For nearly four hundred years, pearls and pearl shells have been the most beautiful objects which have reached the outside world from the many islands of the Malay Archipelago. On his visit to this part of the world in 1520, Pigopitta, a companion of Magalhães, reported pearls among the prized possessions of the natives. The fisheries have never been of great importance, although the reefs are widely scattered throughout the archipelago, and the possibilities seem favorable for very great development. Thomas de Comyn stated a century ago, that pearl fisheries had been undertaken “from time to time about Mindanao, Zebu, and some of the smaller islands, but with little success and less regularity, not because of a scarcity of fine pearls, but on account of a lack of skill of the divers and their well-established dread of sharks.”^[264]

Giacinto Gemmi,^[265] writing of Philippine pearls, repeats a strange tale from the “Storia de Mindanao” by the Jesuit father, Combes, to the effect that in a certain spot, under many fathoms of water, there was a pearl of inestimable value, as large as an egg; but, although the king’s ministers had made every effort to have it secured, they had always been unsuccessful.

During the last thirty years, pearls and pearl shells have been secured from most of the inshore waters of Malaysia, but the output has not been so regular or so extensive as the conditions seem to warrant. Our observation leads to the conviction that this is not due so much to lack of skill on the part of the divers, or to their dread of sharks, mentioned by Comyn; but to the fact that foreign capital, attracted to this part of the world, has found more security and profit in developing plantations, and the natives have not had sufficient enterprise to systematize and develop the fishery resources.

Throughout Malaysia, including the Philippine Islands, the pearl is known as mutya, mootara, or a similar name, closely resembling the Sanskrit mukta or the Cingalese mootoo, indicating the source of the influence originating the fishery and trade.

The most widely-known pearl fisheries of Malaysia are in the Sulu Archipelago, a group of islands comprising about 1000 square miles in area, and containing a population of 100,000. The beautiful yellow pearls shared with the many acts of piracy in attracting attention to this group previous to 1878, when the islands were brought under the influence of Spanish rule; and since the Spanish-American War, pearl fishing has been the leading industry, though it has received less attention from outside sources, perhaps, than has the existence of slavery and harems as part of the social system.

Writing in 1820, John Crawfurd stated that the annual export of pearls from Sulu Islands to China approximated 25,000 Spanish dollars in value, and the mother-of-pearl similarly exported was worth 70,000 dollars. “Considering the turbulent and piratical habits of the natives of the Sulu group, it is certain that a greater share of skill and industry than can at present be applied to the fisheries, would greatly enhance the value and amount of their produce.”^[266]

In the Sulu Archipelago, the pearl-oyster reefs exist from Sibǔtu Pass to Basilan Strait, and roughly cover an estimated area of 15,000 square miles; that is, in the most favorable localities throughout this area, pearl-oysters occur to a greater or less extent. The fisheries are prosecuted by Malays and Chinese, and are largely centered at Sulu.

Pearl-oysters occur about many other islands. They exist at Maimbun and Parong; and also off the island of Tapul and its neighbor Lagos, both southwest of Maimbun. In the channels among these islands, on the rocky gravelly bottom where there is a good current, oysters are commonly found. They also occur off Laminusa, northeast of Tawi-Tawi, at Cuyo Island, and in the waters about Malampaya and Bacuit.

The large mother-of-pearl oyster (Margaritifera maxima) known locally as concha de nacr, is by far the most abundant. When full-grown in this region it is ordinarily between ten and thirteen inches in diameter. The young oyster attaches itself to the bottom by means of the green byssus; but after attaining a weight of one pound, it is too heavy to be easily moved by the tide, and the ligature gradually disappears. The Australian “black lip” (Margaritifera margaritifera), known here as concha de nagra, is also found. In these waters it attains a diameter of about eight inches, but most specimens are considerably smaller.

There is another pearly shell in the Philippines, a spiral gasteropod known locally as caracoles, which is ordinarily five or six inches in diameter, and has a beautiful pearly surface. This yields very few pearls; it is sought for pearl-button manufacture, selling for about the same as the concha de nagra.

Streeter states that it is declared by the natives of the Sulu Archipelago that pearls of a yellowish hue have been found in the pearly nautilus (Nautilus pompilius), one of the group of cephalopodous mollusks. As, however, there is a superstition that they bring ill luck, the natives say that they throw them away, believing that any one who should fight while wearing one of these pearls in a ring, would certainly be killed. If we consider the habits and organism of this remarkable animal, and the splendid nacreous coating of its shell, the assertion that pearls are found in it seems quite natural. Indeed, the occurrence of pearls in the pearly nautilus is generally recognized.

