M A N A R. 
perfons of different nations and fe£ls, is one principal 
caufe of a confiderable interruption. Many of the divers 
are of a black race, denominated Marawas and Parawas, 
that inhabit the oppofite coaft of Tutucoreen; thefe peo¬ 
ple, though of the Malabar caff, are Roman Catholics, 
and leave off work on Sundays to attend prayers at the 
chapel of Arippo. But, if llormy days, or Hindoo and 
Mahometan feitivals (which are never neglected on any 
account by the natives), occur to interrupt the regular 
courfe of filhing, the farmer is fometimes defirous that 
the catholic Marawas Ihould make up for loft time by 
working on Sundays; but he cannot compel them to do 
this without an order from the chief civil officer of the go¬ 
vernment, who is appointed to fuperintend the fifliery. 
The boats and donies employed in the fiffiery do not be¬ 
long to Ceylon, but are brought thither from different 
parts of the continent; particularly Tutucoreen, Caracal, 
and Negapatam, on the Coromandel coaft ; and Colang, 
a fmall place on the Malabar coaft, between Cape Comorin 
and Anjanga. The divers from Colang are accounted the 
belt, and are only rivalled by the Lubbahs, a tribe of 
Moors, who remain on the .ifland of Manar, in order to 
be trained in this art. 
Before the fifliery begins, all the boats rendezvous at 
Condatchy, and are here numbered and contracted for. 
Throughout the feafon, all the boats regularly fail out 
and return together. A fignal-gun is fired at Arippo 
about ten o’clock at night, when the whole fleet fets fail 
with the land-breeze. They reach the banks before day¬ 
break, and at fun-rife commence fifhing. In this they 
continue bufily occupied till the fea-breeze, which arifes 
about noon, warns them to return to the bay. As foon 
as they appear within fight, another gun is fired, and the 
colours hoifted, to inform the anxious owners of their re¬ 
turn. When the boats come to land, their cargoes are 
immediately taken out, as it is neceflary to have them 
completely unloaded before night. Whatever may have 
been the fuccefs of their boats, the owners feldom wear 
the looks of difappointment; for, although they may have 
been unfuccefsful one day, they look with the mod complete 
affurance of better fortune to the next; as the brahmins 
and conjurers, whom they implicitly truft in defiance of 
all experience, underftand too well the liberality of a man 
in hopes of good fortune, not to promife them all they 
can defire. 
Each of the boats carries twenty men, with a tindal, or 
chief boatmen, who afls as pilot. Ten of the men row, 
and affift the divers in re-afcending. The other ten are 
divers; they go down into the feaby five at a time; when 
the firft five come up, the other five go down ; and, by this 
method of alternately diving, they give each other time 
to recruit themfelves for a frefh plunge. In order to ac¬ 
celerate the defcent of the divers, large ftones are em¬ 
ployed : five of thefe are brought in each boat for the pur- 
pofe; they are of a reddilh granite, common in this coun¬ 
try, and of a pyramidal fhape, round at top and bottom, 
with a hole perforated through the fmaller end fufficient 
to admit a rope. Some of the divers ufe a ftone lhaped 
like a half-moon, which they fallen round the belly when 
they mean to defcend, and thus keep their feet free. Thefe 
people are accuftomed to dive from their very infancy, 
and fearlefsly defcend to the bottom in from four to ten 
fathoms water, in fearch of the oyfters. The diver, when 
he is about to plunge, feizes the rope, to which one of the 
ftones we have defcribed is attached, with the toes of his 
right foot, while he takes hold of a bag of net-work with 
thofe of his left; it being cuftomary among all the In¬ 
dians to ufe their toes in working or holding as well as 
their fingers; and fuch is the power of habit, that they 
can pick up even the fmalleft thing from the ground with 
their toes almoft as nimbly as an European could with his 
fingers. The diver, thus prepared, feizes another rope 
with his right hand, and holding his noltrils fhut with the 
left, plunges into the water, and by the affiltance of the 
ftone fpeedily reaches the bottom. He then hangs the net 
round his neck, and with much dexterity, and all poffible 
difpatcb, collects as many oyfters as he can while he is 
able to remain under water, which is ufually about two 
minutes. He then refumes his former pofition, makes a 
fignal to thofe above by pulling the rope in his right hand, 
and is immediately by this means drawn up and brought 
into the boat, leaving the ftone to be pulled up afterwards 
by the rope attached to it. The exertion undergone dur¬ 
ing this procefs is lb violent, that, upon being brought 
into the boat, the divers difcharge water from their mouths, 
ears,and noftrils, and frequently even blood. But this does 
not hinder them from going down again in their turn. 
