A result (Part 2): “Mahavamsa Mentality”; Can this charge of “Racism” leveled against the share be sustained?

By L.L. Devananda

 

3.  Imagined ‘Tamil Presence’ and also ‘Sinhala Presence’?

Mr. Bandu De Silva begins by simply saying; I have presented an image of an ‘imagined Tamil presence’ in the country in the past just like the weight of preponderant evidence of the use of Sinhala element to this day.

 

3.A single. Tamil Presence

Even though I merely commented about the presence associated with Dameda in Akitti Jataka, Dameda is the most mentioned ethnical group in the ancient epigraphy involving Sri Lanka. These inscriptions refer to the particular Dameda Vishaka (Tamil merchant), the Dameda Samana (Tamil householder), and Dameda Navika (Tamil sailor man). There are enough of ancient archaeological evidence in Sri Lanka such as Brahmi jewel inscriptions, cave writings, and so on where the terms ‘Dameda’, ‘Damela’, ‘Damila’, ‘Demel’ are described as a group of people living in the island.  During Sena I ((833-853) and Kassapa IV (899-914), you can find definite epigraphic reference to Tamil villages in addition to lands, Demel-Kaballa (Tamil allotment), Demelat-valademin (Tamil lands), Demel-gam-bim (Tamil villages & arrives), Demal-Kinigam, Demelin-hetihaya, etc. The presence of Tamils in the isle Sri Lanka in the early historic period seriously isn’t denied even in the Pali stories.

The present day historian Prof. Sudharshan Seneviratne says, “there is no mention of word Sihala or Sinhala ethnicity inside thousand odd short inscriptions that come to us from this period, but on the contrary, a great majority of the host of clan names and titles that individuals come across in these inscriptions merely show affinities with the clans of the ancient Tamil country”.

 

3.2. Lack of Sinhala Occurrence

As I clearly said at my article with sufficient reasoning, 1000s of Prakrit (Sanskrit) stone inscriptions written in Brahmi script have been discovered during the early phase, but not a single archaeological/epigraphical evidence has been found within or outside Sri Lanka to show ‘Hela’ or ‘Sihala’ or ‘Sinhala’ existed up until the 8th/9th century AD. Most probably, your Hela/Sinhala race would have started innovating (assimilating the Buddhist Nagas, Damelas, and others) solely from the 5th/6th century AD following foundation was laid through the Mahavihara Buddhist monks and the Theravada Buddhist kings. Considering there was NO Sinhala in Sri Lanka till the Mahavihara monks mentioned it for the first time in the 5th/6th century AD, to make the Sinhala identity (to support Buddhism in Lanka) the term Sinhala may have been followed from the Indian epic Mahabharata which often predates the Mahavansa by many centuries. Your Mahabharata talks of Sinhalas as the barbarous mlecchas, the particular natives of Lanka in its Ebook 1, Chapter 177, in Ebook 2, Chapter 33 & 51, and in Book 7, Part 20. However, the Sinhalas pointed out in the Mahabharata is totally different from the Sinhalas that the Mahavihara monks created (Lion belief) in the 5th century Posting. A Tamil inscription found in some sort of Hindu temple in South Indian during the Rajaraja Chola 1 (10th/11th AD) boasts a very similar statement for instance what was found in the Mahabaratha with a negligible variation, referring to Lanka it point out, “the land of the warlike Singalas’.

 

 This is what W. C. Law says talking about the authors of these Chronicles –

 

“They offer a cheap fantastic reason for the origin of the name with the Island ‘Sinhala’ because of Vijaya’s father Sihabahu since he had slain the lion”. (W. C. Law, ibid. p. Forty-nine). The probability is that this ‘fantastic explanation’ is the reaction to an interpolation crudely effected during the time period the Tika was composed (circa XIII C).  Besides this single Ola manuscript, ‘not a lot more than 200 years old’ we have no other duplicates to check the authenticity of its subject matter.

 

Strangely, Buddha did not direct Vijaya towards Nagas who had been so friendly towards Buddha when he visited the city just a few decades before Vijaya’s landing? Soon after arrival, Vijaya and his readers were among the Yakkhas. But they failed to mix with the local tribes, as a substitute brought brides from Pandiya empire. Therefore the Sinhalese cannot be called Boomiputhra (daughters of the soil) as some of the present day Sinhalese claim. Buddhism was shown the island only two centuries after. Ven. Mahanama does not seem to have noticed the particular contradiction.

 

Some historians and scholars currently have noted that some chapters of the Mahavamsa deviates from the all Ven. Mahanama’s work in style and content. The manner in which it is introduced gives the impact that it is a later interpolation. They believe which, the version of the Mahavamsa which the British found in the 19th century plus translated into English, A language like german and finally to Sinhala was the particular modified/revised version composed during the period of time when Tika was composed as well as original Mahavamsa what Ven. Mahanama composed is either lost or messed up.

 

Mahavamsa has written 11 sections to praise the Buddhist Full DutuGemunu, but unfortunately not a single term ‘Sinhala/Hela’ was found where as his Naga our ancestors relationship is very clearly granted.  Before marching against Elaro he announced his object to be ‘the repair of the religion’ and proclaimed ‘I deal with not for dominion but for the cause of the religion of Buddha.A The kingdom of Anuradapura was never called Sinhala kingdom and none of the leaders of Anuradapura called themselves seeing that Sinhala.

 

 

The early foreign traders by Arabia, Persia, Rome, China and so on called Sri Lanka by many different companies but NONE of them mentioned with regards to the existence of a Sinhala Kingdom or possibly a Sinhala nation. Not a single stone inscription/rock edict of neighboring India (either South or North) that was always of this particular island’s history mentioned about a Sinhala Empire or a Sinhala nation in Sri Lanka.

 

There’s no doubt that the ethnic identity ‘Hela/Sihala’ seen in inscriptions for the first time in 9th century AD evolved in Sri Lanka and nowhere else, so did their language ‘Elu/Helu’ and then ‘Sinhala’ but as I said, before 9th century AD, the term Hela/Sinhala hasn’t been found in anywhere.

