460 



SCIENCES AND SOCIAL ARTS. 



[PART IV. 



avert the malignity of " the evil eye " from the wearer to 

 the jewel. 



Gilding. Gilding was likewise understood by the Sin- 

 ghalese in all its departments, both as applied to the baser 

 metals and to other substances wood-work was gilded 

 for preaching places \ as was also copper for roofing, 

 cement for decorating walls, and stone for statuary and 

 carving. 2 



Coin. Although the Singhalese through their sacred 

 writings had a knowledge of coined money, and of its 

 existence in India from a period little subsequent to 

 the death of Gotama Buddha 3 ; and although their annal- 

 ists give the names of particular coins in circulation 

 at various times 4 , no Singhalese money has yet been dis- 

 covered of a date antecedent to the eleventh century. 

 The Chinese in the fifteenth century spoke with admira- 

 tion of the gold pieces struck by the kings of Ceylon, 



1 Rajaratnacari, p. 60. 



2 Rock inscription at Pollanarrua, 

 A.D 187196. 



3 The Mahawanso mentions the 

 existence of coined metals in India 

 in the tenth year of the reign of 

 Kalasoka, a century from the death 

 of Buddha, ch. iv. p. 15. According 

 to HARDY, in the most ancient laws 

 of the Buddhists the distinction is 

 recognised between coined money 

 and bullion. Eastern Monachism, 

 vol. vii. p. 66. 



4 The coins mentioned in the Ma- 

 haivanso, Rajaratnacari, and Raja- 

 vali are as follows: B.C. 161, the 

 kahapanan (Mahawanso, ch. xxx. pp. 

 157, 175), which TTJRNOTJR says was 

 a gold coin worth ten massakan or 

 massa. The latter are " the pieces of 

 gold formerly current in Ceylon," a 

 heap of which, according to the 

 Rajaratnacari (p. 48), was seen by 

 King Bhatia Tissa when he was per- 

 mitted to penetrate into the chamber 

 of the Ruanwelledagoba,A.D.137. The 

 silver massa, according to TFRNOITR, 

 was valued at eightpence. These 

 are repeatedly mentioned in the 

 Rajaratnacari (A.D. 201, p. 60, A.D. 



234, p. 62, A.D. 1262, p. 102, A.D. 

 1301, p. 107, A.D. 1462, p. 113). The 

 Raj avali speaks of " gold massa " as 

 in circulation in the time of Dutu- 

 gaimunu, B.C. 161 (p. 201). The 

 word masa in Singhalese means 

 "pulse," or any description of 

 " beans ; " and it seems not impro- 

 bable that the origin of the term as 

 applied to money may be traced to 

 the practice in the early Indian coin- 

 age of stamping small lumps of me- 

 tal to give them authentic currency. 

 It can only be a coincidence that the 

 Roman term for an ingot of gold 

 was " massa " (PLLNT, L. xxxiii. c. 19), 

 These Singhalese massa were pro- 

 bably similar to the "punched coins," 

 having rude stamps without effigies, 

 and rarely even with letters, which 

 have been turned up at Kanooj, 

 Oujein, and other places in Western 

 India. A copper coin is likewise 

 mentioned in the fourteenth century, 

 in the Rajavali, where it is termed 

 carooshawpa ; the value of which 

 UPHAM,withoutnaminghis authority, 

 says was "about a pice and a half." 

 P. 136. 



