Vol. 71, No.1 Spring 2026 58


3. A boom under sail. Courtesy of Apodiksi.


preferred sambuks and ghanjas, middle-class ships that were much more appropriate for date trade and pearl trade. Sur also taught generations of master builders who did not operate on plans but accessed knowledge orally, so that construction depended on the action, apprenticeship and experience.


3 - Zanzibar and East Africa:


T e trading dhows used to bring and buy imports in East Africa were mainly imported from Gujarat and Oman, although others, like mashuas, were made locally. T ey were necessary in inter-island exchange and transporting spices, ivory, and slaves along the Swahili coast. Zanzibar developed under the rule of Sultan Seyyid Said in the nineteenth century, boosting the demand on the imported as well as the locally adapted types of dhows.


Types of Dhows


• Baghala: Large, deep-hulled vessels, up to two hundred tons in size, were used for all-purpose, long- distance journeys between India and the Gulf or East Africa. T ey can be identifi ed by their high-quality carved sterns that were very ornate.


• Boom (or bum): T e most adaptable dhow was known as a boom (or bum) and had a variety of capacities from twenty to three hundred tons. Its hull and rigging were in equal measure, and it was good in both the coast and deep-sea journey.


• Sambuk: T e sambuk was smooth and swiſt and ruled the pearl panthers in the Gulf. Its cut stem and lines were mythical to sight.


• Ghanja: T is was the same size as the baghala except the galleries are raked; the quarters were decorated.


• Mashua and Jalibut: High-performance smaller craſt necessary for short-haul coastal trade and fi shing. Both types were compromises in speed, cargo carrying, and building eff ort.


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