Practiced by an Omani Family for 170 Years: What Do You Know About the 'Al Ibra' Trade?

Prepared by: Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Oraimi

Oman has known, since time immemorial, many economic and social activities that formed an important aspect of its venerable civilisation, and the sea had an important role in some of them, owing to the resort of part of the Omani population to it as a means of livelihood, and also as a means of communication with other peoples and civilisations.

The city of Sur is among the important Omani cities in which the various economic activities were diverse, owing to the city's location and its geographical importance, and by virtue of the nature of its people's flourishing maritime activity and the different crafts and economic activities that such activity required, and what it contributed to of a civilisational diversity that made the city a magnet for many of those coming to it in search of opportunities for work and success.

“Atheer”, in this report, draws close to one of the local maritime activities linked to the city's geography, namely the (Ibra) activity, by shedding light on the nature of this activity, the most prominent families that worked in it, and the comparison between the activity's situation before and after 1970.

The importance of the local maritime-transport activity

Al Ayjah, together with Umm Qraimtain (Sur Al Sahil), formed the geography of the Omani city of Sur which became famous in the field of maritime navigation; Al Ayjah lies in the eastern part of the city, and between it and the western part of the city lies Khor Al Batah, which is the dividing line between the two halves of the city of Sur.

Owing to the nature of the geographical location and the terrain associated with the place — the existence of a water divide between the two sides — and the pressing need to move between the two ends of the city for numerous social and economic purposes, the need arose for an internal maritime-transport activity linking the two ends of the city, through wooden boats that transport people with their belongings in return for token sums charged on the belongings; this activity was locally called the (Ibra).

The (Houri Al Ibra) or the (ferry) formed the link between the two banks of Khor Al Batah at Al Ayjah and Sur Al Sahil, and played an important social role such as transporting water, evacuating the sick, going to the city market, transporting goods and personal commodities, the movement of some families by them during the summer (residence) seasons, transporting students to their schools — whether the Holy Qur'an schools before 1970 or the government schools after it — and many other social services.

The family of Khalfan bin Obaid Al Ghailani

The family of Khalfan bin Obaid bin Khatir Al Ghailani is one of the venerable families that practised the (Ibra) activity in Khor Sur for a period exceeding (170) years, since the reign of Sultan Said bin Sultan, until the opening of the Khor Al Batah bridge that links Sur Al Sahil and Al Ayjah in 2010, through successive generations that practised this maritime activity important to the city's people and its visitors.

The exact precise date of the family's beginning to practise this activity is not known, nor the reasons associated with their work in it; but through tracing some of the documents currently in the family's possession, it is clear that this activity is old. 

Among the documents associated with this family's practice of this important activity is a document containing a deed of acknowledgement from Sheikh Majid bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Hamouda dated Rabi Al Awwal 1293 AH, corresponding to March 1876, in which there is a reference to the existence of old documents from the era of Sultan Said bin Sultan (1806–1856) and his wali over Sur, Sayyid Said bin Khalfan Al Busaidi, proving Khalfan bin Obaid's ownership of the khor-ferry activity, where those papers stated: “That Khalfan bin Obaid is one of our men and on our side, and likewise his offspring, so no one is to oppose Khalfan bin Obaid in the khor ferry.”

Among the documents associated with this family's practice of this important activity is a document containing a deed of acknowledgement from Sheikh Majid bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Hamouda dated Rabi Al Awwal 1293 AH, corresponding to March 1876, in which there is a reference to the existence of old documents from the era of Sultan Said bin Sultan (1806–1856) and his wali over Sur, Sayyid Said bin Khalfan Al Busaidi, proving Khalfan bin Obaid's ownership of the khor-ferry activity, where those papers stated:

“That Khalfan bin Obaid is one of our men and on our side, and likewise his offspring, so no one is to oppose Khalfan bin Obaid in the khor ferry.”

A legal deed proving the family's right to this activity was issued on 22 Shaaban 1360 AH, corresponding to 14 September 1941, in the hand of Saleh bin Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Muallim, based on several old testimonies.

