'Extracts from Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia by J G Lorimer CIE, Indian Civil Service' [‎60v] (125/180)

110
Prevalence
of debt.
Social life, customs and discipline on the Arabian pearl banks
Social life on the banks is confined to the hours of the evening, when the
Nakhudas and their crews visit friendly boats to enjoy coffee, wafer cakes and
tobacco, and to compare notes of their proceedings. During the season a small
bazaar is formed on Dalmah Island for the sale of supplies, and Tawwashes or petty
dealers and Musaqqams come there to buy pearls and recover debts.
On the occasion of a Tabrah being discovered by a diver he receives a new
suit of clothes from the Nakhuda, and the rest of the crew too become entitled
to receive a present. A man also who finds a good pearl in opening the oysters is
specially rewarded. Quarrels are of rare occurrence on the pearling ground, and
the boats even of hostile tribes may be seen peacefully anchored within a few
cables' length of one another.
The boats of each district form a fleet, with one of the Nakhudas, appointed
before sailing by the Shaikh of the district, as its Admiral. The principal duty of
the Admiral is to fix the day for cessation of work and return to port. No diver
is willing to remain on the banks longer than his fellows, and the premature
departure of even one boat, however successful it might have been, would
probably bring about a strike of all the divers from the same district remaining
on the banks; consequently no boat is permitted to leave until the Admiral has
hoisted the signal for departure, and boats that reach home before the return of
the Admiral are, in the absence of a sufficient excuse, severely dealt with by the
Shaikh to whose jurisdiction they belong. A boat which returned to Kuwait
prematurely in September 1905 was at once sent back to the fishery. Most crews,
however, pay one or more brief visits to port in the course of the season to see their
families, to take in provisions and to clear off the barnacles which have collected
on the sides of the boats; in Bahrain one such interval is simultaneously observed
by all boats, under the name of SaifTyah.
Division of profits in the pearl fishery on the Arabian side.*
On return from the banks the Nakhuda, if financed by a Musaqqam, is bound
to hand over to his creditor the whole take of pearls, and all the shells brought
home, at a rate previously arranged which varies from 15 to 20 per cent, below
market value. This discount of 15 to 20 per cent, constitutes, in the case supposed,
the profit of the Musaqqam; and the price of 80 to 85 per cent, of value paid by
the Musaqqam is divided among the owner, Nakhuda, and crew of the boat. The
Nakhuda is not however precluded from disposing of the pearls and shells to a
third party, provided that the price he obtains will enable him to discharge his
obligations to the Musaqqam, and that the Musaqqam is himself not willing to
give so much; and, as in practice the Musaqqim is generally unwilling or afraid
to bid against the Tajir or professional pearl merchant, the Nakhuda frequently
sells to a merchant. In the division of what remains after the claims of the
Musaqqam, if any, have been satisfied, the owner of the boat receives one-fifth of
the whole; the cost of the rations supplied to the crew during the season is next
deducted for repayment to the person by whom it was advanced; and the balance
is then divided up among the operatives, the Nakhuda and each Ghais or diver
receiving 3 shares, each Saib or hauler 2, and each Radhif or extra hand 1; the
Walaid or apprentice is not entitled to a share. The Nakhuda, besides command
ing the boat, may also own her, and may himself take part in the work of diving:
in this case he will be remunerated not only as a Nakhuda, but also as an owner
and a diver in addition.
Financial regulations of the pearl fishery on the Arabian side.
Pearling operations having been carried on in the past very largely with
borrowed capital and being still to a considerable extent so financed, it is not
surprising to find that the industry is governed by stringent customs as to debt,
which have the force of law and are steadily enforced by local tribunals.
To make the situation intelligible it should be explained that many Nakhudas,
especially those who are not owners of boats, owe more than they can pay to their
Musaqqams on account of the expenses of fitting out and provisioning their vessels
and of retaining the services of capable divers by giving them money advances; also
that even those Nakhudas who are Khali or free from debt are often in a precarious
* Here we give only the rules for a Khalawi or ordinary boat; but there is a specially organised
boat called 'Amil, in which the rule of distribution is different. See Annexure No. 6 under " Dibai."