Marsh Arabs معدان , Ma'dan
Total population
500,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Middle East  Iraq 125-150,000 [2]  Iran unknown
Languages
Arabic
Religions
Shia Islam
Related ethnic groups
Iranian Arabs

The Marsh Arabs (Arabic: عرب الأهوار‎, Arabs of Al-ahwar), also known as the Ma'dan (Arabic: معدان‎) are inhabitants of the Tigris-Euphrates marshlands in the south and east of Iraq and along the Iranian border. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Iranian Arabs (عربان ايرانی are the Arabic -speaking peoples of Iran. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Tigris-Euphrates river system is part of the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh Ecoregion of the Middle East, and is characterized by two large For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics.

Comprising members of many different tribes and tribal confederations, such as the Al bu Muhammad, Feraigat, Shaghanba and Bani Lam, the Ma'dan had developed a unique culture centred around the marshes' natural resources. Many of the marshes' inhabitants were displaced, and the wetlands themselves destroyed, during and after the 1991 uprisings in Iraq. The 1991 uprisings in Iraq were a series of anti-governmental Intifada ( Rebellions in Southern and Northern Iraq during the aftermath of the

Contents 1 Culture 1.1 Agriculture 1.2 Religion 1.3 Society 2 1991 - 2003 3 Since 2003 4 Literature 5 Link to Sumerians and Babylonians 6 References 7 See also 8 External links

Culture

The word Ma'dan means "dweller in the Plain (Adan)", and was used disparagingly by desert tribes to refer to those inhabiting the Iraqi river basins, and by those who farmed in the river basins to refer to the population of the marshes. ^[3] There was a considerable historic prejudice against the Ma'dan, partly as they were considered to have Persian or other 'mixed' origin and partly due to their practice of temporary marriage. ^[4]

The Ma'dan speak a local dialect of Arabic and traditionally wore a variant of normal Arab dress: for males, a long shirt or thawb (occasionally with a Western-style jacket over the top, in more recent times) and a keffiyeh headcloth worn twisted around the head in a turban, as few could afford an agal. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language A thawb or thobe (ثوب) dishdasha (ar دشداشة) kandura (ar كندورة) khameez (ar قميص The keffiyeh (كوفية, plural ar كوفيات kūfiyyāt) shmagh, shemagh or yashmag (ar شماغ) (from Turkish The turban (from Persian fa دلبند or دولبند dulband via the Turkish tr tülbent) is a headdress consisting of a long

Agriculture

The society of the Marsh Arabs was divided into two main groups by occupation. The group known as the al hwar Arabs bred and raised buffalo, while others cultivated crops such as rice, barley, wheat and pearl millet; they also kept some sheep and cattle. Bubalus is a genus of Bovines the English name of which is buffalo Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many Barley ( Hordeum vulgare) is an annual Cereal Grain, which serves as a major animal Feed crop, with smaller amounts used for Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. Pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely grown type of Millet. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family 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 and Sirius. The Pleiades (ˈpliːədiːz or /ˈplaɪədiːz/ also known as M 45, the '''Seven Sisters''', Seven Stars, SED, Matariki Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky with a visual Apparent magnitude of &minus1 ^[5]

Some branches of the Ma'dan were nomadic pastoralists, erecting temporary dwellings and moving buffalo around the marshes according to the season. Nomadic people, (from the νομάδες nomádes, "those who let pasture herds" also known as nomads, are communities of people that Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of Agriculture concerned with the raising of Livestock. Some fishing, especially of species of barbel (Barbus sp. Barbus is a Genus of Fish in the Cyprinidae family. The type species of this genus is the Common Barbel, first described , notably the binni or bunni, Barbus sharpeyi) was practised using spears and datura poison, but large-scale fishing using nets was until recent times regarded as a dishonourable profession by the Ma'dan, and was mostly carried out by a separate low-status tribe known as the Berbera. Datura is a Genus of 12-15 species of vespertine Flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. ^[6] By the early 1990s, however, up to 60% of the total amount of fish caught in Iraq's inland waters came from the marshes. ^[7]