Therefore, the particular concepts of a fully improved ‘thoroughbred Hela/Sinhala race’ and a ‘thoroughbred spoken/written Elu/Helu/Sihala language’ before the 9th century AD are pure presumptions and cannot be proved. The form Hela appears for the first time for the geographical identity of the island with 8th century AD Sigiri Graffiti and also Elu/Helu for the name of the words only after the 9th centuries AD Sinhala literature. The earliest Elu/Helu articles such as Siyabaslakara and Elu Sandas Lakuna do not bring us beyond the 9th Century AD. There was NO Elu/Hela/Sinhala literary operate (other than Pali) found before today. (Elu Bodhi Vamsa, Elu Akaradiya, Elu Hathvanagalu Vansaya, Elu Umanda, Elu Daladavansa Kavya, Elu Silowa, Elu Silo Sathakaya, Helusuthra etc were all written greatly later).

 

On the other hand, the Sri Lankan Tamil writings/literature was all done after the 13th century AD. Vaiya was a historian that penned the poem “para-rasa-sekaran-ula” along with the chronicle “Rasa-murai”, written in the reign of king Seka-rasa-sekaran. Another regarded work was Vai-iai Padal and later operate Vaipava-Malai and Kailaya Malai. Most of them were written as ala books made of Palmirah actually leaves. The writings in many cases were being indistinct and were waiting for an effective interpretation and translation. These people were carefully preserved in the Jaffna selection until the modern Dutta-Gamini burnt the theifs to ashes.

 

For those who believe in the weakened argument by Prof. Paranavitana (a Sinhala biased researcher whose views were always one sided) exactly who assumes that the dominant selection of the kingdom ruled by the Anuradapura nobleman were all Sinhalese and that any ruler other than a Sinhalese in control of Anuradapura must have been a foreigner, in other words, he assumed as with other present day Sinhalese that considering antiquity, Sinhala happened to be the norm in the country with out one bothered mentioning them. Very strangely, after the Ninth century AD, they kept mentioning the word ‘Hela’ at a multitude of locations (after it appeared around inscriptions) and after Twelfth century AD the word Sinhala is usually mentioned everywhere, and today they are the dominant group but they continue mentioning it all the time (as mentioned in my article, not only Sinhala Vedakama /medicine as well as Sinhala Avurudda/new year but even roofing tiles are labeled right after Sinhala).

 

3.3. Sinhala and Demela

Prior to the 10th century AD, the people in the island irrespective of its racial background were scattered everywhere over the island with the Tamil settlements (Demel-gam-bim) much more towards Rajarata (North of Anuradapura plus close to Polonnaruva). According to the historian Dr. M. Gunasingham, from around 10th to be able to 13th century A.Deborah, (Subsequent to the Cola domination of Sri Lanka in the 10th century A.D), people who discovered themselves as Buddhists and Hela/Sihala changed their seats of procedure from the ancient kingdoms of Anuradapura/ Polonnaruva on the way to South, West and Central Sri Lanka while the people who identified them selves as Saiva and Demela moved their own ruling structures from these exact regions to the North as well as East of the island.

With all the archaeological findings till right now, the historians believe that the permanent Tamil settlement in the North & Eastern and the permanent Sinhalese settlement with South, West and Core started taking place only following your 10th century AD. Good research done by the historian Prof. Leslie Gunawardane, the Sinhala speaking people were deemed as a nation only once the westerners came to this part of the world.

 

Due to the fact, there was neither a separate Tamil Nation/kingdom neither a separate Sinhala Nation/kingdom in Sri Lanka (neither To the north nor South) before the Thirteenth Century AD; it is useless to talk about a continuous existence of Sinhalese/Tamils or even a separate ‘Sinhalese-Buddhist’ or ‘Tamil-Hindu’ identity within Sri Lanka in the pre 12-13th century Advertising period. Tamils may have lived from the North & East and many other places in Sri Lanka for many thousands of years much like the Veddhas but, the Northern (Jaffna) kingdom was established only with 1215 AD by Kalinga Magha who put into practice the name Segarajasekeran Singhai Ariyachakravarthi on coronation. Equally, the Southern kingdoms (Gampola, Dambadeniya, Kotte, Kandy, etc) had been also established during and after the 13th century Advertisement.  Only after this period that the Southeast kingdoms such as Kotte and Kandy (not Jaffna) were known as ‘Sinhale’ (not the whole state) even though some parts of the Tamil locations in North and Se also came under the Sinhala kingdom of Kandy. (Kandy was mostly dominated by the foreigners, the Kalingas of South-East India and the Nayakkars of Southerly India). Also, the term ‘Sinhale’, made an appearance only in the 12th 100 years AD Chulavamsa and not in Deepavamsa or even Mahavamsa.

 

In the Dutugemunu-Elara episode, the Mahavamsa states, Dutugemunu had to conquer not just one Tamil double (Elara) but 32 Tamil Chieftains around the Anuradhapura principality by yourself. He also killed close to sixty thousand Tamils in the struggle. How could there always be 32 Tamil chieftains in the area of Anuradhapura by itself. Even if the Dutugemunu-Elara war is a misconception, his writing proves (didn’t deny) the Tamil settlements (Demel-gam-bim) in Anuradapura? Similarly, King Valgambha had to struggle seven Pandian chieftains to reassume sovereignty at Anuradhapura.

 

The particular Sinhalese Nampota dated in its present form towards 14th century AD means that the whole of the Tamil Kingdom, including elements of the modern Trincomalee district, was recognized as a Tamil region by the label Demala-pattanama (Tamil city).In this work, numerous villages that are now situated in the Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee districts tend to be mentioned as places in Demala-pattanama.

 

Even during the recent earlier, in 17th century AD (colonial period), Rajarata (Anuradapura) was lived in by Tamils as per the book compiled by Robert Knox who was the hostage in Kandy. When he been freed from prison, he had to plod through several places and when he came to Anuradapura, he says it was completely occupied by Tamils (NOT Sinhalese).

