Just as the sea has played a pivotal role in the connectivity of people, economies and cultures, it has also provided a common platform for inter-disciplinary cooperation amongst academics. This book is a selection of conference papers and other contributions that has seen the coming-together of scholars and researchers from backgrounds as diverse as archaeology, history, ethnography, maritime and heritage studies of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Its strength lies in the way such diversity has been harnessed to provide an engaging and insightful study of the sea and its influences on various factors of life – both past and present (from Google Scholar).
A selection of conference papers and other contributions see the coming-together of scholars and researchers from backgrounds as diverse as archaeology, history, ethnography, maritime and heritage studies, to offer an engaging and insightful study of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea and its influences on various factors of life, past and present (From Worldcat)
The edited book is divided into four parts. 1. Maritime Rituals and Beliefs: Sea-related rituals and religious practices in various forms throughout the Red Sea and Mediterranean with papers which will relate to specific deities and saints that enjoy a special place in the everyday life of people of the sea. 2. Maritime Traditions and Historical Narratives. 3. Some of the most valuable information from the maritime world originates from travelers who note the ‘peculiarities’ of those that live and work at sea in documents such as diaries and letters. Papers delivered in the course of this session will be aimed at drawing out information essential for a better understanding of maritime traditions in their historical contexts.3. Tradtional Boats and Crafts: Various aspects of traditional boat building in the Mediterranean and Red Sea; papers include the current state of this significant facet of maritime heritage, specific case studies, reconstructions, boat yards and traditional tools. 4. Cultural Heritage:. This section encompasses maritime heritage and its role in the modern world. Questions tackled include the encroachment of tourism on traditional maritime activities (such as fishing), the role of maritime heritage in a tourism economy, the recording of maritime traditions and the presentations of such traditions in maritime museums (from author’s profile).
Contents
Foreword vii
Introduction
A seaman’s view of the Mediterranean 1
Sean McGrail
I. Maritime Rituals, Superstitions and Ship Images
Maritime activity and the Divine – an overview of religious expression by Mediterranean seafarers, fishermen and travellers 3
Timmy Gambia
Hazards at sea: a case-study of two ex-voto paintings from the Church of the Karmelitani Skalzi in Bormla, Malta 13
Simon Mercieca
II. Confraternities in Maritime Culture
The Holy Vessel: the Vascelluzzo of Messina during the early modern period 21
Carmelina Gugliuzzo
Two maritime related confraternities established at Bormla (Cospicua) parish church, Malta 31
Emanuel Magro Conti
III. Maritime Heritage: Historical Narratives
Quatri partitu en cosmographia pratica i por otro nombre llamado Espejo de navegantes by Alonso de Chaves: a navigation manual for the instruction of Spanish pilots in the sixteenth century 41
Maravillas Aguiar
Images of pirates and slaves in traditional Greek popular songs 61
Efsevia Lasithiotaki
IV. Ethnography, Tourism and Maritime Heritage
Sun, sand and sea: tourism and the commodification of Malta’s maritime heritage 77
Jeremy Boissevain
Work, tourism and the sea: Bulgarian experiences in Malta 89
Irina Atanasova
Lateen sails versus fibregiass boats: the contradictions of a maritime heritage process – the Platja dels Pescadors on the Catalonian coast 95
Eliseu Carbonell
The Maritime Museum of Barcelona’s approach to maritime ethnology: research and communications 105
Enric Garcia Domingo
V. Maritime Archaeology: Traditions and Practices
Sailing the Red Sea: ships, infrastructure, seafarers and society 115
Cheryl Ward
The dgfiajsa: a Phoenician survival 125
Alec Tilley
Maritime ethnography and archaeology 133
Sean McGrail
The maritime heritage of Yemen: a focus on traditional wooden ‘dhows’ 143
Dionisius A. Agius, John P. Cooper and Chiara Zazzaro
The hurl of Socotra: cultural treasure or coastal trash? 159
Julian Jansen van Rensburg
Index 169
