Kumari District Weaving land Sealaligal

Abstract

The Indian coast is an unbroken beach, about 6000 km long. Nature has given Tamil Nadu a long beach which is about 1200 km long, Kanyakumari district coastline is 68 km long from Vatakottai to Kanyakumari on the east coast and Kanyakumari to Neerodi on the west coast. There are 44 fishing villages in Kanyakumari district and the beach is made of sand and rocks. News about the Kumari district has been found in literature since the Tolkappiyar period. The fishermen who live here are referred to in the literature by the words “Puravar, Parathavar & Paravar”. Even today these fishermen are called Paravar. The word “Paravar” is derived for puravai, aravai means vast body of water or sea. In the Sangam literature, many commentators refer to Paravar as a fisherman, a merchant or a scafarer. The fisherman living in Kumari district are tribal. This fisherman has traditionally been engaged in fishing and they live and work in harmony with nature. They have acquired knowledge about nature from their ancestors and through their own experience. Through this, they have gained knowledge about the currents of the sea, air, stars and fish species. So, they have a thorough knowledge of the oceans, what type of fish is available at what time and fishing methods. The position of this article is to records such subtle knowledge and to clarify traditional methods of fishing.