The Marsh Arabs ( ar, عرب الأهوار ''ʻArab al-Ahwār'' "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also referred to as the Maʻdān ( ar, معدان "dweller in the plains") or Shroog
(Iraqi ar, شروق, "those from the east")—the latter two often considered derogatory in the present day—are
Arabian
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
inhabitants of the
Mesopotamian marshlands in the modern-day south
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, as well as in the
Hawizeh Marshes straddling the
Iraq-Iran border.
Comprising members of many different tribes and tribal confederations, such as the Āl Bū Muḥammad, Ferayghāt, Shaghanbah, the Maʻdān had developed a culture centered on the marshes' natural resources and unique from other Arabs. Many of the marshes' inhabitants were displaced
when the wetlands were drained during and after the
1991 uprisings in Iraq. The draining of the marshes caused a significant decline in bioproductivity; following the
Multi-National Force overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime, water flow to the marshes was restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover.
[U.S. National Aeornautics and Space Administration. 2008]
Culture
The term Maʻdān was used disparagingly by desert tribes to refer to those inhabiting the Iraqi river basins, as well as by those who farmed in the river basins to refer to the population of the marshes.
[ Wilfred Thesiger, ''The Marsh Arabs'', Penguin, 1967, p.92]
The Maʻdān speak
South Mesopotamian Arabic and traditionally wore a variant of normal Arab dress: for males, a ''
thawb'' ("long shirt"; in recent times, occasionally with a Western-style jacket over the top) and a ''
keffiyeh
The keffiyeh or kufiya ( ar, كُوفِيَّة, kūfīyah, relating to Kufa, link=no), also known in Arabic as a ghutrah (), shemagh ( '), (), in Kurdish as a Shemagh ''(''شهماغ'')'' or Serwîn (سهروین) and in Persian, a ...
'' ("headcloth") worn twisted around the head in a
turban
A turban (from Persian دولبند, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promin ...
, as few could afford an ''
ʻiqāl''.
Agriculture
The society of the Marsh Arabs was divided into two main groups by occupation. One group bred and raised
water buffalo
The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...
es while others cultivated
crops
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponi ...
such as
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
,
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
,
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
and
pearl millet
Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum''; also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique) is the most ...
; they also kept some
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...
and
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...
. Rice cultivation was especially important; it was carried out in small plots cleared in April and sown in mid-May. Cultivation seasons were marked by the rising and setting of certain stars, such as the
Pleiades
The Pleiades (), also known as The Seven Sisters, Messier 45 and other names by different cultures, is an asterism and an open star cluster containing middle-aged, hot B-type stars in the north-west of the constellation Taurus. At a distance ...
and
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CM ...
.
[Thesiger, p.174]
Some branches of the Maʻdān were
nomadic pastoralists, erecting temporary dwellings and moving buffaloes around the marshes according to the season. Some fishing, especially of species of
barbel (notably the
binni
The binni (''Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi'') is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to the Tigris–Euphrates Basin in the Middle East. This fish mostly inhabits lakes and marshes, especially in densely vegetated places where it also lays its eggs, b ...
or ''bunni'', ''Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi''), was practised using spears and
datura
''Datura'' is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family Solanaceae. They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's trumpets (not to be co ...
poison, but large-scale fishing using nets was until recent times regarded as a dishonourable profession by the Maʻdān and was mostly carried out by a separate low-status tribe known as the ''Berbera''.
[Thesiger, p.92] By the early 1990s, however, up to 60% of the total amount of fish caught in Iraq's inland waters came from the marshes.
In the later twentieth century a third main occupation entered Marsh Arab life; the
weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
of reed mats on a commercial scale. Though they often earned far more than workers in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
, weavers were looked down upon by both Maʻdān and farmers alike: however, financial concerns meant that it gradually gained acceptance as a respectable profession.
Religion
The majority of Marsh Arabs are
Twelver
Twelver Shīʿīsm ( ar, ٱثْنَا عَشَرِيَّة; '), also known as Imāmīyyah ( ar, إِمَامِيَّة), is the largest branch of Shīʿa Islam, comprising about 85 percent of all Shīʿa Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers t ...
