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].

This research formed the interpretive framework for my dissertation, which I successfully defended in 1997. Due to a lack of understanding of fish in an urban economy, I elected to conduct an ethnoarchaeological project in order to understand traditional fishing practices and fish butchery in a South Asian context. I conducted research in both riverine and marine fisheries that appeared to have similar levels of technology that would have been present during the Indus Valley Tradition. This assumption was based on ceramic motifs as well as seals. This research was funded by a National Science Dissertation Improvement Grant, a Fulbright Student Fellowship, as well as the Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP). I would like to thank the directors of HARP, Drs. J. Mark Kenoyer, Richard H. Meadow, and Rita A. Wright for their unwavering support during the course of this project. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge the Department of Marine Fisheries, University of Karachi and the U.S. Educational Foundation in Pakistan (particularly Dr. Peter and Mrs. Erica Dodd) for their huge contributions in this research project. Of course, the Department of Museums, Government of Pakistan, granted me access to archaeological materials stored in their Expedition Branch in Karachi.

2. Between 1993-1994 I lived and worked in a small Baluch fishing village near Hawkes Bay, Abdur Rheman Goth, just west of Karachi, Pakistan (goth is the Baluchi word for village). My main research goals were to conduct an ethnoarchaeological study of traditional fishing and butchery practices. Ethnoarchaeology is the study of modern human activities to develop models in order to understand and interpret the archaeological record. My primary goals were to interpret fish remains recovered from various sites of the Indus Valley Tradition (3,300-1,700 B.C.E.), including the marine sites of Balakot and Allahdino.

Two modes of fishing occur along the eastern Makran coast: near#45;shore fishing and inshore fishing. Each of these strategies requires different types of nets and strategies, described below. Each of these strategies exploits a specific type of environment and, therefore, focuses on a specific group of fish. Additionally, during the major weather changes of the summer monsoons, stronger nets are used due to sea surface activity.

This photograph depicts an older home that has been converted into a net storage and work area. The fishermen are repairing nets after the morning fishing has been finished.

3.Near-shore fishing requires the use of boats and larger, stronger nets than the inshore fisheries. The Baluchi boats are stylistically different from the Sindhi boats. Abdur Rheman Goth, the Baluch village where I lived, is surrounded by Sindhi villages. Each village has its own grounds that they fish in with some of yet they cooperate and fish in different fishing areas.

This photograph depicts the late afternoon in Abdur Rheman Goth when all of the boats have been hauled up on the beach for the evening. This allows the fishermen to protect the boats if an evening storm comes in. During the fall of 1993, such a storm hit the beaches of Buleji (the region where Abdur Rheman Goth sits) forcing the fisherfolk to quick action and haul the boats up shore before they could be swamped!

4. Every morning many boats are hauled down into the water with help from other fishermen waiting to get to their boats. This is an extremely cooperative move by all the fisherfolk within the village. 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 cleat of marine organisms that could damage or destroy the hulls.

The boats are being hauled up in October of 1993 as a large storm is sweeping into the region. I helped the men haul in the boats as every hand in the village was occupied with this coming disaster. If the boats were not hauled in, the storm would have swamped and sunk many of the vessels. The rain came just as the sun set and the winds drove it into the wooden slats of my rented hut (there was no glass, electricity, or running water!). During October, the heat was almost unbearable, so despite the destructive nature of the wind, it was a welcome respite from the heat.

5. Traditionally, boats used a lateen (triangular) sail. However, now the primarily means of locomotion is the side-mounted motor-propeller system. 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.

This boat is a Sindhi-style vessel and was one of the few I saw during the summer of 1994 that still retained its sails and masts in place. Sails are sometimes used to conserve fuel use during trolling operations for large predatory fish, but more often than not, the sails are no longer in use. During the 1970s and 1980s, most of the boats used sails. Conversion to side-mounted outboards comes at a heavy price to the fisherfolk as they become indebted to the fishmonger who controls the fish transport and price structure in Buleji. For example, during the winter, when fishing is lean, the fisherfolk are dependent and become indebted for fuel to check their nets. By the time the productive fishing seasons of the summer come along, the fisherfolk are required to sell their fish to the fish monger at a reduced price in order to settle their winter fuel debts.

6.Long gill nets of various sizes and configurations are set in areas along the coast. The type of net and the fishing grounds 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 configured for a rockier bottom. 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.

This boat is manned by a father and son team who has been fishing out of Buleji all their lives. Noor Mohammed's brother returned to fishing in the early 1990s after trying to work as a teacher in a Karachi-based school. Other siblings are employed in other nearby business, including the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant. These jobs are usually not permanent, but provide a much-needed supplement to the fishing incomes.

