Chap. II, to the E A S 
to Well, we cannot: crofs diredtly from Entrance to En- 
trance, but fet out from the Eaft Coaft, which is then the 
Head of the Current, and taking it Sideway, fteer for 
the Weft Entry of the other Attollon. In order to return, 
we fet out from the Eaft Entrance, and over-thwarting 
the Current, make to the Weft Entry of the other Attol- 
lon. When the Current changes its Courfe, we obferved 
the fame Contrivance in fetting out from the Head of the 
Current, and entering the other Attollon at the Place which 
lies under the Current of thefe Entrances. Some are broad, 
and fome narrow, but the wideft is not above two hundred 
Paces over, and fome of them are lefs than thirty ; each 
Entrance hath an Iftand on each Side, and if Cannon were 
planted on thefe Elands, it would be eafy to hinder any 
Ships to enter. 
Of the Channels that part the Attollons, there are only 
four broad ones, which are navigable by great Ships, and 
frequently vifited by Strangers, when the Currents carry 
them in againft their Will. To begin from the North 
Side, the firft of the four wa&es the. Attollon called Malos 
Madou , and it was in this that we were call away. The 
fecond, called Garidoii, has Male , the greateft of all thefe 
Iflands in the midft of it. The third, called Addon , lies to 
the South of Male The fourth, called Souadon , lies di- 
rectly under the equinoctial Line, and in regard that it is 
the broadeft of them all, being twenty Leagues over, the 
Natives don't fail upon it without a Compafs, though they 
never life any in the Channels. Befides thefe, there is a 
narrow Channel, which feparates Male and Pouliftou , in 
which the Sea appears as black as Ink, but the Water ta- 
ken into a Veftel, looks like other Water. That Sea 
boils like [Water over a Fire. It fwells into great black 
Surges, but is not moved from one Side to the other, 
which renders it very terrible. The Maldives lie fo near 
the EquinoCtial, on both Sides, that their Climate is ex- 
treamly hot. Their Day and Night are always equal, and 
their Nights are very cool and dewy, which renders the 
Heat of the Sun more tolerable, and nourifhes exceedingly 
their Herbs and Trees. . Their Winter commences in April, 
and continues till October , at which Time the Summer be- 
gins, and lafts likewife fix Months. In Winter they have 
perpetual Rains, but no Froft, and the wefterly Winds 
are very boifterous. In Summer their Winds are eafterly, 
with an exceffive Heat and no Rain. 
9. It is faid, that the Maldives were in Former Times 
peopled by the Cingal'a , or Inhabitants of Ceylon ; but it is 
obfervable, that the Cingala are black and ugly, whereas 
the Inhabitants of the Maldives are handfome, well made, 
and of an Olive Complexion ; though after all, ’tis poffible, 
that the Climate, and Length of Time may have altered 
the Complexion and Shape to their Advantage ; befides, 
that a great many Foreigners being eaft away on their 
Coaft, are blended with them by Intermarriages,' and by 
this Means it comes, that thofe who live about Male, be- 
tween it and the North Gape, where moft Shipwrecks 
happen, are more poliihed and civilized than thofe on the 
South Coaft, who are not only blacker, but much coarfer 
in their Language, Cuftoms, and the Shape of the Bo- 
dy ; nay, many of their Women, efpecially fuch as are 
poor, go naked, with only a fmall Cover for their Privi- 
ties. This North Side of the Eland is not only richer, 
^and more civilized, as being the common Paffage for all 
Ships, but the Seat of all the Nobility and Men of For- 
tune, and when the King puniihes a Criminal with Ba- 
nifhment, he only fends him to the South Parts. The 
Soldiers are all raifed in the North Parts; but after all 
this Difference, I muft fay, that the Inhabitants of the 
South Parts are naturally as lively and quick-witted as 
thofe of the North. In general, the Maldivans are very 
ingenious, they apply themfelves with great Induftry and 
Succefs to all forts of Manufadlures, and alfo to Letters 
and Sciences, after this Manner, efpecially to Aftrology, 
which they hold in great Efteem. They are a very wife, 
cautious People, and very fharp in their Merchandize and 
Way of Living ; they are brave, and well fkilled in Arms, 
and their Policy is very regular. 
Their Women are very handfome, abating for their 
Olive Colour, and fome of them as white as the Europe- 
ans. Their Hair is black, which is reckoned a great Or- 
Numb. 48. 
