2 



and Pasdum Korales on the west coast, south of Colombo, and 

 are conjectured to have given its former name to Saffragam. 

 ( Ha baraga n iu wd : Habara— Barbarians,) 



The present Vedda-land is very lovely, embracing a com- 

 paratively flat, wooded country, nowhere raised more than 200 

 feet above the level of the sea, and frequently haying the 

 appearance of a park. The character of the soil varies : damp 

 and unwholesome marshes alternate with rock-ribbed hills which 

 stud the country between the central mountains and the sea 

 coast. Here the Veddas live in perfect isolation even from 

 their more civilized tribal brethren, without fixed abodes, but 

 yet upon their own recognized lands, mostly in small groups or 

 simply in families. Rarely do they venture beyond their own 

 boundaries, and then only for the purposes of exchanging honey, 

 wax, skins, or venison for iron, axes, arrow-points, etc. 



Their Numbers. — This secluded existence explains why the 

 estimates of their numbers vary so greatly. No recent estimate 

 leads us to conclude that the total exceeds 1,500, and the extinc- 

 tion of the tribe seems imminent, though wherefore we are 

 unable to discover. 



Village and Forest Veddas. — From the time of Knox they 

 have been classed in two groups, a " tamer sort " or " village 

 Veddas," and a u wilder " or " forest Veddas." All observers, 

 however, agree that both belong to the same race. Hence, for 

 the study of their physical condition, the two groups may with- 

 out hesitation be united ; but for the observation of their social 

 and psychical conditions we must hold them strictly apart. In 

 the latter respect only the forest, or jungle Veddas, are of any 

 interest to us. These, therefore, will be mainly spoken of here ; 

 nevertheless we may not venture quite to set aside the village 

 Veddas, since their actual settlement and civilization have 

 succeeded only very imperfectly as yet. 



Attempts at their Culture — Yahkho Worship. — All attempts 

 to brin cr the Veddas into fixed abodes and to raise them to a 

 higher culture have suffered shipwreck in far greater measure 

 than the efforts to civilize the Australians. Whether they 

 actually have any conceptions of God, or God-like beings, is, to 



