THRESHINti- FLOOR CEREMOiyJIES IN UVA. 125 



THRESHING-FLOOR CEREMONIES IN UVA. 



By James Parsons. 



/^^ERTAIN protective offerings were found buried in the threshing- 

 ^-^ floor of a paddy field in the village of Dehiwinna, Yatipalata 

 division, Uva, a week or two after the yala* threshing and 

 winnowing had taken place. The stone or arak-gala covering the 

 offerings was found concealed beneath some straw. 



From below upwards, i.e., in the order in which they were placed 

 in the hole or arak-wala, the following were noted : — 



(1) Two stalks of iluk grass {Imperatn arundinacea) . 



(2) Two leaves of tolamho [Crinum asiaticmn). 



(3) Seven ho leaves {Ficus rdigiosa). 



(4) A piece of rambuk stalk {Sacchanim arundinaceum) . 



(5) Two stalks of iluk grass. 



(6) A piece of the creeper maduwela {Ipomcea obscura). 



(7) Five stalks of paddy with the ears. 



The iluk, maduwela, and paddy were tied into rougli rings about 

 10 cm. in diameter. Resting on the offerings and half projecting 

 from the gromid was the arak-gala, a roughly ellipsoidal stone of 

 quartz rock measuring about 18, 12, and 10 cm. along its axes, 

 obviously shaped by natural agencies and probably obtained from 

 the nearest stream. 



It is interesting to compare this list of offerings with those that 

 should, at least theoretically, be placed in the threshing-floor 

 according to the threshing-floor song translated by Dr. Coomara- 

 swamy in his paper on " Paddy Cultivation Ceremonies in the 

 Ratnapura District."! 



Here seven pilila {i.e., the parasitic plants) from different sorts of 

 trees or plants are recommended. It was suggested to me that 

 one at least of the iluk offerings was intended to be iluk pilila, a 

 plant which is said to be exceedingly rare, ai>d would appear to 

 share the sanctity attached to parasitic plants in most primitive 

 religions. The parasitic plants of the genus Loanthus are known as 

 pilila, but as these plants are shrub-like and have woody stems, 

 the iluk pilila, supposing it actually exists, can hardly belong to 

 this genus. Assuming that the iluk represents its pilila, the 

 reasons for the use of the other ingredients of the offering are fairly 

 obvious. * 



* The second paddy harvest of the year, or autumn crop. 

 t Journal R.A.S., C.B., Vol. XVIII., 1905. 



