NO. 61. — 1908.] LESSER KNOWN HILLS. 



167 



the latter part of the name being Sinhalese while the former is 

 Dravidian. My desire to find traces of the true Vedda was 

 everywhere met with failure, and much more so my efforts 

 to find a single trace of their later occupation of the 

 country. 



1. — Govinda-hela. 



Govinda-hela, or, as it is better known to the European by its 

 modern appellation of " Westminster Abbey," consists of a 

 high mass of gneissic rock, standing on the northern extremity 

 of a moderately high ridge, affording an excellent resem- 

 blance to the venerable pile from which it takes its present 

 fancy name. The " chimney," or " tower," rises about 800 

 feet above the " roof " of the " Abbey," thus completing 

 the likeness, especially when viewed from the sea. This 

 " chimney " stands clear of anything else, its nearest moun- 

 tain being Waddina-hela to the northward, and the already 

 mentioned Deyigal-hela to the south. 



The distance between the two points is nearly equal — about 

 five miles in a straight line — while the summits of the three 

 mountains are nearly in the same line of inclination, Waddina- 

 hela being the highest. The altitude of ' ' Westminster Abbey " 

 is 1,830 feet, and between it and the sea — a distance of nearly 

 twenty miles — there are no hills of any particular magnitude 

 or altitude, so that from the standpoint of an outpost this 

 mountain occupied an important position, and one that led 

 to its adoption as a stronghold, as is duly narrated in the 

 Mahdwansa * 



In places the " tower " or " chimney " of " Westminster 

 Abbey " overhangs its base, but there are crevices that 

 connect with the top, these being more or less lodgments 

 for plants. Where the rock overhangs, the under-surface 

 affords ample space for bees to congregate, but at the time 



* I am indebted to Mr. Still for the following quotation from the 

 Mahdwansa (chap. LXXXL, vv. 5, 6) relating to this mountain. 

 " Bhuvaneka Bahu, the ruler and governor of the land, whose fame 

 had spread abroad throughout the country, also built himself a fortress 

 on the top of the Grovinda,, a rock which the enemy could not easily 

 approach, and he dwelt there and defended the Rohuna country and 

 its religion and its priesthood." 



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