THE VEDDAS

CHAPTER VII

RELIGION (CONTINUED)

WE have now described the fundamental ideas of the Vedda cult of the dead, but superposed upon these there are two other strata of belief both of which have influenced the religion of certain groups of Veddas to a greater or less extent. Before discussing these we may briefly indicate the views of the more thorough of previous investigators. In this as in other matters Knox was better informed than many of his successors when he said of the Veddas, "The tamer do build Temples, the wild only bring their sacrifice under Trees, and while it is offering dance round it, both men and women^[1]." Tennant's account adds little to this; Bailey's account, undoubtedly the most complete and trustworthy that has been given to date, is not quoted here because it will be found almost in full on pp. 160 and 161 where the religious beliefs of the Nilgala Veddas are discussed. Tennant writes, "They have no knowledge of a God, nor of a future state…in short, no instinct of worship, except…when sick, they send for devil dancers to drive away the evil spirit, who is believed to inflict the disease. The dance is executed in front of an offering of something eatable, placed on a tripod of sticks, the dancer having his head and girdle decorated with green leaves. At first he shuffles with his feet to a plaintive air, and by degrees he works himself into a state of great excitement and action, accompanied by moans and screams, and during this paroxysm, he professes to be inspired with instruction for the cure of the patient^[2]."

Even Nevill missed the essentials of the Vedda cult of the dead, though he shows that he knew something of what actually occurred. "The Vaedda religion seems to have been such that the spirit alone was recognised as human, and the flesh, when the spirit has left it, receives neither veneration nor superstitious reverence. Where the life left the body, there the body was left…. Two or five days after the death, however, the relations were invited to the scene of funeral and a feast was held…to satisfy relations there had been no foul play….

"The Vaeddas of Bintenne, however, having assembled relations and neighbours, procure rice, or other grain, and decorate the pot in which it is cooked with sprays of the liniya tree^[3], a shrub with leaves like our hazel, but with bright scarlet flowers. If no flowers can be got, bits of red cotton or other cloth should be used. The celebrant then dances round the pot of food, with an arrow in his hand, singing any chant he knows, and making obeisance to the food by a wave of the arrow. The food is then distributed….

"It is evident this custom cannot apply to those who formerly did not eat grain. These, however, were few. Roasted game would probably with such take the place of grain, and the latter seems only used as the best and most unusual food procurable, much as our poor try to provide cake, and not bread and cheese, etc. at weddings….

"Bodies were never buried until the English Government endeavoured to enforce burial. The Vaeddas have not the least objection to the corpse being buried, but object greatly to being forced to dig the grave…^[4]."

Although the Sarasins underestimated the importance of the Vedda cult of the dead, and failed to discover that even "Nature" Veddas make offerings to the spirits of their departed, their opinions and conclusions are necessarily given at some length on account of the undoubted importance of their work. "The Veddas of Dewilane told us that after death they became spirits or yakas, but as to whether these persisted (lebten) or not they never thought; they did not pray to them nor honour them. The 'Nature' Veddas from Danigala…told us in 1885 that they worshipped neither their ancestors, nor a devil nor a god. Five years later the Veddas settled at Henebedda in the Nilgala district told us that they believed that the dead became spirits or yakas; but they did not make offerings to them. At Wewatte they likewise believe that the dead become yakas and there they invoke them in cases of sickness…gods they have none. A Vedda from the neighbourhood of Kalodai (Pallegama district) named Manikrala informed us that they worshipped children, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother— in short their dead relatives. In remembrance of the death of such relatives they gave a present to the first Buddhist priest whom they met. We therefore asked this 'Culture' Vedda whether his relatives continued to live as spirits after death, but he replied that he did not know; the present of rice was simply in remembrance of the deceased man. In answer to the further question whether they had a definite religion or worshipped a god, he replied that he had never thought about it, and he gave us the impression that this question and the idea it suggested were new to him.

"We found the idea of the existence of the departed as spirits further developed in an old 'Culture' Vedda of Mudagala near Mahaoya, named Sella. He said they had no gods besides their departed. Every year at the full moon they consumed yams and other food at the burying place. On this occasion they hold a dance in honour of the departed, invoke the dead by name and pray them to help them. At Omuni the corpses were buried in Sinhalese fashion and provided with burial presents; but two Veddas when we questioned them about their religion could tell us nothing on this point, and said that the departed were not honoured as gods^[5]."

From these data the Sarasins conclude that "genuine 'Nature' Veddas either lack, or at the most have a quite uncertain idea of the persistence of the souls of the dead at the site of death, and that they make no offerings to their manes.^[6]" Further, they state "that among 'Culture' Veddas this idea has developed but little, for they either answered that they did not know whether they persisted as souls after death, or that they had never thought the matter over. Nevertheless they honour the names which like the Sinhalese they call Yakas with food, dances or offerings. Any monotheistic idea of God is absent both in 'Nature' and in 'Culture' Veddas^[7]."

The three strata of belief to which we referred at the beginning of this chapter and which exist among the Veddas of the present day, have not fused so thoroughly that there is any great difficulty in isolating them. We believe they may be tabulated as follows:

I. The Cult of the dead, including the cult of the spirits of recent ancestors, i.e. of the Nae Yaku and the yaku of certain Veddas who have been long dead and may well be regarded as heroes. The most important of these is Kande Yaka.

II. The Cult of foreign spirits, who have become naturalised and have taken the friendly protective nature of the Vedda yaku.

III. The Cult of foreign spirits who, though not often regarded as such, have retained their foreign nature and are in the main terrible or even hostile.

Another feature of the last stratum of thought is the endowment of true Vedda yaku with foreign attributes^[8]. When the history of the island is considered, it is not surprising that the first condition, which may be considered the primitive religion of the Veddas, should nowhere be found standing alone at the present day. It is impossible to say how much the Indian invaders influenced the aboriginal inhabitants of Lanka (Ceylon) when they took possession of the island under Vijeyo about 500 B.C., for the few references made to Veddas in the ancient chronicles of the country throw no light on this subject.

Knox mentions that Veddas paid a tribute of game and honey to the Sinhalese, and in his day there were "wild and tame" Veddas, and it is certain that from the middle ages onwards there was a considerable amount of intercourse between at least the tamer Veddas and the Sinhalese. Therefore it is natural that foreign beliefs should have gradually infiltrated the native Vedda cult.

To illustrate and prove these propositions we must examine in detail the beliefs of some of the communities in which each stage is respectively dominant. The Veddas met at Godatalawa and Sitala Wanniya form the best example of the first stage of belief. In comparing their beliefs it must, however, be remembered that the Godatalawa family have drifted away from their hunting grounds and are in dire want, and that their oldest man and leader (now quite infirm though still mentally vigorous) was never a shaman and consequently could give only the lay opinion of his group on religious matters. It must then not be assumed that no spirits beyond the Nae Yaku, Kande Yaka, and Bilindi Yaka were known to the shaman of the Galmeda community, although the fact that the laymen only knew of these spirits shows how vastly more important they were than any other.

The Sitala Wanniya people, on the other hand, were living in a condition which must have been general from ancient times up to about 70 years ago. Four of the five families had never made even rough chena or built bark houses, but lived on game, honey and yams and wandered about from rock-shelter to rock-shelter within their territory.

At Godatalawa Kande Yaka and Bilindi Yaka were both known though they were not recognised as brothers, and Kande Yaka was said to be greater than all other yaku. They are the two principal yaku invoked in order to obtain game, but with them there are invoked three other yaku, who, it was stated, are not the spirits of the dead but have existed as yaku from the beginning. These were, however, of little importance, and our informant, an old man the senior of the group but not a shaman, did not remember their names. Kande Yaka and Bilindi Yaka would be invoked in order to obtain game at the kirikoraha ceremony, or simply when dancing round an arrow struck in the ground. These dances were not in gratitude for game already killed, but when the hunting had been successful, pieces of flesh from the neck and chest of the kill were cooked on the ashes and Kande Yaka and Bilindi Yaka were invoked to come to this offering which a few minutes later would be consumed by the Veddas. If part of the meat were not thus presented to Kande Yaka the hunters would expect bad luck in future, and might even be bitten by snakes or attacked by bears.

The Nae Yaku are the spirits of the dead, they must report themselves to Kande Yaka as the chief of all the yaku and from him obtain permission to help the living and accept their offerings. Kande Yaka comes to the Nae Yaku ceremonies since the spirits of the dead could not be present without him. It was definitely stated that the spirits of the dead did not become yaku until the fifth day after death, but my informant knew nothing of the state of the spirits during this period though it was surmised that at least part of the time would be passed in seeking Kande Yaka or in his company, though there was no idea as to where Kande Yaka had his being. It was however stated, that the spirits of the dead were in hills, caves and rocks. The Nae Yaku including the spirit of the dead man are invoked on the fifth day after death. An offering is made of coconut milk and rice, if these are obtainable, but if not one consisting of yams and water is substituted. The shaman dances, holding in his hand a big ceremonial arrow for which no special name could be elicited, while the remainder of the community gather round. The shaman invokes the Nae Yaku and also Kande Yaka and Bilindi Yaka. The shaman becomes possessed and is supported lest he fall while the spirit of the deceased promises that yams, honey, and game shall be plentiful. He then sprinkles coconut milk or water from the offering on the relatives of the deceased as a sign of the spirit's favour. One or more of the relatives of the dead man may also become possessed. The shaman gives the relatives water and yarns, putting their food into their mouths himself while he is possessed, and it appeared that this might cause the relatives to become possessed. At the end of the ceremony he asks the Nae Yaku to depart to where they came from and the spirits leave the offering.

