Bahrani people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Baharna | ||||||||||||
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| Total population | ||||||||||||
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Over 310,000 |
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| Regions with significant populations | ||||||||||||
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| Languages | ||||||||||||
| Baharna Arabic | ||||||||||||
| Religions | ||||||||||||
| Twelver Shi`ism |
The Baharna (singular Bahrani, Arabic: بحراني) are the indigenous Shi'a inhabitants of the archipelago of Bahrain and the oasis of Qatif on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia (see historical region of Bahrain). The term is sometimes also extended to the Shi'a inhabitants of the al-Hasa oasis. They are ethnic Arabs, and some claim descent from Arab tribes. Their dialect of Arabic is known as "Bahrani" or "Baharna Arabic," and they are overwhelmingly adherents Twelver Shi'ites. Most Bahrani clerics have since the 18th century followed the conservative Akhbari school.[citation needed] The term "Baharna" serves to distinguish them from other Shi'ites in the region, such as the relatively recent immigrants from Iran who fall under the term Ajam, as well as from the Sunnis of Bahrain who prefer the term Bahrayni or Ahl el-Bahrayn ("people of Bahrain").[2] In previous centuries, the term "Bahrani" often referred to any inhabitant of the larger historical region of Bahrain.
Before the advent of the oil industry, the Baharna mostly engaged in agriculture, including the cultivation of date palms, fishing, and pearl diving, as well as a host of other cottage industries, such as basket weaving and pottery. Unlike their Bedouin neighbors, the people of this region led a settled lifestyle, as they had access to abundant freshwater springs and long coastal lines, rich with fish, shrimp, and oysters. The pearling industry involved a variety of other business activities, such as ship building (with distinctive styles of dhows) and trade with Africa, Iran, the Indian subcontinent, some parts of Indochina, and Indonesia.
The Baharna produced many well-known religious scholars, including Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsai (1753 - 1826) (founder of the Shaikhí school), Shaykh Maitham al-Bahrani (1238 - 1299) and Shaykh Yusuf al-Bahrani (1695 - 1722) (one of the foremost Akhbari scholars). Many religious scholars immigrated to Iran after the Bahrain islands were conquered by the Safavids in 1602 - for instance 17th Century theologian and scholar, Sheikh Salih Al-Karzakani was appointed by the Shah as court judge in Shiraz, although he initially left Bahrain to work in the Indian Kingdom of Golkonda. Many students and scholars settled, and still do today, in centers of Shi'ite scholarship, especially Najaf, Karbala, and Qom. Insignificant numbers have settled in relatively remote areas, such as Zanzibar.[1], [2].
The singular term "al-Bahrani" and the plural term "al-Baharna" are also used as family names by individuals who have Baharna ancestry, such as the Iraqi art historian Dr Zainab Bahrani.
Contents |
[edit] Historically Bahrani towns and villages
- Manama
- Jidhafs
- Diraz
- Abu Saiba
- A'ali
- Hamala
- Khamis
- Nabih Saleh
- Saar, Bahrain
- Sitrah
- Bilad Al Qadeem
- Zinj, Bahrain
- Mukharaqa
- Noaim
- Nabih Saleh
- Bani Jamra
- Qatif
- Saihat
- Tarout Island
[edit] References
- ^ Arabic, Baharna Spoken. Ethnologue. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
- ^ Lorimer, John Gordon, Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia, republished by Gregg Internatinal Publishers Limited Westemead. Farnborough, Hants., England and Irish University Press, Shannon, Irelend. Printed in Holland, 1970, Vol. II A, entries on "Bahrain" and "Baharna"
