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| Fishing |
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At
one point of time, fishing and pearling formed
the mainstay for the economic activity of Qatar. Whilst the
development of the cultured pearls industry led to a sharp
decline in the market of natural pearls though fishing continues
to be the livelihood for some and sports for others.
Rod and line fishing from shore and from a boat is quite popular
amongst the expatriates, locals still use the nets, traps
and the basic hand-lines. For fishing from the shore, Qataris
use different techniques: the throw-nets are often used
to cover small areas
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teeming with fish. long nets are staked out in the shallow
and both nets and stones were used to make inter tidal traps
close to the shore. Often from the beaches you will see dark
lines of stone 'Maskar'. The long low limestone block
walls and narrow twisted entrance channel allows the fish
to swim in at high tide, but leaves them stranded as the water
recedes at low tide. Amongst the other traditional traps are
the 'Hazra' and 'Gargour', which were originally
made from palm fronds, woven like oval baskets. They are then
baited and laid on the sea bed overnight, their circular entrances
leading through narrowing cone to the interior. The common
fishes prominent around the year are Barracuda, Cobia, Channad,
Talang, Banded Travelly, Pompano, and Yellow fin tuna.
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| Pearling |
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In
the erstwhile, pearling was not just a job but a profession
and a way of life, and whole villages would depend upon the
success of the pearling 'season' until Japanese got the world
introduced to the cultured pearls. After this Qatar's pearl
industry suffered tremendously.
Pearls
have been used as jewelry and adorn the clothes of women
for hundreds of years, but their collection cost the lives
of sailors and divers, and the families were left for months
on end without a provider as the men of the household went
to sea during each extended pearling season. Life at sea
was no joke either. For days the divers had to survive on
dates and coffee for breakfast and lunch and a slightly
substantial meal of rice and fish in the evening.
The divers of those times used very little equipment nose-clips
'fetam' made from turtle shell; rope baskets made
from 'dayyeen' to collect the oysters; curved-blade
knives to open the oyster shells; finger-tip covers made
of leather to prevent cuts; weights tied to their hands
to help them sink to the sea bed; and two ropes to the
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surfaces
- one to hoist the full baskets of oysters and other used
as a their safety line to dhow. These divers had incredible
stamina, without any breathing apparatus they would dive for
two minutes up to the depths of 12 meters. With the constant
starving brain of oxygen led to many health hazards. Divers
would harvest hundreds of oysters without finding a PEARL.
Even after the tough struggle with the seawaters, they were
times when these divers would return home with no earnings
to show for their Hard Work.
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| National
Dress |
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Ladies
wear a long filmy, rich embroidered over-dresses; the day
dresses or 'Djellabia' are heavily embroidered at the
neck and the cuffs; the black cloaks or 'Abbayas';
the delicate filmy head coverings called 'Shayla',
the headscarves; the black, gold and silver decorated 'Bukhnuq'
worn by young girls to cover their heads and shoulders before
they start to wear the abbaya; and the veils and the masks.
Other dress is 'Thobe Al Nashl', which is heavily embroidered
made of finest silk or chiffon. It is a wide rectangular over-garment,
which falls in delicate folds when worn. Favorite colors used
for this garment are red and purple; green is reserved for
weddings.
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Men
wear long white thobe, the crocheted or embroidered caps are
worn under the headdress; the headdress or 'Ghutra'-
which can be plain white, cream cashmere, black and white
or red and white checked cotton.; and the black 'Agal'
which hold the headdress in place.
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| Crafts |
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The
weaving of the wool is the oldest and most traditional craft
practiced by the Bedouin. It is name for the loom on which
the women used to produce the beautiful, functional floor
rugs, cushions, camel bags and almost everything that was
required for their lifestyle and home. The culture was once
woven from either goat hair or sheep wool, gathered from their
own livestock. Women would sit on the ground pushing and pulling,
beating and plucking creating a thick dense cloth.
There
were times when they would achieve the width of 6ft and
length as much as 25ft., the weaving was a painstaking job.
Rich shades of red, yellow and ochre were used for decorating
the walls. The geometric designs made up of horizontal and
vertical stripes reflected the Islamic traditions. The dye
for the white wool were obtained from the plants.
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| Traditional
Dances |
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Dancing
is the form of expression, which comes on its own on celebratory
occasions. Festive season is the most likely time when you
will witness folk dancers performing around the country. But
most likely one will witness for dances performed by men folk.
Amongst the dances - the most popular is the 'Ardha' where
the dancers will be carrying the ceremonial swords. It is
performed on religious holidays like Eid and on special occasions
like Independence day or during the Accession Day celebrations
of His
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Highness the Emir. It is a dance to display the unity, strength
of a group and is a display of allegiance to the Emir and
the society.
The other traditional dance performed in public is 'Lewa'
a dance performed purely for pleasure and commonly performed
at weddings and on religious occasions. Amongst the women
dances are 'Khammary', performed by the masked women, it involves
the co-ordination of steps with the Music. It has light lyrics,
often based on love poems. Other women dances are 'Sameri'
and 'Ashouri', performed on celebratory occasions.
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| Camel
Racing |
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Desert
Bedouin used camels extensively as pack animals as well as
for their milk, meat and hair. In Qatar, the camel is still
the prized animal but it is the racing camels, which draw
most of attention. The Government of Qatar
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