‘V. EFT}? ”“96 an: "qu “a“; Tag: f’fiiii'u SU‘UCE‘JWEST FCCIZEJ CF 5 3“ RWBEA: .12 372.3232 JJ :45. 5‘ my Thes'as for the Dam of R2. A. {RECHEQ’JJ STATE UJ‘J‘JERS ET! MOE-{SW ARMED MANSGRJ’ 3.977 ’M\“ ‘H 'In the name 06 AW, the BenefiLcewt, the. MMcxlfiul “ ABSTRACT PERIODIC MARKETS IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA: A STUDY IN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY by Mohsin Ahmed Mansory The Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia is the most rural-oriented region in the country. This predominantly rural nature has contributed to the development of a com— prehensive system of periodic markets. The focus of this study was a description of such a system as well as a de- termination of the distribution of markets within the sys- tem, in the Southwest Region in general and Asir Province in particular. Because there are no studies geographical or other- wise, about periodic markets in Saudi Arabia, this researcher was compelled in his fieldwork to utilize interviews and oral history as a source of data on seller and market char- acteristics. These interviews involved 1,105 sellers and consumers; oral history was taken from sheiks and heads of Mohsin Ahmed Mansory tribes, knowledgeable elderly tribal members, and govern— ment officials. Both interviews and oral history were conducted at 20 selected markets in the Southwest Region. As a result of the fieldwork, 140 markets were identified, 113 of which were plotted on market distribu- tion map. In addition,_the organization, morphology, and classification of periodic markets in the study area were described. Also, characteristics of periodic market place activity were studied. Study findings included the fact that periodic mar- kets serve to articulate the rural economic structure of the Southwest Region. They perform a vital role in that they provide the main source of foodstuffs, non-foodstuffs, and cash for the rural and nomad community. A second study finding was that the periodic market has great social significance for the rural inhabitants in that it provides them an ideal location for recreation and communication exchange. It also serves a religious func- tion and is a place for government announcements. Yet another study finding revealed that there is a temporal synchronization of market days which creates a pattern of seller movement referred to as market rings. Mohsin Ahmed Mansory Finally, discriminant.analysis was the method util- ized to test whether or not seller characteristics vary across markets surveyed.. It was found-that, although a great deal of similarity.does.exist in seller characteris- tics in the markets surveyed for the variables tested, certain differences do arise when market sellers are cate- gorized into two groups: .mountain markets and Tihama mar- kets. This fact would suggest.that future studies examine these groups separately. PERIODIC MARKETS IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA:. A STUDY IN HUMAN GEOGRAPHY by Mohsin Ahmed Mansory A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Geography 1977 DEDICATION To my {Sallie/L and motile/L, who taught me to Love lznowfiedge. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Gratitude.is.owed to several individuals, without whom the completion of this study would have been most difficult: To my advisor and committee chairman, Dr. David E. Stephenson, for his direction, guidance, and valuable comments; To committee members Dr. Dieter Brunnschweiler and Dr. Jack F. Williams, for their helpful suggestions; To Mike Lipsey and Christ0pher Cialek, for their aid with the study's illustrations. Appreciation is also extended: To the University of Riyadh, for its financial support of this study; To the Emirate of Asir, for providing me with a guide, Mohammad Eid Abu-mansour, who accompanied me through- out the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia; and to the other Emirates in the Region, for their cooperation. iii To the people of the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia and.the.questionnaire respondents, for their par- ticipation. Finally, a sincere thank you to all the friends who helped me compile data for the study's tables. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES.- O C .0. O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 viii LIST OF FIGURES O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O X Chapter I 0 INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 1 Focus of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Study Methodology. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Organization of the Study. . . . . . . . . . 9 II. LANDSCAPES AND PEOPLES OF SOUTHWESTERN SAUDI ARABIA O O O O O O 0 O O O O O O O 0 O 12 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Physical Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 TOpography and Physiographic Aspects . . . 14 The Coastal Plain . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The Asir Escarpment . . . . . . . . . . 17 The Asir Mountain Range . . . . . . . . 18 The Upland Plateau. . . . . . . . . . . 20 Climate C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 22 Temperature 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O 25 Rainfall O I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 27 Human Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Population 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 30 Employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Agriculture 0 O O O O O O O O 0 O O O O 3 6 Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont'd.) Chapter III. IV. V. VI. PERIODIC MARKETS IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION. . . Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Market Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . Factors Influencing Market Location . . . . Market Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . Market Classification . . . . . . . . . . . Market Morphology . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sabt Salab: A Case Study . . . . . . . . . MARKET SELLERS AND THE INTERNAL ORGANIZATION OF MARKETS O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O IntrOduction I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 ”Market Seller Characteristics . . . . . . . Types of Market Sellers . . . . . . . . . Types of Community in Which Sellers REside. Modes of Transportation to the Market . . Length of Experience in Selling at the Market 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Market Trade and Activities -.... . . . . . Principal Foodstuffs. . . . . . . . . . . PrinCipal Non—FOOdSthfS o o o o o o o o 0 Patterns of Seller Movement . . . . . . . . PATTERNS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR . . . . . . . . Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Market Hinterlands. . . . . . . . . . . . . The Social Functions of the Local Periodic Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . REGIONAL VARIATION IN MARKET ORGANIZATION . . Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hypotheses Tested . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discriminant Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . vi Page 43 43 44 49 53 55 57 59 71 71 73 73 78 81 86 89 91 97 106 116 116 116 121 126 126 126 126 TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont'd.) Chapter Page The First Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 The Second Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . 131‘ The Third Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 VII 0 CONCLUSIONS 0 O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 141 Appendix A. CLASSIFICATION OF MARKETS ACCORDING TO TRIBE. . 149 GLOSSARY AND TRANSLITERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 BIBLIOGMPHY . O O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 159 vii 10. 11. 12. 13. LIST OF TABLES CLIMATIC FACTORS IN SELECTED REGIONS. . . . SETTLED AND NOMAD POPULATION IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA. . . . . . . . . . ESTIMATED EMPLOYMENT (PERSONS 15 YEARS OLD AND OVER) IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION BY ECONOMIC SECTOR, 1966-1975 0 o o o o o o o o o o 0 AN ASSESSMENT OF MAJOR CROP PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTHWESTHREGION (METRIC TONS, ROUND FIGURES) CENSUS OF SELLERS AT SABT SALAB SUQ AT 1:00 POM. ON JUNE 4' 1976. O O O O O O O O O 0 WORK ENGAGED IN BESIDES SELLING . . . . . . TYPES OF COMMUNITY IN WHICH SELLERS RESIDE. RELATIONSHIP OF SELLER'S HOME TO MARKET . . MODE OF TRANSPORTATION TO MARKET. . . . . . NUMBER OF YEARS AS SELLER.... . . . . . . . FREQUENCY OF SELLER VISITS TO MARKET. . . . RANGE OF FOODSTUFFS SOLD AND THE PERCENTAGE SELLERS SELLING EACH ITEM AT 20 MARKETS . RANGE OF NON-FOODSTUFFS SOLD AND PERCENTAGE SELLERS SELLING EACH ITEM AT 20 MARKETS . viii OF OF Page 24 31 35 38 67 75 78 80 82 86 88 92 99 LIST OF TABLES (cont'd.) Table Page 14. ORIGIN AND CLASSIFICATION OF ITEMS SOLD AT 20 «ME-TS‘. C O O O O O O O O C O O O O O 0 lo 5 15. NUMBER OF "OTHER" MARKETS SELLERS ATTEND WEEKLY O O O O O O C O O O O O O O O O O l o 7 16. PERCENTAGE OF SELLERS WHO IDENTIFIED SPECIFIC MARKETS ATTENDED WEEKLY. .P. . . . . . . . . . 109 17. RELATIONSHIP.OF,CONSUMER'S HOME TO MARKET. . . . 118 18. TIME SPENT BY CONSUMERS TO COME TO MARKETS SURVEYED - C D O O O O O O O O 0‘ O O O O O O O O 118 19. MODE OF TRANSPORTATION TO MARKET . . . . . . . . 120 20. REASON FOR MARKET ATTENDANCE WHEN NOT BUYING (20.5% of respondents) . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 21. PREDICTION RESULTS FOR THE SECOND ANALYSIS (FIRST RUN) o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 131 22. SUMMARY TABLE OF STEP-WISE DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS FOR THE SECOND ANALYSIS (FIRST RUN) . 133 23. PREDICTION RESULTS FOR THE SECOND ANALYSIS (SECOND RUN. O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 136 24. SUMMARY TABLE OF STEP-WISE DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS FOR THE SECOND ANALYSIS (SECOND RUN). 137 25. PREDICTION RESULTS FOR THE THIRD ANALYSIS. . . . 140 ix 105 ll. 12. LIST OF FIGURES Study Area Location, Southwest Region of- sandiH—Arabia. E. I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O Physiographic Divisions of the Southwest Region of Saudi.Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Typical TOpography of the Study Area. . . . . . The AsIr Escarpment: Three Villages with their Terraces in Tihama(t) Rijal Alma. . . . . . . The Asir Mountain Range: Terraced Fields of Wheat and Barley Ascend the Highlands . . . . A Large Village in a Broad Valley on the Plateau, Northwest of Najran. . . . . . . . . Agriculture in the Wider Valley Bottoms of the Plateau Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Temperature and Rainfall in the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia. . . . . . . . . . . . POpulation Distribution, Southwest Region of saudi Arabia. 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Arabic Transcript of Market Laws in “Ahad Rufaidah“ Sfiq (1337 A.H.) . . . . . . . . . . The Distribution of Markets in the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia. . . . . . . . . . . . A Market (Thalfith Al-Namas) in an Open Air Site Page 13 15 16 19 21 23 23 26 33 48 52 58 LIST OF FIGURES (cont'd.) Figure 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. A Market Seller in.His Make-Shift Shelter. . . Market Seller Moving His Goods Out of a Storeroom on Market Day. . . . . . . . . . . Open Air Seller Displaying His Goods on Mats . The New Site for Sabt Salab Market Nearly Vacant.on Day Prior to Market Day. . . . . . Sabt.SalabMarket on Market Day. . . . . . . . Market Square Used by Sellers of Sheep and Goats. - O O I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Sketch Map of Sabt (Saturday) Salab Suq. . . . Markets Surveyed, Visited, and Not In Operation in the Southwest Region of saudi - Arabia 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Work Engaged in Besides Selling. . . . . . . . Type of Community in Which Sellers Reside. . . Sellers' Mode of Transportation to the Market surveyed O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Seller Using His Car as a Shop . . . . . . . . An Example of Rural “Public Transportation“. . Length of Experience in Selling. . . . . . . . Range of Foodstuffs Sold and the Percentage of Sellers Selling Each Item at 20 Markets . Selling by Quantity (a Wood Bucketful) Instead Of by weight 0 I O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 Selling Saman in Goatskin Bags . . . . . . . . xi Page 58 60 60 63 63 64 66 72 76 79 83 85 85 87 92 98 98 LIST OF FIGURES (cont'd.) Figure 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. Page Range of Noanoodstuffs Sold and the Percentage of Sellers Selling Each Item at 20 MarketSQ. O 7 O O O O C O O O O O O O O O 100 A. A Clothing.Seller Who Also Offers Kitchen Utensils_and Plastic Cans B..A Jewelry Seller Who Also Offers Clothing, Hardware, and Personal Aids . . . . . . . . 103 Percentage of Sellers Regularly Attending Markets-.