They will often make from forty to fifty plunges in one 
day; and at each plunge bring up about a hundred oyfters. 
Some rub their bodies over with oil, and Huff their ears 
and nofes to prevent the water from entering; while others 
ufe no precautions whatever. Although the ufual time 
of remaining under water does, not much exceed two 
minutes, yet there are inllanc : es known of divers who could 
remain four and even five minutes. The longelt inllance 
ever known was that of a diver who came from Anjanga 
in j 797, and who abfolutely remained underwater full lix 
minutes. 
This bufinefs of a diver, which appears fo extraordinary 
and full of danger to an European, becomes quite fami¬ 
liar to an Indian, owing to the natural fupplenefs of his 
limbs, and his habits from his infancy. His chief terror 
and rilk arife from falling in with the ground-lhark while 
at the bottom. This animal is a common and terrible in¬ 
habitant of all the feas in thefe latitudes, and is a fource 
of perpetual uneafinefs to the adventurous Indian. Some 
of the divers, however, are fo Ikilful as to avoid the (hark 
even when they remain under water for a confiderable time. 
But the terrors of this foe are fo continually before their 
eyes, and the uncertainty of efcaping him fo great, that 
thefe fuperllitious people feek for. fafety in fupernatural 
means. Before they begin diving, the prieft, or conjurer, 
is always confulted ; and whatever he fays to them is re¬ 
ceived with the moll implicit confidence. The prepara¬ 
tion which he enjoins them confifts of certain ceremonies, 
according to the call and fed to which they belong; and 
on the exaft performance of thefe they lay the greatell 
ftrefs. Their belief in the efficacy of thefe fuperllitious 
rites can never be removed, however different the event 
may be from the predictions of their deluders ; govern¬ 
ment therefore wifely gives way to their prejudices, and 
always keeps in pay fome conjurors to attend the divers 
and remove their fears. For, though thefe people are fo 
Ikilful and fo much mailers of their art, yet they will not 
on any account defcend till the conjuror has performed his 
ceremonies. His advices are religioully obferved ; and 
generally have a tendency to preferve the health of the 
devotee. The diver is ufually enjoined to abltain from 
eating before he goes to plunge, and to bathe himfelf in 
frelh water immediately after his return from the labours 
of the day. 
The conjurers are known in the Malabar language by 
-the napie of filial karras, or binders of lharks. During 
the time of the filhery, they Hand on the Ihore from the 
morning till the boats return jn the afternoon, all the 
while muttering prayers, dillorting their bodies into va¬ 
rious ftrange attitudes, and performing ceremonies to 
which no one, not even themfelves we believe, can attach 
any meaning. All this while it is neceflary for them to 
abltain from food or drink, otjierwife their prayers would 
be of no avail. Thefe arts of abltinence, however, they 
fometimes difpenfe with, and regale themfelves with toddy, 
a fpecies of liquor diltilled from the palm-tree, till they 
are no longer able to Hand at their devotions. .Some of 
the conjurers frequently go in the boats with the divers, 
who are greatly delighted at the idea of having their pro- 
teflors along with them ; but, in our opinion, this fancied 
protection renders the divers more liable to accidents, as 
it induces them to venture too much and without proper 
precautions, in full confidence of the infallible power of 
their 
