No. 33. — 1886.] the veddAs of ceylon. 



413 



animated. Nature has given them a wealth of hair, which, 

 in general, they allow to grow to considerable length on their 

 faces, as well as heads, since in their opinion a beard, so far 

 from disfiguring, adorns the face. The women as a rule are 

 well formed and good looking, often handsome. According to 

 their opinion a beautiful woman should have the following 

 attributes : — Hair luxuriant, like the tail of a peacock, long, 

 reaching to the knees, and terminating in graceful curls ; 

 eyebrows like the rainbow, and eyes sapphire blue, or like 

 the petals of the blue mdnil blossom; nose like a hawk's 

 beak, and lips bright and red as coral or the young leaves of 

 the nd tree ; teeth small, regular, and closely set as the buds 

 of the jasmine ; neck full and round ; chest capacious, and 

 breasts firm and conical, like the yellow cocoanut ; waist 

 almost small enough to be spanned by the hand ; hips wide ; 

 limbs tapering ; the soles of her feet without hollows, and 

 the surface of her body soft, delicate, smooth, and rounded, 

 without protruding bones and sinews. 



Davy has the great merit of having added to his work a 

 series of pictures, which illustrate more clearly many of 

 these particulars. On Plate 6 is found a coloured group of 

 Kandyans, after a drawing by Lieut. W. Lyttleton, which 

 shows very clearly the dark-brown complexion of the 

 common people by the side of the lighter yellowish-brown 

 tint of the Disave : the faces are comparatively long and 

 narrow, the noses arched and very prominent, the upper 

 lips short, and the muscles about the mouth delicate. On 

 Plate 4 likenesses are given, which were drawn from ivory 

 figures carved by native artists ; here the faces are shorter 

 and somewhat broader ; the noses very prominent and 

 arched, having an almost Jewish expression ; the lips 

 (especially of the women) full and bulging, but without any 

 approach to prognathism. 



Cordiner* describes the Sinhalese as of a slender make, 

 rather below the medium height, with slight but well-shaped 



* Cordiner, I. c, vol. I., p. 94. 



31—87 F 



