|
The People and Culture of Socotra
The Socotra Archipelago is divided into two administrative districts, Hadibo
and Qalansiya, which also includes the islands of Abdul Kuri, Darsa and
Samhah. Both districts come under the administration of the Governor of
Hadramaut in al-Mukalla, The population of the entire Archipelago is
estimated at 70,000 , with most people living on Socotra Island and
concentrated in the capital town of Hadibo and the western town of
Qalansiya. Owing to the isolation of the islands, the ancient language of Socotra was able to
survive. Today both Socotri and Arabic are spoken on the island.
Socotra is distinguished by a distinct and unique cultural history.
Although it is unlikely that the legend that Aristotle advised Alexander the
Great to send colonists to Socotra to harvest aloe is true, the existence of
such a legend points to Socotra being “on the map” already in ancient
times. Archaeological work over the last century has shown that the island
was inhabited from at least the first centuries A.D., and that Socotra was
visited and settled by Africans, Arabs and Indians. Socotra’s language –
belonging to a group of Semitic South-Arabian languages – was most probably
spoken in some form on the island even at this time. Christianity was the
island’s most prominent religion until the 15-16th centuries, when Socotra
came increasingly under the influence of the Mahran Sultanate of eastern
Yemen. It is difficult to say how quickly Socotra’s Islamization proceeded,
but by the end of the 18th century at the latest the last vestiges of
Christianity had disappeared. During the 19th century Socotra came to
attract the attention of great powers again with the interest of Great
Britain the region culminating in the island becoming a British protectorate
in the 1870s. British influence on Socotra ceased in 1967, when the
Socialist People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen came to power in Southern
Yemen. In 1990 North and South Yemen were unified and Socotra has been part
of a unified Yemen ever since.
Socotra’s population is divided between the inhabitants of the mountainous
interior and the islands’ coastal regions. The former have traditionally
made their living herding goats, sheep and cows and harvesting their date
palms, while the latter’s livelihood has been based on fishing. Some of the
fishermen on the island’s northern coast are of African origin, having been
brought over at the end of the 19th century to work for the Sultan. Since
1999, when the island’s airstrip was lengthened, enabling flights
year-round, including during the four month summer monsoon, development on
the island has expanded rapidly. Simultaneously, Yemenis from the mainland
have  immigrated to Socotra in
greater numbers, opening numerous shops in the island’s capital, Hadibo.
Socotra heavily depends on outside support, which comes mainly from the
Yemeni Government and some development programs of NGO’s and International
Organizations. An estimated number of 8,000 Socotris live and work in the
Emirates, probably contributing considerably to the income of related
families on the island. Due to the insufficient provision of basic human
needs, such as access to sustainable livelihoods, safe water, health
services, education etc.., a majority of the population of Socotra
Archipelago are considered to live below the absolute poverty line.
Today, as the memory of the days when Socotra was ruled by local sultans
fades with the passing of the island’s older generations, Socotra finds
itself at a crossroads. Will the Socotris be able to preserve their
environment, their culture and language while benefiting from development
and tourism, or will Socotra suffer the fate of so many other once isolated
regions of the world and lose its unique human and natural heritage as it is
increasingly integrated into world economic flows?
|
 |