Shiʿi Muslims, though in the marshes small communities of
Mandaic-speaking
Mandaeans
Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. Th ...
(often working as boat builders and craftsmen) live alongside them.
[Thesiger, p.127] The inhabitants' long association with tribes within Persia may have influenced the spread of the Shī‘ī denomination within the marshes.
Wilfred Thesiger commented that while he met few Marsh Arabs who had performed the
Hajj
The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
, many of them had made the pilgrimage to
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...
(thereby earning the title ''Zair'');
[Thesiger, p.55] a number of families also claimed descent from
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
, adopting the title of ''
sayyid
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamm ...
'' and
dyeing their ''keffiyeh'' green.
The Maʻdān carried out the majority of their devotions in private as there were no places of worship within the Marshes; some were known to visit
Ezra's Tomb, one of the few religious sites of any kind in the area.
[Raphaeli, N. ]
The Destruction of Iraqi Marshes and Their Revival
', memri.org
Society
As with most tribes of southern Iraq, the main authority was the tribal
shaikh. To this day, the shaikh of a Marsh Arab group will collect a
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...
from his tribe in order to maintain the ''
mudhif'', the tribal guesthouse, which acts as the
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...
,
social
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
,
judicial and
religious centre of Marsh Arabic life. The ''mudhif'' is used as a place to settle disputes, to carry out
diplomacy
Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...
with other tribes and as a gathering point for religious and other celebrations. It is also the place where visitors are offered
hospitality
Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...
. Although the tribal shaykh was the principal figure, each Maʻdān village (which may have contained members of several different tribes) would also follow the authority of the hereditary ''
qalit'' "headman" of a tribe's particular section.
Blood feuds, which could only be settled by the ''qalit'', were a feature of Marsh Arab life, in common with that of the Arab
bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...
. Many of the Marsh Arabs'
codes of behaviour were similar to those of the desert tribes.
Most Marsh Arabs lived in arched reed houses considerably smaller than a ''mudhif''. The typical dwelling was usually a little more than two meters wide, about six meters long, and a little less than three meters high, and was either constructed at the waterside or on an artificial
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...
of reeds called a ''kibasha''; a more permanent island of layered reeds and mud was called a ''dibin''.
[Thesiger, p.75] Houses had entrances at both ends and a screen in the middle; one end was used as a dwelling and the other end (sometimes extended with a ''sitra'', a long reed structure) was used to shelter animals in bad weather. A ''raba'' was a higher-status dwelling, distinguished by a north-facing entrance, which also served as a guesthouse where there was no ''mudhif''.
[Thiesiger, p.71] Traditional boats (the ''
mashoof'' and ''
tarada'') were used as transport: the Maʻdān would drive buffalo through the reedbeds during the season of low water to create channels, which would then be kept open by constant use, for the boats.
[Thesiger, p.70]
The marsh environment meant that certain diseases, such as
schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, blo ...
and
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...
, were endemic;
[Thesiger, p.85, 108] Maʻdānī agriculture and homes were also vulnerable to periodic droughts and flooding.
Origin theories
The origins of the Maʻdān are still a matter of some interest.
British colonial ethnographers found it difficult to classify some of the Maʻdān's social customs and speculated that they might have originated in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
.
[Cole, p.10]
There are scholars who have claimed they are descended from the
Nabataeans of Iraq the people who inhabited southern
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
during the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
and even some of their clans follow their ancestry to the Islamized
Mandaeans
Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. Th ...
.
[ Ali al-Wardi 1965, pg. 151]
Other scholars have proposed historical and genetic links between the Marsh Arabs and the ancient
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of ...
ians due shared agricultural practices, methods of house-building and location. There is, however, no written record of the marsh tribes until the 9th century, and the Sumerians lost their distinct ethnic identity by around 1800 BCE, some 2700 years before.
[Edmund Ghareeb, ''Historical Dictionary of Iraq'', 2004, p.156] Links to Sumerian genetics can likely be traced back to the Arabization and assimilation of indigenous Mesopotamians. Others, however, have noted that much of the culture of the Maʻdān is in fact shared with the desert
bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...
who came to the area after the fall of the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttal ...
