THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL SUAKIN AND ITS FISHERMEN: A STUDY OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES AND ETHNIC GROUPINGS IN A SUDANESE PORT being a Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hull by Eric George Kentley, B. A. February 1988 ,ý ft> 'ý' : n ý' ate Summary Summary of Thesis submitted for Ph. D. degree by E. C. Kentley on Suakin and its Fishermen: a study of economic activities and ethni_ groupings in a Sudanese port This study examines the role that ethnic identity plays in economic activities within the context of Suakin, with particular T reference to fishing. Chapter One defines the. context physically and. to some extent culturally. It begins with a discussion of the boats used by the fishermen, which suggests that in this respect at least Suakin is culturally more akin to the Middle East, or "dhow world", than to the interior of Sudan. The environment in which these boats operate and the appearance of the town is then described. This appearance and the presence of the current population is accounted for in Chapter Two, which relates the history of the town and its people. In Chapter Three, the concept of "ethnic grouping" is developed from earlier concepts in order to classify the present population. The concept is applied in Chapter Four, where there is also an examination of the activities, organisation and sizes of these groupings. Chapters Five and Six give a detailed account of the fishing industry in Suakin, including an assessment of a development project aimed at improving productivity and an elucidation of two "universal" methods of profit distribution by share allocation. In order to establish in what respects fishing is unique and in what respects it is a typical occupation, Chapter Seven 11 surveys the other major economic activities in the town. It also locates fishing within the context of the town's total economic life. The is concluding chapter argues that in terms of its organisation fishing typical of private sector occupations and its organisation is maintained partly through the mode of remuneration and partly through the social organisation of the town into distinct ethnic groupings. I4 ACKN0WLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to the Social Science Research Council for the Studentship which financed this research, and am obliged to the t-t4 National Maritime Museum for their cooperation when, writing up. I would r" also like to thank the following for their particular assistance at various stages: the Marine Fisheries Division of the Sudanese Ministry týV of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources, especially Hazi Hamid Hazi; Alec White, OBE; Mahmoud M Baasher; Mohammed-Salih Brayik; Hamid Brayik; Dr El Haj Bilal Omer; the Craker family; and Dr FM Clegg. Above all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor I Cunnison, for his consistent patience and, encouragement. (ii) C0NTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (i) INDEX TO MAPS, FIGURES, TABLES AND PLATES (iv) INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: BOATS AND PLACES 10 The Boats of Suakin e--\ The Environment The Aspect of Suakin CHAPTER TWO: THE HISTORY OF SUAKIN AND ITS INHABITANTS 43 Early Inhabitants, Early Ports Suakin from 750 AD to the Mid-Nineteenth Century Population Movements Suakin from the Mid-Nineteenth: ýCentury to 1967 Recent Events CHAPTER THREE: "TRIBE", "ETHNIC GROUP AND RELATED CONCEPTS 86 Bases of Classification Approaches to "Tribe" "Ethnic Group": A New Concept, Old Problems "Ethnic Group": Other Approaches Restricting Applicability Groups, Categories and Other Units Redefining "Ethnic", "Category", "Group" Etc. CHAPTER FOUR: ETHNIC GROUPINGS AND EVERYDAY LIFE 113 Classifying the Population Suakin and Settlement Ethnic Groupings and Numbers The Distribution of Ethnic Groupings Within the Town Appearances Social Behaviour in Groupings Interaction Between Ethnic Groupings Political Systems and the Maintenance of Social Order Suakin: One Entity or Several? (iii) CHAPTER FIVE: FISHERMEN AND FISHING 164-- Demography Ethnic Groupings: the Conversion of Pastoralists into Fishermen? Recruitment of Fishermen Crews Fishing Grounds and Fish Fishing Operations Ethnic Groupings, Fishing Techniques and Technology CHAPTER SIX: THE FISHING INDUSTRY: DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTSAND FISH DISTRIBUTION 192 The Sudan/UK Red Sea Fisheries Development Project Capital and Running Costs Sharing the Profits Estimating Incomes The Distribution of Fish CHAPTER SEVEN: THE ECONOMIC LIFE OF SUAKIN 234 Fishing: A Typical Occupation? Public Sector Employment Private Sector Employment Ethnicity, Employment and Economy The Economy and Settlement CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSIONS 267 APPENDIX I: FURTHER NOTES ON THE BOATS 301 APPENDIX II: PUNCH'S VIEW OF THE SUAKIN-BERBER RAILWAY 308 BIBLIOGRAPHY 310 (iv) MAPS page 1. The Dhow World 12 2. The Red Sea 22 3. The Major Islands of the Suakin Archipelago 