لخّصلي

This book is not primarily for Arabists, nor are we Arabists.Nor have we used Arab adjectival forms or plurals.In addition, we work from speech.

This book is not primarily for Arabists, nor are we Arabists. In addition, we work from speech. For these reasons, therefore, names of people, places and things have been transliterated as we heard them, and in a style to be accessible to the general reader. We have not made a distinction between 'ain and hamza nor used the ta marbuta, nor included the 'heavy' letters except in quotations where the style adopted by each author has been retained. Nor have we used Arab adjectival forms or plurals. While recognising that these simplifications will irritate specialists, it is hoped that they will make reading easier for non-specialists.
It has not been possible to include all the information we have been given. And there are many aspects of land and water management of which we have remained unaware. Our information comes from observations, questions and discussions on specific occasions, so some of what we find out arises from chance, and alternatively, we miss other information that would, in retrospect, have been available because we had no idea that a particular specialist was present, or that certain techniques were in use. To quote a Rwala neighbour, "You can only see what you see, and hear what you hear. You don't notice what you don't know about, and you don't always listen to what your ears hear. It is not possible to know everything, that is why there is never complete agreement between people, even those who were present, as to what exactly happened in a fight. Even if people agree on what happened, each one will interpret its meaning slightly differently, because each is an individual. Onlv God knows the truth.