DEMON WORSHIP. 



11 



intelligence,' he wears no particular badge or dress like the Buddhist 

 Priest, and receives no particular respect from any one ; — his ordi- 

 nary life and avocations are like those of his neighbours; and as the 

 members of his fraternity in the same village sometimes amount to 

 three or four, his professional income does not suffice for his main- 

 tenance. He is therefore obliged to betake himself to some other 

 supplementary business to increase his income. His profession is 

 looked upon only as any ordinary calling, and commands no more 

 respect than that of a boatman, a boutique keeper, a toddy drawer, 

 or any other common trade. There is nothing of a sacred character 

 belonging to it, as to that of the Buddhist Priests. 



II. Capuism, like Demonism, also refers to the interests of this 

 world ; but while the object of the latter is to inflict or cure diseases 

 by the agency of demons, the object of the former is to protect men 

 generally against all manner of evii, and from diseases of a particu- 

 lar kind, such as small pox, chicken pox, and any epidemical disease 

 of a malignant nature, and more especially to render prosperous the 

 various avocations and trades of the people. The dewiyo or gods, 

 who are the objects of worship in Capuism, are a more exalted class 

 of beings, not possessed of the same evil dispositions as the demons, 

 nor bringing like them sickness and death on innocent people; but 

 reserving their powers of doing evil only for the punishment of 

 those, who in any way displease them. But the punishment they 

 inflict is always out of proportion to the nature of the offence. 

 Although not so malignant as the demons, they are yet revengeful 

 and irascible in their nature. They are more properly called 

 dewatawo or inferior gods> and are propitiated by particular cere- 

 monies. The priests of this worship are called Capuas. Th© 

 priestesses of one of the principal goddesses belonging to this wor- 

 ship, named Pattiny deviyo, are called Pattiny Ramies. These 

 Pattiny Hamies are not always females, males very often assuming 

 the office. Both Pattiny Hamies and Capuas hold nearly the same 

 rank in the estimation of their countrymen, and lead the same sort 

 of life, as the Cattadiyas already mentioned; but in earlier days they 

 were considered to be superior to the Cattadiyas, and in the inland 