In the later twentieth century a third main occupation entered Marsh Arab life; the weaving of reed mats on a commercial scale. This article describes textile weaving For other senses of this word see Weaving (disambiguation. Phragmites australis, the common reed, is a large perennial grass found in Wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the Though they often earned far more than workers in agriculture, weavers were looked down upon by both Ma'dan and farmers alike: however, financial concerns meant that it gradually gained acceptance as a respectable profession. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture

Religion

The majority of Marsh Arabs are Shia Muslims, though in the marshes small communities of Mandeans (often working as boat builders and craftsmen) lived alongside them. Mandaeism or Mandaeanism ( Mandaic: Mandaiuta, مندائية Mandā'iyya) is a Monotheistic Religion with a strongly ^[8] The inhabitants' long association with tribes within Persia may have influenced the spread of the Shia denomination within the marshes. Wilfred Thesiger commented that while he met few Marsh Arabs who had performed the Hajj, many of them had made the pilgrimage to Meshed (thereby earning the title of Zair);^[9] a number of families also claimed descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad, adopting the title of Sayyid and dyeing their keffiyeh headcloths green. Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger, CBE, DSO, ( 3 June, 1910 &ndash August 24, 2003) was a British explorer The Hajj (حج is a pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world Mashhad ( literally the place of martyrdom) is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslims regard as Prophets of Islam ( Arabic: نبي) those non-divine humans chosen by Allah as Prophets IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ##### For all questions relating to the addition of (pbuh peace be upon him or other honorifics For the Lost character please see Sayid Jarrah Sayyid ( ar سيد) (plural Saadah is an Honorific title Dyeing is the process of imparting Colours to a textile material in loose fibre Yarn, Cloth or garment form by treatment with a Dye.

Society

As with most tribes of southern Iraq, the main authority was the tribal sheik. Sheikh, also rendered as Sheik, Cheikh, Shaikh, and other variants ( Arabic:, shaykh To this day the sheik of a Marsh Arab group will collect a tribute from his tribesmen in order to maintain the mudhif, the tribal guesthouse which acts as the political, social, judicial and religious centre of Marsh Arabic life. A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or as was often case in historical contexts of submission A mudhif is a traditional reed house made by the Madan people (also known as Marsh Arabs) in the swamps of southern Iraq. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions A society is a Population of Humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive Culture and Institutions JUSTICE is a Human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos The mudhif is used as a place to settle disputes, to carry out diplomacy with other tribes and as a gathering point for religious celebrations and prayer. Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate with a Deity or spirit It is also the place where visitors are offered hospitality. Hospitality refers to the relationship process between a Guest and a host and it also refers to the act or practice of being hospitable that is the reception and entertainment Although the tribal sheik was the principal figure, each Ma'dan village (which may have contained members of several different tribes) also had a hereditary qalit or headman.

Blood feuds were a feature of Marsh Arab life, in common with that of the Arab bedouin, and many of the Marsh Arabs' codes of behaviour were similar to those of the desert tribes. Systems of justice among the Bedouin are varied among the Tribes A number of these systems date from The Bedouin, (from the Arabic (ar بدوي pl badū) are a desert-dwelling Arab Nomadic pastoralist, or previously

Most Marsh Arabs lived in arched reed houses considerably smaller than a mudhif. The typical dwelling was usually a little more than 2 meters wide, about 6 meters long, and a little less than three meters high, and was often constructed on an artificial island of earth and reeds called a dibin. An island (ˈaɪlənd or isle (/ˈaɪl/ is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions above high tide and isolated from other significant ^[10] There were entrances on both sides with a screen in the middle; one side was used as a dwelling and the other side was used to shelter animals in bad weather. A raba was a higher-status dwelling which also served as a guesthouse where there was no mudhif. ^[11] Traditional boats (the mashoof and tarada) were used as transport: the Ma'dan would drive buffaloes through the reedbeds during the season of low water to create channels for the boats, which would then be kept open by constant use. ^[12]