For many years the successive sultans of Sulu exercised authority over the fisheries and—in addition to exacting certain percentages and presents from the fishermen—claimed as their perquisites all pearls exceeding a designated weight. The fisheries were prosecuted by nude divers, of whom there were a large number. A Chinese company had been particularly fortunate in its relations with the Sulus, and had an extensive equipment in the fishery, consisting of a number of small vessels, each carrying a crew of seven men, who used diving-suits. In addition to these, some of the native Moros owned boats from which diving-suits were employed.

Following the Spanish-American War and the transfer of the Philippine Islands to America, several vessels proceeded to engage in the fisheries without previously consulting the representatives of the Sultan of Sulu. This called forth from that official an appeal to the American authorities for protection in his claims. He gave an account of the pearl fishery in this interesting document, which we quote at length—through the courtesy of the American Bureau of Insular Affairs—because of the light it throws, not only on the industry, but also on the characteristics of these people with whom the American government is now dealing.

STATEMENT MADE BY THE SULTAN OF SULU RELATIVE TO THE PEARL FISHERIES

I beg to inform my father, the civil governor, Major Scott, as you want to know about the mother-of-pearl shell, why it is the right of all Sulu people, above all my own right, this is the reason:

The forefathers of the Sulu people used to take the mother-of-pearl shell from the downs because the mother-of-pearl shell belonged to the downs, and they took them to eat the oyster with other food; of the shell they made plates and saucers to put the food on, and the pearls they used to make a hole through and put them on a string as necklaces for their children. This was at a time when no other nation had come to Sulu to buy the mother-of-pearl shell.

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.

They accepted this law as agreed upon, to be carried out by them (sultan and people), and their descendants, and not to be changed; but they asked of the sultan not to let any other nation take a share in this industry; it is enough for them; and the sultan agreed to this because they did not know how to earn their living otherwise. This is what the sultan and his subjects agreed to because the Sulu had no other treasures on land beyond the cultivation; the treasures came from the sea only, therefore other people are forbidden because this is the property of all my subjects, and especially my own.

Recently, in my time and in the Spanish time, there came to me Captain Tiana; he wanted to dive for pearl shells. I said “I cannot give you my consent at once because since our forefathers (sultan and people) we have an agreement, I will confer with my people.” I sent for the chiefs and the dattos and I told them about it, that Captain Tiana came to me and asked to dive for pearl shells. They said it cannot be done, because there is an agreement between our forefathers that other nations cannot join in this industry of the Sulu seas, because there is no other means of earning a living for your subjects.

I informed Captain Tiana of it. He said: “Allow me to dive for pearl shells, I will give toll to you as sultan and I will also give toll to the owners of the pearl grounds according to what we agree upon.”

So I informed all the owners of the pearling ground, and they said, “If he is really in earnest to give toll to us owners of the ground according to what we agree upon, if we don’t agree, we will not allow him to fish.” Thereupon Captain Tiana and I went to the Spanish governor to bear witness. The governor said: “All right; anything you agree upon; I cannot change the law of the Moro people, and I will not interfere.”

That is how I allowed Captain Tiana to fish, and I gave him a letter of the truth according to agreement. Therefore if any person of other nation wants to fish for mother-of-pearl shell, he will have to do as Captain Tiana did, and ask me for a letter of truth, and if he has no letter and does not pay toll to the owners of the ground, and especially to me, he cannot dive, and if he violates this and if anything befalls him, I am not responsible and do not want to be held responsible, because the mother-of-pearl shells are like the property in our boxes given to us by God. They do not go away from the places where they are put, they are not like fish that go about. Therefore, we forbid it. It is our heritage from our forefathers.

Following these representations, the legislative council of the Moro province, by authority of the Philippine Commission, interdicted all fishing for pearl-oysters within three marine leagues of any land within the territorial limits of the Moro province, without license first obtained from the treasurer of the district within which the vessel carries on the major part of its operations.^[267] No license was to be issued to any vessel not owned in the Philippine Islands or in the United States, and not wholly owned by citizens of the United States, by natives of the Philippine Islands, or by persons who have acquired the political rights of natives,^[268] except that foreign vessels which for one year immediately preceding had actually engaged in pearl fishing might secure license to continue therein for a period of five years thereafter.

