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VANNI & THE VANNIYAS
with
A MAP OF THE
VANN DISTRICTS
By
C. S. NAVARATNAM
Late of the Tattorial Staff. Itaipotty Hildt College Joint Secretary, Jaffna. Historical Association.
196O

Page 4
CoPYRIGHT RESERVED
PRINTED BY THE EELANADU LIMITED, 63, SIVAN TEMPLE WEST ROAD, JAFFNA.

Dedicated to the IVIemory
of my Beloved Brother
S. Mahadavan Esq.
Founder of
Messrs Mahadavans Ltd.
and
Founder-Secretary of Colombo Hindu College. 24 - 8 - 1904 - 23 - 12 - 1957

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C O N T ENTS
PAGE
7
13
24
30
Preface
Chapter I Vanni-Geography
99 II Archaeology of the Vanni
,, III Vanniyas
,, IV Nuwarakalawiya or Maha Vanni 17
39 v Vanniyas (Contd.)
, VI Population of the Vanni
VII Deities of the Vanni
'99
Bibliography
The Writer on His Writings
34
39
43

PREFACE
The Paper entitled “Vanni and the Vanniyas" was read by me at the Jaffna Historical Association on 5-8-59. To have a wider circulation the paper has now been printed with illustrations.
In general histories of Ceylon the part of the country with which we are concerned figures only in a small way. Scanty as our information is on the early history of the Vanni, I have endeavoured in a modest way to present a brief general survey of its history to the middle of the 19th century.
The history of the Tamils in Ceylon will be incomplete without the history of the Vanniyas and it is my hope that this small book will be a useful supplement to my earlier publication “Tamils and Ceylon."
I thank the Management of Eelanadu Limited, for their best services in bringing out this book for me.
Navaly, Manipay. C. S. Navaratnam 2S-8-960

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Page 7
1111:ge of Wislınlı fçılınd at Ka Italii
 

Vanni and the Vanniyas
CIIA PTER I
OGE OOGRAPHY
Wanni was the name givel te the I1J I thern country between the Jaffn: Peninsulal :Lind the NL will Tilkaluwiya District. Before i acquired the Illa me Wil Illini, it sceims to hawe been known as " A dan kapal tL LI. "* I stretched from Trincomalee oil the east Lo Mannar on the west and consisted of Ten na mara wadi, M. Il liya wala i, Karunawal Patti, Panankallan, Perunkali Pattu and Misali Pattu which included lands as far as Kudiramalai and a portion of Cheddikulam. Tle extent of the Winni may be hout 3000 sqLa Te 1iles.
Tlhe costs Lha L su Tround these districts tisie gradually from the shore towards the interior. In the MullaitivLI District high rocks are fo IIl 18 : K. L'LIIturıııılai, Ku Impakai Itali malai and () tiyal Thalal. Though LLL aaLLLLLLL LLLLLLaE LLa LLLLLL LLLL LLLLaaS Sc LLLLaa LCLCa LLL very rich soil are found inland. Tunukkai is a region tL LLLLLLLLS S S LLLLLLL cL S LS LLtttLL LLLLH S aaaaaLLLLL LLLLLLLLS The lands in the W: w Lilinik Lili III real, Which il Tc sit Li:lited in Lline M Ilımalt District and to the si Luth , if the LL LLSLSLLtL LLLLlttS tL La LLLCCL LLLLLL S LLLLL LL LLLLLL Jafn: und M:Ilmar districts. Ihere a Te no IlolIIL:Liis in Lle War II i districts to ensure a Pereninial s Lupply of LtSLLLL LtL S a aLLLLLLLLLtttL t LLLCLSSS LLL LLLLLLLLSLctLLLL s LLrface springs flow ) L: L a L Mulliy: Walai, Tanny LIL LLI EL Ind al Ki im:L TA LI I:1 mm.
RWERS OF THE WANNI
The Parangi Aru which has its source in the Mil Imızı duw: Tank is the largest of the s 11:all se: sol 1:1 || rivers. It flows in the sea in crth of Mill nar. The
S S LLS LLLLLLLEE LLS LLLS KSSS LLLLLLT T LL TGHH

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2 Vanni and the Vanniyas
other river Aruvi Aru or Malawattu Oya flows into the sea near the historic port Arippu south of Mannar. It drains the Anuradhapura District and supplies. several tanks with water and among them the Kaddukarai (Giants’ Tank) and the Akkattimurippu near Arippu are of importance. The Moderagama Aru or the Morkaman Aru forms the southern boundary of Musali Pattu. It feeds the Periyakattukulam by a channel from the Pilmadu Tekkam. The Kanagarayan Aru rising near Vavuniya flows through Iranaimadu Tank and empties its waters into Elephant Pass Lagoon. The Nay Aru and the Per Aru are two seasonal rivers that fall into the sea near Mullaitivu. The Ma Oya takes its name from the confluence of two rivers and after a short course empties itself into the Kokkilai Lagoon. One of these rivers flows through the Padawiya Tank and at the eleventh mile after leaving the tank the river is checked by a dam known as Vannadi Palam. It is one of the foremost structures of its kind in Ceylon. The Ma Oya forms the boundary between Mullaitivu and Trincomalee districts.
CLIMATE OF THE VANNI
Owing to the proximity of the equator the Northern Plain of the Island has an average temperature of about 82°F.
The South-west Monsoon gives this area very little rain, while the North-east Monsoon brings much rain. The Mannar District has a rainfall of about 25 to 50 ins, whereas the Mullaitivu and Vavuniya districts have a rainfall of about 0 to 75 ins. Occasionally these districts are subject to cyclonic storms and once in i896 a locality recorded 31ins. of rainfall for twenty-four hours. On the other hand they are subject to periodical
* In ancient days this river was known as Kadamba Nadi due
perhaps to the Kadamba trees on its banks.

Ceography 3
droughts due to failure of monsoon rains. During this period trees get scorched and wild animals die by hundreds.
Owing to these geographical factors, the husbandman in the Vanni districts, from time immemorial had to depend on the village tanks and on other irrigation works for the cultivation of his crops.
IRRIGATION OF THE VANNI
In ancient times various systems were adopted in Ceylon for conserving the abundance of rain-water that fall all over the plains during the seasonal rains. The first was the use of village tanks and wells. The second system was the impounding of water in reservoirs by making use of the upper reaches of a valley. The water was then taken directly into the fields by means of channels. In the third system a part of the water flowing from rivers was turned into longer channels which conveyed them into reservoirs or a chain of reservoirs. This model is of great antiquity and was practised in South India from time immemorial. The oldest tanks in Ceylon are mainly of this type.
Some of the pre-Christian tanks of the Vanni are the Giants' Tank, Vavunikulam and Pavatkulam. Tanks of the early Christian era are Periyakulam, Mamadu, Olumadu, Kanagarayankulam, and Pandarakulam.**
The Giants' Tank which no chronicle claims for any king of Ceylon is an old tank whose construction is lost in antiquity. Tradition ascribes the building of the tank to the Yakkas. Parker has attributed its construction to a pre-Christian era. The
* H. Parker "Ancient Ceylon' ** H. Parker “Ancient Ceylon.”

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4. Vanni and the Vanniyas
tank has a very long bund of 15 miles and covers an area of six thousand four hundred acres. A stone dam 90 feet thick was built across the river Aruvi Aru in order to divert the water to the tank by means of an excavated channel (Allavakka). In 739 Governor Van Imhoff tried to restore the tank, but it proved too difficult and he had to abandon it. In 1897 the Public Works Department repaired the breaches in the bund and restored the ancient channel. The tank is now the fourth longest artificial lake in the world.
Another pre-Christian tank is Vavunikulam. It was in existence during the time of Dutugemunu. The construction of this tank is assigned to king Elala by Parker. Its original name was Pili Vapi because it was formed by raising a long embankment across the valley of a stream now known as Pali River.
Another pre-Christian tank is Pavatkulam which is of the same age as Vavunikulam. It has five valvepits which is an uncommon feature among the tanks of Ceylon. It is one of those tanks that has no corresponding Sinhalese name. This fact alone indicates that Tamils from remote antiquity have been the permanent inhabitants of these districts. King Elala could not have held sway over a people different from his own for a period of forty-four years, if there had not been a permanent Tamil population of sufficient strength to support him. The late Mr. H. W. Codrington wrote: “There was a steady stream of immigration from South India through the port of Mahatittha with the result that the neighbouring country became entirely Tamil. It is noteworthy that while many Sinhalese place names remain more or less disguised in the Jaffna Peninsula and in the Eastern Province, now Tamil, this is not the case in the country behind Mannar; there these names are fully Tamil.”

