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JOURNAL

CBYLON. BRANCH

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

VOLUME XVIII.

1908 - 1905.

BDITED BY THE HONORARY SECRETARY.

SP ne eat EA I pe i OP Bt Pe i

The design of the Society is to institute and promote inquiries into the History

Religions, Languages, Literature, Arts, and Social Condition of the present

and former Inhabitants of the Island, with its Geology and Mineralogy.

its Climate and Meteorology, its Botany and Zoology.

RE Ht cn mR ae aa ae ea

COLOMBO :

H, M, RICHARDS, ACTING GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CEYLON

1906.

Whisk Bead, oy Roky die Wises a

CONTENTS.

No. 54.—1903.

Council Meeting: February 11, 1903 an eee

Annual General Meeting: March 9, 1903 ees

Annual Report for 1902 ... | ose ate

Archeological Survey, 1902, Synopsis of Work done by the

Office-Bearers for 1903, election of abe ee

Papers read :—

“Two Ola Grants of the Seventeenth Century,” by T.

B. PonatTH = ove ae

“An account of King Kirti Siri’s Embassy to Sim in

1672 Saka (1750 a.n.),’’ translated from the Sinhalese

by P. E. Pieris, M.A., Barrister-at-Law, C.C.S. ...

Council Meeting : June 22, 1903 ce

Memorandum by Mr. R. G. AnTHONISz, Government Ar-

chivist, regarding a Stone Slab at Elie House, Mutwal ...

Paper not read :—

“Second Supplementary Paper on the Monumental

Remains of the Dutch East India Company of

Ceylon,” by F. H. pe Vos, Barrister-at-Law, and

Member of the Society of Dutch Literature, &c., of

Leyden ie we wat

General Meeting : August 1, 1903 ..

Papers read :— ,

‘Dramatic Poetry and the Literature of the Sittalee

by W. ARTHUR DE Sitva, J.P. ... one

“Three Funerals of Ceylon Dutch Officials in the Bigh-

teenth Century,” translated from the Dutch and

annotated by F. H. ne Vos, Barrister-at-Law; and.

Member of the Sodiety of Dutch Literature, &e., of

Leyden ce

“Notes on a Dutch Medal,” by P. E. Preris, M.A.,

Barrister-at-Law, C.C.S. os be

48 -

100

130

Papers read :— PAGE

Note by Mr. R. G. ANTHONISZ, Government Archivist.

on Mr. pE Vos’s Paper 138

Remarks by Mr. D. B. JayaritaKa on Mr. W. A. DE

SILVa’s Paper nes ee

Council Meeting : October 8, 1903 14]

Wo. 33.—1904.

Council Meeting : February 4, 1904 143

Annual General Meeting: March 2, 1904 145

Annual Report for 1903 146

Archeological Survey, 1903, Synopsis of Work done by

the me Fes oe sac? LAS

Office-Bearers for 1904, election of 152

Council Meeting : May 11, 1904 159

General Meeting: May 21, 190: 161

Papers read :-—

‘A Note on the Palwography of Ceylon,” by C. M.

FerNANDO, B.A., LL.B., Crown Counsel see G2

‘Correspondence between Raja Sinba II. and the

Dutch,” by DonaLp FERGUSON 166

Council Meeting : July 6, 1904 277

Council Meeting : September 1, 1904 278 |

General Meeting : September 7, 1904 280

Paper read :—

“ Ajlakéswara: His Life and Times,’ by Enwarp W.

PERERA, Advocate... aa ee

Paper not read :— | ?

“Francois Caron and the French East India Company,”

by F. H. DE Vos, Barrister-at-Law, Member of the

Society of Dutch Literature, &c., of Leyden 313

Council Meeting : November 14, 1904 ene 32)

cone

| No. 56.—1905.

Council Meeting: January 16, 1905

Paper not read :—

“Mr. Isaac Augustin Rumpf,” by F. H. de Vos, Barrister-

at-Law, and Member of the Bie, of Dutch

Literature, &., of Leyden ... ons

Council Meeting : February 6, 1905

Annual General Meeting: February 6, 1905

Annual Report for 1904 ate eee

Archeological Caley 1904, lenses of Work done by

the

Office-Bearers for 1905, election of ie

Paper read :—

‘“‘ Portuguese Inscriptions in Ceylon,” by J. P. Lewis,

C.C.8.

General Meeting: March 4, 1905 re

Papers read :—

“ Raj. Sinha I., Parricide and Centenarian : a Review,”

by W. F. fe iirwardlina: Mudaliyar, of the Depart-

ment of Public Instruction of ae

“Two Old Sinhalese Swords,” by ©. M. Fernando,

M.A., Ee (Cantab.)

Council Meeting : May 2, 1905

Paper not read :—

“Third Supplementary Paper on the Monumental

_ Remains of the Dutch East India Company of

Ceylon,” by F. H. de Vos, Barrister-at-Law, and

Member of the Society of Dutch Literature, &c.,

of Leyden sa oe :

General Meeting : July 17, 1905

Papers read :—

‘Notes on the Variations of the Copper Massas of Six

Sinhalese Rulers,’ by John Still, Assistant to the

Archeological Commissioner

PAGE

350

381

382

388

391

393

397

398

_ Papers read :—

“Note on a Dutch Medal,” by F. H,de Vos, Barrister- _

at-Law, and Member of the Society of Dutch

Literature, &c., of Leyden ... ae coe

‘ Notes on Paddy Cultivation Ceremonies in the Ratna-

pura District (Nawadun and Kuruwiti Kéralés),” by

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, B.Sc.

Council Meeting : September 4, 1905 on eve

Council Meeting : November 14, 1909

General Meeting: December 13, 1905... iw

Paper read :—

“The Photography of Colour as applied to obtaining

correct Colour Records of Natural History Sub-

jects,” by W. Saville-Kent, F.L.S., &c. ove

Appendix | an, ae

435

447

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WOO OOO 09, 09,09 0 9% %49 9%,

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VOLUME XVIII.

No. 54.

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EDITED BY THE HONORARY SECRETARY.

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_ The design of fhe Society is to institute and promote inquiries inte the History,

Theor Religions, Languages, Literature, Arts, and Social Condition of the present

and former Inhabitants of the Island, with its Geology and Mineralogy,

its Climate and Meteorology, its Botany and Zoology.

¢,

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soectoetoate dene tectostoshosy lplptiocostoctastotiostodiectotententostectoclntonlostot saan

JOURNAL

OF THE

CHYLON BRANCH

OF THE

ROYAL ASTIATIC SOCIETY,

1903.

VOLUME XVIIL

No. 54.

EDITED BY THE HONORARY SECRETARY.

ti. The design of the Society is to institute and promote inquiries into the History,

Religions, Languages, Literature, Arts, and Social Condition of the present

and former Inhabitants of the Island, with its Geology and Mineralogy,

its Climate and Meteorology, its Botany and Zoology,

bit ryt)

COLOMBO :

GEORGE J. A. SKEEN, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CEYLON,

Ye)

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Council Meeting : February 11, 1903 wa 1

Annual General Meeting : March 9, 1903 3

Annual Report for 1902.. 3

Archeological Survey, 1902, Synopsis of Work dans by the 5

Office-Bearers for 1903, election of ‘ aes 8

Papers read :—

“Two Ola Grants of the Seventeenth Century,” by T.

B. PoHATH = coe 10

“An account of King Kirti Siri’s nace to Siam in

1672 Saka (1750 a.p.),” translated from the Sinhalese

by P. E. Preris, M.A., Barrister-at-Law, C.C.S. ... 17

Council Meeting : June 29, 1903 ue 48

Memorandum by Mr. R. G. ANTHONISZ, Government ae

chivist, regarding a Stone Slab at Ele House, Mutwal.. 4Y

Paper not read :—

“Second Supplementary Paper on the Monumental

Remains of the Dutch East India Company of

Ceylon,” by F. H. DE Vos, Barrister-at-Law, and

Member of the Society of Daten Literature, Res of

Lyden 486 see 51

General Meeting: August ie 1903 etd bt 89

Papers read :—

‘‘ Dramatic Poetry and the Literature of the Sinhalese,”

by W. ARTHUR DE Sitva, J.P. ... 90

“Three Funerals of Ceylon Dutch Officials in the Bigh-

teenth Century,” translated from the Dutch and

annotated by F. H. pe Vos, Barrister-at-Law, and

Member of the Society of Dutch Literature, &c., of

Lyden 100

‘““Notes on a Dutch Medal, 2 lay ob, E. PIERIS, M.A.,

Barrister-at-Law, C.C.S. 130

Note by Mr. R. G. AN THONISZ, Greener rohivint

on Mr. DE Vos’s Paper 138

Remarks by Mr. D. B. JAYATILAKA « on Mr. W. A. DE

SILVA’s Paper %% as er eee

Council Meeting: October 8, 1903 aa? omy i LAL

)

ERRATA.

Page 16, footnote, read: “The Archzxological Commissioner

examined both these sannas carefully, and held that dated Saka 1567

to be undoubtedly genuine.”

Page 129, footnote, for “1875” read “ 1785.”

JOURNAL

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

CEYLON BRANCH.

Said Sa

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, February 11, 1903.

Present :

Mr. F. M. Mackwood, J.P., Vice-President, in the Chair.

Mr. J. Ferguson, Vice-President.

Mr. C. M, Fernando, B.A., LL.B. | The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere.

Mr. P. Freudenberg. Mr. H. White, C.C.S.

Mr. F. C. Roles, Honorary Treasurer.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A.,.and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries,

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last Council Meeting.

2. Resolved,—That the following Members be elected :—

Resident.

J. Samaradivikara: recom- f§ The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere.

mended by W. Chapman Dias.

Rev. Don William Jacob Wije- { Rev. F. H. de Winton.

sinha : recommended by A. M. Gunasékara.

Venerable Dharmakirti Sri) wi p ip ee

it eke Stee. sinha.

Dharmérama, High Priest A.M. Ghrininee teen.

recommended by

B 29-03

2 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVII.

J. Still: recommended by 38 i es

H. C. P. Bell.

A. Anson: recommended by G. A. Joseph.

Non-resident.

M.R. Ry. Pandit Savari Raya

Pillai Avergal recommended = Tamby Pill

Professor C. Duroiselle recom- § E. R. Gonara ii ree

mended by G. A. Joseph. ee =< Sak ae

3. Laid on the table Circular No. 200 containing the ope ne

Messrs. H. C. P. Bell and C. Brito on the Paper entitled ‘‘ The

Tamilian Problem.”

Resolved,—That the Honorary Secretaries do communicate with the

author, with a view to revision of his Paper, according to the views

expressed by the gentlemen to whom the Paper was referred for

report.

4. Laid on the table Circular No. 201 containing the opinions of *

Messrs. J. Harward and W. P. Ranasinha on the Paper entitled

“Dramatic Poetry and the Literature of the Sinhalese.”

Resolved,—That the Paper be accepted for reading and printing,

subject to revision as suggested.

5. Laid on the table Circular No. 202 containing the opinions of

Messrs. H. C. P. Bell and J. Harward on the Paper entitled ‘“ King

Kirti Sri’s Embassy to Siam in 1672 Saka (1750 a.p).”

Resolved,—That the Paper be accepted for reading and publication

in the Society’ s Journal.

6. Read and passed the draft Annual Report for 1902.

7. Resolved,—That Mr. J. A. Henderson be requested to audit the

Society’s Accounts for 1902.

8. Resolved,—That the date of the Annual General Meeting be

fixed by the Honorary Secretaries in consultation with the Hon. Mr.

Everard im Thurn, President of the Society, and that the business fixed

for the Meeting be as follows :—

(1) To read the Annual Report for 1902. | ies

(2) To elect Office-Bearers for 1903. Seg ' x

(3) To read the Papers entitled— BS

(i.) “Two Ola Grants of the Seventeenth Tek: .

by Mr. T. B. Pohath. an

(ii.) “An Account of King Kirti Sri's 1 Embassy to

Siam in 1672 Saka (1750 A.D.),” by Mr.P. B.

Pieris M.A., C.C.S.

9. Laid on the table Circular No. 203 containing the opinion of

Mr. J. Ferguson on a letter from the University of Colorado, soliciting

an exchange of Publications, and forwarding Vol. I., No. 1, of their

Publications.

No. 54 —1903. | ANNUAL REPORT. 5)

Resolved,—That in view of the large number of Institutions already

on the Society’ s exchange list, the Council regret that they cannot see

their way to sanction the exchange.

10. Considered the nomination of Office Bearers for 1903.

Under Rule 16 Messrs. P. Coomaraswamy and E. E. Green retire

by reason of least attendance, and Messrs. C. M. Fernando and P.

Freudenberg by seniority.

Resolved,—That Messrs. C. M. Fernando and P. Freudenberg be

re-elected, and that in place of the other two Members Dr. A. Willey,

F.RS., and A. Mendis Gunasékara, Mudaliyar, be elected.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, March 9, 1903.

Present :

The Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, C.B., C.M.G., President, in the Chair.

The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, F.R.C.I., Vice-President.

Mr. M. K. Bamber, M.R.A.C. Mr. D. B. Jayatilaka, B.A.

Mr. C. Batuwantudawa, Advocate. | Mr. P. E. Morgappah.

Mr. W. E. Byles. The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere.

Mr. A. J. Chalmers, M.D.,F.R.C.S. | Mr. E. W. Perera, Advocate.

Mr. W. A. de Silva, J.P. Mr. P. E. Pieris, M.A., C.C.S.

Mr. I. Gunawardana, Mudaliyar. Mr. V. R. Saravanamuttu, M.D.

Mr. W.F. Gunawardhana, Muda- | Mr. G. W. Suhren.

liyar.

Mr. F. C. Roles, F.J.1., F.R.C.1, Honorary Treasurer.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A.,and Mr.G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Visitors : Two ladies and fifteen gentlemen.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last General Meeting.

2. Mr. Joseph read the—

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1902.

The Council of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society

have the honour to submit the following Report for the year 1902 :—

MEETINGS AND PAPERS.

The only General Meeting held during the year was the Annual

General Meeting held on February 26, 1902, when the Introduction

was read to the Paper entitled “‘ A Descriptive Catalogue of the more

pn?

useful Trees and Flowering Plants of the Western and Sabaragamuwa

Provinces of Ceylon,” by Mr. F. Lewis, F.L.8. Besides the above

Paper a translation made from the Dutch ‘‘ Resolutions and Sentences

of the Council of the Town of Galle, 1640-44,” and edited by Mr.

R. G. Anthonisz, has been printed in the Society’s Journal for 1902.

The following Papers have been accepted for publication in the

Journal for 1903, viz.: (1) “Two Ola Grants of the Seventeenth

Century,” by Mr. T. B. Pohath ; (2) “ Temporal and Spiritual History

of Ceylon, compiled by Rev. Fernao de Queiros, 8.J., of the Province

of Goa,” translated from the Portuguese by Mr. F. H. de Vos.

MEMBERS.

During the past year nineteen new Members were elected, viz., The

Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, C.B., C.M.G. (elected as a Member of

R.A.S., Great Britain and ireland, under Rule 45), Messrs. J. R. Tosh,

V. J. T. Pillai, J. S. Collett, F. J. de Mel, Dr. Tha Do Oung, Sir

W.W. Mitchell, Messrs. R. A. Ramapillai,C. Batuwantudawa, Dr. A. J.

Chalmers, Messrs. G. B. Leechman, D. Montagu, G. E. Weerakoon, Dr.

Arthur Willey, F.R.S., Messrs. W. F. Gunawardhana, W. Jayawickrama,

P. C. MacMahon, N. Bonaparte-Wyse, and T. P. Ponnambalam Pillai.

Three Members resigned, viz., Mr. H. T. Gardiner, Dr. P. M. Muttu-

kumaru, and Mr, H. O. Barnard.

Mr. W. H. G. Duncan has become a Non-Resident Life Member.

The Society has now on its roll i197 Members, including 24 Life

Members and 10 Honorary Members.

The Council record with regret the death of the following Members

of the Society, viz., Messrs. J. B. Cull, M.A.; O. Collett, J.P.,

F.R.M.S.; T. B. Panabokke, J.P.; and Dr. J.S. John Pulle.

Mr. Panabokke joined the Society in 1884. He contributed to the

Society’s Proceedings for 1882 the following Paper: ‘ Addenda

to Professor Rhys David’s Translation of the Jatakas 1 to 40, to

supply certain omissions.”

Mr. Collett joined the Society in 1893. He contributed the

following Papers to the Society’s Journal, viz.: (1) ‘‘Contributions to

Ceylon Malacology,” Vol. XV., No. 48 ; (2) “‘ Contributions to Ceylon

Malacology : Description of a New Helicoid Land Shell from the

Southern Province,” Vol. XV., No. 49; (3) “ Contributions to Ceylon

Malacology,”’ Vol. X VI., No. 51.

The following resolution passed at a Meeting held on February 5,

1902, was communicated to Mrs. Collett: “Resolved, that the

Council of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society wish to

record their regret at the death of Mr. Oliver Collett, a Member of the

Society, who has particularly identified himself with biological research

and contributed some valuable Papers to the Society.”

LIBRARY.

The additions to the Library during the year, including parts of

Periodicals, numbered 317. The Library is indebted for donations to

the Secretary of State for India ; the Government of India ; Archzxo-

logical Survey of India; Professor A. Bastian ; the Postmaster-General ;

Mr. G. A. Joseph ; the Colonial Secretary ; India Office Library ; Mr.

A. W. Fernando ; Dr. Tha Do Oung ; Cape of Good Hope Geological

Commission ; Qberlin College Library; Rev. P. D. Wajiranana ;

Messrs. H. C. P. Bell; J. F. W. Gore ; Dr. A. Caroll ; and Mr. A. K.

Cooméraswimy. |

No. 54.—1903.] ANNUAL REPORT. : D

Valuable exchanges were received during the year from the following

Institutions and Societies: The American Oriental Society; the

Royal Society of Victoria ; the Academy of Natural Sciences, Phila-

delphia ; the Smithsonian Institute; Bombay Branchof the Royal

Asiatic Society ; United States Department of Agriculture; Wagner

Institute of Sciences, Philadelphia ; Geological Survey of the United

States of America; Field Columbian Museum ; the State Archives ;

the Bureau of Education ; the Societie Zoologique, Paris; Anthro-

pologiche Gessellschaft, Koenig-graatzer-strasse, Berlin ; Deutsche

Morgenlandische Gessellschaft, Leipzig ; Royal Society of New South

Wales; California Academy of Sciences ; Societe Imperiale des

Naturalistes de Moscow ; China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Soceity ;

Asiatic Society of Japan; Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain

and Ireland ; the Indian Museum ; Asiatic Society of Bengal ; John

Hopkins University ; Geological Society of London ; the Anthropo-

logical Institute of Great Britain and Ireland ; the Geological and

Natural History Survey of Canada; the Royal Colonial Institute ;

Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society ; the Royal Geographical

Society of Australasia ; and Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.

ACCOMMODATION.

The Council in 1898 directed the attention of Government to the -

congested state of the Library and has regularly referred to the subject

in the Annual Reports from 1888. His Excellency the Governor, in

acknowledging the communication stated that he “ shares the regret of

the Council that other more urgent claims on public moneys have pre- |

vented the provision of funds for the extension of the Museum.” The

Council hope that ere long the revenue of the Island will admit of

provision being made for carrying out the long-contemplated extension.

} J OURNALS.

One number of the Journal has been published during the year

(Vol. XVIT., No. 52,1901). It contains, in addition to the Proceedings

of the Council and the Annual General Meeting, the following Paper :—

“ Supplementary Paper on the Monumental Remains of the Dutch

Kast India Company in Ceylon,” by F. H. de Vos.

ARCH HOLOGICAL.

Mr. H. ©. P. Bell, Archeological Commissioner, has kindly supplied

the following summary of Archeological research during 1902 :—

The Archeological Survey continued operations in 1902 at Anu-

radhapura, Sigiriya, and Polonnaruwa. From January 1 Mr. J. Still

was appointed to succeed Mr. C. E. Dashwood as Assistant to the

Archeological Commissioner. Concurrent field work was thus again

rendered practicable at two centres during much of the year.

Anuradhapura.

Ruwanveli Area.—South of the Ruwanveli Dagaba are still to be found

a few scattered sites, marked by pillar stumps, which have not yet

been excavated. These isolated ruins are dotted about the Residency

grounds, the premises of Government clerks, and the open spaces

adjoining the ‘‘ Sacred Road.’

Maha Pali Alms Hall.—One of these detached ruins, an extensive

site, roughly pillared, was exploited in the past year, and has fortunately

6 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

yielded one of the most interesting discoveries hitherto made at

Anurddhapura. As excavation spread the plan of an exceedingly

spacious quadrangle, with central courtyard, was gradually disclosed.

This four-square ruin measures 135 ft. more or less, each side. All

round ran a range of rooms, or a corridor, once roofed in, and 30 ft.

in width. The hypethral courtyard, some 75 feet square enclosed

within the building, is stone-flagged and at a lower level than the

quadrangular fringe of rooms. In the west corridor was unearthed a

large ‘‘ stone canoe,” perfectly preserved, 44 ft. 6 in. long by 3 ft. 6in.

in breadth, making the fourth so far found at Anuradhapura.

The ruins to the east of Abhayagiriya Dagaba, excavated in 1893,

contain a building much the same in plan, situated in a central group of

monasteries with a similar kenda oruwa, or “ kanji boat” (as these

strange “‘stone canoes” are popularly termed), but greatly damaged.

These special buildings were doubtless those ‘‘ Alms Halls” (Dansdla)

mentioned not unfrequently in the Mahawansa.

The spaciousness and general finish of the present ruin laid bare in

the modern Resthouse premises seem to justify its probable identifi-

cation with the ‘Maha Pah,” that chiefest of Alms Halls greatly

favoured of royalty from the sixth to the tenth century.

The excavation of this extensive ruin, deeply buried and tree-covered,

occupied the Anuradhapura gang for the better part of 1902.

Mirisavetiya Area.— During the last three months of the year work

was resumed in the Mirisavetiya area, and will be pushed towards

completion in 1903. The ruins around the Mirisavetiya Dagaba are

probably, all told, not more than half a hundred in number, and would

appear to offer no special difficulty in unearthing. The style is severely

simple and the grouping easily distinguished. |

Clearing.—The annual allotment of the vote for clearing ruins and

jungle at Anurddhapura was very profitably expended owing to the

drought during the first nine months of last year. Nearly six hundred

acres were cleared and weeded and some rooting-out done.

Sigiriya.

A gang is engaged at Sigiriya during the early part of every year

in the tedious, but essential work of weeding the citadel on the

summit and the several terraces and excavated sites below the Rock.

Some re-clearing of undergrowth had to be done within the area of

the ancient city.

Steady progress was made in connection with the continued restora-

tion of the “ gallery.”” The work done in 1902 comprised the completion

of the iron bridge spanning the gap between the stretch of the gallery

along the west face of the Rock, and that hugging its north scarp ;

as well as the building of a substantial abutment in stone to prevent

imminent slip of the long and steep staircase which culminates at the

maluwa below the iron ladders which lead to the Rock’s summit.

By the end of next season it is hoped that the gallery will be nearly

restored from its broken entrance (near the head of the north and

south staircase approaches from the city below) as far onwards as

the maluwa. The serious and unavoidable hindrances in getting bricks,

lime, sand, and water to Sigiriya and up into the “ gallery,” cannot but

much delay this most desirable restoration.

With great difficulty, and no little risk, preliminary borings were

made into the floor of the largest “ pocket,” containing the frescoes,

and jungle-stick scaffolding erected ready for next season. :

—

No. 54.—1903. ] ANNUAL REPORT. 7

The object, as stated last year, is to effectually afford permanent

protection to the unique paintings of Sigiriya against the ravages of °

birds and flying insects. Suitable wire netting, when fixed in position,

whilst warding off these destructive pests, will not mar the view of the

paintings.

Belated agitation for similar protection to the better-known paintings

of the Ajanta Caves in India has only recently begun.

Polonnaruwa.

Operations were resumed at Polonnaruwa for the third season in

May last.

Weeding the area already excavated in 1900 and 1901, mainly the

ruins (Audience Hall, &c.) situated within the promontory, occupied

a fortnight or three weeks.

Subsequently attention was given to continuing excavations around

the Siva dévalé near the 25th milepost on the road from Minnériya.

This dévalé was exposed last year. Forest trees and scrub jungle are

so thick at Polonnaruwa that much felling and clearing was necessary,

and proved slow work. By the end of September, however, the entire

group of ruins had been excavated and opened out to view from the

high road.

This group consists of (a) Siva dévalé ; (b) a Vishnu dévalé ; (c) a

kovil sacred to the goddess AKadli. In plan and architectural details

these shrines display little to differentiate the one from the other.

All alike have a vestibule and sanctum ; the Siva dévalé alone possesses

an intermediate room, They were brick-built, with stone pillars to

support the roof where required. Stone figures of Vishnu, Kali,and the .

bull Nandi were found near their respective shrines.

Besides these three fanes, this Hindt temple claimed at least three

other buildings: (d) a plain narrow structure crowning the summit of

the rock hummock, on the west slope of which occurs the long

inscription of King Nissanka Malla; (e) a pillared building, oblong,

within its own enclosed premises ; (/) a bold terraced building, on

massive pillars, immediately adjoining the bund of the old Tépa-vewa

tank.

This last ruin was perhaps once the principal residence of the eccle-

siastics—first Buddhist monks, subsequently alien priests—after the

conversion of the monastery into an extensive temple devoted to

Hindtism. At the foot of the entrance stairs were exhumed two

handsomely carved moonstones adorned with hansas and other orna-

mentation.

As in 1901, a large number of Moor villagers from the ‘‘ Marakkala

Pattuwa”’ of Tamankaduwa were engaged for a week in continuing to

free the ancient city of the jungle in which it lies buried. The area

dealt with in the past year extends for a width of two hundred to

three hundred yards from the Rankot Vehera as far northwards as the

Kiri Vehera.

COUNCIL.

Two Members of the Council of 1901, viz, Mr. A. Haly and the

Hon. Mr. H. H. Cameron, are deemed to have retired in accordance

with Rule 16. The vacancies in the Council have been filled by the

appointments of Mr. J. C. Willis and Mr. H, White; Mr. M. K.

Bamber was elected in place of Mr. J. Ferguson, who was appointed

a Vice-President.

FINANCES.

The income for the year, exclusive of the commencing balance, was

Rs. 1,562°25 ; but there has been exceptional expenditure, especially

in the latter half of the year, due chiefly to the issue of a number of

the Journal double the usual size. The re-binding of volumes in

the Library, too, has been exceptional and continuous throughout the

year. In April the Treasurer placed Rs. 1,500 on fixed deposit for a

year to secure 33 per cent. interest, but the printing and binding

expenditure being more than twice as large as in 1901, the current

account was overdrawn at the end of the year by Rs. 359-42. The

interest on the fixed deposit will accrue in April next, and there will ©

be a net gain to the Society of over Rs. 40; but the balance sheet

discloses that the commencing balance of Rs. 2,200°10 was reduced

during the year to Rs. 1,140°58.

3. Mr. M. K. Bamber, M.R.A.C., M.R.A.S. Eng., F.C.S., moved the

adoption of the Report. Mr. C. Batuwantudawa seconded. Carried.

4. On the motion of Mr. P, E. Pieris, seconded by Dr. A. J.

Chalmers, the following Office-Bearers were elected for 1903 :—

President.—The Hon. Mr, Everard im Thurn, C.B., C.M.G.

Vice-Presidents—Mr. F. M. Mackwood, J.P., F.H.S.; the

Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, F.R.C.L.

Council.

W.G. Van Dort, M.D. Mr. M. K. Bamber, M.R.A.C.

Mr, W. P. Ranasinha, Mr. C, M. Fernando, B.A., LL.B.

Mr. S. M. Burrows, M.A., C.C.S. Mr. P. Freudenberg.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. Dr, A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc. Lon.,

The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere. F.RS.

Mr. H. White, C.C.S. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar.

Mr. J. C. Willis, M.A., F.L.S.

Honorary Treasurer.—Mr. F. C. Roles, F.J.1., F.R.C.1.

Honorary Secretaries.—Messrs. H. C, P. Bell, C.C.S.; J. Harward, M.A.;

and G, A. Joseph.

5. Mr. Harwarp, in the absence of Mr. T. B. Pohath, read his

Paper entitled—

[See page 10. ]

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No. 54.—1903.]

10 «JOURNAL, R.A.8. (CEYLON). [Vo. XVIII.

TWO OLA GRANTS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

By T. B. Pouartu.

THE royal grants, which I have the honour to lay before

the Society, are sannas on olas (palm leaves) granted by

Kings Senerat and Raja Sinha II. in the Saka years 1553

and 1567, corresponding to 1631 and 1645 A.D. They were.

granted at the time the Kandyans were victorious over the

Portuguese, who invaded their country. Theyear preceding

the grant of the first sannasa was memorable for the defeat

of the Portuguese under the General Don Constantino de

Sa. This was followed eight years later by a similar disas-

trous attack on the Portuguese by the Kandyan sovereign.

At Kahatapitiya, or more properly at Ilawatura, the

descendants of the grantee Suluttan Kuttiya are yet in the

enjoyment of a portion of the royal gift of their honoured

ancestor.

The sannas themselves are very unpretentious. They are

written, with ample space on the margins, on two strips of

plain double ola leaves with ill-formed though legible

characters. They measure 103 in. by 12 in., and 10} in.

by 1} in.; and are much worn. Both the grants bear the

Biactoristie royal sign @ ($77) in larger letters on the left ©

margins.

These sannas were evidently granted for skill in medical

science. The Gopala Moors of Getubériya are also members

of this distinct body, and have received royal favour for

similar service.

The grantee’s survivors are now living at Sakkarankotuwa,

a portion of land dedicated to “ Bhawakauf,” said to be one

of five celebrated saints who came from Mecca.

8B SANNASA No. 1.

Text.

1. ea O08 AM eEnsd SATBS SHNAOMsSD ods Os

gD oMoQgdndss eat O56

2. BERD SEDO MO CH6@ MM VE |_oOoMB HOD Ea)

EDA) SO Pe Se C8 3 1"

4, ay aoe Ome Sr QAO oO oe sgCrsemed modes

ONO EO OM

D, ES) 558 SIND EQ OD BIRD Hen Goo OAH

BDV: SCBISA

* The upper surface of the o/a has completely gone below line 2 on that side.

Ly BA Bawladthoondantydrmlap cooks ealg He

~ 3 CJ aa @§sHnnndePauEe macaeca PD N.GVEA Aan aa Doak a waline Ios a

eee. =a DE AON BAND LH DTH WISE

| ese di) i

Gearon 8s. Leewamranacecdog

Poa gD

eS 7

rey ee

ec Ae . 25am e sone aria [pieces

ae ood an wor D) Bee pee!

FOS FD) Gr HO,” MG sd GI dT GSEDD S ( OH aot

Fsmo a» >) A

oA Dos w

209. aden

No. 54.—1903. ] OLA GRANTS. 11

6. DO HdVTGSA GgodsSs @BAIOO Gebs O4CG Sans

7. © ammo

8. G©@62 SHPO SMHS

Sri Transcript.

1. Saka warsha ekwadahas pansiya panas tunakvu Vesak

masa awa teleswak lat Irida

. wadalavu panata nam Udapalaita bada Arankada game

Daranda kumbura biju pas pela

. watu oaha kola etuluwa meki de Sur uttan Kuttiys Maha

Wasalata ho

. hdin paksha patawa duggena gana sitina nisa uge wargga

munuburu paranpara

. wata niravulwa praveni salasmata deva wadala panatat

. € panatat

. mesema panivuda panatayi.

Dy ON HOS bo

Translation.

Hail! The royal order proclaimed on Sunday, the thir-

teenth day of the waning moon of the month of Vesak (May-

June), in the year of Saka 1553 (A.D. 1631). Thatas Suruttan

_ Kuttiyd is performing good, loyal, and faithful services to

His Mighty Majesty, the field Dardida of five pélas sowing

extent of the village Arankada in Udapalata,............csceseees

2 Ae this property, including the gardens and trees

oo La eee , has been granted unto his grandchildren

for generations, to be possessed undisturbedly, as paravent.

The order thus delivered, that order is hereby declared the

royal decree.

SANNASA NO. 2.

B Text.

1. wm 08 Safad S5IBS BOBMAD FBG BO amdsy

oy ‘

2. QHHSBe OGG. SHIM HD QVOMst BCS) OMs

Hes QO

3. OCHDEST EO, 4H BS Ho B35) OGMsY BOs! O207B GSO

QOS a

4. PHOMHDs GAOMBSMAs O&HSINO GHWOSTIHD

S75H0nt o8/ a]

» DODO GOs OG) BMnG@ED az GasowW o®8 asjwns

@EODo O46 GMa

. F sMmay

. OF o8 @

. SEHODH sexe

GO SI OS Or

1? JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Transcript.

SRI.

1. Saka warsha ekdds pansiya seta satakvu Esala pura sata-

wak lat

2. Brahaspatinda wadalavu panata nam Chuluttan Kuttiya

Maha Wasalata

é. sondin duggena hitina nisa gon tihak koyi totamunékata

4, genenawa geniyanawata madisungam noganna setiyatat

ve| na | ,

). gamakata mima gona nallana setiyatat mé sannasa deva

wadala panatat

é panatat

meséma panivuda panatayi.

Translation.

Hail! The royal order pronounced on Thursday, the

seventh day of the waning moon of the month of Esala

(July-August) in the year of Saka 1567 (a.D. 1645). That

as Chuluttin Kuttiyais performing good and faithful service

to His Mighty Majesty, no taxes should be levied, for the

bringing into, or removal from, any ferry,on thirty head of

[his] cattle, nor [his] bull or buffalo seized in [another |

village. The order on which this sannasa is delivered, that

order, is hereby declared the royal decree.

NOTES.

1—Sannas are royal grants inscribed on gold, silver, copper, or

stone, plain or ornamented. A grant given on an ola was, strictly

speaking, a tudapota. In grants of less importance the king merely

issued the command, the terms being arranged by the First Adigar or

the Second Adigar, who himself gave it to the grantee. The Adigars

also had the exclusive power of granting, in all cases, written decrees

for lands, called sittu, and decrees for oaths by oil, called divi sittu ;

save in cases of appeal of very grave criminal offences or big civil

suits, decided personally by the king when parties were aggrieved by

the decision of the chiefs. In these cases, too, the king usually directed

the Chief -Adigar to issue the decree. The Disawas themselves had

authority to issue sittu and divi sittu in their respective districts.

Talpat were ordinary ola conveyances, executed by private individuals,

even by an Adigar in his unofficial capacity.

2.—King Senerat reigned at Kandy from a.p. 1604-1634. He was

called Senaratana Unndnse, and had been a priest of Adam’s Peak. He

solicited the hand of the widowed Queen Dona Catherina, and married

her afterwards, having put his rival, the Prince of Uva, to death.

Very friendly relations existed between this king and the Dutch, who

helped him to overthrow the Portuguese. The Rdjavaliya records

the drowning of the queen’s eldest son, caused by the king.

N 0. d4.—1903. ] OLA GRANTS. 13

3.—Raja Sinha II. also reigned at Kandy, a.p. 1634-1687. A

similar sannasa on an ola was granted by him to Hada Naide of

Mangalagama in the Kégalla District, on Saturday, the seventh day of

the waning moon in the month of Wap (October-November), Saka

1566, equivalent to 1644 a.v. (Archeological Report, Kégalla, pp. 98

and 99). The concluding line of this sannasa exactly corresponds with

that of the second grant now under notice.

_ 4,—A strip of Sannasa A is missing. The loss leaves us ignorant

of the appurtenant high land given to the uN along with the field

“‘ Daranda kumbura.”’

5.—In August, 1630, Don Constantino de 84 with a large army

plundered and burnt Badulla ; but on his return the Kandyans sur-

rounded and defeated him. The head of the General was presented

to the king’s son, Raja Sinha, who happened to be then bathing in a

brook (Tennent, vol. 2, pp. 40 and 41 ; Valentyn, pp. 16, 142).

The Rdjavaliya says : ‘That the heads of the Portuguese were cut

off and piled in a heap.” Knox says that Constantino de S4, rather

than fall by the enemy, called his black boy to give him water to

drink, and snatching the knife from his side stabbed himself (Relation,

dc., p. 117).

6. —Again in A.D. 1638, on the occasion of their sudden attack on

Kandy, the entire army of the Portuguese was destroyed, and the

skulls built in a pyramid by the Kandyans (Tennent, vol. 2, p. 42).

7. —Kahatapitiya ; a suburb of Gampola, about half a mile from

town.

8.—Sultan Kuttiyé. This man originally came, it appears, from

the Malaydlam country and settled at Galle, practising medicine.

King Senerat summoned him to the Court of Kandy. He showed

remarkable skill in his profession, and was soon taken into royal

favour. The king bestowed on him the lands at Arankada (Kahata-

pitiya), near Gampola, where he lived and died. The members of

this family were known as Gallé Vedaralala, ‘‘ the doctors of Galle.”

~The last male survivor of the family died in 1874. He himself

practised medicine successfully. His son-in-law, Ibrahim Lebbe

Udaiyar of Udunuwara, followed the same profession. He held an act

of appointment as Veda Arachchi from Government, in addition to

being the Peace Officer and Arachchi of the village. The members

of the family are scattered at Inigala in Harispattu ; Almékada.

Velanboda, and Biwelikada in Udunuwara ; Getabériya, Wadiyatenna

in Four Koralés, &c. They hold a higher social position than that

of ordinary Moors. Sir A. C. Lawrie says: ‘‘A family of doctors

(Moormen), having been admitted to the Béi-gé or the Royal Medical

Department, are considered equal to the Vellalas. ‘They came

originally from Udunuwara.” (Grazettecr, vol. I., p. 395.)

9.—Getaberiya, a village in Tunpalata Pattuwa of Paranakuruwa in

the District of Kégalla. For the sannasa granted by King Kirti Sri

Raja Sinha, dated Saka 1682 (1760 a.D.), and an interesting : account of

the Gopala Moors, see Archeological Report, Kegalla, pp. 99-101.

10.—The site where the mosque at Kahatapitiya now stands was, in

days past, nothing more than a waste, with only a kitul and a banyan

tree. An asceticfrom Mecca sat herein an attitude of devotion His

motionless posture struck the attention of a toddy-drawer, who came

to tap the palm flower. To ascertain whether the statue-like man

14 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

was dead or living, he stealthily sliced off a piece of his nose. The

devotee was still asdeath. ‘The followingmorn the toddy-drawer was

astonished to see the piece he had cut off re-attached to the nose, as if

nothing had happened. Theawe-struck man told his experience to the

king at Gampola, who visited the ascetic and asked what he could give

him, ‘Nothing but a strip of land to lay my head on.” When the

king wished to ‘know the extent required, he threw his bangle, called

sakkaran walalla, in four different directions, and the area included

therein was granted him. Hence ‘“ Sakkardnkotuwa,” the space

included within the sakkardan bangle, Sakkardn is a circle, a wheel, in

Tamil; also a Malabar coin.

