APRIL, 1873.]

SERVICE TENURES IN CEYLON.

117

supply lime; the dobi or washerman; the mat weaver (Kinnarayå); and the outcast Rodiyā who

here, as in England, a temporary incumbent is

buries the carcases of animals that die on the

heir.

estate, and supplies ropes, &c., made of hide and fibres. Others supply pack-bullocks for the trans port of the produce of the fields, and for bringing supplies of salt and cured fish from the towns on the coast.

put in, who generally serves as tutor to the young On the Dewäle lands the service is most com

plicated and peculiar, the part which each tenant

has to take in the annual processions being mi nutely defined; and it is to this that the popular

The relations between the proprietor and ten ants are generally of a friendly character, and

ity of the Dewäle service is owing. These proces sions afford the ordinary villagers the only oppor tunities for a general gathering, and for taking

when the connection has remained unbroken for

part in a pageant and a show, and above all it is on

many generations a strong feeling of attachment exists, and it is to this that may be attributed the readiness with which the proprietors have assented to the adoption of the view propounded by the District Judge of Kandy (Mr. Berwick), that the

these occasions that the social distinctions, to

mere fact of the present holder being a son or heir of the tenant who preceded him, and died in pos

force itself on the consideration of Government.

which the Kandyans attach great importance, are publicly recognized.* . . There is one question connected with the Wi hâre and Dewale estates which must before long

session, raises a presumption of praveni, i.e., here

There is no means of ensuring the due application of the rents from these estates to their legitimate

ditary title, which presumption is directly opposed

purposes. The labour which should be employed

to Kandyan tradition. Nevertheless the chiefs and priests have been generally willing to waive

on the repair of the ecclesiastical buildings is frequently taken for the erection of private build ings of the priests and lay incumbents, and the dues are often not accounted for. The complaints of misappropriation of the temple property are frequent. Even the land is sometimes sold to ignorant purchasers, and when the services are commuted, this misappropriation, if not checked.

all dispute as to the hereditary title, on being as sured of the continuance of the customary ser vices, or the payment, in lieu, of a fair rent. . . The tenants on estates belonging to the Bud dhist monasteries keep the buildings in repair,

cultivate the reserved fields, prepare the daily offerings of rice, attend the priests on journeys,

will increase, to the serious demoralization of the

&c. A remarkable case of religious toleration

priests and Basnáyakas. If the revenues are not

which has become known in the course of the

devoted to their original purpose, they should be employed in education or otherwise, for the benefit of the people, and not be appropriated to the per sonal use of Buddhist priests and Basnáyakas. In a village near Badulla, nearly the whole of the land is in the hands of one family, which holds the office of Basnáyaka of the Dewäle to which the

Service Tenures inquiry is perhaps deserving of mention. The tenants in the village Rambukan dana, belonging to the ancient monastery of Ridi Wihăre, are

all Muhammadans.

The service

which they render to that establishment is con fined to the payment of dues and the transport of produce, &c., and has no connection with the ser vices of the Buddhist Wihăre, and their

own

lebbe or priest is supported by a farm set apart by the Buddhist landlords for that purpose. There are thus Muhammadan tenants performing with out reluctance service to a Buddhist monastery, and that monastery freely supporting a priest for its Muhammadan tenants.

The head of this mo

nastery has from its foundation been a member of the Tibbotuwäwe family. This is the most im

village is said to belong. But the Dewfile is in ruins, the processions are not conducted, and the Government gives up its tithe only to enrich a private family.f It is necessary to again call attention to this question, as the evil is daily growing greater, and, with its growth, demoralizing the people, and di minishing the value of the public lands set apart for ecclesiastical purposes. In the course of the

When one of these becomes vacant, before one of

past year a very serious case came to the know ledge of the Commissioners. The Dambulu wihāra

the family to which it belongs has been ordained,

is, as is well known, a shrine held in great reverence

• The most celebrated of these processions is the Pera

Siam, for the purpose of restoring the Upasampadā ordination, objected to the observance of this Hindu ceremony in a Buddhist country. To remove their scruples, the king ordered the Dalada relic of Buddha to be carried

portant of the numerous private livings in Ceylon.

hera, which takes place at Kandy in Esala (July–August), commencing with the new moon in that month, and con tinuing till the full moon. It is a Hindu festival in honour

of the four deities, Nātha, Vishnu, Kataragama (Kanda svåmi), and Pattini, who are held in reverence by the Bud

thenceforth in procession with the insignia of the four

dhists of Ceylon as dewiyo who worshipped Gautama, and

Buddhist ceremony.

are seeking to attain Nirvāna. In the reign King Kirtissri (A. D. 1747–1780), a body of priests who came over from

+ Report for 1870.

deities; nevertheless, the Perahera is not regarded as a