Dhofar Frankincense Trade

Dhofar in southern Oman has had a long association with the frankincense trade. The most active period was from the first century BC to the fourth century AD. During this period the Roman Empire had a great demand for the precious gum. Classical authors say that there was a gold drain on their economy in the eastern empire such was the demand for it. Strabo says that sometimes there were caravans of 2000 camels at one time although it is not known whether such large caravans travelled from Dhofar or from present-day Yemen (1).

Wendell Phillips wrote about frankincense in the 1950s and 60s: ”The ancient kings of Hadramaut had to secure Andhur Oasis to control the vital frankincense trade; the fortress on the ridge was designed to accomplish this objective. Even today (1960) camel trails can be seen leading out to the north-west in the direction of Shisr; another route leads west-south-west to the post of Hanun, where the frankincense collection centre described above was partially cleared… Mirbat is only 40 miles due south of Andhur Oasis, but a direct route is rendered impossible by the precipitous southern face of the intervening Jabal Samhan…” (2). Some Mahra interviewed by him stated that it took 3 or 4 days’ camel journey to reach Salalah from Andhur.

I dispute Philips saying that there was no direct route down Jebel Samhan to Mirbat. In 1999 three Dhofari friends and I walked along the top of the escarpment east of Mirbat until we reached Wadi Kharis (about 1700 m.). This deep valley runs north south and eventually leads to Wadi Andhur 40 km to the north. However, we descended the cliff face along an old narrow camel track and came out at Sawb on the plains near Jufa. This is one of the few places where it’s possible to come down the cliff between Mirbat and Hadbeen.

Frankincense was exported from ports along the Dhofar coast up until the 1950s. Of course frankincense is still exported today although in much smaller quantities. Frankincense harvested from the eastern Dhofar mountains — that is the mountains above Mirbat, also known as Solot — was transported by camel to Mirbat and further to the north-east, Hasik. In December 1894 Theodore Bent and his travelling party journeyed from Mirbat to Al-Haffa by baggala – an Arab sailing ship – which was carrying a ‘large cargo’ of frankincense for Bombay. The 40 mile journey from Mirbat to Al-Haffa took them two days because of opposing winds. However Bent comments that one of the songs the sailors sang was about frankincense (3).

References

(1) Nigel Broom, “Frankincense and Myrrh”.
(2) Wendell Phillips, “Unknown Oman”, p.201
(3) Theodore Bent, “Exploration of the Frankincense country of southern Arabia” (1900), p.233

Plans for good not evil – أَفْكَارَ سَلاَمٍ لاَ شَرّ

أَفْكَارَ سَلاَمٍ لاَ شَرّ

What’s the meaning of this Dhofar cave painting?

Throughout Dhofar there are hundreds of caves decorated with ancient cave paintings. Colours commonly used are black and red, but green is occasionally found. Some paintings seem like doodles; while others tell a story from long ago…

Dhofar Oman Cave-Painting-#01613 (c) Ross Hayden

Dhofar Oman Cave-Painting-#01616 (c) Ross Hayden

Dhofar Oman Cave-Painting-#01627 (c) Ross Hayden

The photographs here of this cave painting in the Dhofar Mountains in southern Arabia seem to tell a story. What it looks like is a caravan of laden camels being raided. We see men on horseback with swords and shields. There’s one man upside down falling to the ground. At the bottom of the painting is what looks like a tally – maybe they counted the cost of camels lost or men killed in the raid.

Any suggestions? Any other story this painting might tell?

Camping in Dhofar

Camping. Here are a few off-the-beaten-track coastal camping spots: Dhalkut, Rakhyut, Mughsayl [1], Khor Rori [2], Hinu area (beyond Mirbat); Mahallah and Gangri (both near Sadh); Hadbeen and Hasik. In most of these places, drive a couple of kilometres away from the town or village and you will find good camp sites. There are many other (inland) sites, although their suitability for camping depends on the time of year and weather conditions, especially temperature, humidity and wind.

It’s advisable to camp in groups of more than 3 or 4 people. Probably the only place where you can leave your gear unattended for the day is at Mughsayl. However, take your valuables with you. There are very few places that have facilities (toilets, running water) so be prepared!

Beaches near Salalah for picnics. Following are some popular, and usually, safe beaches [3]: Mughsayl, Al-Awqad, Al-Haffa, Dahariz, Taqa, Ajoont, Mirbat, Hinu.

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[1] This is an ideal place to camp as there are about 20 pergolas along the beach which can be used to camp in. However, on holiday weekends like Eid, you need to be early otherwise others will occupy them for the whole weekend.

