202 
THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
■strong hold which they have on the minds of the people. 
All ranks bow down before them ; when they sit down, 
they find their seats covered with a white cloth ; and when 
they walk forth, the broad end of the Talipot leaf is 
borne before them : All these are privileges of the highest 
kind, and shared with them only by the monarch. The 
Tirinanxes arc also exempted from all taxes. They are 
placed under certain restrictions, and are totally debarred 
from wine or women. They have however an opportunity 
of escaping from these restraints ; and are allowed to lay 
aside their order when it suits their inclination. 
Their dress consists of a large loose piece of yellow cloth 
thrown over their left shoulder, and fastened round the 
waist by a girdle of the same. The right shoulder, the 
arms, the head, and the feet, are completely bare. In 
one hand they carry a painted cane, and in the other an 
umbrella of the broad end of the Talipot leaf. 
The temples of Buddou are superior to those of all the 
other deities; for they never dedicate temples to the Su- 
preme Being, nor represent him by any image. In the 
temples of Buddou are figures of men habited, like his 
priests, and placed in various postures : some of them are 
seen setting cross-legged on the ground with long bushy 
heads of hair like their women, while others recline at full 
length on the ground. At lluanelli in the interior, I saw 
a monstruous figure upwards of twenty feet in length, placed 
in the cavern of an immense rock which lay at the bottom 
