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Studies on the South Arabian Diaspora: Some Critical Remarks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Yusof A. Talib
Yusof A. Talib*
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore.
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Extract

It is only of late that some attention is paid to the importance of studies on the South Arabian Diaspora in the Horn of Africa, the African side of the Red Sea, the East African littoral, the Indian subcontinent, the Indian Ocean island groups and Southeast Asia, in throwing new light on (i) the process of Islamization, (ii) the origins of local dynasties, (iii) the problem of trade-routes, and (iv) navigational and maritime techniques and a host of other related problems.

Type
Research Article
Information
Diogenes , Volume 28 , Issue 111 , September 1980 , pp. 35 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © 1980 Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie / International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP)

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References

1 Van den Berg, L.W.C., Le Hadhramout et les Colonies Arabes dans l'Archipel Indien. Imprimerie du Couvernement, Batavia, 1886. (English trans lations by Major C.W.H. Wealy, Govt. Central Press, Bombay, 1887).

Harold Ingrams, A Report on the Social, Economic and Political Conditions of the Hadhramout. Colonial Report No. 123. London, 1936. (Only Chapters XXIII, XXIV and XXVI deal with Hadramī Diaspora).

Snouck Hurgronje, "Arabieren Ingezetenen Van Nederlandsch-Indie" in Ambtelijke Adviezen van C.S. Hurgronje 1889-1936, vol. II, 1959, pp. 1522-1615.

2 The only tentative albeit superficial and inadequate study, and based on non-Arabic sources, is by Gustav Fuhrmann, Die Ausbreitung des Hadrami (Hadarim) im Raume des Indischen Ozeans und ihre Rückwirkung Hadramaut. (Unpublished Ph.D. thesis), Heidelberg, 1943.

3 See B.G. Martin "Notes on some members of the learned classes of Zanzibar and East Africa in the nineteenth century," African Historical Studies, IV, 3, 1971. (This approach was first employed by Sir Ronald Syme in classical studies with such publications as Roman Revolution, Oxford, 1939, Colonial Elites, 1958 and Emperors and Biography, 1971.

4 Conti Rossini, "Expéditions et Posséssions des Habosat en Arabie," Journal Asiatique, 1921.

5 Ullendorf, "South Arabia and Aksum" in The Ethiopians, Oxford University Press, London, 1960, pp. 47-57.

6 Glaser, E., Die Abessiner in Arabien und Afrika, Munich, 1895.

7 Arbel Armand, "Sur les rapports entre l'Ethiopie et le Himyar au VI siècle." IV Congresso Internazionale di Studi Etiopici, Rome, 1972.

8 Londine, A.G., "L'Ethiopie et ses rapports avec l'Arabie pré islamique jusqu'à l'emigration de ca. 615" IV Congresso Internazionale di Studi Etiopici, Rome, 1972.

9 For the location of some of these maritime bases, see the important dissertation by Walter Raunig, Die kulturellen Verhältnisse Nordost- und Ostafrikas im ersten nachchristlichen Jahrhundert, entworfen an Hand des Pariplus des erythräischen Meeres, Vienna, 1964.

10 Tibbetts, G.R., "Pre-Islamic Arabia and South East Asia," Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 29, Singapore, 1958, pp. 182-208.

11 See his review in Annuaire, École Pratique des Hautes Études, IVe Section, Sciences Historiques et Philologiques, Paris La Sorbonne, 1974-75, pp. 210-211.

12 Ascher, "Graeco-Roman Nautical Technology and Modern Sailing Informa tion. A confrontation between Pliny's account of the voyage to India and that of the Periplus Maris Erythreae in the light of modern knowledge." The Journal of Tropical Geography, vol. 31. December 1970, pp. 10-26.

13 One such centre was Palermo in Sicily: "Tra i cittadini di Palermo e te stimoni in atti pubblici, ci occorrono Arabi delle tribù del Yemen: al Azd, Kindah, Lahm, Ma'afir e di Medina, e dell'Hadramawt…" in Michele Amari, Storia dei Musulmani di Sicilia, volume 3. Catania, 1937, p. 215 infra.

