The fishing for Pearles.
THE Sea that lieth betweene the coast which descendeth
from Cao Comori, to the lowe land of Chilao, and the
Iland Zeilan, they call the fishing of Pearles, which
fishing they make every yeere, beginning in March or
Aprill, and it lasteth fiftie dayes, but they doe not fishe
every yeere in one place, but one yeere in one place, and
another yeere in another place of the same sea. When
the time of this fishing draweth neere, then they send very
good Divers, that goe to discover where the greatest
heapes of Oisters bee under water, and right agaynst that
place where greatest store of Oisters bee, there they make
or plant a village with houses and a Bazaro, all of stone,
which standeth as long as the fishing time lasteth, and it
is furnished with all things necessarie, and nowe and then
it is neere unto places that are inhabited, and other times
farre off, according to the place where they fishe. The
Fishermen are all Christians of the countrey, and who so
will may goe to fishing, paying a certaine dutie to the
king of Portugall, and to the Churches of the Friers of
Saint Paule, which are in that coast. All the while that
they are fishing, there are three or foure Fustes armed
to defend the Fishermen from Rovers. It was my chance
to bee there one time in my passage, and I saw the order
that they used in fishing, which is this. There are three
or foure Barkes that make consort together, which are
like to our litle Pilot boates, and a litle lesse, there goe
seven or eight men in a boate: and I have seene in a
morning a great number of them goe out, and anker in
fifteene or eighteene fadome of water, which is the
Ordinarie depth of all that coast. When they are at
anker, they cast a rope into the Sea, and at the ende of
the rope, they make fast a great stone, and then there
is readie a man that hath his nose and his eares well
stopped, and annointed with oyle, and a basket about his
necke, or under his left arme, then hee goeth downe by
the rope to the bottome of the Sea, and as fast as he can
hee filleth the basket, and when it is full, he shaketh the
rope, and his fellowes that are in the Barke hale him up
with the basket: and in such wise they goe one by one
untill they have laden their barke with oysters, and at
evening they come to the village, and then every company
maketh their mountaine or heape of oysters one distant
from another, in such wise that you shall see a great long
rowe of mountaines or heapes of oysters, and they are not
touched untill such time as the fishing bee ended, and at
the ende of the fishing every companie sitteth round about
their mountaine or heape of oysters, and fall to opening
of them, which they may easilie doe because they bee
dead, drie and brittle: and if every oyster had pearles in
them, it would bee a very good purchase, but there are
very many that have no pearles in them: when the
fishing is ended, then they see whether it bee a good
gathering or a badde: there are certaine expert in the
pearles whom they call Chitini, which set and make the
price of pearles according to their carracts, beautie, and
goodnesse, making foure sortes of them. The first sort
bee the round pearles, and they be called Aia of Portugale, because the Portugales doe buy them. The second
sorte which are not round, are called Aia of Bengala.
The third sort which are not so good as the second, they
call Aia of Canara, that is to say, the kingdome of
Bezeneger. The fourth and last sort, which are the least
and worst sort, are called Aia of Cambaia. Thus the
price being set, there are merchants of every countrey
which are readie with their money in their handes, so that
in a fewe dayes all is bought up at the prises set according
to the goodnesse and caracts of the pearles.
In this Sea of the fishing of pearles is an Iland called
Manar, which is inhabited by Christians of the countrey
which first were Gentiles, and have a small hold of
the Portugales being situate over agaynst Zeilan: and
betweene these two Ilands there is a chanell, but not
very big, and hath but a small depth therein: by reason
whereof there cannot any great shippe passe that way,
but small ships, and with the increase of the water which
is at the change or the full of the Moone, and yet for
all this they must unlade them and put their goods into
small vessels to lighten them before they can passe that
way for feare of Sholdes that lie in the chanell, and after
lade them into their shippes to goe for the Indies, and
this doe all small shippes that passe that way, but those
shippes that goe for the Indies Eastwardes, passe by the
coast of Coromandel, on the other side by the land of
Chilao which is betweene the firme land and the
Iland
Manor: and going from the Indies to the coast of Coromandel, they loose some shippes, but they bee emptie,
because that the shippes that passe that way discharge
their goods at an Iland called Peripatane, and there land
their goods into small flat bottomed boates which drawe
litle water, and are called Tane, and can run over every
Shold without either danger or losse of any thing, for
that they tarrie in
Peripatane untill such time as it bee
faire weather. Before they depart to passe the Sholdes,
the small shippes and flat bottomed boates goe together
in companie, and when they have sailed sixe and thirtie
miles, they arrive at the place where the Sholdes are,
and at that place the windes blowe so forciblie, that they
are forced to goe thorowe, not having any other refuge
to save themselves. The flat bottomed boates goe sate
thorow, where as the small shippes if they misse the
aforesayd chanell, sticke fast on the Sholdes, and by
this meanes many are lost: and comming backe from the
Indies, they goe not that way, but passe by the chanell
of Manar as is abovesayd, whose chanell is Oazie, and
if the shippes sticke fast, it is great chance if there be
any danger at all. The reason why this chanell is not
more sure to goe thither, is, because the windes that
raigne or blowe betweene Zeilan and Manar, make the
chanell so shalow with water, that almost there is not
any passage. From Cao Comori to the
Iland of Zeilan
is 120. miles overthwart.
