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vegetables, peas, greens, sesame seeds, me (an old name, Hen Mel), cowpeas, and

later tobacco were grown in these fields (Jayawardena, 1990). According to local oral
traditions, at that time only clothes and salt were brought from outside, demonstrating

the self-sufficiency and prosperity of the villages.

Unlike today, there were no restrictions on forest clearing, and during the dry season,

villagers had the freedom to select forest areas to cultivate. A villager seeking to
establish a henna would consult a local fortune teller to select an auspicious site, after

which a ritual called Barahara would be performed to honor gods such as Gange

Bandara, Kele Bandara, and Gambara. Before entering the forest, villagers would
perform symbolic acts, such as breaking and hanging leaves for protection

(Obeyesekere, 1963).

The forest would then be cleared, and after setting fire to the area, the resulting land,

known as Navadeli Chena or Dandu Chena, would become highly fertile due to the
ash deposits. With minimal effort, the henna fields provided a diverse range of crops,

thereby meeting many basic needs of village life.

Interestingly, most village houses were clustered close to the village center, leaving

little space for home gardens. Thus, forests were cleared not only for rice but also for
other crops through Rakshasa cultivation. Mixed crop cultivation was a notable

feature of henna agriculture.

During the harvesting season, farmers worked diligently to protect the henna fields

from wild animals, employing techniques similar to those used in paddy field
protection, including sound-based scare devices.

04 Adukku Pooja: The Festival of Fertility
The annual Aukku Pooja, celebrated with great reverence by the people of the

Knuckles Hills, is a fertility festival paying homage to the gods believed to protect the
fields and cattle (Gombrich & Obeyesekere, 1988). Villagers maintained the belief

that divine protection was essential from the tilling of soil to the final harvest.

In these isolated communities, divine intervention was viewed as crucial for all

aspects of life. Farmers, before sowing, would dedicate a portion of the first harvest to

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