Chapter XVII: Part 17

Page 321. In Les Avadanas, vol. ii, p. 51, and Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues, vol. ii, p. 183, a man who drank water that was flowing through a wooden pipe twice ordered the water to stop when he had finished. He was called a fool, and led away.

In the latter work, vol. ii, p. 269, there is an account of the boy who killed the mosquito that had settled on his sleeping father's head.

Page 327. Add to second note, In the Katha Sarit Sagara, vol. ii, p. 497, the assessors at a trial acted as judges, but the sentence was pronounced by the King,--as in The Little Clay Cart, also. Compare also the orders of King Mahinda IV (A.D. 1026-1042) regarding the judicial powers of a court of village assessors, consisting of headmen and householders. They were required to try even cases of murder and robbery with violence, and to inflict the death penalty (Wickremasinghe, Epigraphia Zeylanica, vol. i, p. 249).

Page 329. In The Indian Antiquary, vol. iii, p. 28, in a Maisur story by V. Narasimmiyengar, the Bharatas' Government took as its share or tax the upper half of a root crop, and got only leaves and stalks. For the next year, when the Government announced that the root part of the crop would be taken, the cultivators sowed paddy, ragi (millet), wheat, etc., and the tax collector got only straw.

In Campbell's Santal Folk Tales, p. 93, a tiger and crane joined together, and planted a garden with turmeric. The tiger had the first choice of his share of the crop, and decided to take the leaves, leaving the roots for the crane. When the crop was gathered and the tiger found his share was valueless he quarrelled with the crane, which pecked his eyes and blinded him.

Page 335. A variant regarding a Maditiya tree (Adenanthera pavonina) was related by a Tom-tom Beater of the North-Western Province. A man told the King that he had planted a golden seedling, and was given food and drink and ordered to take great care of it. When a flood carried it away he lamented and rolled about in assumed grief before the King, who after pacifying him ordered him to plant another golden seed. He made the same cryptic remark to his wife as in the other tale.

Page 338. In Folklore of the Santal Parganas, p. 260, the incident of the sickle that had fever occurs, but the person who left it to reap the crop was an intelligent man who pretended to be stupid so as to trick a farmer.

Page 341. In two Sinhalese variants of the North-Western Province, the animal which the man saved was a crocodile, and the first animals applied to for their opinions were a lean cow and a Naga raja or cobra, both of which advised the crocodile to kill the man. When the jackal was appealed to it sat upon an ant-hill to hear the case, got the crocodile and man to come there out of the water, and then told the man to kill it with a stick, after which it ate the flesh.

In Folk-Tales from Tibet, p. 12, a musk-deer that let a tiger out of a house was seized by it, and appealed to a tree, a buffalo cow, and a hare. The two former condemned it; the hare induced the tiger to re-enter the house, shut the door, and left it to die of starvation.

In Reynard the Fox in Southern Africa, p. 11, there is a Hottentot variant. A white man saved a snake's life by removing a stone that had fallen on it. When it was about to bite him it agreed to obtain the opinions of some wise people. A hyæna when asked replied, "What would it matter?" A jackal when questioned about the matter refused to believe that the snake would be unable to rise when under the stone, got the man to replace the stone on it, and then told him to leave it to escape by itself. On p. 13, in a variant, application was first made to a hare and afterwards to these other animals.

I am indebted to my friend Mr. McKie, of Castletown, for an Eastern Bengal variant recently published in an Isle of Man paper. A benevolent Brahmana saved a tiger that was stuck in the mud of a tank. As the tiger was then about to eat him he appealed to a Banyan tree and an old pot, both of which condemned him. When the opinion of the jackal was asked for, it wished to see the place where the tiger was stuck fast, got the animal into its original position, and then ran off accompanied by the man. The tiger sank more deeply in the mud, and perished. A variant of this story is given in Campbell's Santal Folk Tales, p. 40, the pot being replaced by a cow, and the Brahmana by several men, who at last stoned and killed the tiger.

In Folklore of the Santal Parganas, p. 150, the Panjab form of the tale is given, in which the bride saved the man. In the same vol., p. 313, a leopard which was about to eat a man who had saved its life, agreed to make inquiry if this was fair. The water and tree recommended that he should be eaten, but the jackal induced the leopard to enter the man's sack as before, and then told the man to smash its head with a stone.

Page 346. In Folk-tales of the Telugus, p. 72, the story is told of a crane and some fish, to which it stated that it was doing penance, predicted a twelve years' drought, offered to carry them to an adjoining lake, and ate them. The crab is not introduced into this story.

In the Arabian Nights, vol. v, p. 391, no bird is mentioned. The fishes applied to the crab for advice on account of the drought, and were recommended to pray to Allah, and wait patiently. They did so, and in a few days a heavy rain refilled their pond.

Page 349, in last line of Notes. For ka, doer, read eka, one.

Page 354. In A. von Schiefner's Tibetan Tales, p. 344, there is a story like that in The Jataka, the animals being an old cat that pretended to be doing penance, and five hundred mice; the cat seized the last mouse as they returned to their hole. The mouse chief exposed its false penance.

In Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues, vol. ii, p. 414, the same story is given, the animals that were eaten being rats. In vol. iii, p. 139, a heron suggested that it and other birds should live together; during their absence it ate their eggs and young ones. They noticed this, and scolded and left it.

Page 358. In Folklore of the Santal Parganas, p. 23, the last incident regarding the boy and the leopard occurs with little variation.

In Campbell's Santal Folk Tales, p. 42, the daily fights of a tiger and lizard are described, the latter being victorious each time. When the tiger was carrying off a man whom it intended to eat it was frightened away by being told that he had the lizard with him.

Page 363. The jackal's instruction to the lion to eat while seated is in accordance with the rules given in the Maha Bharata (Anusasana Parva).