7. Fishing usually begins early in the morning. Fisherfolk often leave well before the sun rises and return in the early afternoon. After eating lunch and napping, the men would gather to repair boats and nets as well as gossip amongst themselves and chat about the day's work.

One of the biggest challenges to work with certain families was to anticipate the constantly changing schedule. While my "hut" was only a fifteen-minute walk from Abdur Rehman Goth, that fisherfolk would often take off an hour or more earlier than they told me the afternoon before. Of course, this was the often the case due to the fact that many didnÕt own watches and in Pakistan time and activities run on a different schedule than in the West! Sometimes it was much slower than I thought and sometimes it was much faster. As my advisor, Dr. J. Mark Kenoyer would tell his students at the University of Wisconsin - "Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe never."

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 by the team or through the assistance of the outboard 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. It was imperative to get the fish out during the summer months as, if the fish died in the net, it would rot due to the warm water temperatures. Obviously, this would reduce the value of the catch.

Once during an early morning run, I was making notes of the types of fish being taken out of the net and I had my nose buried in my notebook. I look up briefly due to a verbal commotion by the fishermen and they had jumped to either end of the boat, leaving me sitting in the middle, next to a sea snake! Fortunately, it was tangled in the net. We carefully shook it out over board!

9. Fish, like this large sting ray, are pulled on board and then removed from the nets. Prior to removing the sting rays, the stinger had to be snapped off. Otherwise, the flailing tail could impale unlucky fishermen. The stinger is a bone and cartilaginous adaptation that is finely serrated on both edges, like a multi-prong harpoon. The stinger is very difficult to remove and it caused more damage trying to pull the stinger out than to push it through to the other side of the wound!

Fish like sting rays and skates are extremely important to provide an oil that is coated on the boat hulls. This oil is created by village specialists and rendered down from the livers. While many of the local fisherfolk do not eat fish like sharks and stingrays on a regular basis, these fish are often sold to the local hotels in Karachi (where they are sold as scallops! You can take a scallop-shaped punch and punch out pieces of meat from the wings; when they are fried, most people can't tell the difference!

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. Each of the panels is numbered so that they can be fit back into the sequence for the deck. The fish depicted here is the sua (Baluch name) or Protnibea diacanthus. This fish is an extremely important economic fish during the summer monsoon months. Sua has a neurocrania that is very similar in initial appearance to another fish, dhoter or Pomadasys hasta (see Slide 21). This has caused these local names to be somewhat confused in the archaeological literature. But to put it straight: sua is Protonibea diachanthus, an extremely important fish during the summer monsoon seasons (both today and in the past), while dhoter is Pomadasys hasta, an extremely important fish during the fall, post-monsoon fishing season (see Slide 11).

11. Seasonal variation in fish occurs and is important to document these changes in order to understand seasonal fishing patterns in the present as well as the past. What I found in discussions with fisheries biologist at the Department of Marine Fisheries (Centre for Excellence), University of Karachi, is that much biological and commercial information was insufficient to understand small-scale, seasonal patterns of specific fish species. Prior to going to the field I was told that there is no fishing during the summer monsoon seasons due to the danger; however, what I found in the Buleji area is that, in general, the large commercial vessels do not go out during the summer. Nevertheless, for the smaller boats and more traditionally-oriented fisherfolk, the summer monsoon season was the most important fishery.

Initially, I was told by the fisheries biologist that these fish were available year-round; however, they are more easily caught by traditionally fisherfolk during the summer monsoon season. It is during this time that the sua fish (Protonibea diachanthus) migrates inshore to spawn and is abundantly available to the smaller, "coast-hugging" traditional fishing vessels. This fish seems to represent by weight and count the most important species caught during the year for these coastal fishing villages. These fish are relatively large and often weight in excess of 20 kg!

12. While not usually used for food, sting-rays, sharks, and skates are important to the fishing industry itself. The livers are harvested by specialists in the village who boil them down to make a thick, malodorous oil. This oil is spread over the wooden hulls in order to water-proof them and protect the wood from destruction by marine organisms. This oil stained clothing, so eventually, I had specific sets of shalwar-kameez that I would use for fishing. The stains and odor never seemed to come out of the clothing, no matter how hard I laundered them!

