fig. 1 Thehûrî
YEMENARTICLES
Contemporary WoodenFishing Craft of Yemen
Along Yemen's two coasts, the Tihama and theGulf of Aden, one may still observe hundreds of wooden fishing-craftalong the shore or anchored in the shallows. Although many fishermannow operate both locally-built and imported fiberglass boats, thewooden vessels of Yemen continue in productive employ. Because woodenboats are still used, there remains an active industry in boatmanufacture and repair, affording observers the opportunity towitness a number of ancient tools and techniques.
This report on the status of wooden boatsand boatbuilding in Yemen is based upon research that I conductedfrom October 1993 to May 1994 under the auspices of a FulbrightGrant. The goals of the grant were to conduct an archaeologicalsurvey of the coast and to analyze the situation of traditionalmaritime culture and technology in Yemen. The comprehensive nature ofthe research required that I travel most of the Yemeni coast, fromMîdî in the Tihama north, to Sayhût in al-Mahra.Along the Gulf of Aden coast, I surveyed an almost continuous stretchfrom the ‘Amran Peninsula west of Aden to Sayhut. The Tihama'stopography afforded little opportunity for continuous travel;however, I was able to visit the towns of Mîdî,al-Luhayyah, Khawbah, al-Salif, and al-Hudayda. From Kataba (tenkilometers north of al-Khawkha) to al-Mukha, a continuous stretch ofthe coast was surveyed.
One of the most striking and immediateresults of the survey was the disparity in the status of woodenboatbuilding between the two coasts. The findings, unquestionably theresult of the two regions' different political experiences, requireseparate analyses.
Although wooden vessels may still beobserved along most of the South Arabian coast, there is littleevidence of a permanent boatbuilding industry in the region. The onlyboatyard that I observed was located at Ma'alla, Aden, the dhowharbor. All other boat-work in the former PDRY appears to be effectedby itinerant carpenters. It is here that fiberglass manufacture hasmade its greatest inroads into traditional boatbuilding, and Iobserved fiberglass manufacturing operations in Aden, al-Mukalla, andal-Shihr.
fig. 1 Thehûrî
Of the traditional craft that remain, thereare two primary types. The first is the hûrî (pl.huwârî) (fig. 1). The hûrî,essentially a dugout canoe, is not uniquely Arabian.(1) Mosthuwârî were carried as speculation by dhowcaptains from the Indian subcontinent to Arabia.(2) Upon reachingArabia, however, many of the craft were extensively modified by localcarpenters. Often, a keel was attached; less frequently, stem andsternposts were also fashioned. Thwarts were added and Indianornamentation was removed. A mast step, placed well-forward ofamidships, was installed in most fishing huwârî. Apair of broad sheer strakes&emdash;one strake on eachside&emdash;were the most conspicuous additions by the Yemenicraftsmen to the huwârî. The builders mounted thestrakes to increase the vessel's marginal freeboard.(3) In recentyears, these sheerstrakes have been sprung apart abaft, creating atransom (square stern) out of previously double-ended craft. Thetransom allows the operator of the vessel to mount an outboardengine, a form of locomotion that has almost entirely replacedsail.
fig. 2. Details of a sewnsanbûq
The other vessel type most frequentlyobserved in South Arabia is the sewn sanbûq (pl.sanâbîq) (fig. 2). The planks of this craft arestitched together, originally with coir, more recently, with nylonthread. This practice, most likely Indian in origin, is complementedby the use of planking treenails for enhanced structural integrity.(4)
The sewn sanbûq, which hasmerited relatively little attention, is an important remnant of thesewn tradition that dominated Indian Ocean littoral boat constructionbefore direct European contact in the sixteenth century A. D. Adouble-ended vessel that rarely exceeds ten meters in size, the sewnsanbûq is used primarily for fishing, although duringthe heyday of dhow-borne shipping, it was also used as alighter.
My research trip was made just in time.Observations and discussions with locals and other scholars haverevealed that sewn wooden boat construction has ceased on the ArabianSea coastline and fiberglass huwârî are replacingthe older sewn vessels. The same sewn boats in Oman's Dhofar provincealso seem to face imminent extinction: the last such craft wasreportedly built in 1977.(5) Although some sewnsanâbîq remain in active use, these too willdisappear with the steady passage of time.