11.—Bhawakauf the saint was deified, and a tomb is built to his

memory. This was supplemented by the mosque later on. His name

is universally revered by the Mohammedans to the present day.

Strange to say, natives of all classes take an oath here “by rubbing

chunam on the walls,” which they consider binding on them. They

supplicate the saint’s vengeance upon evil-doers. Litigants from the

Gampola courts often resort here, Sir A. C. Lawrie, speaking of the

place, says : ‘‘ The mosque is famous: in its premises is an unpretending

building called the ‘Makkan Sohongeya’ (tomb), said to be the burial

place of a saint who visited the place (Kahatapitiya, near Gampola)

from Mecca.” (Gazetteer, vol.I., p. 395.)

12.—Vesak. The month in which the moon is full in the sixteenth

asterism (May-June). Lucky month of the Sinhalese, celebrated for

the birthday of Buddha. The Upasampada ordination of the Buddhist

clergy takes place in this month.

13.—Duggena gana sitinawd. It is a frequent wording in Kandyan

royal grants. The word duka is peculiarly used in the Kandyan

district. It means love with the Kandyans, and sorrow with the Low-

country Sinhalese. The phrase therefore literally means, ‘served

with love.” In the Low- country the Sinhalese would render it as,

‘stricken with sorrow.” In English it corresponds to “faithful

services rendered ”’ to the State.

14—Maha Wasala. This is often incorrectly interpreted, as

“Great Gate ;’’ no doubt from the Tamil wreo), Sinhalese Hae

wasal, meaning “door” or entrance to a house. Mdha Wasala means

“royal palace”; freely rendered, it signifies ‘‘His Majesty.” Maha

Wasala always indirectly refers to the king. Thus we find Kotte Maha

Wasala, Kundasdlé Maha Wasala, &c. The royal gate was called

Wahatkada ; ‘the entrance to the “old palace” at Kandy is still so

called: There was an officer called ‘‘ Wahalkadé Muhandiama,”’ or

“ Wahalkadé Arachchi,” who served at the royal gate. The king was

familiarly called by those attached to the palace, Wahala Hamuduruv6,

a contraction of “ Maha Wasala Hamuduruv6.”

15.—Daranda. 'The name given to the upper portion of a field, the

opposite word being Mulwakkada, the lower portion. These words

are peculiar to the Kandyan dialect. This particular field has since

passed to other hands. A portion of it has been swept away by the

Mahaveli-ganga in flood.

16. ~~ Arankada. There is no village so called in Udapalata. A

tract of land forming a part of Illawatura village, about 2} acres in

extent, is called ‘“ Arankada.” This is probably the Arankada of the

SANNASA.

17.—Udapalata. A revenue division, under a Ratémalebaayee 2

belonging to the Central Province. Gampola i is its chief town.

ers,

ree

No. 54.—1903.] OLA GRANTS. 15

18.—Paraveni. Ancestral property, or land given to be possessed

by the recipient and his descendants for ever.

19.—Madisungan. Duty levied on tavalam cattle while crossing

ferries.

20.—No head of cattle belonging to Sultan Kuttiy4 could be taken

by any one for any kind of service,” nor seized for trespass.

6. W.F. GuyawarDHana, Mudaliyar, said he unfortunately had

not had the opportunity of seeing copies of the original sannas until

that day, and then only for a short time.

The first of these sannas bore the date Saka 1553, Sunday, the

thirteenth day of the waning moon of the month of Vesak. He had

looked into Sir Alexander Cunningham’s “ Table of Dates.” According

to that work the “ thirteenth day of the waning moon of the month

of Vesak in the year of Saka 1553” fell not on a Sunday, but on a

Wednesday ; so that there was a discrepancy. The writing, too, of the

sannasa, of which he had seen a facsimile copy, did not appear to him to

be the writing of the Sinhalese of the seventeenth century. He did

not, therefore, think that this could be a genuine sannasa. Perhaps,

if he saw the original, he might have reason to change his opinion.

As to the second sannasa, he thought there was a good deal to say

on the side of its genuineness. The writing did look like the writing

of the seventeenth century. Further, the document seemed to be

not of a kind to be forged for any purpose ; because the deed seemed

to grant certain exemptions to one Suluttan Kuttiy4; and he believed

these privileges did not descend on his successors. Therefore it

was difficult to see why at any subsequent date any person should

have forged that document. There was still the same difficulty as

with the first sannasa with regard to the date. He had tested the date

according to Sir Alexander Cunningham’s ‘Table of Dates,” and he

found that ‘‘ the seventh day of the waxing moon of the month Ksala

in the year of Saka 1567” fell not, as stated in the sannasa, ona Thursday,

but ona Sunday. That objection he thought was very fatal to the

genuineness of the documents. The Sinhalese had their calendar of

dates, and were guided by that calendar in documents that passed

under their hands. So far, therefore, the presumption was against the

admission of the genuineness of the sannas.f

The Hon. Mr. J. FERGUSON said he could not follow the previous

speaker into his technical criticism. For himself, he was chiefly

attracted by the historical notes; by the reference to the mur-

derous priest-king, who caused both his rival to the hand of the

queen and the young princely heir to be put to death. The time was

a critical one for the Sinhalese monarchy, just when it was welcoming

the Hollanders as protectors from the Portuguese—a case very much

of “ dut of the frying-pan into the fire,” as they soon proved. The

incident as to the grant of land within the circuit of the bangle had its

parallel in the case of the founder of the Hay (Erroll) family in

Scottish history, and no doubt in other countries. He was interested

in what was mentioned in regard to the origin of certain Mosques, and

would suggest that an interesting Paper might be compiled out of the

history of the leading Mohammedan mosques in the Island.

* Following the prohibitions in grants to temples as recorded in lithic

inscriptions of earlier date.—B., Hon. Sec.

+ See infra, p. 46, and footnote.—B., Hon. Sec.

16 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

Mr, D. B. JAYATILAKA said that it was difficult for any one to

pass an opinion on the genuineness of these sannas, unless they were

‘experts’ who had made a special study of such old grants.*

Leaving aside the minor question raised by Mudaliyér Gunawardhana

as to whether the documents placed before them were genuine or

not, they were very interesting ; and the author deserved their best

thanks, ‘The notes were full of interesting information. They brought

before them a very interesting fact with regard to the medical

history of Ceylon. These grants had been made for past services

rendered by two medical men. He believed their descendants were

still living in Ceylon. These men were known by the name of

Muhandirams of the Royal Medical Service, and, if he was not

mistaken, their descendants still passed by that name.

The CHAIRMAN said it seemed they were agreed that the Paper in

itself was an interesting one, and the notes especially appeared to be

very interesting. With the safeguarding note as to the genuineness of

the sannas which had been already recorded by Mr. H.C. P. Bell,

Archeological Commissioner, and with Mr. Gunawardhana’s remarks

just offered, they would accept the eper and give the thanks of the

Meeting to the author.

7. Mr. Prerts then read the following Paper :—

* The two sannas were held to be genuine by the Archeological Com-

missioner, who examined both carefully.

a ‘

i A

rs :

‘

“a 7

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 17

AN ACCOUNT OF KING KIRTI SRI’'S EMBASSY TO

SIAM IN 1672 SAKA (1750 A.D.).

Translated from the Sinhalese by P. E. Preris, M.A., Barrister-

at-Law, C.C.S.

INTRODUCTION.

THE learned Ratanapala Sthavira, who wrote the Sinhalese

translation of the Vimdna Wastuwa in the Saka year 1692

(1770 a.D.), has left a short sketch of the history of the

decline of the priesthood in Lanka and of the attempts made

under various kings to re-establish it on a sound basis. He

says :—

Two hundred and forty years after the death of our Lord Buddha,

the shelter of all the worlds, who departed this life after he had for

forty-five years showered on all the heavenly food of his doctrine, and

had accomplished every act which befits a Buddha (when the Maha

Raja Pétissa was holding sway over our Island of Lank4), his doctrine

was first introduced by Mahitidu Maha Théré and the other priests

who accompanied him from Dambadiva. Ever since the faithful and

wise kings who have reigned from time to time, aided by their great

ministers and the efforts of pious priests learned in the law, had

carefully swept away all schisms that had sprung up and preserved the

doctrine inviolate. But in recent times the disappearance of

such kings and ministers, followed by the oppression of the

unbelieving Parangis and Damilés, had robbed the pious priests of the

Four Necessaries ; and as the religious young men of good families who

assumed the robe had not the learning to study with care the Three

Pitakas, which contain the Vinaya, Sutra, and Abhidharma, and to

order their lives in consonance with the precepts contained ‘therein,

by degrees power fell into the hands of low-born priests of profane

life, to the great injury of the church. And as for the priestly

succession, which beginning from Upali Sthavirayé (whom'the Buddha

himself had named as the first in the knowledge of the Vinaya), and

continued in the persons of Dasekaya, Sonakaya, Siggavaya, Moggali-

putthaya, Mihindu, &c., and recruited from all pious folk who assumed

the robe without any distinction of family in proper and perpetual

succession of master and pupil, this they ignored ; and, confusing

physical with spiritual kinship, refused to allow pious young men

of good family to assume the robe, and treated all the estates and

wealth which generations of godly kings and ministers had dedicated

to the service of the priesthood asif they had been dedicated to the use

of their private families. Accordingly, for the sake of this wealth,

they had the members of their own families ordained, so that being

C 29-03

18 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

robed they might receive the due rdjakariya; pretending that this

was the succession appointed by the church. But indeed that

succession, which was maintained immaculate by disrobing all priests

who had violated their oaths and by the ordination of religious and

well-born youths, was reduced to a mockery ; and, save for a few holy

priests, the majority were as men fouling themselves with hot ashes

while the gems lay before them. And while the Dharma and the

Vinaya, subjects for unending study, lay in their path, they preferred

the study of such profane matters as astrology, medicine, and devil-

worship, all of which they practised in unbecoming fashion within and

without the capital; and thus winning the goodwill of kings and

powerful ministers they obtained much wealth and high office. They

led scandalous lives and, ignoring the precepts of the law, they betook

themselves to cultivation and trade, accumulating jewellery and

clothes, and making the support of their brothers and nephews an

article of their faith. When by the increase in the number of these

shameless priests and by the oppression of the unbelieving Parangis

and Damilés the faith was on the brink of destruction, it came to

pass that a valiant and powerful king of the name of Raja Sinha

succeeded to the throne of Lanka. in the year of Buddha 2199* he

reduced the strong fortress of Colombo and crushed the power of the

Parangis. He also invited over the Hollanders and, with the object

of protecting the royal line and the inhabitants of the Island from

the attacks of unbelieving foreigners, he appointed them to be the

guardians of the coast.

The way being thus cleared, Raja Sinha’s successor Vimala

Dharma Striya devoted himself tothe good work ; andindeed

the need was pressing, as it was admitted that not more

than five Upasampada priests of holy life were to be found in

the Island. He accordingly sent an embassy to “ Rakkangu

Fata” (Arracan ?) and obtained thence the ten ranks of

priests who were required for the ordination ceremony.

This pious king died after a reign of twenty-two years,

and was succeeded by the lukewarm Naréndra Sinha ; under

whom all the scandalous practices of the priesthood revived.

“So far from begging from door to door,” the historian

bitterly complains, “‘they regarded even the eating out of

their alms-bow!s as a disgrace. Their food was cooked in

the same fashion as that of the great nobles among the laity ;

and it was eaten out of plates. In fact, they were priests

in nothing but the use of the name.” There was one bright

exception, in the person of Saranankara the future Sanga

Raja. He continued with a small band in the practice of

the severest austerities and the pursuit of learning, waiting

for the better day that was to dawn. |

After a reign of twenty-three years Naréndra Sinha

was succeeded by Wijaya Raja Sinha, “a king endowed

with all the virtues, the ornament of the Solar race,

* A.D, 1656.

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 19

who sought his refuge in the Three-fold Gem,” says the

enthusiastic chronicler. Karly in his reign he sent an

embassy to fetch a body of priests. The expedition was

however disastrous, all except one perishing in the sea.

The survivor made his way to Pegu, whence he returned

home to tell the sorrowful tale.

But the king did not lose heart. A second embassy was

soon ready and provided with suitable offerings. On arriving

at Batavia the presents were left behind, while the

ambassadors proceeded to Siam to inquire if priests were

available; but on their return to Batavia they learnt that

their good king was dead. As their Dutch hosts advised

them not to convey the priests without first ascertaining

the wishes of the ruling king, they reluctantly set sail for

Lanka leaving the presents behind, their object unaccom-

plished. Their misfortunes were, however, only begun, as

on the voyage the majority perished, but few surviving to

reach their country.

There King Kirti Sri Raja Sinha, the great reformer, had

succeeded to the Crown; he applied himself vigorously to

Sweeping away all the abuses that had crept into the

priesthood, ably and zealously supported by his Minister

Khelapola and Saranankara Unnansé. His crowning work

was the re-institution of the Upasampadawain Lanka. The

romantic history of the embassy he sent to Siam to fetch the

necessary priests will be shown in the following account,

which, as appears from the internal evidence, must have been

written either by Ellepola Mohottala or Aittaliyaddé Rala,

two out of the five Sinhalese ambassadors.

The present translation, which does not pretend to literal

accuracy, is made from a paper manuscript which has been

generously placed at my disposal by E. R. Gooneratne

Mudaliyar of Galle; it was found among the papers of the

late Valentine de Saram, Maha Mudaliyar, and was given by

his son-in-law, the late Bandaranayaka Maha Mudaliyar, to

his own nephew, the present owner.

A second account, written by Wilbagedara Muhandiram,

another of the ambassadors, is in existence; the additional

information contained therein will be found embodied in

the notes.

I have been also favoured with the comments of the Priest

Jinawarawansa of royal blood, once known as the Prince

Prisdang of Siam. These, too, will be found included.* I

have further to acknowledge the great assistance I have

received from Don Dines Dahanayaka of Galle in the pre-

paration of this article.

* See notes subscribed ‘‘J,”

. 20 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Translation.

Our mighty lord, sprung from Maha Sammata of the family of

Manu, king of kings, and ruler of the world, our gracious and

illustrious king, in the magnitude of his kindness and the splendour of

his god-like knowledge gave order that ambassadors should proceed to

the kingdom of Siam to fetch thence the priesthood and re-establish the

festival of the Great Ordination.

Accordingly we started in the Saka year 1672 named Prabavadithmi,

on the twelfth day of the solar month Kataka, beng Thursday the

fifth day of the lunar month, at dusk, from the noble city of

Senkadagala called Siriwardhanapura, escorting the royal message and

presents with all care. The following had been appointed to form the

embassy, viz., Pattapola Mohottéla, the Atapattu Lékama ; Ellépola

Mohottala, the Vedikkaéra Lékama ; Iriyagama Rala, the Yatinuwara

Muhandiram of the Nanayakkaéra Lékama; Wilbagedara Rala, the

Tumpanahe Muhandiram of the Padikara Lékama ; and Aittaliyaddé

Rala, the Dumbara Muhandiram of the Vedikaéra Lékama ; while

Pinnapata, Dissavé of Matalé; Angammana Mohottdla, the Maha

Lékama ; Dodanwela, Raté Raéla of Yatinuwara; Nilawaturé RaAla,

Muhandiram of the Lékama of Musketeers; and Usgiriya Rala,

Muhandiram of the Nandyakkéra Lékama, had been commanded to

accompany us on board ship.

Our first halt was at Wattarantenna. Thence we started on the fourth

day, being Sunday, at the tenth hour, and approached Godapola

Nuwara, where we rested two days. On Tuesday we started at the

eleventh hour of the morning and halted at Nalanda. On Wednesday

we halted at Génawala, on Thursday at Mingirivewa, on Friday at

Alutvewa, on Saturday at Gantalé, and on Sunday we reached

Tambalagamuwa, where we rested two days. On Tuesday we started

at the thirteenth hour and about the eighth hour after dark we

approached the harbour of Trincomalee ; where three officers from the

fort met us and accompanied us with the royal message and presents

together with our attendants and soldiers. amidst every mark of respect,

to our halting-place. On Wednesday afternoon we were escorted with

much ceremony within the fort, where we had an interview befitting

the occasion with the Commander, after which we were again escorted

back to our lodging, when the officers left us.

On the morning of the following Thursday, being the fifth day of

the lunar month, about the twenty-eighth hour, in the propitious

asterism Hata in the Makara Lagna, when Venus was in the ascend-

ant, we went on board. Here we remained seven days till on

Wednesday morning at the twenty-seventh hour the flags were run

up and sail hoisted, the anchors were weighed, and we steered out of

the harbour with a fair breeze. On the following Thursday night

about the sixteenth hour a storm overtook us and the ship was in great

danger. Two masts and sails and several ropes were destroyed, and

the ship was driven round and round. In our peril we consoled

ourselves with the reflection of the Three-fold Gem, till our gallant

captain came and bid us be of good cheer. Till Friday morning he was

encouraging his skilful steersman to stand by the helm, and we rushed

forward at a great pace. We roughly repaired the damage and drove

the ship before the wind for twelve days and nights without ceasing,

till on Monday morning we saw to the north a long stretch of level

land and a high range of hills with three beautiful peaks, mountains of

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 21

enormous size, shaped like corn ricks. Next we sighted Acheen and

Sumatra and learned that they were inhabited by Javanese. ‘Till |

noon on the eighth day, being Monday, these great plains and hills and

rocky mountains remained in sight. On this day the wind dropped

and we were at a standstill for seven days, and were even obliged to

east anchor to prevent the ship drifting back. At last on Sunday

morning, the wind freshening, we weighed anchor again and started.

By midday we sighted to the north a lofty range of mountains and

two stretches of low land at the mouth of a river as well as a harbour ;

this was a country inhabited by Malays. To north, south, east, and

west we saw four small vessels, and on the north-east a large ship.

Our captain was greatly alarmed, as he did not know if they were

friends or foes, and while they were still at a distance he weighed anchor,

turned his ship round, and steered back fifteen gaw.

Having thus escaped the danger, we started again on our way, and

seven days later on Sunday morning we sighted on the east a great

rocky mountain surrounded by a dense forest of kolon trees with

a bank of sand stretching round it. The captain, telling us that

if we drew near we would not be able to cross the bar, made great

efforts for seven days to tack to the south. He succeeded at last and

we started again at dawn on Sunday and sailed on for four days.

In the evening we sounded and found twelve fathoms of water ; and as

there was a stretch of sand by the mouth of ariver we furled sail and

dropped anchor. On Thursday sail was hoisted in the ship’s boat and

several people with an officer started to explore. They returned on

Friday morning and reported that extensive sandbanks lay on every side.

The captain accordingly fitted out another boat with all the neces-

sary tackle and sent an officer with eight sailors to Malacca. On

Saturday morning our ship snapped one of her cables, lost her anchor,

and began to toss about; but our captain quickly lowered another

anchor. Seven days later on Thursday, five hours after dawn, the

officer who had proceeded to Malacca returned with the Company’s

factor and the chief carpenter called the Bass Thuvan Bramath, who

brought with them in two sloops a large supply of water, betel, and

arecanuts, with cocoanuts tender and hard ; they addressed us with great

kindness, and re-starting the ship we arrived the same evening at the

harbour of Malacca. Here we waited three days till five officers came

on board from the fort to welcome us and take us with the royal

message and presents with our attendants on land. This was at dusk

on Sunday, the twenty-ninth day of the solar month Kanya, being the

eleventh day of the waning half of the lunar month. On landing we were

conducted with great ceremony to our halting-place. On the seventh day

following, being Wednesday, the Governor and the Fiscal called on usin

the afternoon to inquire after our well-being ; and the next day five

officers took usin horse carriages to return the visit and accompanied us

back again. On Sunday the twelfth day of the solar month we were

taken back on boardship in sloops. Here we found all the damage

properly repaired, and at dawn on Wednesday we set sail and proceeded

without stopping for eight days, till on Thursday we saw a range of

mountains, rocky plains, hills, and sandy stretches surrounding us like the

embankment of a tank. The captain and officers after much deliber-

ation declared that it would be useless to sail back ; and examining their

chart and noticing three leafy trees on one of the stretches of sand

that lay in our way, they steered the ship through a narrow passage

that lay near and after four days passed the range of mountains.

a JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Then we proceeded four days till, on Thursday evening, on looking

‘round us we saw that we had passed the ranges of hills and high

mountains with their plains and great forests and the sea with its

stretches of sand, and had reached the open. As the wind failed

we cast anchor, having three mountains to our south. After ten days

the wind freshened somewhat; so we weighed anchor and tacked

about for five days and nights, trying in vain to get on to our course.

As we were drifting back and were too far to the south to reach Siam,

the captain and officers held a consultation, and as they saw from

their books that there was no hope of a favourable wind for the next.

six months, they agreed that it was necessary to stop on the way

till then. After informing us of their decision they turned back,

and on the afternoon of Friday, being fourteen days later, we ap-

proached the harbour of Malacca a second time and cast anchor.

After some delay five officers came on board from the fort to interview

us, and took us on land with the royal message and presents in boats.

This was on the afternoon of Saturday the seventeenth day of the

solar month Vrischika. We were received with great distinction and

the same halting-place as before was assigned to us, and all our wants

were supplied without stint. From this day we remained here five

months and eleven days till the twenty-seventh day of the solar month

Mésa, being Thursday the eleventh day of the lunar month in the Saka

year 1673. Onthe morning of this day, at the twentieth hour, we were

taken on board with many presents and a large supply of necessaries ;

a skilled pilot was also ordered to accompany us, and 500 rix-dollars

were placed at our disposal.

From this day, being Friday, till Monday the fourteenth day of the

solar month Vrasamba, which is the thirteenth day of the dark half of

the lunar month, we sailed on without casting anchor or meeting with

any mischance. On the morning of this day at the eleventh hour we

approached the harbour of Siam, and seeing a ship which was recog-

nized from her appearance as the Hollandev’s ship “ Karta,” the captain

and officers were greatly rejoiced and fired off the guns and celebrated

games, speaking to us most kindly and asking us to join them. When

we dropped anchor the Hollander’s flag was lowered, and the Lion

Flag of Lankdé was hoisted at the masthead. At the same time the

captain got into his boat and sailed quickly to the mouth of the river

and up to the country of Siam.

Seven days later, on Monday morning, three messerigers came on

board from Siam and had an interview with us. They went and saw

how the royal message was disposed, and prostrated themselves and

made obeisance before it three times ; after this they presented us with

cocoanuts tender and hard, with betel and arecanuts, and went away

thesame day. On the twentieth day of the solar month Mithuna, which

is the eighth day of the increasingmoon of the lunar month Poson, being

Wednesday, about the tenth hour of the morning, two officers came

from the capital and accompanied us with the royal message and

presents to the place called Amsterdam, which is built at the mouth

of the river; here we landed and remained two days. On the morning of

the third day, being Friday the ninth day of the month, the message

was transferred to a boat adorned with various devices, with hangings

of silk and red stuffs which served as curtains, with awnings above

and carpets below. The presents were taken in thirteen boats: five

boats were set apart for the five ambassadors, and our attendants too

were similarly provided for. The escort that had come from Siam

No. 54. —1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 23

accompanied us in forty-eight boats with their tents adorned in the

manner described above, rowing on either side of us. Hight large

boats with flags and umbrellas were attached to the one conveying the

royal message by means of stout ropes, one to each, thus taking the

latter in tow. We proceeded in this manner up the river amidst

great rejoicings on the part of the people, and the same afternoon we

reached the district called Bangkok. The Siamese officer stationed

here received us with great respect and provided us with all necessaries.

The next morning, being Saturday, the chief priests from the

neighbouring viharas were invited to the spot, and accepted alms

at our hands with robes and the priestly necessaries, and the Paficha-

sila was administered, after which we and our attendants were

entertained at a feast. Leaving here the same morning we arrived in

the evening at the district called Mung Nolak Van, where too the

Siamese officer entertained us. The next morning, being Sunday,

he arrariged for the chief priests to come and accept offerings at our

hands and to administer pansi/, after which we were entertained in

turn. Immediately after this we started, and by rowing the whole

night we reached the spot called Wat Pro Yath at dawn on Monday,

and halted near the great viharé there. Here too we were received

with the same ceremony, and similar religious exercises were arranged

for us by the officer in command ; further, in obedience to the king’s

order he arranged an Upasampadaé Charitra Pinkama at this temple, so

that we might both derive pleasure and acquire merit by the sight.

We remained seven days, and at dawn on the eighth day, being

Monday, five great Officers of State came from the capital and took the

royal message in a large canopied litter which was placed on board a

gilt boat, while we proceeded in five others accompanied by the

presents and attendants. When we reached the spot called Bai Pas

Sath the two banks of the river were adorned with arches of gold and

silver cloth, while a large concourse of people holding flags and

umbrellas of various kinds were thronged together on gaily decked

boats. We were filled with admiration at the sights on this river,

crowded as it was with every kind of merchandise.

About the eighth hour of the same morning we approached the

capital of Ayédhya Pura and were presented to the sub-king. We

showed him the royal messagé and presents, at which he expressed his

‘great pleasure and spoke to us most kindly for a short time and

inquired about our journey. He further informed us that a subsequent

communication would be made to us regarding the presentation of

the royal message and presents at the court. After this he desired us

to return to our halting-place. We accordingly returned down the

river to the Dutch settlement. ?

When the Siamese officers had conveyed the news to the king,

he sent orders that we and our attendants were to be fully supplied

with all necessaries from the royal stores during our stay here.

Later some officers came with a large supply of all kinds of eatables

and sweets of sugar, with mandarin oranges, ripe plantains, betel,

arecanuts, lime, tobacco, and various other articles. They came a

second time and distributed silver coins called ticcal and masam-puwa

from the royal treasury among us all. Moreover, the tradespeople

were ordered to attend the people from Layk4, the chief priests of the

viharas were requested to be so kind as to visit the men at all times

and to preach bana, and to please them by allowing them to offer the

usual offerings and thus acquire merit.

24 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

- On the seventeenth day of the solar month Kataka about five hours

before dawn three officers came and accompanied us in boats. We

landed in the street at the great gate in the city wall and entered

carriages drawn by horses. The two sides of the street were decorated

with various kinds of cloths and hung with gilt lamps shaped lke

pumpkins decorated with glass and plates of mica; the street shone

as with moonlight in the blaze of a hundred thousand lamps. We

drove up the middle of the street as far as the great gate called Yam

Thak. It was one unbroken stretch of gold-worked cloths of five

colours, trays and boxes of silver and gold, ornaments of copper,

bronze, brass, and zinc, red and white sandalwood, embroidered quilts

and curtains, all kinds of medical stores, rice, cocoanuts, plantains,

mandarin oranges, oranges, sweetmeats, all manner of flowers, all

manner of eatables and drinkables, with sweets and meats: the shops

were adorned with gilding, and the street a blaze of splendour.

When we arrived within sight of the palace, which shone with gilt

work, we alighted from our carriages and rested a short time in a hall |

hung with beautiful curtains where, according to their custom, sapu

flowers were presented to us. Then we proceeded within the palace,

entering by two gates adorned with gilding and all kinds of colours.

On either side of the great throne were arranged figures of bears, lions

rakshas, door-guardians, nagas, and bairawa yakshayas, two of each,

adorned with gold. In their midst rose the throne, which appeared

about 10 cubits high; round it were fixed golden sésat, while

marvellous golden embroideries were hung round. The walls them-

selves were gilt and the finials above the dais were of gold. Here we

were brought before the king and presented the royal letter and presents,

after which we were graciously permitted to visit the interior of the

place.

To the right of this was a gilt elephant stall ; within—covered with

trappings of solid gold, with golden bells, frontlets, and eye-chains, gold-

worked henduwa and ankusa, behind a network of ropes plated with

gold, with a golden awning above secured to a post covered with plates

of gold, with gilt tail and trunk, its tusks adorned with golden rings

and encased with golden sheaths set with two magnificent gems at their

tips, eating sugar-cane from a large gilt boat set up within, while another

such held water for its use—there stood, on a gold-worked platform, a

tusked elephant, with its eyes and hair the colour of copper. In a

similar stall was a black tusker thickly covered with gray spots.

Similarly on our Jeft were two elephants in their stalls.

In front of the gate in a gilt stable, almost hidden beneath their

trappings of solid gold, was a ring of horses ; a similar ring faced this,

also‘another of elephants with gilt trappings. In the intervals of these

was an innumerable host armed with gilt swords and shields resting

on their knees; another dressed in armour with tridents in their

hands ; another armed with bows with gilt quivers suspended round

their necks ; another of specially powerful men wearing on their heads

the spire-shaped Siamese hat ; and another standing in line with guns

and pouches. ‘There was also a motley crowd resting on their knees,

dressed in gorgeous clothes, with their heads wrapped in cloths of

various hues; this consisted of Pattani, Moors, Wadiga, Mukkara,

men of Delhi, Malacca, and Java, Kavisi, Chinese, Parangis, Hol-

landers, SannAsis, Y6gis, English, French, Castilians, Danes, men from

Surat, Ava, and Pegu, representing every race. Within the great gate

on either side were two platforms on which stood two palmirahs and

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 25

two cannon made of the five kinds of metals ; round: these rested-a

band of fighting men armed with clubs. The palace gate, the hall

in which the sub-king and the nobles were assembled, the doors,

windows, and bars were all decorated in great profusion ; the former

were crowned with gilt spires, flowers, and wreaths. In the midst of

all stood the king’s palace of five stages, similarly adorned with

gilt spires. At the four corners were four towers five stories high,

pierced with many windows and lattice work. There were also

many halls decorated with much gilding and built in two stages.

The palace of the prince and the three palaces of the queens were

similar in appearance. This magnificent pile is erected on the river

wall, which commences at the river and encircles the whole city. The

great gate.is at the landing-place ; the rampart starts from here and

runs to the right ; then it sweeps round in a circle encompassing the

whole city, till it finally meets the river again. Within the city there

are canals running in parallel lines like the leaves of an indi branch.

Tt is impossible to give any conception of the number of boats and

passengers on these. Who will venture to say in what language the

traffic on the great river can be described? There were also, number-

less streets thronged with people, full of shops displaying every kind

of merchandise including images of gold. So far I have only at-

tempted to describe the inner city just as I saw it.

As we were directed to return to our halting-place, two officers

accompanied us back, first in carriages and then in boats.

Seven days later on Friday, being full moon, two officers came and

informed us that the king had given orders for us to go and worship

at two viharas on this day. We accordingly proceeded in boats and

worshipped at the vihdré called Vat Puthi Suwan. The following is

a description of the place. On the right of the great river there

stretches a plain right up to the river bank ; here are built long ranges

of two-storied halls in the form of a square, with four gateways on the

four sides ; on the four walls were placed two hundred gilt images.

Within the eastern gate is fashioned a likeness of the sacred footprint,

with the auspicious symbol worked in gold. Right in the centre is a

great gilt dagaba with four gates. On entering by the eastern gate

there is found a flight of stone steps gilt ; right in the womb of the

dagaba are enshrined the holy relics ; and it was so built that it was

possible to walk round within the dagaba without approaching them.

There was also within a gilt reproduction of the Sacred Foot. On

elther side of this gate were built two five-headed Naga Rajas apparently

_ descending to the bank of earth. To the north of this was a two-

storied building with a throne in the middle of it ; on this was seated

a gilt figure of the Buddha twelve cubits high. To the east of this

and facing it was a five-storied building hung with awnings and adorned

with paintings and gilding ; the pillars in the middle were covered with

plates of gold, and on a throne in the centre was a life-size image of

gold supported on either side by two similar gilt images of the two

chief disciples Sariyut Mahasimi and Maha Mugalan Sami and

numerous others. Above the gateway from the roof to the lintel

there was pictured in gilt work Buddha in the Sakra world, seated on

the White Throne and preaching his glorious Abhidharma to the god

Mavu Déva and to the gods and Brahmas of unnumbered worlds ;

and again, when his discourse was ended, he is depicted as descending

by the golden stairs to Sakaspura. The vihdré itself is strongly guarded

by walls and gates ; round about are built pleasant halls and priests’

a JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

houses filled with the holy men, with worshippers of high rank and

devotees of either sex.

From this place we proceeded to worship at the Pallankara Aréma

Vih4ré, the description of which is as follows.—The building is of

three stages, built on a piece of level land by the bank of the river.

Along the four walls were ranged various images of the Buddha and

of Rahats as well as of gods and Brahmas, in diverse colours and

adorned with gilding. In the middle was a glittering image of the

Buddha life-size and seated on a throne, supported on either side by

images of Sariyut and Maha Mugalan, all profusely adorned with

gold. Facing this were two two-storied halls ; round about were gilt

dagabas ; the very gateways were gilt, and the place was one labyrinth

of preaching- and living-halls, thronged with priests, pious men, and

devotees. After worshipping here we were taken back to our halting-

place.

On the twenty-first day of the solar month Kanya, being Sunday, three

officers came in the morning and accompanied us in boats to the viharé

called Maha Dhanvarama, in the district named Na pu than, that we

might make offerings there to the Buddha and acquire merit, and also

see the beauties of the place ; and this is what we saw there. The place

was a fertile stretch of level land enclosed by four walls, outside which

ran four canals. From the water-course to the east up to the gate

there was a long covered passage of two stages. On entering at the

gateway we saw on the four sides eight holy dagabas, so covered with

gilding that they resembled masses of kinihiriya flowers. In the

intervals were various images. Among them at the four sides were

four buildings of two stages against the inner walls of which, and rising

to the roof were large gilt images of the Buddha. Within the space

enclosed by these were four handsome gilt dagabas with images

interspersed. In the very centre of all was a dagaba richly adorned,

with doors on the four sides fitted with stairs, up and down which we

could ascend and descend. At the four corners of the square base of

the spire were four dragons with wings outstretched and meeting

above; in the four panels were four images of gods adorned with

all the divine ornaments, as well as images of the gods who preside at

the four points of the compass, with their hands clasped overhead. In

the intervals were images of door-guardians armed with swords, of

rakshas with clubs and of bairayas with staves, while above the circular

base of the spire were depicted in solid gold the sacred halo. On

either side of the stair leading from the eastern gate ran two snakes,

their bodies the size of palmirah palms; where they reached the

ground their hoods were raised and resting on slabs of crystal ; their

open jaws and projecting fangs filled the hearts of those who saw

them with terror. Starting from here there were ranged round the

dagaba images of lions, bears, swans, peacocks, kinduras, deer, oxen,

wolves, buffaloes, makaras, and door-guardians armed with swords.

Also, carrying palm fans, chamaras, sésat, triumphal chanks, and

various offerings, with their hands clasped above their heads, were

numerous images of Brahmas, Sakras, and the Suyama gods, all adorned

with gold. In the hall to the east, with its eyes fixed on the dagaba,

was an image of the Buddha supported on either side by images of the

two great disciples with their hands clasped above their heads. Also

there was another image of the lord as he was in life, begging for food

with his bowl in his sacred hand. In another building, which was

reached by a flight of steps, were various images of the Buddha and

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 27

two figures of the Sacred Footprint with the auspicious symbols in gold.

In a similar hall to the west were three images. Here was depicted in

gold our lord reposing in lion fashion in his scented room, whilst

Anada Mahasimi is approaching holding in his right hand a golden

candlestick.

On the four walls was depicted the Vessantara birth-story, and next

his birth in the Thusita heaven, whence again he was begotten of King

Suddhodana in the womb of Queen Mahamaya and was brought forth

into the arms of gods, after which he made his Great Renunciation,

and on his gleaming throne under the sacred Bé6 attained Buddhahood ;

and, seated on the White Throne of Sakraya, he preached his

A bhidharma to the gods, and after receiving the offerings of the gods

and Brahmas he descended by the divine stair to the Sakya city ;—all

this was pictured in gilt, ;

Outside the great wall of the viharé were several preaching-halls ;

to the west of this was the residence of the Sanga Raja. The dining-

and preaching-halls were adorned in diverse fashions with gilding.

One room was hung with awnings and curtains embroidered with gold,

whilst the floor was covered with various precious carpets. There were

vases arranged in rows filled with flowers, whilst above were hung

circular lamps. On two thrones on either side were placed two priestly

fans: the handles of these were made of elephants’ tusks, the ivory of

which was sawn very fine like the leaves of the kus-kus, and woven

with red velvet and thin strips of gold and silver like rushes to form

the leaf of the fan. Two holy priests stood on either side making

obeisance to where the Sanga Raja was. Behind a curtain curiously

embroidered with gold was a throne on which the Sanga Raja himself

was seated. His face was screened by a fan of golden-hued bird’s

plumes which he held in his right hand. We were led in at his com-

mand to make our obeisance to him and to acquire merit. After we

had made suitable offerings to him we were served with betel and

arecanut, and were graciously praised by him for the faithful devotion

to the Triple Gem which had brought us on this toilsome but blessed

voyage across the dangerous sea. He was also pleased to say that

priests would be sent to accompany us back to Lanka.

Surrounding this spot were several houses occupied by a vast number

of priests and Samanéras, devotees of either sex who observe dasa sil,

as well as a crowd of pious and courtly folk who provided daily

offerings.

After all this we were taken back to our halting-place in the evening.

Hight days later, being Monday the eighth day of the waning moon, two

officers came and accompanied us to a viharé which was full of priests’

houses. Here we saw a building of three stages the tiles on the roof of

which were gilt and appeared as a mass of kinihiriya flowers. In

front of this were two golden dagabas. Having made our obeisance to

these, we rested a short time in a hall here; after which we were

invited to a two-storied hall where we were received with every mark

of respect by the second sub-king and several Ministers of State, and

were entertained with our attendants at a feast and subsequenély with

betel and arecanut. Then several dancers in various gold-worked

costumes were brought in to sing and dance before us ; after which we

were taken back to our resting place.

On the morning of the next day two officers came from the palace

and took us on horseback to the town. We arrived at a street one side

of which was occupied by two-storied buildings and variously gilt

28 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [_VOL. XVIII.

elephant stalls: on the other side were similar horse stables. It is

impossible to give the number of horses and elephants, male and

female, that were here: the street was entirely occupied by the stables

and stalls, and there was no dwelling-house at all. We rested in a hall

on the side where the horse stables were. |

As the Was season was now drawing toa close a Chivara Katina Puja

had been ordered by the king for this day at the great viharé of

Kujayoth Ratnérama. In this viharé are a multitude of gilt images of

the Buddha and a host of priests and Samanéras. We saw the

procession ; and this was the manner of it.

