The Irish standard., 1886-09-11
clNGALEsE IN LONDON.
An Interesting Exhibition Pertaining te
Ceylon and Its People.

49, { IT,
An Interesting Exhibition Pertaining to
Ceylon and Its People.
OF late years we have been so over
run with exhibitions of natives OF all
nations that the news that yet another
one had arrived left us rather un-
moved. Japanese.villag at Knights,
bridge, Indian villages at Battersea-
..India in London at Langham Place,
had very nearly exhausted any curiosity
we may have been possessed of with re-
gard to the manners and customs of the
inhabitants Of far-of climes. Intact e1-
hibitions of s'natives'' have been rather
overdone, and, with SO heavy a handi-
cap against. him, Mr.. Carl Hagenbeck
deserves double word of praise for
the exhibition which is now on view
at the Agricultural Hall, 1slington.
The exhibition is solely appertaining
to Ceylon and the Ceylonese, or Gin
galese, as they are more prettily
termed. To any one who knows the
Agricultural Hall as it appears on
ordinary occasions it will seem little
short of marvellous that under any cir-
cumstances it could be made to
appear ornamental, but under Mr..
Hagenbeck's management this marvel
has been attained. His Cingalese have
brought with them building materials,
and one end OF the hall has been con-
verted by them into a native village,
with huts and temples surrounded by
palms. 1t is really extraordinary how
so remarkably plain and monumental
place can be made 50 picturesque,
and seeing the Cingalese walking about
among their little houses and their lit
tie cattle, one is almost able, for
time at least, to forget the cockneytied
nature of their temp porary surroundings
at Isington. A .'sakkeyah'' Gas it
would be termed by Egyptian fella-
heen), or water-wheel, is erected in
front Of the huts and worked by two of
the tiny bumped cattle called zebus.
These are driven by q child, also tiny,
who perches herself in the quaintest
way on the very furthest point of the
long pole which turns the water-wheei.
There are sixteen Of these lovely little
zebus. varying from thirty inches to
five feet nigh; these are the two ex-
trcmes of size, the greater number being
about as big as a half-grown calf. The
Gin galese use these little beasts for all
sorts of purposes, riding, driving, field
work and carrying loads. Nothing
can be prettier than Cingalese,
"hackarrle," Or miniature buggy, con-
sisting of a pair of light wheels and a
cross-board, to which is harnessed one
of the tiny bumped zebus. Harnessed
is hardly the right word TO use, for
there is no harness except that the little
animal has a collar toj which are
fastened the shafts. and much amuse-
ment was caused in the races at the
Agricultural Hall by the way i'll which
the zebus hitched themselves out from
under the shafts on every possible oc-
casion, and stood at right angles with
the vehicle they we're 1ntenaea. 70
draw. The reins are simply a rope
run through the nostrils. The pace ct
the zebus is startling, and we confident
ly expect that one Of the results OF Mr.
Hagenbeck's visit to England will be a
demand for zebus and hackarries to
replace many Of the village carts used
by ladies in the country. A quain5er
or prettier fashion it would be impos-
sible to imagine; but some slight am
plifcaIion of the hackarrie would be
necessary, as wo are afraid modern sx-
igencies in ladies' shoes would hardly
allow of a firm grasp being taken Of
one shaft as the Cingalese do with their
prehensile toes-LonGo,a Saturday Re-
3,iesV.