CEYLON. 1 I ] 



European clothes; the comboy (loin cloth) is the only 

 article of dress which he makes use of, and which con- 

 tinues to satisfy all his needs as far as appearance and 

 protection are concerned. The diet, habits and manner 

 of living remain the same. (Fig. 3:5.) The population 

 of Ceylon is a very mixed one, consisting of Singhalese. 

 Tamil, Portuguese, Dutch, Malays, Parsees, Turks. 

 Afghans and half-castes of all shades of color between 

 almost pure white and jet black. The Singhalese and 

 Tamils, however, form the bulk of the population. The 

 Europeans are in a very small minority. The Tamils 

 are the Indian coolies who immigrated from the south- 

 western part of India and became the laborers of the 

 planters in the interior uplands of the island. The 

 Singhalese are averse to hard labor and have always 

 shown a preference for the plains and valleys. The 

 Tamils are a low race, far beneath the Singhalese in 

 intelligence. The Singhalese is proud of his race. 

 Half-castes bear the humiliation brought on them by 

 the admixture of European blood with a becoming pa- 

 tience and fortitude, but they regard the accident of 

 their birth rather as a disadvantage than otherwise in 

 their social position and best possibilities in life. The 

 question of caste, even in Ceylon, plays quite an impor- 

 tant role, consequently the Singhalese and Tamil sel- 

 dom intermarry. The former is a gentleman by birth, 

 and as such is averse to menial work, for which, if he 

 can afford it, he hires the man of burden, the lowly- 

 born Indian coolie, who in most respects resembles the 

 low-caste Chinese and Japanese. The Singhalese is a 

 very fine specimen of manhood, tall, slender, with long, 

 very thin legs, face clean cut with regular outlines, 

 well-shaped nose, high forehead, black eyes, bushy eye- 

 brows of the same color, delicate hands, and in com- 

 plexion varies from a sienna to almost as black as the 

 negro. The hair is long and straight or wavy and is 

 worn by combing it back or parting it in the middle, 

 tied behind into a knot, which is surmounted by a semi- 



