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CHAPTER 4

CLIENTS AND THEIR COMPLAINTS

In the previous Chapter I have briefly introduced the healers and their

shrines and stressed the important role played by demonic possession and the

power of exorcism in the initial establishment and legitimation of these shrines

among the devotees who frequent them. In this Chapter I will discuss the

problems and complaints of the clients of these shrines. This material is based

on my interviews with a sample of devotees frequenting these shrines.

Because of the nature of the complaints, the diversity of attending schedules

and time and travel constraints of devotees, it was impossible to obtain a

random sample. However, in my opinion, the clients interviewed represent the

rich variety of devotees and wide ranging concerns and complaints they bring

to the shrines. Through these interviews, I will demonstrate the powerful hold

of the demonological beliefs on Catholics, and the role of these beliefs in

legitimating the novel concept of saintly possession. claimed by the healers to

account for their power over demons. I will also present a series of case

vignettes in order to communicate the feel of devotee complaints. In the final

section, I will present an interview with a famous Roman Catholic exorcist

priest who has been practicing this art for 35 years. Although he completely

disagrees with the possibility of saintly possession, and also "sanitizes" the

demonological beliefs of his co-religionists, it becomes obvious that the

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fundamental content of his understanding of indigenous demonolovy is the

same as those of lay Catholics.

The obvious presence of the power of God manifested through exorcism

over demons convince people that healers have miraculous p ow er. There is a

very important and marked difference in the understanding and appreciation of

santhikarma (pacificatory rites or exorcismsl among Buddhists and exorcisms

among Catholics The Buddhist healing power is considered to be based on the

ritual itself and the personality of the healer but there is no concept of

sanctity of the healer attached to it However in the Catholic tradition (and

therefore among Sri Lankan Catholics also) the ability to successfully exorcise

demons is considered a miraculous power based on the sanctity of the

individual exorcist - a point to which I shall return later.. For devotees. this

miraculous power is not an abstract statement- but an experiential fact

witnessed and seen with their own eyes and perceived through their own

senses. For the cynical antrhropologist, the official of the Catholic Church and

some of the Western educated intellectual elites, the miraculous claims of the

healers and the spectacle of exorcism is nothing but a figment of the mind -

both of the healers and the devotees. However for the ordinary devotee, who

is a participant in the culture. the dramatic exorcisms he witnesses are clear

signs of the presence of the power of God in the healers. After all. steeped

as he is in the culture, the existence of demons and demonic possession is an

experiential r eality.
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The remarkable transformation of innocent and coy ·young females in to

violent, vulgar and ferocious demonic personalities, the way the demons

shudder. tremble and obey the commands of the healers is an awe-inspiring

experience, sufficient proof of the presence of Divine power. On the other

hand, the vast majority of the devotees who are present come to these

shrines because they are already convinced of the power of these healers. The

occasional doubter may also be convinced by the "tremendous" experience he

witnesses. Since the Catholic hierarchy and many others have suggested that

these phenomena are performed under the aegis of demons, I asked devotses

for their opinion All were quite convinced that this was impossible. since the

healers recite Catholic prayers, use sacred objects such as rosary, the crucifix

and holy water. Demons are believed to be mortally frightened of these

objects let alone handle them. The Roman Ritual (1952:171l says that an

exorcist (in this case, the reference is obviously to an authorized priestl "ought

to have a crucifix at hand or somewhere in sight" indicating the power of the

crucifix over the demons. During the exorcisms, the demons react to these

sacred objects in the expectable fashion. thus confirming the opinions of the

devotees and nullifying the official explanantions that these healers operate in

conjunction with demons.

For the ordinary devotees, exorcistic power is the proof of divine

presence. "You cannot have a better proof than seeing it with your own eyes"

is the most common refrain of the devotees. Once the presence of Divine

power is accepted through the evidence of exorc ism. the power of the
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healers can be extended to cover a wide range of problems that are not

necessarily and directly connected with demonic influence. The healers deal

with divine power and divine power is not limited to exor cism. The difference

between the two is a crucial one for the devotees. Power over demons and

power to intervene in other areas of life lies in the fact that the former is

seen and experienced whereas the latter is not so obviously manifest in the

public experiential plane. Even if it might be obvious to an individual devotee,

it is not a public sign, whereas exorcism is one that everyone can see.

Exorcism therefore serves as undeniable evidence and testimony of the power

of the healer. The recent emergence of ritual healing shrines in the urban areas

of Sri Lanka organized mainly by priestesses of god Skanda or other deities

analysed at length by Obeyesekere (1981l is a phenomenon similar to the one

taking place among the Roman Catholics, although there are important

differences between the two situations based on different doctrines of the

two religions.

In keeping with the fundamentals of Catholic belief, power over demons

reflects the sanctity and special Divine predilection of the exorcist In the

gospels Jesus says: "This kind cannot be cast out except through prayer and

fasting", which in the Catholic tradition sre signs of holiness. Exorcising

demons and healing of the sick are also seen as miracles in this tradition and

Catholic hagiography is full of such miracles performed by saints. In the

history of Christianity from the earliest times, demonic possession and

exorcism has been utilized for various purp o ses: as testimony against paganism
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in the struggles against other religions; as testimony against false teachings at

various times when the Church was beset with heresies; and throughout

history as signs of holiness of the performer. For example, already in the 4th

century, demonic testimony was taken as proof of sanctity of martyrs whose

relics were seen as torments to demons. The testimony of demoniacs that

relics were torture to demons was taken a sign of the sanctity of martyrs

whose relics they were; exorcism also proved the authenticity of the relics.

(Relics have always played an important role in exorcisms throughout history

and also at Kudagama). Some of these aspects of demonic possession is well

expressed by Rodewyk (1975:431 when he says:

Ambrose has shown clearly, although not for the first time, that the
utilization of possession was undergoing a gradual metamorphosis. The
devils had complained that the relics of the saintly martyrs Gervasius and
Protasius, being transferred during this period, were torture to them.....
Beyond this and based on the view that God extends the charisma of
exorcism only towards saintly individuals, it was assumed that people
who practice exorcism in their lifetime must be saints- just as one might
be able to deduce from miracles worked by a person that he or she
qualified for sainthood.

When there was no official canonization process, a person was declared a

saint worthy of veneration by popular acclaim. The wonderworks performed

while the individual was alive as well as miracles performed by the relics after

death were crucially important in this process of popular acclamation of

sainthood. Later on, "Papal intervention in canonization started with a letter of

Pope Aiexander 111, on 6th July 1176, to King Canute and Swedish bishops"

(Goodlich 1972:18), exorcisms performed by saints became standard evidence

of sanctity and was considered an important justification for the demand for
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canonization. Christian hagiographies of later times are replete with examples

of exorcism and power over demons. Sumption (1975:85) adds that the

establishment of pilgrimage centers throughout Christendom from the earliest

times were connected with miraculous healings performed in these places. a

large number of which were exor cisms. a point to which I shalll return later.

Although it is quite clear that the ordinary Catholic in Sri Lanka is not

aware of all these historical antecendents and theological intricacies associated

with exorcism. the basic and fundamental Catholic convictions that exorcism

requires sanctity and that it is miraculous has been inculcated by the European

missionaries. In keeping with this Catholic conviction , the healers of today who

have organized these healing shrines are considered wonderworkers or

thaumaturges (Wilson: 197 1) despite the condemnations of such practices by

the Catholic Church.

It is important to investigate and understand the concerns leading these

devotees to the healing shrines. On the basis of the motives for attendance,

the devotees can be divided in to two categories: 1) Those who believe that

they are under pernicious effects of sorcery and 2) those who come to these

shrines to obtain general blessings and boons. I interviewed 275 devotees in

these shrines and 127 or 46% of them believed that they were victims of

sorcery while the rest 1148 or 54%) came to obtain various blessings and

boons. This breakdown gives the impression that the two groups of devotees

are driven to these shrines by fundamentally different concerns and problems.

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However, a closer analysis of the reasons for visiting these will demonstrate

that the differences are more apparent than real. (For example, except for

specific cases of demonic possession (Table 1), all other misfortunes leading

to sorcery interpretations have to do with common experiences such as a

death in the nuclear family and illnesses unresponsive to medications. These

problems are interpreted as due to sorcery, not because they are unusual but

in the context of economic hardships of the families, they seem magnifi ed.

Even in the case of demonic possession, the wider context of economic

hardships play an important role in sorcery interpretations. The other reasons

are directly related to economic circumstances. Also in the case of those who

visit the shrines for benedictions and boons, the underlying expectation is for

amelioration of economic circumstances of the family. Thus in the last analysis,

both groups of devotees are driven by economic circumstances more than any

other religious consideration.

There are two major reasons that are conducive to sorcery interpretations of

misfortunes in the Catholic case. On the theoretical plane, although both Buddhists

and Catholic share sorcery beliefs, the theological beliefs of the Catholics are much

more conducive and amenable to sorcery explanations. In

the Buddhist case, the concept of karma or fate is powerful enough to explain

present misfortunes as the consequences of evil actions in a previous

existence thus absolving the individual of personal responsibility for failure or

misfortune. This does not exclude explanations attributed to sorcey under certain

circumstances. The Catholics also use the same word karma, but since
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the Catholics do not believe in rebirth, the word indicates bad luck shorn of

any explicatory connotation. On the other hand Catholics believe that they have

been created by all powerful and all merciful God, father to his children who

wishes nothing but the happiness and wellbeing of his children. Given the

analogy of a benevolent father to his children, it is much more difficult for

Catholics to accept or to believe that God would be the cause of their

suff ering. The possibility of God testing the faithful as He did Job is not

unknown but the ordinary Catholic does not compare himself to Job who is

considered to be a saintly per son. The other theological explanation that he is

suffering due to his sins is not quite satisfactory, because it is unthinkable that

his sin has been chosen for retribution, while others who are more sinful than

self are not thus visited and this situation militates against the justice of God.

The role of this sound theological rationale for the acceptance of sorcery

beliefs has been well described by Thomas (1971:543) discussing the

prevalence of witchcraft beliefs in 17th century England when he says:

But of all alternative explanations of misfortune, the most obvious was
the theological view that the disaster had been caused by God, either to
punish sin, or to try the believer. or for some other unknown but
undisputably just purpose, This, however, had never been a comfortable
doctrine to swallow. In the first place, it was scarcely consoling to
reflect that one's sins had been singled out for divine visitation.
According to the Kentish gentleman, Henry Oxinden, it was precisely this
refusal to endure the correction of God which led men to blame their
adversities upon some neighbbour's witchcraft Certainly it was because
he could not believe that God would want to punish him, that the vicar
of Brenchley had blamed his son's illness upon the witchcraft of old
Margaret Simons. Scot sardonically wondered how many witches would
have had to be executed if an Elizabethan had been handled by God in
the way that Job had been.
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1t is of course easy for the preachers and theologians to take up cudgels

against the superstitions of the average Christian especially when he is not the

subject of misfortune. Under such circumstances. sorcery belief explains

misfortune without burdening the fundamental belief in God. Thus misfortune

and suf faring which in the modern context of Sri Lanka is synonymous with

economic malaise, inability to obtain suitable employment, business failure and

lack of family progress are explained as due to sorcery performed by jealous

neighbors. On the practical plane, the Catholic areas of the country have been

much more exposed to and closely associated with the process of

modernization and social change since the arrival of the Portugese. The recent

heightening of competitiveness and achievement orientation has also affected

the Catholic areas much more than the Buddhist hinterland or the southern

areas of the country. The existence of clear goals to be achieved and hazy

pathways to obtain them; the alleged achievements of the neighbors while they

seem to have stagnated has contributed to the emegernce and strengthening of

sorcery beliefs among the Catholics much more so perhaps than among the

Buddhists. The recent increasing popularity of Kataragama deity and the

pilgrimages to Kataragama has been related to such considerations by

Obeyesekere (1977). Recently there has been an increasing popularity of

Hooniyam deity considered to be the sorcery demon but who is being

transformed in to a diety at the present time among the urban Buddhists.

While sorcery beliefs lead 46 percent of the clients to these shrines, an

analysis of reasons that lead to sorcery interpretations quite clearly

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demonstrate that harsh economic conditions play a primary role in such

interpretations. Thus sorcery interpretations are much more a way of looking

at life situations rather than anything else.

Table 4-1: reasons leading to sorcery beliefs

general malaise, economic hardship,

business failure, loss of employment 36

demonic possession 25

death in nuclear family 23

incurable illness 17

change of house 16

divorce 10

Total 127

In explaining this table it must be mentioned that I have chosen the most

important and most immediate reasons leading to sorcery suspicions.

