On festive days itinerant songmen amuse the village folk at open places and greens; they keep time to a dance by skilfully whirling metal-plates or small tambourines on their fingers or pointed stakes, by striking together sticks, by tossing earthen pots up in the air and catching them and they eulogize the hamlet and its people in extempore couplets with the refrain, “tana tanamda tÂnÊnÂ, tanÂ, tamda, tÂnÊnÂ, tana tanamda, tana tanamda, tana tanamda, tÂnÊnÂ.”

The people also enjoy themselves on the merry-go-round (katuru onchillÂva)—a large revolving wheel on a tall wooden superstructure with seats attached; at theatrical representations called kÔlan ne?tum, rÛkada ne?tum, and nÂdagam; at games of skill and at divers forms of outdoor games.

KÔlan ne?tuma is a series of mimetic dances of a ludicrous character by actors dressed like animals and demons, wearing masks and sometimes perched on high stilts.

The rÛkada ne?tuma is a marionette show of the ordinary incidents of village life—usually of the adventures of a married couple, a hevÂrala (a militia guard) and his wife Kadiragoda lamayÂ; the former goes to the wars and returns with his eyes and ears off only to be beaten by his wife who soon after falls ill with labour pains, and devil dancers are requisitioned to relieve her; Pinnagoda rÂla is the clown of the show.

The nÂdagama is a dramatic play and for its performance a circular stage is erected with an umbrella-shaped tent over it; round it sits the audience, who, though admitted free, willingly contribute something into the collection-box brought by the clown (kÔnangiya) at the end of the play. Before the drama begins, each of the actors, in tinselled costume, walks round the stage singing a song appropriate to his character. The piece represented is based on a popular tale or an historical event.

Games of skill and chance are played on boards made for that purpose.1

In Olinda Keliya a board having seven holes a side is used; only two can take part in the game, and each in turn places olinda seeds (abrus precatorius) in the holes and the object of the opponent is to capture the other’s seeds according to certain rules.2

In Pancha Keliya dice and six cowries are used; the latter are taken into the player’s hand and dropped, and the shells which fall on the reverse side are counted and the dice moved an equal number of places on the board and the game continues till all the dice reach the other end of the board.

In Deeyan Keliya sixteen dice representing cows and four dice representing tigers are placed on a board and the cows have to get from one side to the other without being intercepted and captured by the tigers.

Some of the outdoor games played by adults are of the ordinary kind, and others of a semi-religious significance.

The ordinary outdoor games are Buhu Keliya, Pandu Keliya, Lunu Keliya, MuttÊ, HÂlme?lÊ and Tattu penille.

In Buhu Keliya there are several players who place their balls, (made of any bulbous root hardened and boiled till it becomes like rubber), round a pole firmly fixed to the ground; to this pole is attached a string about 5 feet long held by a player whose endeavour is to prevent the others getting possession of the balls without being touched. The person touched takes the place of the guarding player and when all the balls are taken away the last guard is pelted with them till he finds safety in a spot previously agreed upon.

In Pandu Keliya the players form into two sides, taking their stand 100 yards apart with a dividing line between; the leader of one party throws a ball up and as it comes down beats it with his open palm and sends the ball over the line to the opposing side. If the other party fails to beat or kick it back, they must take their stand where the ball fell and the leader of their party throws the ball to the other side in the same way. This goes on till one party crosses the boundary line and drives the other party back.

In Lunu Keliya there are two sets of players occupying the two sides of a central goal (lunu) about 30 or 40 yards from it; a player from one side has to start from the goal, touch a player of the other side and regain the goal holding up his breath; if he fails he goes out and this goes on till the side which has the greatest number of successful runners at the end is declared the winner.

In Mu??É (rounders) a post is erected as a goal, and one of the players stands by it and has a preliminary conversation with the others:—

Q.—KÎkkiyÔ.

A.—MuddarÊ.

Q.—Dehikatuvada batukatuvada—Is it a lime-thorn or a brinjal-thorn?

A.—Batukatuva—Brinjal-thorn.

Q.—Man endada umba enavada—should I come or would you come?

A.—Umbamavaren—you had better come.

As soon as the last word is uttered, the questioner gives chase, and the others dodge him and try to reach the post without being touched; the one who is first touched becomes the pursuer.

In Halmele there is no saving post, but the area that the players have to run about is circumscribed; the pursuer hops on one leg and is relieved by the person who first leaves the circle or is first touched.

Before starting he cries out—HÂl?melÉ A.—KanakabarÉ.

Q.—Enda hondÊ? (May I come?).

A.—Bohama hondayi (All right).

In Tattu pe?nilla also called Mahason’s leap, a figure in the shape of H is drawn; a player guards each line and the others have to jump across them and return without being touched; it is optional to leap over the middle line and is only attempted by the best players, as the demon Mahason himself is supposed to guard it.

The outdoor games with a semi-religious significance are Polkeliya, Dodankeliya and ankeliya.

In Pol Keliya the villagers divide themselves into two factions called yatipila and udupila and the leaders of the two parties take a fixed number of husked cocoanuts and place themselves at a distance of 30 feet and one bowls a nut at his adversary who meets it with another in his hand. This goes on till the receiver’s nut is broken when he begins to bowl. The side which exhausts the nuts of the other party is declared the winner.

Dodan Keliya is a game similar to the Pol Keliya the oranges taking the place of the cocoanuts.

