Chapter 6

CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE GREEKS AND ROMANS.

First heard of by the companions of Alexander the Great Various ancient names of Ceylon (note) Early doubts whether it was an island or a continent Mentioned by Aristotle Alleged mention of Ceylon in the Samaritan Pentateuch (note) Onesicritus's account Megasthenes' description Ælian's account borrowed from Megasthenes (note) Ceylon known to the Phoenicians and to the Egyptians (note) Hippalus discovers the monsoons Effect of this discovery on Indian trade Pliny's account of Ceylon Story of Jambulus by Diodoros Siculus (note) Embassy from Ceylon to Claudius Narrative of Rachias, and its explanation (note) Lake Megisba, a tank Early intercourse with China The Veddahs described by Pliny Interval between Pliny and Ptolemy Ptolemy's account of Ceylon Explanation of his errors Ptolemy discriminates bays from estuaries (note) v9 Identification of Ptolemy's names His map His sources of information Agathemerus, Marcianus of Heraclea Cosmas Indicopleustes Palladius--St. Ambrosius (note) State of Ceylon when Cosmas wrote Its commerce at that period In the hands of Arabs and Persians v4 Ceylon as described by Cosmas Story of his informant Sopater Translation of Cosmas The gems and other productions of Ceylon--"a gaou" (note) Meaning of the term "Hyacinth" (note) The great ruby of Ceylon, its history traced (note) Cosmas corroborated by the Peripius Horses imported from Persia Export of elephants Note on Sanchoniathon

CHAP. II.

INDIAN, ARABIAN, AND PERSIAN AUTHORITIES.

Absurd errors of the Hindus regarding Ceylon Their dread of Ceylon as the abode of demons Rise of the Mahometan power Persians and Arabs trade to India Story in Beladory of the first invasion of India by the Mahometans (text and note) Character of the Arabian geographers Their superiority over the Greeks Greek Paradoxical literature A.D. 851. The two Mahometans Their account of Ceylon Adam's Peak Obsequies of a king Councils on religion and history Toleration Carmathic monument at Colombo (note) Galle, the seat of ancient trade Claim of Mantotte disproved Greek fire (note) "_Kalah_" is Galle The Maharaja of Zabedj help possession of Galle Evidence of this in the Garsharsp-Namah Derivation of "Galle" (text and note) Aversion of the Singhalese to commerce Identification of the modern Veddahs with the ancient Singhalese Their singular habits, as described by Robert Knox, Ribeyro, and Valentyn By Albyrouni By Palladius By Fa Hian By the Chinese writers (note) By Pliny For this reason the coast only known to strangers Arabian authors who describe Ceylon Albateny and Massoudi Tabari (note) Sinbad the Sailor Edrisi Kazwini Cinnamon, no mention of Was cinnamon a native of Ceylon? No mention by Singhalese authors No mention of by Latin writers The _Regio Cinnamomifera_ was in Africa (note) No mention by Arabs or Persians First noticed in Ceylon by Ibn Batuta By Nicola di Conti (note) Ibn Batuta describes Ceylon His Travels

CHAP. III.

CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE CHINESE.

Early Chinese trade with Ceylon Early Chinese travellers in India Chinese translations of M.S. Julien List of Chinese authors relating to Ceylon (note) Their errors as to its form and site Their account of Adam's Peak and its gems Chinese names for Ceylon Curious habit of its traders They describe the two races, Tamils and Singhalese Origin of the cotton "Comboy" Costume of Ceylon Early commerce Works for irrigation noticed Island of Junk-Ceylon Galle resorted to by Chinese ships Vegetable productions Elephants, ivory, and jewels Skill of Singhalese goldsmiths and statuaries Pearls and gems sent to China No mention of cinnamon Chinese account of Buddhism in Ceylon Monasteries for priests first founded in Ceylon Cities of Ceylon in the sixth century Patriotism of Singhalese kings Domestic manners of the Singhalese Embassies from China to Ceylon Chinese travels prior to the sixth century Fa Hian's travels in sixth century First embassy from Ceylon to China, A.D. 405 Narrative of the image which it bore (note) Ceylon tributary to China in sixth century Hiouen-Thsang describes Ceylon in the seventh century (note) Events in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries King of Ceylon carried captive to China, A.D. 1405 Last embassy to China, A.D. 1459 Traces of the Chinese in Ceylon Evidences of their presence found by the Portuguese Modern Chinese account of Ceylon (note)

CHAP. IV.

CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE MOORS, GENOESE, AND VENETIANS.

The Moors of Ceylon Their origin The early Mahometans in India Arabians anciently settled in Ceylon Real descent of the modern "Moormen" Their occupation as traders, ancestral Their hostilities with the Portuguese They might have been rulers of Ceylon Indian trade prior to the route by the Cape The Genoese and Venetians in the East Rise of the Mongol empire Marco Polo, A.D. 1271 Visits Ceylon Friar Odoric, A.D. 1318 Jordan de Severac, A.D. 1323 (note) Giov. de Marignola, A.D. 1349 (note) Nicola di Conti, A.D. 1444 The first traveller who speaks of Cinnamon Jerome de Santo Stefano (note) Ludov. Barthema, A.D. 1506 Odoardo Barbosa, A.D. 1509 Andrea Corsali, A.D. 1515 (note) Cesar Frederic, A.D. 1563 Course of trade changed by the Cape route Irritation of the Venetians

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE FIRST VOLUME

MAPS.

