Ritigala

This ebony dark demon of Sri Lankan folklore causes so many afflictions that exorcists are still kept busy today with his antics.

More kindly, are the stories linked to the ebony forests of the ancient monastery of Ritigala.

Legend has it that the monkey god Hanuman dropped a piece of the Himalayas here whilst carrying medicinal herbs, and this gave the monastery's ebony forests a most mythical status.

Ebony trees still grow there today.