THE PILLI CHARM.

A STUDY IN SINHALESE MAGIC.

BY DR. O. PERTOLD, PH.D.

(Read on 27th September 1922.)

It is a peculiar feature of Buddhism, that it preserves the original religions in every country where it has spread. This is due to the fact, that Buddhism in its original shape did not 1ecognize the laymen as true members of its religious societysuch being only the bhikkus-and therefore the laymen are left to embrace all the superstitions of their original religion being only subjected to the Buddhist moral. In this way many traces of very old religions have been preserved in all the Buddhist countries, but especially in Ceylon, Burma and Tibet. Formerly, as I was studying these remains of old, pre-Buddhist religion in Ceylon, I was of the opinion, that it bill be possible in course of time to restore the old religion completely from the obsolete cults and the current tradition. But as I visited Ceylon now after twelve years in order to gather anew material for these studies, I realized that by the influence of the western culture, many characteristic features disappeared, and it is not any more possible to restore the old Sinhalese religion completely in that form as it existed before Indian religions at first Hindu religion and later on Buddhisminvaded Ceylon. Yet many characteristic features in the obsolete cults of Ceylon and in the extant Ceylonese literature can be gathered and proved as being survivals of pre-Aryan times in Ceylon. Among these obsolete cults most important is the Sinhalese magic.

The Sinhalese magic is still the least examined subject of the Indian ethnology, although it is very interesting and able to elucidate many problems of the pre-Aryan affairs in India and adjacent countries. Therefore it is a curious thing, that scholars with a few exceptions neglected it upto now. A

little of the huge material for the study of Sinhalese magic was collected by Dandris de Silva Gooneratne (On Demonology and Witchcraft in Ceylom-Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1865-66, pp. 51-99) and by W. L. Hildburgh in his Notes on Sinhalese Magic (in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. XXXVIII pp. 148-206). In these two articles much of valuable material about Sinhalese magic is collected, but the material is not complete, and is not arranged (especially in the case of de Silva Gooneratne) methodically. This lays in the intricacy of the subject, which must be at first dealt with in monographs, before the complete idea of Sinhalese magic can be gained. Necessity of dealing with this subject in the way of small monographs is caused also by the fact, that only few of the magical practices are still carried on in Ceylon, many of them being preserved only by means of a mere tradition, in tales and stories about such cases, which are said to have occurred hundreds and hundreds years ago, when some of the charms were practised with success. In such a poor state also the tradition about the Pilli charm is preserved although it is said, that it is practised upto now in some of the remote districts especially in the southern parts of the island. I was, however, not able to discover any Yakedura (wizard, necromancer) who would be able even to perform the necessary rites for the charm, notwithstanding the possibility of reaching the result of the charm. Therefore I decided to collect the materials concerning the Pilli charm as far as they are available and arrange them methodically in order to give a clear idea how the charm was performed in the former times.

The most important magical practices of the Sinhalese are enumerated in the quoted article by Gooneratne, pp. 98-69. They are Hüniyam, Angam, Kalama, Kalamba, Serra, Pilli, Jivama, Bandina and Dehena practices. It seems, however, that not all of these practices are independent charms, and the last three, it is certain, are only a part of every magical ceremony in Ceylon. Jivama is a ceremony for animating

the object of the charm, in order to make the demon visible and to place him in service of the wizard. Bandina is the "binding" of the demon, generally represented by binding some thread or cloth in knots of artificial shape. Dehena (ssk. dakshina) are presents accompanied with spells and incantations offered to the demon, now bodily present at the ceremony, in order to submit the demon to the will of the performer and to compel him to execute the orders of the

sorcerer.

According to de Silva Goonerat ne these practices differ only in the strength of working, all being destined to harm the foe, either by hurting him or by inflicting a disease upon him..