.
[Thesiger, pp.100–01]
Genetics
A 2011 Study showed that Marsh Arabs have a high concentration of Y-chromosomal
Haplogroup J-M267 and mtDNA
haplogroup J having the highest concentration, with haplogroups
H,
U and
T following, the study included 143 samples from a tribe related to the
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert ...
tribes of desert and not the regular marsh tribes. According to this study, Marsh Arabs have the following haplogroups.
* Y-DNA haplogroups:
** E1b1b 6.3%(-M35* 2.1%, -M78* 0.7%, -M123* 1.4%, -M34 2.1%)
** G-M201 1.4%
** J1 81.1%(-M267* 7.0%, -P58(Page08)* 72.7%, -M365(shared with other J1 branches) 1.4%), J2-M172* 3.5%
** L-M76 0.7%
** Q-M242 2.8%(Q1a1b-M25 0.7%, Q1b-M378 2.1%)
** R-M207 4.2%(R1-L23 2.8%, R2-M124 1.4%)
* Mt-DNA haplogroups:
** West Eurasia(77.8%): R0 24.1%(R0* 0.7%, R0a 6.9%, HV 4.1%, H 12.4%), KU 15.9%(K 6.2%, U 9.7%), JT 22.7%(J 15.2%, T 7.6%), N 15.1%(I 0.7%, N1 8.2%, W 4.8%, X2 1.4%)
** North/East Africa(2.8%): M1 2.8%
** Sub-Saharan Africa(4.9%): L 4.9%
** East Asia(1.4%): B4c2 1.4%
** Southwest Asia(10.4%): M* 0.7%, M3 2.1%, R2 2.8%, U7 4.8%
** Others(2.8%): N* 0.7%, R* 2.1%
1991–2003
The marshes had for some time been considered a refuge for elements persecuted by the government of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
, as in past centuries they had been a refuge for escaped
slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
and
serfs
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
, such as during the
Zanj Rebellion. By the mid-1980s, a low-level
insurgency
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
against
Ba'athist
Ba'athism, also stylized as Baathism, (; ar, البعثية ' , from ' , meaning "renaissance" or "resurrection"Hans Wehr''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'' (4th ed.), page 80) is an Arab nationalist ideology which promotes the creation a ...
drainage and resettlement projects had developed in the area, led by Sheik Abdul Kerim Mahud al-Muhammadawi of the Al bu Muhammad under the ''
nom de guerre
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
'' Abu Hatim.
[ Juan Cole, ]
Marsh Arab Rebellion
'', University of Indiana, 2005, p.12
During the 1970s, the expansion of
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
projects had begun to disrupt the flow of water to the marshes. However, after the
First Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
(1991), the Iraqi government aggressively revived a program to divert the flow of the
Tigris River and the
Euphrates River
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...
away from the marshes in retribution for a
failed Shia uprising. This was done primarily to eliminate the food sources of the Marsh Arabs and to prevent any remaining militiamen from taking refuge in the marshes, the
Badr Brigades and other militias having used them as cover. The plan, which was accompanied by a series of
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
articles by the Iraqi regime directed against the Ma'dan,
[ Robert Fisk, ''The Great War for Civilisation'', Harper, London 2005, p.844] systematically converted the
wetlands into a
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
, forcing the residents out of their settlements in the region. Villages in the marshes were attacked and burnt down and there were reports of the water being deliberately poisoned.
[The Mesopotamian Marshlands: Demise of an Ecosystem]
UNEP
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on ...
, p. 44
The majority of the Maʻdān were displaced either to areas adjacent to the drained marshes, abandoning their traditional lifestyle in favour of conventional agriculture, to towns and camps in other areas of Iraq or to
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian refugee camps. Only 1,600 of them were estimated to still be living on traditional ''dibins'' by 2003.
