Geographical Indication tag sought for Beypore Uru

Source: The post is based on the article “Geographical Indication tag sought for Beypore Uru” published in The Hindu on 15th December 2022

What is the News?

The District Tourism Promotion Council, Kozhikode (Kerala) has applied for a Geographical Indication(GI) tag for the famous Beypore Uru(boat).

What is Beypore Uru?

Beypore Uru is a wooden dhow (ship / sailing boat / sailing vessel) handcrafted by skilled artisans and carpenters in Beypore, Kerala.

Made of: 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.

Historical significance: 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. 

Communities associated with Beypore Uru: There are several communities traditionally associated with Uru-making. 

– The prominent people among them are Odayis. They manage the technical matters of ship building. 

– The Khalasis are another prominent class associated with Uru-making after the Odayis. They are world-famous for their skill and expertise in launching the completed Urus into the water by using only traditional methods.