1.
Madagascar
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Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar, and numerous smaller peripheral islands, consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot, over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The islands diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the growing human population. The first archaeological evidence for human foraging on Madagascar dates to 2000 BC, human settlement of Madagascar occurred between 350 BC and AD550 by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo. These were joined around AD1000 by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel from East Africa, other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is divided into 18 or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands. Until the late 18th century, the island of Madagascar was ruled by an assortment of shifting sociopolitical alliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, most of the island was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Madagascar by a series of Merina nobles, the monarchy collapsed in 1897 when the island was absorbed into the French colonial empire, from which the island gained independence in 1960. The autonomous state of Madagascar has since undergone four major constitutional periods, since 1992, the nation has officially been governed as a constitutional democracy from its capital at Antananarivo. However, in an uprising in 2009, president Marc Ravalomanana was made to resign. Constitutional governance was restored in January 2014, when Hery Rajaonarimampianina was named president following a 2013 election deemed fair, Madagascar is a member of the United Nations, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the Southern African Development Community. Madagascar belongs to the group of least developed countries, according to the United Nations, Malagasy and French are both official languages of the state. The majority of the population adheres to traditional beliefs, Christianity, ecotourism and agriculture, paired with greater investments in education, health, and private enterprise, are key elements of Madagascars development strategy. As of 2017, the economy has been weakened by the 2009-2013 political crisis, in the Malagasy language, the island of Madagascar is called Madagasikara and its people are referred to as Malagasy. The islands appellation Madagascar is not of origin, but rather was popularized in the Middle Ages by Europeans. On St. Laurences Day in 1500, Portuguese explorer Diogo Dias landed on the island, polos name was preferred and popularized on Renaissance maps. At 592,800 square kilometres, Madagascar is the worlds 47th largest country, the country lies mostly between latitudes 12°S and 26°S, and longitudes 43°E and 51°E. Neighboring islands include the French territory of Réunion and the country of Mauritius to the east, as well as the state of Comoros, the nearest mainland state is Mozambique, located to the west
2.
Central bank
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A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries, Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists, prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. However, promises to pay were widely circulated and accepted as value at least five hundred years earlier in both Europe and Asia. The Song dynasty was the first to issue generally circulating paper currency, in 1455, in an effort to control inflation, the succeeding Ming Dynasty ended the use of paper money and closed much of Chinese trade. The Bank of Amsterdam, established in the Dutch Republic in 1609, is considered to be the forerunner to modern central banks. The Wisselbanks innovations helped lay the foundations for the birth and development of the banking system that now plays a vital role in the worlds economy. Along with a number of local banks, it performed many functions of a central banking system. Lucien Gillard calls it the European guilder, and Adam Smith devotes many pages to explaining how the bank guilder works, the model of the Wisselbank as a state bank was adapted throughout Europe, including the Bank of Sweden and the Bank of England. Established by Dutch-Latvian Johan Palmstruch in 1668, Sveriges Riksbank is often considered by many as the worlds oldest central bank, the lenders would give the government cash and also issue notes against the government bonds, which could be lent again. A Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694, the bank was given exclusive possession of the governments balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The £1. 2M was raised in 12 days, half of this was used to rebuild the Navy and these modern central banking functions evolved slowly through the 18th and 19th centuries. The currency crisis of 1797, caused by panicked depositors withdrawing from the Bank led to the government suspending convertibility of notes into specie payment. The bank was accused by the bullionists of causing the exchange rate to fall from over issuing banknotes. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Bank was being treated as an organ of the state, henry Thornton, a merchant banker and monetary theorist has been described as the father of the modern central bank. An opponent of the real bills doctrine, he was a defender of the bullionist position, thorntons process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form. Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Under this law, authorisation to issue new banknotes was restricted to the Bank of England, at the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt
3.