In An Keliya a trunk of a tree is buried at the centre of an open space of ground; a few yards off is placed the log of a cocoanut tree about 20 feet high in a deep hole large enough for it to move backwards and forwards and to the top of it thick ropes are fastened. The villagers divide themselves into two parties as in Pol Keliya, and bring two forked antlers which they hook together and tying one to the foot of the trunk and the other to that of the log pull away with all their might till one of them breaks.

In all these semi-religious games the winning party goes in procession round the village and the defeated side has to undergo a lot of abuse and insult intended to remove the bad effects of the defeat.

Children in addition to their swings, tops, bamboo pop-guns, cut water, bows and arrows, water squirts, cat’s cradles and bull roarers have their own special games.

They play at hide and seek, the person hiding giving a loud ‘hoo’ call that the others may start the search; or one of them gets to an elevated place and tauntingly cries out “the king is above and the scavenger below” and the others try to drag him down.

Several children hold their hands together forming a line and one of them representing a hare comes running from a distance and tries to break through without being caught; or one of them becomes a cheetah and the rest form a line of goats holding on to each other’s back. The cheetah addresses the foremost goat saying “eluvan kannayi man ÂvÊ.” (I have come to eat the goats) and tries to snatch away one of the players at the back; who avoids his clutches singing “elubeti kapiya sundire” (go and eat the tasty goat dung); if one is caught he has to hold on to the back of the cheetah and the game continues till all are snatched away.

When the children are indoors they amuse themselves in various ways.

They hold the backs of each other’s hands with their thumb and fore-finger, move them up and down singing “kaputu kÂk kÂk kÂk, goraka dÊn dÊn dÊn, amutu vÂv vÂv vÂv, dorakada gahÊ puvak puvak, batapandurÊ bulat bulat, usi kaputÂ, usÎ,” and let go each other’s hold at the end of the jingle, which means that “crows swinging on a gamboge-tree (goraka) take to their wings when chased away (usi, usi), and there are nuts in the areca-tree by the house and betel-creepers in the bamboo-grove.” They also close their fists and keep them one over the other, pretending to form a cocoanut-tree; the eldest takes hold of each hand in turn, asks its owner, “achchiyÉ achchiyÉ honda pol gediyak tiyanav kadannada?” (grandmother, grandmother, there is a good cocoanut, shall I pluck it); and, when answered, “Oh, certainly” (bohoma hondayi), brings it down. A mimetic performance of husking the nuts, breaking them, throwing out the water, scraping the pulp and cooking some eatable follows this.

They twist the fingers of the left hand, clasp them with the right, leaving only the finger-tips visible and get each other to pick out the middle finger.

They take stones or seeds into their hands and try to guess the number, or they take them in one hand, throw them up, catch them on the back of the hand, and try to take them back to the palm.

They keep several seeds or stones in front of them, throw one up and try to catch it after picking up as many seeds or stones as possible from the ground.

They hold the fingers of their baby brothers saying “this says he is hungry, this says what is to be done, this says let us eat, this says who will pay, this says though I am the smallest I will pay” and then tickle them saying “han kutu.”

They keep their hands one over the other, the palm downwards, and the leader strokes each hand saying, “Aturu muturu, demita muturu RÂjakapuru hetiy aluta gen manamÂli hÂl atak geralÂ, hiyala ge?at bedÂla pahala ge?at bedÂlÂ, us us daramiti pÉliyayi, miti miti daramiti pÉliyayi, kukal kapal dara pillÊ, kikili kapal ve?ta mullÊ, sangan pallÂ,” (Aturu muturu demita muturu; the new bride that the merchant, RÂjakapuru, brought, having taken a handful of rice, cleansed it and divided it to the upper and lower house; a row of tall faggots; a row of short faggots; the cock that is killed is on the threshold; the hen that is killed is near the fence; sangan pallÂ); one hand is next kept on the owner’s forehead and the other at the stomach and the following dialogue ensues:—

Q.—NalalÉ monavÂda—What is on the forehead?

A.—Le—Blood.

Q.—E?lwaturen hÊduvÂda—Did you wash it in cold water?

A.—Ov—Yes.

Q.—GiyÂda—Did it come off?

A.—NÊ—No.

Q.—Kiren? hÊduvÂda—Did you wash it in milk?

A.—Ov—Yes.

Q.—GiyÂda—Did it come off?

A.-Ov—Yes.

(The hand on the forehead is now taken down).

Q.—BadÊinne mokada—What is at your stomach?

A.—Lamay—A child.

Q.—E?yi andannÊ—why is it crying?

A.—Kiri batuyi ne?tuva—For want of milk and rice.

Q.—KÔ man dunna kiri batuyi—Where is the milk and rice I gave?

A.—Ballayi be?lalÎ kÊv—The dog and the cat ate it.

Q.—KÔ ballayi be?lali—Where is the dog and the cat?

A.—LindÊ ve?tuna—They fell into the well.

Q.—KÔ linda—Where is the well?

A.—Goda keruv—It was filled up.

Q.—KÔ goda—Where is the spot?

A.—Ândiy pe?la hittevvÂ,—There Ândiy plants were planted.

Q.—KÔ Ândiy pe?la—Where are the Ândiy plants?

A.—DÊv—They were burnt.

Q.—KÔ alu—Where are the ashes?

A.—Tampal vattata iss—They were thrown into the tampal (Nothosocruva brachiata) garden.

Then the leader pinches the other’s cheek and jerks his head backward and forward singing “Tampal kÂpu hossa genen (give me the jaw that ate the tampalÂ).