Chapter VI: Introduction (5)

On large boats, which remain out for two or three weeks at a time, the oysters are left on deck overnight, and the following morning they are opened by means of a curved knife (_miflaket_), four or five inches in length. The smaller boats working near shore convey the catch to the land for the opening and searching for pearls.

The Persian Gulf pearls are commonly not so white as those from Ceylon, but they are found of larger size, and it is believed in Asia that they retain their luster for a greater length of time. Many of the Persian Gulf pearls, especially those from _sudaifee_ and _zinni_ shells, have a distinctly yellow color. Tavernier made a curious explanation of this. He stated:

As for the pearls tending to yellow, the color is due to the fact
that the fishermen sell the oysters in heaps, and the merchants
awaiting sometimes up to 14 or 15 days till the shells open of
themselves, in order to extract the pearls, some of these oysters
lose their water during this time, decay, and become putrid, and the
pearls become yellow by contact. This is so true that in all oysters
which have retained their water, the pearls are always white. They
are allowed to open of themselves, because if they are opened by
force, as we open our oysters in the shell, the pearls may be
damaged and broken. The oysters of the Manar Strait open of
themselves, 5 or 6 days sooner than those of the Gulf of Persia,
because the heat is much greater at Manar, which is at the tenth
degree of North latitude, while the island of Bahrein is at about
the twenty-seventh. And consequently among the pearls which come
from Manar there are few yellow ones found.[120]

Tavernier was more familiar with the pearls themselves than with the methods of the fishery. The yellow color is not due to contact with the putrefactive flesh, and is independent of the manner of opening. In fact, if putrefaction caused the yellow color, this shade would be far more prevalent in the Manaar or Ceylon pearls than in those from Bahrein, for practically all of the Ceylon oysters are permitted to putrefy, whereas only a portion of those in the Persian Gulf are opened in this manner. Furthermore, notwithstanding that it is nearer the equator, the heat at Manaar during the pearling season is not to be compared with that at Bahrein when the season is at its height, for the Persian Gulf during July and August is notorious as one of the hottest places on the globe.

While the great bulk of the pearls are either white or yellowish, these fisheries yield a few pink, bluish, gray, and occasionally even black pearls. These unusual colors are not especially prized. A curious and remarkably detailed story has gone the rounds in which the qualities of Persian and Ceylon pearls are compared, to the disparagement of the latter, and during the last hundred years few accounts have been published of this fishery without recording it. We notice it first in Morier’s “Journey through Persia in 1808 and 1809,”[121] but possibly it antedated that report. The statement is that the pearls of Ceylon peel off, while those of Persia are as “firm as the rock on which they grow”; and though they lose in color and luster one per cent. annually for fifty years, they still lose less than those of Ceylon, and at the expiration of the fifty years they cease to diminish in appearance.

The pearl output in the Persian Gulf at the present time appears from the official returns to exceed four million dollars annually at local valuation. The exports in 1903 were reported at £827,447, and in 1904, £1,077,241. It is generally understood that all of the pearls are not entered in the official figures, and the valuations in the markets of Asia and Europe are greatly in excess of these amounts. The profits of the fishery are divided among a great number of persons. A large percentage goes to the shrewd _bunnias_ from India, who finance the fishery operations, and who, by all sorts of tricks connected with advances of supplies, valuation of the catch, etc., manage to make a very good thing out of the business. It is nothing unusual for the valuation of a lot of pearls to double and even treble after leaving the hands of the fishermen.

While many of the gulf pearls—and especially of the small seed-pearls—go to Bagdad, the great bulk of them are sold to representatives of Hindu and Arab merchants of Bombay for shipment to that city, which to the Bahrein fisherman is the heart of the outside world. Few of the pearls go directly into Arabia or Persia, as the certain sale in the larger Bombay market is preferable to a sometimes higher but less regular price in other markets. Indeed, pearls may usually be purchased at a less cost in India than a stranger would be obliged to pay at Bahrein. The Bombay merchants “sow the earth with Orient pearl,” dealing direct with London, Paris and Berlin, and with the oriental jewelers. Most of the yellow pearls find oriental purchasers, with whose dark complexions they harmonize better than the silvery white ones. They are also more popular because of a belief existing throughout the East that they are less likely to lose their luster with the lapse of years.

The shell of the pearl-oysters is not used locally, but large quantities are exported to Europe for manufacture. Although it is the smallest and cheapest produced in the gulf, yet, owing to the enormous quantity taken for their pearls, the shell of the _mahar_ (_Margaritifera vulgaris_) constitutes the bulk of the exports. Formerly most of the shipments were made from the harbor of Lingah, hence it is known in the markets of Europe as “Lingah shell.” But in the last three or four years, much of it has been transported to Europe via Bander Abbas and Bushire. A German firm at Bahrein is extensively employed in exporting this shell, and several Indian merchants are also engaged in the trade. The total exports in 1906 amounted to 3262 tons, valued at $26,408 according to the port returns, but worth about $135,000 in Europe. Very large quantities are received in London, and over 2500 tons have been offered at auction in a single year. This shell is very small, averaging about three inches in diameter and about one and a half ounces in weight. It is the cheapest of all mother-of-pearl. The best quality sells in London for ten to twenty shillings per hundredweight, but the ordinary grade is worth usually less than nine shillings, and sometimes as low as three shillings per hundredweight. America formerly imported it, but few lots have been received since the exploitation of the Mississippi shell about fifteen years ago.

