8 days) 30 August–10 September (12 days) 11 September–18 September (8 days) 19 September–30 September (12 days) Then, in first and every alternate season: 1 October– 7 October (7 days) 8 October–17 October (10 days) In the second and every alternate season: 1 October–8 October (8 days) 9 October–17 October (9 days) 188 © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. NASH ET AL.: STAR USE BY FISHERMEN IN OMAN disputed. However, the best time for fishing is between Suhayl and H . aymer, for about 50 days finishing at the end of October. He described H . aymer as ‘a bit red’, rising much later than Mı̄yazı̄n in the same place as Thurayyā (that is approximately east), and Suhayl as ‘white to green, in the south and not going high in the sky’. Looking at Starry NightTM , Suleiman identified Sahla as Achernar (␣ Eridani) and H . aymer as Arcturus; he was not sure about Suhayl, but from his description it is clearly Canopus. He also pointed out Thurayyā, the Pleiades; c ayyāq ath-Thurayyā, Aldebaran; Mı̄yazı̄n (weighing scales), stars in Orion; c ayyāq al-Mı̄yazı̄n: Sirius; and Shabayāq as ε ␦ Canis Majoris. The documents of the court case refer to the division of time between the rise of Suhayl and setting of H . aymer, given in brackets as Simāk al-Rāmih., confirming the identification as Arcturus. Conclusions Despite failing eyesight and possibly poor memory of interviewees, the research has shed some light on traditional star use, mainly for fishing purposes, along the south-east and southern Arabian coasts of Oman. Although this practice is almost extinct, the older generation can sometimes describe the stars in suicient detail to identify them. The use of the astronomy software StarryNightTM helped considerably in identifying further stars, and in determining whether the start of a star period was its dawn rise. Some of the identifications given may be incorrect, as they were not being watched in the sky at the time. The star names include some known for timing falaj irrigation water in Oman (for example Shac rā’, c Aqrab, Kuwı̄, T.ayr and Thurayyā), and for navigation at sea (for example Suhayl, c Aqrab, T.ayr, Thurayyā and Yāh) as described in written guides to navigation in the Gulf and Arabian sea, such as that of Ibn Mājid. Ḥalāba, however, is clearly related to the land-based tending of animals such as camels, and might not have been mentioned by or known to many men, a salutary reminder that all sections of society should be interviewed to gain fuller picture of this type of traditional knowledge. Fishermen used stars to know the seasons and the weather, telling them when fish catches will be good and when it is too dangerous to go to sea. In the south, they were also used to mark times of related activities such as oil production. Many of the stars mentioned are associated with winds: a clear warning for fishermen or seafarers to stay on land for a period. The storms and high seas of the south-west monsoon appear to decrease northwards along the coast, allowing longer periods of safe fishing. The calendars from Dhofar (Table 3) and Masira and Ras Al Hadd (Table 4) indicate a propensity to fill the year and conform with the stations of the moon, as with the anwā’ star markers described by Varisco. Star lists for practical purposes such as fishing may originally have been shorter. We do not know how widespread the use of stars was to define fishing rights as in Qantab: to date, this practice has not been identified elsewhere. It is also the only place where c ayyāqs, or indicator stars, which are used in the falaj timing system, have been mentioned to the authors by fishermen, and further investigation may reveal more similarities in stars and their use related to diferent livelihoods. This