Jahazi
The word jahazi is Swahili for an ocean going vessel with sails.
The iconic triangular lateen sails of dhows (also called jahazi's on the East coast of Africa) cruising along the East African coast is a wonderful sight to see, one that has changed little over the last 2,000 years (figure 1). These boats, their builders and sailors made a huge impression on me. It is almost unimaginable that one can build a boat out of raw tree stems and branches and sail the open sea with hand made cotton sails.
The origin of the word jahazi is the Arabic word for 'ship' in both Persian (jahāz), and Hindi (ğahāz).
The early form of the Swahili language probably emerged around the Lamu Archipelago, Kenya, by 800 AD. Arabic speaking Persian sailors called in at the coast of East Africa for ivory and slaves. Between trading voyages, many of these sailors took wives in East Africa. The children learnt the language of their mothers and borrowed words from their father's languages. The new language that emerged was called Swahili (or Kiswahili) from the Arabic word “Sahil”, meaning coast. These sailors used ships similar to the dhows seen along the East African coast today.
The iconic triangular lateen sails of dhows (also called jahazi's on the East coast of Africa) cruising along the East African coast is a wonderful sight to see, one that has changed little over the last 2,000 years (figure 1). These boats, their builders and sailors made a huge impression on me. It is almost unimaginable that one can build a boat out of raw tree stems and branches and sail the open sea with hand made cotton sails.
The origin of the word jahazi is the Arabic word for 'ship' in both Persian (jahāz), and Hindi (ğahāz).
The early form of the Swahili language probably emerged around the Lamu Archipelago, Kenya, by 800 AD. Arabic speaking Persian sailors called in at the coast of East Africa for ivory and slaves. Between trading voyages, many of these sailors took wives in East Africa. The children learnt the language of their mothers and borrowed words from their father's languages. The new language that emerged was called Swahili (or Kiswahili) from the Arabic word “Sahil”, meaning coast. These sailors used ships similar to the dhows seen along the East African coast today.
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| Figure 1 |
Traditional dhows with a pointed bow and square stern, built from planks of wood being nailed and bound together by various methods, has its origins in Oman.One theory on the origin of the design is said to come from the skeleton of a whale, with the backbone as the keel and the ribs forming the skeletal structure on which the wooden planking of the hull is fixed. With the frame of the hull complete, boat-builders fix more planks to form the decking.
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| Figure 2. Backbone |
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| Figure 3. Ribs |
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| Figure 4. Planking |
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| Look at the piece of wood the stem was made of |
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| The wood they use. |
Other influences on the design of these boats come from seafaring nations further afield, such as the square stern of the dhows, similar to the Portuguese galleons that bought explorers such as Vasco da Gama to the Swahili Coast in the 16th century.
Due to the seaworthiness of the vessel, availability of materials, the ease of maintenance, and the efficiency of the lateen sail, construction and use of these boats has spread throughout the Indian Ocean.
The dhows have different names according to their size and function. The Masuha, is an open vessels used for cargo transport, passenger transport and fishing. The Jahazi, the grand dhow of the Indian Ocean, is a decked cruiser-like boat that is weighing as much as 30 tons and capable of crossing thousands of miles of open ocean.
The dhows have different names according to their size and function. The Masuha, is an open vessels used for cargo transport, passenger transport and fishing. The Jahazi, the grand dhow of the Indian Ocean, is a decked cruiser-like boat that is weighing as much as 30 tons and capable of crossing thousands of miles of open ocean.
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| A typical Jahazi |
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