67 



quent upon the general insecurity of the country and the 

 frequent recurrence of raids and widespread warfare, may 

 be considered the main reason for the decay of the chank- 

 bangle industry in the Deccan and Cambay provinces, 

 A striking confirmation of this conclusion is afforded 

 by Garcia da Orta, a Portuguese writer of the six- 

 teenth centu'y, whose colloquies on Indian drugs and 

 simples have recently been translated by Sir Clements 

 R. Markham (London, 191 3). In the thirty-fifth col- 

 loquy this old physician remarks : — " There is another 

 (shell) they call chanquo, of which they make boxes, 

 tables, and counters, for though it is rough outside, 

 inside it is very smooth and beautiful. This chank is 

 an article of trade to Bengal, and used to be worth more 

 than it is now. The large ones, which we call Buzios, 

 go to Bengal and are worked up very beautifully, 

 remaining very smooth and white. For this only a 

 small quantity is used, the rest being wanted for brace- 

 lets and other ornaments. It was the custom in Beneal 

 that no person of distmction who was a virgin could be 

 corrupted unless she had bracelets of the chank shell on 

 her arms.* After the arrival of the Patans this custom 

 was neglected and the chank became cheaper in conse- 

 quence. You see here a chess table at your service 

 where you may see the chank when you like." 



(2) THE PRESENT CONDITION AND ME'J^HODS OF 



THE INDUSTRY. 



(a) Preliminary. 



(h) Present centres of the industry. 



(c) Volume and importance of the trade. 



(d) The trade varieties of shells employed. 



(e) Details of bangle manufacture. 



(/) The economic position of the trade. 



(g) The castes and tribes who use chank bangles — 



(i) In Northern India. 



(2) In the Madras Presidency. 



* Another translation renders this sentence ratherdifferently, to wit : — " There 

 was fonnerly a custom in Bengal that no virgin in honour and esteem could be 

 corrupted unless it were by placing chank bracelets on her arms." Ua Orta's 

 statement refers reallj to the fact that an essential ceremony in a Bengali Marriage 

 consists in placing a chank bangle on each of the bride's wrists ; the marriage 

 would not be formally valid if this were to be omitted. 