However, in all these cases without a single exception, the informants

recounted an array of economic and social problems which have strengthened

sorcery suspicions. Thus death in the nuclear family, incurable illness, change

of house etc were not the only reasons leading to sorcery suspicions. The

whole social and economic circumstances of the family play an important role

in these interpr etations. Except for the cases of demonic possession and

divorce, the other reasons are experiences common to nearly everybody in

society. Therefore I questioned my informants how they determined that these

problems were due to sor cery. Everybody said that these problems made them
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suspect sorcery. Sixty per cent of the sample said that they had consulted

astrologers who confirmed their suspicions and they even had minor protections

performed according to their prescriptions. The remaining forty percent said that

although their neighbors had advised them to consult astrologers they had

desisted from doing so and that their suspicions were

confirmed by the healers themselves.

Table 4-2: Other reasons for visiting the shrines

peace and prgress 35

go abroad 30

employment 28

success in exams 19

asthma 15

litigation 14

incurable wound 7

Total 148

These persons were also asked if they had consulted astrologers and the

response was in the negative. It is the way they think of their problems that keeps

them away from astrologers since what they need is blessings of God.

A cursory glance at the two tables might give the impression that clients in

different tables have totally different concerns. While this is true at face value,

(the clients of table one being led to the shrines through sorcery beliefs, and
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those of table 2 being led by a desire for general blessings) a deeper analysis

of the concerns of both groups reveals that both groups are suffering under socio-

economic hardships and that these hardships are interpreted differently . In other

words it is the backdrop of economic hardships that lead both groups to come to

the shrines. Even in the few cases where demonic possession was recorded as the

immediatecause for the visit, the harsh economic

circumstances of the family immediately prior to and during the possession

episodes were adduced as strong reasons leading to and confirming sorcery

beliefs. Thus although a visit to a healing shrine is an awe inspiring, baffling

and tremendous experience due to overt manifestations of possession and

transformation of young females to demonic characters and their subsequent

exorcism, manifesting the majesty of the power of God, a closer analysis

reveals the human face of the demonic afflictions and the therapeutic value of

the exorcisms performed

4.1. Case vignettes

In this section, 1 will present a few case studies chosen from among the

persons I interviewed. I do not claim that these cases are in any way typical.

Every person I interviewed had a unique experience and a speicific set of

problems though there were crosscutting similarities also. The main purpose of

this presentation is to give a feel for the type of concerns that lead people

to these shrines and how real these problems are to these persons and how

attendance at these shrines alleviate some of their problems and give them a

new hope.
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1l Preta Dosa (Troubles Caused by Mean Ancestral Spirits.I

The first case is of an educated person !passed G.C.E. Advanced Level i.e.

equvalent to 12 years of formal education) who had been to the major

seminary in Kandy. He has had 6 years of education in the seminary which

means that he left the seminary one year before his ordination to the

priesthood. He was 36 years of age and had been married two months to a

girl who had been to the same shrine with an episode of possession. The

healer himself had arranged this marriage. The shrine and the persons

interviewed in the following section shall remain anonymous to safeguard their

identities. Before explaining the problems that had brought him to the shrine he

gave an intellectual and highly erudite interpretation of the problems of

devotees and the way cures are effected. Having heard the discourses of the

healer, it was obvious that his interpretations were an elaboration of the

explanations of the healer.

I asked him if he had been to Kudagama He said "no" although he had

heard a great deal about the miracles taking place there. "I do not need to go

there because the things taking place here are the same as at Kudagama I was

very impressed and convinced about the miraculous power of this place, which

I have seen with my own eyes. I also have come to understand how cruel

some people are in our society, to resort to such mean tricks as sorcery to

block the progress (diyunuval of people who are their friends and even

relatives. Jealousy at the progress of their neighbor is the main reason for
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sorcery which leads many people to come to this shrine wasting their time,

money and energy.'' Asked about the reasons for his visit he said "I am

coming here for the last two years. A certain spot in my stomach used to

swell from time to time and then it goes down by it self . I consulted all types

of specialists in Western and Ayurvedic (the indigenous medical system the Sri

Lankans share with the Indians) medicine , They all say that I had no sickness

and Western doctors said that it was a mental problem. I was certain that it

was not a mental problem because I could feel the lump in my stomach. They

took a number of X rays but they came out negative This problem had been

going on since 1971 for about 12 years. When I came here it was

diagnosed as Prata Dosa (Trouble Caused by a Mean Ancestral Spirit) . The pain

in my stomach started at the time my mother was in hospital. But at that time

I did not pay much attention to it At that time, I ate a meal of rice and fried

egg at a hotel. After coming here I find that my condition has improved a lot,

although I feel bad if I eat fried foods." Then he explained to me the cause of

his ailment as was explained by the healer. "My mother died in 1971. She

died at the hospital for eye diseases. She was going to the toilet about 3 am.

and had a fall and died of a fractured skull. But according to the healer, she

had been a victim of evil spirit This is what had happened in reality. A

kattadiya (a ritual specialist) had come to the Buddhist person next to my

mother's bed and had exorcised an evil spirit and this spirit had pounced on

my mother .

I asked him if his parish priest is against his coming here. "M y parish priest
 89

is not opposed to my coming here. In fact. the Bishop has given permission

for people to visit this place. Many priests and nuns come here with their

tr oubles". This was obviously an exaggeration to impress the interviewer, since

the healer denied his having been given permission by the Bishop. "There was

a rumor that these miracles are performed through the aegis of demons.

However nothing of the sort is true. These sort of opinions emerge from the

narrow mindedness of the people. Normally Catholic priests can exorcise

demons However, today the priests in general do not lead good, holy lives to

be able to do such things. But there are some priests who live mortified and

good lives who still exorcise demons". Here he mentioned two famous

exorcist priests one of whom does not practice exorcism any more. (Later on

in this chapter I will give a brief summary of my interview with the other

famous exorcist priest) "It is because of the limitations of the Catholic

priests that lay people have been chosen for this healing ministry. This is the

new generation of healers who have emerged to take the place left vacant by

the carelessness of priests. The Kudagama priest is doing the right thing. He

fasts for days on end before perfroming exorcisms."

The complaints against Catholic priests is a general ref rain both among

healers and devotees. Most of the clients at these shrines invariably go to

their parish priests with their complaints. However, Catholic priests in general

do not accept sorcery interpretations for misfortune owing to their Western,

rationalist training. The hostility of the healers themselves is quite

understandable given the open criticism of these shrines by the priests .

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However this hostility is attributed to the jealousy of priests who, theoretically

speaking should be the ones to perform exor cisms. The majority of priests do

not engage in exorcisms because they do not believe in the indigenous

demonology and the concept of possession and other beliefs of the ordinary

Catholics are based on this demonology. This refusal to engage in exorcisms is

attributed to lack of sanctity of pr iest s.The large numbers of priests who have

left the priesthood in recent times is a strong proof for laymen regarding the

worldliness and lack of sanctity of the priests

Exegesis

A brief comment on the case is not out of place here. It is clear that the

informant has experienced two personal tragedies. He had to leave the

seminary one year before the ordination !although he says that he left on his

own accord it is quite likely that he was asked to leave). Nearly immediately

after his leaving the seminary his mother has a fall in the hospital and dies. It

is not unlikely that he attributes his mother's illness to his leaving the seminar y.

Generally it is very prestigious for Catholics to have a priest in the family.

Even if the person himself did not interpret the mother's illness in this manner,

the villagers will no doubt relate the two events. The explanations of the

healer, regarding his mother's death and his own ailment satisfies the informant,

because he is exonerated from possible guilt feelings. It is an evil spirit chased

from the body of another person that takes the life of his mother; His own

ailment is not directly related to the death of the mother; it is the food he has
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eaten at a hotel. Now that he knows the cause and origin of his illness. he is

well on the way to r ecover y. Although there may be no connection between

these incidents, the death of the mother, his eating food from a hotel and his

illness, in the cultural belief system they are convincing explanations in so far

as they are causally interrelated. The conviction that the healer has power to

heal his ailment. (after all he has seen miracles performed here) sets him well on

his way to r ecover y. His marriage to a woman cured of possession testifies to

the skill and power of the healer.

2) Noises in the night

My second case concerns the problems of a family of eight parents and

six children. The two older children were girls aged 17 and 14 and the four

others were boys 12 years and younger. Except for the eldest and the

youngest all the others were attending school. I asked them why they had

visited this shrine. This was the answer given by the father. "My wife

complains that she hears noises in the nights when I am not at home and that

she cannot sleep. But when I am home, nobody hears noises. The healer

diagnosed it as a preta dosa.(troubles caused by mean ancestral spirits.) In

addition to this there are many other problems. It is impossible to save any

money at all. My earnings simply vanish. With working overtime, I earn about

950 Rupees a month. But before the end of the month. all the money is spent

Earlier we were able to save a little. In addition to hearing the noises, our

economic situation deteriorated rapidly". The economic situation of the family

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was exacerbated in 1979, when he was suspended from his job for 23

months for participating in a strike. He is a bus driver in the Central Transport

Boar d. In 198 1 he got his job back, but was transferred to an up country

route as a punishment for participating in the strike. It is at this time that

hearing of noises started Earlier , he was working in Colombo and he was able

to come home for the night But now he cannot come home except once in

two weeks for a weekend

Exegesis

As far as the economic conditions of the family are concerned, he admits

that these days it is difficult to manage a family of eight with a 950 Rupees

salary, especially given that four children are going to school. Although

education is free, the incidental expenses for clothing and books can be quite

considerable. For her part, the wife admits that she is frightened to be with

the children alone at night. This is quite understandable since she has always

lived with her parents or her husband. So it is quite possible that the noises

she hears are real, but magnified due to her fear of being alone with the

children. The combination of economic problems and hearing noises is what

has brought them to the shrine. The preta dosa ltroubles caused by mean

ancestral spirits) interpretation prof erred by the healer is a convincing one. The

mother of the woman who lived with the family had died in 1977. Obviously

if the preta dosa is a reference to this dead ancestor, it is belated, but the

healer does not have to specify the spirit, the concept itself being a sufficient
 93

explanation The fact the healer does not specify the spirit does not mean

that the clients do not have their own guesses and suspicions. I asked them if

they had heard about Kudagama. They answered "Yes" although they have never

gone there. It is far too expensive, they said. The economic situation of the

family has become so desperate that the man has even thought of going to

the Middle East for employment, although he has not seriously worked on it

since employment agencies that deal with foreign employment are not

trustworthy. The prescription of the healer in their case was to get the house

protected and to bury St. Benedict medals in the four corners of the property

and the four corners of the house. (This type of protection of houses with

charmed objects is a very common practice among Buddhists also).They were

also asked to recite the rosary every evening and make the holy hour once a

week. He also has asked them to make a vow to St Anthony to get a trnasfer

for the man to a workplace closer to home. For the moment they feel

satisfied and want to see if the situation will improve in the sense that the

morale of the family will be improved. It is quite likely that the situation will

improve because they have faith in the power of the healer. The the woman

perhaps will be able to sleep better and this may reduce her propensity to

hear noises in the night

3) Sorcery performed in-laws

The next case study is of a very educated woman, a district education

officer, 48 years of age. She was married in 1960 and her husband died in
 94

1979 after a long illness, diagnosed as cancer. They had no children. "l have

had lot of trouble with my in-laws, going back to the early years of marriage.

Since we had no children, they always think that my husband's properties will

one day belong to my relatives. They practised sorcery against me but

unfortunately it affected my husband. Since I was a very devoted Catholic the

sorcery did not strike me but went against my husband, who was lukewarm.

This is what everybody says. We treated him with the best treatments available

but he was not cured. Then we went to Kudagama where the priest

diagnosed the illness as due to sorcery although he did not say who did it He

asked for the plan of the house to protect it But he never came to the house

inspite of our inviting him many times. Then in 1976 we went to Lunuwila

where again the healer confirmed so,:-cery". Though she now has no regard

for the healer at Lunuwila (quitEl in keeping also with the extremely competitive

relationship that exists between the healer whose shrine she attends now and

Lunuwila healerl. she had been going to Lunuwila for nearly three years until

the death of her husband.

"In 1976 the healer from Lunuwi1a came to the house and protected it But

he did not remove anything . ffhe meaning here is that he did not show the

evidence of sorcery). He took the plan of the house, the names of the

residents and put them all in a can and took it to the shrine to be placed

there. When he came for the second time our servant was bitten by a viper

and died a few days later. He interpreted this as a naga pilli la highly effective

form of sorcery in which the demon is believed to take the form of a

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serpent out to kill the intended victim.) He said that it was sent to attack me but

because of the protection he gave me, it attacked the servant instead. We went to

his shrine quite often;in fact we were there the day before my husband died. A

few days after the death of my husband I went to see the healer and he told me

'You are only worried because you have become a widow. But 1 knew all the

time that he would die. Since then I have never gone to that place'.