The shell of the larger species of pearl-oysters in the Persian Gulf is worth considerably more than the “Lingah shell,” selling in Europe for £12 to £60 per ton, yet manufacturers consider it as furnishing only poor qualities of mother-of-pearl. Several hundred tons are exported annually. It measures six or seven inches in diameter and is used principally in making cheap grades of buttons.

THE PEARL FISHERIES OF CEYLON

Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow;
He who would search for pearls must dive below.

DRYDEN, _All for Love_, Prologue.

Second in extent to those of Persia only, are the intermittent and uncertain pearl fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar. This is an arm of the Indian Ocean, from 65 to 150 miles in width, separating the island of Ceylon from the southernmost part of India. The pearl-oyster banks—known locally as paars—are situated off the northwest coast of Ceylon and also in the vicinity of Tuticorin on the Madras coast of the mainland. The Ceylon fisheries are under the control of the colonial government of the British Empire, and those of the mainland are monopolized by the Madras government. Notwithstanding the fact that they are outside of the three-mile limit established as the bound of national jurisdiction, exclusive privileges are exercised over these fisheries by the respective governments,[122] and poaching vessels are liable to seizure and punishment.

Though possibly not so ancient as those of Persia, the Ceylon pearl fisheries are of great antiquity. References to them occur in Cingalese records dating from 550 B.C. Pliny, Ptolemy, Strabo, and other ancient writers speak of their importance.

The “Periplus of the Erythræan”—written about the end of the second century A.D.—refers to these fisheries, and states that, owing to the dangers involved, it was customary to employ convicts therein. In the days of the “Arabian Nights,” under the name “Serendib,” this was the scene of the pearling adventures of Sindbad the Sailor, and the reputation of the valuable pearl resources is reflected in those wonderful tales.

The first extensive description we have of the Gulf of Manaar fisheries was given by the Venetian traveler, Marco Polo, who visited the region about 1294. He wrote:

The pearl fishers take their vessels, great and small, and proceed
into the gulf where they stop from the beginning of April till the
middle of May. They go first to a place called Bettelar, and then go
60 miles into the Gulf. Here they cast anchor and shift from their
large vessels into small boats. You must know that the many
merchants who go divide into various companies, and each of these
must engage a number of men on wages, hiring them for April and half
of May. Of all the produce they have first to pay the king, as his
royalty, the tenth part. And they must also pay those men who charm
the great fishes to prevent them from injuring the divers whilst
engaged in seeking pearls under water, one-twentieth of all that
they take. These fish-charmers are termined _Abraiaman_; and their
charm holds good for that day only, for at night they dissolve the
charm so that the fishes can work mischief at their will. These
_Abraiaman_ know also how to charm beasts and birds and every living
thing. When the men have got into the small boats they jump into the
water and dive to the bottom, which may be at a depth of from 4 to
12 fathoms, and there they remain as long as they are able. And
there they find the shells that contain the pearls, and those they
put into a net bag tied round the waist, and mount up to the surface
with them, and then dive anew. When they can’t hold their breath any
longer they come up again, and after a little down they go once
more, and so they go on all day. These shells are in fashion like
oysters or sea-hoods. And in these shells are found pearls, great
and small, of every kind, sticking in the flesh of the shell-fish.
In this manner pearls are fished in great quantities, for thence in
fact come the pearls which are spread all over the world. And I can
tell you the King of that State hath a very great receipt and
treasure from his dues upon those pearls.[123]

That quaint old missionary bishop, Friar Jordanus, in his “Mirabilia Descripta, or the Wonders of the East” (_circa_ 1330), reports that “more than 8000 boats” were sometimes employed for three months continually in these fisheries, which were then prosecuted under the jurisdiction of the Cingalese kings of Kandy, and that the quantity of pearls taken was “astounding and almost incredible.”[124]

THE “PRINCE OF PEARLS”: THE LATE RANA OF DHOLPUR IN HIS PEARL REGALIA
]

This number of boats seems entirely too large, especially in view of the fact that Jordanus secured his information at second hand; but it leaves the impression that the fisheries of that period were of great importance.

When the Portuguese, attracted by the wealth of its resources, obtained control of this region about 1510, they exacted from the local rulers an annual tribute in pearls and spices. Later they conducted the fisheries on their own account, permitting the native fishermen to retain one fourth of the catch as compensation for their work, and dividing the remainder into three equal portions, for the king, the church, and the soldiers, respectively.

Linschoten, who visited India about 1590, leaves this interesting account of the fishery at that time:

“There are also other fishings for pearle, as between the Iland of
Seylon, and the Cape de Comoriin, where great numbers are yearlie
found, for that the King of Portingale hath a captaine there with
soldiers that looketh unto it; they have yearlie at the least above
3 or 4 thousand duckers [divers], yt live onlie by fishing for
pearles, and so maintaine themselves.” He describes the methods of
fishing, which appear to be similar to those of the present time,
and adds: “When they have made an end of the day’s fishing, all the
fishers with the captaine, soldiers, laborers and watchmen for the
king, goe together, and taking all the pearls [pearl-oysters] that
are caught that day they divide them into certaine heaps, that is,
one part for the king, another part for the captaine and soldiers,
the third part for the Jesuits, because they have their Cloyster in
that place, and brought the countrie first into the Christian faith,
and the last part for the Fishers, which is done with Justice and
Equalitie. This fishing is done in the Summer tyme, and there
passeth not any yeare but that divers Fishers are drowned by the
Cape de Comoriin (which is called the King’s fishing) and manie
devoured by fishes, so that when the fishing is done there is great
and pitiful noyse and cry of women and children heard. Yet the next
yeare they must do the same work againe, for that they have no other
means to live, as also for that they are partlie compelled thereunto
by the Portingales, but most part because of the gaine.”[125]

