Quote:
|
Originally Posted by A.alnakkas
Hey Ibrahim,
I disagree in linking alShuhuh to a persian origin. They are arabs who have been in arabia and in the region since before Islam. It is said that they are called alShuhuh (the greedy ones or the broke ones.) because during the reign of Caliph Abu Bakr (RA) they stopped paying the zakkat along with other tribes from that region and they were fought and chased to the mountains which they still reside.
One can get an understanding of this story (whether its authentic or not) by checking the meaning of the word Shuh in a dictionary :-)
|
Salaams Lofty ~ Good point. Certainly they are pre Islamic and today they straddle the border of the UAE and OMAN. There is a total breakdown on the tribe somewhere and I will dig it up... There are a number of key families notably the Shehe ( I also note there are about 5 sects also underlining their sub tribal independence). They are fiercely independent even today. The small axe is very similar to the Luristani axe that it is tempting to draw a conclusion and their own linguistic form is I believe Farsi linked.
About Jerrs axes. The other almost same shaped axe appears with Bedouin in the Omani Wahiba sands region used as a camel stick and a weapon (and called a Quddum) though it is undecorated and on a shaft roughly hewn by the owner as opposed to the Mussandam style which is made by the axe maker complete. Are the two areas tribes previously linked?
Swords. So far as swords are concerned in the Shehu region they seem to have a late production of Omani Sayf only in the last 30 years or so... but that is largely heresay. I recall you indicating that the term Kattara was possibly from that area but I cannot find a link yet.
Work Knife. They also give their main family name to a small work dagger called a "shehe" and though they don't wear Khanjars up there as they favour the Jerrs axe ... they do carry this knife on a simple waistbelt whereas interestingly that knife has found its way as a work knife onto Khanjars in Northern Oman... though generally the preferred work knife is a silver worked antique English Butter Knife (Sheffield Steel ) or the German equivalent from Solingen.
I think it safer of me to describe this unusual group as probably originating from a group of Arab pre Islamic tribes possibly displaced by war, famine or other causes. The name is fascinating and further study is inviting.
On an historical note Richardson and Dorr in Volume 1 of their Craft Herritage of Oman describe the Jerrs Axe as almost identical to a bronze age axe from neighboring area tombs of Qidfa including the design patterns of herringbone, circles, dots and triangle motifs also paralleling designs on stone vessels at the site dated to the second half of the second milenium BC. Pottery also points to a link since it is proven that hand and wheel turning techniques have continued there in the Mussandam which originate in Messopotamia as early as 3000 B.C.etc.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.