When Melodies Gather: Oral Art of the Mahra

Muḥammad ʿAlī bir ʿAfrār

Muḥammad ʿAlī bir ʿAfrār was the representative (Ar. nāʾib) of the ʿAfrārī sultan in Qishn, to whom he also served in an advisory role as wazīr. Muḥammad ʿAlī was also either the brother or close relative of the last ʿAfrārī sultan, ʿĪsā, who fled to exile in Saudi Arabia after the 1967 revolution.

Muḥammad ʿAlī is remembered as a prolific poet in Arabic and Mahri, an important criterion for holding political office on the Arabian Peninsula where poetry goes hand in hand with political discourse.

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