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lll Pattern of Seller Movement in the First Group Of Markets 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o' -o 114 Consumers' Travel Time to the Market Surveyed. 119 Consumers' Mode of Transportation to the Market Surveyed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Heads of Tribes Making Public Announcements on Market Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Market Crowd, Listening to Religious Speech. . 123 The Origin of Goods Distributed in the Periodic Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 xii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Focus of the Study Periodic markets--where people converge to buy and sell at regular intervals--are considered important features of the human geography of developing countries. Yet geo- graphical study of these significant characteristics of the social and economic landscape has started only recently. Instead, according to Bromley,l geographers and economists have devoted a great deal of attention to the agricultural and industrial production of underdeveloped countries. In the meantime, however, they have neglected their local and inter-regional trade which is often carried on in the peri- odic market by a far greater proportion of the pOpulation than that engaged in the export sector. Hodder has sug- gested that: 1R. J. Bromley, “Markets in the Developing Countries: A Review,‘' Geography, 56 (1971): 124. [the] chief reason for.this is undoubtedly the lack of basic data about market distributions. Geographical research.into markets, in most under-developed countries, has to begin with laborious, time—consuming-and often difficult field surveys aimed solely at finding out where markets are, locating.them on base maps (which may have to be constructed for the purpose), and discovering their names and characteristics. Such elementary data.are.otherwise rarely avail— able, but alone can.form-the starting point of any geographical inquiry into market institutions. Only after this point.is.reached can the data be classified and mapped, and attempts made to answer the host of questions they raise.2 Most of the people in the developing countries of the third world depend on agriculture fOr their livelihood. Saudi Arabia is among.those countries whose population is largely rural and, to a large degree, self—sufficient, a fact which stands in contrast to the rapid, oil-financed, development in the cities and selected areas. This rural populace can supply many of its own needs and can, on occa- sion, produce some surplus which in turn is sold to acquire cash for articles that are produced elsewhere or by others. Yet because of the low cash supply, the low population den- sity, and the uncomplex life style of the population, the level of demand is insufficient to support a full-time mar— ket system. Thus, few of the rural settlements in Saudi , 2B. W. Hodder, "Distribution of Markets in Yoruba- 1and,“ Scottish Geographical Magazine, 81 (1965): 48. Arabia have permanent markets; rather, the chief institu— tion for the exchange of goods is the periodic market, or Sfiq. The Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia is the most rural-oriented region in the.country: 89% of the popula— tion is rural or nomadic. This predominantly rural nature has contributed to the development of a system of periodic markets on a larger scale here than in any other region in Saudi Arabia. The periodic markets in this region have a long history in that for hundreds of years they have served rural communities as a place for economic exchange, social, and other activities.3 .There are no studies, geographical or otherwise, about periodic markets in Saudi Arabia, some of which, in the face of recent economic development within the region, have already disappeared. Indeed, one may assume that as development continues, other markets will also cease to function. A study of the existing periodic markets thus 'appears warranted before they are further reduced in number or changed in character. 3A feeling for the antiquity of the periodic market may be derived from the replies of some older tribal people who were asked when their market began. They replied in astonishment, “From the beginning of life!" or "From before Islam!" ‘ Purpose'of'the'Study The purpose of this study was to determine the dis— tribution of and to describe the periodic marketing system in the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia in general, and in AsIr Province in particular. The study had as its objec— tives the following: 1) To locate and classify the markets in the region. 2) To examine the functional role of the periodic markets in the economic system of the Southwest Region: a) as a focus for exchange within the region, b) as,a mechanism of distribution of goods, both national and international, from outside the region to the various regional units within the Southwest Region. 3) To discuss and evaluate the non-economic aspects of periodic markets. 4) To contribute to the knowledge and understanding of the periodic market in developing regions of the world. Study'Methodology During the spring and summer of 1976 field work for this study was conducted in the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia. An initial problem facing geographical investiga— tion of market systems in this region is the lack of basic data on market distribution. There are no district or pro— vince reports, statistical abstracts, or maps in which this primary information can be found. Thus, it was the task of the field work to provide these data. After obtaining the necessary letters from the Government Emirates4 to approve this research, and after being assigned a guide by the Asir Emirate for the period of this field work, the researcher visited nearly all tribal areas or districts in the region. It was then possible to map the market names and locations based on information from the inhabitants. In this manner 140 markets were identified, of which 12 no longer were functioning. There were undoubtedly some small markets which were either not known or not remembered by informants. To plot the distribution of the identified markets on the 4Saudi Arabia is divided°into provinces called Emir- ates. Each Emirate is headed by an Emir. This study is con- cerned with the Emirates of Asir, Najran, Jizan, and Bahah. base map, it was necessary to use the only village index available5 (which included.4:555 villages of the Southwest Region). But even in this index there were some markets for which the names of the market villages or the names of the nearest villages could not be found. In this case mar- kets were plotted bytheir approximate locations. From the 140 markets 113 were located on the map in Figure 11 (See Chapter III). Another phase of the study involved the selection of markets to be surveyed to serve as a framework and pro- vide a focus for observing the spatial organization and socio-economic features of market activity. Twenty—two markets were chosen for intensive survey, for the purpose of obtaining a comprehensive coverage of the market system of AsIr Province specifically, and the other provinces and tribal areas in general. Except for one province in the northern part of this region, one or more markets were chosen for each province or tribal group. Eight additional markets were visited but not surveyed formally. The choice of markets to be surveyed was made randomly, subject to 5Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Communica- tions, Feeder Roads Master P1an--Area III, Vol. 2, Village Index (Rome: Italconsult, 1971). limitations due to the following factors: transportation was often difficult; a limited amount of time was available for field work; and the market schedules created conflicts and inconveniences in travel and time. The research conducted at the 22 markets shown on the map in Figure 20 (see Chapter IV) consisted of inter- views of sellers and consumers as well as interviews with various government officials, including sheiks and heads of tribes and knowledgeable elderly tribal members. Two sets of questionnaires were designed. One set was administered to sellers to obtain information about: 1) Type and name of community in which the seller resided. 2) Number of years as a seller. 3) Mode of transportation to the market. 4) Frequency of seller's trips to the market. 5) Names of other markets visited by the seller. 6) Individuals assisting the seller. 7) Work engaged in besides selling. 8) Origin of the items sold. 9) Kind of goods sold. The other questionnaire was administered to the consumers to obtain information about: 1) Type and name of community in which the consumer resided. 2) Time spent enroute to the market. 3) Mode of transportation. 4) Purpose of attending the market, whether to sell or buy, or both. 5) People accompanying the respondent to the market. 6) Name of other markets visited by the consumer. 7) Measurement of the social functions of the market. In each of the 22 markets surveyed, a certain num- ber of sellers and consumers were interviewed according to the questionnaire. These numbers differed from market to market, according to the size of the market, and ranged from 15 to 55 sellers and 15 to 55 consumers in each market. Two of the markets surveyed were excluded from the study because incomplete information was obtained. The total number of questionnaires completed was 560 for sellers and 545 for consumers. The procedure used to choose sellers and consumers for interviews was flexible since most of the people had never been interviewed before and some of them did not want to be interviewed. Sellers were stratified by activity dur- ing the initial observation of the market; within these groups individuals were then chosen randomly. A11 1) Type and name of community in which the consumer resided. 2) Time spent enroute to the market. 3) Mode of transportation. 4) Purpose of attending the market, whether to sell or buy, or both- 5) People accompanying the respondent to the market. 6) Name of other markets visited by the consumer. 7) Measurement of the social functions of the market. In each of the 22 markets surveyed, a certain num- ber of sellers and consumers were interviewed according to the questionnaire. These numbers differed from market to market, according to the size of the market, and ranged from 15 to 55 sellers and 15 to 55 consumers in each market. Two of the markets surveyed were excluded from the study because incomplete information was obtained. The total number of questionnaires completed was 560 for sellers and 545 for consumers. The procedure used to choose sellers and consumers for interviews was flexible since most of the people had never been interviewed before and some of them did not want to be interviewed. Sellers were stratified by activity dur- ing the initial observation of the market; within these groups individuals were then chosen randomly. A11 interviews of the sellers were conducted by the researcher. Consumers were also selected randomly and with an attempt to secure full area coverage of the market site. Some of the interviews with consumers were carried out by assis- tants.6 Three markets of the 20 surveyed have recently be— come daily markets. These are in the larger centers: Abha, Rhamis Mushait, and Najrén. Interviews in these markets were conducted on the original day of the market and in the older core of the market area because the orig— inal day is the day of greatest attendance, even though the market is open every day. The data derived from the 1105 buyer and seller interviews were arranged and analyzed with the assistance of Michigan State University's CDC 6500 computer. Organization of the Study The report of the study is organized into seven chapters. Chapter II describes the landscapes and peoples 6In a few markets a teacher from the school nearest the market was asked to assist in filling out the question- naires of consumers. These persons were trained by the researcher. 