posted June 04, 2000 12:31 AM            

Nagadipa was the original name of the Islands of the Jaffna Peninsula. Ptolemy's map shows that a number of towns in Ceylon in the pre-Christian era had Tamil names. Megasthenes called Ceylon Taprobane but Pericles says that Taprobane was replaced by Palaesimundu, perhaps a corruption of Palayanakar. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana speak of the Nagas of Jaffna. The Mahavamsa says that Yakkas and Nagas occupied Ceylon before the advent of Vijaya.

Some Tamil Sangam poets were Nagas from Jaffna. The original language of the Nagas was perhaps Elu, a word from which Ceylon got the name 'Eelam'. But before the Ariyanisation of Ceylon, Tamil was perhaps the language of the Nagas and was spoken in Ceylon." Among the Sangam poets mentioned is Ilattup Putantevanar, who composed some verses in Kuruntokai, Akananuru and Narrinai. The Mahavamsa states that in the 6th century B.c. there existed Naga strongholds at Nagadipa under Mahodarai, the Naga King among the Sangam works, a few personalities who were referred to, as 'chieftains' appear to have come from Jaffna. For example Elini and Pittankorran" about whom verses appear in the Purananuru, appear to have come from Kudiraimalai, now identified with Kantherodai in Jaffna.

EVIDENCE OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS OF TAMILS

A large number of Sangam words spoken among the illiterate villagers of Jaffna again support our Sangam connections. Finds at Ponparippu also show that Tamils had lived not only in Jaffna, but in the vicinity of Puttalam, Anuradhapura and other interior parts of Ceylon. (The urn burials found in these parts are identical with the urn burials found in Adichanallur and other places of South India.) The Mahavamsa also refers to a clan known as Lumbakarnars who were ruling north of Ceylon in the first century A.D. Recent excavations at Kantharodai Buddhist stupas in which Sivaganams were found by Dr. Godakumbara, suggests that Tamils who were Saivites also had worshipped in this shrine.

Chroniclers state that King Vasabha who succeeded Subbha and ruled from Anuradhapura in 66 A.D. belonged to this clan. The Culavamsa also refers to the existence of the Lambakarna clan in the Pandya country. There is also evidence of a close connection between the Malavas of the Pandya country and the Lambakarna clan in Ceylon. Isigaraya, mentioned in the Gold Plate Inscriptions found at Vallipuram (dated 2nd century A.D.), was perhaps a Malava chieftain with the title of raya, a suffix that many Tamil chieftains took. (As Mr. Pillai rightly observes, the northern part of Ceylon was the land of the Nagas in the centuries preceding and succeeding the Christian era. After a period of interregnum a Tamil Kingdom started in Jaffna when Ukkure Singham established a kingdom.

The reference in the Yalpana Vypavamalai to Pandi Malavan who went to India during the period when Jaffna had no settled kingdom and invited a Chola prince, again shows the influence of the Vella community, and that Jaffna, after a period of anarchy was again ruled by the Chola prince. When the whole of Ceylon came under the sway of Tamil kings, as for example during the reign of Elara, Sena and Cuttika (75 B.c. to 55 B.c.); and after the invasion of Pandu and five others (43 A.D. to 62 A.D.) the rest of Ceylon came under the Tamil sway. But their conquest lasted only a short period and the Sinhalese kings were able to regain their supremacy. AS Codrington says, from the 5th century A.D. the Sinhalese kings were harassed by the Pandyans and the Cholas. This made the Sinhalese kings shift their seat of power from Anuradhapura to other places. The question as to when an independent Tamil Kingdom was established in Jaffna is a matter of controversy.

For a few centuries Jaffna was ruled by Sinhalese kings. The Tamil armies brought by one of the claimants to the throne of Anuradhapura in the seventh century, were the only soldiers who fought in wars. In the medieval period, the Sinhalese, as cultivators, appear never to have been a warlike people. The Sinhalese militia therefore was of no great military value.'" The mercenaries consisting chiefly of Dravidians, were a deciding factor in wars. King Manabharna took refuge in the North (Uttaradesa). For some time he was in Kanchi, the capital of Pallava country. Later he is said to have regained the throne of Anuradhapura. Towards the end of the 8th century, it is stated that the Tamil chiefs were able to assert their independence for some time. The Culavamsa states that they refused to pay tributes to Mahinda till he subdued them. The Yalpana Vypavamalai refers to the Pallava influence. It speaks of some arrangement made by the Pallava kings, referred to as Thondaman, to get salt exported from the Jaffna kingdom and to deepen the lagoon for this purpose. The existence of Thondamannaru, a canal in Jaffna supports this tradition.

In the 9th century, when the Pandya king Sri Maru Sri Vallabha invaded Ceylon, the Tamils of the North rallied round him and helped him to defeat the army of Sena I. This led to the seizure of Anuradhapura by the Pandyan forces. During the IOth century the Cholas invaded the island frequently and used the northern ports such as Manthotta and Urathurai (Kayts) as bases for their operations. Place names like Chembianpattu, Valarvaikoon Pallam, point to the fact that the Cholas had captured these places.

