Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c7.131

c7.131

Buddhism was itself already founded on Hinduism, and close akin to some of the higher forms of it; and the outward forms of popular Hinduism have in later times been mixed with it, a fact not surprising when we consider the long continued Tamil influence on Sinhalese religion, exerted through the Tamil queens and sometimes through actual Tamil rulers, and in countless other ways. Hence it is that we find attached to almost every vihāra, a dēvāle (devalaya) where some Hindu god is worshipped, often under the same roof, though not officially recognized by the Buddhist priest. The dēvāles are generally endowed with lands after the manner of Buddhist temples; the lay trustee (Basnāyaka Nilame), often a personage of political importance corresponding to the Diva Nilame of a Buddhist temple, and having jurisdiction over inhabitants of dēvāle villages, while the priest (kapurala or kapuva) was usually the principal tenant of the dēvāle. Offerings are commonly made by worshippers at both vihāras and dēvāles, the one with a view to purely spiritual benefits, the other with a view to material ones. But the dēvāles were almost as much political as religious institutions.