[Oman-l] The Khojki or "Luwati" Script
haider al lawati
hadmon@hotmail.com
Sun, 22 Jul 2001 12:39:59 +0400
<html><div style='background-color:'><DIV>
<P>Anyone is interested to know more about the origins of socalled 'Luwati' or 'Khojki', I would recommend to read an article: THE KHOJKI SCRIPT: A LEGACY OF ISMAILI ISLAM IN THE INDO-PAKISTANI SUBCONTINENT by Ali S. Asani (1987). This aricle has appeared in JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ORIENTAL SOCIETY 107:3. Thank you <BR><BR>Haider Al-Lawati </P></DIV>Tel: 0161-876-5361 UK
<DIV></DIV>00968-600083 Oman
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<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<P> </P>
<P>>From: oman-l-admin@oman.org </P>
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Oman-l digest, Vol 1 #198 - 7 msgs
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 07:35:25 GMT
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Send Oman-l mailing list submissions to
<DIV></DIV>> oman-l@oman.org
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<DIV></DIV>>When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than
<DIV></DIV>>"Re: Contents of Oman-l digest..."
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Today's Topics:
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>> 1. RE: Re: Oman (Brian Andersen)
<DIV></DIV>> 2. List language (Joachim Duester)
<DIV></DIV>> 3. More on languages: Luwati (Joachim Duester)
<DIV></DIV>> 4. Minawi in Gulf states (Craig Wallace)
<DIV></DIV>> 5. Gender Issues Studies in Oman (Gilman, Amanda)
<DIV></DIV>> 6. Re: More on languages: Luwati (Calvin Allen)
<DIV></DIV>> 7. RE: Re: Oman (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Tommy_Erik_B=E4ck?=)
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>--__--__--
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Message: 1
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 16:44:04 +0200
<DIV></DIV>>To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>From: Brian Andersen <BBAND@POST3.TELE.DK>
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: RE: [Oman-l] Re: Oman
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Javist Tommy, det skulle vara underbart, även me lite dansk också.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>But i think as this is not a private mail board all entries should be kept
<DIV></DIV>>in english.
<DIV></DIV>>If you want otherwise write directly to people (ie private mail address).
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>BTW How are you doing in Suisse Tommy? I'll give you a private mail from
<DIV></DIV>>Denmark soon.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Regards
<DIV></DIV>>Brian
<DIV></DIV>>bband@post3.tele.dk
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>> >Så, om nu någon tjockskalle från Ungern börjar skriva på Omanlistan på sitt
<DIV></DIV>> >hemspråk, betyder det att vi andra med olika nationaliteter också kan skriva
<DIV></DIV>> >på vårt hemspråk. Själv tycker jag att det skulle vara kul med lite svenska
<DIV></DIV>> >på Omanlistan, tycker inte ni?
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> >Tommy
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>--__--__--
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Message: 2
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: "Joachim Duester" <JDUESTER@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>From: "Joachim Duester" <JDUESTER@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>To: <OMAN-L@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 20:17:48 +0200
<DIV></DIV>>Organization: Oman Studies Centre (http://www.oman.org)
<DIV></DIV>>charset="Windows-1252"
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: [Oman-l] List language
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Dear list members,
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>There have been some exchanges on this list recently following an exchange
<DIV></DIV>>in Hungarian on the list. This is just to let you now that I did in fact
<DIV></DIV>>contact the two list members off-list and asked them not continue their
<DIV></DIV>>dialogue in Hungarian (which is, BTW, a beautiful language, and its sudden
<DIV></DIV>>appearance on the list brought back to me fond memories of a Hungarian
<DIV></DIV>>girlfriend 25 years ago ...).
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Some list members took this perhaps a bit too seriously.
<DIV></DIV>>To those: please, don't be annoyed so easily!
<DIV></DIV>>Wouldn't the natural reaction to being confronted with a language unknown
<DIV></DIV>> to oneself rather be a feeling of curiosity and perhaps of regret for not
<DIV></DIV>>being polyglot than a feeling of anger?
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>English has quite naturally been the language of this list from the
<DIV></DIV>>beginning, although I guess that the majority of list members does not have
<DIV></DIV>>English as their mother tongue. May I take this opportunity to apologize to
<DIV></DIV>>all native English speakers on the list for mistreating your fine
<DIV></DIV>>language... If there is an an occasional 'outburst' in any other language,
<DIV></DIV>>whether by mistake or for a specific reason, please, take it with a smile.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Joachim
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>--__--__--
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Message: 3
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: "Joachim Duester" <JDUESTER@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>From: "Joachim Duester" <JDUESTER@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>To: <OMAN-L@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 20:21:06 +0200
<DIV></DIV>>Organization: Oman Studies Centre (http://www.oman.org)
<DIV></DIV>>charset="Windows-1252"
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: [Oman-l] More on languages: Luwati
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Someone asked me to supply proverbs in several languages spoken in Oman,
<DIV></DIV>>including "Luwati". Well, I do kow a bit about the Luwatiyah, i.e. the
<DIV></DIV>>Khojah (or Luti) community in Oman, and everybody on the list probably has
<DIV></DIV>>heard of the "Sur Luwatiyah", a walled quarter within Muttrah. But what
<DIV></DIV>>language exactly do the Luwatiyah speak? I had not heard of a language
<DIV></DIV>>called "Luwati" so far (my Luti friends spoke Arabic and English), but I
<DIV></DIV>>found a reference to Luwati as a language in
<DIV></DIV>>http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/countries/Oman.html#LUV ,
<DIV></DIV>>which classifies Luwati as an Indo-Iranian language.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Calvin Allen, in his 1978 diss. on "Sayyids, shets and sultans", tells us
<DIV></DIV>>(p.
