The Ministry of culture participates in Katara traditional bearings festival in its eleventh edition, with various heritage events and activities, especially as this cycle coincides with the establishment of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 and also with the celebrations of the state National Day under the theme “ancestral ranches are a trust”. For her part, Sheikha Najla Faisal Al Thani, director of the heritage and identity department at the Ministry of Culture, said that the ministry’s participation in the festival includes a range of events, including the presentation of traditional crafts associated with the sea, where a group of artisans were selected to practice their traditional crafts, represented in the manufacture of traditional ships. As well as preparing fishing nets and gypsum, where they perform these industries in front of the visitors, and provide an explanation for them about the nature of these crafts, emphasizing that they are one of the pillars of the ancient maritime heritage, in addition to displaying the wooden boxes that the Al- Nokhatha used to put pearls and its tools, called “Bishtkha”.
The Director of Heritage and Identity Department added that the Ministry’s pavilion at the festival also displays Tawasha tools, types of pearls and the Book of Pearls. A pictorial display of the most important types of traditional ships such as Al-Shuai, Al-Sanbuk, Al-Baghla, Balm, Abra, Hessaya, Mit, Baggara, Al-Batil, Al-Bawm, Al-Banoosh, Al-Jalbut, and the Al-Marakabi ship, which is Al-Bareq, which is one of the sea piracy ships.
She said that the paintings provide explanations about the parts of these ships in order for the visitor to the ministry’s pavilion to familiarize themselves with them, in addition to displaying the cladding tools that were used in the shipbuilding, as well as a stereoscopic display of the traditional method of landing the ship at sea, according to the old traditional methods, which were used in Qatar. The Director of the Department of Heritage and Identity noted that the Ministry of Culture pavilion also displays a model of docking of ships in Qatar on the sword and displays types of traditional ships of different sizes, as well as aspects of other traditional crafts, such as the pebble industry, gypsum engraving and the diene industry, in which the diver collects oysters, as well as fishing nets and traditional navigation tools.
Sheikha Najla Faisal Al Thani said that the pavilion also displays books issued by the Heritage and Identity Department, such as the Popular Traditions Magazine, the Book of Popular Games in Qatar, the Book of Art of Al-Fajry, a book on Saeed Al-Badeed, the poet Saleh bin Sultan Al-Kuwari, the book of Muhammad Al-Faihani, the book of Qatar Maritime Encyclopedia, and other books issued by Ministry
She continued: “in order for the visitor to learn about these aspects of Qatar’s authentic heritage, we need today for the current generation to learn about its ancient heritage, as the Department of heritage and identity seeks to provide all the Heritage information to members of the community in a simplified manner and achieve the desired goal.”
Sheikha Najla Faisal Al-Thani said that the Department of heritage and identity aims to publicize its efforts in collecting, documenting and codifying heritage, stressing the keenness of the Ministry of culture to participate in such events, to publicize the authentic Qatari heritage.