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'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part II. J G Lorimer. 1915' [‎2231] (748/1262)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (1165 pages). It was created in 1915. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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2231
v as 50 plunges in a day if the weather is favourable^ but only 10 or
oTjf ^ W ater is cold. It is rarely that a diver is attacked by a shark
Tariur or dogfish (Kalb-al-Bahr j.^1 ) ; but in 1900 an
1 sual number of sharks made their appearance off the banks and
Ttacked nearly 30 divers, two of whom were killed under water, while
others were rescued in a precarious condition. The diver sometimes
suffers from the stings of the devil-fish or Hammah ^ , and when
^ er e are many of these about he wears a long white shirt to protect
him from their embraces. The exertion of diving is greatly increased
by the existence of a current, and, where currents prevail, the diver is
frequently floated away to a distance from the boat, and comes up
much exhausted ; in such places a long rope is allowed to trail i^m
boat ; to which the Ghais can swim on reaching the surface and be hauled
N in by the Saib.
Here it may be mentioned that the occupation of ^ diving, though a
severe form of labour and fatiguing at the time, is not considered by
those engaged in it to be particularly injurious to the health, and that
it is practised even by old men ; on the other hand, it undoubtedly gives
rise, in some case 5 ', to diseases of the respiratory system and to deafness.
A common ailment among divers is a skin disease, to guard against
thich those who are liable to it occasionally rub themselves before g 0 iug
to sleep with a decoction, called Jaft , from the inner shell or t e
Persian acorn.* Senna leaves and a few other common drugs are carried
by pearling boats; but, in case of serious illness, recourse is genera y
had, whatever the nature of the symptoms, to actual cautery with a hot
<1
iron.
Social life, customs and discipline on the Arabian pearl banks.
Social life on the banks is confined to the hours of the evening, w ^en
the Nakhudas and their crews visit friendly boats to enjoy co ee ' wa . er
cakes and tobacco, and to compare notes of their proceedings. During
UlliCB auu LUUclCUU, ana tu Xiuuco v-^ r -r 1 1 .C 44. 1 rvf
the season a small bazaar is formed on Dalmah Island tor e sa e o
supplies, and Taw washes or petty dealers and Musaqqams come ere
to buy pearls and recover debts.
* Dr. S. J. Thorns, M.D., of the American Mission Hospital, PahraiD, writes t—
" It has been my observation that pearl-divers are prone to disease o ® ^ ^
system that may be caused by over-distention of the a S ,. ' r
hffimorrbage and pulmonary emphysema, also to deafness froni P ei ? , , ,
ear«drum, and to various forms of aural catarrh ; but, with the method
divers here, not to " paralysis and cramp". In six years of ? x P eil ® nce ,. amone
^t seen a case of paralysis due to diving. There is a peculiar skin , fishermen
^ers and all classes that spend most of their lives in the sea such as the tisherm
and boatmen. The skin takes on a glazed appearance and breaks
postules which generally heal in a few weeks without treatment if they ao noi g
into the salt water during this time, but I have never fotind a trea .
enced the disease perceptibly where the patient pursued 0 ccuP a ^jn the sei
water. I believe the divers do use the decoction mentioned (Jaft) son ^ ,' |-^| e
difficult to say of how much value it is as a prophylactic^ but it s^msto have little,
if any, curative effect when the disease is once established .

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Content

This volume is Volume I, Part II (Historical) of the Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , ’Omān and Central Arabia (Government of India: 1915), compiled by John Gordon Lorimer and completed for press by Captain L Birdwood.

Part II contains an 'Introduction' (pages i-iii) written by Birdwood in Simla, dated 10 October 1914, 'Table of Chapters, Annexures, Appendices and Genealogical Tables' (pags v-viii), and 'Detailed Table of Contents' (ix-cxxx). These are also found in Volume I, Part IA of the Gazetteer (IOR/L/PS/20/C91/1).

Part II consists of three chapters:

  • 'Chapter X. History of ’Arabistān' (pages 1625-1775);
  • 'Chapter XI. History of the Persian Coast and Islands' (pages 1776-2149);
  • 'Chapter XII. History of Persian Makrān' (pages 2150-2203).

The chapters are followed by nineteen appendices:

Extent and format
1 volume (1165 pages)
Arrangement

Volume I, Part II is arranged into chapters that are sub-divided into numbered periods covering, for example, the reign of a ruler or regime of a Viceroy, or are arbitrarily based on outstanding land-marks in the history of the region. Each period has been sub-divided into subject headings, each of which has been lettered. The appendices are sub-divided into lettered subject headings and also contain numbered annexures, as well as charts. Both the chapters and appendices have further subject headings that appear in the right and left margins of the page. Footnotes appear occasionally througout the volume at the bottom of the page which provide further details and references. A 'Detailed Table of Contents' for Part II and the Appendices is on pages cii-cxxx.

Physical characteristics

The foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the first folio with text, on number 879, and ends on the last folio with text, on number 1503.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf. Vol I. Historical. Part II. J G Lorimer. 1915' [‎2231] (748/1262), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C91/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023514763.0x000092> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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