Poetry helps Omanis preserve an ancient language -Video

In the misty highlands of southern Oman, where jagged peaks cradle the sky, a fading language clings to life through poetry. Under a canvas tent, surrounded by rugged hills and whispering winds, poet Khalid Ahmed al-Kathiri chants verses in Jibbali—an ancient tongue spoken by only two per cent of Oman’s population.

Clad in traditional robes and headdresses, the men seated around him echo each line, their voices carrying the weight of centuries. “Jibbali poetry is a way to preserve our language,” Kathiri says, his voice steady with purpose.

Also known as Shehri, Jibbali is native to the Dhofar region, a linguistic relic predating Arabic. “It’s not a dialect,” says researcher Ali Almashani, “but a fully-formed language with unique grammar and deep historical roots.” The mountains of Dhofar, the Empty Quarter desert, and the Indian Ocean once protected it—nature’s fortress for a forgotten tongue.

But time moves faster than stone. Other Dhofari languages like Bathari have nearly vanished, and Jibbali risks a similar fate. Yet hope flickers in voices like Saeed Shamas, who is raising his children in Jibbali, ensuring the language lives on in lullabies and folk tales.

Children still prefer speaking Jibbali, clinging to it like a cherished heirloom. Still, it remains undocumented and absent from schools. Almashani’s team is racing to compile a 125,000-word dictionary, with digital tools to capture sounds no alphabet can hold.

In the echoes of poetry and play, a language fights not to be forgotten—its survival whispered by the mountains.