From kin to commodity: ecocultural relations in transition in Oman

ABSTRACT

This study explores ecocultural meaning systems and practices among villagers in Oman within the context of globalising neoliberal material-symbolic discourses. Our analysis illustrates ways in which villager understandings of ecological relations are rooted in traditional agricultural practices, cultural values, and spirituality. We identify themes that are fundamental to enduring traditional Omani ecoculture, including a core premise of kinship-in-place, and contrast these with recently introduced but increasingly dominating transnational capitalist premises in Oman including a premise of agriculture as a purely economic activity that is sustained by mechanisation and competitiveness. We examine the symbolic and material tensions between these contrasting ways of being.

KEYWORDS:

• Ecoculture
• humanature
• kinship
• neoliberalism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 When we use first person singular we are speaking in the first author’s voice.

2 Aflaj (sing. falaj) are the main source of irrigation water in Oman besides wells. They have been utilised in agriculture and for domestic purposes since ancient times. Similar systems are present in neighbouring Arabian countries. The falaj is a system of tapping underground water, which then is led by human-made subterranean channels to villages where it is used for irrigation and domestic purposes. The water flow of aflaj is relatively constant all year round and varies according to the amount of annual rainfall and drought periods. The main structure of the falaj consists of the mother well that may reach a depth of 65–200 feet, the main channel, and the access shafts that are built every 50–60 m along the channel. The average water flow of the falaj is about 9 gallons per second, which is adequate to irrigate a large number of hectares. Communal water distribution is fairly complicated but rather efficient to ensure fair and adequate water supply for all farming lands. Shared irrigation timing in turn-taking is based on the sun in the day time and the stars at night. Water is mainly distributed to the owners and their share is inherited, while others may buy a share from the owners or through rental via regular auctions according to farmers’ need of the water. Archaeological evidence suggests these irrigation systems existed in this extremely arid area as early as 2500 BCE.

3 Lemqueel is a community space for sharing meaningful cultural and ecological dialogue. Similar to the notion of Resolana (Atencio 1988) in the Chicano New Mexican tradition, which is a community space made by the sun’s warming glare on a building or plaza where villagers gather to talk and share stories during the day, Lemqueel is a community space in Omani villages in which male villagers meet during the day to talk and share their lived experience. It is usually under a big tree near a stream of water and refers to a place and time in which villagers gather to take breaks and nap after hard work in their farms.

4 Participants are referenced by initials given to them by the first author to maintain anonymity.

5 We use compound terms such as “humanature” and “ecoculture” and phrases such as “with/in/as ‘nature’” to reflexively entwine humans, culture, and the more-than-human world in scholarly writing as they are in life (Milstein 2011; Milstein et al. 2011).

6 Omani people accepted Islam peacefully, without coercion, during Prophet Mohammad’s lifetime. In the year 626 CE, the Prophet sent a letter to the two kings of Oman, Abd and Jaifer, sons of Al Julanda, exhorting them to become his followers. The Quran is the basis of all Islamic jurisprudence. Three quarters of Omanis belong to the Ibadi Muslim faith, but there are some Shia and Sunni Muslims as well. The Ibadis believe that leadership of Islam should not be hereditary. Rather they believe that the Imam is the spiritual and political leader of the community. The Imam is elected by the community and must posses high spiritual and personal qualities.

7 Participants in this study are Omanis who live in Village G, Omanis who have moved out of Village G, and Omani government officials. In total, 23 people participated in this study: eight senior villagers age 60 and older (four males, four females) and eight youth villagers age 25–40 (four males, four females) who currently live in Village G; four youth (age 23-30) who have moved out of Village G (two males, two females); and three high-level officials from MAF. All Village G participants, recruited using a snowballing method (Lindlof and Taylor 2011), have practiced farming, including the youth who left. All these interviews/observations, etc., were in Arabic, the first author’s first language and were translated by the first author into English.

Government documents included agriculture policies, yearly agriculture and fisheries reports, agricultural sector five-year plans (2016-2020), sustainable agricultural development strategy 2040, Sustainable Development of the Agricultural Sector Forum held in 2007 and 2009, foreign capital investment law, treaties with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Trade Organization agreements with the Omani government, food security system in the Sultanate, Statement of MAF to the Shura Council (2015), the Omani Food Investment Holding Company mission and vision statement, Omani Farmers Association mission statement, Vision 2020 for Omani economy, and investment policies in the agricultural sector. Most of the documents were also translated by the first author from Arabic to English.