History of Bengali Language and Literature c8.48

c8.48

Trade was generally carried on by a system of barter, but cowris were much used as coins, and they were counted in gandās, paṇas, and kāhaṇas. The Bengalis used to travel by sea for purposes of trade in early days, but during the period of which we are speaking, such practices fell into disuse. The sea-voyages described in old Bengali poems are monstrous fables, but they prove the existence of traditions that existed in the country, about commercial enterprises undertaken by Bengalis in the past, though couched in the forms of romances. We may, however, glean what sort of ships were made in the country from these writings. In the pictorial illustrations of the Borra Buddar temple of Jāvā published by the Dutch Government, we find numerous pictures of ships which went to that Island from Tāmluka, Chittagong and the sea-coasts of Orissā and Guzrāt, and they represent a type on which, even yet, the modern European sailing-ships have not noticeably improved. In old Bengali literature we find that oarsmen and pilots were generally recruited from Eastern Bengal. Their peculiar accent was a subject of ridicule to poets then as now. The oarsmen were supervised by Gāvurs, who would occasionally beat them with rods called Dāngās, if found to be lagging in their work. The oarsmen used to sing a chorus as they plied their oars; such songs were called ‘Sāri.’ The Madhukar or the head-ship on board which a great merchant or king embarked, was adorned with many artistic designs. The prow especially was formed into various picturesque shapes; it often represented the form of a peacock. The vessels were loaded with utensils of bell-metal made in various patterns, muslin and other fine stuffs, shells and corals, and various agricultural products of Bengal. The vessels bore poetic names such as ‘The Sea-foam,’ ‘The Royal Duck,’ ‘The moon light.’ The descriptions of places, though mere old wives’ tales entitled to little credence, have still some grains of truth in them. Of the Ceylonese, it is said that if their parents die, they keep them long without cremation. This refers to the custom of the Buddhists who sometimes allow even a whole year to pass before the corpse of a monk is cremated. In another place we find ‘If they die, the son has no claim, but the sister's son inherits the property'—a custom which is still observed in the Southern Presidency amongst the Nairs. Sea-voyages as described in the earliest Manasā Maṅgals seem to represent facts, though much distorted and exaggerated, but in later versions, we find the accounts turned into complete fiction from which it is impossible to gather any historical truth.