All these efforts at duplicating Qatar’s Bedouin life on the sea and on land continue and continue because the nation would never let goodness perish. Since the nation is an Arabian Gulf peninsular nation, it has never ever experienced a history that would be severed from the sea, and Bedouin life was duplicated—life that is all about ruggedness, harshness, and devotion to nature.
The sea also relied heavily on the national economy prior to the discovery of oil and gas. The economy was sustained on pearl diving and fishing, and Qataris sail for centuries to dive and farm sea crops along the entire Gulf on wooden dhows. Subsidized labor through elitism and high society on those who ventured into the sea.
The past two decades have witnessed vast numbers of individuals develop an interest in sea heritage following the desire to initiate a series of cultural fund-raising activities whose objective was to contribute toward the conservation of such ancient traditions. The non-governmental organizations have initiated schools of study and seminar conferences on the ancient sea activities like pearl diving, sailing dhows, and ancient sea fisheries of seas. Project has been undertaken with the objective of passing knowledge of the past as a gesture of gratitude to the future generations in terms of skill transfer and maintenance of sea-faring tradition.
Maritime culture popularity also remains in existence through calls for additional local games. For example, dhow racing is a vibrant fiesta of sea culture in Qatar. Technical know-how cooperation racing is now masses’ sport and businessman’s business. The supporters line up on the beach and arrange the crews, thus pumping social solidarity as well as an appreciation of the maritime culture.
In addition to the sea boom, a cultural boom confronted the Qatar Bedouin nomadic society. The Bedouins were a nomadic people society that wandered in the desert in search of grass and water. There are modern-day cultural performances and exhibitions that encourage and showcase elements of Bedouin culture such as camel racing, falconry, traditional clothing, and oral cultures. They are entertaining and educational devices that spread values of proficiency, magnanimity, and autonomy.
Equestrianism and falconry have also attracted special interest by opening special training schools and competition centers as means for propagating such sport as national heritage. Weaving tents and leather work are also being reactivated through exhibitions and master classes as means for preserving such art in modern Qatar.
Institutions nationwide incorporated maritime and nomadic heritage into school curricula. Maritime and nomadic heritage are incorporated into studies through students’ history studies, field trips, and exhibitions. The lesson plans are drawn in a manner that instills pride and sense of responsibility in them to preserve their heritage due to increasing modernization and globalisation.
The performance of Qatar’s maritinenomadic heritage is just one strand in a wider policy of inter-generational conflict and construction and reconstruction of culture. In re-doing and re-siting here and now, Qatar is constructing inter-generational conflict and cultural continuity. Rather than being performed as rituals of reference to the past, they are being performed as rituals of reference to the construction of one cultural narrative towards the future.
