466 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vol. IX. 



" In Ceylon and the plains of India we have found the people 

 (Veddahs as well as the more elevated races), as far as our 

 material extends, characterised by small, narrow, long, and 

 rather tall crania, having prominent nasal bones and well- 

 expressed faces when we refer to the typical skulls. As soon 

 as we ascend the southern slope of the Himalayas we meet 

 with races of a very distinct cranial type." Whether this 

 judgment refers to the non- Aryan tribes of India is far from 

 clear ; certainly in this generalisation it may remain an open 

 question. 



If we now draw into comparison the Tamils or Malabars, 

 we come in contact with a much more widely diffused 

 prejudice, although it has only found expression in recent 

 times. Ribeyro had early the opinion that the Sinhalese 

 originated in a mingling of Chinese and Malabars (Gallas*). 

 Knoxf also, although he found little or no similarity 

 between Malabars and Sinhalese, on historical grounds con- 

 sidered a relationship possible. The later writers have (chiefly 

 from outward observation) looked upon the Sinhalese as 

 Aryans, and sought to find a Dravidian origin for the Veddas. 

 LassenJ only, who considers the Veddas as that portion 

 which had remained unchanged, traces back, on linguistic 

 grounds, the entire "people of the Cingalese" to Dekkan 

 tribes. Sir E. Tennent§ also alludes to the existence of 

 linguistic and religious (if we may use such an expression) 

 affinities which seem to point to the people of the Dekkan ; 

 he assumes] that the Veddas have the same relation to the 

 Aryan Sinhalese as the mountain tribes of India to the later 

 Aryan immigrants. He mentions especially the Koolies in 

 Guzerat, the Bheels in Malwa, the Puttooas in Cuttack, the 

 Khoonds in Gundwana, the Bedas in Mysore, and the wild 



* Pridham, I. c, I., p. 21. 

 f Knox, I. c, p. 61. 



% Lassen. Indische Alterthumskunde, I., s. 199. 

 § Tennent, I. c, t, p. 328, 

 H Id., I c, II., p. 438. 



