Introduction
Pearl ornaments from oysters and mussel in freshwater lakes or the sea have wide applications, ranging from jewelry to cosmetics. Typically, such mollusks live at a depth that is not easily accessible from the surface and require special techniques for retrieval. The pearling industry in the United Arabs Emirates was responsible for creating immense wealth in its history. The process heavily relied on a voyage that typically lasted months during summer. The surrounding shallow waters of the Arabian Gulf provided an ideal location for pearling due to the widespread oyster beds, which were accessible by divers without relying on modern scuba gear. But, how have the processes involved, the economic shifts, and perceived dangers of pearling impacted pearl diving as a commercial activity in the UAE in recent years? This paper explores the research question based on evidence from primary and secondary sources.
Pearling Process Overview
Pearl diving was an occupation fraught with danger for the crew collecting the oysters. According to an interview in The National involving Juma’a al Batishi, a retired diver in the pearling industry, “on the first day of Ghous Al Kabir, the voyage crew and their families would participate in a send-off ceremony known as Hiraat”, which was held at the beach (Zacharias, 2009, para. 1). Afterwards, the crewmembers would board their vessels and leave, as their families bid them farewell from ashore.
Al Batishi revealed that the fleet had a senior captain, a Sardal, an expert in navigation and location of the best oyster beds responsible for officiating the start of the season. A standard sized vessel would accommodate an average of 30 crewmembers comprising of men, boys, and occasionally young girls (Zacharias, 2009). Some of the most notable pearl divers include Nukhadh, Seib, Tabbab, Ridha, and Naham. The Nukhadh, who either owned the ship or was tasked to manage the vessel by the owner, oversaw the entire diving operation (Zacharias, 2009). Each vessel had a Nukhadh who would distribute the profits among the crew members after the end of the season.
Consequently, the diver was the most essential worker among the crewmembers; he or she was responsible for diving and searching for oysters. The Abu Dhabi Culture (2021) report notes that A Seib, usually several within a vessel, would be in charge of lowering and lifting divers from the oyster beds using ropes. Further, the Tabbab comprised of young boys aged 10-14 years were helpers to the Seib while others trained as future divers. Younger males, referred to as Ridha, were responsible for serving food and beverages to the divers, and helped in opening up the oyster shells (Abu Dhabi Culture, 2021). Lastly, the Naham consisted of songwriters, singers, and poets would provide entertainment throughout the pearling season.
During the voyage, divers would take deep breathes lasting before plunging into the sea. There was no scuba diving equipment to help them breathe under water, exposing crewmembers to the risk of decompression sickness and drowning. Al Batishi revealed that besides a makeshift nose peg, divers wrapped their bodies in a cotton bodysuit that guarded them against jellyfish stings (Zacharias, 2009). After diving, they were instructed to last underwater for a few minutes, and would tug on a rope tied to their feet when ready to ascend. It was expected that one diver would collect a minimum of 20 oysters during each dive and they would work in intervals of 30 minutes at a time with short breaks in-between each dive (Zacharias, 2009). On average, a diver would perform an average of several dives a day. At night, all crewmembers would communally share a meal, usually consisting of rice and fish or oysters before sleeping in a crowded deck.
Because this process was intricate, specialized tools were developed for use, but they were not the best scuba diva equipment. They included Al Dean, a wooden bag worn around the neck by divers and used to hold oysters while underwater (Abu Dhabi Culture, 2021). Al Zubail is a rope tied to a heavy stone and one of the diver’s legs used to lower him to the oyster bed. Al Yada is also a rope but this cord was hand held by Seibs and used to lift divers from the seabed. The last tool is the Al Fettam, made of a turtle shell and used by divers to close their noses while under water. To mark the end of the season, a cannon would be fired at the shore, as the families prepared for the crewmembers’ return. Ghous Al Kabir or the big dive was the main pearl hunting season that took place between June and September (Abu Dhabi Culture, 2021). Thus, the analysis shows that the simple implements, especially the breathing apparatus, used in pearl diving exposed divers to significant safety risks.
Economy
Prior to the discovery of oil reserves in the Middle East and United Arab Emirates, the economy of the region heavily relied on pearling, fishing, and trading. Pearls obtained from the Arabian Gulf were traded with other countries, such as Rome, Sri Lanka, Venice, and India (Bayut, 2021). Thus, the UAE economy was much diversified during the pre-oil period. The oldest discovered pearl is recorded to have been found in the United Arab Emirates and is dated 7500 before present (Kazim, 2018). Table 1 displays the location and number of pearls retrieved in the region. Money earned through the pearl trade was a source of revenue for the voyage crew and their families.