10 of the study area, the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia, by providing an overview of the physical geography and climate of the region and a discussion of populatiOn, employment, and agriculture. Chapter III delineates the organization, morphology, and classification of periodic markets in the study area as well as indicating factors which influence market location. This third chapter also presents, as an example of a typical periodic market, a description of the Sabt Salab Market. Characteristics of periodic market sellers are out- lined in Chapter IV along with a consideration of the prin- cipal spatial and socio-economic features of market place activity. The chapter also reviews the types of products sold in the markets and defines the pattern of seller move— ment from market to market--the market ring. In contrast to the fourth chapter, Chapter V deals with the consumer rather than the seller at the market and analyzes patterns of consumer behavior. ‘Market hinterlands as the origin of the consumers and non-economic activities pursued by con- sumers in the market are.also considered. Chapter VI presents the results of discriminant analysis of the market data in order to test the assumption 11 that seller characteristics vary across the markets sur- veyed. -Chapter VII offers the study's conclusions. CHAPTER II LANDSCAPES AND PEOPLES OF SOUTHWESTERN SAUDI ARABIA Introduction The Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia includes the provinces of AsIr, Bahah, Najaran, and Jizan,l between the approximate latitude of N22°44' 815°15' and between the longitude of W40°4S' E44°00' (see the map in Figure 1). After a long history of struggle against foreign intruders, the region was annexed in 1920 by King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, but it did not become part of Saudi Arabia until 1932. The region is still considered the least developed area in the country even though a great part of it has rich agricul- tural land and claims a sizeable amount of the country's population. In fact, prior to the inception of several development plans, the Southwest Region was the most iso- lated area in Saudi Arabia. 1In some studies the districts of Al-Birk, Qunfudah, and Allith are included in this region. In this study, these districts are not included. 12 13 “:2; ....og. _ x ‘1 oofloovmoJonow OJ s 33:5 0 u . a ”ULREIU 1’ 04¢< outta I .ZXufiknfi. I .....n....... ... n as: .m. can»... .1 .. 5:88 0.59.4 5:3 .6 3.00m 82,538 ./ 29.5004 (mm—4 >095 own ./ 3.6.2 o 5th r00. r oON 0 3.5 0" P1 :23: :52; . 5:52. ....._,. ... . 0.34 [PMS 14 Though marked by tribal affiliations, the region has seen a loss of the influence wielded by tribal struc- ture since the establishment of the central government which has promoted law and order in areas previously torn by tribal warfare. Despite the fact that this loss of in— fluence will continue in the future, however, it is clear that tribal organization has not completely disappeared. Physical Geography Topography and Physiographic Aspects This region is characterized by variation in tOpog— raphy. The altitude varies from sea level to peaks over 2,000 meters. The region can be divided into four tOpOf graphical areas which differ from one another in relief, structure, and climate. These areas, illustrated in Figure 2 and Figure 3, are: The coastal plain The AsIr escarpment The AsIr mountain range The upland plateau. 15 PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS of the Southwest Region Of Saudi Arabia m II N m w m A m... w mmn m m m m a H .r.. m m m» "WWW .. I m A f m .mm mmmm . N x mm Mm W. .m o .m m \N O mmn m m. M... W m. I I .I .\...\...\..\CWEM)..I....\...\... \..M€% WWW % w % D l. 56% ./ .%.....¢M/M//.,/M//éé . 2 W W. W IV.///////.// . . . . SOP ./6... M o flan/W / / // a. u../ /////////l’ a I III 47/ M m W. /////M///// fl//M/// . .. o.. TYPICAL TOPOGRAPHY OF THE STUDY AREA Upland Plateau Asir Mountain Asir Foothills Coastal Plain and Escarpment Range Source: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Agriculture 200 Kilometers IOO and Water, Water and Agricultural Development Surveys for Areas II and Ill, Final Report. Rome: Italconsult, February l969. (”1' FIG l7 The.Coastal'P1ain Known as l‘Tihama,'.'...this.,ar.ea.is divided between Tihama(t) AsIr and Tihama(t).AleYaman. The former is be- tween Tihama(t) Al-Sham and Tihama(t) Al-Yaman. The terms §hgm_(north) and 33233 (south) are used throughout the region. The elevation of the coastal plain ranges from a few to 100 meters above sea level and in places is about 30km in width. At other points the AsIr escarpment cOmes very close to the shore. In the southern part of the Tihama, near the Yemen border, the plain widens to about 50km; this is called the Plain of Jizan. The coastal plain is characterized in the south by a concentration of farms, several hectares in extent, around the basins of wadis; crops are irrigated by the distribution of flood water or are dependent on rainfall. In the north small farms are located around scattered wells. The AsIr Escarpment The region between the coastal plain and the AsIr Mountains is a highly articulated and rugged escarpment. 18 This western slope of the AsIr Mountains is steep and highly eroded. On the escarpment cultivation takes place on small sized farms, with an average area of two hectares, located in the wadis; crops are irrigated in a haphazard fashion by diversion of flood or run-off water2 (see Figure 4). The escarpment is isolated from other areas of the region in that there are only a few access routes over it and these are difficult to travel over.5 However, a paved road is under construction. The AsIr Mountain Range Though the western highland of Saudi Arabia is called Hijaz, most of the mountain range in this region is knoWn by the name AsIr. Both names may be used interchange- ably. These mountains, with very rugged topography, reach heights exceeding 2,000 meters in the northern part, near Taif, and over 3JKmm to the south, toward Abha. This is a region of great relief and deep-cut valleys wherein the rock structure is composed of granite and crystalline rock 2Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Agriculture and Water, Water and Agricultural Development Studies, Area VI, Final Report, Part 3 (n.p.: Sogreah-Societe Grenoblois d'Etudes et d'Applications Hydrauliques, 1969), p. 177. l9 FIG. 4.--AsIr Escarpment: Three Villages with their Terraces. In Tihama(t) Rijal Alma 20 capped by young eruptive rock.3 In the valleys (which wind between the mountains) there are sandy deposits, sometimes of considerable thickness, which are generally coarse- grained and were probably carried there by wind and water. In certain places, when it has been possible to level the ground or find soil to fill terraces formerly constructed by the inhabitants' ancestors, the land has been brought into cultivation through considerable effort (see Figure 5). Such intensely cultivated man-made ter- races, some quite large, are a distinctive feature of these highlands. The Upland Plateau This fourth and final area to be discussed here extends to the interior of the region eastward from the AsIr Mountain range and is characterized by a rolling top- ography with average elevations of 1,200 meters, though elevations of 2,000m are common in the Vicinity of Abha. 'The plateau slopes to the east and around TathlIth the topography is more level and the mean elevation is 1,000m. 3Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Deputy Ministry for Town Planning Affairs, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Southern Region Project Study, Volume I (n.p.: Kenzo Tange and Urtec, April 1, 1976), p. 39. 21 FIG. 5.--The AsIr Mountain Range: Terraced Fields of Wheat and Barley Ascend the Highlands 22 The area is marked by numerous valleys among the uplands, and the wEdI bottoms, sometimes extending to a few km in width, are the sites for agriculture (see Figures 6 and 7). These valleys are oases wherein human activities are supported by tapping the ground water. Climate The Southwestern Region of Saudi Arabia is charac- terized by a variation in climate which parallels its varied topography. The Tihama coast region is very warm, with a mean annual temperature of over 30°C, while the climate is more temperate in the AsIr uplands, where the mean temperature reaches only l6.8°C. Further to the east on the plateau the mean annual temperature is about 26°C.4 Due to varied relief and geomorphological condi- tions of the area, the major control of climate is relief. Until recently, there were no climatological recording sta- tions in the region. Because of the resultant scarcity of data, then, the following discussion is based on average values for several recent years as they appear in a single study. A summary of data from this study appears in Table l. 41bid., p. 39. 23 FIG. 6.--A Large Village in a Broad Valley on the Plateau, Northwest of Naern v. 'I ”T . \i‘ FIG. 7.--Agriculture in the Wider Valley Bottoms of the Plateau Region 24 TABEJB 1 CLIMATIC FACTORS IN SELECTED REGIONS Asir Upland Plateau Wadi Tihama Range Quadrangle Major Meteoro— Abha Bishah Al—Heifa Najrin Malaki Sabiya logical Station 1,900m 1,040m 1,090m 1,156m 178m 40m Temperature annual mean 16.8 24.8 24.2 23.2 26.3 30.8 annual range 9.8 12.8 19.0 14.3 20.1 8.3 monthly range 12.2 18.3 18.9 17.8 18.6 12.8 maximum SEP OCT OCT OCT JULY APRIL Relative Humidity range min 4 55 37 34 43 27 65 range max % 54(OCT) 44(JAN) 48(JAN) 44(JAN) 57(OCT) annual mean % 45(MAY) 20(SEP) 26(OCT) 4(JUL) 44(JUL) Pan-evaporation annual mm 1,7636 3,355 4,209 4,744 5,233 3,784 max monthly mm 301(JUN) 387(JUL) 886(AUG) 555(JUL) 598(MAY) 426(JUL) Wind Speed annual mean km/hr 8.7 7.1 8.4 11.8 8.3 max. monthly km/hr 9.7(FEB) 10.4(JUL) 10.3(AUG) 14.7(MAR) 11.2(JUL) Annual Rainfall average mm 382 108 109 58 28 112 wettest month August May May May April Nov Source: Kenzo Tange and Urtec, April, 1976), p. 49. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Deputy Ministry for Town Planning Affairs, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Southern Region Project Study! Vol. 1 (n.p.: 25 Temperature The chief features.of the temperature of this re- gion are the high summer.temperatures and the wide range in temperature, both annually and diurnally, which is closely associated with altitude. In general, temperature is more affected by altitude than by changes in latitude. Table 1 shows annual mean, annual range, monthly range, and the maximum monthly temperatures (also, see the map in Figure 8). The AsIr highland has the coolest climate with an annual mean temperature of 16.8°C in Abha (altitude 1,900m), while the Tihama region has the hottest climate with an annual mean of 30.8°C in Sabiya (40m). In Tihama, which is closer to the sea, the range of relative humidity is greater (65% in Sabiya) than it is in the AsIr mountains (55% in Abha). Yet the annual mean of relative humidity is almost the same at bath locations. The upland plateau, spreading out to the east of. the AsIr range in a large quadrangular shape, includes vast wadI basins and average altitudes of 1,000m. It has a hotter and more arid climate when compared with the AsIr range area. The annual mean temperature is 24.8°C in 26 TEMPERATURE AND RAINFALL IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA r-2l° 'i BIsHAH . 3/ / SULAYYL ' “- 3m“ / I70 Kilo t i-ZOO yr .1 I z 3' TATHLITH? I \ A ,5 ./.r‘ ‘-.. II \. — O u N 3".52-1- .-. an; my. .-_.:._.;.3 as?! e I . ...'._;.-_. ..... '\ Climograph lines are monthly meane of f average air temperatures; bars are ,‘ averages of monthly rainfall (Abha _.«-—‘ and Bishah, wee-74; NaJran, l966- 70,73,74; Sabya, IS?! 44; Sulayyl, I972). Source: Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Southern Region Project Study, Vol. I, Kenzo Tange and Urtec, April l976. - l L I- l6° . 1'0 . I . . 420 27 Bishah and 23.3°C in.Naern...Further inland, the range of temperature is wider than on the coast, while average hu- midity is lower (37%, 34%) and the range of relative humid- ity is smaller, especially in summer and autumn. In the desert regions absolute maximum temperatures normally reach values between 48°—50°C during the summer months. Rainfall The Southwest Region comes mainly under the influ- ence of the movement of the Inter-Tropical Fronts and the monsoon wind system. Rainfall, in turn, is controlled locally. During summer the Inter-Tropical Front moves north— ward accompanied by humid air masses from the Indian Ocean propelled by southeast winds. This Front, after crossing the equator, moves from southwest to norheast and it brings rain to the southern part of Saudi Arabia. In the winter the region does not receive much rain because continental air masses, moving from northeast to southwest, predomin- ate, and these are cold and only slightly humid. However, rain-bearing cyclonic depressions, which originate in the 28 Atlantic or Mbditerranean,rmayrmove southeastward across the Arabian Peninsula during the cooler months of October to April and bring irregular rainfall on the upland plateau of the eastern slopes of the AsIr Mountains. Despite this description of air masses, the data available cover only short periods (the last several years) and few stations. Consequently, the rainfall pattern cannot be mapped accur- ately. The AsIr highland has relatively abundant rainfall when compared with the entire Southwest Region. Along the range of the AsIr Mountains, the highland covers in part the eastern plateau down to an elevation of about 1,800m. It receives more than 200mm of rather steady annual rain- fall; therefore, many terraced farm lands are located there. The western slope of the AsIr range, a scarp moun- tain, is similar in these respects down to about 600 meters elevation.S Table 1 illustrates the average annual rainfall at the major stations in this area. Abha (382mm) has the largest values of all the stations in the region. The wettest month is August. Rain falls sporadically through- out the year in this area, but it is predominant in spring 5Ibid., p. 47.9 29 and summer. During the spring season (March—May) there is a strengthening of the monsoon type of flow which gives rise to widespread rainfall over the greater part of this area; the AsIr Mountains and areas of high relief on the plateau exert a major influence on this rain. During the summer months the southerly monsoon flow predominates, giving rise to thunderstorms in the south and along the main escarpment as far north as Taif.6 In the upland plateau the annual average rainfall varies from 108mm in Bishah and 109mm in Al Heifa to 58mm in Naern. The rainfall occurs mostly in the spring, and the wettest month at all three major stations in this area is May (Table 1). This area, like the mountain escarpment during the spring seaSon, is affected by the monsoon-type flow. During the coolest months rain may fall here as a result of rain-bearing cyclonic depressions which may move from the Mediterranean southeastward across the Arabian peninsula. These characteristics are similar from north to south in this area in conformity with altitude or dis- tance from the AsIr Mountains. 6Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Agriculture and Water, Water and Agricultural Development Survey Areas II and III, Final Report, Climate and Surface Hydrology (Rome: Italconsult, February 1969). p. 31. 30 In Tihama, rain, mostly of the autumn—winter type, comes on the northwest winds and predominates on the coastal plains and the peaks of the mountains. It usually obeys the general climatic rule of a reduction in rainfall from south to north, but toward the north it becomes increasingly pre— dominant on the coastal plain. The monsoon, which predomin- ates on the coastal plain of JizEn province, brings summer rains from July to September.7 Human Geography Population According to the official census in Saudi Arabia,8 the Southwest Region's 1974 population was 1.4 million. However, this census (see Table 2) provides only general information, i.e., the total population by Emirates (pro- vinces). It does not show population by villages, nor 7Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Agriculture and Water, Water and Agricultural Development Studies, Area VI, Final Report, Part I (n.p.: Sogreah-Societe Cor- enoblois d'Etudes et Applications Hydrauliques, 1969), p» 14. 8Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Finance and National Economy, Central Department of Statistics, General Population Census for 1394, AH (1976), in Arabic. 31 .TABLE.2 SETTLED AND NOMAD POPULATION IN THE SOUTHWEST .REGION,OFWSAUDIAARABIA ‘_— j SETTLED Urban CTRS, > 30,000 Rural‘ Nomads Total AsIr KhamIs Mushait 49,581 355,153 246,477 681,361 Abha 30,150 Jizan Jizan 32,812 354,349 15,945 403,106 Bahah 156,997 28,908 185,905 Naern Najran 47,501 44,054 56,415 147,970 Total 160,044 910,553 347,745 1,418,342 15% 85% Percent 75.5% 24.5% 100% does it give information about age and employment. For data on these latter two factors another report was used.9 About three-quarters of the peOple are settled people, nearly 15 percent of whom live in the four major towns of more than 30,000 in this region; the remainder (85 percent) live in rural villages and small villages (hamlets) and on isolated farms. The other one-quarter of 9Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Central Planning Organi- zation, Socio-Economic Development Plan for the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia, Main Report (n.p.: Ilaco, 1973). 32 the people are nomads or "bedouins" who usually follow migration routes according to seasons of the year. The Southwest Region is the most densely populated in Saudi Arabia, accounting for 20 percent of the total population. There is much out-migration to the urban areas for the sake of employment opportunities. Also, since other regions in the country were developed before this region, it has experienced out-migration of young people from its own urban areas, as well as its rural areas, in search of higher earnings and better amenities in the larger urban centers of the country. The size of out-migration in this region is notlammn, but it has been estimated by one socio-economic study that roughly 80,000 male laborers have left the Southwest Region to work in the central urban belt: Jiddah-Mecca-Riyadh-Dah- ran.lo Most of the migrants return periodically to vacation with their families, though few actually return to perma- nently settle in the villages. The majority of them finan- cially assist their families. As is shown on the map in Figure 9 the real distri- bution pattern of the regional population seems to be Closely related to natural features. In the mountain loIbid., p. 4. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA 0 IO 30 50 a KILOMETERS NAJRAN POPULATION ' LESS THAN I00 ° IOI TO 500 ° 50I TO 2000 O 200i AND OVER SOURCE: MINISTRY OF MUNICIPAL AND 0" e- e fi' ..-. O MAL AFFAIRS, SOUTHERN REGION PROJECT STUDY, VOLWE fl, KENZO TANOE O URTEC. I978 34 region population is.mainly.distributed along the mountain- ous strip in a linear way,.while.in the upland plateau the population spreads out in low.1ying-areas where agriculture is possible. The population.density.in the mountain area reaches roughly 20-30 inhabitants.per sq. km.11 In the coastal plain area most of the population is concentrated in the Jizan area, while the northern.coastal plain is very unpopulated. The Jizan-region is the only one where popu-. lation is relatively dense: 30 to 50 inhabitants per sq. km.12 Employment The male employment of the Southwest Region has been estimated by the Southern Region Project Study on the basis of the sectoral composition given in the 1966 demo- graphic survey.l3 From.the section in Table 3 in which the numbers of males employed.in the years 1966, 1970, and 1975 are provided, one can notice only a slight increase llKingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Communica- tions, Feeder Roads Master'Plane-Area III, General Report (Rome: Italconsult, November 1970), p. 10. 12Water and Agricultural Development Studies,.Area VI, Final Repprt, p. 6. 13Southern Region Project Study, Volume I, p. 126. 35 GHUEEE 3 ESTIMATED EMPLOYMENT (PERSONS 15 YEARS OLD AND OVER) IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION BY ECONOMIC SECTOR,,1966-1975 Demographic Survey, 1965/66. + Estimation by Southern Region Project Study, 1976, p. 126. w l — Sectoral Share Sectoral §hare Sectoral Share 1966* 1970~ 1975 Type of Activity Persons Per- Persons Per- Persons Per- (1,000) cent (1,000) cent (1,000) cent Agriculture, livestock 213.9 74.4 205.1 71.9 196.1 63.7 Mining and quarrying 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.2 0.6 0.2 Manufacturing 6.8 2.4 6.0 2.1 6.6 2.1 Construction 10.7 3.7 12.6 4.4 20.3 6.6 Public Utilities 2.6 0.9 3.0 p 1.0 3.7 1.2 Commerce 19.9 6.9 21.2 7.4 29.4 9.5 Transport, Comm . , Storage 5.6 1.9 6.7 2.4 8.9 2.9 Services 27.1 9.4 30.0 10.5 42.4 13.8 Other Activities 0.5 0.2 - - - - TOTAL 287.6 100.0 285.1 100.0 b 308.0 100.0 *Source: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Central Statistics Department, between 1966 and 1975. More than that,.there is a decrease in the number between 1966 and 1970 which may be due mainly to the young male out-migration from this region to other regions, especially the out-migration from this region to other regions, especially the out—migration to the central belt (Jiddah-Mecca-Riyadh-Dahran). It has been estimated that 47 percent of the people working in manufacturing in Riyadh, the Western Region, and the Eastern Region are people from the Southwest Region. Although there was a decrease in the percentage of the male labor force working in agriculture and livestock from 1966 to 1975, agriculture is still the most important activity in this region, employing about 64 percent of the male labor force. Another 14 percent of the labor force wOrks in services, Including finance, real estate, commun— ity and social services, health education, and public administration. Agriculture Agriculture is the main activity in the region, and economic activities are dominated by it. Out of a regional total of 308,000 male laborers, about 196,000 37 (64 percent) work in this sector. Out of the region's total land area of.approximately 140,000 sq. km, arable land at present is estimated to constitute 285,000 ha. About 40 percent of it is.irrigated land (both by well- irrigation and run-off irrigation), and 60 percent of it is rain-fed land.l4 Pastoralism is also an important activity in this region. In fact, abOut 25 percent of the population is considered nomadic. However, in recent years pastoralism has declined in importance, and only 40,000 sq. km of the total land area is utilized for grazing land.15 Table 4 provides an assessment of the Southern Region's agricultural production (1975), about 119,000 tons of cereals are annually produced in the region: sorghum (durrah) is the most important single crap, amount- ing to about 71,000 tons. Durrah and millet are grown pri- marily in the foothills and coastal plain where they are considered to be the staple foods of many farmers and no- mads. Sorghum is predominantly grown during the summer season e 14Ibid., p. 141. lsIbid. 38 THUKLE 4 AN ASSESSMENT OF MAJOR CROP PRODUCTION IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION (METRIC TONS, ROUND.FIGURES*) .CEREALS _,....,t .. .FRUITS Sor hum Millet Wheat Barle Dates Others Vege- g Y . table Coastal Plain 43,000 7,000 Foothills 19,000 8,400 West rn 8 ar e c P 3,000 500 1,500 3,000 Slope Dissected O 600 l 500 Highlands 3,5 0 18,000 500 1,500 , Upper Wadi Areas 2,700 4,500 500 200 900 Middle WEdI Areas 400 , 1,900 500 9,500 700 3,700 TOTAL 71,600. 33,900 8,400 5,500 9,500 1,500 6,100 *These figures represent estimations made in the source for this table. Source: Socio-Economic Development Plan for the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia, Agriculture, 1973. Wheat and barley are grown on the highland terraces of the western scarp slope, and coffee and almonds are sporadically cultivated on the highland terraces. Some oilseeds (sesame seeds) are cultivated in the coastal plain. and foothills of the western scarp slopef Date palms grow everywhere, except in the AsIr Mountain and the coastal 39 plain, and about 9,500 tons of dates are harvested from the middle wEdI areas in the upland plateau, especially BIspa. Finally, vegetables and fruits are of minor im- portance in comparison_with the cereals. The areas culti- vated with these crops, however, are gradually increasing, especially those irrigated from wells. And demand is also increasing as the population has begun to appreciate their economic value. These quantities of food crops, fruits, and vege- tables are inadequate to satisfy the population's demand, as they amount to a gross per capita supply of only 199kg of cereal, 12kg of fruits and vegetables, and 3kg of other crops.16 This low productivity in agriculture exists for several reasons: 1. the small size of farms; 2. the use of traditional agricultural methods by the “ majority of the farmers; 3. the lack of adequate transportation facilities such as feeder and farm roads between farms and markets; 4. the region's high dependency on scarce and irregu- lar rainfall. 16Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, A Central Planning_0rgani- zation, Socio-EconomiC'Developmentyglan‘for'the?Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia, Agriculture (n.p.: Ilaco, 1973), p. 27. 7In comparison to other regions in Saudi Arabia, the Southwest Region is the best watered area. However, in 40 These reasons combine to keep agricultural production at the subsistence level andrresult in a low standard of liv- ing among the agricultural pOpulation. Yet the major po- tential of the Southwest Region lies in its relatively larger amount of agricultural land and water than that possessed by other regions in the country. Currently, the government aims to use the oil sec- tors as its main source of income to improve other sectors such as industry, mineral development, and agriculture, among which agriculture is considered to be the most im- portant. In the Second Development Plan for the country (1975-1980) the regional development strategy for the Southwest Region includes the following elements:18 1. Agricultural develOpment, 2. Domestic tourism in the highlands, 3. Industry as feasible; and 4. Mineral develOpment. At present, the economy of the Southwest Region is expanding, and government spending in the region has been increasing. And, as development efforts proceed in terms of rainfall frequency world—wide, the region does suffer from infrequent rainfall. 8Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Central Planning Organi— zation, Second Development Plan (1975—1980), p. 61. 