Page 75 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat

The pre-war economy: pearl fishing, 1899-1915 491

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fish, ooolc, look after'the pipes and coffee, ami attend to other minor
duties.
The Ghasah, whose only work is to dive, arc mostly poor Arabs and
free negroes or negro slaves ; but Persians and Baluchis are also to be
found among them, and, in recent years, owing to the large profits
mado by divers, many respectable Arabs have joined their ranks. Tho
efficiency of a diycr depends more on his skill and daring than on the
strength of his constitution,—the last being a point on which undue
stress has sometimes been laid by waiters upon pearling; and a slave
diver who is not afraid to enter deep and muddy water containing
weeds is ordiuarily valued at considerably over Rs. 1,000. The Siyub,
whose duties are merely to manage the boat and to lower and pull up
the divers, arc usually landsmen or ex-divers whom age or other causes
have obliged to abandon diving.
The total crow of a pearl boat varies from 10 to 40 men, the average
number being about 16 for the whole Gulf. The number of the Ghasah
is generally less than that of the regular Siyub in the same boat, standing
to it'in a proportion of 10 fo 11, 12 or even more; the reason of this
arrangement is that, if a diver were to be thrown out of work for want
of a hauler, the loss would be greater than the expense of carrying a few
extra Siyub, These extra Siyub, who must not be confounded with the
Radhafah, are called Jalalis or (< Sitters ” (singular, Jallas
Boats,
All sorts of boats are now used for pearling, even jolly-boats being
in these days fitted out for the purpose, but the majority arc Sambuks;
aud after the Sambfik come, in order of frequency, Batils, Baqarahs and
Shu'ais. A pearl boat of the largest dimensions, to carry 40 men, costs
Its. 30,000 or more to construct and fit out.
Seasons. There were formerly, aud are still, two recognised seasons for the
conduct of pearling operations at sea ; but their incidence has changed
in recent times.
Thirty years ago the earlier season was the Ghaus-al-Bard o^dl
or u Cold Diving ”, which began at the middle of April and continued
for 40 days. Duriug the Ghaus-al-Bard the operations were confined to
shallow water, and the coldness of the sea obliged the divers to work in
alternate half-hour shifts.
The next, which has always been the principal season aud is called
the Ghaus-al-Kabir I or (< Great Diving”, formerly began in
J une after the end of the Shamal and lasted till the end of September;
now, however, it begins at the middle of May and continues for 130 days,
that is until about the middle of September; the beginning of this season
is known as the Rakbah, and the end as the Quffal jUi' or u Closing.*'
The times of beginning and ending of the Ghaus-al-Kabir are not exactly
fixed, and they are liable to be affected by the month of Ramadhan, when
it falls in the hot weather, as diving is prohibited during the fast. In
1906 the Ghaus-al-Kabir of the Bahraiu fleet lasted from the 16th of
May to the 18th of September, with an interval of 6 days which begau
on the 22nd of August.
VM
The second season is now the Raddah or “ Return,” which
commences a few days after the conclusion of the Ghaus-al-Kabir and