A year after her husband's death she had gone to Madhu,(a famous Catholic

pilgrimage center). Here she heard about the present shrine. Since that time she

had been frequenting this shrine. Like others clients she as great faith in the

healer. "After my first visit to this place, the healer came to the house and

protected it He gave a cross to be buried two feet from the house and

asked me to bring sand from the place after one week. When we took the

sand, he went in to a trance state and said that sorcery had been done to the

house. In that state he said that a kattadiya (traditional exorcist) boils something

and places my effigy in it and that every time he does it I get sick. But the

healer could not wrest it away from the exorcist On the 20 of July 1982, he

asked me to take a young coconut to the Kalaoya Church and accompany his

group to the Church. But I was on duty that day and so I gave them a young

coconut to be taken to the church. They brought back the coconut and asked

me to make the the Way of the Cross at his shrine. holding the coconut The

coconut grew heavier and heavier and fell to the ground at the 9th station.

(The ninth station signifies the third fall of Jesus Christ on his journey to
 96

Calvary.I After the way of the cross, we cut the coconut and put the water in

a glass; it had a foul smell and there was a thread in it According to the

healer that thread is the sorcery charm that has now been destroyed by the

power of God. From that day onwards I felt much better. Now the healer says

that he has become the object of the wrath of my in-laws and that he has to

suffer."

Exegesis

A brief comment The alleged feelings of hostility of the in-laws is an

expectable response owing to her inability to bear children. In a society

where children are highly treasured, infertility is cause for social criticism. This

feeling is heightened by the fact that the man had inherited properties which

might now be transferred to the wife's people. The long illness of the husband

must have caused ill-will on both sides. My informant suspected sorcery by in-

laws, long before the death of the husband, although these suspicions were never

expressed. The in-laws for their part complained that she was not taking

good care of her husband. However, despite these mutually hostile

feelings, it is obvious that the two families were on friendly terms on the

surface before the death of the husband, since sorcery suspicions against

close relatives cannot be expressed quite easily. On the other hand, the

Catholic healers do not identify the culprit even when sorcery is diagnosed the

rationale being that it will create antagonism between people which is against

the primaray precept of brotherly love. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that

 97

people entertain their own ideas about performers of sorcery. Thus, the client

is convinced that the in-laws have performed sorcery although no Catholic

healer has said so. Despite the diagnosis of sorcery by all three Catholic

healers, no one could ef feet a definitive cure. Thus she stops going to

Kudagama, because the priest did not come to bless the house. Although she

now expresses hostility towards the healer at Lunuwila, she had been going

there for three years until the death of the husband. She had to look for

another, since this healer could not save the life of her husabnd. He told her

that he was quite awara of the impending death of her husband. This is an

effort at damage control and to save face before his clientele since he could not

save his lif e. The declaration of prior knowledge of impending danger signifies

that he has knowledge of hidden future events. He thinks that she should be

grateful to him for saving her from the viper who atttacked the servant The

present healer has convinced her that he has removed the sorcery by locking it

up in the coconut There is no special significance in the coconut water having a

foul smell except that it convinces the beholder that something unusual has

happened. On the other hand, it is common belief that pretas smell badly.

Another informant also said that a similar thing happened in his case, which

convinced him of the power of the healer. How the water of young coconut,

comes to have a foul smell is difficult to explain, although it is not be impossible

to introduce something by piercing a young coconut Whatever the case may

be, the clients are convinced of the supernatural power of healer to deal with

sorcery.
 98

4) Unrequited love and sorcery

The next case is that of a unmarried woman of 31 years of age. She had

been staying in this shrine for a week. She has had 10 years of education

and she had been employed at a textile factory at Moratuwa for six years

before leaving her employment in 1982. The reason for leaving the

employment is also the one that brought her to the shrine: she says her left

hand is lif eless. Her father was a fisherman and had died three years ago. Her

eldest sister is 33 years of age, is married, and has four children. Her younger

sister has got married to a a bus driver from Anuradhapura, four years ago.

She and her twin brother are not married. After the death of her father the

economic conditions had become rather difficult, and were aggravated by her

having to leave her employment This is how she explained the conditions that

has led her to the shrine. "My left hand is lifeless. That is why t had to leave

my employment which has made life very difficult for the family. I have gone

to many doctors both Western and Ayurvedic and they could not find what is

wrong with it They say that there is nothing wrong with it" Her own

understanding is that she is the victim of a sorcery charm. "When I was

working at Moratuwa, I had an affair with a Buddhist boy. He wanted to marry

me. I did not have much of an objection to it but my parents were against it

since he was Buddhist He had no objection to my practicing my religion or

bringing up the children as Catholics. But because he did not want to become

a Catholic my parents did not want to hear about it and so I had to give up

the idea Soon after that my father got sick and he died and then my hand
 99

became lifeless to the extent that I could not work any more. That is why I

had to leave my job. I am sure that he has done some form of sorcery to

our family in r evenge". She went to her parish priest and got herself blessed.

She had not been to any other helaing shrine. Someone in the village had told

her about this shrine. She had visited this shrine once before. and she says that

the Blessed Virgin requested her to stay at the shrine for a week. What that

means is that in her previous visit the healer, in his trance state has told the

client to stay at the shrine. This particular healer is possessed by various saints,

including the Virgin Mary.

Exegesis

From my conversation with her it became obvious that her father had been

very fond of her especially after the marriage of her younger sister. In fact.

the sister had run away with the man and got married afterwards. The father

was actively engaged in looking for a marriage partner for her especially after

the affair of the younger sister. Her father's death created a crisis in the

family not only econmically but for her personally, because now there is

nobody to look for a husband for her. She thinks that breaking up with her

boy friend and the death of her father are related. Her ex-boy friend has

performed sorcery against the family, which has affected the father.The

cause of her ailment, the lifeless feeling in the hand is difficult to explain

especially since all the doctors have said that they cannot find any reason for

it She says that she feels much better after her stay. Whether it will be
 100

completely cured is difficult to say.The healer in the shrine has promised to go

to her house to bless and protect it which majkes her feel quite confident

5) Possession QY. contagion?

The next case study is that of a family: two daughters and the mother. I

asked them what brought them to the shrine. Since every body was explaining

their problems, I will give brief summary of the discussion with them. They

have been beset by a variety of problems, economic and personal. The family

is composed of parents and five children: girl 27 years, boy 25 and three

other girls aged 2 1, 18, and 14. The last girl is still attending school. The

eldest in the family was a boy who had died five years ago. The major

problems are as follows: However much the two males earn, it is impossible

to save anything at all. The economic situation of the family quite

understandably has deteriorated after the death of the eldest son who was

employed. The monthly income of the family is about 1200 Rupees. In addition

to the economic difficulties every body in the family fall sick very often. The

death of the eldest son. in addition to these economic and other problems

have made them suspect sorcery. The three older girls are well educated but

they cannot find employment. So they had gone to a famous exorcist priest

and explained the situatic;m to him. He had diagnosed their condition as due to

sorcery. According to him a neecha kula bandana (a sorcery intended to

deteriorate the conditionsl had been done to them. He had come to the house

and blessed it but the situation did not improve. They have been to various
 101

pilgrimage centers such as Hiniduma,Tewatte, and Madhu but to no avail. They

also have been going to Kudagama for the last two years.

At Kudagama the girls had got in to "fits" (a euphemism for possession

syndrome at Kudagama and other shrines.) Although they have come here

regularly, they are still going to Kudagama also. It is the high costs of going to

Kudagama that has made them come here. According to them, there is no

difference between here and Kudagama, (although they are aware that the

healer here is opposed to people going to Kudagama.) The priest at Kudagama

has recommended that the the two eldest girls remain at Kudagama for a

period of time, so that a definitive cure could be effected. However, the

mother did not feel that it is correct for young girls to be alone even in a

pilgrimage place. Since I knew that some people mainly young girls remain at

Kudagama I asked her what makes her think that it is not good for her girls to

remain there. They reluctantly said that they have heard rumors that some of

the girls who remain there have affairs with young men. They said that the

priest does not tolerate such behavior but that it is impossible to supervise

every body. I have heard the same opinion from several other people when

visited the shrine although they were understandably reluctant to talk about it

As far as this family is concerned, there were several other reasons that

have confirmed their sorcery suspicions. One of them is the fact that many

marriage proposals for the eldest daughter were not successful. "Everything

seems to be going well and then at the last minute, they are broken off" was
 102

what the mother sai d in this respect Although the dowry they offer is not a

large one for the present conditions (10,000 Rupees). the mother thinks that

the girl is good looking and should be able to find a partner, if not for the

sorcery performed by jealous neighbors. In fact many other girls much less

desirable than her, have got married even without a dowry according to her.

More recently the girl of 18 who should have taken the G.C.E. (General

Certificate of Education) was not able to sit for the exam because she got

sick. This once again confirms their sorcery suspicions. All these problems of

life and in their case the tragedy of the death of a young man, constant

feeling of dis-ease and sickness. inability to save any money, unsuccessful

proposals for the eldest daughter demonstrate to them quite clearly that they

under the influence of sorcery. performed no doubt by some jealous

neighbors just so that the family may not progress

Exegesis

The economic hardships of the family are obvious and they were

aggravated by the death of the eldest son. His death (he died of a brain tumor)

and the subsequent harsh economic circumstances make them suspect sorcery

and this is confirmed by the exorcist priest as well as by Kudagama priest and

the healer of the present shrine also. When the protection performed by the

exorcist priest does not ameliorate their conditions, they go to Kudagama But

two years there did not make much difference either and so they have

changed their allegiance once again. At Kuclag ama, the situation was aggravated
 l03

because in the first visit the eldest girl demonstrated symptoms of possession

and later on all the girls !except the youngestl got the symptoms of

possession as if by a strange contagion. The effects of sorcery need not

necessarily be manifested in possession. ln this case all the young girls of the

family have become subject to possession. The possession of the young girls

in this family can be related to their belief in sorcery and its ef feet on the

marriage of the oldest girl. As long as she is not married the chances of

marriage for the other girls are quite limited since usually younger sisters do

not get married while the older sister is not married. The frustrations and

uncertainty thus generated can be expressed by the possession syndrome

although I am not suggesting that they are feigning possession. It is interesting

to note the pragmatic nature of the attachment to these shrines. For example,

this family goes to the exorcist priest for redress. But their situation did not

improve. Then they go to Kudagama. But despite the majestis appearances of

exorcism and power of God, they do not find any relief. So they come to the

present shrine, but their seems to be incipient cynicism with regard to the

ability of healers. Still they do not want to express these feelings openly, lest

they provoke the anger of supernaturals and spoil their chances.

61 Sorcery and land dispute

The final case study 1 wish to present is that of a 45 year old music

teacher who thinks that his neighbor next door has performed sorcery against

him. This suspicion went back to 1966 when he bought a piece of land and
 104

around 1968, planted coconuts and renovated the house in order to live there.

The next door neighbor was also interested in the property and inquired from

my informant whether he would sell it He refused The man then wanted the

informant to sell a piece of tha land that abuts on his property. My informant

was not interested in this proposition either. About 6 months after this

conversation, someone cut the the newly planted coconut trees; my informant

suspected his neighbor and told him so. The two of them had quarelled and

the police had to intervene in the matter.

In 1970 my informant got married and went for a teacher training course,

renting the house to a colleague. The neighbor is said to have quarelled

constantly with the renter who left the house in 197 2. At this stage my

informant's wife was expecting their first child (born in 1972) and since he

could not come to live in the house he rented it to a cousin. But the neighbor

is said to have quarelled with him also . My informant said that the neighbor's

strategy was to make it impossible for anyone to live in the property and thus

to force the owner to sell. Another important point was that the sister of the

neighbor apparently had a quarrel with the former tenant and had died on the

same night The cousin was so distraught that he also left the house. It is then

that my informant decided to come to live in the house despite the

unwillingness of his wife. In August 1973, 3 months after they came to live in

the house the wife got very sick and she was taken to many doctors both

Ayurvedic and Western, but she was not cured My informant's explanation

for this state of affa:rs is that the neighbor has practiced sorcery against his
 105

family, in order to force them to sell the pr opert y. They also came to know

that the neighbor had obtained some sand brought for repairs to the house

through the services of a little boy in the neighborhood for use in sorcery .

(This is very convincing since something belonging to the victim is required for

eff activeness of sorcery). Although many neighbors had suggested that they

perform counter sorcery using a kattadiya (a traditional Buddhist sorcerer) he

desisted. Instead he went to a famous exorcist priest and got the house

blessed. But the situation did not improve. At this stage he had heard about a

Catholic healer, (a young girl who is said to have engaged in healing under the

aegis of St Anthony) and consulted her. She came to the house in 1974 and

had the sorcery removed and the wife got better. This healer does not

practice any more since she had got married and they do not know where she

is. They have a second child born in 1976.

