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



23 The five single vowels § £ & 6D influence (says the Sangardwa, 

 pp. 216, 217, in notes) the 30 ^e?/#s or hours, six of these hours being allotted 

 to each vowel. These periods, called SDo&to in Sanskrit, begin with the 

 rising of the sun, as follows : — 



^ the first represents 0)3(3 ... Infancy 

 § the second g^©jd ... Half growth 



£ the third <3>c3"j ... Youth 

 £> the fourth ©ffl ... Age 



® the fifth ©d45» ... Death 



Of these the three first periods are propitious and the two last adverse. 



24 It is a curious coincidence (says Sir Emerson Tennent, Ceylon, vol. II., 

 p. 582, in notes) that the Sinhalese concur with the most ancient people of 

 the East, the Chaldeeans, Arabs, and Egyptians, not only in counting time 

 by periods of seven days, but by distinguishing the days of the week by 

 the planets whose names have been conferred on them : — 



Sunday, Iridd ... ... From ira the sun and dd, 



contraction of davassa, 

 a day 



Monday, Sandudd ... From Cliandraya, moon 



Tuesday, Angaharuwddd ... From Angaharuwd, the 



planet Mars 



Wednesday, Badddd ... From Buda, the planet 



Mercury 



Thursday, Brahaspatindd ... From Brahaspati, the 



planet Jupiter 



Friday, Sikurddd ... From Sihura, the planet 



Venus 



Saturday, Senasurddd ... From Senasura, the 



planet Saturn 



Among the Tamils, too, the days of the week are named after the planets. 

 Ndyitu ((67>tfSj2/), Tinkal (Js}iEJ&eh') t Sevvdy (Q&weuiruj)) Putan (i-y^sar), 

 Viydlan (sSilKT Lpesr^ Velli (Qeijehefi)'), and Suni (&<5sil). For particu- 

 lars of the months and days, and the manner of reckoning the Tamil 

 year, the curious reader is referred to the notes in the Appendix under 

 tit. Panjangam, to Brito's Talpana Vaipava Malai. While each of 

 the seven days the Sinhalese have put under the superintendence of a 

 planet, each of the 60 hours into which they divide the day they place 

 under that of a star. (Davy's Ceylon, p. 246.) 



25 The Sinhalese have an astrological as well as a lunar month, divided 

 into 27 days, corresponding to the number of their astrological stars or 

 constellations, and like them called nehet, and each of these days, or each 

 neheta, is divided and subdivided in a very complicated manner. They 

 implicitly believe that the stars influence the affairs of mankind, and their 

 actions in consequence are in a great measure regulated by the movements 

 of the stars. The first object of parents on the birth of a child is to have 

 his nativity cast and his horoscope made out, which is of more importance 

 to him through life than any certified extract from a parish register to a 

 European. Not the hour of celebrating a marriage can be fixed, a field 

 sown, a journey undertaken, nor, indeed, a match be made without the aid 

 of the astrologer, who, in more than one instance, has prevented the union 

 of those whose circumstances were otherwise most suitable, but were 

 unfortunately born under hostile stars. (Davy's Ceylon, pp. 246, 247.) 



