CHAP. IV.

1: B.C. 247.Mahawanso, ch. xxi. p. 127.2:Mahawanso, ch. xl. TURNOUR'S MS. Transl.3:Suy-shoo, b. lxxxi. p. 3.4: TURNOUR'SEpitome, &c., App. p. 73.

1: B.C. 247.Mahawanso, ch. xxi. p. 127.

2:Mahawanso, ch. xl. TURNOUR'S MS. Transl.

3:Suy-shoo, b. lxxxi. p. 3.

4: TURNOUR'SEpitome, &c., App. p. 73.

It is remarkable that the same apathy to navigation, if not antipathy to it, still prevails amongst the inhabitants of an island, the long sea-borde of which affords facilities for cultivating a maritime taste, did any such exist. But whilst the natives of Hindustan fit out sea-going vessels, and take service as sailors for distant voyages, the Singhalese, though most expert as fishers and boatmen, never embark in foreign vessels, and no instanceexists of a native ship, owned, built, or manned by Singhalese.

The boats which are in use at the present day, and which differ materially in build at different parts of the island, appear to have been all copied from models supplied by other countries. In the south the curious canoes, which attract the eye of the stranger arriving at Point de Galle by their balance-log and outrigger, were borrowed from the islanders of the Eastern Archipelago; the more substantial canoe called aballam, which is found in the estuaries and shallow lakes around the northern shore, is imitated from one of similar form on the Malabar coast; and the catamaran is common to Ceylon and Coromandel. The awkward dhoneys, built at Jaffna, and manned by Tamils, are imitated from those at Madras; while the Singhalese dhoney, south of Colombo, is but an enlargement of the Galle canoe with its outrigger, so clumsily constructed that the gunwale is frequently topped by a line of wicker-work smeared with clay, to protect the deck front the wash of the sea.[1]

1: The gunwale of the boat of Ulysses was raised by hurdles of osiers to keep off the waves.[Greek: Phraxe de min rhipessi diamperes oisuinêsi Kumatos eilar emen pollên d' epecheuato hulên.]Od.v. 256.

1: The gunwale of the boat of Ulysses was raised by hurdles of osiers to keep off the waves.

[Greek: Phraxe de min rhipessi diamperes oisuinêsi Kumatos eilar emen pollên d' epecheuato hulên.]Od.v. 256.

One peculiarity in the mode of constructing the native shipping of Ceylon existed in the remotest times, and is retained to the present day. The practice is closely connected with one of the most imaginative incidents in the medieval romances of the East Their boats and canoes, like those of the Arabs and other early navigators who crept along the shores of India, are put together without the use of iron nails[1], the planks being secured by wooden bolts, and stitched together with cords spun from the fibre of the coconut.[2]

PALLADIUS, a Greek of the lower empire, to whom is ascribed an account of the nations of India, written in the fifth century[3], adverts to this peculiarity of construction, and connects it with the phenomenon which forms so striking an incident in one of the tales in theArabian Nights' Entertainments. In the story of the "Three Royal Mendicants," the "Third Calender," as he is called in the old translation, relates to the ladies of Bagdad, in whose house he is entertained, how he and his companions lost their course, when sailing in the Indian Ocean, and found themselves in the vicinity of "the mountain of loadstone towards which the current carried them with violence, and when the ships approached it they fell asunder, and the nails and everything that was of iron flew from them towards the loadstone."

1: DELAURIER, Études sur la "Relation des voyages faits par les Arabes et les Persans dans l'Inde." Journ. Asiat.tom. xlix. p. 137. See also MALTE BRUN,Hist. de Géogr.tom. i. p. 409, with the references to the Periplus Mar. Erythr., Strabo, Procopius, &c. GIBBON,Decl. and Fall, vol. v. ch. xl.2: Boats thus sewn together existed at an early period on the coast of Arabia as well as of Ceylon. Odoric of Friuli saw them at Ormus in the fourteenth century (Hakluyt, vol. ii. p. 35); and the construction of ships without iron was not peculiar to the Indian seas, as Homer mentions that the boat built by Ulysses was put together with woolen pegs, [Greek:gomphoisin], instead of bolts.Odys. v. 249.3: The tract alluded to is usually known as tne treatisede Moribus Brachmanorum, and ascribed to St. Ambrose. For an account of it seeVol. I. Pt. v. ch. i. p. 538.

2: Boats thus sewn together existed at an early period on the coast of Arabia as well as of Ceylon. Odoric of Friuli saw them at Ormus in the fourteenth century (Hakluyt, vol. ii. p. 35); and the construction of ships without iron was not peculiar to the Indian seas, as Homer mentions that the boat built by Ulysses was put together with woolen pegs, [Greek:gomphoisin], instead of bolts.Odys. v. 249.

3: The tract alluded to is usually known as tne treatisede Moribus Brachmanorum, and ascribed to St. Ambrose. For an account of it seeVol. I. Pt. v. ch. i. p. 538.

The learned commentator, LANE, says that several Arab writers describe this mountain of loadstone, and amongst others he instances El Caswini, who lived in the latter half of the thirteenth century.[1] EDRISI, the Arab geographer, likewise alludes to it; but the invention belongs to an earlier age, and Palladius, in describing Ceylon, says that the magnetic rock is in the adjacent islands called Maniolæ (Maldives?), and that ships coming within the sphere of its influence are irresistibly drawn towards it, and lose all power of progress except in its direction. Hence it is essential, he adds, that vessels sailing for Ceylonshould be fastened with wooden instead of iron bolts.[2]

1: LANE'SArabian Nights, vol. i. ch. iii, p. 72, p. 242.2: [Greek: "Esti de idikôs ta diaperônta ploia eis ekeinên tên megalên nêson aneu sidêrou epiouriois xylinois kataskeuasmena"]—PALLADIUS, inPseudo-Callisthenes, lib. iii. c. vii. But the fable of the loadstone mountain is older than either the Arabian sailors or the Greeks of the lower empire. Aristotle speaks of a magnetic mountain on the coast of India, and Pliny repeats the story, adding that "si sint clavi in calciamentis, vestigia avelli in altero non posse in altero sisti."—Lib. ii. c. 98, lib. xxxvi. c. 25. Ptolemy recounts a similar fable in his geography. Klaproth, in hisLettre sur la Boussole, says that this romantic belief was first communicated to the West from China. "Les anciens auteurs Chinois parlent aussi de montagnes magnétiques de la mer méridionale sur les côtes de Tonquin et de la Cochin Chine; et disent que si les vaisseaux étrangers qui sont garnis de plaques de fer s'en approchent ils y sont arrètés et aucun d'eux ne peut passer par ces endroits."—KLAPROTH,Lett.v. p. 117, quoted by SANTAREM,Essai sur l'Histo. de Cosmogr., vol. i. p. 182.

