Chinese Nets

Article by:- Deepa Leslie, Lecturer, Dept of English, St Alberts College, Ernakulam.

Cochin is the gift of Periyar to the people of Kerala. In cochin, history is alive, active and vibrant. Its numerous and magnificent monuments beckons every visitor to the city to delve deep into the history of this ancient charming land. Its sprawling bungalows have an old charm and the continuous glow of foreign visitors speaks volumes for her hospitality and warmth.

The Anglo Indian Community of cochin traces its ancestry back to the flowery Portuguese rule. Even the ancient trees along the highways and by banks of the city have much to say about the bygone days of this daughter of Periyar or the Queen of the Arabian Sea. At one time, Europeans came to speak their fortunes here. Today the younger generations of cochinites, like the others in other parts of India go abroad to seek their fortunes.

It was generally held by the historians that the pre-portuguese cochin was occupied by fishermen and the world renowned Chinese nets (Cheena Vala) a characteristic feature of Cochin Coast and its suburbs were brought from China in the hey day of China – Malabar trade during 13th and 14th centuries.

Our recent studies shows that these Chinese nets were introduced by the later Casado settlers of Cochin from Macau. The names of the different parts of these Chinese nets used even today are in Portuguese language, which is a definite indication of its Portuguese Origin. The net used for catching the fish is called rede, its edge is borda, the arms of wooden parts which hold the extensive net together is brasao, while the flexible ring on the top on which the entire brasao moves is argola. In addition there are Corda and Pedra for balancing the movement of the net. There isCaluada on which the fishermen moves up and down and the posts which support the entire structure from the river bottom are called Odora.

The Casado settlers from Macau and Malawa also brought ‘Cheeni Chatti’ (Chinese frying pan) and a delicious dish known as ‘Cheenisampal’ which even today is a favourite dish among the coastal Christians of kerala with Portuguese heritage. The fishing nets introduced by the Casado settlers added another item for trade, the dried fish, in addition to the traditional spices of kerala. The popular name for dried fish in local terminology is bakkal (vakkal) which has its roots in the Portuguese ‘Bacalhau’

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