Marriage & Family life

In Oman, the systems of arranged marriages are generally adopted. The marriage is generally preferred to a cousin. The patrilateral cousin is the first option, whilst the matrilateral cousin is regarded as eh second choice. Even the highly educed youths express their wish to their family member for an arranged marriage. Love marriages are very rare. Since the marriage is considered as an agreement among two families, to create the offspring for the subsequent generations. In a polygamous family (a common feature among the rich people), the first wife is likely to be the first cousin and the second one is younger one is less in age and is regarded somewhat less relative. Previously, the men Oman used marry additional wives; the Islamic permits them to marry up to four women. However in recent years, the men divorce the first wives and remarry, leaving them penniless and making them dependent on the government to get support.

The domestic unit: Normally, the domestic unit is an expanded three-generation nuclear family. Even though in single residence, the nuclear families resides, the individual members of the family will always keep in constant touch by means of every day visits or by making regular telephonic calls. It is a common feature to see 8, 9 or 10 people staying in a single house. The eldest male member in the family has the ultimate authority, while the eldest female members’ has the responsibility of assigning the task with in the household.

Food

Rice is the staple food for the people of Oman. The morning breakfast is not that much important, it mostly comprises of bread and the residual food from the previous day and some tea. The major meal will be around the middle of afternoon. Normally the food consists of big dish of rice along with a slender sauce that is made up of tomato or its paste, fish or meat. The Oman abstains from eating pork, as Islam forbids them from eating. The Indian food has profound influence on the Oman people. A number of Indian restaurants are spread all over the sultanate of Oman. In the capital of Oman, Muscat, several Italian, French, Chinese and Japanese restaurants are found.

Dress

The state dress for Oman men is a plain, pale with long sleeves and is ankle length known as dishdasha.eh Oman people prefer white color dress. They also wear other color dress like blue, brown, lilace and black. A tussle (Furakha) is a major decoration for this dress, which is sewn into the collar. Beneath the dishdasha, from the waist down, a piece of plain covering the body is worn form waist down. A variety of head dresses are worn by the Omani men.

The Omani women wear a variety of colourful dresses that differ from province to province. The major component of their outfit comprises of a dress that is worn over the women’s’ shoulders known as the sirwal.They also wear a head dress called the lihaf.

Sports

Some of the popular conventional sports in Oman are the Dhow racing and camel racing. Some of the modern popular sports are waterskiing, sand surfing, football and rugby. Oman first particapated in the 1984 Sumer Olympic games.