Gulf pearl divers’ sea shanty serenade

Recording the sea shanties sung by Gulf pearl divers half a century ago adds to a rich history that no longer exists in modern workplaces.

Pearl diving was a way of life in the Arabian Gulf until the 1960s. Alain Saint-Hilaire / The National

Back in simpler times, sea shanties were used both to mark the pace of work and also to pass the time for sailors plying the world's waterways. As The National reported yesterday, that included the pearl divers of the Arabian Gulf, for whom songs were individually crafted.

The last veterans of the pearling industry are now of advanced age, which is why it is important that film maker Ray Haddad and musician Jason Carter to record their unique musical traditions before the last participants of this once lucrative but dangerous trade are no longer with us.

These Emirati divers’ songs constituted a unique chapter to a rich tradition that included everything from ocean-crossing sailing vessels through to slaves loading cargo boats in the American south.

The pearl divers’ songs featured an extra role as a safety feature – with each song linked to how long the diver could hold his breath, his colleagues knew when someone was overdue and needed rescue.

One cannot help but compare the different role played by music now. In an era when everyone has personal music devices, songs are more often listened to via headphones in a bid to insulate oneself from one’s colleagues rather than to bond with them to make work easier.