First there came, mounted on caparisoned elephants, a body of men

with gaily-worked flags, richly dressed with Siamese hats of white

resembling silver karatdu on their heads, and swords by their sides ;

a similar band mounted on horses followed ; next came in succession a

host with swords in gilt scabbards ; another with gilt bows, their quivers

slung over their necks ; another similarly armed, with guns on their

shoulders and powder pouches at their sides ; another band similarly

dressed with various kinds of arms; then a band carrying dhajas and

patakas on gilt staves ; a band of powerful men with gilt clubs ; another

with swords in scabbards worked with silver; another with swords ;

a similar band with instruments of music—trumpets, horns, fifes, lutes,

drums large and small, all playing together. Along with these were

two richly caparisoned elephants with chamaras hung behind their

ears and on their backs howdahs ; within each was a Minister of State

seated, holding in his two hands a gold salver on which were placed

robes of the finest yellow silk: above were held gold-worked flags,

sésat, and spears, two of each, while on the two sides walked two

female elephants carrying three men each. The officer who came

next in similar fashion carried the priestly necessaries on a gold salver.

A number of beautiful boys followed on a female-elephant covered

with gold-worked cloths: these carried the gilt swords, betel trays,

chains, pendants, and gold bracelets of these two officers. :

Next came a large crowd on foot armed with swords and the five kinds

of weapons carrying flags and umbrellas, followed by a tusked elephant

almost hidden under its gilt trappings, the gaps being covered with

button flowers, marigolds, dunuké, wetaké, sapu, the white and red lotus,

and water lilies, carrying in its howdah a Minister of State who bore ‘a

set of robes and the priestly necessaries: on either side rode two

officers accompanied by seven men carrying sésaé spears and flags.

The minister’s attendant boys, variously dressed, followed carrying his

sword and spear and other ornaments. After that another throng

as before.

| The writer next proceeds to describe five other ministers

who followed in similar state. |

Next, walking four abreast and carrying gold-worked flags, came a

band of men holding four strings so that their order might not

be disturbed. Then came a row of elephants with and without tusks,

male and female, with trappings of unheard-of splendour, carrying

sets of robes and the priestly necessaries and all manner of offerings.

Next came two great Officers of State employed in the inner palace,

with the Master of the Chariots, the Custodian of the Sword of

State, two Keepers of the Crown Jewels, two Officers of the Royal

Betel Box, the two Chief Officers of the Treasury, two Admirals of the

titi

tai,

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 29

Great Boats, two Masters of the Horse, two of the King’s Physicians,

two Officers who were in charge, the one of the stores of copper, brass,

tin, timber, horns, ivory, white and red sandalwood, of the villages

which produce them, and of the men employed in their service, the

other of the royal rice and betel villages, and of their tenants,—all these

came on elephants holding with both hands on golden trays their

offerings of robes and other necessaries as described before, each

accompanied by his vassals. Behind came a host of hundreds and

thousands of devotees, male and female, carrying on their heads robes

and offerings. Next came the two second Anu-Rajas, carried on the

necks of stalwart menin two couch-shaped thrones with a balastrade of

ivory, adorned with gold and rows of pearls, and set with magnificent

gems; above their heads were carried ten sésat, and they were

followed by a host armed with the five kinds of weapons. Next, in

the first of two similarly adorned thrones, was borne on the shoulders of

stout warriors the Great Officer of State to whose hands are entrusted

all the affairs of Siam, and who is called the Uva Rajjuruvé.

Above him were carried five sésat, and behind him was a band with

umbrellas and swords. In the second throne was the second sub-king

carried in similar state. Next came the great State Elephant ; the

whole of its body was the colour of copper, and it was covered with

full trappings of gold ; on each side of it were carried four sésat and

four flags ; eight trays of gold filled with peeled sugar-cane, ripe jak,

and plantains were carried for its food; its attendants—elephants

with and without tusks, male and female—followed ; on them rode

men carrying flags. A vast number of offerings to the Buddha were

presented to the priests with the robes and priestly necessaries. The

Siamese officers told us that by the royal command we too were to

share in the merit acquired by this great Kathina Pinkama, and of all

the other religious services which his illustrious majesty had ordained

in his great devotion to the Triple Gem.

After this we were taken back to our halting-place.

This description is taken from the account given by Siddamparam

Chetty, who was attached to us as interpreter, and who knew the

details well ; a considerable portion, both of what he related to us and

what we personally saw, has been omitted to avoid the risk of appearing

to relate the incredible.*

On the night of Tuesday, about fourteen hours before dawn, two

noblemen came from the palace and informed us that a religious

torch procession was coming down the river for us to see ; and this

is the description of it. Tall bamboos were set up at the viharas on

either bank of the river of Siam ; these were bent down, and on them

were hung gilt circular lamps and lamps of various other kinds. The

king himself, his son the prince, the second king, and the Uva

Rajjuruvé came in the gilt royal barges, on which were erected

alcoves with curtains and awnings of various coloured cloths; these

boats were fitted with gold and silver stands holding lighted candles

of wax and sweet-scented oils; a host of noblemen followed in

* Addendum.—As a discussion was raised on this statement I add the

literal translation of the passage kindly supplied to me by Mr. W, P.

Ranesinghe :

‘Although we wrote them, many things were omitted from what was

related to us and from what we saw, which seemed to be incredible.” —P.E.P.

30 _ JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL XVIII.

similarly illuminated boats. There were also lamps made of red and

white paper shaped like lotus flowers, with wax candles fixed in their

cups; myriads of these beyond all counting were floating down the

river. Fireworks of various devices were also cast into the water ;

these would travel underneath for some time and then burst into

tongues of flame in all directions, with an explosion as of a jingal ; the

whole surface of the water appeared paved with fire. There were

also dancers in gilt clothes in boats, singing and dancing to the music

of drums.

Next, the priests residing within the city and in the viharas on either

bank of the river were presented with offerings, with robes, and the -

priestly necessaries, the boats which carried them forming an unbroken

procession.

This solemnity was observed on the thirteenth day of the increasing

moon of the month Binara, on the full-moon day, on the first, seventh,

and eighth days of the waning moon, and on the new moon, when the

Was season came toaclose. It was explained to us that this festival has

been observed from time immemorial by the pious sovereigns of

Ayédhyapura year after year in honour of the sacred footprint, the

relics of the Buddha, and of that other footprint which at the prayer

of the Naga king the Lord had in his lifetime imprinted on the

sands of the river Nerbudda. On the afternoon of Wednesday two

officers brought us in boats everything that was required for a similar

offering, with a message from the king that we too should celebrate

such an offering with our own hands. We accordingly went with

them and lit lamps which were floated down the stream, and burnt

fireworks ; similar ceremonies were performed by us the following

Thursday and Friday.

On the seventh day of the solar month Thula, being Wednesday, in

the morning, two officers came and accompanied us in boats to near the

palace of the Uva Rajjuruvé. There, in a two-staged octagonal hall

hung with cloths of diverse kinds, among gorgeous go!d-worked

carpets stretched on the floor, was the sub-king himself seated on a

marvellously wrought royal throne. Beautifully enyraved swords of

solid gold, trays and boxes of gold and silver, and various royal

ornaments were placed on either side: there was a golden curtain

drawn, and on this side of it the great ministers were on their knees

making obeisance. Here we were ushered in and introduced. The

sub-king inquired after our welfare, and betel was handed round on

trays. We were then shown some books that were not to be found in

Lanké at the time. We gazed at them in reverence, bowing our heads

before the holy paper, and were graciously informed that these books

and the priests would be given to us. Nexta great feast of rice was

served for us and our attendants, after which we received permission

to withdraw. 3

On the eleventh day of the solar month Thula, being Sunday, three

officers came from the palace in the morning and informed us that they

had received orders to accompany us to worship the Sacred Footprint

at the spot known as Swarna Panchatha Maha Pahath. We accordingly

proceeded up the river in boats, admiring the various viharas, gilt

dagabas, priests’ houses, villages, fields, gardens of jak, cocoanut, areca-

nuts, sugar-cane, and plantain, situated on either bank. We travelled

a whole day and night, and at dawn on Monday we mounted on some

female-elephants carrying gilt howdahs and proceeded accompanied by

our attendants similarly mounted, By evening we arrived within sight

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 31

of the pinnacle of the gilt dagaba erected on this sacred site, when we

hastened down from our elephants and proceeded two miles on foot,

resting ina hermit’scellin the neighbourhood of thisaugust spot. The

next day being Tuesday, the eight day of the lunar month, we offered

worship at the holy shrine. The following is a description of it.

From the river of Siam to this place was a continuous line of viharas,

halls, villages, fields, and gardens ; at intervals were large parks adorned

with tanks and lakes and with shady groves of mangoes ; among these

could be procured food and drink and sweet things to help the traveller

on his way. Where the road came to an enda great range of mountains

rose on the right; this was formed by Sachcha Bandhana Parvata and

the caves where the hermits live. At their prayer the Sacred Foot

had been imprinted as if it were in a mass of soft clay to the depth of

about four inches right up to the ankle, showing the 216 auspicious

signs, with the five toes separately marked. Enclosing this to the

breadth of about a span were three rows of petals of pure gold, the

inner rim set with priceless gems, the whole being covered with seven

curtains curiously worked with gold. In the middle of the square

structure were stone steps facing in every direction, and covered over

with plates of silver so that the joining could not be seen. Above the

sacred footstep and made of solid gold was a pagoda supported on

suitable pillars, forming a shrine. At the four corners were placed

four golden sésat, and from above hung four bunches of precious

stones like bunches of ripe arecanuts in size. On the edge of the roof

hung ropes of pearls, and on the point of the spire was set a sapphire

the size of a lime fruit. Within and overshadowing the footprint like

a canopy, there hung from the middle of the spire a full-blown létus

of gold, in the middle of which was set a ruby of similar size.

Chariots, ships, elephants, and horses with their riders, all made of

gold, and of a suitable size, where placed on a golden support above

the silver pavement. This was slung on wires of gold, to which were

attached ornaments set with pearls the size of the nelli fruit, as well

as other jewelled ornaments, rings, and chains. By some skilful

device all this could be moved along the silver pavement. There were

rows of vases with lotus, water-lilies, sapu; dunuké, idda, soukenda, and

jasmine flowers, as well as flowering plants. Above this shrine, which

rivalled in its blaze of splendour the abode of the gods, and four-

square with it, was a structure of eleven stages. Its pavement was of

silver, while the four walls were adorned with gilding and various

paintings; the ceiling was also gilt, and above the shrine and at the

four corners were hung up five large gilt sésat. In the intervals

were large full-blown lotus flowers with sapphires, the size of lime

fruits, set in their hearts. From the corners hung a network of

pearls, while five bunches of various gems the size of large ripe

arecanuts hung at the corners and the middle. Within, against the

western wall, was raised a large gilt throne on which rested a gilt

facsimile of the sacred footprint. Two doors faced the south and

north ; the doors and the doorposts were covered over with plates

of gold ; the former were in panels, the first adorned with the figure of

a Bramah carrying a sésat, the second of a Sakraya blowing a conch,

the third of 'a Suyam deity with a chamara, the fourth of a Santhusita

god with a jewelled fan,—all with their hands clasped above their heads

in adoration. Above the door were hung two golden curtains.

At intervals on the outer face of the walls were square openings

set with glass, in which were arranged figures of lions, bears, elephants,

So JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

horses, cattle, makarayas, dragons, swans, serpents, and kinduras,

&e., , plated with gold. The columns of the verandah outside and the

tiles on the roof were gilt, and the floor covered with sheets of white

lead. The various stages were separated by short walls supported at

the corners by figures of the Sataravaran deities armed with swords, while

those of other gods and Brahmas carrying offerings and the five kinds

of lotus occupied the gaps. The spires terminating the roof were

adorned with gilt five-headed snakes and dragons plated with gold

lifting up their great hoods on high, while along the edges of the roof

heads of snakes and dragons plated with gold were arranged alter-

nately ; in the intervals were figures of swans, peacocks, parrots, doves,

pigeons, and other birds, all gilt and carrying lotus-flowers in their

beaks, in such profusion as almost to hide the gilt tiles. On the walls

were also oilt images of kinduras and nagas blowing horns.

Allthe eleven stages weresimilarly gilt, and on the extreme point of

the central spire was fixed a gem the size of an orange. The wall

surrounding this was of various kind of alabaster ; at the four corners

and at the sides of the four gates were fixed twelve large lamps of

alabaster shaped like karandu, while 380 smaller ones adorned the

walls. There were also fixed round about figures of elephants, horses,

lions, bears, crocodiles, snakes, makaras, and deer, all of the same

material and in due proportion; these served as lamps, the lights being

placed insidethem. There were also here and there figures of yakshas,

rakshas, and bhairayas, serving as door-guardians at the eight points.

Lower down the mountain was a cave, in which was a gilt image of

the Sachcha Bandhana hermit. Close by the flight of stone steps on the

north side stood two large stone pillars on which were fixed stout iron

rods; to these were secured a pole of the size of a large arecanut tree

cased in copper and gilt, supporting an umbrella also of copper

gilt. At the north and south gates down either side the stone steps

ran two snakes with bodies like large palmirah trees made of white

lead ; where they reached the ground their huge five-fold hoods

made of bronze are raised aloft with such a fierce aspect as would

strike terror in any beholder.

Encircling this spot and outside the walls there was a large number

of sésat of various coloured cloths: lower down and towards the

rising sun was a gilt dagaba with relics of the Buddha ; on its spire

was designed in gilt the six-hued halo of the lord blazing forth. To

the west, on the top of the mountain where he had alighted from the

sky, was another similar dagaba: around it were several images

as well as a poya-gé, a preaching-hall, a life-sized statue of the Buddha,

two viharas containing many images, and a large dining-hall on the

walls of which were illustrated incidents at the impressing of the Sacred

Foot. There was also a tank of lead filled with cool water. J.ower

- down again ina large cave to the south-east were three more gilt dagabas.

Such was this marvellous place: none but the architect of the gods

himself could have designed it. .

There were two gates, carefully secured with keys and bolts and

watched by guards who were appointed according to the various

watches. Here and there among the caves were seats fashioned for

meditation. Onall sides were priests’ houses of two and three stages,

adorned with gilding; these were crowded with holy priests and

Samanéras, and pious devotees of either sex, while numerous tanks

and wells of cool water adorned the spot.

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 33

After performing our religious exercises at this holy place on the

morning of Tuesday, which was the first quarter of the moon, the

Siamese officers informed us that there were several other sites to be

visited, and accompanied us a distance of about 14 gaw; here we

worshipped at the innumerable images we found at the viharas and

caves. One of the latter wound about in three directions and

contained many images; but the darkness was so intense that we were

obliged to conduct our worship by torchlight. The caves and

viharas here were to be counted by the thousand; gilt ddgabas

crowned the summits of the mountains. At all these we worshipped

and did our obeisance to the holy priests who had retired to live

among them. Wherever we turned, as far as the eye could reach, on

every level rock and cave, there appeared a gilt dagaba or an image ;

and towards all these we worshipped.

Round about were streams and mountain torrents of cool water and

tanks and lakes with the banks carefully built up with stone and

mortar. Among these we wandered, resting in delight beneath the

shadow of the lofty trees, till we had made a circuit of this holy spot.

We celebrated worship again this night and listened in the preaching-

hall to a learned priest well versed in the Dharmma, who discoursed from

the commentaries on the lives of the great disciples of the Lord. The

next day we worshipped again both morning and evening, and also

again on Friday morning ; after which we bid farewell to the Great

High Priests and the other priests who abode here, and immediately

began the descent, accompanied by the Siamese officers. When we had

left the sacred precincts behind we mounted our elephants and

proceeded till we reached the river, where we joined the boats. We

travelled all through the night, and about eight peyas before dawn on

Saturday we reached our halting-place.

On Monday morning three officers took us in boats up the river

till we came to a vast stretch of fields. Here in innumerable running

streams of cool water were growing the five kinds of lotus,—embul,

upul, olu, nelun, and maha nel: encircled by these were three or four

thousand amunams of fields and gardens, among which we wandered

till sunset. The grain was in every stage; the young shoot, the

ripening ear, the flower, the tender corn, and some already mown.

At last, when we had reached one of its boundaries, we were told in

reply to our inquiries that this stretch of fields extended as far as the

city of Ava. We then made our way by a cross road across the fields

to the river and rowed over to the western bank.

Thirteen fathoms further on was a spot where long agoa series of the

kings of Siam had erected a three-storied temple with a great throne on

which was placed a recumbent statue of the Buddha, with relics, as well

as a standing figure; but the river had burst the embankments, and the

flood-water had reached within two fathoms of the temple gate.

And so it came to pass that when his present majesty visited the

spot in the twenty-fifth year of his anointing as king, he was greatly

distressed ; and exerting his royal zeal he had the image safely carried

by his strong men with the help of various engines a distance of 80

fathoms to a spot where he had erected a new resting-place for its

repose. Over this he also built a temple of three stages, which was

adorned with gilding, and from the gate to the river over the 80

fathoms that the image had been carried he erected a covered passage

* of one stage. He also built a preaching-hall and a new viharé, and

29-03

O4 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

set up various other images, after which he celebrated a great pinkama.

All this was told us by the Siamese officers.

After worshipping at this place and paying our respects to the

priests we started down the river, admiring the numerous viharas and

priests’ houses on either bank and the villages with their teeming

population ; arriving at our resting-place in the evening.

On Tuesday evening three officers came from the palace with a

large supply of robes and priestly necessaries, and informed us that

his majesty was most favourably disposed towards us: and, in order

that he too might share in the merit which we had acquired by our

pilgrimage to the Sacred Footstep, had ordered a quantity of the

coins called tccal to be distributed among us: he also sent us much

eatables and drinkables, with fruit, betel, and arecanut, lime, &c. We

were directed to offer the robes ourselves to the priests, and so acquire

merit. Accordingly we proceeded in boats to the viharé called Wat Nun

Ok, and worshipped the golden Buddhas there, and offered the robes

to the Chief Priest and three others who resided here, and acquired

merit by making our obeisance to them, and afterwards returned home.

Onthetwenty-ninth day of themonth Tula ,being Thursday,two officers

came inthe morning and proceeded with us in boats till we reached

the street, where we entered horse carriages. We alighted when we

approached the palace and waited in a mandapé till our arrival was

announced, after which we were led to the hall of the sub-king. Here we

were received by the king, the prince, and the sub-king, with the greatest

kindness, and presents were also bestowed on US, the Arachchies, and

our attendants ; and we were shown the presents destined for Lanka.

We were also informed we would receive permission in a few days to

start home, after which we returned accompanied by the officers.

On Monday, the fourth day of the solar month Vrishchika, two

officers came and accompanied us in boats to the great viharé called

Talarama, which is built on the bank of the river. Here we worshipped

before the golden image of the Buddha and the dagabas, and made

offerings of robes and the priestly necessaries to the priests who had

been appointed, to proceed to Ceylon. These were Upah Maha

Nayaka Théré, Arya Muni Maha Nayaka Thér6, the Anu Maha Théré,

the Maha Théros who read the Kammavacha and who prepare for ordi

nation, and the Maha Thérés Indrajétassi, Chandra J étassa, Kotthita,

Kiyavu, Bojuna, Thuluvan, Thonsuvannana, Janna, Prakyavuthan,

Lokon, Dabut, Premak, Premi, Kruvakya, being twenty-one Thérés and

eight Sdmanéras. After this we were taken back to our halting-place.

On the morning of Thursday two officers came and took us to the

palace. We halted for ashort time at a mandapé while our arrival

was being announced ; after which we were presented and received

with great kindness by his majesty the king, the prince, and the

sub-king. We were informed that the presents destined for Ceylon

would be ready to start in a short time, and then were given permis-

sion to withdraw, when we returned again to the same mandapé for a

short interval. And this was the manner of our departure therefrom.

From the palace gate and as far as the landing-place at the river bank

the two sides of the street were decorated with cloths embroidered

with gold, various scented flowers and fruits, and examples of the

painter’s skill. Next, heralded by the five kinds of music, came the

royal message carried in a gold litter on either side of which were

held gold-worked sésat and flags. A new golden image of Buddha

came next, borne in like fashion and accompanied by sésat, chamaras,

No. 54.--1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 35

gold-worked flags, and music. The sacred books and various offerings

followed, guarded on either side by a band of warriors armed with

the five kinds of weapons. Upali Maha Thér6é came next, carried in

a palanquin curiously worked with gold, and followed by -many

offerings ; next was Arya Muni Maha Thér6é in similar state. These

two were accompanied by the other T'hérés and Samanéras destined

for Lanka, all of whom had been presented with various gifts; a

band of warriors followed them, preceding the presents that were to be

sent to Lanka which were conveyed in gilt chests. Three officers

had been appointed to proceed to Lanka as ambassadors, and numerous

honours had been conferred on them. Two of them came next in

two litters shaped like beds and richly adorned with ornaments of

solid gold. These were carried on the shoulders of men, while the

third rode behind on a richly caparisoned horse. We, who had been

gazing at this rare sight with delight, were now directed to enter the

horse carriages in which we joined the procession. The gorgeous

decorations on either side of the road, the viharas and crowds of

priests, the masses of men, women, and children gay in jewels and

gold, who thronged to gaze at us, cannot be described in words. We

proceeded thus as far as the river, lost in admiration at the splendour

of the crowded street. Here we found awaiting us the royal barges,

decked with the heads of lions, bears, elephants, kinduras, makaras,

crocodiles, serpents, buffaloes, deer, peacocks, parrots, pigeons, dra-

gons, and rakshas ; whilst in the intervals were carved trees, creepers,

and plants, all gilt. Ox their decks were constructed booths of gold-

worked cloths gaily adorned, and similar curtains were hung around,

while various flags and umbrellas were fixed at stem and stern. Un

board these barges were conveyed the image and books and royal

message as well as the priests. The king, the royal queens, the

sub-king, the prince, as well as the nobles with their wives, accom-

panied us in similar boats; after them came a host of devotees of

either sex and of citizens in boats in an unbroken stream, the boats

being secured in rows by cables so as to move in line. In various

boats dancing and singing were going on, while numerous drums kept

up a continuous volume of sound. Thus we proceeded down the river

till we reached the large new ship, which with its gilding within and

without appeared like some ship of the gods. This was the vessel

destined by his majesty for the use of the priests who were sailing

for Lanka. So on Thursday, the first day of the increasing moon of

the month I], about ten hours after dawn, the sub-king bore the

golden image reverently on his own head within the ship, and placed

it on a throne surrounded by gold embroidered hangings of various

colours: the holy books and the king’s message were similarly dis-

posed of, and the presents and offerings were stowed away. The

priests were then taken on board amidst cries of “‘ Sddhu”’ and the

firing of guns and the accompaniment of music, and were followed

by the three Siamese ambassadors who were proceeding to Lanka

accompanied by many presents. A message was also conveyed to us

from the king, giving us permission to depart and also directing that

Wilbégedara Muhandiram Rala alone, who was well known to the

Thérés and ambassadors—he had been to Siam on a previous occa-

sion—should travel in the Siamese ship. The rest of us were also

requested to go on board the ship ; but as the number of the Siamese

attendants and the quantity of their baggage was great, we were to

36 JOURNAL, RB.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

continue our journey by the Hollander’s ship. Three Siamese nobles

were also ordered to accompany us as far as the seaport of Siam.

Accordingly we started in great state, and as we proceeded down

the river the priests who lived in the viharas on the banks, with the

chief men of the villages and the people themselves crowded round in

boats so that the river could not be seen, bringing with them presents

for the priests who were starting for Lanka. We arrived in this

manner at the temple called Wat Thon Lak Dhan, where the chief

people provided presents and robes to be offered by us to the priests

accompanying us so as to acquire merit ; while at the same time we

were entertained at a feast.

When we drew near Bangkok we were similarly received and

treated ; the same occurred at Amsterdam, where we arrived next ; at

last on the afternoon of Friday, the fourteenth day of the solar month

Vrischika, being the eighth day of the increasing half of the lunar

month, we reached the harbour of Siam. Immediately the four of

us who were to travel by the Hollander’s ship proceeded on board

with our attendants, and the two ships anchored side by side, while

the luggage meant for the Siamese ship was taken there; where

too Wilbagedara Muhandiram proceeded with one servant and an

attendant soldier. On Wednesday the fourth day of the solar month

Dhanu, at the twenty-third hour of the morning, the two ships hoisted

sail, and we steered out of the harbour, the Siamese ship leading.

On Thursday this latter disappeared from our sight, and though we

were greatly disturbed in mind about her, we sailed on till on the

afternoon of Monday, the twenty-third day of the solar month, we

reached the harbour of Malacca and cast anchor.

Six days later, on Saturday morning, three officers came from the

fort and took us on land in a sloop, where we were conducted with

much ceremony to our halting-place. Later we were taken inside the

fort, where the Governor and other officers exerted themselves to allay

our anxiety and assured us that the ship would arrive in safety.

They also fitted out a sloop to go and make inquiries, and sent

despatches regarding the matter to Batavia ina ship. But though

we questioned the captains of all the vessels that came from foreign

parts, we could obtain no information whatever; accordingly we resolved

to wait till we did get some definite news. We waited on till the next

year, which was the Saka year 1674, till on the thirteenth day of the

solar month Vrisabha, the captain of a newly-arrived ship came to

our halting-place and informed us that the Siamese ship had lost her

masts and could not proceed on her voyage, and had consequently

been towed back by several boats to Siam itself.

As we heard that a sloop trading with Siam was lying idle in the

harbour, we consulted the Governor and started her captain off with a

letter. We waited till Saturday the tenth day of the solar month

Dhanu, when the Governor sent us by an officer from the fort a letter

which Wilbagedara Muhandiram Rala had forwarded. The purport

of this letter was that His Majesty the King of Siam had graciously

bidden them when taken before him not to be disheartened at their

mischance ; the priests destined for Lanka, the presents, and the three

Siamese ambassadors would start again in the month of Wak from the

district of Mirigiya, and reach Lanka this year itself ; the ambassadors

who were waiting at Malacca should accordingly be directed to start

home ; in obedience to which command this letter was written,

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 37

Weaccordingly went on board on the thirteenth day of the solar month,

being Friday, and on Saturday we steered out of the harbour, and on the

evening of the fifteenth day of the solar month Makara, being Monday,

we landed at the Castle of Colombo. The Governor received us with

great consideration and arranged quarters for us near the church at

Borella, where we remained for twenty-eight days. In the meantime

he sent two Mudaliyars with a letter to Siriwardhanapura ; these

went and delivered their message before the great nobles there, who

conveyed the same to the knowledge of his gracious majesty, when

the Mudaliyars received great rewards. Moreover he gave orders for

the Padikara Mohottala, Dedigama Muhandiram Rala, and Pussella

Muhandiram Rala to proceed to Colombo and accompany the newly-

landed nobles back. They accordingly came to Colombo and delivered

their message to the Governor, who received them with every mark of

honour and accompanied them from the castle. Six days later, on

the eighth day of the solar month Kumbha, which is the fourteenth

day of the waning moon of the month Navam, we arrived at the

capital and were presented before our gracious and ever-victorious

king. We were received with great kindness, and were anxiously

questioned as to whether the priests were actually coming.

On the tenth day of the solar month Vrischchika messengers arrived

with the news that the ship conveying the Siamese priests had cast

anchor at the harbour of Trincomalee on Monday the fifth day of the

increasing moon of the month Wesak, in the Saka year 1675,* which is

called Srimukha. No sooner was this glorious message received than

our gracious king, the mighty ruler of Lanka, gave orders that

palanquins fitted with cushions and mattresses should be despatched,

as well as a supply of robes of fine cloth, with sweetmeats and rice

cakes to help them on the way. He also sent elephants to head the

procession and a richly caparisoned tusker with a golden litter

for conveying the king’s message, with a body of trumpeters, drum-

mers, and other musicians. The following were entrusted with this

work, viz., EKhelapola, Maha Adikarama; Angammana, Dissavé of

Matalé ; Hulangamuwa, Dissavé of Uda Palata; Ellépola Kahande

Mohottala, the Kodituwakku Lékama; Ellépola Mohottala, the

Vedikkara Lékama; Kahande Mohottdla, the Kuruwé Lékama ;:

Wiyalla Mohottala, Muhandiram, who was in charge of the gabada-

gama of Madulu ; and Harasgama Muhandiram Rala, of the Vedikkara .

Lékama. These accordingly started for the harbour and accompanied

thence the priests, the three Siamese ambassadors, the king’s letter,

and the presents with every mark of honour. The letter was placed

on the golden litter which was carried by the tusked elephant with

jewelled trappings ; the holy images and books were carried in state

accompanied by flags and umbrellas; Upali Maha Terunnansé,

with the seventeen other Thérés and seven Sdémanéros, travelled in

palanquins richly fitted with mats and pillows; while the Siamese ambas-

sadors followed in andorus. So they proceeded, halting at Olagamuwa,

Gantalé, Alutwewa, Minihiriya, Géndwela, and Nalanda. On reaching

Godapola nuwara five noblemen proceeded to meet them, viz., Dum-

bara Dissavé of MAtalé ; Angammana Mohottdla, the Maha Lékama ;

Moladanda, Raté Rala of Yatinuwara, Ellépola Kahandawé Mohottila,

the Padikara Lékama, and WilbA4gedara Kud4 Muhandiram Rala of

the same Lékama.

—_—————<———_$

* A.D, 1753.

38 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

These went and made their obeisance to the priests and saw that

they were properly lodged, and the image, the books, the royal letter

and presents deposited in a place of safety ; after this the ambas-

sadors were also conducted to their lodgings with great ceremony.

Later Ehelapola, Maha Adikarama, Hulangamuwa, Dissavé of Uda

Palata, and the aforesaid chiefs returned to the capital and had an

audience with the king. A few days later Uduwela Muhandiram

Rala and Aittaliyaddé Muhandiram Rala were sent to Godapola-

nuwara to inquire after the well-being of the priests and.ambassadors,

and to report the same to the king without delay. Later orders were

given to Samarakodi, the Udagampaha Adigar, Dodanvela, Dissave

of Uva, and Miwaturé Mohottala, the Attapattu Lékama, to proceed

to Godapolanuwara and escort thence the holy images, the books, the

king’s letter and presents, together with the priests, to the capital.

This they did and accompanied them as far as Alutgantota, where

they halted. The next day being Friday the seventh day of the waning

half of the month Poson in the Saka year 1675, His Gracious Majesty

himself, lord of the earth, who is resplendent with every virtue, pro-

ceeded to the Bédimaluwa by the side of the river. Here he made his

obeisance to the priests and received them with all graciousness ; and

after pirzt had been recited, they were brought in the evening to the

Malwatté Viharé, where lodgings had been newly erected and adorned

for them with all speed: here they were lodged, and orders were given

to provide them with all necessaries. At the same time the Siamese

ambassadors with the letter and presents were sent to the Bogambra

Thanayama, where every honour was paid to them and their wants

attended to.

On the evening of the second day of the solar month Kataka, being

Friday the thirteenth day of the lunar month, at the Malwatté Viharé,

Upali Maha Théré admitted one of the Samanéros who had accompanied

him from Siam into the Upasampadawa. On the night of Saturday

the full moon day of the month Esala, at the first watch, His Majesty,

the lamp in the jewelled hall of the Solar race, took his seat in the

preaching-hall filled with exultant joy and kindness, and at his request

(which was addressed to Upali Maha Théré, Arya Muni Maha Thérd,

and the other Thérés), Kobbyyakaduwé Unnansé, the Nayaka Priest

of the Updésatérama, Weliwita Unnansé, Hulangamuwa Unnansé,

Bambaradeniya Unnansé, Thibbotuwawé Unnansé, and Navinné, the

Nayaka Unnansé of Asgiriya, were admitted into the Upasampadawa.

And thus after many years this feast of the Great Ordination which

had so long been neglected in Lanka, was re-established once more.

amidst the rejoicings of the populace, the triumphant noise of drums,

chanks, and the five kinds of music, and the roar of cannon.

On the night of Tuesday the twentieth day of the solar month the

Audience Hall was adorned with awnings and hangings of silk and gold

embroideries. And here our mighty king, the lord of kings, seated

on his throne, received with all graciousness the three Siamese ambas-

sadors who brought the letter and presents from their king. They

were at the same time presented with three chains and three gold rings,

three embroidered tuppatti, three red and three yellow, an extra

one being given to the ambassador who carried the king’s letter:

various presents were also given to the attendants, and three thousand

vidi were distributed among them all. After this Upali Mahasami

and the other Thérés who accompanied him were invited to worship

No. 54—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 39

the Sacred Tooth and so acquire merit ; and subsequently the ambas-

sadors were allowed to do likewise.

As for the king’s letter, after the principal nobles had met in the

Audience Hall, Weliwita Terunnansé caused it to be unwrapped by

Tibbotuwawa Terunnansé : it was then wrapped up again, and sealed

and deposited in the treasury, covering and all. As for the books that

had been received, they were paraded round the streets with great

pomp in a golden litter placed on the back of a tusker with jewelled

trappings, accompanied by the five kinds of music, after which they

were formally dedicated.

[Then follow the names of the priests, differing somewhat

from the names already given. |

NOTES.

1.—Wilbagedara Muhandiram has recorded the names of the sixty-

six persons who composed the mission ; they were—

Pattépola Mohottala, three Arachchies and nine men (hewayd) of

his Lékama, and five personal attendants.

Ellépola Mohottala, three Arachchies and seven men of his

_ Lékama, and one attendant. ,

Iriyagama Muhandiram, two Arachchies and five men of his

Wasama, and one attendant. , |

Aittaliyaddé Muhandiram, one Arachchi and three men of his

Wasama, and one attendant. ,

Wilbagedara Muhandiram, two Arachchies and three men of his

Wasama, and two attendants—a wahumpuraya and a duraya.

In addition there were three trumpeters, three performers on the

tamboruwa, five on the singarama, and two on the horanéwa.

2.—The message to the King of Siam was written in Pali by Veli-

wita Saranankara Unnansé of Malwatté Viharé. There was also a

second letter addressed to the Sanga Raja.

3.—At Trincomalee the ambassadors were housed in the Com-

mander’s flower garden.

4.—The Dutch ship that conveyed them was named the “ Vel Trek.”

5.—In Sumatra, the writer tells us, gold, lead, and the whetstone

are found.

6.—At Malacca the royal letter was deposited in a two-storied build-

ing attached to the Fiscal’s residence.

7.—They started again in the month of Vesak, Saka 1673; and

sailed past Rio and Johore, where ponambra and minambra

(ambereris ?) is found. ‘The robbers here,” naively adds the writer,

perhaps referring to the piratical Malays, ‘‘even slay people.” Next

they passed Pulu Timung, Pulu Piang, Pulu Hovu; mere rocky points

in the sea, as well as Pahang, Kalantang, Tranganu, Patani, which

latter produce gold, lead, and camphor ; some of them were reported —

to be inhabited by cannibals : thence past Cambodjia to Siam.

8.—On reaching the ee the captain and Kannédeniyé

Arachchi of the Padikara Muhandiram Wasama were despatched to

40 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

announce at the Siamese capital the arrival of the embassy:

twenty-four days later the rest landed.

9.—Amsterdam : the modern Paknam Samuddaprakar.—J.

10.—Mung: a district under a governor.—J.

11.—Wat Arama: the spot is the Wat Prode Satta, ‘the salvation

of sentient beings. The ancient temple is still existing, and has been

repaired by the late king’s brother. There isa sacred well here, the

water of which is supposed to wash away sins.—J.

12.—Bai: probably Ban (village); the name is Pa-sat, ‘‘ the forest me

animals.” —JJ.

13.—Puri: in Siam a provincial town, and is not applied to the

capital ; the old capital was Sri Ayodhaya Maha Nagara.—J.

i4.—The money distributed among the Sinhalese amounted to 700

ticcals.

Masam-puva: unknown; not Siamese. Ticcal is the foreign name

given to the Siamese coin of the largest denomination, called Bat.

Coins of smaller denominations of the same round shape are saliung

anu fiang, and bia, the last being only tokens.—J.

15.—The elephant in the gilt stall opposite the palace gate was the

white elephant ; facing it was the black elephant: but the description

given in the translated version would appear to relate to the red

elephant. According to Baldzus, the King of Siam was styled “ Lord

of the Golden Thrones, also of the White, Red, and Round-tailed

Klephants, three excellent draught beasts which the highest god has

given to none other.”

16.—The custom of drawing up the war elephants in circles in

front of the palace also prevailed at the Sinhalese court.

17.—After they had been granted an audience the members of the

mission were entertained at a place named Maha Sombath Kalan ; the

rooms were hung with awnings and curtains. Hach ambassador was

provided with three silver trays each (or each three ?) fitted with fifty-

one small gold dishes, filled with various dainties forming the five

courses of a.feast.

18.— Vat Puthi Suwan : correctly Wat Buddhaiy S’van “ Arama of the

Heaven of Buddha” (s’van = svarga).—J.

19.—Maha Dharmérama (?) : Neither Siamese nor Pali; but there is

a temple called Maha Dhatu, the principal one in the city : from the

description and the fact that it was the seat of the Sanga Raja, the

two are probably identical. In this temple was enshrined a solid gold

image of great size, which was melted and carried away by “the

Burmese. A bronze one remains to this day in a state of decay.—J.

20.—Naputhan : or rather Na-pa-tan, “ the paddy field of the burnt

forest.” The name is still in existence.—J.

_21.—The offerings made to the Sanga Raja were :—

220 pieces ofredand yellow silk | Styli

30 red fans Toothpicks (metal)

30 strings of prayer beads Nailpicks (metal)

30 packets of needles Looking-glasses

Arecanut cutter Cloves, nutmegs, cinnamon

Chunam boxes Wax candles

Scissors 2 alms bowls

Razors 1 web of cloth

Sie

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 41

22.—The second sub-king must have been “The Palace of the

Rear Guard” (great personages are called by the names of their

residences), who is at the head of the Reserve Forces. But more pro-

bably it was one of the great ministers, to judge from the reception.—J.

23.—The Was season : the rainy season, when the priests retire from

the forests into houses. |

24.—Kujayoth Ratnarama: probably Wat Jayawardhanardama, one

of the well-known and royal tempies, now in ruins.—J.

25.—No Minister of State would be employed in carrying things

even at a religious procession. These were probably minor officers

dressed as Dévas.— J.

26.—No sub-kings are entrusted with affairs of State except of the

War Department and in building defensive works in war time. The two

great ministers are of the Interior and War, or of the North and South,

having charge of the Government of the Northern and Southern

Provinces respectively, and the latter of military affairs in time of

peace as well.—J.

27.—This is really the ‘‘ Light Offering,” or Padipa Puja performed

on water twice at the end of the Was season on the full moon of the

eleventh and twelfth months, and is continued three days on each

occasion. The middle day is the full moon, on which the people indulge

in extravagance, in music, singing and playing on the water, and make

offerings of floating lights and flowers and fireworks in miniature

temporary boats and vessels of all sorts. Itis in facta popular féte.—J.