Dollar
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Dollar is the name of more than twenty currencies, including those of the United States, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Liberia, Jamaica and Namibia. Generally, one dollar is divided into one hundred cents, on 15 January 1520, the Czech Kingdom of Bohemia began minting coins from silver mined locally in Joachimsthal and marked on reverse with the Czech lion. The coins were called joachimsthaler, which became shortened in common usage to thaler or taler, the German name Joachimsthal literally means Joachims valley or Joachims dale. A later Dutch coin also depicting a lion was called the leeuwendaler or leeuwendaalder, the Dutch Republic produced these coins to accommodate its booming international trade. The leeuwendaler circulated throughout the Middle East and was imitated in several German and Italian cities and this coin was also popular in the Dutch East Indies and in the Dutch New Netherland Colony. It was in throughout the Thirteen Colonies during the 17th. The currencies of Romania and Bulgaria are, to this day, the modern American-English pronunciation of dollar is still remarkably close to the 17th century Dutch pronunciation of daler. Some well-worn examples circulating in the Colonies were known as dog dollars, Spanish pesos – having the same weight and shape – came to be known as Spanish dollars. By the time of the American Revolution, Spanish dollars gained significance because they backed paper money authorized by the individual colonies, common in the Thirteen Colonies, Spanish dollars were even legal tender in one colony, Virginia. On April 2,1792, U. S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton reported to Congress the precise amount of found in Spanish dollar coins in common use in the states. As a result, the United States dollar was defined as a unit of silver weighing 371 4/16th grains. It was specified that the money of account of the United States should be expressed in those same dollars or parts thereof, in an act passed in January 1837, the dollars alloy was set at 15%. Subsequent coins would contain the amount of pure silver as previously. On February 21,1853, the quantity of silver in the coins was reduced. However, the dollars constitutional meaning has remained unchanged through the years, silver was mostly removed from U. S. coinage by 1965 and the dollar became a free-floating fiat currency without a commodity backing defined in terms of real gold or silver. The US Mint continues to make silver $1-denomination coins, but these are not intended for general circulation, there are many quotes in the plays of William Shakespeare referring to dollars as money. This might be supported by a reference to the sum of ten dollars in Macbeth. In 1804, a British five-shilling piece, or crown, was sometimes called dollar and it was an overstruck Spanish eight real coin, the original of which was known as a Spanish dollar
4.
Coin
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A coin is a small, flat, round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government, Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. Coins made of metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation is less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain. Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold, while the Eagle, Maple Leaf, and Sovereign coins have nominal face values, the Krugerrand does not. The first coins were developed independently in Iron Age Anatolia and Archaic Greece, India, Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the Balkans. Standardized Roman currency was used throughout the Roman Empire, important Roman gold and silver coins were continued into the Middle Ages. Fiat money first arose in medieval China, with the paper money. Early paper money was introduced in Europe in the later Middle Ages, the penny was minted as a silver coin until the 17th century. The first circulating United States coins were cents, produced in 1793, Coins were an evolution of currency systems of the Late Bronze Age, where standard-sized ingots, and tokens such as knife money, were used to store and transfer value. In the late Chinese Bronze Age, standardized cast tokens were made and these were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese currency, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell. According to Aristotle and Pollux, the first issuer of coins was Hermodike of Kyme The earliest coins are associated with Iron Age Anatolia. Early electrum coins were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests. The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of silver, most of the early Lydian coins include no writing, only an image of a symbolic animal. Anatolian Artemis was the Πὀτνια Θηρῶν, whose symbol was the stag, a small percentage of early Lydian/Greek coins have a legend
5.
