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This article was downloaded by: [Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen] On: 24 November 2014, At: 03:34 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs. Journal Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjmm19 Muslims and capitalism in British Ceylon (Sri Lanka): the colonial image and community's behaviour Ameer Ali a a Department of Management , University of Brunei , Darussalaam, Brunei Published online: 20 Mar 2007. To cite this article: Ameer Ali (1987) Muslims and capitalism in British Ceylon (Sri Lanka): the colonial image and community's behaviour, Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs. Journal, 8:2, 311-344, DOI: 10.1080/02666958708716042 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02666958708716042 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever

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Page 1: Muslims and capitalism in British Ceylon (Sri Lanka): the colonial image and community's behaviour

This article was downloaded by: [Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen]On: 24 November 2014, At: 03:34Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number:1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street,London W1T 3JH, UK

Institute of Muslim MinorityAffairs. JournalPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cjmm19

Muslims and capitalism inBritish Ceylon (Sri Lanka):the colonial image andcommunity's behaviourAmeer Ali aa Department of Management , University ofBrunei , Darussalaam, BruneiPublished online: 20 Mar 2007.

To cite this article: Ameer Ali (1987) Muslims and capitalism in British Ceylon (SriLanka): the colonial image and community's behaviour, Institute of Muslim MinorityAffairs. Journal, 8:2, 311-344, DOI: 10.1080/02666958708716042

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02666958708716042

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of allthe information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on ourplatform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensorsmake no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy,completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views ofthe authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis.The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should beindependently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor andFrancis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings,demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever

Page 2: Muslims and capitalism in British Ceylon (Sri Lanka): the colonial image and community's behaviour

or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, inrelation to or arising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private studypurposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution,reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of accessand use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Page 3: Muslims and capitalism in British Ceylon (Sri Lanka): the colonial image and community's behaviour

Muslims and Capitalism in British Ceylon (Sri Lanka):The Colonial Image and Community's BehaviourAmeer Ali

IntroductionNineteenth century British Ceylon was marked by the emergence and growth of com-mercial capitalism with a plantation sector as its nerve centre. The British, havingpolitically subjugated the entire island by 1815, began the economic conversion ofthe colony to make her another ring in the chain of British imperialism. In this pro-cess of transformation the indigenous communities namely, the Sinhalese, Tamilsand the Muslims received their respective degrees of admiration or denigration inaccordance with their reciprocative degrees of political loyalty and economicusefulness to the Raj. Of the three communities the one that presented a respectableimage to the rulers and captured their admiration was the Muslim community.Political, economic and even military factors help explain this.

The most notable aspect behind the colonial image was the readiness with whichthe Muslim community itself embraced the ethos of economic individualism. Thecapitalistic ethic and the economic behaviour of the Muslim community found amityalmost at everypoint. True, even within the other communities, certain social groupssuch as the Karavas among the Sinhalese, embraced the same ethos and rivalledthe Muslims in various economic pursuits. But this happened quite late in the 19thcentury and several studies have been done on this aspect by other writers.1 Thisarticle concentrates on the Muslim community and analyses both the nature of thecolonial image of it and the factors that contributed to that image.

Lazy Sinhalese and Energetic Muslims: A Contrasting Colonial ImageThe general European image of the orient during the eighteenth and nineteenth cen-turies was one in which the "native" population was characterized as lazy and in-dolent.2 In Ceylon, until the early years of the second half of the nineteenth century,successive colonial powers contributed to this denigrating characterization. ToQueyroz, the Portuguese historian, the Sinhalese, among their other qualities, were"lazy . . . They have no care for agriculture, nor do they care to acquire richesbeing content with little, not because they are covetous, but because they are presump-tous."3 Phillipus Baldaeus, the Dutch historian described the Sinhalese as "oversof ease . . . little inclined to work."4 Robert Knox, an English sailor in the serviceof the English East India Company and who lived amongst the Sinhalese for nearlytwenty years (1660-1679) characterized the latter as "a people given to sloth andlaziness; if they can but any ways live they abhor to work."5 The denigration con-

Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987—311

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tinued unabated in the first half of the nineteenth century.Just before the beginning of that century, in 1797, a committee of investigation6

which inquired into the "state of the revenue and other important matters on theisland of Ceylon" concluded that "no temptation of reward within the bounds ofreason can induce a Cingalese (sic) to labour while he can exist in idleness."7 In1806 Governor Thomas Maitland observed that "there is not an inhabitant of thisisland that would not sit down and starve the year out under the shadow of two orthree coconut trees, the whole of his property and the whole of his subsistence, ratherthan increase his income by his manual labour. " 8 The Rev. James Cordiner, chaplainto the garrison at Colombo, carried this denigration to the very extreme when hewrote that the Sinhalese say "it is better to stand than to walk; better to sit thanto stand; better to lie down than to sit; better to sleep than to awake, and death isthe best of all."9 In short, as Ludovici remarked of the early British period, thisview of native laziness and indolence "had a prescriptive existence of about halfa century10 and the members of the government seem(ed) to cling to it as a venerablearticle of faith in their code of political science."11

Within this general picture, however, the Muslim community was treated as anexception. Practically every reporter, observer or author employed one or more ofthe adjectives, active,12 energetic,13 industrious,14 laborious,15 enterprising,16 adven-turous,17 thrifty,18 calculating,19 crafty,20 rapacious,21 shrewd,22 speculative,23 andstout24 when describing the Muslims of Ceylon. These adjectives, for the sake ofthe present discussion can be divided into two sets, as shown below:

Set A Set Bactive thriftyenergetic calculatingindustrious speculativelaborious craftyenterprising shrewdadventurous rapacious

stoutThose in set A convey the idea that the Muslims were hardworking and diligent

and in direct contrast to the qualities of laziness and indolence attributed to theSinhalese. This aspect of the difference between the enterprising character of theMuslims and the indolent nature of the Sinhalese was, according to the "colonialtheory",25 the result of certain innate ethnic traits. For example, it was believedthat the Sinhalese were physically, "neither so well made nor so strong,"26 andeven their men "with their delicate features and slender limbs . . . have an air ofeffeminacy very striking to the eye."27 From such a description of the physiqueit was deduced that "they are rather remarkable for agility and flexibility than forstrength of limb; and that they are capable rather of long continued, than of greatexertion,"28 On the other hand the Muslims, particularly the Moors, being the descen-dants of "active" Arab "adventurers", were considered to be "busy andambitious"29 or hard working and aspiring.

Alatas has dismissed the colonial characterization as a cover employed by the Euro-

312—Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987

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pean powers to justify the ideology of colonial capitalism.30 Even though his analysiswas confined only to the South-East Asian societies many of his arguments maywell be applied to Ceylon. "Every conceivable item," he writes "was invoked todenigrate the Southeast Asian, including his size and physiognomy."31 This wasexactly what we saw above. Yet it is hard to deny that there was a significant dif-ference between the various Ceylonese communities in their attitude towardseconomic pursuits. The reason for this difference however was not ethnic, as the"colonial theory" assumes, but socio-economic arising from the difference in thetype of activities in which the communities were chiefly engaged. While the Sinhaleseand Ceylon Tamils were largely a peasant community occupied mainly in the cultiva-tion of paddy and other cereals, the Muslims were generally a trading communityexcept for those who lived along the eastern coasts of Ceylon who were mostly peasantfarmers. The difference between the nature and demands of cereal cultivation andof trading accounted for the pattern of physical exertion of the several communities.

During the colonial era, and particularly before the second half of the nineteenthcentury cultivation of cereals in Ceylon both in the arable and chena32 lands dependedlargely on seasonal rains. Even though efforts were made during the latter half ofthe century to improve irrigation facilities the peasant farmer was not completelyfreed from his dependence on the seasons. Since seasonal factors were an importantconstraint in the life of a farmer and since within a particular cycle of cereal cultiva-tion it was the periods around sowing and harvesting that demanded intensive laboureffort, it is a fair conclusion that the farmer was relatively free between each ofthe cycles and within a cycle between each of the periods. Hence he enjoyed a greatamount of leisure. This leisure was little used to engage in other subsidiary economicactivities like handicrafts or fishing.

The total absence of handicrafts in the export items of Ceylon in the early decadesof the nineteenth century33 and the limited nature of the average Sinhalese householdconsumption, determined partly by religious and partly by social factors — a pointthat will be discussed later in this article, meant that the Sinhalese peasant neitherdesired nor had the opportunity to engage himself in such activities. In short, theaverage Sinhalese was a simple and contented individual. "The basic structure ofthe social fabric and the constitution of its ethos" in traditional Ceylon "were such,that there was no inducement for individuals to exert themselves in accumulatingwealth."34 But to the European, particularly to an Englishman who was not accustom-ed to the life style of the orient and who measured the Sinhalese life style with theVictorian industrial yardstick35 that community obviously appeared lazy and indolent.

On the other hand, the nature and demands of trading activity gave the Muslimcommunity a different character. There were actually three types of Muslim traders.Some were sea-farers, some were shop-keepers placed permanently in a village ora town and the majority were pedlars or merchant travellers. Except for the firstgroup, which had to rely on the winds to ply their boats the others had no seasonalconstraints on their activities. They worked throughout the year and often from morntill eve. Thus, "Number Forty-Two . . . the portly oily skinned, well conductedMoorman"36 S.T. Sraye Lebbe Marikkar, rarely closed his business establishment

Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987—313

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except for the "occasional religious festival or a pilgrimage to some shrine of greatsanctity."37 Similarly, Mira Nyna Maha Vava, the salt retailer at Mantote in theMannar District was found "early and late in attendance and . . . particular in atten-ding his business."38 The Muslim pedlar went "all round the country with his wares,penetrating far into the jungle, visiting every bungalow near and distant and drivinga good bargain wherever he"39 could.

Thus, while the Sinhalese peasant was mostly confined to his village the Muslimpedlar was always on the march as travelling merchant and ' 'lived almost entirelyon the road.' '40 Because of the nature of their economic pursuits the Muslim tradershad to be active and adventurous. The resident shop-keeper had to be regular andpunctual or else lose his customers; if he were a pedlar he had to travel long distancesin search of customers and in the absence of a convenient means of transport thiswas often an arduous occupation. Hence the leisure of the Sinhalese peasantry wastoo costly a luxury for the Muslim trader to afford. That was why in the eyes ofthe European the Muslim looked active and hard-working while the Sinhalese seemedlazy and indolent.

Alatas argues that the European domination of Asia and Africa in the nineteenthcentury created "a status system dominated by race."41 At the top stood the Euro-peans followed by the "foreign Asian immigrant community"42 and at the bottomwas the native population.43 In Ceylon, the fact that the Muslims were consideredby the British as a "respectable class of inhabitants"44 shows that they were abovethe bottom rung of the ladder and according to Alatas' classification would fall intothe category of the "foreign Asian immigrant community". But the applicabilityof Alatas' argument is betrayed by the history of the Muslim community in the island.To him the "foreign" Asian immigrant community were the Chinese and Indiantraders and labourers of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. They were broughtor encouraged to come to those countries during the colonial era. But in the caseof Ceylon the bulk of the Muslim community was not of that category. Of the 246,000Muslims in 1901 only 27,000 were Indians45 the majority of whom came to the islandwith the growth of the plantations in the 1840s and after. Another 12,000 were Malayswhose origins go back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Thus except forabout 40,000 who might have fitted into Alatas' category of foreign Asian immigrantsthe rest would fall outside that group. They were neither Europeans nor of mixedEuropean blood. Davy described them as "foreigners naturalized."46

Hence the difference in the characterization of the Muslims and the Sinhalese didnot germinate from the colonial status hierarchy as Alatas seems to imply, but arosefrom the nature of their different economic callings. Alatas also argues that "as col-onial capitalism defined useful labour — the labour of traders, money making throughcommerce, selling goods to and from colonial European countries, or later in thenineteenth century managing cash crop plantations — the community which did notpossess such a class was considered non-industrious."47 It is this and not the statushierarchy argument that fits well into the Ceylonese picture.

