CEYLON MYSTERY

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 129, 3 June 1935, Page 7

CEYLON MYSTERY

FOOTPRINT ON ADAM'S

PEAK

A FAMOUS MOUNTAIN

Although not the highest, Adam') Peak is far and away the most famous mountain, not only in Ceylon, but in all the East. For untold centuries it has been held sacred by Buddhists, Hindus, and Mohammedans, and to some extent it was venerated also by | the early Eastern Christians. The [chief reason for the sanctity of the [peak is the fact that on its summit is a shallow indentation which, to some extent, resembles a footprint (says a writer in the Melbourne "Argus"). This footprint, which measures nearly Sift in length by 30in in average breadth, is said by the Mohammedans to be the footprint of Adam. The story runs that when Adam was cast out of Eden he was made to stand for 500 years on the peak, in border to atone for his sin. . The Christian tradition, as given by Sir John Mandeville, is somewhat similar. Describing Ceylon, he wrote:-—"ln that yleis a -great mountayne . . . and thei of the contree seyn that Adam and Eve wepten upon that mount an 100 zeer," when thei weren dryven out of Paradys."', Another version adds that before leaving Ceylon Adam ascended the peak tor a final view of the surrounding-beauty; and then left his footprint' as' a memento of his visit.; . ,

The Hindus, on the other, hand, declare that the footprint is that of their god Siva, and the Buddhists claim that it is that of the great Buddha. The devout of these great religions, who number tens of millions, believe that if only they can ascend the peak and worship the sacred footprint they are assured of paradise. The result is that every year pilgrims come from all parts of the East to ascend the peak and worship there. N XHE CITY OF-GEMS. There are two principal ways of ascent. Here we are concerned with one only. A train from Colombo carries you to Katnapura. Ratnapura was formerly known as the City of Gems, because of the great numbers of sapphires and.cats' eyes that were mined there. From Ratnapura there is a tramp of eight miles through the jungle to the foothills of Adam's Peak, whence it is ten miles more to the top. Here the ascent begins, and soon it becomes strenuous. Before long it taxes not only the strength, but also the nerves of the strongest. Obstacles innumerable bpr the way. Appalling cliffs leap upward to the skies; deep precipices and frightful abysses yawn on either hand. At any moment one false step may send you to destruction.

At length the track ends at one of these precipices, where a great cliff hangs over from above. If you desire to proceed you' must now . ascend that cliff. To do so would be' impossible were it not that an iron ladder goes up part of the ■ way. Having reached the top of the ladder, you find that the worst is still before you; for you must now leave the ladder, and commit yourself to some old rusty chains, which hang from, the top of the cliff above. The links, you discover, are large- enough for your feet; so laying hold of the chains; you insert a foot in a link, and, forsaking the ladder, you find yourself swinging between heaven and earth on those woxn, rusty chains, which_you have now to climb, link by link, for SOft^ore before reaching the top of the cliff. Sir Henry Cave describes, his sensations at this point. "There is nothing how," he writes, "between us arid the yawning abyss, save the links which grate and sway, as with every nerve overstrained we haul ourselves. over the 90ft of bare and sloping rock. So great is the peril that the' slightest hesitation or the merest glance to .the right or left might unsteady the nerves $nd end in a fatal catastrophe." ANOTHER PRECIPICE. But even' when you have safely passed this terrible ordeal you have not reached the summit of the Peak. Another precipice now towers above you waiting to be scaled, and this one. also by means of a chain. This upper chain is known as "The Chain'of the Creed." The name arises from the fact that as the panting pilgrim climbs it link by link, he is supposed to utter at each link some part of his belief or creed. Those Christians who have climbed it are said to give utterance to other expressions, and to wonder why they were ever so foolhardy as to undertake such a task. However, the chain of the Creed brings you finally to the top, and when you have recovered your breath you may view the mighty footprint at your leisure. The chains which enable the pilgrim to overcome the last and most difficult part of the ascent of Adam's Peak remain one of Ceylon's unsolved mysteries. 'That they are'very old is beyond question. If we may believe an ancient Persian authority, they havr been there more than 2000 years. This oft-quoted Persian writer declares that they were placed there in 330 B.C. bf Alexander the Great This assertion is valueless in view of the fact that Alexander was never in Ceylon. Bi/ that the chains were there at least 1000 years ago is clear from the fact that they were described in the tentjf century by the famous Moorish tra\* eller and writer, Ibn Batutu. Marc* Polo, who in the thirteenth century is reputed to have visited Ceylon, wrote: "In this island there is a very high mountain, so rocky and precipitous that the ascent to the top is impracticable except by the assistance of iron chains employed for that purpose.". . It is evident, fronr these contemporary witnesses that the chains were there 1000 years ago, but by whom they were first fixed there, or for what purpose, none can tell. WORK OF HEAVEN. The devout Hindu or Buddhist probably finds no difficulty in believing that they were set there by Heaven for the use of pilgrims. The sceptical Westerner refuses this explanation, but he is unable to supply another. The explanation which to me appears most credible is that the chains were originally the work of the mountain robber bands. Such bands existed from the earliest times, and when Ratnapura was the centre of the. great sapphire-mining industry, and was' in its glory as the City of Gems, iti treasures must have been an irresistible temptation to robbers. By means of these chains they might easily descend upon the city and its hoards, as from the clouds, and by the same means slip off again with their spoil to the inaccessible mountains. • Once' ' the chains were drawn up they would have disappeared as completely as if they had ascended to Heaven.