Itrrrs this that Robert Knox says, when this individual visited Anuradapura in 1679, “The people stood amazed as soon as they discovered us, being originally Malabars, though subjects of Kandy. Nor could possibly they understand the Sinhalese language by which we spake to them, and we banded looking one upon one more until there came the one which could speak the Sinhalese language who asked us, coming from whence we came? We exclaimed from Kandy, but they believed you not, supposing that we emerged from the Dutch from Mannar. To make sure they brought us before his or her Governor. He not speaking Sinhalese spake to us by an translator.” (Robert Knox in the Kandyan Empire, Ed. E.F.Chemical.Ludowyk, p 50).

When the Europeans (Portuguese, Dutch and British) arrived, what all of them definitely observed and experienced throughout their period was that, there initially were two different ethnic groupings (Sinhalese and Tamils) having two diverse languages, religions, cultures, plus living in two well characterized and clearly and naturally demarcated (thick jungles, lakes, pond, etc) land areas with their own kingdoms within their lands. This Tamils lived as a majority inside their land area (North & Far east) and the Sinhalese also lived as being a majority within their land place (South, West & Central). The actual Portuguese and the Dutch dictated Jaffna as a separate entity (as they quite simply found it) without amalgamating it with the Sinhalese areas. The British, in seeing the naturally current borders of the two ethnic organizations used their technology in order to demarcate them as two split regions (occupied by not one but two separate races) and came up with the maps for the first time somewhere inside 1800s. The British additionally maintained the separate enterprise of the Tamils until 1833 at which year they unified the Tamil along with Sinhalese regions for the purpose of administration. 

 

There are numerous proofs to establish that Tamil has been the main language even in the period the Portuguese landed. For instance, the king of Kotte, Bhuvanehabahu VII brought in the treaty with the Portuguese in Tamil. H.W. Codrington states that “there can be little doubt which the Jaffna Kingdom was for a time very important in the low-country of Ceylon (his e-book short history of Ceylon) and the Tamils “had been the court language of the Leaders of Kotte” Scholars like K L Seneviratne pointed out that many of the Kandyan chieftains authorized the 1815 Convention (treaty together with the British) in Tamil.

 

Based on the fact that there is no archeological evidence of a lasting Tamil kingdom or settlement in the North East before the Twelfth century AD, while rejecting a Tamil claim as a myth, the particular Sinhalese who also do not have any evidence of a permanent Sinhalese kingdom or pay out before the 12th century Posting are trying to establish a Sinhala Buddhist hegemonic (unitary) state based on a mythical doctrine right from the day all of us gained independence.

 

In this continuous process of learning, I will be one of many happiest persons if someone can enlighten me by disproving these with some archeological/epigraphic facts/evidence (not assumptions/hypothesis) to confirm the existence of Hela/Sinhala before the 9th century AD.

 

Strangely, the discovered gentleman Mr. Bandu De Silva affirms, I have presented a picture connected with an ‘imagined Tamil presence’ in the country in the past comparable to the extra weight of preponderant evidence of the existence of Sinhala factor. I will leave it to the sensible readers to decide.

 

4.      Mahavamsa Fable and its Implications in today’s framework

Mr. Bandu De Silva’s main discussion was how Mahavamsa can be connected to the present ethnic issue/debate and how it could be attributed to the present day ultra-nationalist chauvinism in Sri Lanka. Although I have said enough about this issue (above) and in the article, how the present day Sinhala-Buddhists added up the Mahavamsa mindset (the fusion between Mahavamsa and the present day Sinhala-Buddhists), ok, i’ll further elaborate on how your fusion took place.

 

4.1. Imaginary Buddha

More than thousand several years after the Parinibbana (passing away) of The almighty Buddha the Mahavamsa has created an unreal Buddha (Mahavamsa Buddha) who

 

Made three sensational visits to Sri Lanka paving the best way for his Dhamma to overcome in the island in the future for just a full 5000 years. (Now, the Sinhala-Buddhists believe, Sri Lanka is a ‘chosen terrain ‘and ‘thrice blessed’ by none other than Buddha).

 

Confirmed which Vijaya and his followers (convicted crooks and non-Buddhists), the ancestors regarding today’s Sinhala community, are said to possess landed on the island associated with Lanka (Promised Land), exactly at the time he attains Parinibbana (his demise).

 

Made arrangements for the basic safety of Vijaya and his followers. Your dog calls on Sakka (Indra), who subsequently calls Vishnu (Upulvan) for divine assistance and help to protect her chosen people (Sinhala Jathiya) and their stated land (Dhammadeepa) and his Dhamma (Buddhism) for a whole 5000 years.

 

Even though Siddharta Gautama ended up being from a Hindu background, the concept of Our god in Hinduism (Brhama, Vishnu, Siva) is completely different from this (Brhama, Deva) in Buddhism, Buddha never mentioned in relation to any Hindu Gods (Tripitaka). By introducing the above myths and attributing it in order to Buddha, the Mahavamsa is not only perverting Gautama Buddha’s peerless Dhamma, but also defining it as an orthodox Theravada Buddhist doctrine of Sinhala-Buddhism around Sri Lanka which ultimately has modified the Gautama Buddha into a special buyer of Sinhala (Mahavamsa) Buddhism, an ethnic religion (political) created in Sri Lanka. End result of the above is the Jathika Chinthanaya and also Mahavansa-mindset [Rata (Sinhala Country) – Jathiya (Sinhala Nation/Race) – Aagama (Sinhala Buddhist Religion] which has manifested into Sinhala-Buddhist Ultra-nationalist chauvinism today.

 

4.2. Racial Factor

The fourth important step, Mahavamsa warrants (Non-Buddhist/Tamil killing) by attributing it to a [Buddhist] Arahant who equates the getting rid of of sixty thousand Tamils through DutuGemunu to a mere one . 5 human, indicating that it is simply no crime in killing many Tamils. Mr. Bandu De Silva says, as a frequent reader of Bhagavad Gita, Ven. Mahanama have to have adopted this concept from the Gita. Of course, as I mentioned in my content, he has adopted many aspects from the Indian epics but unfortunately the present day Sinhalese do not know the stories with Gita, they only believe the Arahant’s words as the gospel truth that harming sixty thousand Tamils is equal to eradicating only one-and-a-half human (the reason why others/non-Buddhists feel that Sinhala-Buddhism is somewhat of a violent savage form of Buddhism where killing Tamils can be justified). This demonstrates that there’s been substantial anti-Tamil (Saiva) sentiment for centuries plus it provides ready fodder for contemporary Sinhalese propagandists.  Even the great Buddhist/Pali pupil Dr. Walpola Rahula thero uses this episode without questioning its veracity in the defense of Sinhalese nationalism. If an Arahant can certainly utter such racial statements, it isn’t rocket science for us to understand precisely why the present day Buddhist monks are engaged in racial politics. Still I do not think about Ven. Mahanama was a racist or his or her doctrine was racist but it offers definitely influenced racism in our Sinhalese society.