In one of the inscriptions of Rajadhiraja, it is stated that four kings of Ceylon lost their crowns at the hands of Rajadhiraja. The names of the kings are Vikramabahu, Veerasalamegha, Sri Mallabha and Madavarajah. The last of these kings has been identified as the King of Jaffna. According to K. K. Pillai, he was an adventurous member of the Rashtrakuta dynasty who gained control over some part of Ceylon between 1051 A.D. and 1052 A.D, Rasanayaga Mudaliyar, citing Indian inscriptions states that the Chola kings decapitated three Jaffna kings,'" As against this convincing evidence, some students of history appear

to think that the Tamils settled down only in the twelfth century in Jaffna.l3 A new discovery throws great light on the kingdom of Jaffna in the eighth century. Masudi, the great Mohammedan traveler, reached the Port of Jaffna in 912 A,D, and witnessed the funeral of a Hindu king. (This is described in the appendix; the writer is indebted to Dr. S. A. Imam for this information).'4

MASUDI'S VISIT 1N 912 A.D,

Masudi states that the King was placed on a low chariot and while it was being drawn, a woman swept the ground and threw dust on the hair of the dead king, exclaiming the futility of life and extolling the worship of God. Before the body was put on the funeral pyre, it was smeared with sandalwood and cut into four pieces with a sword. The Purananuru states that the body of a king who did not die in battle was placed on a tharappu and cut by a sword before being cremated. This was a custom among the Tamils during that period.

S. Vaiyapuri Pillai, in his work entitled Tamilar Panpatu states that it is a Tamil custom to place the body of a king or a warrior who did not die in battle, on a tharappu and cut into pieces before being cremated. Masudi had definitely witnessed the funeral of a Tamil king. The reference by the woman who threw dust at the dead king to the " Eternal who is alive" was the reference to the Supreme Creator. This period was followed by the religious revival brought about by the Tamil saints. Therefore the ceremony referred to is definitely that of a Tamil king, since Buddhists do not believe in a supreme deity.

H. W. TAMBIAH

Home Page Accesses: 6922

posted June 04, 2000 12:32 AM            

Thus began the history of Jaffna.

The name Jaffna is the Europeanized form of the original Tamil name Yazhppanam. Yazh means lute and Yazhppadi or Yahppanan is "one whose occupation and caste-duty is to play on the lute". Yazhppanam means, thus, the land of the lutist.

One need not wonder that there exist many variations of this legend. One version places the event in the remote past of the Ramayana epoch. After the death of Ravana, the defeated the King of the resplendent Island called Lanka, Rama conferred the title of the King on Vibhishana, a brother of Ravana. It was from Vibhishana that a Yazhppadi or lutist who was serving at the royal court received the waste tract of land called Jaffna, then known as Manaltidal. The lutist brought a thousand families from India and settled them there. He also went to the city of Madura in Northern India and brought with him a son of Kulaketu, a relative of Rama's father, to become the ruler of the new colony. This event is said to have occurred in 101 B.C. The new King was called Vijaya Kulankaic Cakkaravarti.

Another version names the lutist as the blind minstrel Virarakavan. This name was probably borrowed from historical records according to which a Tamil poet by this name visited the court of the King of Jaffna in the sixteenth or seventeenth century.

According to yet another version, the King who donated the northern region was Vararasasinghan, the first ruler of the Island.

Scholars have differed in their interpretation and evaluation of the above legend. Swami Gnana Prakasar maintained that the "story of the Yalppadi is to be abandoned root and branch." According to him Yazhppanam is derived from the Sinhalese word yapa-ne, meaning good (yapa) village (ne) and corresponds to the Tamil name Nallur, which was the capital of Tamil Kingdom.

S. Pathmanathan, author of The Kingdom of Jaffna, while dismissing the "account of Yalppanan in its developed form" as "nothing more than a legend", documents that "tradition claims that the northern peninsula derived its name from Yalppanan".

M.D. Raghavan, an Indian scholar and author of many books on Sri Lanka, views the story sympathetically and states, regarding the derivation of the name Yazhppanam, that the "most simple and the most direct is the derivation from Yalpanan, the panan minstrel with the yal".

The bone of contention seems to be obviously the origin of the name Yazhppanam. Swami Gnana Prakasar argued that the "name Jaffna, now designating the entire peninsula, was first given to the new town in Nallur in the 17th century", and that the earliest mention of it is in the Sinhalese literary works of Selalihini Sandesya and Kokila Sandesya belonging to the seventeenth century A.D.

M. D. Raghavan contended that Yazhppanam, under the name of Yapapatna, was referred to in the Sinhalese work Kokila Sandesya, a Sandesya Kavya belonging to the mid-fifteenth century. The verse in question is:

"Enter thou, Yapapatuna,
Graced with stately buildings
Emblazened with golden flags;
Gems and stones shedding brilliance transplendent,
In charm and splendor, vying with Vaishravana's city,
Alakamanda."

According to C. Rasanayagam, the author of Ancient Jaffna, the musician (Yathpparuzn) returned to India after getting the reward and persuaded some poor families of his caste of lutists to migrate to two areas of the Jaffna Peninsula known today as Karaiyur and Passaiyur "settlements in remembrance of the lutist Yalpanan. Coming to be so known to the mariners and traders who called at the ports close by, it would have lent its name in course of time, particularly among such strangers, to the chief town and ultimately to the district itself".

M.D. Raghavan agrees with the view that the name Yazhppanam became popular after the Portuguese, who knew the story of the minstrel Yazhppanan, had built the town near the panan settlement, which was named Jaffnapatnam.

In order to assess these various arguments, it may be helpful to consider the following:

The story appears locally for the first time in the Vaiya Pedal, a Tamil work composed by Vaiyapuri Aiyar, the royal poet of King Segarajasekaran(l519-1565).