Geography 5
The construction of such magnificent tanks in the second century B. C. and earlier, confirms the presence of a large population who understood earthworks and the art of rice-cultivation. We are also told that Panda Wewa on the Waryapola Chilaw road was supposed to have been built in the fifth century B. C. For it must be remembered that the Sinhalese nation was then being formed, and their numbers would have been totally inadequate to carry out such ambitious schemes in diverse parts of the Island at such an early period. It follows, therefore, that there already existed a large number of inhabitants for whom these tanks were of use. Under these circumstances there can scarcely be any doubt that Ceylon was first colonized from Southern India.
In this connection it is good to note what an eminent scholar like Rev. Father Heras, an authority on Dravidian civilization and culture, said in 1937 after examining the inscriptions on the early cast and struck copper coins of Ceylon known as puranas or kahapanas and by early European archaeologists as punch-marked coins. He says: “The fact that the system of writing was not yet developed like the Brahmi scripts of India proves that the coins are prior to the Christian era and even granting that the script of Ceylon did not develop as fast as the script of India the pictographic character of some of the signs of Mohenjo Daro and the nominal values of all the signs incline me to believe that these coins belong to the first half of the first millenium B. C.”* He further concludes that the race that produced the marvellous civilization of the Indus Valley spread over India to Ceylon. The pre-historic tombs of Hyderabad State, the designs of the Nilgiris, the patterns on pieces of pottery found in the Tinnevelly District, and the ins
* Journal, Royal Asiatic Society Vol. XXXIV No. 90 Page 52

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6 Vanni and the Vanniyas
criptions in the cave near Kegalle are indications of the long trek of the Dravidians from the Indus Valley to Ceylon.
We learn from the Mahavamsa that in the sixth century B. C., before the coming of Vijaya, Kandamadanam near Rameswaram was ruled by Cullodara, a nephew of Mahodara, ruler of Nagadipa. It means that there was close intercourse between South India and North Ceylon. Considering the intimate connection that existed between the two countries, it is but likely that the Tamils, the nearest neighbours in the continental coasts who were already a prosperous Seafaring people of South Asia, might have established trading centres in the Island as Matota and Kudiramalai in close proximity to the continent. When these ports grew in wealth and influence, the new settlers in order to meet the food problem of a growing population might have constructed stupendous tanks and irrigation works based on the models of their native country. To satisfy their spiritual needs they seem to have dedicated temples to Lord Siva at Tirukketiswaram. It is therefore, that we find the most ancient tanks in Ceylon situated in the north and in the north-western coasts of Ceylon that face South India.
Further the Mahavamsa says that there was a Brahman chief engineer Jotiya in Anuradhapura in the reign of Pandukabahaya . Mihintale Rock No. 2 inscription says: "According to the supply of water in the lake the same shall be distributed to the lands of the Vihara in the manner formerly regulated by the Tamils"**. The Tamils who were very early acquainted with tank building should have been the first builders of tanks in Ceylon and should have been the first to introduce the use of iron, for these stupendous irrigation schemes would not have been possible without iron tools.
* Mahayansa (Титоит) Chap. Y ** Ceylon Literary Register Vol. V Page 151 * ** Oruva-(Sinh) Steel-seems to have been derived/rom Uruku (Tamii)

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Image of Lord Ganesha unearthed at TirukketisWaram
 

CHAPTER II
ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE VANNI
Vanni is the land of spectacular ruins of huge tanks and of breached bunds. Ruins of Hindu temples stand side by side with dilapidated dagobas. Sometimes on an embankment Lord Ganesha, the God of Learning and Wisdom, can be seen seated on a raised platform watching over the fertile plains below. In another spot in the jungle can be seen the statue of the Great Master silently reminding his devotees of the great Middle Path. Occasionally among such surroundings would stand the ruins of the proud residences of the Vanniya chiefs narrating their thrilling story of a thousand years of independence.
The western division of the Vanni (Mannar District) seems to have been once thickly populated, for there are many abandoned tanks and neglected water channels. Of the many ancient dams Kurinchakulam Tekkam on the Kal Aru and another Tekkam, on the Per Aru are of importance.
The historic port of Matota with its celebrated temple of Tirukketiswaram is in the above district. The antiquity of this port goes back beyond the beginnings of Ceylon history. The Portuguese to satisfy their religious zeal destroyed this venerable shrine. After their defeat in the First Battle of Jaffna in 1560, they built a four-sided fort at Mannar over-looking the Strait to ward off the attacks of the Tamils. It was later rebuilt by the Dutch.
A few miles south of Matota stands the village of Arippu on the Gulf of Mannar over-looking the pearl banks. Arippu meaning a sieve in Tamil derives its

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8 - Vanni and the Vanniyas
name from the sifting of pearls which was carried on there. Apart from its association with the pearl fishery it is remarkable for it is here that Robert Knox regained his freedom which he lost at Kottiyar in 1660. One mile south of this village are the ruins of a Dutch fort. A mile from this are the impressive ruins of the building which Frederick North, the first British Governor of Ceylon built to supervise the pearl fisheries.
Some stone pillars mark a shrine at Komputukki between Vidattaltivu and Iluppaikadavai. Further north near Vellankulam is an Aiyanar temple with elephant as its vehicle (nandhi). Perhaps this may be the temple mentioned in Kokila Sandesa.
There are ruins of buildings at Chinnachcheddikulam, Cheddikulam Palampiddi, and Venayankulam. Cheddikulam was the seat of Vanniya chiefs. Mr. J. P. Lewis basing his facts on some ancient Tamil manuscripts states that Viravarayan Chetty, a merchant of Madura, together with some Paravars were wrecked off the western coasts of the Mannar District about A. C. 247. He and his followers later settled in Cheddikulam and constructed a “ keni ’* known as Vavvalai and erected a temple to Lord Santhirasegaram about A. C. 289. The Muslims that are in the area claim to be the descendants of the Arab traders who first came to Mannar.
In Parangi Cheddikulam the numerous descendants of the Portuguese could be distinguished by their colour, but they wear the dress of the inhabitants of the area.
Madhu is one of the most famous places of pilgrimage. There is a tradition among the Catholics that the original home of the statue at Madhu was Mantai and when the Dutch took possession of the town some Catholics carried with them the statue of Our Lady
" A rectangular well with steps on one side.

Archaeology of the Vanni 9
and emigrated to Marutha-Madhu which was then on the borders of the Kandyan territory and had a custom-house for the goods that came into the king's. territories. Soon other Catholic emigrants from Jaffna. took shelter in the Vanni. All these settlers lived unde the patronage of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. Later on, an annual festival was established in 1870 to be celebrated on the 2nd of July.
Traces of ancient roads from Anuradhapura to Matota and to Jaffna can be noticed in Kilakkumulai South. There is an ancient bridge at Olukkulam.
Panankamam was one of the celebrated headquarters of the Vanniya chieftains. In this Pattu there is. an absence of Buddhist remains. It shows that Hindu Tamils have been in occupation of the district from time immemorial.
There are some ruins in the jungle north-west of Vavunikulam. It may possibly be the remains of a town. Hindu temples dedicated to Siva and Vishnu were found among these ruins by Mr. J. P. Lewis 'about seventy years ago.
Nothing of note was found at Pavatkulam. Here there are no local traditions and no inscriptions. The ancient channels of the tank can be traced for about three miles.
The town of Vavuniya has nothing to show in the way of ruins though there were Tamil settlements. from ancient times.
r An ancient irrigation channel about two miles long connects Madukanda and Maniyarkulam. There are ruins of Buddhist establishments at Madukanda and Iratperiyakulam.
In Kilakkumulai South there are many caves. with inscriptions. According to Mr. Lewis, Mah akachatkodai is one of the earliest settlements of the Vanni.

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Wii and the Wii Iliyas
LLLLaaLLL La LLLaSS tL LaLLL LLalS LL LLaaLLLLLLLS LLLLLaS L LLLLLLtaaLGLLLtLLSLLLLLLLL LL LL LL LLLLLLLL LLLLLS
LLLCLLLLaLLLL tttL LLLL S aaLLLSS LELaLLLL LLLLL LL the Wavuniya District was probably the residence (I W:n Iliya chiefs. Its Ineighbi, Lurh (od must ha ve heen once Lhickly pilpulat el.
LLmLLL LELE S tLLLa LLa LLLLLaS aaLLLLa ESSS t LLa W turni chiess. I here is II s 131 e Saivit e temple: if the LLLLSLLLLCCC LLLLCLSLLLLLLLa LL LLL LLLL LLLcSmL CHaaaaaaaa a ruined Saivile Leiple.
Tammirinn trippi II : In di PLL L Luni u ripp II have :: Il cie|| 1 || channels, Pand:trak Luli: III i II | he: Mull:1 itiv II District has 11 L » corresponding Sinh: lese name. Il II til the lwent if the Britislı za Wain niya prince: h d lı is, residen': for miles Iril this killil 11
LL SLSLLLL aaLaaatLL LLS0L LLLL LL LLL CHttCLLLS tLLtttLLLLS LLtttLL LmLLS aa LLLL LLtLLLLLLL lLL Sa virat huweli ii Karikaldunulai Sh. Rciliails of Buddhis L esta hilish Inleits are foi und : t ( ) tiya IIIa lai ir Melp It L North.
LSL SaEE S LLLLS S S L Stt LLSL LLLLLLLaaa LLGa LLL ruins ø Kura vil K (1vil.
S SLL0 SD LLLLLLLC LLaHLLLL cc a LL S S LaaaLLLLL 0L LLLLLLL LLLLLLLaaa S LLLLtttLLSLLLL L SL LaaLLLLL aaLLLaL aLLS LLLLSLLLLLL SLLtLtttL LtLtlt LLLLtLLLa LLLL L Laaaaa LLL SSSLSLLa SttLtaa aLLS S EE LLLS LLaL GLLL cLaLSLSK aLa L LLLS eeS S S SSS LLL LtEEE CLmmLSLLL LL LL LLL LLLLaLLEGLLL K
LSLS LLLLLSLaaSLELS SLLLLSLLLttt LHlmaaL tLaS S LLLL LLCLaLac aLLCS LcLGLLLLL tle antiquity of Dravilian sell killents in this area,
According : :ccept ed 1r:dition in : l'int, Mgal hits. Buddhists sugli sl'elici il Ceyl in during the time of Prince Wijaya ** As the Tamil Saivites
S S SLSESESYLE S SSLSSLLLLS SLLtLLL S SSTaaaS Sa YSDS S SLLLLSS SLLSLS LSLLLLCCCL GL SLLLLLLLLE LLL LLL LLTTTEE LTTTTTS HιΓrη.
LGLEL S LLTT TkkLLLLLL S LEELS S S LTkkaEL L SLAL TkkkL TLTS S LkLLL LLaaLTLTS SLSES LLkkE EEL LLLLLLLLSLLLSLLLLLS SLLLTLTLLLtES LLLTkkkLTLCC L
LLLLLLSLSSSSS LEE SLS EM S LLTTL LkLLLS SSCLLLL S SLLLSSSLkLkkL H HH TT S TTS ነ I'!''F& ̈ ናq'†† ''Liሣጊሡ" WíTI'' ''