The best description we have seen of the Ceylon fisheries at the time of the Portuguese occupation, is that of Caesar Frederick, a Venetian trader, who referred to the period from 1563 to 1581. Frederick reported, according to Hickocke’s translation in the Hakluyt edition:

The sea that lieth between the coast which descendeth from Cao
Comori, to the lowe land of Chilao, and from Island Zeilan, they
call the fishing of Pearles, which fishing they make every yeare,
beginning in March or April, and it lasteth fiftie dayes, but they
doe not fishe every yeere in one place, but one yeere in one place,
and another yeere in another place of the same sea. When the time of
this fishing draweth neere, they send very good Divers, that goe to
discover where the greatest heapes of Oisters bee under water, and
right agaynst that place where greatest store of Oisters bee, there
they make or plant a village with houses and a Bazaro, which
standeth as long as the fishing time lasteth, and it is furnished
with all things necessarie, and nowe and then it is neere unto
places that are inhabited, and other times farre off, according to
the place where they fishe. The fishermen are all Christians of the
countrey, and who so will may goe to fishing, paying a certain dutie
to the king of Portugall, and to the Churches of the Friers of Saint
Paule, which are in that coast. All the while that they are fishing,
there are three or foure Fustes armed to defend the Fishermen from
Rovers. It was my chance to bee there one time in my passage, and I
saw the order that they used in fishing, which is this. There are
three or foure Barkes that make consort together, which are like to
our litle Pilot boates, and a little lesse, there goe seven or eight
men in a boate: and I have seene in a morning a great number of them
goe out, and anker in fifteene or eighteene fadome of water, which
is the ordinarie depth of all that coast. When they are at anker,
they cast a rope into the sea, and at the end of the rope, they make
fast a great stone, and then there is readie a man that hath his
nose and his eares well stopped, and annointed with oyle, and a
basket about his necke, or under his left arme, then he goeth downe
by the rope to the bottome of the Sea, and as fast as he can hee
filleth the basket, and when it is full, he shaketh the rope, and
his fellows that are in the Barke hale him up with the basket: and
in such wise they go one by one untill they have laden their barke
with oysters, and at evening they come to the village, and then
every company maketh their mountaine or heape of oysters one distant
from another, in such wise that you shall see a great long rowe of
mountaines or heapes of oysters, and they are not touched until such
time as the fishing bee ended, and at the ende of the fishing every
companie sitteth round about their mountaine or heape of oysters,
and fall to opening of them, which they may easilie doe because they
bee dead, drie and brittle: and if every oyster had pearles in them,
it would be a very good purchase, but there are very many that have
no pearles in them: when the fishing is ended, then they see whether
it bee a good gathering or a badde: there are certaine expert in the
pearles whom they call Chitini, which set and make the price of
pearles according to their carracts [carats or weight], beautie, and
goodnesse, making foure sorts of them. The first sort bee the round
pearles, and they bee called Aia of Portugale, because the
Portugales doe buy them. The second sorte which are not round, are
called Aia of Bengala. The third sort which are not so good as the
second, they call Aia of Canara, that is to say, the kingdome of
Bezeneger. The fourth and last sort, which are the least and worst
sort, are called Aia of Cambaia. Thus the price being set, there are
merchants of every countrey which are readie with their money in
their handes, so that in a fewe dayes all is brought up at the
prises set according to the goodnesse and caracts of the
pearles.[126]

A remarkable instance of the immutability of custom in the Orient is found in the fact that, except in a few minor particulars, Frederick’s account, written more than three centuries ago, could serve as a description of the methods of the fisheries in recent years. The industry was then very extensive, as appears from an account shortly afterward (about 1608) by Pedro Teixeira, who reported[127] that from 400 to 500 boats were employed, and from 50,000 to 60,000 persons resorted to the fishery.

In 1658, possession of Ceylon and India passed from the Portuguese to the Dutch, who for a time continued the pearl fisheries after the manner practised by their predecessors; but owing to contentions as to the details of management, they soon resorted to leasing them each year to the highest bidder, or to several bidders, for a definite money payment. The successful bidders prosecuted the industry in the same manner as the government had previously done, employing the same native fishermen and compensating them with one fourth of the oysters secured. Under the Dutch rule the fisheries were very unprofitable, and particularly so during the last seventy years of their authority. There was practically no fishing from 1732 to 1746, and there was also a suspension—but not entirely from lack of oysters or of pearls—from 1768 until the territory passed into the control of the British in 1796.

The colonial government of the British Empire continued the Dutch policy of leasing, only restricting the limits of territory and season for fishing. Many objections were found to this method. It was difficult to regulate the business properly, and there were no reliable means of determining its proceeds and conditions. At length in 1835, the government began to operate the fishery on its own account, as the Portuguese had done two hundred years before, allowing the fishermen one fourth of the oysters taken by them and selling the remaining three fourths for the benefit of the treasury. In this way the full value of the resources was realized without mystery, deception, or concealment, and the plan worked satisfactorily for all concerned.

Owing, presumably, to the long period in which they had lain undisturbed, the Ceylon oyster reefs were in excellent condition at the beginning of British rule. In 1796 the government derived a revenue of Rs.1,100,000 therefrom, and in 1797 the revenue was Rs.1,400,000; these two years were by far the most productive during the first century of British occupation.

