Nautical Research Journal
sterns painted with elaborate carvings, and some were inscribed with the Quran. T e symbolic eyes were also sometimes carved on the stem head to allow the vessel to see ahead. Awnings had hand- stitched reinforcement and occasionally some religious decoration.
Commodities and trade routes 5. A ghanja off Bombay. Wikimedia Commons.
T e monsoon was the heart of the dhow, which was the body of Indian Ocean trade. T e seasonal winds not only determined the time of year of sailing permission of the vessels but also the commodities of one route having one or another route. In the GCC region, the dhow routes (1750- 1900) were connecting the Sindh region, Gujarat, and the Gulf to East Africa in the past and their cargos nourished the regional economy and that of the world.
accommodated in the open area on deck • Cargo holds:
Beneath the deck, there were holding decks that were not partitioned, and space was used to the fullest capacity to house bulk products, for example, rice, ivory tusks, or date baskets.
• Steering gear:
Dhows used huge wooden tillers that fastened on the rudder head that might need more than one man in the heavy seas.
• Anchors:
Conventionally, they used anchors whose weight was made up of stones; the arms were made of wood. By the nineteenth century Bombay iron and Muscat iron workshops had become producers of more typical anchors.
Ornamentation and Identity
Dhows were not just fl exible cargo vessels; they were cultural property. Baghalas and ghanjas had their
T e monsoon system
• Southwest Monsoon (May-September): T is included winds that were from Africa in direction to India, which allowed traveling eastwards between Zanzibar, Mombasa, and Muscat to Bombay, Mandvi, and Karachi.
• Northeast Monsoon (November-March): Winds turned and all the vessels loaded with Indian rice, cloth, and grain were sailing towards Arabia and East Africa.
• Inter-monsoon Periods: April and October were transitional months that would invariably compel ships to stay at anchor, making the port markets extremely busy at such breaks and resulting in the exchange of culture.
Principal routes Oman and the Gulf to Indus and Gujarat
• Ports: Karachi, Mandvi, Surat-Muscat, Sur, Basra
• Imports shipments: rice, wheat, ghee, textiles, and timber
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