The ORU of Sri Lanka: A single outrigger craft of the northern Indian Ocean
Dublin Core
Title
The ORU of Sri Lanka: A single outrigger craft of the northern Indian Ocean
Description
The signature watercraft of Sri Lanka, and other interconnected areas, is the ‘Oru’, which is presented here: a log-based single outrigger craft. Unlike most outrigger craft of the Pacific, south-east Asia and east Africa, the ‘Oru’ was a single-outrigger craft. It is possible to trace its roots to purely indigenous conditions but the use of an outrigger makes it necessary to consider it in parallel with other Indo-Pacific outrigger cultures. The ‘Oru’ culture lay beyond the typical Indian Ocean boatbuilding culture.
Originally an inland water dugout, the ‘oru’ developed, first, into a seagoing craft and then into a single-outrigger cargo ship. Craft belonging to the ‘Oru’ culture sailed the waters off Sri Lanka, the Coromandel Coast, Kerala and Lakshadweep, the Maldives and the Andamans. It is a nautical craft-culture in its own right, specific to this northern Indian Ocean region, with Kerala-Sri Lanka as the axis. Kerala is seen as the preserver of this craft culture and Sri Lanka the innovator: reinventing the ‘Oru’ to challenge mechanized craft. Its origins, how it links Kerala and Sri Lanka, how it adapted itself to a marine environment, and how the resultant morphological changes led to the evolution of an outrigger cargo vessel, are dealt with: so are recent studies into the sailing characteristics and issues of stability of the classical ‘Oru’. The way the Sri Lanka ‘Oru’ faced and coped with challenges of a post-craft culture is traced in the paper. Craft often confused with ‘Oru’, namely the double outrigger of southeast Asia and the multiple-hull craft of the Pacific, are re-visited as early opinions stubbornly persist. Some opinions are expressed to seed a dialogue.
Originally an inland water dugout, the ‘oru’ developed, first, into a seagoing craft and then into a single-outrigger cargo ship. Craft belonging to the ‘Oru’ culture sailed the waters off Sri Lanka, the Coromandel Coast, Kerala and Lakshadweep, the Maldives and the Andamans. It is a nautical craft-culture in its own right, specific to this northern Indian Ocean region, with Kerala-Sri Lanka as the axis. Kerala is seen as the preserver of this craft culture and Sri Lanka the innovator: reinventing the ‘Oru’ to challenge mechanized craft. Its origins, how it links Kerala and Sri Lanka, how it adapted itself to a marine environment, and how the resultant morphological changes led to the evolution of an outrigger cargo vessel, are dealt with: so are recent studies into the sailing characteristics and issues of stability of the classical ‘Oru’. The way the Sri Lanka ‘Oru’ faced and coped with challenges of a post-craft culture is traced in the paper. Craft often confused with ‘Oru’, namely the double outrigger of southeast Asia and the multiple-hull craft of the Pacific, are re-visited as early opinions stubbornly persist. Some opinions are expressed to seed a dialogue.
Creator
Somasiri Devendra
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
November 2021
Language
English
Bibliographic Citation
Devendra, Somasiri. 2021. “The ORU of Sri Lanka: A single outrigger craft of the northern Indian Ocean.” Edited by
Brian Fahy, Hans Van Tilburg, Bill Jeffery, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Riley Smith. In Proceedings of Fourth Asia Pacific
Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Keelung,Taiwan, and Virtual, November 1-5, 2021. The
Museum of Underwater Archaeology URL: https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/exhibits/show/apconf-muchproceedings/item/693
Brian Fahy, Hans Van Tilburg, Bill Jeffery, T. Kurt Knoerl, and Riley Smith. In Proceedings of Fourth Asia Pacific
Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: Keelung,Taiwan, and Virtual, November 1-5, 2021. The
Museum of Underwater Archaeology URL: https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/exhibits/show/apconf-muchproceedings/item/693
Rights Holder
Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage
Files
Citation
Somasiri Devendra, “The ORU of Sri Lanka: A single outrigger craft of the northern Indian Ocean,” APCONF-MUCH Proceedings Recently Added Items, accessed October 24, 2026, https://apconf-much.org/proceedings/items/show/693.