The Book of the Pearl: The history, art, science, and industry of the queen of gemsKunz, George Frederick
History
The Book of the Pearl: The history, art, science, and industry of the queen of gems
Kunz, George Frederick
Pearls
Later, a big boat, called the _Sampang_, wandered from China to
Sulu; there were on board many people, all Chinese; it was loaded
with merchandise. The people came ashore and saw the mother-of-pearl
shell which the Sulu people were carrying. The captain of the boat
said: “Have you many more of these things?” and the people answered,
“Plenty; this is what we take from the downs to eat with other
food.” The Captain said. “Gather me plenty. I will buy them from
you.” The people went and gathered them and bartered them for plates
and saucers. When all the shells from the downs were finished they
looked into the deep, and that is how they found the pearling
grounds, and the people noted them, and remembered them. This is
what they agreed upon; whoever finds pearling grounds they belong to
him from generation to generation. That is what they agreed upon.
That is the reason why the Sulu people have the right, and that they
came to make the dredge (_badja_) to get the mother-of-pearl shell
from the deep, because they can not see them.
Later Salips came from Mecca of the Arab nation; they came to Sulu
to convert the people into Mohammedans, as they had no religion. And
when the Sulu people, including the islanders, adopted the faith,
then they agreed to have a sultan and they elected Saripul Hassim to
be sultan. Saripul Hassim said: “I don’t want you to make me your
sultan if I do not know what the rights of the sultan are, and who I
have to govern over, because this is not my country, this is your
country.”
And this is how everybody agreed to accept him as sultan over Sulu
and all the islands; this is how he became Sultan and governed over
all, and this is how Saripul Hassim accepted to be the sultan of
Sulu, to have full power over land and sea, and the people’s rights,
where they got their living from on land and sea, were left to them,
because they were the means of their getting their livelihood.
But a law was made, if they found valuables in the sea, such as
pearls, tortoise shell, ambal or anything extraordinary, they have
to show it to the sultan, and if the pearls weigh six chuchuk or
over they become the share of the sultan; if they do not have that
weight, the people can do with them as they please and sell them. If
the sultan wants them, he will buy them according to custom. As to
tortoise shell, if they weigh two ketties, they go to the sultan,
and as to the ambal, whether it is much or little, it falls to the
sultan. Whoever finds it must take it to the sultan. Whoever of his
subjects violates this law as agreed upon, the sultan can punish him
as he pleases.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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