Several very interesting reports on the industry were prepared about that time. Especially to be noted among these were the accounts by Henry J. LeBeck in 1798;[128] by Robert Percival in 1803;[129] and by James Cordiner in 1807,[130] to which reference is made for detailed accounts of the fisheries of that period.

The Ceylon fishery was prosecuted about every other year from 1799 to 1809, and the annual returns ranged from £15,022 in 1801 to £84,257 in 1808. From 1810 to 1813, inclusive, there was a blank so far as receipts were concerned. In 1814 the fishery was very good, bringing in a revenue of £105,187. With the exception of very slight returns in 1815, 1816, and 1820, no oysters were then obtained until 1828. Excepting 1832 and 1834, the industry was prosecuted each year from 1828 to 1837, the revenue to the government averaging about £30,000 annually. Then came a long blank of seventeen years, for there was no fishing from 1838 to 1854, and likewise from 1864 to 1873. Indeed, so depleted had the beds throughout the Gulf of Manaar become in 1866, that serious consideration was given to the possibilities of securing seed oysters from the Persian Gulf for restocking the reefs; but fortunately this was rendered unnecessary by the discovery soon afterward of a few oysters on several reefs on both the Ceylon and the Malabar coasts.

From 1855 to 1863, and also from 1874 to 1881, the returns were only ordinary, the highest being £51,017 in 1863, and £59,868 in 1881,—the best year since 1814; and during these two periods fishing was entirely omitted in nearly one half the seasons. There were five lean years from 1882 to 1886, and the 1887 fishery was only fair, with a yield of £39,609. But the returns for 1888 were large, amounting to £80,424; and those for 1891 were even greater, being £96,370, representing a yield of 44,311,441 oysters. No oysters were caught from 1892 to 1902, inclusive. In 1903, the fishery was profitable, yielding 41,180,137 oysters, and the share of the government amounted to £55,303; and in 1904 the yield was almost the same, being 41,039,085 oysters and a revenue of £71,050 to the government.

In 1905 occurred the greatest fishery in the modern history of Ceylon. The season extended from February 20 until April 21, giving forty-seven working days, exclusive of Sundays and five days of bad weather, the longest period in over half a century.[131] The boats employed numbered 318, with 4991 divers and 4894 attendant _manduks_. The yield of oysters exceeded all records, amounting to 81,580,716 in number, or nearly twice as many as in any previous year within the period of British occupation. The prices at which these sold ranged from Rs.24 to Rs.124 per thousand, with an average of Rs.48.89 for the entire season. The government received Rs.2,510,727 as its share of the revenue, which was twice as much as in any previous year since the British have been in control, and doubtless the largest received by any government in the history of the industry. The oysters falling to the share of the divers must have sold for at least Rs.1,255,363 (since 1881 the divers have received one third of the catch as their compensation, instead of one fourth). The profits of the merchants, who purchased and opened the government oysters as well as those of the divers, doubtless amounted to fully as much, making a total of Rs.5,021,453, or nearly $2,000,000 as a low estimate of the local value of the pearls secured at Ceylon in 1905.

Owing to the great success in 1905, an enormous number of persons flocked to the camp at the beginning of the season in 1906. Employment was given to 473 boats, the largest number on record, and over 8600 divers were engaged, with an equal number of attendants. Owing to unfavorable weather and the great quantity of oysters removed in 1905, the catch in 1906 was less than in that record year, amounting to 67,150,641 in number, from the sale of which Rs.1,376,746 was realized. The prices covered a wide range. For the large Cheval oysters, even Rs.276, Rs.291, and Rs.309 per 1000 were received. The inferior, stunted oysters from the Muttuvaratu paar ranged from Rs.20 to Rs.41 per 1000, and even at these prices many buyers sustained losses. On the other hand considerable money was made by the buyers of those from Cheval, in which some very large and beautiful pearls were found.

The results of the 1907 fishery were surprisingly good, excellent prices being obtained. The proceeds from the sale of two thirds of the 21,000,000 oysters amounted to Rs.1,040,000, or just under $350,000. The fishery lasted thirty-six working days. Only 173 boats were used, as it was considered that a fleet of this size is fully as large as can be employed advantageously to the greatest satisfaction of all interested.

According to the compilations of the colonial secretary’s office, the gross revenue to the government from 1796 to 1907, inclusive, amounted to £2,098,830. If to this be added the fishermen’s share and the merchants’ compensation, we have a total of about £4,200,000 or $21,000,000 as the local value of the pearls produced in Ceylon during the period of British occupation. The value of these in the markets of Asia and Europe was undoubtedly very much greater.

In many respects the Ceylon pearl fisheries are the most interesting in the world. Owing to their ready accessibility and thorough organization, they are far better known than any others. Reliable data exist as to the number of oysters taken during each season since 1854, and it is possible to estimate roughly the pearls obtained therefrom. Throughout the 112 years of British occupation, and previously to some extent under the successive rule of the Cingalese kings, of the Portuguese, and of the Dutch, for centuries, the reefs were annually examined by official inspectors, and fishing was permitted only in those years when they appeared in satisfactory condition.

