54 



and sell them to merchants are also treated at times in the same 

 manner. 



There is a powerful Panchayet among the fisherfolk which 

 settles all disputes arising among the community and relating to the 

 fishing industry, but it is absolutely necessary that, as anywhere 

 else, its constitution, jurisdiction and methods of enforcing deci- 

 sions should be carefully safeguarded. A duly representative and 

 well instructed Panchayet may be most useful in developing and 

 safeguarding an industry and the welfare of its community, but 

 such conditions are essential, as well as some degree of control from 

 without. 



TELLICHERRY. 



Except a few, all curers are very poor entirely depending upon 

 Mappilla merchants who finance them in return for the sale of the 

 whole lot of their fish at a low price. Labourer-fishermen take 

 advances of from Rs. 50 to Rs. lOO from the owners of boats and nets 

 to work in their boats. No interest is charged on such advances but 

 before repaying it he cannot go and work in another man's boat. 

 No special wages for gutting or salting are fixed. Curing work is 

 done by Mukkuva women curers themselves or in the case of 

 Mappilla curers by hired labour. The fishermen are Hindus, Christ- 

 ians or Mappillas. An ordinary pair of fishing boats with a com- 

 plete set of gear together with advances given to labourer-fisher- 

 men will cost Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 4,000. After investing so much money 

 the owner of boats and nets may, owing to failure of fishing season 

 or other causes be obliged to borrow a few hundretls from the fish 

 merchants or other capitalists. In such cases all the fish caught by 

 the borrower must be placed at the disposal of the lender, /.(\, the 

 latter has liberty to buy it for himself or sell it to others. The price 

 in such cases is much less than that realised by other fishermen 

 who have not borrowed money and who are free to sell their catches 

 to anybody they like. Most of the boats of this place are thus 

 controlled by a few capitalists. 



The Mukkuvas of Tellicherry were at one time — -some forty 

 years ago — the richest and most advanced among the fisher com- 

 munity on the Malabar Coast. They lived in well-built tiled houses, 

 several of them being double-storied, owned landed and other 

 immoveable property worth many thousands of rupees, and also 

 carried on trade in dry fish with Colombo and other places on the 

 East Coast. Most of the males were literates and could read and 

 write their vernacular, and a fair number of their young men also 

 attended the English schools. At that time not only the fishing and 

 curing industry, but also the landing and shipping business of the 

 port were in their hands, for conducting which they had large 

 cargo boats of their own each costing a couple of thousand rupees. 

 But for several years past theshipping and landing" business has gone 

 out of their hands, and with the exception of two or three indivi- 

 duals none of this community is at present engaged in it except as 

 lascars and coolies working in the cargo boats owned by Mappilla 

 merchants. As for fishing and curing these were allied industries ; 

 the men caught the fish and their women either sold them as fresh 

 or cured and kept them till they had a good demand. Curing of 

 all the smaller kind of fish including mackerel and even medium 

 sized cat-fish was done with salt-earth which they gathered free of 