Scle of the silver "puranas' discovered at Mullaitivu in 1885. Common designs are Tayed sun - symbol, a circle with six cimble 111s, the dog, the bull. rees, and three-: Tched structure,

Page 14

Archaeology of the Vanni l
were living in Matota and in Kudiramalai districts, Vijaya and his Buddhists founded the city Tammana Nuwara, down south near Puttalam. It is interesting to note that the port of Puttalam in ancient days was called Kalyanaturai Mukam (port of marriage) for it seems to be the spot where Vijaya married Kuveni.
Buddhists were known to the Saivites then as "Samana”. "We are ' says Mahinda, to Devanampiya Tissa, ' Samana Oh great king, disciples of Dharmaraja". 'The city built for Samana or Thamana settlers would become Tamana Nuwara** and later as Tam mana Nuwara. Their special arrival gave a special name to their town.
From the archaeology of the Northern Province we are led to infer that Ceylon was first colonized from South India and that a Dravidian culture existed in Ceylon long before the coming of Vijaya. WC are on firm ground, when we say that the history of Ceylon first began in the north, and moved later to -other parts of Ceylon.
PLACE NAMES IN THE VANNI
Names of places are more often causative, but in the process of time they undergo changes that it is difficult to find out their meanings after a lapse of centuries; but it is not so generally in the case of the Vanni districts. In these districts every village is called after its tank and in the majority of names the affix is one of the numerous words employed in Tamil to denote a tank or pond. The word may be kulam ', “ madu ”, “ keni , “ odai ” and “ vil ”. So we have Kanagarayankulam, Mamadu, Nedunkeni, Marutodai and Kokkavil. Of all these, names ending in kulam' are the most numerous.
--- - - ——————vv- - - -"-
* J. R. A. S. Vol. XXVIII No. 73. Page 40.
* Greeks called the Buddhists Thamanaioi. Hugh Neville
Taprobanian, Page 47

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12 Vanni and the Vanniyas
A tank takes the first part of its name from some tree or plant that are on or near the tank bunds. The finest specimens of the different varieties of trees are chosen to form the name of the tank. Of these the tamarind is the most popular and next in order are trees like Maruthu, Nochchi, Puvarasu, Iluppai, Vilathi and Karunkali. So we have Puliyankulam, Marutamadu, Nochchikulam, Puvarasankulam, Iranai Iluppaikulam, Villattikulam, and Karunkalikulam.
Sometimes the tank or village takes its name from some physical feature or peculiarity in the : situation or construction.
Allaikalupoddakulam–a bund which has wave stones. Matavuvaittakulam-a tank with a sluice. Murikandi-where the breach in the bund occurred. Kalnaddinakulam-tank where the stone was set up. Vattapalai-the place where the water never dries up. Marantallininrakulam-tank where trees stood apart.
Another method of naming tanks or village is to call them after some trivial incidents.
Anaiviluntan-where the elephant fell. Pandichuddan-where the boar was roasted. Odduaruthakulam-the tank where the paddy or kurakkan
stalks were cut. Manintrakulam-the tank where the deer stood.
Lastly there is the method of naming places in the following manner :-
Prefixes: Chinna - Small - Chinnakulam. Kilakku- Eastern – Kilakkumulai. Ma - Big — Mamadu.
Mel -Above or upper - Melpattu.
Affixes: Irakkam - Slope - Periyairakkam.
Kallu - Rock I - Periyakallu. Murippu-Breach in the bund- Muntrumurippu. Malai — Hill — Chemmalai.
In this fashion the ancient settlers of the Vanni named their tanks and villages.

CHAPTER III
, MANNIYA S
Of the great Fire Races - Agnikulas that inhabited South India in ancient times, the Vanniya was an illustrious non-Aryan warrior tribe who claimed a regal descent to establish their superioity of birth." They may be acknowledged as the Rajaputs of South India.
The 'manmiam' that treats about the Vellalas is known as Ar Elupathu, and the “manmiam' that treats about the Vanniyas is known as Silai Elupathu. ** Silai in Tamil means a bow, for it is the national emblem of their tribe.
The Nambimar (Nallawas) too have the bow as the emblem of their tribe. They seem to have taken the ensign from their masters, the Vanniyas. In ancient times, just as the Pallas helped the Vellalas in their cultivation so the Nambimar helped the Vanniyas in their wars and conquests.*** We learn from the Vipava Malai that the Kalpitiya Vanniya chief had sixty armed Nambimar under him. Originally the occupation of the Nambimar was not climbing but they often served as archers under their chiefs. Even during the Portuguese period there were thamparu-malavar and thamparu-pallar (climbers) who were different from the non-climbing class of their tribes.
* M. D. Raghavan
* Rev. Fr. S. Gnanapiragasar, Yalpana Vaipava Vimarsanam
Page 40.
*** M. D. Raghavan

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14 Vanni and the Vanniyas.
ADVENT OF THE VANNIYAS
Various explanations could be given for the coming of the Vanniyas to Ceylon. Firstly they may be the remnants of those Tamil armies that were periodically brought to this country either by aspirants to the throne of Lanka or by invading princes and chiefs. The second is the one given by the Vaipava Malai, “ In the reign of King Pandu about A. C. 436 a chief from India called Kulakoddan came over and repaired certain shrines, and the king sent an army against him, but after coming to an amicable arrangement Kulakoddan completed his buildings at Trincomalee, and dedicated large tracts of land with their revenues to the use of these temples. He sent for Vanniyas to the coasts of India and placed them over these tracts with strict orders to cultivate them for the benefit of the temple. There came a band of fifty nine families from Pandya country and they rapidly increased in numbers. Seven chieftains were selected from among the Vanniyas* to exercise sovereign power, each within his own territory.' The descendants of these chieftains continued to exercise like power,and the territories over which they ruled came to be called Vanni. The people who inhabited these districts were known as Vanniyas.
The Konesar Kalveddu, a memorable work endorses the statement of the Vaipava Malai. The Vaiya Padal though not a critical work gives the traditions of the peaceful colonization of the Vanni districts by the different tribes from South India.
* Names common among Vanniya chieftains :- Nallamapannavanniyan, Periya Kumarasuriyavanniyan, Kathirganayanniyan, Kaila ya vanniyan, Pandara vanniyan, etc. Names of Vannichchees - Pallakunachchy, Punniyanachch'. Kathirainachchy, Vallinachchy, Nallanachchy, Chinnanachchy, Kunchynachchy, Ponnairvannichchy etc.

Vanniyas 15.
In the Sinhalese chronicles the name Vanni had a greater application by the inclusion of the Nuwarakalawiya District also known as Maha Vanni. In later times the name . Vanniya was adopted as a title of distinction for any Sinhalese, or Veddah, or Mukkuwa chieftain. When Vellalas assumed the chieftainship of a principality, they were known as Vanniyanar. Nachchiyar was a respectful form of address for Vanni princesses. This is a corruption of Nayakiyar the feminine gender of Nayakanar.
Whatever may be the interpretation of the advent of the Vanniyas and the colonists that settled in the Vanni districts, it is a fact that the northern districts known as Uttaradesa in the Sinhalese chronicles were inhabited by the Vanniyas from a very early date.
ANURADHAPURA KINGS AND THE VANNIYAS
We hear very little of the Vanniyas in the Ceylon chronicles. Here are a few references. According to the Vaipava Malai in the Saka year 515 (A. C. 593) on intimation that the Vanniyas were trying to assume the title of kingship the king ( Agbo I ) led an expedition against them and reduced them to their true position namely that of Athikaris. The Mahavamsa makes no mention of this incident nor about the revenue of the districts that went to the maintenance of the Koneswaram temple.
On the death of Agbo VII (766-772) Mahinda who was at Matota hastened to the capital. Concerning this period the Mahavamsa says, “ Then in Uttaradesa the chiefs of the districts together with the dwellers in the provinces seized the land by force and refused tribute to the king.”* Mahinda crushed the rebellion, but soon after the northern chiefs occupied
* Mahavamsa Chap. 48. V. 83.

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16 Vanni and the Vanniyas
the city of Anuradhapura, but again also they were driven out. Here the reference is more probably to the Vanniya chieftains and their people.
In Saka year 717, (A. C. 795) we hear of Ugra Singan, a chief from the continental coast, in possession of one half of Lanka, while another ruled South Ceylon. Then Ugra Singan travelled through the Vanni and received tributes from the seven Vanniyas. *
When Kassapa usurped the throne of his brother Mugalan and murdered his father king Dhatusena about A. C. 479, Mugalan escaped to India and returned with a Tamil force in the eighteenth year of Kassapa's reign. A great battle was fought which ended in the defeat and suicide of his brother about A. C. 496. Even after this incident the kings of Ceylon who followed Mugalan relied upon the support of the Tamils for retaining their kingship. Even a strong monarch like Parakrama Bahu I had to depend on Tamil soldiers to maintain his sovereignty. The Tamils in these centuries were more or less the virtual rulers of the country, and as the Sinhalese kings could not find peace in Anuradhapura, Agbo IV (658-674) was the first monarch to shift his royal residence to Polonnaruwa. Later it was Sena I (831–851) who made Polonnaruwa the capital of his kingdom. From that time onwards Anuradhapura gradually sinks into oblivion, though we hear about it occasionally in the succeeding centuries.
In the sixteenth year of the reign of Parakrama Bahu I (1153-1186), the people of Matota (Western Vanni) rose in revolt and they were soon put down.
The removal of the capital to Polonnaruwa had destroyed the prosperity of Anuradhapura. Parakrama Bahu I (1 53-1186) tried to restore the capital by repairing the sacred edifices. The tupas were covered with trees and he tried to restore the buildings. ** His rennovation was only a temporary measure for after him the forests reclaimed the city. All these indicate that Anuradhapura was for long in the hands of nonBuddhists.
* Yalpana Vaipava Malai ** Mahavamsa Chap. 74. V. 6-14.