1: LANE'SArabian Nights, vol. i. ch. iii, p. 72, p. 242.

2: [Greek: "Esti de idikôs ta diaperônta ploia eis ekeinên tên megalên nêson aneu sidêrou epiouriois xylinois kataskeuasmena"]—PALLADIUS, inPseudo-Callisthenes, lib. iii. c. vii. But the fable of the loadstone mountain is older than either the Arabian sailors or the Greeks of the lower empire. Aristotle speaks of a magnetic mountain on the coast of India, and Pliny repeats the story, adding that "si sint clavi in calciamentis, vestigia avelli in altero non posse in altero sisti."—Lib. ii. c. 98, lib. xxxvi. c. 25. Ptolemy recounts a similar fable in his geography. Klaproth, in hisLettre sur la Boussole, says that this romantic belief was first communicated to the West from China. "Les anciens auteurs Chinois parlent aussi de montagnes magnétiques de la mer méridionale sur les côtes de Tonquin et de la Cochin Chine; et disent que si les vaisseaux étrangers qui sont garnis de plaques de fer s'en approchent ils y sont arrètés et aucun d'eux ne peut passer par ces endroits."—KLAPROTH,Lett.v. p. 117, quoted by SANTAREM,Essai sur l'Histo. de Cosmogr., vol. i. p. 182.

Another peculiarity of the native craft on the west coast of Ceylon is their construction with a prow at each extremity, a characteristic which belongs also to the Massoula boats of Madras, as well as to others on the south of India. It is a curious illustration of the abiding nature of local usages when originating in necessities and utility, that STRABO, in describing the boats in which the traffic was carried on between Taprobane and the continent, says they were "built with prows at each end, but without holds or keels."[1]

1: [Greek: "Kateskeuasmenas de amphoterôthen enkoiliôn mêtrôn chôris."]—Lib xv. c. i. s. 14. Pliny, who makes the same statement, says the Singhalese adopted this model to avoid the necessity of tacking in the narrow and shallow channels, between Ceylon and the mainland of India (lib. vi. c. 24).

In connection with foreign trade theMahawansocontains repeated allusions to ships wrecked upon the coast of Ceylon[1], and amongst the remarkable events which signalised the season, already rendered memorable by the birth of Dutugaimunu, B.C. 204, was the "arrival on the same day of seven ships laden with golden utensils and other goods;"[2] and as these were brought by order of the king to Mahagam, then the capital of Rohuna, the incident is probably referable to the foreign trade which was then carried on in the south of the island[3] by the Chineseand Arabians, and in which, as I have stated, the native Singhalese took no part.

1: B.C. 543.Mahawanso, ch. vii. p. 49: B.C. 306. Ibid. ch. xi. p. 68, &c.2:Mahawanso, ch. xxii. p. 135.3: The first direct intimation of trading carried on by native Singhalese, along the coast of Ceylon, occurs in theRajavali, but not till the year A.D. 1410,—the king, who had made Cotta his capital, being represented as "loading a vessel with goods and sending it to Jaffna, to carry on commerce with his son."—Rajavali, p. 289.

1: B.C. 543.Mahawanso, ch. vii. p. 49: B.C. 306. Ibid. ch. xi. p. 68, &c.

2:Mahawanso, ch. xxii. p. 135.

3: The first direct intimation of trading carried on by native Singhalese, along the coast of Ceylon, occurs in theRajavali, but not till the year A.D. 1410,—the king, who had made Cotta his capital, being represented as "loading a vessel with goods and sending it to Jaffna, to carry on commerce with his son."—Rajavali, p. 289.

Still, notwithstanding their repugnance to intercourse with strangers, the Singhalese were not destitute of traffic amongst themselves, and their historical annals contain allusions to the mode in which it was conducted. Their cities exhibited rows of shops and bazaars[1], and the country was traversed by caravans much in the same manner as the drivers oftavalamscarry goods at the present day between the coast and the interior.[2]

1: B.C. 204, a visitor to Anarajapoora is described as "purchasing aromatic drugs from the bazaars, and departing by the Northern Gate" (Mahawanso, ch. xxiii. p. 139); and A.D. 8, the King Maha Dathika "ranged shops on each side of the streets of the capital."—Mahawanso, ch. xxxiv. p. 213.2: B.C. 170.Mahawansoch. xxii. p. 138.

2: B.C. 170.Mahawansoch. xxii. p. 138.

Whatever merchandise was obtained in barter from foreign ships, was by this means conveyed to the cities and the capital[1], and the reference to carts which were accustomed to go from Anarajapoora to the division of Malaya, lying round Adam's Peak, "to procure saffron and ginger," implies that at that period (B.C. 165) roads and other facilities for wheel carriages must have existed, enabling them to traverse forests and cross the rivers.[2]

1: In the reign of Elala, B.C. 204, the son of "an eminent caravan chief" was despatched to a Brahman, who resided near the Chetiyo mountain (Mihintala), in whose possession there were rich articles, frankincense, sandal-wood, &c., imported from beyond the ocean.—Mahawansoch. xxiii. p. 138.2:Mahawansoch. xxviii. p, 167.

2:Mahawansoch. xxviii. p, 167.

