ANAMESTRAYA: A shed in which to keep lights during festivals. In some temples these sheds are built permanently all round the widiya or outer court; in others they were mere temporary structures to protect the lights from wind and rain.
ANDE: Ground share given to a proprietor.
ANDU-GIRAKETTA: An arecanut-cutter of the shape of a pair of pincers; it forms the penuma or annual offering of the blacksmiths to their lord.
ANKELIYA: The ceremony of pulling horns or forked sticks to propitiate Pattini-deviyo in times of epidemics; according to ancient legends, it was a pastime at which the Deviyo and her husband Palanga took sides. They are said to have emulated each other in picking flowers with the forked sticks the husband standing at the top and the wife at the foot of a tree. The ankeliya as its name imports partakes more of the nature of a village sport than of a religious ceremony. There are two sides engaged, called the uda and yati-pil. It is conducted in a central spot in the midst of a group of villages set apart for the particular purpose, called anpitiya, and commenced on a lucky day after the usual invocation by the Kapurala, who brings with him to the spot the Halan a kind of bracelet the insignia of the Deviyo. The two Pil select each its own horn or forked stick; the horns or sticks are then entwined—one is tied to a stake or tree, and the other is tied to a rope, which is pulled by the two parties till one or other of the horns or sticks breaks. The Pila which owns the broken horn is considered to have lost, and has to undergo the jeers and derision of the winning party. If the Yatipila which is patronized by the Deviyo (Pattini) wins, it is regarded as a good omen for the removal or subsidence of the epidemic. The ceremony closes with a triumphal procession to the nearest Dewale. A family belongs hereditarily to one or the other of the two Pil.
ANPITIYA: The spot or place where the above ceremony is performed.
ANUMETIRALA: A respectful term for a Kapurala, one through whom the pleasure of the Deviyo is known.
ANUNAYAKA UNNANSE: A priest next in rank to a Maha-Nayaka or chief priest, the sub-prior of a monastery.
APPALLAYA: The earthen ware vessel flatter than an atale, q. v.
ARALU: Gall-nuts.
ARAMUDALA: Treasury, or the contents of a treasury; the reserve fund.