11 



broken or corrupted Sinhalese; and all writers on the subject — 

 Bailey ( 8 ), MaxMuller°( 9 ), E. Taylor ( 10 ), Hartshorne ( n ) and 

 Gust ( ls ), — seem to consider it to be a dialect of, or to 

 approach to the Sinhalese. But there is much difference of 

 opinion as to the existence in it of Dravidian elements, the 

 supposed mixture of which (Telugu) in a dialect of an Aryan 

 tongue (which he considers Sinhalese to be) leads Mr. Taylor to 

 say that u their language makes a mixture of Aryan blood along 

 **■ with Aryan language probable, whilst their bodily characteris- 

 " tics shew that the race of Veddas belong chiefly to the native 

 pre-Arian type." The disagreements in the views of linguists are 

 so great that we unfortunately gain very little from them to- 

 wards a just comprehension of the phylogenetic position of the 

 Veddas. On the contrary, the mystery that envelopes this 

 people, so remarkable in themselves, is vastly increased, and the 

 purely anthropological interest comes even more into the 

 foreground. 



The word Vedda. — The word; " Vedda," or some modifi- 

 cation of it, is widely used in India — a whole series of little tribes 

 dwelling far apart, and who probably have not the least connec- 

 tion with one another, bearing the very same name, or one very 

 like it. Whether the word be derived from the Sanskrit 

 ( Viyadha, hunter) or the Tamil ( V edan, hunter, wood-dweller,) 

 this much seems certain that except when used in combination 

 (as in the case of " Dodda- Vedda,") it always relates to abori- 

 gines or savage races. 



The Ethnological problem not tp be solved by linguistics but 

 by anthropology. — Up to the present time two leading views 

 stand opposed to one another which are mainly supported by 



(8) Bailey-l. c. 297, 305, 309. 



(, 9 ) MaxMulhr cited by Childers 1. c. VoL viii. 131, note. 



( l0 ) Journal Etlmol. Soc. Loudon, 1870, (New Series) Vol. ii. 

 p. %. 



(U) Hartshorne 1. c. 417. 



( 12 ) Gust. Sketch, of modern languages of East India, London, 

 1878, p. 63. 