T-INDIES. 705 
nament, and in order to turn it extremely black,. feveral "Wo- 
men keep their Daughters Heads fhaved till they are 
eight or nine Years old, leaving only a little Hair on the 
Forehead, to diftinguifti them from Boys, who. have none 
at all : I have feen fome Children have half flaxen Hair, 
which has turned very black by being fhaved every eight 
Days. Both Sexes affeft black Hair, but the Women 
take a Pride in having theirs thick and long, which they 
wafh and drefs very frequently. They wafts their Head 
and Hair with Water and Lye made for that Purpofe ; af- 
ter which their Flair hangs difhevel’d in the Yvrind, till it 
dries, and then they rub and perfume it with an odorife- 
rous Oil, which renders their Head always moift and oily. 
Both Sexes anoint their Bodies after walking; but tho 9 
they walh their Bodies more than once in a Day, their 
Hair is not waihed above twice or thrice a Week. They 
may wafts their Hair when they p'leafe, but they are oblig- 
ed to do it on Fridays, which is their Sabbath for the 
Women, and Feftivals for the Men. After the Women 
have waftsed, rubbed and perfumed, they ftretch all the 
Hair from before backwards, without leaving fo much as 
one ftraggling Hair, and tie it behind, in a great Tuft, 
or Knot, which they enlarge by a Perriwig of Man’s 
Hair, made in the Form ol a Horfe’s Tail ; nay, fome 
of them have two fuch Perriwigs, befides which, they 
add odoriferous Flowers. 
As for the Men, none but Gentlemen, and the King’s 
Officers and Soldiers, are allowed to wear long Hair, and 
thefe, indeed, wafts, perfume, and drefs their Hair after 
the fame Manner with the Women, excepting that they 
make the Tuft not behind, but on the Crown of the 
Head, or on one Side, and they wear no Perriwigs, 
Their Hair grows much fafter than ours, by reafon part- 
ly of the wafhing and perfuming, and partly of the ex- 
ceffive Heat which occafions thick and ftrong Hair, and 
for the fame Reafon their Flair is black. They have no 
Combs, but they have Sciffers of eaft Copper, and copper 
Looking-Glaffes, which they make ufe of in ftiaving them- 
felves, with fteel Razors made after another Fafliion than 
ours. There are no Barbers in the Country, every one 
therefore ffiaves himfelf, excepting the King, and fome 
Lords, who are ferved by Perfons that are proud of that 
Honour, without any Profped of Gain ; fo that in all 
thofe Elands both Men and Women are provided with 
UtenfiJs for ftiaving, and are very nice in taking off their 
Hair, when it begins to be uneafy to them. 
The Gilds have their Heads fhaved once a Week, from 
their Infancy to the eighth Year of their Age, at which 
Time their Hair is fuffered to grow to its full Length and 
Drefs, for then is the Seafon here of looking out for Fluf- 
bands. Before that Age they have no Cloaths, but only 
a Cloth that hangs down from the Middle to the Knees ; 
and the Occafion of their being cloathed afterwards pro- 
ceeds from the rifing of their Breaks, before which, they 
are looked upon as Children, and 5 tis not allowable to dif- 
courfe to them of Love Matters. The Cloth hangs 
down from their Middle to the Knees as foon as they be- 
gin to go, but the Boys have none till they are feven 
Years old and circumcifed. Their Beards are of two 
Sorts ; Ecclefiaftical Perfons, and thofe who have perform- 
ed Pilgrimage to Mecca, wear long Beards, ftiaving under 
the Throat, and upon the upper and lower Lips, all round 
their Mouth. . The other fort of People have little Beards, 
without Muftaches, being fhaved round the Mouth, and 
under the Chin. ? They are very, careful in faving the 
Parings of their Nails,' and the Shavings of their Hair, 
which they wrap up in Cotton, and bury in their Church- 
Yards, with a little Water, from a Notion, that they be- 
ing Parts of the Body, require Interment as well as the 
Whole, and for that Reafon many of them chofe to be 
fhaved in the Porch of the Temples, for they would not 
for any thing in the W orld either trample upon thefe Ex- 
crements, or fee them thrown in the Fire. 
10. In order to give a particular Defcription of the Mal- 
dives, we fhall begin with their Fertility. It produces great 
Plenty of Millet, called there Pura , and another little 
Grain called Brinby , which refembles Millet , but is black 
like Rape-feed. T. hefe two forts of Grain they fow, and 
reap twice a Year; they make a fort of Meal of them, of 
8 R which 