Page 366. There is a variant in the Sierra Leone district, given in Cunnie Rabbit, etc., p. 265. The surviving wife of two ill-treated the other's daughter, and sent her to get the devil to wash their rice stick. She behaved civilly to some hoe handles tied in a bundle which spoke to her, and to a one-eyed person,--(both being forms assumed by the demon),--and removed insects from the devil's head; he washed the rice stick for her, and told her to take four eggs from his house. She selected small ones, threw them down, one after another, on her way home, as he told her, and received houses, servants, soldiers, wealth, goods, and jewellery. She also, as instructed by him, pounded rice on her dead mother's grave, and sang, calling her back to life. When the other woman's daughter was sent she behaved rudely to all, and selected four large eggs, out of which came bees that stung her, snakes that threatened her, men who flogged her, and fire which burned up her house, her mother, and herself.

Page 368. In last line of text, for tika read tika.

Page 377. In Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues, vol. iii, p. 250, a man was told when buying a demon (Pisaca) that he might be killed by him if he did not provide continual work for him. He did the work of ten men, and was employed for some years, his master becoming rich in consequence. One day when he forgot to provide work for the demon the latter put his master's son in a pot and cooked him.

Page 379. After the first note, add, See also the Katha Sarit Sagara, vol. ii, pp. 242, 258.

Page 381. In Folklore of the Santal Parganas, p. 341, there is the story of the jackal who escaped from the crocodile; when he said it must be a fool to seize a root instead of his leg it released him.

In The Indian Antiquary, vol. iii, p. 10, in a Bengal story by Mr. G. H. Damant, the crocodile seized the jackal's leg, and let go on being told it was a stick for measuring the height of the water. It then waited in the jackal's house. He noticed this, and addressed the house, "O house! O house of earth! What have you to say?" The crocodile grunted in reply, and the jackal ran off.

In Folk-Tales from Tibet, p. 145, a tortoise [turtle] wishing to punish a monkey, hid in the cave they both occupied. The monkey, suspecting it, called out "O great cave! O great cave!" When he repeated it and remarked on the absence of the usual echo, the tortoise repeated the words, and the monkey escaped.

In Old Hendrik's Tales, p. 107, there is a Hottentot variant. The wolf, in order to settle some outstanding scores, got hid in the jackal's house during his absence; but the jackal, seeing his footprints, suspected this, and called out, "My ole house! My ole house!" When no reply came on his repeating it, he said he knew Ou' Wolf must be inside, or the house would say "Come in," as usual. On the wolf's repeating the words he laughed, and ordered it out.

Page 384, line 16. For burning read rubbing.

(I have been unable to examine the volumes of The Indian Antiquary after 1897.)

VOLUME II.

Page 13, footnote. For modaya read modaya.

Page 20. The second footnote should be deleted, and in the story the last paragraph but one should be:--Thereafter, this Prince and Princess having caused that widow woman to be brought, and having tried her judicially (naduwa ahala), subjected her to the thirty-two tortures, etc.

Messrs. H. B. Andris and Co., of Kandy, have been good enough to send me a list of the thirty-two tortures, compiled from Sinhalese manuscripts. As I think such a list has not been published I append it here, with the English equivalents.

The Thirty-two Tortures.

1. Katu-saemitiyen taelima. Flogging with the thorny scourge.
2. We-waelen taelima. Flogging with cane.
3. Atak digata aeti muguruwalin taelima. Beating with clubs (or
mallets) of the length of a hand.
4. Ata kaepima. Cutting off the hand.
5. Paya kaepima. Cutting off the foot.
6. At-pa de-kotasama kaepima. Cutting off both the hands and the feet.
7. Kana kaepima. Cutting off the ear.
8. Nasaya kaepima. Cutting off the nose.
9. Kan-nasa de-kotasama kaepima. Cutting off both the ears and
the nose.
10. Ise sama galawa ehi kadi-diya waekkerima. Removing the skin of
the head and pouring vinegar there.
11. Ise boralu ula sak patak men sudu-kerima. Rubbing gravel on the
head, and cleaning it like a chank or leaf (of a manuscript book).
12. Mukhaya de-kan langata ira tel-redi purawa gini tibima. Splitting
the mouth near the two ears, filling it with oiled cloth, and
setting fire [to this].
13. Siyalu sarira tel-piliyen wela gini tibima. Twining oiled cloth
round the whole body and setting fire [to it].
14. Hastayan tel-redi wela gini taebima. Twining oiled cloth on the
hands and setting fire [to it].
15. Sriwayehi patan hama galawa kendayehi taebima. Removing the skin,
beginning at the neck, and placing it on the calf.
16. Tana mattehi patan sama uguluwa isehi taebima. Causing the skin
to be plucked off, beginning at the top of the breasts, and
placing it on the head.
17. Bima howa dedena de-waelamiti yahul gasa wata-kota gini
dael-wima. Causing [the person] to lie on the ground, striking iron
pins through both elbows, and making flames of fire round [him].
18. Bili-katuwalin paehaera sam mas nahara uguluwa-daemima. Removing
skin, flesh, with fish-hooks, and causing the tendons to be plucked
completely out.
19. Kahawanu men sakala sarirayehi mas kaepima. Cutting the flesh
from the whole body [in pieces] like kahapanas (coins).
20. Sakala sariraya kendila ksharawu karan gaelwima. Making incisions
in the whole body and causing salt corrosiveness to sink [into
them].
21. Ek aelayakin bima howa kanehi yawul gasa karakaewima. Causing
[the person] to lie on the ground in a trench, striking iron pins
(or rods) in the ear, and turning them round.
22. Sarirayehi aeta-mas podi-kota piduru su[m]buluwak men
kerima. Bruising the flesh on the bones in the body, and making it
like a straw envelope.
23. Kakiyawana-lada tel aengehi isima. Sprinkling boiling oil on
the body.
24. Sayin pidita sunakhayan lawa mas anubawa-kerima. Devouring the
flesh by means of dogs suffering from starvation.
25. Katu-bere peralima. Rolling [the person] in the drum containing
thorns.
26. Sakrame karakaerima. Turning [the person] round on the wheel.
27. Æsak uguluwa anik aesata penwima. Plucking out an eye, and showing
it to the other eye.
28. Æha maeda yahul gasa karakaewima. Striking an iron pin into the
middle of the eye, and turning it round.
29. Ænga-mas kapa baeda kaewima. Cutting off the flesh of the body,
frying it, and making [the person] eat it.
30. Buta-seyyawen hinduwa nul gasa waeyen saehima. Setting [the person]
in the attitude in which goblins recline (i.e., on the back),
marking [the body by means of blackened] strings (as sawyers do),
and slicing off [the projecting parts] with the adze.
31. Diwas-ula induwima. Setting [the person] on the impaling stake.
32. Kaduwen isa kapa-daemima. Cutting off the head completely with
the sword.

