no 



102. Soon after midday on 26th November we anchored 

 off the north end of this reef on rough coral bottom, going 

 ashore as soon as a pilot arrived to steer our gig through 

 the shallow passage leading into the lagoon. Kiltan is a well 

 defined atoll of oval form, the long axis roughlv north and 

 south ; the eastern arc, raised a few feet above sea-level, is 

 densely planted with coconut palms bearing weedy and rat- 

 eaten clusters of fruit and forms the "island", while the 

 long western are is a sea-level break-water of dead coral 

 protected on the seaward edge with a revetment of vigorous 

 living coral, thence dropping abruptly into 1,000 fathoms. 

 The lagoon is shallow, carrying about '6 feet of water over the 

 greater portion, at low water. The bottom is of white coral 

 sand with small and scraggy colonies of living coral, Pontes 

 and Madrvpora chiefly, here and there. Compared with the 

 rich lagoon of such a fringing reef as that at Point de Galle, 

 we miss the massive fungus-like fleshv alcvonarians, the rich 

 carpets of zoanthid anemones and the closely packed array of 

 varied corals in the deeper parts. In their place the sandy 

 bottom of the lagoon is littered with great numbers of 

 cylindrical sea cucumbers or holothurians, some of which when 

 dried constitute that valuable Chinese delicaev bechc-de-mer or 

 trepan g. 



103. On a small scale and in a very primitive manner an 

 industry in beche-de-mer even now is being carried in Kiltan, 

 where it is known as Koka. We were told that the trade was 

 introduced to the attention of the islanders some three years 

 ago by a Cannanore Mappilla, who stayed in the island for 

 some time, the material being collected by his employees — the 

 boys of the island. Of the man} species in the lagoon three at 

 least are recognized as of suitable quality for curing, namely, 

 (a) Velia koka, mottled grey and dirty brown ; (b) Karrta koka, 

 black in colour ; (c) Soganna koka of reddish brown colour. 

 The animals are collected both by wading and by spearing from 

 a boat. 



104. The process of curing practised is as follows :■— Each 

 holothurian is rirst cut open longitudinally and the viscera 

 removed ; the thick fleshy body-wall remaining is washed in 

 sea-water and subsequently boiled for not less than half an 

 hour. The time when boiling has proceeded far enough is said 

 to be judged by the character of the odour given out. After 

 removal from the boiling pot, the pieces are pinned open by 

 the insertion of short skewers in order to prevent curling, and 

 are next exposed to the full glare of the sun upon a cadjan 

 platform (fig. 7) for fully seven days to dry thoroughly before 



