Diving For Pearls
Apart from its value as an object of adornment, the pearl is a potent symbol of the soul; while psychoanalysts believe it represents the 'mystic centre'. Because of the pearl's significance for humanity, it is of relevance that until the early 20th century, Sri Lanka enjoyed fame as a prime source of this much-treasured gift of nature.
Words: Richard Boyle
Of the world's great pearl fisheries, none other than that of the Persian Gulf can compare in terms of antiquity with Sri Lanka's fishery off Mannar Island on the north-west coast. Romans, Greeks, Venetians and Genoese all sought after the beautiful specimens harvested from these waters. Not surprising, then, that references to the pearl fishery appeared in the majority of the ancient descriptive accounts of the country.
In addition, the Arabian Nights contains the adventures of Sindbad the Sailor - no doubt created from the reports of Arab merchants - who was shipwrecked on Serendib (Sri Lanka). Subsequently, Sindbad had an audience with the king, who commanded him to convey a goblet filled with fine pearls to Haroun al-Raschid, Caliph of Baghdad.
The Portuguese, the island's first colonial rulers, took control of the pearl fishery in 1524. When the Dutch expelled the Portuguese in 1658, they set out with characteristic thoroughness to develop the fishery under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company. From 1746 the fishery was rented out, a system that proved most successful. Yet the British did not adopt it after they annexed the island from the Dutch in 1796.
The underwater pearl banks (paars) that stretch from Mannar Island south to the coastal town of Chilaw are located in depths ranging from five to ten fathoms. Under the British administration this area was examined twice a year. If pearl oysters were sufficiently numerous, a fishery was called for the following year. Advertisements were published throughout the East to attract divers and pearl merchants as the indigenous population was rarely involved in the industry. A temporary town to house the cosmopolitan population - often numbering 50,000 - arose from the windswept coastal sands at Silavatturai - 'the port of the pearl fishery' - and included a court, police station, customs post, prison and hospital. Entertainers such as snake-charmers and dancers flocked to the location, and even some primitive fairground equipment was installed.
In 1863 George Bizet Composed The Opera, ‘The Pearl Fishers’ Based On The Pearl Fishery, And In 1870 Another Famous Frenchman, Jules Verne, Published ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea’, Which Contains A Gripping Underwater Episode In Which A Pearl Diver Was Rescued From A Shark By Divers From The Submarine Nautilus.
Dhows from the Persian Gulf that carried a crew of 14, together with ten divers, were the boats used in the fishery. The fleet of around 400 vessels left for the pearl banks before dawn and was by sunrise anchored in position at the centre of the fishing ground. A gun fired an hour after sunrise gave the signal for diving to commence.
The divers were mostly Indian Tamils or Arabs. Some plunged head first from a springboard, but the majority descended to the bottom in an upright position, carried down rapidly by a weight. They operated in pairs, one of whom was always on the surface, and each diver was attended by a manduck. His duty was to take care of the ropes attached to the weight and the basket in which the oysters were collected underwater.
When ready to descend, the Tamil diver closed his nose with his fingers, while the Arab invariably used a horn clip. On reaching the bottom the diver stepped off the sinker, slipped the noose of the basket over his head, and swam slowly over the bank collecting the oysters. Meanwhile his manduck hoisted up the sinker to prepare for the next dive.
After about 60 seconds, sometimes even longer, the diver below gave a tug on the basket rope indicating his readiness to ascend. Instantly, two manducks hauled the rope up along with the diver, and the contents of the basket were emptied into the boat.
Following a few minutes rest the diver descended once more and would only allow his comrade to take his place when he had completed about eight descents over a period of half an hour. In this manner, a single diver could gather 3,000 oysters a day.
Sharks were the main occupational danger. Being superstitious the divers consulted the so-called 'shark-charmers' or 'shark-binders' before commencing work. Indeed, the divers would not venture out to sea until they received an assurance from the shark-charmers that "the mouths of the sharks would close at their command."
There were two or three shark-charmers in attendance at every fishery. One would go out to sea with the fleet. The other two would recite mantrams and perform certain rituals on shore, one of which required the shark-charmer to lock himself in a closed room and sit before a brass basin full of 'magic' water supposedly obtained from a secret well. In this water were silver replicas of a male and female shark. If there should be a shark attack on a diver the shark-charmer would know, for one shark in the basin would 'bite' the other.
Towards midday a signal was made to cease work. The boats headed for the coast and lined up close to the shore in front of a large enclosure known as the kottu, or oyster store, which consisted of nine open huts divided into compartments. The divers carried their catch into the kottu and deposited it in three equal heaps - a division of ancient origin - inside a compartment.
A British official then chose two of the heaps as the Government's share, leaving the remaining one to the diver.
After the divers took their oysters away to open or sell, the Government's share was counted and auctioned off to the merchants. The oysters were then placed in small pits by the sea where they were allowed to decompose - an extremely malodorous process. Finally, the remains were rinsed and the pearls picked out and graded. The bulk of the pearls, which were valued for their golden hue, found their way to Bombay where most were perforated and strung into ropes, and thereafter sent to brokers and dealers throughout the world.
While the early period of British rule was characterised by rich pearl harvests, a series of failures occurred thereafter. The decision was made to revert to the Dutch system of leasing out the fishery, but this proved unsuccessful. Mikimoto dealt the final blow to the industry in Ceylon with the introduction of the cultured pearl.
Since then the pearl banks have remained largely undisturbed. There is little physical evidence left to indicate the fisheries were held for centuries along the desolate coast. However, under certain conditions - in the right light and with the sun at a low angle - the long shore still glitters with ancient, abandoned shards of oyster shell.
Source: www.serendib.btoptions.lk
