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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
(MABOK, 1891.
they were sentient and conscious. A soul was thought to still reside in them and to this notion, very general among the Indians, is in no small degree due that extravagant attachment to the remains of the dead which may be said to mark the race." JOURNAL OF THE CEYLON BRANCH OF THE ROYAL
ASTATIC Society, 1888, Vol. X. No. 36. Colombo. Government Printer, 1890.
This number contains two important articles on the Moors of Ceylon, one by the Hon. P. Ramanathan on the ethnology of the Moors of Ceylon, and one on the Marriage Custome of the Moors of Ceylon, by Ahamadu Bawa.
The first sets out to prove at great length and minuteness of argument that the Moors of Ceylon are really Tamil Muhammadans settled in the country, and got their name from the Portuguese, who gave them the vague name of Moros, simply because they were Muhammadans, and of this Moor is an English translation. The writer of the ethnological article regards the title Marakar or Marikar, so often found appended to Muhammadan names in Ceylon and South India, as merely the Tamil form of " a man of Marocóo," that is, a Moor.
The Moors are divided into Coast Moors and Ceylon Moors, both being of Tamil origin; and the claim of the latter, or more strictly of & portion of them, to be of Arab descent, 18 shewn to be shadowy.
Under these circumstances it is not surprising to find that their marriage customs are of Indian crigin, and for this reason peculiarly interesting and instructive to the readers of this Journal.
Briefly, the Moor marriage commonoes with overtures from the bride's family, the dowry to be given by the bride being so important a part of the subsequent ceremonies as to lead to the creation of "old maids," whose mode of life unpleasantly resembles that of high-caste Hindu widows. In this connection the terms "caste" and "equal caste" Bo constantly occur in the writer's detailed description of these marriages, as to lead one to wish that they had been precisely defined by him.
It is well worth noting that in secking a bridegroom sons of the proposed bride's mother's brother or father's sister have almost a right to marry her. The go-betweon is a notable and elderly person, which reverses Indian custom. The all-important portion of the dowry is the cash included in it, as that goes to the bride- groom in order to meet the cost of the wedding presents and purchase the bride's trousseau ; while
the real and personal property included in the dowry goes to the bride.
In concluding the betrothal, formerly the bride and bridegroom exchanged rings, but this custom has now died out. Presents are, however, still customary, including "king-kalf” jackets. King-kalt appears to be the familiar kinoob,und it would be interesting to trace the presence of the l in the Sinhalese variant of the word.
The months for marriage are Zu'lkada, Zu'lhijja and Rajab, and the days of the week are Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Ill-omened anniversaries in the Muhammadan calendar must, however, be avoided. The invitations to the wedding are delivered personally by the bride. groom in procession, at least ten days before it takes place.
The wedding commences by a conventional feasting of the male guests, followed by a similar feasting of the female. In the evening the bridegroom is presented with cash presents from the friends of the family, apparently with the idea of giving him a fair start in life, and after that he is bathed. A start is then made for the bride's house, on approaching which the groom is saluted with persons bearing three plates, con. taining respectively saffron water, cocoanutmilk, and betel with small copper coins. The saffron water and cocoanut milk are waved over the bridegroom's head three times, and be spits into the plate after each waving. The betel and the coppers are thrown over his head among the poor collected. The bride and bridegroom have to ncknowledge willingness to marry, and a document is drawn up to prove it, which is, however, left in the hands of the officiating priests, apparently without any safeguards as to its future custody.
The bridegroom is conducted to the bridalchamber by the bride's father or brother, and the marriage is concluded by clasping a tali, which is a necklace, round the brido's neck and in "clothing her," i. e. robing her in a veil. This the bridegroom has to do as best he can.
This is followed by a second feasting, and at about two in the morning the bridal pair retire. Early in the morning after daylight they are bathed by the female relatives of the bride : no males being present. They have now to feed each other with three handfuls of rice placed in the mouth,
On the third day, the bridegroom goes to market for the first time, and returns with presents for the bride's female relatives. He usually lives with his bride's family till the first child is born.
