spyblaster - 12-12-2014 at 02:53 AM
As a businessman importing and selling musical instruments, materials and accessories in Iran, I have had many requests for tortoise rishas. To be
honest, there is good money in it (I can buy each risha 50$ and sell it 70-120$).
Here in Iran tortoise shell is not used on ouds or for rishas or any other ornament (I haven't seen arab luthiers using shell on their ouds either).
People see them in Turkish people hands and ask me about it. But I decided not to work in this field since we have Hawksbill turtles (the source for
shell products) in southwest of Iran and they are endangered of extinction. People don't know they can hunt them and make a good money, and I prefer
them not to know.
I know how good it feels holding a tortoise risha, I know how beautiful a tortoise shams or pick guard looks, but let's think. Removing the shell from
a turtle is like removing human finger nails with pliers. Many of them can't survive during/after the process. And those poor turtles are endangered.
So let's not buy ouds with tortoise shams or pick guards and tortoise rishas.
faggiuols - 12-12-2014 at 03:13 AM
very well!
I agree ..
Marcus - 12-12-2014 at 03:15 AM
mavrothis - 12-12-2014 at 08:25 AM
I agree.
Tortoise shell is beautiful, but like anything beautiful can be admired without possessing it for ourselves. I think we have gotten too used to this
material as an ornament.
The video below can remind us that turtles, like most animals, have personalities and should be respected.
Turtle Video
francis - 12-12-2014 at 09:07 AM
Yes, turltes are endangered of extinction, evreywhere in the world, with the exception of a few lands. They spend a long time to grow and become
adult, and are agressed by more and more human action, dirctly or not ( plastic bags in the seas...). This animal is a prehistorical survivor but
doesn't accept changes around, no adaptation is possible. That's why, of course, we have to take care, to protect them. We can find a lot of nice
materials for rishas, pickguards or rosettes and don't need to keep more this tradition...
Jack_Campin - 12-12-2014 at 10:49 AM
I once visited Kaya near Fethiye in southwest Turkey, the village whose Greek population was forced out in the 1920s and where the local Turks never
moved in, out of respect for people that they had never had any enmity for. (It was used as the setting for Louis de Bernieres' novel "Birds without
Wings"). The whole village is a derelict memorial.
Wandering round it I came across a big tortoise wandering round the shell of a house. It occurred to me that it was so big it was probably old enough
to have been there when the village was still occupied, and maybe some Greek child's pet.
sbj - 12-13-2014 at 12:32 AM
If some animals are in danger of extinction, yes, we should be careful. Only in that case they must be protected.
But if not, and I highly doubt that turtles in general are in danger, then I see no reason why we shouldnt use their shells.
spyblaster - 12-13-2014 at 12:58 AM
first of all the tortoise shell they use doesn't come from any turtle, it comes only from Hawksbill turtules which are extremely endangered.
and do you think it is humane to torture and kill turtles only for their shell? do some google search and see how they remove the shell (I don't wanna
share such information here). it's another story when we kill an animal to eat, that's natural. and nobody gets hurt by using other parts of that
animal's body.
but killing (and usually torturing) an animal only for their shell/skin/ivory/fur/bone is not appreciated by most of the humans in century 21st.
spyblaster - 12-13-2014 at 02:15 AM
I can recommend Ultem material to those who like tortoise risha. It almost makes the same sound and feeling except no live being is tortured for it.
you can buy Ultem sheets and cut the risha out of it.
http://www.steveclayton.com/ultem.php
sbj - 12-14-2014 at 04:32 PM
Torturing is not humane but killing is.
As I said, killing animals that are in danger of extinction is not ok. Should be forbidden.
I dont like this double moral standards. When it comes to cows, chicken, flies, spiders, insects, etc. it is ok to kill them. But god should bless us
when we kill "cute" animals.