neglected area of research is worthy of more attention. To clarify some of the issues raised, it is planned to spend more time in the fishing settlements referred to, where possible watching stars with people who still remember them. It may then be possible to make firmer conclusions about star identifications and the methods of using them. Acknowledgements We are grateful to The Leverhulme Trust and King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah for funding Agius’s research, and to the Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust and Ancient & Modern for funding Nash’s research. Glossary of stars referred to Information on the lunar stations and their alternative names is taken from Badr (1988) and Kunitzsch (1961). English names are given only for the brighter, better-known stars. The term ‘falaj star’ refers to stars used for timing water in the gravity-flow irrigation systems called s. falaj pl. aflāj in Oman and the region; a number of falaj stars have similar names but diferent identifications to those given below. The stars named by numbers in Tiwi have not been identified and are not included. Adam probably the falaj star ε Pegasi Aklı̄ see Iklı̄l Akhbiya probably Sac d al-Akhbiya, the lunar station ␥ ␲ ␨ ␩ Aquarii c Aqrab stars in the constellation Scorpius Awā’, c Awı̄ probably c Awwā, the lunar station ␤ ␩ ␥ ␦ ε Virginis c ayyāq al-Mı̄yazı̄n Sirius, ␣ Canis Majoris; c ayyāq implies ‘indicator’ or ‘companion’ in relation to stars; see Mı̄yazı̄n c © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. 189 NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 46.1 c ayyāq ath-Thurayyā ␣ Tauri (Aldebaran) in Qantab; c Ayyūq (al-Thurayyā) is ␣ Aurigae (Capella) in Arabic astronomy Balac probably Sac d Balac , the lunar station ␮ ε ␯ Arietis Balda a lunar station with no stars Benēt/Benet in standard Arabic, Banāt: three stars of the Plough: ␩ ␨ ε Ursae Majoris Benēt/Benet Nac sh the seven stars of the Plough: the above and the rough rectangle ␣ ␤ ␭ ␦ Ursae Majoris Burkān based on its position in the Dhofar calendar, this may be a local name for the lunar station ␣ Tauri (Aldebaran) but is not given as an alternative by Badr or Kunitzsch (1961: 52) But.ayn probably the lunar station ε ␦ (Botein) ␲ Arietis Dabrān usually ␣ Tauri (Aldebaran); sometimes the entire group of the Hyades (ie the head of Taurus) Dalw meaning bucket, is the astronomical term for the constellation Aquarius and could therefore be a star in that constellation. Kunitzsch (1961: 52) gives an alternative identification as the Great Square of Pegasus, ␦ (Alpheratz) ␥ ␤ ␣ Pegasi. Fortuitously, Alpheratz rises or sets almost exactly 13 days earlier than ␤ Andromedae, the main contender for H . ūt, which succeeds Dalw in Table 2 Dhābih. probably the lunar station Sac d al-Dhābih., ␣ ␤ Capricorni Dhirāc probably the lunar station ␣ ␤ Geminorum (Castor and Pollux) Ghafar probably the lunar station ␫ ␹ ␭ Virginis Ghurāb possibly the falaj star ␣ ␤ ␦ ␭2 Delphini Ḥalāba the planet Venus Ḥamr Ḥaymer often Arcturus (␣ Boötis) Ḥamurrya probably a red star Hanc a, Hana probably the lunar station Hanc a ␥ (Alhena) ␰ Geminorum c Haqc a/ H . aqqa probably the lunar station Haq a, ␭ ␾ Orionis Ḥassan unidentified Ḥazyen unidentified H . ūt, the lunar station ␤ . ūt probably Bat.n al-H Andromedae (Mirach) Iklı̄l probably the head of Scorpius, the lunar station ␤ ␦ ␲ Scorpii Jāh Polaris (␣ Ursae Minoris) Jawzā, Jawzā’ can be the constellation (or part thereof) Orion, the first to rise, or Gemini, the second to rise Jubha probably the lunar station ␨ ␥ ␩ ␣ (Regulus) Leonis Kalaybayn means the ‘two small dogs’ / ‘two puppies’; based on name and position in Table 4, possibly stars in Canis Minoris Kalı̄l see Iklı̄l Kaydhib