A larger craft type known as thesâ'iya may also be observed along the South Arabiancoast. This cargo and fishing vessel was used extensively before theadvent of the modern coastal highway. A transom-sterned version ofthe classic (non-sewn) sanbûq, the sâ'iya today isalso a dying breed. An excellently-preserved specimen, however, maybe observed on land at the site of an incipient maritime museum inal-Hâmî (fig. 3).
fig. 3. Sâ'iya craftat Maritime Museum in al-Hâmî
The Tihama Coast
In marked contrast to the South Arabiancoast, wooden boatbuilding thrives in the Tihama. Builders(najjâr, sg.) there manufacture two types of craft: thedouble-ended sanbûq and the smaller, transom-sternedhûrî. In addition, fishermen use and maintainsmall rafts&emdash;bundles of lashed jungle crooks&emdash;knownappropriately as khashaba (wood), and used primarily forbeach-seining and checking crab pots and coastal nets.
Although the hûrî andsanbûq craft-types share the names of vessels on theSouth Arabian coast, the Tihama craft differ significantly fromSouthern huwârî and sanâbîq. Inthe Tihama, both craft are plank-built and iron-fastened. Variants ofboth reach much greater sizes as well along the Tihama; I measuredone sanbûq that was twenty-six meters in length overall(LOA). In the Tihama, huwârî are the dominantYemeni vessel-type; they outnumber sanâbîq byapproximately ten to one.
Al-Luhayya, Khawbah, al-Hudayda, Kataba, andal-Khawkha are Yemen's key boatbuilding centers. Al-Khawkha is thelargest building center; there I observed over sixty wooden boatsunder construction. According to boatbuilder MahmûdMu‘allim, the town's preeminence as a major building center isnew; previously only a few shipwrights built or repaired craft there.Prior documentary sources do not even mention the town as aboatbuilding center.
fig. 4. At work with an adze neara hûrî under construction
Tihama builders use a variety of traditionaltools. Most notable are adzes, which have disappeared from the toolkits of Western boatbuilders. Builders chop casually mere inches fromtheir exposed toes with these potentially lethal instruments (fig.4). Bow drills are also frequently used; the operator plays the toollike a fine violin. Other manual mainstays include chisels, hammers,and saws. There are, however, power-tool equivalents at use in mostof the villages as well. Electric drills are displacing the laboriousbow drills for preparing fastener holes. Chain saws are used toroughly shape large frames. Perhaps the most notable new toolsighting (one that did not exist when I arrived) was a power planerat al-Khawkha. Widespread use of the power planer could signal theend of the adze in Yemeni boatbuilding, although the planer was notused for the athwartship sides of the frames.
Materials are both procured domestically andimported. Wooden planks are imported from a variety of locales;builders listed Russia, Sweden, and Italy as sources. Framing for thecraft, on the other hand, is obtained locally, from the west-wardfacing slopes of Yemen's Harâz range, which parallels the RedSea. Iron and copper for fasteners are imported, but villageblacksmiths manufacture both the fasteners locally.
Yemeni shipwrights use a number of creativeand unique methods in building their craft. At al-Khawkha andal-Luhayya, builders practice keel-last hûrîconstruction, beginning with the garboard strakes(mâlkî), the two strakes nearest the keel(hirâb). This method is in direct opposition to thetypical boatbuilding practice of laying the keel first. At Khawba,builders do not even bother with the garboards; they hang thesheerstrakes (darâba; top planks) first, suspending themabove the garbage-strewn ground with makeshift splints. Planks(lihâm) and frames (hadrûs; khums) are thenlaid concurrently, with the transom (shanda) inserted abovethe waterline. Only near the end of construction, once the craft'sshell has largely been completed, are keel, stem, and sternpostsadded.
