Baluchi Fishing Village: Slide captions

Captions

1. I currently work as a forensic anthropologist and archaeologist for the U.S. government. I am also the Assistant Field Director of the Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP) in central Punjab, Pakistan. Between 1992 and 1995, I studied various aspects of traditional fishing practices and butchery in the Punjab and along the Makran coastal areas west of Karachi and Balakot in the southern Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan [map].

2. My research in 1993-1994 focused on the marine fisheries of a small Baluch fishing village near Hawkes Bay, just west of Karachi, Pakistan. My main research goals were to examine traditional fishing and butchery practices in order to construct models in order to interpret faunal remains that were recovered from various sites of the Indus Valley Tradition (3300 -1800 B.C.). Two modes of fishing occur within the village that I worked in - near shore fishing and inshore fishing.

3. Near shore fishing requires the use of boats and large nets. The Baluch boats are stylistically different from the Sindhi boats. The Baluch village that I lived in is surrounded by Sindhi villages, yet they cooperate and fish in different fishing areas.

4. Every morning the boats are hauled down into the water with help from other fishermen waiting to get to their boats. Every evening these boats are hauled back up. This is a procedure that helps protect the boats if a storm would come into the region suddenly as well as keeping the boats clean from marine organisms that could damage the hulls.

5. Traditionally, boats used a lateen (triangular) sail. However, now the primarily means of locomotion is the side-mounted motor-propeller system. Sails are still used to conserve fuel use during trolling operations for large predatory fish. Trolling operations are time-consuming and the boat is driven back and forth within a relatively confined area with lures and hooks trailing behind the boat.

6. Long gill nets of various sizes are set in areas along the coast. These areas vary in accordance to season and type of fish that is being caught. Sting-rays are caught with very large-meshed nets in shallow, sandy-bottomed areas whereas other fish are caught further offshore with medium-meshed nets. Other type of nets include bottom nets that lie flat near the sea floor in order to catch animals such as bottom fish, lobsters and crabs.

7. Fishing usually begins early in the morning. Fisherfolk often leave well before the sun rises.

8. Nets are drawn up by hand along the side of the boat. It is very strenuous and tiring work that can take up to 60 to 90 minutes per net. Often the nets catch on rocks and are broken free only through the use of intense pulling or the use of the motor. Bottom nets get tangled very easily and often contain a lot of debris that must be cleaned out as the net is pulled into the boat.

9. Fish, like this large sting ray, are pulled on board and then removed from the nets. Often the temperature of the water as well as other predators cause the catch to be destroyed or rotted before the fisherfolk can retrieve it.

10. Fish are stowed beneath the floor boards of the boat's deck to protect them from the sun. The traditional vessels do not carry ice and it is important to keep these fish out of the sun so that they do not spoil.

11. Seasonal variation in fish occurs and is important to document in order to understand seasonal fishing patterns in the past. Also, biological and commercial information was insufficient to understand seasonal patterns. Prior to going to the field I was told that there is no fishing during the summer monsoon seasons. Generally, the large commercial vessels did no fishing during the summer, but for more traditionally-oriented fisherfolk, the summer monsoon season was the most important fishery. It is during this time that the sua fish (Protonibea diachanthus) migrates inshore to spawn and is abundantly available. This fish seems to represent by weight and count the most important species caught during the year.

12. Sting-rays, sharks and skates are important to the fishing industry itself. These fish are not used for food. Instead the livers are boiled down to make a thick, odorous oil that is spread over the hulls of the boats in order to water-proof them and protect the wood from destruction by marine organisms. 13. Crabs and other crustaceans are caught and used as a minor food item. These animals are considered extremely "hot" and are eaten for the treatment of ailments such as the flu or colds.

14. Mornings are usually spent fishing while afternoons are spent repairing nets. Although most nets are now commercially manufactured, repair work is down by the owners or their sons. Fishermen work in groups.

15. The main fish protein source focuses on smaller fish that are caught in the inshore area. One of the main methods used to catch these is a casting net. Unlike other forms of fishing nets, this is an active form of fishing where the fisher stalks the fish by looking for the "fish sign" of the glitter that reflects off the fish scales through the water.

16. Other fish are used for commercial sale, but these inshore fisheries provide the bulk of food for the household. Here a younger member of a local household is pulling up his inshore gill net. This net catches smaller varieties of fish as well as the smaller fish such as sardines and mullets.

17. Today large fish are primarily for sale on the commercial market. However, occasionally large fish are butchered and the heads used for food by the fisher family. Also, large fish will be used for a special occasion such as a feast associated with a wedding.

18. In the fishing village, fish are prepared for drying. The heads and gills are removed and the fish is split up the middle along its belly. Slits are cut into the meat and salt is spread in to help the drying process. With the small catches that are associated with subsistence, heads are usually consumed. But with the scale of commercial production, heads then become more numerous than can be consumed and are generally discarded near the drying stations.

19. The fish are then placed into a brine pit and soak up salty brine before being placed in the sun. The meat is not usually used for human consumption although it is traded into the interiors of Baluchistan and Sindh Provinces.

20. Through the study of butchery and fishing practices, it is possible to reconstruct behaviors that occurred in the past. These cut marks on a sua fish (Protonibea diacanthus) are approximately 4,500 years old and originate from the Harappan period occupation at Balakot.

21. Also recovered from Balakot were the distinctive neurocrania of the dhoter fish (Pomadasys hasta). This fish account for almost 60% of all the fish remains at Balakot. Neurocrania and other cranial remains are concentrated in very distinct areas of the site. Based on the ethnographic research I conducted, this pattern is consistent with a commercial operation for drying.

22. Fishing and trolling often continues up until sunset. I would like to thank the various fisherfolk in Baluchistan, Sindh and Punjab provinces that have allowed me to intrude in their lives. By inviting me into their homes and allowing me to study their garbage, they allowed me to understand some past lifeways as well as enriched me with life-long friends.