The adjectives in set B are of a different sort altogether. Instead of contrastingthem with the characteristics of the Sinhalese community they should be viewed as

314—Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987

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the indispensable elements of an acquisitive minded or a capitalistic spiritedcommunity. The Muslims "have a morbid penchant for amassing wealth",48 reporteda British officer in Ceylon. Clark observed that they were a "money making peo-ple, who seldom give themselves up to enjoyment in public."49 And Haeckel notedthat the Muslims had "a special aptitude for money matters."50 The adjectives inset B require a closer analysis to make the point clear. For this purpose they areagain broken into three sub-sets: (a) thrifty, (b) calculating and speculative, and (c)crafty, shrewd, rapacious and stout.

Thriftiness is frugality, a necessary quality for a successful businessman. Ben-jamin Franklin, Max Weber's hero of the capitalistic spirit concludes his "Adviceto the Young Tradesman" as follows: "In short, the way to wealth . . . dependschiefly on two words, Industry and Frugality i.e., Waste neither Time nor Moneybut make the best Use of both. He that gets all he can honestly, and saves all hegets (necessary expenses excepted) will certainly become RICH."51 The Muslimtraders in Ceylon who were noted for their industriousness not only practiced frugalitybut even advised the Sinhalese who wished to become successful businessmen todo so.52 Acarakkovai, a Muslim Tamil literary work composed by AptulMajituppulavar53 emphasizes thriftiness as an essential moral quality for abusinessman. And more recently a local Muslim personality in Ceylon lamented thatone of the reasons for the decline in the business activities of his community after1918 was the lack of "rigid economy" in expenditure.54 It was as an observationon the frugal life of the Muslim trader that Capper wrote in 1877 that, "smoking,eating sweatmeats and curry, and sleeping form the sum total of the earthly en-joyments of this race of people."55

Like thriftiness the calculating and speculating qualities are also necessarycharacteristics of a successful businessman. Calculation has two meanings. The firstis a simple one of accounting and maintaining records of transactions. In accountingthe Muslims excelled. "They perform all their calculations entirely by memory,"observed Wolf as early as in 1785, "in which manner they are capable of reckoningup the most difficult fractions."56 And of maintaing records they had their com-mandment from the Qur'an. "When you contract a debt for a fixed time write itdown . . . and be not averse to writing whether it is small or large along with thetime of its falling due.'>57 Accordingly, even a small boutique keeper like MohamaduLebbe Ahmadu Cassim,who operated at Baddegama, a remote Sinhalese village inthe Hambantota District, had maintained written records of all his transactions.58

So did the other Muslim traders. "With their little greasy note books, full ofunintelligible letters and figures," wrote Leonard Wolf, "they descended upon thechenas"59 to settle their accounts with the villagers. The fact that during the 1915Sinhalese-Muslim riots a section of the Sinhalese rioters were interested only indestroying the account books and debt records of the Muslims further underlinesthe latters' book-keeping habit.60

A more significant meaning of calculation is the one defined by Werner Sombart.To him it is "the tendency, the habit, perhaps more the capacity, to think of theuniverse in terms of figures, and to transform these figures into a well-knit system

Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987—315

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of income and expenditure."61 "The whole system is intended", he elaborates, "todemonstrate whether a plus or a minus is the resultant, thus showing whether theundertaking is likely to bring profit or loss."62 According to him the habit of calcula-tion is a "personal characteristic" through which the "capitalist spirit may expressitself."63 The Muslim community in Ceylon was an epitome of this calculatingtendency.

This is illustrated by the way in which they reduced even their religious conceptsto accounting terms. The best example of this is the way they envisaged the Dayof Judgement. According to their belief a pattolai containing the record of one'sgood and bad deeds will be read out first and then weighed on a scale before Allahdecides on the reward or punishment due to the individual.64 The idea of weighingimmediately implies that the good and bad deeds of a person must have certainweights. Surprisingly, in a book on Islam published in Ceylon recently, one alimdefined "good" as that which weighs one thousand metric pounds.65 He did notdefine bad in the same manner! According to Sombart the Jewish religion has quan-tified the concept of sin.66 But in the brand of Islam of our Muslim coummunityall ethical concepts .were quantified, including Allah's blessings. One of the sermonsin Khutba Nabatiyya says that an amal (deed) carried out during the month ofRamadan will have one thousand times more Khayr (good or blessing) than the samecarried out during the other months.67 A popular hadith quite familiar to theseMuslims tells that Allah has portioned baraka (blessing) into ten shares and hasallocated nine to trading and business and the tenth to all other occupations.68 Morerecently, it was quoted as a hadith that one who performs a good deed will earn"70 nanmais"69 (good or blessing), again an ethical concept reduced to countingterms. All this demonstrates the point that quantification played an important rolein the type of religious teaching of the Ceylon Muslims. Quantification is the basisof calculation, and if that as Sombart says, "forms an important element in thecapitalist spirit"70 then the Muslim community in Ceylon during our period wasfull of that spirit. This religious character cut across the entire community irrespectiveof whether a section of it was engaged in trading, agriculture or other economicpursuits.

In another sense calculation means forecasting and can be associated with specula-tion. The description of Muslims as a calculating race was used more in this sensethan in the earlier one. That the community as a whole was not engaged in speculativebusiness during the 19th century is clear from contemporary records. Far from beingspeculators, a very considerable number of them were merely pedlars and petty tradersoperating with limited capital. For example, the total value of the entire stock ofmerchandise in a Muslim textile firm in Colombo in 1873 was scarcely more than£300.71 The value of stocks in the suburban village shops must have been very muchless. However, whether it was for professional speculation or petty business, whatwas demanded was the quality of prudence, a quality which underlies muchspeculative and forecasting activity in the economic sphere. In his Necessary Hintsto Those That Would be Rich, Benjamin Franklin stresses the quality72 and R.H.Tawney includes prudence along with diligence, thrift, and sobriety, qualities that

316—Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987

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are ' 'the most reliable passport to commercial prosperity.' '73 The Muslim communityin Ceylon appears to have been well equipped with those several attributes.

The last subset of adjectives are important in explaining not only the capitalisticspirit but also the acquisitive instinct associated with it. "Many of them are exorbitantin their demand," wrote Selkirk, "and will cheat the purchaser if they can, whilethe honesty of others cannot be too much commended."74 According to anotherobserver, "they are most vigilant and industrious, and having their minds completelytaken up with one idea, that of making 'master'buy, they are much better able forthe struggle than the unfortunate individual they badger, whose efforts to get ridof or circumvent them are generally too hastily conceived to be other than futile.'>75

James Devane, the Special Commissioner under Martial Law during the riots of1915, summed up in his report the behaviour of the Muslims in the following words:"The Moors are the Jews of Ceylon . . . who live by their wits rather than by .theirhands."76 Leaving aside the analogy with the Jews for the moment, it should benoted that these observations confirm the qualities expressed by the adjectives inthe sub-set under discussion.

While "craftiness" and "shrewdness" prove the ability of a seller or buyer toconvince the other party and to successfully complete a transaction, "rapaciousness"and "stoutness" show his preparedness to achieve the maximum out of the exercise.These qualities are perfectly in accordance with the principles of the political economyof capitalism. "To arouse interest, to win confidence, to stir up the desire to purchase— such is the goal of the successful trader," says Sombart, "how he reaches it isimmaterial so long as he does reach it by any method except the appeal to force."77

Henry Sidgwick quite confidently justified even the extortionate behaviour of thetrader and argued that, "it is by no means clear that such extortion is contrary tothe principles of political economy."78 And within Max Weber's definition of acapitalistic economic action, as "one which rests on the expectation of profit bythe utilization of opportunities for exchange, that is (formally) peaceful chances ofprofit",79 to be crafty, shrewd, rapacious and stout is not a sin. What is more, craf-tiness in particular was also considered one of the middle class virtues in Europeduring the early days of the development of capitalism.80

Nevertheless, Selkirk's doubts about the honesty of the Muslim traders has to beaccepted with caution. There is a plenitude of evidence to contradict this view. Wolfwrote in 1785, during the era of the Dutch, that "the Moors have the art of keepingup their credit with the company at large as well as with particulars among the Euro-peans and in short with everybody there, and a Moor is hardly ever known to bebrought into a court of justice."81 Despite the anti-Muslim attitude of the Dutch,their government appears to have utilised the talents of the Muslims on matters oftaxation and valuation of articles of commerce.82 Earlier still, the Kandyan kingsand their nobles had often commissioned the Muslims to trade on their behalf withmoney furnished from the state treasury.83 During the 19th century Capper, in hisdescription of the Muslim traders in Colombo, comments on "Number Forty-seven,"another trader whose name was also reduced to a numeral, as "a remarkably well-conducted man, very steady, very civil and exceedingly punctual in settling his ac-

Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987—317

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counts with the merchants who esteem him accordingly."84 Finally, some Muslimswho have reservations about their present day co-religionists hold the view that"before 1918 the business morality of Moorish firms was high and they mostscrupulously honoured their obligations."85

In light of these several opinions Selkirk's views, if true, could only have beenso of a minority of unscrupulous Muslim traders. Thus the bulk of the Muslim com-munity during our period was not only active, industrious and enterprising but alsopossessed of several other traits which to the European scholar were eithercharacteristics of or else necessary pre-requisites for the growth of the capitalisticspirit.

A Comparison with JewsThroughout the British phase of colonial Ceylon one finds in the literature of thetime a recurring comparison of the Muslims with the Jewish community of Europe.86

In the writing of Wolf, just before that period,87 and of Davy,88 Millie,89 Haeckel.90

Anagarika Dharmapala91 and James Devane92 one comes across this comparison.Even in recent times Houtart93 has done likewise. A closer look behind this analogystrengthens what has been said before about the Muslim community.

The Jews were debarred by law or prejudice in almost every country from engagingin agriculture, industry or commerce, and hence were driven to trade in money.94

In contrast to this the Muslims in Ceylon were not economically or otherwisepersecuted by the Sinhalese monarchs but instead were welcomed and encouragedto take part not.only in commerce but also in other economic pursuits such asagriculture. The Muslim settlements in the Batticaloa District and the accommoda-tion of Muslims as tenants on agricultural lands which belonged to the Buddhistvihares95 illustrate this point. As far as money lending was concerned it was neverthe sole or a major economic profession of the Ceylon Muslims. True, there werecomplaints already in Portuguese times that the "Moors by dint of bribes andmoney"96 were turning out some Sinhalese villagers from their lands. And duringthe Kandyan period the Muslims were even granted a legal right to charge as muchas twenty per cent interest on their loans to individuals.97

Nevertheless in view of the nature of the medieval form of exchange the demandfor cash amongst the householders was low,98 and consequently money lending couldnot have been an attractive profession to many. A few who found it profitable wouldhave confined their activity mostly to the nobles and chiefs, as Devaraja assumes.99

Even towards the end of the nineteenth century when the demand for cash was in-creasing in the villages, partly because of increasing monetization of the economyand partly because of tax obligations, only a very few of the Muslims had becomemoney lenders. In 1901 out of a total 810 earners who gained their livelihood throughbanking, money lending and money changing only 76 were Muslims100 and in 1911their number fell drastically to eight out of a reduced total of 505.101 Hence, thecomparison between the Jews and the Muslims is not valid if money lending wasthe criterion.

But there were other aspects in which the communities resembled each other. One

318—Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987

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was the peddling business in which Jews in London were often engaged,102 like theirMuslim counterparts in Ceylon. While in eighteenth century London the Jews, outof sheer economic necessity had to undertake peddling and hawking and dealingin secondhand clothes,103 to the Muslims in eighteenth and nineteenth century Ceylonthe tavalam or peddling business was one branch of their trading activity. For theJews in London peddling soon became unviable, mainly because of intense com-petition amongst themselves.104 The Muslims in tavalam business were also obligatedto give it up, though for somewhat different reasons, i.e., unprofitability broughtabout by the development of transport and growth of towns during the latter halfof the 19th century. Another similarity was the dominance of the Jews in Londonand the Muslims in Ceylon in the precious stone industry. The jewellery and preciousstone business in Colombo, Galle and Kandy was the monopoly of the Muslims justas this activity in London was the monopoly of Jews in the eighteenth century.105

However, more than in these external resemblances in terms of their occupationsit is in the personal traits of the two communities that the comparison appears toacquire some validity. "The Jews," writes C.R. Fay, "brought" valuablecharacteristics with him. He was ubiquitous, enterprising, persistent but notpugnacious; he ran after customers, without regard to his dignity and made a profitout of articles and transactions which other people rejected or despised."106 In Ceylontrade itself was rejected or despised by the generality of the Sinhalese until late inthe nineteenth century and the Muslims who took to it demonstrated all those qualitiesthat Fay attributes to the Jews. The Muslims were also ubiquitous, enterprising,persistent, chased after customers and struck a bargain in almost all of their deal-ings. It was therefore not just a coincidence that M.D. George and James Devaneused the very same words that "they lived chiefly by their wits"107 to describe theJews and Muslims respectively.