CHAPTER IV
NU WARAKALA WIYA OR MAA VAINN
As the Vanniyas played a great role in the history of the Maha Vanni we shall here examine briefly its history. During the period of one king Sena an important event took place in the Nuwarakalawiya District. There came a large band of Tamil Vanniyas (known as Vanniwaru Sinhalese) and settled in the district.* Probably these Vanniyas were a part of the Pandyan army of Sri Vallabha (815-862) who invaded Ceylon during the reign of Sena I (831–851) and sacked the capital Anuradhapura. On acknowledging Pandyan suzerainty, Sena was allowed to rule. Perhaps the the descendants of these Vanniyas became the powerful chieftains of this district. They later played an important role as officers of state in the Kandyan kingdom, and in the subsequent history of the Island.
TAMIL COLONIZATION OF THE MAHA VANNI
Of the colonization of the Maha Vanni by the Tamils the Vaiya Padal states that the family of Suriya Singa Vanniya together with Tamil Vellalas settled in the Nuwarakalawiya District.
According to Simon Casie Chetty the Villi Durai, a tribe that is found in the Maha Vanni came as followers of the Vanniyas from the Indian coasts. Probably they are the “ Villiyar” of the Palai region of the Tamil Nadu.
* J. R. A. S. Vol. III No. 9. Page 149.

Page 18
18 Vanni and the Vanniyas
Another Tamil tribe are the Wagays who are mostly found in the Anuradhapura and the Kurunegala districts. They do not very much encourage intermarriage with the Sinhalese and claim themselves as Agambadi Vellallas.
The Oddes (Ottar) another Tamil tribe are found in the North-Central and North-Western provinces. They are chiefly employed in the quarrying of stones, in the sinking of wells and in the construction of tank bunds.
In the reign of King Bhuwaneka Bahu of Kotte a number of princes from Malabar District who were defeated by their neighbours the Maravars came with valuable presents to the king of Ceylon and sought refuge here. They were given the country near Pomparippoo and the Vanni where they settled down.**
In the latter part of the eighteenth century a large number of Tamils from the Jaffna Peninsula especially from the villages of Alaveddy, Udupiddy, and Navaly went out as peaceful colonists and settled in the Mullaitivu and in the Kilakkumulai North districts. Many emigrants from Kachchai went to the Nuwarakalawiya District.***
In 1676 as a consequence of the new land tombo to relieve the poor people of the burdens and rapacity of the headmen, there was such an uproar that most of the headmen from Tenmarachchi and Vadamarachchi went over to Kayila Vanni of the Nuwarakalawiya District and made settlements there.****
* Census Report 1911. ** J. R. A. S. Vol. XXX No. 80. Page 321. *** Yalpana Vaipava Kammuthy Page 184. **** J. R. A. S. Vol. XXVIII No. 72. Page 76.

Nuwarakalawiya or Maha Vanni 19
The Demala Hatta Pattu which was entirely inhabited by Tamils was a part of the North-Central Province until 1845, when it was included in the newly created North-Western Province.
In the Tamankaduwa Pattuwa each Pattuwa is almost entirely inhabited by one race. In the Sinhalese Pattuwa there are Sinhalese, in the Megoda Pattuwa Muslims and in the Egoda Pattuwa Tamils.
In this connection it should be mentioned that there were marriages between the members of the Vanniya chieftain families of the Nuwarakalawiya District and those of the Vanniya chieftains of the Northern Province. Whenever a bride was taken from the North, apart from her movables and immovables as dowry, a retinue of forty or fifty families went as her servants to her new district. These Tamil families took employment under their new chieftains, and their descendants later became Sinhalese.
Besides these, individual Tamil settlers from time to time have made settlements in Maha Vanni for the cultivation of crops. Many Tamils of the above mentioned categories have to-day lost their identity.
Robert Knox, who was a prisoner of Rajasinha II for eighteen years, while describing his escape from the Kandyan kingdom in 679 states that from Kala Wewa he came to Anuradhapura where he found the inhabitants were Tamil-speaking. When he spoke to them in Sinhalese, his speech was not understood by them. Later he was taken to the Governor of the district who too did not understand his language and spoke to him through an interpreter. This was the Anuradhapura of the seventeenth century. He further says that Anuradhapura was the northern limit of the Kandyan kingdom.
* Yalpana Vaipava Kammuthy P. 187.

Page 19
20 Vanni and the Vanniyas
As regards the population of the North-Central Province we shall see what the R. A. S. Journal 1959 says: “ Throughout the Sinhalese districts of the north-western and north-central regions the great majority of the ancient Sinhalese place names has been lost, and it has been suggested that the present population is not descended from the original Sinhalese inhabitants. These were regions subject to invasion and conquest and with the downfall of the Sinhalese kingdom and the ruin of the irrigation system followed soon afterwards very probably, by the advent of the malaria heavy migrations of population into the hills and the wet zone would have taken place.' From all the above fects we see that a large percentage of the population of the North-Central Province was originally Tamil.
The first reference to the Vanni found in the Mahavamsa is in its reference to Vijaya Bahu III (12321236) as “belonging to the line of Sri Sangha Bodhi, a man of Splendid courage who after he had through fear of the foe (Kalinga Magha) withdrawn to diverse inaccessible forests and had long dwelt there, attained the dignity of a king of the Vanni.' * This king ruled from Dambadeniya.
Then later we hear of the Maha Vanni during the period of Parakrama Bahu II (1236—1271). One day the monarch summoned his son Vijaya Bahu IV and ordered him thus: “The Ratnavali Cetiya destroyed by alien foes thou shalt restore and adorn it with a golden point.'** This order seems to have been made after the Tamil war (1236-1244), when Kalinga Magha had retreated from Polonnaruwa to Uttaradesa. It appears that Parakrama Bahu II in the above war was not able to drive the Tamils beyond Anuradhapura. For we are told that Karikattumulai South of the
* Mahavamsa Chap. 81. VY. ʻ10, 11. ** Mahavamsa Chap. 87 V. 66.

Nuwarakalawiya or Maha Vanni 21
Vavuniya District was under Tamil domination in the reign of Parakrama Bahu II. * Vijaya Bahu went to Anura
dhapura and cleared the holy places by cutting down huge forests that had grown on them. He recalled the scattered population and re-peopled the city and gave it in charge of the Vanniya princes. The descendants of these chieftains perhaps became later the custodians of the bo-tree. During the early period of British rule there were continuous disputes with regard to this custodianship among the Vanniya chieftains of Anuradhapura.
After the victory of Arya Chakravarti . of Jaffna at Yapahu in 1278 to the year 1581 except for a short period of eighteen years between 1450-1468 the Nuwarakalawiya District was under the Tamil rulers of the North.** When Rajasinha I (1581-593) defeated the Kandyan king his territories together with some Vanni districts were annexed to the kingdom of Sitawaka. After Vijaya Bahu IV (1271–1273) visited Anuradhapura no king of Ceylon ever seems to have visited it, until king Kirti Sri (1747-82) who went there to pay his respects and veneration to the sacred edifices.
In 1803 when there was constant friction between the Kandyan kingdom and the British, the Kandyans attacked all the British maritime territory from Hambantota to Mullaitivu. The Dissawa of Nuwarakalawiya together with Pandara Vanniyan and the people of Vanni attacked the fort at Mullaitivu. Lieutenant Drieberg who was in command abandoned it and went by sea to Jaffna. Soon a British force from Trincomalee hastened to Mullaitivu and recaptured the fortress. ***
* J. R. A. S. 1959. Page 87.
Manual of the N. C. P. Page 37. *** Manual of the N. C. P. Page 48.

Page 20
22 Vanni and the Vanniyas
Later in 1810 the Vanni Unneche the hereditary Governor under the Kandyan king tried to oppress the Nuwarakalawiya people by enforcing the Rajakariya system. Many of the Sinhalese inhabitants fled to the Tamil Vanni abandoning their native villages.* The descendants of these people are the present Sinhalese inhabitants of the Vavuniya District.
When in 1817 the Kandyan disaffected chiefs rose in revolt against the British, the Vanniya chiefs of Nuwarakalawiya also joined the revolt. The Nuwarawewa Vanni Unneche is said to have sent messengers. to a Tamil dewale at Arippu and to have brought a pandaram' whom he presented as one of the members of the royal family. Once when Madugala one of the disaffected chiefs arrived, the new king hastily descended from the elevated seat-an involuntary show of respect. The "pandaram' was accordingly dismissed as unworthy of a kingship.** −
Towards the end of 1818 the rebellion had collapsed and the leaders got dispersed and sought concealment. Pilime Taluwe, Madugala and Keppitipola took refuge in Nuwarakalawiya. Madugala and Keppitipola were captured and beheaded. Ehelepola remained in Colombo for some time, and was later sent to
Mauritius.
Two ancient divisions of Nuwarakalawiya frequently referred in Sannas and in old deeds were: Kayila Pattuwa and Kilakku Mulai (Eastern District).*** Constant changes and overlordship of Maha Vanni between Tamils and Sinhalese account for the names of places in the North - Central Province being of Sinhalese and Tamil origin in the most haphazard fashion.
* Manual of the N. C. P. Page 49. ** Manual of the N. C. P. Page 50. *** Manual of the N. C. P. Page 62.