[2] Not suitable for swimming at any time of the year.

[3] During the Khareef season (May – October), swimming is not permitted in any of the beaches of Dhofar, not that you would want to, as it is generally very dangerous with unpredictable rips and undertows.

The Lost Symbol

1600 years ago a terracotta cup inscribed with six symmetrical symbols was buried in a fort in southern Arabia. What did those symbols represent and what was the cup used for?

A team of archaeologists headed by Dr Juris Zarins unearthed it from a buried fort, which was once an integral part of the ancient frankincense trade. Fort Hamran, as it is now known, lies 25 km east of Salalah in the Dhofar governorate of southern Oman.

The vessel they found was originally purple in colour and marked with six simple Greek crosses. Their conclusion is that it was a Christian chalice (communion cup)! And what was it doing in southern Arabia?

This raises the possibility that Christian monks had set up a centre in what was once a frankincense trading post. “There is a chance that Ain Humran was the missing ‘third church’ founded by the Byzantine missionary Theophilus Indus in the middle 300s.” (Clapp, N. (1998). The road to Ubar : finding the Atlantis of the sands. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p.212)

Don’t count the stars: it might spell your demise!

“Don’t count the stars.” This is the warning traditionally issued to children in the Dhofar Mountains of southern Oman. I asked one of my students – Ahmed Al-Ma’ashani – to explain. He told me the story that he had been told by his grandparents (and maybe told to them by their grandparents).

© Ross Hayden. Shehait sinkhole, Dhofar Mountains

“One day a boy was outside at night and he decided to see how many stars there were in the sky. Unfortunately, he kept counting until he counted his own star whereupon that star immediately fell to earth and destroyed him and all the inhabitants of his village.” I asked Ahmed how they knew it had happened like this when the witness to it had been killed. He said that the person who observed him counting the stars probably got so bored that he walked far from the village and was able to safely observe the arrival of the meteorite!

© Ross Hayden. Shehait sinkhole, Dhofar Mountains

In any case, just behind Ahmed’s village in Shehait (on the road to Tawi Attair) is a sinkhole. It is about 100m in diameter and 40 metres deep.

A similar story is used by locals to explain the formation of the nearby sinkhole at Tawi Attair. However, unanimous scientific opinion says that both these sinkholes were formed by the action of water in the limestone and not by meteorites. Tawi Attair sinkhole is about 150 metres in diameter and is over 200 metres deep.

The above two sinkholes are very impressive. However, my favourite is Teyq, which also happens to be one of the largest sinkholes in the world. It’s about 10 km north of Tawi Attair. At first sight it doesn’t even look like a sinkhole! Technically, it is described as a collapsed sinkhole. There are two wadis (dry river valleys) which merge in the sinkhole. When it rains water flows along the wadis and then disappears into a large underground cavern. The sinkhole itself is 1.25 km long, 1 km wide and 250 metres deep, with a volume of about 300 million cubic metres.

Ain Razat

Ain Razat is the most important source of spring water in Dhofar. It used to be one of the main sources of water for Salalah. Its water as well as several smaller springs flow into a long pool on the northern side of the carpark at the foot of the jebel. Water flows along a falaj (watercourse) throughout the year, although flow is highest during the khareef. This water flows 7 km to Al-Mamurah Palace, the Sultan’s residence when in Salalah. A further 3 km further on the watercourse reaches Razat Farm.

Near the spring is a beautiful fenced garden, which belongs to the Diwan of the Royal Court and is constantly guarded. However, it is open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays and every day during the khareef. The garden is a very popular place for picnics, as is the area under the trees near the pool near the spring.

There are several shallow caves in the limestone hills along the northern side of the spring and pool. Unlike the hills on the jebel side of the Razat Valley, the hills on the southern side of the pool and carpark are much more accessible, and relatively easy to climb. There are numerous animal tracks which zigzag the hillside so there are no problems in finding your way to the top. At the summit there is an uninterrupted panorama of the plain from Salalah to Taqah.

During and immediately after the khareef the whole area comes alive. Fresh growth is seen everywhere: fresh grass, trees with new leaves, and many plants and trees covered in colourful blossom. The new growth and easy availability of water attracts insects and birds – for example, the African Paradise Flycatcher, the White-Breasted White Eye, African Silverbills and Wheatears – which thrive under these conditions.

A generation or two ago, waters from Ain Razat and nearby Ain Hamran, were channelled into cultivated fields. Evidence of the irrigation systems are still visible on the plains in some areas around Wadis Razat and Hamran. There are also the remains of an occasional tower or two which were used by farmers to guard their land. Friends have told me that in the late 1930s the plains between Ain Razat and Khor Soli (near Taqa) were, in season, green with crops of millet, corn and other grains.