Banknote
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A banknote is a type of negotiable instrument known as a promissory note, made by a bank, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by banks, who were legally required to redeem the notes for legal tender when presented to the chief cashier of the originating bank. These commercial banknotes only traded at face value in the served by the issuing bank. Commercial banknotes have primarily been replaced by national banknotes issued by central banks, national banknotes are generally legal tender, meaning that medium of payment is allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Historically, banks sought to ensure that they could always pay customers in coins when they presented banknotes for payment and this practice of backing notes with something of substance is the basis for the history of central banks backing their currencies in gold or silver. Today, most national currencies have no backing in precious metals or commodities and have value only by fiat, with the exception of non-circulating high-value or precious metal issues, coins are used for lower valued monetary units, while banknotes are used for higher values. The idea of using a durable light-weight substance as evidence of a promise to pay a bearer on demand originated in China during the Han Dynasty in 118 BC, the first known banknote was first developed in China during the Tang and Song dynasties, starting in the 7th century. Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty, as merchants, during the Yuan Dynasty, banknotes were adopted by the Mongol Empire. In Europe, the concept of banknotes was first introduced during the 13th century by such as Marco Polo. Counterfeiting, the forgery of banknotes, is an inherent challenge in issuing currency and it is countered by anticounterfeiting measures in the printing of banknotes. Fighting the counterfeiting of banknotes and cheques has been a driver of security printing methods development in recent centuries. Paper currency first developed in the Tang Dynasty China during the 7th century, although true paper money did not appear until the 11th century, the usage of paper currency later spread throughout the Mongol Empire. European explorers like Marco Polo introduced the concept in Europe during the 13th century, napoleon issued paper banknotes in the early 1800s. Paper money originated in two forms, drafts, which are receipts for value held on account, and bills, the perception of banknotes as money has evolved over time. Originally, money was based on precious metals, Banknotes were seen as essentially an I. O. U. or promissory note, a promise to pay someone in precious metal on presentation. With the gradual removal of precious metals from the system, banknotes evolved to represent credit money. Notes or bills were referred to in 18th century novels and were often a key part of the plot such as a note drawn by Lord X for £100 which becomes due in 3 months time. Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty, as merchants, before the use of paper, the Chinese used coins that were circular, with a rectangular hole in the middle
6.
Zebu
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A zebu, sometimes known as indicine cattle or humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in South Asia. Zebu are characterised by a fatty hump on their shoulders, a large dewlap, zebu are used as draught oxen, dairy cattle, and beef cattle, as well as for byproducts such as hides and dung for fuel and manure. In 1999, researchers at Texas A&M University successfully cloned a zebu, taurine cattle are descended from the Eurasian aurochs, while zebu are descended from the Indian aurochs. Zebu may be singular or plural, but zebus is also an acceptable plural form. The Spanish name, cebu or cebú, is present in a few English works. Bos indicus is believed to have first appeared in sub-Saharan Africa between 700 and 1500 and was introduced to the Horn of Africa around 1000, some 75 breeds of zebu are known, split about evenly between African breeds and South Asian ones. Kedah-Kelantan and LID originated from Malaysia, other breeds of zebu are quite local, like the Hariana of Haryana and eastern Punjab or the Rath of Alwar in eastern Rajasthan. Sanga cattle can be distinguished from pure zebu by having smaller humps located farther forward on the animals, zebu were imported to Africa over many hundreds of years, and interbred with taurine cattle there. Partial resistance to rinderpest led to increase in the frequency of zebu in Africa. Zebu, which can tolerate heat, were imported into Brazil in the early 20th century and crossbred with Charolais cattle. The resulting breed, 63% Charolais and 37% zebu, is called the Canchim and it has a better meat quality than the zebu and better heat resistance than European cattle. The zebu breeds used were primarily Indo-Brazilian with some Nelore and Guzerat, many breeds are complex mixtures of the zebu and various taurine types, and some also have yak, gaur, or banteng genes. While zebu are the cattle in much of Asia, the cattle of Japan, Korea. Other species of cattle domesticated in parts of Asia include yak, gaur, banteng, han-u is a traditional Korean taurine–zebu hybrid breed. Zebu have humps on the shoulders, large dewlaps, and droopy ears and they are adapted to the harsh environment of the tropics. Adaptations include resistance to disease and tolerance of heat, sun. Zebu are generally enough to begin reproducing around 44 months old. This is based on the development of their bodies to withstand the strain of carrying, early reproduction can place too much stress on the body and possibly shorten lifespans
7.
