176 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



omit examining some of the things which have been delegated 

 through insufficient space to the lower part of the two central cases. 

 Most noteworthy is the collection of ancient Sinhalese iron imple- 

 ments lying in the base of Case 46. Typical examples of these, 

 however, are also shown in Case 44. 



Domestic Appliances (Case 34). 



The domestic economy of a Sinhalese household is well illustrated 

 by the contents of Cases 34 and 35. In Case 34 it will be noted how 

 the artistic feeling of the people manifests itself in the simplest 

 article of household use. Note, for instance, the labour expended 

 in adorning the wooden mortar, which is found in every household 

 to-day. The block of granite on which the villager's curry stuffs 

 are ground is prepared with like care. His hatti or large knife, 

 prepared from excellent steel of local manufacture, is richly carved 

 or inlaid with precious metals. An elaborate design appears in the 

 rattan basket in which his food is carried, while the mould into 

 which his jaggery (the sugar of the palm tree) is run is as well 

 carved as a piece of drawing-room furniture. The spoons used in 

 every Sinhalese kitchen are invariably made from the coconut shell, 

 with long wooden handles ; and, hidden by the dingy smoke of 

 his kitchen fire, the Sinhalese man hangs an exquisitely formed rack 

 to contain the spoons. The villager draws his water from his shallow 

 well with another spoon — often a dream of beauty in outliiie and 

 general design. The coconut, the essential ingredient of his curry, 

 has to be scraped on a small serrated circular scraper of steel, secured 

 to a wooden body on which the person sits. (See Plate XXIX.) 

 The beautiful moulds shown in Plate XXX. are used in the 

 preparation of dainties of rice flour : a small ball of the dough is 

 laid on the selected design and pressed flat with the thumb ; it is 

 rolled up lightly and dropped into the boiling oil. It is another 

 characteristic of the Sinhalese that a thing is made beautiful for the 

 delight in its beauty, and not for purposes of ostentation ; for 

 example, notice the elaborate treatment of the mider-surface of the 

 circular stone on which sandalwood used to be ground for the 

 ceremonial of some temple. One incident of the dangers of forest 

 life is illustrated by the short battle axes, which are carried by the 

 villagers while travelling through forests as a means of protection 

 from the dreaded bears. (See Plates XXIX. and XXX.) 



Games and Domestic Appliances (Case 35). 



The left half of Case 35 contains games and some domestic 

 appliances. The sports and games of the Sinhalese consist of (1) 

 religious games, (2) outdoor sports, (3) games of skill, and (4) 

 games of chance. With a few exceptions the games and sports of 

 the Sinhalese appear to have been borrowed from India, and some 

 from the Portuguese, Dutch, and English. The games serve as a 

 sort of index of the character of the people — they " reflect the tame 

 and imdemonstrative nature of the national temperament." The 

 Sinhalese by nature takes no delight in outdoor sports, although he 

 has very successfully adopted most of the English outdoor sports. 

 At the top of the case there are chonka or olinda boards, some of 

 which are beautifully carved. Chonka may be called the national 



