[oman-l] Sinbad the Sailor - Omani folklore?

[Joachim Duester]

With regard to the Sinbad question:

I could not trace any evidence that would support the assumption 
that Sinbad the Sailor, that famous character from the Arabian Nights, 
is part of Omani folklore. Yes, he is reputed to originate from Sohar 
(although I could not find it mentioned in the Arabian Nights ed. which 
I am using) - see Wendell Phillips, Unkown Oman, 1966, p. 65, and many 
other, more recent publications.
Interestingly, Samuel B. Miles, Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf,
1919, 
p. 457, observes that as-Suwaiq, not Sohar, "is connected with the curious 
story  of Sinbad the Sailor".
Fredrik Barth and Unni Wikan, who have done field work in Sohar, both 
mention the literary connection between the imaginary Sinbad and Sohar 
in their books (Sohar: culture and society in an Omani town, 1983, and 
Behind the veil: women in Oman, 1982). However, none of them mentions 
the Sinbad story as being part of Omani or Sohari folk tales. As far as I
can 
recall, none of the books and articles about Omani folk tales and folklore
ever 
mention Sinbad as part of Omani folklore.  It would be interesting to hear 
comments from Omani students about this - is Sinbad part of traditional 
--local-- Omani folklore of the Batina coast, or is he just a famous
character 
in  general Arab folklore / literature, and was perhaps even  less known in
Oman 
than in other Arab countries ? (I mean, before 1970 - nowadays of course
Sinbad 
has entered into Omani schoolbooks and other Omani publications...) 

Joachim <omandoc@pobox.com>