Chap. VIL] 



THE PEARL FISHERY. 



563 



under the direction of M. Coste.^ The operation of 

 solving the sea witli pearl, should the experiment 

 succeed, would be as gorgeous in reahty, as it is 

 grand in conception ; and the wealth of Ceylon, in her 

 " treasiu-es of the deep," might eclipse the renown of 

 her gems when she merited the title of the "Island of 

 Eubies." 



On my arrival at Aripo, the pearl-divers, under the 

 orders of then- Adapanaar, put to sea, and commenced 

 the examination of the banks.^ The persons engaged 

 in this calhng are chiefly Tamils and Moors, who are 

 trained for the service by diving for chanks. The pieces 

 of apparatus employed to assist the diver in his opera- 

 tions are exceedingly simple in then' character : they 

 consist merely of a stone, about thuty pounds' weight, 

 to accelerate the rapidity of his descent, this is sus- 

 pended over the side of the boat, wdth a loop attached 

 to it for receiving the foot ; and of a net-work basket, 

 which he takes down to the bottom and fills with the 

 oysters as he collects them. Massoudi, one of the 

 earhest Arabian geographers, describing, in the ninth 

 century, the habits of the pearl-divers in the Persian 

 Gulf, says that, before descending, each filled liis ears 

 with cotton steeped in oil, and compressed his nostrils 

 by a piece of tortoise-shell.^ This practice continues 



' Rapport dc M. CosTE, Professor 

 d'Embryogenie, &c., Paris, 1858. 



^ Detailed accounts of the pearl 

 fishery of Ceylon and the conduct 

 of the divers, will be found in 1'kk- 

 cival's Cei/lon, ch. iii. ; and in 

 CoRDiXEii's Ceijhn, vol. ii. ch. xvi. 

 There is also a valuable paper on the 

 same subject by Mr. Le Beck, in 

 the Asiatic Rcscarihcs, vol. v. p. 

 9'.)3 ; but ])\ far the most able and 

 intelligent description is contained 

 in the Account of the Pearl Fisheries 

 of Ceylon, by .Tajiks Steuaut, Esq., 

 Inspector of the Pearl Banks, 4to. 

 Colombo, 1843. 



3 Massoudi says that the Per.*ian 

 divers, as they could not breathe 

 through their nostrils, cleft the root 

 of the ear for that purpose : " lis se 

 fendaient la racine de roreille pour 

 respirer ; eu etfet, ils ne peuvent se 

 senir pom- cet objet des narines, vii 

 qu'ils se les boucheut avec des 

 morceaux d"ecailles de tortue marine 

 ou bien avec des morcoaiLx de come 

 ayant la forme d'un fer de lance. 

 En meme temps ils se mettent dans 

 roreille du cot on trempt? dans de 

 I'huilo." — 3Ioroudj-al-l)zcheb, ^-c, 

 ItElNAUD, 3Icmoire sur rinde, p. 228. 



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