A noticeable feature of these fisheries is their uncertainty, a prosperous season being followed by an absence of fishing sometimes extending over ten years or more. This is not of recent development. Over eight hundred years ago a total cessation of yield for a considerable period was recorded[132] by Albyrouni, who served under Mahmud of Ghazni. He stated that, in the eleventh century, the oysters which formerly existed in the Gulf of Serendib (Ceylon) disappeared simultaneously with the appearance of a fishery at Sofala in the country of the Zends, where previously the existence of pearls had been unknown; hence it was conjectured that the pearl-oysters of Serendib had migrated to Sofala.

In the 249 years since Ceylon passed from the dominion of the Portuguese in 1658, there have been only sixty-nine years in which the pearl fisheries were prosecuted. During the last century there were only thirty-six regularly authorized fisheries. Enormous quantities of oysters have appeared on the reefs, giving rise to hopes of great results, only to end in disappointment, owing to their complete disappearance. In the fall of 1887, for instance, examination of one of the reefs revealed an enormous quantity of oysters, covering an area five miles in length by one and a half miles in width, with “600 to 700 oysters to the square yard” in places. It was estimated by the inspection officials that there were 164,000,000 oysters, which exceeded the total number taken in the preceding sixty years, and which should have yielded several million dollars’ worth of pearls in the following season, according to the usual returns. But some months later not an oyster was to be found on this large reef, the great host presumably having been destroyed by action of the sea. Numerous reasons are assigned for the failure of promising reefs. Those most frequently heard are that the currents sweep the oysters away, that they are devoured by predaceous enemies, that they are covered by the shifting bottom, or that they voluntarily move to new grounds.

The oysters are found in well-known and permanently located banks or paars in the upper end of the Gulf of Manaar, in the wide shallow plateau off the northwest end of the island and directly south of Adams Bridge. The hard calcrete bottom is formed mostly of sand combined with organic remains in a compact mass and with more or less coral and shell deposits. The density of the water, as determined by Professor Herdman (to whose important and valuable report[133] we are indebted for much information), is fairly constant at 1.023, and the temperature has a normal range of from 82° to 86° F. during the greater part of the year. The charts and records refer to about twenty paars, but most of these have never yielded extensively, either to the English or to the Dutch. In the aggregate, they cover an area fifty miles in length and twenty miles in width. Most of them are from five to twenty miles from the shore, and at a depth of five to ten fathoms. The principal paars are Cheval, Madaragam, Periya, Muttuvaratu, Karativu, Vankalai, Chilaw, and Condatchy. Only three have afforded profitable fisheries in recent years, _i. e._: Cheval, Madaragam and Muttuvaratu.

The other paars are of practically no economic value at the present time. They become populated with tens of millions of oysters, which mysteriously disappear before they are old enough for gathering. Especially is this true of the Periya paar, which is about fifteen miles from the shore, and runs eleven miles north and south, varying from one to two miles in width. Frequently this is found covered with young oysters, which almost invariably disappear before the next inspection, owing, probably, to their being covered by the shifting bottom caused by the southwest monsoon. The natives call this the “Mother paar,” under the impression that these oysters migrate to the other paars.

The Ceylon government has given very careful attention to all matters affecting the prosperity of the pearl resources. It has maintained a “Pearl Fishery Establishment,” consisting of a superintendent, an inspector and numerous divers, attendants, and sailors. The inspector examines the paars, determines when and to what extent they should be fished, and directs the operations. The superintendent conducts the work on shore, divides and sells the oysters, etc. The expense of this establishment has approximated $40,000 per annum when there has been a fishery, and about $22,500 without fishery expenses.

It has been decided by naturalists that Ceylon oysters less than four years old produce very few marketable pearls; in the fifth, and again in the sixth year the value of the yield doubles, and in the seventh it is supposed to increase fourfold. Beyond that age there appears to be little increase, and there is the risk of the oysters dying, and of the pearls deteriorating or becoming lost. Eight years seems to be the natural limit of life. While experience has shown that the most profitable period for taking the pearl-oysters is when they are from five to seven years old, the mollusks are liable to disappear, especially after the fifth year, and the danger of waiting too long is as great as that of beginning too early. The fishing on any particular bank is determined by various circumstances and conditions, and is permitted only after careful examination.

The different beds are inspected from time to time, and no fishing is permitted until the condition of the pearl-oysters on the particular reef thrown open seems to warrant the most valuable returns. In the examination of a bed apparently in suitable condition, several thousand oysters—usually eight or ten thousand—are taken up and the pearls found therein are examined and valued. If they average Rs.25 or Rs.30 per thousand oysters, profitable results may be expected, provided there is a sufficient quantity of oysters on the bed. This method of determining the fishery is very ancient. Tavernier wrote, about 1650, “before they fish, they try whether it will turn to any account by sending seven or eight boats to bring 1000 oysters each, which they open, and if the oysters per 1000 yield five _fanos_ or above, they then know the fishing will turn to account.”[134] And much the same method was described by Ribeiro in 1685.

When it has been decided to hold a fishery, public notice is given by advertisement, stating which of the many paars or reefs will be open, and the estimated quantity of oysters to be removed, the number of boats that will be given employment, and the date for beginning the season and the length of time it will probably last. This notice is usually given in December preceding the fishery, and it is the signal for preparation by tens of thousands of persons in this part of Asia, and especially on the Madras and the Malabar coasts of India, and on the coast of Arabia. The fishermen, the merchants, and the multitude of artisans, mechanics, and laborers who contribute to the industry, set their homes and business in order so that they may attend. We give the notice issued in 1907, both in Cingalese and in English.[135]

THE LATE MAHARAJAH OF PATIALA
]

Early in February the area to be gleaned is again examined, the limits of the oysters are charted and buoyed off, the number that may be obtained is estimated as accurately as possible, and valuation samples are collected. Several thousand oysters are taken up, the pearls are removed, examined, and valued by uninterested experts, and the results are published, so that prospective buyers may have a reliable idea as to their value. Otherwise this would not be possible until the merchants had washed some of their own purchases, which ordinarily would not be for a week or ten days after the opening of the season.

