164 
The Dutch of Ceylon. 
forms the under dress. Above it is worn a jacket of line muslin 
or calico, and a petticoat of the same. Over the whole is thrown 
the Imhey, or muslin robe with sleeves fitted close to the arms, 
and reaching down to the wrist, with five or six buttons of gold, 
silver, or precious stones. A long or short hahey is used ac- 
cording to fancy. 
Some wear their hair loose, and others in a wreath round the 
back of their heads. These v/reaths are fastened with gold pins, 
known by the name of conde, very large, like skewers, of a 
peculiar shape, and bent at the end like the handle of a 
table-spoon: they serve to fasten a plate of gold or tortois- 
shell in the shape of a half-moon, which compresses the hair and 
keeps it firm on the back part of the head. To this head-dress 
they frequently add by way of ornament a wreath of the Arabian 
jessamine, a small white flower of a most exquisite scent, which 
is also worn in garlands round their necks. The women of the 
half cast are obliged to keep their hair constantly moist with 
cocoa-nut oil, for if this precaution were omitted for one week, 
it would, owing to its thickness and the heat of the climate, 
begin to fail off. The odour of the cocoa-nut oil, however, 
joined to the perfumes of the jessamine wreaths, quite over- 
powers the senses of an European, and renders the approach of 
these women disgusting. 
Neither the persons nor the apartments of the women are 
In general very cleanly. iMany of the elderly ladies, and most 
of the lower orders, chew the betel-leaf and areka-nut, with a 
mixture of chinam, or lime made of burnt shells, to render it 
hotter and more pungent to the taste. In every house there 
are a number of brass vases employed as spitting pots for the 
women who chew these substances, and for the men when they 
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