No. 33. — 1886.] THE VEDDAS OF CEYLON. 



371 



certain morose indolence, which is only occasionally broken 

 through by their love of habit. Most noticeable in this con- 

 nection is an observation of Mr. Hartshorne's,* which he 

 corroborates by a sories of instances. I refer to the incapacity 

 of the Veddas to laugh. Whilst they can help they not only 

 do not laugh themselves, but despise those who do. As far 

 as my knowledge goes, nothing like this has been told of any 

 other race of people ; only among certain idiots has this 

 peculiarity appeared. 



In point of intellect Veddas seem indeed to stand very low. 



According to Mr. Hartshornef they are wholly unable to 

 count, have no numerical words, and do not even use their 

 fingers for the purpose. Mr. Baileyf does not go quite so far ; 

 he says they count with difficulty on their fingers, but he 

 gives no numerals in their vocabulary, and relates how hard 

 it is to make a Vedda understand anything which extends 

 beyond the very next day. The Rev. Mr. Gillings§ says 

 they could count only to a very limited extent. Davy|| 



* Hartshorne, I. c, p. 410. 



t Hartshorne, p. 413. " They are wholly unable to count or to comprehend 

 the ideas of one, or two, or three, nor do they even use their fingers for 

 'this purpose ; and the chief difficulty in obtaining any information from 

 them arose from their inability to form any but the most simple mental 

 synthesis, and from their very defective power of memory." On another 

 occasion Mr. Hartshorne even asserts the Veddas had no idea of the 

 distinction between one and two. (Journal of the Anthropological Ins- 

 titute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1878, vol. VII., p. 468.) 



I Bailey, Z. c, p. 298. 



§ Gillings, I. c, p. 88. 



}| Davy, I. c, p. 118. In this place the " Village Veddas " are spoken of. 

 Pritchard (Researches into the Physical History of Mankind. London, 

 1844, 3rd edition, vol. IV., p. 193), who says the same, reports that the 

 description of Dr. Davy refers to a large " party " of Veddas whom he saw 

 during his visit to Kandy. According to their own account these people 

 had come from the neighbourhood of the Lake of Bintenna, where " a little 

 grain" was cultivated. I do not doubt the correctness of this communica- 

 tion, which is of great importance for a true estimate of the statement 

 regarding the intellectual capacities of the people. But it is taken from 

 a work of Dr. Davy's not accessible to me. Prichard cites it under the title : 

 " History of the Island of Ceylon." In the " Account of the Interior of 

 €eylon " no reference is made to it, although the visit to Kandy is very- 

 circumstantial] y described (p. 364, sq.). 



