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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c37.s1.t4: Leather Boats/Boxes

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c37.s1.t4

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English

Leather Boats/Boxes

v1.c37.s1.t4.1

Magasthenese describes in his book on India, the Magadha empire and Candra Gupta Maurya. Arthaśāstra gives a great deal of information regarding the shipping in those days. Candra Gupta maintained a large number of boats and ships for the purpose of trades and also for checking pirates. During the time of Cyprus, the Great, the founder of the Archaemenian (550-350 B.C.), the leather boat even to a capacity of 14 tons were made in Armenia and plied down the river Euphrates by two men carrying wine as principal cargo and, at least, one donkey to carry the leathers of the dismantled boat back to Armenia for reuse. In 512 B.C., the Archaemenian armies crossed the Bosphores by a bridge of leather boats. Saint Brenden lived during A.D. 489-583 sailed using leather on several voyages along the west coast of Ireland. Tim Severin, the author of the book ‘The Brenden Voyage’ published in 1978, re-enacted the scene in 1976-77 and proved such a voyage was feasible. Fine white wood or the native Irish Ash made Brenden’s lattice frame. Nearly two miles of leather thongs was used to hand lash 1600 joints into Brenden’s frame work. The 49 vegetable tanned with Oak bark ox hides (4′ × 3.5′ each) were used and stitched together to cover the frame. Buckets of wool grease was used and painted over the hull to protect the thongs, timber and the leather. Brenden started from Ireland on May 17, 1976 and reached Newfound Land on June 26, 1977 via Faroes islands, Iceland, Greenland, sailing 4500 miles. A leather boat that some had feared would disintegrate in the first gale had successfully crossed the Atlantic. There was no longer any practical objection to the idea that the Irish monks might have sailed in leather boats to North America before the Norseman and long before Columbus.

v1.c37.s1.t4.2

Alexander (329 B.C.) crossed Hindukush mountains and Indus river in (328 B.C.) and was welcomed by Ambhi and fought against Porus. Shield in the 4th century B.C. was described in connection with the body armour of Porus which had bewildered the Greek historians. Almost all the Greek warriors were carrying shield which was tied on their back. Similarly the Indian foot soldiers were having shield on their person while the charioteers had kept them inside the chariot. Fully armoured, Porus rode a tall and formidable elephant which in turn, was also well protected.

v1.c37.s1.t4.3

Alexander crossed the river probably using his portable tents as boat, 23 miles up in a rainy night with his 12000 men and attacked. Elephants turned bad due to the heavy showers of arrow from behind. The slippery state of the ground prevented the Indian infantry from making full use of their formidable bows which they were customed to draw after resting one end upon the earth. Again due to the muddy ground, the heavy wheeled chariot could not move easily and many of these got fixed in the mud. In the confusion Porus lost control over the army and himself was taken prisoner. Alexander defeated Porus and his men because of his ingenuity in converting the tent into boat and crossing the river swiftly which could not be visualised in time by Porus. Alexander and his men might have contributed considerably during their stay in India for the development of leathercraft for defence purposes. Domesticated animals from the land he conquered were used by his army for meat and skins. The skins or the hides might have been processed by improved methods wherever he was camping with the available local materials and men to make processed parchment and leather products especially for defence uses.

v1.c37.s1.t4.4

Leather boat had been in use to sail across the sea, river and lake and also used as a small fishing boat. The small boat can be carried on one's head and found even to-day at Hoegnekal and other river sites where there are no bridges.

v1.c37.s1.t4.5

Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller mentions about the dressing of great number of skins of various kinds (goat, ox, buffalo, unicorn, and other animals) in the province of Gujarat in India. He also observed beautiful mats in red and blue leather, exquisitively inlaid with figures of birds and beasts and skilfully embroidered with gold and silver.

v1.c37.s1.t4.6

The Arabs, according to Herodotus, had cow hides and other skins stitched together to form a pipe long enough to reach from the river Corys to the desert route in three separate places and then filled them with water for the troops. Another version of supplying the troops with water was that of filling camel skins loaded on to live animal. Carrying water in skins bag on camel back is quite ancient and common even today in Indian deserts.

v1.c37.s1.t4.7

Human skins of enemies were used for seating, panelling city wall, covering quivers, drinking, etc. The Assyrian inscription such as one found in the British Museum mention the use of enemies skin to cover the city wall. This was discovered during the excavation of Ninerah. Skinning the enemy in those days even upto the British time in India was not an uncommon thing.

v1.c37.s1.t4.8

A leather box complete with surgeon's instruments of fashioned chicken bones dates to the 4000 B.C. A similar fashion in our ancient ayurvedic, unnani and other medical customs cannot be ruled out. It should not be forgotten that the burial of dead body with some belongings in big earthern pot in India was not uncommon and leather articles should have found a place in some of these pots known as ‘urns’. Even in very ancient time, man travelled vast distances taking with him his art and culture to blend with those of other countries.

v1.c37.s1.t4.9

In Vedic times, there was no prejudice against using receptacle made of hide for storing butter and ghee. Skin utensils were in great demand in the ancient Aryan society. There were leather bags, vessels etc. for storing water, wine, honey, somabana, etc. In the time of *Rgveda*, leather *Māsaka* for water was well known. It is also mentioned as *‘driti’* and finds use even today in northern India. Leather bag made from camel hide is used for transporting water in the desert regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The *Rāmāyaṇa* narrates the practice of watering the street using *‘Masaka’* to reduce the dust nuisance.

v1.c37.s1.t4.10

Rajasthan is specially noted for manufacturing decorative leather bottles. Samples of wonderfully decorated and plain leather bottles are kept in the Central Leather Research Institute, Madras. *Kuppi* or *Kuppa* is a native word for leather bottle extensively used in the northern part of India for keeping oil and essence. In preparing these bottles, cut out paper designs or pattern painted in white were inserted beneath a transparent membrane (*Fig. 4*).

v1.c37.s1.t4.11

Huka bottle known for a long time is made using clay model. A clay model of the exact form is mounted with raw camel hide or sheep skin in wet condition; after it is completely dried, container becomes very sturdy and durable. These leather bottles are decorated by painting or with cut out paper patterns and stamped designs. The paper patterns are sandwiched between two membrane of raw skin. The exquisite floral designs, sometimes with gold and silver, are traceable to Persian influence.

v1.c37.s1.t4.12

There is another type of ancient water carrier (*thol sal*) made with bark tanned hide heavily greased which, in general, is used by the cultivators for irrigation in Southern India. *Kavalai thol* is a South Indian term for a bark tanned short hide hose attached to a huge metal bowl for drawing water from deep wells for irrigation. Leather bags were universally used in India for drawing water from wells. Leather buckets were are also used in villages for drawing water from the wells.

Cites (4)