Page 277 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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DIVING INDUSTRY

From earliest times the finest pearls in the world have been found in the Persian Gulf and
Bahrain has for many years been the centre of the diving industry. Before the discovery and develop­
ment of oil the people of Bahrain depended almost entirely upon diving for their livelihood and the
profits from the trade were sufficient to maintain the country in a state of reasonable prosperity.
Although the State never levied any direct taxes on pearls or divers, apart from boat registration
licenses, yet indirectly most of the revenue depended upon the diving industry ; when diving flourished
the people spent the money which they earned on buying imported goods and on these imports the
State collected the customs duties which provided its main income.

The method of diving and the different systems of the industry are very ancient and have been
described in detail in the writings of early travellers in the Persian Gulf. Divers use no mechanical
apparatus, they descend into the sea on a stone weight, attached to a rope, holding another rope
with which the pullers on the deck of the dhow draw the divers up to the surface after they have
filled a bag with shells from the floor of the sea. Men dive in water down to a depth of 12 or 13
fathoms, they remain submerged for about minutes and each man dives 75—100 times during the
day. The fleet remains at sea during the main season for 4 months and 10 days but usually the
boats return to harbour once or twice during the season to replenish their stores. Before and after
the main season there are short seasons whose duration depends upon the weather. Diving can only
be done while the water is warm and comparatively smooth.
Divers do not receive wages but every man shares in the profits from the boat’s catch. After
deducting all expenses such as food, water, firewood, etc., the sum for which the pearls are sold to the
pearl merchant on shore, or the brokers who buy from the dhow at sea is divided proportionally
among the nakhuda, the divers and the pullers in the proportion of five, two and one shares. There
arc variations of this system applicable in certain circumstances but all the different systems are known
and recognised by the diving community. If the boat makes no profit the divers receive no money
at the end of the season and they increase their indebtedness to their nakhudas, but they are fed
during the season and receive an advance from the nakhuda before and shortly after the end of the
season. In theory the system is a fair one and it can be justly claimed that since reforms in the
diving system were introduced by the Bahrain Government, the Bahrain divers have had a square
deal. Before then the position of divers was little better than that of slaves.

Originally the boats were financed by the nakhudas who owned them but in course of time the
nakhudas took to borrowing money from merchants on shore to pay the advances and to provision
their boats. The shore merchants demanded interest on their loans and therefore the nakhudas
debited their divers with the interest on the money which they borrowed from the shore merchants,
they also debited the divers with interest on anything which they supplied them with during the
season. The rate of interest was unrestricted. The divers and most of the nakhudas and many of
the merchants were illiterate. It was impossible for a diver to see or check his account, his only
resource was to the Salafieh Court, presided over by nakhudas, and this notorious institution was
not sympathetic to divers. Divers were tied to their nakhudas by debts which were in many cases
fictitious. Promising young men were given an advance of money as an inducement to sign on as
divers, if at’any time they had so successful a season that they were near to paying off their debts
they were encouraged to take another extra advance, always at a high rate of interest, in order that
they should remain in debt. Divers could be handed from one nakhuda to another and they
could be handed over to shopkeepers to whom the nakhudas owed money. When a diver died his
sons inherited their father’s debt and when the boys were old enough to dive they were compelled to
work for their father’s nakhuda starting their careers with debts which they could never hope to pay
off. If a nakhuda died his heirs inherited the divers. But the divers were, and still are, improvident;
ignorant, happy go lucky and born gamblers. As long as they were young and while they were pro­
vided with sufficient food for their families it did not matter to them if they were bound to theif
nakhudas, but when they grew old then came the rub, they were compelled to continue diving whether