( 8 ) 



The Maha Kola Sanni Yaka, or Yaksha, represented by the 

 composite mask in the centre of the case and again over the top of 

 Case VIII,,* is the great Demon of Fatal Diseases, all of which are 

 attributed directly to devilish derangements of the three humours, 

 wind, phlegm, and bile. 



The Gopolu, or Gopola Yaka, is the Demon of Cattle, and all 

 cattle sickness is supposed to proceed from him. He is represented 

 with horns and tusks and a garment of leaves. 



The Gara, or Garra Yaka, is the demon who possesses newly- 

 built houses, and before a house can be finally occupied a cere- 

 mony called Gara Yaka Maduwa is generally performed. This 

 ceremony is presumably equivalent to the European house- 

 warming. 



Suniyama or Huniyama is the art of sorcery, bewitching by 

 spells and incantations. The word is sometimes anglicized into 

 Hooniyan, this being the name given to evils inflicted by a man 

 upon his neighbour or enemy by the agency of charms. In 

 Hooniyan charms a small image of wax or wood is made to represent 

 the person whose death or injury is desired. "A few hairs of 

 his head, some chippings of his finger nails, and a thread or 

 two from a cloth worn by him, and sometimes a handful of sand 

 from a place on which he has left his footprint, are required." The 

 image is then submitted to a ceremony called Ji wama (" endowing 

 with life") performed by a Kattadiya or sorcerer, who recites 

 mystical words over it. Nails made of a composition of five diflFerent 

 metals — gold, silver, copper, tin, and lead— are driven into the 

 image through the joints, the heart, and the head, and the name 

 of the victim is marked on the image, which is then buried in the 

 ground under a stile or at some other spot where the victim is 

 likely to pass over it. The passing over, or Panna-wana-wa, is 

 essential to the success of the charm, f 



This Hooniyan charm, or Suiilliyiill Yakil, as the specimen is 

 labelled in the case, is of particular interest on account of its world- 

 wide application in the practice of witchcraft. 



On the top of the case, besides more demon masks, there are 

 large masks called the King and the Queen . These are used in the 

 native masquerades called Kolama. 



The lower portion of the case contains a collection of musical 

 iiistriiinents. The drums are of various kinds, the more charac- 

 teristic being the flat drum or timbrel called Rabana ; the 

 bobbin-shaped drum called Udikkiya or Udakiya ; Tamniettatna, 



* This K61a Sanni Yaka was presented by Mr. Justice H. L. Wendt. 



I The account t^-iven above of the Hooniyan chariu is taken from an article 

 •' On Demonology and Witchcraft in Ceylon," by Dandris de Silva Gooneratno, 

 Miidaliyar. in the Journ. Ceylon R. Asiat. Soc, vol. IV., 18G5-6, pp. 1-1 17. 



