Papers from the thirty-fifth meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies held in Edinburgh, 19-21 July 2001 || Plant names in Dhofar and the Soqotra Archipelago

Plant names in Dhofar and the Soqotra ArchipelagoAuthor(s): MIRANDA MORRISSource: Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, Vol. 32, Papers from the thirty-fifth meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies held in Edinburgh, 19-21 July 2001 (2002),pp. 47-61Published by: ArchaeopressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41223723 .

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Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 32 (2002): 47-61

Plant names in Dhofar and the Soqotra Archipelago

MIRANDA MORRIS

Introduction It was the botanist Quentin Cronk (who made a brief visit to Soqotra in 1985) who first drew my attention to the possible relationship between Soqotri and Dhofari plant names (pers. comm.). He had been struck by resemblances between the few plant names he had collected during his visit and those he had seen his colleague, Tony Miller, and myself working on for our book on the plants of Dhofar (Miller & Morris 1988). In this project I was concerned with plant names in the main languages ofthat area: Jibbãli (or šheret as it is more correctly called in the language itself), Mahri and Dhofari Arabic.1

I am now working with Tony Miller, a taxonomist at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, specializing in the flora of the Middle East, on an Ethnoflora of the Soqotran Archipelago (Miller & Morris, forthcoming), as part of a Darwin Initiative project for the conservation of the biodiversity of the archipelago, and my interest in the relationship between the plant names of Dhofar and of the Soqotran Archipelago has been renewed.

The two areas are separated by many miles of sea. Dhofar is part of the greater Arabian mainland while the group of islands which comprise the Soqotran archipelago is geographically closer to Africa. Briefly, although the two areas have much in common ethnically and linguistically - and especially their traditional reliance on livestock (and hence the vegetation) for survival - the vegetation of the two areas is not necessarily comparable. Again, although there are clear cultural similarities between the two communities, equally there is much that separates them.

In this paper I shall look at the relationship between the plant names of Dhofar and those of the Soqotran archipelago from various angles: - names which are similar in both areas but which also

occur in the wider Arab world (Table 1); - names which are similar for related species (Tables 2-3);

- names which are similar for plants which are not related, though usually, to the non-botanist, similar in appearance (Tables 4-5);

- names for key food plants (Tables 6-8); - names which are different, though the plants

themselves are similar, or appear to be so to the non- botanist (Table 9);

- names for major plants (that is, shrubs and trees) in one area which do not occur in the other (Table 10- 14).

Then I shall look at terms for parts of plants (Table 15), at some concepts in the naming of plants (Tables 16-17), and, finally, at some key terms in other fields of vocabulary to see how these compare with what we have found in plant names (Table 18).

Tables 1-6 give examples of plant-names which are common to sheret (Dhofari) and Soqotri and (in Table 1) Arabic, even though in some cases (Tables 4-5) the plants themselves are not botanically related. By contrast, there is a group of species occurring in both areas whose names are markedly different, although the plants are closely related or very similar in appearance (Table 9). At least half of these species are rare in one of the areas, which might be a partial explanation for this anomalous group, but nevertheless it is surprising to find so little similarity between names for the Commiphora species which are extremely common in both areas.

Both Soqotra and Dhofar have shrub/tree species which do not occur in the other (nor anything closely resembling them), and some of these are important within the area where they occur (Tables 10-14). Again, as with the food plants (Tables 7-8), the names of such plants, important or not, are not found in the other area. On the other hand, the more general terminology of plants and their parts shows marked similarities in many forms (Table 15).



48 Miranda Morris

Species of key importance

Common to both areas is the greater attention given to naming species which are of key importance. Thus in Dhofar, the most important tree for livestock is Acacia tortilis, and the parts of this plant are described in great detail: new green shoots: macšiš; unfurled new leaves: >ekoš; fallen or desiccated new leaves: axelit; flower buds: hàrér; flowers: sor; immature fruit: forž; mature fruit: hïzit; fruit which have dried out and fallen to the ground: enkišit.

A comparable example for Soqotra is Dracaena cinnabari, formerly of great importance commercially but also important for its fruit which are a crucial dry season fodder: flowering spike: cášyuk; emerging young green fruit: fix'hu; immature green fruit now berry-size: hib; fruit changing colour: karini; fully ripe red fruit: bisara; dead Dracaena bark: sened; living leaflet: škecámo, ¿slac; dead leaflet: chácaf; resin: emsolo; processed and cooked under- bark: ïïdsha c. These more specialized terms are in the main particular to these plants only.

Descriptive plant names which are similar in both areas

The concepts behind the plant names of both areas are of interest, and show many similarities.

Inconspicuous or unimportant plants In both areas, names for the less conspicuous and/or less important, smaller plants are often quite non-specific. On Soqotra, in the drier and more desert areas, many of the plants which cling to the bare rock surface are very small and of a greyish colour. Viewed only as incidental grazing, such plants tend to be loosely grouped together under such broadly descriptive terms as ЬлШлЬЫп ('of a grey-brown colour1), libsnhan ('pale, white'), msrhõmhsm, di rahimimihon (from ráhmam, 'grey, ash-coloureď).

