TRADITIONAL Bahraini blacksmiths are appealing for a new home, nine years after being evicted from their workshops.
The country’s 15 remaining blacksmiths are seeking government intervention to continue the profession, which has been passed down through generations dating back to the Dilmun era of around 2,300BC.
The Capital Trustees Board is now negotiating with the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry and the Jaffari Waqf (Endowment) Directorate to allocate space for the metalworkers.
The board is also in talks with Tamkeen to secure financing for the blacksmiths.
“The profession may be ancient and on the verge of going extinct with machine-produced tools, but it could be revived through a re-engineered project that carries it into the future,” said board chairman Saleh Tarradah.
“There are industries that shape our identity and we can’t simply let them go, and just because there are advancements we shouldn’t leave the past behind.
“We are negotiating with relevant authorities to look into available plots of land for a yard that would have the blacksmiths altogether, as in the old days, because there are not enough municipal spaces to accommodate them individually.”
Twenty-three professional metalworkers were moved out of their premises near Al Farouq Junction in 2011, when security forces cleared the area after it was overrun by anti-government protests.
The location, in the Capital Governorate, was then cordoned off until it was reopened to traffic in 2017.
Eight of the professionals have since died, leaving the remaining to raise concerns about the possible extinction of the historic profession.
The GDN reported in November 2011 that the blacksmiths discovered their workshops had been ransacked when they were given a week to retrieve belongings from the location.
They said some equipment had been stolen, while anything left was too difficult to move.
“The Capital Governorate should continue being the home of traditional professions as part of its historical identity and touristic appeal,” said Capital Trustees Board services and public utilities committee chairman Dr Abdulwahid Al Nakkal.
“With the exception of the textile making industry in Bani Jamra and pottery in A’ali, both in the Northern Governorate, most traditional professions are in Manama and nearby Muharraq.
“The number of blacksmiths is dropping and it is sad that this profession could turn into a distant memory.”
As one of the youngest remaining professional blacksmiths in the country, Habib Sharar, aged 52, told the GDN he feared the tradition would die out.
“My grandfather and father took me out of intermediate school in the 80s to continue the profession because this has been passed down by my ancestors and needs to continue,” he said.
“Blacksmithing has been a profession in Bahrain since the Dilmun era, and there are only a few blacksmiths remaining now.
“It is an important pillar of life here in Bahrain as the tools we produce, mainly sickles, are used in the agriculture sector, particularly for palm trees.”
He was speaking on behalf of the group and appealed to authorities for a plot of land to continue the tradition in Bahrain.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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