Waṣf Ṣanʻā

This work is the first book-length ethno-linguistic study of Sanan?- Arabic. The book comprises twenty-eight original oral texts which have been transcribed, translated and annotated by the author, a linguistic introduction to the texts, a glossary of all words contained in the texts, and a list of references. Each of the texts deals with one or more aspects of Yemeni culture. These include: the old city, oil presses, the old watercourse, bread, the development of restaurants, Yemeni cooking and recipes, travel in Yemen, gat, Yemeni architecture, the water-pipe, children's games of yesterday and today, Islamic festivals, and weddings. The texts are principally descriptions, narratives or mixed descriptive-narratives of personal experience. Together they tell a story of change and of what remains despite the forces of change - the rules of hospitality, fasting, food, the bath-houses - and show Yemen as a country where tradition and innovation are intriguingly interwoven.