My informant says that although they were victorious in the first round, his

neighbor has not desisted from trying to destroy his family. He thinks that

their "initial protections " have affected the neighbor's family also. The two

brothers who live in the same house had fallen out and the younger brother

has left home. This has prompted the neighbor to suspect that my informant is

engaged in sorcery against him. Thus the situation that exists now is a constant

warfare of sorcery and counter sorcery between the two families. In fact my

informant is quite interested in counter sorcery, although he does not want to

engage in Buddhist practices. Since he believes that he and his family are

constantly under the threat of sorcery from his neighbor, he looks for
 106

protection from many Catholic healers. In 1976 he had gone to another healer,

a young girl who also practices Catholic healing under the aegis of the Virgin

Mary She has provided protection but she does not do counter sorcery which

is what my informant wants. In 1980, his poultry farm was destroyed and then

he had gone to another healer who had come home and provided protection

This healer had discovered new evidence of recent sorcery in the form of

lead plates buried by the side of the porch I asked him if it were possible

that the healers themselves may have buried these plates on their earlier visit

but he does not think so, because he is convinced of the sorcery practice of

his neighbor. He is dissatisfied with this healer also, because he does not

perform counter sorcery. This healer has come to know that he is frequenting

other healers and there is a certain amount of hostility between the healer, his

close followers and my informant. He told me that he is preparing to consult

another Catholic healer who is reputed to be dealing with counter sorcery. I

have interviewed this healer also. One day at an interview the healer told me

that he was going for a 'service' and that I could accompany him. Upon

further inquiry, I discovered that it was in my informant's house. However,

since my informant had not told me about it, I did not accompany the healer.

Exegesis

A brief comment In this case, the conflict is entirely based on the problem

of land. The next door neighbor seems to have an interest in the land bought

by my informant, since it would extend his pr op erty. Although it is quite likely

 107

that my informant thinks too much of this intention. the offer of the neighbor

to buy the property clearly demonstrates this interest. The disputes of the

neighbor with the two tenants convinces my informant that the neighbor would

do anything to obtain the land. lt is also quite likely that the coconut trees

were cut down by the neighbor to demonstrate that it will be difficult to live

there and his quarrels with the tenants are similar messages. The neighbor's

tactics seem to have paid off because the wife was reluctant to come to live

in the house. But at this point my informant is determined not to give in to the

rough tactics of the neighbor. "If we give in to such tactics and sell the land,

we will not be able to live anywhere in the country" he argues. This sets the

stage for the wife to get sick confirming their worst suspicions. Thus starts a

spiral of sorcery and counter sorcery, each suspecting the other and each one

trying invoke more powerful sorcery against the other. If the story of my

informant about the sorcery of his neighbor is true , the only difference

between the two is that my informant is reluctant to have recourse to

traditional Buddhist forms of sorcery, which the neighbor allegedly practises.

4.2. Catholic Priest•Exorcist

In this section, I will present the views of the most famous Catholic priest

exorcist in the Sinhalese Catholic areas. I consider it important to hear his

views on demonology and exorcism because despite his disagreements with

individuals claiming demonic afflictions, his demonology is fundamentally the

same as that of his co-religionists, which in turn is based on the larger Pan Indian

Hindu/Buddhist demonolgy. Although there are few other priests who

 108

perform minor exorcisms, he is the only one who is officially authorized to

practice exor cism . This priest has been practicing exorcism in addition to his

duties as parish priest But now he has been relieved of parish duties and

completely set apart for the ministry of healing and exorcism. He has practiced

exorcism since 1955, with the permission of the Bishop. I present his views

on possession, exorcism, sorcery and other beliefs because still there are a

number of " patients ' who come to him with complaints of sorcery and

p ossession. Many devotees of healing shrines have visited him Many parish

priests all over Catholic areas, confronted with complaints of sorcery and

possession, refer their parishoners to this priest Therefore his views reflect

the traditional beliefs of official Catholicism in Sri Lanka As much as possible I

will present my interview with him in his own words in order to communicate

it's feel.

After preliminary greetings and introductions. and an explanation of my

purpose, I asked his ideas about demonic possession. "What is possession?

Can a devil possess a person? A devil cannot possess a person unless that

person invites him. If he goes to a temple and ties a thread or similar talisman,

then he is taking the protection of the devil and he is the property of the

devil. A sinful life puts a man on the side of the devil. The devil can say he is

mine. Thus a devil can take possession of him and not otherwise." Then I

asked him about how many people come to him for help in a week and about

their complaints. "About 150-200 people come to me for a w eek. People

think that they suffer from various undefined illnesses. They go to doctors and
 109

take medicines but feel that they are not cured. So they come to me and ask

me to bless them. When they are having difficulties and things do not go

right, they think that somebody must have done something to them. Our people

have such ideas. So they want to know if they are under sorcery influences

and that is why they come to me." Question: "How many are really under

sorcery influences.?" "They come to me because they think that somebody has

done something. If the husband scolds the wife, and if there are quarrels

between the husband and the the wife, she begins to think that somebody has

done something to them. They are having real economic and personal

difficulties and they think it is because someone has done sorcery. I try to

explain the situation, tell them not to suspect the neighbors, ask them to pray

regularly and send them away." "Some of the devotees I interviewed at these

shrines have told me that the healers have said that sorcery has been done to

them. What do you think about that?" "Natutrally they say so in order to get

people to their places. They put these ideas for their own gain." "Some

informants have told me that healers have uncovered sorcery charms that were

buried. What do you think of that?" "It can be. But how can you be sure that

it is really a sorcery or that the healers themselves have not buried them in

order to uncover them. When we are talking of possession it means that a

devil is taking possession of a person. A person is body and soul. It is

possible that a devil is having some power over the body of a person and not

of the soul. He is harrasasing this person. It can happen to anybody. This is

not possession. Whatever the Buddhists say, the devils do not possess human

beings unless they are invited. When the body gets weaker, the mind also
 110

gets weaker. Why do these things happen?. It is true that jealous neighbors

perform sorcery. I generally ask people to pray at least one hour a day. If a

kattadiya (sorcerer) has his mantara (charms), we have our own mantara

(charms) which is prayer. These things may influence us because of our sins

or our weakness. So I ask them to pray as compensation for sin. This kind

will be chased by prayer and fasting_ Many people believe that something is

done. Demon possession is not the cause of trouble but sin. Even many

Catholics go to Kataragama to ask for help. Although Buddhists say that he is

a god. he is really a demon. The kattadiyas go to Kataragama to obtain his help

to harm their victim s."

It is obvious that the priest believes in sorcery and its effectiveness,

although he does not think that it is as common as people imagine . According

to him, most cases of so called possession and sorcery are just in the

imagination of people. Then he went on to explain how sorcery is performed

and how it becomes eff active in the way it is explained in the larger Buddhist

culture, which will be discussed in the next chapter. Since many people

especially those who have been to Kudagama, have said that thorns (katu) have

come from the bodies of the possessed, I asked him whether he has ever

witnessed such a situation.

"In all my life of performing exorcisms, I never encountered such a case.

They are lies and ravatili (which means cheating fraud. or make b elieve.I I have

blessed patients for nearly 35 years, but it never happened to me even once. I
 111

have learnt fram experience and not from books. I think no body can teach

me anything more in these matters. The body does not have any such things

as thorns or needles. I have heard that at Kudagama 12-15 needles come from

the stomach. If there are that many needles in the body, how could one

live. The nails or needles are used by the kattadiya on the effigy of the victim.

Therefore the needle is here and not in the body." However, from the following

description it seems obvious that the priest himself believes that the demon can

show nails or needles as if they came from the body, a strategy to mislead

and cheat the exorcist in his interpretation. He gave me the following example

to prove his point "One day a woman came here while I was blessing a patient

She looked strange and so I exorcised her from where I was and no body

knew that I was exorcising this particular person. When I was exorcising her,

she became possessed. Then I started questioning her. A woman bystander said,

Father this is the woman from whom katu (thorns or bonesl were taken at

Kudagama. So I asked her: Is it true that you took thorns? (He used very

derogatory form of address). The woman said: I cheated him. It is the demon

that said it There was no bone. From where did you bring the bones? What were

the bones? The demon said: shark bones, I brought it from a place. The demon

brought the bones and showed them as if they came from the body. It is the

demon who did it"

interrrupted at this point and said that under such circumstances there

was sufficient ground for misunderstanding and that people who see such

things may indeed believe. "lt may well be. But it is a make believe. If the
 112

bones come from the body, there must be wounds. The demon said: I cheated

him. It is a fr aud. Once again when I was exorcising a demon, the woman said

that the demon had been brought by charming a one cent coin. It was a lie. I

commanded him to put it out. She vomitted and a one cent coin came out.

Where did it come from? Not from the mouth of the woman. The demon

threw it There was not a speck of spittle on the coin. It was a fraud." "But

people believe it" I insisted. "But it is a fraud, a make believe. The demon does

his stuff to mislead. He wants the exorcist to believe that all that had been

done to the body is removed, in order cheat us." From the discussion of the

priest it is obvious that he believes in possession and that demons do their

best to cheat the exorcist However, he is quite convinced that all the cases

treated by Kudagama and other shrines are not genuine cases of possession

but symptoms of hysteria and that both the healers and the devotees are

gloriously misled by the demons. (Incidentally, the priest used the word hysteria

to describe alleged possession in the shrines).

Since several persons I had interviewed at various shrines had said that

they had been to this priest some time or other, I asked him if he had treated

any persons who had gone to Kudagama or other shrines. He gave me several

cases of persons who had come to him after going to Kudagama and here I

will present three such cases as described by the priest "At the beginning,

many who had gone to Kudagama came to me. But not a single case was a

real case of p o ssession . All are cases of hysteria One day as I was going to

the church, 1 saw a lady, a man and a young girl coming towards me. As I was
 113

entering the church, the mother of the girl said: Father, my daughter is

possessed. Can you please help us. I looked at the girl and I could not see any

signs of possession and so I told her: this is a mental illness, take her to a

psychiatrist Then she knelt on the ground and started begging me. I said: go

to the alter of Our Lady and I will give her a short blessing. I went in and

started blessing the girl and she went in to a trance and started: 1,1,1 am Kalu... I

love this girl very much. I said: shut up. I am the one who speaks here. If you

speak I will smash your jaw. She shut her mouth but stared at me with

enlarged eyes. Then J blessed her and asked her to go to the mission house. 1

went in after her. She was seated. I sat by her side and told her: What is this

comedy you are playing at your age? Are you not ashamed? You would find it

difficult to get married later on, when it comes to be known that you were

possessed and asked her what really did happen."

According to his explanation the following is what really transpired. The girl

had been a good student always the first in her class. Just two weeks before

the final examinations, she had a severe attack of influenza and could not

study at all. She thought this was strange since this had never happened to her

before. So she suspected sorcery and in an attempt to confirm her suspicions

she had gone out with her brother to examine the garden. In front of the

house, by the fence she had found a piece of metal which she thought was

used for sorcery. She suspected the girl next door who was a classmate but

who was always the last in the class. She persuaded the parents that her

illness just before the examination was caused by sorcery against the family
 114

which unfortunately had affected her. The parents took her to Kudagama At

Kudagama at the blessing with the thorn, she demonstrated symptoms of

possession and the priest confirmed their suspicions. The exorcist priest

explainred the situation to them and assured them that there was no basis for

sorcery suspicions. In fact the father of the girl agreed and said that the

metal piece looked very much like a piece of metal from a broom. The

conclusion of the priest "Her madness was nothing but imagination when she

could not study for her examination ."

Following is the story of another family that has been to Kudagama. A

family had come to see him one evening and he did not want to be bothered .

So he told the servant to send them away. Since they refused to leave

without seeing him he came out and started talking to them. (In passing, I might

mention that this attitude of the priest of not wantining to be bothered is in

stark contrast to to the attitude of the healers. Any client visiting them is

recieved with great show of concern and their stories are listened to with real

attention. The attitude of the priest on the other hand is based on his

perception that people who come to him are suffering from hysterial. The

father of the girl told him that their daughter was possessed. The priest said

that he did not see any demon or any signs of possession. So he asked them

to go to the church and pray and go home. The father insisted that the

Kudagama priest had diagnosed it as possession. Then the priest took the girl

by the hand and she fell on the ground with a great noise. The priest "I told

her this was not a place for a girl to sleep and that she should get up but
 115

she did not move. Then I thought for a while and said: Please, daughter, now

you have slept enough, get up and she readily got up. Then I took her to the

parlor and said: What is the meaning of this? I am very sorry that at this age

you do things like this, say that you are posssessed. Then she started: Ah! Ah!

as she was used to at Kudagama I said: It seems you really have someone.

