Pearls and pearl divers
By Shireen SENADHIRA
Passing through Kuwait end of July on travel, I read the Arab Times
and found an article titled ' Young Sailors Return Home, ' dated 24 July
2010. It was the end of their Pearl Diving Heritage Revival Festival
with the return of their pearling boats. Kuwait kept alive their
tradition of pearl diving of long ago which was one of their main
livelihoods then.
Young men were trained on pearl diving and they went out to sea for
ten days where they explored the sea bed for pearls. Many pearls were
collected after harvesting the oysters and cracking them. The article
went further to say that on the arrival day of the young men, when the
boats were sighted on the horizon, there was uproarious excitement, when
family, friends and visitors assembled eagerly to welcome them on the
shore. Then the feasts began,
Gulf of Mannar
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Pearls |
In a different era, in Mannar, in the north western coast of Sri
Lanka, men were diving for pearls in the Gulf of Mannar. The great
chronicle of history of the island, the Mahavamsa, records that when
Prince Vijaya (later to become King Vijaya) arrived on the island in 5th
century BC, pearl diving was well established. During the Portuguese,
Dutch and British eras pearl diving flourished and more so in the 18th
century. When the multitude of boats brought the pearl divers ashore in
the Bay of Condatchy in Mannar, there was similar excitement like that
in Kuwait. The large eager crowds rushed to the waves on the beach,
their faces showing so much emotion. A roaring cheer went up as some of
the boats would be laden with riches. The boat owners displayed anxious
expecting countenances. The crowd was of jewelers, brokers, merchants of
all colours and descriptions, both native and foreign, who were occupied
with pearls. Their work was either separating and assailing the pearls
or weighing, valuing and ascertaining their numbers. Others were either
hawking them, or drilling and boring the pearls for future use. This
shows the value and importance of the object and the endless bustle it
created on the shores of Mannar.
Several thousands of people of different skin hues, countries, castes
and occupations continuously passed and repassed in the busy crowd. The
vast numbers of small tents and huts erected near the shores had many a
bazaar or market place dotted here and there. In fact, at that time,
life was teeming there. The enticing smells of spicy food mingled in the
sea breeze with occasional whiffs of the stench of the decaying and
discarded oyster shells. The harvesting of pearls mainly started in the
month of February and went on till April and it happened every third
year, so that once the oysters were harvested, there was sufficient time
for the new pearls to grow in the new oysters.
Added to the melee on the shores of Mannar, were the astrologers and
the religious men. The former gave the auspicious times and days for
good harvesting and also foretold the future, the latter prayed over the
divers, invoked blessings on the boats going out to sea. Amidst this
exciting mass of humanity and the carnival atmosphere, there were much
serious activities going on. The divers had to keep themselves fit and
supple as they descended many fathoms into the sea. They had their noses
pinched with wooden clothes pegs like tweezers and they plunged into the
waters with stones attached to their feet or waist. There simply was no
scuba diving apparatus and likewise in those days. The divers' job was
an exacting one. The ones who could stay under water the longest were
the best and gathered many oysters. The duration under water was on
average about 2 minutes, maybe 3. There were some who could stay under
for 4 or more minutes and that was a feat. They got rid of the stones
quickly at the bottom and swam about gathering as many oysters clinging
to the rocks. Some divers were deft enough to gather oysters with their
feet too. They collected them in the nets hanging from their necks or
waist. Then they tugged at the rope attached to them and were quickly
hauled up. They did the diving in relays when the first five or ten
dived and came up, the next lot was ready to dive. Thus a diver did
about 50 or 60 dives a day. There were also the underwater hazards of
shark, manta rays and other marauders which they had to avoid and always
be on the alert.
Robert Percival has described the pearl fishers in his book titled,
An Account of the History of Ceylon, well. We can see from his account
that the diver's task was arduous. The exertion undergone during the
process is so that on being hauled up to the boat, they discharge water
from their mouth, nostrils and ears and sometimes even blood. But this
does not deter them from diving again in turn. During the season all the
boats regularly sail and return together. The boats, it is said, reach
the oyster banks before daybreak. The sailing goes on daily during the
2-3 month period unless storms happen. Another considerable interruption
to the sailing is the diversity of religious holidays observed by the
divers of different sects and nations.
Ancient times
Galle in the south of our island is said to be the Tarshish in the
Bible. Many ships sailed to and fro from Galle and other ports in Sri
Lanka in ancient times. At those times, the Gulf of Mannar together with
the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea were reputed to be the hub of the
international pearl trade. Pearls from the Gulf of Mannar are believed
to have reached the courts of kings and emperors of ancient empires such
as Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, Phoenician, Scythian, Roman, Byzantine
etc. In the 10th century BC King Solomon's ships are believed to have
reached the ports of Sri Lanka, from where they filled their cargo with
pearls, rubies, sapphires, ivory and peacocks. The Phoenician trade
fleets are also believed to have reached the Gulf of Mannar to purchase
pearls.
The Mahawamsa and the Chulawamsa record that pearls were sent as
gifts by Kings of Sri Lanka to Indian Kings in the 5th and 3rd centuries
BC. The Greek ambassador to the Mayuran king, Chandragupta was
Megasthenes and he had written in the 3rd century BC. that "the island
of Taprobane was more productive of gold and large pearls than the
Indias." The 16 - 20 centuries had the Portuguese, Dutch and British
ruling Sri Lanka in turn. Looking back, the entry of the western nations
into the pearl trade of Sri Lanka, was a disaster for the people of the
area and their livelihood, as these nations used fire power to terrorize
the people.
