Gothamigama bead strings industry faces threat of extinction

Bead strings made of Debara seeds

Tools used make holes in Debara Seeds

The manufacture of rosaries (a string of beads and also known as Navagunawela in Sinhalese and Mala in Tamil) is a traditional cottage industry in several villages in Kataragama area and also in villages of Uva and Southern provinces. This industry dates back to the reign of ancient Sinhala kings. However the latest that we hear about this industry is a sad story associated with a group of woman struggling for existence. Their lives are not beautiful like the rosaries made of Debara seeds.

More than 500 families in several villages- including Gothamigama in Kataragama division- earn a livelihood by turning out strings of beads. These rosaries are used by Buddhist and Hindu devotees when engaging in meditation; some young men and women wearing them as ornaments.

Exquisite artistic skills needed 

Women in these families earn a pittance by selling strings of beads to maintain their families and to provide a schooling to their children. 

It is a cottage industry which is in the hands of women. The people engaged in this industry when interviewed maintained that turning out strings of beads is an arduous task. The making of rosaries demands an exquisite artistic skill and sharp concentration. These folk maintained that one woman could turn out only ten strings a day. They said that this cottage industry is endangered and added that there is a threat of it going into extinction; akin to many other small industries. 

“We pound them in a wooden mortar to remove the husk and then make a tiny hole in them which is a tedious task. Traders buy them for about Rs.70.00 and sell at exorbitant prices starting from about Rs.300. They make a huge profit from our labour. We can earn a profit if we could sell them for a minimum price of Rs.100 each”
-H.W.Priyanthika (48), Bead Strings Seller 

“There is a demand for our products from devotees engaging in meditation. We are incurring heavy losses for want of a remunerative market for our products. Traders buy our products for pittance and sell them for exorbitant prices,”
- Hevavitharana Shalika Najanti, Bead Strings Manufacturer

“A machine used in holing the seeds costs about Rs.35,000 which is not within our reach. Our request to the relevant authorities is to consider the issues affecting us and to resolve them since they involve our livelihood”
-U.L.Thushari Priyadarshani Bead Strings Manufacturer

H.W.Priyanthika (48), a woman who maintains her family by selling bead strings, said that they have been in a predicament for want of a remunerative market for their produce. 

“I have been engaging in this trade for more than 30 years. A woman can turn out only ten strings a day. Earlier we used wires to turn out strings of beads, but we have switched to using nylon cords as well. The Debara seed, which is the main raw material required for this product, can be found in plenty in Kataragama jungles. We pound them in a wooden mortar to remove the husk and then make a tiny hole in them which is a tedious task. Traders buy them for about Rs.70.00 and sell at exorbitant prices starting from about Rs.300. They make a huge profit from our labour. We can earn a profit if we could sell them for a minimum price of Rs.100 each,” Priyanthika said. 
Hevavitharana Shalika Najanti is another manufacturer of strings of beads and has made it her livelihood. She is also the president of Navaguna Mala Manufacturers’ Society in the area.

“The strength of the workforce in this society is about 80 women. We formed a society to protect this cottage industry. I have been engaging in this industry since my childhood. However it is facing the threat of extinction due to the declining demand. Now similar strings of beads are turned out with rubber and are available in the market at a cheap price. However there is a demand for our products from devotees engaging in meditation. We are incurring heavy losses for want of a remunerative market for our products. Traders buy our products for pittance and sell them for exorbitant prices. Young woman would not take to this industry in the future for want of a profitable income,” said Najanti. 

Another bead string manufacturer U.L.Thushari Priyadarshani has been engaging in this industry for about five years since she settled down in the Kataragama area. She said that turning out strings of beads is a traditional art that requires creative imagination. “It is not an easy task to pound the seeds to remove the husk and to make a tiny hole in them. Quite often we prick our fingers. It is not possible to turn out more than ten strings a day. A machine used in holing the seeds costs about Rs.35,000 which is not within our reach. Our request to the relevant authorities is to consider the issues affecting us and to resolve them since they involve our livelihood,” said Priyadarshani. 

K.H.Indrani of Gothamigama is a 70-year-old elderly woman who has earned a living by making strings of beads for more than 50 years.

“A string of beads made of Debara seeds was about Rs, 5 when I was young. However we had a profitable market for them. At present traders buy them for Rs.65 each, but we are making a loss. This is just another cottage industry that would soon be a thing of the past. Strings of beads made of rubber are available at cheap prices in the market. These new bead strings pose a threat to this traditional industry, which should be protected. The National Crafts Council and the Janawasa Authority provided us with training and supplied several machines many years ago. Those machines are now out of order. Our request to the relevant authorities is to look into our grievances and to implement an effective plan to uplift this traditional cottage industry,” Indrani said.

The sole request of every family engaging in the bead strings industry was to provide them with adequate facilities to carry on their trade and to provide a remunerative market for their products.