Midgets of Adam’s peak

Dwarves have been associated with mining since the most ancient of times. But we never expected to come across remnants of this ancient tale in Sri Lanka.

There we were sitting around tea, at a local shop, when the topic of holes drilled into gemstones turning up at the river bed came up. I was intrigued. Modern technology achieves this feat with great pride. Then how did they do it back then?

At first the story was unintelligible and it just went past me. Upon repeatedly inquiring of the tale, I grasped its gist.

The story centers around Adam’s peak, a site still famous to this day for attracting the pious and adventurers alike.

Under the influence of a local divinity named Saman, gemstones were spread around the mountain. Literally sprinkled around the mountain!

A Midget race, wandering the face of the earth at the time, caught wind of these gemstones and arrived at Ceylon, to try their luck. They offered their services to the king at the time, and he agreed.

And their work was phenomenal. They diverted the flow of the rivers to mine for gemstones underneath at the rock bed. They had the skills of gem cutting, polishing, & faceting.

They brought prosperity upon the nation and themselves. And so the days passed by. They intermarried with the folks of Ceylon and passed down their knowledge to them. And so the days passed by. To bring about the end of their stay in Ceylon. 

A new king who had had enough of their crafty ways and cunning, banished them from the Land. and they left, taking away most of their precious knowledge. 

The little knowledge they left behind, was instrumental in giving Ceylon a reputable name in the ancient world for its gemstones and craftsmanship. 

Where did they leave to? Are they still wandering about? Did they even exist, or were they just a creation of the mind? That does keep me wondering…. 

Would that keep you wondering as well?