L6 



THE DEMONS 



black cattle, so the favorite dish of a demon is said to be a living 

 man. And because he is not allowed now to indulge himself in 

 that luxury, he therefore takes pleasure in throwing his influence 

 on men in a certain mysterious manner, which, it is said, is a 

 source of enjoyment to him, as if he were actually engaged in suck- 

 ing the blood out of some good looking man: it is also believed that 

 this sort of enjoyment constitutes their only means of sustaining life, 

 and that it is quite enough for the purpose. They are a sort of 

 ubiquitous race, and yet have certain fixed residences in the north 

 of the sky. They have the remarkable power of observing events 

 which take place tens of thousands of miles remote from them, and 

 can likewise travel millions of miles in a minute. The demons 

 belonging to the first of these two classes are neither hideous as 

 those of the second, nor do they eat men, nor even make men sick. 

 In person they are like the gods themselves, with skins of golden 

 hue. They use the ambrosial heavenly food used by the gods. 



The second class of demons is subdivided into four minor divi- 

 sions; viz., 1. Balli-caama demons, or those who have a particular 

 attachment to balli offerings; 2. Billi-caama demons, or those fond 

 of offerings of living beings; 3. Ratti-caama demons, or those who 

 take delight in music, dancing, and other pleasures of that kind; 

 4. Hantu-caama demons, or those who delight in inflicting death. 

 A disease brought on by a Hantu-caama demon is considered to be 

 incurable by any means whatever; but those inflicted by the de- 

 mons of the other three divisions terminate fatally, only when pro- 

 per remedies are not applied, viz., those which Demonism affords. 



In Narayena, the principal authority on the subject of the witch- 

 craft, and to a certain extent of the demonology of India and the 

 neighbouring countries, there appear the names of many demons, 

 such as Asura Yakseya, Awara Yakseya, Heyma Yakseya, Peita 

 Yakseya, Pralaapa Yakseya, Wayissrawana Yakseya, Kaksepa 

 Yakseya, Nisehella Yakseya, Gandarwa Yakseya, Naga Yakseya, 

 and a great many others. But although Narayena is the received 

 authority on the subject of charms among the Singhalese, yet none 

 of these demons, mentioned in it as inflicting evils on men, are 



