unknown distant period of time. Demonism, on the other hand, deals with the concerns of this life, and of this life alone. This, therefore, appeals more strongly to the passions and feelings, in as much as it relates to things nearer and present. Hence, demonism never lost its hold on men's minds, but, on the contrary, it still continues to be the most popular of all forms of worship prevailing among the Singbalese.

The period, at which demonism seems to have been fashioned into the form it still retains, is that which intervened between the eleventh and the sixteenth centuries, during which, owing to the numerous wars which were incessantly waged between the princes of this Island and those of Southern India, thousands of Malabars often became residents, as captive slaves or as freemen, among the Singhalese, and imparted to the latter, many of their own peculiar superstitions and notions, so that many fresh additions were made to demonism, both in the number of demons, and, especially, in the introduction of a large number of charms or spells recited at every demon ceremony now; so much, indeed, does this appear to have been the case that more than seven-eighths of the charms, belonging to Singhalese Necromancy, are in the Tamil language; a circumstance which has led many to believe, that demonism is altogether an importation from the continent. During the last three centuries, no changes whatever seem to have been made in it, or if any, only of a very trifling nature, and that too, more in the gradual alterations of the language used in the invocations, than in any thing else. Knox's short account of the form of demon-worship, which prevailed at the time he was a captive in this Island, that is 200 years ago, seems, judging even from the little he has said on the subject, to be exactly the form of worship, which at this day prevails among the people.

Thus, besides Buddhism, properly so called, there are three other forms of worship, which enter into the religious creed of a Singhalese, namely Demonism, Capuism, and Grahaism. In addition to these, there are also a variety of other minor superstitions, considered to be quite necessary to his welfare, and which, though of minor

importance, do engage, and will continue to engage, his serious attention, so long as he continues to be a Buddhist. As the first of these, viz., Buddhism, relates only to his spiritual interests, affecting him in another life, so the last three concern his temporal interests in this life; the fruits of the first being tasted only in another state of existence, while those of the last are enjoyed immediately and during every moment of this life. To which of these therefore a Singhalese resorts oftenest, and with the greatest eagerness, it is easy to imagine. He has one religion for his soul, and another for his body, both highly reverenced, and maintained as essential to his well being; a convenience which, as far as we are aware, no other nation in the world possesses.

The most remarkable feature in the character of a Singhalese is, not that he is a follower of any one of these superstitious systems, but that he is a follower of each and all of them at one and the same time; for the doctrines of some of these appear to be contradictory to, and inconsistent with, each other. For instance, Grahaism maintains, that the movements of the Planets influence man in every thing; that sometimes they bring disease, death, poverty and every other imaginable misery, not only on himself, but sometimes even on those connected with him; that at other times they give him health, wealth, honours, happiness, and every thing else desirable; but that all the aforesaid calamities may be prevented by propitiating the planets by certain ceremonies. On the other hand, the fundamental doctrine of the religion of Buddha, being, that every man is what he is, owing to Karma, that is, to the nature of what he has done, good or bad, in a previous state of existence, Buddhism, or at least every Buddhist Priest admits, in a spirit of compromise, as it were, that many of the calamities or turns of good fortune, which befall men, do take place according to the movements of the planets, but contend, that these movements are not arbitrary and optional with the planets themselves; that they are the result of a certain fixed order according to which the planets must move; that the planets are only a sort of intermediate agents, serving merely as blind instruments in the hands of Karma, to prefigure to the

world the various changes of fortune, which must come upon each man according to his Karma, that is, according to his good or bad deeds in a former life; and that no propitiation of the planets, or of any power whatsoever, in the whole universe, can ward off calamities, or hinder happiness and prosperity, deserved by a man on account of this inexorable Karma. Nevertheless, a Singhalese contrives to believe in all the four systems, and to be, at the same time, recognized as an orthodox Buddhist; and it would be a rare thing to meet with any one, who, in point of practice, is a votary of only one or two of the systems. The influence which these systems command, notwithstanding such inconsistencies as the above, may be judged of from the fact, that the Buddhist Priest himself, the very teacher and expounder of the religion of Buddha, has sometimes recourse to Grahaism and even to Demonism. Before we proceed further, we shall make a few more general remarks on each of these systems.