What do you have? Katara, Katara she said (This is a reference to god

Kataragama, who is considered a demon by the Catholics) I know of no katara,

l know katire, I said. (This is a pun on words, katire meaning X sign). Is this a

Kudagama demon? Kudagama is a small place. It means little village. Ragama is a

big place. Look at the church. See how big this place ls compared to

Kudagama. Kudagama demons cannot show their influence here. If I raise my

hand, they run away. "Does Katara also go?" she asked. I raised my hand

quietly and blessed her. "Ah, Ah, see the way it runs" the girl started. I told

her: It ls running to Kudagama. The girl heard it also and I took my hand off

her. She smiled. lt is a fine run the demon had. It is a fine demon. Then I

asked her: How are you now and she said I am alright and I asked her to go

to the car and started talking to the parents." The priest had blamed the

parents for putting such ideas in to the heads of young girls. This was was

the version of the parents. They had gone to Kudagama on a pilgrimage. At the

thorn blessing the girl had trambled visibly. The parents were curious about it

and had asked the priest at Kudagama as to why it occured. The kudagame

priest had said that it was possible that the girl may be possessed. The girl

had overheard the comment and thought that she was possessed by a demon.

The exorcist priest assured them that the girl was in no way possessed and
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that they should not believe all these superstitions about p o ssession .

I will give a brief summary of another case from Kudagama that has come

to this priest for exorcism. The young girl had demonstrated symptoms of

possession at Kudagama and the parents had brought her to the priest for

exorcism. After a preliminary brief blessing, the priest told the girl that she

was not under any form of possession. He asked her about the antecendents

of alleged possession. She had said that her uncle had done sorcery against

the family especially against a marriage proposal agreed upon by her parents

and relatives. According to her story, she was engaged to be married to a

young man with the consent of her parents. But after sometime the mother

had started objecting to the marriage. The girl could not understand this

change of heart She suspected sor cer, y performed by her paternal uncle She

thought that the uncle was jealous of the marriage, since he also had

daughters of marriageable age. And they had gone to Kudagama where she had

demonstrated symptoms of possession. In this state of possession, she

shouted "Our uncle has done sorcery against us· which of course she does

not remember. After hearing the girl's st or y, the priest had called the parents

and asked the mother why she objected to the marr iage, they had consented

to before. The mother said that she was beginning to object to the marriage

because the couple used to take walks and started to return after 6.30 p.m.

or even later. "I am not objecing to the marriage. If they want they can get

married tommorrow. What 1 dislike is the fact that they go out in the evenings

and come in late and these are things not done in the villages ". The priest
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agreed with the opinion of the mother adding that when young people are

together anything can happen insinuating of course illicit sexual encounters.

When the girl heard that her mother had no objection to the marriage she was

happy and for all practical purposes cured. The aftermath of this episode was

that the uncle had got angry with them for suspecting him. The priest asked

them to pray regularly and sent them home happy. The conclusion of the priest

"These are the type of cases considered to be possession at Kudagama and

other shrines. If the people do not understand the underlying causes for these

hysteric conditions, they believe that indeed these girls are possessed and start

flocking to these places''. It may also be noted that the word "hysteria" is

used by the priest very much like the word demonic possession is used by the

indigenous population. What seems to be happening is that demonic

possession and sorcery are used as culturally logical explanations for certain

socio/economic and personal/family problems affecting people

. However, many people living in the same society, having similar problems do

not resort to sorcery explanations. Thus, the way a person explains his

situation seems to depend on the subculture to which he belongs .

The priest also has a counter argument against the possession phenomena

at Kudagama and other shrines. According to the priest he celebrates a mass

every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday especially for the sick people who

come to him for help (in cases of suspected sorcery, possession etc) attended

by about 100 people on each day. Two weeks before my interview with him

the church where he resides had celebrated the sickpeoples day attended by
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about 100,000 people who had come from all the Sinhalese areas. At this

mass for the sick following the feast of the sick, the priest in his sermon had

said: "I want to ask you something. You better think about it and tell me about

it after the service. You have heard that at such a place and such a place, girls

get possessed, roll on the ground and play havoc. It is curious though that all

these are young girls. But last Sunday we had the feast of the sick at this

church with so many p eople. The Archbishop and many other bishops were

here. There were also manysick p eople. The Blessed Sacrament was here and

it was taken in procession. blessed the sick and came back. Did you see any

one getting possessed or rolling on the ground? If it is the presence of God

that provokes such behavior, many should have got possessed. But no one did.

Why do you think that it only happens in these other places?"

The obvious answer to this rhetorical question was to convince that what

goes on in these other places is a fraud and hysteria encouraged by the

healers for their own profit He says that all these shrines including Kudagama

are publicity seekers who abuse the credulity of the people for their own

gain. They provoke hysterical reactions in young girls by putting these ideas in

to their heads and later on pretending to cure them. These hysteric reactions

are interpreted as possessions and the people are baffled by these things. So

more and more people flock to these places and more and more girls get

affected and so it goes on and on.

With regard to lay people being involved in healing in the early days of the
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establishment of the Church in Sri Lanka, he correctly admits that Fr. Gonsalvez

composed prayers to be recited by lay people in the absence of a priest He

refers to the exorcistic prayers in Sinhalese composed by the above

missionary and says that they were allright in those days as a means of

keeping the newly converted Catholics from having recourse to traditional

Buddhist practices in cases of possession. sorcery and such beliefs. But now

that there are enough priests there is no need for lay peple to engage in

these activities. As far as he is concerned, he says that he never recites the

exorcistic prayers in Sinhalese or English so that the people who are being

exorcised will not think that they are really possessed. He says even others

might think that they are also possessed if they hear the ritual prayer of

exorcism in the vernacular. Although he admits the theoretical possibility of

possession, he says that it is a very rare occurence. The cases considered to

be possession in these shrines are cases of hysteria pure and simple

encouraged also by the healers. He is convinced that these healers are out to

make money and says that they would not engage in it unless it was for

monetary and other benefits. He is perfectly aware of all the shrines in

existence today, and mentioned nearly all the places. In one case, he said that

the healer had a preta dosa (influence of a dead ancestral spirit) the ancestor

being the deceased father of the healer. He specifically mentioned two healers

(who do not practice healing anymore), and said that they were given to

immorality ('cads' was the word he used). One of them had got a girl in

trouble he said. In fact I heard such stories about one of these two healers

(not the one mentioned by the priest). Although the priest did not insinuate
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sexual misbehavior about other healers he was quite convinced that they all

made money at the expense of credulous people

With regard to possession by saints, he says that it is absolutely ridiculous.

A saint does not possess a man. He said that he exorcised one minor healer

who was claiming to be possessed by a saint. With ragard to the large

numbers of Catholics frequenting these shrines, he says that our people are

like that. What do people know? he ask s. When they hear of people getting

possessed and being healed, they flock to these places. Then they hear that

the healers are possessed by saints. They believe that too. According to him,

their belief is confirmed because these palces use Catholic prayer s.

In this Chapter I have described the demonological beliefs of the Sinhalese

Catholics. included the interview with the Catholic priest exorcist to

demonstrate that notwithstanding his claims to the contrary, his beliefs are the

same as those of ordinary Catholics. In the next Chapter, I will discuss the

demonology of the larger Buddhist cultur e. This will clearly demonstrate that

despite fundamental differences in the doctrinal traditions of these religions,

the demonological beliefs of the ordinary villagers of both religions are

identical. In other words, Catholics and Buddhists share the same demonology,

whcih belongs to a deeper layer of folk religion, which preexisted the arrival

of Buddhism and was amalgamated to Buddhism. The same phenomenon took

place in relation to Catholicism, a point that will be discussed later.

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CHAPTER 5

TRADITIONAL DEMONOLOGY AND NEW CONVERTS

From the discussion of the previous chapters, it becomes obvious that the

emergence, popularity and proliferation of ritual healing shrines in the Catholic

areas in Sri Lanka is directly related to the demonological beliefs of the

ordinary Catholics. As mentioned earlier, the demonic possesion of females and

the spectacular public exorcisms of these demons have convinced the

Catholics that these healers are special intermediaries between God and man (a

role traditionally reserved for priests.) While demonic possession and exorcism

have "experientially" demonstrated the authenticity of the power of these

healers, other demonological beliefs have also been responsible for the rapid

proliferation of these shrines. Thus fully 46% of the clients believe that they

are under some form of demonic influence. The other 54% who frequent

these shrines for boons and beneficial divine intervention in their lives are also

attracted to these shrines because they have seen with their own eyes the

power of these healers through public exorcisms. Thus the whole ritual healing

shrine phenomenon is directly or indirectly but firmly based on the

demonological beliefs of the ordinary Catholics. On the other hand, it is also

quite obvious that the official Church is totally opposed to the whole

phenomenon, considering the whole package of beliefs and practices

(possession both by saints claimed by the healers and demonic alleged by

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clients as well as feats of spectacular exorcisms based on ths above claims

and allegations) to be pure superstition without any foundation in Catholic

theology, tradition or the Bible.

However, even the most cursory analysis of Catholicism clearly

demonstrates that the belief in demonic influence in human a ff airs and demonic

possession is an intergral part of Catholicism, firmly based on Catholic

theology, tradition and the Bible. Roman Ritual (the official collection of rituals

of the Roman Catholic Church) contains numerous blessings to ward off and

counteract demonic influences as well as a solemn exorcism in case of

demonic possession. Thus the root of the conflict between the ordinary

Catholics and the official Church ir. relation to ritual healing shrines in Sri Lanka

has nothing to do with the theologically sound concepts of demonic influence

in human life and even demonic possession. The hostility of the official Church

is much rather based on a specific part of the demonology of ordinary

Catholics which they share with their Buddhist counterparts. The first part of

this chapter is devoted to a brief description of the traditional Buddhist

demonology in order to underline the identity of the idiom of demonic

affliction among BuddhistSand Catholics. The second part of this chapter will

be devoted to an analysis of the most fundamental reason for this identity. In

this section, I argue that the main reason for this identity is the fact that the

first converts to Catholicism under Portugese missionary effort firmly believed

and accepted the traditional demonology as a part of their world view. A clear

understanding of the cultural background of the first converts is important for

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two reasons: First and foremost. as it relates to the purposes of this thesis, it

will explain the commitment of the ordianry Catholics to the demonological beliefs

of the Sinhalese despite strong objections of the Church. Secondly it will also

clarify a misconception that has been perpetuated which suggests that early

conversion to Catholicism was a mono-caste phenomenon involving the

karava !fisher) caste.

For a long time it has been accepted I wrongly in my understanding) that

the majority of the first converts to Catholicism belonged to a particular caste:

Karava (Fisher caste). I will demonstrate that this belief is based on an

inaccurate report of early chroniclers and suggest that the early converts

belonged to all castes. More recently this historically inaccurate Karava

connection of the Catholics has been used to demonstrate that the early

Catholics belonged to a group of recent migrants belonging to Karava caste. I

argue that the early converts to Catholicism were drawn from all castes. If

there was a prepnderance of karava (fisher) caste among the new converts, it

was owing to the fact that Portugese dominance was limited to the coastal

areas where the karava (fisher) caste was concentrated. (In the next chapter I

will discuss some of the reasons and conditions that facilitated the transition

of these beliefs in to Catholicism). It is for this reason that the ordinary

Catholics consider these beliefs to be an intergral part of Catholicism despite

the objections of the Church.

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5.1. Traditional Sinhalese Demonology

Demons are a dreaded class of mean beings who live in a separate world

of their own called yaksa loka (demon w or ld). They are believed to afflict men

and visit them with suffering and sickness. Demons also can be subordinated

by humans well versed in the science of demonology (bhuta vidya) and used as

agents for causing sickness and misfortune on other human beings. Demons

form a large community and are governed by a fierce and dreaded despotic

king Vesamuni, whose laws they are bound to follow. Any infringement of his

laws will be severely and cruelly punished, in keeping with the nature of his

subjects. In all there are 32 kinds of punishment, which include burning.

broiling, roasting, impaling, flaying alive, pouring molten metal down the throat

etc. perfectly apposite to the nature and cruelty of the subjects. The mere

mention of the name of Vesamuni, their lord is sufficient to make his subjects

tremble with fear and dread. It is believed that there was a time when the

demons lived in a state of anarchy, afflicting and killing human beings not only

for their favorite food and drink which is human flesh and blood, but just to

satisfy their cruel whims and fancies. However, at the present time under the

strict control and rules of Vesamuni, demons are forbidden to feast on

humans. In the new dispensation, the demons are given permission ( ). by

Vesamuni to afflict and make humans sick and to obtain gifts (dola) to satisfy

their hunger. They are believed to relish these offerings in the same way they

used to enjoy human flesh and blood. The demons for their part are obliged

to restore the health of those whom they visit with affliction in exchange for

these gifts. This is the basis for the effectiveness of healing rituals.
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The demons stir abroad at certain times which are called yama or samayam

velave or demon times. They are 1) morning twilight, 2) midday, 3) evening

twilight and 4) midnight The Sinhalese will not undertake any journey during

these times if they can avoid it except perhaps midday. The demons also have

their favorite haunts which are generally lonely places far removed from

human habitations. The demonic haunts are generally wellknown in each village

and no one would go near them especially at demon times. Demons are also

more likely to afflict people when they are alone. These afflictions are

popularly called tanikam dosa or illnesses caused by aloneness. Obeyesekere

(1969:176) succinctly expresses the importance of the concept of tanikam

dosa as follows:
Human beings are often made frightened or attacked or possessed by
demons when they are alone (taniyama). Aloneness is not simply physical
aloneness, but psychological aloneness as w ell. It refers to a state when
ones' defenses are w eak. Generally physical aloneness is a precondition
and sets the stage for psychological aloneness which produces demonic
attack. Illness caused by demonic attack when a person is alone is called
tanikam - Its importance in Sinhalese views regarding etiology of
demonic illness is so great that this term is often used as a synonym for
a wider class of misfortunes caused by demons.