The fishery usually begins late in February or early in March, as the sea is then relatively calm, the currents least perceptible, and there is less danger of storms. It is prosecuted from a temporary settlement or camp on the sandy shore at a place conveniently near the reefs. The important fisheries of the five years ending in 1907, were centered at the improvised settlement known as Marichchikadde. Although prosecuted from the coast of Ceylon, relatively few Cingalese attend compared with the large numbers who assemble from India, Arabia, and elsewhere.

A week or two before the opening of the season, the boats begin to arrive, sometimes fifty or more in a single day, laden with men, women and children, and in many cases with the materials for their huts. In a short time the erstwhile desolate beach becomes populated with thousands of persons from all over the Indian littoral, and there is the noisy traffic of congregated humanity, and a confusion of tongues where before only the sound of the ocean waves was heard. Beside the eight or ten thousand fishermen, most of whom are Moormen, Tamils, and Arabs, there are pearl merchants—mainly Chetties and Moormen, boat repairers and other mechanics, provision dealers, priests, pawnbrokers, government officials, koddu-counters, clerks, boat guards, a police force of 200 officials, coolies, domestic servants, with numbers of women and children. And for the entertainment of these, and to obtain a share of the wealth from the sea, there are jugglers, fakirs, gamblers, beggars, female dancers, loose characters, with every allurement that appeals to the sons of Brahma, Buddha or Mohammed. Natives from the seaport towns of India are there in thousands; the slender-limbed and delicate-featured Cingalese with their scant attire and unique head-dress; energetic Arabs from the Persian Gulf; burly Moormen, sturdy Kandyans, outcast Veddahs, Chinese, Jews, Portuguese, Dutch, half-castes, the scum of the East and the riffraff of the Asiatic littoral, the whole making up a temporary city of forty thousand or more inhabitants.[136]

THE
Ceylon Company of Pearl Fishers,
LIMITED.

NOTICE

Is hereby given that a Pearl Fishery will take place at
Marichchukkaddi, in the Island of Ceylon, on or about February 20,
1907.

The Banks to be fished are—

The Karativu, Dutch Moderagam and Alanturai Pars, estimated to contain
21,000,000 oysters, sufficient to employ 100 boats for twenty-one days
with average loads of 10,000 each per day.

The Northwest and Mid-West Cheval, estimated to contain 2,000,000
oysters, sufficient to employ 100 boats for two days with average
loads of 10,000 oysters.

The Muttuvaratu Par, estimated to contain 8,000,000 oysters,
sufficient to employ 100 boats for eight days with average loads as
before stated: each boat being fully manned with divers.

2. It is notified that fishing will begin on the first favourable day
after February 19. Conditions governing the employment of divers will
be issued separately.

3. Marichchukkaddi is on the mainland, eight miles by sea south of
Sillavaturai, and supplies of good water and provisions can be
obtained there.

4. The Fishery will be conducted on account of the Ceylon Company of
Pearl Fishers, Ltd., and the oysters put up to sale in such lots as
may be deemed expedient.

A populous town springs up with well-planned and lighted streets and vast numbers of temporary abodes of all sorts, according to the means and the caste of the occupants, some of them just large enough for two or three persons to creep into. Although made mostly of poles, mats, _cajans_ or plaited fronds of the cocoanut tree, they furnish ample shelter for the locality and season, the uncertainty of the fishery from year to year being sufficient argument against expensive and substantial buildings. Numerous wells and cisterns yield water for the use of all. Sanitary measures are strictly enforced, with a liberal use of disinfectants. At a considerable distance southward from the settlement are constructed the private _toddis_, or inclosures, for decomposing the oysters and washing the pearls therefrom. Nearer the camp or settlement itself are the police court, the jail, the bank, the post and telegraph offices, the auction room, the hospital and the cemetery—all to endure through a strenuous six weeks of toil and labor, of money-getting and gambling, and then the inhabitants “fold their tents like the Arabs, and silently steal away,” leaving the debris to the shore-birds and the jackals.

The fishing fleet consists of several hundred boats[137] of various rigs and sizes. These are interesting on account of their picturesque appearance and also their remarkable diversity of types in hull and rigging: there is the broad and roomy Jaffna dhoney, commonly painted black; the lugger-like Paumben boat; the very narrow and speedy canoes,—not unlike the single masted bugeyes of the Chesapeake region—from Kilakarai and neighboring villages, most noticeable owing to their great number and their bright colors—red, green, or yellow; the clumsy looking, single masted Tuticorin lighters, sharp sterned and copper bottomed, the largest boats in the fleet, ranging in capacity from twenty to forty tons each; and, most singular of all, the three masted great canoes from Adirampatnam and Muttupat on the Tanjore coast, pale blue in color and with curved prow. In addition to these standard types, added novelty is imparted by a few boats of design so odd and fantastic as would be conceived only by the mind of an oriental builder.

