The Red Sea: Between Occupiers and Owners
The sea is a sign of serenity and a cause for grief. It’s the harvesting of pearl and the dead divers. It’s bounties but also hunger when it roars. Soothing when calm but frightening when it rages. To Eritreans, the Red Sea is all of that; to the invaders, it is just a port, a swinging door. Those who come in must also go out.
Coastal people have a strong bond with the sea. They engage in trade and do commerce over it. They are seafarers or fishers. The sea clocks their seasons and days… and time. Their language is sprinkled with terminologies of the sea; they maintain an unmistakable culture.
On the Red Sea shores, Nakhuda is the captain or the commander, and Qawas is a diver; some families are known by the profession of the head of the household. Eritrea has such a sea culture that ties it to seafaring; none of that in Ethiopia.
But then even the name Ethiopia itself is recent—the historical name of the nucleus of ancient Abyssinia, modern Ethiopia. Italians never invaded Ethiopia; it was not there. They invaded and occupied Abyssinia and adjacent regions. Menelik, the Abyssinian king, recognized Europe’s scramble for Africa; they rewarded him by letting him plunder and expand his empire like they did. It was good for the British, the French, and the Italians. Menelik signed a deal with the Italians; he became the emperor of “Ethiopia.”
Abyssinia was the name that mainly included the Tigray and the present Amhara regions—and other non-ruling social groups occupied or incorporated by Abyssinians into Ethiopia.
Where Superstitions Flourish
Let’s check Abyssinia/Ethiopia
- Neither ancient nor even medieval history can be considered evidence in any legal or political argument. History cannot bolster modern political ambitions of an entity that aims to justify its expansion or hegemony.
- Abyssinian kings were like most warlords who invaded and pillaged any region their peasant armies could reach; the southern and eastern parts of modern Ethiopia are a testimony—regions estimated to be twice or more the area of modern Ethiopia were acquired by imperial expansions.
- Modern Ethiopia never ruled Eritrea until 1958, though cross-border, intermittent power loyalties existed in some areas.
- The Axumite kingdom existed in a limited area of Eritrea.
- The kingdom existed from 100 CE to 950 CE and was ended with the invasion of the Beja from the north and by the Jewish Queen Gudit from within.Here is the history of Eritrea compiled by Saleh Younis, who saved me work: In its 850 years, Abyssinia ruled part of the Red Sea (including Massawa and Assab ports) for 39 years only (1961-1991). And here is who ruled Eritrea since 1557.
Turkey: 1557-1865 (308 years)
Egypt: 1865-1885 (20 years)
Italy: 1885-1941 (56 years)
Britain: 1941-1952 (11 years)
Ethiopia: 1952-1991 (39 years)
Free: In 1991 (34 years ago), Eritrea became independent.
Despite the clear history, many Ethiopians claim the Red Sea as their own. They pursue expansionist ambitions with intents of aggression against Eritrea.
Pearl Diving
The Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf have a history of seafaring to the East, including India and the Far East, for trading. Pearl harvesters travelled to sell their pearls in Bombay and Paris, the centers for pearl trade.
The pearl trade was a flourishing trade until the Great Depression of 1929; it completely disappeared as a trade around after WW2. Finally, the pearl trade was fatally knocked by the Japanese, who developed cultured pearls in the first half of the 20th century.
Ali Al-Nahari
Probably the most famous Eritrean pearl trader is the late Ali Nahari of Dahlak. Today, his descendants are scattered all over the Arab countries and beyond. I knew two cousins from the family, Ali and [Omar] Al Nahari.
Nahari was a wealthy man who used to travel to Europe in the end of the 19th century; he deposited his money in Italy and France. After WW1 (Al-Nahari died in 1931), the banks collapsed, and tracing the wealth was difficult if not impossible.
When the banks collapsed, the owners of the accounts were untraceable. Abundant oral stories believe the funds were put in a trust and invested in big companies like Air France. The Nahari descendants couldn’t trace the funds.
In the coastal trading regions, there was a wide traditional system of payment settlements between traders, fleet owners, and other beneficiaries—known as Kombiala (IOU). In Kuwait, the entire business was in the hands of about a dozen wealthy families engaged in financial activities. Years later, the oil revenue made the old pearl harvesting regions of the Gulf major stakeholders in the modern financial institutions.
I once heard that the Al Nahari family has given the PFDJ government documents to pursue the case and trace the wealth left by their grandfather. It seems they failed in tracing the funds. To date, the wealth seems to have disappeared in a maze of oral stories, old documents, and maybe corruption.
The Dahlak Islands of Eritrea and the Saudi island of Farasan flourished as pearl harvesting centers. Port cities like Massawa and Jeddah enjoyed lucrative trade.
Seafaring culture is rich in folktales, and their history is reflected in songs, dances, and folktales. Such culture is well established in the Eritrean shores; it needs to be appreciated before declaring to invade Eritrea. The last time Ethiopia did that, it pulled the region back to the Middle—a calamity that continued for 30 years and is still alive.
King Kaleb’s 1500-year-old story.
The Ethiopian elite (intellectuals and peasants alike) are fond of presenting the name of King Kaleb to reassert their claim over the Red Sea. Yes, Kaleb was the king of Axum, but Eritrea was never part of Axum. And yes, Kaleb’s port was Adulis, a transit port and trading center for Arabs, Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and Axumites alike.
In 520 CE, Yusuf Dhu Nawas, the Jewish ruler of the Himyarite kingdom (present-day Yemen), massacred the Christians of Najran. The Byzantine emperor Justin asked King Kaleb to intervene.
The Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantine, provided ships to the Kingdom of Axum to invade Najran. King Kaleb prepared the army, and Emperor Justin sent him ships. Himyar was invaded in 525 CE and established the rule of the Christians in Najran. Temporarily, Kaleb dominated the region, but this should be seen through the prism of ancient geopolitics, naval logistics, and religious alliances.
The Byzantine emperor’s concern was not entirely sympathy for the Christians, but the Persian and Jewish expansion to South Arabia, which he wanted stopped. And the two succeeded in stopping the Persian and Jewish allies’ influences from expanding.
The Najran campaign was an important and symbolic diplomatic gesture for the Romans and King Kaleb. Byzantine and Axum established a relation that paved the way for the future relations of the two.
The Pearl Harvest
Many of the pearl divers were slaves until slavery was delegitimized in the 1930’s. With a rock tied to their waist, nostrils sealed by clips, and propelled to the seafloor on one breath. After they collect enough oysters, they pull the rope, the other end of which is held by a sailor on the deck of the boat. The alerted sailor helps the divers swim to the surface by pulling the rope tied to their waist. It was a very risky task, and many died of suffocation—staying too long at the bottom, or the sailor at the deck forgetting to pull them back, a shark attack, and many other reasons. The folklore, dances, and songs of these people have their origins in seafaring and diving. Those who reach home safely cash the Kombialaa (I owe you) documents that they hold and cash their dues.
Finally, to Eritreans, the Red Sea is all of the above; to invaders, it is just a port, a swinging door. They come and leave from the same door. To understand the Red Sea is to honor the culture of its coast; threatening to invade it is not an honor.
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