Dhow Culture
No visitor to Zanzibar can fail to be enchanted by the wonderfully photogenic wooden sailing boats that glide gently through the waves, silhouetted against every evening’s sunset. What the casual observer may not realize is that these boats – collectively known as dhows – have a history going back to ancient times. 
In the heyday of the Swahili civilization, the merchants who plied their trade to and fro across the Indian Ocean between the coasts of India and Africa did so in their famous "sewn boats." The hulls of these vessels were made of planks of coconut wood sewn together with coarse fibres rather than attached with metal nails. One explanation for this unusual way of building ships was that the sailors believed powerful magnets in the sea would pull out the iron nails or even draw the whole ship to the bottom of the ocean.
Other, more practical explanations suggest that sailors thought iron nails would rust too quickly in the salty sea. But the truth is likely to be more prosaic – sewn vessels were more pliable and less likely to break up if they hit the coral reefs which ring the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean. Some of these ships weighed as much as 40 or 50 tons, and their hold carried unimaginably lavish cargos of ivory, gold, spices, silks and slaves.
The distinctive lateen sails of the dhow differed both from the European and Chinese models, and were originally made from palm leaves.The building of a new dhow was – and to some extent is – a grand event. The process of building a large dhow could take years and required the skill of a master craftsman.
When the dhow was ready to be launched, an imam arrived to preside over the ceremony and recite verses from the Koran at a feast attended by the whole village. Talismans and charms were hung from the prow to foil the evil spirits that lurked in the sea, ready to drag a shop down to their lairs.
The dhow building continues to be a revered art form in Zanzibar today, passed down through generations from father to son. Dhow craftsmen can be visited at their beachside workshops in Marahubi and Nungwi where these massive cargo ships are constructed. |
Story By: Nina Springle |
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