Licenses were of two kinds, according to the nature of the fishery. To engage in fishing with the aid of diving-suits, the fee was five hundred pesos annually, for each of the greatest number of divers beneath the surface of the water at any one time. For fishing without submarine armor, the fee was five pesos annually, for each of the greatest number of nude divers to be employed by the vessel during any voyage, and the same sum for each of the greatest number of dredges or rakes to be employed beneath the surface at any one time; but this did not apply to vessels under 15 tons, owned and operated wholly by native Moros, until January 1, 1906.

It was also made unlawful to catch or to have in one’s possession within the Moro province “any pearl shell or any bivalvular or lateral plate, or any pearl shell of less than 4½ inches in diameter, measured with a flat, rigid measuring rod along the line of the ligament which joins one binocular or lateral plate to the other at the hinge, unless the lateral plate of such shell be more than 7 inches in diameter measured with a flat, rigid measuring rod from the outer edge of the horny lips to the center of the hinge, the rod being so placed as to form a right angle with the line of the hinge.”^[269]

According to a report furnished by the Mining Bureau at Manila, there were seven vessels fishing with diving-suits in the Sulu Archipelago in 1905, each representing an investment of about 6000 pesos. In 1906 there were ten vessels engaged in this industry, and the collection on licenses for that fiscal year amounted to 3375 pesos. These vessels are mostly small Moro craft which cannot venture upon distant cruises in the archipelago for prospecting purposes, and their operations are confined for the most part to the immediate vicinity of Jolo. Each vessel carries one diver, a tender, a cook, and four sailors. In addition to food supplies, the sailors and the cook each receive twelve to fifteen pesos per month, the tender thirty to forty pesos per month, and the diver the same amount and in addition thereto a bonus of twenty cents for each shell secured. Near Jolo the vessels work throughout the year, but farther north very little fishing is done from December to April, when monsoons prevail. The man in charge of each vessel is obliged by law to keep an accurate record of the number and weight of shells found, and his figures are checked up by a customs official at either Jolo or Zamboanga, the ports of discharge.

To enable them to secure pearl-oysters at depths of from twenty to forty fathoms, the Sulus have long made use of a dredge (badja) peculiarly constructed of native materials, and admirably adapted to the purpose. This consists of five or more long wooden teeth slightly curved and spreading outward, with an expanse at the ends of twenty inches or more. The dredge is properly balanced by two stones, and a bridle rope is so attached to it that, when thrown overboard and towed behind a canoe drifting with the current or the wind, the implement rests on the curve of the teeth, which are in almost a horizontal position. As the teeth enter the gaping shell of an oyster lying on the bottom, the animal instantly closes tightly on the intruder and effects its own capture. The principle is similar to that of the “crowfoot” dredge of the Mississippi River, although the design of the implement is radically different. A second rope is attached so as to raise and lower the implement and to detach it from corals, rocks, and other objects against which it may catch in its course on the bottom. This dredge is designed for very deep areas, where the bottom is relatively smooth.

The Moros employ yet another method of fishing, using a magtung-tung or three-pronged catcher, which is let down by a rattan rope and by means of which individual shells sighted from the surface are obtained. When the water is perfectly clear this implement can be operated where the depth is fifteen or eighteen fathoms, but its use is impractical where the water is clouded or there is even a slight ripple on the surface.

However, the bulk of the catch is made by the nude divers, of which there are hundreds at Maimbun, Tapul, Lugus and elsewhere. In their small boats these Moro fishermen visit the reefs, where the boats are anchored. Provided only with a short, heavy knife, with which to release the shells from the bottom or, perchance, as a weapon of defense against sharks and other fish, they enter the water feet first, but soon turn and descend head downward, precisely as on the Australian coast, swimming toward the bottom with bold strokes. The Sulu pearl-divers—and especially those at Parang, Patian and Sicubun—are among the most expert in the world. They easily penetrate to twelve fathoms and, if necessary, to eighteen or twenty fathoms. But they are not very industrious, and seldom descend more than twelve or fifteen times a day, preferring rather to go with their wants half satisfied than to satiate them by more active exertions.

Many descents may be necessary to locate and obtain a single oyster, but when this is secured the shell alone may ordinarily be traded for sufficient to supply the fisherman’s needs for several days, and there is always the chance of a pearl. After a short day of labor, the fishermen return, and the oysters which they have secured are opened and examined for pearls. After the flesh has been carefully searched it is placed in the sun to dry and, later, to be used for food, and the shells are carefully cleaned and placed under cover until they may be bartered or sold.

