f the Jatakas is particularly
popular but the suttas of the Digha Nikaya are also often read. On
special occasions such as entry into a new house, an eclipse or any
incident which suggests that it might be well to ward off the enmity
of supernatural powers, it is usual to recite a collection of texts
taken largely from the Suttanipata and called Pirit. The word appears
to be derived from the Pali _paritta_, a defence, and though the Pali
scriptures do not sanction this use of the Buddha's discourses they
countenance the idea that evil may be averted by the use of
formulae.[113]

Although Sinhalese Buddhism has not diverged much from the Pali
scriptures in its main doctrines and discipline, yet it tolerates a
superstructure of Indian beliefs and ceremonies which forbid us to
call it pure except in a restricted sense. At present there may be
said to be three religions in Ceylon; local animism, Hinduism and
Buddhism are all inextricably mixed together. By local animism I mean
the worship of native spirits who do not belong to the ordinary Hindu
pantheon though they may be identified with its members. The priests
of this worship are called Kapuralas and one of their principal
ceremonies consists in dancing until they are supposed to be possessed
by a spirit--the devil dancing of Europeans. Though this religion is
distinct from ordinary Hinduism, its deities and ceremonies find
parallels in the southern Tamil country. In Ceylon it is not merely a
village superstition but possesses temples of considerable
size,[114] for instance at Badulla and near Ratnapura. In the latter
there is a Buddhist shrine in the court yard, so that the Blessed One
may countenance the worship, much as the Pitakas represent him as
patronizing and instructing the deities of ancient Magadha, but the
structure and observances of the temple itself are not Buddhist. The
chief spirit worshipped at Ratnapura and in most of these temples is
Maha Saman, the god of Adam's Peak. He is sometimes identified with
Lakshmana, the brother of Rama, and sometimes with Indra.

About a quarter of the population are Tamils professing Hinduism.
Hindu temples of the ordinary Dravidian type are especially frequent
in the northern districts, but they are found in most parts and at
Kandy two may be seen close to the shrine of the Tooth.[115] Buddhists
feel no scruple in frequenting them and the images of Hindu deities
are habitually introduced into Buddhist temples. These of