27 4. The Land Environs of Suakin 28 5. Sketchmap of Suakin 32 6. The Headwaters of Suakin Creek 34 7. Sketchmap of Suakin's Market Area 38 8. Eritrea and Tigray 78 9. Sketchmap of the Homelands of Collectivities Represented in Suakin 128 10. The Distribution of Ethnic Groupings Within Suakin 133 11. Sketchmap of Part of the Rashaida Settlement in al-Fula 136 FIGURES 1. The Shaped Dhow Keel 13 2. Contrasting Methods of Keel/Garboard Fastening 13 3. Cross-section of the Fringing and Barrier Reefs 25 4. Kinship relations Between Some Rashaida Householders in al-Fula 137 5. The Arrangement of the Crowd Outside the Town Council Offices During the Province Commissioner's Speech, May 1979 145 (v) FIGURES - continued 6. Kinship Relations Amongst Lansh Crews: Two Examples 177 7. The Distribution of Fish Caught by Suakin's Fishermen 226 8. Kinship Relations Between Owner and Workers in a Khasa Kitchen, al-Fula 254 9. The Internal Economy of Suakin as a System 263 10. Suakin and the Wider Economy 264 302 11. Some Examples of Dhow Stemheads T ABLE S 65 1. The Population of Suakin 1955/56 2. The "Tribal" Composition of Suakin's Population 1955/56 66 68 3. Language Groups, Suakin 1955/56 4. Occupations in Suakin 1955/56 69 5. Birth, Death and Infant Mortality Rates, Suakin 1955/56 71 6. The Population of Suakin 1979 130 7. An Estimation of the Relative Sizes of Ethnic Groupings in Suakin 131 8. Fish and Their Seasons 180 9. Estimation of the Distribution of Boats Amongst Ethnic Groupings 191 Landings in Suakin 1979 202 10 . Fish 11 Estimated Catches Three Lanshs 203 . of 12 Estimated Running Costs Three Fishing Craft 213 . of 13 Major Ethnic Groupings and Major Economic Activities 260 . (vi) P LATE S 1. A large Huri 306 2. A Lansh Under Construction 306 3. The Transom-sterned Falluka-type Lansh 307 4. The Ramas 307 ,..: _ 0 1 INTR0DUCT10N A substantial body of anthropological literature exists which deals directly or indirectly with methods of earning a livelihood in Sudan. Monographs and papers have been published on transhumants, nomads, agriculturalists, merchants, stevedores and others. This study adds to the list, taking as its subject fishermen on the Red Sea coast. It is not a general survey, but is concerned only with those resident in the town of Suakin. The choice of this town, and indeed the subject itself, came about by chance. It began through a conversation with the Team Leader of a British Ministry of Overseas Development project. He informed me that members of a certain "tribe", the Rashaida, had settled in Suakin and become fishermen. At that time no anthropological study had been made of the Rashaida, yet they were well-known and widely regarded as pastoral nomads. I had heard of the forced conversion of nomads into fishermen by the Somali government, but if this process was happening voluntarily in Suakin, it demanded further investigation. As will be revealed, the apparent occupational change was not a spontaneous conversion, but linked to another maritime activity which further research showed the Rashaida to have been involved with for some time: trading by dhows. This trading is not entirely legal and compiling information on it was 4 extremely difficult. It soon became apparent that I would be unable 2 to collect data of sufficient quality to form a thesis simply on the process of Rashaida settlement in Suakin. However, the town itself did not conform with my expectations. Before arriving, I was under the impression that it was almost deserted. The only statistics available were contained in the 1955/56 census, which gave a figure of 4,000 persons resident. As the town was not enumerated separately in 1972, the inference was that it was now much smaller. Yet the Suakin I arrived in had nearly 14,000 inhabitants, of which only some 13 per cent were Rashaida. Thus it was a logical progression to investigate not only the process of settlement and activities of the Rashaida but rather the processes of settlement and economic activities in the town as a whole. This is a vast subject and on advice I selected Suakin's fishing industry as the focus. The population of the town is ethnically diverse and the information collected presents an opportunity to shed light on the long-standing anthropological concern with "tribes/ethnic groups". Most discussions of this topic have been restricted to social, cultural and political phenomena. Whilst these dimensions are not ignored, by examining economic activities in a non-industrial context, with particular reference to fishing, further aspects of ethnicity can be explored. This thesis will attempt to answer the question What relevance has ethnic identity to economic activities? Thus it can be classified as a study in both social and economic anthropology. Yet, it may be argued that, as it is concerned with fishermen, it falls within the sub-discipline of "maritime anthropology". Certainly on this ground alone it is within the definition put forward by the originators of the term, Casteel and Quimby (1975: 1).