Nothing was known concerning the Kataragam God or the kolamadua ceremony, though our informants said that they had heard of other Veddas performing this ceremony. Gale Yaka was not known, nor yet Wanagata Yaka.

At Sitala Wanniya the principal yaku are Kande Yaka, Bilindi Yaka, Bambura Yaka and the Nae Yaku. According to these people Kande Wanniya killed his younger brother Bilindi when the latter was only an infant. The story is that their parents were out hunting when Bilindi, feeling hungry, began to cry and would not desist in spite of the endearments lavished upon him by Kande. At last Kande threw the child on the ground in despair and so killed him.

It appeared that as a hunting hero Bambura Yaka is on the whole as important as Kande Yaka, though he is certainly not looked upon as so benevolent nor so loved as the latter, who helps men to kill deer and never sends sickness. Bambura Yaka is a somewhat grim spirit who although he gives yams and helps men to kill pig, also sends sickness and must be invoked to remove it, and he is also invoked when dogs are lost or taken by leopards. Because of his giving yams he is sometimes known as Ale (yam) Yaka, and yams are offered to him together with other vegetable food when this can be obtained.

The kirikoraha ceremony is performed to obtain game, in gratitude for which the head and a portion of the flesh from the breast of every deer killed is cooked as an offering to Kande Yaka and is afterwards eaten by the community. If this were not done Kande Yaka would be angry and little game would be killed.

The I seen at Sitala Wanniya is described on pp. 223 to 226, and the ceremony at which Bambura Yaka is invoked on pp. 237 to 245.

The spirits of the dead become the Nae Yaku and with Kande Yaka are invoked for success in hunting; a description of this ceremony will be found on pp. 230 to 233. A few days after a death the dead man is invoked for assistance in hunting, being addressed as mal paenae wanna, and when the relatives or the group leave the cave to look for game they repeat the invocation as they move along. After this, if they are successful, they know that the spirit of the dead man has become powerful as a Nae Yaku and invoke him at the kirikoraha among the Nae Yaku called upon. The Nae Yaku must obtain permission to accept offerings from Kande Yaka, and Kande Yaka must be invoked before the Nae Yaku to come to the offering, which should consist of coconuts, rice, areca nuts, betel leaves and, when obtainable, bananas.

We consider that the beliefs so far described represent the first stratum or basis of the Vedda religion and to be of its original substance. This is not the case with the remaining portion of the religion of the Veddas of Sitala Wanniya, which relates to certain foreign spirits who have become naturalised Vedda yaku. The Rahu Yaku are spirits of this sort. A fire ceremony occurs in the dance by which they are invoked and there is no doubt that these yaku are derived from the Sinhalese demon Gini Rahu Bandar. Yet in spite of this they have acquired a Vedda history, being regarded as long dead Veddas quite unconnected with the Rahu Bandar of the Sinhalese. The story concerning them is that long ago three Vedda brothers occupied a shelter together and one day one of them returned from hunting to find a stranger in the cave with his wife. The unknown rushed away and made good his escape, but the injured husband made up a big fire and in his rage and despair jumped into it. His yaka is one of the Rahu Yaku, the other two being the yaku of his two brothers who did not, however, burn themselves to death.

The help of the three Rahu Yaku is asked to cure sickness, to obtain success in hunting, and in collecting rock honey. Hunting and honey collecting both have their true Vedda patrons Kande Yaka and Dola Yaka, therefore the Rahu Yaku seem superfluous in these capacities. Further evidence as to their foreign origin is afforded by the fact that they carry "swords" (kaduwa), a weapon unknown to Veddas except in incantations^[9], and that all three are considered somewhat dangerous, and cause sickness.

Indigollae Yaka, a foreign spirit (whose origin will be considered at length in Chapter VII), is looked upon as an attendant upon Kande Yaka in this community.

The names of certain spirits residing on various hills and rocks were known; they were said not to be worshipped, although they were looked upon with awe and respect as they were believed to cause sickness.

These spirits are the Maha Yakini who are especially associated with the hills Nuwaragala, Walimbagala and a rock called Kalumal Ela. The chief of the Maha Yakini is the Maha Kiriamma, and the other Maha Yakini are her attendants. Although associated with rocks and hill-tops they are not invoked before taking honey in these places. It was stated that the Maha Yakini were formerly living people—old women—and that they were especially fond of children and might even steal them. It is for this reason that infants are protected by an arrow struck in the ground, and it is clear that something of their character as old Vedda women still survives in spite of their generally more or less unfriendly attributes.

Concerning the Maha Kiriamma nothing definite could be learnt: our informant had heard it said that she had been invoked in the old days, but knew nothing of this himself. Handuna said that what little knowledge they had of the Maha Kiriamma had travelled to them from the Bintenne Veddas near Horaborawewa^[10].

In the Sitala Wanniya community, therefore, the second stratum is well developed and the third is indicated. The second and third strata, though probably not recently introduced, are, however, entirely subsidiary to the primitive cult of the friendly dead.

The Bandaraduwa community is one in which the second stratum is so highly developed that at first sight it appears dominant, for after a death offerings are made to the Buddhist priest, but this is only done as an additional means of propitiation of the Nae Yaku who are still considered of the first importance, to whom an offering is made on the seventh day after death. Further, Kande Yaka is still closely associated with the Nae Yaku and is invoked with them, but he is no longer formally regarded as the Lord of the Dead, that function has been usurped by Kanda Swami or Skanda known to these Veddas as "the Kataragam God." He is one of the four gods who protect Ceylon, said to have come from India, and is worshipped chiefly by Tamils, who coming from the north-east frequently pass through the territory of the Kovil Vanamai Veddas on their pilgrimage to the temple of their God in the south of the island.

The following information concerning Kataragam is taken from Mr Herbert White's Manual of Uva.

Although the present temple is of brick and of no architectural pretensions it is the lineal descendant of the temple endowed some 2000 years ago by Dutugamunu, King of Mogana, as a thank-offering for assistance in overcoming the Tamil King Elala^[11]. But Kataragam was a holy place before this, for the Mahavansa describes how the princes of Kataragam assisted at the planting of the shoots of the sacred Bo tree and how one of the miraculously produced offshoots was planted at Kataragam itself^[12].

"The aspect and natural features of the country surrounding the temple of Kataragama are not calculated to make a favourable impression upon the eye when they first meet it. There is nothing in them to attract and invite it. Everything, with the exception of the temple and the river on which it stands, at the village of Kataragama and its vicinity looks wild, dreary and monotonous….

"The population of the village may be estimated at forty, including women and children; but it is liable to fluctuation at different periods of the year, from the influx and efflux of the pilgrims who resort to the temple. And I need scarcely add that the village, its adjacent hills, and the surrounding country, are all temple lands, and their occupants are attached to the temple service as its tenants^[13]."

The guardian of the temple and its lands, the latter including a domain of some 60,000 acres, is a Buddhist headman resident at Badulla, and although there are now no Veddas near Kataragam, tradition states that there were formerly many Veddas in the temple forests who in some sense served the temple and were known to the Sinhalese as the Kovil Vanamai Veddas. Concerning these Nevill says: "This name means Vaeddas of the Temple wilds, and they were from time immemorial guards of the Katthiragam temple. Their district was from Kumbukan Ara to the Temple precincts, and north as far as the settled villages of Butala and Maha Vaedda Rata….They are said traditionally to descend from the Vaeddas who found the noble babe Valliamma left in the forest, and reared her as their child^[14]." Writing in 1886 Nevill points out that he had himself met the last remnants of these people most of whom were, however, "too reduced by want and disease to retain any memory for old customs."

At the present day the sanctity of Kataragam is reputed to be due to the tradition that the god halted on the highest of its seven hills on his return homeward from the conquest of the Asuras. "The particular spot…where Kataragama first met Valliammal in the guise of a hungry and thirsty pandaram, or mendicant, and begged of her to appease his hunger and quench his thirst, when she was watching her chena cultivation as the adopted daughter of a Vedda chief, and preparing cakes from a composition of honey and sami or milled flour, is pointed out at a distance of more than four miles from the temple. The precise spot again, with footmarks of an elephant on a rock, where she had suddenly encountered the ponderous brute and entreated the pandaram to protect her from its attacks, is also shown to the enthusiastic pilgrim^[15]."

Now Valliamma was the daughter, or the adopted daughter, of a Vedda, and to this day such Veddas as those of Bandaraduwa who have come under the influence of Hinduism, although acknowledging that the Kataragam God, whom they do not call by any other name, is greater than the Nae Yaku, nevertheless hold him in less awe and treat him with less formality than do the Tamils and Sinhalese.

These Veddas know nothing of the other three great gods who protect Ceylon, and they regard Valliamma as a Vedda and speak of her as their elder sister (akka) while the Kataragam God is almost, if not quite, thought of as their brother-in-law. In fact the divinity of the God and of his consort has not among the Veddas reached the proportions it has among the Sinhalese and Tamils. It has already been stated that among the Sinhalese the spirits of the dead who desire to become Baṇḍāra present themselves to the Kataragam God, and from him obtain permission to receive offerings of cooked food (adukku) in return for benefits to be conferred, or to smite men with sickness and other disasters, and we were told that the Kataragam God would not refuse any spirit who approached him with this request^[16].

