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TRADITION RESPECTING THE COCOA NUT TREE.

About one-and-half mile from Belligam, a fishing hamlet on the south-east of Ceylon, between the towns of Galle and Matura (being seventeen niles distance from each) completely concealed from view by the density of the Cocoa-nut groves, a large rock of granite displays the gigantic figure of a former Prince called Kottah Rajah: it is about eighteen feet high sculptured in the solid rock. This Rajah or Sovereign Prince, became suddenly afflicted with a cutaneous disease which covered him with a white scaly substance from head to foot, depriving him of human appearance, and sacrifices were resorted to by his people, to appease the anger of the great demon supposed to be the author of the Rajah's sufferings. He objected to assist at any diabolical sacrifices, but preferred to submit to the decrees of the superior power; but with due humility paid his accustomed devotions and offered sweet smelling flowers according to the religion of Budhon, and after repeating a long prayer, he fell into a sound sleep, which lasted several days. During his trance he beheld a large expanse of water, which he found salt and nauseous, although of a fine green color, having ou its margin immense groves of trees of a rare kind, such as he had never seen before, instead of branches as other trees had, a taft of large leaves, as they then appeared to him, crowned the lofty summit of each, on an immense height, but was totally divested of branches. The Kottah Rajah, after his trance, felt deeply impressed with his dream, and he renewed his oblations and prayers, in hopes of a happy result. A Cobra de Capella the sacred snake of the Budhists, shortly after approached and having expanded its speckled masked hood, raised its head a cubit shove the ground, and observed steadily the Rajah for some moments, when the animal extended its blue forked tongue and thrice bowing its head, la pped water from the leaf, which served the Rajah for his use, after which the snake retired to the jungle. This was a conviction of Budhoo's favor. Again the Prince grew very ill, only reposing under the shelter of the shady Bogaha. During this sleep, the former vision appeared with the additional appearance of an aged man-It was Maha Sudora, the father of the god Budhoo, who thus accosted the Rajah: "From ignorance of the sacredness of the ground over which god's favorite tree casts its skade, thou didst omit the respect due to it from all created beings, its deeply pointed leaf, distin. guished it above all other trees as sacred to Budhoo, and under another tree of the same heavenly character thou now liest a mass of sores and ulcers, which "the impurity of the red water within the large and small rivers of thy body, -has, at the deity's command, brought upon thee externally, but since the kind snake, the shelterer of the god Budhoo whilst on earth, has partaken of thy drink, thou wilt derive health and long life, by obeying my commands. In that • Ficus Religiosa.

direction," pointing south, “lies thy remedy; a hundred bours journey will bring thee to those trees, which thou shalt see in reality, and taste their fruit to thy benefit, but on the top only it is to be produced, by fire it must be obtained, the inside partly of transparent liquid, partly of innocent food, must be thy sole diet till thrice the great moon (Maha Handah) has given and refused her light, thy disease will then leave thee, and thou wilt be clean again, but forget not with the restoration of thy health, sacrifices of sweet flowers and fruits with much thanksgiving to that great Brahma of all Brahmas, to whom all other gods and even demons pay homage, thro' whose mercy and forgiveness, thy bodily vigour will be restored." A sound, as of teu thousand tom toms struck at once, seemed to the delighted Rajah as a manifestation of the messenger's authority. This sound continued for some hours after he awoke. He thau considered it his duty to obey commands so mysteriously conveyed. Having summoned his immediate followers from their various temporary resting places, and having repeated to them the divine prophecy, and made a propiti atory offering as before under the sacred tree, he and his retinue proceeded in a direct course thro' rivers and forests, southward. When a hundred hours' journey had been performed without any perceptible fatigue to himself or attendants, he found the anticipated view of that boundless expanse of blas water, which had appeared in his dreams, and on its margin immense groves of trees with tufts of leaves (for the first time perceived to be large branches) which gratified his astonished but delighted sight. Beneath these branches sheltered from the vertical sun haug large clusters of fruit, much larger than he had ever seen in his own country, of green, yellow, and red colors, and others apparently black. There were no human beings on the coast, but wild beasts, leopards, bears, storks and elephants innumerable. To elimb the cocoanut tree was then unknown, and considered beyond the power of mortal man, but as fire had been pointed out as the means of obtaining the fruit, the followers were immediately employed to kindle a flame; scarcely had an hour elapsed, when a stupendous tree came prostrate with the earth with a tremendous crash, when from its capacious and verdant crest crept out creatures innumerable; large blue scorpions, brown and yellow centipedes, snakes of various hues from the polonga to the less dreaded ear anake, various colored beetles, tarantulas and spiders of all sorts. The novel fruit was at first opened with some difficulty, and the Rajah was astonished to observe that the stately trees seemed to thrive best where any ordinary ones could not survive the least sprinkling of the briny spray.

