Return to the Marshes

by Gavin Young

  Who would be at Sahain’s? We found Sahain himself and Chethir and Hassan bin Manati and many of the others, even Umm Hasan. One or two were simply away for a day or two; Safair, for example, the old bespectacled hunter, was at the Mejar market. Shibil was with his army unit, but some were gone for good. Ajram had died of some illness. Haji Ahmad, Safair’s brother, had lost his son Fadhil in action. Sons, nephews and cousins from this or that family had been killed or wounded. I visited their families, pushing past the groaning buffaloes and snarling dogs, ducking into the dark, smoky reed houses, offering useless condolences and minimal comfort. After a meal at Sahain’s, the Marsh people’s natural high spirits re-imposed themselves and, as we had done so many times before, we went out – a dozen of us – to Dima Lake, singing and laughing in a string of mashhufs and made a chabasha on an island, lit a fire, and had a picnic. Sahain’s eldest son, Bani, on leave from the war, stuck a cigarette packet on a ten-foot reed as a target and we had a shooting competition with his Kalashnikov and a single-barrelled shotgun that I knew of old (it was much prized by its owner, Chethir, but much mistrusted by everyone else).

  The artillery growled dyspeptically in the distance, but we ignored it. Heron rose flapping out of the islands. Black-and-white kingfishers hovered, folded their wings and dropped like feathered arrows on their prey. With all their customary dignity, the pelicans preened themselves on the lagoon; and the hunting harriers cruised low over the tossing plumes. Where was the war? Surely nothing had changed; surely that was only thunder beyond Al Azair? Bani said, ‘When the Persians get out of Iraq, we’ll go hunting for wild boar again. Like old times.’ As usual, Farhan won the competition.

  I made my pilgrimage to Sayyid Sarwat’s tomb in Nejef with Abbas and Mottar. It was a prominent building with a dark green dome in the Vale of Peace. The thousands of other tombs, streets of them, stretched away towards the sinking sun until there was nothing but desert between there and Mecca. Inside, on bare walls were framed photographs of the venerable sayyid and the two nephews killed by the Iranians. We descended a narrow stair. Below ground, the old body and the two young ones lay in brick niches side by side. Abbas and Mottar lit incense sticks and I think all three of us shed a tear or two. Back in the street above, Abbas kissed me on both cheeks and said, ‘Come back soon. You’ll find me waiting at home – your home. Or here in Nejef, in this place.’

  ‘Let it be alive at home, Abbas.’

  It was after sunset. The sublime dome of the Caliph Ali rose above the city so yearned for by Khomeini’s soldiers, shimmering like a perfect golden bud, and floodlighting gave the illusion that it floated unsupported in the evening air. Abbas stepped into his army jeep.

  ‘Well, it’s as God ordered,’ he answered, smiling. He drove off with a wave. I returned to Baghdad with Mottar.

  I haven’t been to the Marshes since then. The war expanded and intensified, then died. The Iraqi military authorities were far from keen to have an eccentric foreigner wandering about behind their southern front, where casualties were heavy, so I have no idea now who is alive and who is dead. I hear – whether correctly or not – that the army’s defensive lines were much strengthened and deepened and ran back to embrace tracts of the central Marshes. This would mean that extensive areas have been drained and others flooded. If so, numerous Marsh villages could have been evacuated (perhaps Al Qabab, perhaps Rufaiya), and, if so, heaven knows where their inhabitants have ended up. I fear – my heart sinks when I think about it – that the abrupt uprooting I spoke of may have come about.

  Is that the end of the Marsh Arabs? Are those thousands of years of exuberant life buried in this twentieth century shambles? It is nearly five years now since Farhan, sitting in Sahain’s house, asked me, ‘When will the war end?’, begging for an answer. I wish I knew, I told him. I had failed to predict its beginning; how could I foretell its end?

  Even now, as I write, though the fighting has stopped, Iraq and Iran have not withdrawn their troops and signed a formal peace treaty. The border is still tense. Of course, by the time this is published there may be real peace. But until I am able to return to look for Sayyid Abbas, Sahain, Shibil and see old Sayyid Sarwat’s completed shrine on the bank of the Wadiya channel, I shall not know what has been taken and what survives.

  The Marsh Arabs’ way of life is horribly vulnerable. I take what comfort I can from the thought that only a fool would forecast the death of the world’s oldest and perhaps wiliest people.