28.—Only three out of the fiveambassadors, viz., Kllépola Mohottala,

Aittaliyaddé Rala,and Wilbdgedara, went on the pilgrimage to the Sacred

Footprint : they were accompanied by seventeen of their suzte, whose

names are also stated.

On passing the first wall enclosing the sacred site the pilgrims

knelt and worshipped with their foreheads touching the ground ; then

they passed the copper umbrellas with stocks three spans in circum-

ference, and up the stone steps with the serpents on either side to the

first stage ; another flight of stone steps brought them to the sscond

stage, which was sprinkled with sand. These stages appear to have run

right round the mountain peak. The next flight was covered with lead,

and led to the last stage, which was similarly covered. The imprint

was of the right foot ; it was enclosed ina building 14 carpenters’

cubits square and 18 fathoms high ; while the shrine over the imprint

itself was 7 cubits high, raised on pillars of gold. Wilbagedara also

testifies to the extraordinary expenditure of gold over the ornamentation

of the temple.

Reference is made to this shrine by Baldzeus, who also gives a list of

the auspicious signs.

29.—T he rock on which the footprint was discovered had been named

“Suwanna banphot:” Panchata is evidently pabbata, and maha

pahatha is maha prasat. Prasat is the corrupt Pali prasdda, a building

of from one to nine stories with a dagaba-shaped top, like the Brazen

Palace at Anurddhapura. The now existing building, called the

mandapé, has replaced the original structure which was destroyed by

lightning.—J. |

31).—Native resthouses for pilgrims, which abound to this day.—J.

31.—Probably Satapanna pabbata, adapted from the name of the

nla ae in Rajagaha at which the first Buddhist Council took

place.—J.

42 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

32.—The description of these stages seems to correspond to the usual

basement of a pasdda building, which is always elaborately moulded

in ornamental lines in stages with figures supporting them. —J.

33.—The offerings made at this shrine were—

1 gold pagoda (varagan) 2 cloth water strainers

53 rupees 1 betel bag

50 current ridis | 60 wax candles

1 ticcal ridi | § bundles incense sticks

2 coloured cloths worth 30 ridis | 1 log sandalwood

11 rolls of fine cloth, 18 cubits | 9 alms-bowls

long, 54 spans wide, worth | Cloves (wasawds?), nutmeg,

175 ridis | cinnamon, camphor,

3 cloths, named Kaveniya, | cardamoms

Samukkalama, and | Needles

Sarasaya | Ridis, thuttus and cash

2 lansolu cloths | Flowers

1 silk tuppatiya | Lamps, &c.

34.—T his is hterally true even to the present day, for rivers and creeks

are the highways of Siam and no household is without at least one

boat.—J.

35.—Lak : a common name for a village temple, meaning pillar or

post, probably referring to the mark set up whenasite is selected for a

atemple. Dhan: perhaps Siamese Dan, ‘‘the pillar of charity.”—J.

26.—Wilbagedara has left us the following additional information. On

‘Thursday the eighth day of the increasing moon of the month Uduwak,

in the Saka year 1674, about midnight, Pattapola Attapattuwé Mohot-

tala died at Bangkok while the ambassadors were on their way home.

The corpse was dressed in four cloths with an inner and outer vest

anda “jaggalat thoppiya ;” a mattress was spread at the bottom of the

coffin with pillows at head and foot, and the body laid on these, and the

coffin closed. Over all a violet (nilkarpu) thuppatiya was cast as a pall

and the coffin placed on the deck. The priests then recited bana, and

after offerings had been made to them the coffin was lowered into the

ship’s boat, which sailed away under a salute of thirty-two guns. After

sailing eight gavvas the coffin was landed at night and removed inside

a house, while the twenty oarsmen were fed with rice bought at the

spot. On Saturday at ten péyas after dawn 1t was placed within the

preaching-hail of the Vat Pakanoth Viharé, when forty priests recited

bana. ‘Six hundred logs of wood were purchased, and the corpse

cremated within apparently a crematorium.

A disgraceful incident followed: Nattabura Unnansé, who had

accompanied the writer on his first voyage to Siam and had then

deserted, now appeared on the scene in an attempt to obtain for himself

the property of the deceased Mohottala ; in fact, as the writer ruefully

observes, he was robbed of a whole night’s sleep by the importunities

of this son of Belial, who was put off by a reference to the decision of

the Court of Kandy. He then proceeded to the ship where the priests

were, and demanded from them the offerings that had been made to

them by the ambassadors: thejr refusal so exasperated him that he

proceeded to strike the saintly Arya Muni Théré and a novice on their

heads withaclub. The alarmed priests refused point blank to proceed

any further ; for, said they, if the men sent from Layka are such,

No. 54.—1903.] KING KIRTI SRI’S EMBASSY TO SIAM. 43

what would those who remain at home be like? However, Ejlépola

Mohottala had the miscreant arrested and handed over to the authorities

on land, while the Siamese ambassadors succeded in pacifying the

agitated ‘priests - and they set sail.

A few days later the ship was discovered to have sprung a leak, and

she began to fill so rapidly that they were obliged to cast their cargo

overboard to keep her afloat ; the priests however recited bana day

and night without intermission, and with such effect that they suc-

ceeded the next day in driving her aground on a mud bank near the

harbour of Muwang Lakon, a dependency of Sinm, with all the crew and

the king’s presents safe. Here they landed and proceeded to

the capital, a fortified town named Pataliputra; in the middle of

it was a digaba (as large as the Ruwanweli dagaba at Polonnaruwa)

which had been built by King Dharmaséka to contain some rehcs of the

Buddha. It was gilt from top to bottom, and the gilding was in such

excellent preservation that the whole resembled a newly polished gold

karanduwa. Three hundred statues and two hundred gilt dagabas, .

varying in height from 9 to 11 carpenters’ cubits, encircled the

central structure. There was also in the city a holy 66-tree which

King Dharmaséka the Less had within recent times obtained from

Anuradhapura. Every morning the priests of the various temples

proceed to collect alms; three commissioners supervise the affairs of the

clergy over all the Siamese dominions ; and by their orders all, whether

thereto induced by religious sentiment or not, have to contribute to the

support of the priesthood and the maintenance of the edifices.

The country is rich in deposits of black and white lead (tin ?), rice,

betel, arecanut, &c., but robbers are numerous and bloodthirsty, witch-

craft abounds, and cancerous and leprous diseases are frequent.

From here the Siamese ambassadors sent a letter to their king

to inform him of the misfortune that had overtaken them. ‘This letter

was sent by land in charge of ten people, who delivered it at the

capital in a month and seven days. The king’s order was that

the ships should be repaired and taken back to Siam; which they

accordingly proceeded to do, being hospitably received by all the

magnates of the coast. For instance, two of them sent the following

presents :—

15 durians 60 bundles betel

300 mangosteens 16 bunches arecanuts

100 mangoes 15 dried fish

7 jak | 100° =-do: (small)

45 pineapples 60 duck eggs

10 plantain bunches | 1 package limes

9 bunches tender cocoanuts | 5 boxes of rice

70 cocoanuts |

At last, on Wednesday, the third day of the increasing moon

of the month Ksala, in the Saka year 1674, they arrived at the Siamese

capital a second time, and were received in audience by the king.

He addressed himself most graciously to the writer, and bade him not

to be disheartened at his misfortune, as the king had given orders that

everything should be arranged for his return journey.

* It is interesting to note that the word put into the king’s mouth in

addressing Wilbagedara is tama:

44 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Their return, however, was still to be delayed. One of the king’s

great ships with a valuable cargo, including elephants, was lost on a

voyage to Sinnapattanam, only seven or eight of the crew escaping in.

a boat ; moreover, four ships riding at anchor in the harbour were

destroyed by a cyclone ; and to crown all, the sub-king himself died

shortly after. The king accordingly hesitated about sending the priests

to Lanka in such a year of disaster, and consulted Wilbagedara, who

sent the following reply :—“‘ I, too, am in great distress at the misfor-

tunes that have occurred ; but the uncertainty of the future, grief, and

death are no new thing in our world of sorrow: therefore should

you hasten to fructify your desire to spread the knowledge of the one

thing that 1s certain, the preaching of the Lord.” Further, he went on

to add how in the days of old there were no Hollanders in the Island

of Lanka, but his majesty King Sri Raja Sinha had sent his royal

message and summoned them from across the sea to guard his coasts,

for which purpose be had put them incharge of his forts, and they had

since served him with all loyalty ; and every year embassies come from

diverse countries to the court of our king to solicit his friendship

with costly presents.

Apparently the king was greatly impressed. He sent two courtiers to

make further inquiries from Wilbagedara, who informed them that the

States of Sinnapattanam, Madura, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Kilakkari,

and Mysore send yearly tribute and obtain permission to participate

in the pearl fishery.

Shortly after Wilbagedara had a dream. He dreamt that he was

leading a herd of elephants, one pure white in colour, and the rest

speckled, to a freshly reaped field, where the Padikara Mohattala and

his own younger brother the Muhandiram came to meet him, remov-

ing the turbans they had round their heads. As they approached he

noticed that leeches were climbing up his legs, and as he stooped to

brush them off he awoke.

This dream was the harbinger of happy news. The following morn-

ing two ship captains named Nicholas Bath and Martino appeared, and

with many declarations of their being the humble and loyal servants

of their majesties of Siam and Lanka, placed their new ship the

“ Cecilia” at the service of the Sinhalese ambassador. This offer

was joyfully accepted ; and on Sunday the third day of the waning ~

moon of the month Duruta, the priests and the Siamese mission of

seventy-four souls, including the five ambassadors, their interpreters,

clerk (somiyan), Arachchies, (mun), ‘“appus” (thenez), soldiers, two

massageurs (atapaya mirikana veddu), musicians, and attendant boys

proceeded on board. After an uneventful voyage they reached Bata-

via; where they were hospitably received by the Dutch general, who

presented them with various articles, including three guns. Here

they transhipped into a larger vessel, the ‘“‘ Oscabel,’ in which they

reached Trincomalee on Monday, the thirteenth day of the increasing

moon of the month Wesak, in the Saka year 1675.

Mr. F. C. Roues said he should like to ask Mr. Pieris whether

the sentence* ‘a considerable portion ......... has been omitted to —

* Supra, p. 29.

No. 94.—1903. |] ANNUAL REPORT. 45

avoid the risk of appearing to relate the incredible,’ was a phrase

commonly used at that time. Nowadays they were not so considerate.

The tendency of exaggeration was not confined to any nation ; and

there was no hesitation in stating the incredible, whether 1t was from

Savage Landor or the gotyd in the witness box. He should like to

know if it was a mere formal phrase, or whether it indicated that they

had lost, perhaps, the most interesting part of the description ?

Mr. Pieris replied that he could only say he translated what the

writer said.

The PresIpENT: I do not think it is unusual for writers in books

of travel to say that words fail to express what they saw.

Mr. Harwarp said they must remember it was characteristic of

Oriental literature to give catalogues of splendid fittings. Such

catalogues formed a part of the poetical and prose descriptions in

Oriental literature. Although, no doubt, the Paper gave an interest-

ing description of Siam as it was in the eighteenth century—there was

no doubt a great deal of prosperity and splendour there—he did not

think they were bound to accept quite the full picture presented to

them in that Paper ; because he thought it would come quite natural

to a Sinhalese narrator at the time to give numerical symmetry to the

various details he was describing.

Mr. Pieris said that the writer from whom he had translated

appeared to be a very careful writer, and he saw no reason for dis-

believing him. When he talked about emeralds the size of oranges

he might be mistaken ; but possibly he referred to the green stone.

In further proof of the enormous expenditure of the Siamese Kings

on their religion, he had the good fortune to have given him a note,

(which he did not think was yet published) in which there was

reference to a certain temple, where was an image of the Buddha

larger than life-size of solid gold. While in England he saw a bell

that was captured at the sacking of a town in that quarter ; it weighed

3 cwt., and 2 cwt. of it was solid silver.

Mr. D. B. JayaTiLaKka said he did not think there was any difficulty

in believing these accounts ; for the simple reason there were accounts

by other envoys to Siam. He might mention the interesting fact that

the Embassy of A.p.1950 wasthe fourth. There had been three before

it to Siam, and it was interesting to note that the first Ambassador to

Siam, sent by the Sinhalese King to inquire into religion there, was a

Dutch officer. He had seen a letter from him to the Kandyan King,

describing the Siamese Court, which was similar in description to the

Paper now read, He did not believe that the Dutch exaggerated ;

and if they could believe the Dutchman’s description, he did not think

they need cast any doubt on the Paper now before them.

Mr. W. A. DE Siva said he had recently been to Siam, and had seen

most of the things referred to in the Paper. He had seen the green

stones a little larger than an orange. He had also seen the gold image

of Buddha life-size. As regards the processions and elephants’ houses

and trappings, &c., it seemed to him most of these things still remained.

If any of them were to go to Siam and watch some of the religious

festivals, most of the descriptions given in that Paper would seem

to be quite correct. So far as he had observed, they were.

46 | JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

VOTES OF THANKS.

8. The Hon. Mr. 8. C. OBEYESEKERE said he had much pleasure in

moving a hearty vote of thanks both to Mr. Pohath and Mr. Pieris

for their valuable Papers.

9. Advocate Mr. HE. W. PERERA seconded the motion. As regards

the first Paper, the remarks made by Mudaliyér Gunawardhana did not

by any means prove that the documents were forgeries. He had based

his attacks upon the genuineness of the grants on two points. The

first was that the dates were incorrect, as judged by a calculation from

the computations of Sir Alexander Cunningham. Among the Sinhalese

there were several computations, and he thought in dealing with dates

they should have independent computations. But apart from that

he should very much like to know in what respect the Sinhalese

characters of the seventeenth century differed from those of the nine-

teenth century. Sannas of the fifteenth century and sixteenth century

differed not greatly from the writing of the present day.”

In regard to the second Paper, Mr. Pieris would greatly oblige the

Society with a copy of the original manuscript from which he had made

that translation. He believed there was not a copy in the Museum

Library. In that connection he said there was in Kandy the original of

a letter, which accompanied a grant sent by the King of Siam along

with an Embassy, and that would give them valuable information and

supplement Mr. Pieris’s Paper. In regard to what was said about the

correctness of the Paper, he should say the information was correct..

The question asked by Mr. Roles would have been unnecessary if Sir

John Maundeville had written the Paper. He, of course, would not

have drawn the tine at the incredible. ‘These Sinhalese Ambassadors,

however, while describing the ceremonies, seem to have drawn the

line fairly. Human nature was, of course, the same all the world over.

He had very great pleasure in seconding the vote of thanks.

The PRESIDENT declared the vote of thanks carried.

10. The Hon. Mr. J. FeRGusoN said: The pleasant duty had been

accorded to him of proposing a cordial vote of thanks to their Presi-:

dent for his services to the Society, and at that late hour he would be

very brief in doing so. He regretted that during this first year of

their President the Society should have been so barren of Papers; but,

Irish-like, their gratitude took the form of lively anticipation of

favours. The presidential influence, he trusted, would mean for them

very soon some useful Papers from ‘Members of the Scientific Corps

in the Puble Service up and down country. The gentlemen, for

instance, who had been so successfully fleshing their maiden swords as

lecturers: elsewhere, might now come to the aid of this good old

Society in its Ceylon Branch, and he was glad to know that at least

one of them had a Paper on the stocks. Meantime they were

fortunate as to their President, and tendered him hearty thanks.

(Applause. )

* See supra pp. 15,16. Experience of Sinhalese sannas, sittu, &¢,, proves

that dates in these old native documents (and even in lithic inscriptions)

are often hopelessly irreconcilable with Calendars and Tables of Dates.

Careful and full collation, knowledge of contemporary history, literary

style, and the forms of character in vogue, and—not least—self-restraint

against tendency to too hasty condemnation, are essential to “expert”

treatment of ancient writings.—B.. Hon. Sec.

No. 54.—1903. ] ANNUAL REPORT. 47

11. The PRestpENT, in thanking the members for the vote of

thanks, said he fully appreciated the force of the Hon. Mr. Ferguson’s |

remarks. He had been able to do very little for them, but coming

fresh into a new world as it practically was to him, there was naturally

a good many things tv do and not much time to spare. But he did

cordially agree with Mr. Ferguson on the subject of Papers. They

ought to get many of a kind they had not lately, at any rate—his

experience did not go very far back—Scientific Papers. And he hoped

one of the earliest Papers they would have would be one “ The Oyster.”

It ought to be written by one who could write it no more —he meant

Mr. Oliver Collett. That was a particularly appropriate subject.

There was a Meeting before his time at which the Governor—-he

referred to His Excellency Sir West Ridgeway—took the Chair,

and at which a great deal of useful information on the subject of

oysters was put forward by Mr. Collett. Sir West Ridgeway and he

himself had been during the week at the Pearl Fishery—the first, he

thought, held in Ceylon for eleven years. It was, of course, new to

them, and they had been marvellously astounded at the manner in

which that gigantic fishery was worked. There, where three weeks

ago there were hardly any inhabitants, and for years no more than

three er four huts with about twenty or thirty inhabitants, had sud-

deuly collected 23,000 or 24,000 people, all working hard and ringing

in these oysters, which were divided between Government and the

divers in a most elaborate system, and the speed and accuracy of

working the whole business was most astounding. Buta very curious

coincidence on his way to the Pearl Fishery he had received a scientific

magazine, and in that he came across a very interesting aceount of a

fishery which was held —not where the present fishery was taking place,

but opposite Chilaw. What that writer wrote then was just parti-

cally what he (the speaker) might have written now, if he was to sit

down and write what he saw the last week. What he intended to say

was, however this, that the system has no doubt grown up during cen-

turies, and has no doubt grown very perfect. Still there were certain

things which he thought required very much to be corrected, and he

hoped that by another year, or by next fishing at any rate, they should

be able to do a great deal to reform the present system. For that

purpose they had Mr. Hornell working out the life-history of the

oyster and investigating as to the enemies of the oysters and the pearls

also, and Mr. Hornell ought, before long, to supply them with some

information for their Journal. 'They had also an experiment in which

he had taken a very personal interest himself. He had it in his mind

for many months, and he was glad to say it was working out very well

indeed. Itwas a system of washing out oysters in the same way as he

used to see gold washed out in other parts of the world. The other

day when he tried the eight oysters—as an experiment, merely—the

first produced ten pearls, not counting the seed pearls. They did it in

a few minutes, and they might have done 800 in the same time. He

thought the experiment promised very well. He thought the old

system of washing by merchants would probably survive for a long

time, and he would be sorry to see it disappear, but it was very good

that Government should have a system for washing the oysters when

occasion arose. (Applause.)

This terminated the business of the Meeting.

48 JOURNAL, R.A.S (CEYLON). [VOL XVIII.

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, June 22, 1908.

Present:

The Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G., President,

in the Chair.

The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., F.R.C.1., Vice-President.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. | Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar.

The Hon. Mr. 8S. C. Obeyesekere.

Mr. F.C. Roles, F.J.L, F.B.C.L, Honorary Treasurer.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A.,and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of Council Meeting held on

February 11, 1903.

2. Resolved,—The election of following Members :—

A. Van Der Poorten : recommend- § The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson.

ed by R. H. Ferguson.

J. B. Carruthers, F.L.S., &c. : re- § F. C. Roles.

commended by Ue K. Bamber.

BoC. 2. Belk

M. Fernando.

S. G. Lee.

A. M. Gunasékara.

A. K. Coomaraswamy, B.Sc.,§ Arthur Willey.

F.L.S., F.G.S, ; recommended by R. H. Ferguson.

A.J Scenes : recommend- § 8. C. Obeyesekere.

ed by W. P. Ranasinha.

3. Read an application by Mr. P. Rajaratnum.

Resolved,—T hat it be passed subject to his paying subscription as a

Resident Member for this year.

4. Laid on the table a Paper entitled “‘ Correspondence between

Raja Sinha IT. and the Dutch,” by Mr. D. W. Ferguson.

Resolved,—That the Paper be accepted with thanks, that extracts

be read at a Meeting, and that the Paper be printed in full in the

Society’s Journal.

5. Laidon the tablea letter from Mr. F. M,. Mackwood resigning

his office as a Vice-President of the Society.

Resolved,—That the resignation be accepted with regret, and that

the Secretaries do communicate with Dr. W. G. Van Dort, M.D.,

inviting him to accept the office of Vice-President of the Society ;

that in the event of his declining the honour, the office be offered to

Mr. J. P. Lewis, M.A., C.C.S. ; and, that if not accepted by him it be

offered to Dr. A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.

F. Lushington : recommended by?

P. Raéjaratnum, B.A. : recommend-

ed by

”

No. 54.—1903. | PROCEEDINGS. 49

6. Laid on the table letter (No. 2,810 of February 28, 1903) from the

Hon. the Colonial Secretary forwarding a Memorandum by Mr. R. G.

Anthonisz regarding a Stone Slab at Elie House bearing an inscription.

Resolved,—That the Memorandum be printed in the Society’s

Journal,

7. Laid on the table a Paper entitled ‘‘ The Funerals of Cramer,

Van Eck, and Falck,” by Mr. F. H. de Vos.

Resolved »— That the Paper be referred to Mr. J. P. Lewis for his

opinion.

8. Laid on the table a renee entitled ‘‘ Notes on a Dutch Medal,”

by Mr. P. E. Pieris, M.A., C.C.S

Resolved,—T hat ‘the Paper be referred to Messrs. J. P. Lewis and

F. H. de Vos for their opinions.

9, Laid on the table ‘‘Second Supplementary Paper on the Monu-

mental Remains of the Dutch Hast India Company in Ceylon,” by Mr.

F. H. de Vos.

Resolved,—That the Paper be accepted with thanks and printed in

the Society’s Journal.

10. Laid on the table a letter from the University Library,

Cambridge, soliciting the Society’s Journal.

Resolved,—That the request be complied with.

11. Considered the question of holding General Meetings on

fixed dates.

The Secretaries explained that the suggestion emanated from

Dr. Willey.

Resolved,—That the matter do stand over for consideration at some

future Meeting at which Dr. Willey, F.R.S., is present.

12. Considered the questions of date and business for the next

General Meeting. |

Resolved,— That a General Meeting be held on Saturday, August 1,

1903, and that at the Meeting be read a Paper on ‘‘ Dramatic Poetry

and Literature of the Sinhalese,” by Mr. W. Arthur de Silva, and any

other approved Papers which the Secretaries may select.

13. Considered the question of reprinting Numbers of the Journal

and Proceedings now out of print, and laid on the table correspondence.

Resolved,—That no reprints be undertaken without reference to the

Council, and that a statement be laid before the Council showing

Numbers of Journals, &c., at present in stock and the cost of previous

reprints.

The Hon. the COLONIAL SECRETARY to the HONORARY

SECRETARIES, Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch.

Colonial Secretary’s Office,

No. 2,810. Colombo, February 25, 1903.

GENTLEMEN,—I AM directed by His Excellency the

Governor to forward to you, for insertion in the Society’s

Journal, the accompanying copy of a Memorandum by Mr.

E 29-03

o0 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). | VOL. XVIII.

R. G. Anthonisz, Government Archivist, regarding a stone

slab at Elie House, Mutwal, bearing the following inscrip-

tion :—

Stads Wagt.

A.D. 1702.

A. G. CLAYTON,

for Colonial Secretary.

MEMORANDUM.

The stone has some historical value, as it no doubt marks

the site of the old Dutch Guardhouse put up by Governor

Gerrit de Heire. It formed the northern limit of the city,

which was composed at that time of the Kasteel (Castle)

and the Oude and Nieuwe Steden (Old and New City). The

Town or City Council (Stads Raad) had its jurisdiction

within the Municipal limits,while the rural districts, extend-

ing as far as Chilaw and Puttalam, were under the authority

of the Dissava of Colombo. Stads Wagt (“wacht” in

modern Dutch) means “City Guard.” The stone had evi-

dently been placed over some gateway of the Guardroom.

It had no connection with the present building, which was

put up about 1830-1840 as a private residence by Mr. Philip

Anstruther, then Colonial Secretary. It would seem that at

the time of the building of Elie House some old structure

bearing the stone slab had to be demolished, and the builder,

not to destroy an interesting landmark, had the stone placed

on the floor of the new building to mark the spot.

R. G. ANTHONISZ.

February 18, 1903.

HONORARY SECRETARY, Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon

Branch, to the Hon. the COLONIAL SECRETARY.

Ceylon Branch, Royal Asiatic Society,

No. 60. Colombo, March 2, 1903.

SIR,—1l BEG to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the

Memorandum by Mr. R. G. Anthonisz forwarded with your

letter dated 28th ultimo, and to inform you that it will be laid

before the Council of this Society at its next Meeting.

G. A. JOSEPH,

Honorary Secretary.

No, 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. a1

SECOND SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER ON

THE MONUMENTAL REMAINS OF THE DUTCH EAST

INDIA COMPANY OF CEYLON.

By F. H. ve Vos, Barrister-at-Law, and Member of the Society

of Dutch Literature, &c., of Leyden.

1—Pettah Gemetery, Colombo.

HIER OND® RUST DEERB4® JUFFW.

RACHEL HOGERLIND® HUYSVY

VAN DEN BOECKHOUD® EN ONT

FANG® VAN ’SCOMPS GHERECHTIG

HEDS ALHIER JOHANN CRYTSMAN

GEBOORN DEN 24 JULY A®° 1684

EN OVERLEDY DEN 28 APRIL A°

1707 OUT 22 JARX 9 MAANDEN

EN 4 DAGEN

Translation.—Hereunder lies Rachel Hogerlinde, wife

of the Boekhouder and Receiver of the Company’s Taxes here,

Johann Crytsman. Born 24th July, 1684, and died 28th

April, 1707. Aged 22 years 9 months and 4 days.

Remarks.—See Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XVII., No. 52,

pp. 17, 26, and vol. XV., No. 49, pp. 232, 286.

Rachel Hogerlinde was perhaps the daughter of Pieter

Willemsz Hogerlinde of Dordrecht and Anna Hoepels of

Colombo.

E 2

52 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

2—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER ONDER LEGT

BEGRAVEN

PETRONELLA ELIZABETH

MARSELIS

GEB: DEN 248T'DEC 1816

OVERL: DEN 7°© MAART 1818

: EN

CHRISTINA ELIZABETH KETEL

HUISVROUW VAN

JOHANNES MARSELIS

GEB: DEN 15° NOV® 1783

OVERL: DEN 13°" OCT® 1827

Translation.—Hereunder lies buried Petronella Elizabeth

-Marselis. Born 24th December, 1816. Died 7th March, 1818.

And Christina Elizabeth Ketel, wife of Johannes Marselis.

Born 15th November, 1783. Died 13th October, 1827.

— Remarks.—Johannes Marselis, Third Surgeon,was married

firstly, on the 30th April, 1797, to Gertruida Jansz; and

secondly, on the 4th May, 1800, to Christina Elizabeth Ketel

of Colombo, aidaughter most aan of Michael Fredrik Ketel

of Dokkum.

3—Petiah Cemeiery, Golombo.

RUST PLAETS VAN DEN

EERBARE JUFF® ANNA

GEVERTZ : VAN COL°

IN HAER LEVEN HVYS

VROUW VAN DEN ASSIS

TENT PIETER HOF

LANT OVERLEDEN

DEN 26 JUNY, 1720 OUD

29 JAREN. 5 MAANDEN

EN 27 DAGEN

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. a:

-Translation.—Resting place of Anna Gevertsz of Colombo, —

during her life wife of the Assistant Pieter Hofland. Died

26th June, 1720. Aged 29 years 5 months and 27 days.

Remarks.—Pieter Hofland was born in Colombo and was

married there on the 4th December, 1707, to Anna Gevertsz of

Colombo. perl ort

4—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER UNDER RUST

DEN E COENRAAT DIER

CAPITS DESER STEDE

BURGERY

NATUS NEUREN B 6° FEBY 1655

~OBYT 26 JULY A®° 1702

Translation.—Hereunder rests the Hon. Coenraad Dier,

Oaptain of the Burgery of this City. Bornin Neurenburg,

6th February, 1655. Died 26th July, 1702.

Remarks.—See Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XVII., No. 52,

p. 32. |

5—Pettah Cemetery, Coiombo.

Translation.—Thomas van Vliet. Died llth June, 1634.

Remarks.—See Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XV., No. 49,

p. 222, and vol. XVII., No. 52, p. 13.

For sketch of tombstone see Appendix, Plate I.

6—Pettah Cemetery, Golombo.

GEHEYLIGD

TER GEDAGTENIS

VAN i

SERAPHINA SANSONY

GEHBOOREN }

DEN 9. DECEMB® 1801

OVERLEEDEN 298tT MAART

aor d:

OUD 9 JAAREN 3 MAADEN

EN 20 DAGEN

o4 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

Translation.—Saered to the memory of Seraphina San-

sony. Born 9th December, 1801. Died 29th March, 1811. °

Aged 9 years 3 months and 29 days. : .

Remarks.—Dr. Joseph Sansony, who was stationed in

Matara, and who died on the 3rd May, 1807, was married to

Johanna Dorothea Julia Wilhelmina Schorer, widow of Sam-

uel Pieter Foenander of Calmar, and daughter of Jan Willem

Schorer of Middelburg, Chief of Trincomalee, by his second

wife, Juliana Cornelia Lebeck. The children of this mar-

riage were : (1) (Johanna) Seraphina (Juliana) Sansony ; (2)

Angelica Sansony, born 4th September, 1805; (3) James

Roeland Sansony, born 10th December, 1806; (4) Joseph

Sansony, born J4th February, 1808, died in Galle 1st March,

1831; married (1) Maria Elizabeth Atkinson and (2) Sarah

Henrietta Staats.

7—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo,

HIER. LEYT BEGRAVEN

DEN EERSAMEN,

JOB GOUTIER,

IN SYN LEVEN

VRYBORGHER,

EN, VICEPRESES VAN ’T

CIVILE COLLEGIE

GESTORVEN: DEN. XVI

FEBRY, AO = 1689:

OUT. LXII: JAAREN

Translation.—Here lies buried the Honourable Job Gou-

tier, during his life Free Burgher and Vice-President of the

Civil College. Died 16th February, 1689. Aged 62-years.

Remarks,—See Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XVIT., No. 52,

p.2l.

No. 94.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. ay)

8—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER LEYT BEGRAVEN DE

KERBARE JUF® DOMINCA SUA

RUS WAARDE HAUSFRAUW

VAN DEN E = JACOB HALS

BURGER CAP!" DESER STE

DE COLOMBO OBYT DEN

28 JUNY A° 1721 OUD

40 JAREN 9 DAGEN

Translation.—Here lies buried Dominca Suarus, worthy

wife of Jacob Hals Burgher, Captain of the City of Colombo.

Died 28th June, 1721. Aged 40 years and 9 days.

Remarks,—See Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XV., No. 49, p.

232, and vol. XVII., No. 52, p. 18.

9—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER LEGGEN BEGRAVEN

ANIKE -FOCKES _

IN ZYN LEVEN BAAS DER

SCHEEPSTIMMERLIEDEN AL

HIER OVERLEDEN DEN 13 OC

TOBER ANNO 1740 |

EN DESSELFS OUDSTE DOGTER

JOHANNA ISABELLA FOCKES

HUYSVROUW VAN DEN CHI

RURGYNMAJOOR TE GALE

JAN WILLEM NIEPER

HIER OVERLEEDEN DEN

13 JULY A® 1754

Translation.—Here lies buried Anike Fockes, during his

life Baas of the Ships’ Carpenters. Died here on the 13th

October, 1740. And his eldest daughter Johanna Isabella

Fockes, wife of the Surgeon-Major of Galle, Jan William

Nieper. Died here 13th July, 1754.

Remarks.—See Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XI., No. 49,

p. 252, and vol. XVII, No. 52, p. 24.

56 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). - [VoL. XVIII.

Anike Fockes was a native of Amsterdam, and was married

in Colombo, 31st May, 1722, to Catharina van Laten, baptized

in Colombo, 21st March, 1705, daughter of Gerrit Jansz van

Laten of Embden, Boekhouder, and Isabella Pietersz.

10—Pettah Gemetery, Golombo.

HIER RUST \

QUIRYN GOUTIER

~~ OUT 29 JAAREN

STERFD 16° APRIL

ACO

Translation.—Here resis Quiryn Goutier. Aged 29 years.

Died 16th April, 1697. |

Remarks.—See Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XV., No. 49,

p. 245, and vol. XVII., No. 52, p. 21.

Quiryn Goutier was married in Colombo, 10th July, 1689,

to Elizabeth Chiap of Colombo, who married, as widow

Goutier, in Colombo, 21st October, 1703, George Albertsz of

Insterburg. ;

1i—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER LEYT

BEGRAVEN

DEN

E-ZACHARIAS

KAKELAAR

ZAL® IN SYN LEVEN

KOOPMAN

EN SECRETARIS-

ALHIER GEBOOREN

DEN 18 MAART

eta | ss

OVERLEDEN

DEN 20 JULY 1690 | |

Translation.—Here lies buried the Hon. Zacharias Kake- —

laar, during his life Koopman and Secretary here. Born

18th March, 1652. Died 20th July, 1690. Bie

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. a7

Remarks.—Zacharias Kakelaar was married.to Petronella

van Zon, and had by her (1) Barbara, baptized in Colombo,

22nd February, 1688; and (2) Helena, baptized in Colombo,

31st July, 1689. ene tae flea

12—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER. RUST

DE. EERBARE

IUFFROU W

RACHEL. BROUWERS

HUYSVROU. VAN DEN

OPPERCHIRURGYN

DES CASTS COLOMBO

JAN JACOB BRUNEK

OUT 24 JAER 9 MAA®

DEN II DAGEN. ENDE

OVERLEEDEN. |

DEN 25. JANUARY

ANNO

1691.

Translation.—Here rests Juffrouw Rachel Brouwers, wife

of the Chief Surgeon of the Fort of Colombo, Jan Jacob

Brunek, aged 24 years 9 months and 11 days, and died on

the 25th January, 1691.

Remarks.—See Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XVIL., No. 52,

Oe Oo.

13—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER ONDER RUST, ’T LYCK

VAND’HERBARE JUFFROUW

JOANNA BODDENS. LAETSTE

WEDUWE WYLENDEN ON

DERCOOPMAN PIETER ROOS

ZAL? OVERLEDEN DEN 95

JUNY A° 1708 OUD 44 JAREN |

Translation.—Hereunder rests the body of Johanna Bod-

dens, last widow of the late Onderkoopman Pieter Roos of

blessed memory. Died 9th June, 1708. Aged 44 years.

a8 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). | [Vou. XVIII.

14—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER RUST HET LYK

VAN DE E PIETER ROOS ;

IN SYN LEVEN ONDER ,

COOPM® PRESIDt VAN

WEESMEESTEREN, EN

CIVILEN RAAD ALHIER

OVERLEDEN DEN 2325

XBER A° 1705 OUT 49 JAA

REN 10 MAANDEN

Translation.—Here rests the body of the Hon. Pieter

Roos, during his life Onderkoopman and President of the

Orphan Masters and Civil Court here. Died 23rd December,

1705. Aged 49 years and 10 months.

15—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER RUST

CATHARINA ELISABETH

WOLFF,

HUISVROUW VAN DEN HEER

J. H. RECKERMAN.

GEHBOOREN

DEN 21stE MAART 1773,

EN OVERLEEDEN

DEN liste FEBRUARY 1803

Translation.—Here rests Catharina Elizabeth Wolff, wife

of J. H. Reckerman, born 21st March, 1773, and died

llth February, 1803.

Remarks.—Jan Hendrik Reckerman (son of Jan Hendrik

Reckerman of Onna) was first married to Ulrica Wilhelmina

Caspersz. He married secondly, in Colombo, on the 14th

August,1796, Catharina Elizabeth Wolff, baptized in Colombo,

28th March, 1773, daughter of Jan Sebastiaan Wolff of

Amsterdam and Anna Cornelia Leutz of Kalutara, widow of

Hendrik Willem Francke of Batticaloa.

No. 54,—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. D9

16—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER RUST DEN

ONDERCOOPM.

JOANNES HUYS-

MAN GEBOREN

OP JAFF: DEN 25

FEB: 1670 OVERL

TOT COLOMBO

DEN 21..SEPT. A”:

1709 OUD SYN-

DE 39 JAREN 6 M* EN 28

Translation.—Here rests the Onderkoopman Joannes Huys-

man. Born in Jaffna, 25th February, 1670. Died in Colombo

21st September, 1709. Aged 39 years 6 months and 26 days.

Remarks.—Joannes Huysman was the son of Marten

Huysman of Rotterdam, Director of Bengal, and Magdalena

Castelyn (I. Wapenheraut, 118).

- 17—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER RUST DE EER-

BAARE JUFF® OTI

LIA BORMAN ZAL*®

GEWEESE HUYS

VROUW VAN DEN

-BOECKHOUDER S8S®

DIRCK BRUMMER

GEBOOREN OP CO

LOMBO DEN 4° ZB*®

A° 1700 DEN 16" JU

NY A° 1721 IN DEN

HEERE ONTSLAE

PEN : HIERMEDE RUST

DIRCK ANTONY BROMMER

SOONTJE VANDEN BOEKHO

UDER DIRCK BROMMER EN

OTILIA BORMAN GEBOR® D29

M 1721 D* 9..8BIND*S HEERE ONTSLAEPEN

60 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Von XVII.

Translation.—Here rests Juffrouw Otilia Borman of blessed*

memory, late wife of the Boekhouder Dirck Brummer. Born

in Colombo, 4th September, 1700. Died 16th June, 1721.

There also rests here Dirck Antony Brommer, a little son of

the Boekhouder Dirck Brommer and Otilia Borman. Born

29th May, 1721. Died 9th October.

hemarks.—Otilia Borman (Borremans ?) was the daughter

of Antony Borremans of Keulen and Gertruida van der Putte.

Dirk Brummer (Brommer ? ) was a native of Bremen, and

was married to Otilia in Colombo on the 22nd May, 1718.

18—Pettah Gemetery, Golombo.

HIER LEYT BEGRAVEN

M8 HENDRICK JA

COB VAN TOLL

IN SYN LEVEN AD

SISTENT IN COMPS

DIENST OVERLEDEN

DEN 25 NOVI-MB®

ANNO 1702

Translation.—Here lies buried Mr. Hendrick Jacob van

Toli, during his life Assistant in the Company’s Service.

Died 25th November, 1702.

19—Pettah Cemetery, Golombo.

HIER LEYT BEGRAV*’

CORNELIS HANECOP

VAN JAFFANAP™ IN ZYN

LEVEN ADSIST: TEN

DIENSTE DER E. COMP

GEBOOREN DEN 16.

