Then follow the story of the flood, the lives of Abraham and David, without conspicuous discrepancies.
"The son of Nabi Dalawat--Daoud, David--(the Cham have no final d) was called the Nabi Suleiman--Solomon. Allah commanded him to build the Caabah--temple--and gave him a mountain of gold and silver. Suleiman covered the walls of his Caabah with these precious metals and it became wondrously beautiful. He was appointed Chief of the Priests therein.... Then Nabi Esa--Issa, Jesus--was born in the country of Baitelem and him Allah took to himself.... Then Mohammat--Mahomet--for forty years decreed all the Doctrine in the Kingdom of Makah--Mecca--and died in the Kingdom of Madjanah--Medina.... Then Adam and Hawa produced the seven Royalties. The sum of these seven epochs gives the total of 7306 years to the cyclic year of the Tiger....
The Cham, like the Kmer, have taken little trouble over the composition of their legends and fables.
Apart from certain legends which by internal evidence and local flavour can only be regarded as having originated among the Cham, all the others are more or less successful adaptations of Hindu tales. In almost all countries, and conspicuously in the Far East, popular fancy fastens and feeds on the fabulous, or, at least, incredibly romantic, adventures of the ancient Kings. It is at least true to say that these adventures furnish a canvas on which imagination has worked wondrous pictures.
The origin of the special tight-fitting costume worn by the Cham women is explained on this wise.
In the darkness of the Past a Cham Prince named Hon Hoî declared war on a Laotian Princess, whose ricefields he coveted. In accordance with the customs of the women of her race, the Princess, Diep Lieu, was arrayed in nothing more than a scanty covering of bamboo fibres. The barbarity and ignorance of her subjects was incredible. All buying and selling went on by night, and in the darkness it was impossible to determine the quality of the wares displayed except by their fine smell. The Prince had no difficulty in overwhelming her forces and making her his prisoner. But she found favour in his sight, and within a short time she exchanged captivity for freedom and honour as his wife. The Prince, however, was shocked at the summary attire of his betrothed and for the wedding-day he gave her a costume of his own making. This was a kind of sack, at the top of which was a narrow hole for the head to come through. The Cham also honour the thesis that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so the women adopted this new mode with avidity, and it has survived all the attacks of time and feminine caprice.