The Pilli charm is considered to be the most efficacious of them. According to the best Sinhalese authorities the Pilli charm, if absolutely correctly performed-what is however exceedingly difficult-results in appearing of the demon-Yak-in the shape of a living being, who executes the orders of the wizard (Edurā).1 Commonly the Pilli is intended to kill somebody, and then the death immediately follows the moment, when the demon becomes alive. On account of the fast working of the charm, the countercharms for the sake of the affected person are very difficult to be performed, almost impossible. According to the Sinhalese belief only a greater sorcerer can discover that somebody performs Pilli against him, and can, before the performance is finished and before the charm starts to work turn the effects of the Pilli from himself against the performer. In such a case the performer of a Pilli is inevitably lost. An example of such a case according to the Sinhalese tradition is quoted by de Silva Gooneratne, pp. 91 ff.

1 The etymology of this word is uncertain. The Sinhalese gramarians explain it by ajurya, dirghāyusa, i. e., “"longevity." Then it may be identical with Sanskrit ayushya, giving long life," as the the eduras

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were also medicine men and witch doctors.

The function of the wizard (Edura) can be done by any man, who knows the necessary ritual. It is done, however, mostly by the professional demon priests (Kattādiya), perhaps on account of the danger in performing, but also therefore, because demon priests are generally the only persons who know the old magic texts by heart, although they very seldom understand the contents of them.

Different kinds of Pilli are mentioned in the Sinhalese traditional literature either according to the demon, who is incantated or according to the being in which the demon appears as the result of the ceremony.

Eighteen kinds of Pilli are mentioned by de Silva Gooneratne (p. 87) mostly unknown to the present Sinhalese tradition, which knows other kinds not mentioned by Gooneratne. The kinds of Pilli mentioned by Gooneratne are these:

1. Riri Pilli-demon appears as a beautiful young man. 2. Naga Pilli-demon appears as a cobra.

3. Kumāra Pilli-demon appears as a boy.

4. Koli Billi-demon appears as a hen.

5. Kanya Pilli-demon appears as a virgin.

6. Kana-mëdiri Pilli-demon appears as a glow-worm.

7. Garuda Pilli-demon appears as a peacock.

8. Kurumini Pilli-demon appears as a Cocoanut-beetle. 9. Mala Pilli (more probably Mala Pilli)-demon appears in different forms, commonly as an old man,

10. Mahasohon Pilli-demon appears as a boar.

11. Od li Pilli-demon appears as an old woman.

In this word are comprised according to the Sinhalese etymology the Sanskrit roots kri-kriņoti, krinut: to hurt, to injure, to kill, and da dadāti: to give.

They are low caste Sinhalese, mostly of the Oli class, which seem to be of Dravidian origin.

12. Debara Pilli-demon appears as a hornet.

13. Bambara Pilli-demon appears as a rock-bee. 14. Waliga Pilli-demon appears as a Telugu man. 15. Simha Pilli-demon appears as a lion.

16. Gaja Pilli-demon appears as a mad elephant.

17. Gini Pilli-demon appears as a fire-brand or as a lightning.

18. Nica-kula Pilli-demon appears as a dog.

At a glance we see, that Gooneratne did not know these Pillis from his own experience and that he reproduces, what he was told by somebody who did not even understand the old Sinhalese language (Eļu-bas). Then Oddi-des and Wadiga. des means really the same, viz., the present province of Orissa. He writes Mala without diacritical points leaving to the fancy of the reader, whether it is Mala (flower) or Malā (archer) or Mala dead body). The same he does not explain, why the eighteenth kind is called Nica-kula Pilli and why in it demon appears as a dog (low-caste Pilli, on account, that it was brought in some connection with a low caste Ceylonese as a plantain-leaf touched during the meals by a Roḍiya, is used in it), etc.

In the Sinhalese magic literature are all these kinds of Pill, mentioned in different connection as to the effect and means besides many other kinds as for instance Demala Pilli (Tamil Pilli), Kadawara Pilli (Kadavara being a demon, yak, of irrigation channels), Kulundul Pilli (First-born Pilli), Tun-kulundul Pilli (Three first-born Pilli). The Kuļundul Pilli seems to be the most popular of all them. If you ask a Sinhalese, be he even a sorcerer, what is Pilli and how it is administered, every one will describe you a Kuļundul Pilli, Hildburgh, p. 161, supplies us with a short description of what can be called Tun-kuļundul Pilli. This description reproduces almost completely the present Sinhalese knowledge of the Pilli charm, and what more can be heard about it in Ceylon, are either some local variants or new additions of the reporter.