Sailing Around Erythraean Sea: Fifty Six

Previous section gave us a glimpse of Purakkad (Baraca). See what the Koine Greek writer describes further:

They send large ships to these market-towns towns on account of the great quantity and bulk of pepper and malabathrum.  There are imported here, a great quantity of coin; topaz, thin clothing, not much; figured linens, antimony, coral, crude glass, copper, tin, lead; wine, not much, but as much as at Barygaza; realgar and orpiment; and wheat enough for the sailors, for this is not dealt in by the merchants there. There is exported pepper which is  produced in quantity in only one region near these markets, a district called Cottonara. Besides this there are exported great quantities of fine pearls, ivory, silk cloth, spikenard from the Ganges, malabathrum from the places interior, transparent stones of all kinds, diamonds and sapphires, and tortoise shell; that from Chryse islands, and the taken among the island along the coast of Damarica. They make the voyage to this place in a favourable season who set out from Egypt, about the month of July, that is Epiphi.

My Search:- 

1. Cottanara: Kudanad of First century. The root "Kuda" means west, and belongs to proto Dravidian language. Cottanara is its Koine Greek adaptation. Kudanad included modern day Kuttanad, Thiruvalla, and the adjoining places, where pepper and bay leaves were available in abundance. They were not cultivated, but gathered from the forests in the Western Ghats, using hunter gatherer tribes. 

2. Malabathrum: Malabar bay leaf. The Indian bayleaf of cinnamon tamala trees. It was used as a flavouring agent in food.

3. Antimony: A sulfide mineral found in nature used in medicines and cosmetics.

4. Realgar: An arsenic mineral used in fireworks.

5. Orpiment: Just as realgar is an arsenic mineral.

6. Spikenard: Also known as musk root, from which an aromatic oil is extracted for use in aromatics.

6. Chryse islands: Andaman Nicobar islands.

Look at the items of export, pepper which was not a domestic crop but gathered from the forest. Wheat was not used by the natives and not available in the market, which must have been an open place by the riverside. Some of the items were imported here from Ganges and Chrys islands. So these were only transshipment. Rice was not an item of food. Wetland cultivation was brought by Brahmins after 5th century. Ports and surroundings must have been the colonies of merchants from Barygaza, Muza and Greco Roman territories; and tribal chieftains like Chettys and Komattys. Time had erazed many of these toponyms and tide had rendered some of them uninhabited. Still some of them retain their ancient identity. For example, Arabi, a locality near Iritty in Kannur. It is 14 kilometres east of Iritty. Yavanarkulam in Wayanad is another example.

End of the Section.

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