de ark was waarschijnlijk een qufa of gar'ah, nog steeds in gebruik in Mesopotamie
248 Anthropology of Iraq
Among native craft (Pis. 145-147) are the following:
Mahailah or Safinah. — These boats are found everywhere from
Fao to Baghdad. They vary in length from thirty to eighty feet,
with a beam of from ten to twenty-five feet open, but with a poop in
the larger types, and one mast provided with a lateen and staysail.
The safinahs, built in Baghdad, are coated with bitumen. When
wind or stream is adverse they are either poled or towed by a rope
from the top of the mast. From ten to a hundred tons of cargo can
be carried. The draught of a loaded safinah is from three and one-
half to four and one-half feet. The crews vary from three to eight
men, and a large safinah can carry up to sixty passengers. The
smaller safinahs are generally known as mahailahs.
Balam. — The Basra type of this boat is about twenty feet long by
three feet across, and long and narrow in shape. It can be rowed or
sailed, but is more generally towed or punted.
Mashuf. — This is a canoe of reeds or thin wood covered with
bitumen. The length is from fifteen to eighteen feet, the boat being
easily and rapidly propelled by one man, who sits as low and as far
aft as possible and uses a paddle. A large mashuf (PI. 145, Fig. 2)
can carry from four to six men with a second paddler in the bow.
Quffah.— The gufa, rarely seen below Baghdad, is a coracle-
shaped craft peculiar to Iraq. This type of craft is of very ancient
origin, being frequently depicted on Chaldean and Assyrian reliefs.
It is a strong wickerwork basket, thickly coated with bitumen. In
appearance the gufa is a hollow spheroid, four to five feet in diameter,
with the central portion of the top removed. The gufa is propelled
by two men with paddles, and will carry four or five passengers; a
very large gufa can carry as many as twenty people.
The manufacture of mats, baskets, and other articles from the
marsh reeds in this area is mostly carried out by the Bani Asad and
Madina tribesmen, whose marshy habitats to the east of the Hor al
Hammar are eminently suited to the industry. Reeds are of three
kinds: chaulan, bardi, and qassab. All are good food for cattle when
the plants are young and tender. Chaulan is used for the manufacture
of soft mats (bassir); qassab is used for coarse mats (buwari); bardi
and qassab make good fuel and are much used in brick kilns. From
the reed mats the Arabs build their mat huts 1 (saraif). Reeds and
mats are collected on the rivers, formed into rafts {gar ah), and floated
down to their destination.
http://archive.org/stream/anthropologyo ... l_djvu.txt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF IRAQ
PART I, NUMBER 2
THE LOWER EUPHRATES-TIGRIS REGION
BY
HENRY FIELD
FORMERLY CURATOR OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTHROPOLOGICAL SERIES
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
VOLUME 30, PART I, NUMBER 2
JULY 8, 1949
PUBLICATION 631
Hebr 6: 
