5- 



dhist, then, has his own individual standard of moral' ex&~ 

 cellence, and, according to his lights, .he regulates his con- 

 duct, by that which he considers best calculated to pro- 

 mote his ultimate welfare. At Pantura, in the Dewale,- 

 is a colossal image of Vishnu bedizened with the thank- 

 offerings of many Buddhists, who by an inconsistent ano- 

 maly, regard it with great reverence ; the oath held most: 

 sacred by the people of the neighbourhood is taken by 

 laying the hand upon the image. 



It is frequently resorted to in cases of disputed civil 

 claims, and even if a convert from Buddhism sues a Bud- 

 hist for a debt, he will usually be content to be n on- suited 

 if the defendant will go through the customary formality 

 of thus swearing by Vishnu thai he is not liable. 



In the K an dy an: country there is a great variety in* 

 the forms of solemn oath. 



The- Bana book, the esdSo^eo S3 ? 3pcs Sati pat- 

 tlidna Su.'raya, is sworn upon, as in the low country. Salt r 

 fire,- paddy or the: ma wi,- the &>q$)j Halamba, or 

 tinkling armlets of devil dancers, ^5^, Kapu, or i he cot torn 

 used for spinning, and the blacksmith's forge, are each in 

 their turn the chosen objects to which the Kandyans ap- 

 peal in truth of their assertions. The peculiar efficacy of 

 the forge is said to consist in its manifestly powerful cha- 

 racter, while each of the others is selected for the solem- 

 nity on account of the relative degree of excellence attri- 

 buted to it by its simple-minded votaries 



Perhaps the most obligatory of all oaths is taken by 

 a Sinhalese man when he swears by laying his hand oiv 

 the head' of his eldest son. His belief being that any 

 falsehood uttered under such circumstances will involve 

 the ruin and destruction of his whole family and posterity- 



