The Zeylonese Treasure Book of Myth, Mystery and Mystique

This pioneering work covers a hundred oddities, curiosities and mysteries of Sri Lanka that have for long defied explanation.  Our island is, after all, home to some of the weirdest lore and legends handed down the generations that speak of many strange things. These stories coming down to us from hoary antiquity speak of lost cities, vanished peoples, extinct creatures, strange ruins, weird prophecies, eerie happenings, bizarre visitations, mysterious deaths, unexplained sicknesses and unspeakable horrors among other things.

This book covers many such mysteries from the whereabouts of Ravana’s kingdom, the legendary Naga race and a missing race of dwarfs to man-eating ogres, cannibalistic women, feral children living in the wild, water sprites, female spectres, demons scared of iron, human sacrifices, lost gold mines, hidden redoubts, buried treasures and mysterious phenomena to name just a few.

All this and more has been dealt with by the author who takes his readers on a most fascinating journey not only to understand these inexplicable accounts and the context in which they emerged, but also to unravel their mysterious origins wherever possible. This he has done by subjecting them to careful scrutiny through rigorous research whereby he has succeeded in demystifying many of these. Others however continue to remain a mystery as they have been for ages past though here too the reader will find possible answers and explanations.

Our Edenic Island holds more mysteries than one supposes even in one’s wildest dreams. To read this book is to embark on a journey of a hundred delights only to discover a country you never knew existed.

CONTENTS:

Where was Ravana’s Lanka, Who were the Nagas, Ever so real Demons, The Search for Tammaenna, The Mysterious Sanctity of Adam’s Peak

The Ghost of Sinhala, Lost Race of Nittaewo, Macedonian Adventure, Lost White Folk, Cannibals of Tambapanni, Man-eating Ogres, Primeval Forests, The Great Famine, Lost Cities of the Coasts, Lost Temple of the Gods, Elusive Mines of Gold, The Lost Meru, Lost Treasure, The Water Kingdom, Strange Pyramidal Ruins, Ferrophobic Spirits, Luminous Firebugs and Numinous Phenomena, Grease Yaka, The Thirty Two Tortures, The Shifting Hue of Blue, Water Monsters, The Lost City of the Horse, Brahmins Crossing Black Water, What was the Anaconda, What happened to the Gaurs, Frankish Disease, Red Eye Disease, The Elusive Sickness of Beriberi, The Winged Origins of Malarial Fever, Lizard-like Men, The Devil’s Voice, The Black Deaths, The Kali Kovil, Strange Sacrificial Stones, The Loadstone Mound, Discriminating Sharks, Portuguese Prophecy, The Enduring Mystery of the Sigiri Frescoes, The Great Earthquake of 1615, The Forgotten Ceylon Tea, The King Coconut’s Origin, Blue-eyed Beauties, The Secret Language of the Rodi, Animal Killer Cult. Demon Sacrifice in Bahirawa Kanda, The Mohini Legend, Ominous Blue Waters, Spotted Elephants, Giant Blue Worms of the Highlands, Singing Fish of Batticaloa, Mysterious Fossil Crabs, Long Lost Lions, The Lost Unicorn, Giant Birds, Where Elephants go to Die, The Snake Gem, Feral Children of Sinharaja, Elusive Giants, Hill-top Men, The Pirates of Rassamunakanda, Legend of the Mermaid, The Mare-faced Lady, The Bodirima, The Town of Missing Boys, The Foolish Folk of Tumpane, Who were the Baburan, Who were the Fish-Kings, The Women Rulers of the Vanni, Mysterious Mukkaru Miners, Self Tortures of the Faqeers, Virgin Blood, The Vuystwyk Horror, Thunderbolt Matter, , he Flying Machine, Sound-guided Weapons, Sinhalese Fireworks, Mysterious Rays in the Sky, The White Sands of Cinnamon Gardens, The Mecca of Sinhalese Folklore, The Afghan Buddha, Relics from another World, The Enduring Legacy of the Brazen Palace, Boats that Traversed the Tides of Time, Comet of Doom, Death of Charles Henry De Soysa, Spooky Houses and Happenings, Water of Life and other Miraculous Waters, The Dumb Sea, Coloured Rain, The Desert of Jaffna, Giant Turtleshell Homes, Red Toddy Taverns, The Mystic Yantra-gal, Lost Art of Tattooing