ancient ship building and maritime trade

July 2, 2008

http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/t_es/t_es_agraw_ships_frameset.htm

Ancient Ship-Building & Maritime Trade

by D. P. Agrawal & Lalit Tiwari

The beginnings of boat building technology in India go back to the

Third Millennium BC, to the Harappan times. The Harappans (or Indus

Civilization) constructed the first tide dock of the world for

berthing and servicing ships at the port town of Lothal (Rao, 1987).

The discovery of the Lothal port and dock in 1955 highlighted the

maritime aspects of the Indus Civilization. At Lothal a trapezoid

reservoir measuring on an average 214 x 36 meters has been excavated,

and has been identified as a dockyard. It is riveted on all four sides

with continuous dry masonry burnt-brick walls, 4- courses wide, which

at its greatest extant depth reaches to 3m (but might have been

originally much higher). The structure was stratigraphically connected

to the old riverbed of Sabarmati. Towards the southern end there is a

broad and relatively shallow gap. This has been supposed to be the

inlet channel of the dock. Leading from the southern wall is a narrow

brick water passage, said to have functioned as a spill channel, when

fitted with a sluice-gate. According to S.R.Rao, the dock has been

used in two stages, at the first stage it was designed to allow ships

18-20 meters long and 4-6 meters wide. At least two ships could

simultaneously pass and enter easily. In the second stage, the inlet

channel was narrowed to accommodate large ships but only single ships

with flat bottoms could enter. The terracotta models of a boat from

Lothal and engravings on Indus seals give some idea of ships going to

the sea. Lothal is situated near Saragwala village, about fifty miles

southwest of Ahmedabad. It lies in a level plain between the Bhogava

and Sabarmati rivers and at present is some twelve miles from the Gulf

of Cambay coast. The siltation rate of the Sabarmati delta is known to

be rapid, so that in former times the site may actually have been

nearer the sea. Lothal, with its large market and a busy dock, was a

great emporium where goods from neighboring towns and villages, such

as Rangpur, Kath etc. were sold in exchange for imported and locally

manufactured ones. Lothal had developed overseas trade with the West

Coast of India on the one hand and the Mesopotamian cities through the

Bahrain islands on the other. Among the manufacturing industries of

Lothal bead making, ivory and shell working and bronze-smithy were

very important. For the land transport they used bullock carts and

pack animals for long distance trade. For inland waterways,

flat-bottomed boats of the type suggested by the terracotta models

were used. In this connection it may be noted that even today

flat-bottomed boats made of reeds are used for carrying men and light

goods. Perhaps the Harappans used similar boats in the lakes and

rivers also. Trade on the high seas and along the coast was possible

because the ships were fitted with sails.

Harappans not only built a unique dock but also provided facilities

for handling cargo. There were other smaller ports such as Bhagatrav,

Sutkagendor and Sutkakah, and perhaps a large one at Dholavira, all in

Gujarat. An engraving on a seal from Mohenjodaro represents a sailing

ship with a high prow; the stern was made of reeds. In the center, it

had a square cabin. Out of five miniature clay models of boats one is

complete and represents a ship with sail. The latter has a sharp keel,

a pointed prow and a high flat stern. Two blind holes are also

visible. One of them seen near the stern was meant for the mast, and

the other on the edge of the ship may be for steering. In the second

model, which is rather damaged, the stern and the prow were both

curved high up as in the Egyptian boats of the Garzean period. The

keel is pointed and the margins are raised. A hole made a little away

from the center was meant for the mast. In this case, the prow was

broken. Three other damaged models found at Lothal have a flat base

and a pointed prow, but the keel is not pointed nor is there any hole

for fixing the mast. Apparently these flat-based craft were used on

rivers and creeks without sail, while the other two types with sail

and sharp keels plied on the high seas and were berthed in the deep

waters of the Gulf. Probably the canoe types of flat-based boats were

the only ones, which could be sluiced at high tide. Another type of

boat can be reconstructed from the paintings on two potsherds. It

represents a boat with multiple oars. The Harappan ship must have been

as big as the modern country crafts, which bring timber from Malabar

to Gogha. On this analogy it can be assumed that a load up to 60 tons

could be carried by these ships. The sizes of the anchor stones found

in the Lothal dock also support this view (Rao, 1979, 1985).