14 Tadeusz Lewicki, "Les Ibadites dans l'Arabie du Sud au Moyen Age," Folio Orientalia, Cracow, 1959, pp. 3-18.

15 Hishem Djaït, "Les Yamanites à Kūfa au 1er Siècle de l'Hegire," Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. XIX, Part II, May 1976, pp. 148-181.

16 Vadet, J.C., "L'Acculturation des Sud-Arabiques du Fustāt au lendemain de la conquête arabe," Bulletin d'École Orientale, Damascus, XXII, 1969, pp. 7-14.

17 Salāh al-Bakrī, "Hijrah al-Hadārim ilā al-Khārij" in Tārīkh Hadramawt al-Siyāsī, Cairo, vol. II, 1936, pp. 218-237.

18 Sālih al-Hāmadi, "Hijrah ahl Hadramawt fi ahd al-futūh" in Tā rīkh Hadra mawt, Beirut, 1968, pp. 166-176.

19 "Mahājir al-'Alawiyyin"—Majallat al-Rābitah al-'Alawiya, 5, 3 Batavia, 1349H, pp. 181-189.

See Tā rīkh Bā Sanjalah (unpublished), pp. 46-67, Majallat al-Rābitah 3, 3 1349H, p. 104.

On Hadramī emigrations—"Hagāig Nafisah an al-Sādāt al-'Alawiyūn bi- Jazāir al-Qumr wa Madagascar" in Al ‘Arab, Singapore 22 Feb. 1934, no. 109, pp. 7-8. Al-Sādāt al-'Alawiyūn bi-Jazāir al-Qumr, Rābitah 1347/1928-9, I, pp. 328-335.

20 Martin, B.G., "Arab Migrations to East Africa in Medieval Times," Inter national Journal of African Historical Studies, VII, 3, 1975, pp. 367-390. See ibid., footnotes (1), p. 367 and (38), p. 377.

21 Rā bitah, 1, 4, 1350H, p. 180.

22 Hadramī colonies were equally to be found in Bijapur, Quilon, Cambaya, Bilgam, Surat, Ahmadabad, Delhi, Baroj, Cananor, Maniksore, Hyderabad-Deccan, Daglore, Rankabad, Diu, Rander etc.

23 Serjeant, R.B., "Materials for South Arabian History, Notes on New Manu scripts from Hadramawt," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 13, 1949/50, pp. 281-307, 581-601.

24 "The second source of supply of Chinese ivory was the African coast in the neighbourhood of Zanzibar and Berbera. The collecting centre for this commodity seems not to have been on the African continent at all, but at Mirbat in the Hadramawt. The Arabs thus exercised a monopoly over the collection and transport of ivory in the western parts of the Indian Ocean. From Mirbat it was shipped eastwards in Arab bottoms to Sri Vijaya and Jih-lu-t'ing, the main ivory entrepôts in South East Asia." Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 32, Singapore, 195-, p. 111-112.

25 For a bibliography see Yusof A. Talib, "Les Hadramis et le Monde Malais." Archipel, 7, Paris, 1974, pp. 41-68.

26 "Some irrigation systems in Hadramawt," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 27, 1964, pp. 33-76.

27 Ibid., p. 67.

28 Instructions Nautiques et Routiers Arabes et Portugais des XV et XVI Siècles. [Réproduits, Traduits et Annotés par G. Ferrand] 3 vols., Paris, 1921-23. Introduction à l'Astronomie Nautique Arabe, Paris, 1928.

29 Hourani, G.F., Arab Seafaring in the Indian Ocean in Ancient and Early Medieval Times, Princeton, 1951.

30 Shumovskiy, T.A., Tri neivestnya Lotsli Akhmada ibn Majida [Three unknown pilot-guides of Ahmd ibn Majid] Moscow/Leningrad, 1957.

31 Tibbetts, G.R., Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean before the coming of the Portuguese, London, 1971. [Detailed charts indicating the routes taken by Arab navigators between the Arabian Peninsula, South India and S.E. Asia].