Further, these Veddas hold that the man may become possessed by the Kataragam God in the same way as by the Nae Yaku, and the god is worshipped at certain shrines in the Kovil Vanamai district which are traditionally associated with Veddas and are said to be of Vedda origin. One of these at a place called Kokkadichchola is said to have arisen as follows.

A Vedda and his wife were cutting the trunk of a tree for honey when the tree began to bleed and they found in it not a bee's nest but an infant. The Vedda became possessed and while this condition lasted the God within him announced that he was the Kataragam God and that a temple must be built to him there. When the Vedda returned to his senses the child could not be found, but in its place was an image of the God.

Returning to the beliefs held by the Bandaraduwa people concerning the Nae Yaku, these can be best illustrated and explained by considering the events following the death of a Kovil Vanamai man called Tuta.

The day after our arrival at Bandaraduwa a Vedda called Kaira came to our camp sobbing and shaking and protesting that he could not stay long with us as his brother was dead. He seemed deeply affected, though another brother, Kaurale, who was with him appeared quite calm, which led us to suspect that his uncontrollable agitation was due to something more than mere affection for the dead man, and we soon discovered that this brother had lived with him and died in his hut, and that it was his duty to make an offering to the nearest Buddhist priest and to provide the necessities for a dance to the Nae Yaku, and that he had not the wherewithal to do these things. If these duties were neglected the spirit of the dead man would be angry, and after seven days when the spirit had become a yaka would cause misfortune and sickness and perhaps kill him. His manifest relief when we offered him the money needed to purchase the offerings showed that his sorrow for the loss of his brother was the least of his troubles, and he was quite gay when he started on his twenty mile walk to the nearest boutique with Rs. 3.50 in his betel pouch, and readily assented to our condition that he must return with his purchases so that the Nae Yaku ceremony might be performed near our camp. The local shaman, who was Vidane of the Vedda settlement, was perfectly ready to agree to this, indeed it suited him well, for it saved him the trouble of walking some eight miles to the scene of the death, and as he pointed out, the Nae Yaku could be invoked as well in one place as in another. It was important that the Nae Yaku dance should be held on the seventh day after death, since it was thought that the spirit of the dead man, which became a yaka on the third day after death, resorted to the Kataragam God and on the seventh day obtained authority from him to accept offerings and to help or molest the living according to the way in which he was treated by them. We were assured that whatever the intentions of the relations might be with regard to the spirit of the dead man, no danger was to be apprehended until the seventh day when the Nae Yaku ceremony should be performed, though this could not be done unless alms had previously been given to a Buddhist priest. The offerings which must be given to the priest are worth nearly three rupees and consist of the following foods and other objects. The numbers in parentheses after each object show the price in cents at the nearest boutique, some fifteen or twenty miles from Bandaraduwa. Rice 3 measures (60), 2 coconuts (20), 50 balls of jaggery sugar (15), 25 areca nuts (6), 5 tobacco leaves (12), 100 betel leaves (18), 1 plate (30), 1 cup (25), 1 mat (25), 1 handkerchief (36), half a bottle of coconut oil (50), the total amounting to 2 Rs. 97 cents. The offering made to the Nae Yaku cost only 40 cents and consisted of a coconut, 50 betel leaves and a measure of rice.

The actual ceremony at which the spirit of the dead man was invoked and offerings made to it is described in Chapter IX, pp. 233 to 237.

Certain of the invocations used by the Kovil Vanamai Veddas, for instance, in invocation (No. XXXIV) to Indigollae Kiriamma for success in hunting and the invocations sung at the kolamaduwa ceremony, especially, that to Unapane Kiriamma (No. XXXVIII), show how greatly foreign influence has altered the character of spiritual beings who existed in the original Vedda religion.

The Veddas of Uniche form a community in much the same stage of belief as the Veddas of Bandaraduwa. A few days after death the spirit of the deceased obtains permission from a "chief" to accept offerings and assist or harm the living. Our informants could not tell us who this chief was, but appeared to think that he had lived in comparatively recent times, and were confident that he was not Kande or Bilindi Yaka.

The Nae Yaku, including the spirit of the dead man, are invoked a few, perhaps five, days after a death has taken place. A pot of coconut milk with betel leaves in it is placed upon a rice pounder, and the shaman, holding a ceremonial arrow in each hand, dances round this, invoking the spirits, including that of the dead man. When possessed, the shaman sprinkles some of the coconut milk on the relatives and places betel leaves on their chests; the shaman also feeds the relatives from the bowl of coconut milk. The object of this dance is said to be to enable the prana karaya to become a Nae Yaka. It is clear that this is simply a condensed account of the ceremony we witnessed at Bandaraduwa, described on pp. 233 to 237.

The conditions prevailing at Henebedda, which at first were most puzzling, were found to be largely due to the influence of Tissahami "the Vedda Arachi," whose strong personality has been already referred to on p. 41. This man had taught the present Henebedda shaman much of his lore, and the latter was but too anxious to assimilate and practise all that the Arachi would teach him. The knowledge he thus acquired spread to the younger members of the tribe, such as Sita Wanniya, who obviously took more interest in the ceremonial observances of his religion than any other of the younger men we met, and it was said that he would probably be the next shaman. The older men, on the other hand, appeared to know little of the developments introduced by the Arachi. To them Kande Yaka, Bilindi Yaka and the Nae Yaku were not only the most important spiritual, powers, but appeared to be the only ones who were at all well known; the simplicity of the eschatological beliefs of these older men has already been referred to on p. 126 and agrees wonderfully well with those described by Bailey in 1863. "The result of the most patient inquiry is, that the Veddahs have a vague belief in a host of undefined spirits, whose influence is rather for good than evil. …They believe that the air is peopled by spirits, that every rock and every tree, every forest and every hill, in short every feature of nature, has its genius loci; but these seem little else than mere nameless phantoms, whom they regard rather with mysterious awe than actual dread….But besides this vague spirit-worship, they have a more definite superstition, in which there is more of system. This is the belief in the guardianship of the spirits of the dead. Every relative becomes a spirit after death, who watches over the welfare of those who are left behind. These, which include their ancestors and their children, they term their 'nehya yakoon,' kindred spirits. They describe them as 'ever watchful, coming to them in sickness, visiting them in dreams, giving them flesh when hunting.' In short in every calamity, in every want they call on them for aid; and it is curious that the shades of their departed children, 'bilindoo yakkoon,' or infant spirits, as they call them, are those which they appear most frequently to invoke….

"The ceremonies with which they invoke them are few as they are simple. The most common is the following: an arrow is fixed upright in the ground, and the Veddah dances slowly round it, chanting this invocation, which is almost musical in its rhythm:

'Mâ miya, mâ miya, mâ deyâ,
Topang koyihetti mittigan yandâh!'

'My departed one, my departed one, my God!
Where art thou wandering?'

The spirit of the dead is here simply called upon, without even the object for which it is invoked being mentioned. And this invocation appears to be used on all occasions, when the intervention of the guardian spirit is required, in sickness, preparatory to hunting, etc.

"Sometimes, in the latter case, a portion of the flesh of the game is promised as a votive offering, in the event of the chase being successful; and they believe that the spirits will appear to them in dreams and tell them where to hunt.

"Sometimes they cook food and place it in the dry bed of a river, or some other secluded spot, and then call on their deceased ancestors by name. 'Come, and partake of this! Give us maintenance as you did when living! Come! wheresoever you may be; on a tree, on a rock, in the forest, come!' and they dance round the food, half chanting, half shouting, the invocation.

"They have no knowledge of a Supreme Being. 'Is he on a rock? On a white ant-hill ? On a tree? I never saw a God!' was the only reply I received to repeated questions. They have no idols, offer no sacrifices, and pour no libations. They cannot be said to have any temples, for the few sticks sometimes erected, with a branch thrown over them, are, I imagine, simply to protect their votive offerings^[17]."

Although in essentials this account is accurate, certain corrections and suggestions must be made. The "bilindoo yakkoon" are not "infant spirits" but obviously represent Bilindi Yaka who became a yaka while still a child. The arrow dance is clearly described and agrees with the dance we saw and photographed near Bendiyagalge, figures of which are given in Plate XXVI.

With regard to the spirits of the dead appearing in dreams and stating where game will be found, this, which is quite contradictory to our experience, has already been referred to on p. 135, but it may be noted that Bailey clearly did not know of the existence of shamanistic ceremonies and we have little doubt that the information given him, which he took to refer to dreams, in fact described the experiences of possession. The "few sticks…with a branch thrown over them" are clearly remains of the maesa upon which the offerings are placed.

The Maha Yakino are the spirits of old Vedda women, the chief of whom is the Maha Kiriamma, who, as Bailey pointed out in 1863, is more feared than loved, and in many cases is supposed to send sickness. It was said that her name was Anami and that she lived at Okegala near Alutnuwara, dying of old age; but in spite of these circumstantial details, which are perhaps due to the teachings of Tissahami, neither the name nor the memory of her husband has survived.

Unapane Kiriamma is another important Maha Yakini who lived near Unapane^[18].

Unapane Kiriamma also gives luck in honey getting, and it is thought that she in some way causes bees to build good combs, in fact, all the Maha Yakino are associated with rock honey from the belief that they especially affect the rocky crests of hills^[19].

Although the Maha Yakino are looked upon as the spirits of old Vedda women and are reputed to show their fondness for children by kidnapping them, they are regarded with considerable awe, for they are considered to send disease, and it is necessary to make an offering to them in order that this may be removed. This is generally done at the kolamaduwa ceremony described on p. 268. With the exception of the invocation of the Maha Yakino at the kolamaduwa ceremony the beliefs of the Henebedda people, old and young, as far as we have described them, belong to the true Vedda stratum, but we must now record a number of yaku including Panikkia Yaka, who are equally believed in by the peasant Sinhalese of the Vedda country and who, like Panikkia Yaka, are probably all yaku of important Veddas who were village Veddas or lived in more or less organized contact with the Sinhalese. These yaku are:

Mawaragala Panikkia, invoked to give good fortune and avert sickness from man and beast.

Rerangala Yaka who lived in the Uva Bintenne and was particularly expert at noosing elephants, though it is not known whether he first practised this art. He died of old age, and is invoked to prevent sickness, particularly epidemic diseases, and to give prosperity in all things.

Lepat Yaka lived at Lepatgala in the Bintenne and was called Lepatgala Wanniya; nothing is known of his life or death. This yaka is invoked during epidemics and before hunting to prevent danger from wild animals.

Hantane Mahavedi Unehe who lived on Mawaragala, and of whose life and death nothing is known, is invoked to cure sickness and to give good fortune in hunting.

Walimbagala Yaka, whom the Veddas of Uva call Walimbagala Panikkia, formerly lived on Walimbagala between Bandaraduwa and Madana in the Eastern Province. He was a great and important chief and his spirit is invoked to cure sickness, to send game and to safeguard men taking honey.

Galaridi Bandar lived on Veragodagala near Nilgala. He was an expert at capturing elephants, which he used to present to the Kandyan kings. Galaridi Bandar is reputed to have constructed dagobas and to have brought a range of paddy fields under cultivation.

Kadaelle Nalla Panikkia was so good a huntsman that he could run down deer. It is not known where he lived, he is invoked at the kolamaduwa only.

Rangrual Bandar is invoked to prevent men falling when collecting honey, and also at the kolamaduwa.

Irugal Bandar is invoked to prevent epidemics and at the kolamaduwa ceremony^[20].

Sandugal Bandar is invoked before hunting and safeguards men from the attacks of wild animals and snake-bite.

Ranhoti Bandar, a Vedda chief who lived at Hamanawa in Nilgala Chorale. His spirit is a very important yaka and not to be invoked carelessly along with others at the kolamaduwa, but when properly approached will help his suppliants in many ways.

Gange Bandar was in charge of rivers and also of insect pests. It is said that he belonged to the Morane waruge, though his place is not known. He is invoked at the kolamaduwa, and when there is not enough rain or too much.

With these yaku, all of whom were said to be the spirits of dead Veddas, there were invoked two spirits of whom it was definitely said that they were not Veddas. The first of these was Peradeneya Bandar who lived at Peradeneya near Kandy, where he was dissava. He prevents harm from wild beasts, and his protection is invoked during storms and at the kolamaduwa. Clearly this yaka is the spirit of a man of great local influence, probably comparable to that exerted by Godegedara whose canonisation is recorded on p. 143. The other yaka Kalu Bandar is more important and is widely feared throughout the Vedda-Sinhalese zone from Alutnuwara to the Eastern Province. According to the Vedda Arachi he was a native of Mallawa in India^[21]. King Vijaya was frightened by a leopard and this man cured him of the sickness produced by fear; he is invoked to procure game and at the kolamaduwa.

We must point out that although we give these yaku as if a belief in them constituted an organic part of the Henebedda creed, and although the kolamaduwa ceremony is certainly performed by the Henebedda community, we consider that the belief in many of them is purely formal; we are convinced that a number of these yaku are never called upon or even considered except when invoked as part of the routine of the kolamaduwa ceremony. Further, we think it probable that a number of these yaku, especially Irugal Bandar and the other Bandar, may have been introduced since Bailey's time. It is even possible that Tissahami may be responsible in part.

The reference to King Vijaya shows that Kalu Bandar has nothing to do with the primitive beliefs of the Veddas, for no Vedda knew anything of Vijaya or Kuweni.

Before describing the beliefs of the village Veddas, among whom the third stratum of thought is dominant, the condition of the Veddas of Unuwatura Bubula (who have moved there from Mudugala) must be considered and compared with those of both the wilder and the village Veddas. Many of the yaku of the less sophisticated communities were known to them, and some invoked by the village Veddas were also called upon at Unuwatura Bubula. Although Kande Yaka was known and considered powerful to send game and cure sickness, apparently he was no longer Lord of the Dead, as he was not invoked at the alutyakagama (see p. 260) to which the Nae Yaku were called. A structure called a bulatyahana was built for him and a Hindu trident as well as an aude was held when he was invoked. Bilindi Yaka was known, but we have no note as to whether he was considered the brother of Kande Yaka or no. Bambura Yaka and his attendants known to the Veddas of Sitala Wanniya and Uniche were unknown here. Pata Yaka (Sitala Wanniya) had been heard of but had never been invoked. The Wanegatha Yaku were of considerable importance here, they were said to be the yaku of long dead Veddas who had perished in their rock-shelter owing to a fall of rock. Indigollae Yaka (the attendant of Kande Yaka at Sitala Wanniya) was known here and considered extremely powerful; when really short of food, offerings are made to him and his wife Indigollae Yakini, and the shaman thrusts an aude into the roof of his hut and hangs on it a string of beads which are kept specially for this purpose, and then Indigollae Yaka sends game. We were told that no charm or invocation accompanied this action.

We did not realise at the time of our visit that Indigollae Yaka might be another name for Gale Yaka, but this appears not unlikely in view of information furnished by Mr Parker, and the fact that Gale Yaka was here invoked with the Nae Yaku, while at nearly all the village Vedda communities Indigollae Yaka was said to bring the Nae Yaku. Certainly Gale Yaka, Indigollae Yaka and Kande Yaka were all known by name, but there seemed much confusion between them all: perhaps Gale Yaka had become Lord of the Dead as he was invoked before the Nae Yaku in the same ceremony; Kande Yaka and Bilindi Yaka were invoked at a separate ceremony. No hint was given us that Gale Yaka and Indigollae Yaka were names for the same spirit, but of course this may have been so. The information that Indigollae Yaka was extremely powerful both to bring evil upon man and to help them to get game was, however, volunteered and, as already mentioned, some old, specially valuable beads were kept to be offered to him.

Gale Yaka was also invoked to give success when gathering honey; he appeared to be associated with a certain rock near Mahaella, and we were told that beads were worn during the ceremony.

The Maha Kiriamma was said to be one of the most powerful of the Maha Yakino, a class of female spirits who were said to send sickness^[22]. Unapane Yakini (Unapane Kiriamma) was another yakini of the same class who was thought to live at Omunigala. Here as among many other groups of Veddas the Maha Yakino were associated with hill tops, and it was the custom for people collecting the honey of the rock bee to leave a piece of the comb in situ, saying, "Eat, O Kiriamma^[23]."

When the Maha Yakino are invoked to cure sickness a basket is used in which are put a bead necklace and bangles and the leaves of a na tree. The shaman becomes possessed and raises the basket above the patient's head and prophesies recovery. The leaves are subsequently thrown away, but the beads and bangles are preserved for the Yakino. Presumably this is the origin of the similar or identical use of these objects in the kolamaduwa ceremony which, however, appears to be of Sinhalese origin.

Gange Bandar, unknown among the wilder Veddas but worshipped by all village Veddas, was known at Unuwatura Bubula.

OMUNI.

The history of this settlement dating back to the first half of the last century has been given on pp. 45 and 46. The Omuni folk believe there are spirits (yaku) everywhere in the jungle, but none have seen them; further, there are many yaku of each kind or species such as the Indigollae Yaku, the Dadayan Yaku and many others including the Gale Yaku called the Jungle Yaku, who do not, however, frequent the jungle around Omuni. It was said that Ganga Bandar Deyo who lives in rocks in the river is greater than any of these. Omuni was one of the first Vedda settlements we visited, and as the importance of Sinhalese and Tamil gods and demons was not then appreciated no questions concerning these were asked. It is, however, reasonable to suppose that the Kataragam God and other mighty deviyo are worshipped. The spirits of the dead (Nae Yaku) are believed to be associated with rocks; on the whole they are kindly spirits, but it is necessary to invoke and propitiate them.

A Nae Yaku ceremony is held some little time after a death has taken place, at which the shaman dances with an aude before a maesa on which is placed an offering of cooked yams and other food, and the maesa is decorated with special clothes kept for that purpose. The aude is held in the smoke arising from gum-resin thrown on glowing charcoal, and then pressed on the head of all the male members of the community. If this were not done little game would be killed.

We have an account of another ceremony performed to cure sickness and when the chena had been reaped, but it is not clear what spirits were invoked at this; presumably the most important of these were certain of the yaku other than the Nae Yaku, though the Nae Yaku may have played a subordinate part. A shed or very rough house is built and hung with special clothes reserved for this purpose, those shown to us being rather old and worn pieces of linen woven at Batticaloa. A roughly made shelf forming a sort of altar is built in the shed on which the offering is placed. The dance is held at night and continues until morning when the whole community eat the offering, though only the men dance. We were shown a pot in a small cave near the settlement which was said to be kept there purposely, and which it was stated was used for boiling rice for the ceremony.

We may now consider the religious beliefs of certain communities in which the third stratum of belief already alluded to is dominant. Such communities are the village Veddas of Uva Bintenne and those of the Eastern Province and Tamankaduwa, among all of whom the Nae Yaku were known and reverenced, but the great Vedda heroes have all disappeared, their place having been taken by numerous Sinhalese gods and demons. Some of the village Veddas even build temples, rough bark or mud huts like their own habitations in which the various symbols of the deviyo and yaku are kept and in which the shaman dances.

Such a temple was seen at Yakure dedicated to Gange Bandar Deyo, here also were two rough stones leaning against a tree on the bund of Yakurewaewa which were held sacred to Gane Deyo (Ganesa).

At a place called Nadena, where there were said to be Veddas until a few years ago, on the road running inland from Patrippu in the Eastern Province, there is a temple containing an image of Ganesa and this is looked upon as a Vedda shrine. Other temples or shrines in the Eastern Province are traditionally associated with Veddas though none survive at the present day, except, we believe, at Portiv near Patrippu and at Mandur.

VILLAGE VEDDAS OF THE BINTENNE.

At Dambani and the neighbouring settlements of Bulugahaladena and Wellampelle the Nae Yaku are held to be of great importance. Reference has already been made on p. 50 to the difficulty of working with these village Veddas, and our information concerning the religious beliefs of the Dambani folk was obtained from the Arachi of Belligala; with regard to Bulugahaladena and Wellampelle the little information we possess was obtained at first hand and carefully checked, and though incomplete we have no doubt of its substantial accuracy as far as it goes. We had considerable doubts as to the reliability of our Dambani information, but these have been removed lately as far as they affect Kande Yaka and the Nae Yaku owing to the kindness of Mr Hartshorne who allowed us to look through a number of notes collected among these people thirty years ago. And since the information obtained from the Arachi of Belligala was correct on these points, there seems to be no reason to disbelieve the rest of his information.

According to the Arachi, who, it must be remembered, as stated on p. 49, knows the Dambani folk well, there are three important classes of yaku.

The first of these are the Nae Yaku who do not go to Kande Yaka but to Indigollae Yaka, who lives on a hill (kande) called Indigollae Kande which never has been seen. Indigollae Yaka is first invoked at the Nae Yaku ceremony and with him come the Nae Yaku. An aude is used in calling upon Indigollae Yaka in this ceremony, while the Nae Yaku are invoked by means of a cloth and beads; as among other Veddas an offering of food is made.

We could not discover with certainty at Dambani what was the relative importance of the Nae Yaku and the two other classes of yaka, but at Bulugahaladena and Wellampelle our informants made it quite clear that the yaku of recent ancestors were the most important. Thus Kuma stated that he considered his father's yaka to be the most important of all and that this spirit was invoked alike to send game and in thanks for game killed.

Bandia of Wellampelle said the most important yaka he knew was Punchi Badena, his father's father; his mother is dead but her yaka is not so important^[24]. Punchi Badena is invoked to get game and honey or when people are sick. At all three villages a structure, which from the description given to us resembles an alutyakagama, is built for the invocation of the Nae Yaku, to whom the customary offerings are made before being eaten by the community. A man becomes a yaka directly he is dead, nothing is buried with him and the contents of his betel pouch are used in the ordinary way. The Nae Yaku ceremony is held some days after death, one, or according to another informant two, aude being used.

At Bulugahaladena and Wellampelle neither Bilindi Yaka nor Bambura Yaka was known, and these two yaku were also unknown at Dambani where, however, the Belligala Arachi said that Kande Yaka gives luck in hunting. This has been confirmed by Mr Hartshorne's notes, so that although our informants at Bulugahaladena and Wellampelle stated that they did not know this yaka, too much stress must not be laid upon this.

The other two classes of yaku invoked at Dambani are tree and rock yaku. Both send sickness and are invoked with dancing and offerings to remove it, the stone magic described on p. 143 being used to determine which yaka is responsible for the disease. The most important rock yaku are Mawaragala Yaka, Rerangala Yaka, Barutugala Yaka, and Mehaluku Yakini. The latter is associated with a rock Batugala near Alutnuwara, the others with the peaks whose names they bear.

Two tree yaku were mentioned, each having a number of attendants. These tree yaku are named Na Gaha Yaka (Na tree Yaka) and Bo Gaha Yaka (Bo tree Yaka), that is to say they are called after the trees with which they are associated, and the Arachi pointed out that tree yaku habitually lived in trees of the species after which they are named. We could not discover any facts suggesting that these tree yaku were considered to represent the life of the tree.

HORABORAWEWA.

The surroundings and physical characters of the Veddas of Horaborawewa have been described on p. 53. The shaman is the local Sinhalese headman, who stated that the same yaku are invoked by Veddas and Sinhalese alike. Seren (Riri) Yaka is the most important yaka, Wiloya Yaka and Kalu Yaka are also known, and it was stated that the latter spirit was also called Wangata Yaka. Our informant had not heard of Kande Yaka or Bilindi Yaka, and it was certain that the worshipped yaku were generally associated with rocks and were not the spirits of the dead. There is however an exception, namely, Dehigole Yaka, whose history is as follows. A man from Dehigole, a Vedda, went to Kandy to see the king, probably Sri Vikram Rajah Sinha, the last of the Sinhalese kings, who was dethroned early in the last century. On his way back he was killed by an elephant, and now his spirit looks after the chena and prevents elephants breaking into and destroying the crops. A leafy branch is tied to a pole or dead tree in the chena, and Dehigole Yaka and other spirits are invoked, an offering of sweetmeats, jaggery, coconuts and rice cooked in coconut milk being made and subsequently eaten by the owners of the chena. There was said to be no invocation of the yaku of the recent dead, nor before taking honey which is obtained from trees.

LINDEGALA.

The "Veddas" described on p. 76 from Lindegala in the neighbourhood of Kallodi worship a large number of male and female spirits including the Bo Gaha Yaka and the Na Gaha Yaka^[25].

As already indicated the people of Lindegala are Veddas in scarcely more than name. The most important of them, an old man with his son and son-in-law, visited us at Kallodi. The old man who is tall and presented typical Sinhalese features is a renowned vederale (medicine-man) and is employed by the Sinhalese for miles round. He brought with him to show us two ceremonial arrows with which he invoked the spirits. One of these arrows is of the shape of a Hindu trident, the other is of the usual Vedda shape and is notable on account of the silver bo leaf with which the blade is inlaid. This aude is shown in Plate XXV. Both of these had been presented by the Sinhalese king to one of his ancestors, apparently about 100 years ago. The story told us was that when this ancestor, who was a Vedda headman and a shaman of great fame, gave up his jungle life and began to cultivate, the Sinhalese king sent him the two aude as tokens that he granted the land on which he settled to him and his descendants for ever. It seems that previously to this they had led a more or less unsettled life, or had perhaps been dispossessed of their own territory during the troubles of the period. The arrows were in fact "seisin" and were considered the equivalent of a sannasa, the inscribed metal plate or rock face on which grants of land were formerly recorded. Inquiry showed that it was by no means uncommon for a man to be given a ceremonial example of an implement of his trade or profession as a sannasa. Thus, in the Kandy Museum there is a beautifully worked Bull's bell (gonminigediya) given as sannasa to Rantun Mudianse of Walala head of the Pattiya or Nilamakkara people by King Narendara Singhe of Kundasale who reigned 1706—1739. We may also refer to a ceremonial weaver's shuttle in the Colombo Museum and to the lacquered arrows described in Chapter XI.

The Nae Yaku, Kande Yaka, and Wanegata Yaka are considered less important than the tree yaku and the host of yaku alluded to above. Indigollae Yaka and Rahu Yaka are recognised but not considered very powerful, though it was said that all these were formerly invoked to give success in hunting. The kolamaduwa ceremony is known, very many spirits being invoked including Unapane Kiriamma. The Nae Yaku become attendants on some of the yaku mentioned in the above list and these are invoked first and bring the Nae Yaku with them, but it appeared that it was no longer the custom to hold a Nae Yaku ceremony within a few days of a death. Among the Nae Yaku mentioned was the spirit of the man on whom one of the last Sinhalese kings had bestowed the land of which the inlaid aude shown in Plate XXV is the sannasa. Another yaka greatly venerated is that of Kimbul Otbe, an important individual living a few generations ago concerning whom Nevill has written at some length^[26].

KALUKALAEBA.

The most important spiritual agencies are the following:— Gange Bandar Deyo, Kataragam Deyo, Indigollae Yaka, Rerang Yaka, Riri Yaka (Sinhalese), Marulu Yaka, Rahu Yaka, and Elle Yakini.

