The Sinhala Maymataya, A Translation into English


Authors: MacDougall, Bonnie G.
Language: English


This is a translation into English by Bonnie G. MacDougall of the Mayimataya, a Sinhalese language work on housebuilding written by an unknown Sri Lankan author in 1837. The Sinhala Mayimataya is part of a modern language genre of housebuilding works circulated as inexpensive pamphlets or chapbooks throughout the South Asian culture area. The Mayimataya, like other works of its type, claims to be based on authoritative texts in Sanskrit. It contains 283 four lined verses.

The book is a mixture of different believes of the natives, but contains also many astrological interpretations.


For example:

?164. As for days, take a Sunday, Thursday or Friday. Among houses, Leo
and Aquarius are the best. Know Pisces and Virgo as moderate ones.
Understand these things when you build a house.
165. Compare the asterism under which you plan to build with that of its
owner. If it is compatible, use it. Otherwise, give it up.
166. If the income (aya) is reduced or the expenditure (waeya) is increased
the house will be unlucky. So even if the asterism is suitable, the results will
bad.
167. If you choose any of the three ecliptic asterisms (gahana naekat),43 or the
four on either hand, the house will not prosper at all. If you take the four on
the two feet, all will be well. The four on the left side will bring poverty.44
168. Riches come from the four asterisms on the right. The five on the back
do the same. The three of the tail bring death to the owner. Take the asterism
in which the sun is located as the starting point and count.
169. For the first entering of a house, the following are the good asterisms:
Dhanistha, the twenty-third, Satabhisak, the twenty-fourth, Chitra, the
fourteenth, Punarvasu, the seventh, Magha, the tenth, Sravana, the twenty-
second, Asvini,45 the first and Pushya, the eighth.
170. Of the houses, Taurus, Aquarius, Capricorn, Gemini, Virgo and Libra
are good, and among the days, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and
Fridays. Enter using one of these houses and one of these days.
171. If the floor bar of the door is two cubits and three inches, and the top
bar of the door is two cubits minus three inches, the income and expenditure
are both five. If the door fits these specifications, there will be no misfortune
caused by dimensions.?



Another book dealing with the same subject, more elaborated and structured:

Dwelling, Cosmos and Design Theory in Traditional South Asia
Language: English

http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/handle/1813/10307

I forgot to add the link for the work :
The Sinhala Maymataya, A Translation into English

here is the link:

http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/handle/1813/10765

sasha_i wrote:The Sinhala Mayimataya is part of a modern language genre of housebuilding works circulated as inexpensive pamphlets or chapbooks throughout the South Asian culture area. The Mayimataya, like other works of its type, claims to be based on authoritative texts in Sanskrit.

The name seems related to that of the Sanskrit work Mayamatam:
http://openlibrary.org/b/OL637121M/Mayamatam-%3D

I was reproducing the abstract.

You are the expert, so I will just listen carefully.

sasha_i wrote:I was reproducing the abstract.

You are the expert, so I will just listen carefully.

I have the two volumes of Mayamatam collecting dust on a shelf; that's about the extent of my expertise in this area.