Page 26, note. For Tisse de wele read Tisse de wele.

Page 32, line 19. After footnote add, and Part II, p. 164.

Page 34, line 36. For seven read four.

Page 36, note, and p. 116, note. For Sitana read Sitana.

Page 46, line 23. For the figure, read a "Sending" (sihaerumak). Other Sendings are mentioned in vol. iii, pp. 178 and 250.

Page 47. To the first note, add, See also Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues, vol. iii, p. 92.

Pages 70, 71. For tuttu read tuttu.

Page 80. Add, In Campbell's Santal Folk Tales, p. 127, a simpleton who accompanied some thieves placed boiling rice and milk in the open mouth of a man who said in his sleep, "I will eat."

Page 89, line 14. For through read though.

Page 97, footnote. For No. 263 read No. 262.

Page 108. Add, In Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues, vol. ii, p. 413, a sheep with its wool on fire owing to a blow with a fire-brand, set the hay on fire at the quarters of the royal elephants. In vol. iii, p. 145, a ram set fire to a village in the same manner.

Page 119, note. For Honda read Honda.

Page 126, line 13. For the read her.

Page 136, footnotes, line 20. For 248 read 247.

Page 160, second footnote. For 212 and 241 read 211 and 240.

Page 165 and p. 169, footnotes. After 237 insert 240.

Page 168, footnotes. After 208 add 240.

Page 171. Add, In Campbell's Santal Folk Tales, p. 21, a man falsely claimed the reward for killing a demon whom two brothers had shot; when they exposed him he was beaten. On p. 59, a youth who was sent in search of the bones of an elephant that he had thrown across the Seven Seas, was joined by a giant who was fishing with a Palmira palm as a rod and an elephant as a bait. Afterwards they added to their party another who held a Banyan tree as a shade for his ploughmen.

Page 184, line 24. For ambuda baendaganda read ambuda baendagana.

Page 202, line 24. For four read three. According to Clough, the yama, or watch, is one of four hours, but the Swapna-malaya makes it three:--

Dawasakata paeya saeta For a [whole] day, paeyas sixty
Weya, yamada atakata. Occur, and watches up to eight.
In tis paeyaka raekata From them, thirty paeyas for a night,
Yama satarak weya niyatata. [Or] watches four, occur for certain.

Page 213. Regarding the Ridi, Tavernier remarked (Voyages, 1679, i, p. 589), "This money is called Larin, and is of the same standard as our écus. Five pieces are worth our écu." On p. 591, vol. ii, he noted that, "The rupee of gold ... is worth in the country [India] fourteen rupees of silver. We reckon the rupee of silver at thirty sols. Thus the rupee of gold comes to 21 livres of France.... All the gold and silver which enters on the lands of the Great Mogol is refined to the highest standard (au dernier tître) before being coined."

Our sovereign contains 113 grains of fine gold; and as the full weight of the gold rupee or muhr (mohur) of the Mughal rulers was 175 grains, its full value as fine gold was £1 11s. of our money. At the mean weight of the gold (167.22 grs.) in 46 coins, as recorded in Hobson-Jobson, p. 438, the value would be £1 9s. 7 1/4d. By Tavernier's reckoning (at 21 livres) the full value was £1 11s. 6d. One-fourteenth of £1 11s. is 26.57d.; this was therefore the value of the silver rupee of the Mughals, which had the same weight as the gold coin. With the muhr at £1 11s. 6d. the value of the rupee would be 2s. 3d. At 26.57/30d., the French sol was worth 0.885d. Bernier remarked (Travels, Constable's translation, p. 200) that the value of the silver rupee was about 30 sols, and on p. 223, about 29 sols, Tavernier also agreeing that the actual value should be under 30 sols; in the latter case the sol would be equal to 0.916d. Taking the average value at 0.9d., and 20 sols to a livre, the value of the livre was 1s. 6d. Three livres were equal to one écu (4s. 6d.), one-fifth of which, as noted above, would make the value of the larin 10.8d. This was not an accurate estimate of its value, since according to Tavernier (i, p. 136) 46 livres 1 1/2 deniers (each = one-twelfth of a sol) were the exact equivalent of a Persian toman of that period, which was thus worth £3 9s. 2 1/4d. of our money; and as 80 larins made one toman (i, p. 136; ii, p. 590) the true value of the larin in Persia (and India) in the middle of the seventeenth century was 10.375d. This would require the silver in it to weigh 76.08 grains. According to Dr. J. G. Da Cunha, Sir John Chardin stated that the value was two and a half shahis, or 11 sols 3 deniers, that is, 10.122d.; but by Tavernier's reckoning (i, p. 135) two and a half shahis would be worth 10.406d. Tavernier added that from Baghdad to Ceylon all business was done in larins. W. Barret writing in 1584 on Money and Measures (Hakluyt), remarked of them, "These be the best currant money in all the Indies."

Dr. Davy stated (Travels, etc., p. 181) that fifty ridis were equal to about twenty-nine shillings (1820); thus the value of the coin was then only about seven pence in Ceylon.

Although Prof. Rhys Davids mentioned (Coins and Measures of Ceylon, p. 35) that five ridis were spoken of [about 1870] as the equivalent of a rix-dollar--both coins being then out of circulation--thus making the value of the ridi less than fivepence, he gave the weight of three of these coins as being from 72 1/2 to 74 1/2 grains. Dr. Da Cunha gave a weight of 68 1/2 to 72 grains (Contributions, etc., part 3, p. 10). With an allowance for wear, it is therefore probable that the Persian weight of 76 grains was adhered to in Ceylon, and also in India.

