The well-known godlings are (1) Wahala Bandâra Deviyô alias Dêvatâ Bandâra; (2) Wirâmunda Deviyô; (3) Wanniya Bandâra; (4) Kirti Bandâra; (5) Menik Bandâra; (6) Mangala Deviyô; (7) Kumâra Deviyô; (8) Irugal Bandâra; (9) Kalu Veddâ alias Kalu Bandâra; (10) Gangê Bandâra; (11) Devol Deviyô; (12) Ilandâri Deviyô; (13) Sundara Bandâra; (14) Monarâvila Alut Deviyô; (15) Galê Deviyô; (16) Ayiyanar Deviyô.
The godlings are local; those which are worshipped in one country district are not sometimes known in another. Their insignia together with a few peacock feathers are sometimes kept in small detached buildings called kovil with representations of the godlings rudely drawn on the walls. A priest called a Yakdessa is in charge of a kovil and when people fall ill “they send for the Yakdessa to their house, and give him a red cock chicken, which he takes up in his hand, and holds an arrow with it, and dedicates it to the god, by telling him, that if he restore the party to his health, that cock is given to him, and shall be dressed and sacrificed to him in his kovil. They then let the cock go among the rest of the poultry, and keep it afterwards, it may be, a year or two; and then they carry it to the temple, or the priest comes for it: for sometimes he will go round about, and fetch a great many cocks together that have been dedicated, telling the owners that he must make a sacrifice to the god; though, it may be, when he hath them, he will go to some other place and convert them into money for his own use, as I myself can witness; we could buy three of them for four-pence half penny. When the people are minded to inquire any thing of their gods, the priests take up some of the arms and instruments of the gods, that are in the temples upon his shoulder; and then he either feigns himself to be mad, or really is so, which the people call pissuvetichchi; and then the spirit of the gods is in him, and whatsoever he pronounceth is looked upon as spoken by God himself, and the people will speak to him as if it were the very person of God.”[1]
Galê Deviyô or Galê Bandâra, also called Malala Bandâra is the god of the rock and is propitiated in parts of the Eastern Province, Uva and the Kurunegalle district, to avert sickness, bad luck and drought. “In these districts, in all cases, the dance, which is a very important part of the proceedings, and indispensable in the complete ceremony, takes place on a high projecting crag near the top of a prominent hill or on the summit of the hill, if it is a single bare rock. On this wild and often extremely dangerous platform, on some hills a mere pinnacle usually hundreds of feet above the plain below, the Anumetirâla performs his strange dance, like that of all so called devil dancers. He chants no song in honour of the ancient deity but postures in silence with bent knees and waving arms, holding up the bill hooks—the god himself for the time being. When he begins to feel exhausted the performer brings the dance to an end, but sometimes his excitement makes it necessary for his assistant to seize him and forcibly compel him to stop. He then descends from his dizzy post, assisted by his henchmen, and returns to the devâla with the tom toms and the crowd.”[2]
The spirits of the forest, invoked by pilgrims and hunters are Wanniyâ Bandâra, Mangala Deviyô, Ilandâri Deviyô and Kalu Bandâra alias Kalu Veddâ. Kaluwedda is a demon supposed to possess power over the animal race. “When a person, more commonly a public hunter, shoots an animal, whether small or large, he, without uttering a single word, takes on the spot three drops of blood from the wound, and smearing them on three leaves makes them into the shape of a cup, and offers them on the branches of a tree, clapping his hands, and expressing words to this effect, “Friend Kaluwedda, give ear to my words: come upon the branches, and receive the offering I give to thee!” The effect of this superstition is supposed to be, that the hunter will seldom or never miss his game.[3]”
Manik Bandâra is the spirit of gem pits and Gange Bandâra is the spirit of streams and rivers.
“The malignant spirit called Gange Bandâra, Oya Bandâra, Oya Yakka, etc. is properly an object of terror, not of worship; and under very many different appellations the identity is easily perceived: he is the representative or personification of those severe fevers, to which, from some occult causes, the banks of all Ceylon rivers are peculiarly liable. The manner of making offerings to the Gange Bandâra is by forming a miniature double canoe, ornamented with cocoanut leaves so as to form a canopy: under this are placed betel, rice, flowers, and such like articles of small value to the donor, as he flatters himself may be acceptable to the fiend, and induce him to spare those who acknowledge his power. After performing certain ceremonies, this propitiatory float is launched upon the nearest river, in a sickly season. I have seen many of these delicate arks whirling down the streams, or aground on the sand banks and fords of the Ambanganga (Matale East).”[4]
Ayiyannar Deviyô is the god of tanks and he is propitiated under a tree by the bund of a tank, by throwing up in the air boiled milk in a hot state. Sundara Bandâra extends his protection to those who invoke him before sleeping.
Wîramunda Deviyô is a spirit of agriculture and rice cakes made of the new paddy is offered to the godling on a platform on which are placed husked cocoanuts, flowers, plantains, a lighted lamp, a pestle and a mortar. Gopalla is a pastoral godling who torments cattle at night and afflicts them with murrain. Devol Deviyô is a South Indian deity who came to Ceylon in spite of the attempts to stop him by Pattini who placed blazing fires in his way. Masked dances of a special kind involving walking over fire take place in his honour. Kirti Bandara, and Monaravila Alut Deviyô are two lately deified chieftains, the former lived in the reign of king Kirti Siri (1747–1780), the latter is Keppitipola who was beheaded by the British in 1818.
Wahala Bandara Deviyô alias Devatâ Bandara is a minister of Vishnu and is invoked when demon-possessed patients cannot be cured by the ordinary devil dance. At his devâla in Alut Nuwera, 11 miles from Kandy, the Kapurâla beats the patient with canes till the devil is exorcised. With him is associated Malwatte Bandâra, another minister of Vishnu.
The peace of the home is impersonated in seven divine mothers who are said to be manifestations of the goddess Pattini. Their names vary according to the different localities. They are known in some places as:—(1) Miriyabedde Kiri Amma or Beddê Mehelli; (2) Pudmarâga Kiri Amma (3) Unâpâna Kiri Amma; (4) Kosgama Kiri Amma; (5) Bâla Kiri Amma; (6) Bôvalagedere Kiri Amma; (7) Indigolleve Kiri Amma.