6s 
THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
or indeed deter them from fishing at all. The conjurers reap 
here a rich harvest, for besides being paid by the govern- 
ment, they get money and presents of all sorts from the 
black merchants and those successful in fishing up the oysters. 
The address of these fellows in redeeming their credit, when 
any untoward accident happens to falsify their predictions, 
deserves to be noticed. Since the island came into our pos- 
session, a diver at the fishery one year lost his leg, upon 
which the head conjurer was called to account for the disaster. 
His answer gives the most striking picture of the knowledge 
and capacity of the people he had to deal with. lie gravely 
told them, 4 4 that an old witch who owed him a grudge, 
had just come from Colang on the Malabar coast, and effected 
a counter-conjuration, which for the time rendered his spells 
fruitless ; that this had come to his knowledge too late to 
prevent the accident which had happened, but that lie would 
now shew his own superiority over his antagonist by enchant- 
ing the sharks and binding up their mouths, so that no more 
accidents should happen during the season.” Fortunately for 
the conjurer the event answered his prediction, and no further 
damage was sustained from the sharks during the fishery of 
that year. Whether this was owing to the prayers and charms 
of the conjurer, I leave my European readers to decide ; but 
certainly it was firmly believed to be the case by the Indian 
divers, and he was afterwards held by them in the highest 
esteem and veneration. His merits however in this trans- 
action might be disputed, for there are many seasons in which 