Reaching the camp at the beginning of the season, these boats are examined by the officials as to condition and equipment and, if found satisfactory, are registered and numbered. When the quantity of oysters to be removed is small, many more boats may arrive than is necessary or than can find profitable employment. Formerly when this occurred a lottery was held to determine those to be employed. More recently the officials have endeavored to engage all boats passing the inspection, although to do so might necessitate arranging the fleet into two divisions, each fishing on alternate days. In 1874, the boats were arranged in three divisions, the red, blue and green, with fifty boats in each; in 1879, and again in 1881, there were two divisions, the red and the blue; and likewise in 1880, in 1903 and in 1906 there were two, the red and the white divisions. Of the 318 boats employed in the 1905 fishery, 143 were from Kilakarai, seventy-four from Jaffna, thirty-five from Tuticorin, thirty-four from Paumben, nine from Manaar, six from Negapatam, five from Colombo, four each from Tondi and Kayalpatam, and one each from Devipatam, Adrapatam, Ammopatam, and Koddaipatam.

The number of persons on each boat ranges from about twelve to sixty-five, with an average for the entire fleet of about thirty-five men per boat. This includes the _sammatti_, or master, who represents the owner; the _tindal_, or pilot; the _todai_, or water-bailer, who is very necessary on these leaky craft, and who also takes charge of the food and drinking water; at times a government inspector or “boat guard”; and from five to thirty divers, with an equal number of _manducks_, or attendants.[138] The _sammattis_, _tindals_, and _todais_ are nearly all from the coast of southern India. The “boat guards” or inspectors are natives of Ceylon, and are employed by the government to prevent the fishermen from opening the oysters. Most of the _manducks_ are from the Indian coast.

Of the 4991 divers employed in 1905, 2649 were Moormen or Lubbais from Kilakarai, Tondi, etc., on the Madura coast; 923 were Arabs; 424 were Erukkalampiddi Moormen from Ceylon, and the remaining 995 were Tamils from Tuticorin, Rameswaram and elsewhere on the Madras coast, Malayalans from the Malabar coast, with small numbers from other localities on the Asiatic coasts.

Among the 8600 divers in 1906, were 4090 Arabs, the largest number of those people employed in recent years. In 1905 there were only 923 Arab divers, in 1904 only 238, and previously the number was much less. Some have worked on the Ceylon coast since 1887, but most of them are newly arrived from Bahrein and Kuweit, where they received their training as pearl-divers. They are very energetic and skilful fishermen, far surpassing the Tamils, coming early in the season and staying late, and working on many days when rough seas deter the Indian divers from venturing out.

The Erukkalampiddi divers of Ceylon are by no means so energetic or steady in work as the Arabs, and commonly desert the fishery before the close. The Tamil divers belong to the Parawa and Kadeiyar castes.

The season in the Ceylon fishery is very short, only about six or eight weeks at the most; and the holidays and storms usually reduce the number of actual working days to less than thirty. In no other pearl fishery of importance is the season less than four months in length, and in most of them it extends through more than half of the year. Owing to this restricted time, there is greater activity in the Ceylon fishery compared with the value of the output than in any other pearl fishery in the world.

Although the season is short, it is strenuous. Arising shortly after midnight, the thousands of fishermen breakfast, perform their devotions and prepare to get under way so as to reach the reefs about sunrise. There each boat takes its position on the ground allotted for the day’s work, and which has been marked in advance by buoys topped with flags; and shortly afterward, on a signal from the guard vessel, the diving commences. This is carried on in the same manner as already described for the Persian Gulf, except that the Indian divers do not use nose-clips, only compressing the nostrils with the fingers during the descent. Rarely do they descend to a greater depth than ten fathoms.

The divers work in pairs, each pair using a single diving stone in common, and descending alternately, precisely as in the Persian Gulf. It is remarkable what few changes have occurred in the methods of the fishery in the last six centuries; the description[139] of Marco Polo, who visited the region about 1294, and of writers somewhat more recent, indicating that, in the main features, it was then conducted in the same manner as at the present time.

An exception to the usual mode of diving is practised by the Malayalam fishermen, who, in some seasons—as in 1903, for instance—attend in large numbers from Travancore and northward on the Malabar coast. These men are rather low in skill and physical endurance.[140] They dive head foremost from a spring-board, and even with this assistance,—or possibly we should say, handicapped by this method,—they find the average depth of eight fathoms too great for them to work in with much comfort, rarely remaining under water longer than forty-five seconds.

The number of oysters secured on each visit to the bottom ranges from nothing to seventy-five or more, averaging between fifteen and fifty. This depends not only on the ability of the fishermen, but also on the abundance of oysters and the ease with which they may be collected. Sometimes they are held together in loose bunches of five to ten in each, and a diver can easily gather one hundred in the short length of time he remains submerged. In other localities they may be somewhat firmly attached individually to the bottom, so that some force is necessary to release them, thus reducing the possible quantity. Ordinarily one dive clears a space of several square yards.

