42' 



JOURNAL, R. A« S. (CEYLON). [Vol. VII., Pt. I. 



rain from the sky falls on hills and mountains, rolls down the 

 valleys, and thence to the rivers, which carry the waters to 

 the ocean; so may the merits of this great act descend on the 

 dead man." Upon this the remainder chime in with the 

 prayer : " If there be anything you wish to obtain by these 

 offerings, may you be blest with it as with the full moon." 

 Bana is then read for about an hour; and after it a priest closes 

 the ceremony with the words : — " By these virtuous acts may 

 you all obtain prosperity here and in the next world, and attain 

 Nirwana at last," 



I was going to add a short account of the ordination and 

 confession ceremonies of the priesthood; but my paper has run 

 out to too great a length already, An exhaustive account of 

 these will, however, be found in two papers contributed to the 

 Royal Asiatic Society by Mr. J. F. Dickson in 1873 and 1875, 

 and I need do no more here than merely refer to them. 



Kandy, 2nd April, 1881. 



APPENDIX. 



The new rice (Alutsal) is distributed as follows: — Half 



Measures. 



To the Dalada Maligawa, the temple of the Sacred Tooth ... 10 

 Gangarama Vihare, a temple in Kandy ... 2 

 Kundasale Vihare, a few miles from Kandy in Lower Dumbara 2 

 Degaldoruwa Vihare, do. do. ... 2 



Nata Dewale, in Kandy ... ... 4 



Maha Dewale do. ... ... 4 



Pattini Dewale do. ... ... 4 



Kataragam Dewale do. ... ... 3 



Ganadewi Kowila, a Hindu temple near the Post Office, Kandy 1 

 Diwa Nilame, the lay officer in charge of the Tooth Temple ... 30 