Similarly, small plants growing near water have such general names as di-rihoytin ('of the water') or sefiririhon d g¿bi ('little flowers of the wadi'), while many varieties of small, clump-forming plants which after rain become covered in myriad tiny flowers are simply called SAfaririhon ('little flowers').

Useless or harmful plants People in both areas tend to name a plant regarded as useless or harmful after something despised or feared. In both areas the raven (Dh. agsréb, Soq. àcarib) is a troublesome predator of weak livestock, and misliked plants, both in Soqotra and Dhofar, commonly include the raven in their name. Thus diljur agareb, 'raven's beans' for the inedible legume Teramnus repens in Dhofar

(compare diijur, cowpeas, cultivated as human food); and di âcarib, 'belonging to the raven' in Soqotra for the showy, large Crinum species with its unpalatable broad leaves and inedible bulb.

In Dhofar, the feared creature is often the snake (guzet or hot), and we find such plant names as r5t e giizet, r5t efoõt for a twiner with inedible fruit (as compared with rõt, the edible Ceropegia). In Soqotra, free of poisonous snakes, it is often the feral or wild cat (girbak) which attacks young livestock that appears in plant names: mašhérmahum d girbak, or girbikhitin for the plant Edithcolia grandis, a prostrate succulent with hard spines and a terrible smell : any plant with the epithet 'd girbak' is likely to be inedible and probably also have some other unpleasant characteristic. Other despised creatures also appear in plant names: the Egyptian vulture (sucïdoh) lends its name to DTdD3hÁnt9n d sucïdôh, 'vultures' ears' for toadstools (compare §fot ekerali, 'donkey's silent fart' for toadstools in Dhofar), or the giant centipede (di Ьлслплп) which lends its name to the unpalatable fern Adiantium balfourii.

Indeed, it is common in both areas to distinguish useful and useless plants in this way. For instance in Dhofar ahšebé elhiiti 'cucurbits for cows' to distinguish them from ahsebe etïrïn, 'cucurbits for the hyena1 (that is, good for nothing; compare also r5t etïrïn 'bulb/corm for the hyena' as a name for various inedible corms and bulbs to differentiate them from the edible Ceropegia, rõt, mentioned earlier). We also find the name bévati for the sought-after edible Gladiolus referred to above, and bedah esebero 'corms of the spirits, ghosts' for corms and bulbs which are inedible or toxic. Equally in Soqotra, men - who tend to have a low opinion of sheep, which are women's province - differentiate between tábacaš, the edible Echidnopsis, and tóbacš d tëtin, 'sheep's Echidnopsis' which are not edible

'Date' plants Before the era of easily available sugar, dates (along with nectar and wild honey) were the only source of sweetness in both areas. So perhaps it is not surprising that 'date' appears in the name of certain appreciated species. In Dhofar, for example, we find tûr ¿run, 'dates for she-goats' for good fodder plants such as Kickxia qaraica, or tûr îyyél, 'dates for she-camels' for plants such as Ruttya fruticosa which offer the most succulent rains-grazing for camels. In Soqotra we find timihor/támèrhen (diminutive forms of tamer, 'dates') for a variety of delicate plants which cover the plains after rains: they usually have sweet-smelling flowers and are regarded as excellent grazing. Indeed, one of the many támérhen plants, Micromeria imbricata, is



Plant names in Dhofar and the Soqotra Archipelago 49

gathered and rubbed over the skin to perfume it - this is also done by hunters to disguise their smell when tracking wild goats.

Names referring to a plant's habit Plant names in both areas can refer to the habit of a plant or how it grows. Thus in Dhofar we find ïderor (from the root /bdr/, 'to sow seed1) for a plant which comes up in swathes after rains as if cultivated; or the name hagor emïtâyn, for the shrub Rhamnus staddo, which means 'slave of the motín tree' and is so called because it is commonly found growing beside the taller mõtin tree (Olea sp.). Likewise on Soqotra various small plants which are sticky or have burrs are called such names as laskáno or meltuwsek ('sticky', 'adhesive') and those which are prickly or thorned ska3hinitin or skacinltin, 'thorns'.

Plants named after the animals which browse them In Soqotra hÁžkek d elhìtin ('hÁžkek of the cows') is used for Pulicaria diversifolia, d ìbcar 'of the camels' for Heliotropium riebeckii and zêydiro d Ьэсеуг, for Indigofera marmorata and other plants which only camels browse. We also find zêydiro d b¿niar, 'Indigofera of the donkey', for Indigofera pseudointricata which is particularly popular with donkeys, and кл d têtin, 'thread of the sheep', for a prostrate Convolvulus of the high plateau sheep-walks. Similarly in Dhofar, iž iyel, 'of the female camels' for plants of which they are particularly fond, and iž ешп, 'of the female goats' for the same reason.