Weber, having defined the spirit of capitalism as "identical with the pursuit ofprofit, and forever renewed profit by means of continuous, rational, capitalistic enter-prise,"108 did not however consider the Jews as people imbued with that spirit. Ac-cording to him "the Jews stood on the side of politically and speculatively orientedadventurous capitalism"109 and their ethos he says "was . . . that of 'pariah-capitalism'."110 The comparison between the Jews and the Muslims as carried outhere will imply that Weber would have excluded these Muslims as well.

But Weber's critics were not prepared to accept his definition of the capitalisticspirit. To Robertson, for example, the narrowness of Weber's definition "dismissesevery manifestation of the speculative or entrepreneur spirit from consideration."111

That was why Sombart dissected two components in the capitalistic spirit, namelythe spirit of enterprise and the bourgeois spirit which when united generated thecapitalistic spirit.112 "The spirit of enterprise," he elaborates, "is a synthesis ofthe greed of gold, the desire for adventure, the love of exploration to mention buta few elements. The bourgeois spirit is composed of calculation, careful policy,reasonableness and economy."113 And within this broad definition he considers theJews as the people who not ony "influenced the outward form of modern capitalism"but also "gave expression to its inward spirit."114 Hence, in terms of Sombart's

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definition and in view of the character traits discussed so far of the Muslims it canbe concluded that the community in Ceylon also demonstrated, if not gave birth to,the inward spirit of capitalism.

Examples of Capitalists Among the Ceylon MuslimsThe capitalistic spirit, because of its "limitation of consumption" and "release ofacquisitive activity," inevitably leads to "accumulation of capital."115 The way inwhich affluence was acquired by some Muslim families and firms in Ceylon duringthe colonial period and the overall image of the Muslim community as a rich com-munity prove the operation of the above principle. The history of this communityis replete with examples of Muslims who have made good through trade.

For instance, the history of one of the best known jewellery firms in Ceylon today,that of O.L.M. Macan Markar is one of rising from very humble origins. Its founder,Macan Markar, was the second son of Oduma Lebbe Markar of Galle, about whoseeconomic fortunes nothing is known. The fact that the voluminous Short BiographicalSketches of Macan Markar and Related Families116 published recently does not sayanything about the father suggests that the latter had done nothing notable in theworld of business. According to his family history the earliest information availableis that O.L.M. Macan Markar in his "quest for precious stones... venture(d) outon bullock driven carts all the way from Point de Galle . . . to Ratnapura to prospectand buy'' •17 uncut gems.' 'He started in a small way,'' wrote Arnold Wright,' 'buyingand selling single stones."118 Though his initial profits were small his habits of thriftand prudence helped him to accumulate cash and so to expand his business.119 By1860 he had established a jewellery firm at no. 4 Middle Street, Galle with a lapidaryof his own employing expert craftsmen to cut and polish stones.120 "Precious stonesin their rough state were speculatively bought, but with the skill born of experience,cut and polished in his lapidary by expert craftsmen and subsequently mounted asjewellery. Success was slow and there were pitfalls but undeterred Oduma LebbeMarkar carried on and gradually built up a tradition for honest and straight-forwarddealing."121

One of the preconditions for a successful capitalist enterprise is to make use ofevery available and forthcoming opportunity for profit making.122 Thus whenColombo was made the main port of call for ships in the 1870s123 Macan Markarquickly shifted his firm from Galle and in 1892 established a branch under the nameO.L.M. Macan Markar, in Colombo. Significantly he located it at no. 1, G.O.H.Arcade, one of the earliest centres of tourist activity in Ceylon.124 Continued suc-cess in business later enabled the firm to open up branches abroad. That which wasopened in 1912 at the Shepherd's Hotel, Cairo, was the first of its kind.125 The growthof this firm after that year is not relevant here, but it must be noted that the capitalaccumulated through the enterprise was partly re-invested to expand the business,as proved by the establishment of foreign branches,126 and partly invested in pur-chasing properties in Colombo.127

A second example is the drapery and outfit firm of S.L. Naina Marikar, originiallystarted by his father Sulaiman Lebbe in 1856, at Main Street, Pettah, Colombo.128

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After the son took over in 1892 successful business and substantial accumulationof capital enabled the firm to open several branches in the Pettah.129 By 1907 thefirm employed 15 hands and one of the branches alone had a total stock of goodsvalued at £13,OOO130 — a very considerable sum for those times. Like Macan Markar,Naina Marikar also invested a part of his capital in real estate in Colombo.131

A third Muslim business personality who also rose from humble origins to becomea millionaire was N.D.H. Abdul Caffoor (1875-1948). When he was fourteen yearsold he is said to have come to Colombo with only a twenty-five cent coin givenhim by his grandmother.132 Even though his father, Noordeen Hadjiar, had his ownbusiness the fact that his name did not appear in the Colombo traders lists, publishedby Ferguson's Ceylon Directory indicates that the scale of his business operationmust have been a limited one. Hence, Abdul Caffoor did not inherit any appreciablewealth from his parent and therefore had to work hard. Soon his "first few rupeesmultiplied, became hundreds then thousands; the thousands became lakhs and latermillions."133 In 1894, when he was at the age of nineteen, he had started his gemand jewellery business at the Bristol Hotel Building in Colombo.134 It is not clearhow Abdul Caffoor made his capital and what business or businesses he undertookduring the five preceding years. Nevertheless his business was a story of continuoussuccess, and like that of Macan Markar, Caffoor's also found representation abroad.In England his business was represented by Messrs. Nersheimer & Co. and Mr.

ljamin Warwick of London.135 "But despite his great business acumen and in-'.sing wealth, he personally eschewed the luxuries of life and lived simply , ac-ing to the devout Muslim tradition."136

Another success story, though in a different branch of activity, was that of thefirm of Allapitchay & Sons, the forwarding agents and estate suppliers at Dickoyain the Central Province. Its founder Allapitchay started his career in 1881 as atransport agent utilizing forty bullock-carts manned by Sinhalese drivers.137 He "wasmost illiterate being unable to read or write any language," but he "was the mostsuccessful business magnate in the sphere of commerce in days long gone."138 "In-dustry and perseverence" were the secrets of his success and by 1915 a "substan-tial share"139 of the road transport business in the plantation districts had fallen intothe hands of this firm.

Our final example is the rise of Saibo Doray from a position of hawker to oneof big business magnate in Colombo, with branches in other small towns.140 Abouthis mode of business Capper has the following to say. "It was by no means an unusualthing for this simply-clad mean-looking trader to purchase in one day from one mer-chant muslins to the value of a thousand pounds, crockery for half that amount, andperhaps, glassware for . . . much more. For these he would pay down one-fourthin hard cash, and so great was the confidence reposed in him that his bags of rupees,labelled and endorsed with his name and the amount of their contents, were receivedand placed in the strong-room of the Englishmen without being confused. SaiboDoray's name on the packages gave them currency."141

These examples provide only a very small sample of Muslim businessmen. Yet,what they all have in common are the characteristics of hard work, thrift, honesty,

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prudence and enterprise, the essence of the capitalistic spirit. This spirit appearsto have driven not only a few individuals but the entire community and to have madethem more affluent than their sister communities. That was why, one of the earliestMuslim news sheets in Ceylon, Putnalankari said that "varumai avarkalai ariyatu"1*2

— poverty does not know them.

Factors ResponsibleThere were two factors mainly responsible for the economic dynamism of the CeylonMuslims. One was the desire to win and maintain a respectable recognition withinand outside the community, and the other was the demand for a higher personalincome emanating from certain religious and cultural institutions partly innate toIslam in general and partly unique to its Ceylon variety.

Within the Ceylon Muslim community the status of an individual after 1800 depend-ed very much upon his economic affluence. While among the Sinhalese and Tamilscaste differences143 based on cultural and religious ideology respectively tended tofix permanently an individual's economic and social position, at least until late intothe nineteenth century, among the Muslims the caste system, either as an"ethnographic category"144 or as a "sociological category,"145 did not exist at all.Even though the Muslims "adapted" themselves to it "and in some instances copiedit in intergroup relations,"146 within the community caste did not penetrate to playits traditional role as "status fixer."

There were of course some clan groupings like the kudiul or katrai14* divisions,particularly among the Muslims of the Eastern Province. But those divisions neverhad the endogamous characteristics attached to the caste system. In the interior ofCeylon, Ryan found that the divisions within the Muslims are "much closer tocaste."149 But even then "these are so rudimental" he says, "that they cannot besaid to form a system." I5° Thus within the Muslim community except for the seclu-sion of women, there never was any endogenous impediment preventing any of itsmembers from achieving a higher status.

In his chapter on the "Elite Formation and Elites 1832-1931," Michael Robertshas traced the two principal routes, namely capital accumulation and educationalacquirements, by which local individuals in Ceylon advanced to achieve nationalelite status.151 Without introducing into this discussion the various connotations ofthe concept of elite in society, which has been dealt with comprehesively elsewhere,I52

it is sufficient to state here that there are no universal standards by which elites orsuperior social groups in societies can be identified. Even within a particular societystandards may vary from region to region and if it is a multi-racial society evenbetween different races. In Ceylon, Roberts' routes to the achievement of elite statuswere valid only on an intra-communal but not on an inter-communal level. The routesto elite status within the Muslim community were not the same as those requiredat a national level. In that community the route of educational acquirements wasalmost totally absent while another, that of the religious virtue of a person was thereacting as a substitute. Nevertheless, capital accumulation was the more powerful

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of the routes within the Muslim community.The reason for the absence of the educational route has to be sought in the attitude

of the Muslims towards secular education at that time, and consequently in the relativebackwardness of the community in that field. Yet, despite the general backwardness,a few Muslims did receive an education on Western lines and in the main enteredthe legal profession. M.T. Akbar (1880-1914) a product of Royal College, Colombo,who won a scholarship to Cambridge University in 1897, became a crown counselin 1907 and later rose to higher positions in the country's judiciary.153 SimilarlyN.H.M. Abdul Cader, a student of Wesley College, also in Colombo, qualified asa proctor and notary public in 1907.154 A.M. Sheriff was still another example. Hail-ing from the village of Kattankudy in the Batticaloa District he studied English andlaw to become a proctor of the supreme court.155 M.C. Siddi Lebbe, a proctor refor-mist, author and journalist was yet another. These were however exceptions andbelonged to the last quarter of the nineteenth and early years of the twentieth cen-turies. To the vast majority of Muslims, educational achievements were certainlynot a route to achieve status within the community. In fact one or two of the feweducated idividuals, like Siddi Lebbe, who became unpopular because of his speechesand publications, and Sheriff who was condemned as a Qadiyani156 during his latercareer, strengthened the already biased opinion of the orthodox that the educatedwere trouble makers and therefore should not be recognized.

Excellence in religious knowledge and strict regularity in adhering to religiousduties, such as the obligatory prayers, fasting etc. always won respect and statusfor Muslims within their society. Such Muslims were popularly called mu 'mins orthe pious. However if such mu'mins happened to be 'ulema, hajis or maulanas(descendants of the Prophet157) their status was even higher. In this sense the situa-tion in Ceylon was analogous to that of traditional Indonesia, where too a prestigescale based on religion has been noticed in which the Islamic scribe, the haji andthe Arab sayyid15* were considered to be men of high standing.159 However the titlessuch as sayyid in Indonesia and maulana in Ceylon were hereditary in nature andtherefore not accessible to every Muslim. But anyone could become an alim or ahaji, provided one had the means. To become an 'alim one had to spend from fourto seven years in a madrasa in learning the Qur'an, the hadiths and other relatedsubjects; to become a haji one had to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca. Even thoughall these titles added status to their possessors, yet that status often lacked substanceunless the possessors "had material wealth. Many of the 'ulema did not have anyother source of income than their earnings through services as religious teachers;and therefore their consequent abject dependence on the generosity of the wealthymeant that their status was empty and not attractive to enterprising and aspiringMuslims.

