25 CHAPTER I TEE BEG INNIS OF DRAVIDIAN SETTLEIEIITS Front the earliest times to the end of the tenth century A.D. No appreciable light is thrown by either tradition or archaeology on the darkness in which the history of the earliest Dravidian settlements in Ceylon is shrouded. The archaeological finds so far have not been very encouraging and few definite conclusions can be drawn from the little that has been discovered. The Pli and Sinhalese chronicles furnish some evidence regarding the political relations between the Dravidian kingdoms and Ceylon, but contain little information on Dravidian settlements in the island. The late Tamil chronicles of Ceylon, on the other hand, hardly preserve any memory of the very early times. Under these circumstances, one has to piece together the hopelessly meagre evidence in the above sources to determine the chronology and nature of the early Dravidian settlements in Ceylon. It has been claimed by certain writers on the history of Jaffna that the people of northern Ceylon at the time of the earliest Indo-Aryan settlements, called gas in the chronicles, were T,n11s Some others have claimed that these gas were Tantil 1. S. Gnanapragasar, 'Ceylon originally a land of Dravidiana', LQ. I, No.1, pp.27 If.
26 in culture and language, although ethnically they were not Dravidian These conclusions, as we shall see presently, are based on the legendary accounts of the gas in the P1i chronicles and the Tamil Buddhist epic Maini!kalai as well as on the erroneous identification of some of the place-names mentioned in early Tami]. literature. Gaaaapragasar, a leading proponent of the theory that the Ngas of the Pli chronicles were TRndls, has put forward four n'xi{n arguments in support of it In the first place, he baa argued that the island of Ceylon as well as the language spoken there were known in ancient times as 1ain and that the name of the language was later corrupted to Eu. These factors, in his opinion, 'should lead one to conclude prima facie that, at the earliest times, am was occupied, at least in the main, by a Tamil-apeaking people' This argument is far from logical. Presumably it rests on the fact that am is now used only in Tamil as a name for Ceylon. But the origin of this name, far from indicating that the island was occupied by Taniil-speaking people in ancient times, shows that the people from whose name ain is derived were Sinhalese. The earliest occurrence of this name is in the Brhxri! inscriptions of South India. In these 1. C.Rasanayagarn, Ancient Jaffna, pp. 13 if. 2. S.Gnanapragasar,'ceylon originally a land of Dravidians', pp.27 ff 3. Ibid., p. 30.
76 suggest that there were Dravidia
7r chronicle. That by the tenth cen
80 India did not consider Ceylon as
82 b4 with the Xi4igani of the abov
84 CHAPTER II SL'rTLENTS IN THE PER
86 arrive at more than what has bee
88 struggle that went on between th
90 That Vijayablhu did not have any
92 large number of Tamil inscriptio
94 as well as the pariyclrakar, the
96 peninsula and three are in the K
98 of a 6trong civilian population
100 at Periyak4am. With this possib
of certain taxes for the coat of th
104 ndra-ca-pi and the cakra-ptyr w
106 The gifts were made by several
108 the gift a 1_' by a certain Ara
110 of the year 1067, mentions a pe
112 a-ma4alam, to the temple of Kut
114 set up by officials do not nece
About ten Siva Dv1es, five Viu temp
at Nalla-t ai-iakkam, Buddhannehe l
120 of the tenth century was built
122 supports him by stating that 't
124 are known from the Ca inscripti
126 Pli Pulattbinagara), Koiy'rain1
128 They reveal the presence of Tam
130 in provisionally marking those
132 to temples for the performance
Ceylon This period, therefore, sees
136 to them or to their associate b
138 therefore, date back to about t
140 on the interpretations of the t
142 There was also a community of B
144 to suggest that there was any k
146 The AifffhIruvar were primarily
145 that all these bodies were orga
150 suggest the nature of the work
152 between the Valafljiyar and the
the 1a1r,rattir as one of their lea
153 three lines of this inscription
158 local and a foreign group. But
160 to in the V 1kala and VihirhThn
As pointed out earlier, the period
164 e) Tiru-ciila-aikkrar (Taniil t
166 been a aikkra (Pii V.akkr& may
168 Among the other sections of the
