Mashoof

The mashoof dates back to ancient Sumer, 5,000 BCE. A mashoof was found in the ancient Sumerian city of Ur, and cylindrical reliefs from the Sumerian and Babylonian periods have been found depicting mashoofs (also pluralized mashāheef, مشاحيف, in Arabic). The mashoof forms an integral part of Marsh Arab culture, as it is their primary means of transportation. All Marsh Arabs have a mashoof of their own, including children. They use it for gathering reeds, fishing and hunting, tending to their water buffalo, and carrying passengers and cargo. Mashoof repairmen called gallaf are common in most Marsh Arab villages. The importance of mashoofs in southern Iraq makes them a common subject of poems, songs, and other tributes. In June 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi rode in a mashoof during a visit to Al-Chibayish, making him the first modern Iraqi leader to do so. Draining of the Iraqi Marshes Mashoof use declined precipitously in the 20th century because of the draining of the Iraqi Marshes. The marshes, which had covered an area of in 1950, were reduced to by the 1970s. Following the 1991 Gulf War and the subsequent use of the marshes as a base for a failed anti-government uprising, Saddam Hussein launched an aggressive drainage campaign that reduced the marshes to only . Following the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, the marshes began to be slowly re-flooded. Initially, re-flooding was done by the local Marsh Arabs destroying dikes and levees on their own. However, the United Nations Environment Programme and reformed Iraqi government have also stepped in and have restored most of the marshes by 2008, enabling the mashoof to return to use. ==Construction==

Mashoof can be made from many different materials, including the reeds or papyrus that grow in the Marshes and wood from trees such as mulberry, cedar and Jasmine. Today, fiberglass is often used instead of wood. Cotton fills the gaps between the wooden panels, and the whole thing is then coated in pitch and tar to prevent leaking. The tar is traditionally sourced from Hīt in Anbar Governorate, a town on the Euphrates that has been famed for its tar and bitumen since ancient times. Historically, mashoof building was concentrated in the towns of Al-Chibayish and Huwair and in settlements on the banks of the Shatt al-Arab, especially Abu Al-Khaseeb, and was practiced primarily by Mandaeans. Larger mashoofs are called burkasha or dānik (الدانك) and are used for transporting larger amounts of reeds and goods or carrying important sheikhs. Still larger mashoofs, called '' or anya, are used for navigating large waterways like the Tigris and Euphrates and Shatt al-Arab. Giood'' often have sails, a ship's wheel, and a raised prow and stern and must be crewed by professional sailors. An average modern mashoof is around wide and long. ==See also==