Mute with astonishment at the vast expanse of ocean which he then for the first time approached, the Rajah bent to taste the liquid element and h● found it as prognosticated, and he had a full belief that "ere the great moon bad thrice given and refused her light" that he would be cleansed from his foul distemper. The Rajah and followers continued to live on the prescribed

diet, for indeed from necessity, as there were no other fruits to be found near the ocean, The prescribed time rolled on, the Rajah gradually lost the white and scaly skin, which had enveloped him like the armour of the great ant eater of the interior (the Negombo Devil) and he was now convinced of the approach of his recovery. After again performing the sacred duties pointed out to him in his vision on the first stone which appeared durable and out of the reach of the sea, in token of his gratitude he caused to be carved on the granite rock, a gigantic statue of himself, remarking that its great height would shew the wonderful recovery he had experienced being a very little man in stature, and as a memorial of the blessing of 'God, to be handed down to millions then unborn. Numerous families from the high country, (Kandian signifying mountainous) soon emigrated to the sea coast, for the Rajah made it an imperious duty to give publicity to the virtues of the fruit of the cocoanut tree, thereby giving a general knowledge of that splendid production, whilst the conviction of its transcendent utility, pointed out its propagation as a never failing source of individual advantage and of progressive national prosperity.

THE BAWALY TANK.

The following account of this celebrated Tank has been extracted from the reports made by my late father Gabriel Casie Chitty Modeliar and Mr. Reinier Van Gunster District Surveyor of Calpentyn un der date the 23d of July 1832.

The Bawaly Tank is situated about 5 miles east of Pallikandel, in that portion of the Chilaw District designated Pomparippo Pattoo. It is a work of consideráble antiquity and appears to have been built by the then sovereigns of the country for the pur pose of securing a sufficient quantity of water to facilitate the cultivation of the whole of the low lands, which lie to the north of the Pomparippo river; but is now quite out of repair and over. grown with jungle. It is nearly surrounded by a chain of small hills; but on the west and south sides where nature does not af ford a barrier, an embankment, composed of clay, has been formed to the length of three and one sixth part of a mile. The hollow ground attached to the Tank is about two miles in breadth from the curve of the bank to the eastward but when it is full of water it might tobably extend to half a mile more over the elevated parts. The perpendicular height of the bank must at one time have been very considerable, but at present it is, however, not equal in all places, and in the highest part measures only fifteen feet. A stream called Vaivittan Aar, which flows from the Kandyan

country during the rainy season, has forced à passage through the bank on the west side, and which, together, with the disordered state of the sluices, has contributed to ruin the Tank. On the south side of the Tank is the river, called Pomparippo, and on the west a branch of the same, called Ootamadoo Aar. Between the Tank and the Pomparippo river there is a tract of high ground containing an extent of about 380 acres, which is well adapted for planting Cocoanut, Areka and Jack trees, and at a small distance to the eastward are found the remains of some ancient buildings consisting as usual of a great number of black granite pillars and fragments of brick.

The Tank has three large breaks and before they are repaired it would be necessary to throw up a dam across the Ootoomadoo Aar in order to prevent its communication with the Pomparippo river, and likewise to block up the passage of the Vaivittan Aar. Three sluices are required to be built and as the height of the bank has become much worn out by the treading of wild animals it should be heighted five feet in the elevated parts and ten in the lowest that the whole may bear a level of twenty feet and be capable of confining within its compass seventeen feet of water.

The expenses required for the repairs of the Tank are estimated at £5,360 1s. 3d.

There is every reason to believe, that under the government of the Tamil sovereigns, the country about Pomparippo overflew with inhabitants, who had directed their attention exclusively to agriculture and, that it was since the destruction of the Bawaly Tank, it be came deserted and allowed to be overgrown with forests, which now form the undisturbed domain of elephants and other wild ani inals. Out of the many hundred villages irrigated by this Tank, Pallikandel, Pomparippo, Naseevenkolam, Moolakandel and Kalla kandel are the only ones cultivated at present but that also to a very inconsiderable extent by means of the small Tanks attached to them, and the annual produce does not average more than 3 or 4000 Parrahs. If the Tank in question were repaired the whole of the jungle tracts may be reclaimed and an extent of 30,000 Parrahs can be cultivated (viz. 20,000 for the Maha and 10,000 for the Yalla harvest), the general produce of which will average at the minimum 3,00000 Parrahs but it should be remarked, that in order to effect this desirable object a great number of husband. men is necessary, at least 1,500, but the present number of inhabitants in the whole of the Pomparippo Pattoo including wo men and children does not exceed 500.

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