 

Here is what we understand in the Dipavamsa, (Ch. XVIII, vv. 47-50).

 

v. 47.  ”The Damilas, Sena and Guttaka, capturing Sura Tissa, dictated righteously for twenty-two years.”

 

versus. 48.  ”Prince Asela, son of Mutasiva, killing Sena and Guttaka ruled for 10 years.”

 

v. 49.  ”The Knight in shining armor named Elara killing Asela ruled righteously for forty-four years.”

 

versus. 50.  ”Avoiding the paths with desire, hatred, fear in addition to delusion, he ruled righteously being incomparable.”

 

Of course, Emporer Duttugemunu killed Elara and ruled right after him. Curiously enough the Dipavamsa, the previous of the two old Pali Chronicles, makes no mention of some sort of war between Elara and Duttugemunu, (a tale apparently manufactured to counteract the Saiva revival that’s fast spreading through the Tamil country during this period).  The graphically and romantically referred to campaigns occupying a large portion of the Mahavamsa were written a century later than the Dipavamsa, and approximately 900 years after the time of Elara.  It was evidently invented for the edification of the pious in Sri Lanka and to protect the trust from Saiva (Tamil) revivalists. Unfortunately today, it really is considered as a Sinhala-Tamil war. Nor the Pali chronicles nor will the epigraphy say Duttugemunu was a Sinhala. The key reason why abuse the good old Tamil Kings when our Sinhalese brethren, who lay exclusive claim to this Island, have a weak case to support their make-belief?

 

As we turn to the later stories the Pujavali (13th century A.D.), the Rajaratnakara (16th millennium A.D.), and the Rajavali  (Eighteenth century A.D.), it is not likely the particular writers had read frequently the Dipavamsa or the Mahavamsa. The names with the kings of Sri Lanka, the order as well as the details of their activities during these Chronicles do not always agree with those people found in the earlier Pali Chronicles. Your writers of these chronicles had probably heard by word of mouth of a war between the Tamil Saivite queen Elara and Duttugemunu whom the Buddhist priesthood acquired traditionally held to be a first champion of Buddhism.  These chroniclers, their selves priests, give a totally different picture connected with Elara.  They represent him to be a desecrator of Buddhist monuments and a destroyer regarding Buddhist temples. The author of the Mahavamsa, without doing any harm to the character with Elara as represented in the earlier Explain, the Dipavamsa, guilds his hero Duttugemunu having a fabulous account of a extended and glorious campaign (spiritual war of liberation) up against the Tamil king, a campaign about in which the Dipavamsa was totally unaware.

 

4.3. Sinhala-Buddhist Only

As I have explained in my article, the concept ‘Rata (Sinhala-Buddhist Country) – Jathiya (Sinhala-Buddhist Nation/Race) – Aagama (Sinhala Buddhist Religion)’, the three are attributed to Sri Lanka with an inseparable synthesis (trinity) derived from Mahavamsa as I have mentioned (Jathika Chinthanaya/Mahavamsa mindset) and its primary result’s the Sinhala-Only, Buddhist-Only, unitary state. All others will be secondary, considered as from outside (migrants, intruders, etc) who are allowed to continue being but they should not demand whatever.

 

From a very young age, this innocent Sinhala Buddhist children are brainwashed by their particular parents/grandparents, teachers, Buddhist priests (some members of this Maha Sangha), media personnel, text book writers, and some of the Daham Paasela (Thursday school) teachers in the Buddhist wats or temples by engraving the Sinhala-Buddhist Mahavansa mindset as well as Sinhala Buddhist racism into their sub-conscious minds. There’re taught to believe that the non-Sinhala Buddhists (Tamils) are generally invaders who do not belong to Sri Lanka. All of the Tamils should be chased away to Tamil Nadu (where they will belong) just the way his or her ancient Kings like Dutugemunu does. The country (Sri Lanka), Sinhala race and Buddhism must be protected from the Tamils. Now, from recently, they have also included the actual Christians in those requiring you to be thrown out. Due to the over conditioning, the Sinhala-Buddhist majority feels that the entire Sri Lanka belongs to these individuals and the minorities are aliens.

If your Mahavamsa author Ven. Mahanama Thero created the above misconception during the early period whenever there was a threat to Buddhism (mainly via South India), he would never imagined that after 15 decades, his myth would (misunderstood in a political context) have an impact on an ultra-nationalist/chauvinist mindset in the crowd (Sinhalese) that he created to protect Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and that he will become an unfortunate sorry victim for the ethnic crisis in which manifested from his formation. To be precise, a mythical state of mind to establish a Sinhala Buddhist hegemonic (unitary) state that therefore influenced/created another mindset among the Tamils to produce a separate Tamil state. For those who have misinterpreted my article, I repeat in which, by considering the era where Mahavamsa was written (turbulent interval), Ven. Mahanama cannot be blamed because their only motive was to shield Buddhism.

 

For the Sinhala Buddhists nationalists, who have become myopic over the years of misinformation or perhaps lack of information, the Mahavamsa constitutes a almost holy unquestionably legitimate proof of their own original Sinhala Buddhist heritage and control of the island. According to the Sinhala nationalism the actual Mahavamsa mythology provides proof beyond doubt the Sinhala race was the selected people, the predestined custodian of your island and the guardian regarding Buddhism.

The entire body of says of Sinhala chauvinism, and the Sinhalese and their total historical perception, all their filled claims are based on this prepared up and concocted historical deliver the results called Mahavamsa.