"Gobbs" on the East Coast By ARROWSMITH "Gobbs" on the "West Coast ARROWSMITH Ceylon, according to the Sanskrit and Pali authors SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT Map of Ancient India LASSEN Position of Colombo, according to Ptolemy and Pliny SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT Ceylon, according to Ptolemy and Pliny SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT

PLANS AND CHARTS.

Geological System By Currents in the N.E. Monsoon Currents in the N.W. Monsoon Diagram of Rain in India and in Ceylon DR. TEMPLETON Diagram of the Anthelia DR. TEMPLETON Plan of a Fish-corral Summit of a Dagoba, with Lightning apparatus

WOOD ENGRAVINGS.

Marriage of the Fig-tree and the Palm By MR. A. NICHOLL Fig-tree on the Ruins of Pollanarrua MR. A. NICHOLL The "Snake-tree" MR. A. NICHOLL The _Loris_ M.H. SYLVAT The _Uropeltis grandis_ M.H. SYLVAT A _Chironectes_ M.H. SYLVAT Method of Fishing in Pools From KNOX The _Anabas_ of the dry Tanks By DR. TEMPLETON Eggs of the Leaf Insect M.H. SYLVAT _Cermatia_ DR. TEMPLETON The Calling Crab Eyes and Teeth of the Land Leech DR. TEMPLETON Land Leeches DR. TEMPLETON Upper and under Surfaces of the _Hirudo sanguisorba_ DR. TEMPLETON The Bo-tree at Anarajapoora MR. A. NICHOLL A Dagoba at Kandy From a Photograph Ruins of the Brazen Palace By MR. A. NICHOLL The Alu Wihara MR. A. NICHOLL The fortified Rock of Sigiri MR. A. NICHOLS Coin of Queen Leela-Wattee Coin showing the _Trisula_ Hook-money Ancient and Modern Tom-tom Beaters From the JOINVILLE MSS. A Column from Anarajapoora Sacred Goose from the Burmese Standard Hansa, from the old Palace at Kandy Honeysuckle Ornament From FERGUSSON'S _Handbook of Architecture_ Egyptian Yoke and Singhalese Pingo Veddah drawing the Bow with his Foot By MR. R. MACDOWALL Method of Writing with a Style MR. R. MACDOWALL The "Comboy," as worn by both Sexes MR. A. FAIRFIELD

NOTICE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.

The gratifying reception with which the following pages have been honoured by the public and the press, has in no degree lessened my consciousness, that in a work so extended in its scope, and comprehending such a multiplicity of facts, errors are nearly unavoidable both as to conclusions and detail. These, so far as I became aware of them, I have endeavoured to correct in the present, as well as in previous impressions.

But my principal reliance for the suggestion and supply both of amendments and omissions has been on the press and the public of Ceylon; whose familiarity with the topics discussed naturally renders them the most competent judges as to the mode in which they have been treated. My hope when the book was published in October last was, that before going again to press I should be in possession of such friendly communications and criticisms from the island, as would have enabled me to render the second edition much more valuable than the previous one. In this expectation I have been agreeably disappointed, the sale having been so rapid, as to require a fourth impression before it was possible to obtain from Ceylon judicious criticisms on the first. These in due time will doubtless arrive; and meanwhile, I have endeavoured, by careful revision, to render the whole as far as possible correct.

J. EMERSON TENNENT.

NOTICE TO THE THIRD EDITION.

The call for a third edition on the same day that the second was announced for publication, and within less than two months from the appearance of the first, has furnished a gratifying assurance of the interest which the public are disposed to take in the subject of the present work.

Thus encouraged, I have felt it my duty to make several alterations in the present impression, amongst the most important of which is the insertion of a Chapter on the doctrines of Buddhism as it developes itself in Ceylon.[1] In the historical sections I had already given an account of its introduction by Mahindo, and of the establishments founded by successive sovereigns for its preservation and diffusion. To render the narrative complete, it was felt desirable to insert an abstract of the peculiar tenets of the Buddhists; and this want it has been my object to supply. The sketch, it will be borne in mind, is confined to the principal features of what has been denominated "_Southern Buddhism_" amongst the Singhalese; as distinguished from "_Northern Buddhism_" in Nepal, Thibet, and China.[2] The latter has been largely illustrated by the labours of Mr. B.H. HODGSON and the toilsome researches of M. CSOMA of Körrös in Transylvania; and the minutest details of the doctrines and ceremonies of the former have been unfolded in the elaborate and comprehensive collections of Mr. SPENCE HARDY.[3] From materials discovered by these and other earnest inquirers, Buddhism in its general aspect has been ably delineated in the dissertations of BURNOUF[4] and SAINT HILAIRE[5], and in the commentaries of REMUSAT[6], STANISLAS JULIEN[7], FOUCAUX[8], LASSEN[9], and WEBER.[10] The portion thus added to the present edition has been to a great extent taken from a former work of mine on the local superstitions of Ceylon, and the "_Introduction and Progress of Christianity_" there; and as the section relating to Buddhism had the advantage, previous to publication, of being submitted to the Rev. Mr. GOGERLY, the most accomplished Pali scholar, as well as the most erudite student of Buddhistical literature in the island, I submit it with confidence as an accurate summary of the distinctive views of the Singhalese on the leading doctrines of their national faith.

