THE IXDIAX CHANK SHELL. 115 



At one time the Chank fishery was a Government monopoly, 

 producing a revenue of ^4,000 a-year for licenses ; but all restric- 

 tions upon the fishing are now removed, and western ideas are 

 already affecting an industry which has existed for hundreds of 

 years. 



The Chank shell is remarkable for its solidity and heaviness, 

 and is commonly employed by the fishermen on the Coromandel 

 and Malabar coasts as a sinker for their nets. A fringe of these 

 ponderous casts attached to the lower edge carries down 

 their fishing-gear into deep water as effectually as plummets 

 of metal. The weight and smoothness of the shell are also uti- 

 lised in the process of glazing cotton goods and in polishing the 

 surface of paper. The principal use of the chank shell, however, 

 is in the manufacture of bracelets, bangles, and other personal 

 ornaments. The Indian women wear these decorations profusely. 

 From five to twenty bangles may be seen upon each wrist, and as 

 many more upon each ankle, and as they are not removed at 

 death there is a large and constant demand for them. This native 

 jewellery is so coveted by the Indian belle that her trinkets are 

 called " her joys," and so indispensable to her adornment that 

 husbands and fathers annually expend large sums of money in the 

 purchase of them. 



In the manufacture of bangles the shell is cut into rings by 

 means of a rude semi-circular saw, w^orked by the native artificer 

 with his hands and his feet, the inside of the rings being ena- 

 melled to cover the roughness left by the saw. The outer surfaces 

 of the rings are skilfully painted with devices in red or blue, or 

 covered with gold or silver tinsel, and studded with coloured beads 

 or valuable gems. 



The larger bracelets are formed of many segments and made 

 to open and admit the arm by means of a loose piece, which can 

 be removed. The movable part is readjusted and secured by 

 spiral pins, the idea of a hinge not having occurred to the native 

 workman. The apex of the shell has a mammillary enlargement, 

 which is cut off and made into a bead or button. Strings of these 

 are commonly worn as necklaces by the Sepoys and others who 

 wish to appear in uniform. 



Among the Hindoos the chank shell is a sacred object^ having 



