f O HISTORICAL REMARKS ON 



Chuckerwutty (whom Mahommed had dignified with 

 the title of Sultaun Tauje ul Herid y is mentioned in 

 Zeirreddien's book to have died on his return, on the 

 firft day of the firft year of the Hejira, anfwering to the 

 1 6th of July, of the year of our Lord 622, after, how- 

 ever, addreffing recommendatory letters to the chiefs 

 in Malabar in favour of fundry of his MufTulman 

 brethren, who were thereby enabled to conrtrucl the 

 firft mofque or temple of their new faith in that 

 country as early as the 21ft year of the Hejira, or 

 A. D. 642. 



XII. ButalthoughZEiRREDDiEN (the authorlamnow 

 quoting) deemed it fit to allow 7 a place in his work to 

 the traditions that he found thus locally to obtain, he 

 fairly avows his own difbelief in them; more efpecially 

 as to what relates to the fuppofed conversion of Sher- 

 manoo Permaloo* and his journey to vifit the Prophet 

 in Arabia; fubjoining alfo his own opinion, that the 

 MufTulman religion did not acquire any footing, either 

 permanent or exteniive, in Malabar till towards the 

 latter end of the fecond century of the Mahommedan aera. 



XIII. Zeirreddien next enters into fome defcrip- 

 tion of the exifting manners of the Malabarians as he 

 found them; after premifing that the Malabar country 

 was then divided into a number of more or lefs exten- 

 five independencies ; in which there were chieftains, 

 commanding from one to two and three hundred, and up 

 to a thoufand, and to five, ten, and thirty thoufand; and 

 even (which is perhaps an undue amplification) to a 

 lack of men, and upwards; anddefcribing that in fome 



of 



* From this improbability, joined to the unlikely accounts de- 

 livered by the Hindus themielves, as to the departure of their 

 chief governor, it may not perhaps be deemed too uncharitable, 

 to fufpecl that Shermanoo difappeared like Romulus in a ftorm, as 

 being, perhaps, found inconvenient to the new fituation of in- 

 dependence that the Malabar Princes admit to have, on this occa- 

 fton } either allumedj or been promoted to. 



