Page 86 - Records of Bahrain (3) (ii)_Neat

502 Records of Bahrain

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Chau of the class to which it belongs.. A table of the principal
classes-which arc distinguished from one another chiefly by colour
and shape, will bo found in Annexuro No. 5 to this Appendix, together
with tho rates for each class which prevailed in Bahrain in 1906. It
should be noted that these rates furnish but a rough guide to the dealer
for they arc in tho form of maxima and minima only, and tho actual rato
for a particular pearl is determined by considerations of “ skin ” or purity
and “ orient,'J or lustre, which cannot be reduced to a formula. These
rates are subject to change, and there is no doubt that during tho last
half century they have risen enormously; between 1852-53 and 1877-78
they doubled, and since 1877-78 they have more than doubled again.t
Some experts, generally sea-going Tawwashes, profess a power to Art of tho
distinguish roughly the depth of water aud even the particular neighbour- pearl dealer,
hood from which a pearl shown to them may have been obtained; thus
they assert that pearls from the banks near Bahrain arc marked by
greater lustre, and those from banks further northward by greater
,f solidity.” However this may be, the power to discriminate at a glance
between pearls of different Acjsam pL.31 (singular, Qism ) or classes
is possessed by all merchants ; and, such being the case, it is evident that
the success of tho individual trader depends chiefly on his power to appraise
the relative fineness of pearls belonging to the same class,—an operation
iii which, as wo have already remarked, there are no rules to assist his
judgment.
The merchant, even when otherwise illiterate, is ordinarily a
clever mental arithmetician and benefits by the fluctuations of market rates
and by the discrepancies of the weighing appliances in use in the Gulf.
In Annexure No. 5 we have given the market rates per Bombay Chau
only, but there are also market rates for the Bahrain, Qatar, and Poona
Chaus, aud, as these are not always in strict proportion, it is sometimes
possible to buy cheap and sell dear by purchasing pearls according to one
pf these measures and disposing of them • according to another ; conse­
quently a merchant who is versed in all the systems, and provided with
the means of working by each, has a great advantage over a man who
understands and practises only one of the four. The difference of
weights in the Gulf is possibly a source of profit to some dealers of the
less scrupulous kind, who pay attention to the discrepancies*; but a
dealer detected in the use of false weights forfeits public confidence, and
opportunities for individual frauds are few, because a seller does not
often part with his pearls until they have been weighed and priced by a
f Unless “ Bahrain Chau " in Captain Durand’s report is an error for “ Bombay
Chau ” the increase has been extraordinary. Assuming first thnt there is no mistake
in the report we find that the average rate for the Yalcah Baidha class in 1877 was
Its. 46 per Bahrain Chau or Its. ll£ Per Bombay Chau, whereas in 1906 it wai
Rs. 326 per Bombay Chau. This seoms impossible; but, on tho alternative supposition
even, tho average rate rose from Rs. 46 to Rs. 325,—a very remarkable inc-easo.
Opinion in Bahrain, as elicited by further enquiry, favours the idea that Captain
Durand's Ciiaus were Bombay Chaus (1908).
• Tho small weights representing tho fractions of a Mithqal are frequently much
heavier than thoy ought to bo, Ratti weights being, mot with which aro ■jJy instead
of rz of a Bombay Mithqftl, and Bahrain and Qatar Kabbah* which arc p and
JL of a Bahrain and a Qatar Mithqal respectively, insload of Weights aro
made of agate or brass, the former being the more esteemed as thoy are not aJlected
by oxidation.