Consequently, the most viable of the routes to achieve status within the Muslimcommunity was economic enterprise. If the economically affluent also happened tobe a haji or a maulana or an alim or even a mu 'min the combination would winhim the highest recognition and status within the community. Thus A.M. WapchiMarikar (1829-1925) was a wealthy man who acquired his riches through the building

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trade.160 But he was also a pious man. When asked by Governor William Gregoryto name his wish in return for the services he had rendered as an architect in con-structing the National Museum Building in Colombo, he is said to have requestedthat the museum should be closed on Fridays so that his co-religionists would nothave to abandon \heir jumu'a prayers for the sake of visting the museum.161 Hisreligious fervour, combined with his material affluence, made him the most prominentand respected Muslim personality of his time.

As pointed out, N.D.H. Abdul Caffoor was another Muslim leader whose namelater became "synonymous with wealth."162 He too lacked education but his devo-tion to religion was deep and profound. He is said to have "never missed his dailyprayers even when travelling in mid winter (when abroad) and his entire life wascharacterised by piety.''163 Similarly, O.L.M. Macan Markar whose economic enter-prise was noted earlier, "was of a charitable and religious disposition."164 Theseexamples show that piety with wealth was more powerful a status winner than pietyalone. It is doubtful whether even those who rose through Western education, likeM.T. Akbar and N.H.M. Abdul Cader, would have enjoyed the same status theydid within the community had it not been for the fact that they were born to alreadyrich families.165 It is also equally doubtful whether Siddi Lebbe, who was shabbilytreated by the Colombo Muslim public for his views and reformist activities, wouldhave undergone that harrassment had he been possessed of wealth. The fact thatWapchi Marikar, the man who gave financial backing to the efforts of Siddi Lebbe,166

was spared by the same public, compels us to raise this doubt.

Thus it was wealth and money and not simply one's religiosity and education thatdetermined status within the Muslim community during our period. I.L.M. AbdulAzeez, an ardent critic of his community's ethos correctly pointed out that one ofthe reasons for its backwardness was its veneration of moneyed men. The followingis a translation of what Azeez wrote in Tamil. "It is true that money is important,"he said. "To do anything in this world money is necessary. Even to acquire educa-tion money is needed. Yet, money is only a tool and not the be all and end all ofexistence. We have been created by Allah not to earn money but to know Him.However, to those who are striving to Allah there are certain basic necessities andto fulfil them money is required. Therefore it is only a complementary element forone's existence and not the very basis of it. The Ceylon Muslims who do not realizethis truth think that money is the only important thing and that if one can have moneyone does not need anything else. They treat the monied men like deities and areworshipping them. Even if one is a fool, if he has money he is respected. They givetheir dear daughters in marriage to him with a lavish dowry. They do not care abouthis character, capabilities, education, intelligence and conduct."167 This lengthyquotation aptly summarizes what was discussed above. Status within the communitymeant wealth and wealth invariably meant hard work and accumulation. This wasthe primary reason for the economic dynamism of the Muslim community.

Not only within but also outside the community, economic affluence played adecisive role in status promotion during our period. Capital accumulation throughprivate property and private enterprise, as brought out by Roberts, was one of the

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two "pillars" besides educational acquirements on which the existence of an "elite"partly rested in Ceylon in general.168 But to the Muslim community in particular,because of the low significance attached to educational acquirements, capital ac-cumulation became the sole pillar on which the rise to elite status at a national levelrested. The words of Weber on the position of minorities in a country are relevantat this juncture. "National or religious minorities," he says, "which are in a posi-tion of subordination to a group of rulers are likely, through their voluntary or in-voluntary exclusion from positions of political influence, to be driven with peculiarforce into economic activity. Their ablest members seek to satisfy the desire forrecognition of their abilities in this field, since there is no opportunity in the serviceof the state."169 In the context of Ceylon it is difficult to extend Weber's argumentto the period before Western influence in 1505, and even after that date an excep-tion has to be made with regard to the position of Muslims who lived within theKandyan Kingdom.

During these periods the national status and recognition of the Muslims did notdepend entirely upon their economic affluence. Periya Mudali Maraikkar of Beruwelawas endowed with land grants and bestowed with honours by a Sinhalese King in1016 A.D., not because he was a wealthy merchant but because he introduced theweaver caste to Ceylon.170 King Kirti Sri Raja Sinha in the eighteenth century con-ferred similar grants and honours on Copala Mudaliyar of Polkumbura, not becauseof his wealth but because of his talents as a physician.171 And there is no evidenceto suggest that wealth was the reason why the Kandyan King chose Uduma Lebbe,the son of Maula Muhandiram, to go on a diplomatic mission in 1762 to seek helpfrom the English East India Company to expel the Dutch.172 The fact that "severalMuslims held important posts under the Kandyan Kings"173 and that some of them"were even close to the King"174 indicates that the Muslim community was not ex-cluded from positions of political influence.

Thus before the nineteenth century, even though the Muslims were primarily engag-ed in trading and even though they helped to fill an important vacuum left in theSinhalese society, their economic position did not remain the sole criterion for nationalstatus and recognition. It was during the British regime that it became the only routeavailable in the attainment of status at a national level. The fact that the governmentrecognized material wealth as a necessary qualification for appointments to minoroffices encouraged the Muslims to follow that route even more assiduously. "Menof independent means and gentlemen by birth and manners"175 were preferred bythe government for such appointments. "Particulars with regard to any landedproperty176 was a special requirement for local headmanship under the government.Thus, for example in 1858 all the eight applicants for the post of police vidahn (head-man) at Silavatturai and Puthuveli in the Mannar District were persons with proper-ty qualifications.177 Similarly in 1861 all the six applicants for the same post of Eruk-kalampity in the same district were property holders.178 The several entries in theKachcheri diaries of Mannar,179 all relating to such appointments, prove beyonddoubt that property qualifications were often the chief criterion in the selection ofheadmen. It is particularly significant that all cases were Muslims with no formal

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educational qualifications whatsoever.180 Governmental action thus confirmed to thecommunity that material acquisition alone could win administrative positions.

If property ownership was a necessary qualification for admininstrative placementit became even more advantageous in the search for political appointments and posi-tions. M.C. Abdul Rahman, the first Muslim Legislative Councillor (1889-1899)was a successful businessman in silk, soft goods and groceries in Colombo and theowner of a number of shipping vessels.181 W.M. Abdul Rahman, who served inthe same capacity from 1900 to 1916, was the son of Wapchi Marikkar, about whoseeconomic fortunes reference was made earlier. Even the Muslim representatives inthe Colombo Municipal Council, like S.J. Akbar and M.I.M. Haniffa, who wereelected in 1887 to represent the Slave Island and Pettah wards respectively,182 werecoconut planters and commercial magnates.

Thus, while within the Muslim community capital accumulation and religiosityacted as the chief status fixers, between the two the latter quite often lacked thestrength and substance to play that role unless it combined with the former. Outsidethe community at the national level religiosity did not count at all in achieving elitestatus. Here, wealth and educational acquirements were the necessary pre-requisites.Since education did not receive either general encouragement or respect from thecommunity, capital accumulation through economic enterprise became the soleguarantor of national elite status.

This reason, although an important one, was not unique to the Muslim community.The rise of the karava or fisherman caste within the Sinhalese community183 showsthat economic achievements could break caste barriers in the late nineteenth centuryand upgrade the status of an individual. But the difference between the rise of thekaravas and the position of the Muslims was that while economic achievement wasonly one of the avenues utilised by the former it was the only course available tothe latter. Hence the need for economic dynamism on the part of the Muslimcommunity.

Another factor which generated this dynamism had to do with the community'sdemand for a higher personal income. This resulted partly from the difference inits pattern of consumption in comparison to that of other communities and partlyfrom certain religious and cultural practices mostly peculiar to itself. With regardto the consumption pattern the main differences were in the dietary and dress habitsof the different Ceylonese communities. Robert Knox, in his observations on thedietary habits of the Sinhalese in the seventeenth century, says that "their Dyet andordinary fare is but very mean as to our account. If they have but Rice and Salt,in their house, they reckon they want for nothing. For with a few green leaves andthe juice of the Lemon with Pepper and Salt, they will make a hearty meal. Beefhere may not be eaten; it is abominable. Flesh and Fish is somewhat scarce. Andthat little of it they have, they had rather sell to get money to keep (than) eat itthemselves."184 In other words according to Knox the Sinhalese depended for theirfood mainly on rice and vegetables.

While this refers to the Kandyan Kingdom, even in the coastal districts there weremany parts in the late nineteenth century where the Sinhalese depended more on

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cereals, like kurakkan (elucine coraccana) and "various kinds of yams and sweetpotatoes, cassawa, jack-fruit, bread-fruit and plantains,"185 than on rice. In the remotevillages these foods "absolutely" took the place of rice.186 A Government Agentwrote in 1887, that "in the poorer districts of Kandy, kurakkan takes the place ofpaddy . . . Besides these two staples the diet of the kandyan peasant is supplementedby various kinds of fine grain(s), by jak, yams and sweet potatoes."187 In 1888,the Government Agent of North Central Province and the Acting Assistant Govern-ment Agent of Ratnapura District wrote similar reports in the same year on the dietof the Sinhalese.188 The former even went to the extent of attributing the excessiveprevalence of parangi, a disease originally confused with syphillis but later discoveredto be yaws,189 among the Sinhalese to their over dependence on kurakkan for food. 19°True the consumption of meat increased in Colombo and other major towns towardsthe end of the century191 and a considerable amount of it was "eaten in secret."192

Yet a majority of the Sinhalese during our period avoided all forms of meat, partlyfor religious and partly for economic reasons.193

The pattern of food consumption among the Tamils, with the exception of thosewho were brought in from India to labour on the plantations, was also rather similar.While estate labour was regularly supplied with imported rice as part of their wagesthe indigenous Tamils, who lived mostly in the north and east of Ceylon, producedtheir own rice and supplemented any shortages by growing other cereals, yams andfruits. The administration reports of W.C. Twynam, the Government Agent for theNorthern Province from 1867 to 1896, bear ample evidence of the fact that the Tamilsin the north also depended on subsidiary food crops for their daily diet.194 Moreover,except for the handful of Christians among them, the generality of the Tamils, beingof Hindu faith, also avoided all forms of meat.

In contrast to this, the diet of the Muslims was almost totally rice-based and wasfree from any vegetarian prejudice. While those Muslims who lived in the WesternProvince consumed the locally produced rice,195 those who lived in the Sinhalesedistricts depended on the imported variety.196 Chena cultivation which was theprimary source of vegetable and fruit supply was "not much carried out"197 in theTrincomalee District, and "very little garden produce of anykind"198 was raisedin the Batticaloa District. The Muslims who lived outside these areas were mainlyurban dwellers who consumed imported rice, and subsidiary food stuffs like kurak-kan, yams and fruits were not as substantial a part of their diet as they were to theSinhalese and Ceylon Tamils.

The Muslims were also meat consumers. Islam, unlike Buddhism and Hinduism,does not advocate vegetarianism. The Qur'an is very clear on this.199 The fact that65 per cent of the butchers and meat sellers in Ceylon in 1901 were Muslims200

and the fact that several of the Muslims also took to hunting201 to obtain meat forconsumption and hides for sale show that they were not only consumers of meatbut that they also dominated the meat trade. Due to the arrival of the planters andIndian Muslims and due to the growth of towns there was a growing market formeat after the first quarter of the nineteenth century, and this was an opportunitywhich the Muslims were quick to seize.

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What is of importance in this difference between the dietary habits of the Muslimsand those of the bulk of the indigenous community is that the average Muslim'sfood during our period was the more expensive. It is impossible to provide detailedstatistics of the quantity and value of various food items consumed daily by an averageMuslim adult or his Buddhist or Hindu counterpart. Such statistics are not availableeven for recent decades. Yet the statistics of prices supplied by the Ceylon Blue Booksand those in a few administration reports help to throw some light on this problem.For example,- the three sets of figures produced in the Tables below come from theBlue Book for 1886 and the administration reports of the year 1887 and 1890respectively.

