OPEN TEXT - Renu Ramanath

Of Old Boats and Canoes from the Past

The old boat came to us from Ezhupunna. It was a country boat, made of wooden planks, held together with knots or coir without using nails. And it could carry some three or four people.

The owner of the boat said that it was in good condition. Not exactly sea-going, but very much used to travel around in the local canals and backwater streams, for small scale fishing and transporting. He was selling it only because he needed some money.  And it was not that much old, only some four years or so.

Ezhupunna is a small coastal village in Alappuzha district. Fishing and agriculture were the main occupations, but agriculture has almost disappeared, surviving only in small pockets. Fishing, especially the shrimp or prawn farming, still survives somewhat as it brings in good returns without much investment. It is also a large industry, with shrimp peeling sheds dotting the coastal villages like Ezhupunna. Most of the women in the village work in peeling sheds, or go to Ernakulam to work as domestic helps. And men work in construction sites.

The boat then travelled to Ernakulam riding a mini lorry. That was one of the amazing sights that had fascinated me when I came to Ernakulam years back. So, this was a place where upturned boats road on mini lorries, I had thought.  Those were the days before elephants started to travel in trucks. A court order has stipulated that elephants should not be allowed to walk on roads for long distances, but should be carried on trucks. So these days, the elephants, balancing themselves precariously on truck tops, ride to the festival venues.

Then, the boat again rode the mini lorry to reach Irinjalakuda (in neighbouring Thrissur district – that makes three districts) and was set afloat in the pond. The pond is really old. More than a hundred years, may be. Not many people knew how old it really was, or who dug it. But hardly any one knows who dug all the public tanks and ponds in the country. They just existed, for many, many, many years before someone decides to fill them up to build commercial buildings.

Seeing a photograph of the boat, floating in the pond, Dr. P.J.Cheriyan said, “(it) looks like the 2000 plus year old dug out wooden canoe we unearthed at Pattanam.” Dr. Cheriyan, ought to know, since he has been engaging with historical artifacts and archaeological excavations in Kerala for quite some decades.  As the Director of the Kerala Council for Historical Studies, he is currently leading a team of experts, unearthing the hidden remains of an ancient township.

The township was supposedly called Muziris by the Romans who did trade with it. It was a port town, located between Ernakulam and Thrissur, near the present-day township called Kodungallur, that is famous for a Devi Temple and an extraordinary festival called the ‘Bharani.’ The location is presently known as Pattanam, which means ‘town.’ Though its means ‘town,’ present-day Pattanam is nothing more than a quiet village.  Though it was a port town in ancient documents, Pattanam is a few kilometers inland from the sea.

Obviously, the coast must have been further inland. The sea must have withdrawn, throwing up land mass, in the years after the port ceased to operate. Many parts of Kerala are actually created that way, chunks of land mass thrown up in the wake of receding sea level. The sea must have advanced in some other areas, for all the receding in one point, but we do not know where. 

The excavations started in 2007, with astonishing results. The KCHR team found an amazing array of artifacts – pottery, bricks, beads, ornaments, nails and tools, tiles, lamps, stones – dating from between 2nd century BC and 4th century AD. The artifacts were both local and imported, denoting a vigorous trade activity.

Not only the objects, a whole wharf, lined with laterite, was found there. The canoe that Dr. Cheriyan mentioned was found at the remains of the wharf complex. It is a dug-out canoe, made from a single log of wood. It can be the earliest watercraft to be excavated so far, from an archaeological context in India, says Dr. Cheriyan.

A few kilometers away from Ezhupunna, from where our boat came, is another coastal village called Kadakkarappally. Located in Cherthala Taluk of Alappuzha district, around 1.5 kilometers from the sea shore, Kadakkarappally was a sleepy, non-descript place till the late 1990s, when one of its paddy fields revealed an ancient boat. A sail boat, in fact. The village became a hive of activities. Experts flowed in and excavations were conducted, until the almost intact boat was dug out. It is estimated to date between 12 and 15th centuries A.D.

The team of experts led by Dr. Cheriyan is continuing their quest around the canoe of Pattanam. They hope to come across more clues on the life that throbbed in this township centuries ago, who all came ashore, what all exchanged hands. The search is still on.

(Renu Ramanath is Kochi-based writer and columnist. She has been a full-time journalist since 1994, having worked with leading Indian newspapers including The Hindu and Mathrubhumi. Email: renuramanath@hotmail.com )