A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

In Parker’s No.194, Ayiwandā is blamed when calves die because their milk has been taken. Keeping watch, he discovers Gōpalu Dēvatāwā entering the cattle-fold and drinking the milk. The visitor leaves a cord and club on the path, and Ayiwandā secretly removes them. He refuses to return them without receiving an effective authority in compensation for the blame he has borne.

The deity instructs him to wish that two hills unite and then separate; the commands work. The same demonstration joins and separates two trees. Gōpalu Dēvatāwā confirms the gift, receives his belongings and departs. The episode supplies carried objects and actions, but no detailed bodily form, animal disguise or genealogy. It does not independently identify him with another named deity from a different tradition.

Ayiwandā later invokes the granted authority to secure game, immobilize a wedding party and defeat rivals in a catching contest. Those uses include coercion and appropriation; receiving a divine gift does not make every subsequent act benevolent. He eventually returns wealthy and reverses his humiliating domestic position, while Gōpalu Dēvatāwā does not reappear. Parker records this specific tale from a Tom-tom Beater in the North-western Province. Its milk-taking episode should not be expanded into an account of all present-day worship associated with the name.

Cord and clubMilk-taking cattle-fold visitorJoining and separating hillsGranted verbal authority
01

Origins & earliest records

Sri Lankan village tale recorded by H. Parker

02

Records & interpretation

Complete No.194, concluding domestic reversal, comparative note and thirteen footnotes read.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume III

    H. Parker · 1914

    No.194, The Story of Ayiwandā, main pp.62–69; comparison pp.69–70 and associated footnotes; next tale begins p.71.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

H. Parker, Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon, Volume III (1914)

III. No.194, pp.62–70 with thirteen footnotes

Complete parker3-s194.txt read. Cord/club capture and four demonstrations directly narrated; later human uses of authority kept distinct from deity’s own actions. No extrapolated iconography or cross-tradition identity.

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References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical translated folktaleParker, Volume III (1914), No.194Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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