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cannot be doubted. When we read of murders committed by plunging a weapon' into the victims we may be certain that the Knife was resorted to in many a fight with the enemy. It does not appear in any carvings.

Its shape varies considerably. The largest type (Fig. No. 172) follows the curve of the short Southern Indian sword (see Fig. No. 158), and has a wide blade; others are much narrower and straighter. The better sorts of knives had carved ivory hafts inlaid with brass, silver, or gold; a thin narrow plate of the same material, with raised conventional decorations, which were usually meanders or simple four-pointed stars, was also attached to each side of the lower part of the blade, the surface of which was sunk at the spot to receive it. Some had carved handles of rock-crystal, a custom which appears to have been common in former times, since it has caused a general expression Stone-handled knife' (Gal-mita pihe) to be applied to all weapons of the same shape, whatever material be used in the haft. Common knives of course had wooden handles (Fig. No. 177). The usual forms are shown in the illustrations (Figs. 172-178). All appear to have had thin wooden sheaths formed of two hollowed strips tied or pegged together near the point, and bound by a thin plate of brass or silver at the mouth.

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The Kris, Kriciya (c pronounced as ch), is shown by its name to be borrowed from Malaya. It is rarely seen, and does not often appear in the wihāra paintings; but it is represented at the Dambulla wihāra, where it is held as a dagger. The fact that a broken blade which appeared to belong to this weapon, with at least three bends, was discovered in the Tissa excavations, in the lowest pottery stratum, proves that it had been introduced into the island in very early times. Unfortunately I preserved no drawing of the blade, which is now in the Colombo Museum.

The Itiya is the true Sinhalese form of a weapon of this type. It is a narrow-bladed short stabbing spear or assegai, but it is also held like a sword. It is described as having a thin blade eighteen inches long, with bends resembling those of the Kris, and two cutting edges. It is found in the Dewālas,

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and appears in the temple paintings among the arms carried by the demons in their contest with Buddha. The illustration (Fig. 187) is taken from one of these drawings. In a large statue of Kāli, at Anuradhapura, this goddess grasps it like a sword, and holds it erect. It has three bends in this carving, more developed transversely than those of the Kris.

The Javelin or short Throwing-Spear, Visi-hella, also does not appear in the carvings. It seems to have been employed chiefly by soldiers who rode on elephants, and perhaps also by those who defended city walls and forts. I give an illustration (Fig. 191) of a blade of very early date found in the Tissa excavations; it is the only early one that I have seen. I also include a modern one in my possession with a very large blade and thick handle, notched at the end, which its owner called an 'arrow' (Fig. 186); such a weapon would probably be used as a Pike and not as a Javelin.

This weapon, or perhaps a short spear, is represented on some of the early oblong coins, on which it has a length equal to the height of the personage who holds it. A similar weapon is placed at the side of the standing deity on some of the coins of Wijaya-Bahu; this has a very narrow elongated blade and a decorated shaft.

The Spear, Hella, is mentioned by Mr. Bell in his Annual Report for 1896, p. 7, as being represented in a panel at Welana Damana, in the North-central Province, in which a fight of armed men is carved. He does not describe it. I know of only one other instance in which it appears in a stone carving in Ceylon; this is one of the panels at the Ridi Wihāra, where a soldier carries one with which he is about to attack an enemy. I did not sketch it; it is of an early type, without the side wings at the base of the blade which are seen in later weapons.

The shape of the blade has undergone great changes in Ceylon. In the earliest specimens, obtained from my excavations at Tissa, and apparently pre-Christian, it is thick and nearly straight, one being about two inches wide and seven and a half long, with a somewhat broad rounded point; this form has a half-socket at the base, formed by widening out the stem and

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