Arab Dhows

I had some time to kill so I walked over to the Kuwait science center to check out the Arab Sailing Dhow exhibit.

The exhibit consists of several original Arab Dhows of different sizes moored in a small enclosure. I especially liked the largest of these vessels, apparently it was built in 1938 by the famous Arab Shipright AliAbdul-Rashoul, for Mohammad Al-Ghanim and sailed the coastal waters until 1994 when it was purchased by the Kuwait historical society for this exhibit.

One of the things I found interesting was the Cooking hearth(see picture) which was housed in a small shed in the bow of the ship. From where I was standing, I could see a concrete like hearth , a large cooking pot and a large kettle for boiling water to make coffee or tea.

This set me to thinking about the cook and the challenges he must have faces trying to feed a crew of men on a rough sea.

Viewing these vessels, I could almost imagine myself standing on the burning deck , or working in the rigging as the beautiful old ship plied its was around the gulf. Those classic days of the Arab fishing/sailing Dhows are - from what some say "Gone forever". But I have seen a few Dhows on the water when I go jogging on the corneiche, for me, it is good to know that this part of our human history has not been lost or forgotten.

I have included a bit of info on Dhows for those interested.

Tomahawk - Scouts Out!

Dhow (Arabic,داو) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Some historians believe the dhow was invented by Arabs but this is disputed by some others. Dhows typically weigh 300 to 500 tons, and have a long, thin hull design. They are trading vessels primarily used to carry heavy items, like fruit, fresh water or merchandises, along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and East Africa. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty people, while smaller dhows typically have crews of around twelve.

History:
Even to the present day, dhows make commercial journeys between the Persian Gulf and East Africa using sails as their only means of propulsion. Their cargo is mostly dates and fish to East Africa and mangrove timber to the lands in the Persian Gulf. They often sail south with the monsoon in winter or early spring, and back again to Arabia in late spring or early summer.

Some scholars claim that the sambuk, a type of Dhow, may be derived from the Portuguese caravel.

Traditionally Yemeni Hadhrami people, as well as Omanis, came to Beypore, Kerala, India along the centuries in order to build Dhows. The reasons were the availability of good timber in the forests of Kerala, the availability of good coir rope and also the presence of skilled carpenters specialized in ship building. Formerly the sheathing planks of a dhow's hull were held together by coconut rope instead of nails. Beypore Dhows are known as 'Uru' in Malayalam, the local language of Kerala. Settlers from Yemen, later known as 'Baramis', are still active in Uru business in Kerala.

Captain Alan Villiers (1903 – 1982) documented the days of sailing trade in the Indian Ocean by sailing on dhows between 1938 and 1939 taking numerous photographs and publishing books on the subject of dhow navigation.

Navigation:
For celestial navigation, dhow sailors have traditionally used the kamal. This observation device determines latitude by finding the angle of the Pole Star above the horizon.

Types of dhow:

Baghlah (بغلة) - From the Arabic language word for "mule". A heavy ship, the traditional deep-sea dhow.

Baqarah or baggarah (بقارة) - From the Arabic word for "cow". Old type of small dhow similar to the Battil.

Barijah - Small dhow.

Battil (بتيل) - featured long stems topped by large, club-shaped stem heads.

Badan - a smaller vessel requiring a shallow draft.

Boum (بوم) or dhangi - a large-sized dhow with a stern that is tapering in shape and a more symmetrical overall structure. The Arab boom has a very high prow, which is trimmed in the Indian version.

Ghanjah (غنجه) or kotiya - a large vessel, similar to the Baghlah, with a curved stem and a sloping, ornately carved transom.

Jahazi or jihazi. A fishing or trading dhow with a broad hull similar to the Jalibut, common in Lamu Island and the coast of Oman. It is also used in Bahrain for the pearl industry.

Jalibut or jelbut (جالبوت)- A small to medium-sized dhow. It is the modern version of the shu'ai with a shorter prow stem piece. Most jalibuts are fitted with engines.

Pattamar, a type of Indian dhow.

Sambuk or sambuq (سنبوك‎) - The largest type of Dhow seen in the Persian Gulf today. It has a characteristic keel design, with a sharp curve right below the top of the prow. It has been one of the most successful dhows in history.

Shu'ai (شوعي)- Medium-sized dhow. Formerly the most common dhow in the Persian Gulf used for fishing as well as for coastal trade.

Zaruq - Small dhow, slightly larger than a barijah.

The term "dhow" is sometimes also applied to certain smaller lateen-sail rigged boats traditionally used in the Red Sea, the eastern Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf area, as well as in the Indian Ocean from Madagascar to the Bay of Bengal. These include the feluccas used in Egypt, Sudan and Iraq, and the Dhoni used in the Maldives, as well as the tranki, ghrab and ghalafah.All these vessels have common elements with the dhow. In East African countries such as Kenya the Swahili word used for dhow is "jahazi".