The name Jaffna appears not only in Sinhalese literature mentioned earlier, but also in certain Tamil inscriptions of South India belonging to the Middle Ages.

The caste of Panar exists to this day in South India. It consists, however, of an ever-dwindling group of singers, exorcists and physicians who conduct ceremonies in the Naga shrines of southern Kerala.

The story of Yazhppanan may point to a process of early and progressive colonization and settlement of the arid sandy tracts of the North by people of South India. In fact, Vaiya Pedal enumerates flutists, cymbal players, drummers and other instrumentalists as emigrating from India as settlers.

It may be no coincidence that yazh, which was one of the ancient and revered instruments of the Tamils, has been connected with the name Jaffna. Lutes and lutists recall to one's mind not only the place lute played in the life of the ancient Tamils who lived in pre-Sangham and Sangham periods but also the religious veneration with which lutes were held in lands such as Egypt, Sumeria, Chaldea, Crete, Greece, Italy, Spain and perhaps even in Mohenjo-daro (Indus Valley).

The theory advanced by Swami Gnana Prakasar that the legend of the lutist is a clear example of a tendency to explain the origin of names such as Yazhppanam, Maviddapura (a Chola princess, Maruta Piravika Valli, born with a horse-face was cured of her deformity by bathing in the miraculous springs of Keerimalai, which once again denotes the abode of a sage with mongoose-face), Thondamanaru (visit paid by Thondaman, the brave general of Kulotunga Chola) and Senthankulam (Senthan was a notorious pirate) may be partly true. However, Swami Gnana Prakasar himself admitted that Yazhppanam may "correctly" be called a "country connected with a Yalppanan" who might be considered " the colonizer of our peninsula".

Swami Gnana Prakasar may again be right in asserting that there exists "no evidence for the lute having ever been on the standard of the kings of Jaffna. This was stated in the context of refuting C. Rasanayagam that the lyre flag mentioned in the Tamil work Kalinkkattup Parani referred to the Kingdom of Jaffna 20 Indeed, Bull and Setu (the latter connotes the Island of Rameshvaram in South India) are generally accepted to have been the emblems of the Jaffna Kingdom both on its flag and on its coins.
In sum: All the objections against the legend of Yazhppanan do not diminish in the least the possibility of an oral tradition preserved in folklore and legend about the origins of Jaffna connected with a "musician". Besides, one has to admit the need for and indeed the right of, a people with a common language, religion and culture to remember and preserve their misty past in myths and legends. Yazh means, in the view of the author of Leela Katbai, H.S.David, beautiful and resplendent, and so will it remain in the hearts and minds of the people of laffna.

Finally, it is appropriate to note that the Jaffna Peninsula seem to have been designated also by other names:

Erumaimullaitivu, derived from a plant known as erumaimullai - prenna serrarifolio - that grew abundantly in the eastern portion of the Peninsula which was then an island, Naganadu or the country of the Nagars, Manipallavam, Manipuram, Manavur, and Manalur.

It was also known as Ilam, a name designating the Island, perhaps due to the fact that the inhabitants of the region spoke a language called Elu.

posted June 04, 2000 12:33 AM            

" The Jaffna Peninsula is one of the most remarkable settlements in South Asia. The Tamil inhabitants are strongly individual in character, and the region is comparable with parts of Holland, where the people seem to be so much more important than the land itself".

The above assessment of are scholar contains more than a modicum of truth.

At the end of the eighties, the number of inhabitants of the Peninsula was put at 750,000.

Though the population density per square mile is only 331, concentration of population in arable lands and in fishing areas is very heavy. The density of population per square mile of cultivated land is 1616, the highest in the Island.

Thenmarachi, an area mostly of barren lands with sandy stretches and alkaline soil but also of grey loam soil, has 400 to 500 persons per square mile. However, in the grey loam area the figure goes up to 1000 person per square mile. Valikamam East, an area consisting of both barren lands bordering the lagoon and of red soil, has 500 to 1000 people per tare mile in the area near the lagoon and more than 4000 people in the soil area.

Valikamam North, Valikamam West and Vadamarachi West, the first two areas containing lands of intensive cultivation, and the last area containing limestone wastes and grey loam soil, have 1000 to 2000 persons per square mile in general and 5000 in the cultivated areas of Valikamam North and Vadamarachi West. In the cultivated areas of Valikamam West, the density is 2000 persons per square mile. Pachilaippalai, teeming with malarial mosquitos, has merely 275 persons per square mile of the cultivated area.

The Jaffna town and surrounding area (Jaffna division) have more than 4000 persons per square mile. This density is due no doubt to the fact that the town is not only the administrative and cultural capital, but also the market and business centre of the entire Peninsula." In 1993 the total population stood at 133,000.4 Fishing settlements are to be found in the Northern and Eastern coasts of the Peninsula. Population in the fishing areas near the Jaffna town such as Navanthurai, Gurunagar and Passaiyur is extremely dense.

Kayts, which guards the sea entry to Jaffna and is also the gateway to the Islands, together with Kankesanturai, Valvettiturai and Point

Pedro constitute the seaports of the Peninsula, with open, non- sheltered, harbours. Valvettiturai, the birthplace of Velupillai Prabakaran, the leader of the LTTE, has marine grottos and caverns overflowing with marine fossils. Sea pirates in the middle ages used these grottos. In the early and middle parts of this century, Valvettiturai had also gained reputation as a smuggling area.

