ethnography and urban morphology
further subdivided into farms, and terraces identified by individual names. Even the smallest plot carries a proper name. During the field campaign (interview with Sulaiman al-Abri 9.10.2014, and subsequent inquiries with Ahmad Muhammad al-Abri, Haitham ‘Omran al-Abri), the names of the more than forty suwar related areal units have been recorded and roughly plotted on Google Earth. Those toponyms refer to: • Spatial/geographical features, such as Suwar al-Sharfa, Suwar al-Wādi, Al-Minzafa etc. • Falaj or plots, such as Suwar al Wuqifayn, Al-Dawahi. • Bio features such as Suwar al-Mashrasa, Wuqif ar-Raka, Matrah al-Judhu’. • Landmarks, such as Suwar al-Burj, Al-Masinsuha. • Waqf or private ownership Matrah al-Masajid, Mal al-Falaj, Wuqif al-Shaykh. • To particular tribes, such as Suwar Bani ‘Amr, Suwar al-Ghafiri, Bani Khusayb.
Toponyms in Misfāt, many of which clearly are of great antiquity and go back to a time when there had been tribes owning land in Misfāt which have long since disappeared from the oasis, are a source of historical information (Mershen 2010: 54) and will be studied in more depth.
3.5 THE AGRICULTURAL LAND AND ACTIVITIES DISTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURAL TERRACES
The oasis farms extend in a northeast-southwest direction on a length of roughly one kilometre. They are spread along the entire western bank of Wādi Misfāt, starting after a short distance from Ayn al-Lathba, the northernmost part of the eastern bank; as well as on the northern and southern banks of a ravine running northwest-southeast, which coalesces with Wādi Misfāt at Siban asSafil. The farms on the southern bank on the ravine below the new residential quarter of as-Siban represent an extension of the originally farmed area, that took place after Qasmet al-falaj in the late 19th century. The smallest agricultural land unit in Misfāt is the jil (pl. jijlan), a small terrace providing space for one to three palm trees, a larger terrace is called wuqif (pl.wuqfan), while the dahiyye (pl. dawahi) is a farm composed of several terraces.
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