Plants of little value as fodder In Soqotra some small unpalatable ferns and Cyperacae are commonly called Ijámžig which means 'milkless', 'mean, lacking in generosity' - these plants are of little or no nutritive value and are only browsed by the hungriest animals in the dry season. Similarly in Dhofar the spreading patches of Gomphocarpus fruticosa - a useless plant with irritant latex - is called Isanu etïrîn - 'the hyena's cultivated area1.

Plants of cultural significance In both areas the name of a plant can indicate its cultural significance. For instance, in Soqotra the plant Heliotropium odorata is called kefèmÁmhiyon. This plant is used in tanning leather and especially that of the skin in which butter is made. It is called this (from kÀtamhïm, 'lump of fresh butter') because it is believed that by using this plant the formation of butter lumps will be encouraged. The plant is also fed to milch animals to increase their milk flow. Similarly in Dhofar the common plant of the coastal plains, Blepharis linariaefolia, is called sebbïn because its seed heads are charred and ground up as a

dressing for the wounds of circumcision (traditionally carried out on young men - aebbïn).

'Useless wood' plants Plant names can tell the Soqotran or Dhofari that a tree or shrub is of little or no use for construction. Thus in Soqotra we find the name gánigano for Calatropis, Datura and Ricinis species, all of which provide no wood suitable for building and are in addition unpalatable or toxic to livestock. Withania, Ricinis and Datura species are also called gunigunt, žunijund (in Mahri ggmegamet) in Dhofar and for the same reason.

Ephemeral plants The seasonal rainfall in both areas brings up various broad- leafed annuals which flower, fruit and then die back, leaving little behind. Such plants as a group have an identifying name in both areas. In Soqotra the smaller plants are called cáž3rib or di cažbub, and the taller ones rížabeb, while in Dhofar such seasonal ephemerals are known collectively as geliibgel or mágalif.

Descriptive plant names found only on Soqotra

Milk-plants Many plant names are based on the root /hlb/ 'to milk'. Such plants - generally of the more succulent type - are believed to be good for milking animals, and are given such names as di hâlbeb, di ftalbibihon ('one who milks quickly, perhaps hastily', as opposed to cag helib, 'a slow and sure milker') or halebleb (a diminutive form of hâlbeb). Less common is the female form - balebeboh »a quick female milker' - and plants with this name are unlikely to come from the western half of the island where traditionally women do not milk livestock.

Diminutives In the Soqotran language there is a great love of diminutive forms, and this is no less true in plant vocabulary, where larger and smaller versions of plants are often distinguished in this way. Thus, d háwgeb for the larger Cyperaceae species and di bsgiibgub for smaller species; fcórŽA3 for the grasses and Cyperaceae of damp areas and kersžáhiyun for much smaller species; çúbahur for the tamarind with its edible sour fruit and foliage and çebirbaher for many species of small, sour-leaved plants (such as Begonia and Oxalis species) chewed for their lemony flavour or used to curdle milk; tifher for the many unpalatable Tephrosia species and tefsnrihun for smaller legume species (teforirihun is a diminutive plural form of tifher above, but it also describes date-palms in bud: 'teforirihun э1 hággub1, 'the buds of the young date palm').



50 Miranda Morris

However, one can fall into the trap of taking it for granted that two apparently similar plant names have such a larger/smaller relationship. For example, the small plant taDiyik is not just a possible diminutive form of tile, the wild fig tree, but in plant terms refers to a group of herbs (such as Poulzolzia and Partietaria spps.) which flourish after the rains and cause severe diarrhoea in animals grazing them; ta3iyik describes the very sloppy droppings which result. The preferred diminutive form for a young fig tree is tSwkAk.

Leaf-size Some species on Soqotra are differentiated by the size of their leaves, kïkahe referring to the smaller-leaved variety and §л1эЫ1 referring to the larger-leaved species. Thus the smaller leaved Kalanchoe farinacea is called bögatahän kíkahe and the larger-leaved Kalanchoe robusta bsgslshãn §лсэ1пл1. Similarly the widespread and small-leaved Croton socotranus species which is called mitrer throughout the island becomes mitrer kilphe in the high central mountains to differentiate it from the larger-leaved species of Croton called mitrer §лЬпл1 which grows there .

Descriptive plant names found only in Dhofar

Medicinal plants Many plants have names which indicate their medicinal virtues (this is rare in Soqotra where the medicinal use of plants is less widespread). Thus benlm enfes, 'plant of childbed1 (entefsòt, (fern.) 'she passed the afterbirth1), herum aTûn, 'plant of conjunctivitis1 (mocun, 'inflammation of the eye'), herum аги§, 'plant of snakebite' (miçç, 'to suck1 and, more specifically, 'snake or witch to suck away the lifeblood, life force of a person or animal')

Vulgar plant names These are common. Thus xunk betfehõtan, 'poking the finger up the bottoms of women gathering Gladiolus corms' for a low-growing plant with long prickles on its fruit (also called yanïk hâynet 'fornicates with the women1 in Hobyot); or õçot ešexarit, 'old woman's pubic hair' for a grey-haired and cushion-forming Portulaca species; and cagsréz ešÁxar, 'old man's testicles' for a Pancratium species distinguishable by its wrinkled brown bulbs. In contrast, Soqotra's 'rudest' plant name seems to be žerthanitin ('many farts'), a name given to all the foul-smelling Neogaillona species - and even this is more commonly toned down to di sïnem ('with a foul smell1).