In answer to my inquiry, Messrs. H. B. Andris and Co., of Kandy, have confirmed the statement made to me elsewhere, that the later value of the ridi in Ceylon was one-third of a rupee,--"panam pahayi salli hatarayi," five panams and four sallis.

Prof. Rhys Davids noted that Pyrard stated the value of those made early in the seventeenth century in the Maldives, to be about eight sols, that is, 7.2d. It is not clear why the money had the low values recorded above, unless the quality of the silver had deteriorated. In Ceylon, in Knox's time all the coins were tested in the fire.

According to the Mahavansa, King Bhuvaneka-Bahu VI in about A.D. 1475 constructed a relic casket out of seven thousand coins which are termed rajata in the Pali original, and ridi in the Sinhalese edition, both words meaning silver. As there appear to have been comparatively few other silver coins in the country, none, so far as is known, having been coined since the beginning of the previous century, these were probably larins.

The next reference to the coin in Ceylon goes back to about the same date; it is given by Mr. Pieris (Ceylon: the Portuguese Era, i, p. 50), apparently taken from the manuscript history of de Queiroz. King Dharma Parakrama-Bahu in 1518 related to the Portuguese Governor of Colombo that in his youth a certain man who had killed another did not possess the fifty larins which would have ransomed his life, and therefore he was executed. One would understand from this that these coins were plentiful in the island before A.D. 1500.

In the same work (i, p. 298) it is recorded that in 1596 the Portuguese captured five elephants laden with larins. Diogo do Couto mentioned that while besieged in Kotte in 1565, the Portuguese made some larins, "there being craftsmen of that calling" (Ferguson's translation, p. 233), thus confirming Knox's statement that this money was coined in Ceylon.

The Massa or Masurama which is mentioned so frequently in the stories is probably in most cases a copper coin, but gold and silver massas were also issued. In vol. iii, pp. 136, 137, line 31, 150, 1. 24, 387, 1. 29, the coins appear to have been gold massas. It is apparently the gold massa which is referred to in Mah. ii, 81, v. 45, where it is stated that King Wijaya-Bahu (A.D. 1236-1240) paid 84,000 gold kahapanas to transcribers of "the sacred book of the law." Perhaps, also, in the stories the kahapanas may have been golden massas or double massas. Compare vol. i, p. 348, and vol. iii, p. 263, line 33, and see below.

The commoner or standard coins of all three denominations have practically the same weight, which in the heavier examples is usually about 66 or 67 grains, though a few gold and silver coins exceed this weight, two silver ones of Nissanka-Malla, from Mahiyangana wihara, for which I am indebted to Prof. C. G. Seligmann, averaging 77 1/2 grains. Out of 150 copper coins only one turned the scale at 69 grains. If we assume that the Indian copper scale of General Cunningham was followed, and that, with allowance for wear and oxidation, the correct original weight of all three classes was 72 grains, a massa of fine gold would be worth 12s. 8.92d. of our money. Compared with the Persian larin, the value of the silver massa of 72 grains, if fine silver, would be 9.82d., or 1/15.56 of the gold one. Respecting the copper coin, Dr. Davy stated early last century (Travels, p. 245) that the ridi (or larin) was then equivalent to sixty-four "Kandian challies," that is, as he also terms them, "Dambadinia challies," the common village name of the copper massas; at this ratio the silver massa of 72 grains would be equivalent to 60.57 copper massas, each being worth 0.162d., or about one-sixth of a penny. [333] Late in the fifteenth century the Indian ratio of the value of copper to silver appears, according to Thomas, to have been 64 to 1, and at the beginning of the sixteenth, according to Whiteway, 80 to 1. [334] I have met with no villager who knew what the coins termed kahawanuwa (kahapana) and masurama were.

Messrs. H. B. Andris and Co., of Kandy, have been good enough to send me the following table of the old values of Sinhalese coins, kindly supplied by the "High Priest" of the Malwatta Wihara, at Kandy, on what authority I am unaware:--

4 salli = 1 tuttuwa.
8 tuttu = 1 massa. [? 20 tuttu].
5 mahu (or masu) = 1 kahawanuwa. [? 2 masu].

In the latter half of last century, twelve salli, or four tuttu, made one copper panama, sixteen of which went to a rupee; the intrinsic value of this being 1s. 10 1/2d., the salliya was worth 0.117d., or nearly half a farthing. In the absence of more ancient data, applying this value to the coins in the table the ancient tuttuwa would be worth 0.468d., the massa 3.744d., and the silver kahawanuwa, 1s. 6.72d., a little less than the value of two silver massas of 72 grains. A double silver massa, which would appear to be this coin, has been discovered by Col. Lowsley; [335] its weight was not stated.

With regard to the values of other coins, Capt. Percival wrote in 1803 that the rix-dollar "goes for about two shillings sterling; and four of them are equivalent to a star pagoda [the Tamil varakam, Sin. waragan], a Madras coin worth about eight shillings sterling" [in Ceylon; in India its official value was always three and a half rupees].

Page 229. Add, In Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues, vol. iii, p. 226, a man observed that birds that visited an island, inaccessible to man, in which there were great quantities of jewels, roosted at night in tall trees planted by him. He prepared some exquisite food for them with which they satiated themselves, afterwards vomiting pearls that covered the whole ground. He collected them, and became very wealthy.

Page 238, line 11. For paelas read hæliyas (large pots); and delete the following note in brackets.

Page 257, first note. See also Campbell's Santal Folk Tales, pp. 8 and 9. In the same work, p. 25 ff., there is an account of a boy one span in height. See also ante, note to p. 107, vol. i.

Page 261. Add, In Campbell's Santal Folk Tales, p. 19, some tigers who wanted to catch two men who had taken refuge on a palm tree, asked how they had ascended; they replied that they stood on each other's shoulders. When the tigers did the same, one of the men called to the other to give him his battle-axe, so that he might hamstring the tailless tiger (which was at the bottom). It jumped aside, and all fell down, and ran off.

