NO. 43.— 1892.] ETHNOLOGY OF CEYLON. 



249 



consideration would be a very weighty one. But we have 

 the instance of Great Britain, throughout which the Anglo- 

 Saxon language prevailed, and is now spoken, as English 

 by the Scotch, the Irish, the Welsh, and Cornwall Celts. 

 Though the names of localities may be Celtic or Scandi- 

 navian, the language of the country is English. We cannot 

 argue from this fact that all Irishmen are descended from the 

 Anglo-Saxons, or that the Welsh are not indisputably 

 British. 



In like manner we have in Ceylon Tamil names of places 

 inhabited by a people who now speak Sinhalese. Take, 

 for instance, the names of streams. In the division of the 

 Girawa Pattuwa there are three main streams discharging into 

 the sea, the Kahawatta-dru at Sinimodara, the Kirama-dru 

 at Tangalla, and the Urubokka-dru at Ranne. In Girawa 

 Pattuwa west the Kachchigal-dru is the western boundary of 

 the division. On the eastern boundary of the Magam Pattuwa 

 is the Kumbukkan-dru, and the Kirinde-dru cuts across 

 the centre of this Pattuwa. If one studies the etymology of 

 places in Great Britain the derivation at once indicates 

 where a Celtic or Scandinavian settlement had existed, 

 though English may now be the spoken language of such 

 places. 



This is the only way in which we can explain the Tamil 

 terms in the Tangalla and Hambantota Districts. If we go 

 higher up the east coast we come to the Tamil population 

 of the Eastern Province, including the Mukwas, who have 

 a custom common with the Nairs of India, namely, that 

 ancestral property devolves to the son of the deceased's sister. 



The Mukwas are said to have emigrated to Ceylon to avoid 

 the Muhammadan persecution in India, first landing at 

 Kudrumale. Like the Sinhalese, the men do not perforate 

 their ears. In this connection may be mentioned the 

 Kandyan custom of polyandry, also in common with the 

 Nairs of South India as well as the inhabitants of Thibet. In 

 the Mahdbhdrata five Panduwa brothers are said to have 

 observed this custom. 



64—92 H 