41 agriculture, domestic tourism, industry, and mining, the economy of the region should continue to improve. Trade .Nearly all local farm products are consumed in the region, with the exception of specific crops such as dates, which are exported to other regions. Farmers supply some of their own needs, but becauSe they rely heavily on im- ported goods a large volume of commodities has to be brought into the region. Almost all such incoming goods are from Jiddah and Riyadh, and only a small volume of goods is brought in through the only seaport in this re- gion, Jizan. Moreover,.imported goods are carried in to KhamIs Mushait which serves as a major regional redistri- bution center for commodities for the whole regiOn. Other important centers are Abha, Jizan, Najran, Bisha, Bahah, and Baljurashi. These centers divide the entire region into several market areas. There are also some large vil— lages (such as TathlIth, Baysh, Namas, ZahrEn, Muhail) which work as minor market areas. BIsha and Baljurashi are directly supplied by Jid- dah and Taif because they are relatively close to them; 42 further, they function as central market places for their surrounding rural areas.. Local rural markets are the low— est rung in the.hierarchical system of trade. Yet these periodic markets, which usually are held once weekly, play a very important role in this region in that most of the rural inhabitants (who are the majority of this region's population) depend on them to obtain their needs. In addi— tion, through the periodic markets most farmers find the only market for their surplus crops among the nomads and other farmers; the nomads find a market for their animals and animal products; and manufactured goods frOm the larger centers reach customers who would seldom go to the towns to buy them. CHAPTER III PERIODIC MARKETS IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION Introduction. The history of the markets in this region is not well-knownl Even in the history books (which are few), though some of the markets‘ names are mentioned, nothing is said of their origins. Interviews with the heads of several tribes and old people during the field work for this research did indicate that certain markets have existed for several hundred years,1 and great numbers of them are known to have existed before the Turkish period in this region. Because no written history of the markets exists, information was gathered by interviewing older tribal mem- bers who could recall what their parents and grandparents 1For instance, Sunday Rufaidah market is known to have existed over 500 years ago, according to the Sheik of Rufaidah village. 2The Turkish period in AsIr started in 1230 AH (AD 1810), 167 years ago. 43 44 had told them about the history and development of the markets. This "oral history" and the researcher's obser- vations of present-day practices will be used in this chap- ter to discuss market organization, location factors, dis- tribution, and morphology. Market Organizationkm In the past, few settlements had permanent markets or shoPS. Instead, all the organized exchange, selling, and purchasing seems to have taken place at the rural mar— kets which were always held weekly. Such markets were en- tirely local in function and met most of the immediate needs of the villages of a tribe or one or two clans of a tribe. Since each tribe was considered a political or- ganization, each (and sometimes a clan or sub-division of a tribe) for reasons of security and independence tended to have its own market. This tendency resulted in a large number of small markets which were sometimes near each other. When a large tribe had several markets, it tried to maintain a cycle of Operation by holding each market on a different day. Separate markets could be maintained by large tribes or clans living some distance from one another, 45 and smaller tribes or-c1ans living nearby sometimes found it possible to share a market- Occasionally, however, conflicts occurred between tribes or clans which resulted in the founding of new mar—t kets. For example, over 150 years ago Al-YazId tribe and the peOple of Al-Masqi Operated a market jointly in AsIr called Sabt Al—YazId on Saturday. An unfortunate occur- rence caused the people of Al-Masqi to boycott the market; they then established a competing market On the same day as a form of retaliation against the Al-YazId tribe. The authorities finally succeeded in convincing the peOple of Al-Masqi to change the day of their market to Monday (Ithnain Al—Shaaf), and the two markets continue to Oper- ate on Saturday and Monday to this day. Tribal competition played an important role in the operation of these markets. Thus, for any number of rea- sons, such as avoiding another tribe's market, the head of a tribe and his sheiks, who had no market, Opened their own and compelled their people to attend it weekly, whether or not they needed to buy or sell anything, in order to try to make their market bigger than the other tribe's and to attract to it more people from other tribes. The market wasvery important to the tribe, and every tribe had a 46 written document containing laws that applied to the-market. Indeed, the market was_a very important place to be re- spected by all persons. . The whole tribe which held the market was respon— sible for the safety and Welfare of all peOple attending it. Preserving the peaceful atmosphere of the market was the duty of people called Qubala who attended each market day and were expected to solve any problems arising in the market. The Qubala, who were chosen from among the most respected members of the tribe or tribes supporting the market, assisted the tribal heads_and sheiks in establish- ing market laws and were responsible for putting the laws into effect. It was known in almost all markets that when any person left his house to go to market the tribe which held the market was responsible for anything that happened to him until he returned home. The fOllowing is a translation of a document that contains the market laws of Ahad Rufaidah market which be- longs to the Rufaidah sub—division of the QahtEn tribes. It was written in 1337 AH (AD 1917) after a conflict be- tween the Rufaidah tribe and the Ziai tribe. The market stopped for several months at that time, and the sheiks of the tribes and the Qubala met and signed this document 47 to reinitiate the market. (The full Arabic transcript of these rules is given in Figure 10.) MARKET LAWS IN .“AHAD. RUFAIDAH“ SEQ (1337 AH) Both the Ziai tribe.and the Rufaidah tribe guarantee safe passage to all persons coming from their homes to the market and returning home from the market. If a person from the Ziai tribe kills another person in the market, the victim's relatives or tribe shall not do anything to the killer. The Qubala of Ziai tribe are responsible and they guarantee that they will investigate and decide upon what to do to the killer to appease the victim's tribe. If a person from the Rufaidah tribe insults or steals.from someone of the Ziai tribe, the aggreived.person's relatives or members of his tribe shall do nothing until they contact the Rufaidah tribe's Qubala. If any disturbances occur in the market, the bystanders from both tribes shall do nothing until the sheiks or wise men arrive. In any cOnflict between two parties, the sheik alone will decide whether to settle it himself or turn it over to the religious court. Certain acts are forbidden in the market, and the following fines will be levied for their commission: If someoneis gun is fired in the market but no one is injured. . . . . . . . . . . ZOIuyal If a market seller charges unfair prices or uses improper weights . . . . . . . lOIdyal If someone loads his gun in the market . lofuyal If someone strikes another without bloodshed-.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Riyal (but if blood is shed, the fine will be determined by the head of the tribe). If someone takes his knife out of its Sheath................5Riyal 48 /J'avze VJ ,,;'. at»: 2/2’ , ”LajIqu 4.424;”; via—r 7 5‘ )ylymagwofl‘vw ’ lng/b/P“ WE fj’uuw | (NJ u / u’Irf‘VEAJ)b/’A ngb.’ (AXE/j! wytk‘l/gafiiml ,5 JIIAJ5,'J woe/W 111:; ”jaw/J],- ’ ,LJI' . . 31%;):J WT} ... K429.) (4‘5“ I???" I‘M JJJWIAi/lllvl W .- y lyt Mgikééifi‘f’lféfJJ ' ' "Jr! ..JW‘ 21W Del/“w." "a“; M 3323;» l gdnufl‘lbu J" {7’4" " [41¢ ’ ,‘zJ ”’1 " J’”MW—"JIJWJ 4! ,«A’I 7H! J‘ifl‘ “WI'J'M/‘vf MJJJ:U 3' I, ‘1"!er ' ,f ' 16"»...1q‘u or T FIG. 10.—-Arabic Transcript of Mt Laws in "Ahad Rufaidah" 3qu (1337 A.H.) e ‘4 49 If someone insults another.person. . . . Slfiyal If someone tries his unloaded gun. . . . Zfdyal 'Factors Influencing;Market;Location”.H Unlike those of other regions or countries, periodic markets of the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia are not always located by reason of easy accessibility to the market or proximity to a large village. Rather, in the Southwest Region the main factor which has influenced the "location of the periodic market was its origin as a tribal market. And the head of the tribe and the sheiks are the people who decide where to put the market. The market is usually located in the village of the head of the tribe or in a place located between different clans of a tribe. The operation of a market is an important responsibility, but its foundation in a village gives that village great importance among the surrounding villages and hamlets. Once a market is established in a place, it becomes very difficult to change its location, even if its present site is found to be hazardousor very difficult to reach by buyers or sellers. In fact, the tribe or clans near the market will feel very insulted if the market is moved away 1". 50 from them. Some markets are.held in two different places in order to please twoldifferent clans or tribes, although most of the time, the two places are very close to each other. Such is the case with Thalfith Namas which is held four weeks in Bani Bakur tribal area, in a deserted area on the edge of the Al-Namas village; and the other four weeks it is held in Al—Klathimah tribal area. This latter site is the center of the village, and the people prefer it because it is close to the government offices of this village and because some stores have been built there. But since the two market locations were decided upon a long time ago, it would be very difficult to change them. Ahad Rhatt market also is held in two different places: four weeks,in Al-Mohammed village and four weeks near Kl—Thibah village. The two villages are very close to each other (about one km apart), and the dual market locations were chosen to settle a conflict which occurred between these two tribes a long time ago. The site of the market of Al-Thibah is unsuitable, h0wever, because it is in the middle of a valley where floods have destroyed the stands of the sellers several times. Another market still held in a hazardous area is Ithnain Al-Majardah. Several attempts to change its site were stopped. One market 51 whose location the government.did change, from the middle of a valley to thegslopeiof a mountain just near the valley, is Sabt Salab whichiis discussed as a case study later in this chapter. Finally,iamong the Bani Shihir markets there is one other market which is held in two different villages, Thalfith Al-Ehadra and Al-qu, which are very close to each other as seen on the map in Figure ll. This market is held one month in Al-Rhadra village and one month in Al-Irq village. Another factor that may affect the choice of a new market site is the desire to avoid using an existing market. For instance, as described previously, the people of Al-Masqi village established a market to avoid using the Ahad Kl-Yazid market following a dispute between the two tribes. Yet the two small villages are very close to each other, and at least one of these villages does not need a market. There was only one small market among the 30 markets visited whose location changed for the reason of easy acessi- bility to the market. Ahad Kl-Harith market was founded in Al-Zahrah village; it then moved to Tabab village, the vil— lage of the head of the tribe. But the herders who sell ' sheep and goats stopped coming to the market because it was f ""T I THE DISTRIBUTION OF MARKETS IN THE SOUTH WEST REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA _/ ;/ / / / _ I ./' AL BAHAH ‘5’“ "./ 3 <0 .4 3 PROVINCE 2&5“ A23 ./.—--~" /33 [x\ s / 3.5.] \'\.\ 45 \ _§ 40.) / 4976 |§( \-\ / 48‘ ‘52 < 50‘ I >49 )' 5‘ “ A5| ‘53 : §_4_. ‘ \ ‘ ”A‘- I” \\ 5 A55 \'\ // Cs”! \ ,0 \ /“' \ 59 58 ‘r if; \. I set! {A 57 '5 so \ ‘ , . . . \\ ‘87 ' A 62 \ ‘ :\\ lee j: -| \ \ ‘5 0'fl E c 63 064 .I ; \ \ \8513 663 ' 67065 90A “3:1 \ \\ - \ O ////I “U/ — \\ \/ ‘\“- ’€.§£._. //t ‘ l- ‘ 83 W ” , I - I“ “ “““T Khomfs \ASIR .f". PROVINCE \ SIG 374 : 322‘! Mus_I'_IaIt\ / \\ )~/ 1382 B75 3 I370 9319.