38 



CEYLON BRANCH 



though containing perhaps nothing new, will shew the amount 

 of knowledge of buddhism then in possession. " At the hill 

 there are still a few insignificant remains of one of the most 

 renowned and frequented dagobas in the Island, to the honor of 

 Buddah, named Goutama, the God of this world, whom they 

 call Callijoegoe and reckon, the fourth. Of his doctrine and 

 religion, though much pains have been taken, we cannot ob- 

 tain certain and satisfactory information. The possessors of 

 their religious works have refused them to us, fearing that we 

 shall ridicule or unhallow them, and the nominal christians are 

 apprehensive lest we should discover that under the name of 

 Christians they are still in heart buddhists. In the voyage of 

 the French Ambassador to Siam in 1685 mention is made of 

 the Siamese diety, Somonokkodon, This is the same whom 

 they here call Buddah. The description given in that work 

 of the deeds of the former agrees in a great measure with that 

 given in the Singhalese books of Buddah, from whose death 

 they calculate 2,232 years. They say that Buddah departed 

 to Pegu or Tanasserim, near Siam. The priests of Buddah, 

 called Sangataans, wear the same costume as the TaJa- 

 poins of Siam. The chief priest here used to acknowledge the 

 chief priest of that country as his superior, from whom he re- 

 ceived his instructions. A few years ago the King of Kandy 

 applied to his Excellency the Governor for a ship to convey 

 some of his priests to Tanasserim. The chronicle of their 

 Kings and first settlers in the Island states that they arrived 

 here under the command of the son of a powerful monarch of 

 Siam, and exercised the religion of that country, which was 

 the first religion established in Ceylon, But this prince and 

 his 700 followers not having with them wives, but obtained 

 them from the opposite coast, the religion of the continent 

 became propagated by the connection, as also by the immigra- 



