Nakhuda (when Anglicised, also written Nakhodeh, Nakhudah, Nakhooda, Nakhoda, Nakhodi) is a term originating from the

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...

which literally means Captain. Derived from nāv boat (from Old Persian) + khudā master, from Middle Persian khutāi a 'master of a native vessel' or 'Lord of the Ship'. Historically, people with this epithet are Muslim and Kamili Jewish ship owning merchants of Persian origin, known to have crossed the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

to trade in other coastal areas of the world. Besides in Southern Iran those with the surname Nakhuda can be found in coastal areas of the world in small numbers such as the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, Pakistan, Malaysia and India. There is a town called Nakhl-e Nakhoda in southern

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 ...

, Hormozgan Province on the

. It is also a title historically associated with

pearl diving Pearl hunting, also known as pearling, is the activity of recovering pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels, in the sea or freshwater. Pearl hunting was prevalent in the Persian Gulf region and Japan for thousands of years. On ...

. The modern

Gulf Arabic Gulf Arabic ( ' local pronunciation: or ', local pronunciation: ) is a variety of the Arabic language spoken in Eastern Arabia around the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, southern Iraq, eastern Sa ...

for the title would be 'Qubtan'. Arabian Pearling vessels would typically take to sea with the ''Nakhuda'', assistant ''Mijadimi'', a singer ''Nahham'', some 8 divers ''Ghais'', and ten haulers ''Saib''. The cook on the vessel was titled ''Jallas''. Larger boats would even include a ''Muttawa'' to lead prayers. The vessels ranged from the relatively small Banoosh to the 100-foot Jalboot, a corruption of the English term jollyboat. The trade was lucrative - at the turn of the 19th century, revenues from the Gulf pearl trade were estimated at some £1,434,000, with an additional £30,439 of this earned from mother-of-pearl. Lorimer records, in the early 20th century, 1,200 boats involved in the trade across the Trucial States, each carrying an average crew of 18.

Role

The nakhuda was responsible for selecting dive locations and for selling the catch, but the date of sailing to the oyster banks and the duration of the voyage would be set by the admiral of each port's pearling fleet. This official would be appointed by the Ruler. The actual work of pearling was dangerous and exhausting - divers would make up to 60 dives a day. The accumulated catch would be piled up and then in the early morning of the following day, the nakhuda would be responsible for overseeing the opening of the oysters, weighing and registering the catch of small pearls and selecting particularly fine pearls for individual sale. One nakhuda was assigned as the leader of the port's fleet for the 120-day season from June–September (this, longer season would often be preceded by a shorter, 40-day season known as 'the cold dive' as the Spring Gulf waters would be cool at the time) and would take responsibility for co-ordinating efforts to help any boat in trouble. He would also lead the return voyage.

Trade

Visiting the pearl banks during the season, the pearl dealers, ''tawwash'', would buy the bulk catch from the nakhuda, sorting the pearls using grading pans. Nakhudas would seek individual sales for larger or outstanding pearls, taking them to a pearl trader, or ''tajir''. Typically, nakhudas financed their voyages, although some were financed by merchants and obligated to yield their catch in return for a share in proceeds.

References

{{Reflist __FORCETOC__ History of the United Arab Emirates Pearls