SEPT2£2 A° 1674 EN OVER

LEDEN DEN 14 JAN®Y 1702

Translation.—Here lies buried Cornelis Hanecop of

Jaffnapatnam, during his life Assistant in the Service of the

Honourable Company. Born 16th September, 1674. Died

14th J anuary, 1702. |

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. 61

Remarks.—See Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XV., No. 49,

p. 285, and vol. XVIT., No. 52, p. 30.

For sketch of tombstone see Appendix, Plate III.

20—Pettah Gemetery, Colombo.

HIER LEGT BEGRA

VEN DEN EERSAMEN

JACOB PIETERSZ LOOS

VAN AMSTERDAM

IN SYN LEVEN BAAS

VAN’S COMPS WAPEN

KAM® ALHIER GEBO

REN DEN 155 FEBR*

1655 OBYT 8% JAN*¥

| ANNO 1702

Translation.—Here lies buried Jacob Pietersz Loos of

Amsterdam, during his life Baas of the Company’s Armoury

here. Born 15th February, 1655. Died 8th January, 1702.

_ Remarks.—Jacob Pietersz Loos was married in Colombo,

on the Ist June, 1681, to Margarita Dirks de Vries of Colom-

bo. He was the ancestor of the Loos family of Ceylon.

21—Pettah Cemetery, Golombo.

HIER LEYT

BEGRA VEN

JAN

WEEMA YER

IN SYN LEVEN

CRUYTMAKER

OBIT

DEN. I—APRIL

A° 1686

Translation.—Here lies buried Jan Weemayer, during his

life Gunpowder Maker. Died Ist April, 1686.

Remarks.—Jan Weemayer was married to Annetje Jansz

Verhaare of Batavia, who married, as widow Weemayer,

Hubert van Kranendonk of Batavia.

62 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

22—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

HIER LEYT

BEGRAVEN

WILLEM MEYER

OVERLEDEN

DEN 6 XBER A° 1678

OUT SYNDE

60 JAAREN

Translation.—Here lies buried Willem Meyer. Died 6th

December, 1678. Aged 60 years.

23—Pettah Cemetery, Golombo.

GENES. 49. VERS 18.

OP UWE SALIG

HEYDT WAC

HTE, ICk HEERE.

HIER RUST D. EERBAER

KE JUFFROU MARIA GERR

EKTSEN VAN COLOMBO

IN HAER LEVEN HUYSVRO

UWE VAN DEN SCHIPPR® IA

N DE WANDEL SY. IS GEBO

OREN DEN 12, JUNY 1664. OV

ERLEDEN DEN. 3. MAY A°® 16

94 HAER. OUDER DOM 29

JAER 11 MAENDEN 9 DAGEN

Translation.—Genesis 49, verse 18.

I have waited for Thy Salvation, O Lord.

Here rests Maria Gerretsen of Colombo, during her life

wife of the Skipper Jan de Wandel. She was born on the

12th June, 1664. Died drd May, 1694. Herage 29 years 11

months and 9 days.

femarks.—Maria Gerretsen was married (1) to Matthys

Cornelisz, a miller ; and (2) in Colombo, on the 10th January,

1683, to Jan de Wandel of Maldegem. |

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. 63

24—Pettah Cemetery, Colombo.

Remarks.—F¥or sketch of tombstone of Johannes Strick,

see Appendix, Plate II.

For translation of epitaph and biazon of arms, see Journal,

R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XV., No. 49, p. 286.

25—Jafina.

Hatchment on wall of the Church.

See Appendix, Plate IV.

Translation.—Baron de Reder. Born in Goldberg in Silesia,

25th May, 1706. Died in Jaffnapatam, 26th March, 1769.

— Remarks.—The above inscription is not included in the

‘‘ Lapidarium Zeylanicum.” Baron de Reder accompanied

Governor van Eck in his expedition to Kandy, A.D. 1766.

Before he was Commandant of Jaffna he was Captain in the

Prussian Regiment of Knobelsdorf.

26 — Jaffna.

HIER RUST HET LYK

VAN MEJOUFFROW

SUSANNA ANTHONIA VAN PELT

WAARDE HUYSVROUW

VAN DEN E. AGTBAREN HEER

JAFFNAPATNAMS COMMANDEUR

JACOB DE JONG

GEBOREN TE BATAVIA

DEN 22 MAART 1727

OBIIT DEN 12 OCTOB® 1751

OUD 24 JAREN 6 MAANDE 27 DAGEN

NOG LEGT HIERONDER

HET ZOONTJE VAN GEMELD JUFFW

JULIUS ABRAHAM AARNOUTSEN

NATUS TE COLOMBO DEN 21 MEY 1747

OBIIT DEN 18 NOVEMBER, 1748

OUDI JAAR 5 MAANDEN 27 DAGEN °

64 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII. ‘

Remarks.—The epitaph of Anthonia van Pelt is incom- —

plete as given in “ Lapidarium Zeylanicum,” 86. It should.

be as over.

27—Jafina.

HEND® PHI" VOS

HUYSVROUW VAN

DEN ORDIS® VUURWERKER.

THOMAS NAGEL

GEBOREN 20 MAY AN® 1754

OVERLEEDEN 23 JUNY

ANNO 1774, :

Translation.—Hendrina Philipina Vos, wife of the ordi-

nary ‘‘ fire-worker’”’ Thomas Nagel. Born 20th May, 1754.

Died 23rd June, 1774.

Remarks.—This tombstone is at present used as a stepping

stone to the house of a native about four miles from Jaffna.

Hendrina Philipina Vos was the daughter of Hendrik

Martin Vos of Bussenbot, who came out in the ship * Lange-

wyk,”’ and Johanna Carlier. Thomas Nagel was afterwards.

Chief of the Wanny.

23—Jaffna.

In the epitaph of Floris Blom the last line is omitted in the

* Lapidarium Zeylanicum,” 79. It runs :—

Seecee DEN EN 6 DAGEN

(months and 6 days).

RBA ASEEAURRLIETY (CAT ERR TET

29—Jaffna.

On the inner wall of the Jaffna Fort.

GOD IS DE OPPERSTE REGTER.

Translation.—God is the Supreme Judge.

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS.

30—Trincomalee.

HIER RUST IN DEN

HEERE

-MEJUFF. JOHANNA

JACOBA SIEMONSZ

IN LEEVEN HUISV.

VAN DEN OPPERCHI

RURGYN JOH. HEND.

HARTSZ OUD 35 JAA

REN 2 MAAND. GEB

TE TRINK. DN 31 AUG

A. 1757, OVERLEEDEN

1 NOVEMB. A° 1792.

Translation—Here rests in the Lord, Johanna Jacoba

Siemonsz, during her life wife of the Chief Surgeon Johan

Hendrik Hartsz. Aged 35 years and 2 months.

Died Ist November,

Trincomalee on the dst August, 1757.

Apes.

31— Trincomalee.

ICH LIEGE UND SCHLAFFE

GANTZ MET FRIEDENDEN

DER HERR HELFT MIR DAS

ICH SICH ER WOHNE

MEJUF® JOH. HENR. PIETERS

IN LEEVEN HUISV® VAN

DEN WELED. MANH. HEER

GERRIT DE LANGE LUIT

TER ZEKE EN EQUIPAGIEM

THE TRINKONOMALE

GEB. TRINKO. 10 JAN A® 1758

OVERLEDEN 31 MAY A. 1794.

Born in

Translation.—I lie and rest altogether at peace, the Lord

helping me that I dwell in Him.

Johanna Henrica Pieters, during her life wife of the

gallant Gerrit de Lange, Naval Lieutenant and Harbour

29-03

66 JOURNAL, R.A.8. (CEYLON). [Von. XVIII.

Master of Trincomalee. Born in Trincomalee, 10th January,

1758. Died 3lst May, 1794.

Remarks.—Gerrit de Lange was a native of Beeren, and

was previously married to Anne Catharina Betger of

Colombo.

32—Trincomalee.

HIER ONDER RUST DEN WELED. MANH. HEER

ANTHONIE HAGEMAN IN LEVEN KAPITEIN

DER

MILITIE GEB. TE STOKHOLM DEN 31 JANU-

ARY, 1729

IN DEN HEERE ONTSLAPEN 30 JULY, 1793

Translation.—Hereunder rests the gallant Anthonie

Hageman, during his life Military Captain. Born in

Stockolm, 31st January, 1729. Died 30th July, 1793.

His daughter Johanna Dorothea Hageman was the wife of

Lieut.-Colonel Francois Piachaud of the De Meuron Regi-

ment.

J3J3— trincomalee.

HIER LEGT DE ONWARDEERBARE EGH

TGENOOT DE GOEDHARTIGE VADER DEN WEL

EDEL GEBOOREN HEER JACQUES FABRICE

VAN SENDEN IN LEEVEN KOOPM. EN OPPER

HOOFD VAN TRYNCONOMALE GEB. TE UTRECHT.

IN HET JAAR 1755 |

OV. HIER OCT. 1789

OUD 34 JAAR

HOE KORT IS HET LEEVEN

HOE LANG IS DE EEUWIGHEIT

Lranslation.—Here lies the inestimable husband, the good-

hearted father, Jacques Fabrice van Senden, during his life

No. 94.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. 67

Koopman and Chief of Trincomalee. Born in Utrecht in the

year 1755. Died here 1789.

How short is life !

How long is eternity !

Remarks.—Jacques Fabrice van Senden was married in

Colombo, 5th April, 1778, to Sara Maria Francina Holst,

baptized in Colombo 7th February, 1761, daughter of Gerrit

Engel Holst and Maria Francina Schokman, and had a

daughter Angelica Frederica Maria Welhelmina van Senden,

baptized in Colombo 3rd October, 1779.

3%4—Jaffina.

Remarks.—¥or sketch of tombstone of Anna Elizabeth

Mom, see Appendix, Plate V. The epitaph has already been

translated in the First Supplementary Paper. Journal, R.A.S.

(C.B.), No. 52, vol. XVII., 1901, p. 39.

35—Jaffna.

For sketch of tombstone see Appendix, Plate VI.

Translation.—Here liesiburied Barent van Schuylenburg,

during his life Captain in the Service of the Honourable

Company. Died 23rd September, 1673.

Arms.—(D’or) a trois crampons (de sa).

Remarks.—Barent van Schuylenburg was at Manaar, A.D.

1641 (II. Wapenheraut, 229). Another Barent van Schuy-

lenburg was Captain in Batavia, A.D. 1703 (IV. Wapen-

heraut, 90).

36—Galle.

For sketch of the arms on the tombstone of Michael

Adriaansz, see Appendix, Plate VII. The epitaph has already

been translated in the original Paper.

68 7 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVILE

: 37—Galle.

For a sketch of the arms on the tombstone of Laurentius

Hemling, see Appendix, Plate VIII. The epitaph has already

been translated in the original Paper.

38.

Gold medal :—

UYT NAME DER

EDELE NEEDERLANDSE

DOORLUGTIGE MAATSCHAPPY

WERD DOOR DEN WEL EDELEN HEER GOUVERNe

M® ISAAC AUGUSTIN RUMPF

RAAD ORD? VAN INDIA DIT GEDENKTEEKEN

VEREERT AAN DON SIMON WIEDJE

WARDENE MODLIAR OPZIGTER OVER DE

BAYGAMS, GIREWAYS, CATOENE

OEDOEBOCKE EN KIRAMA, DIE NIET

ALLEEN IND’ ORD? DIENSTEN VAN JAAG

SAAY MEESTER EN OPZIGTER MAAR

OOK IN D’ EXTRAORD? AANPLANTING

VAN COFFY IN ZBER 1720 INGEVOERT

ALLE DE GAALSE EN MATURESECE

HOOFDEN IN GEHOORSAAME

NAARSTIGHEYT SEER VERRE

HEEFT OVER TROFFEN

Remarks.—On reverse side a full sail. Below it, between

a bird perched on a tree, two shields, the dexter charged with

an elephant and the sinister being the arms of Governor

Rumpf. At the bottom “Colombo den 4 Feb., 1722.”

Translation.—In the name of the Honourable Illustrious

Dutch (East India) Company was, by the Hon’ble the

Governor Mr, Isaac Augustin Rumpf, Ordinary Councillor of

India, this commemorative medal presented to Don Simon

Wiedjewardene, Mudaliyar, Superintendent of the Baygams,

Gireways, Catoene, Oedoebocke, and Kirama, who not only in

the ordinary services of master and overseer of the hunt and |

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. 69

sowing, but also in the extraordinary planting of coffee

introduced in September, 1720, greatly excelled all the Galle

and Matara chiefs in obedient zeal.

39.

DOOR DEN

WEL EDELEN

AGTBAREN HEER

RAAD EXTRAORDINAIR VAN

INDIA EN CEYLONS GOUVERNEUR

STEPHANUS VERSLUYS

IS DESE MEDALIE AAN DON SIMON

WIEDJEWARDENE ILANGACON

MODLIAR TOT EEN TEEKEN VAN EERE

OM HEM DAAR DOOR VOORTAAN IN

SYN DIENST MEER EN MEER TE EN

COURAJEEREN AFGEGEVEN IN’T

CASTEEL COLOMBO

DEN 9 JAN. 1731.

Translation.—By the Hon. Extraordinary Councillor of

India and Governor of Ceylon Stephanus Versluys is this

medal given, in the Fort of Colombo on the 9th January, 1731,

to Dou Simon Wiedjewardene Ilangacon, Mudaliyar, as a

token of honour to thereby more and more encourage him

in his services.

Gold medal :—

40.

GEGEVEN

DOOR DEN HEER RAAD ORDINAIR

EN GOUVERNEUR VAN CHILON

WILHELM JACOB VAN DE GRAAFF

AAN

DON COENRAAD PIETER DIAS WIJEYWARDENE

BANDARENAIJKE MAHA MODELIAAR EN HOOFD

VAN

Gold medal :—

te FS

70 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

DE HINA KORLE OM HEM EN ZYNE NAZAATEN

NA HEM TE |

DIENEN TOT EEN TEEKEN VAN EERE EN ERKEN-

TENIS VAN

DE TROUWE WAARMEEDE HY STEEDS DE KOM-

PAGNIE GEDIENT

HEEFT EN WELKE HY ONDER ANDEREN NIET

ALLEEN GETOOND )

HEEFT IN HET JAAR 1790 TER GELEGENHEID

DAT IN DE AAN |

GRENSENDE KORLES VERSCHEIDE ONGEHOOR-

ZAAME DAADEN

GEPLEEGD ZYN MAAR OOK INZONDERHEID GE-

DUURENDE |

DE DAAR NA ONTSTAANE TRUBBELEN MET HET

HOFF

VAN KANDIA EN ZULK IN’T VAST VERTROUWEN

DAT DEESE BYZONDERE BLYK VAN DISTINKTIE

HEM EN ZYNE NAZAATEN NA HEM ZAL STREK

KEN TOT VERDERE AAN MOEDIGING OM BY

VOORTDUURING GETROUW EN YVERIG TE ZYN

IN DEN DIENST VAN DE KOMPANIE

KOLOMBO DEN 23 AUGUSTUS

1792

Remarks.—On reverse side two shields, one charged with

a lion rampant with the motto “EHendraght maackt macht”

(Union is strength) ; the other with a ship in full sail with

the words “Ver. Ned. 0.1. Comp.” (United Dutch East

India Company).

Translation.—Given by the Ordinary Councillor and

Governor of Ceylon Wilhelm Jacob van de Graaff to Don

Coenraad Pieter Dias Wijeywardene Bandarenaike, Maha

Mudaliyar and Chief of the Hina Corle, to serve him and his

descendants after him asatoken of honour and acknowledg-

ment of the fidelity with which he has always served the

Company, which he has shown, among other occasions, not

No. 94.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. 71

only in the year 1790, when certain riotous acts were

committed in the neighbouring corles, but especially during

the troubles which thereafter arose with the Court of Kandy,

and this in the firm belief that this special mark of distinc-

tion will tend to encourage him and his descendants after

him to further fidelity and zeal in the service of the Company.

Colombo, 23rd August, 1793.

Remarks.—Don Coenraad Pieter Dias Wijeywardene Ban-

daranaike was married on the 4th December, 1768, to Louisa

Jeronymus.

41.

BY MY

JULIUS VALENTYN

STEIN VAN GOLLENNESE

EERSTE RAAD EN DIRECTEUR GENER.

VAN NEDERLANDSCHE INDIA EN AF

GAANDE GOUVERNEUR EN DIRECTEUR

VAH HET EYLAND CEILON BILLYK

GELET ZYNDE OP DE GOEDE EN GETROUWE

DIENSTEN GEDUURENDE ONS AGTJARIG AAN

WESEN TEN DEZEN EYLANDE DOOR

PHILIP PHILIPSZ WIDJEYCOON

PANDITARATNE MAHA MUDALIAAR

EN EERSTE TOLK ONZER PORTA IN VERSCHY

DENE QUALITEITEN AAN D’E COMP.

BEWESEN ZO ZYN WY DAARDOOR

BEWOGEN GEWORDEN ONZE WEL

WILLENDHYD TE HEM WAARDS DOOR

DEZEN GEDENKPENNING BY ZYNE

NAZATEN TE BEVESTEN EN

VERZEKEREN

GEGEVEN IN HET CASTEEL

COLOMBO

DEN 7 MAERT 1751.

Translation.—I, Julius Valentyn Stein van Gollennese,

Chief Councillor and Director-General of the Dutch Indies,

Gold medal :—

72 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

and departing Governor and Director of the Island of Ceylon,

having justly considered the good and faithful services

rendered in various capacities to the Honourable Company

during our eight years’ stay in this Island by Philip Philipsz .

Widjeycoon Panditaratne, Maha Mudaliaar and Chief Inter-

preter of our Gate, we have been thereby moved to show our

regard to him by confirming and assuring this commemorative

medal to his descendants. |

Given in the Fort of Colombo on the 7th March, 1751.

Remarks.—Philip Philipsz was the father of Henricus

Philipsz, the Predikant.

42.

An oval gold medal :—

(Obverse.)

TER

GEDAGTENIS VAN

D’ EERWAARDE HEER

GERARDUS POTKEN

V.D.M. EN ZIJN

KERW. HUIJSVROUW Z.G.

SOPHIA MAGDALENA ECOMA

DOOR ZIJN EERW. GEGEVEN

AAN DESSELFS KLEIJNDOGTER

MARIA MAGDALENA POTKEN

OP HAAR EERSTE VERJAARDAG

DEN 23 NOVEMBER

ESO:

(heverse.) |

Coat of Arms.—Quarterly (1) Muniz; (2) and (3) Potken ;

(4) Ecoma. |

Translation.—Given in remembrance of the Rev. Gerardus

Potken, V.D.M., and his late wife Sophia Magdalena Ecoma,

by His Reverence to his grand-daughter Maria Magdalena

Potken on her first birthday, the 23rd November, 1753. |

femarks.—Maria Magdalena Potken was the daughter of

Gabriel Willem Potken of Colombo and Henrietta Huberta

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. 13

Raket of Jaffna. She married in Colombo onthe 27th October,

1771, Julius Valentyn Bauert of Colombo, an Assistant in the

service of the Dutch East India Co., son of Jan Bauert of

Treptow in Mecklenburg, Dissave of Matara, and Catharina

Berghuys.

As regards the arms, see “ Lapidarium Zeylanicum,” 88.

_ The Ecoma coat of arms,as given in the 4th quarterly, is a

negro’s head between four lozenges, and therefore somewhat

different from the arms of the family in “ Lapidarium Zey-

lanicum,” plate 27.

43.

VOLGENS HET

BESLOOTENE IN RAADE VAN

CEILON OP DEN 28 SEPTB. 1765 HEEFT

DE WEL EDELE GROOT ACHTB. HEER GOU

VERNEUR EN DIRECKTEUR VAN CEILON ME.

IMAN WILLEM FALCK DEEZE GEDENK PEN

NING MET DE DAARAAN GEHECHTE GOUDENE

KETEN 7

UYT NAAM EN VAN WEGEN DE NEDERLANDSCHE

O. I. MAATSCHAPPY OP DEESEN 30 OKTOB. 1765

GESCHON | |

KEN AAN SAMEREDIVAKER DASSANAYKE

WIKKEREMESINHE MODLIAAR VAN DE HAPIT

TIGAM KORLE TER BELOONINGE VAN ZYNE AAN

DE MAATSCHAPPY BEWEEZENE TROUWE DIENS-—

TEN

INZONDERHEID GEBLEEKEN BY DEN OPTOGT

NAAR KANDIA VAN DEN WELEDELEN GROOT

Gold medal :—

ACHTB.. HEER LUBBERT JAN BARON

VAN ECK H.L. M. GEDUURENDE

HET VERBLYF VAN ONZE BEZETTING AL

DAAR EN ALLER MEEST BY HAAREN

AFTOGT NAAR

HERWAARDS.

74 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

Translation.—In terms of the Resolution in Council of

Ceylon of the 28th September, 1765, the Hon. the Governor

and Director of Ceylon Mr. Iman Willem Falck has, on the

30th October, 1765, presented, in the name and on behalf of

the Dutch East India Company, this medal with gold chain |

attached, to Sameredivaker Dassanayke Wikkeremesinhe,

Mudaliyar of the Hapittigam Corle,as a reward for his faithful

services to the Company, especially in the march to Kandy

of the Hon. Lubbert Jan Baron van Eck of sacred memory,

during our occupation of the place, and chiefly during our

retreat hither.

44.

Inscription on a silver salver, the property of Mrs. Dias

Bandaranaike of Mutwal :—

TER GEDAGTENIS VAN

JACOB VERBOOM

IN SYN LEVEN ONDERKOOPMAN EN GKES-

WOREN

CLERK TE SECRETARIE VAN HEEREN SCHE-

PENEN

DER STAD BATAVIA

OBIIT DEN 29 AUGUSTY 1728

OUT SYNDE 38 JAA. IM EN 24 DAG.

Translation.—To the memory of Jacob Verboom, during

his life Onderkoopman and Sworn Clerk of the Secretariat of

the Sheriffs of the city of Batavia. Died on the 29th August,

1728, aged 38 years 1 month and 24 days.

45.

Inscription on a similar salver, the property of Mr. Robert —

Samaradiwakere of Pelahela :—

TER GEDAGTENISSE VAN DEN WEL EDELEN

HEER ADRIAAN OOSTWALT EERSTE RAAD

EN DIRECTEUR GENERAAL VAN NEDERLANDS

INDIA OVERLEDEN DEN 29 DECEMBER A° 1734

OUD 60 JAAREN II MAANDEN EN 16 DAGEN

No. 54.—-1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. 75

Translation.—To the memory of the Hon. Adriaan

Oostwalt, Chief Councillor and Director-General of the

Dutch Indies. Died on the 29th December, 1734, aged 60

-years 11 months and 16 days.

Remarks.—Adriaan Oostwalt was born in Breda, 14th

January, 1674, and died in Batavia, where his tombstone is

still to be seen. (VII., Wapenheraut, p. 427.)

46.

Oval gold medal with chain, property of the widow of the

late Hon. J. de Alwis, M.L.C. On the reverse a ship.

TER

GEDAGTENISSE VAN

DE DOORGRAVINGE EN VAERT

OVER NENDOEMALE IN HET

LAK VAN MOROTTOE BEGONNEN

EN VOLEIDIGT IN DEN JAARE 1771

ONDER DE REGEERING VAN

DEN WEL EDELEN GROOTACHTBAREN HEERE

Mr. IMAN WILLEM FALCK

RAEDEXTRAORDINAIR VAN NEDERLANDS

INDIA GOUVERNEUR EN DIREKTEUR VAN HE

EY |

LAND CYLON ENDEN RESORTE VAN DIEN

WORD MET DIT TEEKEN VAN EERE EN ER-

KENTE

NISSE BEGUNSTIGD DON DANIEL

ALVIS GOENETILEKE SAMMERESINGE

MODLIAR VAN DE SALPITTY CORLE

OVER EN VAN WEGENS ZYNEN GE

DUURENDE HET GANTSCHE WERK

BETOONDEN ONVERMOEYTEN

VLYT EN ARBEID

76 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

Translation.—In commemoration of the opening of a canal

over Nendoemale in the lake of Morottoe, begun and com-

pleted in the year 1771, under the administration of the Hon.

Mr. Iman Willem Falck, Extraordinary Councillor of the

Dutch Indies and Director of the Island of Ceylon and the

Dependencies thereof, with this token of honour and recog-

nition is favoured.

Don Daniel Alvis Goenetileke Sammeresinge, Mudaliyar

of the Salpitty Corle, by reason of the indefatigable zeal and

industry displayed by him during the construction of the

whole work.

47.

Oval gold medal, property of the widow of the late Hon.

J.de Alwis, M.L.C. On the reverse 14 cinnamon plants

AAN

DON DANIEL ALWIS

GOENETILEKE SAMERESINGHE

MODELIAAR VAN SALPITIE

KORLE DEN BESTEN KANEEL

PLANTER GESCHONKEN

VAN WEGENS REGEERING VAN CEILON

Translation.—Presented on behalf of the Government of

Ceylon in 1773 to Don Daniel Alwis Goenetileke Samere-

singhe, Mudaliyar of the Salpiti Korale, the best cinnamon

planter. |

No. 54.—1903.| DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS, oT

48.

Over the entrance to the old military hospital, Hospital

street, Galle :—

AKERSLOOT

A° 1750.

Remarks.—This bastion was no doubt named after the

birthplace of Willem Jacobsz Coster. The marriage register

of Batavia records his marriage thus :—

“ 30 Juli 1637. Willem Jacobsz Coster, Commandeur van

Akersloot

Weduwnaar van Willemtze Ren

| tet =

Johanna Goosens van Dantzic jonge dogter ”

(30 July, 1637. Willem Jacobs Coster, Commandeur of

Akersloot, widower of Willemtze Ren, with Johanna

Goosens of Dantzic, spinster.) The same register informs us

that after Coster’s death (Nillegala, 21st August, 1640)

Johanna Goosens married in Batavia, 14th February, 1643,

Pieter Soury of Rotterdam, Commissaris, widower of Agnita

Cluyten.

49.

On a silver tobacco box in the possession of Dr. Pieris :—

HEYMAN.

Adolph Martin Heyman, an Ensign in the Dutch Service,

was a native of Leuwenstein. He was married in Colombo,

26th July, 1789, to Cornelia Henrietta Philipsz, who married,

as widow Heyman, Christoppel de Saram, fourth Maha

Mudaliyar.

9 ee eae

73) JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). (Vou. XVIII.

CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS.

(L. Z., 81.)

The tombstone of Anthony Mooyaart contains the

following verse :—

IK BEVIND’T NU. GEWIS

DAT STERVEN MYN GEWIN IS

(I now find for certain that death is my gain.)

(L. Z., 84.)

The following verse on the tombstone of Daniel Agreen

has been omitted by Ludovici :—

GEEN WYSHEID WAS OOYT ZOO GROOT

ALS DIKMAALS DENKEN OM DEN DOOD

(There was never greater wisdom than a frequent contem-

plation of death.)

BAX.

Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XV., No. 49, p. 279, and vol.

KY PES NO. O2;, pol |

This tombstone has just been discovered in Galle, inadrain

close to the staircase leading to the District Court.

Johan Bax belonged to the family Bax van Herenthal.

He was afterwards Governor of the Cape, where he died 29th

June, 1678.

Aletta Hinloopen was the daughter of Jacob Hinloopen,

schepen en raad of Amsterdam, and Maria Huydecoper

van Maarsseveen, who married, as widow, Bax, Jan van

Leenen. Phd

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. ‘19

The arms on the tombstone are elaborate, being the

quartered arms of two Bax families, viz., Bax van Herenthal

and Bax de Hertoge, but no colours are indicated. Accord-

ing to Rietstap (“ Armorial Général ”) the arms on the tomb-

stone would be blazoned as follows :—

| Ke. aux | et 4 Vor a trois gourdes de sin ; aux 2 et3d’or a

trois pals d’azur ; au chef de gu. ch. d’un lion léopardé d’arg.

au surtout d’arg. au chef de gu. ch. d’un lion leopardé d’arg.

The first and fourth quarterings are the arms of the Van

Herenthal branch, the second and third quarterings of the

De 1 ghee branch.

INDEX.

Aarnoutzen, 63 Cluyten, 77

Adriaansz, 67 Cornelisz, 62

Agreen, 78 Coster, 77

. Albertsz, 56 Crytsman, 51

Alwis (de), 75, 76 Dier, 53

Atkinson, 54 Keck (van), 63, 73

Bandaranaike, 69, 70, 71

Bauert, 73

Bax, 78

Berghuys, 73

Betger, 66

Blom, 64

Boddens, 57

Borman, 59, 60

Borremans, 59, 60

Brommer, 59, 60

Brouwers, 57

Brummer, 59, 60

Brunek, 57

Carlier, 64

Caspersz, 58

Castelyn, 59

Chiap, 56

Ecoma, 72, 73

Falck, 73, 75, 76

Fockes, 55, 56

Foenander, 54

Francke, 58

Gerretsen, 62

Gevertsz, 52, 53

Gollennese (van), 71

Goosens, 77

Goutier, 54, 56

Graaf (van de), 69, 70

Hageman, 66

Hals, 55 —

Hanecop, 60

Hartsz, 65

Hemling, 68

Herenthal (van), 78, 79

30)

Hertoge (de), 79

Heyman, 77

Hinloopen, 78

Hoepels, 51

Hoflant, 52, 53

Hogerlinde, 51

Holst, 67

Huysman, 59

Tlangacon, 69

Jansz, 52

Jeronymus, 71

Jong (de), 63

Kakelaar, 56, 57

Ketel, 52

Kranendonk, 61

Lange (de), 65, 66

Laten (van), 56

Lebeck, 54

Leenen (van), 78

Leutz, 58

Loos, 61

Maarsseveen, 78

Marselis, 52

Meyer, 62

Mom, 67

Mooyaart, 75

Nagel, 64

Nieper, 55

Oostwalt, 74, 75

Panditaratne, 71

Pelt (van), 63, 64

Philipsz, 72, 77

Piachaud, 66 |

Pietersz, 56, 65

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Potken, 72

Raket, 73 |

Reckerman, 58

Reder (de), 63

Ren, 77

Roos, 57, 58

Rumpf, 68

Sammeresinghe, 75, 76

Sansony, 53, 54

Saram (de), 77

Schokman, 67

Schorer, 54

Schuylenburg (van), 67

Senden (van), 66, 67

Siemonsz, 65

Soury, 77

Staats, 54

Strick, 63

Suarus, 55

Toll (van), 60

Verboom, 74

Verhaare, 61

Versluys, 69

Vliet (van), 53

Vos (de), 51

Vos, 64

Vries (de), 61

Wandel (de), 62

Weemayer, 61

Wiedjewardene, 68

Wikkeremesinghe, 73

Wolf, 58

Zon (van), 57

3.| DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS.

No. 54.—190

APPENDIX

¥,

i 4

Meath

Plate~I.

ant

ou. XVIII.

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON).

Aparna rp -~ Aa nasa eae

——————SS

SS Se

E oo --

- ca a — a

Plate I].

‘

Ie AUEAE e

a eee aes

— S a

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS.

84 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

NAT GOLDBERGAEINSILESIA ATT Ne i

D.XXV. MAIL. MDCCVI_ LILLY fame

| aK oe

UU Sse

Por area i Ber:

Plate IV.

No. 54.—19038.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS.

HIER ONDER RURTHET LYKVAN

pjuFFROUW

ANNA ELIZABETH Mom

TINLEVEN HuYsvRouw VANDEN

ENVK 23

3] KoopMANEN ADMINISTRATEUR ALHIER [64

) Der HEER |

\loANNES BARBERTUS VAN CoEvervEN|§

GEBOORENDEN 269ULY 4723 EN

OVERLEEDENDEN 9! ZEPTEMBER 3777 fi}

Plate V.

86 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

Hi HIER LEGTBEGRAVEN BARENT VAN

(1 SCHUYLENBURG,INSYNLEVEN CaPI

M) TEYNTENDIENSTDER E:ComP! OVER-

() LEDENDEN 23- SEPTEMBER A: J673:-

WATLEVEN ERFT ,

VERGAET, EN STERFT : :

Plate V1.

No. 54.—1903.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS.

MPOII@ ETE,

3 pooaere?

of :

Plate VII.

ou. XVIII,

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON).

ITLA 93d

No. 54.—1903.] PROCEEDINGS. 89

GENERAL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, August 1, 1903.

Present :

The Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G.,

President, in the Chair.

The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., F.R.C.J., Vice-President.

Mr. C. Batuwantudawa, Advocate. | Mr. F. Lewis, F.L.S.

Mr. W. A. de Silva, J.P. Sir W. W. Mitchell, C.M.G.

Ven. F. H. de Winton, Arch-| Mr. P. E. Morgappah.

deacon. The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. | Mr. E. W. Perera, Advocate.

Mr. C. M. Fernando, B.A., LL.B. | Mr. P. E. Pieris, M.A.

Mr. I. Gunawardhana, Muda-| Mr. H. White, C.C.S.

liyar. : Dr 7A, Willey, M.A., D.Sc. Lon.,

Mr. P. D. Khan. F.RS.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Visitors : Two ladies and eighteen gentlemen.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of General Meeting held on March

9, 1903.

2. The election of the itloning Members since the last General

Meeting was announced :— |

(1) Mr. A. Van Der Poorten.

(2) Mr. J. B. Carruthers, F.L.S.

(3) Mr. F. Lushington.

(4) Mr. P. Rajaratnum, B.A.

(5) Mr. A. K. Coomaraswamy, B.Sc., F.L.S., F.G.S.

(6) Mr. A. J. Wickramasinha.

3. The following Paper was read by the author :—

H 29-03

— 90 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

DRAMATIC POETRY AND THE LITERATURE OF THE

SINHALESE.

By W. ARTHUR DE Sitva, J.P.

A REMARKABLE fact that strikes a student of Sinhalese

is the absence of dramatic poetry initsold literature. There

is not even a mention made of a dramatie work in any of

the books that are now in existence. A class of dramatic

works in the Sinhalese language, which hardly lays pretence

to literary merit, has sprung up at a very recent date. These

are written in imitation of Tamil and Gujarati Indian

dramas. With the exception of drama, the old literature

of the Sinhalese now in existence contains works of merit

in all other branches of literary activity. The scholars of

Ceylon in olden times were in communication with the chief

centres of scholarship in India. Interchange of visits and |

of ideas and books are clearly seen. The more important

Sinhalese books bear a close relation to Sanskrit works in

their style and method of arrangement. Such well-known

Sanskrit dramatic works of merit as Sakuniala, Urvasi,

Nagananda, Mudrarakshasa, Marichikatha, some of them

depicting Buddhist ideas, must have been familiar to the

scholars of the Island. Can it be possible that dramatic

literature that existed in the Island was lost when the Tamil

invaders destroyed the libraries of the Sinhalese, or when

King Rajasinha collected and set fire to Sinhalese works ?

But the books that have been rescued or preserved from this

general destruction are of a varied character; or, were the

dramatic works written by Sinhalease authors of such an

inferior order that they were soon forgotten or thrown away

as worthless? Here, also, it is improbable that scholars who

were able to produce poetical and other works of merit were

not able to produce anything of equal merit in drama.

Under these circumstances it has to be presumed that for —

some reason or other no dramatic literature was produced —

No. 54.—1903.] DRAMATIC POETRY. 91

by Sinhalese authors. Learning was confined to the Bud-

dhist temples. The more important Sinhalese literary works |

have been composed by the Buddhist Bhikkhus, and the

encouragement of drama was not compatible with their

religious views. This may account for the absence of

dramatic works in the old Sinhalese literature. Mr. R. W.

Tevers, in his “ Manual‘of the North-Central Province,” p. 25,

in summarizing the description of Anurddhapura given by

the Chinese Bhikkhu Fa-Hian, writes: “ The sacred tooth was

publicly exposed on sacred days in the capital, and thence

was carried in procession to the mountains without fear

(Abhayagiri and Mihintalé), while dramatic representations

of events in the life of Buddha, illustrated by scenery and

costumes, were given.”

The paragraph, if it is the correct rendering of what

Bhikkhu Fa-Hian has written in describing Anuradhapura,

shows the existence of sacred drama performed with scenery

and costumes in Ceylon so far back as 414/4.D. However, on

reference to the latest edition of the “Travels” by Bhikkhu

Fa-Hian, translated by Prof. James Legge and published at

the Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1886, the passage referred to by

Mr. levers reads quite differently. It does not in any sense

give the slightest ground for the allegation that Fa-Hian

witnessed any dramatic performance. !t reads: “......... and

when this proclamation is over the king exhibits so as to line

both sides of the road the five hundred different bodily

forms in which the Bodhisatava has in the course of his

history appeared, here as Sudana, there as Sama, now as

the king of elephants, and then asa stag or a horse. All

these figures are brightly coloured and grandly executed,

looking as if they were alive. After this the tooth of

Buddha is brought forth and is carried along in the middle

of the road. Everywhere on the way offerings are pre-

sented to it, and thus it arrives in the hall of Buddha in

the Abhayagiri Vihara.”’ ?

It appears that after the occupation of the Island by

Kuropean nations old traditions and prejudices. against

H 2

92 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

dramatic performances were gradually discarded by the

people. At this period parties of players from South India

found audiences among the Sinhalese.

The Sinhalese themselves organized performances in

imitation of the Tamil plays and composed their own books.

These books were mostly translations of Tamil ones. There

are also a few adaptations of current popular stories. The

plays were known as nadagam, from the Tamil nadtakam.

They were performed in many a town and village. In the

villages it became a common amusement. Each village in

turn took upon itself to put on the stage a nddagama ; the

players were selected from among the residents; the

stage was erected in some open space; the performances.

were continued for weeks together. There arestill in many

a village old men who recount their performances personat-

ing a king or prince or some hero in a nadagama with the

greatest pride. There are others who, through a distinguished

performance of parts allotted to them, have ever after borne

the name of the character they represented in the village

nadagama. The nadagama is no more the popular perform-

ance it was some years since. A large proportion of nada-

gam plays were written by uneducated authors. It is only

at a very late stage of these compositions that one or two

have been added to the list by authors with some learning.

At the time the nadagam were getting into disfavour,

another class of drama came to the front so late as the

eighties. They are Indian ndtyas, popularly known in

Ceylon as nrvtya. A number of dramatic works of this class

has been composed in imitation of Gujarati plays, and these

came into popular favour through performances given in

Colombo. In consequence of the advent of the two classes:

of dramatic performances mentioned above, viz., nadagam

and natya, a number of dramatic works have recently come

into the Sinhalesé language. The works can in no way be ~

classed as literature, though there are a few that have been

composed with some skill.