Page 266, note. For Bastda or Bastdara read Banda or Bandara.

Page 274. Add, In Campbell's Santal Folk Tales, p. 12, a man who was in a tree was carried away in a bag by a demon. He escaped by putting a stone in it during the temporary absence of the demon, and was brought a second time. When the demon's daughter admired his long hair he informed her that it became long by being pounded, on which she put her head down to have her hair lengthened; he then killed her, cooked her, and the demon and his friends who came for the feast ate her. The man wore the daughter's clothes and was not recognised.

Page 281, line 37. For tadak read tadak.

Page 303. K. Raja-Sinha had a three-tiered hat (Knox, p. 34).

Page 319, line 24, and Index. For Amrapali, read Amrapali.

Page 321, note. For ewidinawa read aewidinawa. According to Mr. Gunasekara's Grammar, p. 452, this means, "the bees come as far as two miles."

Page 324, line 12. After two feet insert (do paya).

Page 344, line 37. Add, In vol. ii, p. 125, a lion was killed by the poisonous breath of a man-snake, and in vol. iii, p. 70, a lion and elephant perished in the same manner.

Page 374, line 11. For 137 read 117.

Page 398. Add, In Campbell's Santal Folk Tales, p. 12, a horse thief saddled and rode a tiger until daylight, thinking it a horse. On p. 46 it was a simpleton who rode. The tiger unwillingly returned with a jackal and bear, each holding the preceding one's tail. When they reached the thicket where the man was supposed to be, the tiger's courage gave way, and he bolted, dragging the others after him. A variant is given on p. 49, also.

Page 408, line 7. For While read while.

Page 433, line 7 of Sinhalese text. For deggatten read daeggatten.

VOLUME III.

Page 29, note 1. Through the kindness of Messrs. H. B. Andris and Co., I am able to add the following information regarding Kandian dry measures, chiefly furnished by Mr. A. J. W. Marambe, Ratemahatmaya of Uda Bulatgama. In the Kandian districts only heaped dry measures are employed, that is, the grain or whatever is being measured is raised up above the edge of the measure in as high a cone as is possible while pouring it out loosely.

Kandian Dry Measures.

2 heaped pat (pl. of pata) = 1 heaped manawa [336] (0.01146 c. ft.). 2 heaped mana = 1 heaped naeliya (0.02292 c. ft.). 2 heaped naeli = 1 heaped seruwa (0.04584 c. ft.). 28 heaped seru (or 32 cut seru) = 1 imperial or cut bushel (1.28366 c. ft.). 5 heaped seru = 1 standard kuruniya or lahe. 10 heaped kuruni, lahas or las = 1 paela. 4 pael = 1 amuna. 20 amunu = 1 yala.

A seruwa is a quart. Although the standard Kandian kuruniya is said by Mr. Marambe to be one of five heaped seru, there are others, according to him, of 4, 6 and 7 heaped seru, the latter being said to be employed in the Wanni or northern districts. In the interior of the North-Western Province, to the north and east of Kurunaegala, where most of the folk-tales were collected, the kuruniya was said to contain four heaped seru, according to which the local amuna would be 5.71 bushels. The Kandian amuna, at five seru to the kuruniya, would be equal to 7.1 bushels. An amuna of land is the extent sown by one amuna of seed, and varies according to the quality of the soil, less seed being needed for good land than poor land, where the plants are small. In the North-Western Province, an amuna of rice field is about two and a quarter acres, the amount of seed varying from two to three bushels per acre. One and a half heaped seru of kurahan (small millet) yield an amuna of crop in good chena soil; the yield from one heaped seruwa of tana, an edible grass cultivated in hill chenas, varies from one to two amunas; for the same out-turn with meneri four seru of seed are necessary.

OMITTED INCIDENTS.

The incidents which were omitted in vol. ii and vol. iii are as follows:--

Vol. ii, p. 260, line 3. Then at dawn, at the micturition time, urine having become oppressive (bara-wi) for the Tom-tom Beater, he spoke to the Gamarala. At that time the Gamarala having become frightened said, "The Rakshasa will eat us both; don't speak." Then the Tom-tom Beater, having remained on the upper-story floor, urinated. The urine came and fell on the body of the Rakshasa who was sleeping on the ground. At that time the Rakshasa having arisen asked the Gamarala's daughter. "What is the juice?" Then the girl said, "For the purpose of smearing the walls during the day-time, I put some water upon the upper floor. It will have been upset (namanda aeti) by the rats." Thereupon the Rakshasa silently went to sleep.

Then the Tom-tom Beater still [another] time became [obliged] to go outside. [337] At that time having spoken to the Gamarala he told him. The Gamarala said, "Don't talk." Thereupon the Tom-tom Beater evacuated. Then the filth having gone, fell on the Rakshasa's body. The Rakshasa having arisen, at the hand of the girl, having scolded her, asked, "What is this?" Thereupon the girl says, "I put some cow-dung on the upper-story floor; it (lit. they) will have fallen." Then the Rakshasa without speaking went to sleep.

Vol. iii, p. 290, line 4. Thereupon, in the night, for the Hettirala it became [necessary] to go outside.[337] So he spoke to Sokka, "I must go outside." Then Sokka cried out, "I cannot [find a utensil] in this night." When he was beseeching him to go to the door, having sought for a cooking-pot from there he gave him it.

During the whole thirty [paeyas] of that night the Hettirala began to have diarrhoea. Then at dawn, when the Hettirala was saying, "Sokka, take away and put down this closet utensil (muttiya)," Sokka began to cry aloud, "I will not." Then at the time when the Hettirala was asking Sokka, "What shall I do for this?" Sokka says, "Putting on a cloth from the head [downwards], and placing the closet utensil in your armpit, go in the manner of proceeding to go outside, and having put it down please return." After that, the Hettirala having done thus, when the Hettirala was going Sokka went and said at the hand of the Hettirala's younger sister, "The Hettirala having become angry is going, maybe. Please go and take him by the hand." The woman having gone running and said, "Elder brother, where are you going?" caught him by the hand. Then the closet utensil having fallen on the ground, and the bodies of both persons having been smeared, both went and bathed.