32 "La Hawiya—Abrégé versifié des Principes de Nautique de Ahmād bin Māgid." [Arab text with introduction and analysis in French]. Bulletin d'Etudes Orientales de Damas, Tome XXIV, 1971, pp. 249-384.

33 Grosset-Grange, H., "Les procédés arabes de navigation en océan Indien au moment des Grandes Découvertes." Huitième Coll. Hist. Mar., Beirut, 1966 pp. 227-46.

34 Clouet A.G., "La Navigation yéménite au long cours vers l'Afrique orientale," Actes du IVe Congrès de l'Association Historique Internationale de l'Ocean Indien et du XIVe Colloque de la Commission Internationale Maritime, Saint-Denis-La Réunion, Sept. 1972.

Apart from the afore-mentioned works on Arab navigational techniques one equally finds a growing number of works on Arab sea crafts and trade in the Indian Ocean and adjacent areas:

Hans Kindermann's excellent little piece of work on the classification of Arab sea craft—"Schiff" im Arabischen (Zwickau, Saxony, 1934)—has now been supplemented by the writings of scholars familiar with the language and culture of the region [e.g. George Rentz—"Pearling in the Persian Gulf" in Semitic and Oriental Studies—A volume presented to William Popper, Ed. by Walter J. Fischel, (Berkeley, Los Angeles, 1957) pp. 897-402; R.B. Serjeant—The Portuguese off the South Arabian Coast, (Oxford, 1963), Appendix II, pp. 132-137; Richard Le Baron Bowen—Arab Dhows of Eastern Arabia (Reho both, Mass., 1949); M.P. Naugarede—"Qualités nautiques des navires arabes" Studia 11 (Lisbon, Jan. 1963) pp. 95-122. For description of life on board these craft see the fascinating accounts given by A. Villiers—" Sailing with Sinbad's Sons." National Geographic Magazine, Nov., 1948, pp. 675-688; and Sons of Sinbad (New York, 1968); E.B. Martin and Chryssee Perry Martin, Cargoes of the East: the Ports, Trade, and Culture of the Arabian Seas and the Western Indian Ocean (London, 1978). On the cartography of Arabia in historical times, see G.R. Tibbetts, Arabia in Early Maps. (Arabia Past and Present, vol. 4) Cam bridge, 1978].

35 B.G. Martin, op. cit., p. 389. cf. Van den Berg, op. cit., pp. 147-150. On the maritime links between South Arabia, India, the Gulf and East Africa, see Tārīkh Bā Sanjalab. On the importance of Arab shipping in Indonesia up to the middle of the 19th century, see the preliminary survey by F.J.A. Broeze, "The Merchant Fleet of Java 1820-1850," Archipel 18 (Paris, 1979), pp. 251-269. A global study of Arab shipping in all its aspects in the Indian Ocean has as yet to be attempted.

36 S.E.V.P.E.N., Paris, 1970, pp. 195-207.

37 "Hagiologies are full of miracles performed by the saints for their devotees who called upon them for help at sea." [Serjeant, R.B., The Portuguese, 1963, p. 137]. One such hagiology in my possession [Kitāb al-Zahr al-Bāsim fī Manākib al-Imā m al-Sbaīkh Abi Bakr b. Sālim. MS.] contains references on the power of this celebrated Saint of ‘Ainat in the Hadramawt over the elements. This is somewhat reminiscent of a similar miracle performed by Jesus. [See the Gospel of St. Mark, Chapter 4, verses 35-41]. Equally, the Malay Annals, 9th edition, Singapore, 1960, pp. 181.

38 See especially: Abdullāh b. Asad al-Yamanī al-Yāfi'i, Kitā b al-Dar al-Nadim fī Khawās al-Quran al'-Ad īm. [Lithography copy in my possession, undated] A.H.J. Prins, "Islamic Maritime Magic—A Ship's Charm from Lamu," Festschrift Damman, Stuttgart, 1969. "Maritime Art in an Islamic Context. Oculus and The rion in Lamu Ships," Mariners Mirror, vol. 56, 1970, pp. 327-339.