Nuwarakadawiya or Maha Vanni 23
The two classes from which headmen were selected in Nuwarakalawiya in early British period were Vanni huru and the other called Badderalas (Vellalas). The officers who served under the assistant superintendent of lands in the Anuradhapura District, and who cnjoyed the status of Vel Vidhanes were styled Kathi Kanganies.
In this connection it is interesting to note the report of the Historical Manuscripts commission of 1951. It reveals that the Tamils of the Kurunegala District in the 17th and 18th centuries wrote their notarial deeds in Tamil. It only indicates what fundamental civic rights a minority community enjoyed under native princes. w
Here is an extract from a deed of transfer after an auction sale. The wording of the deed of sale is in metric Tamil phrases. After mentioning of the crying out of the vendor and the response of the purchaser the document signifies the consent of the parties thus :-
எதிர்மொழி மொழிந்து மறுமொழி பகர்ந்து விப்போம் என்று விற்பதர்க் யிசைந்து கொள்வோம் என்று கொள் வகற் குகந்து விலையற விற்று பொருளற பற்றி எம்மி லிசைந்து எதிர் மொழி மொழிந்து தம்மில் இருவரும் தான் சம்மதித்து விற்பதற்க்கு இசைக்து கொள்வ தற்கு வந்து. Then after mentioning the name of the land its limit and its price, all that belongs to the land is indicated as : Jungles with their honey and the pools with their fish including water-holes and depressions (தேன் படு காடு மீன் படு பள்ளம் குண்டு (SfS) p u Lull -) and again including fruit-trees and flower-trees (காய் மரம் பூ மரம் பலா மரம் உட்பட). Finally the continued possession of the land by the buyer is expressed as follows : To possess and enjoy as long as the hills. and the Kavery, grass and earth and the Moon last. (568)th காவேரியும் புல்லும் பூமி சந்திரன் உள்ளளவும் ஆண்டு sygyl Jof $5). The witnesses sign I also know, I also know.
With regard to the Vanniyas of the Nuwarakalawiva District, it should be stated that from the time of the fall of Anuradhapura to the present day they have played an important role as officers of state not only in their own districts, but also in the general administration of the Kandyan kingdom, and have influenced the history of the Island in no small measure".
* Manual of the N. C. P. Page 92.

Page 21
CHAPTER V
VANNIYAS-(Contd.)
VANNIYAS AND THE JAFFNA KINGS
When Varothya Singai Aryan (1302-1325) was away in India, the Vanniya chieftains planned a revolt. They also appealed to the Sinhalese king for help, but when there was no response the agitation proved abortive. Then when Singai Aryan returned to the Island he held an inquiry and pardoned those rebels.
Again in the time of Virothaya Singai Aryan (1371 - 1380) the Sinhalese subjects in his kingdom were frequently urged by the Vanniya chieftains to revolt. Knowing these the king subdued the Vanniyas and punished the rebels. Then he raised the Vanniya chieftain of Omantai, in consideration of his loyalty, to the position of the first chieftain of the Vanni districts.
About 1450 Sapuma Kumaraya of Kotte took a large force and subdued the Vanniyas. After reducing them to the position of vassals, he then turned his attention to Arya Chakravarti of Jaffna. Advancing along the west coast road, he conquered the northern kingdom and assumed its kingship as Bhuvaneka Bahu.
The Vanniya chieftains of Trincomalee were for some time under the kingdom of Jaffna, and some time under the overlordship of the kings of Kandy. In 155 il the chieftain of Trincomalee died leaving behind a minor son of eight years. Sangily Segarajasekaran put forward his claim and annexed his principality. The prince left his territories and escaped with his mother and relatives to India. There with the help of the Christians they sought the aid of the Portuguese. A mixed force of Portuguese and Indians

Vanniyas-(Contd.) 25
landed at Trincomalee, but Segarajasekaran compelled then to retire. The prince later became a Christian and took the name of Alfonso. It was once the plan of the Portuguese to overthrow Sangily Segarajasekaran from the throne of Jaffna, and to make this prince king of Jaffna.
VANNY AS AND FOREIGN RULERS
When the Portuguese took Jaffna in 1621, they nominally became the masters of the Vanni. The policy of the Portuguese with the Vanniya chiefs was one of non-intervention. They left them unmolested in their secluded jungles provided they paid their annual tribute of elephants. To prevent raids of the peninsula by the
Vanniyas the Portuguese built two forts near Elephant
Pass.
Later when the Dutch became masters of the sland they too decided to continue the policy of the Portuguese in their relationship with the chieftains, till a suitable opportunity should present itself for their com. plete subjugation. It was also the policy of the Dutch to desist from taking strong measures against the Vanniya chiefs, lest they should seek alliance with the king of Kandy. Hence the Dutch were very cautious in their dealings with the Vanniyas.
It was Thomas Van Rhee (1692 - 1697), the Dutch Governor, who wrote: “ The Vanni rulers were standing with one foot on the company's land and the other on the king's territory. ' They were a constant source of irritation to the Dutch as they had been to the Portuguese. The chiefs would not often pay their annual tribute of elephants and their land rents, and some even would not appear at the annual durbar when they were summoned by governors. This was especially the case with Kayla Vanniya of Pannankamam who
failed to appear before the Dutch Governor for twelve consecutive years.

Page 22
26 Wanni and the Vanniyas.
The Dutch authorities ignored his insubordination for they knew full well his power and influence. They feared that he might seize the port of Arippu which was of importance for the protection of the pearl fishery. When this fearless wealthy chief died in 1678, the Vanniyas appointed a successor without reference to the Dutch authorities. The Dag register of that time notes : ' Affairs in Jaffna as regards the Vanniyas had improved, for the obstinate Kayla Vanniya was dead and his grand nephew Kaysianar had succeeded him and Sworn allegiance to the company.’
The Dutch authorities in order to have a control over the Vanni chiefs made a rule in 1690 that one of the Vanniyas should always remain at the fort at Jaffna as hostage, each taking his turn for three months. The term of detention was afterwards changed to one month. The company gave a native retinue consisting of one Arachchy and a few Lascoreens who served more as spies than as a guard of honour. Later the Government had to discontinue this system as the native princes could not be disciplined.
In 1714 two Vanniya chiefs carried on smuggling through the eastern coasts with some Indian merchants. This information was passed to the Dutch authorities by Don Antony Kulasegara. Fearing the consequences of their action, the two Vanniyas appealed to Narendra Sinha, King of Kandy, for protection and assistance against the company. As the king at that time was in cordial relations with the Dutch, he arrested the two Vanniyas and forwarded them with their letters to the authorities in Colombo. A display of force was shown in their territories and the properties of the two Vanniyas were confiscated.
Moyart in his memoir says that another haughty chief of Panankamann named Nichchinga Senadirayan died in 1765, and was succeeded by his minor daughter

Vanniyas-(Contd.) 27'
Maria Kadiri Nachchi or Katirai Nachchan I. She was. the sole ruler in Panankamam and was on friendly relations with the Dutch. The Dutch always spoke of her in commendatory terms.
During the time of Don Philip Nallamappanan ! the most formidable of all the chiefs, his son Don (aspar Nitchinga Senadirayan was Master of the Hunt at Punakari. The Dutch did not get all the elephants and subsequently they appointed their own officer (Adigar) to urge the Vanniyas to get the work done for them. -
When the Dutch Government in the later part of the eighteenth century found the Vanni chiefs getting more and more independent and defiant in their attitude towards the company, they decided to enforce their authority by putting the Vanni districts under their direct rule. With this end in view, the Dutch authorities removed Don Gaspar Nallamappanan from the district of Panankamam, and his nieces Nalla Nachchi and Chinna Nachchi were directed to surrender their divisions to lieutenant Nagel.
All these affairs infuriated the people and they rose in revolt. They killed some petty officers, and drove away the company's wood-cutters. Then they barricaded the roads. In the meantime the two ladies escaped to Cheddikulam. The villagers hotly attacked Nagel and his company, but they held their own till reinforcements reached them. At last when both sides got exhausted an amnesty was proclaimed. Chinna Nachchi went to Mullaitivu and took her residence there. Nalla Nachchi and her husband were pardoned, and they later lived at Vannarponnai until their death.
Of this revolt Tennet says : “ In 1782 these continued conflicts were brought to an apparent issue: by a combined and vigorous effort of the Dutch who

Page 23
፲8 VIII i L'ld the Walniyas
LLaLLL LLa LLLGLL S S LSL L LLLLLLLaaaaLLS a LLL LLtLLL LLLLaa reduced 1he Country til at least the outward semblance of submission. It is characteristic of the spirit of the people that the Dutch met now hcrc al II libre determined resis La Ince th: 1 srca 11 311 e col the lative princessics the Wall nich chec Marie Seimbalte, whom they were obliged LLL LLLCLLLC LLCL alLCttHLLS LLL LL LLLLL L LLLLaLLLLL L the || kort up| CUB |011b4)."*
When Lieutenant Nagel Look up the administ tratic II of Lille Walııııii, huc Was allowed to have il s 11:1 || atH aaLS tL tttLLLLLLL LL LLLLaL aCCtCcaLLS S LLLLLL a paid a tribute of rice to the company. On the whole his idlinistration was very successful. He established il Landraad to decide land cases and disputes, Lild als) LLLtttLLLLLLaLLLL LLLa LLLLLL LLLLLLLlLtmmm LLLL LLLa LLLLLL LLLLLLLLSS
About 1790 Nalam; ppana Vanniyan of PanamLCLLLS LLLLLLLE LLaaLL aL S LaaaaH t LL S LaLmaLCLL LLLLLL aLLLLLLLaL LLLSS S0aLLla L HLLtCtLLS LLL LL LSL to Colombo and imposed : fine of 2000 Rix dollers. LLLLLLa LLLLL LLLC LLLLLL LL LLLLL LLL LLLS LLL LLaL L LLL LLLLLS S LLLLL LL S S LLLLS LLL LLaa S aLaLLLLL LLL S LLaaaL S LLLL LLCCCCCL LLLLtLLLCLCLCLaLL t LLtLLtLtaaaaLLShS S SLLLLL LLL LLLaa LLLLLLLLS LL LC Llaa a LLLLLLaaL aatLL LLL LLL LLLLLLLLS LLLLLL LLLLLLLLS S a LLLLLLaL LL LS atLLLLtLLLLLLL LLLLLL aLLa LL LLL LLL LLLLS LL LaLLLaLLa LLL LLSLLLLLLaCCCLCS LLLLLS LLLLLLa L ctLLLLLLL ccL LLL LLL LLLL LLLLaLL LLLLLL
LrkkT TTGlLS L LLLLL LHLLLLHHLLLLLHHLLGTM T LHLLLLHCHGHk LT STLLGLLLtLLS LLLLLS LLLLTaTLLL TS LLLLS LLELE S LL LSaLLLLL LS LLLS S LLLL TT S TGLLGGTTS S LTTLLLLS LSLS TCLLL LLTLTTLLLLL LLL LLTCCT LaLLLLLLLLT TTE sorro Larro.
SS S SLLLLS TT LLS LLkltLcLaakTLGLCL TLS GGL LGGtGSS LLSLLLS S TTkLLL S LLCCLLS
DtLGGGG LL EL L LTTLGG LLLLLLLL kL S TL LLLL LLL LLLS TEtEL kCCL kkS S S LLLLLLGLTLSS S LLLS GltGT LSL SktT LS ELE LTL SLaaS — } ar y fan 'Yr' ('I'r gyrir hir carri II. M. f.
LLLLLL LSLSLTaTS LTLLLLLLLLS LLLLLLLLS LLLL GGTLLLLLT LLu LLLTLLLLLL LL CCLCLL SkTT TEES STLT SLG GT LEETTLLL LLLLCGG kLLL L LLLLLL CCCLLLLCLS

