The Moors of Sri Lanka were involved in the business of
pearl fishery and pearl exports during this period. Even though this
industry was a government monopoly until 1833,the manner in which it was
operated provided ample opportunities for the Moors to engage in the
enterprise in various capacities. The Government usually rented the fishing
rights to speculators on condition that they fish within a predetermined
area, for a specified number of days and with a stipulated number of boats.
Even after 1833 this system remained largely intact with the difference that
instead of renting the right to fish, the government now hired the divers to
work for it under official supervision and sold the oysters to pearl
merchants through public auction.
Before the actual commencement of the fishing season, the Government
inspected the respective pearl banks and collected samples of oysters in
order to assess the prospects and profitability of the venture. The pearls
collected from this sample were sorted ,classed and valued by an assembly of
five or six native pearl dealers, respectable Moormen, who considered it a
compliment to be called to this service. At the beginning this was performed
gratuitously but later they were paid for their services." Nobody
understands the value of pearls and precious stones so well as the Moors",
Wrote Wolf in 1785,"and the persons who used to farm the pearl fishery,
always rely on their skill on this article, as well as in Arithmetic to
inform them what they are to give for the whole fishery". Pearl valuing
appears to have been a special skill monopolized by the Moors. For example,
in each of the five member committees of pearl valuers appointed in 1881 and
1905,all,except the Inspector of Pearl Banks and the Adigar, were Moors.
After assessing the prospects of the forthcoming season
the Government advertised the date for fishing. Before 1833 the renters
were mostly South Indian Chetties, but after that and from 1850 there came
a variety of merchants, among whom many were Moors. In 1856 for example,
of the 42 Kottus-a Tamil word for a ground pit where oysters were dumped
on a mat to rot and dry-allotted for pearl merchants ,13 were taken by
Moors ,of whom 9 were Indians,3 from Mannar and one from Colombo. In
1889,the Government Agent of Northern Province, reported that there were
Chetties and Moorish Merchants from- Madura, Nagapatnam, Keelakarai, Tondy,
and Adrampatnam-all South Indian towns, and from Colombo and Jaffna, who
had come to participate in the fishery of that year. He also regretted the
absence of Moor Merchants from the South Indian town of Nagore, who were
there in the previous year. In 1905,of the three largest purchases of
oysters two were Moors (one from Bombay and the other from Keelakarai) and
the third was a Chetty. A year before that, there was a merchant from
Mecca too.While the Bulk of these Moors returned to their homeland when
the season ended, a few remained in the Island and became permanent
residents.
A more important branch of this industry from the point of view of
employment was diving for pearls Hundreds of Moors, both indigenous and
foreign were involved in this. In 1856 for instance, of the 323 boats
which arrived at the fishing site with 678 merchants,1926 divers and 4698
coolies,19 came from Kalpitiya and 3 from Mannar, all carrying Sri lankan
Moors, while another 72 came from Keelakarai,24 from Tondy and 5 from
Kayalpattanam, carrying South Indian Moors. Four years later there were
200 boats from Keelakarai alone. In 1890,of a total of about 1300 to 1400
divers Moors from Keelakarai, Paumben, and Tondy together counted
800,while another 200 Indian Moors, mostly of Arab stock, came from
Bombay. In that year there were also 300 Sri lankan Moor divers, mostly
from Erukkalampitty and Mannar. Again in 1903 out of a total 242 boats and
7408 divers,150 of the first and 3732 of the second arrived from
Keelakarai alone. In the following year Moors from that place so dominated
the diving, they were described as the "backbone of the fishery." Finally
in 1905 and 1906 there was a marked increase in the number of Arabs to 923
and 4090 respectively, out of a total 4991 in the first and 8368 in the
second year.
Culturally and historically Moors have an ancient
connection with pearl fishing. According to the Quran, "He it is who has
made the sea subservient that you may eat fresh fish from it, and bring
forth from it ornaments which you wear. "Perhaps in keeping with the
spirit of this verse Muslims took to pearl fishing from very early times.
Tennent cites the Arab Geographer Masudi's description of the habits of
Arab Muslim pearl divers in the Persian Gulf in the 9th century. As Islam
spread Muslims in other areas also took to pearl fishing and in Sri Lanka
it became a vocation practiced by members of that community. The expertise
thus developed appears to have enabled Muslim divers to dive to greater
depths and stay under water for longer periods. Of the four groups that
participated in diving, viz. the Malayalees, Christian Tamils, Moors and
Arabs, the last were rated as best, the Moors ranked second, the Tamils
and Malayalees third and fourth respectively.
Even though the Muslims shared widely in pearl fishery a large proportion
of them were not Sri Lankans. Except for a small number of Mannar and
Kalpitiya Muslims and a few from Vannarponnai area in Jaffna, the rest
came from either India or Persian Gulf. There were two reasons for this
foreign dominance. Firstly the Dutch discriminatory policies against the
Moors between 1650 and 1750 and the absence of frequent pearl fisheries
during the Dutch regime made the local Moors lose much of their skills in
pearl fishing over a period of time; and secondly, the British practice of
advertising contracts for pearl fishing in India helped wealthy traders
there to submit tenders and recruit divers locally before setting out for
Sri Lanka. What the local moors gained mostly from the fishery was the
opportunity to trade with foreigners who arrived at the fishing site.
Sometimes a crowd of 30000 to 40000 gathered at the place and remained
there for a month or so until the season was over A sandy desolated spot
along the Mannar Coast became a crowded town of merchants, divers, coolies
and officers living in temporary huts and palm leaf sheds trying to
maximize their earnings within a short space of time. Though trading was
brisk, yet it was not the monopoly of the local community. There was stiff
competition from south Indian Moors. In 1856 for example of the 127
boutique allotments only 24 were taken by Sri Lankan Moors. Of the rest,
except for one which was allotted to a Pathan Muslim from Kabul, all were
shared by the Moor traders from Tondy, Keelakkarai and Kayalpatnam.The
seasonal character of the industry generally shortened the period of
trading. But that short duration sometimes became even shorter as in
1858,because of outbreaks of epidemics. Even otherwise the entire industry
was of a speculative nature which depended on the availability of oysters.
For some unknown reason these oysters appeared and disappeared
periodically and consequently the annual pearl fishing was seriously
disrupted from time to time. Such disruptions occurred several times in
the 18th centuryand in the 19th there were disruptions from 1820 to
1828,from 1846 to 1849,in 1853,1861,1876 and from
1893 to 1896.
Dr Ameer Ali, University of Murdoch,
Western Australia.
