By Shireen Senadhira
A pearl taken out from its velvet box had a pink sheen. It was in the shape of a pear and looked like the island, Sri Lanka. It glimmered and shimmered in my palm. As I admired it, I wondered whether it was a pearl-like this that Queen Cleopatra dissolved in strong vinegar and drank it on a wager with Mark Antony, the Roman politician and was it such a pearls that Queen Sheba decked herself so gloriously? Did these queens give a thought as to where these pearls came from and how they were gathered? While most precious gems are formed in the ground and rock substances, pearls are the only gemstones created inside a living creature. Pearls are made when a small irritant find its way inside an oyster or mollusc.
Of the world’s great pearl fisheries, Sri Lanka’s pearl fishery off Mannar, a place in the north-west coast of the island, can compare in terms of antiquity with that of the Persian Gulf. In ancient times the Romans, Greeks, Venetians and Genoese all sought after the beautiful specimens harvested from these waters. Reference to the Mannar pearl fishery is found in ancient descriptive accounts of the country. It is also said that Sinbad Sailor of the well known Arabian Nights, had an audience with the king of Serendib (Sri Lanka), who commanded him to convey a goblet filled fine pearls to Haroun al-Raschid, Caliph of Baghdad. This no doubt was spun from the reports of Arabian Merchants who were ship-wrecked on the island of Serendib.
Carnival of Mannar
Excitement was in the air when the multitude of boats brought the pearl divers ashore in the Bay of Condatchy in Mannar. A Roaring cheer went up as some of the boats would be laden with riches. The crowd of boat owners, jewellers, brokers, merchants were of all colours and descriptions, both native and foreign, were occupied with pearls. The merchant’s work was either, separating and assailing the pearls or weighing, valuing and ascertaining their numbers. Others were either hawking them or drilling and boring the pearls for future use. This shows the value and importance of the object and the endless bustle it created on the shores of Mannar.
Several thousands of people of different skin hues, countries, castes and occupations continuously passed this way and that in the busy crowd. The vast numbers of small tents and huts erected near the shores had many a bazaar or market place dotted here and there. In fact, at that time, life was teeming there. The enticing aromas of spicy food mingled in the sea breeze with occasional whiffs of the stench of the decaying and discarded oyster shells The harvesting of pearls mainly started in the month of February and went on till April and it happened every third year, so that once the oysters were harvested, there was sufficient time for the new pearls to grow in the new oysters. The nights were revelries with dancing girls and sideshows together with snake charmers and astrologers.
Amidst this exciting mass of humanity and the carnival atmosphere, much serious activities took place. The divers had to keep themselves fit and supple as they descended many fathoms into the sea. They had their noses pinched with wooden clothes pegs like tweezers and they plunged into the waters with stones attached to their feet or waist. A diver’s job was an exacting one. The divers who stay underwater the longest were the best and gathered many oysters. The duration underwater was on average about 2 minutes, maybe 3. There were some who could stay under for 4 or more minutes and that was a feat. They got rid of the heavy stones attached to them quickly at the bottom and swam about gathering as many oysters clinging to the rocks. Some divers were deft enough to gather oysters with their feet too. They collected the oysters in nets hanging from their necks or waist. Then they tugged at the rope attached to them and were quickly hauled up. They did the driving in relays. When the first five or ten dived and came up, the next lot was ready to dive. Thus a diver did about 50 or 60 dives a day. There were also the underwater hazards of shark, manta rays and other marauders which they had to avoid and be always on the alert.
Myths and legends
The pearl, cherished both my men and women for many thousands of years became steeped in legends. Some believed that the pearls were the end products of dew. Arabian writers of antiquity have added to this myth, saying, in April the oysters rise from the sea bed and open their shells to received the rain which falls at that time. The raindrops thus gathered become pearls. Chinese mystics say that dragons are rainmakers and that when they spit, that some of their spittle is of pearls and rain and pearls fall when dragons are fighting in the heavens. Black pearls were very symbolic during early Chinese civilization. They were symbolic of wisdom. People believed the gems were formed inside the head of a dragon. Once they were fully grown, the dragon carried them between its teeth. According to the myth, a person could only gather the pearls by slaying the dragon to death.
Hindu folklore tells that pearls are found in the stomach and forehead of an elephant. These are avidly sought as powerful talismans against all kinds of dangers. Hindu astrological terms present a pearl as associated with the moon and consider pearls are representatives of lovers. That is why Hindu love potions are full of finely powdered pearl.
According to one Persian pearl myth, pearls were created when a rainbow came down from the sky after a storm and met with the earth. Lightning and thunder were said to be the reasons for the pearl’s imperfections
An Egyptian legend says during ancient times, Egyptians were buried with their pearls after they died because they valued them so much
During ancient times, the Japanese believed that the tears of mythical creatures created pearls. Some of these creatures include, though not limited to, nymphs, mermaids, and angels. Such are the stories of pearls with their beauty and worth.
Music. Art and verse
Turning to music, Geroge Bizet’s first opera, ‘The Pearl Fishers,’ centred on a love triangle. This opera set in Mexico, was switched to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), featuring Leila, a Hindu priestess, the village headman and a pearl diver. Pearls are depicted in the well-known paintings of Johannes Vermeer, Delft, 1665, ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring,’ and ‘Woman with the Pearl Necklace,’ which are highly valued works of art. In poetry, Mathew Arnold, poet (1822-1888) says thus: “Searching the wave I won therefrom a pearl Moonlike and glorious/ such as Kings might buy emptying their treasury.”
Pearls are beautiful and have always been treasured. I wonder whether the pearl banks that have remained undisturbed along the desolate coast of Mannar are ready for harvesting? In the evening light with the sparkling waters and the ancient, abandoned shards of oyster shell, the longshore still glitters. Maybe the oysters are sending their messages in the whispering winds.
