Chap. IV.] 



STRANGE CUSTOMS. 



469 



The guardianship of the sacred island of Eamiseram 

 is vested in a chief of the tribe of Byragees, who is 

 always devoted to cehbacy, the succession being perpe- 

 tuated in the hue of his sister. Traces of the same 

 custom are to be found amongst some of the African 

 tribes, and even among the North American Indians, the 

 Hurons and the JSTatchez preferring the female to the 

 male hne, and setting aside the claims of the direct heir in 

 favour of the son of a sister.^ 



The Singhalese kings frequently married their sisters^ ; 

 and the natives explain the usage by a legend to the 

 effect that one of their kings being directed by an oracle 

 to sacrifice a male child of the blood royal in order to 

 thwart the mahce of a demon who nightly destroyed the 

 bund of a tank in process of construction, his queen 

 refused to surrender one of her chikben ; on which his 

 sister voluntarily devoted her o^vn boy to deatli, and the 

 king, in honour of her patriotism, declared that nephews 

 were ever after to be entitled to the succession in pre- 

 ference to sons. 



Feudal service prevails in its amplest details in this 

 singular district. For example, the country around 

 Amblantorre, to the west of Batticaloa, is rich in 

 paddi-land, the whole of which is claimed by the chief 

 of the district, " the Vanniah of Manmone." Accordins^ 

 to the custom of the country, he directs its cultivation 

 by the villagers ; they acknowledge his authority, and 

 so long as they hve on the land, devote their whole 

 time and labour to his service, receiving in return a di- 



clotbing, and ornaments, but lie is not 

 recognised as father of her cliildrtui, 

 and indeed usually is not so, for tem- 

 porary wedlock is alloAved to her with 

 anyone, provided he bo of equal or 

 higher caste to herself. On the death 

 of her mother the wedded Nairiue 

 lives ^-ith her brothers, and in conse- 

 quence of this sti-ange ordinance a 

 man's heirs are not his own children, 

 but the cliildren of his sister. * * 

 Tlie family of the Zamorin of Calicut 

 (the reigning prince of Malabar when 



the Portuguese an-ived) belonged to 

 the Nair caste, and among liis de- 

 scendants to the present day " the 

 eldest son of the eldest sister always 

 succeeds to the vacant musnud."— 

 Sir E. Perry's JUnTs-ei/e View of 

 ludia, ch. xiv. p. 84 ; Asiatic lii- 

 st'iirc/ics, vol. V. p. 12 ; Buchaxax's 

 Mysore, vol. ii. p. 412 ; Asiat. 8oc. 

 Juitrn. Hoif/al, vol. ix. p. H;'4. 



' IIuJlDOLDT, Personal Xar.c\\.xx\\. 



^ Vat.extyx, Oi/d en Nicuic Oost- 

 Indicn, ch. iv. p. 03. 