 

5. How Sinhalese growing to be Majority and the Tamil ‘Vellalar Migration’ theory

The particular ethnic Tamils have found themselves around Sri Lanka in a political culture this promoted Buddhism from the beginning of composed history. As a consequence, Tamils have ingested into the Buddhist tribes at varying charges. During the last 2500 years, more Tamils and South Indians mixed with those that call themselves Sinhalese today as compared with anybody else. If a detailed genetic study is conducted within the Sinhalese population, it will reveal this kind of fact.

 

5.1. Northeastern Aided colonization

In the 16th century, the Portuguese colonized a large number of Southerly Indians (mainly from Cochin in the Malabar coast/presently Kerala along with from Tutucorin in the Coromandel Coast/presently Tamil Nadu) in the full western coast of Sri Lanka coming from Mannar to Matara. Of course, those paid out in Mannar remained as Tamils but others got converted to Sinhala Buddhists and Sinhala Catholics and from now on their descendents (6th generation from the South) have become distinct, ‘North Indian Vijaya’s Lion-blooded Sinhala Aryans’, the Nationalist Patriots and guardians regarding Sinhala, Sri Lanka and Buddhism, the job that Our god Buddha assigned to the Hindu God Vishnu according to the Mahavamsa. If these what are known as “Sinhaputhra/Boomiputhra of Heladiva” had remained as Tamils, (devoid of assimilating with the Sinhalese) today the particular Tamils would have been the majority in Sri Lanka or perhaps if they had assimilated together with the Veddas instead of Sinhalese, today the Veddas would have been considerably a large population within Sri Lanka. 

 

Mr. Bandu De Silva accepts the fact that the Tamils and the low-country Sinhalese are closely mixed but strangely he leaves out the up-country Sinhalese. The last 4 Kings who ruled Kandy by 1739 – 1815 were Nayakkar from Madurai (Tamil Nadu). During the 70 years period how many of its people (close associates yet others), would have come from there as well as mixed with the up-country Sinhalese. It is said; a King had them committed to Kandyan Sinhalese women of variation (a royal affair).  In truth the Kandyan rulers had close ties with Tamils than with low country Sinhalese.

 

Five.2. Dutch and the Vellalars

A couple of Sinhalese pseudo ‘Intellects’ talk as if they have observed the Dutch bringing Vellalars to be able to Jaffna from South India (Vellalar migration). As you move the Tamils ridicule such cheap His-story manufactured by some charlatan for the serene happiness of a few non-rational gullible and bigoted Sinhalese chauvinists, the majority of the Sinhalese do not believe in such tales. This myth was concocted simply by those who are totally ignorant with regards to Vellalar and the Jaffna society. I am actually surprised that Mr. Bandu P Silva, once a diplomat who represented each of our country at international place believing in such myths.

 

The idea (myth) fabricated by a Sinhalese pseudo-scholar Gamani Iriyagolla, (Attorney at law cum civil servant), without the recorded proof was “Many Tamils around Jaffna were brought in the Seventeenth century by the Dutch to be effective in the tobacco plantations”. Later his way of thinking was further modified simply by naming those imaginary migrants because ‘Vellalar’ and the reason behind the introduction of Thesawalamei Regulation (adopted from Malabar Muslim Habitual Law) by Dutch ended up being to encourage the Vellalar of South The indian subcontinent to come and grow using tobacco.

 

It was Markus Vink, a Dutch historian who first mentioned quoting a Dutch Record, in an article published in the ‘Journal of Community History’, the Slave trade has been flourishing during the Dutch phase (17th century AD). There was clearly a famine in South India during that period and also slaves were brought to Sri Lanka and to additional countries from the Coromandel Coast with South India in 1658-1663, 1670/71-1689/90. However he mentioned that, ten thousand slaves were settled in the Southerly of Sri Lanka (Colombo, Galle and the entire South West) where cinnamon grew perfectly; he did not say what number of were settled in Jaffna.

 

A few.2. Cinnamon Trade

From the time of the Portuguese, who experienced a monopoly of trade in spices or herbs, they developed the farming of spices in Sri Lanka as well as established a lucrative buy and sell. Cinnamon was the addition export. It was ‘the Helen or perhaps bride of contest’ (as Baldaeus called it) for whose exclusive person successive European invaders had in turn contended. Dutch Governor Rijckloff vehicle Goens Jr. (1675-80) stated cinnamon is alleged to be the bride around who they dance in Ceylon. Otherwise for cinnamon, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British isles would not have taken such curiosity about this tiny island regarding Sri Lanka.

Other than for Cinnamon, flavored coffee and coconut plantation while in the South, the Dutch in addition used them for family purpose.

Let me quote through the report of the Dutch blogger Markus Vink:

“In 1661, 10,000 slaves had been put to work by the company and by individual individuals on the lands throughout South-western Ceylon, including 2,000 enterprise slaves. In 1694, the city of Colombo by itself had a slave population of merely one,761.”

 

The Sinhalese population elevated exponentially and became a majority in Sri Lanka only after they brought by the Portuguese along with the Dutch assimilated with the area Sinhalese population.

Only those that the Indian brought in the 19th century Offer and settled in the upcountry did not assimilate with the Sinhalese (even though they have been highly discriminated by the Vellalar Tamils) because the English had a different policy/agenda and they maintained it till they kept the island in 1948. (If offered a choice, they will prefer to join with the Sinhalese rather than Tamils).

 

5.A few. Vellalar Domination

When the last Tamil master of Jaffna, Cankli Kumaran was fighting decisively while using Portuguese forces, Jaffna was nicely populated with Tamils.

The ‘Cambridge Status for India’ says,

“The Tamils formed the three kingdoms of the Pandya, Chola, Chera, in which the ruling element was the land tilling classes, the Vellalars.” (ibid. s. 539).  

“Even in the fifth century Advert, the South seems to have believed little influence of Aryan lifestyle but the Dravidian Society was still totally free of the yoke of Brahmin caste system” (p. 540).

Quite simply, the Vellalars were the prominent caste among the Damelars (Tamils) and not the North Indian Brahmin caste.