I. DEMONISM is regarded as a means of guarding against sickness, and of curing it when it is supposed, as it almost always is, to be caused by a demon, and also as a means, in the hands of any man, of inflicting death, disease, or other calamity, on other men. A subordinate object of it is the accomplishment of purposes different from the above, such as that of protecting the fruits of a tree from pillage, of creating discord and hatred between the different members of a family, of gaining the affections of a woman, of discovering treasures hidden in the ground, and other similar purposes. The demons are regarded as beings only influenced by the worst of motives towards mankind, without a sentiment of pity, justice, or kindness, in their nature. They are made instrumental in curing diseases, as well as in inflicting them. They are to be coerced by spells, and propitiated with offerings and particular ceremonies. They cannot affect the spiritual welfare of a man in any way; but can only cause death at the most. A Singhalese demon, therefore, is a different kind of being from the demon of European superstitions or from the Diabolus of the New Testament. For, while the object of the latter is to ruin for ever the soul of a man, that of the

former is only to injure the body. A Singhalese demon is himself a being subject to death, like all other beings recognised by Buddhism, although that event may in some instances take place only at the end of some tens of thousands of years. This difference arises from the Buddhist doctrine, that there is no state of perpetual existence for any being; that happiness or misery can never be perpetual; that the rewards or punishments for the actions of one life will be reaped in one or more states of existence afterwards, and then come to an end; and that mere obedience to a demon does not necessitate any disobedience to one's religion.

In every other form of worship, which exists among men, whether it be Buddhism, Capuism, Mohammedanism, Brahminism, or any other, the objects of worship are always regarded with feelings of veneration by their votaries; but in Demonism alone, no such feelings exist in the heart of the worshipper, whose worship consists only in trying to induce them by flattery, and offerings, or to coerco them by threats, to cure, or to inflict some disease, or to secure a man from becoming liable to it at all. And yet neither the rites of Buddhism, nor of Capuism, nor even of Grahaism, are more frequently and eagerly resorted to, than those belonging to the worship of demons, who, instead of being objects of religious veneration, are only objects of indescribable dread.

One of the main differences between an educated and an uneducated intellect seems to be this-that, while the former always aims at analysis, at generalization, at resolving the mysterious and the marvellous into natural causes, at laying open the hidden and inscrutable things of nature, the latter takes the directly opposite course of indulging in the unreasonable and unaccountable pleasure of throwing a veil of mystery and darkness even over those things, which, if it were to view them rationally, it might understand, and of endeavouring, as often as possible, to give "a local habitation and a name" to what has neither. Nowhere is this strange peculiarity of the uncultivated intellect perceived in a more tangible form than in the demonology of the Singhalese.

As may naturally be expected in such a system, created and

upheld merely by popular superstition, we find that not only are many of its tenets sometimes contrary to each other, but that the Cattadiyas (demon priests) and even the very books, which lay down the principles of their system, often differ from each other, so much so, indeed, that it is very difficult for any one, undertaking to give a connected and consistent account of the Demonism of Ceylon, to avoid sometimes making in one part of his account a statement inconsistent with another in another part of it. But as far as the Cattadiyas and their followers are themselves concerned, such difficulties are easily surmounted, by their attributing all such contradictions, if pointed out, to the mysteries of the art, and to their own ignorance, rather than to any fault of the system itself.

The Priests of Demonism are styled Yakaduras, Yakdessas, or more commonly, Cattadiyas; and there is scarcely a single village in the Island, which does not boast of at least one. Nearly twelve months are spent in learning the trade, the most laborious and principal part of the task of a beginner being, to commit to memory the charms, invocations, and songs, which are essential to his vocation. What the number of these is, may be estimated from the fact, that some of the demon-ceremonies commence at 6 or 7 P. M. and, lasting without intermission throughout the whole night, close only about 6 or 7, and sometimes later, the next morning; during all which time the performer has to repeat from memory all his charms and songs, only now and then interrupted by a violent bout of dancing. The dancing and the singing generally go on together, except when the former happens to be of so violent a nature, as to render it impossible to continue the other along with it. The profession was in early times exclusively confined to the low Castes, such as Tomtom Beaters, Durayas, and Jaggeries, but at present there is no such exclusiveness, men of every caste betaking themselves to it. The first man who ever practised the art, is said to have been one Pradeys Rosia.

A Cattadiya, who is a priest, though it be of demons, is yet never looked upon as in any way distinguished from the rest of the people by any supposed sanctity of character, or by a superior degree of