<DIV></DIV>>123) that the Luwatiyah speak Khojki, a mixture of Kutchi and Sindi.
<DIV></DIV>>I did not find Khojki on http://www.sil.org/ethnologue (maybe a different
<DIV></DIV>>spelling?) , but http://global.globale.net/~heritage/granths/script.html
<DIV></DIV>>describes Khojki as a script.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Who can tell us more about the Luti language? Or about Khojki?
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Joachim
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>--__--__--
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Message: 4
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: "Craig Wallace" <CRAIGWAL@IHUG.COM.AU>
<DIV></DIV>>From: "Craig Wallace" <CRAIGWAL@IHUG.COM.AU>
<DIV></DIV>>To: <OMAN-L@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 18:36:06 +1000
<DIV></DIV>>charset="Windows-1252"
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: [Oman-l] Minawi in Gulf states
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>This brings me to ask whether the above community is found in Oman as it is
<DIV></DIV>>in Bahrain and elsewhere in the Gulf states?
<DIV></DIV>>And can anyone give me info on their language and cultural links.
<DIV></DIV>>They are Iranians who believe they come from an area in the SW of Iran and
<DIV></DIV>>they say they speak a language (iranian dialect???) called Minawi or some
<DIV></DIV>>such.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Anyone able to tell me more detail?
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Thanks
<DIV></DIV>> Craig
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>----- Original Message -----
<DIV></DIV>>From: Joachim Duester <JDUESTER@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>To: <OMAN-L@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>Sent: Friday, July 20, 2001 4:21 AM
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: [Oman-l] More on languages: Luwati
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>> > Someone asked me to supply proverbs in several languages spoken in Oman,
<DIV></DIV>> > including "Luwati". Well, I do kow a bit about the Luwatiyah, i.e. the
<DIV></DIV>> > Khojah (or Luti) community in Oman, and everybody on the list probably has
<DIV></DIV>> > heard of the "Sur Luwatiyah", a walled quarter within Muttrah. But what
<DIV></DIV>> > language exactly do the Luwatiyah speak? I had not heard of a language
<DIV></DIV>> > called "Luwati" so far (my Luti friends spoke Arabic and English), but I
<DIV></DIV>> > found a reference to Luwati as a language in
<DIV></DIV>> > http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/countries/Oman.html#LUV ,
<DIV></DIV>> > which classifies Luwati as an Indo-Iranian language.
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > Calvin Allen, in his 1978 diss. on "Sayyids, shets and sultans", tells us
<DIV></DIV>> > (p.
<DIV></DIV>> > 123) that the Luwatiyah speak Khojki, a mixture of Kutchi and Sindi.
<DIV></DIV>> > I did not find Khojki on http://www.sil.org/ethnologue (maybe a different
<DIV></DIV>> > spelling?) , but http://global.globale.net/~heritage/granths/script.html
<DIV></DIV>> > describes Khojki as a script.
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > Who can tell us more about the Luti language? Or about Khojki?
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > Joachim
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > _______________________________________________
<DIV></DIV>> > Oman-l mailing list
<DIV></DIV>> > Oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>> > http://oman.org/mailman/listinfo/oman-l
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>--__--__--
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Message: 5
<DIV></DIV>>From: "Gilman, Amanda" <AGILMAN@ABACEELI.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>To: "'oman-l@oman.org'" <OMAN-L@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 16:56:11 -0400
<DIV></DIV>>charset="iso-8859-1"
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: [Oman-l] Gender Issues Studies in Oman
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Dear Group,
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>I am doing research on gender issues and equality laws in Oman. However, I
<DIV></DIV>>have been unable to find current studies and/or reports on this these
<DIV></DIV>>issues. Does anyone have any ideas of where I could this type of
<DIV></DIV>>information? I would also like to be able to interview gender law experts
<DIV></DIV>>who have worked in Oman, if possible.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Your thoughts are very much appreciated!
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Many thanks!
