The old customs of Sri Lankan Fishermen Island fishing culture

Sri Lanka is called the Pearl of the Indian Ocean and even more the wonder of Asia not because of its beautiful and geographic location. But for what it holds as a multicultural society with customs that have been preserved for over hundreds of years, and still pose a mind boggling retreat even to the locals living within. Sri Lanka, much like any other island nations dwell on fishing as a way of living. But unlike many other island nations and their usual means of fishing, the islanders in Sri Lanka have a unique twist to this by fishing on stilts. Stilt fishing is an ancient tradition done by over 500 fishing families in the southern region of Sri Lanka.

This practice slightly halted after the Tsunami hit Sri Lanka and other islands framing the Indian Ocean in 2004. However resumed with the course of time. If you are seeking accommodation in the river houses in Sri Lanka, while on holiday among the many options often located in close proximity of the fishing rivers and lakes such as The River House, you can catch Sri Lankan fishermen in action.

It is a beautiful sight just to look at the fishermen balancing on a thin plank as they fish so calmly. However, as calm as it may seem, it’s tougher than one can imagine. They go all through this process of fishing on a pole just to preserve their age old custom so that it won’t be lost in time.

Fishing is usually carried out during a set time, such as sunset, sunrise and noon each fishermen taking their elected position and balancing above the water, about two meters high. The structure of the silt is a long vertical pole which is rooted into the sea bed, a cross bar referred to as the ‘petta’ is attached to this. This is a structure on which the balancing act is done. Holding the stilt from one hand and holding the fishing rod from the other, they would spot small fish including the small mackerels and herrings. The fish caught are kept in a plastic bag. Fishing is still done on the banks, as the undisturbed fish are meant to stick around longer.

Caleb Falcon is a travel writer who specializes in writing content based on the many exciting world adventures that await intrepid travellers. Google+