QUFFA basket boat

[aukepalmhof]

The “quffa” is a round basket boat, still seen occasionally on upper parts of the Tigres and Euphrates Rivers in Iraq. The craft has had at least a 2.500 year history.
As all-purpose boat for carrying produce, merchandise, minerals, passengers, and livestock, and for use as a ferry boat, lighter of tender.
Formed by concentric coils of interwoven layers of straw and palm fronds bound with palm fiber rope; strengthened by curved closely spaced ribs of split withes sewn to the walls. Large boats coated with hot bitumen outside and on the inside to level the floor; to ward off the “evil eye” cowrie shells and blue heads may be pressed in before the bitumen hardens; small boats not coated. Originally leather covered. Bottom nearly flat tumblehome to sides, stout cylindrical gunwale; short wooden bars spaced along the inside on which the paddler may kneel. Paddled in deep water, stroking to the left and right.; poled in shallow water; going downstream straw bumpers may be placed at the “bow” and a stone may be dragged behind to keep the heading.
Crew 1 or 2.
The large class (the hessan) is a 4.9 - 5.5m in diameter and has a capacity of 12 – 16 tons. The medium size range between 2.1 – 4.6m in diameter; the smallest (the qishir), used mainly for fishing is 0.91 – 1.8m in diameter and 0.76 deep.

Source: Taken from the Aak To Zumbra A Dictionary of the World’s Watercraft.
Iraq 1923 1a sg42, Scott?, and 1963 1/3f sg620/21, Scott?