Qatar · Gemstone / Mineral / Mining (marine harvesting craft)
Futam (clothespin-shaped nose clip, made of tortoise or lamb bone); tawash (pearl merchant/trader)
The free-diving harvesting of natural pearls in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf, one of Qatar's oldest documented professions, dating as far back as 4,600 BCE, with the ancient pearl trade specifically established by the mid-19th century as a major source of national income, exporting to India, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire. Divers sailed out in traditional wooden dhows equipped with simple tools including diving weights, ropes, and baskets; a clothespin-shaped nose clip called the futam, made of tortoise, lamb, or other animal bone, closed the diver's nostrils to prevent water entry, while a separate diving stone helped divers reach the seafloor more quickly, conserving valuable underwater time. Diving stones of this kind are specifically mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh, in a passage describing an underwater search for the flower of eternal youth rather than pearls themselves, considered one of the earliest historical references to the diving profession as such. Divers held their breath for up to two minutes at depths of up to 18 meters, enduring burning sun and treacherous waters, with many men living cramped together aboard ship for months at a time -- a physically demanding and genuinely dangerous profession passed down from generation to generation as an essential source of family and community income. The trade began its dramatic decline in the early 1920s, driven by the discovery of oil and the introduction of Japanese cultured artificial pearls, a shift that displaced many pearl divers from their livelihoods and many communities from their primary income source. Today pearl diving survives primarily as commemorated heritage: the Cultural Village Foundation Katara organizes the annual Senyar Festival, featuring pearl diving competitions, the Katara Traditional Dhow Festival, and the El Meyna Competition specifically for Qatari nationals aged 10 to 14, while the National Museum of Qatar screens Nafas (Breathe), an immersive short film by acclaimed director Mira Nair bringing the hardships of pearling to life. Saad Ismail Al Jassem, an octogenarian who runs The Old Pearl Diver boutique in Doha's Souq Waqif, directly claims to be one of Qatar's last commercial pearl divers, while Mohammed Abdulla al-Sada is separately documented, including by Al Jazeera and Qatar's own official tourism authority, as one of the few Qataris still actively diving for pearls today, directly sharing insight into the secrets of the pearl trade and its enduring cultural significance in Qatari society. Historical diving equipment, including preserved futam nose clips and diving stones, is held in the collection of the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum.
Risk level: Extinct — Revival Exists · Not independently inscribed
A fine jewelry practice specifically translating elements of Qatari cultural heritage into wearable design, developed by Sameera Al Mulla, designer and creative director of Hessa Jewels.
The making of the batoola, a traditional rigid face mask historically worn by women across the Persian Gulf, including Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait, as well as by Bandari Persian communities in southern Iran.
The hand-application of glass mosaic and gold-leafed calligraphic tilework covering the exterior of the Katara Mosque, within Doha's Katara Cultural Village, designed by Turkish designer Zeynep Fadillioglu, who became the first woman to…
The application of henna, a natural reddish-brown dye derived from powdered leaves, used by Qatari women for cosmetic body decoration for hundreds of years and directly described by The Peninsula Qatar as an art form 'steeped in ancient…
The practice of Arabic calligraphy in Qatar, a venerated art form across the Arab world that gained particular popularity through the rise of Islam; when transcribing the Holy Quran, scholars sought to adorn the sacred text without…
The hand-crafting of leather goods, directly documented as reflecting Qatar's rich leather-crafting traditions and the broader Qatari cultural principle of making use of every resource available.
The making of maritime rope from hemp (chanvre) or sisal by traditional cable-laying — twisting individual yarns into strands and strands into rope in alternating twist directions to create a self-tightening structure under load.
The free-diving harvesting of natural pearls across the Arabian Gulf, a foundational element of Kuwait's pre-oil economy for thousands of years, with pearl finds documented in Kuwait dating back some seven thousand years.
The building of the plate — the traditional flat-bottomed wooden punt of the Marais Poitevin (Green Venice), used to navigate the narrow waterways of the Poitevin marshland.
The cultivation and refinement of Atlantic flat oysters and Portuguese oysters (Crassostrea gigas) in the claires (shallow rectangular basins) of the Marennes-Oléron basin — the largest oyster producing area in Europe.
The lepa is the traditional boat of the Sama-Bajau of Semporna, Sabah.
The Perahu Payang is the traditional Malay fishing vessel of the Terengganu coast — a double-ended wooden boat with a distinctive high prow and stern, decorated with carved and painted geometric patterns, built entirely by hand using adze…