Let's backdate this one; the idea came in the last hour or so. Al-Jallad has written at least two whole books about the Safaitic corpus, one on language and one on the The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia. Among Nathaniel Miller's comments on the poetry, most of which he convinces me is authentic, concerns the nomadic Arab. The Safaitic graffitists - per al-Jallad - went to hajj-festival enough they had a verb for it, implying (to him) pilgrimage. And I understand that some Safaitic has ended up at Pompeii and maybe Delos. And at Palmyra of course.
On to Religion and Rituals: I was looking up keywords like "season". The graffiti notes a season of "late rain". That's what we'd call "spring". Miller would relate that to Rabi' or to ṣyf. The graffiti don't mention Rabi' but I don't much care; Hudhayl don't mention it either (Miller, 191). ṣyf is followed by qyẓ, when there's still pasturage and springwater, but less rain. Then comes summer.
Question I got: the poetry, and even the Qurân (sura 106), mention winter. Sura 106's whole reason to exist, despite barely being a sura (it doesn't rhyme!) is to give a Divine deed to the Quraysh of a House, as a sanctuary.
The graffiti at the Safa do not mention winter. And assuredly bare rock Jordan is no place to wait out the chill. One graffito even complains that his herd got caught out by a cold-snap in what should have been the ṣyf. These herders must have wintered elsewhere.
So where did they go?
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