“I at all times say that every one Bahrainis have pearl diving of their blood,” Mohamed Alslaise, a pearl diver and subject researcher for the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gems (DANAT) tells UN Information. “Nearly all of the households that moved from the Arabian Gulf or Iranian coast to Bahrain had been divers.”
Mr. Alslaise is obsessed with preserving and reviving this age-old custom, notes that many households within the Gulf nation have a member who was both a pearl diver or contributed ultimately to the pearl diving trade.
Pearling within the Persian Gulf formed Bahrain’s financial system for hundreds of years however, following a peak across the flip of the twentieth century, the perfection of cultured pearls by Japan within the Nineteen Thirties prompted a pointy and devastating decline within the trade.
Khaled Salman, a diver for the reason that Seventies, explains that whereas diving continues, it’s now not executed within the outdated approach.
UN Video/Hisae Kawamori
Bahraini diver, Mohamed Alslaise extracting pearls from oysters.
“These days, bigger portions are extracted on account of developments in know-how, permitting divers to remain underwater for longer intervals. Up to now, a diver would keep underwater for 4 minutes, however now scuba divers can stay underwater for an hour or extra.”
Attributable to decrease pearl costs, Salman notes, “Many individuals don’t promote the pearls they extract; they retailer them till costs rise after which promote them to merchants in Bahrain.”
Some pearls are utilized in native industries, whereas others are marketed exterior Bahrain. He additionally highlights three kinds of pearls: artificial, cultured, and pure, including that “distinguishing between these sorts requires expertise and trendy gear.”
The decline in pearling additionally affected Bahrain’s shipbuilding trade. Abdulla, a designer of picket ships and boats for over 35 years, shares his perspective: “Bahrain is legendary for its shipbuilding trade, which was integral to pearling. There are a number of kinds of ships, various by design, however now smaller ships are used for pearling on account of decreased demand.”
The wooden for shipbuilding is imported from Africa and Singapore, and, says Abdulla, the lifespan of a ship can extends past 100 years.
UN Video/Hisae Kawamori
Abdulla, a designer of picket ships and boats for over 35 years.
Folklore, songs and custom
“Most Bahraini traditions are linked to the pearl diving trade. As an example, the pearl diving songs,” says Mr. Alslaise. “The folklore of pearl diving has been handed down for generations. We nonetheless sing the identical songs, which had been initially sung to spice up morale on the boats.”
Bahrain’s historic pearling web site, generally known as the Pearling Path, has been inscribed as a World Heritage Website by the United Nations Academic, Scientific, and Cultural Group (UNESCO). The positioning testifies to the pearling custom and the wealth it generated within the Gulf area for millennia.
In keeping with UNESCO, the realm consists of 17 buildings in Murharraq metropolis, three offshore oyster beds, a part of the seashore and the Qal’at Bu Mahir fortress on the southern tip of Muharraq Island, from the place boats used to set off for the oyster beds.
There are retailers, storehouses, a mosque, and the houses of rich retailers within the space. In keeping with UNESCO, the placement is the one full instance of the pearling cultural custom and the wealth it produced through the interval when the Gulf financial system was dominated by commerce from the second century till Japan developed cultured pearls.
It additionally constitutes an impressive instance of conventional utilization of the ocean’s assets and human interplay with the setting, which formed each the financial system and cultural id of the island’s society.
UN Information/ Abdelmonem Makki
A band performing a pearl diving tune in Bahrain. The folklore of pearl diving has been handed down for generations.
Pearling is again
“I’m one of many individuals who fell in love with pearl diving with none steerage from my mother and father or household,” Mr. Alslaise. “The technology earlier than us was not allowed to dive after they had been younger as a result of, after oil was found, all the roles shifted to the oil trade.”
In keeping with Mr. Alslaise, since 2017, when Bahraini authorities launched pearl diving licenses, many individuals who signed up had no prior information of pearl diving.
“Now, seven years down the road, many Bahrainis have reconnected with this heritage. Over 1,000 divers are actually registered and dive recurrently to create an earnings for themselves.”
