The Social, Economic and Cultural History of Qatar in the Pearling Age PDF

The Social, Economic and Cultural History of Qatar in the Pearling Age  Main Themes I: Social and Cultural History 1. The Social Fabric in Qatar Before Oil 2. The Role of Women Before Oil 3. Education in Qatar Before Oil 4. Qatari Mejalis Be...

The Social, Economic and Cultural History of Qatar in the Pearling Age  Main Themes I: Social and Cultural History 1. The Social Fabric in Qatar Before Oil 2. The Role of Women Before Oil 3. Education in Qatar Before Oil 4. Qatari Mejalis Before Oil The Effect of Qatar’s Location on Local Culture The Judicial System in Qatar Before Oil II: Features of the Pre-Oil Economy What were the main resources in the Gulf economy in the pre-oil age? What were the effects of the pearl trade on Qatari society before oil? -Slavery -Sea travel -Pearl Diving  I: Society and Culture The Social Fabric in Qatar Before Oil Qatari Society: Three Communities: Bedouin nomads, who lived in the desert The semi-settled, who moved between the desert and the coast The settled, who lived on the coast  Two Groups of Bedouin Semi-Settled Bedouin Nomadic Bedouin Sheep and camel herders, but they did not travel deep Disliked settled life, lived in a state of into the desert like the nomadic Bedouin, and they constant movement in search of food settled in certain places for longer periods of time, sometimes as long as two generations. Some of them and water, and did not answer to any were familiar with agriculture, which helped them authority except those of their tribes. settle for longer periods, so they were called semi- They did not understand the meaning settled Bedouin. Many of the men would also join the pearling expeditions or trade with the settled of geographical borders or laws. population.  Bedouin Social System Their lives were simple, and they were always moving so their tents were easy to fold and put up again. The tents were made of woven goat or camel hair. Women made the tents.  Bedouin Social System Their clothes were also simple. They wore flowing robes in the summer and animal hides and skins in the winter, and they went barefoot. They ate the food available around them like dates and dairy products from their animals. When they needed food they did not produce, like rice, they bought it for special occasions. Bedouin were isolated and involved mainly in their local conditions. Their communication with the outside world was limited, as they did not have surplus to trade with others. Certain tribes also claimed superiority over others.  Bedouin social life Bedouin did not have any kind of official political organization or laws, only tribal custom. They did not recognize any authority except that of the shaykh of the tribe. This position was not inherited, but rather went to those who were generous, brave, intelligent, and natural leaders. Their constant movement made education impossible, so most were illiterate. However, they were experts in metered poetry and storytelling which they passed on orally from generation to generation and celebrated in community gatherings.  2. The Settled Communities’ Social System The settled communities were those that lived in villages and cities on the coast permanently. Being settled allowed them to take part in handicrafts, small industries, inherited professions, markets, kuttab- based education, etc. The settled communities’ economic system depended on the sea. Proximity to the sea is what explains the existence of settled villages like Doha, Wakra, al-Khor, Fuwayrit, and Ruwais, etc.  The Settled Communities’ Social System The settled communities’ houses were made of mud and stone, and they were organized in neighborhoods (fareej), and the people living in one neighborhood were not necessarily from the same tribe. The settled community had some customs and social and economic habits that it gained from its relative stability, and this was reflected in the cooperation between individuals and families. The settled community also had a degree of legal organization and collective norms.  Women in Qatari Society Before Oil Most of the settled Qatari men left their coastal cities and villages during the pearling season for weeks and months. During this period, no one was left in these villages and cities except those who did not work, such as the elderly, the infirm, children and women, in addition to a few men involved in year-round professions like judges, religious leaders, teachers etc. In this context, Qatari women played an important role according to their social class, which determined their specific roles. Wealthy women supervised domestic work done by servants, and they were isolated from the outside world until they reached adulthood. For this reason they were not educated, with the exception of learning to read enough Quran to be able to pray. Despite this “respect” for wealthy women, they did not have any authority relative to their husbands, who usually married two, three and four women. This created a separate society of women among the wealthy with its own customs and rituals, far from the world of men.  