-.!” \ 6’ j, A - VS \D 2r. I08 I09 j n‘ o / / j ‘ IIO ’ ‘ Ill FIR. ll I MA RKE 7' SYMBOL TR/BE ZAHRAN guAmuI §HAMRAN BISHAH BAL-QARN BANI 'AMR BANI flilHlR 20° BAL-LASMAR BAL-LAHMAR 'ASTR* _ SHAHRAN QAHTAN NAJRAN flZAN *Some markets do not belong to the AsIr mm, but are contained wIthIn TIhamat ASIr. aoOPaoorloeeze 1Q Markets plotted from source map underIined. All others pIotted by author and are apprommate locatIons. I9° N O 5 I0 20 30 4O 50 K I LOMETERS ROADS PAVED UNDER CONSTRUCTIO --—-—-- GRADED ROAD OR TRACK N ESCARPMENT '80! / @IIz I. ®I_I_ ./ NAJRAN \ ®II4 / PROVINCE ./- ;/ ”Os °II8 GE,- ‘YEIWEEN 0 st JUNE I976 FIG. 19 67 TAEHHE 5 CENSUS OF SELLERS AT SABT SALAB SUQ AT 1:00 P.M. ON JUNE 4, 1976 ! Commodity or Service Number Of Sellers Groceries + staples 24 (some have cosmetics, kitchen utensils, spices, shoes) Ready-made clothing + cloth only 14 Ready-made clothing + cloth + groceries + jewelry 14 Sweets + dates + fruit 4 Fruit and vegetables 3 Meat 3 Cooked meat--"Hanet" 3 Kitchen utensils only 2 Leather handicrafts + shoes 2 . Soft drinks 1 Dried fish 1 Hardware 1 Mill 1 Blacksmith 2 Open-air sellers: sheep + goat 22 Open-air sellers: one or a combination of: straw and straw handicrafts--sweet-scented herbs, spices, and local medicine--honey—- Saman (clarified butter) 32 TOTAL 129 68 jewelry, and shoes. Sellers usually Offer what is avail- able to sell and there is only limited specialization.9 In general, certain.groups of sellers may be found in certain areas: sellers of clothing appear more oftn on the west side of the market, while grocery sellers appear more Often on the east. All sellers Of sheep and goats are located in the center of the market, and most of the sellers of straw and straw handicrafts (mostly hats), sweet-scented herbs (beauty aids), spices, and local medi- cines are located along the eastern side of the central Open area. Finally, most sellers of raw and cooked meat are located together, facing into the passage between the two rows of stalls on the east side. Sabt Salab sfiq may attract buyers from as far away as 50km. Attendance during the busiest part Of the market day is estimated between 400 and 500 persons. Approxib mately one-third of those sampled come alone, slightly more than two-fifths (43 percent) come with either male or fe- male relatives, and most of the rest come with friends. About 16 percent of the buyers bring some items to sell. Because Of the time required to travel to and from the 9The categories indicated in the table and in the sketched map do not mean that sellers included in them did not also carry other kinds of goods. 69 market and because of the market's social function, most buyers come prepared.to stay as.long as possible. The market place.p1ays an important part in the lives Of the area's inhabitants. It is considered their main source Of food and clothing.10 It is also sometimes the only source Of cash for them. People from the villages surrounding Sabt Salab come to the market with some of their surplus products which they have stored until a need for cash arises. Women are most frequently the ones who bring straw hats, henna, sweet-scented herbs, goat skins, saman, honey, eggs, and hens to sell in the market; and they are likely to use the money to purchase sugar, coffee, flour, soap, kerosene, or an article Of clothing for them- selves Or their children. The sfiq is the focal point Of social life for the inhabitants, and the market day is very important to them because this is the only time that they are all together.1 10About 46 percent Of the consumers interviewed in this sfiq (45 consumers) stated that they never gO to Abha, the nearest town; 24 percent answered that they gO one or two times a month; 13 percent answered with "some times“; and 15 percent did not.answer. This shows how peOple in this area depend on this periodic market. (This question was not analyzed in the whole study because many consumers in the 20 markets avoided answering it.) 1People also gather in Friday prayer, but since the prayer is held in several places, the gatherings are smaller than those at the market. 70 Many Of them liveiinmvery isolated villages. Indeed, the difficult tOpography separates the peOple more than the distance in this area..They thus consider the market as a recreation area,hwhere they can meet their friends. Groups Of men gatheriin coffee shops to discuss business and news, and the women, who visit among themselves while they sell their wares, usually come to the market in a party of relatives or friends. In this way some can shop for household needs, while others sell their products for them. The head Of the tribe attends every market to keep in touch with his people and to conduct his business. When- ever a problem arises, he and other responsible parties, including the law enforcement Officials, try to solve the problem immediately. Public announcements are also fre- quently made. After the sun sets on Saturday, the crowds have gone home and the market place is deserted again. CHAPTER IV MARKET SELLERS AND THE INTERNAL ORGANIZATION OF MARKETS ’Introduction The-main purpose Of this chapter is to identify and describe the principal spatial and sociO-economic features of market place activity. This discussion, which Offers a profile Of market sellers, depends on the analysis Of in- different markets in this region which are surveyed on the map in Figure 20. It is probable that most of the findings presented here are sufficiently general to apply to a wide range of periodic marketing systems in the whole region. This is because the 20 specific markets selected for inten- sive survey were chosen for the purpose of Obtaining a com- prehensive coverage Of the market system Of AsIr Province specifically and other provinces and tribal areas in gen— eral. One or more markets were chosen for each province or tribe (except for three tribes in the northern part of this region). 71 — Al-Bahah \ I I FMARKETS SURVEYED, VISITED, AND NOT IN OPERATION IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION OF SAUDI ARABIA — PAVED ROAD "' " UNDER CONSTRUCTION / GRADED ROAD OR TRACK My» ESCARPMENT I /;..»"' AL IAHAH l A MARKETS A W Ithnain AI-Majardah Ahad Khat Thaluth AI-Nomas Thaluth Al-Manzar Ithnain Bal-Lasmar 64 Rabua Bahwan 7I Thaluth Abha 72 Sabt AI~Yazid 76 Ahad AI-Shibain 77 Ithnain and Khamis Rijal 79 Thaluth Hiswah 80 Sabt Salab 82 Khamis AI-Bahar 84 Sabt Muhayil 88 Rabua AI-Ajman 93 Khamis Mushait IOI Ahad Rufaidah l08 Ithnain AI-Harjah '. II2 Thaluth Badur Z ”7 Ithnain and Khamis Najron I23 Khamis AI-Darb l3l Thaluth Sabya I9° -— 883893 20° — MARKETS NOT IN OPERATION 67 Ithnain Abl 69 Sabt Bani Rizam 78 Khamis Kisan IOZ Sabt Al-Laghar I07 Jamat Al-Khalaf < l09 Ahad Sanhan e II3 Khamis AI-Qabil ll4 Rabua AI-Kham‘q II5 Ahad Dahadah Il6 Rabua Al-An Il8 Jamal Saghir IZO Ithnain Bani Salman (not shown) I8°-—~ NAJRAN 3 A MARKETS VISITED l7 Sabt BaI-Jurashi 23 Ithnain Al-Qadim I7°-« 38 Sabt Al-Alayah 56 Sabt Tanuma 68 Ahad AI-Haris 8| Ithnain Qana I04 Khamis lbaidah l26 Sabt Baish (Um-AI-Khoshab) .‘OTHER MARKETS 73 The data used.inlthisrchapter were arranged by the computer, using Statistical.Package for Social Sciences Programs: Frequencies and Crosstabs. Market Seller'Characteristics Types Of Market Sellers “Seller“ is employed here as a broad term for the entire range Of individuals who may be found Offering items‘ for sale in the market. Thus, a seller might be a young boy selling candy and biscuits, or a girl selling henna and straw hats in the market. The term also might refer to a man or a woman selling some fruit from their farm, or reselling spices or coffee they have bought from the market. On the other hand, the seller might be a man who has his own shOp, carries many different goods, and displays and sells them both at wholesale and retail. Sellers can be divided into two types in the mar- kets. There are part-time sellers, those individuals who are only partly dependent on market selling for a liveli- hood; and there are full-time sellers, those whose incomes depend almost entirely on the market. Although almost all 74 Of the sellers can be differentiated by these factors, two additional facts should be noted: 1) Most Of the sellers who are wholly dependent on market selling for.a livelihood are in some way or another engaged in agriculture: either they own land (even though they may not cultivate it) or their family cultivates the land. 2) Herders who sell sheep at the market were categor- ized as part-time sellers because, although they depend on the market for their income, they do not come to the market regularly; they come only when they need money to buy necessities. Part-time Sellers Three-quarters Of all the sellers interviewed in the 20 survey markets stated that they engaged in other work besides selling. This indicated that one Of the char— acteristics of the economic activities in this region is the low level Of specialization. Table 6 and Figure 21 reveal that 78 percent Of the part—time sellers are engaged in agriculture and 12 percent Of them are engaged.ix1herding. 75 TABLE 6 WORK ENGAGED IN BESIDES SELLING I . . , I . . . . . . . Number Kind of Work ‘ of Percentage . ........... Sellers.. Only selling and "Motasabeb“* 135 24% Have other work 425 76% Total 560 100% Have other work . 425 Agriculture 333 78% Herding 53 12% Employed 4 1% Self-employed 29 7% Student 8 2% *Motasabeb is a person who buys goods in order to resell them at a profit; unlike a broker, who specializes in certain goods, a motasabeb may buy and sell anything. In other words, such farmers and herders sell because they need cash. And since agriculture alone, for the majority Of them, does not yield any cash income, most depend on other economic activities to provide cash. Others rely on their relatives who migrate to urban areas to work and fur- nish their families back home with the cash they need. This great percentage Of part-time sellers suggests that markets in this region are very important as a means Of Obtaining cash. The cash, however, is not always reinvested in more 76 Work Engaged in Besides Selling Selling and .. 7%(29) Self Employed Motas a bib Only _ ,_.;.;:;:§:5§55§S§E§5 2% (6) Students 2 4 0/0 .'::EE§5§,.;:;:5§§E ( l3 5) nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu nnnnnnnn |2°/e (53) Herding We (4) Employed 78% (333) Agriculture Have Other Work 76% (425) FIG. 21 77 items to sell. Instead,mmanynof.the part—time sellers use it for essential purposesrsuch as clothing, food, and every- day household items. Only a small percentage of the part-time sellers are school boys (2 percent), though it shoudd be noted that the interviewing was conducted during the school year which probably affected the percentage. If the interview had been conducted during the school holiday period, the per- centage might have been higher. Full-time Sellers Full-time sellers are those who stated that they do not have other work than selling. Nearly one-quarter Of the sellers interviewed in the 20 markets fit this descrip- tion. But even though they don't have work other than sell- ing, the majority Of them live in small villages, maintain land rights, or own land which is farmed in their absence by their wives and children. Yet the poor incomes derived from agriculture have forced many farm workers into selling to cover the cost Of family maintenance. About 12 percent Of the full-time sellers are foreign (Yemenis). This percentage used to be higher, but 78 just prior to the survey a.new government law prevented foreigners from working as sellers in the periodic markets. For the remainder.of this chapter, all sellers will be discussed as one group. Types of Community in Which Sellers Reside Almost 80 percent of the sellers in the Southwest Region come from rural villages, and 9 percent Of them are bedouins (nomadic herders); only 11 percent Of them come from towns (see Table 7 and Figure 22). This last per- centage includes the three market towns in this survey, Thalfith-Abha, RhamIs Mushait, and Ithnain and RhamIs Naj- rEn. These three market towns account for 8 of the 11 per- cent Of the sellers who come from towns. TABLE 7 TYPES OF COMMUNITY IN WHICH SELLERS RESIDE W Type Numbers Percent Town 64 11% Village 151 27% Small Village 295 53% Bedouins 50 9% A TOTAL 560 100% 79 Type of Community in which Sellers Reside Small Village 53% (295) ....... ......... Bedouins mm 9% (50) ll°/o(64) Village 27% ( I5l) FIG. 22 80 With regard to the relationship of the seller's home to the market, 92 percent of the sellers interviewed in the 20 markets live in the same.tribal area to which’ their market belongs and they are considered local sellers. Only 8 percent Of the sellers live in tribal areas other than those of the markets they attend (see Table 8). TABLE 8 RELATIONSHIP OF SELLER'S HOME TO MARKET Kind Number Percent Locally 515 92% Within the region 45 8% TOTAL 560 100% It is important to note here that this does not mean that people from one tribe cannot sell at the market of another tribe. Indeed, in contrast to earlier times, any person from any tribe can sell anywhere he wants. Nevertheless, the majority Of sellers sell in the markets Of other tribal areas. Looking at the percentage in the data for this study for each market alone, one can see that there are six 81 markets Of the 20 in which 100.percent Of the sellers in- terviewed are from the same tribal area. One of the main reasons that discourages sellers from going to other tribal area markets is the difficulty Of transportation. In fact, even within one tribal area movement is rather difficult. Another reason is that the majority Of sellers, as men- tioned before, live in small rural villages and have only a small number of simple goods; hence, they want tO visit markets near them and return home the same day or the next day. This is especially true Of farmers who have only small quantities of surplus for goods to sell. Modes Of Transportation to the Market More than half Of the sellers come to the market by hired cars, while 21 percent Of them own cars (see Table 9 and Figure 23). This information on mode Of transportation may provide an indication Of the economic condition Of the sellers in this region. Since the majority of them are farmers and herders living in small rural villages, it is Obvious that most of them can not afford to own a car and must come to the market by hired cars. In almost all the 82 . TABLE 9 MODE OF TRANSPORTATION TO MARKET Mode ..