The Marsh Arabs“Five thousand years of history were here and the pattern was still unchanged.” During the years he spent among the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq, Wilfred Thesiger came to understand, admire and share a way of life that had endured for many centuries. Travelling from village to village by canoe, he won acceptance by dispensing medicines and treating the sick. In this account of his time there, he pays tribute to the hospitality, loyalty, courage and endurance of the people, describes their impressive reed houses, the waterways and lakes teeming with wildlife, the herding of buffalo and hunting of wild boar, moments of tragedy and moments of pure comedy, all in vivid, engaging detail. Untouched by the modern world until recently, these independent people, their way of life and their surroundings suffered widespread destruction under the regime of Saddam Hussein. Wilfred Thesiger's magnificent account of his time spent among them is a moving testament to their now threatened culture and the landscape they inhabit. |
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Page 12
... Muhammad al Khalifa Majid's brother . Lived at Majar Abbas Hamud al Khalifa Hatab Dair Abd ar Ridha Sadam bin Talal ... Muhammad's son Majid's brother . Lived at Majar Hamud's son . Lived on the Wadiya Falih's retainer and canoeman ...
... Muhammad al Khalifa Majid's brother . Lived at Majar Abbas Hamud al Khalifa Hatab Dair Abd ar Ridha Sadam bin Talal ... Muhammad's son Majid's brother . Lived at Majar Hamud's son . Lived on the Wadiya Falih's retainer and canoeman ...
Page 25
... Muhammad tribe , that num- bers 25,000 fighting men . I was hoping to spend some months in the Marshes , and Dugald Stewart had told me that Falih would be the best person to help me . Squatting uncomfortably in the bottom of the canoe ...
... Muhammad tribe , that num- bers 25,000 fighting men . I was hoping to spend some months in the Marshes , and Dugald Stewart had told me that Falih would be the best person to help me . Squatting uncomfortably in the bottom of the canoe ...
Page 31
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Contents
| 1 | |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 19 | |
| 24 | |
Hunting Wild Boar | 34 |
Arrival at Qabab | 44 |
First Impressions of the Madan | 52 |
Feuds in the Marshes | 117 |
Return to Qabab | 123 |
Falih Bin Majid | 132 |
Falihs Death | 141 |
The Mourning Ceremony | 149 |
The Eastern Marshes | 155 |
Among the Sudan and the Suaid | 164 |
Amaras Family | 172 |
In Sadams Guest House | 58 |
Bu Mughaifat A Marsh Village | 67 |
Crossing the Central Marshes | 78 |
In the Heart of the Marshes | 88 |
The Historical Background | 94 |
Winning Acceptance | 102 |
Among the Fartus | 111 |
1954 The Flood | 182 |
1955 The Drought | 193 |
Berbera and Mudhifs | 200 |
Amaras Blood Feud | 209 |
My Last Year in the Marshes | 215 |
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Common terms and phrases
Al bu Amara Arabs arrived asked Baghdad bank Basra beside blood boat brother brought buffaloes built called canoe carried child coffee covered cultivators dark edge Euphrates eyes face Falih father feet fire fish floods followed four front gave give gone guest half hand Hasan head heard hundred Iraq island killed land later leave lived looked Madan Majid Marshes mats miles months morning moved mudhif Muhammad never night once paddled passed Persian Plate Qabab reached reedbeds reeds remained returned rice rifle river rose round Sadam Sahib Sayid saying sheikh shooting shot side sitting soon stayed stood stopped tarada Tigris told took travelled tribes turned usual village visited waiting walls watched yards Yasin