Laccadive Islands
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Laccadive Islands
{Laksha division 'the hundred thousand isles'). — A group of coral atolls lying off the Malabar coast in the Madras Presidency, between S'^ and 14° N. and 71° 40' and 74° E. The nearest, Androth, is about 140 miles from the mainland. The five northern islands, specifically known as the AmindIvi Islands, are attached to the District of South Kanara. The remainder, sometimes called the Cannanore Islands, belong to Malabar District. They comprise Androth (population in 1891, 2,999; ^^'^ '" 190I) 2,441), Kavaratti (2,021 and 1,959), Agatti (1,183 ^^^ i>2i5), Kalpeni (1,236 and 1,562), and Minicoy (3,198 and 3,097), all of which are between I and 2 square miles in area, and also Suheli and Pitti, which are uninhabited. There are eight other smaller dependent islets. Minicoy lies 100 miles south of the others and belongs ethnically and geo- graphically to the Maldives, though politically it is attached to the Laccadive group.
The conformation of all the islands is almost identical. They are crescent-shaped banks, not more than 10 or 15 feet above sea-level, lying along the eastern arc of an oval coral reef which stretches from north to south for i to 6 miles in length by under a mile in breadth. The western arc of the reef is a line of coral rocks, visible only at low water, with one or more outlets to the open sea. Inside the reef is a shallow lagoon, large enough to act as a harbour for the native craft, and so sheltered by the reef that even in the worst weather coco-nut fibre can be soaked in it without danger of being washed away. Out- side is a gradually sloping bank of dead coral, which varies from 100 yards to three-quarters of a mile in width, and ends abruptly in a precipice, at which soundings drop suddenly from 20 fathoms to over 200. It seems probable that these atolls have been formed on the summits of a mountain range, that they first rose to the surface in the form of shallow oval basins, and that under the protection of the reef the eastern rim gradually developed towards the centre, forming the island. This process of development towards the centre of the lagoon is still going on in some of the islands ; while in Androth it is practically finished and no lagoon is left.
The superficial geological structure of the islands is as follows : — Beneath a thin layer of vegetable humus there is fine coral-sand ; a few feet below this comes a compact crust of fine conglomerate that looks like coarse oolitic limestone with embedded bits of shell ; beneath the crust of coral-stone, which — as it is easy to cut and becomes hard when exposed to the air — makes a good building stone, there is another layer of fine sand, and then at a depth of about 6 feet from the surface the ground water is tapped.'
Wells and pits for soaking coir are thus easily made, and are plentiful on all the islands. The water in them is good, though slightly brackish. It rises and falls with the tide. The surface soil of coral- sand or loose coral-stones is naturally so barren that there is little spontaneous vegetation in most of the islands ; but the conditions are especially favourable to the growth of the coco-nut palm, which is the staple product of all of them. Both the tree and the nut are smaller than those of the mainland, but the tree bears much more quickly, in some cases within two years. In most of the islands the coral sub- stratum has been quarried out in patches and the damp subsoil of sand laid bare for cultivation. These patches of arable land, which are known as tottam or garden, are used for raising ragi, millet, plantains, yams, and other vegetables. No rice is grown, and the islands are entirely dependent for it on the mainland. Limes and jack-trees flourish on all the islands, and a few areca palms on the more fertile. An attempt to grow casuarina for firewood was made in 1893, but it was a failure. Androth, which is the most fertile of the islands, contains about 100 acres of tot/am, while Minicoy is prac- tically monopolized by the coco-nut. The annual rainfall averages 50 inches.
There are cattle and goats on all the inhabited islands, though very few in Minicoy, and many fowls and cats. Rats {Mtis rufescens) abound and do much damage to the coco-nut trees. The Govern- ment has tried various remedies, such as the importation of snakes, mongooses, and owls, to get rid of the pest, but with little effect ; and the numbers are only kept down by the native institution of the koot {kfct/am), or periodical rat-hunt, in which the whole male population is forced to join. Turtles and the sea-slug {Holothuria), originally a valuable article of commerce, are plentiful ; corals and shells of all kinds, from the cowrie to the king conch, are found ; the lagoons are full of fish of every kind and colour; while in the open water sharks, porpoises, and mas or bonito {Thynnus pelaviys) occur. There are no land-birds on the islands except tits, golden plovers, and a few specimens of the ubiquitous crow. The heron, peregrine, and kestrel are occasional visitors. Of sea-birds the commonest are turnstones, sand-pipers, and many varieties of tern, but no gulls. Insects are few, but the mosquito abounds in Minicoy, and most of the inhabitants use mosquito curtains.
Tradition assigns the first settlement of the islands to a shipwrecked party of Malayalis who were on their way to bring back king Cheraman Perumal from Mecca in the ninth century ; and the similarity of the language and customs of the islands to those of the coast leave no doubt that, with the exception of Minicoy, they were originally colonized by Hindus from Malabar. These are said to have been converted to Islam in the thirteenth century. The colonists acknowledged the supremacy of the Kolattiri Raja, with whose dominions they carried on most of their trade ; but their government was practically in- dependent until the rise of the family of the All Raja of Cannanore, the chief admiral of the Kolattiri Raja, to whom the islands were given by the latter in the sixteenth century as an estate. The All Rajas continued to rule over them till 1791, when they fell to the British with the conquest of Cannanore. After long discussion, a settlement was made with the Bibi of Cannanore in 1796, by which she agreed to pay an annual peshkash for the Laccadives and her property at Canna- nore, retaining the administration of the former ; and this settlement continues in force to the present day, though the islands are now administered by the British Government, having been sequestered for arrears of revenue in 1875.
The people are all Muhammadans. In habits and customs they resemble the Mappillas of North Malabar, except that the women hold a more important position, and are not veiled or secluded. They follow the Marumakkattayam system of inheritance (i. e. succession in the female line). Their language is Malayalam, but in writing it they use the Arabic characters. They are divided into three main castes : Karnavans or Koyas, the aristocracy, who claim descent from Nam- budris and Nayars, and originally monopolized land- and boat-owning ; Malumis or Urukkars, the sailor caste, who sailed the Karnavans' boats, and were allowed small holdings of land on various conditions of service on their lords' lands and in their boats ; and Melacheris or climbers, the serfs, whose duty was to pick coco-nuts, till their lords' lands, row the boats, and so forth. In Minicoy both the people and their customs differ from those of the other islands.
The population of the islands has remained fairly stationary. In 1845 it was estimated at 7,700 for the four northern islands, and in 1 90 1 it was 7,180; but individual islands have experienced great fluctuations. In the great cyclone of 1847, 3°° were killed on Androth and 500 on Kalpeni, while in 1894 nearly 1,000 persons are said to have died from cholera on Androth. Education makes slow progress. Out of 10,274 persons, only 461 were returned as literate in 1901 ; of these 51 were females. The chief industries are the preparation and exportation of coir fibre, the manufacture being done by the women, and fishing. Besides coir, quantities of coco-nuts, copra (dried coco- nut kernels), tortoise-shell, and cowries are exported to the mainland in exchange for rice. The original organization of society was patriarchal. The All Raja governed by means of agents {kdryakdrs), who were assisted by heads of families. At present there is an Amin on each island, who is appointed by the Collector of Malabar, and is responsible for all details of administration.
The revenue is derived from the Government monopoly of the trade in coir, cowries, tortoise-shell, and ambergris, of which the first is the most important. During the last twenty years the average out- turn of coir fibre has been about 1,400 candies of 560 lb. Since the sequestration of the islands in 1875, the receipts have averaged Rs. 56,820, and the expenditure Rs. 47,460.