170 inscription, an official who ha
172 status and was used for individ
the Ker4a and ica4ia mercenaries in
1(0 three wings, we are unable at p
178 army is said to have been 2, 11
180 of the southern Maavars' In Cey
182 general of Parkramabhu I who co
184 year of a ParkramabThu, who is
186 South Indian artisans found emp
188 of South India, especially in t
190 have been a Blow and unnoticed
192 Even these minor movements of p
194 evidence of the epigraphs help
196 from ruined Buddhist buildings
The evidence relating to this perio
200 inscription we find that the Vi
that we get the earliest occurrence
204 where this inscription is found
206 around the twelfth century the
208 consecration name of Ciica..ka-
210 ut from its occurrences in the
It is not probable that all these w
214 We also learn that the site of
216 communities were Tamils, for it
218 te pie, have been definitely id
in the area which point in the same
settlements here in the period of C
224 About a mile away from Kanadarv
22 at Polonnaruva As a result we ar
228 Nakarattr were probably of Kann
23 wars against the Cas and had the
232 were Tamils. Presumably this pa
234 not established in the Battical
23U CHAPTER IV STTLEHENTS IN THE TH
The first important feature of this
240 called Sasa vata, composed in t
242 record, the general Iti repelle
244 The conquest of northern Ceylon
The CUavaida account of the invasio
Almost inimediatel after the stroph
250 when the author of the Clavaisa
established himself at Polonnaruva,
254 there is no gainsaying the fact
importance of the foreign invasions
258 and that the majority of the Si
260 were among the more iportant re
262 In Paranavitana's opinion, 'all
264 One could suppose that the nume
It may be recollected that several
268 Jaffna peninsula does not help
It is not possible to identify the
1 establishment in the region in ea
274 anywhere. This poses a serious
27 who were responsible for giving
worthy of note in this respect: 278
280 etymology The account of the se
and tenth century some villages in
materials for the erection of lasti
28G much depreciated as a result of
288 etymology which attempts to exp
290 earlier traditions from the lat
9Q9 Those who went to the island in
The accounts in the Vaiy!pal and th
29 The Naavaryar (variant: Mauvarya
29 that all these castes were repre
300 These were evidently named afte
from Kpakanu and Pu.ya-inakIpla-ppa
301 in our sources. In view of such
3OGo. Province, the chieftaincies o
307 In l9kl Geiger published an int
309 Arier in bewu ten Gegensatz zu
311 include in their enumeration. P
313 of warriors or tribesmen who we
315 of Ceylon. It is even possible
317 In Ceylon, the earliest work in
319 C!1avasa. Though at first sight
321 of Vannis, namely the }iaha-van
The Vaiyars of the nineteenth centu
32 came into existence independentl
In the sources mentioned above Ku.a
(c) Co4agai a of the Trincomalee Sa
331 and aspired to the kingship of
333 enemies had led punitive raids
335 alias Co.agafiga whds mention i
337 with not only the renovation of
33) In the light of the evidence th
31 Sinhalese settlements that once
343 According to the Kcar-kalveu, K
345 Malaiyakam, T4uvai, Toaimatalam
347 Ppla Kttiram (Bh' la Gotra) and
34J Ukkiraciñka, , as it ap ears i
351 as Kantajy, Pakai and Carnpl!r
353 in the chronicles of Trincomale
35 va (chieftaincies) may be based
357 Probably Ki4akkan and possibly
35 settle ents of Dravidians that s
361 Ceylon by the Dravidians was no
1 . structures. A door-jamb from on
1 to the Tamil population, as in Ja
36/ Chaggxna (Skmam)finda mention i
369 The Ker4a origin of this caste
meanjn mariners or boatmen As a sea
narrated in the Vaiy and the Vaiypa
375 presence of Ilukkuva mercenarie
37' the rest. Consequently we are n
37 xniyam, the Xaliñga ruler (!gha
This tradition seems to refer to a
383 year 512 (2590 .c.) and underto
385 (Mugwiuvaavana), Villattavai (V
with Nu&varam in order to give it a
egion may have been forced to chang
391 The wi e rea occurrence of Tami
393 used in the inscription for 'wo
From the foregoing analysis it beco
Marumakkattyarn laws of Kera.a and
399 CHAP!ER VI THE BEGINNINGS OF TH
401 part of the ia].and in the four
aside these arguments and shown tha
405 as well are baaed on the errone
the account of Ku!aa in some of the
409 resembles in many ways the lion
411 bhildren, a son and a daughter.