Most of the agricultural settlements may be termed rural. Houses are to be found on the margins of gardens and are "strung like beads along the road" Where paddy and coconut are cultivated, houses are found in groups forming villages.

The tendency of the people of Jaffna to build houses along roads and even along railway tracks has intrigued some scholars. It has surprised them because of the "closed nature of the average Tamils dwelling" In point of fact, houses are shut off behind a fence of Palmyrah or cadjian leaves; the fence is supported by the live tulip trees (surya) that have thick foliage; to enter the house, one has to open a binged gate. However, it is a known fact that almost every inch of available land is made use of in one way or the other and that most people are prepared to shed their blood just for an inch of land.

posted June 04, 2000 12:41 AM            

Scholars who attempt to lift the veil of obscurity that envelops the early (proto -, pre-) history of Jaffna face formidable obstacles: scarcity of literary evidence, very few archaeological findings and biased interpretations of available data.

Unlike the Sinhalese whose ancient chronicles such as the Mahavamsa and the Culavamsa which give the "Sinhalese a myth about their origin, which farfetched as it is, convinced them that they were a people with something special about them",l the Tamils do not possess any such comparable literature. The earliest local Tamil chronicles on Jaffna were composed in the Middle Ages. A prose work entitled Yazhppana Vaipava Malai was compiled by poet Mayilvakana Pulavar in 1736 A.D. This work depended on earlier writings such as Kailaya Malai, Vaiya Padal, Pararasasekaran Ula and Raja Mural. These, composed not earlier than the fourteenth Century A. D., contain folklore; legends and myths mixed with historical anecdotes.

Mahavamsa and Culavamsa contain references to Tamils but are rather silent on the early history of Jaffna.

References to Tamils of the North which are said to be found in the Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, in the ancient Tamil Classics and in the devotional Tamil literature have yet to be critically studied and appraised.

As far as archaeology is concerned, one may mention four rounds of field Works.

Excavations were carried out in 1918 and 1919 at Kantarodai, an ancient capital of Jaffna, and at Vallipuram, a coastal town situated about six kilometers from Point Pedro. Punch-marked coins called puranas that were current in India during the time of Buddha (6th to 5th centuries B.C.) and copper rods - "kohl" sticks that were very similar to the ones Egyptians used to paint with and dating back to 2000 B.C. - were discovered. Sir Paul E. Pieris, who conducted these excavations, expressed his conviction that the Northern part of Sri Lanka was a "flourishing settlement" even before the birth of Vijaya, the legendary founder of the Sinhalese.

Excavations carried out in 1956 and 1957 at Pomparippu, Puttalam, a region intimately connected with the North, have revealed the existence of a culture bearing some resemblance to the South Indian Megalithic culture flourishing in the first millennium B.C. discovered at Adicha Nallur in the Tirunelveli region of Tamil Nadu: striking similarities are to be found in the features of Black and Red Rouletted pottery, in iron implements and in the style of urn burials.

Excavations were carried out in 1970 by a Pennsylvania University Museum team at Kantarodai. Though no burial monuments were found, the team reported the probable existence of a Megalithic stage of development in Jaffna.

Excavations were conducted between 1980 and 1983 which witnessed startling discoveries. The following conclusions are mainly based on these excavations.

The first inhabitants of Sri Lanka might have migrated through a landbridge that linked up northwestern Sri Lanka with southeastern Tamil Nadu. This land connection physically existed till 7000 B.C. No wonder, scholars have maintained that "man did not evolve in Ceylon but... arrived in the island from the main continent of India" Besides, the close proximity of Jaffna Peninsula to South India must have prompted periodic migration from the sub continent to the northern coastal areas of Sri Lanka. One could not disagree with the statement of Paul Peiris that "it stands to reason that a country which is only 30 miles from India and which would have been seen by Indian fishermen every morning as they sailed out to catch their fish, would have been occupied as soon as the Continent was peopled by men who understood how to sail". In point or fact, in the course of the centuries, South Indians came to Sri Lanka either as successful traders, seamen, soldiers, artisans or refugees fleeing from political upheavals in their motherland.

Jaffna was not the first habitat of the earliest migrants. A few microlithic (an earlier phase) tools were found at Poonakari and Mannittalai, two points very close to, but not inside, the Peninsula. This may have been due to the absence of microlithic tool material there."
The earliest inhabitants of Jaffna were Megalithic people. This culture had in general the following distinguishing features: tank-irrigated cultivation, developed settlements, a special pottery technique which produced Black and Red Wares, the introduction of iron technology and a certain style of burial chamber. The urbanization "in South India, the rise of earliest kingdoms and chieftaincies in this region and the refinement of the language to the stage of producing the Cankam Tamil Literature were the culmination of the Megalithic culture".
next page

posted June 04, 2000 12:41 AM            

Agriculture

Agriculture is the most important occupation in the Peninsula.

Arable land, which amounts to only a little more than one fourth of the Peninsula, may be divided into dry, wet and garden lands.

Dry land is infertile. However, dry grains like kurakkan, varahu and certain yams are cultivated there.

