Jahazis

This is a jahazi, a lateen-sailed boat which plies the palm-fringed beaches of the east coast of Africa. Her big sisters are the....

....dhows which worked the seaways between the ports of East Africa, western India and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, while her small sisters are the ngalowas, mostly used for inshore fishing.

Jahazis are the equivalent of the delivery trucks of modern road network, so they were and still are, inshore boats, cargo boats, though they also carry passengers. Their success is reflected in how common they still are along the coast, while the great ocean-going dhows have largely been replaced by modern, steel-hulled ships.

Many thanks to TC for sending me these beautiful pictures. Sadly, the name of their photographer is lost but we do know they were taken some time around 1900, so they are a window into the design and technology of these ships before the arrival of European ideas.