Local Knowledge in pre-colonial Maritime Interactions: Some insights by historical anthropology on western and central Indian Ocean hubs This paper sets out to examine the state of academic knowledge on navigational techniques along the main routes of long distance maritime interactions in the western and central Indian Ocean between the 11th and 15th century CE. With the conceptual help of historical network analysis, the next part of this discussion will then single out and focus on "dangerous but unavoidable" waters, i.e. of the metaphorical eye of the needle type. The leading crew members in the relevant ships - many among them Arab-speakers from the eastern or southern parts of the peninsula - may be addressed as true "cosmopolitans" of their times, with substantial geographical and technical expertise. When they had to pass through dangerous but unavoidable waters, however, they could not exclusively rely on their accumulated expertise and usage of navigational device alone. The point is exemplified through fieldwork insights, and by means of some of the few relevant source materials. Passing through dangerous waters and dire straits unavoidably required local knowledge. The paper will conclude with an outline of where and how local pilots operated, and what anthropologists may contribute to understanding these – almost –invisible but crucial historical actors.