The Role of Women in Bedouin Society Women joined men in many tasks, including their travels, guarding and shepherding their animals, and preparing everything. Women also did traditional work like raising and caring for children, milking livestock and preparing dairy products, and spinning sheep wool and goat and camel hair. Because of the multiple roles of Bedouin women, they had more freedom and moved around more than the settled coastal women, even if this freedom was not the result of a specific social status but rather reflected women’s economic.roles. The Role of Women in Pearling Society Because of need and low income, the wives of the pearl divers and others from the same social class did some work outside the household. This included tailoring for neighborhood women, carrying water for the local inhabitants, trading in simple products they would carry among the houses to sell, working in the houses of the wealthy, cleaning and selling fish in the markets, or weaving and cutting palm leaves and branches. Some women who had both physical strength and courage even worked as guards.  Education in Qatar Before Oil A. The Kuttab System There was a great need for education in Qatar especially among merchants and ship captains who needed to record their economic transactions. Merchants and ship captains led the movement to start an education system in Qatar, along with some religious leaders. There was no formal education in Qatar before oil, but there were around 15 kuttabs starting in the late nineteenth century.  Education in Qatar Before Oil A. The Kuttab System Education in the kuttabs depended on the teacher. Kuttabs would often close when their teachers (mutaawa’) died or retired, especially those that women supervised. Kuttabs were usually located in mosques, or sometimes in private homes. They focused on memorizing the Quran, some simple religious matters, and basic principles of reading, writing and arithmetic. Students would write on a board to practice. This type of education fulfilled the requirements of the period’s simple society and its economic context and social needs until the post-World War II era. Kuttab education was not stable, because it depended on the volunteers and funders that supported it. However, these schools provided what the society needed in terms of teachers (mutaawa’) and mosque imams, and they never aimed to provide any kind of crafts or vocational skills. Kuttabs in Qatar included girls and boys until age ten, and mixed the children of the wealthy and the poor. Usually the wealthy would pay for the kuttabs by paying the teachers a salary and buying the basic supplies needed for reading, writing and arithmetic. There were girls’ kuttabs that were run by female teachers, usually in their homes. Ms. Amna Mahmud al-Jayida was one of the most well known female teachers, and she was a pioneer for working women in Qatar. She was the first female teacher and the first principal of the first modern girls’ school in Qatar that was established based on her kuttab in 1956.  Some Qatari kuttabs became famous in the early twentieth century, and were known as schools because of their high quality and the level of their graduates. These included: The kuttab/school of Shaykh al-Rahbani, Shaykh Ibn Hamdan, Shaykh Mohammad al-Jabir, Shaykh Hamad al-Ansari, Shaykh Al-Darham, Shaykh Sanayd,etc., as well as the kuttab of Amna al-Mahmud, which became the first modern school for girls in 1956. In general, the kuttabs played a limited role because of their teachers’ lack of academic qualifications.  B. Early Formal Schools Because of the strong relations between Shaykh Jassim and the Ottomans, a formal Ottoman school called “The Rushdiye School” was established in 1890. Arabic language, the principles of Islamic studies, and basic arithmetic were taught there. There were three primary classes and three intermediate classes. The education system was Ottoman, and did not continue after the Battle of Wajbah in 1893. Because of the increasing numbers of merchants and their relations with the outside world, the need increased for schools more developed than kuttabs. First initiative with donations from merchants to open first formal school in Qatar in 1913, called the “Athariya” school. Initially held in a room of Shaykh Abdullah bin Jassim’s palace, then moved to a place near the al-Mani’ mosque.  Shaykh Mohammad bin Mani’, who was a judge in Bahrain, was brought to run the school. It was a well known school until 1938 when bin Mani’ moved to Mecca and it closed. The economic decline with the decline of the pearl trade was directly related to the closing of this and other schools. After the end of World War II and the return of the oil company to Qatar, the country needed a more modern education system than the kuttabs. Shaykh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani (the crown prince) brought Shaykh Muhammad bin Ali al-Mahmoud from Sharjah to found a modern school in 1947. The new school, called “al-Islah al-Hamadiya”, opened during the 1947/48 academic year. It was named after Shaykh Hamad bin Abdullah.  Qatari mejlises The mejlis is an important architectural feature of the Qatari house. It usually had a private entrance at the front of the house. Some people kept literature, history and religion books in their mejlis halls, and some held literary meetings and informal evening gatherings. The mejlis also had an important economic and commercial role. The merchants, ship captains, and creditors would meet at the mejlis to agree on funding the pearl diving operations. Local merchants and the Banyan also used mejlises as trading spots for buying and selling. Some people also invited important jurists and writers from the Persian coast, both to the mejlis and to teach the children of the neighborhood the principles of reciting the Quran and the foundations of religion during the day, and to give lessons in the mosque in the evening.  