[Footnote 1: See Part IV., c. xi.]

[Footnote 2: MAX MÜLLER; _History of Sanskrit Literature_, p. 202.]

[Footnote 3: _Eastern Monachism_, an account of the origin, laws; discipline, sacred writings, mysterious rites, religious ceremonies, and present circumstances of the Order of Mendicants, founded by Gotoma Budha. 8vo. Lond. 1850; and _A Manual of Buddhism in its Modern Development_. 8vo. Lond. 1853.]

[Footnote 4: BURNOUF, _Introduction à l'Histoire du Bouddhieme Indien_. 4to. Paris. 1845; and translation of the _Lotus de la bonne Loi_.]

[Footnote 5: J. BARTHELEMY SAINT-HILAIRE _Le Bouddha et sa Religion_. 8vo. Paris. 1800.]

[Footnote 6: Introduction and Notes to the _Fo[)e] Kou[)e] Ki_ of FA HIAN.]

[Footnote 7: Life and travels of HIOUEN THSANG.]

[Footnote 8: Translation of _Lalitavistára_ by M. PH. ED. FOUCAUX.]

[Footnote 9: Author of the _Indische Alterthumskunde;_ &c.]

[Footnote 10: Author of the _Indische Studien_; &c.]

A writer in the _Saturday Review_[1], in alluding to the passage in which I have sought to establish the identity of the ancient Tarshish with the modern Point de Galle[2], admits the force of the coincidence adduced, that the Hebrew terms for "ivory, apes, and peacocks"[3] (the articles imported in the ships of Solomon) are identical with the Tamil names, by which these objects are known in Ceylon to the present day; and, to strengthen my argument on this point, he adds that, "these terms were so entirely foreign and alien from the common Hebrew language as to have driven the Ptolemaist authors of the Septuagint version into a blunder, by which the ivory, apes, and peacocks come out as '_hewn and carven stones_.'" The circumstance adverted to had not escaped my notice; but I forebore to avail myself of it; for, although the fact is accurately stated by the reviewer, so far as regards the Vatican MS., in which the translators have slurred over the passage and converted "_ibha, kapi_, and _tukeyim_" into [Greek: "lithôn toreutôn kai pelekêtôn"] (literally, "stones hammered and carved in relief"); still, in the other great MS. of the Septuagint, the _Codex Alexandrinus_, which is of equal antiquity, the passage is correctly rendered by "[Greek: odontôn elephantinôn kai pithêkôn kai taônôn]." The editor of the Aldine edition[4] compromised the matter by inserting "the ivory and apes," and excluding the "peacocks," in order to introduce the Vatican reading of "stones."[5] I have not compared the Complutensian and other later versions.

[Footnote 1: Novemb. 19, 1859, p. 612.]

[Footnote 2: _See_ Vol. II. Pt. VII., c. i. p. 102.]

[Footnote 3: 1 _Kings_, x. 22.]

[Footnote 4: Venice, 1518.]

[Footnote 5: [Greek: Kai odontôn elephantinôn kai pithêkôn kai lithôn]. [Greek: BASIA TRITÊ]. x. 22. It is to be observed, that Josephus appears to have been equally embarrassed by the unfamiliar term _tukeyim_ for peacocks. He alludes to the voyages of Solomon's merchantmen to Tarshish, and says that they brought hack from thence gold and silver, _much_ ivory, apes, _and Æthiopians_--thus substituting "slaves" for pea-fowl--"[Greek: kai polus elephas, Aithiopes te kai pithêkoi]." Josephus also renders the word Tarshish by "[Greek: en tê Tarsikê legomenê thalattê]," an expression which shows that he thought not of the Indian but the western Tarshish, situated in what Avienus calls the _Fretum Tartessium_, whence African slaves might have been expected to come.--_Antiquit. Judaicæ_, l. viii. c. vii sec. 2.]

The Rev. Mr. CURETON, of the British Museum, who, at my request, collated the passage in the Chaldee and Syriac versions, assures me that in both, the terms in question bear the closest resemblance to the Tamil words found in the Hebrew; and that in each and all of them these are of foreign importation.

J. EMERSON TENNENT.

LONDON: November 28th, 1859.

NOTICE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

The rapidity with which the first impression has been absorbed by the public, has so shortened the interval between its appearance and that of the present edition, that no sufficient time has been allowed for the discovery of errors or defects; and the work is re-issued almost as a corrected reprint.

In the interim, however, I have ascertained, that Ribeyro's "Historical Account of Ceylon," which it was heretofore supposed had never appeared in any other than the French version of the Abbe Le Grand, and in the English translation of the latter by Mr. Lee[1], was some years since printed for the first time in the original Portuguese, from the identical MS. presented by the author to Pedro II. in 1685. It was published in 1836 by the Academia Real das Sciencias of Lisbon, under the title of "_Fatalidade Historica da Ilka de Ceilão_;" and forms the Vth volume of the a "_Colleção de Noticias para a Historia e Geograjia das Nações Ultramarinas_" A fac-simile from a curious map of the island as it was then known to the Portuguese, has been included in the present edition.[2]

[Footnote 1: See Vol. II. Part vi. ch. i. p.5, note.]