[Cole, p.13] The western
Hammar Marshes
The Hammar Marshes () are a large wetland complex in southeastern Iraq that are part of the Mesopotamian Marshes in the Tigris–Euphrates river system. Historically, the Hammar Marshes extended up to during seasonal floods. They were destroye ...
and the Qurnah or
Central Marshes
The Central or Qurna Marshes are a large complex of wetlands in Iraq that, along with the Hawizeh and Hammar marshes, make up the Mesopotamian Marshes of the Tigris–Euphrates river system. Formerly covering an area of around 3000 square kilo ...
had become completely desiccated, while the eastern
Hawizeh Marshes had dramatically shrunk. The Marsh Arabs, who numbered about half a million in the 1950s, have dwindled to as few as 20,000 in Iraq, according to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
. As of 2003, an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 have fled to refugee camps in Iran.
[Iraq's Marsh Arabs, Modern Sumerians](_blank)
– The Oregonian, May 14, 2003 However, following the
Multi-National Force overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime, water flow to the marshes was restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover, and many have returned to their native lands.
Observer Middle East correspondent Shyam Bhatia who spent two weeks with the Marsh Arabs in 1993 wrote the first eyewitness account of Iraqi army tactics at the time of draining the marshes, bombing Marsh villages and then sowing mines in the water before retreating. Bhatia's extensive reportage won him the title of International Reporter of the Year, although exclusive film footage of the time he spent in the area has never been projected.
Since 2003
With the breaching of dikes by local communities subsequent to the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...
and the ending of a four-year drought that same year, the process has been reversed and the marshes have experienced a substantial rate of recovery. The permanent wetlands now cover more than 50% of 1970s levels, with a remarkable regrowth of the
Hammar and
Hawizeh Marshes and some recovery of the
Central Marshes
The Central or Qurna Marshes are a large complex of wetlands in Iraq that, along with the Hawizeh and Hammar marshes, make up the Mesopotamian Marshes of the Tigris–Euphrates river system. Formerly covering an area of around 3000 square kilo ...
.
Efforts to restore the marshes have led to signs of their gradual revivification as water is restored to the former
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
, but the whole
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syst ...
may take far longer to restore than it took to destroy. Only a few thousand of the nearly half million Marsh Arabs remain in the area in
Maysan Governorate
Maysan Governorate ( ar, ميسان, translit=Maysān) is a governorate in southeastern Iraq, bordering Iran. Its administrative centre is the city of Amarah, and it is composed of six districts. Before 1976, it was named Amara Province.
Etymolog ...
,
Dhi Qar Governorate and
Basra Governorate. Most of the rest that can be accounted for are refugees living in other Shi'i areas in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, or have emigrated to
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and many do not wish to return to their former home and lifestyle, which despite its independence was characterised by extreme poverty and hardship. A report by the
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...
noted that while some Maʻdān had chosen to return to their traditional activities in the marshes, especially the Hammar Marshes, within a short time of reflooding, they were without clean drinking water, sanitation, health care or education facilities.
United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 b ...
br>Iraq Marshlands Restoration Program Final Report, Chapter 1
In addition, it is still uncertain if the marshes will completely recover, given increased levels of water extraction from the Tigris and Euphrates.
Many of the resettled Marsh Arabs have gained representation through the
Hezbollah Movement in Iraq; others have become followers of
Muqtada al-Sadr's movement, through which they gained political control of
Maysan Governorate
Maysan Governorate ( ar, ميسان, translit=Maysān) is a governorate in southeastern Iraq, bordering Iran. Its administrative centre is the city of Amarah, and it is composed of six districts. Before 1976, it was named Amara Province.
Etymolog ...
.
[Cole, p.14] Political instability and local feuds, aggravated by the poverty of the dispossessed Marsh Arab population, remain a serious problem.
[See Cole, pp.24–33] Rory Stewart observed that throughout history, the Maʻdān were the pawn of many rulers and became expert dissimulators. The tribal chiefs are outwardly submissive and work with the coalition and Iraqi officials. Behind the scenes, the tribes engage in smuggling and other activities.
Literature
Pietro Della Valle
Pietro Della Valle ( la, Petrus a Valle; 2 April 1586 – 21 April 1652), also written Pietro della Valle, was an Italian composer, musicologist, and author who travelled throughout Asia during the Renaissance period. His travels took him to the ...