No. 54.—1903. | DRAMATIC POETRY. 93

We have now over twenty well-known nadagam works

printed and published in Sinhalese. The arrangement of

subject-matter in these works, the songs, verses, and dram-

atis persone, bear a close resemblance to each other. ‘There

are two plays connected with the history of Ceylon: the

Sinhawalli and Ehelapola. The Sinhawalli nadagama

relates the origin of the Sinhalese race from the so-called

descendants of the lion of the Wanga country; the Khela-»

pola nadagama depicts the last act in the Sinhalese history

and the incidents that took place in 1815 prior to the

acquirement of the Kandyan territories by the English

Government. Both these works have been compiled by

one Philippu Sififio, a man who was known as a singer

and composer, and who is said to be the first author of a

Sinhalese nadagam. Philippu Sififio died in Colombo about

the year 1850, and is said to have been about eighty years

of age at the time of his death. He lived in the

early English period, and was an uneducated blacksmith

who worked in his smithy daily. The man had associated

with South Indian players and had picked up their music

and songs. He composed the nadagam in imitation of the

Tamil works. The songs and words for his nadagam were,

it is said, mostly composed while at work in his shop. They

were daily traced on the walls of the smithy with a piece of

charcoal ; after the day’s work was over the notes thus made

on the walls were committed to paper. The following day

a fresh crop of songs and verses were again put on the

wall.

The following is a list of naddagam works attributed to his

authorship: Sinhawalli, Ehelapola, St. Josephat, Susew,

Helena, St. Nicholas, Visvakarma, Wurtagam, Matdlam,

Senagappu, Three Kings, Sulambdwati.

Philippu Sififio was a Roman Catholic by religion, and his

introductory invocations are composed to agree with his

religious views, with a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu forms.

Except perhaps Khelapola, which is based on current events

of the time, the rest of the works are adaptations from

” = tt ae a

(«94 | JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

existing common works and poems. Sinhawalli and

Sulambawati are adapted from Siyabasmaldama and Sulam-

bawatikatawa, both Sinhalese poems that were commonly

read at the time. Four of the works—St. Josephat, Susew,

Helena, St. Nicholas—are from Catholic sacred history,

and the rest are mostly translations of Tamil natakam. The

combination of religious beliefs, where in the same work

Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism are put under contri-

bution in the introductory invocations by the author, betray

the readiness which the unedueated display in believing

everything which may be popularly brought before them.

Sinhawalli bears quotation not only as showing the common

mixture of religious ideas, but also the language which

was used in the composition of these dramas. The language

is a mixture of Sanskrit and Sinhalese words selected more

for their high sounds and pedantic display than with any

view of elegance of style or expression of thought. It is

noteworthy that the names of two of the masters of Sinhalese

poetry,as Vidagama and Totagamuwe, have been cited as the

authors from whom the words are followed. The names

Vidagama and Totagamuwe are household words among

the Sinhalese ; they are the names of two places where the

two most popular and best known authors, Mahanétramula

Sthavira of Vidagama and Vachissa Rahula Sthavira of

Totagamuwa lived. The writer of these nddagam works

could not have been familiar with any of the poems of

these authors, and much less with the rules of Sinhalese

prosody.

The following are the four verses of the prologue in the

Sinhawalli Nadagama :—

ad 969 BD ¢2n(?) Sa Aia(?) geSac(?) BAC 2

BOD AZ DGEDDisIe® GGA QED HMO 23

E072 BASS O48 OG®) G&D BHOMa6 2

ETD @@ Gdvse EmMsIH) ©) AmocD os

Sarwa prana trina arta(?) padarta(?) srashtikala sumulan

Saruwa bala mahimétma dévati devituman

Duruwa siyaluma désa yoma diva kulunayen

Atwa oba srivada dinantra ma rekadevan.

No. 54.—1903. | DRAMATIC POETRY. 95

The great and all-powerful god of gods (who) made all living beings,

plants, meanings, and words, remove all my faults by extending to me

your divine kindness, and make me the possessor of your speech, and

protect me from day to day.

ADH O C856 4H HNN SE HMA DMTID Ose 9

FAsoxay COzng eMe@Onomdedat aDEDIA snsoe

ETOD BM

BMIHMHE OBOE Sy Knaia® DBand™ go WavdTsdcos Mo

HBA] QOO QO BjOBDd QSz &O@O)© 25D OF MO uy

BIODS ABIG Ms

Butsarana damsarana sangasarana pratyaksha nermita wandana

Adhyanta ramyavii Anadamahaterindutat kelawaraka safiga-

sarana atwena

Satgunavu perada visu prakkramsa katikavi gurunge saranina

Yutvu mema yugapevati guru sevoma kavi veradi kamévi asanu

yatatvemi betiyena.

I worship in proper form the Buddha, Dharma (law), and Sangha

(order), and the extremely noble great Théré Ananda, and seek the

guidance of the Sangha (order), and the teachers of the age who exist

by the guidance of the virtuous, powerful, and elequent of old. 1

prostrate before you’ with reverence and crave you to listen to my

verse and overlook its shortcomings.

DBO OMMHESB GAIOOS ESyO gassind gaaOmd

2)(soas

DAIa oes OS295 56 DQRSE Aw geen ae Ba

SID EQHVDOSH@OS

ESM BOBO BHDMDO, BHODGE Snsamad Ba

Se Oh OFoOOS

DBHES GOB Ewocsd B6HBACE ESD Dena Sad

_ Tunga wansadipati rajangamaya dirapura abyantara bramana-

kara wejabemin

Wangadesa rajakarana Wagunirindu lat Maydvatikumari

Siharajuta agravu bisovemin

Angawira sura Sinhabékumaru Sinhawalli jatavi kesara piya

vida mara rajavemin

Gangadara veni dasadesata kirti Sinhala upata wardanaya min

patan.

Princess Mayawati, daughter of King Wagu of the royal house of

the great and noble descent, who lived in great splendour, shedding

a lustre beyond his city, and reigning in the Wanga country, became

the chief queen of the Sinha King ; and her children, the great divine-

formed Sinhaba and Sinhawalli, killed the Sinha King, and obtaining

the kingdom became the origin of the great Sinhalese race, whose

fame has spread in the ten directions like that of the god Gangadhara.

96 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

BSB O BWL08 ESQORD DODED DO anid sO

BRESAHIOM Dy Wo

BBO O OBS BOB yOD ED GOsde OHatg) oe

vaNh)

oO Be 0 Soa Bos Be,OD GMMOOlE MSDS one

DEAD BD

MOMSO 70H KRIAneasT KMD Madea

DMS sar a Baw MD

Timirayata pehedimaya dipamén Eluwadana wrata térunwa

sihiparikshagena nena

Pemetituta pera pevati puwata dena savandi mahatwi man-

priya wadawana

Elupadata pratama kit Vidaégama Totagamada kaviswara pa-

bandavu wadanena

Natakayata serasu kiviragayen Sinhawalli nataresta vanami

sabe betiyend

Having heard with great delight and loving satisfaction the venerable

story, and understanding it as clearly as if a lighted lamp had dispelled

darkness, I sing with pleasure in public the story of Sinhawalli,

dramatized in the language of Widagama and Totagamuwe, the great

poets renowned for their knowledge of Elu verses.

As regards EKhelapola Nadagama, if the author had not

been so hopelessly ignorant and uneducated he would have

been in a position to know the incidents connected with

the deposition of the last Kandyan King. Sri Wikrama

Raja Sinha is depicted in the work asa cruel and inhuman

monarch hated by the Sinhalese. The one note that is struck

throughout the whole work is that the king, being a Dravi- |

dian Waduga, the Sinhalese were disgraced by allowing him

to ascend the throne; he is continually mentioned as the

Waduga foreigner. The imposition of new taxes and the

undertaking of large and useless public works are attributed

to the king as having specially pressed on the people. The

drama brings all incidents—the capture of the Kandyan

King, the banishment of Ehelapola Adigar, and the rising

of the people under the Chiefs Madugalle and Keppetipola—

together as events succeeding each other within a few days.

There are a few other nadagam works. The Kusa Nada-

gama and Wessantara Nadagama are based on the two

familiar Jataka stories. They display a certain amount of

literary skill in their composition. A naddagam play is not

divided into actsand scenes, and commences with a prologue,

No. 54.—1903.] DRAMATIC POETRY. 97

which is usually written in the form of verses with high

sounding words, and invoking the blessings of gods and the

support of the audience. Nextcome the clowns; before they

appear on the stage the manager describes them in a verse,

viriduwa, and introduces them; they dance and sing.

Nextis introduced a young and accomplished student, who

is expected to be refined in his tastesin contrast, to the

clowns, and who sings and dances to sustain that character.

Then come the prophets or the learned men, who are

introduced with due gravity, and who repeat in short verses

the plot of the story and the moral to be derived from it.

The story is next started; the kings and the queens are

always preceded by the criers and pages. Hach time a new

character appears or a new incident takes place, the manager

explains itin a verse. The wordsin a nadagama consist of

four-lined verses and songs of different metres and a few

conversational sentences.

The second class of plays, natya, are of more recent

origin. The following are some of the best-known ndtya in

Sinhalese: Indrasabha, Sandawati, Kdlidds, Ramayana,

Romlin, Romeo and Juliet, Rubina, Eugene and Milan,

Brumford, Three Sisters, Nala, Sinhawalli, Orison, Daskon,

_ Aladin, Ali Baba, Ehelapola, Harischandra, Sirisangabo.

The plots of these plays are mostly derived from popular

stories. Sinhawalli, Hhelapola, and Harischandra appear

also in the form of nadagam ; Kalidasa, Ramayana, and Nala

are from Indian stories; Aladin, Ali Baba, and Three Sisters

are from the Arabian Nights Stories ; others, such as Romeo

and Juliet, are from the English. There is an arrangement

of acts and scenes in the ndtya plays which is entirely

absent in the nadagam. These plays on account of the

scenery and the new music introduced through them, became

popular among the Sinhalese, and displaced the older ndda-

gam to a great extent. Mr.C. Don Bastian of Colombo is the

first to compose this class of drama, and, among others, Mr.

John de Silva has added a number of popular historical

plays to the list.

are Os

Corre 4 was «

ee pow ADs

. — -

+ S ‘

~ ty

98 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Mr. Harwarp said Mr. D. B. Jayatilaka, who was unable to be

present, had forwarded some written remarks, but he thought it

would be hardly regular for him to read the Paper. It was decided

that the letter should be forwarded to Mr. Bell, who edits the Society’s

Journal, in order that portions of it might be embodied in the Paper as

published.” " |

Mr. E. W. PEeReRA said he rather demurred to the introductory

portion of Mr. de Silva’s Paper. There were distinct allusions to the

drama having existed in early Sinhalese times (vide Mahdwansa, chap.

X., v. 87). In the history of the 12th century mention was made not

only of strolling players, but also of theatres and performances

(Mahawansa, chap. UXVL., v. 133 ; td., chap. LXXIIL., vv. 82 to 86).

The present day drama (Sin. nadayam), which he took it was derived

from the Sanskrit (cf. Skt. natakam ; Prakrit nado), as acted in the

South, was essentially Sinhalese in character. There were other depart-

ments of Sinhalese drama (rukada netima, ‘“‘ marionettes”), in which the

ordinary avocations of village life were represented, and kolan netima,

‘comic dances,’ where masked players imitated the antics of wild

animals.

The PRESIDENT: I think the last speaker’s remarks are distinctly

interesting as an addition to the Paper. I am afraid it is not a

subject that [ know anything about, but when Mr. de Silva was

reading his Paper it struck me as curious that a nation such as the

Sinhalese should not have had early dramatic poetry. On the other

hand, I think Mr. de Silva’s point that he might almost presume that

there are no written records of the early dramas is also a curious point.

In the last speaker’s remarks I was struck by his reference to plays

taking the form of animal shows and representations of the ordinary

village life. These, of course, are the forms of dramatic performances

which occur all over the world in the early stages of civilization, and

we should certainly expect to find them in Ceylon ; and I cannot help

thinking that a little more research on the part of some Members of

this Society will find that a clear record has been left of early dramatic

literature amongst the Sinhalese.

Mr. Harwarb said that those who had studied the history of the

Parakrama period would perhaps incline to the view that there

undoubtedly was a drama in Ceylon at the period mentioned, but that

it was a drama performed by Indian performers, and probably in the

original Sanskrit. He had little doubt that the masterpieces of the

Sanskrit drama were performed in Ceylon, and, in support of this, he

pointed to the Sanskrit coinage and the Indian architecture in Ceylon

at that period.

Mr. C. M. FERNANDO said that ten years ago he had read a Paper

there on Music in Ceylon, and he had promised to read another Paper

on Sinhalese Music. He had always halted at that point. It was

difficult to separate what was exclusively Sinhalese from what was

Indian. It was difficult to say where Indian began and where Sinhalese

ended. He would not go so faras Mr. Harward and say that the

old dramatic literature was entirely Indian. It was Indian and

Ceylon interwoven one with the other. Their life was so bound up

one with another it was difficult to separate Indian from Ceylon ideas.

* Published in the Appendix.

No. 54.—1903.] PROCEEDINGS. 99

With regard to the argument founded on the Sanskrit characters on

ancient coins, some one 500 years hence might say with equal effect

that the language talked when Ceylon was governed by the British

was Latin, because the Latin language appeared on our present coinage.

_ Ceylon had been avery rich country, and had been the object of

rapacity by other nations, and the old libraries were burned and very

little remained. What does remain is what the Buddhist monks

translated from Sinhalese into Pali, and now they were turning them

back from Pali into Sinhalese. (Hear, hear.)

The PRESIDENT : I hope the last speaker will not halt any longer

at the point of thinking about telling us something about Sinhalese

music. [think the difficulty of distinguishing it from Indian music is

one which he could probably solve, and I hope that he will oblige us

with a Paper. (Hear, hear.)

After a brief reply by Mr. de Silva the discussion on this Paper

closed.

4. Mr. Harwarp, inthe absence of Mr. F. H. de Vos, read extracts.

from the following Paper :—

100 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

THREE FUNERALS OF CEYLON DUTCH OFFICIALS IN

THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.

Translated from the Dutch and annotated by F. H. DE Vos, Barrister-

at-Law, and Member of the Society of Dutch Literature, &c., of

Leyden. |

ROBERTUS CRAMER, a native of Amsterdam, was Superin-

tendent of the Galle corle civca 1735, Chief of Trincomalee

circa 1743, and Dissave of Colombo circa 1755, in succession

to Peter Elders Schuttrup. He died in Colombo on the 23rd

October, 1760, and was buried there. The following is an

account of his funeral (translated from the Dutch), to be

found in Part X. (1761), pages 208 to 212, of the Nederlandsch

Mercurvus. I have not been able to get in Ceylon any parti-

culars of the parentage of Robertus Cramer. He was twice

married—firstly to Elizabeth Steenhuysen; and secondly,

in 1751, to Magdalena Elizabeth van Hek of Jaffna, widow of

Francois van de Rondewerken. By his first wife he had: (1)

Hendrik, born in Galle, 1735 ; and (2) Catharina Magdalena,

born in Galle in 1737. The issue of the second bed were (3)

Maria Elizabeth, born in Colombo, 1755, married Matheus

Petrus Rakat; (4) Anna Henrietta, born in Colombo, 1757;

and (5) Magdalena Theodora, born in Colombo, 1759. There

were other families of the name of Cramer settled in Ceylon

in the Dutch period, viz., Johannes Cramer of Batavia (1736),

Adriaan de Cramer of Leyden (1707), and Johannes Bernardus

Cramer of Wezel (1757). Of the Cramers present at the

funeral Mattheus Robertus Cramer, Dirk Cramer, and

Gerbrand Cramer were probably the sons of Robertus Cramer.

Hendrik Cramer (his son) was an Onderkoopman in 1758,

and Storekeeper, Tuticorin, 1777, and was married in Galle,

ath April, 1760, a few months before the death of his

father, to Cornelia Elsebe de Salve, born in Galle, 1740,

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. | 101

daughter of Pierre de Saive of Leemond, Chief of Mannar,

and Johanna Catharina Meyer. The children of Hendrik

Cramer were: (1) Pierre Robertus Marcus, born in Galle,

1765; (2) Magdalena Henrietta, born in Tuticorin, 1771;

and (3) Johan Hendrik Gerrard, born in Tuticorin, 1774.

Hendrik Cramer died in 1787,

As was and is customary on such occasions, the relations

of the deceased followed next to the hearse. Of these,

leaving out the Cramers (one of whom was certainly, and

the others probably, sons), Henricus Leembruggen was

the son-in-law and Mattheus van Hek the father-in-law of

the deceased. What relation Johannes Blauwestein was to

Robertus Cramer I have not been able to ascertain. There

was in 1756 one Johannes Blauwestein, Chief Storekeeper

of Colombo, who was married to Maria Elizabeth Cortsz, and

had by her a son, Joris Johannes, born in Colombo in 1720.

Johannes was probably the son of Joris Blauwestein of

Rotterdam, Voorlezer in Colombo in 1688, and who died

before the 14th February, 1697, as on that day his widow,

Anna van Ravensway of Hertogenbosch, was married to

Martinus Leermans of Dordrecht, an assistent in the Dutch

service.

TRANSLATION.

The Funeral of Robertus Gramer, Opperkoopman and

Dissave of the Lands of Colombo.

On the 23rd October, 1760, there died in Colombo Mr.

Robertus Cramer, Opperkoopman and Dissave of the Lands

of Colombo. The funeral was attended by the following |

persons :— |

There marched in advance a company of Lascoreens of the

Attepattoe, in command of the Muhandiram Domingo

de Saram, and followed by two more companies from the

Aloetkoer and Salpitty corles, with the sound of cymbals

and with standards.

102 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVII.

A company of the military, 48 strong, in command of a

Captain-Lieutenant, and an Ensign with the third standard,

2 sergeants, 2 drummers, and 2 fifers, the spontoons, belts,

the standard, and the halberds overhung with crape, and the

drums with black cloth. .

The Onderkoopman Johannes Philip Stork carrying

the arms of the deceased.

[Johannes Philip Stork (son of Gerrard Willem Stork,

Burgomaster of Oldenzaal, and Agnita Potken) was born in |

Oldenzaal, 12th November, 1719, and died in Colombo on

the 16th November, 1785, having left issue by his wife

Petronella Elizabeth Fabricius. |

Six aanspreekers (i.¢e., persons who called out the names

of the persons in the order in which they were to follow

the hearse) in mourning with trailing cloaks.

The body of the deceased (the coffin) overhung with the

four quarterings of his arms and on the same his sword.

Mattheus Robertus Cramer.

Hendrik Cramer.

Henricus Leembruggen.

[Henricus Leembruggen (son of Johan Leembruggen of

Leyden and Wilhelmina Bloteling of the Hague) was born

in Leyden in 1721 and died about the year 1783. He was

Private Secretary to Governor Steyn van Gollenesse in 1744,

afterwards Chief of the Cinnamon Department, Dissave of

Colombo, &c., and was four times married ; secondly, on the

Sth October, 1744, to Dina Cramer of Cochin, daughter of

Robertus Cramer. |

Mattheus van Hek.

[ Mattheus van Hek, born in Galle in 1709, Thombo-holder

of Jaffna, was married to Elizabeth van der Spar. Their

daughter Magdalena Elizabeth married (1) Francois van de

Rondewerken, and (2), on the 9th May, 1751, Robertus

Cramer. Mattheus van Hek was the son of Leonard van

Hek, Administrateur of Galle, and Maria Speelder, and the

grandson of Isaac van Hek of Schoonhoven, Storekeeper,

Colombo, and Johanna van Veen of Alkmaar. |

Dirk Cramer.

Gerbrand Cramer.

Johannes Blauwestein.

No. 54.—1903. FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 103

The Hon., &c., Jan Schreuder, Extraordinary Coun-

cillor of the Dutch Indies, Governor and Director of

the Island of Ceylon and the Dependencies thereof.

[Jan Schreuder was a Hamburger. He was born on the

12th February, 1704, and died in Batavia 16th January, 1764.

He was married in Batavia to Clara Gertruida de la Haye,

born in Batavia, 15th November, 1729, died there 1769, and

had by her (1) Cornelis Valentyn, born in Batavia, 3rd

December, 1751, who married secondly, 23rd December, 1777,

Lady Catharine van Rappard; (2) Hubert Jan, born in

Colombo, 4th February, 1759.

Susanna Engelberta, his daughter, born to him when

Director of Surat, was most probably the daughter of a

previous marriage (Lapidarium Zeylanicum, p. 26). Eschels

Kroon, Beschryving van het Hiland Sumatra (Aanhanzel),

Haarlem, 1783, p. 170, says that Schreuder began life as a

common soldier. |

The Hon. Godfreid Creitsman (Kretschmar ?).

The Hon. Jan Bauert, Opperkoopman.

[Jan Bauert was a native of Treptouw in Mecklenberg.

He was Lieutenant and Chief of the Fort of Kalutara, and

for some time Dissave of Matara, and married in 1744

Catharina Berghuys. His son Julius Valentyn was married

to Maria Magdalena Poiken, and was thus allied by marriage

to Johannes Philip Stork, who carried the arms of the

deceased. | |

Pieter Libert Smidt, Koopman and Chief Storekeeper.

| [See Journals, R.A.S., C.B., No. 49, Vol. XV., p. 230, and

No.2, Vol. XVITI., p. 17.]

| Wouter Rudolph van Sanden, Koopman and Fiscal.

[ Wouter Rudolph van Sanden was married to Wilhelmina

Margarita d’Everdingen van der Nypoort. |

Hendrik van der Hof, Koopman and Soldy-Boekhouder.

| He was afterwards Storekeeper of Colombo, and retired

with the rank of a Koopman. |

Lieve Nicolaas Meyboom, Koopman and WNegotie-

Boekhouder.

| He was expected in Ceylon from Batavia in 1759.]

Huybert Hoogerwaard, Koopman.

[ Onderkoopman, 1732; Chief of the Mahabadde, Colombo,

1748; Koopman, 1753 ; Chief of Calpentyn, 1755; Administra-

teur, Jaffna, 1762, where he died about the year 1766. ]

104, JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

Joan Hugonis, Koopman and Secretaris.

[Joan Hugonis was a native of Stockholm, and was married

in Colombo in 1756 to Arnoldina Wilhelmina Fabricius of

Byteveld, widow of Harmanus Meutz of Amsterdam, Onder-

koopman, and daughter of the Rev. Arnoldus Wilhelmus

Fabricius. |

Frederick Rohne.

Hendrik Jallink.

Leonard van Hek.

Johannes van Hek.

Isaac van Hek.

[Isaac van Hek was brother of Leonard van Hek, and was

born in Tuticorin, 1692. Another Isaac van Hek was born

in 1721, being the child of Adriaan van Hek and nephew of

Leonard van Hek, who was Secretaris of the Orphan

Chamber, Jaffna, in 1762.]

Jurgen van der Spar.

[ Opperkoopman and Chief Administrateur, Colombo, 1741;

Extraordinary Councillor of the Dutch Indies, 1748 ; Ordi-

nary Councillor of the Dutch Indies and President of the

Orphan Chamber, Batavia, 1753; died 5th February, 1766.

In 1750 he attended the funeral of Baron van Imhoff. ]

Philippus van der Spar.

[Resident of Point Pedro, 1756. He died in 1793. There

was another Philippus van der Spar, who was a Boekhouder

and Secretaris van Justitie, Jaffna, in 1731, and afterwards.

Administrateur there, where he died in 1762. ]

Lourens van der Spar.

[Storekeeper, Jaffna, 1747 ; Thombo-holder, 1755. He was

born in Galle, 1716, being the son of Johannes van der Spar

and Anna Verwyk, and brother of Maria Magdalena van der

Spar, born 1711, and Anna van der Spar, born 1715. ]

Engelbert de Moor.

[ Boekhouder, Colombo, 1730; Secretarts of the Orphan

Chamber, 1733. He was born in 1706, being the son of

Pieter de Moor of the Hague, who came out to Ceylon in

1700 in the ship “ Ryggersdal,” and Johanna Obrak of

Kalutara, most probably the daughter of Arent Obrak of

Amsterdam. Engelbert was twice married, (1) in 1731 to

Plantina van de Rondewerken and (2) in 1756 to Anna van

Geyzel. |

ea,

No. 54.—-1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 105

Barent Kriekenbeek.

| Secretaris van Politie,Colombo,1739; Onderkoopman,17156;

Member of the Landraad, Colombo, 1760 ; Superintendent

of the Iron Magazine, 1761; Secretaris van Justitie, 1762 ;

retired in 1772 with the rank of Onderkoopman, and died in

1778. Barent was born in Colombo, 25th August, 1712,

being the son of Marinus Petrus Kriekenbeek and Susanna de

Bruyn, and the grandson of Rutgerus Kriekenbeek of Wyk

by Duurstide, the original settler, who came out in 1659 by

the ship “ Zeelandia.” Barent was twice married, (1) in

1736 to Catharina Ritmeyer and (2) in 1747 to Cornelia

Dominicus. |

Dirk Berghuys.

[Dirk Berghuys, Chief Surgeon, was (about 1720) mar ried

to Adrianna Swinnas, and was stationed in Galle, 1721-33. ]

Willem van Gent.

Mattheus van der Spar.

[Mattheus van der Spar, born in Jaffna, 19th May, 1730;

died in Galle, 24th November, 1806, where he was Adminis-

trateur ; was first married in Galle, 20th February, 1757, to

Dorothea Cornelia van Dam of Colombo, daughter of

Christiaan van Dam of Tuticorin and Anna Driemont of

Batavia. He married (2) in Colombo, 29th July, 1781,

Johanna Gertruida Fybrandsz, daughter of the Rev. Johan

Joachim Fybrandsz. The only child of the second marriage

was Johan Joachim van der Spar, Consul for the Netherlands

and merchant in Galle. |

Johannes van der Spar.

[Born in Jaffna, 1733, was brother of Mattheus. He was

Consumptie Boekhouder in the office of the Dissave, Galle,

1760 ; Consumptie Boekhouder, Mannar, 1780; Chief Clerk

of Politie, Jaffna, 1783; and died in 1802. He married in

Galle, 4th May, 1760, (1) Adriana Dorothea van Bern, born

in Colombo, 1744, daughter of Hermanus van Bern Bellinger-

woldeschans, Dissave, Colombo, died there 1746, and Elizabeth

Wilhelmina Driemont of Tuticorin, born 19th October, 1724,

daughter of Paulus Driemont, Chief of Manapaar, and Doro-

thea Maria Sonderburg. Johannes van der Spar married (2)

Anna Henrietta Dormieux, widow of Abraham Evert Lebeck. |

Adrianus van der Spar.

Justinus van der Spar.

[Justinus van der Spar, Secretaris van Justitie, Jafina, was —

married to Maria Petronella Dormieux, half-sister of Anna

Henrietta Dormieux, wife of Johannes van der Spar. |

I : 99-03

106 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVII.

Jacobus Gysbertus Ladenius.

[born in Colombo, 1731; son of Hermanus Ladenius of |

Leeuwaarden, an Ensign in the Dutch Service, and Susanna

Elizabeth de la Croix. |

-Barent Cramer.

Bartholomeus Jacobus Raket.

Isaak Adrianus Raket.

Elias Raket.

Daniel Raket.

Mattheus Raket.

[ Bartholomeus Jacobus Raket, Comimandeur of Jafina, was

married in 1785 to Susanna Elizabeth Mooyaart. Isaac

Adrianus was perhaps his brother. Elias Raket was a boek-

houder, 1752; Superintendent of the Arecanut Departmen,

1770 ; and Onderkoopman, 1786. Daniel Raket, Boekhouder,

was born in Jaffna, and married (1773) Ester Elizabeth van

Breen. Mattheus Petrus Raket was married to Maria

Elizabeth Cramer, and was therefore the son-in-law of the

deceased. Ail these five persons were probably the sons of

Jan Helfrig Raket, Chief of Mannar, and Magdalena

Swinnas. |

Willem Adriaan Berghuys.

[Second Visitateur, Colombo, 1767, and died 1792. He

was born in Galle in 1733, being the son of Dirk Berghuys

and Adriana Swinnas. |

Pieter Spiering.

| Onderkoopinan ; born in Vlissingen (Vlushing); married

24th December, 1747, Magdalena Elizabeth Raket of Jaffna.

He repatriated in 1762. ]

Gabriel Potken.

[ Casstier, Colombo, 1750; Dispencier, 1756. Gabriel (Wil-

iem) Potken was born in Colombo, 1723, and was the son of

Gerrardus Potken of Oldenzaal, Predikant, and Sophia

Magdalena Ecoma. He was married llth July, 1751, to

Henrietta Auberta Raket of Jaffna. ]

Barent Alleman.

[ Barent Alleman of Ligten, Chief Surgeon, was married in

1759 to Gertruida Adriana Bouwman, born in Galle, 1740,

daughter of Jacobus Bouwman, Chief Storekeeper, Galle, and

Maria Hlizabeth Berghuys. | |

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 107

Gerrit Joan de Moor.

Joost Pieter de Moor. —

Pieter de Moor.

[Gerrit Joan de Moor, Second Storekeeper, 1770, Galle, born

in 1732, was son of Engelbert de Moor and Plantina van de

Rondewerken. Joost Pieter de Moor, born in 1734, was

his younger brother. Pieter (Arent) de Moor was his

cousin |. ,

Hendrik Diederick Dias de Fonseca.

[Hendrik Diederik Dias de Fonseca of Palliacat, Onder-

koopman, died in Colombo, 1785. He was married (1) in

1767 to Hester Catharina Kriekenbeek, and (2) in 1776 to

Anna Hlizabeth Leembruggen. |

Rev. Gerrardus Potken.

Rev. Sigisbertus Bronsveld.

Rev. Joan Joachim Fybrandsz.

[Son of Joan Fybrandsz and Anne d’Almeida. |

Rev. Johannes Jacobus Meyer.

Rev. Juriaan Ondaatje.

[Married Hermina Quint, and was father of Quint Ondaatje,

born 18th June, 1758 ; baptized on the 25th June, 1758, under

the name of Pieter Philip, which he afterwards, on the death

of his maternal grandfather, changed into Quint. |

Rev. Hendrik Philipsz.

[ Hendrik Philipsz, born in 1733, died 19th May, 1790, was

son of Philip Philipsz Panditaratne, Maha Mudaliyar. Hen-

drik Philipsz married (1) 4th November, 1759, Susanna

Scharff, daughter of Jan Christoffel Scharff of Sangerhausen

and Elizabeth de Saram. He married (2) 19th June, 1785,

Anna Maria Cabraal, widow of the Mudaliyar Don Simon. |

Rev. Pieter Cornelisz.

The Pangerang Soerix de Kosema.

The Pangerang Mas de Kosema.

The Pangerang Poerbaaya.

[These last three were no doubt some Javanese officers. |

The gallant Captain (Military) Joan Hartoem.

[Lieutenant, Colombo, 1756 ; Captain, Jaffna, 1757 ; Major.

Jaffna, 1771; died 1777. ]

108 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

The gallant Captain (Military) Godfried Leonard de —

Coste.

[ Dissave, 1769 ; Opperkoopmanand titular Chief Adminis-

trateur, 1768 ; died 1774. A native of Gera, was married (1),

1752, to Elizabeth Victoria Thomasz, and (2) i in 1759 to Anna.

Gertruida Laurentsz of Colombo, widow of the Acting Dissave

of Matara, Johannes Frdinandus Crystman. |

The gallant Captain-Lieutenant (Military) Jan Die-—

derick Fedder.

[ Assestent, Galle, 1739; Koopman, Matara, 1746 ; Lieutenant-

Dissave, Matara, 1746; same in Colombo, i756; a native of

Sleswyk ; was married in 1739 to Francina van Geyzen. |

The gallant Captain-Lieutenant (Military) Frans

Kykman.

[A native of Barentrop, was married (2)in 1755 to Susanna

Storm of Amsterdam, widow of Clement Pantly. |

The gallant Captain-Lieutenant (Military) Jonas

Orelius, Customs Master.

[A native of Carlskrona (Sweden) ; married, 1743, Getruida

de Moor, daughter of Pieter de Moor and Johanna Obrak. |

The gallant Captain-Lieutenant (Military) Cornelis

van der Stam.

The gallant Captain-Lieutenant SEL, Godfried

Wetzel, Chief of the Artillery.

The Captain-Lieutenant (Military) Wilhelmus Phili p-

pus van Cuylenburg, Captain of the Burghers.

[Born in Rosendaal (Breda), 21st May, 1718; died in

Colombo, 9th April, 1762 ; son of Rev. Johannes van Cuylen-

burg and Elizabeth Soest. |

The gallant Captain-Lieutenant Richard Kellens,

retired Captain of the Burghers.

| Born in Colombo, 1689, son of Richard Kellens of Hasselt

and Dominga Maartensz. |

The Hon. Anthony Diederich, Koopman and Lieu-

tenant-Dissave.

| Chief of Mannar, 1762, titular Chief of Trincomalee, 1766;

died 1768 ; was married ‘to Anna Elizabeth Luders in 1747.

Hoe was a native of the Hague. |

ripe. toe ~; ae

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 109

The Hon. Joost Volkert Franchimont.

[Son of Gerrit Franchimont of Utrecht and Maria Ledulx

of Colombo. He was born in 1709, and married in 1731

Maria Catharina Galekam of Colombo. |

The Hon. Herm. Jerom. van Cleef.

[Hermanus Jeronymus van Cleef, died in 1771, married in

1763 Petronella Jacoba Schade of Colombo. |

The Hon. Joan van der Weert, Chief of the Mahabadde. .

[In 1765 he was about to repatriate. He was a native of

Nimwegen, and was married in Galle, 1757, to Anna Cornelia

Baade of Cochin. |

The Hon. Julius Valentyn Bauert.

The Hon. Gerrardus Kersse.

[Dissave of Matara, 1742; second in authority, Malabar

Coast; Resident of Cayts, 1764. He wasa native of Amster-

dam, and was married in 1734 to Susanna Petronella van de

Rondewerken. |

The Hon. Daniel Kersse.

[Son of Gerrardus, was a Boekhouder, and married (1763)

Johanna Francina van Lier of Trincomalee. |

The gallant Mich. Erentryk Christoffel Baatke, Lieu-

tenant (Military).

[A native of Mecklenburg, and was married in 1767 to

Anna Gertruida van Sanden of Colombo, widow of Godfried

Sweep, Chief of Madura. Their daughter Maria Agnita was

married to Adriaan Sebastiaan van der Graaff, evidently the

brother of Willem Jacob van de Graaff, Governor of Ceylon. |

The gallant Jan Andries Schuurman, Lieutenant,

Artillery.

[ Was a native of Waldeck.]

The gallant Jan Hendrik Simonsz, Lieutenant (Mili-

tary).

The gallant Jan Carel Hofman.

[A native of Prague; Adjutant, Colombo; married (1)

Wilhelmina Bogaart and (2), 1758, Maria Byl, widow of

Adriaan Oostdyk. }

110 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

The gallant Frans George Phil. Braunwalt, Lieu-

tenant and Mabriecq: |

The gallant Jochim Fred. Wigman, Provisional

Lieutenant (Military). |

[A native of Berlin, and married in Galle, 10th August,

1755, Maria Gertruida de Vlame, widow of......... | .

The gallant Jan Christoffel Groese, Sous-Lieutenant.

(Cavalry).

{ Married Susanna Koch. |

The gallant Jan Jacob Hendrik. Schutte, Surgeon-

Major.

[Chief Surgeon, Mawes, | 1754; died 1761. Asan Under-

Surgeon he married, in 1748, ’ Petronella Engelbert of

Colombo. |

The gallant Claas Ditlof Hubner (Heupner ?), Lieu-

tenant, Engineer.

[Claas Ditlof Heupner married Maria Perera, and died in

1786. His son Petrus Ditlof wasa Lieutenant of the Artillery,

and born in 1754. He married in 1799 Anna Leonara

Pietersz, widow of the Surgeon-Major Frans Wolkers. |

The gallant Jan Hendrik Blankenberg, Lieutenant,.

Artillery.

[ Repatriated, 1772. ]

Hendrik Jurgen Scholz (Burgher Lieutenant).

[A native of Lubeck, was twice married, (1) in 1737 to

Anna Dupais and (2) in 1759 to Johanna Perera, widow of

Hendrik Ryken. |

Jommogon Soesoeroekoera.

| Evidently a Javanese. |

The Hon. Jan Schols, Sngabig enue of and Private

Secretary.

The Hon. Gerrit Engel Holst, Onderkoopman and

Cassier.

| Was married (1747) to Maria Francina Schokman. |

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. spied.

The Hon. Jacob Gerrard Overbeek, Onderkoopman

and Superintendent of the Iron Magazine.

[Born in Calpentyn, 1728; son of Daniel Overbeek of

Amsterdam, Commandeur of Galle, and Elizabeth Hals. He

married Ida Jacoba Morth. |

The Hon. Dirk Joan Potken, Onderkoopman and

Second Storekeeper.

[Born in 1728, son of the Rev. Gerrardus Potken of

Oldenzaal and Sophia Magdalena Hcoma. He married (1757)

Anna Cecilia de Moor of Galle. |

The Hon. Hendrik Jacob Oostman, Onderkoopman and

Negotie Overdrager.

The Hon. Lucas Arentsz Schokman, Onderkoopman

and Dispencier.

[Born in Colombo, 1707, was the son of Jan Arentz Schok-

man of Amsterdam and Francina Luyck of Colombo. He

married in 1728 Sara Toussaint, daughter of Louis Toussaint

and Maria Cornelisz, and grand-daughter of Mattheus

Toussaint of Tournay, Belgium. |

The Hon. Pieter Blankert, Onderkoopmun and Chief

Winkelier.

[Died 1770. He was born in Colombo, being the son of

Dirk Blankert of Rotterdam, Captain of the Burgery, and

Rachel Versels of Leeuwarden (widow of Rev. Moses

Herman). He was married to Helena Metternach, who

married (as widow Blanckert) Adriaan Moens of Middelburg,

Chief Administrateur of Colombo. | |

The Hon. Albertus Homoet, Klein Winkelier.

[Administrateur, Galle, 1764; ditto, Trincomalee, 1780;

Chief there, 1780. A native of Amsterdam ; was married (1)

to Catharine Hendrina Blokland and (2), 1773, to Maria

Wilhelmina Francken of Tournay. |

The Hon. Christiaan Dryhaupt, retired Onderkoop-

man.

| Was married in 1748 to Josina Francina Hinderman.]

The Hon. Willem Visser, Onderkoopman.

| Willem Visser of Amsterdam was married (2), 1754, to

Sibilla Dorsel, and (3) in Colombo, 1758, to Anna Cornelia

Dormieux, widow of Jan Adriaan van Lier. ]

- : ! ss

112 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

The Hon. Salomon van Lier, Onderkoopman.

