BEYPORE URU - GEOGRAPHY
News: Geographical
Indication tag sought for Beypore Uru
What's in the news?
● The
District Tourism Promotion Council, Kozhikode has applied for a Geographical
Indication (GI) tag for the famous Beypore Uru (boat).
Beypore Uru:
● It
is a wooden dhow (ship / sailing boat /
sailing vessel) handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Beypore,
Kerala.
● The
Beypore Urus are a symbol of Kerala’s
trade relations and friendship with the Gulf countries.
● The
Beypore Urus are purely made of premium
wood, without using any modern techniques.
● The
wood used to build the Uru is still sawed the traditional way which requires
immense expertise. It takes anywhere between 1-4 years to build each Uru and
the entire process is done manually.
● Today,
many artisans involved in Uru-making are over 50-70 years old and have been in
the profession since their fathers passed on the tradition to them.
Maritime hub:
● Historical
records quoted in the filing show that Beypore has been a legendary maritime
hub for traders from across the world since the 1st Century C.E. and the iconic
Uru ships have been in high demand for around 2000 years.
● The history of Khalasis,
skilled natives engaged in launching the Uru boats at Beypore, dates back to
2000 years.
● Hence,
based on the above discussion on the historical origin and historical records
of the Beypore Urus, it can be concluded that this traditional handicraft has
been in existence for 2000 years.
Communities Associated:
● Records
show that there are several communities traditionally associated with
Uru-making.
● Odayis:
○ The
prominent people among them are Odayis.
○ They
manage the technical matters of ship building.
○ Their
family name comes from Odam (a type of small ship previously used in
interactions/trade between the Malabar coast and Lakshadweep).
● Khalasis:
○ The
Khalasis are another prominent class associated with Uru-making after the
Odayis.
○ They
are also referred to as Mappila Khalasis as majority of them are Mappila
Muslims.
○ They
are world-famous for their skill and expertise in launching the completed Urus
into the water by using only traditional methods.
○ They
also haul the Urus in need of repairs back to the shipyard at Beypore.