﻿A36 ox THE RELIGION AND MANNERS 



to change their habitation, induces those about him 

 to take him into a wood, in spite of liis cries and his 

 groans, and there they leave him, perhaps, in the 

 agonies of death. It frequently happens that nicn^ 

 tiuis left, recover and retain to their families, with- 

 out entertaining the smallest -resentment towards 

 their assassins. This atrocious custom is common 

 in the poorer provinces of the kingdom of Candij. 



MUSIC. 



jMusic appears to have been formerly cultivated in 

 Ccijlon, and reduced into principles. There are 

 pieces of music to be seen in regular notes, in some 

 of the old books in the Pali tongue. The ancients 

 ]}ad seven notes, called So, Ri, Ga, Me, Fa, De, 

 Ni. The gamut was termed Septa Souere. There 

 •was no particular sign for these notes ; each of them 

 being formed of as many letters as were necessary 

 for their pronunciation. It is very probable that this 

 gamut answers exactly to ours, consequently thii 

 would be the way tliat the beginning of an old 

 minuet, known to all the world, would be written 

 in S'tugakse music ; pa ni ri pa ri sa ni de pa, pa pa 

 pa pa pa. 



ijur as their music, in notes, has been almost 

 entiiely forgotten, I have not been able to discover 

 how tiiey used to distinguish the half tones, the 

 crotchets, measures, &c. "&c. I have heard that 

 there are ts\'o or three persons in (.'andy, who still 

 understand their music by note. But I hope yet to 

 be able to collect something that may give an insight 

 into tlie ancient music of the Singalese. It is in all 

 probability the same as that of the Indians of the 

 continent. Nothing can be more unpleasant than 

 the Singalese airs, whether sung or played on either 

 kind of their guitars. Their trumpet produces the 

 most anuoyingsound I ever heard ; yet they are fond 



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