Early Exports of Ceylon.—The native historians give an account of the exports of Ceylon, which corresponds in all particulars with the records left by the early travellers and merchants, Greek, Roman, Arabian, Indian, and Chinese. They consisted entirely of natural productions, aromatic drugs, gems, pearls, and shells; and it is a strong evidence of the more advanced state of civilisation in India at the same period that, whilst the presents sent from the kings of Ceylon to the nativeprinces of Hindustan and the Dekkan were always of this precious but primitive character, the articles received in return were less remarkable for the intrinsic value of the material, than for the workmanship bestowed upon them. Devenipiatissa sent by his ambassadors to Asoca, B.C. 306, the eight varieties of pearls, viz.,haya(the horse),gaja(the elephant),ratha(the chariot wheel),maalaka(the nelli fruit),valaya(the bracelet),anguliwelahka(the ring),kakudaphala(the kabook fruit), andpakatika, the ordinary description. He sent sapphires, lapis lazuli[1], and rubies, a right hand chank[2], and three bamboos for chariot poles, remarkable because their natural marking resembled the carvings of flowers and animals.

1: Lapis lazuli is not found in Ceylon, and must have been brought by the caravans from Budakshan. It is more than once mentioned in theMahawanso, ch. xi. p. 69; ch. xxx. p. 185.2: A variety of theTurbinella rapawith the whorls reversed, to which the natives attach a superstitions value; professing that a shell so formed is worth its weight in gold.

1: Lapis lazuli is not found in Ceylon, and must have been brought by the caravans from Budakshan. It is more than once mentioned in theMahawanso, ch. xi. p. 69; ch. xxx. p. 185.

2: A variety of theTurbinella rapawith the whorls reversed, to which the natives attach a superstitions value; professing that a shell so formed is worth its weight in gold.

The gifts sent by the king of Magadha in return, indicate the advanced state of the arts in Bengal, even at that early period: they were "a chowrie (the royal fly flapper), a diadem, a sword of state, a royal parasol, golden slippers, a crown, an anointing vase, asbestos towels, to be cleansed by being passed through the fire, a costly howdah, and sundry vessels of gold." Along with these was sacred water from the Anotatto lake and from the Ganges, aromatic and medicinal drugs, hill paddi and sandal-wood; and amongst the other items "a virgin of royal birth and of great personal beauty."[1]

1:Mahawansoch, xi. pp. 69, 70.

Early Imports.—Down to a very late period, gems, pearls, and chank shells continued to be the only products taken away from Ceylon, and cinnamon is nowhere mentioned in the Sacred Books as amongst the exports of the island.[1] In return for these exports,slaves, chariots, and horses were frequently transmitted from India. The riding horses and chargers, so often spoken of[2], must necessarily have been introduced from thence, and were probably of Arab blood; but I have not succeeded in discovering to what particular race the "Sindhawa" horses belonged, of which four purely white were harnessed to the state carriage of Dutugaimunu.[3] Gold cloth[4], frankincense, and sandal-wood were brought from India[5], as was also a species of "clay" and of "cloud-coloured stone," which appear to have been used in the construction of dagobas.[6] Silk[7] and vermilion[8] indicate the activity of trade with China; and woollen cloth[9] and carpets[10] with Persia and Kashmir.

1: For an account of the earliest trade in cinnamon, seepostPart v. ch. ii.on the Knowledge of Ceylon possessed by the Arabians.2:Mahawanso, ch. xxii. p. 134, &c. &c.3:Ibid., ch. xxiii. p. 142; ch. xxxi. p. 186.4: A.D.459.Mahawanso, ch. xxxviii. p. 258.5:Ibid, ch. xxiii. p. 138.6:Ibid, ch. xxix. p. 169; ch. xxx. p. 179.7:Ibid., ch. xxiii. p. 139;Rajaratnacari, p. 49.8:Ibid, ch. xxix. p. 169;Rajaratnacarip. 51.9:Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 177;Rajavali, p. 269. Woollen cloth is described as "most valuable"—an epithet which indicates its rarity, and probably foreign origin.10:Mahawanso, ch. xiv. p. 82; ch. xv. p. 87; ch. xxv. p. 151; carpets of wool,ib. ch. xxvii. p. 164.

1: For an account of the earliest trade in cinnamon, seepostPart v. ch. ii.on the Knowledge of Ceylon possessed by the Arabians.

2:Mahawanso, ch. xxii. p. 134, &c. &c.

3:Ibid., ch. xxiii. p. 142; ch. xxxi. p. 186.

4: A.D.459.Mahawanso, ch. xxxviii. p. 258.

5:Ibid, ch. xxiii. p. 138.

6:Ibid, ch. xxix. p. 169; ch. xxx. p. 179.

7:Ibid., ch. xxiii. p. 139;Rajaratnacari, p. 49.

8:Ibid, ch. xxix. p. 169;Rajaratnacarip. 51.

9:Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 177;Rajavali, p. 269. Woollen cloth is described as "most valuable"—an epithet which indicates its rarity, and probably foreign origin.

10:Mahawanso, ch. xiv. p. 82; ch. xv. p. 87; ch. xxv. p. 151; carpets of wool,ib. ch. xxvii. p. 164.

Intercourse with Kashmir.—Possibly the woollen cloths referred to may have been shawls, and there is evidence in theRajatarangini[1], that at a very early period the possession of a common religion led to an intercourse between Ceylon and Kashmir, originating in the sympathies of Buddhism, but perpetuated by the Kashmirians for the pursuit of commerce. In the fabulous period of the narrative, a king of Kashmir is said to have sent to Ceylon for a delicately fine cloth, embroidered with golden footsteps.[2] In the eighth century of the Christian era, Singhalese engineers were sent for to construct works in Kashmir[3]; and Kashmir, accordingto Troyer, took part in the trade between Ceylon and the West.[4]

1: TheRajataranginiresembles theMahawanso, in being a metrical chronicle of Kashmir written at various times by a series of authors, the earliest of whom lived in the 12th century. It has been translated into French by M. Troyer, Paris, 1840.2:Rajatarangini, b. i. sl. 294.3:Rajatarangini, b. iv. sl. 502, &c.4: "La communication entre Kachmir et Ceylan n'a pas eu lieu seulement par les entreprises guerrières que je viens de rappeler, mais aussi par un commerce paisible; c'est du cette ile que venaient des artistes qu'on appelait Rakchasas à cause du merveilleux de leur art; et qui exécutaient des ouvrages pour l'utilité et pour l'ornement d'un pays montagneux et sujet aux inondations. Ceci confirme ce que nous apprennent les géographes Grecs, que Ceylan, avant et après le commencement de notre ère, était un grand point de réunion pour le commerce de l'Orient et de l'Occident."—Rajatarangini, vol. ii. p. 434.

