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MARCH, 1897.]
THE DEVIL WORSHIP OF THE TULUVAS.
65
So saying, he, moreover, continued :-"Now go you in, the night is far speut; go to sleep. You must get up early and boil the paddy; go."
So saying, he sent her in, and lay down near the entrance. So it was morning. On that day again he went with the carpenters to the forest and felled trees and returned. And in the same way they felled as many trees as they wanted. One day he went to Polippu and called all the fishermen, and said to one of them :-“How many males are in your house ?"
He answered :-“Sir, we are four in our house."
Then he called another, and said :-" you fisherman, how many males are in your honse ?"
He answered :-“Sir, we are two."
In this manner the Ballal called a man from each house, and ordered all of them, and said : -"O you fishermen, hear each one of you : trees have been felled in the forests for the purpose of building a stána for the Balla!'s budu. All these trees should be brought to the budu; because the day is fixed for building the stúna and for raising the upper storey, therefore the work is stopped. Therefore, to-morrow, all of you must come together; one or two hundred of you must join together and bring the trees to my house. The man who does not come will be fined. And if he does not pay the fine, I will see that nobody gives him chrenam 'or fire."
When he had thus frightened them, all of them said :-“Sir, do we tell lies to our lord ? We walk as it is agreeable to the god and this earth. We are not such rascals. Had we been such, how should we have survived ? We who have to go on the sea and catch fish and bring them and sell them, going from house to house; in this way we have to live, we who are such will never tell you lies. If we do not go out and bring all your trees to-morrow morning, you may drive us out of this town."
Having said this, they obtained permission to depart and went their way. The next day the headman of the fishermen called all the fishermen, and went with them to the forest, and tied ropes to the trees, and, dragging them and carrying them on the shoulders, brought them to the Palla!'s budu.
Then the Ballal, seeing the fishermen, said to them :-"O you fishermen, when you go home tell me and go; do not go without telling me."
At this they said :-"When we are going we will tell you."
So saying they went their way. The trees were such that those who saw them said: " Whence are these trees ! Sach trees are not found by any one.'
Afterwards the sawyers were called and the work was given to them on contract. And they were told to do the work quickly and finish it in fifteen days. So they came on the fixed day and said to the Ball! :-"O Ballal, we have not spoiled any bit of your timber, but we have done our work so that there is no crookedness nor flaw in it. Now call some one of your men and measure everything and calculate the money that is due to us, and settle our accounts. Give us what is due to us."
When they said this the Balla! brought the measuring rod and measured all the planks, and cast up accounts, and counted the money and gave them their due. He also gave them presents and sent them away. Afterwards he called the carpenters and made them prepare posts and the struts of the posts and their pedestals and the joists and the wooden cornices and the wall-plates and the beams and the ridge-pole and the rafters and the ceiling planks. After he got all these things prepared he got the wall-plates fixed into the forked-pieces lengthways, and then got the joists and the cornice fitted into the square, and also got the planks joined ; and afterwards he got the scantling raised and got the earth-work and plastering work all