TABLE I

Average Price of Rice, Beef and Mutton in the Various Provinces202

1886

Provinces

WesternNorth-WesternSouthernEasternNorthernCentralNorth-CentralUva

Prices

Rice (home-grown)Rice (Indian)Mun (green gram)KurakkanAmu (millet)CassavaYamsJack fruitPlantains 7f._Bread fruit

Rice(Rs. per bushel)

21 = to 4/ =3.50 to 4/ =

3/ =4.753.753.503.004.80

TABLE II

of Some Food Items

Beef(cts. per Ib.,

18 to 251816

18 to 18'/2

20131615

Mutton) (cts. per Ib.)

at Kegalle: 1887

Rs. 2.503.503.00

0.500.20.030.020.250.01'/2

to 3.50to 4.00to 4.000.75to 0.75cts. percts. "to 0.06to 0.50to 0.03

25 to 2730 to 31 Vi

5025 to 37

25305037

per bushel" "

"Ib."

cts eachper 100each

32$—Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987

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TABLE III

Price of Some Food Items at Matale: 1890204

Rice Kalunda Rs 4.25 cts. per bushellRice (kaiwere samba) 205 " 4.12 " "Rice (mutta samba) " 4.25 " "Rice (kara) " 3.75 " "Rice (suli) " 4.00Country Rice " 3.25 " "Coast paddy " 2.25 " "Country paddy " 1.50 " " "Kurakkan " 1.00 " "Beef " 0.12 " per lb.Mutton " 0.25 " " • "Goat meat " 0.25 " "

It is not possible to provide price statistics for all the food items consumed in allthe different districts for a particular point in time. Any attempt to provide one com-prehensive price table would entail a statistical exercise taking this article beyondits present scope. However, the above sets of figures are sufficient to draw two con-clusions relevant to our present purpose. Firstly, rice was the most costly of all fooditems available anywhere in the island, with the imported varieties costing more thanthe locally produced ones. Secondly, the price of meat all over Ceylon was higherthan the price of vegetables. Moreover, if one also considers the fact that outsidethe town areas and in the villages, vegetables were grown in home gardents andtherefore were not bought by the village households, it becomes apparent that a normalSinhalese or Tamil diet during our period must have cost very little in terms of cash.

In contrast, though the Muslims of the Eastern Province grew their own rice, theMuslims who lived elsewhere were invariably obligated to consume the importedvariety. Both groups were meat consumers. The costs of their feasts on occasionslike fatihas, khattams, mauluds and kanturis, which were fairly regular occurences,further increased their expenses,206 because of the additional mouths to be fed andthe special quality of food served on these occasions. All this leads to the conclusionthat the dietary habits of the Muslim community, because of their expense, demandeda higher personal income. It should be added that the Buddhists and Hindus did nothave such expensive religious feasts as the Muslims.

Even in matters of clothing Muslim requirements were generally greater than thoseof the average Sinhalese or Tamil during our period. In the Sinhalese feudal hierar-chy clothes and ornaments were caste determined. "The dress of the common people"writes Cordiner, "is nothing more than a piece of calico or muslin wrapped roundthe waist, the size and quantity of which correspond to the circumstance of thewearer."207 Even among their women only those of the higher castes wore suffi-cient to cover themselves completely. "Whereas the other sort of women must go

Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987—329

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naked from the waist upwards, and their clothes not hang down much below theirknees, except it be cold."208 Such information as is available regarding the dresshabits of the Ceylon Tamils209 also suggests that their practice differed very little.This is not surprising since the community was equally caste ridden and hierarchicallydivided.

In the case of the Muslim community, once again Islam played an important rolein determining the dress of the people. Nakedness and semi-nakedness is condemnedby the orthodox irrespective of the sex of the individuals.210 While a male abovethe age of childhood is debarred from exposing any part of his body between ' 'thenavel and the knee"211 the dress of a female is governed by the Qur'anic verse,"and say to the believing women that they lower their gaze and restrain their sexualpassions and do not display their adornment except what appears thereof. And letthem wear their head-coverings over their bosoms. And they should not display theiradornment except to their husbands or their fathers, or the fathers of their husbands,or their sons, or the sons of their husbands, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons,or their sisters' sons, or their women or those whom their right hands possess, orguileless male servants, or the children who know not women's nakedness."212 In-terpretations of this verse have led to the adoption of various types of dress for femalesin various Muslim countries irrespective of the differences in climate and economy.

In Ceylon during our period Muslim women usually wore the coman or the kam-payan which was somewhat similar to the present day sari but thicker in textureand longer in yardage. To cover their bosoms and arms they wore a thick jacket.213

Unlike women in the Sinhalese and Tamil communities to whom jewellery and or-naments were caste determined the Muslim women who were free of such restric-tions wore as many of them as possible.214 Moreover, because of the institution ofpurdah or female seclusion the Muslim women whether inside their own premisesor out covered themselves to the maximum. The "Mahometan women" says Per-cival," . . . would think themselves disgraced and polluted if any of their featureswere even by accident discovered to a stranger."215

Muslim men also wore sufficient clothing to conform to their religious prescription.Thus while a Sinhalese or a Tamil peasant during his working hours was satisfiedwith his amude or kovanam (a loin cloth), a Muslim peasant considered it un-Islamicand preferred the cotton sarwal which covered him betwen the navel and knee andwhich was somewhat similar in its shape and length to Bermuda trousers. Outsideworking hours, the men always wore their sarongs, shawls and caps. In addition,the necessity to attend the mosque daily and the compulsion to take part in con-gregatory prayers demanded that the males should dress sufficiently well to be present-able on these occasions.216

It is difficult to state quantitatively the minimum moneyincome required by anaverage Sinhalese, Tamil or Muslim family to satisfy their basic needs. Absenceof statistical data makes this important comparison impossible. Yet, the qualitativeevidence provided above gives one sufficient confidence to conclude that an averageMuslim family during our period required a higher money income than that neededby an average Sinhalese or Tamil family.

330—Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987

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The relative expense of Muslim dietary and dress habits in Ceylon was only oneof the factors that motivated the Muslims to strive hard for a higher income. Therewere other expenses of a religious and cultural nature. Among the former the in-stitutions of zakat and hajj and the ritual feasts attached to the fatihas, khattams,mauluds and kanturis were the more important. Zakat is a poor-tax levied by thegovernment and spent on welfare activities. Early in the nineteenth century GovernorNorth, who correctly understood this concept, intended to levy such a tax on theMuslims and spend the revenue on the maintenance of a madrasa, mufti and halfa dozen judges. Even though North's hopes did not materialize, his intentions onthis matter remain, until today, the only attempt ever made by a government in Ceylonto implement the zakat it its correct form. Nevertheless, to a Muslim it is one ofthe five obligations in Islam. Therefore in Ceylon, since there was no organizedauthority to implement zakat in its true form, it took the shape of voluntary charitywhich all Muslims who could possibly afford it undertook on their own, especiallyduring the last three days of the month of fasting. Whether they adhered to the percen-tage prescribed by the shari 'a in calculating the amount to be given as charity ishard to know.

Yet, what is important for our purpose is another aspect of this practice. Sincezakat is an obligatory duty, and is always stressed by the 'ulema as an amalan salih(good deed), every Muslim desired to give zakat at some stage in his life. But givingrequired gathering. Therefore, the niyya or intention of a Muslim to give zakat drovehim to strive hard and accumulate the means with which to do so. Thus the institutionof zakat, instead of killing the desire to accumulate, which is one of the philosophicalarguments behind it, actually worked in reverse to encourage accumulation. Uninten-tionally, zakat became an incentive for enterprise.

The hajj to Mecca is another religious institution that motivates the Muslims toacquire wealth. This is the most expensive of all the obligatory duties in Islam andthe outlay it represents grows with the increase in the distance between Mecca andthe residence of the faithful. Every Muslim aspires to pay a visit to this holy placeat least once in his life time. As Hitti says, the pilgrimage is "the culminating pointin religiosity"217 to a Muslim. The amount of money one requires to perform thisduty is not merely the sum sufficient to meet travelling and subsistence expenses.One of the conditions attached to the pilgrimage is that the person who undertakesthe journey should provide enough for his dependents who will be left behind athome.218 This condition was given greater importance in the past, because theMuslims believed it a great advantage to die in one of the holy cities, Mecca orMedina. Consequently many set out on their pilgrimage with no intention of return-ing.219 Hence the dependents had to be provided for and other filial obligations hadto be met; e.g., if the pilgrim had a daughter of marriageable age she had to begiven in marriage before his departure.220

Jacob Vrendenbregt's study of the features and functions of the hajj in Indonesia221

shows that the Muslims there even mortgaged their lands and fell into debt in orderto find the money with which to go on hajj. There is no evidence to suggest thatthis happened in Ceylon during our period. The Muslims here appear to have been

Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987—331

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aware of the shari'a's rule that it is not obligatory for "those who do not possessthe necessary expenses for the journey to Mecca and back,"222 to undertake haft.True they strove hard to find the money through their earnings, but they avoidedthe risk of borrowing and falling into debt to fulfil that duty. Nevertheless, that thisduty acted as a motivational factor for accumulation is undeniable.

Yet another reason for high expenditure was the ritual feasts mentioned already.The point to note here is that these rituals were considered by the Muslim as evenmore important than the obligatory prayers.223 According to Islam giving feasts isnot afard (obligatory act) but an act of sunnat (optional). But to the illiterate Muslimsof our period the difference between an act of fard and an act of sunnat was notalways clear, and the local 'ulema and lebbais to whom such feasts brought an in-come did little to clear up the confusion. Since these feasts involved relatively heavyexpenditure they served as an inducement for increased effort on the part of the giver.

Another belief which had the same effect and was commonly held by Muslimsoriginated in the saying Allah natinal kotuppan meaning that if Allah wills He willgive. This phrase is similar in meaning to the berkat dari Tuhan of the Malays andIndonesians.224 This actually originates from the Qur'an itself which holds that "Allahgives to whom He pleases without measure."225 The meaning of this verse was ac-tually reversed in the society we are considering, where people came to believe thatthose who had enough and more were those favored by God. In other words, tothem success in this life was an indication of success in the world to come. In factthe Qur'an explicitly rejects this interpretation by reminding the believers that "itis not your wealth, nor your children that bring you nearer to us in rank."226 Yetto the bulk of the community which rarely understood the spirit and meaning ofthe Qur'an the status enjoyed by the rich and the respect they commanded even amongthe religious scholars demonstrated that material success was a sign of salvation.Hence the desire among them to strive hard, earn more and accumulate.

Apart from these several factors, which emanated from the teachings of Islamand their interpretations, another consideration which induced the Muslim bread-winner to accumulate wealth was a secular practice which owed its origins to thelink with India. This was the practice of dowry-giving by the bride's parents to thebridegroom. The practice was a complete reversal of the Islamic concept of mahr(dowry) which is a payment by the groom to the bride. In Ceylon the code of 1806recognized this payment and gave it the local customary name maskawin.227 Thecode also, in conformity with the shari'a, did not set any limit to the amount ofmaskawin to be paid. Yet, by the last quarter of the nineteenth century a customarylimit of Rs.125/- had become the established mahr. When an 'alim wrote the con-tracts of two marriages in Colombo for mahr payments of Rs.150/- and Rs.300/-respectively a protest letter appeared in one of the newspapers.228 Nevertheless thepractice of fixing the amount of mahr was not unique to the Muslims of Ceylon.It had developed among the South Indian Shafitte Muslim communities229 and it ispossible that its observance in Ceylon could have been the result of the close tiewith South India.