Finally, Tables 16-18 look at some key terms in other fields of the vocabulary of the three main languages with

which we are concerned here - Soqotri, sheret and Mahn - to see how these compare with what we have found for plants.

Since both communities raised livestock primarily for milk with which to make the ghee that was their only trade commodity, it might be instructive to compare some terms to do with milk and milk products (Table 16), and livestock (Table 17), and then the dissimilarities in some very basic items of vocabulary (Table 18) in three languages.

Can we draw any conclusions from these comparisons? Arguing for, or concluding relationships between languages based on vocabulary alone is notoriously fraught with danger, but such an exercise can perhaps have a greater claim to validity when limited to an area as relatively circumscribed and specific as plant names.

As regards the plant names themselves, perhaps all that can be said so far is that where similar-looking plants occur, and especially where these are larger plants (i.e. shrubs and trees) of local importance, their names in the Modern South Arabian languages of Soqotra and Dhofar are likely to be similar. The close relationship between names for key food plants, despite the fact that the plants, botanically speaking, are often dissimilar, is particularly striking. On the other hand, where major plants occur in one area and not in the other, the names for such plants are likely to be as unique to that area as the plants.

As regards the naming of the smaller, less conspicuous and/or less important plants, we have seen that in both areas this tends to be pragmatic and utilitarian: plants are named in ways which are instructive, meaningful within the cultural context, and thus easy to recall or to pass on to the next generation.

The terminology for parts of plants in both areas is often clearly comparable, and the greater attention given to detailed naming of plants important to the community is similar in both societies.

If we turn to the vocabulary of another area significant to both societies, - livestock and the milk they produce - again we see marked correspondences between the languages in many cases. However, I would suggest that the correspondence is not as striking as it is for useful plants, and especially the key food plants.

It must not be concluded, however, that the often close relationship observable in these specific lexical fields is constant throughout the vocabulary - an indication of this is given in Table 18. Nevertheless, I think it is justifiable to conclude that, in the field of plants, a close relationship between the languages of Dhofar and Soqotra can be shown, - and this despite the fact that each of the two, very different, areas has its own, often unique, vegetation.



Plant names in Dhofar and the Soqotra Archipelago 5 1

Notes 1 The transliteration system used here for the Modern

South Arabian languages follows that of PSAS with

the exception of the following: x in place of b; к in place of q; and with the following additional sym- bols: consonants s, z, § , ž; vowels э, 5, e, e, л, л

References

Miller A.G. & Morris M. J. 1988. Plants of Dhofar, the Southern Region of Oman: Traditional Economic and Medicinal

Uses. Sultanate of Oman: Office of the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of the Royal Court.

(forthcoming) Ethnoflora of the Soqotran Archipelago.

Author's address Dr. Miranda Morris, 7 Union Street, St. Andrews, Fife KYI 6 9PQ, UK. e-mail [email protected]

The following abbreviations are used in the tables below: Dh. / Dhofar = šherct; M = Mahri; Bat. = Bathari, Hb. = Hõbyõt; Hars. = Harsusï; DA = Dhofari Arabic; Soq =

Soqotri; Ar. = Arabic. Lexical roots are shown between / /.

DHOFAR I SOQOTRA I BOTANICAL I Comments cobèbat, M howbébet сиЬэЬ Withania spps. Ar. Abb/ 3eytib, 3étèb, M hotibîb, hâtïb, Bat. iťib Ficus salicifolia

Ar. ПЫ

hãtêb, Hb. hãtêb, DA 3кэЬэЬ э<кэ1 (but also ̂ ¿yr), M häffl, DA Hul, 3atsl Tamarix spps. Ar. /Dtl/ Ъ1 casür or cat¿b, M Däteb, Bat. catabëb, hšhur Calatropis procera Ar. /cšr/ Hb. cat¿b kúrum, Mkúrum

¿krehem Avicenna Ar. /krm/

(mangrove) §5r, M sebbär, gúbahur Tamarindus

indica Ar. /gbr/

¿herik, M hayrîk, DA räka, уэЬэгёк irihek Salvadora persica ~ Ar. /rwk/

lóggf, M 9w§5f, Bat b$äf, Hb. logaf | b$äf9

| Capparis sps. ~

Ar. /l§f/

TABLE 1. Plant names which are similar in Dhofar and Soqotra, but which also occur in the wider Arab world and are thus of no further relevance here.



