Adam’s
Peak : Legendary Traditional and Historic Notices of the Samanala and Sri-Pada
with a Descriptive Account of the Pilgrims’ Route from Colombo to the Sacred
Foot-Print/William Skeen. Reprint. New Delhi, AES,
1997, viii, 408 p., ills., $44. ISBN 81-206-1234-5.
Contents: Preface. 1. Introductory remarks. 2. Notices of the Peak and foot-print of early Christian writers. 3. The Samanala Peak. 4. Awissawela. 5. Ratnapura. 6. Palabaddala. 7. Heramitipana. 8. Descent from the Peak. 9. The Kalu-ganga. 10. Facsimile foot-prints. Appendix. Addendum: "Philalethes".
From the preface: "There is perhaps no mountain in the world of which so wide-spread a knowledge exists, as Adam’s Peak. Almost every traveller to, or writer on, India and the East, has alluded to, noticed, or more or less described it. But considering the sanctity in which it is held by Buddhists, Hindus, and Mohammadans; the numerous legends and traditions connected with it; and the immense number of pilgrims who annually visit the alleged foot-print upon its summit; it is surprising how little has been recorded by any one author, and what wide and glaring discrepancies appear in the different accounts respecting it which have from time to time been given to the world.
An excursion to the summit of the Peak, in the early part of 1869, having led to considerable research upon the subject, as well as to two subsequent excursions, the results of the observations and inquiries made on each journey, and in the intervals between, are set forth in the following pages."