The excavated Siwalingam froll Uru thirapuram, seven miles
west to Kilin Uchchi. Unlike tot het Siwalingams it is rectangular probably of the early Chola period.

Page 24

Vanniyas-(Contd.) 29
nor take more than one meal a day, until her husband was released from prison. Vaithilinga Chettiyar a friend
of the family, and one who commanded great influence with the Government soon proceeded to Colombo, and
secured his release after paying the fine.
Nallamappana Vanniyan never forgot the benign services of his friend. When Vaithilinga Chettiyar built the present Sivan temple at Vannarponnai, he supplied almost all the palmyra timber required for the construction of this great temple. In addition to these gifts he bequeathed Tharangkandal, a village in the Punakari District, and the profits thereof for the daily services of the temple.*
Lastly a few words should be said of Pandara. Vanniyan of Mullaitivu. He was a courageous and independent prince. On one occasion the Dutch authorities forced him to supply them with dye-roots, which request he flatly refused to carry out.** On another occasion Pandara Vanniyan joined the Sinhalese forces in their attack on Mullaitivu. As a result of these encounters he had to lose his principality soon after. In 1785, a sister of this defiant prince was married to Kumarasinga Vanniya, the eldest son of Nuwara Vanniya of the: Nuwarakalawiya District.***
* Mr. A. Moothoothamby Pillai- Yalpana Sarithiram. P. 110. 家率 do do do P. 102. 岑率率 do Yalpana Kammuthy’. P. 187.

Page 25
CHAPTER VI
POPULATION OF THE VANNI
The present inhabitants of the Vanni do not all belong to the same stock as that of the ancient Vanniyas. For in the past few centuries many migrations of people to Vanni have taken place, and much new blood has been added. All the tribes that are found in the Jaffna Peninsula are found in the Vanni. In 1661 the population of these districts was 18,000.
The Vanniyas are an industrious, agricultural race. They are hospitable and obliging, but are extrem
•ely conservative. To the Vanni villager, his plot of arable land is his kingdom and he cannot be got to work for hire. He considers it beneath his dignity. If there are quarrels among them they do not take a serious turn. Earring is worn by both the sexes. They do not wear gold jewellery for fear of being stolen.
They live in straw - thatched houses and whenever one dies they abandon the house and build a new one. Their chief occupation is farming and in spare time they go out hunting. It is the practice among them to buy things on credit and pay by paddy.
Milk and milk products form one of their chief articles of diet. They have honey in abundance ..and relish venison and pork. They consume toddy.
In ancient times a bride's dower might be a buffalo and sometimes a small piece of land. Their marriages were celebrated in the presence of the barber and the washerman, and the bridegroom presented a “ thali and a piece of cloth called “kurai to the
bride.

Topulation of thc Vanni 31
Their customs are similar to those of the ironle of Jaffna. Thesawamalai which was then in vague flna was introduced into the Vanni during Dutch trics.
Though Christianity has made inroads in the con Ntal areas, Saivism continues to be the dominant religion of these districts.
VANNI CHIEFTAINS .
The Vanni chiefs always conducted themselves with royal dignity. John Christopher Wolf, Principal Sccretary of State, Jaffna makes reference to the Vanniyas as " Princes under the Dutch.' In 1697 during enrick Zwaarde Croon’s tenure of office some of the Vanniyas were received in Colombo with great show of ceremony and respect. When summoning them to their presence, the Governors had always to send their tomtom beaters to meet and accompany them with music. ()n one occasion they refused to attend the durbar held in Jaffna by Gerrit de Heere, Governor of Ceylon, because his tom-tom beaters had not gone to meet and accompany them as usual. The last representative and clescendant of the Vanni chiefs was an old lady who esided at Vannarponnai, and there is a tradition that he then British Governor of Ceylon when he visited Jaffna in 1848 paid her a courtsey call.
During the early part of the Dutch period there were seven Vanniyas, though in later times their numbers were reduced by the Dutch.
The Vanniya of Panankamam was the chief tìmong Vanniyas. The Vanniya of Tambalagamam was the managing director of Koneswaram temple, before the capture of Trincomalee by the Portuguese. The Yalpana Vaipava Malai says that the Vanniya chieftains of the north gave a portion of their revenue to the Koneswaram temple.

Page 26
32 Vanni and the Vanniyas
During the Dutch period some Vanni rulers pretended to be Christians in order to please their Dutch Masters, but in reality they were not so. The members of the Vanniya ruling families had intermarriages with the staunch Vellala Saivite families of Araly, Moolai, Tholpuram, Chulipuram, Navaly, Chankanai, Kopay, Irupalai, Tellipalai, Maravanpulo, Udupiddy and Koilakandy, Many of the descendants of Such unions became great officers of state during the Dutch and early British period.*
ADMINISTRATION OF THE VANNI
The Vanniyas had few laws. There was an establishment of Adigars, Kanganis, Udaiyar, Ayutanti, Panikamar, Talaiyar, Pattangatties and Podia Kammakarar.
Kangany was a military officer who used to collect soldiers
in case of war.
Ayuaniti was assistant to the Kangany. They were also
keeping the register in Dutch times.
Mottakar - master of the hunt. Panikamar - elephant-catchers.
Talaiyar - tax-collectors and headmen among potters and
Shanars.
Pattangutties - tax-collectors and headmen among the
Mukkuwas, Kareyar and Thimilar.
Adappanar - a similar officer like the Pattangutties
among the Paravars of Mannar.
Saravanamuttu Mudaliyar was a Chief Magistrate of Valigamam and was the founder of the Tholpuram Amman temple. He was a great philanthropist and made an endowment of lands to the celebrated te i ple at Chitamparam. His illustrious brother Shanmuganayaga Mudaliyar was the head of the land registry at the Jaffna Kachcheri. Punnyanachchy' a distinguished lady of the same family was the founder of the Trust known as the Chitamparam Punnyanachchy Madam Trust. She bequeathed all her rich estates to this 'madam'.

Population of the Vanni 33
The chiefs seemed to have exercised the rights of capital punishment. Fees were paid for the use of th' white cloth ceiling and for securing divorce.
(ONOMY OF THE VANN DURING THE DUTCH
PERIOD.
l)utch Governors made repeated attempts to it prove the economy of the Vanni. It was their general policy to make the territories under them self-sufficient in food. With this end in view, they made repeated attempts to repair tanks and channels but the coolies olcn deserted them on account of the Malaria scourge.
Western Vanni was the most unhealthy spot in (cylon. Here very often infectious diseases took a large toll of the population. Parangi was another scourge of the Vanni. Bad water was another cause of diseases in these districts. All these factors hampered the economic development of the Vanni and caused the depopulation of these districts.
Cotton was introduced into the Mannar District and later the people took to weaving as a cottage industry.
The rich plains of Karachi had been the centre of many abortive plans. Very often the Government blamed the owners for their tardiness and neglect.
During the North-East Monsoon the people cultivated rice, and during the dry summer they raised kurakkan and gingili. They made the best use of the cattle and the buffalo.
About 10,000 people annually migrated from Jaffna to the Vanni districts during harvest time. In this manner the Jaffna kabourers helped the economy of the Wanai.
Government helped the people in Punakari to sink wells and encouraged colonization of the Vanni. Between the years 1750-1800 a large number of families went out from Jaffna as settlers to the Vann districts.

Page 27
34 Vanni and the Vanniyas
The sale of elephants and the export of ivory was one of the important sources of revenue to the Government. Deer-skins, timber, ropes and gingili were ; other things that were exported. Excess paddy was
mostly sold in the Jaffna Peninsula.
CHAPTER VIII
DEITIES OF THE VANNI
Throughout the interior of Ceylon Aiyanar (Tamil) or Aiyana (Sinh.) is considerd a forest god who guards travellers in the forests. He presides over tanks which are supposed to be under his special protection. He is worshipped by the villagers on all occasions in drought, in sickness and in all agricultural operations. When a tank fills and is about to spill the elders in Sinhalese villages sometimes assemble and perform "Mutti Mangalaya' or the Pot Ceremony to God Aiyana.
The worship of this god seems to have been introduced from South India at a very early period. His proper name is " Kai-yanar' so called because he sprung from the hand of Vishnu. He is known as Ayyappan in Travancore.* His emblem is the shepherd's. crook. His seat is in the Western Ghats.
Temples dedicated to this deity are in many parts of the Vanni. One famous Aiyanar temple as: mentioned earlier was between Mannar and Jaffna. The horse and the elephant are his vehicles. At Madampe where there is an ancient Aiyanar temple his steed is very prominent.
Dr. J. T. Cornelius : "Are Dravidians Dynastic Egyptians."