[Footnote 2: Ibid. p. 6.]

Some difficulty having been expressed to me, in identifying the ancient names of places in India adverted to in the following pages; and mediæval charts of that country being rare, a map has been inserted in the present edition[1], to supply the want complained of.

[Footnote 1: See Vol. I. p. 330.]

The only other important change has been a considerable addition to the Index, which was felt to be essential for facilitating reference.

J E.T.

INTRODUCTION.

There is no island in the world, Great Britain itself not excepted, that has attracted the attention of authors in so many distant ages and so many different countries as Ceylon. There is no nation in ancient or modern times possessed of a language and a literature, the writers of which have not at some time made it their theme. Its aspect, its religion, its antiquities, and productions, have been described as well by the classic Greeks, as by those of the Lower Empire; by the Romans; by the writers of China, Burmah, India, and Kashmir; by the geographers of Arabia and Persia; by the mediæval voyagers of Italy and France; by the annalists of Portugal and Spain; by the merchant adventurers of Holland, and by the travellers and topographers of Great Britain.

But amidst this wealth of materials as to the island, and its vicissitudes in early times, there is an absolute dearth of information regarding its state and progress during more recent periods, and its actual condition at the present day.

I was made sensible of this want, on the occasion of my nomination, in 1845, to an office in connection with the government of Ceylon. I found abundant details as to the capture of the maritime provinces from the Dutch in 1795, in the narrative of Captain PERCIVAL[1], an officer who had served in the expedition; and the efforts to organise the first system of administration are amply described by CORDINER[2], Chaplain to the Forces; by Lord VALENTIA[3], who was then travelling in the East; and by ANTHONY BERTOLACCI[4], who acted as auditor-general to the first governor, Mr. North, afterwards Earl of Guilford. The story of the capture of Kandy in 1815 has been related by an anonymous eye-witness under the pseudonyme of PHILALETHES[5], and by MARSHALL in his _Historical Sketch_ of the conquest.[6] An admirable description of the interior of the island, as it presented itself some forty years ago, was furnished by Dr. DAVY[7], a brother of the eminent philosopher, who was employed on the medical staff in Ceylon, from 1816 till 1820.

[Footnote 1: _An Account of the Island of Ceylon_, &c., by Capt. R. PERCIVAL, 4to. London, 1805.]

[Footnote 2: _A Description of Ceylon_, &c., by the Rev. JAMES CORDINER, A.M. 2 vols. 4to. London, 1807.]

[Footnote 3: _Voyages and Travels to India, Ceylon, and the Red Sea_, by Lord Viscount VALENTIA. 3 vols. 4to. London, 1809.]

[Footnote 4: _A View of the Agricultural, Commercial, and Financial Interests of Ceylon_, &c., by A. BERTOLACCI, Esq. London, 1817.]

[Footnote 5: _A History of Ceylon from the earliest Period to the Year_ MDCCCXV, by PHILALETHES, A.M. 4to. Lond. 1817. The author is believed to have been the Rev. G. Bisset.]

[Footnote 6: HENRY MARSHALL, F.R.S.E., &c. went to Ceylon as assistant surgeon of the 89th regiment, in 1806, and from 1816 till 1821 was the senior medical officer of the Kandyan provinces.]

[Footnote 7: _An Account of the Interior of Ceylon_, &c., by JOHN DAVY, M.D. 4to, London, 1821.]

Here the long series of writers is broken, just at the commencement of a period the most important and interesting in the history of the island. The mountain zone, which for centuries had been mysteriously hidden from the Portuguese and Dutch[1] was suddenly opened to British enterprise in 1815. The lofty region, from behind whose barrier of hills the kings of Kandy had looked down and defied the arms of three successive European nations, was at last rendered accessible by the grandest mountain road in India; and in the north of the island, the ruins of ancient cities, and the stupendous monuments of an early civilisation, were discovered in the solitudes of the great central forests. English merchants embarked in the renowned trade in cinnamon, which we had wrested from the Dutch; and British capitalists introduced the cultivation of coffee into the previously inaccessible highlands. Changes of equal magnitude contributed to alter the social position of the natives; domestic slavery was extinguished; compulsory labour, previously exacted from the free races, was abolished; and new laws under a charter of justice superseded the arbitrary rule of the native chiefs. In the course of less than half a century, the aspect of the country became changed, the condition of the people was submitted to new influences; and the time arrived to note the effects of this civil revolution.

[Footnote 1: VALENTYN, In his great work on the Dutch possessions in India, _Oud_ _en Nieuw Oost-Indien_, alludes more than once with regret to the ignorance in which his countrymen were kept as to the interior of Ceylon, concerning which their only information was obtained through fugitives and spies. (Vol. v. ch. ii. p. 35; ch. xv. p. 205.)]