C. The Effect of Qatar’s Location on Local Culture Because of its geographical location and social and economic systems, Qatar was relatively open to a number of other cultures from Persia, Africa, and India, as well as the Arabian peninsula and the west coast of the Gulf. This had an effect on clothing, food, the local accent and art and architecture. In addition to the inherited Arab culture, some Persian practices became widespread in Qatari culture. These included the way rooms were distributed in the house according to the design of the Persian coast and they also imported the roofs of houses (the danjal) from there. The Batula and the embroidered Sirwal for women also came from the same region, as well as particular foods.  The Effect of Qatar’s Location on Local Culture From India, they adopted embroidery and certain types of furniture. Many Hindi words also entered the local dialect especially with regard to trade and pearl diving. Many names of boats are originally Hindi names, as well as names of pearls like Al-Dana and al-Jiwan. There are also some African cultural effects especially in folkloric arts that. used certain African musical instruments.  The Judiciary in Qatar Before Oil Before oil, the judiciary in Qatar relied on the Islamic Sharia and tribal customs and traditions. The judicial system depended to a great extent on the Shar’i judge for Shar’i cases and the shaykh of the tribe in tribal cases and conflicts. The Shar’i judge’s rulings reflected his personality and interests, and for this reason the judiciary generally served the interests of the society’s ruling class. There was a custom that the ruler of Qatar would appoint a shaykh to hear the complaints of litigants, and if he could not reach a mutually agreed upon solution between them he would send them to the Shar’i judge along with his private security force to issue a ruling between them.  The Judiciary in Qatar Before Oil All courts were Shar’i courts except for those dealing with conflicts related to trade and pearling. The Sharia courts specialized in marriage, divorce and inheritance cases as well as murder, moral issues and anything else related to the Islamic Sharia. The Shar’i judge was from the religious men such as the mosque imams, and its sessions were usually in the mosque itself or in the personal mejlis of the judge. The rulings were not recorded, but communicated orally by the judge. For major crimes like murder and large-scale theft, the shaykh would attend the trial and sentencing.  The Judiciary in Qatar Before Oil There were also courts for commercial disputes like mortgage and credit, markets, etc. As for cases related to pearling, they had their own courts called “salifa courts”, and the ship captains were the judges, and for this reason their rulings were also biased. Many ship captains gave themselves the right to beat divers, demote them or fire them altogether. The salifa courts had a key role in applying labor laws, monitoring taxes for the shaykhs, maintaining the quality of the pearls sold in markets, and trying merchants who tried to cheat in the pearl market.  II: The Economy Before Oil Subsistence Economy: Barely produces enough to meet consumption demands, and produces based on what is available in the natural environment Production for survival/lack of accumulation factors/ wealth and long-term investments. Individuals act in the framework of the community (the tribe, tribal alliances, etc. Transactions were largely barter-based (with limited exceptions) There were no strong reasons for the economy to change. What were the main resources in the Gulf before oil ? Resources (in order of importance): 1. Diving for natural pearls and selling them 2. Herding and Fishing 3. Agriculture (in limited locations dependent on artesian wells and relative rainfall 4. Revenues from customs fees on goods traded in Gulf ports. What was the effect of the pearl trade on Qatar’s economy and society before the discovery of oil? The pearling economy created work opportunities for the coastal inhabitants, and it also attracted social powers (Bedouin) from the interior to the coast. (Urban development). A relative increase in the coastal population happened, which was the main pillar of the Gulf society when the modern state was established. Pearls were a key aspect of the regional economy and they brought the Gulf society into world trade, especially during periods of prosperity (the late 19th century until the end of World War I). The pearl trade and industry paved the way for modern cities which were originally villages built on beaches to become the most important cities after oil.  The Slave Trade The slave trade was one of the forbidden activities that the British authorities monitored in the Gulf, and all of the agreements with the shaykhs of the Arab Gulf mention it. However, it continued to be widespread until the early 1950’s, and Mecca was one of the most important destinations to which slaves were smuggled especially during the Hajj season. Slaves worked in a number of professions like pearl diving, fishing, shipbuilding and domestic work, and as private guards to shaykhs of tribes as well as supporting them in local battles. Owning slaves was considered a sign of social prestige. The British worked with all tools to counter the slave trade for their own reasons, and this gave hope to some slaves, some of whom fled to the British political agent with complaints, and the agent would convey their complaints to the shaykh.  