upon the duct of the animal. The shells were, however, devoid of the
creatures that had inhabited them. Instead, they were filled with the
earth having become petrified. I could not determine whether this
characteristic to petrify was in the earth before excavation or whether it
became petrified after excavation. Some soils do possess the characteristic to petrify. Observation has shown that the earth of these wells was
even with the ground. The size of these shells and conches was determined by the nature of their habits, locality and the water, since marine
snails are larger and their shells are thicker and harder.
The people of India call them sankhs, and use them as whistles instead of musical instruments. They also cut them longitudinally and
make them into structures that are similar to water-cups. They are very
white — the colour of the white earth from which lime is made. I once
saw a saukh whose back was dark and turbid and had a colour like a
lustrous pearl inside.
W'acla' (Conchae veneris) is a kind of shell. Zangis collect them when
the water is in low tide and put them in a pit. This pit is covered till the
animals inside die and their flesh putrefies and disintegrates. This is the
practice followed in the islands of the Indies. The people drive palm
stakes into the ground. When the water is in high tide, the conchae
veneris cling to the stakes, these conches cut off the stakes when the
water recedes, and the Zangi practice is followed.
These are two kinds of islands in the Indies. From one kind are
fetched woven coir fibres. These are used for stitching the boats employed by these people. They are called kusarah by these people. The
other class of islands is that from which conches are brought. These they
call kurah (cowries). The people of India use them in place of coins and
gamble with them, as people gamble with counters and gems. The
cowries are used for decorating the cheeks of camels.
Some kinds are the size of eggs. They have backs marked with dots
and having slight reddishness. They are strung from the necks of animals,
and are used for polishing the gold used for gilding books. They are
called minqaf. A cowrie which has its right speckled side curved to the
right is rare. It is considered to be holy and is bought at a high price.
People give them as gifts to the kings of Habashah, on account of the
uniqueness of this article. We see that there is the custom of greeting important persons with ramishnah. Ramishnah is a leaf like the gul-i'Abbas. It has become bifurcated and presents the appearance of two
leaves fused together. It is quite possible that this venerated cowrie is
the sovereign of cowries just as honeybees and other animals have their
own kings, as there are also different ummahs like us.
There is a kind of cowrie which is very small and white. These cowries are collectively called sumum. Their singulars are satn and samat.