Among the most prominent of those who worked in the field of the Ibra from the members of this family: Khalfan bin Obaid bin Khatir Al Ghailani, Saeed bin Khalfan bin Obaid, Mohammed bin Saeed bin Khalfan, Khalfan bin Mohammed bin Khalfan, Mohammed bin Khalfan bin Mohammed, Hamad bin Khalfan bin Mohammed, Juma bin Khalfan bin Mohammed, and Saeed bin Khalfan bin Mohammed.

After 1970, although the Sur municipality introduced the ferry service to facilitate the movement of citizens across Khor Al Batah in 1973, through a government boat that provided the transport service free of charge, the members of the family of Khalfan bin Obaid continued to work in their fathers' profession of the Ibra. Several reasons helped them continue the work, among them: the government ferry sometimes broke down, and this matter would take days for repair work, which called for the existence of another means of transport. The government ferry was also committed to certain working hours, whereas the family's ferry worked all the time without commitment to a fixed time; in addition, the route of the government ferry was committed to a certain path, whereas the family's own boat expanded into other routes; in addition to the resort of some company workers among the expatriate labour to using the family's boat after certain fees were imposed on them by the government ferry.

Work in the Ibra continued — whether through the government boat or the boat of the family of the sons of Khalfan bin Obaid — until 2010, when the Khor Al Batah bridge was opened, which facilitated the process of moving between the two banks of the khor. The last to work in the field of the Ibra through his own activity, which he inherited from his fathers, was Mohammed bin Khalfan bin Mohammed bin Saeed bin Khalfan bin Obaid bin Khatir Al Ghailani, while his brother Juma bin Khalfan joined the work on the government boat belonging to the Sur municipality. 

The name of the Ibra became closely associated with its owners over many years of their work in it, so that they came to be known as the “Sons of the Ibra” (Awlad Al Ibra).

Working hours and route:

Work in the field of the local maritime transport (the Ibra) used to begin from the early morning until sunset, with rest times during the noon period. Despite that, there were exceptions in emergency cases, and the owner of the Ibra would be called (hailed) from the other side or while he was at his home. The owner of the Ibra would also meet the request of people who needed to move to the other bank, even if that coincided with his rest time, especially during the noon period, owing to the great social cohesion and the sense among the members of the community of one another's needs and circumstances.

The route of the Ibra began or ended from the eastern bank of Khor Al Batah called Al Khaisa, or the western bank near the Fardha building (customs), which is called Al Batah. After 1970, with the appearance of the government ferry, the boat of the family of the sons of Khalfan bin Obaid expanded into transport to other places such as Ras Al Hadd or Qalhat, and did not commit to the previous route from Al Batah to Al Khaisa and back.

The boats used:

The types of boats used in the local maritime-transport work — or what are called the Ibra boats — varied. Before the appearance of the blessed renaissance in 1970, the boat used was a wooden boat of the (houri) type, with a capacity of about 5–7 persons.

As for after the appearance of the blessed renaissance in 1970, and the prosperity that accompanied it in various aspects and the development that occurred in tools and means of transport, the family of the sons of Khalfan bin Obaid used a wooden boat fitted with an engine, then it was replaced with an aluminium boat.

As for the government boat, it was a wooden boat of greater capacity, so as to accommodate the largest number of people and belongings.

The fees:

Relatively token fees were imposed on the personal belongings carried by the passengers of the Ibra boat, in addition to fees imposed on stranger passengers from outside the city. There are a number of documents associated with the subject of the fees for using the Ibra boat, among them a document dating to the 1960s with a clarification of the most prominent belongings and the fees set for carrying them. We shall review here an aspect of those documents regulating the work of the Ibra: in a letter issued by a number of the sheikhs of the Janba tribe in Sur dated 8 Safar 1365 AH, corresponding to 12 January 1946, to Sayyid Hamoud bin Hamad bin Badr Al Busaidi, wali of Sur at the time, there is a reference to imposing fees on strangers, men and women, who use the ferry, owing to the economic and social circumstances associated with the city during that period, with the city's sons and government employees who are not the city's sons exempted from paying the fees.