Flying snakes still in southern Arabia?

From ancient times stories about flying snakes in southern Arabia have abounded, especially those which supposedly protected frankincense trees. However, it is interesting to note that even today there are people in the Dhofar area of southern Oman who believe in flying snakes (although these accounts are not connected with frankincense trees).

In ancient days it was believed that flying snakes inhabited the groves of frankincense trees, protecting them from intruders but also making it much more difficult for the owners of the trees to harvest the precious resin. Recorded stories have come down to us from Greek historians like Herodotus (430 BC), Strabo (1), and others, although it is interesting to note that Pliny the Elder considered such stories to be fantasy.

Oral traditions (like those about flying snakes) that have survived to today, are largely independent of written sources, thus strengthening the argument that perhaps there is, or once was, a basis for the existence of such creatures. In fact, the author has spoken to local people in Dhofar who have personally known people who as late as 1987 saw creatures which they identified as flying snakes.

For example, just after the monsoon in 1987, a Dhofari man was walking at night to his village near Tawi Attair and was using a torch, when he spotted what he thought was a flying snake.

In 1985, another local man believed he saw six or seven flying snakes in a wadi 20 km east of Salalah. He said they were about 20 cm long and jumped 3 metres from tree to tree. He did not see any wings on them but he saw them jumping and making a noise similar to the buzz of a bee. One of this man’s friends had reportedly killed one of these animals a year earlier.

Some of the characteristics which are commonly believed about flying snakes are: they are about 30 cm long and live in trees; their head is a similar shape to a snake’s; they can fly or jump up to 10 metres from tree to tree; they are very dangerous; they sometimes jump onto the heads of unsuspecting passers-by. If they do they almost always inflict a fatal injury on the victim.

Local people do have other explanations. For example, there say that there are lizards which can jump several metres. However, these are not considered to be dangerous so this rules out them being confused with “flying snakes”.

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(1) “The frankincense they procure by means of the gum styrax, which the Greeks obtain from the Phoenicians; this they burn, and thereby obtain the spice. For the trees which bear the frankincense are guarded by winged serpents, small in size, and of varied colours, whereof vast numbers hang about every tree. They are of the same kind as the serpents that invade Egypt; and there is nothing but the smoke of the styrax which will drive them from the trees. The Arabians say that the whole world would swarm with these serpents, if they were not kept in check… Such, then, is the way in which the Arabians obtain their frankincense”. (Strabo)

Undeciphered inscriptions in south Arabia…

Inscriptions in known Hadrami script have been found at Khor Rori, Hanun and Wadi Andhur. However, it wasn’t until relatively recently that further inscriptions, this time in a previously unknown script, were discovered. Since about 1988 many of these inscriptions have been documented by local historian, Ali Ahmed Al-Shahri*. He has documented more than 250 sites containing  this language. The texts are painted on the walls of caves in the Dhofar mountains or pecked onto rocks further north in the Nejd. While the language remains undeciphered it is clearly related to the South Semitic script.

Some think that this undeciphered script is the written form of the language that is spoken in the Dhofar Mountains to this day – Shehri, more commonly known as Jibbali.

© Ross Hayden. Cave painting in Wadi Darbat.

As well as the inscriptions, there are many cave paintings of domesticated animals (camels, cows, goats, horses) as well as wild animals (ibex, wolves, leopards, foxes).

© Ross Hayden. Cave painting in Wadi Darbat.

Al-Shahri reached the following conclusions about the incidence of inscriptions and drawings in Dhofar: the largest number of inscriptions and drawings were found in areas distant from well-worn mountain passes and routes taken by caravans. The inscriptions were, in fact, mostly found in areas heavily used by herders and their animals. Inscriptions and drawings were only found in caves which would have been suitable for human habitation. Often the subject of the drawings varies with locality – for example, ibex in the high dry plateaux; palm trees and boats near the coastal plains. However, the techniques, style of inscriptions and drawings, and the materials used are very similar wherever they occur throughout the region.

* Al-Shahri, A. A. (1991). Recent Epigraphic Discoveries in Dhofar. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 21, 173-191.

Gifts for the King

© Ross Hayden. Frankincense Burner

The men from the East see the star halting

Over the place where the Christ Child lies.

Their long journey seemingly at an end;

His just beginning.

They present their costly gifts

To the Child King.

“Look  at me!” Gold boldly proclaims,

“I am indeed a gift fit for a King”.

Frankincense speaks…

Ross Hayden © 2001 Salalah, Sultanate of Oman