Lemur
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Lemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. As with other primates, such as lorises, pottos. In this regard, lemurs are often confused with ancestral primates, when in actuality, lemurs did not give rise to monkeys and apes, due to Madagascars highly seasonal climate, lemur evolution has produced a level of species diversity rivaling that of any other primate group. Until shortly after humans arrived on the island around 2,000 years ago, ranging in weight from the 30-gram mouse lemur to the 9-kilogram indri, lemurs share many common, basal primate traits, such as divergent digits on their hands and feet and nails instead of claws. However, their brain-to-body size ratio is smaller than that of anthropoid primates, lemurs are generally the most social of the strepsirrhine primates and communicate more with scents and vocalizations than with visual signals. Many lemur adaptations are in response to Madagascars highly seasonal environment, lemurs have relatively low basal metabolic rates and may exhibit seasonal breeding, dormancy, or female social dominance. Most eat a variety of fruits and leaves, while some are specialists. Although many share similar diets, different species of lemur share the same forests by differentiating niches, Lemur research during the 18th and 19th centuries focused on taxonomy and specimen collection. Although field observations trickled in from early explorers, modern studies of lemur ecology, initially hindered by political instability and turmoil on Madagascar during the mid-1970s, field studies resumed in the 1980s and have greatly increased the understanding of these primates. Research facilities like the Duke Lemur Center have provided research opportunities under more controlled settings, lemurs are important for research because their mix of ancestral characteristics and traits shared with anthropoid primates can yield insights on primate and human evolution. However, many species are threatened with extinction due to habitat loss. Although local traditions generally help protect lemurs and their forests, illegal logging, widespread poverty, Carl Linnaeus, the founder of modern binomial nomenclature, gave lemurs their name as early as 1758, when he used it in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae. He included three species under the genus Lemur, Lemur tardigradus, Lemur catta, and Lemur volans, although the term lemur was first intended for slender lorises, it was soon limited to the endemic Malagasy primates, which have been known as lemurs ever since. The name derives from the Latin term lemures, which refers to specters or ghosts that were exorcised during the Lemuria festival of ancient Rome, according to Linnaeus own explanation, the name was selected because of the nocturnal activity and slow movements of the slender loris. Being familiar with the works of Virgil and Ovid and seeing an analogy that fit with his naming scheme, Linnaeus adapted the term lemur for these nocturnal primates. However, Dunkel et al. noted in 2012 that it has been commonly and falsely assumed that Linnaeus was referring to the appearance, reflective eyes. Lemurs are primates belonging to the suborder Strepsirrhini, like other strepsirrhine primates, such as lorises, pottos, and galagos, they share ancestral traits with early primates. In this regard, lemurs are popularly confused with ancestral primates, however, lemurs did not give rise to monkeys, instead, they evolved independently in isolation on Madagascar
8.
Ravenala
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Ravenala is a genus of flowering plants with a single species, Ravenala madagascariensis, commonly known as travellers tree or travellers palm, from Madagascar. It is not a palm but a member of a monocotyledonous flowering plant family. The genus is related to the southern African genus Strelitzia. Some older classifications include these genera in the banana family, although it is usually considered to be a single species, four different forms have been distinguished. It has been given the name travellers palm because the sheaths of the stems hold rainwater, however, the water inside the plant is murky, black and smelly and should not be consumed without purification. Another plausible reason for its name is that the fan tends to grow on an east-west line, the scientific name Ravenala comes from Malagasy ravinala meaning forest leaves. The enormous paddle-shaped leaves are borne on petioles, in a distinctive fan shape aligned in a single plane. These flowers, upon being pollinated, produce brilliant blue seeds, in tropical and subtropical regions, the plant is widely cultivated for its distinctive habit and foliage. As the plant grows older, it loses the lowest or oldest leaves. Of the four forms, varieties or subspecies, the largest is the Bemavo, from the hills of eastern Madagascar, the foliar fan consists of 20 to 35 leaves, each as much as 36 feet in length. The plant requires a sunny spot and it responds well to fertiliser, especially if it is high in nitrogen during the growing season. This produces better growth and foliage, the plant grows to an average height of 7 m and requires moderate water. Media related to Ravenala madagascariensis at Wikimedia Commons Floridata. com, Ravenala madagascariensis University of Florida — Ravenala madagascariensis
9.
