Despite
Sri Lanka's legendary fame for its precious stones, none of the colonial
powers showed any interest in developing that industry. John Davy observed
that" like mining in general the occupation of searching for gems is a very
precarious one" and therefore not "a profitable pursuit"To the Colebrook
Commissioners," the gems of Ceylon...(were) the least important of its
mineral productions."Even Tennent found that only "persons of
worst-regulated habits......(were) continuously engaged in this exciting and
precarious trade." He also noticed that because of the gem industry" serious
demoralization is engendered by the idle and desolute adventures who resort
to Saffragam. Systematic industry suffers, and the cultivation of the land
is frequently neglected whilst its owners are absorbed in these speculative
and tantalising occupation." The idea that gemming was a precarious and
speculative venture together with the ruling philosophy of non-interference
in private enterprise prompted the Colonial government to be satisfied with
the limited revenue it received from the licenses issued to gem miners.
Nonetheless, as one later report on gem trade remarked, "it (was in) this
uncertainty....(that there lay) the romance of the industry." From the very
beginning it was the Muslims who enjoyed this romance more than anyone else.
As early as 1817 Bertolacci observed that the gem trade was "entirely in the
hands of Muslims" and four years later Davy wrote ,that though the number
engaged in the industry was "not very numerous" yet they were "chiefly Moor
men." Nevertheless they did not monopolize every branch of that industry. In
fact the actual mining for gems was done mostly by the Sinhalese.
They
either mined independently and sold their findings to Muslim middle men or
worked for wages in pits owned by Muslims under the close supervision of the
latter." it is a curious sight" says Cumming," to see the keen, eager faces
of Moor men to whom the gem pits belong, and who sit perched on raised seats
over overlooking the great troughs wherein a long row of coolies sifting and
washing the gravel, which, perchance, may yield some priceless gem, only to
be recognized in its rough exterior by experienced eyes, but which a clever
coolie would detect as quickly as his master, so that the latter needs to
practice keen vigilance to prevent any attempt at concealment of the
treasure-trove." While the southern Sinhalese mined for wages those of Sabaragamuwa did it independently by forming Karuhaulas, a system by which a
no of miners jointly worked in a pit and then shared the finding. Of a total
496 earners categorized as "gem diggers" by the 1911 census report, there
were 411 sinhalese,76 Muslims and the rest Tamils
The
stones that were mined by the Sinhalese were sold either privately or
through public auction to middlemen who were mostly Muslims. From this point
onwards it was they who dominated the industry. The market value of the gem
was often beyond the knowledge of a miner who measured the value" by the
prices realized at gem auctions at which the competitive elements were
absent. The Muslim buyers at the auction usually formed a ring and through
"a secret code in which finger play, nods of the head and eye movements
played a part," refrained from bidding against each other and thereby kept
the market prices of raw stones very low. After purchasing the stones their
values were enhanced by cutting and polishing in which the Muslims virtually
had no competition in the Island. This skill was not acquired through formal
learning but through tradition handed down fro generation to generation.
Moreover those who acquired the skill refused to teach it to a non Muslim.
person who desired to learn had to become an apprentice under a reputable
cutter," but unless his heritage stamped him as a Muslim he (had) no entry."
The techniques used by the Muslim cutters and polishers, though the best
available in Sri Lanka at the time, fell far short of international
standards. Their tools were "so primitive and their skill so deficient that
a gem generally lost its value by having passed through their hands." and
because of the lack of brilliancy and proper shape the gems exported to
Europe had to be recut and polished in the European Lapidaries. The Muslim
cutters were found sacrificing brilliancy and style for size and weight.
Despite this draw back they remained as the unchallenged masters of this art
during the period of British colonization.
After
cutting and polishing the stones were passed to the jewellers and gem
traders in the cities who either exported them abroad or sold directly to
the local rich and foreign tourists. The profits earned were phenomenal. For
example, a sapphire mined, cut and polished by C. M. Hassan Marikar of
Rakwana in 1881 was estimated to fetch pounds 10,000 or about Rs 100,000 and
in 1887 an alexandrite weighing 1867 carats was sold by a Muslim from
Weligama for Rs 12,000. The cost prices in both cases was well below Rs.100
each. It is difficult to estimate the actual amount of profit earned my the
Muslim gem miners.
The Ceylon Blue Books statistics for instance do not
reveal the actual amount earned through the export of gems." A portion only
appears," Tennent said," even to those sent to England, the remainder being
carried away by private parties." However he computed that the annual value
of the quantity of precious stones found in the Island at that time was
about pounds 10,000.The highest figure of the export value of gems recorded
by the Ceylon Blue Books in the 19th century was Rs76,000 in 1899,but
according to other sources, in 1890 alone the sale of gems brought 10
million rupees into the Country.
Dr Ameer Ali, University of Murdoch,
Western Australia.