However, the mahr whether that described by the Qur'an and hadith or that which

332—Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987

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came to be fixed by custom did not prove as burdensome as the opposite practiceof citanam or stritanam, a Tamil name for dowry which became current among theMuslims and describes the practice of the wife's parents giving dowry to the groom.This, as pointed out earlier is the reversal of the Islamic concept of dowry and issaid to have originated in the Hindu Law of Manu.230 It may well have crept intoSouth-Indian Islam and found its way to Ceylon with the switch in the direction ofthe Islamic wave from the Middle-east to the Indian sub-continent,231 or else mayhave been taken over by the local Muslim community from the Sinhalese and Tamilsamongst whom this practice was well established. Whatever its origins, it came duringour period to be so firmly entrenched in the social fabric of the Muslim communitythat it tended to deprive many poor Muslim girls of marriage because of their in-ability to pay a dowry. By the turn of the nineteenth century it had already provokedcriticisms among the articulate,232 and those criticisms later took the form of an anti-dowry campaign. Yet, the protagonists of the system during our period justifiedstritanam by citing a sunna of the Prophet who is said to have given certain giftsto his daughter Fatima when she married Ali ibn Abi-Talib.233 Surprisingly evenAbdul Azeez was inclined to criticise the giving of only cash but not of gifts.234

The morality or otherwise of the system is not our concern here. What is relevantis an assessment of the pressure it created to activate the father of a daughter ordaughters, or when the father was deceased the eldest son, to strive hard to accumulatewealth. In order to do this a glance at the amounts of stritanam given by certainfathers-in-law and as entered in the katuttam23S or marriage contracts is very revealing.Of the four dowry agreements given below the first three describe marriages in theaffluent section of the community and the fourth comes from that of a middle peasantin an agricultural area.

An English translation of a katuttam of 10 November 1848,236 written prior tothe occasion of the marriage between P.N. the daughter of I.L.C.L. of New MoorStreet, Colombo and S.L.M.A.M. of Old Moor Street, Colombo speaks of the follow-ing dowry given by the bride's party to the groom.

Items

CashGold & silver jewelleryBrasswareA house and gardenOne-third share of a boutique and land

appertaining theretoTotal

Value

3O-O5s-Od30-0-07-10-075-0-0

50-0-0192-10-0

Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987—333

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Another katuttam written on 14 October 1854, between the same bridal party andA.L.M. the groom from Maradana in Colombo, states the following dowry.

Items

. CashGold & Silver jewelleryBrass and copper waresPortion of a house at New MoorStreet, ColomboOne-third share of a boutique and land

appertaining theretoTotal

Value

3O-Os-Od30-0-07-10-0

56-5-0

33-6-8157-1-8

A third written on 14 August 1876 between A.L.M. and C.L.C.M. the fatherand uncle respectively of the bride A.U. of New Moor Street, Colombo on the onehand and A.L.Y.L. Hajiar the groom from Messenger Street, Colombo on the otherlists the following.

Items Value

Cash Rs 500.00 ctsGold & silver jewellery 300.00Brassware 150.00Two houses and ground at New Moor

Street, Colombo 2000.00One-third share of a boutique and land

appertaining thereto 500.00Five-thirty-sixth share of four boutiquesat Kandy 2750.00

Total 6200.00

This total was the equivalent of £620.00 at the then ruling rate of exchange.All three marriages that these katuttams refer to were within one and the same

family.In fact the first two brides were the daughters of the same parents and thethird was the latters granddaughter. In the third case therefore the dowry listed maywell have been partly made up of the dowry received by the mother on her mar-riage. Similarly the amount of dowry the mother received must have been partlymade up of the dowry received by her mother. Thus, "the spirit of the dowry"is said to be "a part of the conjugal estate, to be enjoyed by husband and wife andto be transmitted to their children."237 But this part, as shown by the last two katut-tams, had an increasing function with successive generations. What was given wasmore than what was received. This occured for two reasons. Firstly, the total amountgiven as dowry by the parents depended upon the number of daughters and therefore

3 3 4 - Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987

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was likely to be greatly in excess of the amount originally received when the parentswere married. If it was a matter of dividing equally what one received then the dowrywould had decreased with every generation.

Another consideration however often prevented this from happening. Most parentswished their children to progress upwards on the social and economic scale and theMuslim community under study was no exception. Since status and advancementin that society was measured in terms of wealth and affluence the amount of dowrygiven by the parents would reflect not only their status but also that of the wouldbe son-in-law. Usually the cash element of the dowry called kaikkuli rose with theincrease in the status of the bride-groom. Of the three examples cited above the lastshows a kaikkuli of Rs.500.00 which was about £50 and which was more than thecash element in the first two cases, in both real and monetary terms, since thereis no evidence of substantial inflation in the intervening period. While all the otherelements in the dowry were more or less a premortem inheritance, in the sense thatthey were given to the daughter as her share of the parent's wealth,238 the cash alonewas given to the groom before the marriage. The fact that the bride-groom in thelast example was a haji indicates that he must already have been a person of con-siderable status. Hence his price was higher than that of a lesser person.

Even where the Muslims were mostly agriculturalists, kaikkuli was insisted upon.The fourth example, which is a katuttam from the village of Kalmunai239 in the Bat-ticaloa District written between U.N. the bride and M.S.M.L. the groom, clearlydemonstrates this.

Items

CashGold jewellerySilver jewelleryBrasswareA pair of buffaloes with calves

Total

Value

22-10s-0d11-05-05-05-03-15-03-00-0

45-15-0

The absense of a house or any other fprm of landed property is a notable featurein this dowry. This was largely because of the low value attached to land at thattime since there were vast uncultivated tracts cheaply available in that area forcultivation.

In all the settlements discussed above it is clear that cash was the most importantelement. In fact one writer was constrained to observe that "matrimony among theMoors of Ceylon . . . (became) a matter of money."240 Of course there were somemarriages without any dowry involved. But this practically amounted to an act ofcharity241 which every self respecting Muslim parent wanted to avoid.

From the point of view of this study not only the kaikkuli but the entire dowrysystem as practiced by the Muslims was an unbearable burden on many a father

Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987—335

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who had more than one daughter. The old Tamil saying ancaru pen pirantal aracanumantiyavan (if five or six daughters are born even a king will become a destitute),is a reflection of this burden. With the birth of every additional daughter the respon-sibility of the father increased and the need to accumulate wealth increased in pro-portion and thus acted as a motivating factor in the Muslim community and so con-tributed towards its energetic and enterprising character.

In summary, the desire to achieve status and recognition, within and outside thecommunity, through material accumulation, the demand for a higher personal in-come to maintain a relatively expensive consumption pattern, the financial demandsof certain religious institutions and practices and the pernicious practice of an alienand un-Islamic dowry system compelled a Muslim to strive hard and be economicallyactive. These factors in combination with certain character traits demanded by theoccupation of trade and with a trend of thinking developed through the religiousteaching made the Muslim community find peace and prosperity within the emergingcapitalistic framework of British colonialism. Hence their colonial image of economicdynamism.

Notes1. See for e.g. Michael Roberts (ed.), Collective Identities Nationalisms and Protest in Modern Sri

Lanka, Marga Institute, Colombo, 1979.

2. For a very scholarly analysis of this characterization see, Syed Hussein Alatas, The Myth of theLazy Native, London, 1977. This book discusses the problem in the context of colonial Malaya,Java and the Philippines. Ralph Pieris' "Society and Ideology in Ceylon during a 'Time of Troubles',1795-1850" University of Ceylon Review, Vol. 9, Nos. 3 & 4, 1951 and Vo. 10, No. 1, 1952;'and Yasmine Gooneratne's "Nineteenth century histories of Ceylon", Ceylon Journal of Historicaland Social Studies, Vol. 8, Nos. 1 & 2, (double issue), 1965 make some reference to this problemin the context of Ceylon.

3. Fernao Queyroz, The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon, translated by Fr. S.G. Perera,1975, A.M.S. Ed., Vol. 1, pp. 21-22.

4. Phillipus Baldaeus, A True and Exact Description of the Great Island of Ceylon (1672), translatedby Pieter Brohier, (The Ceylon Historical Journal, Vol. 8, Nos. 1-4).

5. Robert Knox, An Historical Relation of Ceylon, Tisara Prakasayo, Ceylon, 2nd Ed., 1966, p. 51.

6. The Committee was headed by Brigadier-General de Meuron, with Robert Andrews and MajorAgnew as membes and P. Dormieux as its clerical secretary. See, C O . 55/2, Proceedings of theCommittee of Investigation, 1797.

7. Ibid.

8. C O . 54/20, Maitland to Camden, 28 Feb. 1806.

9. Rev. J. Cordiner, A Description of Ceylon, London, 1807, Vol. 1, p. 105.

10. Ludovici was obviously discounting the pre-British period.

11. L. Ludovici, Rice Cultivation. Its Past History, and Present Conditions with Suggestions for itsImprovement, Colombo, 1867, p. 6.

12. John Davy, An Account of the Interior of Ceylon, London, 1821, p. 92; C. Pridham, Ceylon andHer Dependencies, London 1849, Vol. 1, p. 197.

13. J.E. Tennent, Ceylon, London, 1860, Vol. 1, p. 629; E. Haeckel, A Visit to Ceylon, translatedby Clara Bell, London 1883, p. 89; A Clark, Ceylon, London, 1910, p. 15.

336—Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987

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14. C.N. A. 5/1, North to the Court of Directors, 26 Feb. 1789 A. Bertolacci, A View of the Agricultural,Commercial and Financial Interests of Ceylon, London, 1817, p. 43; J.E. Tennent, op.cit.; HenryMarshall, Ceylon, A General Description of the Island and of its Inhabitants, London, 1846 (reprinted,Colombo, 1969), p. 13; C. Pridham, op.cit., Vol. 1, p. 479; A. Brodie "A Statistical Accountof the District of Chilaw and Puttalam, North-Western Province", JRASCB, 1853.

15. A. Bertolacci, op.cit., p. 43; C. Pridham, op.cit., Vol. 1, p. 479.

16. John Davy, op.cit., p. 92; C.N.A., 5/19, Horton toGoderich, No. 46,7 July 1832; Rev. J. Selkirk,Recollections of Ceylon, London, 1844, p. 78; C. Pridham, op. dr., Vol. 1, p. 197; C.A.R., 1888,report of CM. Lushington, Actg. Asst. Govt. Agent of Puttalam; C.A.R., 1889, report of E. Elliott,Govt. Agent of Eastern Province; CeylonCensus Report, 1901,Vol. 1, p. 81; A. Clerk, op.cit., p. 15.

17. Ceylon Census Report, 1901, Vol. 1, p. 124.

18. E. Haeckel, op.cit., p. 89.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.

21. C.A.R. 1888, report of C M . Lushington, Act. Asst. Govt. Agent of Puttalam.

22. John Davy, op.cit., p. 92; J.E. Tennent, Christianity in Ceylon, London, 1850, p. 36.

23. Ceylon Census Report, 1901, Vol. 1, p. 81.

24. John Davy, op.cit.,

25. Gunnar Myrdal, Asian Drama: An Enquiry into the Poverty of Nations, New York, 1968, Vol.111, pp. 977-981. Myrdal analyses only the general principles of the theory and therefore his analysishas no reference to Ceylon.

26. Robert Percival, An Account of the Island of Ceylon, London, 1803, p. 169.

27. J.E. Tennent, Ceylon, Vol. 11, p. 107.

28. John Davy, op.cit., p. 84.

29. J.E. Tennent, op.cit., Vol. 1, pp. 631-632

30. Syed Hussein Alatas, op.cit.

31. Op.cit., p. 7.

32. Chena lands were those in which shifting cultivation was carried out through slash and burn methods.33. For the exports between 1807 and 1813 see, A. Bertolacci, op.cit., tables I to VIIII, pp. 520-549

and for later years C O . 59 series, the Blue Books.

34. Ralph Pieris, op.cit., Vol. 9, No. 3, July 1951.

35. Yasmine Gooneratne, op.cit.; Ralph Pieris, op.cit.

36. J. Capper, Old Ceylon: Sketches of Ceylon in the Olden Times, Ceylon Press, Colombo, 1877,p. 155. Since the British could not possibly pronounce the names of some of the Moor merchantsthey identified them by their shop number. The real name of "Number Forty-Two" is availablein Ferguson's Ceylon Directory, 1875.

37. J. Capper, op.cit., p. 161.

38. C.N.A. 31/21, Mannar Kachcheri Diaries, 6 Aug. 1859.

39. ' 'The Tambeys of Ceylon'', The Chambers Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Arts, No.781, 14 Dec. 1878.