usually ␩ Boötis (Muphrid); also Procyon (␣ Canis Minoris) and Sirius (␣ Canis Majoris), perhaps as a description rather than a formal name Khabā’ unidentified Khawātim probably ␣ Boötis (Arcturus) or ␣ Tauri (Aldebaran) 190 Kuwı̄ usually, but not always, Vega (␣ Lyrae) Luqmān star(s) in Orion, possibly much of the constellation Manās.if plural of Muns.if, meaning divider: see Muns.if Marzim based on position in Table 4, possibly Mirzam, ␤ Canis Majoris Mı̄yazı̄n possibly Orion’s belt, ␨ ε ␦ Orionis, as used for falaj timing in one village (Nash, 2011: 42) Mu’akhar probably Fargh al-Mu’akhar, the lunar station ε ␾ Pegasi Mūfı̄ identifications as a falaj star include ␣ Aquilae (Altair) and ␣ Cygni (Deneb) Muns.if meaning ‘divider’; as a falaj star this has been identified as ␤ Cygnia and/or ␨ Aquilae Muqaddam probably Fargh al-Muqaddam, the lunar station ␣ (Markab) ␤ Pegasi Nac sh, Nac ūsh the four stars of the Plough forming a rough rectangle ␣ ␤ ␭ ␦ Ursae Majoris: see Benēt/Benet Nac sh Nat.h. and Nāt.ih. are names sometimes given to the lunar mansion Sharat.ayn, ␤ ␥ Arietis Nathra probably the lunar mansion ε ␥ ␦ Cancri Nac yim, Nac āyim probably the lunar mansion ␴ ␾ ␶ ␨ ␥ ␦ ε ␩ Sagittarii Nijm ash-Shac ra nijm means ‘star’; this is not Shac rā’ (see below) Qalb ␣ Scorpii (Antares) Rishā possibly Rashāc , another name for the lunar mansion Bat.n al-H . ūt above . ūt, see H Sac d there are so many Sac ds in Arabic star names that no identification is attempted S.ac d al-Dhābih. probably the lunar station ␣ ␤ Capricorni Sahla ␣ Eridani (Achernar) S.āra al-awliyya/S.āra ath-thāniyya The identification of these as falaj stars is variable; al-awliyya means ‘the first’ and ath-thāniyya ‘the second’, which can be taken as the order of rising S.arfa probably the lunar station ␤ Leonis (Denebola) Sac ūd probably S.ac d al-Sac ūd, the lunar station c’ Capricorni ␤ ␰ Aquarii Shabayāq ε ␦ Canis Majoris Sharatayn probably Sharatān, the lunar station ␤ ␥ Arietis Shac rā’ usually Procyon (␣ Canis Minoris) or Sirius (␣ Canis Majoris) Shac ra al-Bayd.a Sirius (␣ Canis Majoris); al-Bayd.a means the ‘white’ Shac ra al-H . amra . amra Procyon (␣ Canis Minoris); al-H means the ‘red’ Sawābic the seven stars of the Plough, see Benēt/Benet Nac sh Shawla probably the lunar station ␭ ␷ Scorpii Shellı̄ both a star and a wind: unidentified Shūl see Shawla Simāk either the lunar station ␣ Virginis (Spica), in Arabic astronomy called Simāk al-Ac zal, the unarmed fisherman, or Arcturus (␣ Boötis), called Simāk alRāmiḥ, the unarmed fisherman © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. NASH ET AL.: STAR USE BY FISHERMEN IN OMAN Suhayl ␣ Carinae (Canopus) Surı̄ unidentified Tawaybic ␣ Tauri (Aldebaran); the name means ‘following’ – ie following Thurayyā Thaqı̄la meaning ‘heavy’, a small faint star: unidentified Thurayyā, Thurayya, Thurayyā’ the Pleaides T.araf probably the lunar station T.arf, ␬ Cancri ␭ Leonis T.ā’ir, T.ayr the flying eagle ␣ Aquilae (Altair), often with ␤ ␥ Aquilae Uh.aymer usually Arcturus (␣ Boötis) Yā’, Yāh see Jāh Zabānan, Zabbān probably the lunar station Zubānā ␣ ␤ Librae Zubra probably the lunar station ␦ ␪ Leonis Zuhara meaning ‘shining’ this name usually refers to the planet Venus. References Abdollahy, R., 1990, Calendars ii. Islamic period. Encyclopaedia Iranica, 4 http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/calendars#pt2 (accessed 1 July 2015). Agius, D. A., 2002, In the Wake of the Dhow: The Arabian Gulf and Oman. Reading. Agius, D. 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C., 1977, Water and Tribal Settlement in South-East Arabia. A study of the Aflāj of Oman. Oxford. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology © 2016 The Nautical Archaeology Society. 191