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Galle harbour |
This caused a lot of tension and insecurity in the area in contrast
to the peaceful atmosphere that prevailed during pearling activities for
thousands of years.
The last pearl fishery held by the British was in 1906. It was
presided over by Leonard Woolf, the Government Agent in Jaffna kachcheri
(secretariat). It is recorded that it was a failure lasting only 11 days
only with a poor crowd in attendance.
Attempts to culture pearls in oysters didn't succeed. This was the
time in Japan, when Mikimoto had already successfully cultured 'Mabe'
pearls.
Famous pearls
Talking of famous pearls, in acient times, it is probable that Queen
Sheba would have been proudly wearing her pearls, gifts from King
Solomon and that they would have been from the Gulf of Mannar. Likewise,
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, would have dazzled Caesar and Marc Antony
with her pearls. There is a story told by Pliny the elder that
Cleopatra, the last of the Egyptian Queens owned two large pearls of all
times, left to her by oriental kings. Cleopatra, being the interesting
character she was, once had a wager with Antony while dining. The story
says, that Antony asked what more could be added to a such sumptuous
meal. Cleopatra, with her usual arrogance mentioned an exorbitant
amount, that she could use in a meal. Antony who didn't quite believe
her took the wager. The next day, she set a magnificent meal and when
dining, Antony laughingly asked for the reckoning. She replied that this
was a preliminary meal and assured him that she would consume half a
million dollar worth meal herself. Then she ordered the dessert and as
instructed, a dish was set before her. This dish contained vinegar, so
strong that it could dissolve pearls into slush. At that time, she was
wearing her remarkable, unique pearl earrings. She took one pearl
earrings while a bemused Antony looked on. She plunged it into the
vinegar. When it dissolved she swallowed the exotic dessert and won the
wager. Lucius Plancus witnessed the wager.
One of the oldest known pearl is the Jomon pearl and it dates back
5500 years. It is named after a period in Japanese history the Jomon era
(10,000 to 300 BC). In Britain, Mary, Queen of Scots married three times
and because of her multiple marriages amassed a large amount of jewelry
including pearls. Her numerous dresses and mantles were studded with
pearls and other jewels. However, none of these helped her when later,
she was tried for treason and executed. Mary, Queen of Scots had a 6
stranded pearl necklace containing more than 600 pearls.
Her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, bought this valuable necklace. Pearl
tiaras were worn at weddings, mostly by royalty. It was Princess Diana
who carried her pearl tiara well and indeed looked the proverbial
enchanting princess. Mughal paintings of their princes show them wearing
strands of pearls. Emperors Akbar's (1556 -1605) and Jehangir's
(1605-1627) courts displayed all the usual trappings of oriental luxury,
in particular, prodigious stocks of jewels of which pearls were the most
numerous and most highly regarded.
Drama, song and verse
Turning to music, George Bizet's first opera, 'the Pearl Fishers,'
centered on a love triangle. This opera originally set in Mexico, was
switched to Ceylon, featuring Leila, a Hindu priestess, the village
headman and a pearl diver. In paintings, pearls are depicted in the well
known paintings of Johannes Vermeer, Delft, 1665, 'The Girl with the
Pearl Earring' and 'Woman with the Pearl Necklace' which are highly
valued works of art. In poetry, Mathew Arnold , poet, (1822 - 1888) says
thus:
" Searching the wave I won therefrom a pearl Moonlike and glorius,
such as Kings might buy emptying their treasury."
Cosmetics and curatives
Pearls have been used in cosmetics. Finely ground powder of pearls,
similar in texture to flour began to be used cosmetically by ladies of
France and believed greatly to improve the texture and lustre of the
skin. The cosmetic industry adds pearls to face powders and creams. It
is also used as a curative. The reject pearls from pearl fisheries and
farms are processed and provide the pharmaceuticals industry as a
valuable source of calcium.
Myths and legends
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Pearl diver |
The pearl, cherished both by men and women for many thousands of
years became steeped in legends. Some believed that the pearls were the
end product of dew. Arabian writers of antiquity have added to this
myth, saying, in April the oysters rise from the sea bed and open their
shells to receive the rain which falls at that time. The raindrops thus
gathered become pearls. Chinese mystics say that dragons are rainmakers
and that when they spit, that some of their spittle is of pearls and so,
rain and pearls fall when dragons are fighting in the heavens.
Hindu folklore tells that pearls are found in the stomach and
forehead of an elephant. These are avidly sought as powerful talismans
against all kinds of dangers. Hindu astrological terms present a pearl
as associated with the moon and consider pearls are representative of
lovers. That is why the Hindu love potions are full of finely powdered
pearl. Such is the story of pearls with its beauty and it's worth.
Therefore, it is disconcerting that there has been no pearling
activities in the Gulf of Mannar for so long. On the Indian side of the
Gulf, considerable success has been achieved in culturing pearls with
Japanese technical assistance.
Unfortunately, in Sri Lanka this could not be done due to lengthy
terrorist activities. Now after the restoration of peace to the island
nation, it is hoped that necessary incentives and encouragement will be
provided to private companies to invest in the lucrative pearl culturing
industry in collaboration with the Japanese and the Chinese. Then, Sri
Lanka's fame as a pearl producing centre for far and wide will spread
once more and why not?
It is known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.
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