Page 28
醬
^\t IsLI TLIm LI Iıiyal. N () W:L TrioT bLI t god Aiyana r, t |he fores t god of the North-Centrill Province and Wanni. Reveals early Pallava influence in architecture.
 

Deities of the Willili 35
LH S tLL LLL S LLLLL LLLLLLLCL S LaaS S LaLLL LaaL in An Liridhapura is the ls ur Limu niya rock templc. Besi Te it was converted to a vihara it was a deville.* Carved in the rock is the relief of it dignified personage sealed in a royal pose, Sole call this figure a Warrior, but in all details the figure resembles the god Aiyiliar. For in all images of this deity Lhe figure is seated with the elbow resling on a raised knee." Another peculiarity in the images of Aiyamar is the absence of the “kirid:lm“ Lhe conical headwear that usually adorns the images of the higher gods of the Hindu pantheon, in this representatic of the god, the deity has a horse, the she herd's crook, in his had and below are the figures of elephants who probably are his vehicles. In a pallel below is represented pres Lillibly his wife who carries :
ttLCaL L LLHS LLLLL LLaLS LL LLLLaLL GaCLLLLL LLLLL uLLatLL that the figure is not a representation of a Warrior but
hic image of Aliya mar. -
The serpent-cult which was prevalent among the people of Malabar later became popular in Ceyloil. The early Nagas built temples for its Worship. Ruins of tenples to the five-headed cobra are found at Matavuvaittakulam and at Kurun Lurk, Lulam. The annual festival to NagaLLLLLL LL LLLLaL LLLLLL LLLLLS LLLCCLLL S LL LamKL from al II parts of the Wil III. i.
The cul L of P: LItini ( pro K :L ii Iha k ai the guardian goddess of Ceylon, is more popular in the Island than in the country of its origin, Illil. She is the protect." of the people from epidemics like small-pox, chickenpox, etc. Though Pattini is a Hindu goddess from its inception, she is to-day veilerated by thic Sinhalese Buddhists with great pollip and ceremony.
ZS S S LSL S ES S cLES SLLLLLLLL STL LLaS
YYS S S LLLLLLGLLSLKLLLL S LLL LLT CLGGL TT HGLLLLS

Page 29
36 Vanni and the Vanniyas
To the ancient shrine of Vattappalai dedicated to this goddess many thousands of pilgrims congregate for the annual festival from all parts of the Tamilspeaking provinces. Another shrine to Kannakai is at Kunchu Parantan which is also a popular one.
Tradition ascribes that a temple for Kannakai was at Madhu before the coming of the Portuguese. The popularity of the “ Lady of the Holy Rosary' among Hindus may possibly be attributed to the age long veneration of Kannakai in that locality, for one mother cult has given place to another. This tradition is endorsed by Mr. evers in his “ Manual of the North-Central Province," as follows, “ St. Mary's Church at Madhu is considered by the Buddhists and a great many of the Tamil pilgrims who resort there as the Temple of Pattini-Amma (Amman Kovil)'
Allied to the worship of Kannakai the veneration of the seven virgins (Nachchimar) was also prevalent in the Vanni districts. The cult first originated in South India, and later found its way to the Tamil areas of Ceylon. The ruins of temples to these deities are found at Mannakandal between Odduchuddan and
Putukuddiruppu.
Lord Ganesha is the popular deity of the agricultural Vellalas, for he is the guardian of their crops. Ruins of temples dedicated to this God are found in almost all parts of the Vanni districts. He is venerated by the Sinhalese Buddhists who worship him more for success in the material world than for spiritual light. Until very recently there was an image of Lord Ganesha in front of the Bo-tree at Anuradhapura to which it has been the practice of Sinhalese Buddhists to pay their homage with the offerings of
* Vide, Tamil Culture Vol VII. No. 4, 1958. Page 380.

Page 30
Te excava e Siv: ling: Im from Tir: Ikkctis wara II 1 Te Imple site".
 

Dicities of the Winni 37
II ilk rice as the Til Hindus still do. He is supposed to he the heavenly guardian of the Bo-LTee and of AI uradhapura.
Ancient shrines dedicated to the worship of Siwa are Tirukkẹtỉswar:lm Ilear M:11111HT, Tham1|1ợIllrye's- waram ELL (Odd uchudd: Il and Wsu valgiri* Incar Kudiramii:Llai. According to il South Indian inscription another temple to Siva seems () have been at Malota by the la IIIc of Thiru vira mes Wara lJdaiya Mahadevan Kovilo Other important shtines L.) Lord Siva though not very : Incient LLLLLL LLLLLLL aaLLLLSS C LLL CL LLL LLL LLtttLLLLLLLLL LL Kachchill 11 ad Lu. As menti 311 ed earlier there was Ille temple: at Cheddikula 11 fou Inded in the third century A. C.
Even in LIcient An LIraklipura Siwą wership LLE HCLHHLLLLLLLS LL LLt LaLtHLLLLLalLlt SLL LLLLLL GLLLLLL S LLLL boundaries os Anuradhapur: he had to pass a shrine belonging til a Brahman. III i 89 the archaeological survey of WIYuriidhapura revealed the presence of temples to Lord Siva in that ancient city, *** A coterie of Hindu shi rimes : nd app Li rt en: I 1 L ho Luildings Were disco wered betWeen Jelawanarania II di Wijaya rama monasi Ty. In Iwo Siwa. Dewales, the gravite lingi mis were III-lear theid “ in situ. " Major Forbes after visiting Anuradhapura in 1828 wrote: "The only place clear of jungle was in front (if the Maha Wihara (great temple) where al shady tree occupieel the centre of a square and ; stone pillar, Turteen fect high, stod heside the figur: os a bull cull in
SS S LLLLL LLLLLL LLL LLS TT LLCCCTT LLLLLLL TL S S LTCTCLESSS S LLLLLLLLYS LLLLLS S LLLL CLEtLT TT LTLLLLLLLLS S LLTTLLLLLLL LT LLTLLLS LLLLLL ALLLTTL T TTLLLLS LLTTL LCLGLGGLLLLLLL TCLLCTLSS S LTLLL LLLLL SSS LTLCLGGGLGG HS S LLLL LEE TGTLLTLLL LLGLGLL TGGT S LTL TLT S LGTGL LLTS
r"''F''' ''f''' W.
SS CCCLG LTTGGLL LLLLLGGCCGCCLLLSLE L S SS LLLLLSS S0SS
S TLLLLLTS S LLL LLTCT EttCLLGLL S S LL L L LLLLLLLLS 0 LLLLL K

Page 31
38 Vanni and the Vanniyas
granite revolving on a point.' All these seem to be the remains of a shrine dedicated to Siva. The stone pillar and the bull seems to be the flag-staff that is usually present in Saivite temples beside the “nandhi' (vehicle).
Besides these deities, the Vanniyas have been worshipping Vairavar, Vishnu and Kali. A great shrine to Kali was in Anuradhapura.**
Thus it will be seen how from very early times the culture of South India influenced Ceylon and her people. The history of the Ceylon Tamils would be incomplete without the thrilling history of the Vanniyas who for more than a thousand years were the rulers of the Vahni districts and the custodians of all that are great in the Tamils and in their national culture.
The Dakshna Kailaya Manmiam though not a critical work mentions that a temple to Siva was constructed when the city of Anuradhapura was founded, and that the name of the deity was Anurasapurasar and of the goddess Vijayambikai. It was the custom in ancient days for Hindu kings to construct a temple to Lord Siva while founding a new city, and in Anuradhapura Pandukabhaya who was himself a Hindu probably would have followed the castom of his day. w
Archaeological Survey Vol. I 1924. P. 5.

EBIEBLIOGRAPHY
Brohier R. L.
Ancient Irrigation Works. Habitation near Ku
diramalai. Casie Chetty, Simon
The Castes, Customs, Manners and Literature
of the Tamils.
Frank Modder
Manual of the Puttalam District.
Geiger
Mahavamsa-Translation. Culavamsa I. do II.
Knox, Robert
Ceylon with an Autobiography.
Gnanapiragasar, Rev. Fr. S.
Yalpana Vaipava Vimarsanam, Nallamapana
Vannian.
Ievers
Manual of the North-Central Province,
Lewis J. P.
Manual of the Vanni; Archaeology of the
Vanni; Place Names in the Vanni. Mailvagana Pulavar
Vaipava Malai Edited by Mudaliyar K. Saba
nathan. Mootoothamby Pillai A.
History of Jaffna. (Tamil)

Page 32
40 Bibliography
Parker H.
Ancient Ceylon.
Pieris, Sir Paul E.
Ceylon and the Hollandess. Ceylon and the Portuguese. The Kingdom of Jafanapatam. Portugual in Ceylon 1505-1658. Rasanayaga Mudaliyar C.
History of Jaffna (Tamil), Ancient Jaffna.
Tennet, Sir Emerson “ Ceylon'
Thambiah H. W. Dr.
The Laws and Customs of the Tamils of
Ceylon. Turnour, George & Wijesinghe Mudaliyar
Mahavamsa.
Vaiyapuri Iyer
“ Vaiya Padal ” Edited by J. W. Arudpiragasam
(Tamil)
Veluppilai K.
Yalpana Vaipava Kammurthy. (Tamil)
Memoirs of Dutch Governors.
Ceylon Census Report 1911.
Ceylon Literary Registers Vol. I - V.
Journals of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Vols. XIII, XXVIII, XXXIV., XXX, III, XXVIII, and 1959 Numbers.
Tamil Culture - Magazines.
Dakshna Kailaya Manmiam.