  Bibliography

  Arabian Sands, Wilfred Thesiger (Longman’s, 1959) and The Marsh Arabs (Longman’s, 1964).

  Ancient Iraq, Georges Roux (Allen and Unwin, 1964).

  Sumer, the Journal of Archaeology, published by the Directorate General of Antiquities, Baghdad, Vol. XXXI, Nos. 1 and 2, 1975.

  Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, Daniel David Luckenbill (2 Vols., University of Chicago Press, 1926 and 1927).

  Travels Through Arabia and other Countries in the East, Carsten Niebuhr (Edinburgh, printed for R. Morison and Son, 1792).

  Four Centuries of Modern Iraq, Stephen Hemsley Longrigg (Oxford University Press, 1925) and Iraq, 1900–1950) Oxford University Press, 1953).

  Iraq, 1908–1921: A Political Study, Ghassan R. Attiyyah (Beirut, Arab Institute for Research and Publishing, 1973).

  The Six Voyages of … Through Turkey into Persia and the East Indies, finished in the year 1670, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, made English by J. Phillips (Printed for R. L. and M. P. and to be sold by John Starkey … and Moses Pitt, 1678).

  Journey from India towards England in the Year 1797, John Jackson (printed for T. Cadell, Jun., and W. Davies, by G. Woodfall, 1799).

  A Voyage up the Persian Gulf … in 1817, Lieutenant William Heude (Longman [Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown], 1819).

  A Dweller in Mesopotamia, Donald Maxwell (John Lane, 1921).

  The Expedition for the Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris… in … 1835, 1836, and 1837, General Francis Rawdon Chesney (Longmans Green and Co., 1850).

  Travels in Koordistan, Mesopotamia, etc, James Baillie Fraser (Richard Bentley, 1840).

  Personal Narrative of a Journey from India to England, Sir George Olaf Roas-Keppel (Henry Colburn, 1827, 2nd edition).

  Loyalties: Mesopotamia, 1914–1917, Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson (Oxford University Press, 1930).

  Alarms and Excursions in Arabia, Bertram Sidney Thomas (Allen and Unwin, 1931).

  Haji Rikkan, Marsh Arab, ‘Fulanain’ (Chatto and Windus, 1927).

  Arabian Days, Harry St John Bridger Philby (Robert Hale, 1948).

  The Hashemite Kings, James Morris (Faber and Faber, 1959).

  The Cossacks, Leo Tolstoy (Penguin, 1969, translated by Rosemary Edmonds).

  Index

  Abbas, ‘Abu’l ras el harr – the Hot-Headed One’, son of the Caliph Ali, 1, 2, 3

  Abbas, son of Sayyid Sarwat, 1, 2

  Abbasid Caliph, 1

  Abbasid Empire, 1

  Abd el Karim, son of Zubun al Faisal of the Beni Lam, 1

  Abdel Wahed, son of Sheik Falih bin Majid el Khalifa, 1

  Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, King, 1

  Abdulillah, Prince Regent of Iraq and uncle of King Faisal, 1

  Abdullah, brother of Sheikh Thamir al Sudan, 1

  Abu Jahl, 1

  Abu Shadr, 1

  Abyssinia, 1, 2

  Adadnirai, King of Assyria, 1

  Addis Ababa, 1

  Afrasiyab, 1

  Ahwaz, 1

  Ajram, one of the author’s earliest canoe-boys and companions, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

  Ajwad, the tribe, 1

  Akkadians, the, 1, 2

  Al Aggar, 1, 2, 3

  Al Azair, 1, 2, 3

  Al Bazun, the tribe, 1

  Al Isa, the tribe, 1

  Al Qabab, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Al Qabiba, 1

  Al Shabib, 1

  Albu Mohammed, the tribe, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Albu Said, the tr
ibe, 1

  Aleppo, 1, 2, 3

  Alexander the Great, 1

  Alexandria, 1

  Ali the Abominable, 1

  Ali the Barmecide, 1

  Ali, son-on-law of the Prophet Mohammed, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Ali, son of Ajram, 1

  Ali, the author’s driver in Basra, 1

  Ali al Fadhil, Sheikh, 1

  Ali Gharbi, 1

  Ali Pasha, son of Afrasiyab, 1

  Ali Pasha Tamarrud, 1

  Allah, 1, 2

  Alwan, son of Ajram, 1

  Amara bib Thuqub, Wilfred Thesiger’s canoe-boy, assistant and friend, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Amara, city of, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