But on searching for books such as I expected to find, recording the phenomena consequent on these domestic and political events, I was disappointed to discover that they were few in number and generally meagre in information. Major FORBES, who in 1826 and for some years afterwards held a civil appointment in the Kandyan country, published an interesting account of his observations[1]; and his work derives value from the attention which the author had paid to the ancient records of the island, whose contents were then undergoing investigation by the erudite and indefatigable TURNOUR.[2]

[Footnote 1: _Eleven Years in Ceylon_, &c., by Major FORBES. 2 vols. 8vo. London. 1840.]

[Footnote 2: See Vol. I. Part III. ch. iii. p. 312.]

In 1843 Mr. BENNETT, a retired civil servant of the colony, who had studied some branches of its natural history, and especially its ichthyology, embodied his experiences in a volume entitled "_Ceylon and its Capabilities_," containing a mass of information, somewhat defective in arrangement. These and a number of minor publications, chiefly descriptive of sporting tours in search of elephants and deer, with incidental notices of the sublime scenery and majestic ruins of the island, were the only modern works that treated of Ceylon; but no one of them sufficed to furnish a connected view of the colony at the present day, contrasting its former state with the condition to which it has attained under the government of Great Britain.

On arriving in Ceylon and entering on my official functions, this absence of local knowledge entailed frequent inconvenience. In my tours throughout the interior, I found ancient monuments, apparently defying decay, of which no one could tell the date or the founder; and temples and cities in ruins, whose destroyers were equally unknown. There were vast structures of public utility, on which the prosperity of the country had at one time been dependent; artificial lakes, with their conduits and canals for irrigation; the condition of which rendered it interesting to ascertain the period of their formation, and the causes of their abandonment; but to every inquiry of this nature, there was the same unvarying reply: that information regarding them might possibly be found in the _Mahawanso_ or in some other of the native chronicles; but that few had ever read them, and none had succeeded in reproducing them for popular instruction.

A still more serious embarrassment arose from the want of authorities to throw light on questions that were sometimes the subject of administrative deliberation: there were native customs which no available materials sufficed to illustrate; and native claims, often serious in their importance, the consideration of which was obstructed by a similar dearth of authentic data. With a view to executive measures, I was frequently desirous of consulting the records of the two European governments, under which the island had been administered for 300 years before the arrival of the British; their experience might have served as a guide, and even their failures would have pointed out errors to be avoided; but here, again, I had to encounter disappointment: in answer to my inquiries, I was assured that _the records, both of the Portuguese and Dutch, had long since disappeared from the archives of the colony_.

Their loss, whilst in our custody, is the more remarkable, considering the value which was attached to them by our predecessors. The Dutch, on the conquest of Ceylon in the seventeenth century, seized the official accounts and papers of the Portuguese; and a memoir is preserved by VALENTYN, in which the Governor, Van Goens, on handing over the command to his successor in 1663, enjoins on him the study of these important documents, and expresses anxiety for their careful preservation.[1]

[Footnote 1: VALENTYN, _Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien_, &c., ch. xiii. p. 174.]

The British, on the capture of Colombo in 1796, were equally solicitous to obtain possession of the records of the Dutch Government. By Art. XIV. of the capitulation they were required to be "faithfully delivered over;" and, by Art. XI., all "surveys of the island and its coasts" were required to be surrendered to the captors.[1] But, strange to say, almost the whole of these interesting and important papers appear to have been lost; not a trace of the Portuguese records, so far as I could discover, remains at Colombo; and if any vestige of those of the Dutch be still extant, they have probably become illegible from decay and the ravages of the white ants.[2]

[Footnote 1: Amongst a valuable collection of documents presented to the Royal Asiatic Society of London, by the late Sir Alexander Johnston, formerly Chief Justice of Ceylon, there is a volume of Dutch surveys of the Island, containing important maps of the coast and its harbours, and plans of the great works for irrigation in the northern and eastern provinces.]

[Footnote 2: _Note to the second edition_.--Since the first edition was published, I have been told by a late officer of the Ceylon Government, that many years ago, what remained of the Dutch records were removed from the record-room of the Colonial Office to the cutcherry of the government agent of the western province: where some of them may still be found.]

But the loss is not utterly irreparable; duplicates of the Dutch correspondence during their possession of Ceylon are carefully preserved at Amsterdam; and within the last few years the Trustees of the British Museum purchased from the library of the late Lord Stuart de Rothesay the Diplomatic Correspondence and Papers of SEBASTIAÕ JOZÉ CARVALHO E MELLO (Portuguese Ambassador at London and Vienna, and subsequently known as the Marquis de Pombal), from 1738 to 1747, including sixty volumes relating to the history of the Portuguese possessions in India and Brazil during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Amongst the latter are forty volumes of despatches relative to India entitled _Collecçam Authentica de todas as Leys, Regimentos, Alvarás e mais ordens que se expediram para a India_, _desde o establecimento destas conquístas; Ordenáda por proviram de 28 de Marco de 1754_.[1] These contain the despatches to and from the successive Captains-General and Governors of Ceylon, so that, in part at least, the replacement of the records lost in the colony may be effected by transcription.

[Footnote 1: MSS. Brit Mus. No. 20,861 to 20,900.]

Meanwhile in their absence I had no other resource than the narratives of the Dutch and Portuguese historians, chiefly VALENTYN, DE BARROS, and DE COUTO, who have preserved in two languages the least familiar in Europe, chronicles of their respective governments, which, so far as I am aware, have never been republished in any translation.

