I am an Arabicist with my major fields of interest being maritime studies, ethnography, Islamic material culture, lexical development and semantics of maritime terminology. I have written extensively in these areas
Transportation by sea had the advantage that it was faster, even though the distance covered from... more Transportation by sea had the advantage that it was faster, even though the distance covered from one port to another varied greatly, depending on the monsoon winds and stops for repair, the resulting trade generated a high percentage of profit. When speaking of trading vessels, size is never specifically quantified; it is generally expressed in terms of how “big” or “small” Islamic ships are. Ocean-going vessels transporting pilgrims to Jeddah during the ḥajj season may also have had a capacity of circa 200 tons. When a ship arrived at a major harbour the port officials would board the vessel and make preliminary enquires about the origin of the ship, its merchandise and the passengers. The terrors of the sea were many: what passengers feared most was the loss of their lives through gales and storms or that their ships were wrecked on rocks.Keywords: ḥajj; Islamic ships; sea transportation; trading vessels
This section contains a list of glossary terms, general and maritime terms that occur in the book... more This section contains a list of glossary terms, general and maritime terms that occur in the book Classic Ships of Islam. The book charts the development of Islamic ships and boats in the Western Indian Ocean from the seventh to the early sixteenth century with reference to earlier periods. It utilizes mainly classical and medieval Arabic sources with iconographical evidence and archaeological finds.Keywords: Islamic ships; medieval Arabic sources; Western Indian Ocean
Cargo vessels fall into three categories: (1) the river type which carried goods on inland waters... more Cargo vessels fall into three categories: (1) the river type which carried goods on inland waters; (2) coastal boats that sailed on river and along the sea; and (3) the sea-going vessels which anchored at harbours or at some distance from the port, in which case their merchandise and passengers had to be ferried on small boats. In principle an ocean-going vessel did not proceed to the river and a river boat would not venture into the sea, though some vessels must have been built to cope with both sea and river navigation. Although most of the trading vessels were passenger and/or pilgrim vessels, knowledge about them as to which sailed the rivers and seas in the Early and Middle Medieval Islamic period is scanty. This chapter provides the historical context of the watercraft used in the classical and medieval periods, and the origins of their nomenclature.Keywords: cargo vessels; coastal boats; Medieval Islamic period; river boats; sea-going vessels
Transportation by sea had the advantage that it was faster, even though the distance covered from... more Transportation by sea had the advantage that it was faster, even though the distance covered from one port to another varied greatly, depending on the monsoon winds and stops for repair, the resulting trade generated a high percentage of profit. When speaking of trading vessels, size is never specifically quantified; it is generally expressed in terms of how “big” or “small” Islamic ships are. Ocean-going vessels transporting pilgrims to Jeddah during the ḥajj season may also have had a capacity of circa 200 tons. When a ship arrived at a major harbour the port officials would board the vessel and make preliminary enquires about the origin of the ship, its merchandise and the passengers. The terrors of the sea were many: what passengers feared most was the loss of their lives through gales and storms or that their ships were wrecked on rocks.Keywords: ḥajj; Islamic ships; sea transportation; trading vessels
This section contains a list of glossary terms, general and maritime terms that occur in the book... more This section contains a list of glossary terms, general and maritime terms that occur in the book Classic Ships of Islam. The book charts the development of Islamic ships and boats in the Western Indian Ocean from the seventh to the early sixteenth century with reference to earlier periods. It utilizes mainly classical and medieval Arabic sources with iconographical evidence and archaeological finds.Keywords: Islamic ships; medieval Arabic sources; Western Indian Ocean
Cargo vessels fall into three categories: (1) the river type which carried goods on inland waters... more Cargo vessels fall into three categories: (1) the river type which carried goods on inland waters; (2) coastal boats that sailed on river and along the sea; and (3) the sea-going vessels which anchored at harbours or at some distance from the port, in which case their merchandise and passengers had to be ferried on small boats. In principle an ocean-going vessel did not proceed to the river and a river boat would not venture into the sea, though some vessels must have been built to cope with both sea and river navigation. Although most of the trading vessels were passenger and/or pilgrim vessels, knowledge about them as to which sailed the rivers and seas in the Early and Middle Medieval Islamic period is scanty. This chapter provides the historical context of the watercraft used in the classical and medieval periods, and the origins of their nomenclature.Keywords: cargo vessels; coastal boats; Medieval Islamic period; river boats; sea-going vessels
The wide scope of literature in Islamic culture enriched Arabic with a vast new vocabulary coming... more The wide scope of literature in Islamic culture enriched Arabic with a vast new vocabulary coming both from within its own tribal dialects and from neighbouring languages (Aramaic, Byzantine Greek, Persian, and to a lesser extent Turkish). Persian, in particular, provided Material-Cultural terms relating to textiles, architecture, home-furniture, metal-work, ceramics, military and administrative life, and various kinds of food. But the flood of Material-Cultural terms entering Arabic did not alter general morphological patterns. With some exceptions, the language was safeguarded by its own inherent flexibility and by its adherence to the qawālib (molds). Nevertheless, medieval philologists still regarded most of these new terms as unimportant, as being foreign, obscure, commonplace or dialectal; or because they did not conform to the principle of qiyās, a general analogical method here applied to word-patterning.
