NO. 29. — 1884.] PADDY CULTIVATION CUSTOMS. 



309 



which the accompanying sketch (No. 1) of a Jaffna 

 plough* will help to explain. 



The plough is made of four distinct pieces of wood. In 

 one of these the padavdl, a diminutive iron share (kolu), is 

 inserted, and it is fixed in its place by a small piece of wood 

 called the koluchchirdy. The other two are the handle 

 (meli) and the pole (erkkdl). According to the rules, then, 

 these pieces should all be of different kinds of wood, the 

 padavdl of pdlai (Ceylon ironwood), the handle of pankirdy 

 (a tree of which I do not know the English or scientific 

 name), the koluchchirdy of kdrai (a kind of thorny shrub, 

 Weber a tetrandra), the pole of ebony, the yoke of Alex- 

 andrian laurel,f and its pegs of pannai,\ while the ropes 

 (pudddn kayiru) for attaching the oxen to it should be 

 made of fibre from the dtti tree.§ 



It seems, however, that the ostensible reason for using 

 these woods is not their peculiar suitability for the purpose, 

 but to ensure that iD the ensuing season there may be 

 neither too much nor too little rain for the paddy. 



The cord that attaches the pole to the yoke is called the 



nantax\ 



A field is usually ploughed three times, at intervals of 

 two or three days.U There is no mud-levelling in the 



* Plate No. 1 (see note 2). The shaft is not quite long enough 

 in the sketch. 



| Sinhalese, domba ; Calophyllum inophyllum, L. 

 | Sinhalese, val-ehela? 



§ " Bauhinia racemosa, L. There are two species, viz., (1) 

 <gs(TLLi—fT<ftJi5l (kddddtti ), the rind of which is used for withes, Bauhinia 

 parviflora, L.; (2) $Qi)ftirr<£j£ ( tiruvdtti), a flower-tree sacred to Siva, 

 also medicinal, Bauhinia tornentosa, L." — Wins. Probably the first 

 species is meant. 



|| There is a proverb, js(Bs.LpsS(o&} •piseG)<§ QpjfilggBjgiQun eo 

 (^nadu ulavile nantai tenttatupold), " Like the snapping of the yoke-tie, 

 when the plough has done half its work." Percival, 4,050. 



•J Viz., $eoQea®un (nilaveduppu), breaking ground ; &-Lp<sSiri— 

 LfLULj (ulavi-raddippuj or Lamp (tnarai) , second ploughing; and 

 (^68r(rr?L£> £_Lp<a/ (munrdm ulavu), third ploughing. 