The present volumes contain no detailed notice of the _Buddhist faith_ as it exists in Ceylon, of the _Brahmanical rites,_ or of the other religious superstitions of the island. These I have already described in my history of _Christianity in Ceylon._[1] The materials for that work were originally designed to form a portion of the present one; but having expanded to too great dimensions to be made merely subsidiary, I formed them into a separate treatise. Along with them I have incorporated facts illustrative of the national character of the Singhalese under the conjoint influences of their ancestral superstitions and the partial enlightenment of education and gospel truth.

[Footnote 1: _Christianity in Ceylon: its Introduction and Progress under the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British and American Missions; with an Historical Sketch of the Brahmanical and Buddhist Superstitons_ by Sir JAMES EMERSON TENNENT. London, Murray, 1850.]

Respecting the _Physical Geography_ and _Natural History_ of the colony, I found an equal want of reliable information; and every work that even touched on the subject was pervaded by the misapprehension which I have collected evidence to correct; that Ceylon is but a fragment of the great Indian continent dissevered by some local convulsion; and that the zoology and botany of the island are identical with those of the mainland.[1]

[Footnote 1: It may seem presumptuous in me to question the accuracy of Dr. DAVY'S opinion on this point (see his _Account of the Interior of Ceylon, &c_., ch. iii. p. 78), but the grounds on which I venture to do so are stated, Vol. I. pp. 7, 27, 160, 178, 208, &c.]

Thus for almost every particular and fact, whether physical or historical, I have been to a great extent thrown on my own researches; and obliged to seek for information in original sources, and in French and English versions of Oriental authorities. The results of my investigations are embodied in the following pages; and it only remains for me to express, in terms however inadequate, my obligations to the literary and scientific friends by whose aid I have been enabled to pursue my inquiries.

Amongst these my first acknowledgments are due to Dr. TEMPLETON, of the Army Medical Staff, for his cordial assistance in numerous departments; but above all in relation to the physical geography and natural history of the island. Here his scientific knowledge, successfully cultivated during a residence of nearly twelve years in Ceylon, and his intimate familiarity with its zoology and productions, rendered his co-operation invaluable;--and these sections abound with evidences of the liberal extent to which his stores of information have been generously imparted. To him and to Dr. CAMERON, of the Army Medical Staff, I am indebted for many valuable facts and observations on tropical health and disease, embodied in the chapter on "_Climate_."

Sir RODERICK I. MURCHISON (without committing himself as to the controversial portions of the chapter on the _Geology_ and _Mineralogy_ of Ceylon) has done me the favour to offer some valuable suggestions, and to express his opinion as to the general accuracy of the whole.

Although a feature so characteristic as that of its _Vegetation_ could not possibly be omitted in a work professing to give an account of Ceylon, I had neither the space nor the qualifications necessary to produce a systematic sketch of the Botany of the island. I could only attempt to describe it as it exhibits itself to an unscientific spectator; and the notices that I have given are confined to such of the more remarkable plants as cannot fail to arrest the attention of a stranger. In illustration of these, I have had the advantage of copious communications from WILLIAM FERGUSON, Esq., a gentleman attached to the Survey Department of the Civil Service in Ceylon, whose opportunities for observation in all parts of the island have enabled him to cultivate with signal success his taste for botanical pursuits. And I have been permitted to submit the portion of my work which refers to this subject to the revision of the highest living authority on Indian botany, Dr. J.D. HOOKER, of Kew.

Regarding the _fauna_ of Ceylon, little has been published in any collective form, with the exception of a volume by Dr. KELAART entitled _Prodromus Faunæ Zeilanicæ_; several valuable papers by Mr. EDGAR L. LAYARD in the _Annals and Magazine of Natural History_ for 1852 and 1853; and some very imperfect lists appended to PRIDHAM'S compiled account of the island.[1] KNOX, in the charming narrative of his captivity, published in the reign of Charles II., has devoted a chapter to the animals of Ceylon, and Dr. DAVY has described the principal reptiles: but with these exceptions the subject is almost untouched in works relating to the colony. Yet a more than ordinary interest attaches to the inquiry, since Ceylon, instead of presenting, as is generally assumed, an identity between its _fauna_ and that of Southern India, exhibits a remarkable diversity of type, taken in connection with the limited area over which they are distributed. The island, in fact, may be regarded as the centre of a geographical circle, possessing within itself forms, whose allied species radiate far into the temperate regions of the north, as well as into Africa, Australia, and the isles of the Eastern Archipelago.

[Footnote 1: _An Historical Political, and Statistical Account of Ceylon and its Dependencies_, by C. PRIDHAM, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1849. The author was never, I believe, in Ceylon, but his book is a laborious condensation of the principal English works relating to it. Its value would have been greatly increased had Mr. Pridham accompanied his excerpts by references to the respective authorities.]