During the period of the wilaya of Sayyid Majid bin Taimur, which began in 1953 and lasted until the mid-1960s, a regulation was issued organising the subject of the fare for the khor ferry, based on the agreement reached between the sheikhs of the two tribes, the Janba and Bani Bu Ali, who represent the two ends of the city (Sur Al Sahil and Al Ayjah), where a price list was set for the belongings and goods transported, including for example: a sack of rice or flour (5 baisas), half a sack (two baisas), a tin of ghee (two baisas), a bag of dates (two baisas), the daan (5 baisas), the door (6 baisas).. etc.

As for transporting individuals, the regulation set the fare for transporting a stranger man, not of the members of the two tribes of Bani Bu Ali and the Janba and those with them, at two baisas for a man and a woman, and one baisa for a girl.

The decision issued in this regard urged Khalfan bin Mohammed Al Ghailani, the one in charge of the Ibra, to full readiness and full vigilance, and to ferry people gently and reassuringly. The decision also set the Ibra's working time, namely from the early morning to noon, then from nine o'clock by Arabic time to sunset.

On 13 Safar 1384 AH, corresponding to 24 June 1964, the Directorate of the Interior sent a letter to Sayyid Majid bin Taimur, wali of Sur at the time, specific to the issue of the fees for the Ibra. The letter referred to the efforts made previously in this field, among them the agreement paper drawn up by Sheikh Qadi Mohammed bin Rashid bin Aziz Al Khasibi dated 30 Jumada Al Awwal 1382 AH, corresponding to 29 October 1962, as well as the paper drawn up by the sheikhs of Sur for the wali Sayyid Hamoud bin Ahmed which was reviewed earlier; and that work would proceed during the coming period — until the issue was presented to the sheikhs of the Sharia court in Muscat after the summer period — on the document approved by the Qadi Mohammed bin Rashid Al Khasibi, with the sons of the two tribes of the Janba and Bani Bu Ali among the people of the two towns of Sur and Al Ayjah exempted from the fees.

As for after 1970, the fees for the Ibra boat of the family of the sons of Khalfan bin Obaid changed, so that they became on the person with his load, and were simple, approximate fees; as for the government Ibra boat, the transport in it was free of charge.

The challenges:

There were many challenges facing the work in the internal maritime transport between the two banks of the city of Sur, among them the challenges of the climatic conditions in light of the reliance on manual methods, and the political and social challenges associated with the situations that arose at some times, especially times of political or economic crises — noting that one of the prevailing customs was not to attack the Ibra boat in times of wars or internal strife, owing to the community's pressing need for it.

After 1970, the Ibra boat was sometimes exposed to some breakdowns or sinking, owing to the excess load by schoolchildren at the times when the government boat stopped working because of some technical breakdowns.

Among the difficulties facing the Ibra boat too: the strength of the sea current at times of high tide, as well as the process of the boat users boarding and the lack of experience of some of them, especially women and children, which requires attention and caution from the owner of the boat.

The boat's engine also sometimes suffered a technical breakdown that affected its course, and were it not for the experience of its owner, Mohammed bin Khalfan Al Ghailani, in the field of engine repair, it would have sunk on many occasions.

Sources:

• Al Ghailani, Jasim bin Mohammed. Personal interview, Sur, Thursday 4 July 2024.
• Al Alawi, Tariq bin Khamis. Telephone call, Sunday 7 July 2024.

Al Ghailani, Jasim bin Mohammed. Personal interview, Sur, Thursday 4 July 2024. Al Alawi, Tariq bin Khamis. Telephone call, Sunday 7 July 2024.

Documents and photographs: 

• The archive of Jasim bin Mohammed bin Khalfan Al Ghailani, in addition to the World Wide Web.

The archive of Jasim bin Mohammed bin Khalfan Al Ghailani, in addition to the World Wide Web.