160 



JOURNAL R. A. S. CEYLON. [Vol. VII,, Pt. II. 



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Translation. 



Toucans; Owl; Jackals; Cobras; Swallow; Indian cuckoo; 

 Crows ; Outcasts. The entrance of any of these into any 

 human dwelling forebodes its ruin. 



The howling of dogs, jackals, the hooting of an owl from 

 the roof of a house, and the screech of the Ulamd or devil-bird 

 near a dwelling-house are considered omens of sickness, sorrow, 

 calamity, or death. 



If a dog happen by some means to climb on to the roof of a 

 house, it is considered as the harbinger of much evil, sorrow, 

 and even death to the family ; and the inmates of such houses 

 invariably abandon them at once to avert the evil consequences. 



I have known two instances in which very fine houses, built 

 in the Kandyan style — one belonging to a very intelligent and 

 well-informed Eatemahatmaya, the other to a Basnayaka- 

 Nilame, the latter living within six miles of Kurunegala— were 

 abandoned and eventually allowed to fall into ruins in conse- 

 quence of a dog having been discovered on the roof. 



As one is about to start on a journey or commence any under- 

 taking, a dog flapping its ears is also proverbially known as 

 ominous of bad luck. 



It is said that a dog belonging to a member of the house- 

 hold of the last Kandyan King, located near the store rooms 

 of the Dalada Maligawa, on one occasion got into the Pattirip- 

 puwa (the octagon), and that the Royal astrologers regarded 

 this as an evil omen that would bring ruin upon His Majesty 

 and his possessions ere long. Strange as the coincidence may 

 be, before the expiration of three months the King, hearing of 