 

From 13 Century Posting, the economy of the Jaffna kingdom had been based exclusively in agriculturalists, predominantly of the Vellalar caste. The Vellalars were being the land owners plus they were dominating the entire peninsula. It is true that the Dutch also wrapped up some of those slaves in Jaffna in the Cigarette fields to help the Vellalars however it is ridiculous to assume (without any substantiation) that there are considerable amount of not too long ago migrated Tamils in Jaffna brought by the Dutch for Tobacco village or to say Vallalar community with Jaffna was brought from To the south India during the Colonial time. The Dutch did not get Vallalar from South India; these people brought labourers/slaves from South India to help the Vallalar with Cigarette cultivation and those labourers/slaves remained as a definite caste until recently. Encouraged by way of the ambiguities in Dutch law which interpreted the bonded reputation of landless labourers as slave labor, vellalar landowners claimed ownership of these landless labourers, similar to western slavery.

 

The people involving Jaffna knew very well right from the beginning, who is an original inhabitant and who were those tobacco cultivation laborers/slaves. They merely ridicule at such common myths created by the so called ‘Educated’ Sinhalese. Right from Ven. Mahanama, it has become a tradition to the Sinhalese-Buddhists to create myths whenever they come to feel there is a threat to [Rata (Sinhala Country) – Jathiya (Sinhala Nation/Race) – Aagama (Sinhala Buddhist Religion]. It is so contiguous that it offers spread to some Sri Lankan Tamils as well who in turn have come up with yet another myth that there was a long term Tamil kingdom in the North/East for 3,000 years. (Myth creating more and even more myths).

 

5.4. Cigarettes Cultivation

Prof. Sinnappah Arasaratnam published an article to the very subject in 1994 where he took Markus Vink’s content and further elaborated on the Jaffna issue. Reported by him, the Dutch entirely supported the local Vellalar farmers to develop Tobacco which was extensively harvested in Vadamarachchi and in parts of Valikamam. The actual Dutch helped the Vellalar by means of bringing in workers/slaves from South India. He also says, all these vellalar elites were able to command the manual work of untouchable castes, who were migrating out of south India until the Eighteenth century. It is also very clear from their article that, the tobacco cultivation labourers/slaves were none other than the particular untouchable castes from South India who remained in Jaffna until not too long ago as low castes. Even Prof. Sinnappah Arasaratnam does not say how many were resolved in Jaffna. What he said appeared to be, consequently, due to this settlement, a populations of the already largely populated provinces of Valikamam and Vadamarachchi enhanced and the older villages, making use of their intensively cultivated and subdivided land, noted populations of as much as 6000 each (those already existing plus those settled).

The Dutch Predikant Philippus Baldaeus in his famous 1682 famous account ‘A True and Actual Description of the Island connected with Ceylon’ says he first stumbled in the Malabar Coast (presently Kerala), stayed at there for a very limited time moving along the Malabar Coast so that you can Coramandel Coast (presently Tamil Nadu) up to Nagapatnam, and then to Galle, and finally Jaffna (presently Sri Lanka). This individual was living in Jaffna during the period of time when the Dutch slave deal was flourishing, when 1000s of slaves were brought to Sri Lanka from Coromandel. He or she was preaching Christianity in the Tamil expressions (he learnt Tamil just enough to be able to preach) to the people of Jaffna.

With regard to a similarity in the languages verbal in both Jaffna and Coromandel, this is what he said, “I have HEARD it often asserted with the inhabitants of Jaffna Patnam that, which part of the country was Moments PAST peopled from the Coromandal coast so because of this the dialect of their fatherland.”

This statement is usually quotes out of context (misquoted) by the Sinhalese college students. If we analyze the above assertion, this Dutch officer claims, he has only heard the actual peasants of Jaffna talking that the similarity in language is because, before history, the people of Jaffna ended up from Coromandal He did not declare anywhere that he saw/witnessed people by Coromandal settling in Jaffna (Dutch settlements/Vellalar settlement deal). Without reading such old accounts in full and without the need of analyzing them, these pseudo-scholars not only misinterpret them but also make assumptions and come to wrong conclusions.

 

5.5. Tesavalamai Law

The adherence of particular laws such as Tesavalamai by the To the north Tamil society in Sri Lanka is NOT resulting from any South Indian Vellalar or maybe any Tobacco cultivation. That it was only a customary law which governs property rights among the Tamils of Jaffna, codified by the Dutch within 1707 under the heading ‘The Malabar Laws plus Customs’, under which not all property could be given away. A person could give away only the tetiatettam, i.e. property received by either husband through the period after married life and the priests acquiring from these properties. Even of the tetiatettam asset, the husband cannot distance the whole property; the better half is entitled to half of the idea. Those properties inherited from the parents cannot be given away in accordance with ones own wish. The Thesavalamai is part of some ancient methods of Tamils in Sri Lanka and China on the matrimonial rights and Inheritance with respect to property and intestate sequence and has no relationship just what so ever with the Malabar Islamic Customary Law of Indian.

 

As the rulers of Jaffna, the Nederlander accepted the customs from the Northern Tamil society and by your order of the Governor Simons in 1706 it was promulgated from the Dutch Government as a routine law of Jaffna and codified them under the heading ‘The Malabar Laws and Customs’. These Sinhala pseudo-scholars have totally misunderstood the customary law regarding Jaffna Tamils (Thesawalamai) by comparing it using the Muslim Customary Law associated with India. Not only Thesawalamai Law, it ought to be noted that the colonial rulers additionally accepted Kandyan Law, Muslim Legislation, Buddhist Law and Hindu Law around Sri Lanka in addition to their Roman-Dutch Law and Language Law.

 

5.6. Transforming to Christianity

Like the the Colonial, the Dutch and the Indian colonial powers who simply dealt with the Vellalar who were hence powerful within the Jaffna Tamil society, even the Sinhala dominated governments in the Southern region continued the same practice soon after independence.

The Portuguese went about converting the remaining members of this royal family and the Vellalar Tamil aristocrats of the Kingdom of Jaffna (after its fall) into Catholicism. They provided them the headmen of Jaffna and give them the Portuguese name Don. These titles carried on into the Dutch period since seen in the names of signatories on the Thesavalami laws and customs regarding Jaffna which was codified under the Dutch.