52 Miranda Morris

DHOFAR I SOQOTRA I BOTANICAL I Comments cotf cudf, cutf, cuft, Flueggea spps. livestock fodder and flexible

stems for making fish traps cariyeb, cayrob acarhïyib Dracaena spps. Ar. dämm al akhwayn,

Soqotra species of commercial value, Dhofar not 35sor cotton fibre Hsïre cotton tree iDishur Gossypium spps. cultivated in both areas cut9b cotton tree : cotton fibre cateré, caterér; M câterhe Cissus spps. common in both areas, hafräyeh, 3ätarä unpalatable to livestock esfeyd, M ssfsdut, ¿sfsd (also terïmo) Adenium obesum unpalatable to livestock esfadût xïr, M хётэг hìmiher (West ximer) Ormocarpum, key livestock fodder in both

Arthrocarpum spps. areas hárheyr hárheyr Acacia spps. (Soqotri species similar in appearance

also Commiphora and Dichrostachys spps.) kilit, Mkëlët kãb Eucleaspps. root bark of both used

cosmetically kertib kártab Dorstenia spps. Dhofar species edible,

Soqotran one not

mgerot, M magarãt, emcïro (West emgìro Boswellia spps. key commercial species in DA shajarat al-lubän, (also other Boswellia both areas formerly magarah spps. telïys, zìfha

gamacáno) sir, M sïmer, Boscia semiro, Cadaba sp. Cadaba, Boscia spp. Cadaba : shrub, Boscia : tree, arabica; sïrmar but foliage and flowers (diminutive form of similar (Cadaba rare in the above) Cadaba sp. Soqotra) ssbrot, M §еЬэг(г)Ш s¿bsra Jatropha spps. unpalatable to livestock, key

medicinal plant ešháyb íšhib Maerua spps. important fodder and wood sures, sires sas, seçAS Dodonea spps unpalatable to livestock (rare

in Soqotra) tûr, temrit, M and DA tonťhor Acacia spps. (and in key livestock fodder in both temmär Soq. also areas

Dichrostachys) tuf tayf Aloe spps. key commercial species in

both areas formerly zirkin zirkin Allophylus spps. livestock fodder tizot, DA teli telïys, tilïyi Boswellia spps. Dh. : root of young sapling;

Soq. Boswellia spps.

TABLE 2. Plant names which are similar in Dhofar and Soqotra for related species. Shrubs and trees.




DHOFAR 1 SOQOTRA 1 BOTANICAL I Comments caytif, M hátyif cáytift, Commicarpus spps. livestock fodder

Derem, M ïrem, werem Hrshem Pergularia, Daemia used for removing hair (DA geygeh) spps. from skins and hides žaforag, žafiibreg (DA zÃfara0 Plectranthus spps. fleshy plant with strong fefSreg) 'Vic' smell fhe, M fhïw féD Aerva spps. inflorescence used as

packing material ferrot ferirò Senna spps. used medicinally in

both areas girsot garsPo, gesPo Ochradenus spps. livestock fodder emloh, melohloh ¿mlah Dyerophytum spps. livestock fodder senin е$эпшо Ipomea spps. livestock fodder hober, M hswïr hàher, hawïr Indigofera caerulea livestock fodder and

used in dyeing hukum, hukut, halkem holkomoh, fruit of Solanum incanum also 'Adam's apple' in

Solanum incanum both areas hasbèt, M hasîbït, Hb. di hsäwa various some edible, some not hašwot, Hars. hesyabot Cucurbitaceae kelkol кл1кэпл1 various halophytic livestock fodder

plants and used in dyeing sigyit, zigyit zo$ib9 Limonium spps. livestock fodder eçderõt çêydiro various Graminae livestock fodder

. stjtjs. rîhés rthist various Graminae livestock fodder

spps. TABLE 3. Plant names which are similar in Dhofar and Soqotra for related species. Herbaceous plants.

DHOFAR 1 SOQOTRA 1 Comments cáb§eb¿§ саслЬ§лЬ both trees of mountainous areas, providing good wood,

Ph. Pavetta longiflora, Soq. Pittosporum viridiflorum motín mitahAn both notable for extremely close-grained and hard wood;

both unpalatable to livestock; Dh. Olea europaea, Soq. Buxanthus pedicellatus mçïçi (Hb. débeh da mï§3§ both with nectar-filled flowers, plant name from root

haybït, 'she-camel's /m§§/, to suck; Dh. Ruttya fruticosa, Soq. Ballochia and honey') Trichocalyx spps. kitir kitshar both unpalatable to livestock; Dh. Caesalpinia

erianthera, Soq. Gnidea socotrana hõr hàher both trees of mountainous areas of good wood; Dh.

Croton confertus, Soq. Spiniluma discolor, Coelocarpum hagirense xfot hfoD common foothills small trees palatable to livestock; Dh.

Blepharispermum hirtum, Soq. Vernonia spps sõhit, ssbhìt, sîhit widespread, small, straggly shrubs with sweet-smelling

flowers; Dh. Premna resinosa, Soq. Carphalea spps. folk feyLvk both straggly shrubs of higher areas, both unpalatable to

livestock; Dh. Carissa edulis; Soq. Leucas hagghierensis; TABLE 4. Plant names which are similar in Dhofar and Soqotra for species which are not related, though

usually, to the non-botanist, similar in appearance. Shrubs and trees.



