Production of yarn for fishing nets, Tranquebar 1981
The drawing illustrates the use of distaffs for wounding cotton. In 1981 the fishermen in Tranquebar used to spin their own yarn for the production of different kinds of cotton fishing nets.
In 1985 artist Elsebet Morville produced a series of fourteen drawings for ethnographer Esther Fihl relating to her fieldwork in Tranquebar in 1981. This drawing is made according to Fihl’s photos and notes.
The fishers make up the majority of the population of Tharangampadi (Tranquebar) and traditionally they depend on inshore fishing. They form their own community in the northern part of the village and they all belong to the Meenavar Pattinavar caste. The majority of the men are engaged in fishing and several women are fish vendors.
