مكانة الدين و وظيفته الاجتماعية في حضرموت قديما

Abstract EN

This research is a modest study on religious beliefs that prevailed in Hadhramout in its ancient history, when Hadhramout was a vast kingdom in which religious beliefs occupied a high position and had a great impact on society as it helped create conditions and social relations that created positive values which contributed to the stabilization and harmony in the Hadhrami society.

This led to the establishment of temples and other worshiping places, in which rituals and religious ceremonies used to be performed .

The research was divided into an introduction, five sections, and a conclusion.

The first section tackled the theories of religion, and anthropology such as Vitalism, Naturalism and Totemism.

The second section investigated the ancient religious beliefs in Hadhramout, highlighting the most important deities in that historical stage such as the moon god (Sin), the sun god (Dhat Hamim), the god of Venus (Aftar), the god of rain (About) and the god of the sea (Suban).

The third section dealt with sanctifying and glorifying the spirits of the ancestors and the religious celebrations people made and the visits they paid to the tombs of the Prophet Hud and the idol Awadh , In the fourth section, the researcher presented the names and totemic emblems of some Hadhrami tribes, then presented the social structure of the these tribes/ In the fifth section, the researcher depicted the current Hadhrami customs and traditions, which might be attributed to these ancient religious beliefs.

These traditions manifest themselves in Hadhrami dances such as Al-Shabwani dance, Naish Al-Baqarah dance (Hawl), Suban dance, Al-Qunais dance, Al-Na’ish and Al-Tanweesh dances, and finally Al-Hubeish dance.

The researcher also highlighted the phenomenon of sanctifying shrines such s in the (Sufi visits), regarding them as a continuation of the respect and reverence for some of the ancestors’ spirit.