THE PEARL FISHERIES OF CEYLON 
179 
vessel specially required 
in the pearl fishery, and 
consequently we find a 
gieat diversity of rigs, 
depending largely on the 
regions from which the 
divers come : narrow sni- 
gle-masted canoes with 
a n outrigger, square- 
sterned luggers, large 
sailing lighters, three- 
masted canoes, and 
clumsy doneys. Some of 
the larger vessels carry 
65 men, of whom about 
half are actual divers, 
and the average crew of 
the entire fleet is 30 to 
35 men. 
Owing to the bois- 
terous seas and strong 
winds of this region, the 
fishery can be conducted 
only during a period of 
a few weeks in March 
and April, when the 
northeast monsoon has 
waned and the south- 
west monsoon has not 
begun. The fishery is 
thus of briefer duration 
than any other pearl 
fishery of importance, 
and is characterized by 
a strenuousness that is 
foreign to the 
quite 
East. 
The fishing boats start 
for the grounds soon 
after midnight, so as to 
be ready for work as 
soon as daylight comes, 
about 6 a. m. They take 
positions about the government vessel 
moored over the particular ground se- 
lected, anchor, and remain actively en- 
gaged until noon, when the entire fleet 
sets sail and starts for the shore. As 
there is a crowd of pearl merchants 
eagerly awaiting an opportunity to 
speculate, there is considerable rivalry 
among the diving boats in the matter of 
reaching land and discharging their catch 
as soon as possible, and consequently one 
witnesses some wild scenes of excite- 
Photo from Dr. Hugh M. Smith 
AN yVRAB DIVER FROM THE; PERSIAN GULF, WITH NOSE-CLIP 
"A great deal of sentiment has been expended on the pearl- 
divers and the dangers they have to undergo, particularly irom 
rapacious man-eating sharks. The writers of both poetry and 
fiction for centuries have played on the feelings of humanity in 
depicting the perilous life of the divers. As a matter of fact, 
there is no particular risk or hardship encountered by the Ceylon 
divers. Year after year, among the 3,000 to 9,000 divers engaged, 
not a single fatal or serious accident may occur" (see page 183). 
ment when the oysters are being un- 
loaded in the surf and the natives are 
rushing into the kottus with their catch. 
Except for a loin cloth, the divers are 
naked. Their fingers are covered by 
flexible leather shields to protect them 
from the rough corals and shells. In 
order to facilitate the descent, each diver 
employs a flat, oval stone, weighing 30 to 
50 pounds. The stone is perforated at 
one end to receive a rope, and close to 
the stone a kind of stirrup is made in the 