Architecture of Madagascar
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Differences in the predominant traditional construction materials used serve as the basis for much of the diversity in Malagasy architecture. Locally available plant materials were the earliest materials used and remain the most common among traditional communities, in intermediary zones between the central highlands and humid coastal areas, hybrid variations have developed that use cob and sticks. Wood construction, once common across the island, declined as a human population destroyed greater swaths of virgin rainforest for slash and burn agriculture. Traditional styles of architecture in Madagascar have been impacted over the past two hundred years by the influence of European styles. Foreign influence further expanded following the collapse of the monarchy and French colonization of the island in 1896, the architecture of Madagascar is unique in Africa, bearing strong resemblance to the architecture of southern Borneo from which the earliest inhabitants of Madagascar are believed to have emigrated. Traditional construction in this part of Borneo, also known as South Kalimantan, is distinguished by rectangular houses raised on piles, the roof, which is supported by a central pillar, is steeply sloped, the gable beams cross to form roof horns that may be decoratively carved. In the southeast of Madagascar, actual zebu horns were traditionally affixed to the gable peak, certain cosmological and symbolic elements are common across Indonesian and Malagasy architecture as well. The central house pillar is sacred in Kalimantan and Madagascar alike, the features of the building or its dimensions are often symbolically indicative of the status of its occupants or the importance of its purpose on both islands. Dwellings made of plant material are common in the regions and were once commonly used throughout the Highlands as well. The types of plants available in a given locality determine the building material, the vast majority of homes made of plant material are rectangular, low houses with a peaked roof and are often built on low stilts. These architectural features are identical to those found in parts of Indonesia. Materials used for construction include reeds, rushes, endemic succulents, wood, bamboo, papyrus, grasses, palms, the stilts, floor and walls are commonly made of the trunk of this same plant, typically after pounding it flat to make wide planks or narrow strips. These strips are affixed vertically to the frame, the plant is often used in the same way, in place of the travelers palm. When bamboo is used in place of ravinala, the pounded sheets are often woven together to create walls with a checker-like pattern. These traditional homes have no chimney and their floor is covered in a woven mat with stones heaped in one corner where wood fires can be burnt to cook food, the smoke that accumulates blackens the ceiling and interior walls over time. The doorways of these homes were left open or could be shut by a woven screen held closed with a leather strap. Variations on this basic template can be found in all coastal regions using locally available material, the largest of the traditional coastal houses are found in the southeast among the Antemoro, Tanala and Antefasy peoples, where homes can reach 18 long,9 wide and 15 high. Elsewhere along the coast homes are smaller, averaging 10 long,8 wide and 9 high
10.
Sisal
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Sisal, with the botanical name Agave sisalana, is a species of Agave native to southern Mexico but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a fibre used in making various products. The term sisal may refer either to the common name or the fibre. It is sometimes referred to as sisal hemp, because for centuries hemp was a source for fibre. The sisal fibre is used for rope and twine, and has many other uses, including paper, cloth, footwear, hats, bags, carpets. The native origin of Agave sisalana is uncertain, traditionally it was deemed to be a native of the Yucatán Peninsula, but there are no records of botanical collections from there. They were originally shipped from the Spanish colonial port of Sisal in Yucatán, the Yucatán plantations now cultivate henequen. Gentry hypothesized a Chiapas origin, on the strength of local usage. Evidence of a cottage industry there suggests it as the original habitat location, possibly as a cross of Agave angustifolia. Sisal plants, Agave sisalana, consist of a rosette of sword-shaped leaves about 1. 5–2 metres tall, young leaves may have a few minute teeth along their margins, but lose them as they mature. The sisal plant has a 7–10 year life-span and typically produces 200–250 commercially usable leaves, each leaf contains an average of around 1000 fibres. The fibres account for only about 4% of the plant by weight, Sisal is considered a plant of the tropics and subtropics, since production benefits from temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius and sunshine. Sisal was used by the Aztecs and the Mayans to make crude fabrics, in the 19th century, sisal cultivation spread to Florida, the Caribbean islands, and Brazil, as well as to countries in Africa, notably Tanzania and Kenya, and Asia. The first commercial plantings in Brazil were made in the late 1930s and it was not until the 1960s that Brazilian production accelerated and the first of many spinning mills was established. Today Brazil is the major producer of sisal. There are both positive and negative impacts from sisal growing. These methods offer no potential for genetic improvement, in vitro multiplication of selected genetic material using meristematic tissue culture offers considerable potential for the development of improved genetic material. Fibre is extracted by a known as decortication, where leaves are crushed, beaten
11.