In the chapters that I have devoted to its elucidation, I have endeavoured to interest others in the subject, by describing my own observations and impressions, with fidelity, and with as much accuracy as may be expected from a person possessing, as I do, no greater knowledge of zoology and the other physical sciences than is ordinarily possessed by any educated gentleman. It was my good fortune, however, in my journies to have the companionship of friends familiar with many branches of natural science: the late Dr. GARDNER, Mr. EDGAR L. LAYARD, an accomplished zoologist, Dr. TEMPLETON, and others; and I was thus enabled to collect on the spot many interesting facts relative to the structure and habits of the numerous tribes of animals. These, chastened by the corrections of my fellow-travellers, and established by the examination of collections made in the colony, and by subsequent comparison with specimens contained in museums at home, I have ventured to submit as faithful outlines of the _fauna_ of Ceylon.

The sections descriptive of the several classes are accompanied by lists, prepared with the assistance of scientific friends, showing the extent to which each particular branch had been investigated by naturalists, up to the period of my departure from Ceylon at the close of 1849. These, besides their inherent interest, will, I trust, stimulate others to engage in the same pursuits, by exhibiting the chasms, which it still remains for future industry and research to fill up;--and the study of the zoology of Ceylon may thus serve as a preparative for that of Continental India, embracing, as the former does, much that is common to both, as well as possessing within itself a fauna peculiar to the island, that will amply repay more extended scrutiny.

From these lists have been excluded all species regarding the authenticity of which reasonable doubts could be entertained[1], and of some of them, a very few have been printed in _italics_, in order to denote the desirability of comparing them more minutely with well determined specimens in the great national depositories before finally incorporating them with the Singhalese catalogues.

[Footnote 1: An exception occurs in the list of shells, prepared by Mr. SYLVANUS HANLEY, in which some whose localities are doubtful have been admitted for reasons adduced. (See Vol. I, p. 234.)]

In the labour of collecting and verifying the facts embodied in these sections, I cannot too warmly express my thanks for the aid I have received from gentlemen interested in similar pursuits in Ceylon: from Dr. KELAART and Mr. EDGAR L. LAYARD, as well as from officers of the Ceylon Civil Service; the HON. GERALD C. TALBOT, Mr. C.E. BULLER, Mr. MERCER, Mr. MORRIS, Mr. WHITING, Major SKINNER, and Mr. MITFORD.

Before venturing to commit these chapters of my work to the press, I have had the advantage of having portions of them read by Professor HUXLEY, Mr. MOORE, of the East India House Museum; Mr. R. PATTERSON, F.R.S., author of the _Introduction to Zoology_, and by Mr. ADAM WHITE, of the British Museum; to each of whom I am exceedingly indebted for the care they have bestowed. In an especial degree I have to acknowledge the kindness of Dr. J.E. GRAY, F.R.S. for valuable additions and corrections in the list of the Ceylon Reptilia; and to Professor FARADAY for some notes on the nature and qualities of the "Serpent Stone,"[1] submitted to him. I have recorded in its proper place my obligations to Admiral FITZROY, for his most ingenious theory in elucidation of the phenomena of the _Tides_ around Ceylon.[2]

[Footnote 1: See Vol. I. Part II. ch. iii. p. 199.]

[Footnote 2: See Vol. II. Part VII. ch. i. p. 116.]

The extent to which my observations on _the Elephant_ have been carried, requires some explanation. The existing notices of this noble creature are chiefly devoted to its habits and capabilities _in captivity_; and very few works, with which I am acquainted, contain illustrations of its instincts and functions when wild in its native woods. Opportunities for observing the latter, and for collecting facts in connection with them, are abundant in Ceylon, and from the moment of my arrival, I profited by every occasion afforded to me for studying the elephant in a state of nature, and obtaining from hunters and natives correct information as to its oeconomy and disposition. Anecdotes in connection with this subject, I received from some of the most experienced residents In the island; amongst others, Major SKINNER, Captain PHILIP PAYNE GALLWEY, Mr. FAIRHOLME, Mr. CRIPPS, and Mr. MORRIS. Nor can I omit to express my acknowledgments to PROFESSOR OWEN, of the British Museum, to whom this portion of my manuscript was submitted previous to its committal to the press.

In the _historical sections_ of the work, I have been reluctantly compelled to devote a considerable space to a narrative deduced from the ancient Singhalese chronicles; into which I found it most difficult to infuse any popular interest. But the toil was not undertaken without a motive. The oeconomics and hierarchical institutions of Buddhism as administered through successive dynasties, exercised so paramount an influence over the habits and occupations of the Singhalese people, that their impress remains indelible to the present day. The tenure of temple lands, the compulsory services of tenants, the extension of agriculture, and the whole system of co-operative cultivation, derived from this source organisation and development; and the origin and objects of these are only to be rendered intelligible by an inquiry into the events and times in which the system took its rise. In connection with this subject, I am indebted to the representatives of the late Mr. TURNOUR, of the Ceylon Civil Service, for access to his unpublished manuscripts; and to those portions of his correspondence with Prinsep, which relate to the researches of these two distinguished scholars regarding the Pali annals of Ceylon. I have also to acknowledge my obligations to M. JULES MOHL, the literary executor of M. E. BURNOUF, for the use of papers left by that eminent orientalist in illustration of the ancient geography of the island, as exhibited in the works of Pali and Sanskrit writers.