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Amanda Gilman
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>--__--__--
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Message: 6
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 16:29:25 -0500
<DIV></DIV>>From: Calvin Allen <CHALLEN@MEMPHIS.EDU>
<DIV></DIV>>To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: Re: [Oman-l] More on languages: Luwati
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Fellow Omanophiles,
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>One hopes that one of our Luwati friends on the list will respond to this as
<DIV></DIV>>they will obviously know the answer. My information (cited by Joachim) came
<DIV></DIV>>during interviews in Mutrah during 1976-77 with a folks like Ali Sultan, Amin
<DIV></DIV>>Malallah, and a few other members of the community. I suspect that my sources
<DIV></DIV>>just used the name of the script for the language that they spoke. I also
<DIV></DIV>>suspect that Khojki (probably more properly Khwajki) is derived from Khwajah
<DIV></DIV>>(Khojah), one of the names used to describe the members of the community,
<DIV></DIV>>particularly up until the 1860s when most were followers of the Agha Khan.
<DIV></DIV>>There is also some debate on the origins of the name Luwatiyah (sing. Luti).
<DIV></DIV>>I proposed an origin in an article that I wrote many years ago linking the
<DIV></DIV>>community to the Panch Lotiyah nookh of the Bhattias from Sindh and Kutch.
<DIV></DIV>>That was wrong ( the arrogance, supreme confidence, and creativity of the
<DIV></DIV>>young scholar at work!). The term was used in Iran in the 18th-19th century
<DIV></DIV>>to describe groups of people similar to gypsies in Europe, although I've never
<DIV></DIV>>seen anything about that group speaking Romani. The Luwati explanation (see
<DIV></DIV>>Muhammad Taqi Hasan al-Umani, Dalil al-Sa'il) is that the community was
<DIV></DIV>>originally Banu Zayd Al-Lat of the Banu Kalb b. Wabra, one of whose leaders
<DIV></DIV>>accompanied Muhammad b. Qasim on the conquest of Sind. Another local legend
<DIV></DIV>>claimed that the Luwati where Bani Lu'ay, who were expelled from Oman many
<DIV></DIV>>centuries ago and went to Sind before returning to Oman. In any event, God
<DIV></DIV>>knows, and at this point it really is academic as the community is Omani and
<DIV></DIV>>has been for several hundred years.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Cal Allen
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Joachim Duester wrote:
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>> > Someone asked me to supply proverbs in several languages spoken in Oman,
<DIV></DIV>> > including "Luwati". Well, I do kow a bit about the Luwatiyah, i.e. the
<DIV></DIV>> > Khojah (or Luti) community in Oman, and everybody on the list probably has
<DIV></DIV>> > heard of the "Sur Luwatiyah", a walled quarter within Muttrah. But what
<DIV></DIV>> > language exactly do the Luwatiyah speak? I had not heard of a language
<DIV></DIV>> > called "Luwati" so far (my Luti friends spoke Arabic and English), but I
<DIV></DIV>> > found a reference to Luwati as a language in
<DIV></DIV>> > http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/countries/Oman.html#LUV ,
<DIV></DIV>> > which classifies Luwati as an Indo-Iranian language.
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > Calvin Allen, in his 1978 diss. on "Sayyids, shets and sultans", tells us
<DIV></DIV>> > (p.
<DIV></DIV>> > 123) that the Luwatiyah speak Khojki, a mixture of Kutchi and Sindi.
<DIV></DIV>> > I did not find Khojki on http://www.sil.org/ethnologue (maybe a different
<DIV></DIV>> > spelling?) , but http://global.globale.net/~heritage/granths/script.html
<DIV></DIV>> > describes Khojki as a script.
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > Who can tell us more about the Luti language? Or about Khojki?
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > Joachim
<DIV></DIV>> >
<DIV></DIV>> > _______________________________________________
<DIV></DIV>> > Oman-l mailing list
<DIV></DIV>> > Oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>> > http://oman.org/mailman/listinfo/oman-l
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>--__--__--
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Message: 7
<DIV></DIV>>From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Tommy_Erik_B=E4ck?= <LAAIQ@BLUEWIN.CH>
<DIV></DIV>>To: <OMAN-L@OMAN.ORG>
<DIV></DIV>>Subject: RE: [Oman-l] Re: Oman
<DIV></DIV>>Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 02:55:05 +0200
<DIV></DIV>>charset="iso-8859-1"
<DIV></DIV>>Reply-To: oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Hi Brian,
<DIV></DIV>>Interesting how many x-Omanis are hiding on this list. Of course it should
<DIV></DIV>>all be in English, I just wanted to get the attention of the listowner that
<DIV></DIV>>mega-letters were written here in other languages, but he is probably on
<DIV></DIV>>vacation.
<DIV></DIV>>I'm doing as fine as one can do here in www.scuol.ch with Oman so far away,
<DIV></DIV>>longing for the dunes and the beaches.
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>Tommy
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>--__--__--
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>_______________________________________________
<DIV></DIV>>Oman-l mailing list
<DIV></DIV>>Oman-l@oman.org
<DIV></DIV>>http://oman.org/mailman/listinfo/oman-l
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>
<DIV></DIV>>End of Oman-l Digest
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