Tucked away between the wild fjords of northern Oman, between the mountains and the sea in a quiet bay, lies the small village of Kumzar. This is the country’s northernmost border, but Kumzar has a different atmosphere than the rest of Oman. In fact, its glorious isolation – the village can only be reached by a one-hour speedboat ride or a 2.5-hour sailing dhow ride from the nearest town of Khasab – has led Kumzar to develop its own language and culture.
Kumzar’s unique character has a lot to do with geography. The village is located on the Musandam Peninsula, a tiny coastal enclave in Oman, separated from the rest of the country by 100 km of rocky UAE desert. Musandam’s nickname – “Norway of Arabia” – derives from its wildly dramatic coastline, which has been devastated by fjord-like khoren – although these rocky bays, unlike their Scandinavian counterparts, were not created by the steady slide of glaciers, but rather by the collision of tectonics are plates that crack the earth’s crust from below like terrible creatures trying to get out of an egg.
Behind Kumzar’s Fjord lies the Strait of Hormuz; beyond that, Iran. For around 700 years, the villagers have been absorbing a multitude of influences from the street, which for a long time were a melting pot for foreign trade, culture and geopolitical high drama.
This is most clearly reflected in the Kumzari language, which cannot be compared to any other. “Kumzari is a mix of ancient Persian and Arabic and other languages such as Akkadian, Assyrian, Turkish, English and Hindi,” said Makeyya Al Kumzari, a local who studies Kumzari language and culture. “It is spoken here and nowhere else.
Kumzari is our mother tongue and when we are together we don’t speak anything else
The language is a matter of local pride. Moyath Al Kumzari, who leads dhow tours in Musandam, told me, “Kumzari is our mother tongue, and when we are together we don’t speak anything else – although we all also speak Arabic.”
Many Kumzari words may sound familiar to English speakers. A star becomes a star, lotion is lošan, and a dar is a door. A niglis is a necklace, and fortunately, a plank turns into a pling. Many of the words that Kumzari adopts from Arabic and Persian now sound more like they would have been pronounced in the Middle Ages than they do today. Linguists such as Christina van der Wal Anonby and Erik Anonby, who lived and worked in Kumzar for a year, have long been fascinated by the unique mixture of the influences of the language and its survival in a predominantly Arabic milieu.
“Kumzar has been the center of a socially and historically vibrant regional ecosystem for centuries. Although only accessible by boat, it would be a mistake to see it as ‘isolated’,” said Erik. “Kumzar was historically very important: one of the few places with a well with plenty of fresh water between the trading centers of Basra, Muscat, Zanzibar, India and beyond.”
The Anonbys were welcomed as members of the community in the village and joined the Kumzaris in their daily routines while they did their linguistic research. Christina described how she chatted with the local women in the mornings over tiny cups of cardamom coffee and in the afternoons processed dates and fish or wove palm leaves. She believes this hospitality comes from Kumzar’s unique location. “I think they are so welcoming because in the past they have regularly taken in sailors, survived shipwrecks in the strait, hid ships in the fjords when they escaped pirates, or the fresh water supply of passing ships from the well in Kumzar replenished, “she said.
You may also be interested in:
• • Japan’s forgotten indigenous people
• • The Syrian sound that causes ecstasy
• • Where people speak Elizabethan English
Kumzaris live on the fish that live in the Khors nine months a year and move to Khasab to harvest dates when the scorching summer heat empties the fish’s water. The sea gives Kumzar life, and consequently, explained Erik, Kumzari is a language shaped by the sea. “We found 200 different names for fish species in Kumzari,” he told me, “and many of these words do not resemble the names of fish found in any other language in the world.”
Kumzar’s unique geography, lying on three sides between steep mountain walls and on the other side of the ocean, not only shaped his language, but also the way his people interpret the world around them. “Instead of using the cardinal points north, south, east and west,” as we do in English and Arabic, “their world is oriented towards the directions” up “, towards the mountains and” below “towards the sea.” Said Erik. Maritime affairs are also never far from social interactions: Kumzaris greet each other with the phrase “či kawlā?” – “What kind of wind is that?” Even the goats here are said to taste like fish; They eat sardines when there is nothing else on dry land.
