Records of Traditional Watercraft from South and West Sri Lanka

Description

NAS Monograph Series No.2 Gerhard Kapitän, born in Meissen (Dresden, Germany) on the 23rd April 1924, is a scholar whose main field of study is maritime archaeology and ethnography. This book is Gerhard Kapitän's inventory of traditional Sri Lankan watercraft and his great achievement. Prepared for publication by Gerald Grainge, in association with Somasiri Devendra, the volume represents Kapitän's collection of scale drawings and photographs of traditional watercraft from west and south Sri Lanka. The material submitted consisted of Kapitän's drawings, photographs and captions - still the centrepiece of the book - together with a brief introductory overview by the author (Chapter 2) and an early draft of his classification of the watercraft of Sri Lanka (Chapter 4) along with brief notes on each of the drawings. The editor has written up a brief introductory comment to each of the chapters, based on what Gerhard Kapitän had previously published. Kapitän passionately believed in the importance of the traditional watercraft of Sri Lanka in terms of heritage, not only for Sri Lanka, but for the world. His vision of a maritime museum to preserve these craft was realized in 1992 in the old Dutch warehouse, situated near the Old Gate of Galle Fort, but unfortunately it was devastated by the 2004 tsunami. This volume, an important contribution to nautical archaeology, presents a unique record of the traditional craft that plied, and in many cases still plies, around the coastal waters of Sri Lanka. Front Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication and Grantmakers TABLE OF CONTENTS Gerhard Kapitän Editor’s preface Acknowledgements Note on scale drawings Note on copyright Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Author’s commentaryon the drawings and photographs Chapter 3. The author’s research objectives Chapter 4. CLASSIFICATION of watercraft and index to drawings and photographs Chapter 5. Bamboo rafts (una-pahura – classification no. I 1) Chapter 6. Basic log rafts (classification no. I 2) Chapter 7. Lashed log rafts (kattu-maram – classification no. I 3) Chapter 8. Pegged log rafts of four or five logs (theppam – classification no. I 4) Chapter 9. Fishing logboats without outriggers (vallam – classification no. II 1.1) Chapter 10. Mā-däl-vallam for shore seining (classification no. II 1.2) Chapter 11. Sea-going vallam with outriggers (vallam-oru – classification no. II 1.3) Chapter 12. Vallam-type dinghies and tenders (classification nos II 1.4, 1.5) Chapter 13. Oru – outrigger logboats on inland waters (classification nos II 2.1 – II 2.4) Chapter 14. Visi-däl-oru for sling-net fishing (classification no. II 2.5) Kalapu-oru – fishing logboats used on lagoons (classification no. II 2.6) Chapter 15. Fishing oru in Weligama Bay (varā-oru – classification no. II 2.7) Chapter 16. Oru for shore seining (mā-däl-oru – classification no. II 3) Chapter 17. Seagoing oru (outrigger logboats) rigged with double-sprit sails (classification nos II 4.1, 4.2) Chapter 18. Oru rigged with oars and sails with outboard rowing rails on both sides (classification no. II 4.3) Chapter 19. Oru with one short rowing rail on the outrigger side (classification no. II 4.4) Chapter 20. Oru with one long outrigger-side rowing rail between the two ends of the hull (classification no. II 4.5) Chapter 21. Añgula – double-hulled craft with a platform built over two oru (classification no. II 5) Chapter 22. Mā-däl-pāru – sewn-plank and double logboat craft for shore seining (classification no. III) Chapter 23. Scale drawings of logboat hull-outrigger boom joints Chapter 24. Scale drawings of archaeological finds APPENDICES Bibliography Index. Place names mentioned in the text by Somasiri Devendra General Index