One of the problems that the inquirer encounters in such research is the lack of basic tools. There is no adequate dictionary for classical and post-classical Arabic, and no historical dictionary at all, let alone one dealing with Material-Cultural terms such as. The researcher is not interested merely in what the root or form may “mean”, but in how the word is used in the context given for the speaker or writer of the time.
Accordingly, the study of Material-Cultural terms in this dissertation is based on four literary or quasi-literary works: Al-Jāḥiẓ’s (d. 255/868-9) Kitāb al-Bukhalā’; al-Muqaddasī’s (d. 378/988-9) Aḥsan al-Taqāsīm fī Ma'rifat al-Aqālīm; al-Hamdhānī’s (d. 398/1007-8) Maqāmāt; and al-Tha'ālibī’s (d. 429/1037-8) Laṭā’if al-Ma'ārif. The selected terms discussed are names of textiles, food and architecture.
There can be no mechanical procedures guaranteed to yield insightful results, and consequently no attempt is made to offer general-theory conclusions. It is the aim, however, of this dissertation to make a synchronic investigation and to analyse etymologically the individual terms wherever possible. Although the results of this attempt at analysis may give rise to other problems that are not actually discussed here, they will help to demonstrate the positive resources as well as the limitations involved in this approach.
Ships, Saints and Sealore: Maritime Ethnography of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. British Arc... more Ships, Saints and Sealore: Maritime Ethnography of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. British Archaeological Reports. Archaeopress: Oxford, 2014. Pp. 170.
Ethnographic information collected by the authors on former star use along the Arabian Sea coast ... more Ethnographic information collected by the authors on former star use along the Arabian Sea coast of Oman is presented and discussed. Although the stars were not observed directly, some were identified from detailed descriptions and astronomy software. Many are associated with winds warning of danger at sea, a few to tell the direction, and others to note productive fishing periods. Not all stars in the full-year calendars prepared by others had practical applications. To clarify the issues raised, it will be necessary to spend more time in the fishing settlements, where possible watching stars with people who still remember them.
The Red Sea brings together the coastal communities and seafarers of Africa and Arabia through a ... more The Red Sea brings together the coastal communities and seafarers of Africa and Arabia through a variety of folk beliefs and superstitions, which manifest something of a common tradition through time and space. This article explores a conceptual framework that might be called a " spiritscape, " an amalgam of ideas and practices that embrace multiple layers of human and nonhuman relationships and interactions within the landscape and seascape of the Red Sea world.
The Red Sea brings together the coastal communities and seafarers of Africa and Arabia through a ... more The Red Sea brings together the coastal communities and seafarers of Africa and Arabia through a variety of folk beliefs and superstitions, which manifest something of a common tradition through time and space. This article explores a conceptual framework that might be called a " spiritscape, " an amalgam of ideas and practices that embrace multiple layers of human and nonhuman relationships and interactions within the landscape and seascape of the Red Sea world.