Occasionally, sharks are eaten by the local population. With some of the younger fisherfolk, we cooked some shark meat in an onion and curry base and ate it with chapattis while sitting on the veranda of my primitive hut. The shark was very tasty and we talked about village life, fishing, and global politics till late in the evening. 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. Many Asian cultures have a dichotomy of "hot" and "cold" categories related to health, food, sexuality, weather, etc. An individual tries to maintain a balance to maintain good health.

For example, fish, in general, are considered "hot" and one must maintain a balance based on the weather (in the winter, it is good to eat ÒhotÓ foods) to maintain health. Additionally, some "hot" foods need to be consumed to increase virility and should not be eaten by unmarried males. My informants in the village were extremely worried about me as I was eating a lot of fish during the summer and my wife was so far away back in the United States! Also, the coastal fisherfolk further divide hot suggesting that predatory fish, like sharks, are much hotter than bottom-feeding fish.

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, either helping each other are larger nets. More importantly, these work groups allow the fishermen to pass on important fishing knowledge (mahigeer - Farsi and Baluchi for "the ways of the fisherfolk") as well as local gossip about the villagers or the nearby village. During the summer of 1994, the sale and status of delivery of several F-16s aircraft by the U.S. to Pakistan was a major focus of global politics.

In case you donÕ't remember, the U.S. had blocked the delivery (but not the sale, the money had already been collected), of the F-16s until Pakistan could officially certify themselves as non-terrorist supporting state. These types of discussions occurred with local police, taxi cab drivers, students, or anyone else who wanted to tell me their opinions. Never have I met a public that was so aware of how their country fits into global politics! The Pakistani people are wonderful in that they had major issues with the U.S. government at that time, but it never inhibited my research, interactions, or friendships anywhere in the country.

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 fixed gill net. The net is fixed in place and catches fish in its mesh as the tide goes out. This boy had contracted polio at a much younger age and it was very difficult for him to join his older brothers on the boats. However, this village-focused fishing provided the bulk of the fish that his family used for their own consumption. These types of inshore fisheries were very common for elderly men and others to make a major contribution to the subsistence strategies of their families. The size of the fish was much smaller than would be caught further offshore, but I was amazed at the diversity of fish species that could be caught with these fixed nets. However, the majority of the fish caught were mullets and clupeids.

17.Today large fish are primarily for sale on the commercial market. A fishmonger would arrive from town to purchase the fish and take them to the various urban markets in town. This individual also owns the ice house and the diesel fuel depot in the village; thus, this fishmonger owns many of the important materials used for the local fishing economy. Many of the local fisherfolk would become indebted to this person during the lean fishing in the winter time frame; thus, during the important summer monsoon fishing season, this fishmonger could state the price he would buy the fish because the fishermen are indebted to him.

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.Medium and large 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. The smaller fish are dried in the sun in the desert scrub areas north of the village. The fish are spread over the ground surface and allowed to dry in the sun. This creates an extremely odorous wind! These fish are used to make a fish meal that is fed to local poultry farms as well as processed and sold overseas. This fish meal is an extremely important part of the economy of Pakistan.

During the month of October, the temperatures climbed to well about 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. I prayed for wind to cool my village hut in the evening, but at the same time I prayed for no wind, because it came from across the desert and brought an intense smell of rotting fish!

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) mid-body vertebra are approximately 4,500 years old and originate from the Harappan period occupation at the site of Balakot along Sonmiani Bay along the eastern Makran coast. The distribution of cut marks on the skeletal elements of fish varies dependent on the size of the fish, the species, as well as the type of processing. For commercial butchery, a decision is made to butchery the fish in the round, as called by my French colleague, Dr. Jean Desse, or whether the fish will be processed in as a dried fish. The distinctive butchery technique for dried fish includes the strategy of butterfly splitting such that many of the cutmarks occur along the medial or inside margin of the bones, whereas for butchery in the round the cut marks originate from the outside or lateral margins of the fish.

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.

The neurocrania of this species is unique in that it exhibits a form of hyperostosis or swelling of the bone. The neurocrania is composed of several other bones, but in this case, they have swelled and fused together. Hyperostosis is common throughout some species of fish such as the family Carangidae and Haemulidae. Specialists are at odds on the cause of this phenomenon, but it has made this species of fish particularly identifiable.

While many of the dhother neurocrania are complete, many more are fragmented. Originally, some faunal analysts suspected that the fragmented bones were the result of butchery, particularly with the use of a cleaver-like knife. This is very similar to what we see today in the local markets of Karachi. However, on most of these specimens, there is no evidence of crushing or cutmarks. Under the stress of compaction from the being buried, these bones break in a very predictable manner along the fusion lines of the original bone groups, particularly along the center line of the bone.

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.