Unloading oysters from the vessels into the kottus, at Marichchikadde,
Ceylon
]

The pearling fleet on the shore at Marichchikadde, Ceylon
]

Hindu workmen preparing to drill pearls, Marichchikadde, Ceylon
]

Since 1904, a steamer has been employed each season by the government for dredging oysters in connection with experiments in oyster-culture. The officer in charge of this work concludes that “dredging is economically a more sound method of fishing than is diving.”[141] This view is disputed by the superintendent of the fishery, who points out that the average catch by the steamer when dredging mature oysters only slightly exceeds that of an ordinary diving boat, and the cost of maintenance and operation is vastly greater.[142] A remarkable tribute to the skill of the nude divers, brought out by this discussion, is that, during some days when they were at work, the sea was too rough for dredging by the steamer, notwithstanding that she was a typical Grimsby or North Sea trawler of 150 tons measurement, built in 1896.[143]

A rough comparison of the Ceylon method of catching pearl-oysters with that practised by the American oyster-growers may not be uninteresting. On a basis of 400 to the bushel, the total Ceylon catch of 81,580,716 pearl-oysters in 1905 represents a trifle more than 200,000 bushels, or about the quantity annually produced by each of the half dozen leading oyster-growers of this country. Each one of these growers requires only about three steamers, at a total cost, maybe, of $25,000, and manned by twenty-five men; instead of one steamer at a cost of $25,000 and 318 diving boats manned by 10,000 men, which was the equipment in Ceylon. To be sure, the conditions under which the work is prosecuted are different—however, not so entirely unlike as might be supposed—and the American season is about six months long instead of the two months in Ceylon; but the comparison is presented simply as a suggestion of the possibilities of dredging on the Ceylon reefs.

Until 1885, one of the most novel features of the fishery was the employment of shark-charmers or “binders of sharks” (_kadal-kotti_ in the Tamil language, _hai-banda_ in Hindustani), whose presence was rendered necessary by the superstition of the Indian divers. The fishermen placed implicit reliance upon the alleged supernatural powers of these impostors, resembling in some respects that reposed in the “medicine men” by the American Indians, and would not dive without their supervision. It is unknown at what period the influence of these semi-priests developed, but at the time of Marco Polo’s visit about 1294, they were in the full bloom of their authority, receiving one twentieth of the total catch of oysters,[144] which amounted to a very considerable sum. It is probable that the number of shark-charmers was then quite large, some writers more recently referring to one for each boat. During the Portuguese occupation the number was reduced to twelve, and at the beginning of the British influence, it was further reduced to two.

Interesting descriptions have been given of the methods by which these men exercised their alleged powers. In 1807, Cordiner stated:

One goes out regularly in the head pilot’s boat. The other performs
certain ceremonies on shore. He is stripped naked, and shut up in a
room, where no person sees him from the period of the sailing of the
boats until their return. He has before him a brass basin full of
water, containing one male and one female fish made of silver. If
any accident should happen from a shark at sea, it is believed that
one of these fishes is seen to bite the other. The divers likewise
believe that, if the conjurer should be dissatisfied, he has the
power of making the sharks attack them, on which account he is sure
of receiving liberal presents from all quarters.[145]

Amusing stories are told of the shrewdness displayed by these fellows in inventing explanations to redeem their credit when a fisherman became a victim of the sharks. These accounts are by men who evidently bore no good-will toward the shark-charmers, and it would be of interest to hear from the other side; but we have been unable to find any one who has appeared in print in their defense.

The British government, in its policy of noninterference with the superstitions or semi-religious customs of the natives, tolerated these seeming impostors, owing, probably, in a measure, to the fact that the superstitious belief in their necessity was favorable to the preservation of the resources, since it restricted poaching on the reefs. However, the government endeavored to prevent an extravagant misuse of the influence, and restricted the compensation of the shark-charmers to one oyster per day from each diver. Later, they were remunerated by the government, and were not allowed, under any pretense whatever, to demand, exact, or receive oysters or any other compensation from the boatmen, divers, or any other persons. And, finally, in 1885, the shark-charmers were done away with entirely, after having exacted their toll for upward of six centuries at least.

The dangers to which the Ceylon divers are exposed have been greatly exaggerated, and especially the risks from sharks. Poets tell how “the Ceylon pearler went all naked to the hungry shark,” and the struggle of the diver has been a favorite theme with sensational writers. As a matter of fact, the trouble from this source is very slight, and the occupation is less dangerous than that of most of the deep-water fisheries, not to be compared, for instance, with that of the winter haddock-fishery off the New England coast. Even in 1905, when 4991 divers and an equal number of assistants were employed in pearling, not a single fatal accident was reported, and although much rough weather prevailed, not a fishing boat was lost. In the important fishery of 1904, with 3049 divers, only one fatal accident occurred, this was an elderly Moorman, whose death at the bottom was apparently due either to apoplexy or to exhaustion from remaining under water too long.

The superintendent of the fishery reported that not a single shark was seen during the 1904 season.[146] According to the statement of Sir William Twynam, whose Ceylon pearl fishing experience and observation equal those of any European, he has never known of a diver being carried off by a shark, and has heard of only one case—“which was a very doubtful one.”[147] Prof. James Hornell, the inspector of pearl banks, reported in 1904: “During all the months I have spent upon the pearl banks during the last two years and a half I have never had a glimpse of a shark dangerous to man. Several times the boatmen have caught basking sharks of considerable size, but all were of a species that lives almost entirely upon small crustaceans.”[148] The late Mr. A. M. Ferguson wrote in 1887: “I think it is pretty certain that in the whole course of the Ceylon fisheries only two human beings have fallen victims to these fierce fishes.”[149]

The diving continues until a signal is given from the guard vessel about twelve or one o’clock, this time depending largely on the beginning of the sea breeze which roughens the water and interferes with the work, and likewise serves to speed the passage of the sail vessels to the shore. Occasionally the breeze is unfavorable, and the boatmen are obliged to row for miles, delaying their return in some instances until nightfall. Then the shore is lighted up to guide them to the landings, and extra precautions are maintained to prevent them from getting away with some of the oysters in the darkness.