Sections
|
 |
Childhood and
Education |
 The
ethnographical section starts with a figure of a mother,
illustrated with her national dress, and her baby.
The baby is shown laying in its cradle which use to
be hung over the tent ridge pole or the roof of the
old houses that were built of palm fronds or mud brick.
The cradle was covered with a net to keep off mosquitoes.
Some metal and shell milk feeders are displayed in
the same case, It is worth noting that shell feeders
of the same kinds have been known since the third
millennium BC.
 Somewhere
between the ages of 5 to 10 years, a young boy would
undergo a circumcision operation. Case 3 shows the
tools used to carry out the operation. They include
knives and forceps. A few local surgeons who were
practicing this operation are still alive although
they have been, replaced by medical doctors. The operation
is carried out, nowadays, at hospitals but the ceremonies
that accompanied the ritual in the past have unfortunately
almost completely died out.
 The
next stage is education. The first official school
in Al Ain was opened in the 1960s. Before then, the
mosque, as well as being a place for prayer, was the
centre for education (case 4). Small boys were taught
how to read and write. The Quran was the first book
they learned to read. Math was also taught.
 The
"Mutawa'a" (teacher) used to use an animal shoulder
blade as a writing board, an example of which can
be seen in case 5. The bone is easily washed and cleaned
and it could be used for a long time i.e., till the
child got to know how to write properly. The ink they
wrote with was locally made (case5). It was prepared
from the bark of a 'semer' (acacia) tree after being
burnt,
squashed and mixed with water and gum. Simple but
effective pens were made of reed. In case 6 there
are two religious books transcribed by hand in the
17th century, together with a penholder, an inkpot
and quills. Case 7 shows six copies of the Quran,
all transcribed by hand. They were written with 'Naskh',
one of several types of Arabic calligraphy. The other,
Case 8, shows a religious book written by hand at
the end of the 17th century with some inkpots, a penholder
and a ruler. |
| |
|
