CHAP. II.] 



AGRICULTURE. 



437 



The mango, the jambo, and several other fruits are 

 particularised, but the historical books make no mention 

 either of the pine-apple or the plantain, both of which 

 appear to have been of comparatively recent introduction. 

 Pulse is alluded to at an early date under the generic 

 designation of " Masa." 1 



Rice and Curry. Rice in various forms is always 

 spoken of as the food alike of the sovereign, the priests, 

 and the people ; rice prepared plainly, conjee (the water in 

 which rice is boiled), " rice mixed with sugar and honey, 

 and rice dressed with clarified butter." 2 Chillies are 

 now and then mentioned as an additional condiment. 3 

 The Eajavali speaks of curry in the second century 

 before Christ 4 , and the Mahawanso in the fifth century 

 after. 6 ' 



Although the taking of life is sternly forbidden in the 

 ethical code of Buddha, and the most prominent of the 



(by which, as the south of the island 

 was the place of resort, he most pro- 

 bably means the coco-nut palms) grew 

 in regular quincunxes, as if planted 

 by skilful hands in a well-ordered 

 garden. "'H vijiroc, n v Ka\ovai Ta?rpo- 



tv TOIQ a/3po7 TWI> TTctpaStiawv ol 

 Tovriiiv fiiXidwvoi QvTtvovai TO. fij'fpa 

 rd <TKia3T)t>6pa." Lib. xvi. ch. 18. 

 The comparative silence of the Ma- 

 hawamo in relation to the coco-nut 

 may probably be referable to the fact 

 that its author resided and wrote in 

 the interior of the island; over which, 

 unlike the light seeds of other plants, 

 its ponderous nuts could not have 

 been distributed accidentallv, where 



down to the 



prese 



nt time it has been 



but partially introduced, and nowhere 

 in any considerable number. Its pre- 

 sence throughout Ceylon is always 

 indicative of the vicinity of man, and 

 at a distance from the shore it appears 

 in those places only where it has been 

 planted by his care. The Singhalese 

 believe that the coco-nut will not 

 flourish " unless you walk under it 

 and talk under it : " but its proxi- 

 mity to human habitations is possibly 



explained by the consideration that 

 if exposed in the forest, it would be 

 liable, when young, to be forced down 

 by the elephants, who delight in its 

 delicate leaves. See DAVY'S Angler 

 in the Lake Districts, p. 246. 



1 Mahawanso, ch. xxiii. p. 140. 



2 Ibid., ch. xxxii. p. 196. 



3 Ibid., ch. xxv. p. 158 : ch. xxvi. 

 p. 160. 



* Rajamli, pp. 196, 200, 202. 



6 Mahawanso, TUHNOUR'S MS. 

 translation, ch. xxxix. 



RNOX says that curry is a Portu- 

 guese word, caive (Relation, &c., 

 part i. ch. iv. p. 12), but this is a 

 misapprehension. Professor H. H. 

 WILSOJJ, in a private letter to me, says, 

 " In Hindustan we are accustomed to 

 consider ' curry ' to be derived from 

 tarkari, a general term for esculent 

 vegetables, but it is probably the 

 English version of the Kanara and 

 Malayalam kadi; pronounced with a 

 hard r, ' kari ' or ' kuri,' which means 

 sour milk with rice boiled, which was 

 originally used for such compounds 

 as curry at the present day. The 

 Karnata mqj'kke-kari is a dish of rice, 

 sour milk, spices, red pepper, &c. 

 &c." 



F F 3 



