the
inspection, although to do so might necessitate arranging the fleet
into two divisions, each fishing on alternate days. In 1874, the boats
were arranged in three divisions, the red, blue and green, with fifty
boats in each; in 1879, and again in 1881, there were two divisions,
the red and the blue; and likewise in 1880, in 1903 and in 1906 there
were two, the red and the white divisions. Of the 318 boats employed in
the 1905 fishery, 143 were from Kilakarai, seventy-four from Jaffna,
thirty-five from Tuticorin, thirty-four from Paumben, nine from Manaar,
six from Negapatam, five from Colombo, four each from Tondi and
Kayalpatam, and one each from Devipatam, Adrapatam, Ammopatam, and
Koddaipatam.
The
number of persons on each boat ranges from about twelve to sixty-five,
with an average for the entire fleet of about thirty-five men per boat.
This includes the sammatti, or master, who represents the owner ; the tindal, or pilot ; the todai, or
water-bailer, who is very necessary on these leaky craft, and who also
takes charge of the food and drinking water; at times a government
inspector or "boat guard"; and from five to thirty divers, with an
equal number of manducks, or attendants.1 The sammattis, tindals, and todais are
nearly all from the coast of southern India. The "boat guards" or
inspectors are natives of Ceylon, and are employed by the government to
prevent the fishermen from opening the oysters. Most of the manducks are from the Indian coast.
Of
the 4991 divers employed in 1905, 2649 were Moormen or Lub-bais from
Kilakarai, Tondi, etc., on the Madura coast; 923 were Arabs; 424 were
Erukkalampiddi Moormen from Ceylon, and the remaining 995 were Tamils
from Tuticorin, Rameswaram and elsewhere on the Madras coast,
Malayalans from the Malabar coast, with small numbers from other
localities on the Asiatic coasts.
Among
the 8600 divers in 1906, were 4090 Arabs, the largest number of those
people employed in recent years. In 1905 there were only 923 Arab
divers, ίη 1904 only 238, and previously the number was much less. Some
have worked on the Ceylon coast since 1887, but most of them are newly
arrived from Bahrein and Kuweit, where they received their training as
pearl-divers. They are very energetic and skilful fishermen, far
surpassing the Tamils, coming early in the season and staying late,
and working on many days when rough seas deter the Indian divers from
venturing out.
The
Erukkalampiddi divers of Ceylon are by no means so energetic or steady
in work as the Arabs, and commonly desert the fishery be-
1Some
years ago, notably in the early sons in each boat. (See Vane's "Report
on sixties, each and every boat was required to Ceylon Pearl
Fisheries," 1863.) have ten divers, thus making a total of 23 per-
8
