50 



HOW DEMONS INFLICT DISEASE, 



the offerings were being dedicated to the demon Sanni Yakseya, 

 the sick man exclaimed, pointing to one of the Tatu or altars, 

 "there, there, that is the person, whom 1 saw near the large tree 

 the other day — there he is eating the rice;"* the next minute he 

 added, " there now he is going away" Of course the eyes of all 

 were turned in that direction, but there was nobody to be seen. 

 The next day the man was better, and three days afterwards per- 

 fectly well. 



Now in this case, it is plain, that either the man's own imagina- 

 tion, which must have been in a state of very great excitement, 

 as he was passing the tree, conjured up to his sight the semblance 

 ofa demon, or that some one wishing to pass off a joke, had con- 

 cealed himself behind the tree and shewed himself in the manner 

 mentioned above. Of these two, the latter is not very probable, 

 as few Singhalese have the courage to remain after sunset in a 

 place supposed to be haunted; that the former is more probably the 

 truth, is apparent from the fact, that the man recovered from his 

 illness soon after the performance of that particular ceremony, 

 which was believed by him, as well as by all demon-worshippers, 

 to be an effectual remedy for diseases brought on by circumstances 

 like those in his case. That the man's imagination was during all 

 the time in a state of high and morbid excitement, is further proved 

 by his pointing out, during the course of the subsequent ceremony, 

 what he considered to be the demon that had appeared to him near 

 the tree. 



* The rice alluded to is that which is served out on the Tatu as an offering 

 to the demons. 