2:Rajatarangini, b. i. sl. 294.

3:Rajatarangini, b. iv. sl. 502, &c.

4: "La communication entre Kachmir et Ceylan n'a pas eu lieu seulement par les entreprises guerrières que je viens de rappeler, mais aussi par un commerce paisible; c'est du cette ile que venaient des artistes qu'on appelait Rakchasas à cause du merveilleux de leur art; et qui exécutaient des ouvrages pour l'utilité et pour l'ornement d'un pays montagneux et sujet aux inondations. Ceci confirme ce que nous apprennent les géographes Grecs, que Ceylan, avant et après le commencement de notre ère, était un grand point de réunion pour le commerce de l'Orient et de l'Occident."—Rajatarangini, vol. ii. p. 434.

Of the trade between Ceylon and Kashmir and its progress, the account given by Edrisi, the most renowned of the writers on eastern geography, who wrote in the twelfth century[1], is interesting, inasmuch as it may be regarded as a picture of this remarkable commerce, after it had attained its highest development.

1: Abou-abd-allah Mahommed was a Moor of the family who reigned over Malaga after the fall of the Kalifat of Cordova, in the early part of the 11th century, and his patronymic of Edrisi or Al Edrissy implies that he was descended from the princes of that race who had previously held supreme power in what is at the present day the Empire of Morocco. He took up his residence in Sicily under the patronage of the Norman king, Roger II., A.D. 1154, and the work on geography which he there composed was not only based on the previous labours of Massoudi, Ibn Haukul, Albyrouni, and others, but it embodied the reports of persons commissioned specially by the king to undertake voyages for the purpose of bringing back correct accounts of foreign countries. See REINAUD'SIntroduction to the Geography of Abulfeda, p. cxiii.

Edrisi did not write from personal knowledge, as he had never visited either Ceylon or India; but compiling as he did, by command of Roger H., of Sicily, a compendium, of geographical knowledge as it existed in his time, the information which he has systematised may be regarded as a condensation of such facts as the eastern seamen engaged in the Indian trade had brought back with them from Ceylon.

"In the mountains around Adam's Peak," says Edrisi, "they collect precious stones of every description, and in the valleys they find those diamonds by means of which they engrave the setting of stones on rings."

"The same mountains produce aromatic drugs perfumes,and aloes-wood, and there too they find the animal, the civet, which yields musk. The islanders cultivate rice, coco-nuts, and sugar-cane; in the rivers is found rock crystal, remarkable both for brilliancy and size, and the sea on every side has a fishery of magnificent and priceless pearls. Throughout India there is no prince whose wealth can compare with the King of Serendib, his immense riches, his pearls and his jewels, being the produce of his own dominions and seas; and thither ships of China, and of every neighbouring country resort, bringing the wines of Irak and Fars, which the king buys for sale to his subjects; for he drinks wine and prohibits debauchery; whilst other princes of India encourage debauchery and prohibit the use of wine. The exports from Serendib consist of silk, precious stones, crystals, diamonds, and perfumes."[1]

1: Edrisi,Géographie, Trad. JAUBERT, tom. i. p. 73.

The silk alluded to in the last chapter must have been brought from China for re-exportation to the West. Silk is frequently mentioned in theMahawanso[1] but never with any suggestion of its being a native product of Ceylon.

1: Silk is mentioned 20 B.C.Rajaratnacari, p. 49.Mahawanso, ch. xxiii. p. 139.

Coir and Cordage.—EDRISI speaks of cordage made from the fibre of the coco-nut, to prepare which, the natives of Oman and Yemen resorted to Ceylon[1]; so that the Singhalese would appear to have been instructed by the Arabs in the treatment of coir, and its formation into ropes; an occupation which, at the present day, affords extensive employment to the inhabitants of the south and south-western coasts. Ibn Batuta describes the use of coir, for sewing together the planking of boats, as it was practised at Zafar in the fourteenth century[2]; and the word itself bespeaks its Arabian origin, as ALBYROUNI, who divides the Maldives and Laccadives into two classes, calls the one group theDyvah-kouzah, or islands that producecowries; and the other theDyvah-kanbar, or islands that producecoir.[3]

1: EDRISI, t. i. p. 74.2:Voyages, &c., vol. ii. p. 207. Paris, 1854.3: ALBYROUNI, in REYNAUD,Fragm. Arabes, &c.,pp, 93, 124 The Portuguese adopted the word from the Hindus, and CASTANEDA, inHist. of the Discovery of India,describes the Moors of Sofalah sewing their boats with "cayro"ch. v, 14, xxx. 75.

1: EDRISI, t. i. p. 74.

2:Voyages, &c., vol. ii. p. 207. Paris, 1854.

3: ALBYROUNI, in REYNAUD,Fragm. Arabes, &c.,pp, 93, 124 The Portuguese adopted the word from the Hindus, and CASTANEDA, inHist. of the Discovery of India,describes the Moors of Sofalah sewing their boats with "cayro"ch. v, 14, xxx. 75.

Dress.—The dress of the people was of the simplestkind, and similar to that which is worn at the present day. The bulk of the population wore scanty cloths, without shape or seam, folded closely round the body and the portion of the limbs which it is customary to cover; and the Chinese, who visited the island in the seventh century, described the people as clothed in the loose robe, still known as a "comboy," a word probably derived from the Chinesekoo-pei, which signifies cotton.[1]

1: SeePart v. ch. iii.on the Knowledge of Ceylon possessed by the Chinese.

The wealthier classes indulged in flowing robes, and Bujas Dasa the king, who in the fourth century devoted himself to the study of medicine and the cure of the sick, was accustomed, when seeking objects for his compassion, to appear as a common person, simply "disguising himself by gathering his cloth up between his legs."[1] Robes with flowers[2], and a turban of silk, constituted the dress of state bestowed on men whom the king delighted to honour.[3] Cloth of gold is spoken of in the fifth century, but the allusion is probably made to the kinbaub of India.[4]

1:Mahawanso,ch. xxxvii. p.245.2: By the ordinances of Buddhism it was forbidden to the priesthood "to adorn the body with flowers," thus showing it to have been a practice of the laity. HARDY'SEastern Monachism,ch. iv. p.24; ch. xiii p.128.3:Mahawanso, ch. xxiii. p.139.4:Ibid., ch. xxxviii. p.258.