The Slave Trade The Shaykh’s opinion on releasing slaves differed from the British’s. The ruler wanted to keep the right to release slaves in Qatar for himself, based on the principle of compensating their owners, to avoid the opposition from his family and the people who supported him. He tried to convince the British to pay a certain amount for every slave, and he was prepared to pay a quarter of this amount himself, and he fulfilled this promise especially after oil revenues increased. With the increasing work of the oil companies the slavery problem solved itself, because the companies absorbed them as laborers, and the British gave them documents proving their freedom.  Travel (Marine Transport) A small number of divers and sailors were involved in sea travel, or marine transport, outside the diving season. This type of work would supplement pearl diving, not replace it. The ships involved had to be strong, durable and large enough to carry heavy cargo. The ships left Doha heading in two directions. The first was the Basra route that passed Bahrain, al-Ahsa and Kuwait, where they would be stocked with dates, wood, flour, grains, clarified butter, textiles, rice, tea, sugar and other goods that these regions imported from India. The other route went to India passing by the ports on the Persian coast like Bandar Abbas and Qeshm, as well as Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al-Khayma and Oman on the Arab side. In these ports they would trade and sell dates from Basra, and stock up on grains, dried fruit, goats, lemons, Omani sweets and other goods, and from the Indian ports they would carry back spices, rope, perfume, sails, etc.  Travel (Marine Transport) There were ships that went to the East African coast via the Arabian peninsula, and the port of Aden the main center of that trade.. These ships had to return before the summer so the sailors could work in pearl diving.  Pearl Diving Pearl diving was the most important economic activity before the discovery of oil, even though it was a seasonal craft that lasted slightly longer than four months of every year. Most of the work force in Qatar was involved in diving. The other economic activities, like sea fishing, farming and herding in the winter, never took the place of pearling in the summer, and if the pearling industry flourished it affected all aspects of life, and if pearling declined so did the other crafts, and along with it the entire economy.  The Team on the Pearling Ship There were about 13,000 laborers in the pearling industry in 1904, with about 30 men on board each ship. Each ship was an independent unit in terms of production, and each person on board had a specific role..  The Dangers of Diving Indirect Dangers Immediate Dangers Divers suffered illnesses especially in their eyes and lungs, such as cataracts, cornea infections and lung diseases. They also got skin diseases Shark Attacks because they did not bathe in pure water, so the salt water would interact with the heat of the sun and produce skin sores Sting rays would attach themselves to the diver’s back, making it impossible to tug the  The Dangers of Diving Despite all of this hardship and danger, the pearl divers, deck hands and sailors were generally from the poorest sectors of society. They were always subject to the wishes of the ship captains, and they could not do anything without the ship captains’ approval because they were in debt to them, and they had to pay back their debts through working on their boats. At the end of the season, the pearl divers, ship hands and sailors took out more loans for the following year, an amount called the “tisqam”. The ship captains recorded these loans in special registers, and this group entered a cycle of debt that lasted their entire lives, beyond their dependence on the ship captains, their orders and conditions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHWum -qYBqc&feature=youtu.be  The reasons for the decline of the pearl trade and the danger of total collapse of the Gulf economy during the 1930s and 1940s 1. The appearance of the cultured pearl for the first time in the Gulf in July 1924 2. The Japanese company Kokichi Mikimoto’s efforts to develop the cultured pearl in the late 19th century and its huge increases in production starting in the 1920’s. 3. The increasing global demand for cultured pearls because of their low price and high quality 4. The First World War and its effect on global trade routes 5. The Great Depression (1929-1933) and the collapse of global financial markets  The most important results of the collapse of the pearl trade in the Gulf 1. A decisive blow to the diving profession and the pearl trade which affected the Gulf economy very negatively 2. Suffering of a large segment of society that inherited the diving profession 3. The Bedouin tribes who depended on their coastal connections were also affected 4. Increased importance of finding an alternative to the 4. pearl trade as a basis for economic life 5. Oil was the economic savior and agent of change that lifted the Gulf societies to the level of modern countries and lives of comfort.