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
The 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

Published by Neptune Publications, pages 807 pp, Price Rs.3800. Available at Barefoot Bookshop and Vijitha Yapa Thurston branch and could be ordered direct from SL Books at a concessionary price on COD basis.