[Son of Solomon van Lier of Cochin and Adriana Kloecke,

was born in Colombo and married Simonia Johanna Spaar.

His daughter Anna Sophia married (2), 1768, Daniel Ditloff,

Count van Ranzow. |

The Hon. Jan de Roth, Onderkoopman.

The Hon. Carl Fred. Konig, Stads-opperm.

The gallant Lourens Jolles Simonsz, Ensign.

[A native of Amsterdam, and married in Colombo, in 1753,

Elizabeth Retsel of Colombo. |

The gallant Hans Pieter Claushal, Ensign.

The gallant Otto Frederik Luther, Ensign.

The gallant Jan Coenraad Wittig, Ensign.

The gallant Willem Janke, Ensign.

[A native of Dantzic. |

The gallant J. D. Gildemeester, Ensign.

[Jan Daniel Gildemeester, killed in action close to Hang-

welle, 1761. He was:-a native of Rheda, and was married to

Maria Pronk. His daughter Ulrica Wilhelmina was married

to Johan Willem Uhlenbeck, born in Velbert, lst February,

1744, son of Christiaan Uhlenbeck and Anna Catharina

Brembeck. Jan Willem Uhlenbeck was the grandfather of

Admiral Olke Arnoldus Uhlenbeck. ]

The gallant Gabriel Hokens, Ensign.

[ Was married to Margarita de Beenhouwer. |

The gallant Jan Jacob Meyer, Under Major.

[ There were two other persons of this namein Ceylon. One

was a native of Berlin and a Sergeant in the Meuron Regiment

(1793); another was a Predikant, born in 1733, being the son

of Lodewyk Meyer of Hesse Cassel. ]

The gallant Herman Frederik Heyneke, Ensign.

[ Herman Frederik Heyneke of Bremen was married (1759)

to Plantina Margarita Huysman, born 1743, daughter of

Christoffel Huysman of Amsterdam and Isabella Siverisz.

He died in 1776, having married (2) in 1767 Sara Elizabeth

Woutersz of Galle. ]

The gallant Hans Jochem Hansen, Ensign. |

[A native of Meulen, married, in 1751, Anna Margarita

Srinkman of Colombo. ]

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 113

The gallant Christiaan Rudolph Logman, Commanding

Sergeant.

The gallant Jan Rudolph Francius, Commanding

Sergeant.

[A native of Coerland, and married in 1754 Sophia Jacoba

Giethoorn. He died in 1773 at Kalutara. |

The gallant Daniel Eregod Wekke, Commanding

Sergeant and Adjutant.

[ Was married to Maria Rebecca Ebert, widow of Wilhelmus

Philippus van Cuylenburg and daughter of George Godfried |

Ebert of Arneburg (Brandenburg) and Rebecca Hulo. |

The Hon. Pieter Joseph Jollie, Ensign of the Burgery.

| Was married to Johanna Gertruida Lammerts. |

The Hon. Jan Lasson, Ensign of the Burgery.

[A native of Amsterdam, was married in 1742 to Andreasa

_ de Croes. |

The Hon. Joh. Everh. Jongbloed, Ensign and Adjutant

of the Burgery.

[Johannes Everhardus Jongbloed; married (1) in 1756

Anna Hlizabeth Salder of Calpentyn ; (2) 1761, Anna Sophia

Scharff of Colombo; (3)1779, Johanna van Ham of Colombo. |

The Hon. Jan Janssen Wynroos, retired Ensign of

the Burgery.

[Johannes Jansz Wynroos of Amsterdam, Boekhouder, was

married (1), 1726, to Francina Prik, and (2) 17th May, 1767, to

Maria de Saram. |

The Hon. Baltus van Lier, Sworn Land Surveyor.

| Born in Batavia ; married in Colombo, 1740, Anna Eliza-

beth Harmensz ].

The Hon. Frans Basx, First Apothecary.

The Hon. Benjamin Gerritsz, Thombo-holder.

[Was married (1) to Maria van Veen; (2) to Regina

Klizabeth Lodewyks; (3) in 1740, to Gertruide Gerritsz of

Colombo].

The Hon. H. Jac. van Dort, Boekhouder.

[Hans Jacob van Dort was born in Galle, 1712, and was

the son of Cornelis Jansz van Dort of Utrecht and Elizabeth

de Bruyn. He married in 1740 Helena van Velp. |

gis sie! _ JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVII.

The Hon. Pieter Theunder, Secretary of the Landraad. |

[Born in 1704; son of Hendrik Theunder of Soeft and

Maria de Caauw. He married in 1735 Gertruida Fredericksz

of Colombo. |

The Hon, Antony de Caauw, Member of the Landraad.

[ Was married to Helena Ritscher. ]

The Hon. Barth. Hendr, Stroeble (sic), Sworn Clerk

of (the Court of) Justice.

| Bartholomeus ? (Balthazar) Hendrik Stroebe was marr ied

to Assentia Claasz. |

The Hon. Adriaan Francke, Commissioner of the

Arecanut Department.

{| Adrianus Johannes Francke was afterwards Chief of

Batticaloa, 1767, and Koopman there. He was born in Sluis

in Flanders in 1734, being the son of Johannes Francke

and Maria Catharina Beekhuisen. Johannes Francke was

born in Sluis in 1709, being the son of Frans Francke

and Pieternella Mortier. Adrianus Johannes Francke was

married in 1760 to Gustava Robertina van Lier of Trinco-

malee. She was probably the daughter of Salomon van Lier,

Fiscal of Trincomalee. |

Leopold Eman. van Dorth, Lector.

Johannes Stechwig, Lat. Praecepior.

Roelof Beekman, Verbandmeester.

[Afterwards Chief Surgeon, Tuticorin, 1763. He was

married in 1753 to Gertruida Mulder of Galle. ]

Jurriaan Landsknecht, Chief of the Ships’ Carpenters.

[A native of Koningsbergen, was married (1), 1743, to

Adriana Richart of Kalutara and (2), 1749, to Catharina

Elizabeth Andries of Kalutara. | :

Antony Gulden, Chief of the Smiths.

[A native of Nurenburg, married (1), 1737, to Elizabeth

Germans of Colombo and (2), 1756, to Livinia Perera of

Colombo. } ;

Jan Christoffel Ryt, Chief of the House Carpenters.

Jan And. Hilleke (sic), Chief of the Masons.

[Jan Andreas Heleker, of Kirchheim close to Erfurt, was _

married in 1763 to Anna Christina Jansz of Galle. |

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 115

Pieter Bruart, Chief of the Printing Press.

[A native of Reenburg ; was married in 1749 to Susanna

_ Perera of Colombo. ]

Godfried Keegel, Chief of the Boekbinders.

Johannes Reyntous.

[Johannes Reyntous of Amsterdam, pase wens was

married (1), 1763, to Johanna Orelius, and (2) as Koopman,

1789, to Clara Johanna Overbeek, widow of Lieutenant

Arnoldus Raasveld. Clara Johanna Overbeek was born in

1757, being the granddaughter of Daniel Overbeek, Com-

mandeur of Galle, and daughter of Gerrard Jacob Overbeek.

Reyntous was afterwards provisional Dissave of Colombo,

and died in 1802. ]

Jacobus Fransz.

Thomas Michiel Vlieland.

Joan Hendrik Hesse.

Ryclof Johan Kriekenbeek.

[Son of Barent Kriekenbeek and Catharina Ritmeyer. He

was a Boekhouder in the ‘Dutch Service, and was twice

married, (1) 1767, to Christian Regina van Lier, and (2) 1770,

to Elizabeth de Jong. |

Justinus Kriekenbeek.

[Justinus and Ryclof Johan were twin-brothers, born on

the llth October, 1738. Justinus married (1), 1766, to

Catharina Magdalena Gulden and (2), 1769, to Maria J ustina

Fybrandsz. |

Barent de Jood.

[ Born in 1713, was son of David de Good and Anna Otmar. }

Philip Askamie (sic).

[Philip Ascanu of Adelsheim was married in 1748 to

Francina Rodriguez. |

Martin Coenraad.

Johannes van der Laan.

[Brother of Antony van der Laan, Surgeon, and son of Jan

van der Laan and Johanna Pays. |

Carolus Jansz.

Jacob de Custal.

Johannes Barendsz.

Adriaan van Djth.

Harmanus Lodewyksz.

[Surgeon, Colombo, was married to Johanna Adriaansz ot

Colombo. |

116 ' JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

Frans Ruytenberg Bodyn.

| Was married to Christina Floen. ]

Simon Nicolaas Naja.

Pieter Theunder.

[Born 1704, son of Hendrik Theunder of Soeft and Maria

de Caauw. He married in 1735 Gertrude Fredericksz. |

Johannes Carpertz (svc).

Gerrit Elias van Dorth.

Joan Alwis, First Mudaliyar.

[Joan Alwis Widjewardane Senewir ane, Maha Mudaliyar.

Gold medal, 1762. ]

Don Louis Samerekoon, Second Mudaliyar.

Willem Christoffel Mardappa, First Tamil Interpreter.

Moettee Chadeappa, Second Tamil Interpreter.

Don Louis, Mohotiaar.

Abram de Saram, Mohotiaar.

Philip Jeronymus, Mudaliyar.

[His daughter Cornelia married Isaac de Saram. |

Domingo de Saram.

[Domingo de Saram Wijesekere Abeyratne, Guard Muda-

liyar, was married to Dona Catharina Tillekeratne, and was

the son of Antony de Saram Wiresinghe Siriwardene,

Mudaliyar of the Salpitty corle.]

Dionysius Perera.

Isaac de Saram.

[Married (1) Dona Cornelia Jeronymus and (2), 17th

November, 1776, Maria de Saram. ]

Don Louis de Livera, Muhandiram of the Attepattoe.

| Father of Carolus de Livera Tennekoon, Atapattu Muda-

liyar of Colombo. }

Abraham Casie Chetty, 'Tamil Interpreter.

Sawiel Mardappa.

Pasqual Pieris.

The Tamil and Sinhalese Masters, together with the

scholars of the Seminary.

_ The Pall-bearers.

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. = 117

The Hon. Willem van der Damast Limburger (s?c),

Onderkoopman and first Sworn Clerk.

[The writer of the Beknopte Historie. He was the son of

Jan Limburger, Captain ofthe Hellebaardiers and Keeper of

the Castle at the Court of His Serene Highness the Prince of

Orange, and Metta van Damast, both living at Leeuwarden in

1766. Willem van Damast Limburger was married to

Catharina van der Cocq. | ;

The Hon. Bart. Jacobus TeyKen, Onderkoopman and

Soldy-Overdrager.

[Johannes (?) Bartholomeus T'eyken was born in Leyden,

and married, in 1755, Anna Maria Wilthuyzen of Galle. He

was perhaps the son of the Rev. Bartholomeus Teyken of

Leyden, who married, in Colombo, 1725, Maria Hertenberg

of Vlaardingen (Celebes). | |

The Hon. Jan Abraham van der Voort, Onderkoop-

man and Secretaris van Justitie.

The Hon. Jan Christoffel Herscher, Onderkoopman

and Sabandaar.

[In 1763 he was President of the “ Thuynbeschryving ”

(compilation of the Tombo?). He was married to Maria

Pietersz, and died in 1766. |

The Hon. Adriaan Moens, Onderkoopman.

[Born in Middelburg. He was afterwards Governor of

the Malabar Coast, and died in Batavia, 12th October, 1792.

He was married (1) in 1759 to Susanna Adriana Potken

(widow of Wermelskircker), (2) in 1763 to Sara Maria Raket

of Jaffna, and (3) in 1770 to Helena Metternach. ]

The Hon. Cornelis Ens, Onderkoopman.

[In 1758 he was Chief Storekeeper of Trincomalee, and died

-in Colombo, 1762. |

Johannes de Vos, Sworn Clerk.

[Afterwards Onderkoopman and Superintendent of the

Iron Magazine, Colombo, 1770. He was born in Tuticorin,

being the son of Jan de Vos and Christina Polnitz. He

married (1) in Colombo, 22nd September, 1748, Maria Hoepels

and (2) in Colombo, 6th January, 1771, Sara Catharina

Luders of Colombo. |

Christiaan Jansz, Sworn Clerk.

Wilh. Phil. Wetzelius, Sworn Clerk,

[Born in Colombo, 1736, son of Rev. Johannes Philipus

Weitzelius of Hardewyk and Susanna Wynbergen. |

118 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVII.

Carel Frederick Schreuder (sie), Boekhouder.

[Carl Frederick Schorter, Dissave of Jaffna, was born in

Hildesheim, and came out to the Indies in the year 1751 in the

ship “ Spandewaal. ’” He married in 1758 Helena Cornelia

Kriekenbeek. |

Adolph Frederik Marci, Boekhouder.

[Superintendent of the Iron Magazine, Colombo, 1762.

He was a native of Lubeck, and married in 1758 Alida Agnita

Gerritsz of Colombo. |

Bonifacius Theodorus Koster, Clerk to the Garrison.

[Born in Colombo, 1720, was son of Balthazar Koster of

Kleinvoede and Elizabeth d’Almeida. He married (1) in

1745 Johanna Jongbloed and (2) in 1764 Sara de Jong,

daughter of Huybert de Jong of Haarlem and Regina Prik. |

Johannes van Geyzel, Boekhouder.

[Son of Angelo van Geyzel and AnnaSolter. He was born

in Colombo, 1716, and was twice married, (1) in 1742 to

Francina Toussaint and (2) in 1/795 to Catharina Salomina

Prik, widow of Johannes Schut. Angelo wastheson of Frans

van Gey zel of St. Nicolas (Belgium) and Susanna Pegalotte,

whose father was Angelo Pegalotie of Genoa. |

Huybert de la Haye, Commissioner of the Arecanut

Department.

Jan de Run, Boekhouder.

[ Was married to Magdalena de Croese. He died in 1768. ]

Petrus van Dort, Consumptie Boekhouder.

[Born in Galle, 1715, wasson of Cornelis Jansz van Dort of

Utrecht and Blizabeth de Bruyn. He married Johanna

Paulusz. | |

The Funeral of Lubbert Jan Baron van Eck, Governor

of Geylon.

Lubbert Jan Baron van Eck, Lord of Overbeek, Lathmar,

Leeuwenburg, &c., was born on the 26th March, 1719,

and baptized at Velp on the Ist April, 1719. He was

the son of Samuel Baron van Eck by his first wife, Jacoba

Wilhelmina Maria Coutis. The Governor of Ceylon was

unmarried. ,

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 119

The Niewwe Nederlandsch Jaarboek, MDCCLXVIL., p. 488,

contains an account of his funeral, of which the following is

a translation.

TRANSLATION.

The gallant Governor and Director of Ceylon Lubbert

Jan van Eck did not live long to enjoy the fruits of his

victories, for having left Kandy on the 4th March, 1765,

and been received with great joy in Colombo on the 10th,

he died after an illness of ten days, and was buried there

with princely state on the oth of the following April. At

sunrise the flags of all the ships and sloops lying in the

roads waved half-mast high daily since the death of the

Governor took place. On the Admiral’s ship minute guns

were fired from the time that the body was taken up till it

* was laid in its grave. In the afternoon at 3 o’clock all the

bells in the fort and the city began to toll, and were after-

wards rung 15 minutes every half hour until the ceremony

was over. At 3 o'clock the clerks, marines, military,

artizans, Burghers, and lascoreens took post in front of

Government House under the usual officers, and the funeral-

‘horse covered with black cloth, as also the charger of the

late Governor, was brought within the portico of Government

House.’ On both sides of the procession there marched

twelve companies of lascoreens under the chiefs, all in

mourning, and with a black strip of crape attached to their

lances and standards, beating on their drums the so-called

Sinhalese march. In advance there were four fieldpieces with

their belongings and gunners, after which followed the

clerks, consisting of a company of 84strong with four drums

hung with black cloth, the standard being provided with

crape, as also the hats, spontoons, and belts of the officers.

At the head was Lieutenant Johannes Barth. Teyken. [No

doubt a relation of the Onderkoopman Teyken, who was

present at Cramer’s funeral.] The standard was carried by

the Hnsign Berghuys, and Lieutenant Holst brought up the

rear. After this there followed the marines under the

120 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

command of their Commanding Officer in two divisions, each

consisting of 18 men with four drums. After this there came

four more fieldpieces, the corps of Hautboyists, their hautboys —

stopped up beneath with crape, blowing the usual funeral

music. The battalion of military, grenadiers, and riflemen

commanded by the Lieutenant-Colonel Jan van Wezel

on horseback with sword reversed, &c. The workmen

under the command of their captain, also in two divisions,

each of 24 men with four drums. Again four fieldpieces.

The company of Burghers, 48 strong, with four drums,

commanded by their Captain Jurgen Hendrick Scholtz,

the standard being borne by their Ensign van den Broek

‘Johannes van den Broek, born in Colombo, was the son

of Arnond van den Broek of Welsbeck. He was married

(1) in 1757 to Engelberta Plantina de Moor, and (2) in 1782

to Maria Gilauw, widow of Caspar Sieling, Captain of the

Burgery ],and Lieutenant Lachon bringing up the rear. Four

trumpeters in deep mourning, with round hats, streamers.

of crape, and trailing black cloth cloaks, with funeral belts

on, and banderoles hung with crape.

Thereafter came the insignia in the following order :—

(1) The cornet or standard borne by the Ensign Werk-

meester [ Perhaps Jan Carel Werkmeester of Hartgerood, who

was married in 1757 to Anna Maria :Steevens of Colombo]

with around hat with hanging mourning band and trailing

cloak.

(2) The charger led by grooms with belts, round hais,

mourning bands, and coats of black cloth.

(3) The arms of the deceased Governor [For a description

of the arms see Journal, R.A.S., C.B., No. 49, Vol. XV., 1898,

p. 236. A curious story is related about these arms. The old

arms were on a field argent, a pair of shears sable. Oneof the

knights, Van Hck, travelling in France and allowing his

shield to hang out in front of his inn, all the cloth-shearers —

in the place, taking him for one of their trade, flocked round

him and showed him great respect. Through shame he

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 121

abandoned these arms and adopted those of his mother, being

_ the present arms used by the family.—Kok’s Vaderlandsch

Woordenboek, Vol. XIII., p. 76] borne by the Captain

Michiel de St. Andrée, with a round hat, hanging funeral

band, and trailing cloak.

(4) The helmet, adorned with a black plume, on a black

velvet cushion with silver tufts at the corners and silver lace

round it, borne by the naval Captain-Lieutenant Paulus

Engelaar, [Was married to Susanna van der Eeden] also

with a round hat, &c.

(0) The staff of command or the regimental staff on a

black velvet cushion, adorned as that of the helmet, carried

by the Lieutenant and Sub-Major Jos. Wirs (Wits ?), [Jan

(Christiaan) Wits of Marienburg was married (1) in 1758 to

Maria Elizabeth Heyzer of Colombo, (2) in 1760 to Christina

Auslag of Trincomalee, and (3) in 1763 to Dianara Margarita

Swygert of Colombo] &c.

(6) The tabard of the deceased, made of white satin, with

his arms duly depicted thereon, being carried on the

ordinary poles by.the Captain of the Cinnamon Department,

Jean Elie du Mourin. [A native of Ypres, was married, 2nd

December, 1764, to Anna Sophia van Lier, daughter of

Salomon van Lier and Simonia Johanna Spaar. She married

as Widow du Mourin, 1768, Daniel Ditloff, Count van

Ranzow. |

(7) The gauntlets or iron gloves on a velvet cushion, also

adorned with silver tassels, &c., borne by the Onderkoopman

Dirk Joan Potken.

(8) The spurs, like the gauntlets, carried by the Onderkoop-

man Willem Visser.

(9) The sword in its scabbard, hilt upwards, carried by the

Onderkoopman Daniel de Bok, [A native of Amsterdam ; was

married (1763) to Maria Sophia Wirmelskircher] who, like

all others aforesaid who carried the insignia, held in their

hands, besides tokens of mourning, a green twig with a

ribbon of silver lace tied to it. 7

K 29-08

422 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

Before the insignia were brought out of Government

House, the clerk, steward, coachman, gardener, and other

domestic servants of the deceased Governor had proceeded on —

their way in single file, dressed in black clothes, round hats,

long trailing cloaks, and mourning bands, going with their

heads uncovered. Four rapport-gangers, two by two, in the

same mourning. Further, there followed behind the in-

signia the Captain (Military) Jan Carel van Espendonek,

carrying in his hand the bare sword of His Honour of blessed

memory in fullarray, with a funeral band round his hat and

with black gloves. The charger, richly caparisoned and led °

by the Captain (Military) Jan Wolgang Imhoffin full uniform.

Twelve aansprekers, four by four, in file, with round hats,

flowing mourning bands, and cloaks, holding in the right

hand a green twig with ribbon of silver lace tied thereto.

After the twelve aansprekers there came the coffin, covered

with a black satin cloth edged to the ground with broad

silver lace and silver tassels in the corners, hung on both

sides with eight shields and sixteen quarterings of His

Honour. On the velvet cloth there stood at the head of the

coffin an uncommonly fine crown of massive silver, as is the

custom of the country with respect to married persons of

distinction, intertwined and inlaid with the initials of the

noble Governor, and further edged with silver lace and

various embellishments relative thereto. This crown was

placed on the coffin by the Jongvrouw Henrietta, Baroness

de Reder, [ Henrietta Tugendreich, Baroness de Reder, born

in Lichnits, died in Colombo, 15th April, 1778, was married

ist February, 1766, to Cornelis de Cock of Embden, Dissave

of Colombo] assisted by the Koopman and first Visitateur

Raket. Miss Appolonia Magdalena van Angelbeek [ Born in

Batavia; was married (1) to Frederik Jacob Billing of

Straukerke, Dissave of Colombo, and (2) in 1788 to Cornelis

Dionysius Krayenhoff of Hoorn, Commandeur of Galle]

and Julia Dorothea Wermelskircker [Born 1753, daughter of

Rev. Mattheus Wermelskircker and Susanna Adriana Potken | — 4

pero eS

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 123

had, with the assistance of the Surgeon-Major Clero and the

Onderkoopman Van Velsen, [Adriaan van Velsen of Batavia

was married in Galle, 1767, to Gertruda Sibilla de Leeuw of

Galle, daughter of Johannes Willemsz de Leeuw and Susanna

Brakel | sprinkled the said crown with rose water and dealt

- out tothe qualified bearers green twigs with ribbons of silver

lace attached to them. The body was borne by twenty-four

corporals, with six in reserve to relieve each other in the bier

or under the cloth. On both sides there marched two deep

His Honour’s bodyguard. The above-named velvet pall was

held up on both sides by eighteen qualified persons, with

round hats, long cloaks, and mourning bands, and a green

twig with a ribbon of silver lace tied to it in the right

hand. With these there were four more qualified slip-

draagers, who held up the four ends of the pall, also in deep

mourning and with green twig, &c. For the rest, the body

was placed in a soldered copper coffin tinned over, and this

was in turn placed in a good water-tight wooden case covered

with black satin, set all round on the sides with an edging

of silver. Behind the hearse followed the relations of His

Honour of blessed memory so far as they were known, and

further those who had to represent the rest, all in deep

mourning, viz. :—

1. Aland Laron van Eck.

Willem Jacob, Baron van Eck.

Adriaan Moens.

Harmanus Jeronymus van Cleef.

Jan Hendrik Fredrik Willem van Calthof.

Thereafter the members of the Government, with round

hats, cloaks, and mourning bands :—

1. Daniel Burnat.

[ Dissave of Matara, died in Colombo, 1806. He wasanative

of Bern, and married in 1789 Elizabeth Holst. |

2. Joan Gerardus van Angelbeek.

| Afterwards Governor of Ceylon, was married to Jacomina

Lever. His daughter Christina Hlizabeth was married to

Willem Jacob van de Graaff, Governor of Ceylon. |

124 JOURNAL, R.A.S, (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

3. Pieter Liebert Schmidt.

[Chief Administrateur, born in Utrecht, and married in

1758 Susanna Petronella Visboom. |

4, Johan Hendrik Borwater.

[A native of Tiel. He was Fiscal of Colombo, and was

twice married, (1) to Magdalena Mensenk and (2) to Barbara

Bringentina Lebeek. ]

The Predikanten.

The respective public bodies :—

1. The Councillors of the Court of Justice, with their

Secretary, with cloaks and mourning bands.

2. The Landraad and its Secretary.

3. The Civil Council and its Secretary.

4, The Masters of the Orphan Chamber and their Secretary.

5. The Commissioners of Marriage Causes and their

Secretary.

6. The elders and deacons.

And finally, the writers at the Secretariat of His Honour,

ag also all the further companies’ servants and Burghers, all

with trailing funeral cloaks, together with the leading native

chiefs with mourning scarfs round the body.

A move having been made as above indicated, the route

taken was by the watch Leyden, and then along the canal

through the so-called Beer street to the church, where the

clerks, marines, soldiers, artizans, and Burghers turned

inwards and saluted the body as it went past. The procession

went through the whole corps, which presented arms and

struck up the march, until they came to the church; and

when the vault of the late Governor was reached the body

was lowered close to its resting-place by qualified bearers and

afterwards lowered into the grave by twenty-four corporals.

Hereupon the same with the bier and cover was shrouded over

with the velvet pall, and at the same time the insignia were

ranged in order. Whilst this was being done three volleys

were fired with the muskets, and a cannon was fired after

each volley, after which all the guns of the Fort at intervals

of a minute were fired.

—S ee

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 125

Finally the gentlemen and friends who were of the pro-

cession returned from church as they had set out, and,

crossing the great plain, went to the house of mourning,

followed by the clerks, marines, military, artizans, Burghers,

and lascoreens, with flying colours, beating of drums, &c.

The Funeral of the Hon. Iman Willem Falck.

Otto Willem Falck, Lieutenant-Colonel of a Regiment

of Dragoons under the Duke of Wurtenburg, and his wife

Constantia Margarita Meinertshagen, were the parents of

Frans Willem Falck, Anton Reinhard Falck, and Carel

Gustaaf Falck. Frans Willem Falck, Dissave of Matara, born

in Ceulen 7th October, 1710, died in Matara 7th August, 1737,

was married in Colombo, 8th May, 1735, to Adriana Gobius

of Samarang, the daughter of Johan Frederik Gobius,

Governor of Malacca, and Margarita Elizabeth Heynen.

Their son was Iman Willem, baptized in Colombo on the

Ist April, 1736, the sponsors being Daniel Overbeek and

Elizabeth Hals, representing Iman de Jong, Johan Werner

Meinertshagen, Constantia Margarita Meinertshagen, and

Margarita van Nes. Iman Willem Falck’s grandmother

married, as widow Gobius, Iman de Jong of Zierickzee,

Dissave of Colombo, from whom Governor Falck got the

name of Iman. | | |

Governor Falck was a Doctor of Laws, Fiscal (Ceylon),

and went on an embassy to the King of Kandy. In 1756

he was an Onderkoopman in Batavia, and Secretary of

Governor-General Mossel. In 1767 he was Extraordinary

and in 1770 Ordinary Councillor of the Indies. He died

childless in Colombo on the 6th February, 1785, having

been married to Theodora Rudolphina de Wendt, daughter

of the Brigadier Gerrardus Beylanus de Wendt and Johanna

Willemina Muntz. His widow married on the 20th October,

1785, Elias Paravicini di Capelli, Major in the Artillery.

126 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII. —

The following is an account of the funeral of Iman

Willem Falck translated from the Maandel. Nederi..

Mercurius, 59, D1. 1785, p. 126.

; TRANSLATION.

Obsequies held on the 10th February, 1785, on the occasion

of the solemn burial of the Hon. Mr. Iman Willem Falck,

Ordinary Councillor of the Dutch Indies, Governor and

Director of the Island of Ceylon with the Dependencies

thereof. | :

1. Twelve companies of lascoreens, each 24 strong, com-

manded by their officers.

2. Four pieces of cannon with their belongings.

3. The Company’s clerks with their officers.

4, Four pieces of cannon.

» The Artillery corps, commanded by the Major Elias

Paravicini di Capelli.

6. Four pieces of cannon.

7. The Dutch batallion, commanded by the chief of

the Military the Colonel Johan Jacob Coquart,

[ Was married to Jacoba Christina van Sohsten. |

5. Four pieces of cannon of the Regiment Luxemburg.

9. The French Regiment Luxemburg, commanded by

the Lieutenant-Colonel de Bas, Knight of the Royal Military

Order of St. Louis.

10. The companies of the Burghers with their officers.

11. The funeral horse, led by two ostlers.

12. The arms, carried by Captain-Lieutenant of the Artil-

lery Adriaan Sebastian van de Graaff.

[Perhaps Abraham Sebastiaan van de Graaff, born in Galle

in 1763, son of Willem Jacob van de Graaff and Agnita Clara

Samlant. |

13. The helmet, carried by the Harbour Master Olke van

Andringa.

[A native of Enkhuyzen; was first married to Gresina

Stam,and secondly to Magdalena Elizabeth Stroback, widow

of Petrus Casparus Sievertsz. He was the son of Frederik

van Andringa and Jannetje de Vries. Olke’s daughters.

No. 54.—1903.| FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS. 127

by the second marriage were married—one to Christiaan

Cornelis Uhlenbeck and the other to Jacob Piachaud. |

on a black velvet cushion with silver lace and tassels.

14. The staff of authority, carried by the chief of the

Cinnamon Department, Drederich Thomas F retz.

[Son of Jan Fransz Fretzand AnnaGertruida Herpel. He

was born in St. Goar (Hesse-Nassauw). He was the last

Commandeur of Galle,and was married (1), 1764, to Cornelia

Reyniera van Sanden of Jaffna, and (2) to Gertruida Henrietta

Bartels of Tuticorin, daughter of Jeronymus Bartels and

Natalia Gomez. |

15. The charger, led by the First Lieutenant of the Clerks

and Onderkoopman Mr. Johannes Adrianus Vollenhoven.

[A native of the Hague; wasmarried in 1873 to Jacoba

Cornelia Coquart, the daughter of Colonel Johan Jacob

Coquart. |

16. The tabard, carried by the Onderkoopman Daniel

Ditloff, Count van Ranzow.

[Son of Ferdinand Anton, Count van Ranzow, and Josina

Schokman. He was born in 1741 and married (1), 1768, Anna

Sophia van Lier, widow of Jean Elie de Mourin, and (2), in

1795, Maria Coeldwell of Bombay. |

17. The gauntlets or iron gloves, borne by the Onder-

koopman D’Estandau, [Jean Jacques David D’Estandau, born

in Rynsburg, died, in Galle, 22nd October, 1815; was married,

1788, to Johanna Arnoldina Elizabeth de Bordes. Their

daughter Johanna Elizabeth, born in Galle in 1789, was

married to Diederich Cornelis Fretz, the son of Diederich

Thomas Fretz] on a black velvet cushion with silver lace and

tassels.

(18. The silver spurs, carried in the same way by the

Onderkoopman Rudolp Samuel Tavel.

[A native of Petterlingen (Canton Bern); was married in

1780 to Christina Elizabeth Hugonis of Jaffna, widow of the

Captain of the See Department, Lourens Christiaan

Frobus. |

19. The drawn sword, borne by the Captain-Lieutenant

Jean Francois Pierre E. du Hul (sic).

[Jean Francois Even du Hil, born in 1758, died in Jaffna,

7th September, 1787, was mar ried to Hster Dulcina Brochet

128 | JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ VOL. XVII

(de la Touperse), the daughter of Louis Brochet (de la

Touperse) of Metz, Commandeur of Jaffna. She married, as

Widow du Hil, 18th April, 1790, Christoffel Gerrardus

Keegel. |]

20. The funeral sword, corned by the First Lieutenant

of the Artillery, Pieter Willem Ferdinand Adriaan van

Schuler.

[Son of Jan van Schuler and Adriana Sophia van Reede

van Oudshoorn. He was born in Utrecht, 2nd November,

1757, and married, in 1783, Wilhelmina Catharina Leem-

bruggen. |

21. ‘The parade horse, led by the Captain and Master of

_ the Horse, Adriaan Cornelis Lever.

[A native of Breda; married, in 1770, Susanna Isabella

Oostdyk of Galle. ]

22. Four pieces of ordnance.

23. The clerk.

24. The steward.

25. The cooks.

26. The coachmen.

27, The gardener and other domestic and personal

servants.

28. ‘Twelve aansprekers, four by four.

29. The body, carried by “ Undermerchants” (Onder-

kooplieden) and other qualified persons, the four ends of the

black velvet pall edged with silver lace and the silver

tassels at the end being held by Captains Emanuel van

Berdky, Francois Baron de Mackeeunt, Chevalier de Roquee,

and Wylier.

30. The relations, one by one; also the Hon. Cornelis de

Kok, [A native of Emtden; was married in 1766to Baroness

Henrietta de Reder. He was Dissave of Colombo] Cornelis

Dionysius Craiaenhoff, [ Commandeur of Galle ; was born in

Hoorn, and was twice married, (1), 1769, to Anna Jacoba

van de Leur, and (2), in 1788, to Magdalena van Angeibeek

of Batavia] Paul Engelbert van Halm, and Martinus Mekern.

[Of Gronigen; was married in 1772 to Judith Charlotta

Lever of Bergen-of-Zoom. |

No. 54.—1903.] FUNERALS OF DUTCH OFFICIALS.

Mr. HERBERT WHITE raised an interesting discussion by inquiring

where the Governor in question was buried.”

Mr. Harwarp : At the official church in the Fort at the time.

Mr. WHITE: Are there any remains of his tomb? It would be

interesting if Mr. de Vos could give information on that point.

The Linur.-Governor: I should think it is not a very difficult

thing to discover. He suggested that Mr. Ferguson might know.

Mr. FERGusON : It would surely be Wolfendahl. From the many

details given of the procession it is certain it went a long distance.

The talk of the procession going along the canal and also of its coming

back across the great plain are all points on which it’would be interest-

ing to have information. |

Mr. Harwarp thought the official residence of the Dutch Governors

of Ceylon at that period was in the Fort and also their official church.

_ The procession went probably through two or three streets of the Fort.

Mr. PerERA said he thought the official Dutch church stood on the

site of the Gordon Gardens.: The Dutch Governors were buried there,

and their remains were carried thence by torch-light to Wolfendahl

after the British occupation, the old church having come down.

Dr. WILLEY asked if there were no tombstones.

The LievtT.-GovERNOR : But in this case it is obvious the funeral

took place in the daytime. |

Mr. Harwarp: It was three o’clock in the afternoon.

The LievuT.-GovERNOR: One point that strikes me is the question

of the canal. Perhaps I ought not to speak because I know so very

little of the history of Ceylon ; but in the case of the Dutch city

I know best, all the streets have canals running down them. Whether

itrefers to that sort of canal I cannot say. Otherwise you would think

that the funeral procession went a very long distance.

Mr. FERNANDO said there were canals such as described by the

Lieut.-Governor from the corner of the Pettah Main-street the whole

way to the Pettah station, and the roads on either side were canals.

It was suggested that Mr. de Vos should throw some light on the

geographical features of the procession. The discussion then closed.

d. The following Paper was read by the author :—

* Van Kck was buried in Colombo, 1765. (Lap. Zeyl., 28.)

Falck was buried in Colombo, 1875. (Lap. Zeyl., pp. 30-1.) The tombstones

are in Wolfendahl church, where they were removed in 1813. See additional

supplement to Gazette, September 2, 1813. (Lap. Zeyl.)—G. A. J.

- Ke y, . F 47 very

en ies . a 9 i ‘

ae Sa

. ial dl

130 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII. | |

NOTES ON A DUTCH MEDAL.”

By P. E, Pieris, M.A., C.C.S., Barrister-at-Law.

THE medal in question is a small plain oval one of gold,

manifestly of European workmanship; and resembling in

size and make the one presented in 1682 to the Meda Korale

Dissavé (R. A. S. Journal, vol. X VIL, p. 54). The edge had

been once clipped, and has been replaced locally, apparently

in 1876 (vide D. C., Matara, No. 31,035). |

The lettering is fortunately intact. On the obverse is

the following inscription :—

Lent.

Door den Adimirael

Ryckloff van Goens

Voor goede diensten

Vereert Aen Meester

Anthonio Rabel Opper

Vidane Van de Betmes-

en Corale Van de doles

das Corla 1661.

Translation.

Presented by the Admiral Ryckloff van Goens to Meester

Anthonio Rabel, Upper Vidané of the Betmas and Korala

of the Dolosdas Koraleé, 1661, for his good services.

On the reverse, within a wreath, is—

CEYLON

LACHT MEESTER

The last words mean ‘ master of the hunt.”

A special interest attaches to this medal from its date and

from the caste of the donee. It is the oldest Dutch medal

* See footnote. p. 137.—B., Hon. Sec.

No. 54.—1903. | NOTES ON A DUTCH MEDAN. 150

CEVL OL Ah

Reverse,

22ec~

——

WE.

Obverse.

132 JOURNAL, RAS. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

that has yet been traced, for the one which according to

tradition had been conferred on Don Joan de Costa Manam-

peri Rajapakse, Maha Mudaliydr of the Governor’s Gate,”

is not forthcoming. |

The grantee, Rabel, is described by Baldzus as ‘“‘a brave

Sinhalese, a native of Mature, in our service,’ during whose

absence from the Fort of Hakmana in July, 1656, it was

stormed by King Raja Sinha’s troops.t By caste he was a

Smith, a member of the important colony of tarahaluwo,

which issaid to have been established in the eighth century of

the Christian era by King Dapulu Sen, in the neighbourhood

of Devi Nuwara, in connection with the worship of the red

sandalwood image of Vishnu. According to the local belief,

he was born of humble parents at Belideniya in Bambarenda

of the Wellaboda Pattuwa, and as an infant was abandoned by

his parents, who left him in the hollow of a jak tree, where

he was discovered by a passer-by. As a youth he learnt to

support himself by making fish-hooks, which he sold to the

fishermen along the coast, till one day he chanced on some

shipwrecked white men, to whom he was of assistance and

one of whom subsequently returned as a high official and

pushed his youthful friend into prominence.

Rabel died before 1667. There is in existence a rare ola

book of verse, apparently the work of acontemporary writer,

which deals with his career; but the only complete copy

that I have heard of appears somehow to have got into the

possession of the late Mr. H. Nevill of the Civil Service,

and has since disappeared.

Besides this medal, and about three others conferred on

members of the petted Chaliya or Salagama caste,f no medals

appear to have been granted by the Dutch to any save people

of the Goyiwansa.§

* R. A. S. Journal, vol. XI., p. 366.

yj See 4 C. LZ. #., 128.

t Vide R. A.S. Journal, vol. XVIL, p. 62; 1 C. L. #., 303, ‘

§ For an interesting sidelight on the position occupied by the Smith ~

caste at this time, vide Le Grand’s Note, Lee's Ribeiro, p. 63. |

No. 54.—1903.] NOTES ON A DUTCH MEDAL. 1383

It is not clear whether the term meester has any special

significance in this inscription ; such an honorific does not

appear in any of the seventeen other Dutch medals I am

acquainted with. Mr. F. H. de Vos has pointed out to me

that the Portuguese-speaking class in Ceylon call a vedarala

(native doctor) a meester. I have found the term veda

méstri applied to a radawa (dhoby) in a deed of 1859.