The marsh environment meant that certain diseases, such as bilharzia and malaria, were endemic;^[13] the Ma'dan's agriculture and homes were also vulnerable to periodic droughts and flooding. Schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia, bilharziosis or snail fever) is a Parasitic disease caused by several species of fluke Malaria is a vector -borne Infectious disease caused by Protozoan Parasites It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions including

1991 - 2003

The marshes had for some time been considered a refuge for elements persecuted by the government of Saddam Hussein, as in past centuries they had been a refuge for escaped slaves and serfs, such as during the Zanj Rebellion. Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti ( Arabic: ar صدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي --> April 28 1937 &ndash December 30 As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Note The Zanj Rebellion was not a single revolt but a series of small revolts that eventually culminated to a large revolt By the mid 1980s, a low-level insurgency against Ba'athist 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 Abu Hatim. An insurgency is a violent internal uprising against a sovereign government that lacks the organization of a revolution The Arab Socialist Ba'th Party (also spelled Baath or Ba'ath; Arabic: حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي was founded in Damascus A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) ^[14]

During the 1970s, the expansion of irrigation projects had begun to disrupt the flow of water to the marshes. Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops However, after the First Gulf War (1991) the Iraqi government aggressively revived a program to divert the flow of the Tigris River and the Euphrates River away from the marshes in retribution for a failed Shia uprising. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The Tigris is the eastern member of the two great Rivers that define Mesopotamia, along with the Euphrates, which flows from the mountains of southeastern The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת The 1991 uprisings in Iraq were a series of anti-governmental Intifada ( Rebellions in Southern and Northern Iraq during the aftermath of the This was done primarily to eliminate the food source(s) 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. Badr Organization (منظمة بدر (previously known as Badr Brigade or Bader Corps -- not to be confused with the Badr Brigade in the Jordanian Army The plan, which was accompanied by a series of propaganda articles by the Iraqi regime directed against the Ma'dan,^[15] systematically converted the wetlands into a desert, forcing the residents out of their settlements in the region. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. Villages in the marshes were attacked and burnt down and there were reports of the water being deliberately poisoned. ^[16]

The majority of the Ma'dan were displaced to other areas of Iraq or to Iranian refugee camps, while others abandoned their traditional lifestyle in favour of conventional agriculture. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Only 1,600 of them were estimated to still be living on traditional dibins by 2003. ^[17] The western Hammar Marshes and the Qurnah or Central Marshes had become completely dessicated, while the eastern Huwaizah Marshes had dramatically shrunk. The Hammar Marshes were a large complex of Wetlands in Iraq that were part of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along with the Huwaizah and Central

Since 2003

With the ending of a four year drought in 2003, and the breaching of dykes by local communities subsequent to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, the process has been reversed and the marshes have experienced a substantial rate of recovery. The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia The permanent wetlands now cover more than 50% of 1970s levels, with a remarkable regrowth of the Hammar and Huwaizah Marshes and some recovery of the Central Marshes. ^[18]

Efforts to restore the marshes have led to signs of their gradual revivification as water is restored to the former desert, but the whole ecosystem may take far longer to restore than it took to destroy. A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( Only a few thousand of the nearly half million Marsh Arabs remain in the area. Most of the rest that can be accounted for are refugees living in other Shia areas in Iraq, or have emigrated to Iran, and many do not wish to return to their former home and lifestyle, which despite its independence was characterised by extreme poverty and hardship. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. A USAID report noted that while some Ma'dan had chosen to return to their traditional activities in the marshes, especially the Huwaizah Marsh, within a short time of reflooding, they were without clean drinking water, sanitation, health care or education facilities. The United States Agency for International Development (or USAID) is the United States federal government organization responsible for most non- military ^[19] In addition, it is still uncertain if the marshes will completely recover, given increased levels of water abstraction from the Tigris and Euphrates.

