160 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



bodies were somewhat bent forward over the arrows, M^hich were 

 moved from side to side as they danced. The steps were taken with 

 the legs tolerably wide apart, the weight of the body being supported 

 on one leg while the other was scraped along the ground by some- 

 what tilting the pelvis. This movement took place on the two legs 

 alternately, a double step (somewhat as in polka) being sometimes 

 substituted for the scrape. After a little time, when the circling 

 movement had been entirety broken up, and all three men were 

 dancing more or less independently, they shouted Ah-h, and pointing 

 their arrows at the sky, waved them furiously before suddenly falling 

 supine in a condition of pretended exhaustion and unconsciousness. 

 The fallen men were at once lifted up and supported by a number of 

 Sinhalese, who had by this time been attracted to the bungalow, 

 and the Veddas then came to us and promised game in abundance, 

 giving, as we subsequently discovered, a remarkably good imitation 

 of the ritual of their shaman when he is possessed by the yakku. 



When they were shown the phonograph, comparatively little per- 

 suasion was required to get them to sing into it, though some of the 

 English songs which we gave them impressed them not at all ; but 

 when the song was reproduced which one of them, Sitawanniya by 

 name, had sung into the machine, they were greatly amazed, though 

 they ^\ ere neither so scared nor so shy as a Papuan would have been. 

 Their astonishment was expressed by placing one hand over the 

 mouth and chin with its palmar surface towards the face, the fingers 

 spread on either side of the nose and mouth so as to cover the more 

 or less nervous grin which was to be seen on all their faces. 



At the time of our visit the Henebedda and Kolombedda Veddas 

 were gathered in two caves, or more properly shallow rock shelters, 

 called Bendiagalge, in that portion of the jungle known as Hene- 

 bedda, and our camp was formed about 200 yards from these caves. 

 We stayed m this camp for some time and found the Veddas excel- 

 lent informants, fche only difficulty we experienced being to prevent 

 them wandering away when the novelty of our visit had worn off 

 after the first two or three days. This was overcome partly by 

 small presents, but more we think by making them free of our camp — 

 a freedom which they never abused — and by keeping a constant 

 supply of chewing materials (arecanut, betel, tobacco, and lime) at 

 their disposal. It was, of course, necessary to feed our informants, 

 who had no store of food to fall back upon, and as we had not 

 expected to meet so many folk, a part of the tovaZam was sent back 

 to Bibile to fetch an extra supply of kurakkan (millet), which, with 

 smaller amounts of coconut and rice, kept them reasonably contented. 

 It may be well to record, for the possible benefit of others, that an 

 effort which had been made to retain a small number of the best 

 informants in our camp and to allow the others to go did not succeed. 

 The less desirable, because less knowledgeable, individuals would 

 return to the caves and the camp after short absences to see how we 