40. C.N.A. 57/245, I. Bailey, the Asst. Govt-Agent of Badulla to the Govt.-Agent of Central Pro-vince, 20 Jan. 1857.

41. Syed Hussein Alatas, op.cit., p. 18.

42. Ibid.

43. Ibid.

44. C.N.A.,5/1, North to the Court of Directors, No. 5 of 25 Feb. 1979.

45. Ceylon Census Report, 1901.

46. John Davy, op.cit., p. 108.

47. Syed Hussein Alatas, op.cit., p. 22.

Journal Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 8:2, July 1987—337

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48. C.S.P. 1 of 1881, Henry Parker's report on the Akattimurippu Tank.

49. A. Clark, op.cit., p. 28.

50. E. Haeckel, op.cit., p. 89.

51. The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1961, Vol. 3, p. 308. Eventhough Weber quotes extensively from Franklin's "Advice . . . Tradesman", in his Protestant Ethicand the Spirit of Capitalism, this last passage which actually summarizes the text is somehow orother missed out.

52. "Vatakaraic Conakarum Ilankaic Cinkalavarum", The Muslim Patukavalan, 14 Oct. 1904.

53. M.M. Uwise, op.cit., pp. 111-112.

54. S.M. Ismail, "Wither Moors", Young Muslim, Colombo, not dated.

55. J. Capper, op.cit., p. 161.

56. J.C. Wolf, The Life and Adventures of John Christopher Wolf, London, 1785, p. 263.

57. Al-Qur'an 2:282.

58. Leonard Woolf, The Village in the Jungle, London 1951, pp. 31-32.

59. Ibid.

60. C.N.A., 65/227, "Report on the Recent Riots in Yatinuvara, Harispattuwa, Tumpane and UdaNuwara", James Devane, Special Commissioner Under Martial law, 15 July 1915.

61. Werner Sombart, The Quintessence of Capitalism, translated by M. Epstein, New York, 1967, p. 125.

62. Ibid.63. Op.cit, p. 195.

64. For written evidence to this belief see, the Arabic-Tamil translation of Khutba Nabatiyya, publish-ed by Haji M.E. Shahul Hameed & Sons, (not dated).

65. Maulavi, A.L.M. Uthuman Lebbe, Islam Vakukkum Vali, Albion Press Ltd., Colombo, (not dated),question, 130.

66. Werner Sombart, The Jews and Modern Capitalism, The Free Press, Illinois, 1951, p. 211.

67. Khutba Nabatiyya, the first sermon for Ramadan. This with the idea that the month of Ramadanis the month to earn Kollai lapam in the business with Allah, is perhaps the reason why some Muslimsat least pray more regularly during this month than they do at other times.

68. M.A. Shahul Hameed Lebbe, Nazhul Hadit wafathul Majit (in Tamil), Madras, 1961, p. 350.

69. Maulavi, M.K.E. Abul Hassan (Kahiri), Islattil Citanam (Kaikkuli) Anumatikkappattata? (in Tamil),Colombo, 1971, 2nd Ed., p. 17.

70. Werner Sombart, The Quintessence of Capitalism, p. 125.

71. The relevant documents about this firm were made available to me by Mr. A.H.M. Ismail of GemMuseum, Fort, Colombo.

72. Max Weber, Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, p. 50.

73. R.H. Tawney's introduction to op.cit., p. 3.

74. Rev. J. Selkirk, Recollections of Ceylon, p. 78.

75. "Tambeys of Ceylon", op.cit.

76. C.N.A. 65/277, James Devane's report, 15 July 1915.

77. Werner Sombart, The Quintessence of Capitalism, p. 55.

78. Henry Sidgwick, The Principles of Political Economy, London; 1901, 3rd Ed., p. 586.

79. Max Weber, op.cit., p. 17.

80. Sombart, in tracing the development of middle class virtues in Europe quotes from the writingsof Leonardo Da Vinci according to whom ' 'the highest art in life is to appear charitable and touse craft to overcome crafty." He is even said to have "directed his children to plant their fruittrees on the extreme boundary of their field, so that the shade might fall on the neighbors domain.''Werner Sombart, op.cit., p. 112.

81. J.C. Wolf, op.cit., p. 64.

82. Ibid.

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83. John Davy, op.tit., p. 93; L.S. Dewaraga, The Kandyan Kingdom 1707-1760, p. 87.

84. J. Capper, op.tit., p. 159.

85. S.M. Ismail, op.cit.

86. Very few Jews were there in Ceylon during our period. In 1901 for instance, their total numberwas only six. Ceylon Census Report, 1901, Vol. 1, p. 84.

87. J.C. Wolf, op.cit., p. 261.

88. John Davy, op.cit., p. 70.

89. P.D. Millie, Thirty Years Ago or Reminiscences of the Early Days of Coffee Planting in Ceylon,Colombo, 1878, Ch.48 (unpaginated).

90. E. Haeckel, op.cit., p. 89.

91. Ananda Guruge (Ed.), Return to Righteousness: A Collection of Speeches, Essays and Letters ofthe Anagarika Dharmapala, Colombo, 1965, p. 540.

92. C.N.A. 65/277, op.cit.

93. F. Houtart, Religion and Ideology in Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1974, p. 75.

94. Sir W.J. Ashley, An Introduction to English Economic History and Theory, London, 1923, partI, p. 156.

95. A.C. Lawrie, The Gazetteer of the Central Province of Ceylon, Colombo, 1896, shows that in anumber of Muslim villages in the Kandyan District lands cultivated by Muslims were those belong-ed to Buddhist vihares leased out in return for various kinds of services either to the state or the temple.

96. Fernao Queyroz, op.cit., Vol. II, p. 743; P.E. Pieris, Ceylon and the Portugues, 1505-1658, Tellip-palai (Ceylon), 1920, p. 211.

97. During this period it was not the Moors but the King's relations who were found lending moneyat an exhorbitant rate of 40% interest. The King prohibited this and permitted only the Muslimlenders to charge an interest. John Davy, op.cit., p. 138.

98. M.B. Aryapala, Society in Medieval Ceylon, Colombo, 1956, passim.

99. L.S. Devaraja, op.cit., pp. 184-185.

100. Ceylon Census Report, 1901, the occupational statistics.

101. Ceylon Census Report, 1911, the occupational statistics.

102. M.D. George, London Life in the XVIIIth Century, London, 1925,2nd. Imp. p. 129; T.S. Ashton,An Economic History of England: The 18th Century, London, 1964, p. 222.

103. M.D. George, op.cit.

104. Ibid.

105. Op.cit., p. 360, note 64. For statistics on Muslim jewellery firms in the towns of Ceylon see,Ferguson's Ceylon Directory of different years.

106. C.R. Fay, Great Britain From Adam Smith to the Present Day, London, 1940, new impression, p. 128.

107. M.D. George, op.cit., p. 129; C.N.A., 65/227, op.cit.

108. Max Weber, op.cit., p. 17.

109. Op.cit., p. 166.

110. Ibid.

111. H.M. Robertson, Aspects of the Rise of Economic Individualism, Cambridge, 1933, p. XV.

112. Werner Sombart, The Quintessence of Capitalism, p. 22.

113. Ibid.

114. Werner Sombart, The Jews and Modern Capitalism, p. 21.

115. Max Weber, op.cit., p. 172.

116. A.H. Macan Markar, Short Biographical Sketches ofMacan Markar and Related Families, Col-ombo, 1977.

117. Op.cit., p. 1.

118. Arnold Wright, (Ed.) Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon, London, 1907, p. 463.

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119. From personal communication with A.H. Macan Markar.

120. A.H. Macan Markar, op.cit., p. 1.

121. Ibid. From time to time news items appeared in the Ceylon newspapers about the recent acquisi-tions of this firm, their value and of their purchasers. For example see, The Ceylon Independent,22 April 1901; 13 July 1904; The Ceylon Morning Leader, 23 Aug. 1907; Times of Ceylon, 3 Aug.1908; The Ceylon Independent, 4th and the Aug. 1908.

122. Max Weber, op. tit., p. 17.

123. The construction of the first breakwater was started in 1873 and completed in 1876. By 1880 shipswere calling regularly at Colombo. B. Bastiampillai, The Administration of Sir William GregoryGovernor of Ceylon 1872-1877, Tisara Press, Ceylon, 1968, pp. 37-40.

124. A.H. Macan Markar, op.tit., p. 1; Arnold Wright, op.cit., p. 463.

125. A.H. Macan Marker, op.cit., p. 3.

126. Besides Cairo they also had a branch at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, op.cit.

127. Op.cit., p. 6.

128. Ferguson's Ceylon Directory 1866-1868; Arnold Wright, op.cit., p. 494; The First Twenty OneYears, M.I.C.H.; Colombo, pp. 71-72; A.H. Macan Markar, op.cit., pp. 77-96.

129. Arnold Wright, op.cit.

130. Ibid.

131. Ibid., A.H. Macan Markar, op.tit.

132. S.H. Yoonoos The Greatest Ceylonese Muslim Benefactor, Abdul Caffoor Commemoration Day(a pamphelt), Colombo, not dated.

133. Ibid.

134. The First Twenty One Years, p. 76. According to Yoonoos, op.cit., 1895 was the date of the establish-ment of Caffoor's gem and jewellery business.

135. Arnold Wright, op.cit., p. 460.

136. S.H. Yoonoos, op.cit.

137. Douglas Senanayake, Encyclopaedia of Ceylon, A Ceylon Tea Industry Souvenir, Colombo, notdated, p. 74.

138. Ibid.

139. From personal communication with Allapitchay & Sons. Unfortunately no statistics were madeavailable to me.

140. J. Capper, op.cit., p. 160.

141. Ibid.

142. Putinalankari, No. 10, 7 July 1873.

143. For the names and status of different castes in Ceylon during the last century see, A. de Saram,A Description of Castes in the Island of Ceylon, their Trades and their Services to Government,Galle, 1888.

144. "As an ethnological category it refers exclusively to a system of social organization peculiar toHindu India." E.R. Leach, (Ed.) Aspects of Caste in South India, Ceylon and North-West Pakistan,Cambridge Uni. Press. Cambridge, 1971, p. 1.

145. As a sociological category it denotes "any kind of class structure of exceptional rigidity." op.cit.

146. B. Ryan, Caste in Modern Ceylon: The Sinhalese System in Transition, New Jersey, 1953, p. 147.

147. S.O. Canegaratnam's, A Monograph of the Batticaloa District, Colombo, 1921, pp. 35-36, givesthe names of some of the kudis found amongst the Muslims of that district. On the structure andfunctions of kudi see, M.Z. Mohideen, The Kudi Maraikkayars of Batticaloa South," The FirstTwenty One Years, Colombo.

148. The most commonly known is maula katrai which refers to the converts to Islam from other religions.The number of katrais are less than that of Kudris. M.Z. Mohideen, op.cit.

149. B. Ryan, op.cit., p. 148.

150. Ibid.

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151. Michael Roberts, "Elite Formation and Elites 1832-1931," University of Ceylon History ofCeylon,Vol. in , p. 165.

152. T.B. Bottomore, Elites and Society, New York, 1964.

153. The First Twenty One Years, pp. 79-80; Sir Gerard Wijeyekoon, Recollections, Colombo, not dated,pp. 161-163.

154. The Firsty Twenty One Years, pp. 78-79.

155. Op.cit., pp. 67-68.

156. A Qadiyani is a person who believes in the teaching of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadiyan in Pun-jab. Ahmad claimed himslf to be a prophet and thereby challenged the Qur'an itself which saysMuhammad was the last of the prophets. Therefore Qadiyanism is not simply a sect in Islam, butconsidered as a heresy and outside the fold of orthodox Islam. This movement is banned in Pakistan.The Qadiyanis are also called Ahmadis and the movement as Ahmadiyya. For a comprehensiveaccount of its doctrines see, Humphrey J. Fisher, Ahmadiyyah, Oxford University Press, Gr. Bri-tain, 1963, pp. 35-90. The information that Mr Sheriff was condemned as a Qadiyani was obtainedfrom personal communication with Mudliyar M.S. Kariappar, the ex-member of Parliament,Kalmunai.