-l. (8,. .......e,........ H ..Numbers ...... Percent Private Car 115 21% Hired Car 333 60% Animal 56 10% Walking 56 10% TOTAL 560 100% markets, the cars which are used are Jeeps with four-wheel drive. These are necessary for crossing this rugged area with its unpaved roads. The cars which are hired may come from several sources: a few sellers own their own cars and charge others to ride with them. Some make their entire living driving. And still others are well-to—do and can buy a car, pay a driver, and charge others for rides to the mar- ket. Sellers usually put their goods in cartons and wait on the road for the hired cars to pick them up and take them to the market. Drivers charge sellers by the number Of their cartons, and the price differs from place to place, depending upon the condition Of the road tO the market. 83 Sellers' Mode of Transportation to the Market Surveyed Foot IO°/ ° (56) Private Car 2|%(|I5) Animal IO% (56) ........... ............... ................ ........ ..................................................... ............... Rented Car 59% (333) FIG. 23 84 Sheep brought to the market by car by herders or farmers are charged by the head. . There are some sellers (usually full-time) who en- gage a car by the day or week.at a price agreed upon between themselves and the driver.. For that price, they have com- plete use Of the car. They may then try to fill the car with other sellers or buyers who want to go to market. But they are committed to paying for the driver and his car even if no other paying riders can be found. Sellers who rent cars in this manner, and those who own cars, usually use them as shops in the market. They display their goods or items behind the car and use the car as a shelter (see Figure 24). Both sellers and customers may hire cars to travel to the markets. In fact, frequently, in some areas the market day may be the only day on which cars are available for travel from one place to another (see Figure 25). The sellers who stated that they come to the market on animals or by walking (20 percent) may (1) live in the same village which holds the market, (2) live very close to it, (3) have storage or a shOp at the market, or (4) be bedouins who usually use camels or land donkeys tO carry their goods while they drive their herds Of sheep or goats. 85 ._ m . . -, ~.. as I FIG. 24.--Se11er Using His C \ . ar as a Shop FIG. 25.--An Example Of Rural "Public Transportation" 86 Length of Experience in Selling at the Market All sellers were asked to recall the length Of their experience in market trading. Table 10 and Figure 26 contain a breakdown quthis information. The majority Of the sellers (67 percent) have been working at the market more than five years, and only a few Of them (5 percent) have worked less than one year. Although the survey did not include any information on the age Of the sellers, Ob— servation revealed that most Of the sellers are Old people. These Old people have the greatest experience in selling at the market, and they have adapted their life to this kind TABLE 10 NUMBER OF YEARS AS SELLER Number Of Years Number Percent Less than one year ‘ 28 5% 1 - 5 years 157 28% 5 - 10 years 140 25% More than 10 years 235 42% Total 560 100% 87 Length of Experience in Selling 5% (28) 4 Hours 2 - 3 Hours l- 2 Hours FIG. 34 Consumers' Mode of Transportation to the Market Surveyed ................. .jjiiia;°;7.7i,.... """ ergo. ”‘79 (I5) BICYCIO l08. /o .. 3 Motorcycle Animal 59.I °/. (322) Automobile FIG. 35 120 hours. Only a few spend more than two hours. Most of the peOple who stated that it takes them more than four hours are bedouins. Travel time is governed by mode of transportation (see Table 19 and Figure.35). Although most market loca— tions were chosen before.the use of automobiles, about 60 percent of the consumers now come by car. As discussed in the previous chapter, hired cars are available between some villages and markets- .About 30 percent still walk. In fact, a few of the bedouins.may walk 12 hours across rugged terrain to reach the.sfiqr For example, Tihamat Rabiah bedouins spent 15 hours to reach Market Sabt Al Yazid in the AsIr mountains. But most of them may walk up to four hours from the villages around the market. TABLE 19 . MODE OF TRANSPORTATION TO MARKET Mode I Percent Car . 59.1 Motorcycle - Bicycle 1.1 Animals 10.8 Walk 29.6 121 Although the.market hinterlands could not be meas- ured and mapped, the data discussed before suggest that the size of market hinterlands.is.small. Since all the markets were originally tribal markets, their locations were de- signed to permit any member of the sponsoring tribe to attend the market and return home in a single day. Those people who were far away from the market of their tribe might ask to or take responsibility for opening a market near them. In addition, the region's rugged tOpography creates transportation difficulties (whether by animal or~ by foot as in the past, or, more recently, by car) that discourage large hinterlands. In most cases, the size of a market depends primarily not on the size of its hinter- lands but on its population density. The Social Functions of the Local Periodic Market The social significance of the local periodic mar- ket to the rural tribesman was and still is very important because it is considered an ideal place to meet friends, once of the principal sources of news, and the only place for recreation in the rural settlement. Looking around the 122 market, one can see several.groups of people gathering and talking about a wide range ofutopics. Many of them can be seen in the small coffee shops.. The amount of handshaking and the wide variety of customary forms of greeting are very impressive. Both men and.women wear the best clothes they have according to their customs, which differ from place to place. On the day of the sfiq, heads of tribes, sheiks, and other important tribal members meet to discuss the week's events and to resolve any problems that arise. Moreover,. the tribal heads and sheiks or the government authorities use the weekly sfiq as a place for announcements (see Figure 36). News or announcements usually reach the whole area around the market since each person attending the market will be asked by his neighbors and those who meet him after— ward about what has happened in the sfiq. The market's religious function is also important. Religious people, usually from towns, visit the weekly mar- kets to give advice and religious instruction to the tribal peOple. These speakers come to the market, fin d a high place from which to talk, and ask the people to gather for several minutes. Sellers and consumers leave everything 123 FIG. 36.--Heads of Tribes Making Public Announcements on Market Day. 124 during this time to listen and.market activity stops until the speaker is finished (see Figure 37). It is very difficult to measure these non—economic aspects of periodic markets. Consumers were asked if they come to market when they do not need to buy anything; and if so, why they do come. The reliability of information obtained by these questions is poor, however, and will be discussed only generally. In fact, these questions, for unknown reasons, were avoided by the consumers. Some answered with "NO,“ and others responded with answers such as, “I never thought about it," "I don't know," or “Some- times,“ for the first question. Overall, the proportion of consumers answering this question with "Yes“ (they come to market even when they do not need to buy is 20.5 percent (see Table 20). Of those replying "Yes,“ one-third stated that they come to meet friends. This percentage, although it is based on only certain consumers' responses to this question, may suggest that the market is actually used by rural people as an Opportunity for entertainment and recreation in this region. About 27 percent of them come to use government Offices, such as the Amarah (the prince's Office) or court, which are usually located either in the village holding the 125 TABLE.20 REASON FOR MARKET ATTENDANCE WHEN NOT BUYING (20.5% of respondents) Reasons .Percent To meet friends 34.8 For government office 26.8 For mail or having letters written 14.3 Browsing 11.6 Hospital 8.0 Business 4.5 market or near it. Observations in all markets suggest that the same percentage could apply to all those who might on any market day come to market without intending to make purchases. CHAPTER VI REGIONAL VARIATION IN MARKET ORGANIZATION Introduction This chapter presents a discussion of regional variation in market organization. The method utilized to test whether or not seller characteristics vary across markets surveyed was discriminant analysis. Hypotheses Tested The following three hypotheses were tested by discriminant analysis. 1. Seller characteristics vary across the 20 markets surveyed. 2. Some differences exist between those markets in the Tihama area (markets on the west slope of the 126 127 Asir Mountains) and those.on the mountain in terms of behavior of the sellers in the two groups. 3. The sellers in any market.belonging to a certain tribe possess different characteristics than the sellers at another tribe's markets. In order to test the first of these three hypothe- ses it was necessary to fin d out if one can determine if each of the 20 markets has characteristics which distin- guish it from the others. In order to test the second hypothesis, it was necessary to find out if one can dis- tinguish between the first two groups of markets (Tihama markets and mountain markets) and to determine whether it is accurate to classify the markets into these two groups. In order to test the third hypothesis, it was necessary to find out if one can distinguish among markets that belong to different tribes. To attempt to answer these questions discriminant analysis was applied to several groups of mar- kets by using the following specific variables which de— termine seller characteristics: 1. Residence: Types of community in which sellers reside. 2. YRSSLL: Number of years as a seller. 3. Mode: Mode of transportation to market. 128 4. Frequency: How often seller comes to market surveyed. 5. Selerorig: Relationship of seller's home to market. 6. Peeple: Individuals assisting seller. 7. Other work: Work engaged in besides selling. 8. Goodsorg: Where items sold originated. The scores on three variables (people, other work, goodsorg) were originally nominal—scale values which are not usable in SPSS. Thus, these three variables were re- coded into an ordinal scale (e.g., for variable other work: agriculture, herding, selling, self-employed, student, homemaker, and motasabeb, were recoded into agriculture versus non-agriculture, where agriculture was assigned a value of l, non-agriculture, a value of 2). Discriminant Analysis Basically, discriminant analysis attempts to dis- tinguish statistically between two or more groups of cases by looking at a selection of discriminating variables that measure characteristics on which the groups are expected to differ. The mathematical objective of discriminant 129 analysis is to weight and.linearly combine the discriminant variables in a fashion.so.that.the-groups are forced to be as statistically distinct as possible. The analysis aspect of this technique provides several tools for the interpre- tation of data. It helps in testing for the existence of groups and shows what criteria can be used to discriminate among them. The first analysis was performed on all the 20 mar- kets surveyed, treating each one as a separate group. The second analysis was performed on the following two groups. of markets: 1. Markets in Tihama areas (the west slope of the Asir mountains). In this group four markets were chosen: Sabt Salab Thaldth Hiswah Ithnain AL Majardah Ahad Khat These markets were selected because they are in isolated rural areas, a condition which would in- sure that they were not affected by modernizing influences represented by towns. 2. Markets in the mountains of the AsIr area: Four markets were chosen in this group with respect to 130 their location away.from.the main towns in this area.