SPELLS OK CHABM3 



yellow by rubbing it with a rjiece of saffron.* Another table 

 called Pidayni tatuwa or Offering altar is then made, with the 

 green sticks of a shrub called Gurulla or Burulla for its legs, and 

 is covered with the inner white bark of the plantain tree, and the 

 broad green leaves of the Haburu plant, f On this altar are placed 

 Etta Etty or Seeds, being five different kinds of seeds roasted well 

 on a fire, the Hat Malu, or Seven Curries, consisting of vegetables, 

 fish, and flesh of land animals, and a little boiled rice.J A fire 



* Saffron is an article used both in the rites of Demonism and in those of 

 Capuism. In the latter, the offerings, which consist principally of money and 

 images of silver, must be rubbed over with saffron, and then wrapped up in a 

 piece of a saffron leaf, before they are placed on the altar. A quantity of water 

 held in a species of j ug called Cotalay is also coloured and perfumed with 

 saffron ; this water is thrown by the Capua on the persons of the devotees as 

 Holy Water. 



f Haburu is a sort of potatoe, cultivated in the dwelling gardens of most of 

 the poorer classes of the Singhalese. It also sometimes grows wild. It has 

 no stem nor branches. The leaves are heart-shaped and very large, sometimes 

 measuring 5 feet by 4. The root is large, being sometimes about a foot in 

 diameter, and three or four in length, perfectly cylindrical and of uniform 

 thickness from one end to the other; if the plant be allowed to grow long, this 

 root becomes a sort of stem rising to a height of four or five feet from the 

 ground, with a crown of five or six leaves on its summit. This stem (when 

 there is one), and the root are used by the people for food. It produces a 

 sharp, biting sensation, when taken into the mouth, so much so indeed, that it 

 is with great difficulty that it is swallowed. Some kinds however, which have 

 been carefully cultivated, do not possess this unpleasant quality in any great 

 degree, and some are almost entirely free from it. It is recommended by native 

 doctors as a very valuable medicine to those subject to piles. There are several 

 species of Haburu, most of which are used as food. One or two kinds are 

 especially prized for making Curries. Cohila Cola is one of the most favourite 

 dishes of a Singhalese, and it belongs to this genus, Its medicinal properties 

 too are considered to be very great. A medicine called Cohila Patmay is 

 prepared from it for those suffering from piles, and we have reason to believe 

 in its efficacy. 



| For fish, a piece of dry fish, and for flesh, a piece of skin from an old 

 leather sandal are generally substituted for the sake of convenience. The rice 

 directed to be used on this occasion is the kind called El Sal or Hill Rice, 