For instance,

The signatories of the Thesavalami laws along with customs of Jaffna were, Have on Philip Villaivarasa Mutaliyar, Don Anthony Narayanan, Don Frnscisco Arulampalam Mutaliyar, Don Juan Chantirasekara Mana Muthaliyar, Add Martino Manappuli Mutaliyar, Don Franscisco Vanniyarasa Mutaliyar, Don Juan Chayampunata Mutaliyar, Don Juan Chutukavala Chenathirayan Mutaliyar, Don Louwys Putar, And Don Francisco Rasarathina Mutaliyar.

 

During the Nederlander rule, in an attempt to control this powerful Vellalar elite, all the cases of Muthaliyarships were asked to provide their letters of consultation and prove their games. The census indicated that from the four provinces of Jaffna there was a full of 516 Mudaliyars. However hard they will tried, the Dutch couldn’t break the dominance of your Hindu Vellalar land owners. Finally, the actual Dutch introduced a law, no native could have title to land without transforming into a Christian (Protestant) and being baptized. Consequently, most Vellalar families who were gardening land owners in Jaffna established baptism but behind closed doors they however practiced Hinduism. Dutch religious frontrunners lost hope and dearly departed from Jaffna. As a result, the local Believers (Protestant) had no religious command and many of them converted here we are at Hinduism. Even though the Dutch could create Forts, they could not create a Dutch Reformed Church inside Jaffna like what they did in lots of places in Colombo and Galle. The British who succeeded the actual Dutch were also not successful, unlike in the South; the mission could not establish a Chapel of England in Jaffna.

 

The initial Christian missionary; American Mission (Congregationalists), within the American Board of Commissioners pertaining to Foreign Missions, landed throughout Ceylon in 1812. When the American missionaries primary arrived in Jaffna, they found that the very best impact they could make on the powerful Tamil Hindu Vellalar community was by education. They put up perfectly equipped Schools, hospitals, and so forth and established the Religious of South India. Many of the Vellalar Tamil families became Christians plus took American names entirely when they were baptized.

For example,

Murugesar Ramanathar started to be Francis Asbury, Ambalavanar Chitampalam became Nathan Strong,  Ethirnayagam Murugesar became Cyrus Mls, Muttukumaru Sithamparapillai became William Nevins,  Arumugam Nannithamby became Robert Williams, Vairavanathar Sinnathamby became William Cotton Mather and there are more followed.

 

After the Americans well-known their mission schools, churches and hospital with the help of the actual powerful Vellalar, they deviated from the process by taking in “low caste” Tamils, and started off baptizing them giving them Christian/Western names to be able to erase their “low caste” identities. Your Hindu Vellalar Tamil nationalist Arumuga Navalar launched a campaign to deny “low caste” Tamils access to missionary schools but unsuccessful.

 

5.7. Tracing the actual Tamil Ancestry

Mr. Bandu De Silva procedes say, the Tamils do not have a continuous history going back to a date past the seventeenth century. I do not know the way he came to such a summary? In the case of the Sinhalese, their family name/surname is constantly carried forward from down the family (Eg, Ratwatte, Don Hewavitharana, De Silva, for example), where as the Tamils do not have forward a constant family name/surname as well as their ancestors are not known beyond three generations. (Eg, we do not know who Don Philip Villaivarasa Mutaliyar’s forefathers/decedents usually are). Only a very few Vellalar families elected to constantly carry frontward their family name/surname and therefore their ancestry and family history can be traced back up to the 17th century and not above.

 

5.7. Colonial Lackeys

It absolutely was neither the Dutch nor the British but the Us citizens who built those leading schools in Jaffna which made it easier for the Tamils to receive an The english language education, an advantage they had on the Sinhalese when it came to white dog collar government jobs under the British. There is no truth in the Sinhalese report that the Tamils collaborated with the British isles against the Sinhalese. Very similar to some of the Sinhala revolt against the British rule even the Tamils have rebelled. Pandara Vanniyan (Kulasegaram Vairamuthu Pandaravanniyan) was known as considered one of last native Tamil chiefs to challenge British rule.

 

In fact it had not been the Tamils but the Sinhalese who worked with the British. Unlike this Indians (Mahatma Gandhi, Jawalhal Nehru, Mohd Ali Ginna, Subash Chandra Bose, and others) who suffered for Independence, the Sinhalese whom Anagarika Dhammapala called as ‘Kalu Suddho’ collaborated with the British (a good move anyway), who offered us Independence on a platter (without shedding a single drop of tears, sweat or maybe blood) and made them politicians to rule the entire place.

 

5.8. Yarlpana Vaipava Malai

Just like Dhatusena welcomed Ven.Mahanama to compile the Mahavamsa, your Dutch Governor Jan Maccara may have experienced an interest in knowing the history of the people who were dominating one area of the country and he invited Mayilvagana Pulavar, the right person who could compile it. This has nothing to do by using tobacco cultivation as a lot of the Sinhalese charlatans are trying to misinterpret. Just like the Mahavamasa compiled by a the poet monk Ven. Mahanama in 6th century AD who glorified the particular Theravada Buddhists, the Yarlpana Vaipava Malai is a book authored by the Tamil poet Mayilvagana Pulavar in 1736 AD anf the husband glorified the supremacy of the Tamil Hindu Vellalar. Like the Mahavamsa, furthermore, it contains folklore, legends in addition to myths mixed with historical stories, most of them cannot be proved.

 

The only good thing that the Tamil militancy did on the Sri Lankan Tamils was, getting rid of the caste process and the Vellalar supremacy but in doing so, they got rid of most of the well well-informed Vellalar Tamils.

 

6.  Saivism and the Ancient Hindu shrines 

I’m not going to comment much to the antiquity/existence of five recognized ‘Eeswararms’ of Siva until the arrival of Thero Mahinda because so far, even with all the latest superior technology, there is no proper archaeological research conducted on them.

