JOURNAL

OF

THE CEYLON BRANCH

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.

On Demonology and Witchcraft in Ceylon.—By DANdris De SILVA GOONERATNE, MODLIAR.

GENERAL REMARKS ON DEMON WORSHIP.

A belief in the realities of an invisible world of evil spirits as influencing, in a certain manner, many of the ordinary concerns of human life, has not only always formed an integral part of the creed of a large majority of mankind in every age and country of the world, but has also had, and still has, to a considerable extent, a certain strange, mysterious, and unaccountable fascination for the mind of man, even when reason happens to raise its authoritative voice of condemnation against it. Why, or how this is sowhether it is founded on any innate, morbid quality of the human heart, which men find it difficult to resist under certain circumstances, or on any intrinsic truth inherent in the nature of the thing itself, or only on mere ignorance, it is as far from my present purpose, as it is beyond my humble abilities, to discuss here. But that the belief really exists will hardly admit of a doubt.

This belief has, according to the amount of intelligence and civilization possessed by those among whom it prevails, given rise to various systems of superstition, of which some are of the most

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debasing and revolting character. And although there is scarcely a single country in the world, in which this belief does not more or less prevail in some form or other, yet we do not think there is any, in which it has developed itself in such gigantic proportions, or such hideous forms, as in this beautiful Island. Elsewhere it may sometimes exercise considerable influence and even command many devoted votaries; but here it has been moulded into a regular religion, arranged and methodized into a system, and carefully preserved in writing: so that the amount of influence, which it exercises over the thoughts, the habits, the every day life of a Singhalese, is such as can hardly be believed by a stranger to the character of a genuine Singhalese Buddhist.

A series of writers commencing with Knox and ending with Sir Emerson Tennent, have, at different periods, during the last 200 years, given to the public the results of their enquiries and experience in matters connected with this Island, in a number of interesting and able works of which Sir Emerson's is the last and the greatest: yet none of these writers seem to have perceived, in any adequate degree, the extraordinary amount of gross superstition which prevails among the people, of whose manners, customs, and history they professed to treat; not that they have omitted to mention the worship of gods and demons, as well as Buddhism and a few other superstition, as existing among our countrymen, and even in some instances, gone into considerable details respecting them, but they do not appear to have been fully aware of the extraordinary degree of influence they exercise over the mind of a Singhalese. This is owing partly to the circumstance of these writers being Englishmen, mostly unacquainted with the native languages, and partly to a certain reluctance, which a demon-worshipper always feels, to communicate full and unreserved information to a stranger who professes a different religion, suspecting that the object of the Englishman, in seeking for information respecting a system in which he himself does not believe, is only to publish it in his books and newspapers, and thereby expose it to public ridicule.

In the following pages, we propose to class the different forms of superstition prevailing among our countrymen, under the following heads, viz:-I. DEMONISM, or the worship of demons or evil spirits; II. CAPUISM, or the worship of gods, demigods, and deified heroes; III. GRAHAISM, or the worship of planets and stars; IV. MISCELLANEOUS SUPERSTITIONS, or such as cannot properly be classed under any of the preceding heads. Not only will each of these be found to be distinct from the rest in all material points, but they also appear to have originated in the Island at different periods of time.

It is not easy, however, to fix definitely any particular period of time as that in which any of these systems of superstition first originated in the Island, no positive information of a very reliable character being supplied by any records of native annals now extant. Nevertheless the most reasonable supposition, and one which is supported by all who have touched upon the subject, and, to a certain extent, by the native historical records themselves, is, that the greater portion of them existed here at a very early period, long anterior to the commencement of the Christian era.

With the exception of Buddhism (also which is partly, though in some few respects only, based upon Brahminism) every species of superstition, science, or literature, which exists among the Singhalese, with certain exceptions of minor importance, may be traced, more or less directly to Brahminism and its Vedas and Shasters. Whether this is solely a consequence of Wijeyo's invasion (543 B. C.), or whether any portion of them, such as the worship of demons and of planets, had existed here even before that event, and only became assimilated to the Brahminical doctrines itself in subsequent times, it is not easy to decide; but yet, if the wild, ignorant savages, who inhabited this Island, when Wijeyo landed on it, and whom. Native Chroniclers have styled demons, did profess any form of worship, as no doubt they must have done, it is more likely that it related to demons and planets, than to any thing else. Men steeped in complete barbarism and ignorance, separated by their insular position from the rest of the world, attributing, with

the first impulse of uneducated nature, a supernatural agency to natural causes and events, when these were beyond the comprehension of their simple intellects, and naturally impelled, therefore, in the absence of any other form of religion calculated to fill up the void in their minds, to embrace any which their untutored passions and feelings, and their immediate wants and conveniences suggested to them, as the best-men such as these are likely to coin for themselves a religion, which in every respect corresponds with their own dispositions. Sickness and death, the most direful calamities of life, with the many dreadful circumstances generally attending them, are, of all causes, those which would naturally, in those early ages of the world, excite, in an ignorant and simple mind, feelings of supernatural terror; and the rise, among such a people, of a system of worship, in which every form of disease and suffering is attributed to the agency of demons, must cease to excite wonder in any mind. If Demonism did actually exist here previous to the invasion of Wijeyo, as we think it did, a multitude of other causes and circumstances, which followed that event, as consequences of it, must have cooperated to bring it into its present condition, with its charms and spells and invocations to the Hindoo deities. These changes appear to have been going on till within the last 3 centuries.

But though we are not able to fix the exact period at which Demonism originated in the Island, we have enough of evidence to prove, that its origin could not have been later than the fifth century; for the seventh Chapter of Maha Wanse, a work whose authenticity has never been called in question, makes mention of Balli* offerings, made to demons at the time of Wijeyo, that is five and a half centuries before the Christian Era; which shews, that, even if Demon-worship did not prevail here in the days of Wijeyo, it did so

* Although the books of the demon priests direct that a balli or image of any demon invoked on any occasion, should be formed, and offerings be made to it, yet in point of practice this image, or balli, has generally been dispensed with in modern times.

There is another species of balli made to represent, not demons, but Planet gods. These will come to be noticed under the head Grahaism.

in the days of Maha Nama Terunnanse, who was engaged in the composition of that historical work, between the years 459 and 477 A. D., that is nearly 1400 years ago.

Grahaism may, with equal reason, be supposed to have been a system of still more ancient origin; the sun, moon, and stars being the first objects of wonder, which are calculated to rouse, in an ignorant mind, feelings of superstitious adoration. But, as it at present exists, it appears to be almost wholly an emanation from Brahminism. While Capuism, on the other hand, is a mixture of Hindooism and of a more refined species of Demonism, the first derived from the continent, the latter of indigenous growth, and both mixed together into a heterogeneous system, originating probably at a period later than the two former.

Although Buddha is said to have visited Ceylon three several times before its conquest by Wijeyo, his religion was not established in it till the reign of Dewanan Piatisse, who ascended the throne 307 E. C., nearly 236 years after Buddha's death. But, from the first day of its introduction into the Island, its success seems to have been very rapid; and indeed from the despotic nature of the government, and the religious enthusiasm of the king, assisted as it was by the proselytizing spirit of Dharma Soka of India (the grandson of him who has been called Sandracotta by the Greek writers) its success could not but have been certain, immediate, and complete. But demonism was not displaced by it. It only took a subordinate rank. Buddhism acknowledges the existence of demons, and connives at, if it does not openly countenance, the practice of demon-worship, or at least of a great deal which belongs to it. Buddhism does not hold out worldly advantages or immediate rewards in this life to its votaries, so much as demonism does. Its task is the graver one, of pointing out a way (though an erroneous one) of obtaining salvation for the soul; an object which is to be attained, only after passing through many transmigrations of the soul, through countless millions of years-a consummation, therefore which, however devoutly wished for by a Buddhist, is still one to be attained only in another state of existence, at some