54 Miranda Morris

DHOFAR 1 SOQOTRA Comments cafìkat çafáka various spps. of irritating or sticky plants in both

areas Lunž hAmž various spps. of sour-tasting herbs (root /hmž/,

'soured milk') xarterit haritret various spps. of small, sweet-smelling plants of

high fodder value tur (- min, - iž iyyel), tãmor, támarihon - various spps. of plants with colourful and 'dates' ('for she-goats, she- 'dates' delicate flowers camels') tob, omtobtob tAbtAb various spps. of plant used to tan skins and hides

(root /wtb/, to tan leather) Bat. ksbdsnot, Hars. kibidinoh variety of spps. of small cushion-forming plants kobdsnet of drier areas, as Aizoon, Oldenlandia spps.

TABLE 5. Plant names which are similar in Dhofar and Soqotrafor species which are not related, though usually, to the non-botanist, similar in appearance. Herbaceous plants.

DHOFAR 1 SOQOTRA I Notes fekelaw (fruit : xarsüt) (M £экэ1а (fruit : hàrsïm) Glossonema spps. with edible fruit and fekelä, Hars. fskalwot, Bat. greenery, eaten raw fekeláw, Hb. tekehim; fruit M, Bat. and Hars. gsrmïz, DA gemráçieh; fruit, hersämeh) beçlah, Gladiolus spps. b¿tah, Romulea spps. bulbs eaten cooked

harì, Habenaria, Nervillea, hàrhi, Habenaria, bulbs eaten raw and cooked Eulopha spps.. Holothrix,

Craterostigma spps. hargyod, Arisema sp. hárgod, Hypoxis spps. bulbs eaten cooked rot : rob riyebs : rïyeb Ceropegiea spps. plant parts and bulb eaten

raw §if¿t, sifód, Cibirhiza spps. çïfst, Dioscorea spps. key dry season food of both regions: large

tubers eaten cooked sacadot sacîda, sàcyid Cyperus spps. small bulbil eaten raw M wabalět, Bat. Deb¿let, Hars. ìbalit Amaranthus spps. : greenery eaten cooked 3аЫэ with cereals gared сэгэ{ (West ¿эглр Grewia spps. with edible fruit caytit c¿bit9 Cordia spps. with edible fruit harsut; DA harsämah harišemo Grewia spps. with edible fruit tik tayk Ficus spps. with edible fruit zirfit zürif Rhus spps. with edible fruit z¿t, M žot I žóDd Ziziphus spina-christi with edible fruit - key

I human and livestock food ženim žirshem fruit of Ziziphus above (Dh : fruit of Z.

spina-christi and Z. leucodermis; Soq. only Z. spina-christi occurs

TABLE 6. Names for key food plants which are crucial throughout the long dry season and during the early rains when other food is scarce and livestock unproductive. Plants which occur both in Dhofar and

on Soqotra.




SOQOTRA 1 BOTANICAL I Comments hidiho Boerhavia diffusa root system hunger food for humans hidist Boerhavia spps., Zaleya root system hunger food for humans

pentandra segahur Peucedanum cordatum important human food of high mountains sebereh Nephrolepis undulata good human food of high areas

TABLE 7. Some important food plants which occur on Soqotra but not in Dhofar and whose names are found in Soqotri but not in sheret.

DHOFAR 1 BOTANICAL I Comments ~

fo<fe Remusatia vivipara underground parts hunger food, eaten cooked halbelib Cynanchum tetrapterum leaves and stems eaten raw kum Cyphostemma ternatum leaves and stems hunger food, eaten cooked zercam Vatovea pseudolablab underground parts edible, eaten raw and

cooked eçtàh Raphionacme arabica underground parts important human food,

eaten cooked

TABLE 8. Some important food plants which occur in Dhofar but not on Soqotra and whose names are

found in sherct but not in Soqotri.



56 Miranda Morris

DHOFAR 1 SOQOTRA I Notes cokor, C. habessinica harheyr C. habessinica (compare also in Dhofar

C. wightii, cakerit; C. foliácea, 'aksbet; C. gileadensis, šúkof, and in Soqotra C. ornifolia, ikssh; C. socotrana, planifrons

and parvifolia, 1экэпет) racwiy5n, êr cawiyãn, žojac mašhermshim ( - cãfer / - di Caralluma, Orobanche, Edithcolia spps ;

girbak) common in both areas lüyet (DA lumi), Citrus tinežs, Citrus aurantium Citrus spps., bitter orange, uncommon aurantifolia tree of the high mountains; believed to

^ have been introduced to both areas eynur, enbo'r кэпэпог Lannea spps. : conspicuous tree

uncommon in both areas ektorsh bohïn Sterculia spps. : conspicuous tree,

uncommon in Dhofar, restricted habitat __^ in Soqotra 3etbot, D5tot кэгэПо (also called ahteš, Acridocarpus spps. (uncommon in

ahtsres, mastswrsher) Dhofar; common in Soqotra where is it ___^ an important livestock fodder) iž bun, hüben; Bat. yilběn, sadAk Lavandula spps., common in both areas (Dh. also heryen ekuliin 'the plant of the bridal bed') dAgoboS, dagAbSi tobaDas Echidnopsis spps. z/lgsr, Euphorbia cactus káššo, sochor, Euphorbia similar in appearance with hard spines