1:Mahawanso,ch. xxxvii. p.245.

2: By the ordinances of Buddhism it was forbidden to the priesthood "to adorn the body with flowers," thus showing it to have been a practice of the laity. HARDY'SEastern Monachism,ch. iv. p.24; ch. xiii p.128.

3:Mahawanso, ch. xxiii. p.139.

4:Ibid., ch. xxxviii. p.258.

MANUAL AND MECHANICAL ARTS.Weaving.—The aborigines practised the art of weaving before the arrival of Wijayo. Kuweni, when the adventurer approached her, was "seated at the foot of a tree, spinning thread;"[1] cotton was the ordinary material, but "linen cloth" is mentioned in the second century before Christ.[2] White cloths are spoken of as having been employed, in the earliest times, in every ceremony for covering chairs on which persons of rank were expected to be seated; whole "webs of cloth" were used to wrap thecaranduain which the sacred relics were enclosed[3], and one of thekings, on the occasion of consecrating a dagoba at Mihintala, covered with "white cloth" the road taken by the procession between the mountain and capital, a distance of more than seven miles.[4]

1:Mahawanso, ch. vii. p.48;Rajavali, p.173.2:Mahawanso, ch, xxv. p.152.3:Rajaratnacari, p.72.4: A.D. 8.Rajavali,p. 227;Mahawanso, ch. xxxiv. p. 213.

1:Mahawanso, ch. vii. p.48;Rajavali, p.173.

2:Mahawanso, ch, xxv. p.152.

3:Rajaratnacari, p.72.

4: A.D. 8.Rajavali,p. 227;Mahawanso, ch. xxxiv. p. 213.

In later times a curious practice prevailed, which exists to the present day;—on occasions when it is intended to make offerings of yellow robes to the priesthood, the cotton was plucked from the tree at daybreak, and "cleaned, spun, woven, dyed, and made into garments" before the setting of the sun. This custom, calledCatina Dhawna,is first referred to in theRajaratnacariin the reign of Prakrarna I.[1], A.D. 1153.

1: Seeante,Vol. II p. 35.Rajaratnacari, pp. 104, 109, 112, 135;Rajavali, p. 261; HARDY'SEastern Monachism, ch. xii. pp. 114, 121.

The expression "made into garments" alludes to the custom enjoined on the priests of having the value of the material destroyed, before consenting to accept it as a gift, thus carrying out their vow of poverty. The robe of Gotama Buddha was cut into thirty pieces, these were again united, so that they "resembled the patches of ground in a rice field;" and hence he enjoined on his followers the observance of the same practice.[1]

1: HARDY'SEastern Monachism,ch. xii. p. 117. Seeante,Vol. I. Pt. III. ch. iv. p. 351.

The arts of bleaching and dyeing were understood as well as that of weaving, and theMahawanso, in describing the building of the Ruanwellé dagoba, at Anarajapoora, B.C. 161, tells of a canopy formed of "eight thousand pieces of cloth of every hue."[1]

1:Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 179, See also ch. xxxviii. p. 258.

Earliest Artisans.—VALENTYN, writing on the traditional information acquired from the Singhalese themselves, records the belief of the latter, that in the suite of the Pandyan princess, who arrived to marry Wijayo, were artificers from Madura, who were the first to introducethe knowledge and practice of handicrafts amongst the native population. According to the story, these were goldsmiths, blacksmiths, brass-founders, carpenters, and stone-cutters.[1]

1: VALENTYN,Oud en Niew Oost-Indien, chap. iv. p. 267.

The legend is given with more particularity in an historical notice of the Chalia caste, written by Adrian Rajapaxa, one of their chiefs, who describes these immigrants as Peskare Brahmans, who were at first employed in weaving gold tissues for the queen, but who afterwards abandoned that art for agriculture. A fresh company were said to have been invited in the reign of Devenipiatissa, and were the progenitors of "Saleas, at present called Chalias," who inhabit the country between Galle and Colombo, and who, along with their ostensible occupation as peelers of cinnamon, still employ themselves in the labours of the loom.[1] All handicrafts are conventionally regarded by the Singhalese as the occupations of an inferior class; and a man of high caste would submit to any privation rather than stoop to an occupation dependent on manual skill.

1: A History of the Chalias, by ADRIAN RAJAPAXA.Asiatic Res. vol. vii. p. 440.Ib., vol. x. p. 82.

Pottery.—One of the most ancient arts, the making of earthenware vessels, exists at the present day in all its pristine simplicity, and the "potter's wheel," which is kept in motion by an attendant, whilst the hands of the master are engaged in shaping the clay as it revolves, is the primitive device which served a similar purpose amongst the Egyptians and Hebrews.[1]

1: Pottery is mentioned in theMahawanso, B.C. 161, ch. xxix. p. 173: the allusion is to "new earthen vases," and shows that the people at that time, like the Hindus of today, avoided where possible the repeated use of the same vessel.

A "potter" is enumerated in the list of servants and tradesmen attached to the temple on the Rock of Mihintala, A.D. 262, along with a sandal-maker, blacksmiths, carpenters, stone-cutters, goldsmiths, and "makers ofstrainers" through which the water for the priests was filtered, to avoid taking away the life of animalculæ. The other artisans on the establishment were chiefly those in charge of the buildings, lime-burners, plasterers, white-washers, painters, and a chief builder.

Glass.—Glass, the knowledge of which existed in Egypt and in India[1], was introduced into Ceylon at an early period; and in theDipawanso, a work older than theMahawansoby a century and a half, it is stated that Saidaitissa, the brother of Dutugaimunu, when completing the Ruanwellé dagoba, which his predecessor had commenced, surmounted it with a "glass pinnacle." This was towards the end of the second century before Christ. Glass is frequently mentioned at later periods; and a "glass mirror" is spoken of[2] in the third century before Christ, but how made, whether by an amalgam of quicksilver or by colouring the under surface, is not recorded.

1: Dr. ROYLE'SLectures on the Arts and Manufactures of India, 1852, p. 221. PLINY says the glass of India being made of pounded crystal, none other can compare with it. (Lib. xxxvi, c. 66.)2:Mahawanso, ch. xv. p. 99, ch. xxx. p. 182.

