The inhabitants of the island of Formosa. believe that the souls of wicked men are tormented after death by being cast headlong into a bottomless pit full of mire and dirt; and that the souls of the virtuous pass safely over it upon a narrow bamboo-bridge, which leads directly to Paradise. But when the souls of the wicked attempt to pass over it, they fall over on one side into the abyss below. (See AL-SIRAT).