Wet land, corresponding to the paddy lands of the Peninsula including the Islands of Delft, Kayts and Karaitivu, has grey loam soil and depends mostly on rain water. Fields are ploughed and manured before the arrival of the north-east monsoon in September. With the first rainfall, paddy grains (vitai nellu ) are sown so that paddy plants might grow during the wet months, for it is well known that paddy needs plenty of water. Paddy grain ripen during the dry and sunny weather beginning in January and are ready for harvest in February. Those fields that can be irrigated by water from wells are once again ploughed and manured to cultivate chillies, brinjals, manioc and plantain trees. Since it does not rain normally during the dry period, chillies and brinjals need to be regularly watered. There is an interesting observation to be made regarding the cultivation of manioc and plantain trees: Manioc cutting is planted in a vertical position and only one shoot is allowed to develop and the rest are done away with so that by destroying unnecessary growth the plant is harnessed to produce more yams. The same method is applied to the cultivation of plantain trees whereby each tree is not allowed to grow more than two suckers; the purpose of this exercise is to make sure that the plantain fruits will be of a bigger size.

Garden land, almost identical with red soil land, is where tobac- co is grown. The cultivation of tobacco, which is said to have been the "most important industry of the small Jaffna cultivator" already in the early part of this century, need well-manured fields. Since the soils of the garden land lack humus, they have to be ploughed and manured. Fields are ploughed more than once before the start of the north-east monsoon in such a manner that the manure gets well mixed with the tilled soil. Both green manure from leaves and trees and cattle or sheep dung are used. At times fields are manured by penning cattle, goats and sheep. Seedlings that were grown in well-prepared nurseries are transplanted around December in different plots. They are then watered regularly from wells (if there is no sufficient rain water) in the early mornings and late afternoons. Irrigation during the dry season is an absolute necessity. Except those that are needed for seeds, all other plants are topped at a height of nearly four feet and are harvested before they turn yellow. This takes place in March -April. The entire plant is allowed to "quail" for a day in the hot sun and individual leaves are then separated and put in an open shed to wither. After fermentation, tobacco is smoked over a fire made by burning husks and palmyrah nuts.

Three types of tobacco are cultivated in Jaffna:

Thadjan, out of which cigars are made; it is also sold as the "Jaffna cheroot" (curuddu ) to the local manufacturers (It is a habit of many Tamil villagers to chew tobacco with betel leaf, lime and arecanut) Naramban meant for chewing, and exported to Travancore, and White Burley, meant for the English Market.

After the tobacco-harvest, other crops are grown on the same land in a process called crop-rotation. Dry grains, manioc and other yams are cultivated. After harvesting thanahal and kurakkan, green gram is showed. In December chillies are cultivated.

In another type of rotation, plantains are grown for two or three before tobacco cultivation is resumed.

In a further type of rotation related to paddy land, chillies manioc and vegetables are cultivated after the harvest of rice. Besides the above mentioned crops, onions, betel vine, gourd, drumstick ( horse radish ) lady's finger, brinjal (egg plant) potato, pumpkin, turmeric, ginger, gram, millet and edible grains like beans are also grown.

next page

posted June 04, 2000 12:42 AM            

The dominant institution of the societal organization of the people of Jaffna has been, and to a limited extent still is, the system of caste. Even though the caste system in Jaffna exhibits some common features with caste structures of both the Sri Lankan Sinhalese and South Indian Tamils, it has many characteristic features of its own. The Vellalars, namely the agriculturists, who stood at the apex of the social structure of Jaffna, constituted the "key caste". They were the nainars or feudal lords who had vassals called kudimai and slaves called adimai. Their chieftains bore the title mudali. The kudimai castes, consisting of artisan (e.g. gold smiths) and other professional (e.g. masons and barbers) castes could not be bought or sold but had to render their social and ritual duty at the behest of particular Vellala masters whose vassals they were. Those who belonged to these castes were called kudimakkal, namely "children of the house" implies thereby the close and intimate association with the Vellala family which was naturally dependent on them for their services. The adimai castes consisting of the Pallars who were agrarian labourers, Nalavars who were teddy tappers, Koviyars who were household servants to Vellalars (and Chandars - tree climbers) were labourers and domestic servants owned by the Vellalars. They lived apart from their masters usually in palmyrah groves where they could do gardening on their own for their maintenance.

There is evidence to show that the Vellalars played an important role in the administration of the Tamil Kings of Jaffna.

Knowing very well that the powerful Vellala Mudalivars, Adigars and Vidans could become focal points of disaffection and revolt, the Portuguese did not abolish their roles entirely.

Under the Dutch, the position of Vellalars became strengthened by the legal status of "slaves" conferred on the Untouchable castes, and the rights in land that these "slaves" traditionally held were done away with. Besides, thousands of slaves were imported from South India making the landless Untouchables increase in number.

According to Philippus Baldeus, a seventeenth century Dutch missionary and historian who described the various occupations of the castes in Jaffna, Vellalars were rich cultivators who possessed fields, cattle and servants. They looked down with utmost contempt upon the Untouchables who tilled the fields, watered plants and performed the most disagreeable labor, and demanded from them that they show extraordinary respect for their "lords". According to the same authority, Vellalars respected the Brahmins who were sober, intelligent, clean, friendly and vegetarian.

Thomas Van Rhee, a Dutch governor (1697) lists forty-one castes in Jaffna.

next page

posted June 04, 2000 12:43 AM            

In a society in which all spheres of life are stamped by a deep sense of religiosity, it is to be expected that the dividing line between religious and secular festivals remains blurred. Since most of the Tamils of Jaffna are Hindus, their festivals have been interpreted in the light of Hindu myths and traditions. In addition, at least some of their festivals are nature-related. The "natural phenomena of New Moon, the entering of the sun into each sign of the Zodiac, the eclipses, the equinoxes, the solstices were all considered 'Punnyakalams' (Holy times). The national festivals were so fixed as to coincide with the natural phenomena".