1: Dr. ROYLE'SLectures on the Arts and Manufactures of India, 1852, p. 221. PLINY says the glass of India being made of pounded crystal, none other can compare with it. (Lib. xxxvi, c. 66.)

2:Mahawanso, ch. xv. p. 99, ch. xxx. p. 182.

Leather.—The tanning of leather from the hide of the buffalo was understood so far back as the second century before Christ, and "coverings both for the back and the feet of elephants" were then formed of it.[1]

1:Ibid., ch. xxv. p. 152, ch. xxix. p. 169.

Wood-carving.—Carving in sandal-wood and inlaying with ivory, of which latter material "state fans and thrones" were constructed for the Brazen Palace[1], are amongst the mechanical arts often alluded to; and during the period of prosperity which signalised the era of the "Great Dynasty," there can be little doubt that skilled artificers were brought from India to adorn the cities and palaces of Ceylon.

1:Ibid., ch. xxvii. p. 163, 164.

Chemical Arts.—A rude knowledge of chemical manipulationwas required for the extraction of camphor[1] and the preparation of numerous articles specified amongst the productions of the island, aromatic oils[2], perfumes[3], and vegetable dyes.

1:Rajaratnacari, p. 133. Dr. ROYLE doubts whether camphor was known to the Hindus at this early period, but "camphor oil" is repeatedly mentioned in the Singhalese chronicles amongst the articles provided for the temples.—ROYLE'SEssay on Hindoo Medicine, p. 140;Rajaculi, p. 190.2:Mahawanso, ch. xxv. p. 157.3: B.C. 161.Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 180.

2:Mahawanso, ch. xxv. p. 157.

3: B.C. 161.Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 180.

Sugar.—Sugar was obtained not only from the Palmyra and Kittool palms[1], but also from the cane; which, besides being a native of India, was also indigenous in Ceylon.[2] A "sugar mill" for expressing its juice existed in the first century before Christ in the district of the "Seven Corles,"[3] where fifteen hundred years afterwards a Dutch governor of the island made an attempt to restore the cultivation of sugar.

1: "Palm sugar," as distinguished from "cane sugar," is spoken of in theMahawansoin the second century B.C. ch. xxvii. p. 163.2: "Cane sugar" is referred to in theMahawansoB.C. 161, ch. xxvii. p. 162, ch. xxxi. p. 192.3: A.D. 77.Mahawanso, ch. xxxiv. p. 208.

1: "Palm sugar," as distinguished from "cane sugar," is spoken of in theMahawansoin the second century B.C. ch. xxvii. p. 163.

2: "Cane sugar" is referred to in theMahawansoB.C. 161, ch. xxvii. p. 162, ch. xxxi. p. 192.

3: A.D. 77.Mahawanso, ch. xxxiv. p. 208.

Mineral Paints.—Mineral preparations were made with success. Red lead, orpiment, and vermilions are mentioned as pigments; but as it is doubtful whether Ceylon produces quicksilver, the latter was probably imported from. China[1] or India, where the method of preparing it has long been known.

1: Seeante,Vol. I. Part I. ch. i. p. 29. n.Both quicksilver and vermilion are mentioned in theRajaratnacari, p. 51, as being in use in the year 20 B.C. Vermilion is also spoken of B.C. 307 in theMahawanso, ch. xxvii. p. 162, c. The two passages in whichvermilionis spoken of in the Old Testament, Jerem. xxii. 14, and Ezek. xxiii. 14, both refer to the painting of walls and woodwork, a purpose to which it would be scarcely suitable, were not the article alluded to the opaque bisulphuret of mercury; and the same remark applies to the vermilion used by the Singhalese. The bright red obtained from the insect coccus (thevermiculus, whence the original term "vermilion" is said to be derived) would be too transparent to be so applied.

There is likewise sufficient evidence in these and a number of other preparations, as well in the notices of perfumes, camphor, and essential oils, to show that the Singhalese, like the Hindus, had a very early acquaintance with chemical processes and with the practice ofdistillation, which they retain to the present day.[1] The knowledge of the latter they probably acquired from the Arabs or Chinese.

1: "I was frequently visited by one old man, a priest, who had travelled through Bengal, Burmah, Siam, and many other countries, and who prided himself on being ableto make calomelmuch better than the European doctors, as his preparation did not cause the falling out of the teeth, soreness of the mouth, or salivation. He learnt the secret from an ancient sage whom he met with in a forest on the continent of India; and often when listening to him I was reminded of the mysteries and crudities of the alchemists."—HARDY'SEastern Monachism, Lond. 1850, ch. xxiii. p. 312.

METALS.Iron.—Working in metals was early understood in Ceylon. Abundance of iron ore can be extracted from the mountains round Adam's Peak; the black oxide is found on the eastern shore in the state of iron-sand; and both are smelted with comparative ease by the natives. Iron tools were in use for the dressing of stones; and in the third century before Christ, the enclosed city of Wijittapoora was secured by an "iron gate." [1]

1:Mahawanso, ch. xxv. p. 152.

Steel.—The manufacture of arms involved the use of steel, the method of tempering which was derived from the Hindus, by whom thewootzwas prepared, of which, the genuine blades of Damascus are shown to have been made, the beauty of their figuring being dependent on its peculiar crystallisation. Ezekiel enumerates amongst the Indian imports of Tyre "bright iron, calamus and cassia."[1]

1: ROYLEon the Antiquity of Hindoo Medicine, p. 98. EZEKIEL, ch. xxvii. 19.

Copper.—Copper was equally in demand, but, like silver and gold, it is nowhere alluded to as a production of the island. In ancient, as in modern, times, therefore, the numerous articles formed from this metal were probably imported from India. The renowned Brazen. Palace of Anarajapoora was so named from the quantity of copper used in its construction. Bujas Raja, A.D. 359, covered a building at Attanagalla with "tiles made of copper, and gilt with gold,"[1] and "two boats built of brass," were placed near the Bo-Tree at the capital "to hold food for the priests."[2] Before theChristian era, armour for elephants[3], and vessels of large dimensions, cauldrons[4], and baths[5], were formed of copper. The same material was used for the lamps, goblets[6], kettles, and cooking utensils of the monasteries and wiharas.

