Mav.
1827.
■I /!>'
C H A P . said to be few in number, and speaking generally tliere appears to be
3 3 3 A'ery little vice in the people.
I was assured by An-yah that marriages in Loo Choo were contracted
as they are in China, by tbe parents or by a friend of the
parties, without the principals seeing each other. Only one wife, I
believe, is allowed in Loo Cboo, though to the question whether a plurality
of wives was permitted ? both An-yab and Shtafacoo said that the
mandarin had five, and that the king had several*. They, however,
afterwards declared that in tbeir country it was customary to have
only one wife. Perhaps it is tbe same in Loo Choo as iu China, where
a man may have only one lawful wife ; but with her permission he may
marry as many more as be can provide for. These wives are as much
respected as the first wife, but they do not inherit their husbands’
property.
In Loo Choo, as in China, there is no religion of the state, and
ei’ery man is allowed freely to enjoy his own opinion, though here,
also, a distinction is made between the sects, one being considered
superior to the other. The sects in Loo Choo are Joo, Taou, and
Foo, or Budh ; but the disciples of the latter consist almost entirely
of persons of the lowest order, and An-yah appeared to think very
lightly of its votaries, saying they were “ no good.” It is upon record
that it is 1011 years since tbis sect passed from China to Loo Choo.
For several centuries its doctrines appear to have been advocated by
the court as well as by the common people ; but with the latter classes
they have since been supplanted by those of Confucius. We are told
that in the year 1372 several families from Fochien settled near Napa-
kiang, and introduced ceremonies in honour of the great Chinese philosopher,
whose memory was further honoured by a temple being erected
to him in Loo Choo, in 1663, by the Manshur Tartar, Emperor Kang-hi.
Confucius is now honoured and revered by all classes in Loo Choo.
The sect Taou, which is equally corrupt with that of Foo, has but few
advocates among tbe better classes of society.
Like the Chinese, tbe Loo Chooans are extremely superstitious,
and invoke their deities upon every occasion, sometimes praying to the
* Supao-Koang says a p lu ra lity of wives is permitted.
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