Is there such a thing as dhow culture? The term ‘dhow’ is one covering a multitude of ship types present in the Indian Ocean. There is much debate about the ethics of using such a term, but nevertheless, there appears to be a shared maritime tradition in the Indian Ocean. The question remains-- is there a specific dhow culture? Are there multiple dhow cultures? How do ruling bodies and their locals construct such cultures? To answer these questions, this paper examines a variety of films about maritime tradition in the Gulf and Indian Ocean. This paper explores the tension between government-constructed heritage and documentary heritage to answer the question: Is there a dhow culture?
To first answer questions concerning dhow culture, one must confront issues of heritage. I begin with comparing an Abu Dhabi Tourism film (UAE, 2017) against Between Two Banks (1997), a documentary about Dubai Creek and boating culture there.
A dhow in the Dubai Creek
The selected Abu Dhabi Tourism advertisement is played on Etihad flights for passengers landing in Abu Dhabi. The audience is foreigners and not UAE nationals. Because the film’s goal is to increase tourism, there is a degree of heritage construction regarding dhow culture. The UAE government utilizes heritage as a selling point for its tourist locations. In the middle of the film, two boys run around in a sandy courtyard and touch their palms to the windows of a modern villa. The voice-over states, “they built forts against time.” This introduces a tension between the UAE’s modernity and preservation of culture. While presenting viewers with a plethora of contemporary constructions-- villas, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and Yas Water World-- the video insists on an older heritage. These images are balanced with the more humble shots of dhows off the coast of Abu Dhabi’s corniche. The effect of this, as stated earlier, is proving that the UAE is built on a centuries-long heritage. For tourists, the UAE is the perfect balance between authentic and modernizing. For passengers on Etihad flights, it is the ideal tourism spot. While aspects of heritage are exaggerated, dhow culture does exist in Abu Dhabi. The Mina fish market and port is exemplary of this. Each day, fishermen dock their dhows in the port and fish are auctioned off to their respective vendors. There are even dhow restaurants in which tourists and locals are driven around the corniche and local bodies of water to enjoy dinners. With this, the ad recognizes the existence of a dhow culture, but fails to explore its nuances (the vast maritime tradition throughout the Indian Ocean, a heritage separate from tourism). Dhows are simply another thing to experience in the UAE, and they are only given little time within the video.
A still from Between the Two Banks
A counterargument to this heritage construction emerges in the film Between the Two Banks (2017). This film follows an alternative documentary structure, meaning there is no goal to ‘sell’ the UAE as a prime location for tourism. It chooses to focus on a man’s own experience with his maritime heritage in the Dubai Creek. On the other hand, the tourism advertisement and other films including Hamad and the Pirates are fictitious accounts that exaggerate certain aspects of heritage for various purposes (entertainment, tourism). Although it is true that Between the Two Banks does not attempt to sell anything, it is clear that the filmmaker wants to emphasize a certain type of authentic heritage. This is a heritage that is genuinely passing away, while the UAE government pushes an alternative cultural narrative. The film’s main subject, Khamees Marzouq, exemplifies this when he states “I’m still holding onto it [dhow culture] like a drowning man.” This story diverges away from the advertisment’s trope-like narrative in a few ways. First, it explores the various aspects of dhow culture that cannot be presented in a tourism advertisement. For example, Khamees lightly touches on the vast trade networks that aided in the creation of dhow culture. He elaborates on the past use of the rowboats for carrying goods across the Dubai Creek to various vendors, while simultaneously discussing his own migration to the Gulf from Africa. In many ways, his personal journey mimics hundreds of years of maritime exchange. Later, Khamees recognizes the generational aspect of seafaring when he discusses his father’s own pearl diving practice. In this section, the film emphasizes specificities in the pearl diving practice-- group divisions, dhow visualizations, and obstacles faced. In conclusion, there is a larger recognition of trade, economy, migration, and generational influences on the development of a dhow culture in the Indian Ocean.
Abras in the Dubai Creek
Second, Khamees refers to an alternative heritage construction spearheaded by the UAE government. This occurs in the second half of the film when Khamees focuses on the tension between his rowboat business and the introduction of motorized abras. When the UAE introduced these ships, Khamees was essentially put out of business. He states, “There is no use complaining to the Municipality because they are the ones who are responsible for bringing them to our wharf.” Here, viewers view the death of an older maritime practice that was preceded by the UAE’s pearl diving era. The abras represent a modernizing transition towards the UAE’s goals to capitalize on dhow culture by constructing heritage narratives that inspire touristic activity. This paper refers to Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) for evidence. On the page about abras, there is a short introductory note stating, “Take a ride on the Dubai Abra, the city’s most traditional mode of transport. For centuries, it has remained one of Dubai’s most frequented modes of transport, making it the symbol of the city’s history and heritage.” Additionally, abras are featured on many tourism websites as one of the “things to do” in Dubai. Riding across the Creek and learning of the old Emirati pearl-diving trade is often part of tours through the Gold Souk. From this, we can gather a few things. First, it is clear that the RTA is constructing a certain heritage around abra culture in the Dubai Creek. The transport authority emphasizes the amount of time abras have occupied the Dubai Creek, and perhaps exaggerates this to validate their historical value. For the RTA, and Dubai tourists, riding on the abras is similar to teleporting back into time and the boating traditions of Old Dubai. Second, it is clear that while sacrificing authentic heritages, the UAE government feels an obligation to retain the past. This is accomplished through the creation of symbols such as the abras that feel authentic, but unfortunately, like the Etihad advertisement, do not reveal the entire story. Between the Two Banks deconstructs these exaggerated heritage constructions, and therefore presents a more accurate, although biased, view of the Creek’s history.
From this discussion, is it apparent that a dhow culture exists in the Indian Ocean? It is difficult to draw the conclusion that one, specific dhow culture exists. However, it is clear through looking at films made in the Gulf that filmmakers, governments, and corporations engage in heritage construction. Meaning, these parties present a multiplicity of dhow cultures in hopes of achieving certain things-- increasing tourism or presenting a nostalgic past. The Etihad advertisement and RTA website present an exaggerated, romantic heritage that increases tourism and economic gain. On the other hand, Between the Two Banks, although biased through its nostalgic lens, presents an increasingly accurate account of what With this, it is clear that a sense of maritime culture remains within the Gulf. Then, the real question is-- what dhow culture is presented and for what purposes?