In an interview, Abdulla Al Suwaidi, who is the founder and owner of Suwaidi pearls, was quoted saying that one of the means of financing the diving excavations was via loans procured from wealthy families by the Nukhadhs (Bayut, 2021). The money would facilitate the maintenance of the boats and buy provisions for the crew; the captains would repay their loans by offering the wealthy families some of the pearls collected. However, captains lacking any financial obligations were free to sell their products to pearl merchants. Although pearl trading brought immense fortune to the merchants, most of the men involved in diving and harvesting oysters were often very poor.
Table 1: Earliest Pearls Discovered in the UAE
The economic ecosystem surrounding the pearling industry in the UAE attracted foreign divers from many countries, including Yemen, India, and Iran during their immigration into Dubai as merchants trading in spices, rice, and textiles (Bayut, 2021). The influx of Arabs and Indians at the Gulf had an impact on pearl economics. The role of lending money to captains shifted to the traders who eventually became the industry’s chief financiers (Bayut, 2021). As the Indians controlled the market, Mumbai soon became the largest pearl market. Polished stones would be packaged and shipped from the Indian capital to other parts of the world, including Europe, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq (Carter, 2019). Thus, this shift impacted the UAE economy and the financial status of divers.
The invention of a technology for making artificial flawless pearls by the Japanese also contributed to the decline of the pearling industry. Additionally, the advent of the great depression, coupled with a decline in yields from the oyster beds, contributed to the fall of the sector. The final demise was marked by the closure of the pearl market located in Kuwait in the year 2000, ending a tradition that had spanned more than 7000 years in the Gulf region (Kazim, 2018). Recently, this century-old tradition is being restored in some countries, as a leisure activity for tourists.
Dangers
Although this practice has become obsolete except for recreational purposes, free divers faced various health risks, which turned fatal in some instances. Most divers are recorded having experienced hypothermia at least once during the voyage (Kazim, 2018). This medical condition develops due to prolonged exposure to low temperatures in cold environments. While pearling was done during summer when temperatures where high, water found on the oyster beds was extremely cold, and the drastic change in climate resulted in hypothermia. Some of the symptoms of this illness include memory loss, high blood pressure, and dead blue skin due to near-drowning events (Carter, 2019). In extreme cases, the diver lost consciousness while underwater, leading to permanent brain damage or a heart attack.
The crewmembers also faced the danger of drowning if they spent more than the recommended time under water. Most cases of drowning among pearl divers were as a result of blackouts caused by a medical condition referred to as cerebral hypoxia, which occurred after a diver resurfaced from a deep diver, usually of more than 30 feet deep (Kazim, 2018). In this state, the victims experienced blackouts as they approach the surface of water. In an instance where the diver did not regain consciousness fast, he or she drowned. Another health risk faced by pearl divers was decompression sickness, a condition that linked to the absorption of oxygen and nitrogen by the body tissues. If this process prolongs, the body retains excess nitrogen that form bubbles, which end up being trapped in the person’s lungs (Carter, 2019). The victim experiences dizziness, unconsciousness, impaired hearing, and paralysis.
Lastly, pearl divers faced the risk of encountering dangerous sea creatures. Poisonous fish, jellyfish, sharks, and octopuses stung some people (Kazim, 2018). Due to the lack of proper diving gear, the diver’s visibility while under water was limited, forcing them to pick venomous creatures that resembled oysters. In addition, the coral reef posed a significant danger to divers whereby they experienced cuts by accidentally stepping on dangerous rocks. A surge in deaths caused by the above reasons also contributed to the decline of pearl diving in the UAE.
Conclusion
Pearling was a major economic activity in the Arabian Gulf spanning millennia. The process was intricate and involved various people, including the Seib, Tabbab, Ridha, Nukhadh, and most importantly, several divers. Multiple special equipment was used to enable divers last longer under water, including a nose peg made of a turtle shell and cotton bodysuit used to prevent jellyfish stings. Although divers took precautionary measures to shield themselves from dangerous sea creature, they still faced health risks, including drowning and decompression sickness. While the pearl diving was once the traditional and a commercial pillar of the UAE, its decline was inevitable due to a decline in the population of oysters and discovery of oil reserves.
References
Abu Dhabi Culture. (2021). Traditions: Pearl diving. Web.
Bayut. (2021). Pearl diving and the UAE. Web.
Carter, R. (2020). Pearl fishing, migration, and globalization in the Persian Gulf, eighteenth to twentieth centuries. In P. Machado (Ed.), Pearls, people, and power: Pearling and Indian Ocean worlds (pp. 232-262). Athens, OH: Ohio University Press.
Kazim, A. (2018). Pearl industry in the UAE region in 1869-1938: Its construction, reproduction, and decline. RUDN Journal of Sociology, 18(3), 452-469.
Zacharias, A. (2009). The perils of the pearl divers. Web.