In the popualr mind, there are various ways in which demons appear an

frighten men (more espciatly of course during demonic times and in haunted

places. In nearly every village, there are people who recount their encounters

with demons. Some of these people of course had fallen ill and required ritual

healing ceremonies for the cure, while there are numerous others who have

not fallen victim to viles of demons to frighten them and through courage and

cunning have outwitted the demons. According to this tradition, the demons
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can appear in various guises and these apparitions are called holman or

spectres. However, in the opinion of the more orthodox savants, demons

afflict humans by their disti or sight In the diagnosis of demonic illnesses

most of the above concepts will be used. If a person had been alone

(taniyama) during a yama (watch) in or around a demonic haunt, and if he had

seen any of the the spectres, then it is certain that the person is afflicted by demons.

There are believed to be millions of demons in existance. However, there

are only a few who are named and among them also there are only five who

most frequently appear in ritual healing ceremonies . They are Maha Sohona (the

Demon of the Graveyard), Riri Yaka (the Blood Demon). Sanni Vaka (or the

Illness Causing Demon who is a composite of 18 demons). Huniyam (Sorcery

Demon) and Kalu Kumara (Black Prince). The first four demons afflict everyone

in the culture, while the Black Prince afflicts only f emales. Besides these

demons, there is still another class of inferior evil spirits called Mala Vaka or

Demon of the Dead. These are restless spirits of dead human beings who

have died in enmity with some living being and who come back to haunt the

enemies. There is another class of still inferior mean spirits called pr etas.

These are spirits of the dead who have died with undue attachment to wealth

or relatives. The latter are known as gnati preta (or the spirit of a relative).

A person can be subjected to demonic afflictions in two ways. a person

may inadvertently incur demonic affliction by stirring abroad alone, at a

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demonic time or around a haunted place thereby exposing himself to the eye

of the demon. On the other hand. it is possible unleash a demonic agency

using the services of another human being well versed in the demonic

sciences (bhuta vidya). It is bellieved that a person can use the services of a

Kattadi a (sorcerer) to cause misfortune and ultimately death to an enemy. This

is called hooniyam or kodivina which can be translated as sorcery. Gooneratne

(1866:78) expresses the existence and the prevalence of this belief among the

Sinhalese as follows:
In the mind of the Sinhalese, susp1c1on is always awake and ready to
discover a hooniyam cause in various misfortunes, which he may meet
with in the ordinary course of nature, in the form of disease and
accidents. And hence also it is, that he so often has recourse to charms
and demon ceremonies, even when he is in enjoyment of perfectly good
health, merely because he wants to ease his mind, which otherwise
would be made very unhappy by a doubt. whether a hooniyam influence
may not be upon him. although as yet there does not appear to himself
anything, which he may consider to be sign thereof.

Although Gooneratne has written this statement already more than a century

ago, the Sinhalese belief about hooniyam (sorcery)does not seem to have

changed a great deal despite the recent proliferation of secular education and

modernization.

A kattadiya (a savant and practitioner ofdemonic art) is a neutral figure who

can be used either to cure or to inflict demonic afflictions. To cure demonic

afflictions he organizes public healing rituals. He could also be hired to afflict

an enemy with demonic afflictions through sorcery. There are three main

categories of sorcery: hooniyam or kodivina, angam and pilli, so differentiated

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according to the gravity and ef f activeness of the action as well as the level

of danger involved for the intended victim and the practitioner himself. The

eff activeness of sorcery is believed to reside in the mantra for the ritual

incantation) when it has been effected with jeewama (endowment with life) in

proper ritual fashion. In most hooniyam charm s. the effigy of the intended

victim is necessary together with a few personal things such as few hairs,

some clippings of finger nails or a piece of cloth worn by him, a little sand

from where he has set his foot especially if the intended effect is to affect

an intended marriage. Nails made of pas lo (five metals, gold, silver, copp er, tin

and lead) are also necessary. These nails are driven through important parts of

the effigy. After the jeevama. the effigy is buried in a place where the

intended victim is expected to pass over. This passing over of the victim is

necessary for the sorcery to take effect. The sorcery is so effective at this

stage that should someone else other than the intended victim, for example a

member of the family pass over. it will affect that per son. There are believed

to be 84,000 hooniyam {sorcery) charms with different levels of malignity.

The jeevama (endowment with life), is a dangerous process for the

performer who undertakes the task. The more malign the intended effect. the

more dangerous it is for the per fo rmer. The Iogic of tis situation is the

following: it is believed that in a hooniyam (sorcery) completed with a jeevama

(endowment with life) the demon invoked and entrusted with the task is bound

like a slave to carry it out The more powerful and more malign the task, the

worse is the binding on the demon. Therefore the demons try their very best
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to disturb the proper enactment of the process, so that they may not be thus

bound. On the other hand, the circumstances and the requirements of the

jeevama (endowment with life) itself is fraught with no little danger. To effect

a jeevama in a hooniyam charm, the kattadiya has to take himself to a

graveyard at the midnight yama (watch)and perform a lengthy ritual, lying on his

back on a coffin of a grave that has been dug up. ln more malign hooniyams,

the spells have to be recited more than thousand times. The dangers are

obvious to the kattadiya and the layman alike. When the kattadiya is proceeding

with the recitation of charms and spells and the effects of the charms are

nearing perfectlon, the demons invoked start arriving on the scene in various

guises. And all these demons have to be offered their proper offerings in the

proper fashion without delay. Since the intention of the demons is to stop the

charm from taking ef feet, they do every thing in their power to sabotage and

frighten away the performer. If the performer is late ln offering the proper gift

to the arriving demon, he is exposing himself to mortal danger. The punishment

can be as grave as or even more deadly than the intended effect

Sometimes the kattdiya becomes a raving maniac for life, with no hope of any

cure at all. Folk tales in nearly every village knows a kattadiyawho was found

dead in a graveyard or who has gone mad. The dangers involved in the the

performance or sorcery is no consolation to the intended victim. It only

testifies to the depth of the hatred of the enemy who would go so far as to

pay a high fee to a kattadiya to have a sorcery performed against him.

The other and more malign and therefore more dangerous form of
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inflicting demonic illness Is through angam charm. The difference between the

hooniyam and angam consists in this that while a hooniyam may take from 30

days to 40 years to achieve its intended goal - the death of the victim- the

angam charm is believed to take effect within seven hours. Another charm that

scores highest points from the point of view of effectiveness and malignancy,

is . In the two previously discussed charms. while it is the demons who

carry out the orders, they never take visible form. However, in Qllli. once the

fullness of the jeevama has been effected, the demon is said to take a visible

form in the execution of his duty. The effect of pilli is believed to be

instantaneous. While there is some hope of averting the effects of the two

previous charms, there is no such possibility with eilli- The pilli charms.it is said

are generlly not used by kattdiyas on behalf of other s, because the death of

the victim is instantaneous. Once a ellli has been sent, it will go in search of

the victim and if he is protected by a higher protection, the pilli is believed to

come back and kill the performer. The usual stories in the villages relating to

ellli are generally between two kattadiyas, who are trying to assert their reltive

superiority over the other.

Another salient feature in the· demonology of Sri Lanka is the belief in

demonic possession. However, both in cultural theory and practice, it is women

who are generally considered to be much more susceptible to demonic

possession, a point which will be discussed in another Chapter.

Diagnosis and cure of demonic afflictions.

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The diagnosis, curability and modes of healing are also intergral parts of

demonological beliefs of Sri Lanka. Once a person has been diagnosed as

afflicted by demons, there are a number of curative options available to treat

such an affliction, depending on its malignity. The diagnosis of demonic illness

itself is based on the demonological beliefs and the social, familial and

personal context of the individual. If a person falls ill after an episode of

demonic encounter, the diagnosis is quite simple. In this case there are several

minor ritual prescriptions to ef feet a cure, under the assumption that it is a

less malign influence. A kattdiaya (ritual specialist) will be consulted and he will

perform a minor ritual tel matirima (applying charmed oil on the forehead of

the aff lictedl and he will also tie a charmed thread (nul bandima) as a further

protection If the affliction is a minor one, these preliminary minor rituals are

effective and no further ritual will be required. However, if the influence is a

malignant one (which becomes clear if there is no positive response to the

preliminary rituals) then the kattdiya will tie an apa nul (a security thread) with

the promise that a more complex healing ritual will be organized at a later

date. The apa nul is similar to a promissory note imploring the demon not to

afflict the victim until the promised ritual is performed. It is different from the

minor ritual of thread tying which is a definitive minor cure without any

promise of further ritual action.

If the illness episode is a more complex one, for example if a patient is

not cured by normal medical treatments either by a traditional practitioner

(vedarala) or a western medical practitioner, or by both, then it is suspected

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that the illness might have been caused by a demonic agency, especially of a

sorcery type. Also in a case of an illness that does not respond positively to

medications, a native physician himself might suggest that an astrologer be

consulted. Even without any such suggestion, an astrologer will be consulted

and the diagnosis will be most likely that a sorcery influence is at work. In

such a case the prescription will be that a ritual healing should be held in

order to cut the effects of sorcery and appease the demon afflicting the

patient

The major ritual healing ceremonies are elaborate performances replete with

song, dance and drama The ritual generally begins in the evening and ends the

following morning. They begin and end with homage to Buddha whose power

is invoked in the exorcism. The demons are invited to come to the ceremony

and are given offerings in return for the restoration of the health of the

patient The demons are ridiculed, cajoled . their subservience to Buddha the

guardian deities and their king Vesamuni are invoked and they are invited to

accept the alternate offerings and ordered in the name of Buddha and

Vesamuni to leave the patient and to depart The demons appear in grotesque

masks. They dance and accept the offerings and engage in conversation with

the demons priests. At the beginning they refuse to leave without taking the

life of the patient, but after much haggling a deal is struck and the demons

agree to accept the offerings and leave the patient

The Budhist infrastructure of these healing rituals militate against the

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Catholics having recourse to them. In the following section I will discuss the

underlying reason for the amalgamation of the traditional Sinhalese demonology

into Catholicism: the first converts to Catholicism firmly accepted the

traditional beliefs and in the absence of a concerted effort on the part of

Portugese missionaries to undermine these beliefs (a point to which I shall

return in the next chapter) these beliefs made the passage in to the new

religion with the converts.

5.2. The new- converts

When the Portugese arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505 and started their

missionary activities in 1543,· the indigenous demonological beliefs were firmly

established and entrenched in Sri Lanka Geiger (1960:72) discussing the

demonological beliefs of medieval times says: "Sorcery and every sort of

magic art were commonly practiced in medieval Ceylon as they are still at

present'' Ariyapala (1956:196) analysing the evidence of Sinhalese literature of

the 13th century suggests that already at that time the healing ceremonies

were in existence:
The very terms used in Saddharma Ratnavaliya, (a 13th century Sinhala
literary work) themselves suggest that tovil ceremonies (healing rituals)
were probably known at that time: the terms used are yakadura, pideni,
villakku. kadatura and bali which are all terms used in connection with
demonology today.

Ribeiro (1948) a Portugese soldier in Sri Lanka during this period has also left

a description of a healing ritual of the period. These beliefs persist among the

Sinhalese both Catholics and Buddhist The first converts to Catholicism in the

earliest Portugese times obviously accepted and shared these beliefs. The

demonological beliefs current in European Catholicism during this period

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brought along by the Portugese missionaries facilitated the transition and

incorporation of the indigenous demonology in to the new religious

dispensation, with adaptations especially in the area of ritual healing.