  Antioch, 1

  Arabia, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

  Arabistan, 1

  Arafa, 1

  Araiba Pasha al Munshid of the Albu Mohammed, 1, 2

  Aramaeans, 1, 2

  Ashar, port and residential quarter of Basra, 1

  Ashur, patron god of lion-hunting, 1

  Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria, 1, 2

  Ashurnasirpal, King of Assyria, 1

  Asir, province of Saudi Arabia, 1, 2

  Assur, 1

  Assyria, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Assyrians, the, 1, 2, 3

  Assyrian, Kings, 1, 2, 3

  Assyria, steam ship, 1

  Awaidiya, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Ayesha, wife of Prophet Mohammed, 1

  Azairij, the tribe, 1

  Azizah, 1

  Bab-Salimet, 1

  Babel, tower of, 1

  Babylon, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Babylonia, 1

  Babylonians, the, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Badr al Rumaiyidh of the Abu Salih and Paramount Sheikh of the Beni Malik (‘the Old Man of the Marshes’), 1, 2, 3, 4

  Baghdad, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

  Baghdad, Caliph of, 1

  Baghdad, Pasha of, 1, 2, 3

  Bani, son of Sahain, 1, 2

  Barkat Baghdad, 1

  Barrett, General, 1, 2

  Basra (Bassora, Bussora, etc., ‘The Venice of the East’), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

  Basra, Pasha of, 1

  Battel, son of Ajram, 1, 2

  ‘Battle of the Camel’, 1, 2

  ‘Battle of the Chains’, 1

  Bawi, the tribe, 1

  Bedouin Shammar, the tribe, 1

  Beit Nasrullah, the tribe, 1

  Bell Gertrude, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Beni Hacheim, the tribe, 1, 2

  Beni Lam, the tribal confederation, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Beni Malik, the tribe, 1

  Beni Rabia, the tribe, 1

  Beni Said, the tribe, 1, 2

  Beni Turuf, the tribe, 1

  Berbera, the, 1, 2

  Bisha, 1

  Bitter Sea, the (The Gulf), 1

  Boweib, Battle of, 1

  British India Line, 1

  British Museum, London, 1

  Bu Mugheifat, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Bulbul, Turkish gun boat, 1

  Burton, Richard, 1, 2

  Butaniya, 1, 2

  Cairo, 1

  Carmelites, the, 1

  Chahala, the, 1, 2

  Chahala, Gavin Maxwell’s first otter, 1

  Chaldean Lake, the 1, 2

  Chaldeans, the, 1

  Chesney, General Francis, 1, 2, 3

  Chethir, the canoe-boy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Chubaish, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Clio, British gun boat, 1

  Cobham, Sir Alan, 1

  Conrad, Joseph, 1

  Cox, Sir Percy, 1

  Cox, Lady, 1

  Crosthwaite, Mr, British Political Officer, 1

  Ctesiphon, 1, 2

  Cyrus the Great, 1

  Dair, 1

  Damascus, 1, 2

  da Gama, Vasco, 1

  de Silveiro, Gonsalvo, 1

  della Valle, Pietro, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Diaz, Bartolomeu, 1

  Dickson, Major Harold, 1, 2, 3

  Dilmun, 1

  Dima, Lake, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Ditchburn, Major A. H., 1

  Diwaniya, 1

  Doughty, Charles, 1, 2, 3

  East India Company, 1, 2, 3

  Eastern Monarch, ship, 1

  Egypt, 1, 2, 3

  El Grimiliya, waterway, 1

  Elam, 1

  Empty Quarter, 1, 2, 3

  Enki, the god and son on An, 1

  Enlil, ‘father of the gods’, see also Marduk, the Sumerian god, 1, 2, 3

  Eridu, 1

  Espiègle, armed launch, 1

  Euphrates, river, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

  Euphrates, steam paddle ship, 1, 2

  Europe, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Fadhil, 1

  Faisal I, King of Iraq, 1, 2

  Faisal II, King of Iraq, 1

  Falih, Sheikh, son of Sayhud el Munshid, 1, 2

  Falih bin Jasim, 1, 2, 3

  Falih bin Majid el Khalifa a sheikh of the Albu Mohammed, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Farhan, canoe-boy, 1, 2, 3‚4, 5, 6

  FARTUS, THE TRIBE, 1, 2

  Feraigat, the tribe, 1, 2, 3, 152, 4

  Fitch, Ralph, 1, 2

  Flood, the, 1, 2

  Fontil, Sheikh, 1

  Fraser, J. Baillie, 1, 2

  Faud, Dr, 1

  Fulanain – see Hedgcock, S. E.

