50

Notes.

Rds.

231

A.D.1688.

assume

A.D.1706.

lb.

Arecanuts.

Historical
Sketch.

2
2

mace,
cinnamon,
cloves,
nutmegs, and

Rds.
15

1 pair green Persian shoes.
5 large bottles rose water.
5 pieces red cloth.
40 lb. sandal wood.
1 bottle camphor oil.

1 piece ambergris.
1 piece of a sea-cocoanut.
2 silk cloths.
2 ornamented mats.
2 canisters of sweetmeat cake.^j

1 large canister of sweetmeat cake.^f
1 bundle Maidive sugar candy.
2 canisters Maidive pancake.
2 jars salt fish.

3 “ grasshopper-guns” (sprinkhanen)
1 match-lock (lontroer), inlaid with
silver
6 Ceylon mats

Arecanuts were specially valued by the Sultans formerly. In more than one instance when
they had been omitted from the list, either accidentally or owing to their scarcity, the reigning
Sultan did not fail to bring the fact to the notice of the Dutch Governor, with the result of securing
next year double quantities (e. g., 1776, 1790, 1792).
In 1716 the Ambassador brought from Sultan M. ’Imad-ud-dln

, THE
MALDIVES.

25
6

Ambergris and
sea-cocoanut.

3
10
6
6
3 amunams fresh Galle arecanuts.

and the loan of a Dutch gunner for a monsoon.
with profuse excuses, the following * * * §
Rds.
3 pieces satin (at Rds. 25 each) - 75
1 piece double red damask - 40
1 Japanese lacquered cabinet - 34
6 muskets, with ammunition - 18
6 fine lacquered pikes - 12
6 grenades - g
Forty years later (1688) the Sultan sent :—f
2 cloths of silver, ornamented with gold and silk flowers.
Maidive mats.
Maidive turbans.
1,000 dried fish.
These were reciprocated by a present chiefly of spices,—the form it has continued to
up to the present time -
10 lb. (each) cloves, mace, and nutmeg.
50 lb. cinnamon
100 lb, Bengal powdered sugar.
10 yards red cloth.
In 1706 the Sultan’s presents were :—|
1 female dress (patta) woven with Chinese gold thread.
3 pieces of Bengal cloth.
2 Maidive belts.
2 women’s gowns (rocben).
1 small piece ambergris.
1 piece of a sea cocoanut, “ used for medicine.”
The Dutch promptly sold all these11 trifles” (kleynighedenJ by auction to the highest bidder.
This seems to be the first record of ambergris (M. goma, mdvaharu) and sea-cocoanut
(M. t'avahdrhi) being included in the presents. The practice was continued for more than a
century at Galle,§ and is still in vogue at Colombo, where the Ambassador yearly hands over two
tiny bags containing pieces of these rare and highly valued sea products with the envelope cover-
ing the Sultan’s letter. The weight of the ambergris and sea cocoanut varied from Rs. 1 to Rs. 2|.
The same year Governor C. J. Simons returned :—1|

SESSIONAL PAPERS, 1881.
In return for these the Sultan wished to obtain two cannon with ammunition, some grenades,
The Council, however, decided to send instead,

* Dutch Records (Summary of Resolutions of Council, Galle, December 21st, 1646).
f Dutch Records (Miscellaneous), December 4, 1688.
J Dutch Records (Resolution of Council, Colombo, June 27th, 1706).
§ Bennett, “ Ceylon and its Capabilities,” p. 252, London, 1843.
|| Dutch Records (Resolution of Council, Colombo, November 24th, 1706).
The general Maidive term for these various sweetmeats is avuru (S. avulu pat).