April, 1873.] SERVICE TENURES IN CEYLON. 117 supply lime; the dobi or washerman; the mat- weaver (KinnarayA); and the outcast Rodiy& who buries the carcases of animals that die on the estate, and supplies ropes, &c, made of hide and fibres. Others supply pack-bullocks for the trans¬ port of the produce of the fields, and for bringing supplies of salt and cured fish frbm the towns on the coast. The relations between the proprietor and ten¬ ants are generally of a friendly character, and when the connection has remained unbroken for many generations a strong feeling of attachment exists, and it is to this that may bo attributed the readiness with which tho proprietors have assented to the adoption of the view propounded by the District Judge of Kandy (Mr. Berwick), that the mere fact of the present holder being a son or heir of the tenant who precoded him, and died in pos¬ session, raises a presumption of praveni, i. e., here¬ ditary title, which presumption is directly opposed to Kandyan tradition. Nevertheless the chiefs and priests have been generally willing to waive all dispute as to the hereditary title, on being as¬ sured of the continuance of the customary ser¬ vices, or the payment, in lieu, of a fair rent. . . The tenants on estates belonging to the Bud¬ dhist monasteries keep the buildings in repair, cultivate the reserved fields, prepare the daily offerings of rice, attend the priests on journeys* &c. A remarkable case of religious toleration which has become known in the course of the Service Tenures inquiry is perhaps deserving of mention. The tenants in the village Rambukan- dana, belonging to the ancient monastery of Ridi Wih&re, are .all Muhammadans. The service which they render to that establishment is con¬ fined to the payment of dues and the transport of produce, Ac., and has no connection with the ser¬ vices of the Buddhist Wih&re, and their own lebbe or priest is supported by a farm set apart by the Buddhist landlords for that purpose. There are thus Muhammadan tenants performing with¬ out reluctance service to a Buddhist monastery, and that monastery freely supporting a priest for its Muhammadan tenants. The head of this mo¬ nastery has from its foundation been a member of the Tibbotuw&we family. This is the most im¬ portant of the numerous private livings in Ceylon. When one of these becomes vacant, before one of the family to which it belongs has been ordained,
- Tho most celebrated of these processions is the Pera-
hera, which takes place at Kandy in Esala (Jnlv—August), commencing with the new moon in that month, and con¬ tinuing till the full moon. It is a Hindu festival in honour of the four deities, Natha, Vishnu, Kataraerama (Kanda- Bv&mi), and Pattini, who are held in reverence by the Bud* dhista of Ceylon as dewiyo who worshipped (rautama, and are seeking to attain NirvAna. In the reign King Kirtissri (A. D. 1747—1780), a body of priests who came over from here, as in England, a temporary incumbent is put in, who generally serves as tutor to the young heir. On the Dew&le lands tho service is most com¬ plicated and peculiar, the part which each tenant has to take in the annual processions being mi¬ nutely defined; and it is to this that the popular¬ ity of the Dew&le service is owing. These proces¬ sions afford the ordinary villagers the only oppor¬ tunities for a general gathering, and for taking part in a pageant and a show, and above all it is on these occasions that the social distinctions, to which the Kandyans attach great importance, are publicly recognized.* . . . There is one question connected with the Wi- haro and Dew&le estates which must before long force itself on the consideration of Government. There is no means of ensuring the due application of the rents from these estates to their legitimate purposes. Tho labour which should be employed on tho repair of tho ecclesiastical buildings is frequently taken for the erection of private build¬ ings of the priests and lay incumbents, and the dues are often not accounted for. Tho complaints of misappropriation of the temple property are frequent. Even the land is sometimes sold to ignorant purchasers, and when the services are commuted, this misappropriation, if not checked, will increase, to the Berious demoralization of the priests and Basnayakas. If the revenues are not devoted to their original purpose, they should be employed in education or otherwise, for the benefit of the people, and not be appropriated to the per¬ sonal use of Buddhist priests and Basn&yakas. In a village near Badnlla, nearly the whole of the land is in the hands of one family, which holds the office of Basn&yaka of the Dew&le to which the villago is said to belong. But the Dew&le is in ruins, the processions are not conducted, and the Government gives up its tithe only to enrich a private family*.f It is necessary to again call attention to this question, as the evil is daily growing greater, and, with its growth, demoralizing tho people, and di¬ minishing the value of tho public lands set apart for ecclesiastical purposes. In the course of the past year a very serious case camo to the know¬ ledge of the Commissioners. The Dambulu wihara is, as is well known, a shrine held in great reverence Siam, for tho purpose of restoring the UpasampadA ordination, objected to the observance of this Hindu ceremony in a Buddhist country. To remove their scruples, the king ordered the Dalada relic of Buddha to be carried thenceforth in proces&ion with the insignia of the four deities; nevertheless, the Perahera is not regarded as a Buddhist ceremony. f Report for 1870.
