Honour Is in Contentment - Life Before Oil in Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE) and Some Neighbouring Regions

Preface

Acknowledgements

Contents

1 Social matters: social infrastructure, premises and practice

Ownership, territory, and residence

Group identities and their references

“The poetics of dwelling”

2 Sea people, ahl al-bahr, and how they lived

Sea trading and carrying

Pearling

Fishing

Changes in coastlines

3 Livelihoods and living on the coastal plains or sayh, and the sands

Waters, soils, and livelihood options

Livelihoods and profits, ma'ash wa fa'ida, and living

4 Ru'us al-Jibal mountains; livelihoods and living

Waters, soils, environments

Livelihoods and living in the Ru'us al-Jibal

5 The western Hajar mountains; livelihoods and living

Waters, soils, and environments

Livelihoods and living in the western Hajar

6 Distribution, trade, investment, credit and debt

The second section describes the activities of traders

7 Ruling and Rulers

Local terms for persons fulfilling roles in aspects of ruling

Local descriptions of ruling in the past

Rationales of ruling

Changes from the discovery and development of oil

8 'What happened to turn our world upside down?'

A brief economic history of the area

Changes in traditional sources of profits

Date growing areas inland from the coast

Sands

Ru'us al-Jibal

Western Hajar

The transformation through modernisation

9 Back to History

The Gulf coastal towns and places on the Shamailyya and Batinah coasts

Date garden areas of the Sirr

Sands

Ru'us al-Jibal history is presented as tribal history; Dhahuriyyin; Shihuh; and Habus

Western Hajar

Bibliography

Index

List of Figures

Plates