THE INHABITANTS OF CEYLON. 
425 
XIX ] 
not need to protect himself from the cold with clothes, and 
where accordingly nakedness is the rule, at least among the 
poorer classes. The dress which is worn here is commonly 
convenient and tasteful. Among the Singhalese it consists of a 
piece of cloth wound round the middle, which hangs down to 
the knees. The men, who still prefer the convenient national 
dress to the European, go with the upper part of the body bare. 
The long hair is held together with a comb which goes right 
over the head, and among the rich has a large four-cornered 
projection at the crown. The women protect the upper part 
of the body with a thin cotton jacket. The priests wear a 
yellow piece of cloth diagonally over one shoulder. The naked 
children are ornamented with metal bracelets and with a metal 
chain round the waist, from which a little plate hangs down 
between the legs. This plate is often of silver or gold, and is 
looked upon as an amulet. 
The huts of the working men are in general very small, built 
of earth or cctbooh-hiiok^, and are rather to be considered as sheds 
for protection from the rain and sunshine than as houses in the 
European sense. The richer Singhalese live in extensive 
“ verandas ’’ which are almost open, and are divided into rooms 
by thin panels, resembling in this respect the Japanese houses. 
The Japanese genius for ornament, their excellent taste and 
skill in execution, are however wanting here, but it must also 
be admitted that in these respects the Japanese stand first 
among all the peoples of the earth. 
In the seaport towns the Singhalese are insufferable by their 
begging, their loquacity, and the unpleasant custom they have of 
asking up to ten times as much, while making a bargain, as they 
are pleased to accept in the end. In the interior of the country 
the state of things in this respect is much better. 
Among the temples which I visited in order to procure Pali 
books was the so-called '‘devil’s” temple at Ratnapoora, the 
stateliest idol-house I saw in Ceylon. Most of the temples 
