29 



continuous but given distinctive names according to 

 their position relative to one another and to the depth of 

 water over them. These divisions are — 



(i) Karai Piral, the inshore section lying in 8|- to 

 9 fathoms to the eastward of the inshore or karai group 

 of pearl banks comprised in the Nagara, Utti, Uduruvi, 

 and Kilathi and Attuvai Arupagam pars. 



(2) The great Vattaikal Piral co-terminous along 

 its west side with the Karai Piral but lying in 9 to 9^ 

 fathoms. This again is sub-divided into northern, middle 

 and southern sections (Vadai Piral, Nadu Piral and 

 Cholava Piral). The southern end comes as far to the 

 south as the Pulipundu Par. 



(3) Velangu Piral, the eastern section of this great 

 sand stretch. It is bounded on the east by a chain of 

 j^ars called Ennu Par stretching from the Athompathu 

 Par in the north to Saithompathu Par in the south. 



Usually the pirals yield large catches of shells, as the 

 chanksappear to congregate there to feed upon the tube- 

 worms which give the piral sands the name of ptichchi 

 nianal (insect or worm sand). But as already mentioned 

 chanks are often to be found in quantity on the gravels 

 and coarse sands margining any large extent of rocky 

 ground. None of these chank grounds have distinctive 

 names and the men specify their fishing" ground by such 

 lengthy descriptive phrases as "the chank place a little 

 on the distant side of the Utti Par" (Utti par velangu 

 arugu chank u nilam). 



(2) THE RAMNAD FISHERY. 



This chank fishery appears never to have been 

 worked by either the Portuguese or the Dutch. From 

 time immemorial it has been the monopoly of the 

 Sethupathi Rajas of Ramnad, who held it as feudatories, 

 first of the Pandiyan kings, and later of the Naiks of 

 Madura, and the Nawabs of the Carnat'c. They also 

 seem to have enjoyed pearl-fishery rights but when they 

 ceased to occupy the status of feudatories and the dis- 

 trict was formed into a zamindari, the right to the pearl- 

 fishery |)assed to the sovereign power as represented by 

 the Flast India Company as the successors of the Nawab. 

 For some obscure reason the chank fishery was left to 

 the zamindari and constituted one of the eioht heads of 