At Kataba and al-Hudayda, builders do laythe backbone (keel, stem, and sternpost) first. At Kataba, however,builders continue to fasten the planks together with treenails (aswith the South Arabian sanbûq), as well as ironfastenings (mismâr). Sanâbîq at alllocations are built similarly to keel-first huwârîas at al-Hudayda, although no transom is added to thisdouble-ended craft.
With only a few exceptions, thehûrî is powered by one or two outboard engines(Yanmar is the engine of choice). I did see a few, smallhuwârî that relied upon sail (shira') forpower, as well as several larger ones that rigged makeshift sails totake advantage of a fair breeze. All sanâbîq arepowered by single- screw, diesel inboard engines. Some also have thecapability to mount a sail, should the need or opportunity arise(fig. 5).
fig. 5. View of sanbûqconstruction at al-Khawkha boatyard
Conclusions
Yemen's two coasts, which have been shapedby divergent historical and political forces, exhibit markeddisparities in boat construction. In Yemen's South Arabian coast,under the domain of the former Marxist Peoples' Democratic Republicof Yemen (PDRY) until 1990, government sought to destroy power basesof the local merchant class and private entrepreneurs and tonationalize all capitalistic industry.(6) The traditional dhow tradeand wooden boatbuilding were remnants of an antiquated, mercantilepast unsuited, in the view of the socialist leadership, for thetwentieth century.
PDRY modernized its fishing fleet during the1970s by purchasing modern steel trawlers and encouraging the use offiberglass vessels, following the mandates of a 1969 nationalizationlaw.(7) During this era, the Tihama, uninfluenced by the ideals ofsocialism, poor and isolated, and under the rule of a conservative,tribal-based government, changed little. Builders continued to createcraft in towns, such as al-Luhayya, as they had forgenerations.
I was fortunate to arrive in Yemen at apivotal time. Unlike previous nautical researchers, who have beenforced to choose one or the other coast because of politicaldivisions, I was able to conduct an extensive, comparative analysis.Accessibility and transportation improvements allowed me to surveyalmost every appropriate locale. I found that despite Yemen's rapidrush into the twentieth century, traces of traditional maritimeculture and technology still remain on both coasts. However, my studyrevealed that this culture is being displaced by new, foreignelements; as a result, maritime technology is adapting and evolvingrapidly. In my research, I was able to compile an extensivephotographic, textual, and structural record of Yemeni boatbuilding.Ships' lines&emdash;accurate, three-dimensional hullrenderings&emdash;of all major Yemeni craft-types have been preservedand are in the process of publication.
Although wooden boatbuilding does persist inYemen, the country continues to be racked by massive changes andaltered by modernization. When the trade ceases to be economicallyviable, it will disappear. There is little nostalgia or interest inpreserving what may well be the last, economically-viable, woodenboatbuilding region in the Middle East. Once the builders are gone,the wisdom and accumulated experience of four thousand years ofcontinuous Arabian boatbuilding will quietly disappear.
1 R. B. Serjeant, The Portuguese off the South Arabian Coast (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963), 133; and Sir Alan Moore, Last Days of Mast and Sail: An Essay in Nautical Comparative Anatomy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925; reprint, Camden, ME: Marine Publishing Co., 1970), 132 (page references are to reprint edition).2 Richard LeBaron Bowen Jr., "Primitive Watercraft of Arabia," The American Neptune 12 (July 1952): 198; and James Hornell, "A Tentative Classification of Arab Sea-Craft," The Mariner's Mirror 28 (January 1942): 30.
3 Ibid.
4. Mohammed Zaki Nour, et al., The Cheops Boat, Part I, Antiquities Department of Egypt (Cairo: General Organization for Government Printing Offices, 1960), 48; and Lionel Casson, Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times (Austin: Univrsity of Texas Press, 1994), 12.
5 [William Facey and Esmond Martin Bradley], Oman: A Seafaring Nation ([Muscat]: Ministry of Information and Culture, 1978), 146, 176.
6 Helen Lackner, PDR Yemen: Outpost of Socialist Development in Arabia (London: Ithaca Press, 1985), 149-51.
7 Lackner, PDR Yemen, 193-94; and, Robert Stookey, South Yemen: A Marxist Republic in Arabia (Boulder: Westview Press, 1982), 12.
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