 

This worship of Siva was widespread in Sri Lanka from even before the actual mission of Mahinda in the Third century BC, the mission that resulted in king Tissa with Anuradapura and many of his matters being converted to Buddhism. After all, the daddy of this Anuradapura ruler was Muta Siva brilliant brother was Maha Siva whose labels imply association with the worship of Siva. The numerous occurrences of your personal name Siva in the early Brahmi files and also in the early Pali chronicles leave us in no doubt the cult of Siva was frequent in the island, unless of course several etymologist/linguist comes up with a different which means for the term Siva in the early Sri Lankan/Indian dialects.

 

The earliest reference in the Pali Chronicles to the Saiva Shrine at Trincomalee is found in this Mahavamsa (Ch. XXXVII, vv. 40-44).  It states that Mahasen‘built furthermore the Manivihara and founded a few viharas destroying the temple of the gods the Gokanna, Erukavilla, and another in the whole village of the Brahman Kalanda’.  In a note down below Geiger the official translator of the Mahavamsa, states, “according towards the Tika, the Gokanna Vihara is situated on the coast of the Eastern sea, both other Viharas in Ruhuna, the Tika likewise adds everywhere in the Island with Lanka he established the doctrine of the Buddha having destroyed the temples of the unbelievers, i.e. possessing abolished the Phallic symbols of Siva and so forth”. In his foot observe quoting the Pali version from the Tika Geiger clarifies that King Mahasen damaged symbols of Siva:

 

 ”Evam sabbaththa Lankadipamhi kuditthikAnam Alayam viddhaamesetvA, SivalingadAyo nAsetvA buddhasAsanam eva patittahapesi”

In the event what the Tika says is to be acknowledged, Ruhuna and the Eastern coast seems to have been early residences of Saivaism, the Tamil religion a par excellence.  The authors with the Pali Chronicles and the monk author with the later 13th century Advert Tika were Buddhist priests, who at that time ended up the bitterest opponents of Saivaism and those who supported it in Sri Lanka, as we see from their writings.  The truth plus accuracy of the statements manufactured by the commentator cannot be verified.  It offers however been pointed out that the unknown writer of the Tika (who seem to also mentioned about the mysterycal ‘Vamsa texts’ referred to as ‘Sihala Atthakatha’) had used his piety and his imagination rather than verify facts to explain the allusions found in the Mahavamsa.

 

Approaching over to historical data furnished by Dr. Vigneswaran, it is his check out having examined many solutions that the original Thirukoneswaram temple will be under sea. The original brow now under sea must have been a rock cave temple developed around an earlier existing Shivalingam.

 

The most important thing is not what is said from the ‘Mahavamsa’, or Tika or the thevaaram that the historic Tamil Saiva poet, Thirignanasampanthar sang on ‘Theiruketheesvaram’ and ‘Thirukoneswaram’ or reference to Siva temple in relation to Raavana in Ramaayana or what Dr. Scott E. Peiris declared at a achieving of the Royal Asiatic Society and the remains of several Saiva shrines unearthed in Anuradapura, or king Sena1 (833 – 853) getting changed to Saivism or even what Dr. Vigneswaran serviced. What is needed is an extensive archaeological research that is still approaching.

 

Professor C. Pathmanathan suggested in which systematic excavation done in the Trincomalee section could bring valuable historical evidence to establish not only arsenic intoxication the ancient symbols of Siva but the history of Tamils in the country.

 

Regarding Buddha’s several visits, another creative imagination on the great poet Ven. Mahanama, Mr. De Silva suggests, let it remain in the world of belief just like many other beliefs. With the modern technology, it is not any herculean task to find the antiquity of your three ‘chaityas’ despite its renovation/embellishment nevertheless who would want to shoot on their own their own foot? It is easy to rule/preach this masses if they remain gullible.

 

Conclusion

Today the Sri Lankan Tamils choosing a lump sum everything and are reduced to refugees in their own land. It is a poisonous historical truth that, it had not been only the colonial rulers who were the cause of this state of affairs but also the competitiveness, superiority complex, caste discrimination, disunity, be jealous of, lack of co-operation and lack of patriotism one of many Sri Lankan Tamils. It is unlikely this situation can be changed until the Tamil politicians as well as officials truly realize a gravity of the situation as well as apply themselves sincerely to help solving these urgent challenges which still exists while in the Tamil community.

 

Let me quote this powerful saying “United we have, divided we fall”. The split Tamils who were struggling for a distinct Tamil state in Sri Lanka do not possibly deserve a federal remedy. The unity and solidarity among the Tamil speaking Sri Lankans (North, East, Upcountry, Colombo as well as Tamil speaking Muslims) is the number one priority. Except if and until all the Tamil conversing people of Sri Lanka unite, they don’t deserve any political alternative. These people (leaders) have to decide whether or not the Tamils are to continue living as refugees. The best lesson they can learn is from their own Sinhalese brethren by using whom they have lived for some centuries. Their unity (inspite of their differences) in beating the LTTE should be admired.

 

Nov LTTE is one good thing that has happened to Sri Lankans and especially to the Sri Lankan Tamils. Whether or not this had continued for another many years, it would have reduced your Sri Lankan Tamils (Demelas) to the state of Veddas, a further indigenous population that day-to-day lives in the island from pre-historic interval. What development have they completed to the land/people of Vanni within their Twenty five years of self rule by using millions of dollars they received from the Tamil Diaspora, other than fighting a sacrificing war and making the folks refugees in their own land?

 

Unfortunately, the present government has also succumbed to your Sinhala-Buddhist Ultra-nationalists (obsessed with Mahavansa mindset) masquerading because Patriots with their hidden agenda to find out a Sinhala Buddhist hegemonic state. By pushing certain myopic actions for instance erecting Buddha statues in spots where there are no Buddhists, Sinhala Only Country’s anthem, and so on and by delaying the particular political solution, they are simply aiding to spawn another Prabakaran. For the Tamil speaking people, Sri Lanka still remains to be as a land of ruined promises and shattered desires. Let us not repeat your bitter history again simply by falling back to the 1957 era.

These are some of the vital and critical issues that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission rate (LLRC) have to look into if the federal is genuine in working to finding a lasting solution for an ethnically peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka.