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Manners arid Customs of the Ceylonese, 
CHAPTER VIII. 
The Ceylonese—Their Origin — Manners— Language — State of 
I HAVE now described those various races who for the pur- 
poses of conquest or commerce liave settled on the sea-coasts of 
Ceylon. The far greater proportion of the inhabitants consists 
of the native Ceylonese who have submitted to the dominion 
of Europeans. When the Portuguese first arrived on the island, 
the whole of it, with the exception of the woods inhabited by 
the wild Bedas, was possessed by one race. The natives who 
inhabited the sea-coasts however were soon compelled either to 
fly for independence to their mountains, or to submit to their 
invaders. A great proportion of them chose the latter alterna- 
tive, and preferred the comforts of the plains to the poverty 
and independence of barren fastnesses. It was indeed impos- 
sible for them all to retire to the mountains, as the interior 
parts barely supply the wants of their thinly-scattered inhabit- 
ants. It is known from their frequent insurrections that they 
at first bore the yoke of the Portuguese with reluctance: time 
however has rendered it familiar, and they are now reduced to 
a degree of abject obedience ; in which they must continue to 
serve, unless some extraordinary chain of circumstances should 
concur to rouse their natural feelings. 
The Ceylonese under the dominion of Europeans retain tlieir 
original appellation of Cinglese, while those who live in those 