The persistence of traditional demonological beliefs among the Catholics

today, despite strenuous efforts by the official Church and its ministers to

undermine them clearly demonstrates that these beliefs are deeply rooted

among the native population. Shils (198 1) in a masterful work on tradition,

discusses general reasons for the tenacity and persistence of different

traditions in every society, which are applicable in the Sri Lankan case also.

However, a brief description of more specific culture bound reasons for the

persistence of demonological beliefs may not be out of place here. These

traditional beliefs in Sri Lanka are composed of a layer of folk beliefs pre

dating the arrival of Buddhism and an equally or more ancient layer of beliefs

speicific to the South Asian region, which have been filltered through and

amalgamated in to Sinhalese Buddhism. South Asian region is a conglomeration

of different cultures and religions . Beneath the specific contents of different

cultures and religions of various discrete geopolitical units, there is a strong

undercurrent of beliefs that are common to the region. Sorcery, astrology and

demonological beliefs are important constitutive elements of this Pan-South Asian

belief complex. Different doctrinal traditions, old or new, autochtonous or

exogenous, introduced into this region have been forced to confront these beliefs

and come to terms with them.

 135

Thus Buddhism, at its very inception, even before the missionary efforts of

King Asoka in the 3rd century B.C. had to deal with the popular religious beliefs

of the epoch and the milieu. Ling (1973:66) succincltly summarizes the

diversity of religious beliefs in the time of the Buddha as follows:

First, there was the sacrificial cultus of the hereditary priestly class. the
Brahmans; 2nd, there was the vast range of popular cults and bej&fs of
ordinary people, mostly villagers, who constituted the majority of the
population; and third, there was the variety of ideas and practices
expounded by various non-brhaminical teachers, who were collectively
known as shramanas.

The response of Buddha and Buddhism to these different strands of

religious beliefs were different The Brahminical sacrificial system was totally

rejected by Buddha and no accomodation has been made in this area. On the

other hand, the attitude of Buddha towards the popular beliefs, cults and

magical practices of the ordinary folk may be described as one of moderate

disapproval. Buddha describes these practices as "low arts" and proscribes the

practice of such arts to the order of monks. Ling (1973:701 cites the locus

classicus where Buddha exhorts the monks about such beliefs and practices:

"You are not. o Bhikkus, to learn or to teach the low arts, of divination and

spell, omens, astrology; sacrifice to gods, witchcraft and quackery". Here

Buddha's own feelings about the futility and the disdain in which he held such

beliefs and practices become abundantly clear although he tolerates the

practice of such arts on the part of the ordinary people. The description of

the low arts given in the Buddhist texts coincide with the magical practices

described in the Atharva Veda, the last of the Vedas. composed a little before

the life /8. Buddha The benign neglect or the magnanimous accomodation of
 136

popular beliefs and practices in to Buddhism in the first two centuries of its

existence has been summarily described by Kitagawa (1980:881 when he says:

The period between the 5th and 3rd centuries B.C. was also marked
by the gradual Brahmanization of Northeastern India, which was the
homeland of Buddhism. In the course of time, Buddhism appropriated a
number of popular beliefs and cults and symbols.

Buddhism is a religion of personal salvation and the establishment of

Buddhism in a geographic unit as a state religion was quite alien to the

intentions and teachings of Buddha. However, the situation changed with the

missionary zeal of King Asoka. Rahula (1966:55) describes the Asokan influence

on Buddhism as follows:
The notion of establishing the sasana or Buddhism as an institution in a
particular country or place was perhaps first conceived by Asoka
himself. He was the first king to adopt Buddhism as state religion, and to
start a great spiritual conquest whcih was called Dharma-vi jaya Buddhism
was the first missionary religion and Asoka was the first missionary King
to send out missionaries for the conversion of other countries.

The political use of religious allegiance to facilitate the governance of other

countries is an interesting one in itself but need not detain me here. However,

once Buddhism was introduced in to other c ,t...r._ ies, it had to face the

pre-

existent religions and folk beliefs. Buddhism as we have seen before had

already accomodated the religious beliefs and practices of its milieu and it is

on this basis that it encountered the beliefs of different countries into which

it was intr oduced. It is in this wider context that the amalgamation of folk

beliefs of Sri Lanka into Buddhism has to be understood and the tenacity and

persistence of these beliefs among the native population, Buddhist or Catholic

has to be analysed and appreciated

 137

The process of assimilation and amalgamation of popular beliefs into a

systematic and systematized doctrinal tradition is not a once and for all

phenomenon but a continuing process. However, from a historical point of

view we could describe the process of assimilation of pre-existent folk

beliefs in to Buddhism when it was introduced in to Sri Lanka in the reign of

Devanampiya Tissa (247-2071 B.C and as it got more firmly established in the

country. Buddhism as a religion is concerned with the ultimate salvation and

thus there are no rituals for the attainments of worldly goals of its lay

adherents. It is to fill this vacuum that the folk beliefs have crept into

Buddhism. However, despite invocation and acknowledgement of the power of

Buddha at the beginning and the end of many of these folk rituals, in an

attempt to "Buddhisize'' these accretions, they remain alien rituals, awkwardly

grafted to the simple and sparse rituals of Buddhism. This process of

assimilation of popular beliefs into Buddhism in the Sri Lankan case is

succinctly described by Sarachchandra (1966:4) as follows:

The fol'fr- religion is based on a belief in supernatural beings and the
efficacy of prayer and ritual. Strictly, there is no place in Buddhism for
such beliefs. But Buddhism had to adapt itself, from being an
individualistic and monastic creed, to a religion serving the needs of an
organized community. What it did in Ceylon, was, therefore, to allow the
people to go on with their usual practices, which they found useful to
them in their daily life, and to make them turn to Buddhism for guidance
in moral conduct and in matters concerning man's final destiny and the
after life..... The gods and demons of the folk religion were looked upon
as mere instruments whose help man could obtain in the ordinary
business of day to day living. They were all subservient to the Buddha.

In a sense, the gods and demons of the folk were introduced in to the fold

of Buddhism by bringing them under the power and authority of Buddha

 138

Rahula (1966:511 analysing the first sermons of Mahinda, the first

missionary to Sri Lanka, suggests that the sermons were appropriately chosen

with a view to make Buddhism more acceptable and palatable to its listener s.

Thus:
First, he related to them stories from the Petavattu and Vimanavattu,
two pali texts which deal with the spirits of the dead in the Peta world
and in the Devaloka (heavenly worldl according to their past karma. This
must have appealed to the audience already possessing faith in the spirits
of the dead and would have made Buddhism agreeable and acceptable to
them. It explained thie1'.pelief s in a more satisfactory manner.

Having thus laid out the theoretical framework that facilitated the acceptance

of Buddhism in Sri Lanka on the basis of familiar, pre-existent beliefs of the

recipient population, Rahula ( 1956:41) gives concrete examples of the actual

acceptance of local beliefs into Buddhism:

Even after the Sinhalese were converted into Buddhism, they desired
to continue to venerate the their friendly deities. But being Buddhist, they
did not like to worship a non-Buddhist deity. They, therefore. converted
their deities to Buddhism and elevated them to a higher plane as in the
case of Sumana. Such is also the case with most of the other local
gods.

It is important to keep in mind that together with friendly deities, the

demons of the pr e- Buddhist era also were amalgamated into the Sinhalese

Buddhism. While many of the pr e- Buddhist demonological beliefs have given

way to more dominant demonological accretions of later times, especially of

South Indian Hindu origin, the dynamics of the process of assimilation has

remained constant Buddhism as the dominant religion has remained the primary

belief system into which other beliefs - pr e- Buddhist indigenous or post

Buddhist South Indian Hindu beliefs have been grafted This preocess is well
 139

described by Paranavithana (1929:3171 when he says:

The condition of pre-Buddhist Ceylon, of the yaksa (demon) cults
appear to have been exactly similar to those in North India in the time of
the Buddha; and, in spite of the adoption of Buddhism as the national
religion, the earlier yaksa worship flourished side by side among the
natives and has persisted down to modern times. 1t has given rise to a
considerable amount of folk literature. Most of them as they exist today,
are of late origin, and agood number of the yaksas in vogue at present
are later creations; or as their names imply, introduced from the peoples
of a lower culture in South India

The South Indian or Dravidian influence in Sri Lankan society and culture go

far back in to early historical times and they have left their indelible marks not

only in the popular culture but also on Buddhism. The Sinhalese chronicles are

replete with references to Dravidian domination and influence among the

Sinhalese but for the purposes of this dissertation it is not necessary to go in to

a detailed analysis of this historical record For example, Mendis (1975:16)

says
: Besides Veddas and the Aryans, another stock of people helped to
form the Sinhalese r ace. There is no evidence to show when the
Dravidians first came to this island, but they undoubtedly came to this
island from the earliest times, either as invaders or immigrants. Most of
them gradually adopted Sinhalese language, as some of them still do in
some coastal districts and got merged in the Sinhalese population.

While the earliest Dravidian influences are lost in the mists of antiquity of

the mainly migrant history of Sri Lanka, these influences have become part of

the historical record from the 6th and 7th centuries onwards after the South
'2-
lndian invasions and occupations. Mendis (1975 : 17) brifly states the extent of
~
this as follows:
Although there is sufficient evidence to prove that in the early
centuries of the Christian era, the Dravidians helped form the Sinhalese
 140

race, nothing has yet being discovered to show that during that time they
made any noteworthy contribution to the civilization of Ceylon. Evidence
of any definite cultural influence is available only after the invasion of the
Pallavas in the 6th and 7th centuries A.O. The Dravidian influence became
considerable after the invasion and occupation of Ceylon by the Cholians
and it grew stronger with Pandyan invasions. The power of Dravidians in
Ceylon reached its zenith in in the fourteenth century, when the Jaffna
kingdom exacted tribute even from the South. The Dravidians exercised
their cultural influence mainly through Hinduism. which not only became
firmly established in the 11th centur y. but also influenced Buddhism to a
considerable extent in the succeeding centuries.

The existence of Kataragama and Pattini cultus in Buddhism as well as the

present demonological beliefs and haaling rituals could be traced to the South

Indian influences in the culture and religion of Sri Lanka.

It is the time honored and deeply embedded nature of popular

demonological beliefs and its affinity to the cultural milieu of the population

that is responsible for the persistence of these beliefs among the Catholics

despite its incongruence with fundamental Catholic beliefs. While Buddhism has

amalgamated these folk beliefs. Catholicism has never countenanced the

demonological beliefs of the indigenous population with favor since they are

totally alien to the European preconceptions. As will be demonstrated later on

in this thesis. the Portugese missionaries' ignorance of the native language and

culture was instrumental in the passage of these beliefs into incipient

Catholicism. During the Dutch period. these beliefs were indirectly accepted

into Catholicism through the exorcistic prayers of Fr. Gonsalvez. During the

British period. with the arrival of European missionaries, these demonological

beliefs have been relegated to some sort of an "official limbo" as far as the

official Church was concerned, although these beliefs have remained an

 141

intergral and vibrant part of Sinhalese Catholicism of the ordinary villager.

5.3. Myth of Karava/Catholic connection

In the above discussion, I have demonstrated the underlying reasons for the

persistence and tenacity of the traditional demonological beliefs among the

Catholic population today. In this section, I wish to draw attention to another

aspect of early converts to Catholicism that is consistent with this larger

historical context It is my contention that the first converts to Catholicism

were drawn from all social strata of Sri Lankan society of the Portugese period

This becomes important because there is a persistent and prevalent misconception

that tne early conversion into Catholicism was a single caste phenomenon It has

been suggested and uncritically accepted that the first

converts to Catholicism were drawn from a specific caste: the Karava or the

fisher caste.

The exaggerated importance given to the karava connection of the Catholics

is based on the literal acceptance of an ambiguous report of Franciscan

chroniclers, Trinidade (1972:7) and the Jeusit historian Queyroz (1930:326-

327), who mention that "in 1556, 70,000 Careas, with their

pattangattin were converted." The term Carea here has been accepted by

scholars as referring to Karava caste. However, in this connection, a curious

fact mentioned by the chroniclers must be kept in mind, in order to

understand and appreciate the significance, veracity and dependability of this

report Both Queyroz (1930:714) and Trinidade (1972:137), when they mention
 142

the number of churches and Christians in Sri Lanka under the Fransiscans in

1628, refer to an affidavit signed by Captain General Constantine de Sa,

certifying the veracity of the statement (Oueyroz omits the numbers of

christians from his account ). Incidentally, this is the same list of churches

mentioned by Pieris (1983:35) and Boudens ( 1957:341. In addition , Trinidade

(1972: 137) also says that "Friar Joao Villa do Conde and his companions, who

arrived in the island, it may be said that in the space of a few months, they

converted close to 3000 souls and erected 12 churches." Queyroz (19 30.7 14)

gives the same information in identical w or ds. This information about the

number of churches and the number of Christians in Portugese Kotte in 1628,

must be assumed to be nearer the truth. because it is not only a report of

missionaries about missionary successes, (which are often exaggerated) but it

is also authenticated by the political authoriity . On the other hand, both

Trinidade and Oueyroz have obtained the information about the conversion of

70,00 0 Careas, not from sources in Sri Lanka, but from a letter of King Joao

111 of Portugal, dated 20 March 1557, to the Fransiscan superior in Goa,

(India) who had informed the King about the conversion of 70,000 Careas.

