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

Varisco, Daniel Martin

Springer Nature Switzerland AG（2023/05発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 446 p.
• 商品コード 9783030957735

Full Description

This book is the first in English to survey indigenous knowledge of seasonal, astronomical, and agricultural information in Arab Gulf almanacs. It provides an extensive analysis of the traditional information available, based on local almanacs, Arabic texts and poetry by Gulf individuals, ethnographic interviews, and online forums. A major feature of the book is tracing the history of terms and concepts in the local seasonal knowledge of the Gulf, including an important genre about weather stars, stemming back to the ninth century CE. Also covered are pearl diving, fishing, seafaring, and pastoral activities. This book will be of interest to scholars who study the entire Arab region, since much of the lore was shared and continues through the present. It will also be of value to scholars who work on the Indian Ocean and Red Sea Trade Network, as well as the history of folk astronomy in the Arab World.

Contents

Introduction.- Part I: Analysis.- 1. Traditional Knowledge of the Stars.- 2. The Almanac Tradition.- 3. Calendar Systems of the Gulf Almanacs.- 4. Traditional Seasonal Knowledge.- 5. Range of Content in the Almanacs.- 6. Seasonal Activities on Land.- 7. Seasonal Activities on the Sea.- 8. The Future of Almanac Lore in the Gulf.- Part II: Texts.- 9. Almanacs.- 10. The Canopus (Suhayl) Calender.- 11.  The Pleiades Conjunction Calendar.- 12. Poetry.- 13. Proverbs.