Qataris in the time of pearls
Before the discovery of oil, the tribal communities had developed an original mode of economic association that allowed them to contribute to the two main sectors of activity: nomadic pastoralism and the pearl trade. The musaqqamin creditors financed most of the nuwahdah, boat captains, owners or not, servants of sheikhs or wealthy men, most of whom were towas pearl sellers. The nuwahdah had to advance part of the salary to the fishermen's families in addition to food during the whole fishing season - 4 months and 10 days. A child was first a tabbab, then an apprentice(hatif), then a diver(gaiys) or finally a puller(seb). A high proportion of slaves participated in the diving as well as musicians, who gave rhythm to the work on board. The pearl collecting season(al gaus) was divided into 3 main periods: Hansiyah, starting in mid-April and lasting 40 days, in a still cold sea that forced fishing in shallow waters; Gaus al kebir, from the end of May to the first ten days of September, a period of intense activity, from sunrise to sunset with 3-minute intervals between each dive and ascent, with 2 hours devoted to the opening of the oysters(iflqunn); Raddah, from the last days of September to the first two weeks of October.
A way of life inhabited by tradition
The present indigenous population of about 200,000 people is descended from nomadic Bedouin pastoralists, who were also pearl fishermen, and their slaves. These peoples were divided into clans and tribes, themselves subdivided into numerous sub-branches. For many centuries, the tribe or clan was the main basic element in society. This is still the case today. Hereditary power is therefore inseparable from the social and political fabric of the emirate and the state as a whole, to the extent that the ruling family and the government are almost indistinguishable. Qataris naturally own the land, with the state organizing the distribution of plots. In life, the Qatari dress is traditional: he wears an immaculate and always ironed Thobe, with sometimes the braided Tarbosha tie. On his head, the small crocheted Tagiyah cap allows the good positioning of the white Ghutra veil surrounded by the black woolen Aagal cord. On her feet, the Na'aal, open sandals with thick soles. For special occasions, and if his social status allows it, he wears the black, beige or gray Besht over-tunic, with a neckline embroidered with fine gold
An extreme diversity of populations
The population of Qatar has always been Arab, firstly because of the country's geographical location (part of the Arabian Peninsula) but also because of the origin of its first inhabitants. The majority of them belonged to tribes from the neighboring regions of Saudi Arabia (Naj and Al Hasa) or the Sultanate of Oman. Waves of immigration followed one another in the 17th and 18th centuries and did not stop until the beginning of the 19th century. The descendants of slaves are now an integral part of the population. Today Qatar has a population of nearly 2.8 million, growing at a rate of nearly 5% per year, the highest in the world. The population is predominantly male (75%) and concentrated mainly in the cities, especially the capital, Doha (about 85%). Qatar is developing rapidly and is increasingly looking for foreign workers, first from the Indian subcontinent and East Asia, then from the Arab world (Egyptians, Syrians and North Africans), and finally - and less and less - from Western countries. Along with Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Qatar is undoubtedly one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan territories in the world! The meteoric development of the major metropolises is accompanied by a growing need for manpower, and at the same time attracts a large number of capital and investors, seduced by the potential of gas. Overall, two-thirds of immigrant workers come from the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bangladesh, etc.) and nearby countries (Arabian Peninsula, Maghreb, Iran, Lebanon, Afghanistan, etc.). The others, executives, are Western expatriates, mostly Anglo-Saxons. The latter, just behind the Qataris, represent the most privileged strata of the population, with high salaries, granted by large companies in their countries of origin or Qatari companies.
Do you speak globish ?
Arabic is the official language, the language of law, since all administrative and legal documents are written in Arabic. However, English is spoken and understood almost everywhere in the city. It is the language of business, shopping and tourism. Road signs are written in both Arabic and English, as are a multitude of other signs, brochures and documents. A globish English where all the accents of the Commonwealth, the French who do what they can, and the Americans are mixed together. As many foreigners come from Asia and the Indian subcontinent, Hindi, Baluchi and Urdu are also commonly spoken. Arabic is a Semitic language that is written and read from right to left. The alphabet consists of 29 letters. Depending on their place in the word, these letters can take more or less different forms. Vocables are built from a root composed exclusively of consonants, onto which are grafted a set of vowels bringing meaning to the root. It is important to distinguish between classical or literal Arabic and dialectal Arabic. The first is written Arabic: it is the language of the poets of central Arabia in the 6th century and of the Koran (the reference of the Arabic language, at the origin of its codification and diffusion). Any literate Arab understands it. Dialectal Arabic is the spoken Arabic and differs according to regions and countries. Here, it is called Khaleeji.