(Abha.andthamIs): Sabt 51 YazId Thalfith AL-NamEs Ithnain a1 Harjah Ithnain Ballasmar The third analysis was performed on seven selected markets, each of which belongs to a different tribe: Sabt Salab Ithnain AL-Harjah Rabfia AL-Ajma Rabfia Bahwan Ithnain AL-Mazardah Ithnain Ballsmev Ahad Khat The First Analysis The first hypothesis, that seller characteristics vary across the 20 markets surveyed, was rejected in that the analysis revealed a homogeneity among sellers from market to market. In fact, only 21.5 percent of the sellers were correctly classified; the misclassified sellers did not fall predominantly in one or two markets but were divided among all the markets. 131 The Second Analysis In the second analysis two runs were performed. The analysis of the first run.tested the second hypothesis that some differences exist between those markets in the Tihama area and those on the mountain in terms of seller behavior in the two groups. Only 61.5 percent of the known cases were correctly classified. This result indicated a slight difference between the two groups as there were some sellers in each group who (according to their characteris- tics) ought not to belong to the group they were in (see. Table 21). TAEHHE 21 PREDICTION RESULTS FOR THE SECOND ANALYSIS (FIRST RUN) _ ~— Actual Groups Number Predicted Groups Membership of Name Code Cases Group 1 Group 2 Group 1 l 110 67.0 43.0 60.9 pct 39.1 pct Group 2 2 90 34.0 56.0 37.8 pct 62.2 pct 132 In the prediction results for Group 1 (Tihama mar- kets) 60.9 percent of the sellers were correctly classified and 39.1 percent were misclassified and should have been placed in Group 2. Also, for Group 2 (mountain markets) 62.2 percent-of the sellers were correctly classified and 37.8 percent of them were misclassified and showed a simi- larity to the sellers Of.Group 1. If we examine the individual contributions made by the variables on this analysis in Table 22 by the stepwise method, we see that mode of transportation to the market,- the frequency of attendance of the seller at the market, and the selerorig (the relationship of seller's home to market) combine to make the best discriminant variables, since the variables prior to stage 3 show an increasing order of magnitude on the significance of the F value, and the steps after 3 indicate a decreasing order Of magnitude. Thus, step 3 indicates the optimal number of variables to include for this analysis; in other words, they were the best discriminant variables between the Tihama markets group and the mountain markets group. The reason why mode of transportation is one of the best discriminant variables is mainly related to the fact that the economic situation and the topographic condition 133 .IEABIJ1.22_ SUMMARY TABLE OF STEP-WISE DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS ,FOR THE SECONDTANALXSIS (FIRST RUN) A I» — Come , Chan e Standardized . bined Combined Signif- Rao's , g Discriminant Step Variables in . Wilks F Value icant V Rao's Function Lamda Coefficients 1 Mode .98 3.97764 .047 3.977 3.977 .743 2 Frequency .95 4.60995 .011 9.266 5.289 -.707 3 Selerorig .93 4.89029 .003 14.820 5.553 .631 4 Other work .92 3.98517 .004 14.185 1.365 -.0268- 5 People: .92 3.36573 .006 17.175 .989 -.0266 6 Years 9f .91 2.86601 .011 17.641 .465 .150 Selling 7 Goodsorg .91 2.45975 .019 17.756 .114 -.090 8 Residence .91 2.14581 .033 17.795 .039 .059 are different. In the Tihama area most of the sellers are relatively poorer than those Of the mountain groups. Few of them own cars, so most usually come to market by hired cars. The tOpography of this area is very rugged and almost devoid of any easy transportation routes. In the mountain areas, however, the situation is different since the sel- ler's economic conditions are relatively better than those of the above group; a large number of them own private cars. 134 The topOgraphy of this area is rugged, but it has better transportation routes.and it is connected with the main towns in the area. The second best discriminating variable is frequency of attendance. Reviewing the raw data, we find that a large percentage (82 percent) Of the sellers in the four Tihama markets attend weekly, but fewer (75 percent) of the sellers in the four mountain markets do so.” Looking specifically at the misclassified sellers in Tihama markets, we can see that most of them come by private cars and do not attend. weekly, while of the misclassified sellers in the mountain markets, most come by rented car and attend weekly. The third.best discriminating variable is the rela- tionship of a seller's home to the market (whether he lives within the tribal area of the market or not). The raw data indicate that the number of non-local sellers (within the region) is larger in the Tihama markets than in the mountain markets despite Tihama's more rugged terrain. Though para- doxical at first glance, this fact may be explained by the greater town-to-market distances in Tihama and by the greater dependence of that area's people on local periodic markets. The other variables are less important in dis— criminating between these two groups. 135 The analysis of the.second run tested the-second hypothesis for the same.two groups, Tihama markets and mountain markets. The only-change made was in using all the markets surveyed (except one, KhamIs and Ithnain Naj- ran, since it does not belong-to either group because of its location). Nineteen markets were utilized in this analysis and they were divided into two groups: Tihama markets: Sabt Salab .. Ahad AL Shibain Ithnain Rijal Thalfith Hiswah Sabt Muhdyil Rabua AL Ajmah Khamis .AL-Bahar Ithnain AL Majardah Thalfith AL-Manzar Ahad Khat Thalfith Sabia Mountain markets: Sabt AL-YazId Thalfith Abha Thalfith AL-Namas Ahad Rufaidah Ithnain AL-Harjah Rabfia Bahwan Ithnain Ballasmer Khamis Mushait 136 This.time.64-3 percent of the sellers were cor-. rectly classified. However, this improvement in the per- cent of correctly classified cases is not great. Table 23 indicates.that 67 percent of the sellers in Markets Group 1 (Tihama markets) were correctly cate- gorized; 33 percent of the sellers should be placed in ILABIJE 23 PREDICTION RESULTS FOR THE SECOND ANALYSIS (SECOND RUN) ‘Actual Groups Number Predicted Groups Membership Name Code Cases Group 1 Group 2 Group 1 1 320 214. 106. 66.9 pct 33.1 pct GrOup 2 2 210 83. 127. 39.5 pct 60.5 pct. Group 2 (mountain markets). But in Group 2 the percent of the sellers correctly categorized was 60 percent; 40 per- cent Of them should be placed in the other group. Thus, the percentage of sellers in Tihama markets who were 137 correctly categorized is.greater than the percentage of sellers correctly.categorized in mountain markets. It is important to.nOte from Table 24 that the variables having the highest combined loadings on this. variate are different.from.the variables in the analysis of the first run (i.e.,LResidence becomes the most impor- tant variable after being the least important one in the ILABIJS 24 SUMMARY TABLE OF STEP-WISE DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS FOR THE SECOND ANALYSIS (SECOND RUN) Come Combined . . Change Standardized bined Signif- , in Discriminant Step Variable _ F , Rao 5 _ Wilks Values icant Rao's Function Lamda V Coefficients 1 Residence .973 14.83985 .000 14.840' 14.840 -.671 2 Frequency .950 13.96730 .000 27.988 13.148 .550 3 Selerorig .927 13.84782 .000 81.701 13.714 —.512 4 Mode .903 14.12569 .000 56.826 15.124 -.634 5 Goodorg .898 11.93523 .000 60.132 3.306 -.24869 6 YRSSLL .894 10.37047 .000 62.818 2.686 -.21776 7 People .893 8.95506 .000 63.406 .588‘ .096 8 Other work .892 7.85716 .000, 63.702 .296 -.077 138 previous situation). Thus, in this run we can see that the type of community-in which.the seller reSides is the first important discriminant variable to enter the analy- sis in the step-wise method. That might be explained by the fact that these two town markets were included in the second run; these are in the two main towns in the mountain area. In the mountain markets many sellers stated their type of residence to be a town, while at the same time there were no sellers in Tihama markets who made the same statement. In fact, there is only one main town in the Tihama area, and.this is very far away from most of the markets in that area. In other words, there are a large number of sellers living in towns in the mountain markets, a fact which makes this variable very good for discrimin- ating between the two groups of markets. However, the other important variables from the analysis of the first run are also of significance in this analysis of the second run. But it is Obvious that the latter represents a better estimate of the differences be- tween the two groups since the Wilks Lamda and the signif- icance of the F test are better for the second test. This could be due to the more representative nature of the analy- sis Of the second run, as discussed above. 139 The Third Analysis The third analysis.was conducted to test the third hypothesis, namely, that the sellers in any market belong- ing to a certain tribe possess different characteristics than the sellers at another.tribe's markets. In this analysis the computer recognized that there were no statistically significant differences between the sellers in these markets.. Only 37.1 percent of the sellers twere correctly classified. The remaining 62.9 percent of the sellers were misclassified and appear to be more like sellers from markets other than those in which they were classified. From Table 25 following, we notice that misclassi— fied sellers do not fall predominantly in one of two other markets; rather, they are divided among all the remaining markets. In summary, a great deal of similarity among sellers was shown by the discriminant analyses applied to all 20 markets and to the seven different tribal markets with the variables discussed previously. However, the markets studied may vary in ways not well shown by these kinds of groupings. Thus, the second set of analyses, which grouped 140 TABLE 25 PREDICTION RESULTS FOR THE THIRD ANALYSIS Actual Group No. of Gr. 1 ‘Gr. 2 Gr. 3 Cr. 4 Gr. 5 Gr. 6 Gr. 7 Name Cases pct pct pct pct pct pct pct Group 1 45 33.3 15.6. 0.0 8.9 6.7 24.4 11.1 Group 2 20 20.0 30.0 5.0 20.0 5.0 10.0 10.0 Group 3 25 4.0 16.0 40.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 16.0 Group 4 25 8.0 12.0 4.0 64.0 4.0 0.0 8.0 Group 5 20 25.0 0.0 25.0 15.0 10.0 25.0 0.0 Group 6 -20 0.0 10.0 10.0 0.0 10.0 65.0 5.0 Group 7 20 15.0 20.0 10.0 15.0 10.0 15.0 15.0 mountain versus Tihama markets, indicated that differences exist among the sellers of these two groups which suggest that one should look at these groups separately. CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS The main purpose of this study was to determine the distribution'of and to describe the heretofore unexamined periodic marketing system in the Southwest Region of Saudi Arabia. In the previous chapters, the past and current characteristics of this system were presented. In this region agriculture is the main natural re- source and the principal economic activity for the majority, or 89% of the population. Most of this percentage is made up of inhabitants of rural villages, hamlets and isolated farms; the remainder are nomads or "bedouins" who usually follow migration routes according to the seasons of the year. Most of the rural inhabitants depend on these per- iodic markets to Obtain their needs. In addition, periodic markets serve three main pur— poses: farmers sell their surplus crops to nomads and to other farmers; nomads find a market for.their animals and animal products; sellers traveling from market to market 141 142 supply manufactured goods from the larger centers-to custo— mers who would seldom go to the towns to buy them. The periodic markets examined in this study serve to articulate the rural economic.structure of the South- west Region. As the main source of foodstuffs and non- foodstuffs for the rural and nomad community, the periodic market plays two vital economic roles in the lives of the region‘s inhabitants. First, it is virtually the only place where the rural people can sell their farm produce, and the bedouins, their livestock and animal products. It is sometimes the only source of cash for both groups, and sellers, who travel from market to market during the week depend almost entirely on the market for their income. For the most part, the periodic market can be considered primitive; in other words, many of thersellers are farmers who sell their products by dealing directly with the con— sumer. The second economic role played by the periodic market relates to the fact that it is the lowest rung in the hierarchical system of trade in this region, whereby goods from outside the region reach the rural community. Figure 38 depicts the various origins of goods sold at the periodic markets. ANQV..CO_.D0L Q5“ OUrmHJO UCD CPEHPI: mflUq—PUCF EQLDMVUM RHH Cmemm ”£0 QUqubO non cavmmm on» casuvz Rom appmoos ”mecca so mouraom o—arppae o>ug meoFFum mean museums uooH cog» Leonora m? mommucousma to saw AaHv=co~mor on» cwguvz use zpyouop= moospucp surmapv noun: , mmmhzmuhzuu