# Inspector task sheet

Mahasona: the cemetery demon with a replacement head

## 1. Trace the earliest accessible record

For Mahasona: the cemetery demon with a replacement head, record author or storyteller, collection date, language, translation, page and exact scope. Distinguish evidence of a story being told from evidence of its events. Note which full documents remain unavailable.

Status: proposed; not completed.
Evidence found:
Source and page:
Limits:
Next action:

## 2. Investigate the central question

Locate the original Sinhala stories or images behind Upham's plates and compare attributed modern oral versions. Record spelling, teller, region and translation of spirit terms. Keep Mahasona, Gara Yaka and other figures distinct. Compare documented performance roles without diagnosing illness from folklore or treating masks as physical creature evidence.

Status: proposed; not completed.
Evidence found:
Source and page:
Limits:
Next action:

## 3. Compare explanations without merging evidence

Compare named figures and complete attributed versions rather than merging 'demon' labels. Separate recorded belief from an independently documented physical encounter. Preserve contradictions and unsuccessful searches; proposed work remains unperformed.

Status: proposed; not completed.
Evidence found:
Source and page:
Limits:
Next action: