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Monday, March 01, 2010

Boat building traditions

Last Friday afternoon we got a phone call from a friend saying, "Grab your camera and come down to the sea near the fish markets, history is in the making !!!!". 

I couldn't quite work out what was going on at first but once she settled down I found out that a boat was being launched into the sea and we mustn't miss it. 

We jumped into the car and managed to see history in the making and to learn a lot about one of the many UAE traditions. Here's a little of what we found out.

The 30 metre long and 9 metre tall dhow (boat) will be able to carry 800 tonnes of cargo. It is being built by a local RAK craftsman, Mohamed Abdullah Buhaji who is now in his late 70's and is unsure as to whether he'll build any more. He started his working life as a Captain on boats such as these and he's travelled all over the Indian Ocean to places such as Basra, India, Somalia and Yemen. But for the last 50 years he's been boat building in RAK and he's now made over 100 boats both big and small, all made from wood with wooden pegs. He has from 15 to 20 workers at any one time and he wishes his children had taken on the trade but instead they all work in offices.
His daughter Fatima made a comment to the National Newspaper which said,

For us, the fact that my father did it, it’s very fantastic. I want us to learn but it’s not in paper, it’s in his mind. Not any of my brothers or sons or sisters’ sons learnt to make the dhow.


The process of moving the boat had already taken 2 days when we arrived and it hadn't reached the water because Mohammed chose not only to build it using traditional methods of construction over a period of 2 years but also to use the traditional method of boat launching as well. It will take 4 days in total to get it to the sea as it's slowly drawn forward on rollers and wooden planks assisted by a pulley and the strength of his men. This form of launching dates back to the time of Noah!!!!  

I discovered that these dhows are what brought most of the wealth to the town of Julphar, just a few kms north of RAK, during the 13th to 16th centuries as they plied the waters trading goods including highly prized pearls.

There are much faster ways of launching a boat but these locals take great pride in doing things the traditional way which includes chanting and singing as they toil. This may be the last time we see this type of boat being built and launched in this way. Most boat builders are now opting for faster ways of building and using materials such as fibreglass.

Ron shook Mohammed's hand and he smiled. It was an historic moment for us to meet the craftsman and to see this massive boat moving so slowly and yet so purposefully down to the sea, especially as it may be the last out of a long history of boat building in this region, dating back thousands of years.




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