Kumzari people

The Kumzari or Kumzar (کومزاري) are an Iranian ethnic group native to the Musandam peninsula in northern Oman. They speak the Kumzari language along with the Shihuh tribe who are Arabs unlike the Kumzar. They are traditional fisherman.[4]

Kumzari people
کومزاري
Regions with significant populations
 Oman (Kumzar)5,000[1]
 Iran500[2]
Languages
Kumzari, Arabic
Religion
Islam[3]
Related ethnic groups
Lurs

History

The Kumzari are said to have been a Luri-related people who traveled to the northern coast of Oman 500 years ago.[5][6] Other sources say that the Kumzari originated from the Azd tribe who came to Yemen in the third to fifth centuries AD.[7] The village was ruled by a shaikh who was elected by the Kumzari and Shihuh people of Kumzar.[8] Many Kumzari shaikhs married people outside of their village like Labtiab.[9]

Traditions

Kumzari men perform traditional dances like the Dandana which is a type of dance during Kumzari weddings.[10] They are regarded as semi-nomads and travel to the village of Khasab for trade.[11] They have been regarded as "brave fighters" when it comes to combat.[12]

Language
Main article: Kumzari language

The Kumzari people have spoken the Kumzari language, which has been designated as an Iranian language, but has a huge Arabic influence as well as Portuguese, English, and Balochi.[13][14]

References
  1. https://multicast.aspra.uni-bamberg.de/resources/wowa/data/iranian/kumzari_musandam/wowa_iran_kumzari_musandam__metadata.pdf
  2. https://multicast.aspra.uni-bamberg.de/resources/wowa/data/iranian/kumzari_musandam/wowa_iran_kumzari_musandam__metadata.pdf
  3. "Rare language also under threat in Straits of Hormuz". 13 April 2012.
  4. Lancaster, William; Lancaster, Fidelity (2011). Honour is in Contentment: Life Before Oil in Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE) and Some Neighboring Countries. ISBN 9783110223392.
  5. Inc., IBP (2013). Oman: How to Invest, Start and Run Profitable Business in Oman Guide. ISBN 9781433084225. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  6. "An Omani Village Emerges from Isolation". NPR.org.
  7. van der Wal Anonby, Christina (2014). "Traces of Arabian in Kumzari". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 44: 137–146. JSTOR 43782857.
  8. Adamec, Ludwig W. (1976). Historical Gazetteer of Iran: Zahidan and southeastern Iran (4 ed.). Akademische Drucku. Verlagsanstalt. p. 273. ISBN 9783201014281.
  9. Cavendish, Marshall (September 2006). World and Its Peoples (1 ed.). 2006. ISBN 9780761475712.
  10. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-couple-document-centuries-old-oral-language-to-sustain-it-1.3219025
  11. "Kumzari: The Omani language on the verge of extinction". YouTube.
  12. "Tribes of Musandam".
  13. "The hidden world of the kumzaris". 12 June 2019.
  14. "Why the Kumzari tongue consists of ancient words with a future". 7 December 2012.
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