1:Rajaratnacari, p. 73.2:Ibid., p. 60.3:Rajavali, p. 214.4: B.C. 204.Rajavali, p. 190.5: A.D. 1267,Rajartnacari, p. 104.6:Rajaratnacari, pp. 104, 134.

1:Rajaratnacari, p. 73.

2:Ibid., p. 60.

3:Rajavali, p. 214.

4: B.C. 204.Rajavali, p. 190.

5: A.D. 1267,Rajartnacari, p. 104.

6:Rajaratnacari, pp. 104, 134.

Bells.—Bells were hung in the palaces[1], and bell-metal is amongst the gifts to the temples recorded on the rock at Pollanarrua, A.D. 1187.[2]

1:Mahawanso, ch. xxi. pp. 128, 129.2: TURNOUR'SEpitome, &c.,Appx. p. 91.

1:Mahawanso, ch. xxi. pp. 128, 129.

2: TURNOUR'SEpitome, &c.,Appx. p. 91.

Bronze.—Bronze was cast into figures of Buddha[1], and theMahawanso, describing the reign of Dhatu-Sena, A.D. 459, makes mention of "sixteen bronze statues of virgins having the power of locomotion."[2]

1: A.D. 275.Mahawanso, ch. xxxvii. p. 236;Rajavali, p. l35.2:Mahawanso, ch. xxxviii. p. 257.

1: A.D. 275.Mahawanso, ch. xxxvii. p. 236;Rajavali, p. l35.

2:Mahawanso, ch. xxxviii. p. 257.

Lead.—Lead was used during the wars of Dutugaimunu and Elala, and poured molten over the attacking elephants during the siege of Wijittapoora.[1] As lead is not a native product of Ceylon, it must have been brought thither from Ava or Malwa.

1:Mahawanso, ch. xxv. p. 152.

Gold and Silver.—Ceylon, like the continent of India, produces no silver and gold, save in the scantiest quantities.[1] The historical books, in recording the splendour of the temples and their riches, and the wealth lavished by the kings upon the priesthood, describe in perpetually recurring terms, the multitude of ornaments and vessels made of silver and gold. In early times the most precious of these were received as gifts from the princes of India, and in the second century before Christ theMahawansorecords the arrival of ships in the south of the island, "laden with golden utensils." The import of these might possibly have been a relic of the early trade with the Phoenicians, whom Homer, in a passage quotedby Strabo (l. xvi. c. 2. s. 24.), describes as making these cups, and carrying across the sea for sale in the great emporiums visited by these ships.[2] A variety of articles of silver are spoken of at very early periods. Dutugaimunu, when building the great dagoba, caused the circle of its base to be described by "a pair of compasses made of silver, and pointed with gold;"[3] parasols, vases, caranduas and numerous other regal or religious paraphernalia, were made from this precious material. Gold was applied in every possible form and combination to the decoration and furnishing of the edifices of Buddhism;—"trees of gold with roots of coral,"[4] flowers formed of gems with stems of silver[5], fringes of bullion mixed with pearls; umbrellas, shields, chains, and jewelled statuettes[6], are described with enthusiasm by the annalists of the national worship.

1: Amongst the miracles which signalised the construction of the Ruanwellé dagoba at Anarajapoora was the sudden appearance in a locality to the north-east of the capital of "sprouts" of gold above and below the ground, and of silver in the vicinity of Adam's Peak.—Mahawanso, ch. xxviii. pp. 166, 167.2:Mahawanso, ch. xxii. p. 153. [Greek]—Iliad, xxiii. 745.3:Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 172.4: Red coral, equal in its delicacy of tint to the highly-prized specimens from the Mediterranean, is found in small fragments on the sea-shore north of Point-de-Galle.5:Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 179.6:Mahawanso, ib. p. 180.

2:Mahawanso, ch. xxii. p. 153. [Greek]—Iliad, xxiii. 745.

3:Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 172.

4: Red coral, equal in its delicacy of tint to the highly-prized specimens from the Mediterranean, is found in small fragments on the sea-shore north of Point-de-Galle.

5:Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 179.

6:Mahawanso, ib. p. 180.

The abundance of precious stones naturally led to their being extensively mounted in jewelry, and in addition to those found in Ceylon, diamonds[1] and lapis lazuli [2] (which must have been brought thither from India and Persia) are classed with the sapphire and the topaz, which are natives of the island.

1:Rajaratnacari, p. 61.2:Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 182.

1:Rajaratnacari, p. 61.

2:Mahawanso, ch. xxx. p. 182.

The same passion existed then, as now, for covering the person with ornaments; gold, silver, and gems were fashioned into rings for the ears, the nose, the fingers, and toes, into plates for the forehead, and chains for the neck, into armlets, and bracelets, and anklets, and into decorations of every possible form, not only for the women, but for men, and, above all, for the children of both sexes. The poor, unable to indulge in the luxury of precious metals, found substitutes in shells and glass; and the extravagance of the taste was defendedon the ground that their brilliancy served to avert the malignity of "the evil eye" from the wearer to the jewel.

Gilding.—Gilding was likewise understood by the Singhalese in all its departments, both as applied to the baser metals and to other substances—wood-work was gilded for preaching places[1] as was also copper for roofing, cement for decorating walls, and stone for statuary and carving.[2]

1:Rajaratnacari, p. 60.2: Rock inscription at Pollanarrua, A.D. 187—196.

1:Rajaratnacari, p. 60.

2: Rock inscription at Pollanarrua, A.D. 187—196.