(1586–1652) is cited in
Gavin Young's ''Return to the Marshes'' as the earliest modern traveler to write about Mesopotamia and probably the first to introduce the word ''Madi'', which he spelled "Maedi," to the Western world.
Young also mentions
George Keppel, 6th Earl of Albemarle (1799–1891) as having spent time with the Madan in 1824 and reported in detail on the marsh inhabitants. Of the men Keppel wrote, "The Arab boatmen were as hardy and muscular-looking fellows as ever I saw. One loose brown shirt, of the coarseness of sack-cloth, was the only covering of the latter. This, when labour required it, was thrown aside, and discovered forms most admirably adapted to their laborious avocations; indeed, any of the boatmen would have made an excellent model for an Hercules; and one in particular, with uncombed hair and shaggy beard, struck us all with the resemblance he bore to statues of that deity." Of the women Keppel observed, "They came to our boat with the frankness of innocence and there was a freedom in their manners, bordering perhaps on the masculine; nevertheless their fine features and well-turned limbs produced a ''tout ensemble'' of beauty, not to be surpassed perhaps in the brilliant assemblies of civilized life."
Another account of the Maʻdān in English was jointly published in 1927 by a British colonial administrator, Stuart Edwin Hedgecock, and his wife.
[Fulanain (S. E. and M. G. Hedgecock) ''Haji Rikkan: Marsh Arab'', Chatto & Windus, London, 1927][Young, p. 69. "At the time of which I am writing Philby was the arabophile, though truculent, Political Officer of Amara. One who soon succeeded him there was S. E. Hedgecock who, with his young wife, wrote a wonderfully vivid book about the people he administered called ''Haji Rikkan: Marsh Arab'', using (because officials are not purposed to write books when they are on the job) the pseudonym 'Fulanain'."] Gertrude Bell also visited the area.
[See Letters a]
The Gertrude Bell Project
Newcastle University
Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick unive ...
. T. E. Lawrence passed through in 1916, stopping at
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
and
Ezra's Tomb (Al-Azair), and recorded that the Marsh Arabs were "wonderfully hard
..but merry, and full of talk. They are in the water all their lives, and seem hardly to notice it."
[Thomas Edward Lawrence]
Letter of 18 May 1916, telawrence.net
The way of life of the Marsh Arabs was later described by the explorer
Wilfred Thesiger in his classic ''The Marsh Arabs'' (1964). Thesiger lived with the Marsh Arabs for months at a time over a seven-year period (1951–1958), building excellent relationships with virtually all he met, and recording the details of day-to-day life in various regions of the marshes. Many of the areas that he visited have since been drained.
Gavin Maxwell
Gavin Maxwell FRSL FZS FRGS (15 July 19147 September 1969) was a British naturalist and author, best known for his non-fiction writing and his work with otters. He wrote the book ''Ring of Bright Water'' (1960) about how he brought an otter ba ...
, the Scottish naturalist, travelled with Thesiger through the marshes in 1956 and published an account of their travels in his 1957 book ''A Reed Shaken by the Wind'' (later republished under the title ''People of the Reeds''). The journalist and travel writer
Gavin Young followed in Thesiger's footsteps, writing ''Return to the Marshes: Life with the Marsh Arabs of Iraq'' (1977; reissued 2009).
The first extensive scholarly ethnographic account of Marsh Arab life was ''Marsh Dwellers of the Euphrates Delta'' (1962), by Iraqi anthropologist
S. M. Salim. An
ethnoarchaeological study of the material culture of the Marsh Arabs has been published by Edward L. Ochsenschlager: ''Iraq's Marsh Arabs in the Garden of Eden'' (
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2004).
Rory Stewart described the Marsh Arabs and his experiences as deputy governor in the Maysan province (2003–2004) in his 2006 book, ''
The Prince of the Marshes'' (also published under the title ''Occupational Hazards'').
