'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎65v] (135/180)

120
v
v
BARAIMI
OASIS*
[pp. 2(50-5]
those at Nizwa are of the Aulad Saif section, and at Sib a section called Aulad
Mahaiyi are found. The settled Awamir outside Oman Proper are about
4,000 persons. r ^ . 1 .
Their migratory habits and the slightness oi their contact with civilisation
renders a close estimate of the strength of the Bedouin portion impossible; but,
regard being had to the wideness of their distribution, they may safely be assumed
to be numerous and perhaps amount to 3,500 souls. The total strength of the
tribe is thus probably about 10,000 souls. . i ,
A term 'Afar, frequently used in connection with the Awamir, appears to
denote a portion of the tribe inhabiting a particular territory, called Afar or
Dhafrah, between Mahot and Dhufar; it includes representatives of many sections.
The' 'Awamir are reputed brave and warlike, but crafty, treacherous and
predatory; they are said to plunder indiscriminately all whom they meet, not
exceptins members of their own tribe with whom they happen to be unacquainted.
The 'Afar are popularly supposed to feed upon carrion: they deny this, but admit
that they are not infrequently reduced to devouring the animals' skins with which
some of them are clothed. The 'Awamir speak a peculiar dialect of Arabic and
the language of the westernmost sections is hardly intelligible to their settled
brethren in 'Oman Proper. The tribe is Ibadhi in religion: they are at feud with
the Jannabah and the Daru'. The tribal capital is ' Aqil, and the present Tamimahs
are Suhail-bin-Aswad and Biban-bin-Biban.
In English formerly spelt " Brymee," a remarkable oasis in the district of Jau,
in a tract situated between the 'Oman Sultanate and Trucial 'Oman which may be
described as Independent 'Oman; it was formerly known as Tuwamiyah, but this
name has fallen into disuse.
Position and extent. —The exact situation by latitude and longitude of Jimi,
one of the most central villages in the oasis, is given in the table of villages below;
it shows the oasis to lie a little south of a straight line drawn between the towns
of Sohar and Abu Dhabi, about 65 miles west by south of the former, and 85 miles
east by south of the latter. The plain of Baraimi is bordered on the north by the
wilderness of Ramlat Kahal; on the east by well-wooded plains and small ridges
of hills belonging to the district of Jau; on the south by Jabal Hafit; and on the
west by the first dunes of an ocean of sand that stretches without interruption to
the coast of Abu Dhabi. The oasis is nearly circular and its diameter is about six
miles.
Inhabitants and villages. —The population of Baraimi amounts to about
5,500 souls, of whom the greater number are Dhawahir, some are Na'im and a
few are Bani Yas. The general condition of the people is poor, probably in
consequence of tribal warfare and chronic insecurity rather than of the natural
conditions of their existence, and the prosperity which seems to distinguish the
place is said to be more apparent than real. The food of the inhabitants is mainly
dates and coarse bread or rice, but they vary their diet with salt fish and goats' or
camels' flesh. Milk is abundant, and a hard cream cheese is made, the juice of
the euphorbia being sometimes used instead of rennet. The women wear an
unbecoming black veil and high-heeled shoes: their work is to spin, to weave, to
make felt, and to tend the goats and kine.
The following is a table, alphabetically arranged, of the villages of the Baraimi
Oasis:—
Name.
Position.
Nature.
Remarks.
'Ain Dhawahir
About 3 miles south
of Baraimi Village.
A village of 280
houses of Dhawahir
of the Jawabir sec
tion.
Sometimes merely called 'Ain. The
lands are watered by 2 Falajs, one
of which comes from the east and
the other (called Dawuidi) Irom
Jabal Hafit. Date palms are
estimated at 20,000, and livestock
are said to be 40 horses, 150
camels, 100 donkeys, 100 cattle
and 1,000 sheep and goats.
Baraimi Village
H miles east-south-
east of Jimi, of
which the position
has been astrono
mically determined.
See article Baraimi Village.
♦ The map for the Baraimi Oasis is Route taken by Major P. Z. Cox, etc., 1905 ; see first footnote
in article Trucial 'Oman.