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Marsh Arabs
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The Marsh Arabs (Arabic,عرب الأهوار Arabs of Al-ahwar ) are the inhabitants of the lowlands of southern Iraq, the former Mesopotamia, whose families have lived in the area for hundreds of years.[citation needed] The marshlands, known as the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh, had for some time been considered a refuge for elements persecuted by the Saddam government, and, in centuries past, a refuge for escaped slaves and serfs.
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Traditionally, the society of the Marsh Arabs is based on occupation split into two groups. The group known as the Ma'dan breed and raise buffalo, while the majority cultivate crops such as rice, barley, wheat and pearl millet and some sheep and cattle. More recently a third main occupation has entered Marsh Arab life; the weaving of reeds on a commercial scale. Long used for personal use, reed mats have recently become a commercial commodity all across southern Iraq. Though often paying far more than the agriculture, weavers are looked down upon by both Ma'dan and farmers alike, though financial concerns mean that gradually it is gaining acceptance as a respectable profession.
As with most tribes of southern Iraq, the sheik of a Marsh Arab group will collect a tribute from his tribesmen in order to maintain the mudhif, the tribal guesthouse which acts as the political, social, judicial and religious centre of Marsh Arabic life. The mudhif is used as a place to settle disputes, carry out diplomacy with other tribes and the gathering point for religious celebrations and prayer. It is also the place where visitors are offered hospitality. Most Marsh Arabs are Shia Muslims. Most Marsh Arabs live in a Raba, an arched reed structure that is smaller then a mudhif. the typical ruba was usually a little more than 2 meters wide, about 6 meters long, and a little less then 3 meters high. A raba had an entrance at both sides with a screen in the middle. one side was used as a dwelling the other side was used to put animals in bad weather.
After the First Gulf War (1991) Saddam Hussein aggressively revived a program to divert the flow of the Tigris River and the Euphrates River away from the marshes in retribution for a failed Shia uprising. This was done primarily to eliminate the food source(s) of the Marsh Arabs. The plan also systematically converted the wetlands into a desert, forcing the Marsh Arabs out of their settlements in the region. With the ending of a four year drought in 2003, and the breaching of dykes by local communities, the process has been reversed and the marshes have experienced a substantial rate of recovery. The permanent wetlands now cover more than 50% of 1970s levels[1]
The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and subsequent coalition and Iraqi efforts to restore the marshes have led to signs of their gradual revivification as water is restored to the former desert, but the ecosystem may take far longer to restore than it took to destroy. Only a few thousand of the nearly half million original inhabitants remain. Most of the rest that can be accounted for are refugees living in other Shia areas in Iraq, or have emigrated to Iran.
The way of life of the Marsh Arabs was chronicled by Sir Wilfred Thesiger in his classic book The Marsh Arabs (1964). Thesiger lived with the Marsh Arabs for months at a time over a seven-year period (1951-1958), building excellent relationships with virtually all he met, and recording the details of day-to-day life in various regions of the marshes. Many of the areas that he visited have since been drained.
Gavin Maxwell, the Scottish naturalist, travelled with Thesiger through the marshes in 1956 and published an account of their travels in his classic 1957 book 'A Reed Shaken by the Wind'.
Some scholars have theorized about possible historical link between the Marsh Arabs and the ancient Sumerians. Recent DNA (Y chromosome) studies conducted by the National Geographic Magazine on the bones of ancient Babylonians and living people from Babil have shown that the modern peoples carry the same ancient Babylonian genetic material.[2]
- ^ [1] (UNEP)
- ^ McCurry, Steve (2005-02-20). History: Mesopotamia. National Geographic.
- ^ Ecology of Fresh Waters: Man and Medium, Past to Future By Brian Moss via Google Books; The Marshes of Southern Iraq and the Marsh Arabs: Ecocide and Genocide by Hamid K. Ahmed; [2]; TED Case Studies: Marsh Arabs from the American University; Eden Again by Bryant Furlow of University of California Davis Magazine.; The Marsh Arabs: A Unique Way of Life by Aisha El-Awady; http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=May&x=20030508152718rellufj0.7209436 Natsios Says Iraqis Must Have a Part in Marshland Restoration: USAID head calls damaged marshlands an issue that will not go away] from US State Department; Article from Baltimore Reporter; Article from National Review; Article from University of Pennsylvania; Article from Voice of America; Transcript from a CNN program; Article from The New York Times; Transcript of a symposium held during the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Article from National Geographic Magazine; Environmental Security and Environmental Management: The Role of Risk Assessment By Benoit Morel and Igor Linkovvia Google Books
- Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh
- Edward Bawden
- Iranian Arabs, for related groups in Khuzestan Province
- ^ [3] (UNEP)
- ^ McCurry, Steve (2005-02-20). History: Mesopotamia. National Geographic.
- ^ Ecology of Fresh Waters: Man and Medium, Past to Future By Brian Moss via Google Books; The Marshes of Southern Iraq and the Marsh Arabs: Ecocide and Genocide by Hamid K. Ahmed; [4]; TED Case Studies: Marsh Arabs from the American University; Eden Again by Bryant Furlow of University of California Davis Magazine.; The Marsh Arabs: A Unique Way of Life by Aisha El-Awady; http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=May&x=20030508152718rellufj0.7209436 Natsios Says Iraqis Must Have a Part in Marshland Restoration: USAID head calls damaged marshlands an issue that will not go away] from US State Department; Article from Baltimore Reporter; Article from National Review; Article from University of Pennsylvania; Article from Voice of America; Transcript from a CNN program; Article from The New York Times; Transcript of a symposium held during the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Article from National Geographic Magazine; Environmental Security and Environmental Management: The Role of Risk Assessment By Benoit Morel and Igor Linkovvia Google Books
- The Marsh Arabs (BBC)
- An article on the ancient and recent history of the Marsh Arabs at Laputan Logic (Part II)
- Life on the Edge of the Marshes: A twenty year long ethnographic study conducted by Edward Ochsenschlager. As well as documenting the traditional way of life of the Marsh Arabs, it also made comparisons with ancient Sumerian cultural practices.
- AMAR International Charitable Foundation ("Assisting Marsh Arabs and Refugees")