NOTES

[1] Lit., with (ekka), a common form of expression.

[2] Lit., from the hand of the Hare.

[3] Pin sidda-weyi, a common expression of beggars when asking alms.

[4] In the Katha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. i, p. 285, it is stated that "an evil omen presenting itself to people engaged in any undertaking, if not counteracted by delay and other methods, produces misfortune." One of the other methods was a drinking bout (see the same work, vol. i, p. 331).

[5] That is, "I lost the deer in order to save the packet of rice."

[6] Sunday is not a good day for beginning any new work; of course this has no connection with the idea of the Christian sabbath. Wednesday and Saturday are the most unlucky days of the week. Thursday is the luckiest one for all purposes. (See vol. ii., p. 192.)

[7] Partially trained cart-bulls, the little black humped ones, often pretend to be dead in order to avoid drawing a cart, and I have seen a wounded jackal and crocodile escape after behaving in this manner; I am not aware that deer act thus. (See Tennent's Nat. Hist., p. 285.)

[8] Another title is, "The Story of the Female Turtle Dove."

[9] Bassia longifolia.

[10] An imitation of the notes of the Turtle Dove (Turtur suratensis).

[11] Ketupa ceylonensis. The tree is Hemicyclia sepiaria.

[12] The Sinhalese names are, Muna-Rawana, Pari-kewulla, Dikaetaya, Goluwa, Atawanna, Nadakara-Panikkiya, Baka-modaya.

[13] The ordinary call of this Fish-Owl; to be sounded through the nose, with the lips closed, the second note on a lower key than the first.

[14] Wansadipatiyek.

[15] Delight-making Princess.

[16] See p. 64.

[17] About 2,800 acres, at two and a half bushels of sowing extent per acre. The yala is 20 amunas, each 5.7 or 6 bushels.

[18] In Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues (Chavannes), vol. ii, p. 339, a jackal's heart broke into seven pieces on hearing several lions roar.

[19] Katussa.

[20] The Monitor Lizard (Varanus dracaena).

[21] Daboia russelli, the most venomous snake in Ceylon.

[22] Lit., by the Mungus.

[23] A dry measure said by Clough to be about three pints wine measure. See the Additional Notes at the end of this volume.

[24] Karagama Devi pal, eka mage duwa pal, hatara pata naeliyen dek, deka, deka, deka. Lit., "the protection of Karagama Devi," etc. The oaths of this kind most commonly heard are amma pal, "by [my] mother," and aes deka pal, "by [my] two eyes." But ammappa pal, "by [my] mother and father," and maha polowa pal, "by the great earth," are not unusual.

[25] Gatta nan di, gatta nan di. All these are imitations of the voices of croaking frogs, the first being the rapid and shriller cries of the small frogs, and the second the deeper and slower calls of the larger frogs.

[26] In Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues (Chavannes), vol. iii, p. 115, the King of the demons is called Pañcika. Professor Chavannes noted that in the Divyavadana, p. 447, he has the title Yaksha-senapati, General of the Yakshas.

[27] A pool containing lotuses.

[28] In The Jataka, No. 506 (vol. iv, p. 283), the life-index of a serpent King was a pool, which would become turbid if he were struck or hurt, and blood-red if a snake-charmer seized him. In Folklore of the Santal Parganas (Rev. Dr. Bodding), p. 321, the life-index of a cow was some of her milk, which would become red like blood if she were killed by a tigress, as she expected.

[29] The narrator explained that this was in early times. He stated that they do not eat human flesh now; it is done only by Rakshasas.

[30] Where bushes or reeds are in the water near the shore, fishing is usually done by means of a baited hook at the end of a short fishing line attached to the extremity of a number of canes tied end to end. These float on the surface of the water, and are gradually pushed forward until the bait is in an open space in the water.

[31] "Soft are the six seasons of woman"; but the text is so full of mistakes that it is possible this may be intended for Sarasayu-wiri, "the bee's life is delicate," or Sarasayu-wiri, "soft are the six seasons of Love."

[32] See also A. von Schiefner's Tibetan Tales (Ralston), p. 134, in which the names are omitted.

[33] See Ancient Ceylon, p. 100.

[34] Dippitiyalage gedara.

[35] Pamula pettiya. See vol. i, p. 183, footnote.

[36] See vol. i, p. 10, on the small size of modern windows in the villages.

[37] A very common exclamation of grief, surprise, or sometimes annoyance. The relative addressed is always either the father, the mother, or the elder brother, in such cases.

[38] Hatara-maha Lula. I am doubtful regarding the meaning of maha; it appears to be derived from Skt. ma, to measure or be contained. According to Clough, lula is a snare or wicker fish-basket, perhaps from the Skt. lu, to cut or destroy. See final note.

[39] This would include the bathing of the whole body.

[40] The word ge, house, is used in the villages for "room." In this case the "house" was the trap.

[41] Toge amma tangi, toge appa tongi; tangittongit.

[42] Apparently, he thought she would be reborn on the earth again, with her former appearance.

[43] Wal-bowa, a domestic cat that has become wild, or the descendant of such a cat.

[44] After the manner of the Muhammadans, who chant prayers in the evening after sunset, and later on in the night.

[45] More correctly spelt Bhasmasura. See another legend of him in Ancient Ceylon, p. 156.

[46] The village spelling.

[47] Ci, an exclamation of disgust. "Hole, don't," appears to be the meaning.

[48] Bandayi pollayi.

[49] Pala yanda.

[50] The text has Ansca, evidently intended for Anicca. This is part of a Buddhist exclamation in Pali, Aniccan dukkhan, "transient is sorrow," often used colloquially to express astonishment. A Buddhist monk of my acquaintance invariably used it to express even slight surprise at anything, strongly accenting the last syllable of the first word; in fact, all is usually pronounced as though it formed only one word. See also p. 71 below.

[51] This appears to be the meaning.