Terrace (agriculture)
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This type of landscaping, therefore, is called terracing. Graduated terrace steps are used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease both erosion and surface runoff, and may be used to growing crops that require irrigation. The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the significance of this technique, terraced paddy fields are used widely in rice, wheat and barley farming in east, south, and southeast Asia, as well as other places. In the South American Andes, farmers have used terraces, known as andenes, for over a years to farm potatoes, maize. Terraced farming was developed by the Wari and other peoples of the south-central Andes before 1000 AD, centuries before they were used by the Inca, the terraces were built to make the most efficient use of shallow soil and to enable irrigation of crops. The Inca built on these, developing a system of canals, aqueducts and these terraced farms are found wherever mountain villages have existed in the Andes. They provided the necessary to support the populations of great Inca cities. Terracing is also used for sloping terrain, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon may have built on an artificial mountain with stepped terraces. At the seaside Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, the gardens of Julius Caesars father-in-law were designed in terraces to give pleasant. Terraced fields are common in islands with steep slopes, the Canary Islands present a complex system of terraces covering the landscape from the coastal irrigated plantations to the dry fields in the highlands. These terraces, which are named cadenas, are built with walls of skillful design. In Old English, a terrace was also called a lynch, an example of an ancient Lynch Mill is in Lyme Regis. The water is directed from a river by a duct along a terrace and this set-up was used in steep hilly areas in the UK. Anden Banaue Rice Terraces Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras Satoyama Terrace garden Terrace Fields around the World
12.
Dhow
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Dhow is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Historians are divided as to whether the dhow was invented by Arabs or Indians, larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty, smaller ones typically around twelve. The exact origins of the dhow are lost to history, most scholars believe that it originated in India between 600 BC to 600 AD Some claim that the sambuk, a type of dhow, may be derived from the Portuguese caravel. The Yemeni Hadhrami people, as well as Omanis, for centuries came to Beypore, in Kerala and this was because of the good timber in the Kerala forests, the availability of good coir rope, and the skilled carpenters who specialized in ship building. In former times, the planks of a dhows hull were held together by coconut rope. Beypore dhows are known as Uru in Malayalam, the language of Kerala. Settlers from Yemen, known as Baramis, are active in making urus in Kerala. In the 1920s, British writers identified Al Hudaydah as the center for dhow building and those built in Al Hudaydah were smaller in size, and used for travel along the coasts. They were constructed of found in Yemen. Even to the present day, dhows make commercial journeys between the Persian Gulf and East Africa using sails as their means of propulsion. Their cargo is mostly dates and fish to East Africa and mangrove timber to the lands in the Persian Gulf and they often sail south with the monsoon in winter or early spring, and back again to Arabia in late spring or early summer. For celestial navigation, dhow sailors have used the kamal. The latter is a device that determines latitude by finding the angle of the Pole Star above the horizon. Baghlah – from the Arabic language word for mule, a heavy ship, the traditional deep-sea dhow. Baqarah or baggarah – from the Arabic word for cow, old type of small dhow similar to the Battil. Battil – featured long stems topped by large, club-shaped stem heads, badan – a smaller vessel requiring a shallow draft. Boum or dhangi – a large-sized dhow with a stern that is tapering in shape, the Arab boum has a very high prow, which is trimmed in the Indian version. Ghanjah or kotiya – a large vessel, similar to the Baghlah, with a curved stem, a fishing or trading dhow with a broad hull similar to the Jalibut, common in Lamu Island and the coast of Oman
