The Four Rākshasas

At a certain village there are five Gamarālas; for those five there are five wives. While the five persons are [there], five traders came to the house. To those women say the five traders, “Go with us.” Having said, “Let us go,” they went. Then when the five Gamarālas came home, having seen that the five women were not [there] they went to seek them.

When going, they went into the forest jungle (himālē) in which are four Rākshasas. The Rākshasas seized the men. Well then, the four Rākshasas having shared four men ate them; one person remained over.

One Rākshasa said to another Rākshasa, “Take him for yourself.”

Then the other Rākshasa says, “I don’t want him; you take him.”

This Rākshasa says, “I don’t want him.”

Then that Rākshasa said, “Give him to me, if so.”

The other Rākshasa said, “I will not give him now, because previously when I was giving him you did not take him.”

Owing to it there having been a quarrel, the two [fought each other, and] died.

Still two Rākshasas remained over. One Rākshasa having handed over the man to the other Rākshasa, says to the other Rākshasa, “You take charge of this man. Stay in this jungle; I am going to another jungle.” After he said it the Rākshasa goes away.

When going, he met with yet [another] man. Seizing the man he says, “What is in your box?”

“In my box, cakes,” he said.

Then the Rākshasa says, “I don’t want cakes; I must eat you.”

The man says, “It is I alone you eat now. [Spare me, and] I will give you cakes to eat,” he said.

The Rākshasa said, “I indeed don’t eat these.”

Then the Rākshasa, having broken the cake into bits, says, “Under the protection (saranē) of Mīdum Ammā, this cake is sprouting.” Then it sprouted.

Then the Rākshasa says, “On this tree four branches are being distributed, under the protection of Mīdum Ammā.” They were distributed.

After they were distributed, he said, “On this tree four flowers are becoming full-grown, under the protection of Mīdum Ammā.” Then four flowers were full-grown.

After that, he said, “Four cakes are becoming fruit on this tree, under the protection of Mīdum Ammā.” Then four cakes became fruit. After they became fruit the Rākshasa climbed the tree. While he was ascending, a Rākshasī came. Having come, she says, “O Rākshasa, please give me also cakes.”

The Rākshasa says, “Because I asked and got them from Mīdum Ammā I cannot give them.”

The Rākshasī says, “Anē! O Rākshasa, you cannot say so. Please give me cakes.” Then the Rākshasa gave her a [cake]-fruit.

The Rākshasī said falsely, “The cake fell into the heap of cow-dung.”

Then the Rākshasa says, “To give cakes to thee, I shall not give again.”

The Rākshasī says, “O Rākshasa, [for me] to take [thee] to my house, place two cakes in thy two armpits, and taking one in [each] hand, do thou please jump into my sack.”

The Rākshasa says, “O Rākshasī, what happened to thy Rākshasa?”

The Rākshasī says, “There is no Rākshasa of ours. O Rākshasa, I must take thee away.” Then the Rākshasa says, “It is good.”

When going, she met with a Moorman (Marakkek). The Rākshasī, having become afraid at seeing the man, bounded off. After she sprang off, the Moorman, having gone near the sack, placed the sack on his head; he took the sack away. Having gone again to the jungle he stays [there]. Then the Rākshasa came out and seized the Moorman. The man says, “What didst thou seize me for?”

“Because there is not any food for me I seized thee to eat.”

The Moorman says, “Thou wilt eat me, only, now. There are five hundred children [of mine]. In the month I will give thee the children.” Afterwards the Rākshasa let him go.

The Moorman went home. The whole of the five hundred children of the Moorman go to school. When they came home from school the Moorman says, “Sons, come, to go on a journey.” The five hundred and the Moorman having gone to the jungle, went to the place where the Rākshasa is. Having gone there, he called the Rākshasa; the Rākshasa came. Seeing the Rākshasa, this Moorman says, “O Rākshasa, they are in thy charge, these five hundred.”

Then the Rākshasa again seized the Moorman. The Moorman says, “What didst thou seize me for?”

The Rākshasa says, “To eat thee I seized thee.”

Then the Moorman says, “My five hundred cattle are [there]; I will give them to thee.”

The Rākshasa says, “If so, wilt thou bring and give them?”

The Moorman says, “I will bring and give them.”

Then the Moorman went to his house. Having gone [there], he came back, taking the five hundred cattle. He gave him them.

Then the Rākshasa again seized the Moorman. The Moorman says, “What didst thou seize me for?”

The Rākshasa says, “To eat thee.”

The Moorman says, “Five hundred goats are [there]. I will give them to thee; let me go.” Then he let go the Moorman. The Moorman, having gone home, brought those five hundred goats and gave them.

After he gave them the Rākshasa again seized the Moorman. When he was seizing him, he said to the Rākshasa, “I have brought and given thee so many things; thou didst not eat them.”

The Rākshasa says, “That is the truth. Take thy five hundred children; take thy five hundred cattle.” When he said thus, the Rākshasa, taking the five hundred goats, ate. After that, the Moorman was sent home by the hand of the Rākshasa. After he sent him, this Rākshasa, having come to the Rākshasa’s boundary, called the Moorman, and said, “Please take charge of this jungle; I am going away.”

The Moorman says, “O Rākshasa, where are you going?”

The Rākshasa says, “I cannot live in this jungle!”

The Moorman says, “If so, I will take over this chena jungle.” He took it, the Moorman.