The New Year begins on the day the sun is said to enter the Zodiacal house Aries in the month of Chithirai (April-May) after the vernal nor. Since this feast is based on the solar calendar, the date never changes.

On the previous day, the house and compound are cleaned and ceremonially sprinkled with water mixed with cowdung (or with saffron). Pots and pans are polished and incense is burned. People get up early and as the first thing are expected to set their eyes on auspicious objects. All wear new clothes. Men wear white veddis and shawls and women wear sarees in colours as prescribed in the Hindu Almanac.

All members of the family visit the temple to worship and to offer gifts. The first fire is lit usually by the lady of the house facing the direction indicated by the astrologers. The first meal, customarily milk rice, is cooked and eaten at an auspicious time.

The ceremony of kaivispsham, namely the gift or exchange of coins wrapped in betel leaves, takes place after the meal, ordinarily between the head of the family and a visitor who has been invited to be present at the meal. It is believed that if the "giver" is a lucky person, the "receiver" too will have luck with money right throughout the year.' Kaivisesham also takes place among family members, relations and friends.

The first bath takes place at an auspicious time after having applied oil and medicament prepared from certain leaves, flowers, saffron and milk. Visits to parents and relatives are made and the poor are fed and given alms.

The full-moon day in Chithirai is called Chithiraippaurnami and is a special day of fast and penitence. It is believed that the observances Oh this day seek to propitiate Chandragupta, the record-keeper of Yama, the god of death,, who passes judgement on the future of a person on the basis of statistical record of good and bad deeds kept by Chandragupta This day is observed in remembrance of departed mothers.

On the darkest night of the month of Adi (July - August) called Adi Amavasai a fast is undertaken in remembrance of departed fathers. It is a day of worship and of abstinence from meat and fish.

The festival of Vinayaga Sathurthi occurs on the fortnight of Avani (August - September) and is sacred to Pillaiyar, the elder son of Siva and Parvathi. It is in remembrance of the day Parvati created him in order to guard her personal living quarters. It is observed by making clay figures of Pillaiyar and offering pujas "with 21 kinds of leaves, 21 kinds of flowers and 21 kinds of grass" which is considered sacred and used for Hindu rituals; kolukkaddai, which is some sort of cake made out of green gram, jaggery, coconut and flour is prepared and offered to him; coconuts are broken before the image and people knock their foreheads with the knuckles while they sit and stand alternately. The image of Pillaiyar is then taken to a tank and subsequently immersed.

next page

posted June 04, 2000 12:44 AM            

Even before the troubles the north was the least-visited part of the country because of its relative remoteness and dry, flat landscape. For the visitor it meant basically just two areas: the Jaffna peninsula at the northern tip and the island of Mannar, which was the arrival and departure point for the ferry to/from India.

JAFFNA

Before the troubles the population of Jaffna was 118,000, making it the second biggest city in Ceylon, and that of the whole Jaffna Peninsula was about 750,000. It was an industrious place with a fairly distinct culture from the rest of Ceylon. The population has since been much reduced by war casualties and by many people fleeing the area (there was a huge exodus just before the government forces captured Jaffna in December 1995, although there were reports in May 1996 of people returning).

The Portuguese who arrived in Ceylon in the 16th century took over the Tamil kingdom centered on Jaffna just as they took over other coastal kingdoms. Jaffna was the longest lasting Portuguese stronghold on the island and only surrendered to the Dutch after a bitter three-month siege in 1658. The Dutch handed it over to the British in 1795, During the 1980s and 90s Jaffna has been fought over by Tamil guerrillas, Ceylonn government troops and planes, and the Indian Peace Keeping Force - a period surely worse than any other in its history. It's now a shadow of its former self. As me traveler who got then in 1989 succinctly wrote: 'there are no places of interest unless you are interested in photographing ruins'

Jaffna Port

Jaffna's fort, centrally positioned near Jaffna's lagoon-front, beside the causeway to Kayts Island, was built in 1680 by the Dutch over an earlier Portuguese fort. It has ms much fighting during the unrest, with government forces often holed up inside it.

Architecturally, it's probably Asia's best example of Dutch fortifications of its period It's 22 hectares in area, star-shaped, built as a grass-covered mound, surrounded by a moat and grander than the Dutch bed quarters fort in Jakarta, Indonesia, The outworks were not built until 1792. Within the fort the King's House, one-time residence of the Dutch commander and an excellent example of Dutch architecture of the period. There's also the 1706 Dutch Groote Kerk and, nearby on the outer wall, a small British-period house in which the writer Leonard Woolf, Virginia Woolf’s husband, lived for some time. It feature is his autobiography Growing.

Other Attractions

Jaffna had an interesting little Archaeological Museum on Main St, near the old rest house, which is worth looking for. Moat of its Hindu kovils (temples) date from the British era. Their architecture is generally typical of the south Indian Dravidian style, The most spectacular car or juggernaut festival is traditionally held from the Kandaswamy Kovil on Point Pedro Rd in the Nallur district of the city during July or August. The original Kandaswamy Kovil, torn down by the Portuguese, has been variously described as dating from the 15th, 10th or even an earlier century. Its successor is topped by a typically Dravidian gopuram, the tall 'entrance tower' alive with a technicoloured Disneyland of Hindu characters. Other important kovils are generally outside the city limits.

