PACIFIC AND BEERING'S STRAIT. 193 



I was assured l)y An- yah that marriages in Loo Choo 

 were contracted as they are in China, by the parents or 

 by a friend of the parties, without the principals see- 

 ing each other. Only one wife, I believe, is allowed 

 in Loo Choo, though to the question, whether a plu- 

 rality of wives was permitted ? both An-yah and Shta- 

 facoo said that the mandarin had five, and that the 

 king had several.* They, however, afterwards declared 

 that in their country it was customary to have only 

 one wife. Perhaps it is the same in Loo Choo as in 

 China, where a man may have only one lawful wife ; 

 but with her permission he may marry as many more 

 as he can provide for. These wives are as much re- 

 spected as the first wife, but they do not inherit their 

 husbands' property. 



In Loo Choo, as in China, there is no religion of the 

 state, and every man is allowed freely to enjoy his own 

 opinion, though here, also, a distinction is made be- 

 tween the sects, one being considered superior to the 

 other. The sects in Loo Choo are Joo, Taou, and 

 Foo, or Budh ; but the disciples of the latter consist 

 almost entirely of persons of the lowest order, and An- 

 yah appeared to think very lightly of its votaries, say- 

 ing they were " no good." It is upon record that it is 

 1011 years since this sect passed from China to Loo 

 Choo. For several centuries its doctrines appear to 

 have been advocated by the court as well as by the 

 common people : but with the latter classes they have 

 since been supplanted by those of Confucius. We are 

 told that in the year 1372 several families from Fochien 

 settled near Napa-kiang, and introduced ceremonies in 

 honour of the great Chinese philosopher, whose me- 



* Supao-Koang says a plurality of wives is permitted, 

 VOL. II. O 



