Catholics, Black Magic, and Community

My mother was from Paiyagala, a coastal fishing village 30 miles from Colombo and five miles from Kalutara.

- BY JAYANTHA PERERA

The old Colombo-Galle Road runs through the village, linking it with Kalutara, Beruwela, and beyond. Paiyagala is known for its beaches, seine net fishing, coconut toddy tapping, and seasonal jaadi (cured fish). The villagers are staunch Catholics who also believe in black magic, voodoo, and sorcery in their day-to-day life. They think an evil eye, evil tongue, and evil mind can harm others. My mother remembered how an Irish priest tried to convince his parishioners that it was a sin to believe in non-Catholic rituals. Yet he condoned such practices in the parish because parishioners considered them part of their local culture.

They believed black magic, voodoo, and sorcery could bring quick and palpable results without revealing the initiation of such actions. Sudden death in a family, grave illness of a child, loss of employment, or a spouse eloping with a lover were attributed to black magic and sorcery. Vedaralas (local physicians) were supposed to determine whether an illness resulted from black magic, sorcery, or an imbalance in body elements, and thereafter recommend an appropriate treatment.

My maternal grandfather was a carpenter. He was a robust, tall, handsome man with long hair and fair complexion and had a bit of a hunch. He wore a white sarong and a white cotton jacket for formal events such as Sunday mass or a wedding. He wore a coloured sarong, a cloth belt, and an undershirt at his carpentry shed. He worked at a tea estate far away from Paiyagala and visited his home once a month. He spoke English and was interested in reading English newspapers.