What Is a Hookah Bearer?

Hookah bearers take care of the details of maintaining a hookah pipe.

In many cultures in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, smoking tobacco is a common centerpiece to formal and informal social gatherings. In formal settings, the hookah smokers might have an individual present to facilitate the mechanical details of keeping their hookah pipe ready for use so they can focus on socializing. This individual is called a hookah bearer.

Hookah Apparatus

A hookah consists of a bowl which holds the tobacco, atop which sit hot coals to burn the tobacco. This chamber connects to a central chamber that is partially filled with water, which in turn connects to each smoking mouthpiece through a tube which leads exclusively to a particular mouthpiece. When the smoker inhales through the mouthpiece, the influx of air from the top of the tobacco bowl heats the coals, which burns the tobacco. The smoke from this burning passes through the water in the central chamber and up through the tube into the mouthpiece. According to the American Cancer Society, rumors that the hookah's function of passing smoke through the water purifies the smoke and makes it safe are not scientifically accurate and hookah smoke is carcinogenic.

Bearer Purpose

A hookah bearer is an individual who is responsible for maintaining a hookah so that it will continue to function when the people who are smoking it wish to take a drag. These duties include ensuring that there are a sufficient number of hot coals on top of the tobacco and that there is a sufficient amount of tobacco in the bowl to produce smoke when one of the smokers inhales.

Hookah-Bardar

The term hookah bearer comes from the term "hookah-bardar" or the servant responsible for tending the hookah during his master's social events. According to Shriniwas Joshi, in an article for the "Tribune of India," this position gives the servant a special status, which would lead to hookah bearers accompanying their masters to social events in which no other servants would be attending.

The Saqi

The idea of the hookah bearer descends from the older idea of the "saqi," an individual who would offer drinks to caravan travelers. Over time, the hookah came to be included among these refreshments. Hookah bearers also came to bear the same name. These individuals would service the entire caravan, rather than a specific master. According to an article in India's national newspaper, "The Hindu," hookah bearers under the title of "saqi" would be present on market streets up until the late 1960s to offer anyone some puffs from their hookah.

References

• American Cancer Society - Learn About Cancer: What About More Exotic Forms of Smoking Tobacco, Such as Clove Cigarettes, Bidis and Hookahs
• "The Tribune of India"; Smoke Not, But Know About "Hookah"; Shriniwas Joshi; June 2011
• "The Hindu"; Heady Joys With Delhi's Saqi...; October 2002
• Hookah Company: How Does a Hookah Work?
• "Orientalism"; Edward Said; 1978