Place to Stay

The few places functioning before the Indian peace Keeping Force left included the YMCA on Kandy Rd, about 21/2 km east of the fort, which was repaired after apparently being shelled by the Indians, and used to be cheap but restricted to men only, Also open wen the two formerly top hotels in Jaffna the Hotel Ashok at 3 Clock Tower Rd and the Subhas Hotel at 15 Victoria Rd, near the railway station.

Around the peninsula

The Jaffna Peninsula is actually almost an island only the narrow neck of land occupied by the Chundikkulam Bird Sanctuary and the causeway known as Elephant Pass (when once elephants waded across the shallow lagoon, but recently more famous as a battleground) connect it with the rest of Ceylon. It's low lying, much covered by shallow lagoons, with a number of island offshore.

The peninsula looks quite unlike other parts of Ceylon. The intensive agriculture (it's famous for its mangoes) is all a result of irrigation, and for the southern coconut palms Jaffna substitutes the stark-looking palmyrah (tall palm tree). Popular beaches in peaceful times include Kalmunai Point near Jaffna and Palm Beach on the north coast, though there were never the sort of beach resorts up here that are found further south, The best known is tranquil Casuarina on Karaitivu island, where the water is very shallow and you have to walk a fair distance out from the shore.

The Kandaswamy Kovil at Maviddapuram, 15 km north of Jaffna near Keerimalai, has a car festival rivaling that of its namesake in Jaffna.

At Kantarodai, about three km west of Chunnakam, which is north of Jaffna about half way to Kankesanturai, are nearly 100 curious miniature dagobas crammed into a tiny area of not much over a hectare - the largest is only about four meters in diameter. Discovered in 1916 they are thought to be over 2000 years old.

Islands off Jaffna

Three of the major islands - Kayts, Karaitivu and Punkudutivu - are joined to the mainland by causeways over the shallow waters around the peninsula. Close to the town of Kayts, at the northern tip of Kayts Island, stands the island fort of Hammenhiel, which used to be accessible by boat from Kayts. The name means 'heel-of-the-ham' and relates to the Dutch view that Ceylon was shaped rather like a ham.

When ferries run, they mostly go from Kayts, including the very short hop across to Karaitivu, which is joined to the mainland by a causeway.

Delft

Delft, named after the Dutch town of that name, is 10 km off Punkudutivu and 35 km from Jaffna. Ferries, when they run, go from Siriputu. The island is noted for traces of the Portuguese and Dutch eras (such as the Dutch garrison captain's country house with a stone pigeon-cote) and for its bleak, windswept beauty.

The small Dutch fort is only a short walk from the ferry dock. Behind that is a beautiful beach with many exquisite shells. On the island are hundreds and hundreds of stone walls which, like the Dutch fort, are made of huge, beautiful chunks of the brain and fan coral of which the island is composed.

A 1990 letter indicated that there were two ferries a day from Siriputu to Delft at the time - one in the early morning (seemingly too early to be reachable by bus from Jaffna) and one in the early afternoon, which meant it was impossible to do a day trip. The only accommodation possibilities were private houses. The rest house near the ferry dock was in ruins. From Jaffna to the ferry is a 50 minute bus ride; the ferry crossing is an hour.

Mannar Island

Mannar is probably the driest, most barren area in Ceylon, and the landscape is chiefly notable for the many baboon trees, probably introduced from Africa by Arab traders centuries ago.

Mannar, the major town on the island, is at the land ward end, joined to the mainland by a three-km causeway. It's uninteresting apart from its picturesque Portuguese/Dutch fort. Talaimannar, near the West End, is about three-km before the pier, which was the arrival/departure point of the ferry for India that operated until 1984. A little further west an abandoned lighthouse at South point marks the start of Adam's Bridge, the chain of reefs, sandbanks and islets that a connects Ceylon to India. This is the series of stepping stones which Hanuman used to follow Rawana, the demon king of Ceylon, is his bid to rescue Sita.

posted June 04, 2000 12:44 AM            

Even before the troubles the north was the least-visited part of the country because of its relative remoteness and dry, flat landscape. For the visitor it meant basically just two areas: the Jaffna peninsula at the northern tip and the island of Mannar, which was the arrival and departure point for the ferry to/from India.

JAFFNA

Before the troubles the population of Jaffna was 118,000, making it the second biggest city in Ceylon, and that of the whole Jaffna Peninsula was about 750,000. It was an industrious place with a fairly distinct culture from the rest of Ceylon. The population has since been much reduced by war casualties and by many people fleeing the area (there was a huge exodus just before the government forces captured Jaffna in December 1995, although there were reports in May 1996 of people returning).

The Portuguese who arrived in Ceylon in the 16th century took over the Tamil kingdom centered on Jaffna just as they took over other coastal kingdoms. Jaffna was the longest lasting Portuguese stronghold on the island and only surrendered to the Dutch after a bitter three-month siege in 1658. The Dutch handed it over to the British in 1795, During the 1980s and 90s Jaffna has been fought over by Tamil guerrillas, Ceylonn government troops and planes, and the Indian Peace Keeping Force - a period surely worse than any other in its history. It's now a shadow of its former self. As me traveler who got then in 1989 succinctly wrote: 'there are no places of interest unless you are interested in photographing ruins'

Jaffna Port

Jaffna's fort, centrally positioned near Jaffna's lagoon-front, beside the causeway to Kayts Island, was built in 1680 by the Dutch over an earlier Portuguese fort. It has ms much fighting during the unrest, with government forces often holed up inside it.