Then the Rākshasa came near the tree. Having come, when he looked he perceived that the Yakā had been [there]. The Rākshasa thought, “I must create for myself a man’s disguise”; he created it. [After] creating it he ascended that tree; having ascended the tree he stayed [there] seven days.

He saw two men taking a hidden treasure. The Rākshasa thought, “I must eat these two persons.” Afterwards these two men came to that very tree. After they came the Rākshasa slowly descended. After having descended (baehaelā hiṭan), having come near those men he says, “Where went ye?”

Then the men say, “We came for no special purpose (nikan).”

“What is this meat in your hand?” he asks.

Then the Rākshasa says, “Why didst thou tell me lies?” Having said it he seized them. Having finished seizing them, to those men says the Rākshasa, “I must eat you.”

The men say, “Shouldst thou eat us thy head will split into seven pieces.”

After he seized them that man says, “O Rākshasa, what didst thou hold me for?”

The Rākshasa says, “I hold thee for me to eat.”

“I have the tiger, greater than thee. Having employed the tiger I will kill thee,” [the man said].

Then the Rākshasa, having abandoned the Rākshasa appearance, created the tiger appearance. After creating it, when he seized that man he says, “Is there a child of thine?”

The man says, “There are two children of mine.”

The tiger says, “Am I to eat thee, or wilt thou give me thy two children?” he says.

Then he says, “Don’t eat me; I will give my two children.”

The tiger says, “Thou art telling lies.”

The man says, “In three days I will bring and give them to thee.”

Both the boys went to the jungle to break firewood. Afterwards, this man having come home, when he looked [they were] not at home. The man asked at the hand of his wife, “Where are the two youths?”

The woman says, “The two boys went to break firewood.”

Then the man beat that woman. “Why didst thou send them to the chena jungle?” he said.

The two youths came home. After they came they saw that their mother is weeping and weeping. “What, mother, are you weeping for?” they asked.

Then said that woman, “Sons, your father beat me.”

Thereupon the father called those two youths: “Having gone quite along this path, let one go on the rock that is on the path,—one,” he said. He told the other youth to stay below the rock. Then he said to the youth who was going on the rock, “Having gone to the rock call your younger brother.”

Those boys having gone to that rock, the youth who went onto it called the other youth. The tiger heard that word. Having heard it he abandoned the tiger appearance; again he created the Rākshasa appearance. [After] creating it, he came running near the rock, the Rākshasa.

Then after that youth who stayed on the ground had seen that Rākshasa, he seized the youth. After seizing him he says, “Who sent thee?”

That youth said, “Father sent me into this chena jungle.”

The youth says, “I came with my elder brother.” Then the Rākshasa ate him.

After that, that youth who is on the top of the rock says to his younger brother, “Younger brother, hold out your hands; I will jump.”

Having said, “Hā, jump,” this Rākshasa opened his mouth. Then the youth jumped into his mouth. He having jumped into his mouth the Rākshasa ate him.

Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.

This rambling story was related by a boy who supplied me with several other better ones. I have inserted it because it is the only one which mentions the deity of the Rākshasas, Mīdum Ammā, the Mist Mother. The rest of the story gives a fair representation of some of the notions of the villagers regarding the Rākshasas.

Their own statements to me regarding them are that the Rākshasas were found chiefly or only in the jungle called himālē, the wild and little-frequented mixture of high forest and undergrowth. There are none in Ceylon now, they say; but in former times they are believed to have lived in the forest about some hills near this village of Tom-tom Beaters, at the north-western end of the Doḷukanda hills, in the Kuruna͞egala district.

Those at each place have a boundary (kaḍa-ima), beyond which they cannot pass without invitation; this is referred to in the story No. 135. Ordinarily, they can only seize people who go within their boundary, unless they have been invited to enter houses or persons have been specially placed in their power.

They are much larger than men, but can take any shape. Their teeth are very long, and are curved like bangles; they are as thick as a boy’s arm. Their tangled hair hangs down over their bodies.

They build good houses, and have an abundance of things in them, as well as silver and gold. They commonly rear only horses and parrots. They live on the men and animals they catch. Men are very much afraid when they see them; they seize anyone they can catch, and eat him,—or any animals whatever.

Yakās (Yaksayō) do not usually eat men; they only frighten them. Rākshasas are much worse and more powerful than Yakās.

Other notions of the villagers regarding these two classes of supernatural beings may be gathered from their folk-tales.

In Tales of the Punjab (Mrs. F. A. Steel), p. 135, a Rākshasa is represented as living partly on goats. In the notes, p. 310, Sir R. Temple remarked that this was curious. It is in accordance with Sinhalese belief.

In the Kathā Sarit Sāgara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. 602, a Rākshasa who had seized a man and was about to eat him, allowed him to go on his taking an oath that he would return, after doing a service for a Brāhmaṇa that he had promised. He got married in the place of the Brāhmaṇa’s son, stole off in the night to redeem his promise, and was followed by his wife, who offered herself to the Rākshasa in his place. When the Rākshasa said that she could live by alms, and stated that if anyone refused her alms his head should split into a hundred pieces, the woman asked him for her husband by way of alms, and on his refusing to give him the Rākshasa’s head split up, and he died. See also vol. i, p. 141, of these Sinhalese stories.

In Cinq Cents Contes et Apologues (Chavannes), vol. i, p. 405, a demon released a King on his promising to return to be eaten.