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Knowing the Sea: Thalassographies to Thalassology of the Indian Ocean (up to c. 1500 CE)

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Knowledge and the Indian Ocean

Part of the book series: Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies ((IOWS))

Abstract

This essay attempts to outline the broad patterns of the knowledge about the Indian Ocean, the third largest maritime space in the world, up to c. 1500 CE. A particular form of knowing the sea (an artisanal epistemology) emanated from the experiences of the ship-builders, sailors, captains and navigators, who rarely left any written manual on their understanding of the sea. The paper will look at different nomenclatures of this maritime space (or parts thereof), captured in various literary texts of diverse times and areas, as alternate impressions of thalassography. The epigraphic evidence of Indic seafaring and the Jewish geniza documents portrays the voyager’s views of the Ocean. The transition from thalassography to thalassology of the Indian Ocean coincided with growing thalassocratic aspirations in post-1500 times.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Among several contributions of B. Arunachalam on this theme, see particularly Arunachalam (1996).

  2. 2.

    See Kulke and Sahu (2018). This is a factor in the importance of the Indian Ocean in shaping the long-range history of the subcontinent prior to eighteenth century. This is evident from their positioning of the historiography of the Indian Ocean among the significant debates and issues.

  3. 3.

    Mookerji (1912), Warmington (1928) and Wheeler (1954) are among the scholars who strongly felt about the West’s initiatives in the seafaring traditions in the Indian Ocean.

  4. 4.

    On samudra and sindhu, see McDonell and Keith (1974).

  5. 5.

    For an explanation of al bahr al Hindi and bahr Larvi, see the famous treatise on geography , Hudud al Alam, written by an anonymous author in c. AD 982 (Minorsky 1937). Also Nainar (1942a, b), Ducene (2016) and Lambourn (2016).

  6. 6.

    Mukherjee (1975); an inscription of AD 971 from Bangladesh (close to Dhaka) speaks for the first time of Vangasagara or the Sea of Vanga (Bengal ), thus corresponding closely to bahr Harkal and the present Bay of Bengal ; this is discussed by Chakravarti (2007) in chapter VIII.

  7. 7.

    For an over view of the Jewish India traders, see Chakravarti (2015b) “Indian Traders.”

  8. 8.

    See Miller (2013, especially pp. 34–35). I am thankful to Dr. Digvijay Kumar Singh for drawing my attention to Miller’s essay.

  9. 9.

    McDonnell and Keith (1974, II, p. 439). I am most thankful to Dev Kumar Jhanj, Doctoral student, Centre for Historical Studies, JNU for helping me to read the textual notices of salilavata.

  10. 10.

    Casson (1992), Selvakumar (2015), Gurukkal and Whittaker (2001) and Chakravarti (2015a) “Examining the Hinterland.” That the Hippalaus wind should be read as hypalum, after Pliny , denoting the south-west monsoon wind , is strongly suggested by Mazzarino (1997).

  11. 11.

    Chakrabarti (2018).

  12. 12.

    Raychaudhuri (1969).

  13. 13.

    Of Adam (2012, p. 101). For an analysis of the Indian Ocean situation in the light of this Latin tract, see Chakravarti (2015c) “The Indian Ocean Scenario.”

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  1. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

    Ranabir Chakravarti

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  1. Orient et Méditerranée, Paris, France

    Sara Keller

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Chakravarti, R. (2019). Knowing the Sea: Thalassographies to Thalassology of the Indian Ocean (up to c. 1500 CE). In: Keller, S. (eds) Knowledge and the Indian Ocean. Palgrave Series in Indian Ocean World Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96839-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96839-1_3

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