Architecturally, it's probably Asia's best example of Dutch fortifications of its period It's 22 hectares in area, star-shaped, built as a grass-covered mound, surrounded by a moat and grander than the Dutch bed quarters fort in Jakarta, Indonesia, The outworks were not built until 1792. Within the fort the King's House, one-time residence of the Dutch commander and an excellent example of Dutch architecture of the period. There's also the 1706 Dutch Groote Kerk and, nearby on the outer wall, a small British-period house in which the writer Leonard Woolf, Virginia Woolf’s husband, lived for some time. It feature is his autobiography Growing.

Other Attractions

Jaffna had an interesting little Archaeological Museum on Main St, near the old rest house, which is worth looking for. Moat of its Hindu kovils (temples) date from the British era. Their architecture is generally typical of the south Indian Dravidian style, The most spectacular car or juggernaut festival is traditionally held from the Kandaswamy Kovil on Point Pedro Rd in the Nallur district of the city during July or August. The original Kandaswamy Kovil, torn down by the Portuguese, has been variously described as dating from the 15th, 10th or even an earlier century. Its successor is topped by a typically Dravidian gopuram, the tall 'entrance tower' alive with a technicoloured Disneyland of Hindu characters. Other important kovils are generally outside the city limits.

Place to Stay

The few places functioning before the Indian peace Keeping Force left included the YMCA on Kandy Rd, about 21/2 km east of the fort, which was repaired after apparently being shelled by the Indians, and used to be cheap but restricted to men only, Also open wen the two formerly top hotels in Jaffna the Hotel Ashok at 3 Clock Tower Rd and the Subhas Hotel at 15 Victoria Rd, near the railway station.

Around the peninsula

The Jaffna Peninsula is actually almost an island only the narrow neck of land occupied by the Chundikkulam Bird Sanctuary and the causeway known as Elephant Pass (when once elephants waded across the shallow lagoon, but recently more famous as a battleground) connect it with the rest of Ceylon. It's low lying, much covered by shallow lagoons, with a number of island offshore.

The peninsula looks quite unlike other parts of Ceylon. The intensive agriculture (it's famous for its mangoes) is all a result of irrigation, and for the southern coconut palms Jaffna substitutes the stark-looking palmyrah (tall palm tree). Popular beaches in peaceful times include Kalmunai Point near Jaffna and Palm Beach on the north coast, though there were never the sort of beach resorts up here that are found further south, The best known is tranquil Casuarina on Karaitivu island, where the water is very shallow and you have to walk a fair distance out from the shore.

The Kandaswamy Kovil at Maviddapuram, 15 km north of Jaffna near Keerimalai, has a car festival rivaling that of its namesake in Jaffna.

At Kantarodai, about three km west of Chunnakam, which is north of Jaffna about half way to Kankesanturai, are nearly 100 curious miniature dagobas crammed into a tiny area of not much over a hectare - the largest is only about four meters in diameter. Discovered in 1916 they are thought to be over 2000 years old.

Islands off Jaffna

Three of the major islands - Kayts, Karaitivu and Punkudutivu - are joined to the mainland by causeways over the shallow waters around the peninsula. Close to the town of Kayts, at the northern tip of Kayts Island, stands the island fort of Hammenhiel, which used to be accessible by boat from Kayts. The name means 'heel-of-the-ham' and relates to the Dutch view that Ceylon was shaped rather like a ham.

When ferries run, they mostly go from Kayts, including the very short hop across to Karaitivu, which is joined to the mainland by a causeway.

Delft

Delft, named after the Dutch town of that name, is 10 km off Punkudutivu and 35 km from Jaffna. Ferries, when they run, go from Siriputu. The island is noted for traces of the Portuguese and Dutch eras (such as the Dutch garrison captain's country house with a stone pigeon-cote) and for its bleak, windswept beauty.

The small Dutch fort is only a short walk from the ferry dock. Behind that is a beautiful beach with many exquisite shells. On the island are hundreds and hundreds of stone walls which, like the Dutch fort, are made of huge, beautiful chunks of the brain and fan coral of which the island is composed.

A 1990 letter indicated that there were two ferries a day from Siriputu to Delft at the time - one in the early morning (seemingly too early to be reachable by bus from Jaffna) and one in the early afternoon, which meant it was impossible to do a day trip. The only accommodation possibilities were private houses. The rest house near the ferry dock was in ruins. From Jaffna to the ferry is a 50 minute bus ride; the ferry crossing is an hour.

Mannar Island

Mannar is probably the driest, most barren area in Ceylon, and the landscape is chiefly notable for the many baboon trees, probably introduced from Africa by Arab traders centuries ago.

Mannar, the major town on the island, is at the land ward end, joined to the mainland by a three-km causeway. It's uninteresting apart from its picturesque Portuguese/Dutch fort. Talaimannar, near the West End, is about three-km before the pier, which was the arrival/departure point of the ferry for India that operated until 1984. A little further west an abandoned lighthouse at South point marks the start of Adam's Bridge, the chain of reefs, sandbanks and islets that a connects Ceylon to India. This is the series of stepping stones which Hanuman used to follow Rawana, the demon king of Ceylon, is his bid to rescue Sita.