[52] As a preliminary proceeding, the bridegroom gives the bride a new cloth to put on.

[53] Kandeyayi henayayi. Kandeya, he of the hill = hakura.

[54] This is a very disrespectful exclamation when addressed by a woman to a man, or an inferior to a superior. A Tamil head-mason once complained to me of the manner in which one of his men, a person of lower caste, had addressed him, and concluded by remarking, "He will say 'Ade!' to me next."

[55] A drove of pack-oxen, driven in this instance by "Moormen" (Marakkala men). This method of transporting goods is still practised in districts deficient in cart roads.

[56] See p. 138, vol. ii.

[57] Karola, for karawala.

[58] An Oak-like tree, Schleichera trijuga.

[59] Mukunu-waella kola, apparently Alternanthera sp., termed by Clough Mukunu-waenna or Mikan-pala.

[60] In the text the expression is mangula, feast; this word is sometimes used to denote the bride, as well as the wedding feast or the wedding itself. In a story not published we have, haya denekuta mangul genat innawa, for six persons brides have been brought.

[61] The yala being twenty amunas, the total area was the extent that would be sown with 1,212 amunas, each being six bushels (or 5·7 bushels in the district where the story was related). At two and a half bushels per acre this would be about 2,900 acres.

[62] Lit., Can he work. The same form of expression is used by the Irish.

[63] Bali aerumak, conducted by a person termed Bali-tiyanna. The patient and a friend sitting on each side of him or her, respond in a loud voice, "Ayibo, Ayibo!" (Long life!) at each pause in the invocations. The wish of long life is addressed to the deity of the planet.

[64] See vol. ii, p. 187.

[65] Jivan keruwa, made magical "life" or power in it, by means of spells.

[66] Gamarala kenekunne; this plural form is often used for the singular. A few lines further on we have, redda aendapu kenekundayi.

[67] Probably said sarcastically; he may have had a bad figure. This kind of sarcastic talk is very common in the villages.

[68] A coconut shell slung from cords, for use as a water-vessel (mungawe).

[69] Lit., "them," kiri, milk, being a plural noun.

[70] Compare the similar account on p. 296, vol. i. In Clough's Dictionary, Giju-lihiniya (lit., Vulture-glider or hawk) is termed Golden Eagle, a bird which is not found in India or Ceylon. Apparently the word is a synonym of Rukh (the Æt-kanda Lihiniya), which in the second note, p. 300, vol. i, is said to be "of the nature of vultures." In Man, vol. xiii, p. 73, Captain W. E. H. Barrett published an A'Kikuyu (East African) story in which when a man took refuge inside a dead elephant the animal was carried off by a huge vulture to a tree in the midst of a great lake. The man escaped by grasping one of the bird's tail feathers when it flew away, and being thus carried by it to land, without its knowledge.

[71] Ottu-wela, having pushed against.

[72] Lit., to be (re-)born.

[73] The narrator, belonging to a village in the far interior, evidently thought a shark is a small fish, little larger than those caught in the tanks. Compare also No. 214, in which a Queen carries a shark home to eat.

[74] Their idea apparently was that when at the point of death he would speak the truth, and they would thus learn if he were likely to be useful to them.

[75] Ammayi abuccayi.

[76] Ne owun dennata talanne.

[77] Lit., Not for us.

[78] Owanda.

[79] Bere tadi-gahan[ne] naehae, newe talanne.

[80] Raksa kara-gannawa nae.

[81] Goda aragana.

[82] Lit., "tying the hand"; the little fingers of the bride and bridegroom are tied together by a thread in the marriage ceremony.

[83] Lit., "Water-thirst."

[84] In the text this sentence follows the next one.

[85] Lit., a tri-ennium, a three-year, tun-awuruddak. This is an invention of the woman's; there is no custom of the kind in Ceylon.

[86] Ewunda okkotama.

[87] Rajjuruwanda hemin.

[88] Bappa, the father's younger brother.

[89] The consent of the parent or legal guardian was the only essential for a legal marriage, according to the ancient customs.

[90] Ki-roti. I do not know the cake, nor the meaning of the first syllable unless it be derived from kshira, milk.

[91] Ape ewundaeta, a pl. hon. form. Husbands and wives do not usually mention each other's names; the wife is commonly termed ape gedara eki, "she of our house" (as in No. 125), or the mother of the youngest child if there be one, or "she of ours," or merely "she."

[92] C is pronounced as ch in English.

[93] See notes of variants appended to No. 139, vol. ii.

[94] That is, the food materials.

[95] Daekun tibbata passe.

[96] Awot enne nae; nawot eññan.

[97] Because Kitul fibre is like hair which is hanging loose.

[98] Siwsaeta kala silpaya.

[99] Saluwak.

[100] The text of this story is given at the end of this volume.

[101] Hitanan dennek.

[102] Gini kukula, the fire [coloured] Cock.

[103] Rassayae gedara.

[104] Tiya, putting [out of consideration].

[105] Gediyak, a round lump, made into a package.

[106] Premna latifolia.

[107] Kaekulu hal, rice from which the skin has been removed without first softening it in hot or boiling water. It is used for making milk-rice (kiri-bat), but not usually for rice used with curries, as the grains are apt to coalesce when cooked.

[108] Kola das, mala das.

[109] As on p. 70, vol. i.

[110] Lit., "man," the word translated "wife" in this story being also literally "woman." These words are commonly employed with these meanings by the villagers.

[111] Nanga russayak, Ironwood tree.

[112] Umbala hitilla.

[113] The magical power lay in the Naga gem that was set in the ring. See notes, vol. i, p. 269, regarding the stone.

[114] Compare the story of Prince Lionheart in Tales of the Punjab, p. 42 ff.

[115] The milky sap which exudes from cuts in the bark or leaves. It is acrid, and blisters the skin if left on it.

[116] An ex-monk.

[117] Gaemmaedde.

[118] Umba mewwa damma-dipan.

[119] Ekan-karawanda.

[120] Baeri-wuna, were unable (to be remembered), or omitted.

