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The nature of white and black magic in Sri Lanka

Most often, we find that magic provides a readymade and infinitely adaptable topic for discussion. In the simplest analysis, magic is the power to use supernatural forces to make impossible things happen such as making people disappear or controlling events in nature. In the popular tradition people count much on the use of magic to combat any adverse power or to create potentially dangerous impact on people. Generally magic is readily distinguishable from what we call miracle as magic seems to employ the occult power to apparently influence the course of events.

Usually a magician in Sri Lanka is a man who pretends to have power to influence a course of event by occult control of nature and spirits. It is almost inevitable that people do not necessarily expect relief and protection from religion but instead they rely totally on magic in whatever form for security from danger and distress. However, it is possible to draw a distinct line between magic and religion which is primarily oriented towards giving spiritual happiness and consolation for man rather than giving instant relief to man's problems. He is probably justifiable to say that magic has gained influence over aired levels of society where science has not taken root and inspired people.

How it affects

It is true that most Sri Lankans are caught up in ceremonies of yantras and mantras in various stages of life from birth to death for complete reassurance of safety. In short magic centers round natural phenomena that are chancy or dangerous and that fall beyond the boundaries of ordinary man's understanding. It is the continuation of a tradition of people who were vague in scientific outlook and who tried to find a passable explanation for their ill-luck. They were simply unable to explain the cause for diseases, illnesses, barrenness of women or domestic accident or a failure of a good harvest when their neighbours had a very successful one. They were really aware of the consolation and the healing effect in the belief of Karma but the belief alone did not seem to give solution to their immediate practical problems. The best and easiest approach to cope with their misfortune seemed to be the practice of magic which was believed to put and end to civil spirits, jealousy of men or wrath of gods. The effect of it whether white or black spreads through and through the realms of extraordinary. For rural Sri Lankans, the natural phenomena with untraceable signs and sound were a mystery and within this mystery does the power of magic flourish.

White magic

White magic (intended for the welfare of people) encourages the use of spells which are expressed in the form of wishes, prayers, oaths, interjection and simple formulae. The magician (Kattadiya) employs play on words and onomatopoeic phrases in spells to heighten their effect and produce a sense of confidence in the person for whom they are meant. Moreover, he takes particular care to pronounce the words on precise intonation because any mistake in the flow of spell is believed to bode ill for him and the client. A spell which carries undertones of a myth is noticeable by its vocabulary of esoteric words (such as Sanskrit) and sounds with redoubled strength aimed chiefly at achieving desired results and impressing the person in trouble. The words in a spell typically lack logical meaning (Om namo.... om breem...! eswahuh ... and the like). White magic is usually exploited both in secret and in public to guarantee success increase of wealth or increase of production. White magic is mostly a form of "Shanthikarma".

For women, an array of rites (generalised) are performed at each crucial stage of their life namely puberty, marriage and pregnancy and vows are made to the gods of Devales with the promise of making lavish offerings on fulfilment of the vow. A women during pregnancy is exclusively blessed with the chanting of pirith and she is specially, exposed to the chanting of Angulimala piritha when she is close to delivery. At the same time, eating flesh or fried food, and being exposed to outdoor life remain something of a taboo (killa) for a girl at puberty until she is ceremonially bathed and purified in strong protection against evil spirits. It is interesting to observe that since more recent times, businessmen and politicians in particular have been exploiting certain forms of magical rites (pujas) to rack up resounding success in their business undertakings and political life.

A popular magical device that is believed to guard the wearer against all evil influence is "Sura" or "Yantra" (a kind of amulet which contains oil charmed with pirith or mantras). The ideal example for this is "Henaraja Yantra". Furthermore, a 'mantra' (a form of incantation) with widespread use in magical rituals, is simply meant for curing sicknesses and forcing demons or 'prethas' out. A kattadiya believes that a mantra is infused with charmed words with peculiar power and includes proper names of gods and demons who are implored to help and avoid harm. A mantra which encapsulates symbolic expressions with haunting rhythm, is often chanted in a low voice as it is intended, by no means, to be heard or understood by others.

