Among the Kandyans polyandry was prevalent till 1861, and the wife had the possession of all the brothers. The children call the eldest brother father. A man could bring in another, not a relation, to have joint marital rights with himself ; indeed, the first husband could so introduce as many as the wife consented to receive as husbands. According to Polybius, polyandry was practised in ancient Greece, and in Book xii. we read that it was an old and habitual practice in Sparta. In Kandy, in the Beena marriage, the husband resided in the wife's house, and the woman shared the family inheritance, with her brothers. The husband, in this marriage, could be dismissed summarily by the family of the wife. In the Diga marriage, the wife left her own house for that of the husband,—forfeited all claim on the property of her parents, but acquired some claim on that of her husband, and the wife could not obtain divorce, unless with the full consent of the hus band. Divorces were constantly sought for by women on trivial pretences. A child born within nine months of the divorce, must be maintained by the husband. The Kandyans are larger men than the Singhalese of the coast provinces. They are exceedingly indolent and thriftless.
Tamil people have been residing in Ceylon from unknown times, but many are recent' immi grants. Their main occupation is agricultural. The (coolie) labourers, who come over in large numbers from the continent during the coffee season, are Tamilar.
Tenuent describes the Veddah as miserable objects, active but timid, athletic though deformed, with large heads and misshapen limbs. Their long black hair and beards fall down to the middle in uncombed lumps ; they stood before him with their faces bent towards the ground, and their restless eyes twinkled upwards with an expression of uneasiness and apprehension. The children were entirely naked, with misshapen joints, huge beads, and protuberant stomachs ; the women were the most repulsive specimens of humanity he had evcr seen in any country.
The forest Veddah dwell in hollow trees or caves, subsist on game, which they kill with rudely formed bows and arrows, wandering from jungle to jungle, as the game becomes scarce. They will not hold the slightest intercourse with any natives but those of their own tribe. The village Veddah dwell in certain districts, hold but slight intercourse with the other inhabitants of the island, will not intermarry nor mix with them, but can make themselves understood to the Singhalese.
The forest Veddah are dexterous hunters, and especially skilful in snaring the wild elephants. The two sections of tho tribe do not intermarry, as they mutually distrust each other. They have their own headmen, whom they elect and obey.
They use bows and arrows, and clubs of iron and wood. In 1871 their number was reduced to 534, of whom 459 were in the Central Province. • They occupy a district about 90 miles long and 45 broad in the south-eastern side of Ceylon, lying between the sea and the base of the Badulla and Offal] Ilills. According to Mr. Sirr, they are a remnant of the Yakko, the original inhabitants of Ceylon, who, '2000 years ago, after the conquest of the island by Vijaya and his followers, returned into the wilds, as the Koli in Gnjerat, the Bhil in Malwa, the Patuah in Cuttack, the Khond in Gondwana, and the Beda in Mysore retired before conquerors. The Bisadx or Besadm, which in medireval Greek is called Vesadte, are alluded to in the tract of Palladius de Moribus Brachman arum, written about A.D. 400; and the same name is applied by Ptolemy to a similar race inhabiting Northern India. The Veddah, in drawing the bow, employ their hands and their feet. They are omnivorous, and eat carrion and vermin, roots, grain, monkeys, fruit, birds, bats, crows, owls, and kites, but refuse the bear, elephant, and buffalo. Their language is a dialect of Singhalese, free from Sanskrit or Pali, but the vocabulary is very limited, and they have recourse to gestures and signs. They have no temples, idols, altars, prayers, or charms, but have a devil and spirit worship. They cover their dead with leaves in the jungle.
L'hodia, according to one tradition, were hunters who, on the eve of a solemn occasion, failing to obtain game, etc., murdered a child and sent its dismembered body to the king ; another and more probable tradition is to the effect that this caste persisted in eating beef after its use as food had been prohibited. Their own traditions make them descendants from a daughter of King Pera-kumba, who in anger with his daughter gave her to a scavenger. They are mentioned in the Rajavali, written B.C. 204, and in ch. xlii. of Mahawanso, A.D. 589. The tenth chapter of the Mahawanso mentions that, B.C. 437, the king Pandukabhaya employed them in Anuradha pura as scavengers. Tho native laws forbade a Rhodia to approach a temple of Buddha or the Hindu gods ; to build houses, or to live in any abode enclosed within walls, nor even to cultivate the soil or possess land ; and, even to this day, their dwellings are mere sheds. They were for bidden to approach, much less to touch or breathe upon, a caste man, and all things they touch aro unclean. The men wander about in parties or tribes seeking their precarious subsistence. Their women perform feats of legerdemain, and tell fortunes, and their want of chastity is proverbial.