The sea is far above the local folk tradition. Cowrie shells hang on the stern of the dhows to ward off the evil spirits that threaten to pull sailors to shipwreck. Kumzari folk tales also often revolve around the ocean and Kumzar’s unique location. “After a long day of fishing, it’s time for entertainment. Stories and stories are very popular in the village,” said Makeyya. “Stories are mainly influenced by the environment; they are about the sea and its creatures. There are also stories about the well that made Kumzar a meaningful place for travelers to stop and refill drinking water.”
“Kumzaris have their own full oral library of traditional songs and folk stories,” added Erik. “Aliko Shobubo, who recently passed away, was one of the great Kumzari storytellers. In his memory he kept an entire oral collection of fairy tales as rich and detailed as the Arabian Nights, but which he always told with his own flair, set the stories in Kumzar with authentic local characters. “
Other aspects of the Kumzari culture are similarly alive. “The Kumzari are known across Arabia for their lively, colorful, weeklong weddings filled with days and nights of dancing, traditional songs and lavish celebrations that attract the entire community,” said Erik.
Kumzar may be far from anywhere, but it’s not a backwater. The village is self-sufficient and has its own school, hospital and desalination plant. The local pride burns strongly here and is perhaps nowhere better expressed than at the Kumzar Football Club, which remarkably has overcome teams with far greater human and financial resources. to win the Oman Regional Cup in 2016. “It was a great achievement for our club and all Kumzari are proud of this moment,” said Moyath. “It definitely enhanced our sense of local identity.”
By keeping Kumzari alive, they enrich the cultural heritage of the world
However, the future for Kumzar is far from clear. “Kumzar is changing,” said Moyath. “The new generation is very invested in their education and often moves to Muscat to study.” Gone are the days of generations past when locals spoke only Kumzari and did not learn Arabic, and young people often seek employment in the mainland or the United Arab Emirates after graduation.
“Thanks to commercial fishing, fish stocks are depleted and the livelihoods of the Kumzari fishing crews are precarious,” said Erik. “With the advent of universal education, television, and now the Internet, Arabic finds its way into every moment of the Kumzaris’ day. In the past 10 years there has been a big change as most families are now the first to teach their children Arabic.” Children can still understand Kumzari, but they do not speak it well and the transmission of the language between generations is quickly disappearing. “
However, there is cause for optimism. A group of local experts and enthusiasts work with scholars like Christina and Erik to build a Kumzari writing system and preserve their language and culture.
“Fortunately, there is a group of committed Kumzari people who do not want to lose the full story, cultural knowledge, ability to survive and thrive against discouraging environmental problems, and who want to lose their unique Kumzari identity that keeps the language alive,” said Erik. “By keeping Kumzari alive, you enrich the cultural heritage of the whole world as there is no other language like Kumzari.”
Although young people are moving to university, a high birth rate means there should be no shortage of young Kumzaris to keep the language alive. “The population is growing and new houses are being built in the mountains above Kumzar,” said Moyath.
Equally important to the future of the Kumzaris will be their passionate sense of local pride. “We Kumzaris always say ‘Kumzari maafi couf’ (Kumzaris are never afraid) because our tradition is to fight nature or other enemies,” said Moyath. “We are all proud to be from Kumzar. We have a responsibility to grow alongside modern challenges, but we will never leave our culture and language behind.”
Our unique world is a BBC Travel series that celebrates what makes us different and distinctive by exploring unusual subcultures and obscure communities around the world.
Join over three million BBC Travel fans by liking us Facebookor follow us further Twitter and Instagram.
If you liked this story, Sign up for the weekly newsletter with bbc.com functions called “The Essential List”. A handpicked selection of stories from the BBC Future, Culture, Worklife and Travel delivered to your inbox every Friday.
