Cetabim (the usual Anglo-Latin form of the Heb term D'^n^H^, KtMiMy the WriiMngi), one of the three large divisions of the Old Test used by the Jews, and thus distinguishedfrrom the Law and the Prophets (the other divisions), as being, in the first instance, committed to writing, and not orally delivered. Hence the Book of Daniel is fbund in this section, his prophe- cies having been originally written down, and not ut- tered orally. This division of Scripture is also known by the equivalent Greek name Haoiographa (q. v.). It contains the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah (reckoned as one), and Chronicles. See
BiBLB.
Ceylon (the 7Vipro5M of the Greeks and Romans, the Serendib of the '^Arabian Nightef Lanka', in Sin- ghalese; Selendine, in the Indian language, whence, probably, Ceilan or CeyUm, the European name), an isl- and in the Indian Ocean, southeast of the coast of Cor- omandel (Hindostan), from which it is separated by the Gulf of Manaar. It lies between 5^ 55^ and 9^^ 61' N. Ut. and 79° 42' and 81° 55' K long. From north to south its length is about 270 miles ; its nar- rowest width 40 miles, and its greatest 187} miles. Its area is about 25,000 square miles. Ceylon can vie with any part of the world in natural beauty, richness of soil, and variety of fiinna and flora.
The climate is much more equable than that of the main land of India. The average temperature is about 80° ; 80 inches is the average annual foil of rain. The population, according to the Gotha Al- manac for 1867, numbers 2,079,881. The European and other inhabitants, including the military', amount to about 25,000. Sir J. E. Tonnent is of opinion that Ceylon, when in the height of its prosperity, must have been ten times as densely populated as at the present
CEYLON
192
CEYLON
dMjl The natiTefl are dirided into four cUsses : fkntf the Ceylonese or Singhalese, occupying the Kandian territories and the coasts ; second, the Moormen, who are found in all parts of the island ; third, the Yeddahs, a wild race who live in the monntahis in the eastern part of the island , and, fourth, the Hindoos, who occu- py chiefly the N. and E. coasts, and speak the Tamil language. Besides these there are also In the island some Portuguese, Dutch, and English colonists ; and an intermixture of these with each other, and with the native races, forms still another class called ** burgh- ers." The Singhalese believe themselves to have been the aborigines. The Portuguese discovered Ceylon in 1505. They subsequently became masters of the island, and from them it was conquered by the Dutch, in 1656, just a century and a half after the arrival of the Portuguese. In 1796 the English took possession of Colombo, and in 1815 of Kandy (Newcomb, Cydo- pasdia of MutUmt^ s. v).
ReUgUm,—^ The Singhalese are devoted to Buddh- ism, wliich is the prevailing religion of the island. It does not exist, however, in that state of purity in which it is still found in the Indo-Chinese peninsula. Its sacred books are identical with those of Burmah and Siam, and both record the doctrines of Gautama in the Pali language ; the deviations are in matters of practice. The MaJabar kings adulterated Buddhism to a considerable extent with Brahmanism, introducing the worsliip of Hmdoo deities into the Buddhist tem- ples, and tills continues more or less to be the case. More than once have the Buddhists of Ceylon sought to restore the purity of their fiuth — at one time send- ing deputies to Siam, at another to Burmah, with this ol]^ect in view. The Burman at Amarapura sect have long been the reformers of Singhalese Buddhism, and ma&itain no very friendly relations with the party who, supported by the priests of Siam, acknowledge the civU power in matters of religion, sanction the worship of Hindoo deities and the employment of the priesthood in secular occupations, uphold caste, and restrict the sacred books. Caste was acknowledged by the Singhalese prior to the introduction of Buddh- Iran, which in principle is opposed to it; but so firm- . ly was it rooted that it still endures, though more as a social than a sacred institution. Gautama Buddha is said to have visited Ceylon three different times to preach his doctrine, and his gri-padOy or sacred foot- step, on the summit of Adam's Peak still commands the homage of the fkithfUl. Buddhism was not, how- ever, permanently introduced into Ceylon till 807 B.C., when Mahindo, obtaining the support of the king, es- tablished it as the national fieiith. The influence of the priests gradually increased, and, by the piety of the Singhalese kings, monasteries were richly endow- ed ; for though the Buddhist monk is individually for- bidden to possess goods, a community may own prop- erty to any extent ; and it is a remarkable fBd that, at the present day, no less than one third of the cultiva- ted land of the island is computed to belong to the priesthood, and is exempt from taxation*' (Chambers, s. v.). The Moormen, scattered through the island, are Mohammedans. The Hindoos (Malabar or Ta- mils), who form the chief population of the district of Jafl'na, follow Brahminism. See Bbaum ; Buddh- ism; Hdidooism.