Sparkling legacy

Sri Lanka has been renowned for a wealth of gems since early historical times. In the Buddhist literature of India, for example, Sri Lanka was named Ratnadipa, which means "Island of Gems." There is a distinct association between gems and Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

It is written in the island's ancient chronicle, the Mahawamsa, that many fabulous gems arose from the land at the time of the coronation of King Devanampiyatissa as a token of his impending conversion to Buddhism. The gems were sent to Emperor Asoka of India, who advised the king to take refuge in "the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, the best of gems." These are the cornerstones of Buddhism, known as the Tri-Ratna or "Triple-Gem."

Allusions to gems crop up in the names for the island employed by several early civilizations. Arabs called Sri Lanka JaZirat Kakut, which means "Island of Gems." Chinese writers also used the term "Island of Gems," explaining that the Buddha had compassion on the people and had "sprinkled the land with a dew, causing it to produce red gems," Greeks termed it "island of the Hyacinth and Ruby" - the hyacinth being an orange-hued zircon - while Persians simply called it "Island of Rubies."

As the latter names reveal, it was for the ruby in particular that Sri Lanka became renowned in former times. Indeed, it is this blood-red gem, with its glorious hues and luminescent quality, which has figured most in the island's legend and history. Although rubies are not so plentiful today, it is apparent that Sri Lanka has supplied the world with these magnificent gems for well over two millennia. No other country except Myanmar has produced rubies in such quantity for so long.

Legend has it that as far back as the 9th century BC, King Solomon procured a grand ruby from the island as a distinctive gift for the Queen of Sheba. More certain is that around 600 BC, the Etruscans incorporated rubies obtained from the island in their jewellery. Two centuries or so later, the Romans began to do likewise. Since that time, fine rubies from Sri Lanka have found their way to all corners of the earth and enhanced the art of adornment.

The island was famed throughout early and mediaeval history for a very special ruby invariably in the possession of royalty and often referred to as the "Great Ruby of Ceylon." The first account of this gem is by the Egyptian, Cosmas Indicopleustes, who said of the island in 550AD, "the temples are numerous, and in one in particular, situated on an eminence, is the great ruby, as large as a pine cone, the colour of fire. It flashes from a great distance, especially when catching the beams of the sun, and is a matchless sight".

Marco Polo, writing in the 13th century, was another who was aware of its existence. "The king of Ceylon is reputed to have the grandest ruby that was ever seen, a span in length, the thickness of a man's arm; brilliant beyond description, and without a single flaw," he remarked. "It has the appearance of glowing fire, and its worth cannot be estimated in money."

Of the ultimate fate of this gem nothing is known, but there is a Chinese work called The Mirror of Science, which relates that early in the 14th century, the Chinese emperor sent an emissary to the island to purchase a ruby of unusual lustre: "This served as the ball on the emperor's cap, and was transmitted to succeeding emperors on their succession as a precious heirloom, and worn on the first day of the year....Every time a levee was held during the darkness of the night, the red lustre filled the palace, and it was for this reason known as The Red Palace-Illuminator."

The ruby's prevalence in Sri Lanka's gemological history should not divert attention from the numerous other gems to be found in the island. Most important of these is the sapphire, in its multi - hued range of white, yellow, pink, orange, purple and blue, which now occupies the position once held by the ruby.

That Sri Lanka has produced some of the best and largest sapphires the world has ever seen is without question. The British Crown, for instance, is adorned with an exquisite example, the 400-carat "Blue Belle." However, the largest Sri Lankan sapphire is the misnamed "Star of India" weighing 653 carats, which is on permanent display at the Museum of Natural History, New York. The second largest, the 423-carat "Logan Blue Sapphire," is housed at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington.

Knowledge regarding the island's gem deposits was possessed by the ancient Arab world as is evident from the Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor, which are based on the accounts of intrepid navigators and indomitable merchants. Sindbad's voyages take him to "Serendib" (Sri Lanka) on two occasions. During the first visit he witnessed the pearl fishery in the Gulf of Mannar and ascended Sri Pada. About the mountain he comments: "Here are found many rubies and other precious gems."

The second voyage features the best-known story connected with Sindbad, that of the "Valley of Diamonds." Sindbad found himself marooned on an unnamed island where he discovered an enormous nest with an egg belonging to the mythical bird known as the Rukh.

When the mother Rukh returned to the nest, Sindbad tied himself to the bird's leg with his turban. At dawn the Rukh soared skywards, carrying Sindbad to a distant, inaccessible valley. As the Rukh alighted, Sindbad freed himself and watched as it seized and ate a gigantic snake.

Sindbad, realizing he was trapped, stumbled on a ravine where the earth was littered with diamonds and crawling with snakes. Suddenly an animal carcass came tumbling down. He remembered hearing that merchants sometimes hurled carcasses into inaccessible places where gems were to be found.

The idea was that some of the gems would adhere to the flesh. With luck the carcasses were then picked up by carrion birds and deposited in their nests, from where the merchants would retrieve the gems. So the resourceful Sindbad filled his pockets with the precious stones scattered around and tied himself to a carcass. Eventually he was carried up the mountain to safety by an eagle.

During the 13th century there lived in Baghdad a writer called Al-Kazwini, dubbed "the Pliny of the East." He was convinced that the Valley of Diamonds was located "in the Valley of the Moon amongst the mountains of Serendib," no doubt referring to the vale of Ratnapura. In fact the most precious of gems is not to be found in Sri Lanka, although a pseudo-diamond, a type of zircon known as jargon or Matara diamond, does occur.

It appears, furthermore, that beliefs regarding a valley from which gems were collected using carcasses and carrion birds became widespread in Asia.

Whether or not "The Valley of Diamonds" was located in Serendib in the minds of the original Arab storytellers is therefore open to question. Nevertheless, it is clear from Sindbad's adventures as well as from historical evidence that Sri Lanka was acknowledged as a prime source of gems in early times, and that it was rightly given the name "The Island of Gems."

TSL