Sri Lanka seems always to have been associated with sorcery, the supernatural and the downright strange. One early account claimed that the island's inhabitants were a race of magicians, another that the island was full of devils; the modern researcher Patrick Harrigan claims that there are oral traditions that tell of hidden portals through which those with extraordinary mental powers can travel to distant places, even other worlds and dimensions. He believes that Carl Jung, who experienced a famous near-death experience in 1944, during a dream in which he appears to have been in orbit above Sri Lanka, passed through such a gateway.
'White' and 'black' magic were an essential component of Sri Lanka's society long before the introduction of Buddhism in the third century BC, yet their importance has continued since, even though Buddhist philosophy does not encourage superstition. Such contradictions are rife among Sinhalese Buddhists – for example a Buddhist vihara often incorporates a Hindu kovil and Vishnu is worshipped as the protector of Buddhism –and magic and similar arts have become sanctioned to satisfy the social needs and rituals of the rural population.
There are four types of magic in Sri Lanka. Productive magic is associated with the accumulation of wealth. Protective magic combats demons that threaten the women and children of a household. Destructive magic – the black kind – is generally used by one neighbour against another, among relatives or between business partners. Personal magic is the ability to perform a conscious or unconscious act due to an inherent evil disposition. The belief in each of these forms of magic remains intense in all layers of society. Despite the influence of science and the increase in knowledge generally, many educated people deny a belief in magic and yet wear a charmed thread on their wrists. Others will stress that they do not know how a particular form of 'magic' works, but do know through personal experience that it does. Thus magic lingers.
Many Sri Lankans today, Sinhalese especially, believe that life is filled with danger from demons (yakkas) and other evil forces (vas) that cause illness, misfortune or death. When someone has a lingering sickness, a complex exorcism, healing ceremony or devil dance (thovil) is performed, characterised by the wearing of devil masks (yak vesmahunu) – designed to be hypnotising and terrifying – that symbolise certain diseases. During the ceremony, which also incorporates Buddhist aspects and often involves the whole village, the relevant demons are summoned, offered tribute and requested to leave the patient alone.