The Edura's actions such as sprinkling water to wish for rain or cutting 'Alu puhul' (ash pumpkin) or knots to reverse the effects 'kodivina' are interesting to the viewer but awe-inspiring to the believer. However, it has not escaped our notice that Sri Lankan white magic has planted itself on Buddhist backdrop. Quite typically the Shanthikarma ritual opens with invocations to gods for protection of the family specially females from evil spirits, natural calamities and evil eye and evil mouth (eswaha and katawaha) from enemies. Popular tradition has is that wrath of gods or demons can bring illness and epidemics and so people fall back on devil dancing, bali dancing or Devol dancing to counteract the effects of evil forces and black magic. We see that amulets, 'yantras' and talismans inspire better levels of confidence in the wearer and offer apparently ensured 'protection' against evil. The simplest offering for Buddha, Bo tree or a deity in a Devale, is the puja which calls for flowers. The offerings are made by kattadiyas, bali eduras or yak dessas (sorcerer). The "mal bulath thatuwa' (flower and betel tray) can be rightly interpreted as a quasi" Devale in which Maheshwari is believed to sit in the center and Saraswathi, Angulimala, Ganeshwara and Mahikantha are believed to be on four corners in Katharagama Devale, the kapurala offers the tray of offerings which consist of betel, coconut and fruits, on behalf of the offerer and returns the tray to the whole family for consumption.

This is purely white magic in Sri Lanka. Sometimes we see people realising animals in captivity (buying a cow from a butcher) on fulfilment of a certain vow made to a god in Devale premises. The undercurrent of this rite is satisfying the psychological attitudes of a believing person. This trend is a positive one.

Black aspect of magic

The common black magic practices have absolutely complex and secret acts or rites performed in cemeteries in the dead of night. Both the Kattadiya and the client are well aware to the fact that once their rites happen to misfire in the cemetery, spirits will take their toll in pitch darkness. However, kodivina (sorcery) is by far the most ruinous and deadly type of magic which basically calls for the general tendency to harm and even kill a target person or a family. Most rich or successful men are bedevilled by the oddest maniacal impression that black magic might be exploited by their neighbours or relations out of jealousy and they are unusually concerned about having yantras buried around their houses. This is to cancel out the effect of 'katawaha' (evil mouth) and 'eswaha' (evil eye). Some people are strongly gripped by the idea of occult principle by which a kattadiya is able to cause barrenness in women, miscarriages, accidents, illness and domestic failures. It is really pathetic to note that when a person fails in all attempts to regain his previous success, he begins to foster their idea that his (second) child, for example, is born with magical potency to thwart his success (apala) and tent to maltreat the helpless child.

If a woman who is believed to have "eswaha' or "katawaha" happens to note the success of someone and say how successful he is or if she were to damn another's happiness with a faint praise, she is beginning to harm him with her "hidden magic". Belief in 'eswaha' and 'katawaha' is seen to be firmly rooted in Sri Lankan society. It is obvious that the incidence of black magic is widespread where feelings of hatred, anger and jealousy are at work undermining social relationships. Sorcery is high in certain corners of society which lack any modern sense of justice to settle disputes or come to a compromise. Sri Lankan people are aware of the forms of black magic such as 'kodivina', 'bandana', 'anavina', or 'pilliya' and kattadiyas exploit their mystical power or magic mantras to give life those forms of black magic. Midnight and the moments of sunrise and sunset are best suited for magic while the sun, moon, planets and the position of stars are all taken in to consideration in magic operations. Only the kattadiya and the client have the understanding of the magic operation in which charms are buried in the premises of clients's enemy or spirits (pilliya) are directed together with curses to carryout the destructive orders of the kattadiya.

Sometimes we see a lover overwhelmed by passion falls back on magicians, support to bewitch a girl who does not reciprocate his love. "Rodi dehena" is such a magic device in operation in public.

As kattadiyas (sorcerers) practise in secret, they are often consulted in secret though everybody in the village knows them. But the officially recognised magician is the Devale kapurala and people throng to obtain blessings, to fulfill vows, to curse wrongdoers or to ask for protection.

In the climax of a magic ritual, a kattadiya is transported to another world and people stand in open mouthed wonderment when he is carried, by his assistants, away to the middle of the jungle. Often these magic rituals are seen to be performed in the depth of jungles, in cemeteries in secret recesses of a house, or in shadowy corners with indistinct words and muttered spells.

With a few notable exceptions, public opinion creates a magician who in turn believes that he has obtained his extraordinary power from planets, stars or agents of nature.

In Sri Lanka, a person may get publicity as a magician by a "dream revelation" or by tradition by which he gets ancestral practice of magic. Sometimes a dead relation or a god may appear in a dream and suggest forms of sorcery. Pricked by the needle of curiosity, people begin to visit him and leave him as strong believers of his 'wonderful practices'.

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