157. The word maulana does not necessarily mean this. The origin of the word is maula which meansa lord or chief, a cousin, a freed man, a slave and an heir. But in Ceylon it has taken the formof a title to certain families which claim that they descend from the family of the Prophet.

158. Sayyid in Indonesia also means the descendant of the Prophet.

159. W.F. Wertheim, Indonesian Society in Transition, Hague, 1956, p. 139.

160. He was a building contractor and undertook from the government the construction of the ColomboGeneral Post Office, the Colombo National Museum, Colombo Customs Building and the Colom-bo Town Hall at Pettah. He also built the Galle Face Hotel, the Victoria Arcade, the Finlay MemorialBuildings, the Clock Tower, the Maligakande Reservoir and the Battenburgh Battery at Fort. M.C.A.Hassan, op.cit., p. 6; The First Twenty One Years p. 64.

161. M.CA. Hassan, op.cit., pp. 5-6.

162. S.H. Yoonoos, op.cit.

163. The First Twenty One Years, p. 78.

164. A.H. Macan Markar, op.cit., p. 6.

165. M.T. Akbar was the son of S.J. Akbar, a wealthy coconut planter and N.H.M. Abdul Cader wasthe brother of N.D.H. Abdul Caffoor who became a gem merchant at a very young age. The FirstTwenty One Years, pp. 78-80.

166. A.M.A. Azeez, "I.L.M. Abdul Azeez Birth Centenary Address", M.I.C.H. Silver Jubilee Souvenir1944-1969, Colombo, 1970.

167. Muslim Patukavalan, October 1907, p. 293. (Translated by author).

168. Michael Roberts, op.cit., p. 283.

169. Max Weber, op.cit., p. 39.

170. Sailan, Vol. 2, o.l, 1955; M.C.A. Hassan, op.cit., pp. 173-174; The First Twenty One Years,p. 50; Sir Alexander Johnston, op. cit. This fact has not been given adequate importance by Sinhalesescholars.

171. H.C.P. Bell, Archaeological Report of the Kegalla District, Colombo, 1904, see under GetaberiyaSannasa.

172. V.L.B. Mendis, The Advent of the British to Ceylon 1762-1803, Colombo, 1971, p. 29.

173. L.S. Dewaraja, op.cit., p. 52.

174. Op.cit, p. 186.

175. C O . 54/531, James R. Longden to the Secretary of State for Colonies.

176. C.S.P., No. 27 of 1935, p. 16.

177. C.N.A., 31/20, Mannar Kachcheri Diaries, Pulippangodai, 1 July 1858.

178. C.N.A., 31/25, Erukkalampity, 20 April, 1861.

179. C.N.A., 31/8, Moselly North, 18 September, 1848; Sellavatorre, 4 April 1857; 31/28, Marichchuk-katty, 21 March 1862.

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180. One of the applicants did not even know how to write. When questioned by the Asst. Govt. Agentat the interview he replied that he would employ someone to do the writing.

181. A.I.L. Marikkar, "Hon. Mohamed Cassim Abdul Rahman, Merchant, Reformer, Legislator,Leader", M.I.C.H. Silver Jubilee Souvenir 1944-1968, Colombo.

182. C.A.R., 1888, report on the working of municipalities.

183. Michael Roberts, "The Rise of the Karavas", Ceylon Studies Seminar, 1968/69 Series, Paper No. 5.

184. Robert Knox, op.at., p. 138.

185. C.A.R., 1887, report of F.R. Saunders, Govt. Agent, Western Province.

186. Ibid.

187. C.A.R., 1887, report of W.E.T. Sharpe, Govt. Agent, Central Province.

188. C.A.R., 1888 report of R.W. levers, Govt. Agent, North-Central Province, report of Herbert Wace,Actg. Asst. Govt. Agent, Ratnapura District.

189. C.S.P., No. 8 of 1881, W.R. Kynsey's report on "parangi" disease, Colombo 1881.

190. C.A.R., 1888, report of R.W. levers, Govt. Agent, North Central Province.

191. C.A.R., 1888, report of F.R. Saunders, Govt. Agent, Western Province; C.A.R., 1893, report ofH. White, Actg. Asst. Govt. Agent, Negombo District.

192. C.A.R., 1890, report of G.M. Fowler, Actg. Assist. Govt. Agent, Kalutara District.

193. Non-vegetarian food had generally become expensive at this time. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy,"Vegetarianism in Ceylon," Ceylon National Review, Vol. 2, No. 5, 1908.

194. The reports of 1880s have more information regarding these facts than his other reports.

195. C.A.R., 1887, report of Allanson Bailey, Govt. Agent Eastern Province and of C.A. Murray, Asst.Govt. Agent, Trincomalee District.

196. C.A.R., 1887, report of F.H. Price, Act. Asst. Govt. Agent, Kegalle District; C.A.R., 1888, reportof Herbert Wace, Govt. Agent, Sabragamuwa Province and of C M . Lushington, Actg. Asst. Govt.Agent, Nuwara Eliya District.

197. C.A.R., 1887, report of C.A. Murray, Asst. Govt. Agent, Trincomalee District.

198. C.A.R., 1887, report of Allanson Bailey.

199. Al-Qur'an, 2:172, 173; 5:3; 6:146; 16:115.

200. Ceylon Census Report, 1901, Vol. III. The total number of butchers and meatsellers were 738 ofwhich 485 were Moors and Malays.

201. C.N.A., 31/37, Mannar Kachcheri Diaries, Vidataltivu, 21 Dec. 1878; S.W. Baker, Eight Yearsin Ceylon, London 1883, pp. 115-116; C.A.R., 1889, extracts from the diary of S.M. Burrows,Asst. Govt. Agent, Matale, included in that years administration report; C.A.R., 1890, extractsfrom the diary of J.P. Lewis, included in the report of C M . de C. Short, Asst. Govt. Agent,Mullaitivoe District.

202. In 1886 there were only eight provinces and the ninth, Sabragamuwa was demarcated in 1889.

203. The last two items appeared in the 1888 list. Therefore the prices indicated are also of that year.For the 1888 list see C.A.R., 1888, report of A.G.A. Kegalle.

204. C.A.R., 1890, report of G.S. Saxton, Actg. Asst. Govt. Agent, Matale.

205. Most of these varieties were imported from India.

206. Because of their expensiveness and of the Muslims' fanatical adherence to those ritualistic feasts,I.L.M. Abdul Azeez condemned those practices and considered them a cause for Muslim backward-ness. Muslim Patukavalan, Oct. 1907, pp. 294-295. Also see his speech at the Moors Union asreported in Muslim Patukavalan, 14 Feb. 1902.

207. Rev. J. Cordiner, op.cit.. Vol. 1, pp. 94-95. Also see C. Pridham, op.cit., Vol. 1, p. 235.

208. Robert Knox, op.cit., p. 106; also see Henry Marshall, op.cit., pp. 17-19 for similar descriptions.

209. Simon Casie Chitty, The Castes, Customs, Manners and Literature of the Tamils, Colombo, 1934(reprint).

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210. For a thorough exposition of the orthodox view on Muslim dress see, S. Abul Ala Maududi, Pur-dah and the Status of Women in Islam, Lahore (Pakistan), 2nd Ed., 1975, pp. 159-179; and fora criticism on this view see, Mazhar ul-Haq Khan, Social Pathology of the Muslim Society, Delhi,1978.

211. Quoted from Al-Mabsut in S. Abul Ala Maududi, op.cit., p. 173. Also, Fat-HudDayyan, p. 153.

212. Al-Quran, 24:31.

213. Some of these dresses are still worn by Muslim women in certain villages like Palamunai and Ollik-kulam in the Batticaloa District.

214. For the names of some of the ornaments and jewellery worn by Muslim women of Batticaloa see,Kavignar Abdul Cader Lebbe, Ceynampu Nacciyar Manmiyam, p. 11.

215. Robert Percival, An Account of the Island of Ceylon, London, 1803, p. 178.

216. Fat-Hud-Dayyan, "It is sunnat for all to offer prayers dressed in excellent clothing", p. 155.

217. Philip K. Hitti, Capital Cities of Arab Islam, Minneapolis, 1973, p. 11.

218. Fat-Hud-Dayyan, p. 361.

219. According to some of the informants it was customary not to say poyirru varen (I will go and come)when setting out on pilgrimage to Mecca but to say just poren (I am going).

220. For the country in general the lowest marriagable age for males and females during our periodremained at 16 and 12 respectively. The Muslims were no exception. Yet, according to the censusof 1911 there were 107 wives under the age of 10 of whom the majority were Muslims. C.A.R.,1915, report of W.L. Kindersley, the Registrar General. Among the Muslims a girl was consideredto be an old maid at 18. AhmaduBawa, "The Marriage Customs of the Moors of Ceylon", JRASCB,Vol. X, No. 36, 1888.

221. Jacob Vrendenbregt, "The Hadji, Some of its Features and Functions in Indonesia", BijdragenTut De Taal-Land-En-Volkenkunde, Vol. 118. 1962.

222. Fat-Hud-Dayyan, p. 161.

223. Muslim Patukavalan, Oct. 1907, pp. 294-295.

224. Syed Hussein Alatas, Modernization and Social Change, Australia 1972, p. 17.

225. Al-Qur'an, 3:36, Al-Imran.

226. Op.cit., 34:37, Al-Saba' (The Saba).

227. C O . 54/123 Special Laws Concerning Maurs or Mahomedang, Section 63.

228. Putinalankari, 4 October 1873.

229. Victor S. D'Souza, "A Unique Custom Regarding Mahr (Dowry) observed by Certain Indian Muslimsof South India", Islamic Culture, Vol. 29, 1955.

230. Jack Goody and S.J. Tambiah, Bridewealth and Dowry, Cambridge Papers in Social Anthropology,Cambridge University Press, 1973, p. 85.

231. P. Ramanathan used the custom of Stritanam among the Moors of Ceylon as an argument to provehis case that the community was of Indian origin. P. Ramanathan, JRASCB, 10(36), 1888. AbdulAzeez even though refuted Ramanathan's argument yet conceded that the dowry and marriage customsof the Moors were borrowed from India. I.L.M. Abdul Azeez, A Criticism of Mr. Ramanathan'sEthnology of 'Moors' of Ceylon.

232. Ahmadu Bawa, op.cit. Also see "Kolumpucconakarin citana valakkam". Muslim Patukavalan,17 February and 24 February 1905.

233. Muslim Patukavalan, 24 February 1905.

234. Ibid.

235. The word katuttam is the corrupt version of the Tamil word katitam meaning a letter. It was writ-ten by an 'alim or a lebbai in Arabic-Tamil of the early days and in Tamil later. "The kadutham(s)(sic) after being signed are delivered to the custody of the Lebbe who keeps them under lock andkey and on application of any member of the family concerned the Lebbe reads out the kaduthamsand if so disposed he may hand it to a trustworthy person to preserve.

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"In the case of disputes as to property the kadutham is always referred to. No list of these kaduthamsis kept by the Lebbe so that the reaching of an old entails a deal of time and of trouble . . . FourWitnesses sign and kadutham and in the case of a divorce an endorsement is made and witnessedby 4 persons. A kadutham is never known to have been forged. A kadutham is the best evidenceboth of a marriage and of a divorce." C.N.A. 31/41, Mannar Kachcheri Diaries, Mannar 17December 1885. Also, C.S.P., No. 22 of 1885, the Registration of Mohammedan Marriages,subenclosure in enclosure 1 in No. 7 for a similar description.

236. This and the next two katuttams were made available to me by Mr. A.H.M. Ismail, Gem Museum,Colombo.

237. Jack Goody and S.J. Tambiah, op.cit., p. 62.

238. In all the katuttams the parties had agreed to write the deeds for the property given only after themarriage and at the request of the newlywed husband and wife.

239. This katuttam dated 1852 was made available to me by Mr. Mohammed Ismail 'Alim of Kalmunaik-kudy. I am thankful to Mrs. Latiffa Nuhman who helped in obtaining it for me.

240. Ahmadu Bawa, op.cit.

241. Such marriages were locally called "Allahvukkaka mutittal" which means marrying for the sakeof Allah. This phraseology is particularly common among the Muslims of the Batticaloa District.

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