Page 33
AWAP
THE VANN
---se- o e-e
 

Place Names of the Vanni
Districts g. Nay Aru
h. Ma Oya Perunkali Pattu i. Yan Oya Musali Pattu 1. Punakari III Metkumulai 2. Akkarainkulam. IV Chinnachcheddikulam 3. Vellankulam V Naducheddikulam 4. Tunukkai VI Kilakkumulai South 5. Vavunikulam VIII do North 6. Panankamam VIII Melpattu South 7. Iluppaikkadavai ΙΧ do East 8. Komputukki X do North : 9. Vidattaltivu XI Panamkamam 10. Venaiyankulam XII Udaiyur 11. Palampiddi XIII Tunukkai 12. , Madhu XIV Karachi 13. Kaddukarai (Giant's XV Putukkudiyiruppu Tank) XVI Mulliyavalai 14. Matota (Mahatittha) XVII Karikkaddumulai 15. Mannar
North 16. Arippu XVIII do South 17. Akkatimurippu XIX Maha Vanni or Nu- 18. Tekkam
warakalawiya Dist. 19. Puliyadi Irakam XX Trincomalee District 20. do Tekkam
21. Periyakattukulam Rivers 22. Pilmadu Tekkam
23. Kudiramalai a. Parangi Aru 24. Pomparippu (The b; Aruvi Aru orMalawattu Golden Plain)
Oya 25. Anuradhapura c. Kali Aru 26. Madawachchiya d. Moderagama Aru or 27. Cheddikulam
Morkaman Aru 28. Puvarasankulam e. Kanagarayan Aru 29. Kurinchakulam Tekf. Per Aru kam

Page 34
42
30. 31. 32. 33. 34.
35
36. 37. 38. 39. 40.
41. 42. 43. 44, 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55.
Olukkulam Pavatkulam Iratperiyakulam Vavuniya Madukanda Maniyarkulam
Mamadu Karunkalikulam Mahakachchatkodai Mara Hluppai Omantai Irampaikkulam Ruwanmaduwa Puliyankulam Putur Kanagarayankulam Mankulam Murikandi Iranaimadu Kilinochchi Kunchuparantan Parantan Elephant Pass Murasumoddai Vaddakkachchi Iranaimadu Tank
Vanni and the Vanniyas
56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66., 67. 68. 69. 70. 71.
72. 73. 47. 75. 76.
77.
78. 79. 80. 81.
Kokkavil Putukkudiyiruppu Kachchillamadu Mannakandal Tanniyuttu Vattappalai Mullaitivu Mulliyavalai Oddiuchuddlan Kurunturmalai Tannirmurippu Otiyamalai Pandarakulam Nedunkeni Periyakulam Chinnapuvarasan
kulam Ariyamadu Nochchikkulam Kumpakannanmalai Vannadi Palam Olumadukulam Tennamaravadi Kokkilai
Pulmoddai Padawiya Tank Trincomalee

THE WRITER ON HIS WRITINGs
I take this opportunity of answering some of the criticisms that have been made while reviewing my book “ Tamils and Ceylon' in one section of the local press.
I do not claim perfectness for the book. Those who attempt to criticize a publication of this nature should bear in mind that the sources of material for such a production are extensive and complex. Another important point to remember is that the book deals with the history of the Tamils up to the end of the Jaffna Dynasty (1621). Hence, the history of those Tamils who came to Ceylon after this period would be left out-- Colombo, Chetties.
If there was less presentation of any Tamil region, it is because the sources of its history before 1621, were not available. Further a critic of the book should keep in mind that it was written on the conclusions arrived at by earlier historians as the late Sir Paul E. Pieris, Mudaliyar C. Rasanayagam, Sir P. Arunachalam, Rev. Father S. Gnanapiragasar, Dr. S. C. Paul, Mr. Simon Casie Chetty, Mr. C. Britto, and Mr. H. W. Codrington. In this connection the old Jaffna Historical Association that functioned from 1919 for about twenty years had made many valuable contributions to the history of the Tamils in Ceylon. I, therefore, did not care to prove the veracity of historical facts on which conclusions were already arrived at, but proceeded on their findings and developed those grounds uncovered by them. Whenever I differed from the
conclusions of my predecessors I have readily pointed them ou.

Page 35
44
It was my aim to present a readable volumer which an average English educated Ceylonese might: easily understand. It is not always possible for a writerto surmise the various questions that would arise in the minds of his readers and write accordingly. The mistakes of our ancestors for not having left behind good records of their doings should not be put on my shoulders. The reviewer cannot expect me to solve all
the knotty problems in Ceylon history in an outline history of the Tamils.
The writer of the review blames me for taking Buddha's visits to Ceylon as historical facts. They may be legends, but the Dipavamsa of the fourth century A. C. mentions them. Buddhaghosa's commentary on the Vinaya-Pitaka of the fifth century records them in its historical section. The Mahavamsa of the early sixth century gives a detailed account of those visits. Dutugemunu erected a monument on the spot where Buddha is said to have arrived in his first visit, Mani-- mekalai a Sangam work says about them. Furthermore Buddha's visit to the Island is the oldest historical tradition of the Sinhalese. Considering these facts one cannot blame me for mentioning it for what it is worth.
The reviewer criticizes me for not giving sufficient reasons when I differed from Rev. Father Gnanapiragasar's conclusion that the word 'Yalpanam' was derived from Sinhalese “Yapane. ' As Mudaliyar C. Rasanayagam had already disproved these findings in his book “ Yalpana Sarithiram ” on pages 253, 254, ard 255 I did not care to give many reasons but gave one or tWO.
Another criticism is that the book was mainly written for the Jaffna Tamils. It is far from it. The book was written for all those who cared to read it. Out of the 14 chapters in the book only six chapters.

The Writer on his Writings 45.
deal with the history of Jaffna, all the others speak of Tamils in general. The reviewer unfortunately sees motives where none existed.
He also blames me for taking Waipava Malai as an authoritative source book. There are some defects in the book, but at the same time it contains many facts which seem to have some historical data in the same way as there are legends and history - mixed up in the Mahavamsa.
We shall take one instance from the Vaipava Malai. “In the Saka era 515 (A. C. 593) king Agbo subdued the Vanniyas.' This is not mentioned in the Mahavamsa. Surely the author of the Vaipava Malai, Mailvagana Pulavar in the 18th century would not have known the Mahavamsa and the regnal years of the Sinhalese kings. The Chronicle was in Pali and was secretly preserved by some Buddhist monks in their monasteries. The Sinhalese laymen too did not know about the Chronicle. It was only in the middle of the last century that it became known to the general public. We learn from the Mahavamsa that Agbo I ruled from A. C. 568-601. The agreement of the two chronicles with regard to the time of Agbo only shows that the Jaffna chronicle based its narration on some independent source which is not available to us now.
Similarly the Vaipava Malai says that during. the reign of king Pandu in the Saka era 358 (A. C.. 436) Kulakoddan, a Chola prince repaired to Trincoimalee and restored the Koneswaram temple and built the Kantalai tank. According to the Mahavamsa the
Pandu kings of Anuradhapura ruled from A. C. 433460. ܐ ܐ
Besides, the Jaffna chronicle records that Prince Vijaya gave shelter in his territories to many persecuted Magadhese Buddhists who were wandering from country

Page 36
46
to country without a homeland. This fact is not mentioned in any of the Sinhalese chronicles, but according to Burmese tradition, Buddhism was known to Ceylon long before the time of Mahinda.
In like manner many statements of the Vaipava Malai can be cited to show that the author had some independent sources to rely on for his narrative. They may be the lost books like the Rasa Murai and the. Pararajasekaran Ulla.
With regard to the taking of the capital Yapahu by one Arya Chakravarti I am criticized for stating that there was no South Indian invasion of Ceylon during the time of Kulasekhara I (1268-1308), although the reviewer points out that there was a South Indian epigraphic record No. 110 of 1903 stating. otherwise.
The epigraphy runs as follows viz.:- “On the second gopura of Jeganatha Swamy Temple of Tirupullam to the left of the entrance a Pandyan inscription of the 37th year of Maravarman alias Tiribhuvana Chakravarti Kulasekhara deva who conquered every country in Tamil alphabet, which is mutilated and which records. an order of a certain Ariya Chakravarti.'
In this epigraphy there is no mention of an invasion of Ceylon. Unfortunately it is a mutilated record, otherwise it would throw some light. The 37th year of Kulasekhara corresponds to (1268+37): A. C. 1305. But the court astrologer of Parakrama Bahu III states in his Sarajoti Malai that Parakrama Bahu IPM of Dambadeniya came to the throne in 1303. Beft according to the Mahavamsa the king, after øbtaining the Tooth Relic from the Pandyan king and placing it at Pulathinagara in the former Relic Temple, began his rule.

The Writer on his Writings 47
When a ruling monarch becomes sickly, the heir sometimes assumes the kingship to carry out state affairs. This may be the case with Kulasekhara and his 37th year may probably be 1303 and not 1305,
and this tallies with Parakrama Bahu’s accession.
The inscription probably refers to an under
taking by Kulasekhara that the Sinhalese king Parakrama Bahu would pay the annual tribute to Ariya Chakravarti, king of Jafna.
Those who assert that Arya Chakravarti, was the Prime Minister of Kulasekhara Pandya and he sacked Yapahu should explain the statement of Ibn Batuta in 1344 that Ariya Chakravarti (Jaffna) was the Sultan of Ceylon and the Sinhalese king was the Sultan of Conacar. Furthermore they must explain the statement of the Rajavaliya that Alagakkonara fortified Kotte and hanged the tax-collectors of Arya Chakra
varti as it was not fitting to pay tribute to the Jaffna kings.

Page 37
E R R
19, L. f.
7. L. 1.
P. 28, 1, optime te L., f.
|°. 34, l:1&T P:1: 1- 1.
I. O., L. 4.

A T A
f"3r III1. il: Tʻe„Acd I 1 1 ! ::T
ir 7) Til Is
for litr Tc: .htt "T
', ; ' : si : - I
|r W:11111 rt. Willii
1r Hill:11d35 TLill
II billi L rc: Tis