  Gata bin Shamki, 1

  Ghadhban, Sheikh of the Beni Lam, 1

  Ghadhban bin Khalaf, Sheikh of the Al Isa, 1

  Gharraf, river, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Ghazi, King of Iraq, 1

  Gilgamesh, 1, 2, 3

  Gilgamesh, The Epic of, 1, 2, 3

  Gizan, 1

  Gopal, the Goanese barman, 1

  Gorringe, General, 1, 2

  Greenfly, gun boat, 1

  Grimley, 1

  Gulf, the, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Hafadh, a great-grandson of a Lam, 1

  Hafadh, younger brother of Sahain, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Hafir, 1

  Haik, Mr, accountant, 1

  Haji Abdul Mehsin, boat-builder, 1

  Haji Ahmad, 1

  Haji Hussein, 1

  Haji Rikkan, 1

  Haji Yunis, 1, 2

  Haldane, General Sir Aylmer, 1

  Hammurabi, King, 1

  Hamoud, Sheikh, 1

  Hansa Line, 1

  Harun al Rashid, Caliph, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Hasan bin Manati, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Hasan bin Muhaisin, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Haiwaza, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Haiwaza Marshes, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Hedgcock, S. E. and Mrs, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Hejaz, 1, 2

  Hejaz, Mountains, 1, 2

  Heude, Lieutenant William, 1, 2

  Hilla, 1

  Hindu Kush, the, 1

  Hirah, 1

  Hit, 1

  Hittite Kingdom, 1

  Homer, 1

  Hor al Hammar, 1, 2, 3

  Hugh Lindsay, Indian mail boat, 1

  Hulagu, grandson of Jenghis Khan, 1

  Humus, 1

  Hundred Years War, the, 1

  Hussein, son of Caliph Ali, 1, 2

  Hussein Pasha, son of Ali Pasha, 1

  Huwair, 1, 2, 3

  Ibn Madhkur, Sheikh of the Beni Lam, 1, 2

  Idan, son of Saghair, 1, 2, 3, 4

  India, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Iran, 1, 2

  Iran-Iraq war, 1

  Iraq, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

  Iraq Museum, Baghdad, 1

  Isad, Sheikh of the Muntafiq, 1

  Ishan Waqif, 1

  Ishtar, patron god of lion-hunting, 1

  Islam, 1, 2, 3

  Jabbar, canoe-boy, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Jackson, John, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Jahaish, the singer
of Al Qabab, 1

  Janissaries, the, 1, 2, 3

  Jasim bin Faris of the Fartus, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Jassim, the cook, 1

  Jenghis Khan, 1, 2

  Kaab (or Chaab), the tribe, 1

  Karakorams, The, 1

  Kashgai, The, 1

  Keppel, Captain the Hon. George, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Kerbela, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Kerr-Pearse, Mark, 1

  Khafaja, the tribe, 1

  Khalid bin Walid, 1, 2, 3, 4

  Khalifah, steam-boat, 1

  Khamisiya, 1

  Khanjar, son of Ajram, 1, 2

  Khayun al Ubaid, Sheikh of the Ubuda, 1, 2, 3

  Khazal, Sheikh of the Muhaisin, 1

  Khomeini, Ayatollah, 1, 2

  Korramshahr, 1

  Khuzistan, 1

  Kipling, Rudyard, 1

  Kramer, Dr Samuel Noah, 1, 2

  Kufa, 1, 2, 3

  Kurdistan, 1, 2

  Kurds, the, 1

  Kut al Amara, 1, 2, 3

  Kut al Muammir, 1, 2

  Kuwait, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Lamlum District, 1, 2

  Lawrence, T. E., 1, 14, 2

  Layard, Sir Henry Austen, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Leachman, Captain Gerald, 1

  League of Nations, the, 1, 2, 3