Page 290 - Records of Bahrain (2)(ii)_Neat

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616 Records of Bahrain

82 ADMINISTRATION RBrORT OF THE PERSIAN GULF POLITICAL RESIDENCT
Tho crew of courso is ns entirely in the Nakhoda's books ns ho
himself is in those of tho Bunnenfau
12. The shares of each of the abovo nro as follows
“Nakboda” ... one-fifth.
" Glioas** ... three shares of remainder.
" Seb” ... two shares, }
If the boat is hired and docs not belong to the Nnkhoda, this one-
fifth goes to the owner, and the Nnkhoda has to be content with one
“ ghoas” share.
13. Wo see therefore that there are tho two taxes of Nob and
Traz, which have to be met from the proceeds of the fishing; that the
“Musaygum” or “Nnkhodas” account has to bo settled; that the value
of tho take is reduced 20 per cent, in favor of the Musaygum; that
one-fifth of the remainder goes to tho owner of the boat, whoever he
may bo, and finally that what remains after all these charges have been
met is divided into five shares, of which three-fifths go to tho divers
for division amongst themselves and two-fifths to the haulers.
As the haulers and divers are always in equal numbers, the share
of the diver is somewhat the larger, and this is fair as his work is
infinitely the harder.
14. The “ Seb,” arc usually Bedouins, sometimes Persians; it is
their duty to work the ship, haudlc oars and sail, and pull up the divers.
15. The “Ghoas” is generally a Sedee, or Arab of the poorer
classes, or a sedee domestic slave. He will go on diving all day if the
weather is fair, merely taking short rests in the water, to recover
breath and strength. As a rule he docs not remain below longer than
50 to 70 seconds. The latter is over the average; these men are very
abstemious, eating about a 4 lb of dates in the morning, and drinking
three or four cups of coffee after morning prayers; and they then
begin fishing when the sun gets up.
At about 2 o'clock they all come out of the water for coffee,
prayers, and a rest which lasts for about an hour, when they go to
work again till sundown. At night they eat a hearty meal of roast
fish and dates, and do no further work.
A good diver will go down twelve, fourteen, and even sixteen fathoms
occasionally, but this last depth is so great a Btrain that very few are
capable of enduring it. From eight to twelve fathom is tho usual
depth at which work is carried on.
10. There are many different weights in the boat to suit the
necessity of each diver who chooses a sinking stone that will neither
be too light nor too heavy for bis comfort.
These weights are attached to his feet, slipped, and hauled up
again when he reaches the bottom. A pair of horn pincers on bi§
nostrils, a rope round his waist, and leather tips to his fingers, to save
his hands from abrasions, usually complete his costume,
-Id the case of a large number of devil fish being about bis
toilette is more finished, it then consists of a long white shirt to proteot