About Dhow:
- A dhow is a traditional wooden sailing vessel used mainly in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and along the coasts of East Africa and the Middle East.
- A dhow has a long, narrow hull and is propelled only by its sail.
- Historians aren't sure who invented the dhow — Indians or Arabs — but they do know the first ones appeared before 600 C.E.
- The dhow has been a central part of maritime trade, fishing, and culture for countries like Oman, Yemen, India, and coastal regions of East Africa.
- Today the term generally refers to all sailing ships in that region with one or two masts and triangular or quadrilateral-shaped sails.
- Bows are sharp, with a forward and upward thrust, and the sterns of the larger dhows may be windowed and decorated.
Key Facts about Beypore Uru:
- It is a wooden dhow handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Beypore town, Kozhikode district, Kerala.
- Beypore urus are purely made of wood, without using any modern techniques, and traditional methods are used to launch these ships into the water.
- The carpenters manually join each piece of wood to build the large boat.
- Uru making in Beypore is a centuries-old tradition that was established since India began its maritime trade with Mesopotamia.
- Arab traders were among the first major patrons of these vessels.
- Usually an Uru is built by a team of fifty men over a period of at least four years.
- No blueprints are made and the entire aspect of shipbuilding is embedded in the minds of the highly skilled shipwrights.
- Khalasis are a group of people traditionally involved in the construction of Urus.