It is a recorded fact that Pushyadeva, the ruler of Sindh (now in

Pakistan) pushed back the formidable Arab navy attacks in 756 AD,

which only indicates his marine prowess. The historical text

Yuktikalpataru (11th Century AD) deals with shipbuilding and gives

details of various types of ships. Boats used for different purposes

were called by different names such as Samanya, Madhyama and Visesha

for passenger service, cargo, fishing and ferrying over the river. The

earliest reference to maritime activities in India occurs in Rigveda,

" Do thou whose countenance is turned to all side send off our

adversaries, as if in a ship to the opposite shore: do thou convey us

in a ship across the sea for our welfare " (Rigveda, 1, 97, 7 and 8).

The technology of boat building was a hereditary profession passing

from father to son and was a monopoly of a particular caste of people.

The local builders used the hand, fingers and feet as the units of

measurements. In different places different kinds of boats were built

for specific purposes. These boats may bear some similarity in

material, techniques or in shape and size. For the construction of

ship, the teak (Tectona grandis) wood is generally employed in India,

though the selection of wood depends upon the nature and type of craft.

Technology

The traditional construction of a boat starts with the laying of a

keel (keel is foundation beam for the boat and ship), a massive piece

of wood supported on a branching stern about a foot above the ground

at both ends. This is stepped to take the stern-post (rearmost part of

a ship or boat) and also the stem post (the pointed front part of a

ship or boat), all made of massive pieces of timber. The keel is laid

first and later the planks or ribs are attached. Usually for the keel

and stern one single piece of wood is always preferred. The planks are

then fastened horizontally on either side of the keel. The planks join

is edge to edge. Rudder is a flat broad piece of wood, which is mainly

used for getting a forwards lead to the expected direction and is not

seen in all traditional crafts. In some crafts the rudder is replaced

by a paddle or oars, which function as a rudder. Paddle is a short oar

with a broad blade at one or both ends and oar is a pole with a flat

blade used in rowing. These are necessary for a straight and swift

movement of the vessels. Generally all the ships use the wind power.

In the ship the mast is fixed on ribs above the keel. The mast is made

out of a timber tree but the builders prefer a bamboo piece, because

of its suitability to make a mast long, and strong. Sail is a sheet of

canvas spread to catch the wind and move a boat or ship forwards. It

is used in traditional vessels; the shape of sail is triangular to

make it easy to catch the wind. Sails are fixed to the mast with

ropes. The sails are used mainly when the vessels are going to the mid

sea, so that they can make use of the maximum wind energy.

Traditional Boat-building in various states of India

In India, there are various places that have the traditional boats and

boat building technology. The Andhara coast is known for 4 types of

traditional boats constructed for cargo transport, fishing and

ferrying purposes, which are catamarans (teppa), dugout canoe,

stitched-planks-built boats and

Nailed-planks-built boats. Generally the types of wood used for boat

building in Andhra Pradesh are grannari karra (Egesa: Acquicia

canilotica), arcini karra (Melia dubia), cinntha karra (Albizzia sp.),

rai karra, teak, circini karra (Anogeissus sp.), mamidi karra (Mango:

Magnifera indica), sal (Shorea robusta), Indian laural (Terminalia

tormentosa) and maddi (Alianthus malabarica). Teppas are simple

floating devices, but are the predominant traditional sea craft along

the Andhra Pradesh. Some keeled planked boats locally called padavas

are also common vessels along the Andhra coastline. In Andhra these

traditional boats are constructed at Nellare, Prakaram, Godavari and

Guntur districts.

Boats in Karnataka region are called by different names depending on

their use. The smallest craft of this region is known as canoe (hudi),

which is scooped out of a singletree trunk. The middle-sized craft is

known as boat (doni) and the biggest craft is known as ship

(machchwa). Most ships use wind power. The art of shipbuilding is a

monopoly of a class of people known as mestas or acharis (carpenter).

The type of wood used for shipbuilding is known as kshatriya, which is

mentioned in Yuktikalpataru. The common wood used for shipbuilding is

matthi, sagouy, teak, honne, undi and hebbals. Teakwood is used rarely

because of its high coast.

Raft, dugout and plank built boats are the main traditional types in

the Kerala coast. Raft is made of a number of roughly shaped logs

fastened together in order to float down a river or to serve as a

boat. Dugout is single log craft, which is scooped out in the middle.