The king himself seems to have entertained some scepticism about the

numbers and the sincerity of the new converts. It is also difficult to ascertain,

from the letter of the King, whether these people were indeed converted and

baptized or only had expressed an interest in being convert ed. The expression

of an interest in baptism, without being converted is not too uncommon, as

we shall see later on. The relevant passage of the letter of the King is as
 143

follows:
was also pleased to read the information you gave, how Our Lord
was served in enlightening by means of religious of your order, the
Carea people, whom as you say, live inthe sea ports of Ceylon, and so
they say, number more than 70,000, whose Captain, acknowledged by El
Rey of Cotta, is called pattangatti, which means that he is as it were
their king. And for this I givg praise Our Lord and recommend to you.
that as far as in you lies, you take care that the necessary means may
not be lacking to achieve the end, which shoJd be expected from such a
beginning and from the fact that according to your representations, the
conversion of these people is genuine. (Queyroz (ibid) has the last
sentence as follows: since from what you say, there are signs to show
that their conversion is genuine.)" (Trinidade 1972:71.)

Queyroz( 1930:327) reproduces the letter of the king in identical words.

do not consider it necessary to engage in an exegetical exercise to elucidate

whether 'enlighten' means conversion/baptism or an expression of interest or

readiness to accept the faith. But I wish to draw attention to the fact that

both chroniclers have got the information not from local Sri Lankan sources

but from this letter of the King. The statement of Abeyesinghe (1966:202) that

missionary reports, like war communiques of enemy casualties were prone to

such exaggeration" seems to be quite accurate in this case. Many scholars who

have written about early Christianty in Sri Lanka, (Abeyesinghe (1966:202),

Malalgoda (1976:32), Roberts (19 82 :30 ), and Raghavan (1961:32)), following

Queyroz and Trinidade, seem to accept the conversion of 70,000 Careas,

whom they assumed to be Karava caste as an established fact Raghavan

(1961:32) for his part makes a slight correction when he says: "It has been

said that this mass conversion is perhaps significant of the capacity of the

Karava people for acting as a corporate whole. But from the fact that only

one chief is mentioned, the entire group could not have been involved in the
 144

conversion." Malalgoda (ibidl also draws attention to the contradictory nature of

Portugese statistics of conversion. However. none of the above scholars seem

to draw attention to the fact that the report of the conversion of 70,000

Careas originate in Goa. in the office of the Fransiscan superior, which is quite

important in judging its value. It is quite likely that the superior in Goa

anticipated a quick conversion of "Carea" people. Given the competition that

existed between the religious orders during this period, it is quite likely that

the Fransiscan superior wanted to impress the king that not only legendary

Jesuit missionary, Fransis Xavier whose missionary successes were well known

in Europe was successful in the work of conversion, and that the Fransiscans

were not second to Jeuits when conversion of the infidel was concerned.

The other mention of a conversion of Careas and pattangattin (who were

their chiefs) is the reported Jesuit conversion of 5000 in Chilaw with the

baptism of five ot their leaders. Abeyesinghe (1966:201l investigating the

documentary evidence in relation to this conversion says:

Enthusiastic missionaries are notorious for inflating their figures but in
Ceylon missions such inflated figures are conspicuous by their absence.
In Chilaw,"about 5000" said to have been "willing to embrace Christian
faith" is the highest reported figure, but even this is reduced to a more
manageable figure 500 who merely "offered to embrace the Christian
faith with their kinsmen". That the latter is nearer the figure is seen in a
letter of December 9th 16 10, which states that there were about 500
Christians in Chilaw. The impression one gets is that the total number of
Jesuit converts could not have exceeded a few thousand."

Since Abeyesinghe (1966:2021 also mentions about the 70,000 Carea

converts, it is difficult to understand the above reference to 5000 as the

 145

highest figure mentioned in relation to conversions, unless he is discounting the

report of 70,000 Carea conversion as an untrustworthy exaggeration and

more to the point because it originates in India, in the office of the Fransiscan

superior and not from local missionary sources. It is my opinion that the

report about the conversion of 70,000 is at best a pious hope of quick conversion

entertained by an over zealous, enthusiastic missionary superior and at worst an

unwarranted exaggeration to obtain Royal favors. In any case from the

subsequent data on the missionary activity in Sri Lanka covering the period up to

1630, there is no justification in fact for the acceptance of this mass conversion.

The spurious nature of this report about the conversion of 70,000 Careas

becomes obvious from an analysis of sober statistics of Sri Lankan Church

presented by the chroniclers. Among the modern scholars, the best and the

most reliable statistics of early Christianity is found in De Silva (1972:239)

who estimates that by 1630, there were 82 churches and about 80,000

Christians in Kotte. When chroniclers' data on Fransiscan, Jesuit, Dominican and

Augustinian churches and their converts are added up, the total number of

Christians approximates 80,000. Trinidade (1972:137) says that "by 1631,the

year the revolt broke out, as we have already related, the Fransiscans had 54

churches and 71,074 Christians." However, when the numbers of Christians in

the 54 churches are added up, the figure is 59,190 and not 71,074. How

Trinidade arrived at the figure remains unexplained, although one would come

close to it if the 3,000 converted by Friar Joao and the 7500 persons who
 146

were baptized in 3 1 general baptisms by Friar Nagrao in 16 10 (Trinidade

19 7 2: 17 1- 172) are added to the above f igur e. However. since the number of

churches and Christians are given for the year 1628. one would expect that

the latter numbers of 3000 and 7500 to be included therein.

The Jesuits. the Augustinians and the Doninicans had their own churches

and their own converts. When all these churches and numbers of Christians

are added up, it approximates 82 churches and 80,000 Christians in Portugese

Kotte as mentioned by De Silva. It is to be noted that in this more reliable and

more accurate reckoning of converts, there is no room to accomodate the

70,000 Carea converts of 1556 . On the other hand, in the list of Churches

and Christians given by Trinidade, there is no mention of the caste affiliation

of the converts, although in other contexts he specifically mentions Careas.

Thus the suggestion that most of the early converts to Christianity were drawn

from the Karava caste, based as it is on the above mentioned report of

70,000 Carea conversions is unfounded and has to be reconsidered This is

not to deny that many of the Karava caste were converted, but their numbers

were proportionate to the population of Kott e. This also becomes clear from

the fact that with the conversion of King Dharmapala of Kotte in 155 7,

Catholicism became the religion of the king and the court and there was

sufficient pressure for the nobles of the court and the elites associated with

these circles to be converted. Although the hope of the Fransiscan

missionaries that with the conversion of the King whole of Sri Lanka will

become Catholic country was never fulfilled, the new religion became a symbol
 147

of prestige among some segments of the elites associated with the royal

establishment One of the more famous converts of this type (famous because

he was the greatest Sinhalese poet of the period) was Don Jeronimo

Alagiyawanna. Peiris (1966:2041 quite correctly suggests that there were two

stages in the pattern of conversion to Catholicism; 1l The King and the nobles

of the Court; 2) The minor government officers and caste headmen who had

dealings with the king and the court Another group of people who who also

embraced Catholicism for quite different reasons was the fishermen or the

karava caste. While the nobles of the court and the government officials

converted into Catholicism because of the prestige attached to the new

religion, the conversion of the karava caste was more motivated by

considerations of economic survival.

I do not intend to deny that significant numbers of Catholics in Sri Lanka

today belong to Karava caste. However, it is also obvious that the Catholic

community is composed of all castes. Even Roberts (1982:30} accepts this

when he says: "The Karava Catholics were only one segment. if a substantial

one, of this Catholic population." From an analysis of very tentative population

data presented by De Silva (1975) and Roberts (1982), one has to conclude

that all the castes were represented in the Catholic population in the Portugese

times. De Silva 11975:84) basing himself on the impressions given in Portugese

records says that about half the population of Kotte Kingdom were Catholics,

while Roberts (1982:30) suggests that about one third of the Kotte population

were Catholics. Even if we accept the lower estimate of Roberts, large

 148

numbers of other castes must have been Catholics, since only about 12% of

the total population belong to the Karava caste . Ryan ( 19 5 3:26 4) has estimated

that the Karava !fisher) caste constituted only 15% of the population in 1824.

If there was a preponderance of Karava among the new converts, it was

not because they were a marginal group of recent immigrants from South

India as Roberts (198 2:2 4 1} suggests but because Portugese power was

predominantly exercised in the coastal areas and the Karava who were mainly

engaged in sea fishing were concentrated in this area Also there must have

been religious and politico/economic reasons for their conversion. By 1630,

the Portugese were the uncontested masters of the Western littoral and

fishermen whose livelihood depended on the exploitation of the sea could

have expected protection from the Portugese by becoming their co

religionists. On the religious plane, the fishermen are the outcastes of Buddhist

society, since they contravene the first precept of Buddhism against killing as

a necessary condition of their economic survival. Although the Buddhist

principle of ahimsa (non-violence) has not been successful in eliminating killing

in Buddist societies, those who engage in fishing for their livelihood must

somehow feel alienated from their religious heritage. For these people,

Catholicism provided a legitimation and also a conferred a certain sense of

pride, since the first disciples of Christ were fishermen like them. .Although

this religious psychology and political context of the time may have been

conducive to their conversion, it must be kept in mind that even today there

are Buddhist fishermen in this part of Sri Lanka, as there has been before. On
 149

the other hand, there were many incentives offered by the Portugese to those

who became Christians. These economic incentives must have also led many

persons to embrace Catholi cism.

I have tried to demonstrate that the early converts to Catholicism were

drawn from all castes . I have also drawn attention to the fact that the

persistent belief in the Catholic/Karava connection is based on a spurious

report of a mass conversion of 70,000 Karava in 1556. This report can in no

way be reconciled with the realistic estimates of Portugese converts in Sri

Lanka which stood around 72,000 in 1628. This alleged Karava connection of

the first converts has led Roberts (19 82:24 1) to theorize that the Karava were

easy targets of conversion because they were a recent group of South Indian

immigrants whose "structurally marginal situation encouraged" them to "move in

a separative direction and accept an alien faith".

South Indian influence is all pervasive in Sri Lankan Buddhist culture and

therefore it cannot be seen as limited to recent arrival of some groups of

people such as Karava caste. The merging and the mixing of South Indian

population to form the Sinhalese race goes further back in history at least to

the sixth and seventh centuries as mentioned by Mendis (1975:17). The South

Indian influence on Buddhism in Sri Lanka was a two way process whereby the

religion of the new immigrants were amalgamated to Buddhism, while the

immigrants themselves accepted the prevalent Buddhist values. Thus we have

the acceptance of such cults as Kataragama and Pattini in Buddhism. The

 150

healing rituals which form part and parcel of popular Buddhism of the low Lo v. {<./

bear testimony to this process of syncretization of Hinduism and Buddhism.

How and when exactly this process took place cannot be studied with any

degree of certainty, although from the available information it seems obvious

that the amalgamation of healing rituals go far back in to early historical times.

Sharp ethnic antagonisms and violent conflicts of the recent past between

Sinhalese and Tamils should not make us postulate similar conflicts and

attitudes in to early historical past It would be a tempting prospct to explain

away the presence of a minority of Sinhalese who are Catholics by suggesting

that they were after all derived from Dravidian ethnic roots in early historical

past Peiris (1956:4) addressing certain attempts to look for the pure " Ar yan"

remnants of the Sinhalese draws attention to the complexity of Sinhalese

civilization as fo llo w s:
It is sometimes supposed that the surv1v1ng jungle villages of the
Sinhalese dry zone are relics of an antique Aryan social order, which in
the central highlands, had been contaminated by the Dravidian impact of
Kandyan times This theory is not borne out by the facts, forthe
Dravidian "influence" long antedated the wet zone civilization: under
Vijayabahu 1 (reign A D. 1056 - 111 11, "Sinhalese" civilization" was still in
the melting pot, and for certain royal edicts, Tamil and Sinhalese scripts
were used side by side. If the determination of the nature of Dravidian
"influence" presents insuperable difficulties, data relating to the so called
"Aryanization" of Ceylon ls even more fr agmentar y. Hence the
reconstruction of the pre- Ar yan, Aryan and Dravidian "layers'· of
Sinhalese civilization must remain a vain hope.