[121] The food was to be eaten by any poor people who came for it. Of course the deities required only the essence.

[122] Ara deviyoyi senawayi et giya.

[123] That is, three and a half times the extent usually cleared by one man for the season's crop.

[124] Æddeya. See note, vol. i, p. 193.

[125] Lit., it is not for me to stay.

[126] A common custom in the royal fields, I believe. Villagers employed on my works sometimes impressed wayfarers in this manner, as a joke.

[127] Amu koyamata.

[128] Dalu goyan.

[129] Apparently "The Ace," with a personal suffix; but his real meaning was, "He who goes about cheating" (a + sri + ya).

[130] Wiyan. This work is always done by the local washerman, who supplies the cloth for it.

[131] Pamula pettiya. See note, vol. i, p. 183.

[132] This is an old notion. In A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures (Beal), p. 74, it is stated, "Again, there are different kinds of kalpa trees which produce garments, from which they can select every sort of robe to wear."

[133] Pala-gatta.

[134] Danu rukadayak.

[135] Ate kiri bonawa, usually meaning sucking the thumb.

[136] Damapu para.

[137] Dunnakuyi, igahakuyi, italayakuyi.

[138] Ewaessa mama, mother's brother.

[139] Dadayan para.

[140] This may be the modern Balalli-waewa, on the Padeniya-Anuradhapura road.

[141] Dippitiyalage gedara.

[142] Laka wata baedi [*] sawaran!
Ane! Mage Laka wata baedi sawaran!

[*] There is a play on this word, baedi meaning jungle, while bae[n]di, which is sometimes written baedi, means tied, bound. A meaning might be, "The savages of the jungle around Lanka (Ceylon)."

[143] A line of hairs from the throat to the navel is said to be considered a thing of beauty.

[144] Bada is for banda.

[145] The text is given at the end of this volume.

[146] Makanta, to obliterate, but the meaning of the narrator appears to be more nearly expressed by the word I have inserted.

[147] When a woman has more than one husband (brothers always), she goes through the marriage ceremony with the eldest, and is formally given to him only.

[148] Apparently the fire originated accidentally, and the man was afraid of being charged with murdering the beggar. Compare story No. 21, vol. i, of which the Western Province has a variant.

[149] Manda walaka. In village talk and writing, the semi-consonants n, n, and n are often inserted in words in which they do not occur in ordinary Sinhalese; on the other hand, these letters, and m as a semi-consonant, are often omitted in writing words in which they are always pronounced.

[150] Wiyan baendala.

[151] Hayiyen hayiyen.

[152] Hamunduru namak, a Buddhist monk.

[153] Tract "assigned for the exclusive use of the grantee," and his descendants. See Wickremasinghe (Epigraphia Zeylanica, vol. i, p. 244).

[154] Mist Mother. In the Rig Veda, v, 32, 4, Sushna, the Danava, is termed Child of the Mist.

[155] This episode is given in No. 138, vol. ii.

[156] Ursha = vrisha.

[157] Required as an offering to the demon in charge of the hidden treasure. Compare No. 196.

[158] At deka gawin allagatta.

[159] This reply is intended to show that the boys do not deserve sympathy.

[160] To taniyenda awe?

[161] E tiyaddin, "placing it" [aside or out of consideration].

[162] See footnote, vol. ii, p. 369.

[163] The Yaka who gives effect to evil magic spells and charms, and to the evil eye and evil mouth, that is, evil wishes and curses.

[164] Jivan karala.

[165] In Folk-Tales of Kashmir (Knowles), 2nd ed., pp. 411, 412, a Prince who was going for a magical sandal-wood tree, fed two tigers which protected it, with the leg of a sheep, and the serpents with bread and curdled milk, after which they did not attempt to harm him.

In Ceylon, it is believed that the demons who protect the treasure, or those who are summoned by means of evil invocations in other cases, take at first various forms of animals; and it is imperative that these animals must be fed with appropriate food, otherwise the demon would be able to destroy the persons engaged in the business.

[166] Kollanta himin.

[167] Æwadin ahakwela.

[168] Probably Gaja-Bahu I, A.D. 113-135.

[169] The Hitopadesa relates this of a traveller near Ujjain.

[170] The narrator explained that when the rain came the snake would twist about inside the elephant's head, and drive it mad.

[171] Obata mokada, tik; mama oda, tik. The tik represents the stamp of the hare's foot, or a snort, perhaps.

[172] Each person who receives a packet is considered to be invited.

[173] Kalavaedda (Paradoxurus musanga).

[174] The text is given at the end of this volume.

[175] This incident is also related on pp. 62 and 63 of vol. i.

[176] In No. 245 the Princess was weighed once a week.

[177] Lit., ran flying.

[178] Kanya pantiyak; apparently they were courtesans or dancing girls.

[179] Hadagat purushayek.

[180] Mesopotamian Archæology (Handcock), pp. 295, 329.

[181] Tun-mulu-Toppiya, the one with the three-cornered hat.

[182] Lit., Come to go.

[183] Ese-mese.

[184] Bohoma durata, lit. very far.

[185] Lit., We having gone, will come.

[186] That is, the amount of the seed being first deducted, a certain share of the produce would be taken by the cultivator--sometimes one-half or one-third,--the rest going to the owner of the land, in this case the King.

[187] Gedarawal ganettama. Gane or gana = gahana, multitude; compare kadawal ganema, vol. i, p. 86, line 17.

[188] Issara weccahama.

[189] Umbalat ekkenek mage ina gawin alla-ganilla (hon. pl.); gawin, "near," is commonly used for "at" or "by," as in ata gawin allagana, seizing the hand (vol. i, p. 127, line 23).

[190] A breed of black fowls is considered to have the tenderest flesh of all; the flesh is very white, but the bones are black on the surface.

[191] Contraction of Bolan, apparently; a Low-country expression.

[192] These adventures of the corpse remind one of the Hunchback of the Arabian Nights, but they are Indian episodes.

[193] Issarawela magane; i gawata appane; itat passe lunu huppane. magane = mage + anaya or ane.