 |
Women returning home with Mashoof load of reeds |
The media has recently focused on the Mesopotamian marshes and their inhabitants, known as the Marsh Arabs. The reason for all the attention the marshes have been getting lately is the recent attempt to partially restore the drained marshes.
The formerly vast marshes, which originally covered an area between 15,000 and 20,000 square kilometers (5,800 – 7,700 square miles), were ordered to be drained by Saddam Hussein after the first Gulf War in 1991, in an attempt to flush out the Shiites who revolted against him and were hiding in the marshes and as a punishment to the Shiite Marsh Arabs who aided them.
The drainage project diverted water from the Euphrates River that fed the southern half of the marshes, while the northern and eastern parts of the marshes were deprived of water from the Tigris River. Previously the largest wetland in the Middle East, 95 percent of it had disappeared by 2003.
|
|
|
Mudheef from inside
|
The result was devastating for the Marsh Arabs who now had no means of living, their existence being largely dependant on fish and birds living in the marshes which were now gone. The ground was converted to dry, salt-encrusted earth or mud, depriving Iraq of much-needed agricultural land and leaving no place for the water buffalo that the marsh dwellers herded to roam. The reeds from which their homes were built died as well.
With nothing left for them, the Marsh Arabs were forced to leave their and their forefathers’ beloved home and become refugees or internally displaced persons. Tens of thousands escaped to Iran leaving only 50,000 marsh inhabitants by 1993.
The Customs and Traditions
|
|
|
Reed mats are the main building materials in the marshes
|
In 1990, an estimated 300,000 people lived in the Mesopotamian marshlands. Prior to the drainage project, the Marsh Arabs led a distinctive way of life and had a rich and fascinating culture. Also known as the Ma’dan, they are an indigenous people who are believed to partly be the descendants of the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians. Their unique way of life and culture, a 5,000-year-old heritage, was passed on through the ages relatively unchanged.
The culture of the Marsh Arabs is based almost entirely around the modest reed plant, and their society and economy is supported by reed-associated crafts as well as fishing and herding water buffalo.
The large, abundant reeds were used by craftsmen to create many unique and splendid structures. The most magnificent and elaborate type of these was the large and spacious building known as a mudheef (guest house). A mudheef is a large structure with a domed roof that is made of tightly woven reeds; it often needed as many as 100 workers to complete. The mudheefs were protected from the water by a bank of woven reeds that elevated them above the reach of the water and allowed them to be moved if need be. The most fascinating aspect of these mudheefs is their long-standing history. It is known from surviving seals that the ancient Sumerians also built these structures. With the absence of television, telephones, and computers in their lives, the Ma’dan used these mudheefs as the center of their social life. In addition to the construction of the mudheefs, reeds were also used to weave fences, beds, cots, baskets, canoe poles, as well as the reed mats that were an important Iraqi export product.
Agriculture in the marshlands involved mainly the cultivation of paddy rice, millet, and dates. Narrow boats known as mashoofs, steered using long poles, were used to navigate the waterways for transportation and for fishing. Internal trade was an important means of support for the Ma’dan. The marshes also served as a way-station for migratory birds from western Eurasia including pelicans, flamingos, and herons. However, after the drainage project had its effect, all aspects of this rich culture began to suffer.
Bringing the Marshes Back to Life
|
|
|
The marshlands are being brought slowly back to life
|
Now, 12 years after the devastating drainage project, the marshlands are being brought slowly back to life. Iraqi engineers, in an attempt to reverse the damage already done, have redirected the Euphrates River to its original pathway. The dam built by Hussein to divert the river water has been destroyed, allowing the reflooding of the wetlands. However, the flow has not been sufficient due to the presence of new dams and irrigation canals in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria.
The gradually increasing water level in the marshes is giving new hope to the Marsh Arabs, who are eagerly awaiting the return to their previous lifestyle. By June 2004, almost 40 percent of the marshlands had been reflooded.
The marshes are still not fully back to life, though: The reeds are not plentiful enough, the fish are still too small, and the birds that have returned are not those suitable for trapping. But with time the Marsh Arabs hope the revival of their beloved marshes will come to pass.
Sources:
|
