HORNELL— THE INDIAN CONCH 45 



on the other tlie legend " Sri Padmanabha " in Malayalam characters. After the 

 ceremony these coins are distributed among tlie Brahmans who have assembled from 

 all p;irts of the country. 



(l) CHANK LIMR. 



A minor use to which chank-shells are put in the coastal districts where thev occur, 

 and also in those localities in Bengal where bangle factories exist, is to calcine these 

 in kilns. The lime so produced is esteemed the best quality obtainable in India, fully 

 equal to, if not better than, that obtained by burning pearl oyster shells. The 

 auspicious nature of the shell adds further value to the product, and when a temple 

 or shrine or specially fine newly-built house has to be whitewashed, chank lime is greatly 

 sought after for this purpose in the Tamil districts. I have even received petitions 

 praying that permission be granted for the collection of chanks for this purpose. 



At the present day the fact that almost all the produce of the South Indian chank 

 fisheries is exported to Bengal, makes it very difficult to obtain chank lime — the shells 

 are too valuable to calcine. That it was not so in former times, in some cases at least, 

 is to be seen if we inspect the walls of the old temples at Korkai, the seat of the 

 Tinnevelly chank fishery 800 to 2,000 years ago. The mortar still contains many 

 lecognisable fragments of chank-shells. 



(m) IN MEDICINE. 



Apart from the uses to which chank rings and bracelets are put as amulets against 

 certain ailments, the shell itself in several ways is used medicinally. Except in cases 

 which have come under my personal notice, it is somewhat difficult to ascertain the 

 exact nature of the diseases for which native practitioners employ this specific ; custom 

 appears to vary with different districts and even with dift'erent " doctors " living in 

 the same town. 



Of some there is no doubt. The belief is general throughout Tamil districts and 

 Malabar that water which has been in contact with an article formed from a chank- 

 shell is a charm against and a remedy for blotches, pimples and other skin troubles on 

 the face and body. A chank ring worn on a finger is an easy way of applying the remedy, 

 as water applied to the face or body by the hand must necessarily have been in contact 

 with chank substance and so able to transmit the virtue thereof. This remedy is believed 

 to act still more beneficially if the ring be rubbed upon the affected parts. In South 

 Arcot, Tanjore, Coimbatore, Salem and Trichinopoly, certain skin diseases, eruptions, 

 warts and even haemorrhoids are believed to yield to this treatment. In Coimbatore 

 native doctors prescribe a paste made by mixing chank powder in water or by rubbing 

 it up with human milk for use as a salve in the case of eruptions (sties) on the eyelids. 

 Chank ointments (basmams) are also employed in the same district to cure inflammation 



