The Sports Path Not Taken: Pearl Diving Heritage and Cosmopolitanism from Below

ABSTRACT

In contrast to camel and horse racing as well as falconry, pearl diving has not been transformed into a popular heritage sport in the countries of the Arab Gulf. One reason for this striking disinterest is that the actual practice of pearling was undertaken by impoverished and exploited workers, and this is no longer compatible with the new prevailing, self-assertive ‘tribal modern’ of the Arab Gulf.

KEYWORDS:

• Pearl diving
• Persian Gulf
• Arab Gulf
• tribal modern
• heritage sports
• cosmopolitanism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The most prominent structure, the pearl monument in Manama that had functioned as an Arab Spring rallying point for mainly Shiite Bahrainis, was destroyed in 2011 (Alraouf 2013, 92).

2. https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/07/04/2018/Khor-Al-Udaid-wins-pearl-diving-championship; https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/07/03/2017/Registration-for-pearl-diving-and-fishing-competitions-to-continue-till-March-end, both accessed 22 December 2019.

3. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/i364/. Accessed 7 July 2018.

4. For impressive photographs and descriptions see Carter (2012) ‘The Dive’.

5. In addition to that, the diving season ‘was fueled by the East African slave trade’ (Willis 2016, 38). However, according to Islamic law, a Muslim may not be enslaved.

6. See Al-Shamlan’s (1975/2000, 151–163) discussion of films on pearl diving from the years 1939 up to 1971.

7. https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/falconrv-a-living-huiTian-heritage-01209. Accessed 15 July 2018.

8. http://www.dhowdinnercruisesdubai.com/blog/take-a-step-back-in-time-with-a-pearl-diving-tour-in-United Arab Emirates-withdhow-cruises-dubai/. Accessed 11 July 2018.

9. https://www.timeoutabudhabi.com/sportandoutdoor/features/68448-pearl-diving-in-abu-dhabi. Accessed 11 July 2018.

10. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/bahrain-grand-prix/pearl-diving/. Accessed 15 July 2018.

11. https://www.redbull.com/mea-en/diving-the-pearl-of-the-gulf. Accessed 15 July 2018.

12. http://www.hurrivetdailvnews.com/worlds-pearls-to-be-exhibited-in-istanbul.aspx?pageID=238&nID=89913&NewsCatID=385. Accessed 16 October 2015.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partly supported by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF).