Emirati’s bid to find a place for traditional almanacs

Calculating almanacs for the farmers and fishers of the region used to be a vitally important job before technology intervened but one Emirati man aims to keep the tradition going.

Nasir Mohammed Humaid Al Yamahi spent more than six months researching and talking to community elders in the UAE and Oman in order to gain the skill and science of calculating the almanac. Satish Kumar / The NationalShow less

FUJAIRAH // Passed down through the generations, calculating the almanac of a region was one of the most important tasks in the community.

Known in the UAE as Hisabat Al Droor (calculating the cycles), the almanac was used as a guide for many different professions, from fishing to farming.

"I remember, when I was a child, every time people saw my father they would ask him about the sea, or if it was time to plant crops, or if it was going to rain," said Nasir Mohammed Humaid Al Yamahi.

“He would talk about strange dates and how it related to the weather and the moon and crops and fish. People took great importance in that information, it improved their livelihood, whether they were farmers or fishermen of travellers.”

The skill and science of calculating the almanac almost died out with modern-day tools and technology but Mr Al Yamahi wanted to preserve this part of his heritage.

He spent more than six months researching and talking to community elders in the UAE and Oman.

“I knew that this was very popular in the Gulf but then realised that all Arab countries use their own almanacs,” Mr Al Yamahi, who is the director of communications at the National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority, said.

“The UAE has two types of traditional almanacs, the bur [land] droor, which is used by people on the east coast and most of Oman, and the bahar [sea] droor used by Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the other emirates based on the Arabian Gulf,” added the 45-year-old Emirati from Fujairah.

Each dor (single cycle) is 10 days. The bahar droor (sea cycles) is easier to calculate than the bur droor (land cycles), Mr Al Yamahi said.

“The bahar droor just works as ascending groups of 10 days, while the bur droor dates go up to 60,” he said. “Then there is a five-day gap called Al Masareeg and then start from 100 and descends to one before going back up to 100 and back down to one.

"Just because they are called bur and bahar doesn't mean that they only refer to the sea or land – it has all the information about the sea, the land, the weather, astronomy and other things.

“The two almanacs also calculate things differently. Winter started on October 27 in the bur almanac while, in the bahar almanac, it started on December 1.”

Since 2001, Mr Al Yamahi has been publishing the bur droor every year as a wall calendar and as a pocket book.

Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Ruler of Fujairah, has supported Mr Al Yamahi’s efforts, asking him to continue to revive the tradition.

Mr Al Yamahi said: “It took a lot of effort to get started, and initially I was thinking to publish a book about droor. But then I realised that I wanted people to use it on a daily basis. I linked the droor dates with the Gregorian calendar to make it easier for people to understand and be able to use.”

Once Mr Al Yamahi managed to calculate the droor, he said he was surprised at how accurate it was.

“I remember how the elders would swear by it,” he said.

“They would guarantee that it would rain that week. Even if it was just to dampen the feathers of the chicken, they would say.”

Right now we are in the end of dor 40, which according to the bur is crab season. “Yes, the crabs are more plentiful, tastier and meatier now.”

As his ancestors did before him, Mr Al Yamahi forecasts more rain between December 16 and January 5. “Dor 60 to 70 is when we get heavy rain on the east coast.”

He also stressed the importance of the almanacs. “People like farmers, fishermen and sailors must know this – not only is it to improve their livelihood but also for safety.”

Mr Al Yamahi plans to launch a website in January about the almanac. Aldroor.com will teach people about the almanac and offer a forum for discussion. He hopes that the network of elder experts on the subject he built during his research will also contribute to the site.

Mr Al Yamahi said he also has plans to launch a smartphone app, adding: “I want to also talk to some of the elders in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to see if I can also publish the bahar droor.”