The Sulu shell is characterized by a peculiar yellowish tint around the rim, by means of which it is readily distinguished. Its size and beautiful iridescence make it very attractive, and for choice individual specimens high prices are received. It is the largest of the mother-of-pearl shells, single half-shells of “bold” size average one and one half pounds in weight, while some attain a weight of six pounds. The body of the shell furnishes the most beautiful of all mother-of-pearl, yet the necessity for discarding the yellow rim, or, rather, for using it separate from the rest, makes it unpopular with manufacturers. The annual product is estimated at 200 tons, valued in London and New York at $200,000, and of pearls about $30,000 worth.

The Sulu pearls are frequently large and of choice quality, but they are far more inclined to a yellowish tint than those from Australian waters, 1300 miles southward. The sultans accumulated the finest collection of them, and some of these found their way into the markets from time to time as the condition of the exchequer ran low or royal emergency required, as in 1882, for instance, when it was necessary to defray the expense of Sultan Buderoodin’s pilgrimage to Mecca. During the last six or seven years, much has been heard of the present sultan’s collection, which he largely inherited, and some fairly good specimens have been presented to prominent Americans.

Pearl-oysters are among the important resources of the inshore waters of the Dutch East Indies, including the surrounding seas of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes, the Aru Islands, the Moluccas or Spice Islands, and Papua or New Guinea. For very many years the natives have gathered pearl shell and pearls from these waters, and especially on the coast of the Aru Islands, at Gilolo or Halmahera, and the islands thereabout, on the east coast of Celebes, and about the Sunda group. The collections were made in the shallow waters by beach-combing and by nude diving, and were bartered with the Chinese and Arab traders sailing from Singapore, Macassar, and other ports. Occasionally a pearling vessel from Singapore or from Torres Straits would try its luck in these waters; but, except for the work of the natives, the reefs were practically untouched previous to 1883.

As the Australian fleet increased in size and the oysters became scarce in Torres Straits and on the northwest coast, some of the vessels occasionally visited the Aru Islands, the coast of Papua, etc. These met with considerable success and the number of trips increased, especially in 1893, when oysters were unusually scarce in Australia.

The following year, 1894, the government restricted the fishery to inhabitants of the Netherlands and of Netherlands India, or to companies established in those countries and operating under the Dutch flag. Owing to the activity of Dutch capital in coffee, tobacco and other plantation enterprises, the pearl resources received very little attention from them. The success of the Australian fishery encouraged the formation in 1896 of an Amsterdam company to exploit the Aru grounds; but apparently without financial success, for it liquidated in 1898.

In the meantime, residents of these islands paid more and more attention to the pearl fishery; also Europeans, Chinamen and Arabs arranged with the native chiefs for fishing in their territorial waters, paying therefor a fixed sum in cash or a percentage of the catch, which was permitted on approval by the governor-general of Dutch India. The fleet continued to increase from year to year, and in 1905 there was a very large influx of vessels from the Australian fisheries, 110 luggers and 7 tenders coming from Thursday Island alone.

The species are the same as occur on the northern coast of Australia, the “silver edge” or “golden lip” (Margaritifera maxima) occurring in greatest abundance, and the “black lip” (M. margaritifera) to a less extent.

The shells are the principal object of the search, and the pearls found incidentally form an additional source of revenue. These shells divide with those of Australia the reputation of being the most valuable in the world. They are commonly known in the trade by the name of the port from which they are originally shipped, as Manila, Macassar, Banda, Ceram, Penang, Mergui, etc. Before the exploitation of the Australian grounds, they sold at very high prices, and $2000 or more per ton was sometimes realized for those of the best quality. Singapore is the headquarters for supplies for the industry in all this region, and it is from that port that the shells and pearls are mostly distributed.

The pearls obtained in Netherlands India are of choice quality and of relatively large size, a considerable percentage of them weighing over eight grains, and fairly good pearls of fifty grains or more are occasionally reported. Colored pearls are rarely met with, nearly all of them being clear white, like the beautiful Macassar shell.

At Pados Bay, island of Borneo, one hundred or more persons find employment fishing the Placuna oysters, selling the shells for about $2 per picul (139 pounds to the picul), the dried meats at $4 to $6 a picul, and the seed-pearls (seleesip) at about $2 per mayam. Many of these pearls are sold in the village of Batu Batu. When a fisherman buys his few necessaries at the Chinese shops, he pulls out his little package of seed-pearls and pays in that currency, the Chinaman making a good profit by the transaction.