People create narratives of their maritime past through the remembering and forgetting of seafari... more People create narratives of their maritime past through the remembering and forgetting of seafaring experiences, and through the retention and disposal of maritime artefacts that function mnemonically to evoke or suppress those experiences. The sustenance and reproduction of the resulting narratives depends further on effective media of intergenerational transmission; otherwise, they are lost. Rapid socioeconomic transformation across Saudi Arabia in the age of oil has disrupted longstanding seafaring economies in the Red Sea archipelago of the Farasan Islands, and the nearby mainland port of Jizan. Vestiges of wooden boatbuilding activity are few; long-distance dhow trade with South Asia, the Arabian-Persian Gulf and East Africa has ceased; and a once substantial pearling and nacre (mother of pearl) collection industry has dwindled to a tiny group of hobbyists: no youth dive today. This widespread withdrawal from seafaring activity among many people in these formerly maritime-oriented communities has diminished the salience of such activity in cultural memory, and has set in motion narrative creation processes, through which memories are filtered and selected, and objects preserved, discarded, or lost. This paper is a product of the encounter of the authors with keepers of maritime memories and objects in the Farasan Islands and Jizan. An older generation of men recall memories of their experiences as boat builders, captains, seafarers, pearl divers and fishermen. Their recounted memories are inscribed, and Arabic seafaring terms recorded. The extent of the retention of maritime material cultural items as memorials is also assessed, and the rôle of individual, communal and state actors in that retention is considered. Through this reflection, it becomes clear that the extra-biological memory and archive of the region's maritime past is sparse; that intergenerational transmission is failing; that the participation
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 2010
Researchers from the MARES Project visited Yemen in February 2009 in order to investigate the bui... more Researchers from the MARES Project visited Yemen in February 2009 in order to investigate the building and use of traditional wooden boats (“dhows” in English) in the country. The survey covered the coastline from Aden to al-Salīf in the Red Sea, and visited centres of dhow building and use, including Ghurayrah (Ghureira), al-Mukhā (Mocha), and al-Khawkhah (Khokha). The project’s aim was to assess the state of the industry, establish a vessel typology, understand construction processes, learn about the use of these vessels, and compile a lexicon of boatbuilding and nautical terms. This article offers the preliminary findings of the survey, pending more comprehensive publication in the future. The survey found that, in all locations visited, the building of new vessels had rapidly diminished in the preceding decade, and has now all but ceased. The only ongoing activity witnessed during the survey was repairs to existing wooden craft. In formerly large boatbuilding centres, builders of wooden boats, mostly elderly, have ceased work, while younger men were building fishing craft using fibreglass — the material used in the great majority of vessels in Yemen today. A preliminary typology of surviving vessels was established. The double-ended cargo-carrying zaΚāyim (sg. zāΚīmah) and zawārīk (sg. zārūk) were recorded only as abandoned hulks. Double-ended Κabārī (sg. Κobrī) and the transom-sterned “large hūrī” (pl. hawārī), with its stern-quarter “fins”, continued to be used in small numbers for seine fishing and transporting livestock. Again, most examples were abandoned. Various forms of small log and plank hūrī “canoes” were observed, few still in use, while the log-raft ramas survives on the Red Sea coast. The terms used for these vessel types form part of a linguistic survey of dhow activity in Yemen.
The cognitive landscape, the proposed framework for this chapter, is built on theories of informa... more The cognitive landscape, the proposed framework for this chapter, is built on theories of information and meaning. In essence, the cognitive landscape includes the written word in state and ecclesiastical documents, and the spoken word at all levels of society. It is the language used to communicate information, whether from top to bottom, bottom to top, or laterally, in a diversified cultural-linguistic and religious society. What is presented here, in the context of seventeenth-century Malta, is the word as officially pronounced by the Order of the Knights Hospitaller on land and sea; the language of the Inquisition court officials and witnesses’ testimonials; of the clergy in their liturgical ceremonies and pastoral duties; of professionals when drafting contracts; of skilled/unskilled workers; and, importantly, of the common people and the slaves. Bril
A range of Arabic documents were discovered during excavations conducted by the archaeological te... more A range of Arabic documents were discovered during excavations conducted by the archaeological teams of the Universities of Chicago (1978 and 1982) and Southampton (1999-2003) at Quseir al-Qadim on the Egyptian Red Sea coast. Numerous ostrich eggshells were unearthed at this site. The present article is a study of an ostrich egg with Arabic writing (dating 15c [?]) found at the burial place situated on the shore north-east. It is divided into three parts: the first is an historical outline of Quseir al-Qadim from classical and medieval primary sources; the second will look into the role ostrich eggs play in the society and culture of the Levant in terms of their utility, adoption as decorative objects and symbolic representation; and the third will discuss the writing on the eggshell, its interpretation and the clues the excavation site can offer in terms of religious and trade contacts at the harbour of Quser al-Qadim.
Ships, Saints and Sealore: Cultural Heritage and Ethnography of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, 2014
This paper investigates the disappearing heritage of Yemen’s large wooden boats (‘dhows’), both i... more This paper investigates the disappearing heritage of Yemen’s large wooden boats (‘dhows’), both in its current socio-economic context and in historical perspective. Fieldwork conducted in February 2009 along the coast between 'Adan (Aden) and al-Salīf sought to record remaining evidence of wooden boats and their related industries and practices. Wooden boat use has been in sharp decline in recent decades, as dhow-based commerce has declined, and fishing communities have switched to fibreglass vessels. The fieldwork sought to record remaining dhows through simple survey techniques including photography and illustration, as well as close observation. It also involved ethnographic interviews with people who worked on these vessels, either as builders or mariners. In terms of the vessels themselves, the aim was to produce a typology of Yemeni dhows; to record examples of each; to understand construction sequences; and to inventorise the distribution of surviving craft. The findings are compared with previous literature on the subject.
Ongoing excavations at the site of Al Zubārah, Qatar have revealed a number of images of boats an... more Ongoing excavations at the site of Al Zubārah, Qatar have revealed a number of images of boats and ships engraved into plaster on walls at the site. The images offer a new insight into the vessels used and encountered by the inhabitants of the settlement, which was occupied chiefly in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
This paper presents the vessels within their archaeological contexts, describes their iconographic features, and proposes identifications of their types based on typological comparison with other iconographic evidence. It considers the functions of these craft within the maritime economy of Al Zubārah, and their meaning within the social and cultural life of the settlement.
Indigenous depictions of pre-twentieth-century regional watercraft are relatively rare, making the Al Zubārah images a welcome addition to the field of nautical studies in and of the Gulf region. The images have also highlighted tension between iconography and written historical sources. Do some of these images depict an elusive and specific vessel type referred to as the dāw, as some sources suggest? Or should we accept that the familiar but etic term ‘dhow’ is an orientalist placeholder for a rich variety of regional craft? The problem is investigated through British colonial records and historical accounts and iconography.
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One of the problems that the inquirer encounters in such research is the lack of basic tools. There is no adequate dictionary for classical and post-classical Arabic, and no historical dictionary at all, let alone one dealing with Material-Cultural terms such as. The researcher is not interested merely in what the root or form may “mean”, but in how the word is used in the context given for the speaker or writer of the time.
Accordingly, the study of Material-Cultural terms in this dissertation is based on four literary or quasi-literary works: Al-Jāḥiẓ’s (d. 255/868-9) Kitāb al-Bukhalā’; al-Muqaddasī’s (d. 378/988-9) Aḥsan al-Taqāsīm fī Ma'rifat al-Aqālīm; al-Hamdhānī’s (d. 398/1007-8) Maqāmāt; and al-Tha'ālibī’s (d. 429/1037-8) Laṭā’if al-Ma'ārif. The selected terms discussed are names of textiles, food and architecture.
There can be no mechanical procedures guaranteed to yield insightful results, and consequently no attempt is made to offer general-theory conclusions. It is the aim, however, of this dissertation to make a synchronic investigation and to analyse etymologically the individual terms wherever possible. Although the results of this attempt at analysis may give rise to other problems that are not actually discussed here, they will help to demonstrate the positive resources as well as the limitations involved in this approach.
Link: https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781905739950
This paper presents the vessels within their archaeological contexts, describes their iconographic features, and proposes identifications of their types based on typological comparison with other iconographic evidence. It considers the functions of these craft within the maritime economy of Al Zubārah, and their meaning within the social and cultural life of the settlement.
Indigenous depictions of pre-twentieth-century regional watercraft are relatively rare, making the Al Zubārah images a welcome addition to the field of nautical studies in and of the Gulf region. The images have also highlighted tension between iconography and written historical sources. Do some of these images depict an elusive and specific vessel type referred to as the dāw, as some sources suggest? Or should we accept that the familiar but etic term ‘dhow’ is an orientalist placeholder for a rich variety of regional craft? The problem is investigated through British colonial records and historical accounts and iconography.