JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 

 CEYLON BRANCH. 







THE MARRIAGE CUSTOMS OF THE MOORS 

 OF CEYLON. 

 By Ahamadu Bawa, Esq., Proctor, S. C. 

 (Communicated by B. W. Bawa, Esq., Advocate.) 

 (Read February 26, 1888.) 



F the pun be pardoned, it may be remarked 

 with perfect truth that matrimony among the 

 Moors of Ceylon is merely a " matter of money," 

 — love and courtship playing no parts as factors 

 in the great social institution. This fact is 

 fully accounted for by the seclusion and ignorance in which 

 the girls are brought up, the religious restrictions upon 

 social intercourse between the sexes, and the total subjection 

 of the youths of the community to their parents and 

 guardians in all that relates to matrimonial affairs. 



Among the Moors overtures of marriage invariably origi- 

 nate with the relatives of the prospective wife, the amount 

 available as dowry and the caste of the lady being important 

 points to start with. As a rule, a girl is considered eligible 

 for marriage at twelve and a boy at sixteen, for at eighteen a 

 49—89 B 