I have been signally assisted inn my search for materials illustrative of the social and intellectual condition of the Singhalese nation, during the early ages of their history, by gentlemen in Ceylon, whose familiarity with the native languages and literature impart authority to their communications; by ERNEST DE SARAM WIJEYESEKERE KAROONARATNE, the Maha-Moodliar and First Interpreter to the Governor; and to Mr. DE ALWIS, the erudite translator of the _Sidath Sangara._ From the Rev. Mr. GOGERLY of the Wesleyan Mission, I have received expositions of Buddhist policy; and the Rev. R SPENCE HARDY, author of the two most important modern works on the archæology of Buddhism[1], has done me the favour to examine the chapter on SINGHALESE _Literature,_ and to enrich it by numerous suggestions and additions.

[Footnote 1: _Oriental Monachism,_ 8vo. London, 1850; and _A Manual of Buddhism,_ 8vo. London, 1853]

In like manner I have had the advantage of communicating with MR. COOLEY (author of the _History of Maritime and Inland Discovery_) in relation to the _Mediæval History_ of Ceylon, and the period embraced by the narrative of the Greek, Arabian, and Italian travellers, between the fifth and fifteenth centuries.

I have elsewhere recorded my obligations to Mr. WYLIE, and to his colleague, Mr. LOCKHART of Shanghæ, for the materials of one of the most curious chapters of my work, that which treats of the knowledge of Ceylon possessed by the Chinese in the Middle Ages. This is a field which, so far as I know, is untouched by any previous writer on Ceylon. In the course of my inquires, finding that Ceylon had been, from the remotest times, the point at which the merchant fleets from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf met those from China and the Oriental Archipelago; thus effecting an exchange of merchandise from East and West; and discovering that the Arabian and Persian voyagers, on their return, had brought home copious accounts of the island, it occurred to me that the Chinese travellers during the same period had in all probability been equally observant and communicative, and that the results of their experience might be found in Chinese works of the Middle Ages. Acting on this conjecture, I addressed myself to a Chinese gentleman, WANG TAO CHUNG, who was then in England; and he, on his return to Shanghæ, made known my wishes to Mr. WYLIE. My anticipations were more than realised by Mr. WYLIE'S researches. I received in due course, extracts from upwards of twenty works by Chinese writers, between the fifth and fifteenth centuries, and the curious and interesting facts contained in them are embodied in the chapter devoted to that particular subject. In addition to these, the courtesy of M. STANISLAS JULIEN, the eminent French Sinologue, has laid me under a similar obligation for access to unpublished passages relative to Ceylon, in his translation of the great work of HIOUEN THSANG; in his translation of the great work of HIOUEN THSANG; descriptive of the Buddhist country of India in the seventh century.[1]

[Footnote 1: _Mémoires sur les Contrées Occidentales_, traduites du Sanscrit en Chinois, en l'an 648, par M. STANISLAS JULIEN.]

It is with pain that I advert to that portion of the section which treats of the British rule in Ceylon; in the course of which the discovery of the private correspondence of the first Governor, Mr. North, deposited along with the Wellesley Manuscripts, in the British Museum[1], has thrown an unexpected light over the fearful events of 1803, and the massacre of the English troops then in garrison at Kandy. Hitherto the honour of the British Government has been unimpeached in these dark transactions; and the slaughter of the troops has been uniformly denounced as an evidence of the treacherous and "tiger-like" spirit of the Kandyan people.[2] But it is not possible now to read the narrative of these events, as the motives and secret arrangements of the Governor with the treacherous Minister of the king are disclosed in the private letters of Mr. North to the Governor-general of India, without feeling that the sudden destruction of Major Davie's party, however revolting the remorseless butchery by which it was achieved, may have been but the consummation of a revenge provoked by the discovery of the treason concocted by the Adigar in confederacy with the representative of the British Crown. Nor is this construction weakened by the fact, that no immediate vengeance was exacted by the Governor in expiation of that fearful tragedy; and that the private letters of Mr. North to the Marquis of Wellesley contain avowals of ineffectual efforts to hush up the affair, and to obtain a clumsy compromise by inducing the Kandyan king to make an admission of regret.

[Footnote 1: Additional MSS., Brit. Mus., No. 13864, &c.]

[Footnote 2: DE QUINCEY, _collected Works_, vol. xii. p. 14.]

I am aware that there are passages in the following pages containing statements that occur more than once in the course of the work. But I found that in dealing with so many distinct subjects the same fact became sometimes an indispensable illustration of more than one topic; and hence repetition was unavoidable even at the risk of tautology.

I have also to apologise for variances in the spelling of proper names, both of places and individuals, occurring in different passages. In extenuation of this, I can only plead the difficulty of preserving uniformity in matters dependent upon mere sound, and unsettled by any recognised standard of orthography.

I have endeavoured in every instance to append references to other authors, in support of statements which I have drawn from previous writers; an arrangement rendered essential by the numerous instances in which errors, that nothing short of the original authorities can suffice to expose, have been reproduced and repeated by successive writers on Ceylon.

To whatever extent the preparation of this work may have fallen short of its conception, and whatever its demerits in execution and style, I am not without hope that it will still exhibit evidence that by perseverance and research I have laboured to render it worthy of the subject.

JAMES EMERSON TENNENT.

LONDON: _July 13th, 1859._