The Zadjali or Bani Zadjal are a tribe of Oman with origins in the Jabal Akhdar region. The Zadjali tribe played an important role in the history of Oman, particularly during the early modern period, when they were instrumental in the rise of the Al Said dynasty to power.
Zadjali
Population in the Project Area: 3000
The People
Muscat
Al-Zadjali is a Sindhi-based community that has lived in Oman for centuries. The Zadjali people are said to be a sub-group of ‘Jadgali’ tribe found in Pakistan and Iran. Zadjali is spoken in the outer region of the Seeb area in Muscat. It is a small tribal community. The exact number of Zadjali speakers is not known, but an estimate gives the total number of a few hundred speakers, around 3000, most of whom are from the elderly age group mainly found in Muscat.
The Zadjali people are generally involved in trade activities. Even today, many of them are street vendors selling perfumes, cotton candy, kites, etc. They are also engaged in cattle rearing, especially domesticating goats. The Zadjali people are mostly Sunni Muslims.
The Zadjali tribe is believed to comprise other subtribes under the group, such as Bulfati, Jami, Rooja, Zamarani, Sardarzahi, Mobarki and Gadore, to name but a few. According to the tradition narrated by Zadjalis, the Zadjalis used to have a territory in Baluchistan, their motherland, but they were obliged to migrate to some other areas, including, Sind due to that broke out between Zadjalis and some ethnic groups in the purlieu. It is not clear, though, if Zadjalis were originally Baluchis who migrated to Sind or rather Sinds who migrated to Baluchistan. A few of the Zadjalis, nevertheless, believe that they migrated from Persia as they consider themselves the descendants of the first king of Persia. Yet, other members believe that their lineage goes to Arab ancestors who migrated from Arabia and acquired a different language from that of their ancestors. Still others, however, consider themselves a sub-group of the bigger Baluchi ethnicity. In spite of having such diverse views, it is hard to vindicate one over another as they all seem to be subject to further research and scrutiny. The Zadjali people have their own way of practicing life cycle ritual events. They are also known for their distinctive cultural practices, including traditional dances, poetry, and music.
The Project
Mother-Tongue literacy.
Zadjali is one of several minority languages spoken in Oman. The name of the language is believed to be derived from the word ‘Zadjal or Zadghal,’ meaning ‘the language of the ancestors’. The people in the community speak a variety of Arabic that is specific to their tribe and is characterized by its unique vocabulary and accent. Zadjali is genetically affiliated with the Indo-Iranian language family group. However, its immediate connection is disputed as some believe it is very close to the Kutchi language, a language spoken in India & Pakistan, while another perspective stipulates those languages such as Baluchi, Persian and Sindhi have contributed to the making of Zadjali. Similarly, some speakers of Zadjali as well as of other Indo-Iranian languages, opine that Zadjali is a dialect of Baluchi and or Sindhi on the ground that it shares lexical items with both languages. However, research shows that mutual intelligibility between Zadjali and speakers of these two languages is impossible, showing that it is a language of its own despite such lexical resemblance. Zadjali falls into the critically endangered group due to its slight number of speakers’ base as opposed to those of other languages in Oman, speakers’ age, the restricted domain of use, and the evident nonchalance regarding inter-generational transmission. Zadjali speakers mostly belong to the elderly age group, and most do not seem concerned about passing on their ethnic language to their children. Even among Zadjalis, Zadjali is mistakenly considered a dialect of Baluchi, an Indo-Iranian language spoken in Pakistan, Iran, Oman, Afghanistan and other dispersed areas.
Our survey found out that the decreasing population is also why the language is critically endangered. So we have plans to develop methods for preserving the language as well as the culture. Our team is working by compiling the results to form an efficient skill development program.
Progress
As of March 2023
A sociolinguistic survey was conducted by our team in the Zadjali-speaking regions of Oman, with the objective of assessing the language abilities, attitudes towards the mother tongue, socio-cultural features, dialects, and bilingual abilities of the community. The findings of the study revealed that the zadjali language is gradually declining, primarily due to a decrease in the population. To address this issue, we plan to implement effective training methods to promote literacy training and language conservation. Our aim is to help preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of the zadjali people in Oman.