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"Indian pirates had bārijas; smaller boats called zawraq, qārib, and dūnij are also mentioned in medieval texts but no particular shape is indicated. Dau is a generic name for lateen-rigged vessels; the Arabs do not use it.
The basis of classification was the form of the hull. The ships were usually one-masted, often without decks, with a cargo capacity of up to 200 tons. Erecting the mast and the rigging, and even making the sail was the responsibility of the owner nakhūda and the crew rather than the shipwright. The lateen sail associated with Arab ships probably evolved from a square sail on the Indian ocean; its use in the Mediterranean is first noted in the ninth century. African and Indian vessels continued using square sails of coconut matting into the twentieth century. The lateen is a tall, triangular fore-and-aft sail with the fore angle cut off to form a luff [the front edge of a sail]. It allows sailing into the wind by going on the tack, although Arab mariners preferred not to sail closer to the wind than 90°. It is possible that a second sail (topsail) was sometimes used. No reefing was done in strong wind, but the yard could be lowered. Two side rudders were originally used for steering, although by the thirteenth century the stern rudder was known. Sailing speeds averaging 1–3 knots were normal but could reach 6 knots under favorable winds.
The most important person on board ship was the mu‘allim who served both as captain (rubbān) and pilot. He was hired for the voyage and allowed to carry merchandize as part of his pay. The shipmaster (nakhūda) was a merchant; ships were often owned by shareholders. We know Persian terms for eleven ranks of crew members; of these, the most important were the bo’sun (tandīl), the ship’s mate (sarhang), the steersman (sukkān-gīr), and the look-out (panjarī).
Sailors were called khallāsī or khārwah. The captain was responsible not only for navigation but for the safety of passengers and goods as well. Among the necessities he carried were a nautical directory (rahnāmaj), measuring instrument (qiyās), bussole (a very exact compass) (huqqa or dīra), lodestone (hajar), lot (buld) and lantern (fānūs). The pilot’s principal science consisted of knowing the coasts, winds and seasons, and his ship. Before departure, the Muslim prayer, Fātiha, was recited and an invocation was made to Khidr, the mythical patron saint of mariners.
By the sixteenth century, Arabic sailing manuals list over 30 different routes. Navigational books (dafātīr) and charts (suwar) carried on board are mentioned in the tenth century; Ahmad ibn Mājid calls his “chart” qunbās, but no charts have come to light. G.R. Tibbets argues that the Arab pilot plotted his course in his head and did not need a chart; besides, proper charts could not be made because the Arabs had no way of correctly determining longitude at sea. The winds and geography of the Indian Ocean allowed the pilot to be guided roughly by the latitude of his destination (determined by the Pole star altitude). Once that was reached, he sailed down the latitude toward his goal. Another way was to keep to a recommended bearing until land was in sight and then make corrections. Extant Arab maps do not allow practical application to navigation. A Chinese chart based on the Zheng. The expedition shows the routes from China to Hormuz, the Red Sea and Africa, but no measurements can be taken from it.
Charts from Muslim Indian (Gujarati) nautical manuals (roz nāmah) of the seventeenth–eighteenth centuries show some European influence and use stellar compass bearings and Arab units of time-distance. A possibility of Chinese influence has been suggested as well.
Considering that Arab information is already found on early sixteenth century Portuguese maps, it is clear that the sharing of information among mariners created a truly international maritime culture drawing on indigenous and regional traditions and innovations. The Arab system of nautical orientation evolved on the Indian Ocean in the intertropical region, but probably north of the Equator; it may have been representative of all Indian Ocean sailing. It is based on a 32-rhumb (khan) sidereal rose (dīra) divided into eastern and western halves separated by the Polaris (Jāh) in the north and the South Pole (al-Qutb) in the south. The east and west divisions approximate the rising and setting of certain bright stars and constellations (Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, Cassiopeia, Capella, Vega, Arcturus, Pleiades, Altair, Orion, Sirius, Scorpio, Antares, Centaur, Canopus, Achernar). This system may have been in place by the ninth century. The bearings (majrā) were set by the actual stars, visible in the clear skies, not by the mathematically correct rhumbs. The compass was not unknown but rarely used or even carried. Star altitude (qiyās) was measured in units called isba‘ (finger), supposed to correspond to the arc covered by the little finger of an outstretched hand. Its degree value measured 1/2 of the distance from the Polaris to the true pole, and thus varied with precession. In 1394 one isba‘ equalled 1°56′ but in 1550, 1°33′. The full circle of 360° corresponded alternatively to 210 or 224 is.ba‘. Is.ba‘ also measured 1/24 of a cubit. For longitude estimates, one isba‘ equalled 8 zām, each zām corresponding to the distance covered in 3 h of sailing. A variety of other measurements, including something approximating triangulation, were calculated in these units. The altitude of the Polaris was supposed to be taken at its inferior elevation.
The instruments used for measurements included the kamāl, lawh, and bilistī. The kamāl was a rectangle of horn or wood with a string through the middle. It was held against the horizon in an outstretched hand, with the cord held in the teeth by the knot. Knots tied at certain intervals on the cord corresponded to the varying arcs covered by the rectangle. Variations of this instrument included knots tied at intervals corresponding to locations on a set route, a set of boards (lawh) corresponding to different arc values fixed on the cord, and the cord being held to the nose. The bilistī was a later version of the kamāl, with a rod replacing the cord, and four sliders of different sizes; most likely it postdates the Portuguese arrival because its function is essentially that of the balestilha (a nautical instrument of orientation, similar to the astrolabe). By the nineteenth century, the traditional system and the instruments had been largely driven out of use or forgotten, although the name and expertise of Ahmad ibn Mājid were still respectfully remembered. Today’s fiberglass dhows are equipped with motors and navigated with modern charts and instruments."
"See also: ▶Ibn Mājid, ▶al-Mas‘ūdī, ▶Ibn Battūta, ▶Navigation in Africa, ▶Pirī Reis, ▶Geography in the Islamic World, ▶Maps in the Islamic World"
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