No. 29. — 1884.] BUDDHISTICAL CEREMONIES. 



22? 



and dyed yellow, and, if practicable, dried in the sun. When 

 this is done, the priests resume their seats in chapter, and 

 the priest to whom the robe has been allotted takes it, and 

 kneeling, says, "Imam sanghdtim adhittkdmi" [ U I appropri- 

 ate this robe"], and he proceeds to mark it, saying, "Imam 

 kappabindum karoml " ["I put this mark upon it "] ; he 

 then puts it over his knee, saying, " Imam sanghdtim 

 attkardmi " ["I spread out this robe"] . 



It is now a katkinam —a robe made by a chapter of priests 

 in a single day from cloth presented to the chapter in the 

 morning, and publicly appropriated to the sole use of one 

 of their body before sunset. The practice is to finish before 

 sunset ; the ordinances of Buddha allow one day— i. e., from 

 sunrise to sunrise. In ancient times, lands and other 

 valuable presents were given on these occasions ; all such 

 presents went to the priest to whom the katkinam was 

 assigned. 



The priests who assembled for the occasion return to their 

 respective monasteries, and the priest who was in was 

 preaches a thanksgiving sermon called Katkindnisamso. 

 The subject, of course, is the benefits which the faithful 

 derive from the kathina offering. The order of proceeding 

 does not differ in any material respect from that observed 

 at the Anumodana dhammd at the beginning of was. 



Before the priest is conducted back to his monastery, it is 

 necessary that he should be presented with the eight 

 requisites of a priest [attkaparikkkdro] , viz., the three robes, 

 a waist-belt, an alms-bowl, a razor, a water-strainer, and a 

 needle. 



Before these necessaries are presented, it is customary, if 

 the people can afford it, to close the priest's stay in the 

 village by a religious exercise, lasting seven days and seven 

 nights, called in Sinhalese the Makd bana pirit, or the 

 Seven days' pirit. 



Great preparations are made for this ceremony. The 

 priest sends invitations to the more learned priests in the 

 neighbourhood, to the number of twenty-five or thirty ; not 

 less than twenty-four are required. The preaching hall is, 