It is employed all over Kerala for catching fish. Planked built boats

are further classified into 2 categories: one is stitched and the

second is built with nailed planks. Stitched-planked built craft is

manufactured by using coir and synthetic ropes. Generally, the types

of wood used for shipbuilding in Kerala are alpassi, mullumurukku or

panniclavu (Ceiba pentandra), perumaram/alanta (Alianthus excelsa),

pilivaka (Albizzia falcatria), malamurukku (Samanea saman), pilavu

(Artocarpus integrifolias), mavu (Magnifera indica), ayini/annili

(Artocarpus hirsuta), punna (Callophyllum inophyllum) and cadacci

(Grewia tiliaefolia). The bending process is purely based on

traditional method by applying a kind of fish oil or cow dung on the

planks.

The traditional boat builders of Chilika region in Orisa are called

Bindhani, Barhais and Biswakaramas (carpenters). They build small

flat-bottomed boats known as nauka or danga. Sal is used for

construction of nauka. The knowledge of boat building has come down as

a family tradition. Bamboos are used as mast, locally called gudda.

The boat builders and ships have been depicted in the brick temple in

the district of Midnapore, Birbhum and Bankura in Bengal. The vessels

are classified as raft, dugouts and cargo carriers and are used for

commercial purpose. Dinghy is a one-man passenger boat in Bengal. It

is unique for its features and movement in the river. The boatman

squats at paddling on the low sharp stem to maneuver in the zigzag

path of the river. A neat cabin with semicircular roof occupies the

space available in the middle of the boats. A tall bamboo mast is

generally used for long distance travel. In Bengal, small boat is

never used except as cargo carriers. The steering paddle is the most

remarkable feature of the cargo carriers (Malbahi nauka).

Now a days, in Bombay there are no boat building yards to be found in

or around, except may be at Varai and Versova. Available wild woods

are commonly used for construction of boats and ships. They are not

very expensive. The main types of wood that are utilized today are

sal, babul, ain, bibla, jambul and punnai, but the teak wood is always

the best for ship and boat building and is preferred in Bombay too.

Ain wood is some times used for building a major portion of the boat.

It is a hard wood and very similar to teak in its properties.

In Lakeshadweep, coconut tree is locally available in abundance, thus

coconut wood is still used in local boats, but it is difficult to say

with authority, what made early boat builders to use coconut wood.

Coconut wood is now used for bulwarks, masts, cross stays, sides ribs,

etc. and for cabin removable thatched roofs etc. Mango or breadfruit

tree wood is also used. Boats of Lakeshdweep can broadly be divided

into two categories based on their use: trading vessels and fishing

vessels. Bareues, odies, bandodies, dweep odam or valiya odam are some

trading vessels and tharappan, odam, mas odi, odi jahadhoni, mahadha

dhoni, kelukkam dhoni, allam dhoni or dhoni, ara dhoni are some

fishing crafts and jhaha dhoni is a race boat in Lakeshdweep. Stand

odam is the most widely used typical boat of Lakeshdweep. Boats in

Lakeshdweep are not built for sale, but only for the use of islanders.

Conclusion

Indian boat technology and navigational knowledge goes back to the III

Millennium BC. Traditional boat builders could make ships, which were

fully sea-worthy and could sale to West Asia. But now all over India

the traditional boat building technology is in a declining condition

due to changes of technology and advancement in mechanized systems.

This is best exemplified in Andhra Pradesh by the use of catamarans,

which are being manufactured from synthetic materials in small-scale

industries. These synthetic catamarans are now a day preferred by

traditional fisher folk because of their longevity, payload, cost,

range and easy manoeurability. Several manufacturing industries have

come up in the Srikalulam and Ganjam districts of Orissa. There are

hardly a few places in India such as Kakinada, Cuddalore, Beypore and

Veraval engaged in construction of sea going vessels at present. Now a

days traditional boats are only used for crossng rivers, coastal

transport and fishing. It is however satisfying to note that

traditional boat building technology is being harmoniously combined

with modern technology to produce more efficient vessels.

Sign In

ancient ship building and maritime trade

Recommended Posts

Guest guest

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Join the conversation

Support the Ashram

Join Groups

Top Downloads