Coin.—Although the Singhalese through their sacred writings had a knowledge of coined money, and of its existence in India from a period little subsequent to the death of Gotama Buddha[1]; and although their annalists give the names of particular coins in circulation[2], at various times, no Singhalese money has yet been discovered of a date antecedent to the eleventh century. The Chinese in the fifteenth century spoke with admirationof the gold pieces struck by the kings of Ceylon, which they found in circulation on their frequent visits to the emporium at Galle[3]; but of these only a few very rare examples have been preserved, one of which bears the effigy and name of Lokaiswaira[4], who usurped the throne during a period of anarchy about A.D. 1070. Numbers of small copper coins of the eleventh and twelfth centuries have from time to time been dug up both in the interior and on the coast of the island[5]. A quantity of these which were found in 1848 by Lieutenant Evatt, when in command of a pioneer corps near the village of Ambogamoa, were submitted to Mr. Vaux of the British Museum, and prove to belong to the reign of Wijayo Bahu, A.D. 1071, Prakrama I., A.D. 1153, the Queen Lilawatte, A.D. 1197, King Sahasamallawa, A.D. 1200, Darmasoka, A.D. 1208, and Bhuwaneka Bahu, A.D. 1303. These coins have one and all the same device on the obverse,—a rude standing figure of the Raja holding thetrisulain his left hand, and a flower in the right. His dress is a flowing robe, the folds of which are indicated rather than imitated by the artist; and on the reverse the same figure is seated, the name in Nagari characters being placed beside the face[6].

1: TheMahawansomentions the existence of coined metals in India in the tenth year of the reign of Kalasoka, a century from the death of Buddha, ch. iv. p. 15. According to Hardy, in the most ancient laws of the Buddhists the distinction is recognised between coined money and bullion,—Eastern Monachism,vol. vii. p. 66.2: The coins mentioned in theMahawanso, Rajaratnacari, and Rajavaliare as follows: B.C. 161, thekahapanan (Mahawanso, ch. xxx. pp. 157, 175), which TURNOUR says was a gold coin worth tenmassakanormassa. The latter are "the pieces of gold formerly current in Ceylon," a heap of which, according to theRajaratnacari(p. 48), was seen by King Bhatia Tissa when he was permitted to penetrate into the chamber of the Ruanwellé dagoba, A.D. 137. The silver massa, according to TURNOUR, was valued at eightpence. These are repeatedly mentioned in theRajaratnacari(A.D. 201, p. 60, A.D. 234, p. 62, A.D. 1262, p. 102, A.D. 1301, p. 107, A.D. 1462, p. 113). TheRajavalispeaks of "gold massa" as in circulation in the time of Dutugaimunu, B.C. 161 (p. 201). The wordmasain Singhalese means "pulse," or any description of "beans;" and it seems not improbable that the origin of the term as applied to money may be traced to the practice in the early Indian coinage of stamping smalllumpsof metal to give them authentic currency. It can only be a coincidence that the Roman term for an ingot of gold was "massa" (Pliny, L. xxxiii. c. 19). These Singhalese massa were probably similar to the "punched coins," having rude stamps without effigies, and rarely even with letters, which have been turned up at Kanooj, Oujein, and other places in Western India. A copper coin is likewise mentioned in the fourteenth century, in theRajavali, where it is termedcarooshawpa; the value of which UPHAM, without naming his authority, says was "about a pice and a half."—p. 136.3:Woo hëö pëen"Records of the Ming Dynasty," A.D. 1522, B. lxviii. p. 5.Suh Wan heen tung kaou, "Antiquarian Researches," B. ccxxxvi. p. 11.4: Two gold coins of Lokaiswaira are in the collection of the British Museum, and will be found described by Mr. VAUX in the 16th vol. of theNumismatic Chronicle, p. 121.5: There is a Singhalese coin figured in DAVY'SCeylon, p. 245, the legend on which is turned upside down, but when reversed it reads "Sri Pa-re-kra-ma Bahu."6:Numismatic Chronicle, vol. xvi. p. 124

2: The coins mentioned in theMahawanso, Rajaratnacari, and Rajavaliare as follows: B.C. 161, thekahapanan (Mahawanso, ch. xxx. pp. 157, 175), which TURNOUR says was a gold coin worth tenmassakanormassa. The latter are "the pieces of gold formerly current in Ceylon," a heap of which, according to theRajaratnacari(p. 48), was seen by King Bhatia Tissa when he was permitted to penetrate into the chamber of the Ruanwellé dagoba, A.D. 137. The silver massa, according to TURNOUR, was valued at eightpence. These are repeatedly mentioned in theRajaratnacari(A.D. 201, p. 60, A.D. 234, p. 62, A.D. 1262, p. 102, A.D. 1301, p. 107, A.D. 1462, p. 113). TheRajavalispeaks of "gold massa" as in circulation in the time of Dutugaimunu, B.C. 161 (p. 201). The wordmasain Singhalese means "pulse," or any description of "beans;" and it seems not improbable that the origin of the term as applied to money may be traced to the practice in the early Indian coinage of stamping smalllumpsof metal to give them authentic currency. It can only be a coincidence that the Roman term for an ingot of gold was "massa" (Pliny, L. xxxiii. c. 19). These Singhalese massa were probably similar to the "punched coins," having rude stamps without effigies, and rarely even with letters, which have been turned up at Kanooj, Oujein, and other places in Western India. A copper coin is likewise mentioned in the fourteenth century, in theRajavali, where it is termedcarooshawpa; the value of which UPHAM, without naming his authority, says was "about a pice and a half."—p. 136.

3:Woo hëö pëen"Records of the Ming Dynasty," A.D. 1522, B. lxviii. p. 5.Suh Wan heen tung kaou, "Antiquarian Researches," B. ccxxxvi. p. 11.

4: Two gold coins of Lokaiswaira are in the collection of the British Museum, and will be found described by Mr. VAUX in the 16th vol. of theNumismatic Chronicle, p. 121.

5: There is a Singhalese coin figured in DAVY'SCeylon, p. 245, the legend on which is turned upside down, but when reversed it reads "Sri Pa-re-kra-ma Bahu."

6:Numismatic Chronicle, vol. xvi. p. 124

Coin showing the Trisula.Coin showing the Trisula.

Coin showing the Trisula.

The Kandyans, by whom these coins are frequentlyfound, give the copper pieces the name of Dambedeniachallies, and tradition, with perfect correctness, assigns them to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when the kings of that period are believed to have had a mint at Dambedenia.

A quantity of coins similar in every respect to those dug up in Ceylon have been found at Dipaldinia or Amarawati, on the continent of India, near the mouth of the Kistna; a circumstance which might be accounted for by the frequent intercourse between Ceylon and the coast, but which is possibly referable to the fact recorded in theMahawansothat Prakrama I., after his successful expedition against the King of Pandya, caused money to be coined in his own name before retiring to Ceylon.[1]

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