The Oases of Wādī Ṭīwī
Discover the 2025 awarded project "The Oases of Wādī Ṭīwī: Palm Trees, Dates and Social Organisation in Northern Oman", selected by the Louis Dumont Fund for Research in Social Anthropology.
The project
The Sultanate of Oman is a country with a long rural history. Village communities have developed within extremely arid areas thanks to ingenious irrigation systems known as aflaj. While the aflaj offer a key to understanding oasis society, date palms can also be seen as the central element through which local social relations are articulated. Palm groves are essential to oasis agriculture, providing protective shade for other plants. Moreover, dates have long been the main source of wealth for village communities, and their production and consumption at the local level illuminate how these communities are organised. This study focuses on Wādī Tīwī, in northern Oman, an area mentioned by the explorer Ibn Battuta in the 14th century. It includes five small oases and over 600 inhabitants, where palm groves continue to be carefully maintained. Through several months of immersive ethnography centred on the date palm and its fruit, this research aims to deepen understanding of the social organisation of these oasis communities, as well as the continuities and changes they experience.
Roland Sarabian
Roland Sarabian is a student affiliated with the University of Paris Nanterre. He is pursuing advanced studies in anthropology, building on his prior academic background and practical experiences. His research interests focus on rural societies in arid environments, with particular attention to the social and environmental dynamics of oasis communities in Oman.
