Social Organisation

Social organization

The various communities: (social classes and activities)

BALUCH

The Baluch heartland lies along the Makran coast of the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea, where Baluchistan comprises one of the four major political divisions of Pakistan and spills across the border into Iran. The Baluch constitute the largest non-Arab community in Oman and are concentrated along the al-Batina Coast and in Muscat and Matrah. Their language is Baluchi and they are uniformly Sunni Muslims. Most Baluch in Muscat and Matrah constituted half or more population and served as soldier, sailors, porters, servants and petty traders. The Baluch still predominate in Muscat and Matrah, in part because they tend to fall within lower income groups.

ZADJALIS

This small community is often mistakenly regarded as Baluch, with whom they are closely linked. The Zadjalis community in Pakistan has members in both Baluchistan and Sind (whether they were originally Baluchis who migrated to Sind or Sindis who migrated to Baluchistan). Zadjalis in Oman speak their own language. The Zadjalis would be able to understand Baluchi but the Baluchi speaker would not be able to understand the Zadjalis speaker.

HINDUS

It should not be surprising that Oman’s window on the Indian Ocean and its long trading links with the indian subcontinent should have given rise to the presence of Indian merchants in Muscat for many centuries. Many of these were Banians, Hindu merchants from Sind and Gujarat. Merchants from the city of Thattha in Sind forged trading link with Muscat during the period of Portuguese occupation (1507-1650). They were engaged as bankers and imported rice, piece-goods, sugar and coffee from India, exported dates, were silversmiths, and owned some of the best gardens in Muscat.

LAWATIYYA OR KHOJAS

The Lawatiyya (singular, Lawati or Lutyani) community apparently Indian origin, at least in the main is the largest of Oman’s there shi’a groups. They are aslo known as Khojas or sometimes...