No. 24. — 1881.] SINHALESE OMENS. 151 



West, profit; 



North-west, success in whatever one is about to undertake; 

 North, victory; 

 North-east, profit. 



The following formula is not unfrequently used in ascertain- 

 ing the indications of the cry of a lizard, or of the result of a 

 journey or other undertaking. This performance is invariably 

 accomplished by the aid of a second person, the operator. 



The operator arranges on the floor, in any order he chooses, 

 eight pebbles, without letting the enquirer know which pebble 

 he put down first. The operator then calls upon the enquirer to 

 hold or touch any pebble he selects, and commences to recite a 

 portion of the following stanza, from a discourse of Buddha m 

 called As/it aloka Dharmmaya, -[cp^€>(3:taGD©®oe], word by 

 word, till he comes to the pebble held or touched by the enquirer, 

 and the result is then ascertained and communicated : — 



(3d©sod ^(33®SD3 <fco©eaJ cooeafS) eS^o ac3oc3:£> pgcDo© gassDo 

 Translation. 



Profit, — Loss : 



Misery or poverty, — Prosperity or happiness : 



Disgrace, — Praise or encomium : 



Health, — ■ Sorrow. 



The cry of the house lizard, or the cawing of a crow close to 

 a person or a dwelling, is regarded as ominous of either good 

 or evil, and deductions from such occurrences are detailed 

 in two little works (lately corrected and published by one 

 Hisvelle Pandit) used as handbooks of reference by Nekettds, 

 or astrologers, called Suhwnu-sastraya [f92g^33a3QQ£3oo] and 

 Kaputu-sdstraya [^gQ^De^co] — the "Science of Lizards" 

 and the " Science of Crows." Much reliance and faith are placed 

 in these omens, and this feeling is in many instances shared by 

 the more intelligent and educated natives. 