39 Serjeant (1970, p. 199) indicates an interesting practice relating to the "fawlah" festivity—[deliverence from danger]—"When a vessel arrives at Rās Hafūn, from Africa, they told me, the crew prepare a coconut for the Jinn, and send out little model boats for the Jinn, to pacify them—after this there is fawlah, i.e. Salamah, safety. Sometimes in return for a safe arrival they sacrifice an animal. At Rās Asīr or Gardafui the sailors place some food in a little box and throw it into the sea to ransom themselves from the wrath of the Jinn who inhabit the mountains of Gardafui; they do likewise when they pass by Rās al-Kalb. Ashes are commonly used in Hadramawt when it is wished to exclude or drive away the Jinn.

40 Martin, B.G., op. cit., (1975).

41 Trimmingham, Islam in East Africa, Oxford University Press, 1960 (See especially, pp. 34-35, 72-73, 180).

42 Forbes, "Southern Arabia and the Islamization of the Central Indian Ocean Archipelago." 29 pages, maps (paper presented for the International Conference on Indian Ocean Studies, Perth, W. Australia, August 1979).

43 Raffles: Despatch from Malacca, dated 10-6-1811—quoted by J.A.E. Morley, "The Arabs and the Eastern Trade" in Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 22, 1949, pp. 143-176.

44 Van der Kroef, "The Arabs in Indonesia," Middle Eastern Journal, vol. III, 1953, pp. 300-323.

45 Van den Berg, op. cit.

46 Veth, Borneo's Wester-Afdeeling Geographisch, Statistiek, Historisch, Am sterdam, 1854. [See vol. I, pp. 246-282 on details concerning the Al-Quadris and the establishment of their power in Mempawa, Matan and Pontianak].

47 Martin, op. cit.

48 Serjeant, R.B., The Portuguese of the South Arabian Coast, Oxford, 1973, p. 9.

49 Trimmingham, op. cit.

50 Lyndon Harris, Swahili Poetry, Oxford, 1962.

51 Jan Knappert, Traditional Swahili Poetry-An Investigation into the Concepts of East African Islam as Reflected in the Utenzi Literature, Leiden, 1967.

52 Freeman Granville, G.S.P., Men and Monuments on the East African Coast, London, 1964.

53 Chittick, "Kilwa and the Arab Settlement of the East African Coast", Journal of African History, IV, 2, 1963.

54 Kirkman, Medieval History of the Coast of Tanganyika, Oxford, 1962.

55 Alan, "A Proposal for Indian Ocean Studies" (paper presented to the Uni versity of East Africa Social Sciences Council Conference—Makerere University College, Kampala, Uganda—1969).

56 Matviev, V.V., "East Africa twelfth to the fifteenth century)" in vol. IV, Chapter 18 of the General History of Africa, Unesco (Forthcoming).

57 "L'Islam est un progrès pour le nègre qui l'adopte." E. Renan, Histoire du Peuple d'Israel, vol. I, p. 60.

58 According to Harold Ingrams, op. cit., p. 150, the 13 principal Arab families of Singapore possessed wealth totalling $21,000,000 (Straits dollars) or £2,554,000. Of these a single family had a fortune of $10,000,000 or £1,170,000. H. Ingrams, op. cit., p. 142, indicates the sum of £630,000 as remittances received annually in the Hadramawt. However Van den Berg, op. cit., pp. 126-127, has indicated with justification that it was impossible to assess the exact amount as these remittances were usually not sent through commercial houses or European banks.

59 For a full discussion of the colonial question, see Chapter I of Y.A. Talib, Les études européennes sur la société hadramite. Essai de bibliographie critique, Paris, 1972 (unpublished Ph. D. thesis).

60 It reminds me of the definition of "la patrie" as "le sol et les ancêtres. C'est la terre de nos morts" [Pierre de Boisdeffre Maurice Barrès. Editions Universitaires, Paris, 1962, p. 88].