__^ spiralis and caustic latex herum ïderi di hanižirihun, ŠAmkAS Cocculus spps.; rare in Dhofar (where the

(compare Dhofar šemkos for name means 'plant of the stranger'), ___^ Lycium spps. below) common in Soqotra ___^ Deyrtit, Deyr§it (also Dorem) fUx, ssfAtshAn Periploca spps.; relatively common in

__^ both areas ahšit haynro Indigofera oblongifolia tiškot (M ksdhüt, Hb. tahkot) dogas (on Abd al Kuri) Euphorbia balsamifera; common in

Dhofar, rare on Soqotra, occurs occasionally in Abd al Kuri island)

zercayb, M zerebït, Bat. tamerhen Cleome spps.; common in both areas zercäb5t, Hars. žerabět kertib adacan kididhin Euphorbia hadramautica; common in

both areas (jert sow3her Ocimum spps.; common in both areas semerhot ferirò Senra incana; common in Dhofar, rare in

Soqotra) šemkos sú3hur [ Lycium spps.; common in both areas

TABLE 9. Plant names which are different in Dhofar and Soqotra, though the plants themselves are related.




DHOFAR 1 BOTANICAL I Comments gížit (DA gayçteh) Ficus sycamorus important human food source cayzob (DA caylob) Blepharis dhofarensis key fodder plant hebšínut, hiok (DA hebak) Euphorbia smithii important medicinal and veterinary uses haroz (DA samrah) Acacia tortilis key fodder species of dry areas

TABLE 10. Important trees and shrubs which occur in Dhofar but not on Soqotra,

DHOFAR 1 BOTANICAL I Comments 3ěrěr, hárir Delonix elata conspicuous tree, uncommon díši, tiši, tišlr Ázima tetracantha foothills shrub žirfit Ficus lutea widespread jiferit motín, hagor Rhamnus staddo relatively common emltáyn etebìn Hildebrandtia africana, relatively common

Hybanthus durus __

table 11. Unimportant trees and shrubs which occur in Dhofar but not on Soqotra.

DHOFAR 1 BOTANICAL I Comments 3ël5s, bols Ficus palmata rare tree Ar. /bis/ §acb Acacia etbaica important tree for fodder Ar. /§cb/

and tanning yen, ben Moringa peregrina shrub of little importance Ar. /y(v)n/ híçlít, háybetf Ziziphus leucodermis key dry area fodder with Ar. /hbçl/

I edible fruit

TABLE 12. Trees and shrubs which are found in Dhofar but not on Soqotra and which have names which occur in the wider Arabic-speaking region.



5 g Miranda Morris

SOQOTRA 1 BOTANICAL I Comments сл1эЬл1 Anisotes, Trichocalyx spps. key fodder shrub of drier areas mitrer Croton spps. widespread lowland shrub, important fodder

and wood for building d rÀffXn Hibiscus spps. widespread fodder tree, especially important in

drier areas ìmtahe Euphorbia arbuscula key dry season fodder for goats tan Cephalocroton socotranus important fodder tree of the high mountains sanemhen Clerodendron spps. important dry season fodder tree sidad Paracalyx, Cylista spps. important lowland fodder shrub tlfit : tîfAt Placopoda virgata key goat fodder of drier areas kÂmhîn Dendrosycios socotranus key dry season fodder for goats

TABLE 13. Important trees and shrubs which are found on Soqotra but not in Dhofar.

"SOQOTRA 1 BOTANICAL I Comments dokaš Euphorbia socotrana, conspicuous tree

Socotranthus socotranus kasobs Spinuluma discolor; Curroria tree of high mountains

macrophylla mangélheš Dovyalis abyssinica unpalatable тэгэ Socotranthus, Curroria spps., widespread name for a variety of trees with

Euphorbia socotrana white latex enškerer Angkalanthus, Chorisochora, name for a variety of mainly unpalatable trees

Priotropis, Ehretia spps. and shrubs $5mac Sideroxylon sp. tree of high mountains секкэЫп Cryptolepis orbicularis, widespread name for a variety of trees and tree

Secamone socotrana, climbers of little local importance Curroria decidua, Socotranthus

socotrana

TABLE 14. Unimportant trees and shrubs which are found on Soqotra but not in Dhofar,




English Soqotri sheret Comments 'plant' sirihäm herum M harmàyt : herum (Hb., Hars., Bat.

