121 



Certainly they have developed lining pretty considerably. As a 

 consequence of this activity fish-curing is more in evidence here 

 (though that is little enough) than elsewhere. Shark, rays, 

 and other big fish are sometimes cured by being cut into 

 fillets, washed in salt water and strung up to dry in the sun. 

 Drying is complete in from four to five days. From the end 

 of J uly to the end of September this curing is said to go on as 

 this is the season when these fish approach the island. 



131. Seer (Oybium spp.) is also caught at times in quantity 

 by harpooning, and it is most interesting to note that the And- 

 roth islanders cure seer very much in the way the Maldivians 

 and Japanese cure bonito, obtaining a product very similar to 

 that " Maldive fish " so highly esteemed by the Sinhalese. 

 The way in which seer is prepared in as follows : — After heading 

 and gutting, the flesh is cut into small pieces of about three 

 inches by one and half inch, washed in salt water, and 8 to 

 10 pieces strung on a cord. These are dipped into boiling 

 water for five minutes and then, after a short draining and 

 drying, are placed upon a leaf platform raised two feet from 

 the ground. Under this a fire of coconut husks or leaf stalks 

 is lit and kept going all night if the boiling took place in the 

 afternoon ; if the operations begin in the morning then they 

 complete the smoking in three to four hours. The smoked 

 product is next put in the sun upon cadjan mats and left to 

 dry thoroughly during three to four days. After this it will 

 keep for months in good condition. At present this product is 

 made only for private consumption, but in view of the excellence 

 of the product and the high esteem in which similarly cured 

 fish is held in Ceylon, Sumatra, and Japan, there is every 

 reason why the Laccadive Islaners should be encouraged to 

 extend and improve this cure in order that the product may 

 become an important article of export as mas-min is in the 

 Maldives. It is also a cure that might be introduced on the 

 mainland with great advantage wherever bonito and seer 

 are taken in quantity, for the product has many good qualities 

 and commands a high price when decently prepared. Very 

 probably the cure may with advantage be applied to other fish ; 

 indeed in Androth we were told that flying-fishes are cured 

 in the same general way, the chief difference being that after 

 they are headed and split they are dipped by the tail for a 

 short time in boiling water instead of being cut up and stringed 

 for boiling, and are smoked flesh side down at first. Kays 

 and Rhinobatis are also treated in the same wav as seer but are 

 said not to go through the smoking process. Smoked seer is 

 called kachcha win in the islands. 



