38 



Pinnacoil is one of the bead-quarters of the Parawa caste and a noted Roman 

 Catholic centre. Here St. Francis Xavior laboured with great effect and of the four 

 churches which render the town conspicuous from the sea one is conuected by legend 

 with this great missionary's ministrations. It is of Pinnacoil that de Faria y Souza 

 records that (circa. A.D. 1560) the Viceroy of India u sailed to the Island Mannar, 

 where he built a fort and translated thither the inhabitants of Pimicale to redeem 

 them from the tyranny of the Nayque, who would fleece them there — Emmanuel 

 Ptodrigues Continho was left to command there and. with him some Franciscans and 

 Jesuits, all satisfied with the equal distribution the Viceroy made of all things." * 



A Casuarina-tope is a conspicuous feature of the laudscape about two miles south 

 of the town and were its position fixed with accuracy upon the chart it would form 

 a useful and much-needed landmark during the inspection of the pearl banks. 



The Jati Talaivan has informed me that an old pearl-fishery camp at one time was 

 situated just south of the trees of the tope as evidenced by this place being now 

 called Silavaturai kadu (jungle), the site having now reverted to jungle. 



Karuwal Group. — The next morning au oily calm prevailed with current 

 running from the north. We steamed south-east with the intention of examining 

 the group of banks lying off Trichendur and of which the Velangu and Karai Karuwal 

 Pars are the central and among the most importaut, having given fisheries more 

 frequently during the past century than any other section of the pearl banks, with 

 the single exception of the Tolayiram Par f. 



At 8 a.m. the four inspection boats were cast off to the south-west of the 

 Velangu Karuwal Par at a point due east of Trichendur Pagoda. The boats were 

 ranged in line abreast, a quarter of a mile separating the individual boats and the 

 coxswains were instructed to follow the steamer taking dives at regular and frequent 

 intervals and preserving their respective distances apart. We then steamed three 

 miles north by west and anchored on the west side of the Naduvu Malai Piditta Par 

 in 9 \ fathoms, the current still running strong from the north and the wind 

 remaining southerly. 



When the boats arrived, it was found that only the two on the west of the line 

 had crossed over the pars, the others being too much to the east and traversing 

 ground which was almost entirely bare sand. The results obtained showed the rock 

 and sand to be of the same characters as the bottom on the Uti Par region ; in some 

 places upon rooky ground a considerable amount of Orbitolites sand was found and in 

 other places the sand was coarse enough to be considered a gravel. The fauna was in 

 its main characteristic features similar to that of the Uti Par — sponges were abundant 

 and of similar species and, in addition, several specimens of the spherical crimson 

 Axinella tubulaia were obtained, containing the usual quota of commensals — Oligochaete 

 worms and Gephyreans. 



Of corals we found Favia sp. forming rounded masses 5 to 8 inches in diameter. 

 The tubes of Eunice tuhifex were again common together with I'entaceros lincki, 

 Aniedon, Ophiuroids and many Polyzoa, the most conspicuous of the lastnamed 

 being dense hydroid-like colonies of Scrupocellaria sp. over 3 inches in height. Little 

 seaweed was found but Padina commersoni was sometimes fairly common together with 

 some bunches of C'odium tomentosum. On Naduvu Malai Par small nullipore balls 

 (Lithotliamnion) were locally abundant on certain of the sandy stretches. Pinna and 

 live coral were absent from the ground examined this day. 



The sandy ground to the west of the pdrs yielded numerous chanks and many 

 valves of sand-loving Lamellibranchs (Mactra, etc.), the sand itself being of the 

 usual brown calcareous nature, of fine grain and with comparatively little quartz, 



A few living oysters were found on the Naduvu Malai Par aged from 2| to 3 

 years together with many dead shells of about the same age, largely on sandy bottom. 

 As in the Uti Par region the majority of the shells were enveloped in a covering of 

 sponge (Claihria indica). 



♦ "History of the discovery and conquest of India" translated by J. Stevens, 1695, and quoted in the Ceylou 

 Monthly Literary Register, Volume III, N.S., p. 199. 



t The Karuwa Pars were fished in 1805, 1815 and 1SC2. 