In 2011, Sam Kubba published ''The Iraqi Marshlands and the Marsh Arabs: The Ma'dan, Their Culture and the Environment''. The Iraqi Marshlands and the Marsh Arabs details the rich cultural legacy and lifestyle that survives today only as a fragmented cultural inheritance.
In German, there are Sigrid Westphal-Hellbusch und Heinz Westphal, ''Die Ma'dan: Kultur und Geschichte der Marschenbewohner im Süd-Iraq'' (Berlin: Duncker und Humblot, 1962). Sigrid Westphal Hellbusch and her husband Heinz Westphal wrote a comprehensive study on the Madan based on research and observation obtained while living with Madan tribes. These observations outline how the Madan diverge from other Shia communities.
Films
Films about Marsh Arabs:
* ''
Dawn of the World'' (''L'Aube du monde''), directed by
Abbas Fahdel, 2008
* ''Iran, southwestern'', directed by
Mohammad Reza Fartousi, 2010
* ''Silent Companion'' (''Hamsafare Khamoosh''), directed by Elham Hosseinzadeh, 2004
* ''Zaman, The Man From The Reeds'' (''Zaman, l'homme des roseaux''), directed by
Amer Alwan, 2003
* ''The Marshes'' (''Al-Ahwar''), directed by Kassem Hawal, 1975
See also
*
Tigris–Euphrates river system
The Tigris–Euphrates river system is a large river system in Western Asia which discharges into the Persian Gulf. Its principal rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates along with smaller tributaries.
From their sources and upper courses in the mou ...
*
Sumerians
*
Shatt al-Arab
The Shatt al-Arab ( ar, شط العرب, lit=River of the Arabs; fa, اروندرود, Arvand Rud, lit=Swift River) is a river of some in length that is formed at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the town of al-Qurnah in ...
*
Edward Bawden
*
Mandaeans
Mandaeans ( ar, المندائيون ), also known as Mandaean Sabians ( ) or simply as Sabians ( ), are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. Th ...
*
Mudhif
*
Al-Duraji, a tribal confederation of southern Iraq, with a large presence in the Marsh Arabs
*
Al-Muntafiq
Al-Muntafiq ( ar, المنتفق) was a large Arab tribal confederation of southern Iraq and Kuwait. The confederation's tribes predominantly settled in Iraq's southern provinces and northern Kuwait. The confederation is not homogeneous in ter ...
, a tribal confederation of southern Iraq, with a large presence in the Marsh Arabs
References
External links
Images from ''Iraq's Marsh Arabs in the Garden of Eden'' University of Pennsylvania
Pitt Rivers Museum
* An article o
the ancient and recent history of the Marsh Arabsat Laputan Logic
A twenty-year-long ethnographic study conducted by Edward Ochsenschlager. As well as documenting the traditional way of life of the Marsh Arabs, it also made comparisons with ancient Sumerian cultural practices.
AMAR International Charitable Foundation("Assisting Marsh Arabs and Refugees")
Images of Iraq's Marsh Arabs Endangered Culture & Nature by Sate Al Abbasi * Dennis Dimick
Photos from 1967 reveal a lost culture in Iraq published by National Geographic. Accessed 29 September 2015.
ABC Australia, The Marsh Arabs of Iraq, short documentary (19 mins) outlining attempts to resettle the marshlands
or_https://www.dw.com/en/reviving-the-marshlands-in-southern-iraq/a-18301544_Thomas_Aders,_Reviving_the_Marshlands,_[short_report_Deutsche_Welle.html" ;"title="hort report">or https://www.dw.com/en/reviving-the-marshlands-in-southern-iraq/a-18301544 Thomas Aders, Reviving the Marshlands, [short report
Deutsche Welle">hort report">or https://www.dw.com/en/reviving-the-marshlands-in-southern-iraq/a-18301544 Thomas Aders, Reviving the Marshlands, [short report
Deutsche Welle, 17 March, 2015]
{{Iraq topics
Marsh Arabs,
Ethnic groups in Iraq
Ethnic groups in the Middle East
Demographics of Iraq
Ethnic groups in the Arab world
Ethnic groups in Iran
Mesopotamian Marshes