The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1900-01-18
RELIGION OF THE SULUS.
a IperstitiOn Which Includes Seven
Heavens and Seven Hells.
New York Journal.

February is the month to die in
If you live in the Sulu Islands, L. S.
n In February the gates of the
seven bells are locked, and however
evil has been the life of the man, the
seventh heaven becomes the abode of
mis- soul, which takes flight from it's
envelope of clay upon the back of a
ZnIik white steed of supernatural
Beauty and wings its way through
s4pssae TO the eternal home of those
Believed OF Allah and Mahomet
gne religion of the Sulus is that of
"a Saahomet-in theory. In practice
at Ia the widest kind of superstition.
Worship is of the most primitive sort.
livery Friday the agun summons the
faithful to his mosque to hear him
chant the invocation to Mahomet,
followed by few verses from the
n oraD- This is the only worship, as
we understand worship.
The fast of Ramadan-the NOLAN
anedap lent-is observed strictly,
however. During the month that
tins feast lasts the Sulu abstains re-
7 iienMsly from food and drink from
hhaiisazis to the setting of the sun.
During tnese honrs he neither eats
nor drinks, bathes nor shaves; Meth
fxs does he permit the smallest caress
T fruu.Islis wivee-he is entitled to four,
: AND ass mnpy concubines as he wishes
his children.
Bee the cult of Mahomet is really a
small part OF the Sulu religion. The
Moros. as the inhabitants OF the is
aand are called, live in constant ter
.ror OF Satan (satan), and in every
ssarions affair-such as an earthquake.
a pestilence or war-they strive to
appease the demon or to disarm him.
Great dishes of dainties are thrown
iube the sea or the river for the de-
.lectation of the fierce black devil,
who is supposed to be human enough
an l,is appetite to divert himself with
these peace offerings and forget or
neglect to prosecute his wretched
subjects.
lhut i'd is in the rewards of punish
ments for faithful or evil performance
of the duties of this life that the
rnuos are rich. They have seven
heavens for the good and as many
hells for the bad. Their idea OF the
Judgment is vague, underlined, and
they can not explain by whom their
abode i'm the future life is assigned to
them.
The first heaven is Yattu-Atuan,
in which the soul that had taken
fight finds it's happiness in rest and
solitude
The second heaven is Firdeos, or
the paradise of the gourmet. In it
are found united all things good to
eat. 1t is a restaurant where the
service is perfect, the cooks artists,
the viands the best the market af-
3ords and the appetite eternal.
The third heaven is Nalm. This is
n sort of quintessence of Firdeos. 1t
as also a restaurant, but the food is
sublimated; it is not the meat of
~earth, but the ambrosia of the gods. |
And the appetite to enjoy it is pre-
ssumably the appetite OF an infinite
being.
The fourth heaven is Naua, where
the water flows forever and takes on
whatever flavor the drinker may de-
sire. Very sober in this life are the
SSasu islanders, and it may be that
they hope to obtain in the world to
come compensation for their mortal
abstemiousness in the form of eter
nal inebriation
The fifth heaven is Ainum-Naim,
the true paradise of the plutocrat.
1t is the receptacle OF ali riches.
In the sixth heaven. Salsabila, the
happy soul drinks the accommodate
ang water Naua, but out of vases of
purest gold.
And the seventh heaven is an ex-
=aggerated Ainum-Naim, where every
thing is bubbling over with pearls
and diamonds.
So much for the seven heavens, the
mature of which shows the material
tendency of the Moro's mind and il
illustrates how far it has drifted from
the teachings of Mahomet.
Now for the seven bells:
The first is Naruk-Yahanna. Here