In spite of the fact that the people of Kalukalaeba keep cattle and are predominantly agriculturalists Gange Bandar Deyo, who lives on the hill Yangala beyond Hemberewa and gives luck in hunting and honey gathering, was said to be especially important. He is invoked when game is scarce, but it is the Kataragam God who gives increase of yams and vegetable food. They do not dance to him but make offerings of cooked brinjal and pumpkins, which are left for half-a-day on a rude altar and then eaten. Chena are also under the protection of the Kataragam God to whom offerings are made after the produce has been reaped, some of every kind of fruit being cooked and exposed in the chena for some hours before it is eaten by the people.

At Kalukalaeba Kande Yaka, Bilindi Yaka and Bambura Yaka were unknown. The spirits of the dead are recognised as the Nae Yaku, but they are certainly thought of as far less important than a number of other spiritual beings to be immediately considered. They are however invoked, but it seemed that this was not done habitually immediately after a death, but at quite uncertain intervals to remove sickness. The father of the present shaman was called Suwanda, and no dance to his spirit was held till a long time, perhaps as much as a year, after his decease. But when the shaman's mother became ill he was invoked and offerings were made, with the result that the patient got well. In connection with this it was explained that it was not unusual for the Nae Yaku to make even their nearest and dearest relatives ill for the sake of the offerings they would then receive.

It was stated that the Nae Yaku are not allowed to kill people but only to make them ill, permission to do this and to accept offerings being obtained from Kataragam Deyo, Saman Deyo, and Numeriya Deyo. We could not ascertain with certainty whether the Nae Yaku have anything to do with sending luck in hunting, but if they are concerned in this they clearly play quite a subordinate part. When taking honey a little is left at the foot of the tree, this was said to be for the Nae Yaku, who may be called to it by some such expression as "here is honey, be pleased to eat^[27]."

A female spirit Elle Yakini is invoked when a woman is pregnant, to protect mother and child; beads which belong to the shaman, who seems to keep them for this purpose, are placed on a piece of cloth and invocations are spoken. After childbirth a bower apparently resembling the kolamaduwa is made, Elle Yakini is invoked and an offering of food made to her. At the time of our visit it was said that a dance would shortly be held to Elle Yakini in thanks for having given a woman, who at first had difficulty in nursing her child, an abundant flow of milk. Elle Yakini will be invoked with an ordinary hunting arrow, and when possessed by her the shaman will gasp out some such formula as this "Now I have made you well, remember me in future." Offerings would not be made to Elle Yakini until her help was again needed.

ELAKOTALIYA.

The most important spiritual agencies are the gods and demons who are worshipped at Kalukalaeba. Indigollae Yaka is said to give good luck to hunters, for neither Kande Yaka, Bilindi Yaka nor Bambura Yaka is known. The Nae Yaku are of the company of Indigollae Yaka, and with the latter are invoked after a death, but the Nae Yaku are not asked for good luck in hunting. The Nae Yaku are invoked after every death; coconut, jaggery (palm sugar), and rice are placed on a maesa, offered to the yaku and afterwards eaten by the shaman and other members of the community. While invoking the spirits the shaman holds a cloth in his hands but no aude.

ULPOTA.

The Kataragam God, Gane Deyo and Vihara Deyo, are worshipped, as probably are many others. These spirits are all considered more important than the Nae Yaku, and it is to their aid that success in hunting and in honey getting is largely attributed, nevertheless it was clear that the Nae Yaku were thought of as helpful in these activities. Our informant stated that they had never heard of Kande Yaka, Bilindi Yaka, or Bambura Yaka, nor had they heard of the gods of the coast Veddas Kapalpe or Kadupe.

The spirits of the dead become Nae Yaku, and it is customary for a ceremony to be held eight days after a death, at which the spirits of all the recent dead are invoked. It was said that these spirits of the deceased joined the other Nae Yaku without asking permission from any other spiritual being and that the Nae Yaku came when they were invoked unaccompanied by any other spirit. The shaman does not hold an aude in his hand when invoking the Nae Yaku, but some rice and cooked pumpkin are put upon a maesa before which he dances. At the side of this is a pot of rice covered with a cloth supported on a rice pounder. The shaman faces the east whilst dancing, and appeals to all remembered Nae Yaku by name. It was said to be rare for any but the shaman to become possessed.

The Nae Yaku give honey and luck in hunting, and it is in order to obtain their favour that they are invoked, for if they were not they would give bad luck. When collecting tree honey the name of a dead man is called and he is requested to accept a little honey which is left at the foot of the tree for a short time, after which it is eaten by the honey gatherers. After killing game a piece of flesh is offered to the Nae Yaku who are called by name, and then the Veddas eat it themselves.

Vihara Deyo is considered to send sickness, arid he is invoked to make men whole again. Rice is cooked with milk usually obtained from the Tamil village of Horawila, and this with betel and areca nut is put upon a maesa. Only the shaman dances, and after the ceremony the offering is eaten by the whole community, including the sick man. Our informant did not know how the yaka or deyo causing the sickness was discovered, that being left to the shaman.

YAKURE.

The important spiritual agencies are:—Gange Bandar Deyo, Genikandia Deyo, Palugamman Deyo, Vihara Deyo, Mangara Deyo. Our informants knew of Indigollae Yaka but did not know if he ever was a man or had always been a spirit. Nothing was known of Kande Yaka, Bilindi Yaka, or Bambura Yaka. Dead shamans are thought to become yaku, and it is the spirits of these people who are the Nae Yaku: the fate of the spirits of ordinary folk is uncertain, but they do not become Nae Yaku. The Nae Yaku are danced to and invoked with the other yaku in order to cure sickness, but apparently they are not considered particularly important. A maesa is made and a cloth put over it, and on it are laid flowers of many kinds, betel leaves and areca nuts. Incense is burned before these offerings, in front of which the shaman dances facing the east. In some instances the maesa is built inside the temple, the shaman holds a cloth in his hand and a pot of rice cooked in milk is placed by the maesa on a rice pounder^[28]. This is not tasted during the dance, but is eaten afterwards by the shaman and the sick man and other individuals of the community^[29].

Kataragam Deyo is invoked especially to protect the chena, and at harvest an offering is made which is afterwards eaten as at Elakotaliya.

Mangara Deyo is invoked to protect cattle. About a month before our visit a nephew of the shaman suffered from headache and fever and woke up in the middle of the night in a great state of alarm. It was ascertained by stone augury that Mangara Deyo had sent the sickness, offerings were made to him, and the youngster speedily recovered.

There are no dances at a man's death or invocations to the spirits of the dead, nor did there appear to be any particular spirit who gave luck in hunting, indeed it seemed that game was little sought, the whole activity of the community being concentrated on cattle breeding.

The temple of Mangara Deyo is a small bare hut, with the roof projecting a few feet beyond that wall in which the door is cut. The inside of the temple is quite bare except for a narrow wooden rack about a foot wide which runs round the two side and back walls at a height of about four feet from the ground. In one corner of this was a pile of aude of all shapes and sizes which were said to belong to Mangara Deyo.

ROTAWAEWA.

Mr G. W. Jayawardene writes as follows concerning the beliefs of the Tamankaduwa "Veddas" described on p. 56. "They regard Adukganna Hulawali Yaka and Vedi Yaka as the important yaku. Adukganna Hulawali Yaka is the spirit to whom they look to be cured of sickness. When any one is ill he or she or someone on their behalf puts aside one or two cents which are wrapped in a clean piece of cloth and from each house an offering of food is made. Vedi Yaka is the spirit they look to for help in getting game. When an animal is killed the heart is taken and roasted and offered on a stick with the end split into four to hold the heart under a tree." Commenting on this Mr B. Horsburgh writes, "Adukganna Hulawali Yaka is the spirit of a Vedda who was killed by King Mahasena for refusing to leave Minneriya tank when he was going to restore it. The name Adukganna Hulawaliyaka means Hulawali Yaka who takes the adukkuwa or present of food (from the offering made to him). He is only seen in dreams, when he takes the shape of a well made young man dressed in white and with a white stick in his hand. Vedi Yaka also appears only in dreams, as a black man in a cloth with nothing else particular about him^[30]."

THE AVOIDANCE OF CERTAIN FOODS.

It must be assumed that the following prohibitions are of a religious or of a magico-religious nature, and for this reason they are included in the present chapter. They do not appear to be connected with totemism, yet we do not feel confident that they are derived from Hinduism, as is suggested by the Sarasins^[31]. In this doubt we have the support of Mr Parker who writes: "This prohibition appears to have no connection with Hinduism, or the common Brown Monkey, Rilawā (Macacus pileatus), would be included, and also the Rat, as the vāhana of Ganēsa, and the Turtle as representative of Vishnu; or some of these^[32]."

Bailey writes, "The Veddahs eat the flesh of elk, deer, monkeys, pigs, the iguana, and pengolin—all flesh indeed, but that of oxen, elephants, leopards, and jackals; and all birds, except the wild or domestic fowl. They will not touch lizards, bats, or snakes.

"They can assign no reason for their abstinence from the flesh of these beasts and birds which I have enumerated, but their objection to beef and fowls, though quite unexplained, is decidedly the most marked, so much so that during my inquiries I found that they spontaneously expressed their antipathy, though it required cross examination to elicit the fact that they also avoid the other kinds of flesh^[33]."

We are able to confirm Bailey's statement as far as it concerns the flesh of mammals, with the reservation that most Veddas do not eat porcupine. With regard to birds, the Veddas of Henebedda said they would not eat fowls or eagles. The majority of Veddas, including even the degenerate Veddas of the coast, avoid eating fowl, though many of the settled village Veddas keep them for sale or for the sake of their eggs, and in many places the flesh of the jungle cock is avoided as well as that of the domesticated bird. Many Veddas when questioned about fowl said, that though they did not eat it themselves other Veddas would, and some alleged that the reason for their abstinence was that fowls eat dirt. The lay members of the Sitala Wanniya community had no objection to eating fowl, though Handuna avoided it because he was a shaman.

Further, those Veddas who eat fowl, avoid eating it when about to take part in a dance. When discussing this matter at Sitala Wanniya, Vela, who was not a shaman, was about to take part in the Dola Yaka ceremony described in Chapter IX, and it was then explained that this day he must avoid fowl, though at other times it would not matter if he were to eat it or not. The reason was not clear, while one man said that it was because the yaku did not like fowl, and so would not readily enter him after he had eaten it, another said that should a man become possessed after eating fowl it might be difficult to regain consciousness. It is equally necessary for shamans to avoid eating pig, though the reason for this was more definitely stated, namely, that the yaku disliked this animal.

Although shamans will not eat pig, they have no scruples with regard to killing it, but they must not touch it or cut it up. If they were to neglect this observance they would be ill and shiver for four or five days afterwards, even when seated comfortably in the cave. The arrow with which a pig had been killed must be cleaned by a man who is not a shaman, and may then be used again by the shaman. The shaman of the sophisticated Veddas said that he would eat only rice, coconut milk, salt, bananas and cow's milk for some days before invoking the yaku, and this man insisted on having a daily ration of rice for several days before the Nae Yaku ceremony held after the death of Tuta. But as all these foods are foreign to the wilder Veddas and must be obtained by trade, these abstinences have assuredly been introduced, and certainly no custom of this sort is observed at Sitala Wanniya or even at Henebedda.

The suggestion that these prohibitions have been taken over from Hinduism will not explain the equally strong objection to fowls of the majority of Veddas, or the abstinence from the flesh of fowls of the shaman in communities, the lay members of which eat fowl except before dancing. Nor does it explain the similar abstinence from pig which Mr Parker suggests may be due to the unclean nature of its food, for it is "an eater of dead bodies which might be those of human beings^[34]." Further, the abstinence from the flesh of elephants, leopards and bears is hardly to be explained as due to foreign influence; we believe that these animals are not eaten because they are, and always have been, difficult to hunt by a people as poorly armed as the Veddas, who were not driven to attempt to kill them on account of the scarcity of game. There was in fact no necessity to attempt to kill them, for deer were easier to hunt and more pleasant to eat; so the Veddas gave them a wide berth and their flesh was not regarded as food, and if come by accidentally, as when a dead elephant was found in the jungle, its flesh was not eaten because it was new and strange^[35].

In the same way the flesh of buffalo was not eaten, for buffalo are perhaps the most dangerous of all Indian animals to hunt, and as for the flesh of the domestic cattle, it is obvious that no Veddas except those who kept cattle or were village Veddas could have had the chance of eating this meat. Once this stage of sophistication had been reached, abstinence from the flesh of cattle might easily be dictated by contact with Hinduism, but hardly before. It is of course questionable how far the avoidance of strange food because it is strange and has not been eaten before in the community is a matter of religion, but we have thought it best to discuss the matter in this place because of the view which connects these observances with Hinduism.

Since our return to England we have received from Mr Parker important information concerning the popular beliefs of the Kandyan Sinhalese of the North Western Province. This information bears in a most interesting manner upon the beliefs which we have classified as belonging to the second and third strata of the Vedda religion. We therefore propose to give a short account of these Sinhalese beliefs, but before doing this we may indicate that in our opinion the Kandyan Sinhalese must not be considered the pure or nearly pure descendants of invaders from the Ganges. On the contrary, we believe with Mr Parker that everywhere throughout the old Vedirata and in the hills west of the Mahaweliganga the present day Sinhalese possess a varying and sometimes large amount of Vedda blood. It is therefore only natural that the beliefs of these peasants should present a mixture of the beliefs of the aborigines and of the races which came later into the island. The actual working beliefs of the Sinhalese are exceedingly complicated; there is first the belief in a number of High Gods of whom Skanda—the Kataragam God—appeared to us to be the most important^[36]. Then comes the ever-present fear of a countless number of demons who are responsible for misfortune and disaster, who must be constantly propitiated. The worship of these has given rise to a prodigiously elaborate system of demonology complicated by endless local variations and beliefs, intermixed with which there exists the Bandar cult of the Dead already referred to in Chapter VI. A reverence for Buddha which, as far as we could judge, is stronger in the large towns than in the jungle villages loosely holds together this mass of beliefs which the people call Buddhism^[37]. It seems obvious that the Bandar cult represents the remains of the primitive Cult of the Dead which appears to have been the religion of the early non-Aryan inhabitants of the whole of Southern India.

This view has the support of Mr Parker, who writes, "The Sinhalese demonology is very interesting…. There are many classes of Yaku; but I believe that this Bandara worship is the only indigenous portion of it. I have traced practically all the other demons to Southern India, although the Kapuralas claim that a few others, in addition to the Bandaras, are of local origin. They themselves admit that all the rest are imported from India."

Among these immigrant spiritual beings is one, the Gale Deviyo, who appears to be originally identical with the Gale Yaka of the village Veddas and the Indigollae Yaka of other groups. Mr Parker states that the Gale Deviyo is popularly supposed to have come from India with his Prime Minister Kurumbuda; he is worshipped in Uva, the North Central and North Western Provinces. "He is a beneficent God, who gives food and rain and guards the crops and prevents or checks epidemics." Two miles from the temple at Nirammulla are two caves, and in one of these Kurumbuda killed sixty priests who were there assembled, in order to take possession of the cave himself. Gale Deviyo is danced to annually in July or August on the summit of crags. The dancer, called anumaetirala (i.e. one subject to command) represents the god; in the temple he assumes a three-tiered hat and holds a golden katty (ran kaetta) and the spirit of the god enters him without any of the usual phenomena of possession. The man who made the katty (or one of his descendants) and the dhobie who washed his clothes accompany the dancer to the foot of the crag which he ascends alone. The hat, katty, and flounces which the dancer wears are kept in the temple.

"In the North Central Province the chief temple of the God is at Indigollaewa, on the southern side of Kalawaewa. The 'dancing rock' (natana gala) near it is called Andiyagala. In the North Western Province his chief temple is at Nirammulla, 15 miles N.E. of Kurunegala; and its two 'dancing rocks' are on Devagiriya 'the Hill of the God,' where his original temple was established in a cave which he took by force from the monks killed by Kurumbuda."

Mr Parker points out that it is quite certain that the Gale Deviyo is identical with the Gale Yaka of some at least of the village Veddas, for "there is the same service to him everywhere, and the same tradition of his coming from Malawara-desa, our Maleiyalam, accompanied by his minister Kurumbuda, called a Yaka, but also by the Kandians a Devata or Godling.

"I got the same account of him from the Tamil-speaking Vaeddas, the Vaeddas of Maha Oya district, the forests south of it, Maduru Oya district, and the extreme south of the Batticaloa district, and the Sinhalese of Uva, North Central Province and North Western Province. He is worshipped in all these three Sinhalese districts. There can be no doubt as to his being a God of the Village Vaeddas…. All in these districts appeal to him in cases of epidemics…. The Tamil-speaking Veddas told me that although called yaka he is really their God of all, who taught them everything they know and the names of things and animals, and instructed them regarding their dances.

"The Tamil-speaking Vaeddas address him as 'Lord God,' 'Lord of the Country,' 'Hill Lord' (Maleiya Swami).

"The Tamil-speaking Vaeddas give me the very same account of the arrival of the Gale Yaka and the Gale Deviyo as those of Bintenne and the Sinhalese of the North Western Province. They all agree that he came from Malawara-desa—the Malayalam country—with one minister, and the only point where they do not agree is as to the place where he landed. Some say Kokkagala, others Valeichena on the coast, and the Sinhalese say he came to some hills in their part."

Mr Parker states that the Sinhalese all call Gale Deviyo the god of the Veddas, and the village Veddas told him that a ceremony similar to that described in the North Central Province is performed on Omungala and Kokkagala in the Bintenne. There are temples to him throughout all the village Vedda districts "just like their own huts that might be passed without notice unless specially informed what they are." Where there is no rocky crag on which to dance, the ceremony is performed beneath a tree, and this occurs among the coast Veddas. Mr Parker points out that Gale Deviyo must not be confused with Gale Bandar who came with four or five followers in a stone boat from India and landed near Galle.

To sum up, Mr Parker's observations show that the Gale Deviyo of the Sinhalese of the North Central Province is regarded as an immigrant God from beyond the ocean. Mr Parker states that he is also the most important God of the coast Veddas, and this is supported by our observation that the coast Veddas call their most important God Kappalpei, "Ship Spirit" (Mr Parker suggests "ship demon"), and say that he came from over seas. It is therefore clear that among Sinhalese and coast Veddas a foreign spiritual agency is considered the most important of the Gods and temples are raised to him. This God is danced to on certain crags by the Sinhalese, and similar rites occur among some of the sophisticated Veddas of the Bintenne who also say that the spiritual agency Gale Yaka whom they invoke in this ceremony is a foreigner.

