120 



JOURNAL R. A. S. CEYLON. [Vol.VIL, Pt. IL 



It need not, therefore, be a matter of surprise to find the rigorous 

 monotheistic faith of Islam existing to this day side by side on the 

 Maldive group with "the relics of idolatrous superstition,"— nay, 

 more, to see the sacred Kuran itself prostituted to the unholy objects 

 of devil worship. 



The pilgrimage to Mekka and " the silly and ridiculous" ceremonies 

 which have ever formed a necessary part of it, were but original 

 threads of Arab idolatry, which expediency prompted the Prophet to 

 interweave with his fabric of a purer religion.* 



Nearly all orthodox Muhammadans have an implicit belief in what 

 is termed "Divine magic" (Ar-Rahmdm), "the sublime science" 

 employed only for good purposes, but sternly denounce the practice 

 of enchantment (As-Sahr) and of" Satanic" ( Shaitdni) and "Natural 

 magic" {As-Simiyd) in general. All forms alike are supposed to 

 derive greater efficacy from interlarding the usual mysterious words, 

 numbers, diagrams, &c, of charms, with names of the Deity and 

 passages from the Kuran. f 



The two following philtres or love charms % come under the Sanskrit 

 category of Stambhana or of Vibhishana — those intended to procure 

 illicit sexual intercourse and effect discord. § The appropriate demons 

 invoked by the Sinhalese are Madana Yaksaniyd, ' the She- Demons 

 of Lust.' " These demons, when worked upon by certain charms, and 

 propitiated with certain offerings and ceremonials, are supposed to use 

 their power of seducing the affections of a man or a woman in such a 

 manner that the person so influenced is said to find the power perfectly 

 irresistible. There are hundreds of ways in which it is pretended 

 this can be done."|| 



* See Sale's Koran, Preliminary Discourse, p. 94 ("Chandos Classics" 

 Edition), London. 



f Lane's "Arabian Nights," Vol. I., pp. 58-9, London, 1877. 



| The transcript in Roman characters of the Maldive (Addu Atol) charms 

 and the rough glossary, given below, will further enable Sinhalese scholars 

 to trace the philological connection between the two languages. Addu 

 orthography differs considerably from the Male (Sultan's Island) standard. 



§ Dandris De Silva Gunaratna, Mudaliyar, in Jour. C. A. S., 1865-6, 

 pp. 53-4, || Idem, p. 31, 