. . idj 'small planť : šermahen hermeriim diminutive forms of the above

pastureland mcud rgod Mrgod rains greenery šéžsher šéžar M hsžaret, Bat. hažerét, Hb. hežerét

fruit pod of kãn : kérshãn kun : kerún 'horn'; the fruit of Ascelpiadaceae leguminous plants are called Soq. kãwrèni / Dh. kãni, 'two-horned' leaf §aclef gegížfót M sogãfêt, Hb. sagalfót twining stem, stalk ahtîmi hatìmìt M ahtemît flower §¿frur gefaròr M gefrür bark kàlifo kižfót (< IklfJ) M kelîfut fruit of wild fig cábgaher > hfol ebger > ahfol (dried M immature figs foçãgst, Hb. fsçêgst;

mature figs eltebìb; M, Hb. mature figs heföl immature figs, ferir) root senho : sèrah sìròx resin šáhaz šáhaz Dh. of Euphorbia, Boswellia and

Commiphora spps.; Soq. 'plant exúdate that can be chewed' : ie. šáhaz d embolo, Dracaena resin when

still soft enough to chew latex giso josot (many plants with Soq.: refers to a group of plants with

white latex are called bacal copious white latex; Dhofar: refers to ejosot, 'plant with latex') any latex exúdate sap (occasionally dur dohr 'blood' latex) heartwood ilbib, ilbibo 3obbot Dh. ̂b, Soq. ilbib, 'heart' crumbly wood of nahš nuxš dead shrubs, trees tree trunk g5dic jandit M gandët, ganzafut thorn skac skocot : skac M Š9k5t twigs, branch tips zibrehur xesmim M xesmîm cluster of fruit on cisk9h codk M xayl (Bat. xãl, Hars. cid9k, Hb. fruiting stalk cúdk) to gather foliage for root /knm/ root /knm/ livestock in the dry season to gather fallen root /hit/ root /hit/ foliage for livestock ift the dry season

TABLE 15. Terminology of plants and parts of plants in Soqotri and Dhofari.



60 Miranda Morris

English Soqotri áfrerět Mahři buttermilk h¿lob holõb cat9rìt lump of newly кл^тппп kAtmïm katsmïm formed butter fresh milk šhAf nusb (šxf, to drink fresh sxãf

milk) milk straight from the кл§эт ке§ этип kãsom udder whey misolhil ти$э! то$э1 cooked beestings kefe ksfs kêfa ghee ham3ï, West xáymi ěšh, mašh, (/xmy/, to clarify mahh

butter to make ghee) coloestrum geyd gud geyd

cooked soured milk mAkdef habtek hotayk soured milk and bat xobtor sërïr water dried curds zibna kots ketuwTw thick froth on top of irbito rebetot rebtut milk immediately after milking layer of cream that tÁlift), stlïfo tïzfot tslïfut collects on standing fresh milk ripened soured milk heyniAŽ hamž hamž used as butter starter milk to go off hares colum mot container used when foti (clay) (клсэ1л, piece of wood kácal¿, miger (of plant fibre kalïw, mïgër (of plant milking shaped like a bowl (either worked and leather) fibre and leather)

or occurring naturally) lumps of fresh butter ingit, fingis xózsr xõzer collecting together during churning | | |

TABLE 16. Terms to do with milk and milk-products in Soqotri, sheret and Mahri.

English Soqotri stieret Mahri goat (male; female: plural) teš ; ¿3oz : irehän tuš ; 3oz : ¿run tayh; woz, hoz : härawn female kid to 6 months cifif sotar hotar female kid 6-18 months sered derhes derhîs cow lbhe : ilhitin le3 : alhúti bekerlt : lehayton camel Ьэсеуг ; goiiul : gom/lhAl gûl ; yit : yél Ьэсеуг; haybît : haber sheep t¿3e : tëtin tet : tûi tlwTt : tîwë share (as of a carcase) tobo : tlyub ým b£¿ the genital 'apron' tied on mature males kúrzs erfudat refedat outside the breeding season to skin a goat dohaš dahaš dahõk to pluck hair from a skin, hide mitat mõlót entêf

TABLE 17. Terms to do with livestock in Soqotri, sheret and Mahri.



Plant names in Dhofar and the Soqotra Archipelago 6 1

English Soqotri sfreret Mahri bad dW defer komah good sk¿r rhim rehaym bone §оЬэ1о (cižaž, date pip) cáyŽ9Ž 3äzäyz severe cold šekAk zel hěka darkness (of night) 3éž9hím $sñxit katîw day(time) ŠAin yum пэЬог heat (of sun) šíhum šum hark down(wards) dgyem9 b-ãgà, b- xotar

ažá(h)l old man; old woman stbeb; sîbib §лхэг; šxarit hěxer; 3ãgãwz earth hóyhi baši bath to sit down zúcum skóf sxawalül stone, rock оээЬэп fudún §5w9r man's waist thong таЧэЬэг hôke hëmar market town glrêt : §ìrihe (< /kry/) hallet erhabet the three firestones (on which miškel mkóder ha§$àyt the cooking pot is rested)

TABLE 18. Dissimilarities between Soqotri, sheret and Mahri in some very basic items of vocabulary.



Documents

Papers from the thirty-fifth meeting of the Seminar for Arabian Studies held in Edinburgh, 19-21 July 2001 || Plant names in Dhofar and the Soqotra Archipelago