In many communities of Veddas, far less sophisticated than the village Veddas, we were told about spirits who inhabited rock-masses or hills such as Walimbagala, but these did not at all correspond to the Gale Deviyo of Mr Parker. It was perfectly clear that to the majority of Veddas they really were simply local unnamed yaku, who were spoken of by the name of the peak or rock supposed to be their favourite haunt, and in only one advanced community were these spirits bearing hill names considered to be immigrants from India^[38]. We therefore consider that the Gale Yaka of the village Veddas has been adopted from the Sinhalese by the more advanced communities of Veddas where alone he is known, and that although the foreign rite of dancing to him on crags is still retained, he has to some extent taken on Vedda characters as witnessed by his invocation at the alutyakagama ceremony described in Chapter IX.

The temple of the Gale Deviyo at Indigollaewa in the North Central Province has already been mentioned. His wife the Kiriamma is worshipped here with him, and God and Goddess are sometimes spoken of as Indigollaewa Devia and Indigollaewa Kiriamma. Concerning him Mr Parker writes, "I collected accounts of him in all parts, and about Indigollaewa in the North Central Province where his temple is, and they all agree that he is the Gale Yaka, while the Sinhalese of Indigollaewa know him only as the Gale Deviyo." "The Sinhalese of Indigollaewa and some of the settled Vaeddas near Maha Oya make offerings to the Gale Yaka and the Kiriamma, as his wife, together; no offerings, however, are made to her on the hill tops, which are reserved for the Gale Yaka…. She is a great food provider for the Vaeddas. Some call her Indigollae Kiriamma; others Kukulapola Kiriamma; but both names referred to the same person, they said."

At Unuwatura Bubula, where there is a small settlement of Veddas, we saw Gale Yaka invoked (see alutyakagama) in a dance in which the Nae Yaku and Rahu Yaku were also invoked. At the same dance a female spirit came, about whom there was some confusion, she may have been one of the Nae Yakini, or she may have been the Kiriamma who was certainly known. Unfortunately the Kapurale who performed this dance became ill after it and so was unable to discuss the matter with us. Certainly Gale Yaka, Indigollae Yaka and Kande Yaka were all known by name, but there seemed much confusion between them all, perhaps Gale Yaka had become lord of the dead and so usurped the place of Kande Yaka, as he was invoked before the Nae Yaku in the same ceremony. Kande Yaka and Bilindi Yaka were invoked at a separate dance (see p. 229, bulatyahana). No hint was given us that Gale Yaka and Indigollae Yaka might be names for the same spirit, but of course this may have been so. The information that Indigollae Yaka was extremely powerful both for good and evil and for successful hunting, was volunteered, and some especially valuable beads were kept to offer him.

At Sitala Wanniya we heard of Indigollae Yaka. The invocation given in Chapter X (No. XXIII) clearly shows that he is of foreign origin, and we were told that Riri Yaka was another name for the same spirit. Now Riri Yaka is the Sinhalese and Tamil blood-devil, a demon with particularly well marked characteristics and considered extremely dangerous. There is thus no doubt that at Indigollaewa the "God of Indigollaewa" is the Gale Deviyo, and he retains this character among the village Veddas, but among the wilder Veddas he acquires Vedda characteristics, becomes an attendant on Kande Yaka, and as a foreigner may be confused with other adopted and therefore little known yaku.

The position of the Indigollaewa Kiriamma and her relation to the Kiriamma of the Veddas is comparatively simple. Among the wilder Veddas there are certain female spirits, the yaku of old women called kiriamma (lit. grandmothers) who were especially fond of children, and would occasionally steal them. They sometimes caused sickness. Most of these live on rocks, and at Sitala Wanniya we were told that the Maha Kiriamma was the chief of these and the Maha Yakini were her attendants. All these yakino were said to be the wives of Veddas who lived long ago and in no case was the Kiriamma ever mentioned as the wife of the Gale Yaka or of Indigollae Yaka. At Unuwatura Bubula a Gale Yakini was mentioned, and this may have been the female spirit who was invoked after Gale Yaka, and in that case it seems reasonable to suppose that she was the original Maha Kiriamma or Maha Yakini of the Veddas, who has become confused with the foreign Kiriamma (identified by Mr Parker with Mohini in Ceylon), the wife of the foreign Gale Deviyo, who probably was introduced through the Sinhalese to the village Veddas at a very early date^[39].

Although she does not appear to have passed from the village Veddas to the wilder Veddas, her consort has been carried on as Indigollae Yaka. Further, although when investigating the beliefs of the less sophisticated Veddas we knew nothing of the foreign Gale Yaka and the Indigollae Kiriamma, we feel confident, from much information volunteered to us, that Indigollae Yaka was an attendant spirit, and there was no connection in the minds of the Veddas between him and their own kiriamma who were the wives of long dead Veddas.

Even among the Sinhalese the relationship between the Gale Deviyo and the Maha Kiriamma varies in a manner that suggests that the connection between the two is late. Mr Parker writes, "The Kandians of the North West Province know of no wife of the God of the Rock, and I believe that they alone have preserved the correct tradition in this respect…for it is everywhere agreed that when the Gale Yaka came to Ceylon he was accompanied only by Kurumbuda. No doubt she had been taken over from the Tamils, through the Sinhalese of the North Central Province, to provide a suitable wife for the Gale Yaka. Probably she is the one called the Alut Devi, the New Goddess."

There is another matter to which we may refer, namely, a suggested relationship of Kande Yaka to Kanda Swami the Kataragam God. This is a matter to which we paid much attention in the field. The circumstances which at first suggest the identity appear to be the similarity in name, and the fact that "Kandaswami's brother…an important deity in the Hindu temples is commonly called Pillaiar or 'the child.'" Further, it has been suggested that because "Kandaswami's favourite weapon is the vel or lance," therefore it is "most probably the original of the" ceremonial arrow "which plays so large a part in Vedda ceremonies." The passages between quotation marks are by Mr P. Arunachalam and are quoted because he has put the case for the identity of Kande Yaka and the Kataragam God more strongly than anyone else^[40].

Remembering that the Veddas are bowmen and that until a few generations ago all genuine Veddas were dependent for their livelihood on the bow, the last argument seems to us of little force.

We have already (in Chapter VII) made mention of the celebrated temple at Kataragam and of the extent of its influence among the Veddas^[41]. At Bandaraduwa and other places where the temple at Kataragam is known by repute, and at Henebedda in the Nilgala district, the god is called the "Kataragam God" and not Kanda Swami (swami "lord"). At these places Kande Yaka is also known, he is always looked upon as a Vedda hero famous for his prowess in killing sambur, he is regarded as a powerful but benevolent spirit who never causes sickness, and who, when invoked and given certain offerings of food, grants luck in hunting. The Kataragam God on the other hand is everywhere held in awe, and acknowledged to be the most fearful of all gods.

Although we do not consider Kande Yaka and Skanda identical we are inclined to agree with Mr Parker that "the two may have been confounded by the Gangetic settlers, Skanda being also known as Kanda Kumara, and being a Hill-god." Any such confusion would be bound to react on the beliefs of the village Veddas or of those communities which later gave rise to the village Veddas. Mr Parker continues, "In Ancient Ceylon I have pointed out that Kataragama was an important station in the third century B.C., and suggested that the first settlers who landed near Kirinde…may have concluded from the similarity of names that he and Skanda were the same deity."

Since the above was written Mr Parker has been so good as to send us for perusal a part of the proof sheets of his work Ancient Ceylon. We may perhaps be allowed to comment on his main thesis that the Gale Yaka or Gale Deviyo is the god of the earliest inhabitants of Ceylon, and therefore of the Veddas.

In the first place Mr Parker's information concerning the Gale Deviyo was obtained from village Veddas, and the Tamil-speaking Veddas whom we call coast Veddas. He also states that the cult of this God is widely spread among Sinhalese villagers of the North Central and North Western Provinces.

We have noted that we found no trace of the Gale Yaka among the wilder Veddas, although allowed to participate in their ceremonies. However, we heard of Indigollae Yaka as an attendant on Kande Yaka; and although it may be that among the peasant Sinhalese and village Veddas these names are synonymous, this is certainly not the case among the less sophisticated Veddas. Again, Mr Parker states that the emblem of the God is the Ran-kaetta the "Golden Bill-hook" (Ancient Ceylon, p. 189). This cannot be regarded as a Vedda emblem, for the bill-hook is unknown to the Veddas, who are essentially bowmen, and among whom the arrow in its ordinary or ceremonial form is associated with the invocation of their dead and the other yaku whom they worship.

It therefore seems reasonable to suppose that the Gale Yaka is an immigrant god introduced by the Sinhalese to the village Veddas. The fact that politically organized Veddas are mentioned in the Mahavansa as possessing a temple dedicated to the Vyādha Dēva^[42]—the Vedda God—in the great city of Anuradhapura in the fourth century B.C. does not seem to us to bear upon the condition of the wilder Veddas, nor do we follow Mr Parker's identification of this God with the Gale Yaka. All the facts adduced by Mr Parker seem to us to be most readily explained by the interaction of Sinhalese and village Veddas as indicated in Chapter I.