Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c8.s3.22

v1.c8.s3.22

What interests us more is the manner in which these curious conveyances are rowed. Paes gives us an account of the purpose to which these round basket-boats were put, and the skill with which they were used. "A captain lives in this city (Anegundi) for the king," says Paes. "People cross to this place by boats which are round like baskets: inside they are made of cane, and outside are covered with leather; they are able to carry fifteen or twenty persons, and even horses and oxen can cross in them if necessary; but for the most part these animals swim across the river. Men row them with a sort of paddle, and the boats are always turning round, as they cannot go straight like others; in all the kingdom where there are streams there are no other boats but these".⁴ That Paes was correct in his supposition that these boats were used in other parts of the kingdom is proved by the remark of Nuniz who, while describing the activities of the Sultan (Muhammad Tughlaq), narrates that that monarch after conquering "Ballagate" (Bālāghāṭ, or the region above the Ghats) passed into "the kingdom of Bisnaga" across "the river of Duree" "in basket boats without finding any one to oppose the passage".¹