Exhibition on 'Traditional Boats of Bangladesh'

Exhibition on ‘Traditional Boats of Bangladesh’ to be held at the Bangladesh National Museum, Nalinikanta Bhattashali Gallery from 23rd March to 19th April 2010.

The exhibition showcases several life size boats, over 50 different types of traditional model boats, which are handcrafted maintaining every single feature and detail of each type of boat, and depicts the daily lives of the traditional boat builders.

The exhibition is a part of Friendship’s Cultural Preservation Programme, which strives to conserve the heritage of traditional boat building in Bangladesh. We arrange exhibitions nationally and internationally to create awareness of this age-old tradition, build model boats using the same craftsmen and ancient technologies used to build the full-scale vessels, and our research and development section focuses on documenting techniques of building different types of boats and explores innovations in the sector. Our ultimate goal is to establish the first ‘Living Museum on the Boats of Bengal’ in the country.

The support and commitment of AB Bank Limited, the first private sector bank in Bangladesh, has made this exhibition possible.

AB Bank URL is http://www.abbank.com.bd/

Traditional Boats of Bangladesh

Boats, boat-building and traditions surrounding water-based communications have always been rich in Bangladesh. This is because of the geography of the country, which is part of the biggest deltaic plain in the world, sheltering the most densely populated nation. About 60% of Bangladesh is covered in a vast river system. Waterways and boats are thus understandably an integral part of the country’s communication system. While sea vessels from the Bay of Bengal adopted exotic styles due to the influences of foreign traders, the wooden boats of the inland waterways developed their shapes and forms free from foreign influences into more than 50 different types. These riverboats were built using skills and technologies that have been passed down orally by boat-builders from generation to generation.

Until the mid 20th century, the riverboats of Bangladesh remained the same, but around the 1980s two big technical revolutions took place which suddenly changed the riverscape of Bangladesh from colourful sceneries of hundreds of sails to a bare noisy one. With the advent of cheap diesel engines the first revolution was the sudden motorisation of traditional boats. This enabled the crew to save in costs of masts and sails. However, technological change caused the disappearance of marvellous rigging in less than 5 years. The second one was the change of boat-building material from wood to tin and welded steel sheets.  Rural electrification and the political will of preserving forests, encouraged boat-builders to use these sheets to build their new boats.  Wooden boats soon became too expensive and less economically viable.
   
These sudden changes are inescapably bringing an end to a rich, cultural heritage and technological know-how of Bangladesh.  Thousands of years old tradition that has been passed on from generation to generation is on the verge of being lost. This is changing the lives and expectations of the families involved in the art and ritual of boat building. It has now become our moral duty to preserve the millenary naval traditions, technologies and crafts of the carpenters, sail-makers, rope-makers, bamboo specialists for the roofs,  blacksmiths and many others of the largest and unique fleet of the world as ‘‘The Heritage of Humanity’’.

Friendship’s Role on Cultural Preservation

The exhibition ‘Traditional Boats of Bangladesh’ is part of Friendship’s Cultural Preservation Programme, which strives to conserve the heritage of traditional boat building in Bangladesh and facilitate socioeconomic development of the boat builders and their families. We arrange exhibitions nationally and internationally to create awareness of this age-old tradition, build model boats using the same craftsmen and ancient technologies used to build the full-scale vessels, and our research and development section focuses on documenting techniques of building different types of boats and explores innovations in the sector. Our ultimate goal is to establish the first ‘Living Museum on the Boats of Bengal’ in the country.

This exhibition has been organized with the intent to promote and bring peoples attention to the traditions of boat building in Bangladesh and the craftsmanship related to this custom. It showcases several life size boats, over 50 different types of traditional model boats that are handcrafted maintaining every single feature and detail of each type of boat, and depicts the daily lives of the traditional boat builders. The process of creating replicas which are displayed in this exhibition has ensured the preservation of the workmanship of the master-carpenters who build these boats. Every stage and technique of building boats has been documented so that it can be used for future innovations. The re-creation of traditional boats has also helped conserve the livelihood of the families involved in the art and ritual of boat building which is close to being lost.

Established in 1998 in Bangladesh, Friendship is a value-based organisation which identifies and reaches the most vulnerable and marginalised communities.