70 



LEAVES FROM THE NOTE-BOOK OF A NATURALIST. 



snakes nearly allied to them in form and appear- 

 ance, playing a distinguished part in the Cingalese 

 theology and system of the universe. 



The Naga-bhawene is described as lying under 

 Asoora-bhawene, and as ten thousand leagues in 

 circumference. This region is a hollow sphere. 

 Mountains, hills, lakes, or rivers, there are none. 

 Vegetation there is none, with one exception, the 

 tree called Parasattoo : but this single tree amply 

 supplies the defect ; for it not only prodigally 

 bears an immense variety of flowers and fruits, 

 but, in addition, everything that is desirable. 

 This wondrous country is the abode of a numerous 

 race of serpents, similar in kind to the hooded 

 snakes, but of great beauty, size, and power, capa- 

 ble of passing from one part of the world to 

 the other, and shining like gods. No light have 

 they but that transcendent brilliancy which ema- 

 nates from their own bodies, and thus they enjoy a 

 perpetual day infinitely exceeding ours in bright- 

 ness. These beings, illuminating all around them, 

 like so many Radiant Boys,* were, during their 

 former lives on earth, persons of great purity and 

 goodness, and almost deserving of becoming goo's. 

 But, alas for poor human nature ! their high vir- 

 tues were sullied by some vice, that of malice 

 having been predominant, and they were doomed 

 to their splendid but reptile forms. But, snakes 

 though they be, they are Bhoodists, are possessed 

 of a relic, and worship in temples. They lead an 

 apolaustic life, residing in well-furnished houses, 

 enjoying society, eating and drinking according to 

 their pleasure, for they have only to form a wish, 

 and they immediately have any article of food they 

 want ; only it always makes its appearance in the 

 form of a frog. 



They live under a monarchy, and, like the Cin- 

 galese, are distributed into castes. Their king, 

 Mahakilla-naga-rajaya, is in every way superior to 

 the rest. With his powerful assistance the gods 

 and Asooras churned the milky sea. Mahakilla 

 then wound himself round a rock, and they, pulling 

 at his two extremities, set the mass in motion and 

 accomplished their work. It is fortunate for the 

 human race that these snakes are naturally mild 

 and benevolent, and do harm only when pro- 

 voked ; for, if they were so disposed, they could 

 annihilate the whole of the inhabitants of earth by 

 a single blast of their poisonous breaths. 



The Cingalese have a legend touching the deadly 

 enmity which is said to exist between the noya 

 (naia) and the polonga, another most venomous 

 snake, of which the natives have the utmost hor- 

 ror. The late Sir Hudson Lowe graphically de- 

 scribed to me the terror of the natives when they 

 beheld one, and the shrieking tone in which they 

 cried out its name. 



But the legend ? 



A noya and a polonga (nintipolonga, or tic- 

 polonga, as it is generally termed) met, once upon 

 a time, in a dry season when water was very 

 scarce. The polonga, almost dying with thirst, 



* The Irish story of the apparition of the Radiant Boy 

 is alluded to. 



asked the noya where he might find water. Now 

 the noya had a little before met with a vessel of 

 water, wherein an infant lay playing ; for it is 

 usual with the Cingalese to wash their children 

 in a vessel or large bowl of water, and then leave 

 their babes to tumble and flounce about. Well, 

 at this vessel the noya quenched his thirst, but, 

 as he was drinking, the child, as it lay sporting 

 therein, hit the serpent on the head with his hand. 

 The good-natured noya, knowing there was no 

 malice in the case, bore the blow patiently, and 

 having drunk his fill went his way without harm- 

 ing the child. 



So the noya told the polonga where this vessel 

 was, but knowing him to be a surly, hasty crea- 

 ture, and being desirous withal to preserve the 

 child, made him promise not to hurt the child, 

 who, the noya added, was very likely to give him 

 a pat on the head, as he had done to him. Now 

 the mind of the noya misgave him ; he half-re- 

 pented that he had told the polonga where to find 

 the water, and went after him, fearing his touchy 

 temper. His worst fears were realized ; for, as 

 the polonga was drinking, the child patted him on 

 the head, and the irritable serpent bit the little 

 innocent on the hand and killed it. This the noya 

 saw, and, burning with indignation, bitterly re- 

 proached the polonga with his baseness, fought 

 him, slew him, and devoured him. And so these 

 serpents when they meet do to this day, fighting 

 to the death, and the conqueror eating the body 

 of the vanquished. The Cingalese, in allusion to 

 this determined hostility, have a proverb, which 

 they quote when they see men irreconcilable, 

 comparing them to a noya and a polonga. 



The cerastes, it will be remembered, was the 

 other venomous serpent that prominently figured 

 in the exhibition of our Arab snake-charmers at 

 the gardens of the Zoological Society. 



The length of a full-grown cerastes is about 

 fourteen inches.' The ground color of the upper 

 parts varies in different individuals, being either 

 yellowish-red, spotted, and variegated with other 

 colors ; of a darker hue, differing but little from 

 the tint of the spots, which, in such case, are seen 

 indistinctly ; or of a steel or ashy gray, with much 

 darker spots tinted with the same hue. Beneath 

 the color is a pale rose with a pearly lustre. The 

 head is very distinct, and the angles of the jaws 

 diverge considerably, giving great width to the 

 hinder part, while the anterior portion is narrower. 

 The nose is rounded ; the nostrils are situated 

 near its apex, each in the centre of a thick pro- 

 jecting scale. The eyebrows are arched, and near 

 the middle of each is a slender, pointed, slightly 

 recurved spine or horn, from which the serpent 

 takes its name. The markings on the head, as 

 well as those on the body, vary in different indi- 

 viduals. The body is thick in proportion to its 

 length, and the tail is short, tapering rather sud- 

 denly, and pointed. 



Its habits are most indolent ; buried in the burn- 

 ing sand, it nurses its sweltering venom till it is 

 roused by hunger or trampled upon, arid then woe 



