248 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XL 



Whenever we suspected them of theft, we insisted upon this 

 proof, and very often got the lost things back, because they 

 were afraid of being burnt if they withheld the goods 

 against their better knowledge.* 



Marriage is a matter which they take very easy. When 

 they get married (everybody has the right to take as many 

 wives as he can support) they give each other a cloth, or 

 plant a tree, and when that is torn, or this bears fruits no 

 longer, they separate. It is not uncommon for a man to 

 cohabit with his brother's wives, or to commit incest; and 

 in fact marriage is liked the better the more brothers the 

 bridegroom has. The wedding feast and the confirmation 

 of the marriage contract consist in the bride and bridegroom 

 eating a dish of rice together, boiled in cocoanut milk, and 

 called kiribath.'f This is the whole festivity, and it com- 

 pletes everything. 



As there are high mountains and extensive forests, so there 

 are many animals and vermin in them. The natives have a 

 queer way of calculating distances and of hunting. A mile is 

 counted in this fashion : they take a leaf from the spot where 

 they start for the journey ; as soon as this leaf has withered,, 

 they think they have gone a mile ; as long as the leaf is. 

 fresh, they are satisfied that they have not yet travelled a 

 mile. The hunting is done in this wise : three or four men 

 go into the forest at night ; the first carries on his head a rice 

 winnower, with an earthen pot inside ; in this pot are wood 

 embers that glow well, but burn slowly, and herewith they 

 drive the elephants out of the way. The second man has in 

 his hand a bunch of small bells, which he jangles the whole 

 time to attract the attention of the animals, but not to drive 

 them away, for they do not fear them to such an extent. If 

 they meet an animal, be it deer, wild pig, elk, or wild 

 buffaloes (for, as said before, they would not hurt a tame 



* See Knox. p. 103 ; C. A. S. Journal, 1878, p. 12. 



t Sin. kiri-bat, a kind of rice pudding made with cocoanut milk and & 

 ittle salt. (C. A. S. Journal, No. 26, 1883, p. 48.) 



