Ethnic, cultural and religious groups of Bahrain
Bahrain is a nation in the Persian Gulf, in a strategical position in relation to the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Iraq and Oman.
Shias
Baharna
The Baharna are regarded as the indigenous original pre-Islamic inhabitants of Bahrain.
Baharna live in Manama, almost all the villages of the main island of Bahrain, several villages in the island of Muharraq in the north and in the island of Sitra to the east. They speak similar dialects, with slight variations between villages, although the villages of Sitra have dialects which differ considerably from those of the main island.
Palm tree farming and fishing were the traditional economic activities of the Baharna.
There are also Shia Arabs concentrated in several neighborhoods in Muharraq city. They originally came from Al-Hasa, they are "Hasawis". They are distinct from the Baharna from villages outside the city proper. As a result of their proximity to surrounding
Persians
The Shia Persians of Bahrain are a significant and influential ethnic minority whose ancestors arrived in Bahrain during the old persians states/empires days and in the early 19th century as laborers, artisans and merchants. There are large communities in Muharraq and Manama. Persians maintain a distinct culture and language, but have long since assimilated into Bahraini culture; they tend to identify themselves more as Persian Bahrainis or Bahrainis than Iranians. Almost all are bilingual in Arabic and Persian, with school, work and daily affairs conducted in Arabic and Persian usually relegated to the family domain. Almost all have possessed Bahraini citizenship since birth; in most cases their parents, and in some cases their grandparents, are also holders of Bahraini citizenship.
Sunnis
Sunni population has been historically compartmentalized into the three groups listed below, with the Sunni Arabs forming the majority of the Bahraini population. Sunni Bahrainis are mostly concentrated in areas such as Busaiteen, Budaiya, Jasra, Zallaq, Askar, Jaw, al-Dur, amongst others.[2]
Arabs
Sunni Arabs in Bahrain are displaced Arabs who immigrated to Bahrain from Al-Ahsa, Najd and Qatar for pearl diving and trade, in the twelfth half during the Khalifi conquest of the country. Sunni Arabs are the most influential ethnic group in Bahrain, they hold most government positions and the
Afro-Arabs
Most Arabs of African descent originate from East Africa like Egyptians and have traditionally lived in Muharraq Island and Riffa.[3]
Some Afro-Arabs are also Shia.
Huwala
The Huwala are the descendants of
South Asians
For the vast majority of its history Bahrain has been economically and culturally dependent on two regions, Assyrian and Meluhas the latter being Indians comprising the current state of Gujarat.
There is both literary and archaeological evidence of extensive trade between
The "Persian Gulf" types of circular, stamped (rather than rolled) seals known from Dilmun, that appear at
- "the ships of Dilmun, from the foreign land, brought him wood as a tribute".[5]
Mesopotamian trade documents, lists of goods, and official inscriptions mentioning Meluhha supplement Harappan seals and archaeological finds. Literary references to Meluhhan trade date from the Akkadian, the Third Dynasty of Ur, and Isin-Larsa Periods (c. 2350–1800 BC), but the trade probably started in the Early Dynastic Period (c. 2600 BC). Some Meluhhan vessels may have sailed directly to Mesopotamian ports, but by the Isin-Larsa Period, Dilmun monopolized the trade. The Bahrain National Museum assesses that its "Golden Age" lasted ca. 2200-1600 BC. Discoveries of ruins under the Persian Gulf maybe of Dilmun.[6]
In the Mesopotamian
Dilmun, sometimes described as "the place where the sun rises" and "the Land of the Living", is the scene of some versions of the Eridu Genesis, and the place where the deified Sumerian hero of the flood, Utnapishtim (Ziusudra), was taken by the gods to live forever. Thorkild Jacobsen's translation of the Eridu Genesis calls it "Mount Dilmun" which he locates as a "faraway, half-mythical place".[8]
Dilmun is also described in the epic story of Enki and Ninhursag as the site at which the Creation occurred. The promise of Enki to Ninhursag, the Earth Mother:
For Dilmun, the land of my lady's heart, I will create long waterways, rivers and canals,
whereby water will flow to quench the thirst of all beings and bring abundance to all that lives.
Ninlil, the Sumerian goddess of air and south wind had her home in Dilmun. It is also featured in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
However, in the early epic "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta", the main events, which center on Enmerkar's construction of the ziggurats in Uruk and Eridu, are described as taking place in a world "before Dilmun had yet been settled".
The immigration of South Asians to Bahrain started in the late quarter of the 19th century and today Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and Indians combined form the largest expatriate groups in Bahrain.
Indians
There were 197,273 Indian workers and 56,666 dependents as of 2014 and the majority of the public sector. There are multiple schools that were established in the country in the 20th century that offer the CBSE curriculum, the oldest of which is The Indian School which was first established in 1950.[9]
Pakistanis
In 2014 there were 39,765 Pakistani workers in Bahrain and 8,647 dependents, a further 30,000 have been given citizenship. A 2011 estimate states that 10,000 of them serve in security forces.[10] The vast majority of Pakistanis in Bahrain are Muslim.
Bangladeshis
Bangladesh recognized and established diplomatic ties with Bahrain in 1974,[11] although Bangladeshi expatriates started arriving decades before that. In 2014 there were 92,193 working in Bahrain and 3,116 dependents.[9]
Others
Filipinos
In 2014 there were 25,568 Filipino workers in Bahrain and a further 3,189 dependents living there.
Egyptians
In 2014 there were 8,083 workers and 10,176 dependents living in Bahrain[9]
Sri Lankans
In 2014 there were 5,790 Sri Lankan workers in Bahrain and a further 1,632 dependents living there.
British
In 2014 there were 2,367 British workers in Bahrain and 1,710 dependents [9] However, the Gulf News states there were 9,000 permanent British residents in 2013 and that 240 were given citizenship[12]
Jews
Bahraini Jews constitute one of the world's smallest Jewish communities. Today the community has a synagogue and small Jewish cemetery and numbers thirty-seven persons.
References
- ^ "MIDDLE EAST::BAHRAIN". CIA The World Factbook. 23 April 2022.
- ^ حركة التشيُّع في الخليج العربي ( دراسة تحليليّة نقديّة ) (in Arabic) By Abdulaziz al-Badah, p.253.
- ^ "Bahrain's Rainbow Nation in Manama - HotelTravel.com". Archived from the original on 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
- ^ الهولة في البحرين ج ٧
- ISBN 978-0-226-46906-5.
- ^ The UK Register, Science, Lost ancient civilisation's ruins lie beneath Gulf, By Lewis Page Science, December 9, 2010
- ISBN 978-0-415-14416-2. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-300-07278-5. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Bahrain agrees to augment defence ties with Pakistan, By Baqir Sajjad Syed, 30 Mar 2011, Dawn
- ^ "Bangladesh - Bahrain Relation". Archived from the original on 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
- ^ "Bahrain grants citizenship to 240 UK citizens | GulfNews.com". gulfnews.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-15.