Many of the resettled Marsh Arabs have gained representation through the Iraqi Hizbullah organisation; others have become followers of Moqtada al-Sadr's movement, through which they gained political control of Maysan Governorate. The Hezbollah Movement in Iraq (حركة حزب الله في العراق is an Iraqi political party that is part of the United Iraqi Alliance coalition Hojatoleslam Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr or Moktada al Sadr ( ar سيد مقتدى الصدر Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr) (born August 12, Maysan (ميسان is one of the Governorates of Iraq. It is in the east of the country bordering Iran. ^[20] Political instability and local feuds, aggravated by the poverty of the dispossessed Marsh Arab population, remain a serious problem. ^[21]

Literature

The way of life of the Marsh Arabs was chronicled by Sir Wilfred Thesiger in his classic book The Marsh Arabs (1964). Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger, CBE, DSO, ( 3 June, 1910 &ndash August 24, 2003) was a British explorer 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, 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. Gavin Maxwell FRSL, FIAL FZS (Sc, FRGS, FAGS ( 15 July 1914 &ndash 7 September 1969) was a Scottish

There are relatively few other accounts of the Ma'dan; one was jointly published in 1927 by a British colonial administrator, Stuart Edwin Hedgecock, and his wife. ^[22] Gertrude Bell also visited the area. Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell CBE ( July 14, 1868 – July 12, 1926) was a British writer traveller political analyst ^[23] T. E. Lawrence passed through in 1916, stopping at Basra and Ezra's Tomb (Al-Azair), and recorded that the Marsh Arabs were "wonderfully hard [. Basra ( BGN: AlBasrah also called Basorah Abillah and Uruk or IRAQ The name that British colony has adopted for Basra Ezra's Tomb or the Tomb of Ezra (اعزير Al-'Uzair Al-'Uzayr Al-Azair is a location in Iraq on the western shore of the Tigris that was popularly . . ] but merry, and full of talk. They are in the water all their lives, and seem hardly to notice it. "^[24]

Link to Sumerians and Babylonians

The origins of the Marsh Arabs are still a matter of some dispute. British colonial ethnographers found it difficult to classify some of the Ma'dan's social customs and speculated that they might have originated in India,^[25] while it was rumoured amongst neighbouring tribes that they had Persian origins. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country

Some scholars have theorized about possible historical (and even genetic) links between the Marsh Arabs and the ancient Sumerians, based on shared agricultural practices and methods of house building. Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar There is, however, no written record of the marsh tribes until the ninth century. ^[26]

Others have noted that much of the culture of the Ma'dan is in fact shared with the desert bedouin who came to the area after the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate, and that it is therefore likely that they are descended from this source, at least in part. The Bedouin, (from the Arabic (ar بدوي pl badū) are a desert-dwelling Arab Nomadic pastoralist, or previously ^[27]

References

See also

• Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh
• Edward Bawden
• Iranian Arabs, for related groups in Khuzestan Province
• Muntafiq, a large tribal confederation of southern Iraq

External links

• Images from Iraq's Marsh Arabs in the Garden of Eden, University of Pennsylvania
• Wilfred Thesiger's photographs of Marsh Arab life, Pitt Rivers Museum
• An article on the ancient and recent history of the Marsh Arabs at Laputan Logic (Part II)
• Life on the Edge of the Marshes: A twenty year long ethnographic study conducted by Edward Ochsenschlager. The Tigris-Euphrates river system is part of the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial salt marsh Ecoregion of the Middle East, and is characterized by two large Edward Bawden CBE RA (1903&ndash1989 was a British painter illustrator and graphic artist Iranian Arabs (عربان ايرانی are the Arabic -speaking peoples of Iran. Khūzestān (خوزستان is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. Al-Muntafiq ( المنتفق) is a large Arab tribal confederation of southern and central Iraq. The Pitt Rivers Museum is a Museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford. 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")

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