NO. 50.— 1899.] SAMAN DEVALB MURAL STONE. 



103 



Who this Dona Maria Pereira, described as the " heiress 

 of Raju," was, I am unable to say : I have met with 

 no mention of her name elsewhere. It was natural that 

 after Raja Sinha's death in 1592, when Kunnappu Bandara 

 was able to obtain undisputed possession of the throne, 

 members of the family of the old " lion-king " should seek 

 an asylum with the Portuguese ; and their " conversion " to 

 Romanism would follow as a matter of course.* The 

 bestowal of the hand of the " heiress of Raju " upon Simao 

 Pinhao would be considered a great favour to the latter 

 and a reward for distinguished services, Whether there 

 was any family of the marriage, 1 know not. 



The reference to Simao Pinhao which I have given above 

 from Bocarro is the latest that I have come across that 

 mentions him during his lifetime ; but, famous though he 

 was, I have found no record of his death. That it took place 

 in Ceylon, we may, I think, consider certain. It probably 

 occurred circa 1620, when he would be between sixty and 

 seventy years of age.f 



Two letters which I have met with among the copies of 



Portuguese records in the British Museum Library throw 



some further light on the history of our hero. The first 



occurs in Addl. MS. 20,870, and is as follows :— 



Gonde VRey amigo, — Eu EIRey vos envio muito saudar como aquelle 

 que amo. Vy o que me representou por parte dos religiozos do 

 convento de Santo Antonio de Oolumbo sobre lhe mandar entregar o 



* In a previous footnote I have given references to two alleged grandsons 

 of Raja Sinha ; and Bocarro, in chapter CLXXIV. of his work, states that in 

 May or June, 1617, Luiz Gomes captured in "the deserts of Anorojapure 

 a youth of twenty years, grandson of Raju and nephew of Madune, who had 

 been in Uva with Barreto, whence he had gone to this rebel, believing him 

 to be what he called himself." The " rebel " referred to was " Nicapety," 

 of whom Bocarro tells us in chapter CXI. that he pretended to be " the 

 native prince of Ceillao who went to Portugal and died in Coimbra ; 

 because he had the same name of Nicapety." This prince may be the Dom 

 Filippe mentioned in the previous footnote : his title was, I suppose, 

 Nikapiti Bandara, from Nikapitiya in the Kanduaha pattu of the Parana- 

 kuru Korale (cf. Bell's Report on the Kegalla District, p. 107).— D. W. F. 



f See Supra, p. 111. 