413 and the avvaiapva-ifl!lai. In t
and obtained the arid peninsula of
derivation of the name and that is
ecently, there oceurs the name Subh
This statement is evidently due to
the basis of certain references in
d2 Vra-ca1nika, (Ka1ifikar-ma - Kin
427 the inscription. Similarly, the
429 P11 chronicle deals mainly with
431 an island off the peninsula of
433 been suggested that this may be
435 obliged to abandon it ' This wo
43? This is not quite convincing. D
439 and driven away from the Sinhal
441 is meant for those who were acc
443 almost always in poetry, for a
445 The text of this inscription fr
447 1vaka to be accused of having b
have been active in Ceylon in the t
451 inscriptions regarding the even
453 Paranavitana takes JAvagama to
455 No one would say that the latte
457 If, as we have suggested earlie
1 the T mi1 chronicles. 459 1. In h
,.&+ra k.'ro Nia-sagrahaya and the
a Ca prince named lit'iki riya, wen
463 The conclusion that Vicaym 1ci
467 denote some connection with the
463 nothing is known about this cit
471 before 1262. As we know, betwee
These invaders could not be ousted
473 given protection to the new kin
CHAPTER VII 477 THE BEGINNflGS OP T
479 The astronomical details in the
481 Pya I, began his rule in 115 an
483 Of these six inscriptions, four
485 Their inscriptions are not foun
48? produced in Jaffna, the ancesto
489 Ramnad who, as the ally of the
491 Izvaram a sect of Brhm{ns calle
493 the 7katTya kingdom by the Musl
aii2rir.ii pairuvarai varavalaittu)
497 very early tim.e We see, theref
"4- found in his workAaeema to b•
501 rTraAgam All these ryae of the
503 Te 1c!iRi tluk, in the Tinn.v.1
505 people from ya-nZu These settle
nearly ten years after the date of
509 attempting to seize power. Do Q
511 was the case, the invasion of I
513 to historians as the kingdom of
51 and !I.ppam for the kingdoms of
51? Ma4arial is a compound of two w
519 also seen that the aa of the in
521 Dem4a-paaji.ma (Tamil Port) was
Jafana-en-putalain as a variant of
525 the island, it was Na11Lr that
527 does not state whether he was a
529 But till very recently there wa
531 that CiA1t2ink,r and flpipafuna
533 to the use of the vT4 flag in C
535 which (lands) end in the River
537 Mracci-r4a has been identified
539 be subordinate territories of i
541 kingdom marks the cul mination
543 in the island in this period. T
545 the invasions of )!gba and the
541 of the thirteenth century favou
549 A SELT BIBLIOGRAPUT A, Tami]. I
551 15. PLTva1iya, ed. A.V.Suravira
553 IV. Modern Works (Articles on e
555 2k. Indrapa].a, Karthigesu 'The
557 k8. Paranavitana, Senarat (cont
559 57. Taylor, William, Catalowue
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Magazine: 113992242-Dravidian-Settlements-in-Ceylon-and-the-Beginnings-of-the-Kingdom-of-Jaffna-By-Karthigesu-Indrapala-Complete-Phd-Thesis-University-of-London-1965