We Sinhalese also apply the term méstri to a barber, who

were the original surgeons among European races ; among

the Galle smiths a méstrz is said to have been a petty

headman attached to the local arsenal. The smith family,

known in 1730 as Iwadu Achdrigé (i.e., arrowsmiths), had

become in 1808 Iwadu méstrigé (Prov. Ct., Matara, No. 1,470).

‘* Betmas,” says Mr. de Vos, “‘ were districts in which the

hunt took place.” In 1650 there were four betmas, viz.:—

Hitigalle Cacunegodde

Gollogamma Girreway

Each had its viddné or chief, and the hunt was under the

superintendence of the Dissave.

In 1758 the Betmé-rala was an officer of the hunting

establishment, whose emoluments consisted of six amunams

of accommodessan fields. In 1821 there were four Betme

Muhandirams. The word etme, which is probably from

the same root as the Sinhalese bandana and the English

bind, is still applied in the Matara District to a strong glue

prepared from resin. The office of Master of the Hunt

represents the Sinhalese Eibandana Vidané, which subse-

quently developed into the Kéruwé Rala and Kuruwé

Mudaliyar. The title of Vidiné was held by some officers

of the highest rank: Don David Jayatilleke Abeysiri-

wardhana Illangakoon, Maha Mudaliydr, was also Vidané

of Makewita; and Louis de Saram Wijesekera Karunaratne,

Second Maha Mudaliyar, was Maha Vidané of Panaduré.

For particulars regarding the elephant hunt, vide

R.A, 8. Journal, vol. XI., p. 249, vol. XV., p, 190, and

Danvers, Portuguese Records, p. 133, All castes were

’

134 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

engaged in the hunt, but the Gajaman Ranchus appear to

have been recruited from the Chando or Duraéwé castes, one

member at least of which rose to the high position of

Gajanayaka. Both the Chando and Smith castes claim to —

have initiated the elephant hunt.

The following is a list of officers who had taken part in

the hunt, so far as I have succeeded in tracing them :—

(1) Don Philippo ene Arachchi, Chief coer in

1650.

(2) Ukkuwela Rale, engaged in the hunt, and also in the

Giruwa pattu: presented with fields in Attanagala and

Ampitiya.

(3) Kapugama Rale, son-in-law of the above, = was

succeeded in his office by his son-in-law—

(4) Ekanaike Don Simon Appuhami, who was granted a

complimentary ola by Government.

(5) Ameresekere Rale, brother-in-law of No.3 : he had the

title of Jaagmeester.

All these held office before 1696. It is probable that—

(6) Anthonio Rabel was the predecessor of No. 5: medal

in 1661.

(7) Don Simon Wijey wardhana (Tennekoon ?), Mudaliyar,

Gajanayaka, and Jaagmeester: medals in 1715, 1718, and 1720.

He died before 1724, after serving Government Poni six

years in all capacities.

(8) Don Joan Seneviratne Wijeywickreme Teme area

Mudaliyar, Gajanayaka, and Jaagmeester: medals in 1/24

and 1731; died before 1744. :

(9) Don Constantyn Wijediwakere Ekanaike, Mudaliyar

and Gajanayaka. ;

(10) Don Constantyn Dissanaike, Mudaliyar and Gaja-

nayaka : commissioned by Governor Loten (May 20, 1756) to

lead thirty-one elephants to Jafina.

(11) Don Simon Wijeywardhana Navaratne Tennekoon,

Mudaliydr and Gajandyaka : living in banishment in 1760.

~ ~. . ws

<—

NO. 54.—1903.] NOTES ON A DUTCH MEDAL. 135

(12) Don Bastian Tilekewardhana Abeyratne (a Chando),

Gajanayaka: relinquished office in 1763; succeeded by—

(13) Don Constantyn Dissanaike Tillekeratne, Mudaliyar.

(14) Don Petrus Abeysiriwardhana Illangakoon, Muda-

liyar and Jaagmeester, 1781. 3

(15) Don Johannes Wijeywardhana Navaratne Tenne-

koon, Mudaliyar and Jaagmeester in 1786, also Gajanayaka

m 1793.

(16) Adrian Perera Wickremeratne Ameerakoon HEke-

naike, Gajandyaka in 1786.

(17) Don Thomas Rodrigo Wijeyratne Siriwardhana,

Mudaliyar and Master of the Hunt: died in 1835 (medals

from Governors North and Brownrigg).

All these were in the Matara Dissavoni.

_In the Colombo Dissavoni I find as Kuruwé Mudaliyars—

(18) Abraham Perera Wijesekere Gunawardhana. |

(19) Johan Louis Perera Abeyesekere Gunawardhana, son

of above: medal 1819; died 1849.

(20) John Abraham Perera Wijeyesekere Gunawardhana,

Maha Mudaliyar, the last Gajanayaka, son of above : medal

1871; died 1879.

For the term “ Cordalé” see2 C. L. R., 140.

The Dolosdas Koralé is the Giruwa Dolosdas of the Sin-

halese, which originally appears to have been far more

extensive than the Giruwa pattu of to-day.”

Mr. C. M. FERNANDO said he would like Mr, Pieris to continue his

researches, and he did not think he would adhere to the statement that

no other medals had been granted to any other caste than the caste

named by him. He was certain if his friend Mr. Pieris was asked the

question two years ago he would have said that no medal was given

by the Dutch to the Smith caste. This was a subject which they had

not gone into before. Mr. Pieris was just beginning his researches. »

If he would continue his researches he would find that medals were

given to the Sinhalese of other castes, and the speaker would be glad

to tell him, if asked, in which direction to make search.

* Vide Dewundara Dévalé Sannas (Arche@ological Report, Kégalla

District, p. 96).

136 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

The VEN. the ARCHDEACON asked what the letters ‘‘ VO C” on the ©

medal indicated.

Mr. Prerts said it represented Vercenig de Oost-Indische Compagnie—

United East India Company... Replying to Mr. Fernando, he said he

did not commit himself to saying these were the only medals granted

by the Dutch. His words were “no medals appear to have been

granted,” and none were mentioned in the published Memoirs of the

various Governors. He felt constrained to add that, according to

common talk in the Southern Province, there was a genuine medal

with a forged name in the possession of a priest at Weligama.

Mr. WHITE said he would like to know whether in 1682 Ceylon was

spelt by the Dutch as it was on the medal ‘ Ceylon.”

Mr. PIERIS pointed out that a facsimile of the medal was printed.

Mr. Feracuson thought that if Mr. Pieris was certain he had a

correct representation of the medal it might be a matter for inquiry

whether it was a genuine medal.

Mr. PIERIS quoted authorities in which the medal was mentioned

(including a will of 1815 which he saw in the Court of Matara*), down

to within 50 years of the grant.

Mr. FerGuson said he had no doubt there was such a medal as

Mr. Pieris described granted, but it was a question whether this one

before them was the real medal. It might be a case parallel to that

of the Tooth at Kandy.

Mr. PERERA Said that there was a description of medals in the ‘‘ Ceylon

Literary Register,” vol. IT., p.284,and Ceylon was spelt“ Ceilon” in 1686..

Mr. C. M. FERNANDO pointed out how sannas were formerly forged,

and quoted at length a particular case, where ultimately the accused

confessed.

Mr. FERGUSON suggested that the name of Ceylon might have been

added afterwards.

The CHAIRMAN : Might I ask where the original of the medal is ?

Mr. Preris: At Matara.

The CHAIRMAN: You have seen it ?

Mr. Preris: I have seen it myself.

The CHAIRMAN said it appeared to him there was considerably

more object in forging sannas than medals. Sannas carried certain

lands, but he supposed medals carried none. Though his experience of

sannas was very small and Mr. Fernando’s very great, yet the few he

had seen would not have been very difficult to forge as compared with —

a medal. He was not alluding to the handwriting: that was a trap

_ many forgers fell into, but to the thin strip of metal.

—

* Soe the will of Don Bastian Devendra Wijeyndra Bass, Muhandiram,

dated 9th December, 1815, and filed in Prov. Ct., Matara, Case No. 2,859.

The testator there refers to this medal as a ‘“ breast jewel or medal which

the testator inherited from his ancestors, who received it asa gift or token

of honour from H. #. the late Dutch Governor Ryklof van Goens.”

sty?

d p-

Br a ae

PWN oe

;

No. 94.—1903.] NOTES ON A DUTCH MEDAL. 137

Mr. WHITE said that from the spelling it looked as if ‘‘ Ceylon ” was

added afterwards.

The CHAIRMAN : How do you suppose “ Ceylon” would be spelt ?

Mr. WHITE: “Ceylon” at various periods has had many different

spellings.” | :

VOTES OF THANKS.

The VEN. the ARCHDEACON had much ‘pleasure in proposing a cordial

vote of thanks to the readers of the three Papers they had listened to.

The first Paper showed a great deal of care in preparation. The second

Paper might have been more interesting if they had had some more

extracts. At the same time the Paper was of great interest. He was

specially interested in the question of the Church in the Fort. He

believed it was the custom of the Dutch to build a Church within

the boundaries of their Forts. The third Paper they had the advantage

of having had before them. It was very interesting to read of the

curious use of the word ‘ meester,” and the question of the date of the

medal.

Hon. Mr, OBEYESEKERE seconded.

A USEFUL SUGGESTION.

Sir W. MITCHELL proposed a vote of thanks to the Hon. the

Lieutenant-Governor for occupying the chair. They had had, he said,

a very interesting meeting—more interesting than the titles of the

Papers tobe read gave promise of. At the same time he thought—if

he might be allowed to say so—these meetings might be made still

more interesting if the Council endeavoured to have Papers read bearing

on or connected with the natural history, geology, or industrial arts in

Ceylon. He might be pardoned for making the suggestion when

moving a vote of thanks to the Hon. the Lieutenant-Governor.

Mr. H. WHITE had pleasure in seconding the vote of thanks. He

had known Mr.im Thurn on paper froma very early age. He was one

of a large family, and had an elder brother at Marlborough School.

He used to take a great interest in his brother’s doings, and especially

in the school magazine, and he could remember some 35 years back

Mr. im Thurn appearing in the ‘ Marlburian ” as the life and soul of a

Natural History Society. He (Mr. White) hoped he would be the life

and soul of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.

The Hon. Mr. 1m THURN said he thought Mr. White’s last remark

was in a way a happy one, for it allowed him to say what was in his

mind to say for some time, and it fell in more or less with what Sir

W. Mitchell had said. He had never been able during his short

* All efforts to induce the owner of the medal to permit it to be examined

by an expert, and photographed, have failed.—B., Hon. Sec.

L 29-08

138 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

on nection with that Society to understand why they should not have —

not only natural history papers, but also occasionally exhibitions. —

For instance, if Mr. Peiris, having procured it on ioan, procured the

medal for inspection, it would have added greatly to the interest.

That is a subject. they might consider at a next meeting of Council,

whether they might not have Papers with an exhibition—just a few

things. He thanked them for the vote of thanks.

APPENDIX.

Note BY Mr. R. G. ANTHONISZ, GOVERNMENT ARCHIVIST.

THE following facts, bearing on some of the points raised in the

discussion on Mr. de Vos’s Paper, would I think be interesting :—

1. Robertus Cramer, whose funeral is the first treated of, was

Dessave of Colombo, an office which corresponded in many respects to

that of Government Agent of the Western Province, and which carried

ex-officio membership of the Political Council of Ceylon. The Dessave

had his offices and establishment at Hulftsdorp, where alsoa commodious

residence was provided for him by the Government. Illustrations of

some of these buildings may be found among the series of Heydt’s

Plates, recently procured for the Society’s Library at the Colombo

Museum. The long funeral procession must have wended its way

either along Dam street or San Sebastian and entered the Fort at the

northern gate, where the present police station stands. The burial, of

course, took place in the Fort Church, which stood on the site of the

higher terrace of the present Gordon Gardens. Up to the end of the

Dutch occupation of Ceylon this continued to be the burial-place of

the Governors and high officials, although it had been given up as a

place of worship for many years. Wolfendahi Church, which was

completed in 1749, was erected in consequence of this old church,

built by the Portuguese, getting into decay. I find that so early as

1736 reports were sent to Batavia condemning the building as dangerous

for use owing to the rotten state of the roof. Old residents, who saw

the building in the early years of the British occupation, found only

the walls standing : it was then almost a complete ruin.

2. The Governors Van Eck and Falck (accounts of whose funerals

follow) resided, and probably died,at Government House, which stood

on the site of St. Peter’s Church. I am not sure that the church

itself is not a part of the original building. At any rate, St. Peter’s”

Church is not known to have undergone much alteration in the last

hundred years. The route taken by the Governors’ funeral procession -

is, I think, clearly indicated in the account of Baron van Eck’s funeral. |

Leaving the porch in front of St. Peter’s Church, a turn was taken to

the right, in the direction of the ‘‘ Leyden Bastion,” which stood in the ©

No. 54.—1903. | PROCEEDINGS. 139

neighbourhood of the present passenger jetty. It then proceeded up

York street along the canal, which ran in a straight line the whole

length of the road, and then at right angles as far as the opposite side

of the fort. 'Those who saw Colombo as it was about thirty years ago,

before the fortifications were removed, must remember this canal very

well. Its course is still indicated by the lower level of the road along

the Bristol Hotel and the Registrar-General’s Office. ‘ Beer street,”

into which the procession then turned, was, I believe, Canal road.

The word ‘“ Beer,’ pronounced bare, and still preserved in the name

“Bera Lake,” has given rise to various theories. The most probable

is, I think, that it is the name of the Dutch engineer who designed and

constructed the work. A stone bearing the following inscription :

BEER.

Ao. 1700.

may be seen at the small sluice opposite the Fort railway station.

The men employed in the construction of this work, if they could be

found, may be able to say where the stone was discovered at the time

the fortifications were broken up. From Canal road, which at that

time was not blocked up by the buildings that have since sprung up, an

entry was made into Queen’s street, where the church stood, and thus

a complete circuit of the fort was made by the procession. The “ great

plain” referred to was probably the large open ground which stood on

the side of the Church, where the present Queen’s House grounds now

stand.

RemaRKs BY Mr. D. B. JayaTiuaKka ON MR. W. A. DE SILva’s

PAPER.

Ir does certainly strike one as strange that Sinhalese literature,

fairly full in other respects, should be entirely lacking in works of a

dramatic character. Several causes appear to have operated against

the cultivation of the dramatic art in Ceylon. Mr. Arthur de Silva has

pointed out the most important of them—the religious view, that

regarded all kinds of dramatic shows and performances as vain

and even spiritually harmful. Besides, as a nation, the Sinhalese of

old, like the ancient Romans, seem to have looked down upon the

profession of the dancer and the actor. Dancing, it is true, was

performed as a religious ceremony in the Devdlas, as we read in the

Sandesas ; but the dancers were apparently not of the Sinhalese race.

Among the Sinhalese, dancing and singing were confined as professions

to the lowest classes. Hence possibly arose that utter indifference to

dramatic poetry which not even the influence of India, so powerfully

averted in other departments of Sinhalese literature, has been strong

enough to remove.

Dramatic productions, referred to by Mr. Arthur Silva in his

interesting Paper, are of course of very recent date, the earliest being

not much older than the middle of the last century. There is, however,

a form of dramatic representation which seems to have been earlier

introduced and more popular with the masses than the nadagams. I

refer to the farcical representations known as kolan netima (@@sess

y5®). This form of amusement used to be very common in the

villages, and even to-day it flourishes in some parts of the Island, notably

in the Bentota district.

The whole representation is of the crudest form. There is no theatre

hall, nor are scenes of any kind in requisition. A roofless cadjan

enclosure does duty for the stage, and as well supplies seating accommo-

dation for the audience. The performers are, of course, all males.

They wear masks and dresses suited to the characters they represent.

The performance lasts the whole night, and—as the proverb has it—

the best part of the show comes off towards morning. Atall events, the

enthusiasm and delight of the rustic audience never flag for a moment.

In origin, apparently Tamil, the kolam seems to have developed on

native lines. Except the royal personages, introduced early in the

evening, all the characters belong to Sinhalese village life. There is no

central plot ; episode succeeds episode with little or no connection with

one another. Each character is introduced by a string of verses sung

by the “‘ stage manager” and his assistants. These verses, uncouth and

tuneless as they are, discover an unexpected vein of humour, and

generally hit off the characters they introduce with a great deal of

satirical truth. The royal messenger, lame in one leg but consequential

withal; the old tom-tom beater, with the inevitable strip of Turkey

cloth wrapped round his waist, and much fond of arrack ; his wife,

young andcomely, but not over-attached to her gray-haired spouse; the

pompous Mudaliyar, strutting up and down in all his glory and power;

the ubiquitous Tamby and his shy partner—all these and many others

play their parts on the rustic stage ; and it needs no strong effort of

the imagination to realize in these rude representations a faithful

portrayal of Sinhalese village hfe. Dialogues of an impromptu nature

afford ample scope for local hits and allusions, which, often not very

delicate, supply no end of merriment to the audience.

In conclusion, I may say that some of the stories represented are

borrowed from Buddhist sources, and are meant to instruct as well as

to amuse the spectators.

—

140 " JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). (Vou, XVIIL. -

No. 54.—1903. ] PROCEEDINGS. ~~ — 141

COUNCIL MEETING,

Colombo Museum, October 8, 1903.

Present :

His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, President, in the Chair.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. | Mr. H. White, C.C.S.

Mr. C. M. Fernando, B.A., LL.B. | Dr. A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc. Lon.,

Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar. F.R.S.

The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere.

Mr. F. C. Roles, Honorary Treasurer.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

—— a

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last Council Meeting held on

June 22, 1903.

2. Considered the election of the following Member :—

H. R. Dobree : recommended by } oi ie Toscan.

3. Laid on the table a letter from the Honorary Secretary, Asiatic

Society of Bengal, informing the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic

Society that Members of this Society have the right to attend General

Meetings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Resolved,—That the receipt of the letter be acknowledged with

thanks and announced at a General Meeting.

4, Laid on the table, with correspondence, Paper entitled ‘‘ Temporal

and Spiritual History of Ceylon, compiled by Rev. Fernao de Queiros,

S.J., of the Province of Goa,” translated from the Portuguese by Mr.

F. H. de Vos.

Resolved,—That Mr. F. H. de Vos be informed that Mr. D. W.

Ferguson, to whom the Paper was referred to for annotation, has

returned it saying that he cannot do it, and that certain portions of

Mr. Ferguson’s letter to Mr. Bell be quoted in writing to Mr. de Vos.

5, Laid on the table Circular No. 181, containing the opinions of

Members of Council re the translation of Valentyn, vol. V., Ceylon.

Considered the question of asking help from Government towards

the translation. At the request of the Chairman it was decided that

the matter be brought up again before the next Council Meeting, and

in the meantime that Mr. Ferguson be asked on what terms he would

be prepared to undertake to translate and edit “ Barros” and “ De

Couto,” Ceylon. |

ay JOURNAL, R.A.8. (CEYLON). [Von. XVIII. | 4

6. 'The Honorary Treasurer explained Mr. Bell’s scheme of cape: |

ing the Society’s publications.

Resolved,—That no further expenditure be incurred on reprinting

publications of any particular issue without the special sanction of the

Council, and that Mr. Bell be notified accordingly.

7. Laid on the table correspondence on the Paper entitled “ Notes

on a Dutch Medal” read at the last General Meeting by Mr. P. E.

Pieris, M.A., C.C.S.

Resolved, That the owner of the medal be asked to produce it for

inspection.”

8. Laid on the table manuscript of “ Journal of a Tour to Candia in

the Year 1796,” by Lieutenant Mahony (offered for purchase for

Rs. 100).

Resolved,—That the manuscript be referred to the President.

9. Laid on the table a Paper entitled ‘‘ Note on the Paleography

of Ceylon,” by Mr. C. M. Fernando, Crown Counsel.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Messrs. J. Harward and

W. P. Ranasinha for report.

10. Laid on the table a letter from Mr. J. P. Lewis accepting

the office of Vice-President rendered vacant by the resignation of

Mr. F. M. Mackwood.

11. Resolved,—That the Secretaries and President do arrange for

a Meeting about the middle of December.

See p. 137, footnote.—B., Hon. Sec.

GEORGE J. A. SKEEN, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, COLOMBO, CEYLON. |

oe OR THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

1904.

cs an ee

‘VOLUME KVITG Oe oun

—

‘Bie

No. 55. enue

EDITED BY THE HONORARY SECRETARY. iff

‘The design of the Society is to inst § and promote inquiries into the History,

Religions, Languages, Literature, Ar s, and Social Condition of the present

and former Inhabitants of the Island, with its Geology and Mineralogy,

its Climate and Meteorology, its Botany and Zoology,

rn ee ey

Price : to Members, Re. 1 3 to Non-Members, Rs. 2.

» y | wig j i | 12 . BI iy | A, AG eG a Bi ca 2s | a

ee ee ee te ae = as 3 sei te! ia ; Sisters joes sen

eee a ¥ 7 —— We eee ee eee ee Laie Sea ys ati ve me

fii 1. Le SRR eo a] ps ‘ : we

% ~y = 3 r .

ae 2 ; y : :

ieee COLOMBO :

| GEORGE J. A, SKEEN, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CEYLON,

1905.

JOURNAL

CEYLON BRANCH

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

1904.

VOLUME XVIII.

No. 58.

PDTPED BY THE HONORARY SECRETARY,

The design of the Society is to institute and promote inquiries into the History

Religions, Languages, Literature, Arts, and Social Condition of the present

and former Inhabitants of the Island, with its Geology and Mineralogy,

its Climate and Meteorology, its Botany and Zoology.

COLOMBO :

GEORGE J. A. SKEEN, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CEYLON,

1905.

CONTENTS.

~~ Council Meeting: February 4, 1904

Annual General Meeting : March 2, 1904 oe

Anuaal Report for 1903 ie wes ee

Archeological ae: 1903, Synopsis of Work done is |

the ait sos ie ae

Office-Bearers for 1904, election of

Council Meeting: May {f° 1904. “7... La ~~.

General Meeting: May 21, ioe Urtoca i:

Papers read :—

‘““A Note on the Paleography of Ceylon,” by C. M.

Fernando, B.A., LL.B:, Crown Counsel :

‘Correspondence between Raja Sinha Il. and the

Dutch,” by Donald Ferguson

Council Meeting: July 6, 1904 Ss a

Council Meeting : September 1, 1904 eee ai vise 3

General Meetimg: September 7, 1904 ...

: Paper read :—

aM “ Alakéswara: His Life and Times,” by Edward W.

‘ Perera, Advocate Be oa igh

Paper not read :—

‘Francois Caron and the French East India Company,”’

by F. H. de Vos, Barrister-at-Law, Member of the

Society of Dutch Literature, &c., of Leyden wee

| Council Meeting: November 14, 1904 < oe

PAGE

143

145

146

148

152

159

161

162

166

277

278

280

281

313

321

JOURNAL

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

CEYLON BRANCH.

ee I

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, February 4, 1904,

Present:

The Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G., President,

in the Chair.

Mr. P. Freudenberg | Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar

Mr. H. White, C.C.S.

Mr. F. C. Roles, F.J.1., F.R.C.1., Honorary Treasurer.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last Council Meeting held on

October 8, 1903.

2. Resolved,—The election of following candidates as Members :—-

Rev. A. Stanley Bishop : recommended by } apace

; G. A. Joseph.

P. de Abrew: recommended by A. K. Coomaraswamy.

J. H. Senaviratna: recommended by | y ge Jaret

3. Read and passed the draft Annual Report for 1903.

4. Laid on the table Circular No. 259 of 1903 containing the

opinions of Messrs. J. Harward and W. P. Ranasinha on the Paper

B | 66-04

144 _ JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

entitled “A Note on the Paleography of Ceylon,” by Mr. C. M.

Fernando, Crown Counsel.

Resolved,—That the Paper be printed, circulated, and read at a

Meeting. 3

5. Laid on the table a Paper entitled ‘‘ Arrack Distillation in the

Southern Province,” by Mudaliyaér A. Jayawardana.. )

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Messrs. H. White and

C. M. Fernando for their opinions.

6. Read a letter from the owner of the medal granted to “ Meester

Antonio Rabel in 1661.”

Mr. Harward undertook to see the medal at Matara and afford th

Council the desired information.

7. Laid on the table a letter from Mr. F. H. de Vos regarding his

Paper entitled “Temporal and Spiritual History of Ceylon, compiled by

Rev. Fernao de Gueiro.”

The President undertook to examine the manuscript belonging to

Monseigneur Zaleski and report at next Meeting.

Resolved,—That Mr. de Vos be informed that Monseigneur Zaleski

would be written to on his return to Ceylon to help the Society in

securing a copy of the manuscript.

8. Laid on the table a letter from the Assistant Government Agent,

Mullaittivu, forwarded by the Government Agent of the Northern

Province, asking for Rs. 20 for Archeological purposes.

Resolved,—To suggest to the Assistant Government Agent that

application should be made to Government for the money.

9. Laid on the table a letter from Mr. W. A. Brotherton, of United

States of America, requesting a set of the Society’s publications.

Resolved,—That the Society regret that the publications cannot be

supplied, but Mr. Brotherton be informed that such publications as

are in print.may be bought from the Society’s local and London

agents, and that a list of them be sent to him.

10. The Honorary Treasurer submitted a list of defaulters.

Resolved,—That final notice should be given to these Members, and

if they do not make good their arrears of subscription before the

Annual General Meeting their names be included in the Annual

Report as defaulters, and removed from the list of Members,

11. The Honorary Treasurer, Mr. F. C. Roles, tendered his resig-

nation.

Resolved,—That the Council accept the resignation with regret, and

in doing so thank Mr. Roles for his past valuable services.

Resolved, further, that Mr. R. H. Ferguson be asked to fill the

vacancy, and, failing him, Messrs. F. Lewis and C. Drieberg be asked

in turn.

12. Reconsidered the question of the translation of Valentyn,

Vol. V., Ceylon.

In the absence of an answer from Mr. D. W. Ferguson it was

decided that the matter do stand over for next Meeting.

13. Laid on the table a letter from Mr. H.C. P. Bell, resigning

office as an Honorary Secretary, which he has held since 1880, owing

to the recent Resolution of Council (Meeting, October 5, 1903)

regarding reprints of the Society’s Journals and Proceedings.

No. 55.—1904.] PROCEEDINGS. | 145

The President undertook to write to Mr. Bell and ask him to

reconsider his resignation.

14. Considered the nomination of Office-Bearers for 1904.

Under Rule 16 Dr. W.G. Van Dort and Mr. W. P. Ranasinha retire

by seniority, and Messrs. S. M. Burrows and J. C. Willis by least

attendance, two of these being eligible for re-election.

Resolved ,—That Dr. W. G. Van Dort and Mr. J. C. Willis be

re-elected ; that Messrs. 8S. M. Burrows and W. P. Ranasinha be

deemed to have retired; and that the vacancies in the Council be

filled by Dr. A. J. Chalmers and Mr. R. H. Ferguson, but that if

the latter gentleman accepts the Honorary Treasurership, Mr. P.

-Ramanathan’s name be substituted.

15. Resolved,—That the Annual General Meeting be held on

March 2, and that the business be the reading of the Annual Report,

election of Office-Bearers, and the delivery of an Address by the

President.

Resolved,—That His Excellency the Governor be asked to become

the Patron of the Society, and to preside at the Annual General

Meeting.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, March 2, 1904.

Present :

The Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G., President,

in the Chair.

Mr. R. G. Piidnias: Mr. E. W. Pereira, Advocate.

Mr. C. M. Fernando, B.A. oils iB: Mr. W. A. de Silva, J.P.

Mr. P. Freudenberg. Dr. W. H. de Silva, F.R.C.S.

Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyaér.} Ven. D. K. Sri Dharmarama,

Mr. D. B. Jayatilaka, B.A. : High Priest.

Mr. G. B. Leechman. Mr. W. G. Van Dort, M.D.

Mr. F. Lewis, F.L.S. Mr. H. White, C.C.S.

Mr. F. J. de Mel, B.A., LL.B. Rev. D. W. J. Wijésinha.

Mr. P. E. Morgappah. Mr. A. Willey, -M.A., D.Sc.,

The Hon. Mr.8. C. Obeyesekere. F.R.S.

Mr. R. H. Ferguson, B.A., Honorary Treasurer.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Gerard A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last General Macting held on

Angust 1, 1903.

2. Announced the election of following Members since the last

General Meeting: Mr. H.R. Dobree, Mr. Peter de Abrew, Mr. A.

Stanley Bishop, J. E. Senaviratna.

146 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CHYLON). [VOL XVIII.

3. Bead the following communication from the Honorary DeCrgMiny,

Asiatic Society of Bengal :—

Asiatic Society of Bengal, 57, Park street,

Calcutta, September 9, 1903.

The Honorary SECRETARY, Asiatic Society of Bengal,

to the Honorary Secretary, Ceylon Branch of the

Royal Asiatic Society, Colombo.

Sir,—I wave the honour to inform you that at a Meeting of the

Council of the Asiatic Society of Bengal held on August 26, 1903,

it was decided that the Members of the Bombay, Madras, Ceylon, and

Singapore Branches of the Royal Asiatic Society, when in Calcutta,

should have the right of attending the Society’s General Meetings. I

write to request you to be so good as to announce this arrangement to. ~

your Society. I am to add that the Society’s General Meetings are

held on the first Wednesday of every month, excepting September and

October. I have, &c.,

J. MACFARLANE,

Honorary Secretary, Asiatic Society of Bengal.

4. Mr. Harward read the—

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1903.

~The Council of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society

have the honour to submit the following Report for the year 1903 :—

MEETINGS.

Two General Meetings of the Society have been held during the

year, at which the following Papers were read and discussed : “ Two

Ola Grants of the 17th Century,” with Text, Translation, and Notes, by

T. B. Pohath Kehelpannala ; “ An account of King Kirti Sri’s Em-

bassy to Siam in 1672 Saka (1750 A.D.),” by P. E. Pieris, M.A., C.C.S.;

‘Dramatic Literature and Poetry of the Sinhalese,”’ by. W. Arthur de

Silva, J.P.; “Three Funerals of Ceylon Dutch Officials in the 18th

Century ” (read some extracts only), by F. H. de Vos, Barrister-at-

Law ; “ Notes ona Dutch Medal,” by P. E. Pieris, M.A., C.C.S.

Besides the above the following Papers were accepted during the

year for reading and publication: “ Correspondence between Raja

Sinha IT. and the Dutch,” by D. W. Ferguson ; “‘ Second Supplemen-

tary Paper on Monumental Remains of the Dutch East India Company

in Ceylon,” by F. H. de Vos, Barrister-at-Law ; “A Note on the Paleo-

graphy of Ceylon,” by C. M. Fernando, Crown Counsel.

MEMBERS.

During the past year thirteen new Members were elected, viz.,

Pandit Savari Rayan, J. Samaradivakara, Professor C. Duroiselle,

Rev. don W. J. Wijésinha, Venerable Dharma Kirti Sri Dharmérama,

J. Still, A. Anson, A. van der Poorten, J. B. Carruthers, F.L.S.,

F. Lushington, A. K. Coomaraswamy, B.Sc., F.L.8., &e., A. J. Wick-

ramasinha, and H. R. Dobree.

One Member resigned, viz., A. de A. Senewiratne.

Sir J. A. Swettenham, K.C.M.G., and Advocate J.C. Walter Pereira

have become Life Members.

The Society now has on its rol] 198 Members, including 26 Life

Members and 10 Honorary Members.

No. 95.—1904. ] ANNUAL REPORT. yee a

The Council record with regret the death of the following Members

of the Society, viz.: P. D. Anthonisz, M.D., M.A., C.M.G., &c.,

Mudaliyar K. J. A. Pohath, and Mr. N. Balasubaramaniyam, M.A., of

‘Madras. , ,

Mudaliyér Pohath joined the Society in 1892. A note by him

on Siriwardhanapura was published in the Society’s Proceedings for 1890.

Mr. Pohath contributed some valuable notes to a Paper entitled ‘ The

Identification of the Siriwardhanapura of the Mahawansa, Chapter

LXXX.,” by the Right Rev. R. S. Copleston, D.D., late President of

the Society LIBRARY

The additions to the Library during the year, including parts of

Periodicals, numbered 422. The Library.is indebted for donations to the

following : The Secretary of State for India ; the Colonial Secretary ;

Mr. Francesco L. Pullé; the Plague Commission of India; Dr. A. Caroll;

Messrs. A. K. Coomaraswamy ; Professor W. Geiger ; P. Arunachalam,

C.C.S.; Bhikkhu Ananda Maitriya ; the Oberlin College, Ohio ; Dr. C.

von Drathen ; the University of Colorado; the American Museum

of Natural History ; the Director of Public Instruction ; the Philo-

sophical Society of Liverpool; the Academy of Natural Sciences,

Philadelphia ; John Hopkins University; India Office Library ;

L’Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient revue Philologique, &c. ; Lowa

Geological Survey ; the Archeological Survey of Surma; and the

Library of Congress, Washington.

For valuable exchanges received during the year the Society is

indebted to the following: The American Oriental Society ; the

Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia ; the Smithsonian Insti-

tute ; Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society ; United States

Department of Agriculture; United States Geological Survey ;

Field Columbian Museum; the State Archives; the Bureau of

Education ; Bijdrajen tot-de Taal-Land en Volkenkunde van Neder-

Jandsch-Indie, The Hague; K. K. Naturhistorischen Hofmuseums,

Vienna ; the Musee Guimet, Paris ; Societé Zoologique, Paris ; Korea

Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society ; Deutsche Morgenlandische

Gessellschaft, Leipzig ; Asiatic Society of Japan; the University

of Upsala; Societé Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscow; the

Anthropological Society of Bombay ; the Anthropological Institute of

Great Britain and Ireland ; the Indian Museum ; the Asiatic Society of

Bengal ; John Hopkins University ; Geological Society of London ;

the Royal Colonial. Institute ; Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic

Society ; the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia ; California

Academy of Sciences ; Royal Society of New South Wales; Royal

Society of Victoria, Australia.

ACCOMMODATION.

In 1898 the Council invited the attention of Government to the

congested state of the Library and referred to the subject touched

upon in the Annual Reports from 1888. His Excellency the Governor

in reply then stated that he ‘shares the regret of the Council that

other more urgent claims on public moneys have prevented the provi-

sion of funds for the extension of the Museum.” ‘The Council hope

that the extension of the Museum will shortly be undertaken, and by

this means the necessary relief will be afforded. Want of room for

shelf accommodation is proving a serious hindrance to the development

and extension of the Library.

rg, ;

148 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOuL. XVIII.

One number of the Journal has been published during the year

(Vol. XVII, No. 53, 1902). It contains, in addition to the Proceed-

ings of the Council and the General Meetings, the following Papers :—

JOURNALS.

‘““ A Descriptive Catalogue of the more useful Trees and Flowering

Plants of the Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces of

Coylon,” by F. Lewis, F.L.S.

‘‘Resolutions and Sentences of the Council of the Town of Galle,

1640-44,” being the Translation of Vols. I. and II. of the

Galle Dutch Records, edited ana revised by R. G. Anthonisz,

Government Archivist.

250 copies of each of No. 1, Vol. I., 1845, and No. 3, Vol. L.,

1847-1848, have been reprinted during the past year.

| ARCH AOLOGICAL.

The Council has, as usual, been favoured with a brief summary of

the work done by the Archeological Survey in 1903.

Operations were steadily prosecuted during the past year at Anu-

radhapura, Sigiriya, and Polonnaruwa.

Anurddhapura.

Mirisavetiya Area.—-Eixcavations in the Mirisavetiya area were

systematically continued. The unearthing of the ruins (vihares,

pirivenas, &c.) clustered round the Dagaba is a comparatively easy

task from the similarity and simple character of the buildings. But

the excavation of the porticos and walls of the inner and outer quad-

rangle is proving very heavy digging, owing to the masses of débris

thoughtlessly piled outside the maluwa of the Dagaba when it was

cleared about 1885. Consequently, progress towards the completion of

this area has been slower than was anticipated, and is likely to be

retarded until the enclosing walls and four mandapa of the Dagaba are

laid bare.

The excavation of the handsome north mandapaya, or portico, and

of the north walls, inner and outer, of the Dagaba quadrangle, were

finished last year. ‘These have repaid the time spent upon them. The

stone-built portico is in excellent preservation. It is connected to a

stone-revetted basement wall which served as a wide gangway outside

the regular slab wall of the paved maluwa.

The gangway and upper encircling wall have been carefully re-set,

as far as practicable, along the entire north face of the quadrangle.

When the other three sides are similarly treated the approaches to the

Dagaba, and its general appearance, will be greatly improved.

Ruwanveli-Thiparama Area.—One of the finest of the ancient viharés

of Anuradhapura lies a little south of the Thiparama Dagaba. It

stands out pre-eminent from the generality of the ruins of this area, in ©

the massiveness of its moulded basement slabs, and, specially, for the

fine moonstone and quaintly ornamented balustrades of the entrance

stairs. The chaos of itsslabs testified to the mighty convulsive power

of the forest trees which formerly covered the site.

In 1901 this vihéré was taken in hand for restoration, gutted to its

foundations, and all slabs and broken pillars laid outside ready to be

replaced. Last year the ruin was partially rebuilt on the old lines,

and the restoration will be completed gradually.

Jungle clearing—The share of the vote of Rs. 4,000 for clearing

jungle in and around Anuradhapura, allotted to the Archeological

Commissioner, was expended in clearing undergrowth at Vessagiriya,

No. 55.—1904. ] ANNUAL REPORT. 149

in the Abhayagiriya area, and at a few other points. But the main

expenditure of 1903 was incurred in the rooting out of jungle on the

Arippu road, near Mirisaveti Dagaba. It is in this direction that

official residences will most advantageously be built,as the town grows

in importance. _

Sigiriya.

The citadel on the summit of the Rock, the terraces at its base, and

the caves and islands within the ancient city, were weeded and cleared

as in previous years. ;

Undergrowth not cleared for two seasons was cut and burnt over

most of the city area, and on the Mapagala Rocks to the south.

The restoration of the gallery has now reached the foot of the

limestone steps at the head of the gallery staircase leading to the

highest terrace on the north front of the Rock. The wide gap in the

gallery between the iron bridge and these steps had to be built up and

stepped almost from the bottom. The steps at this point, owing to

the rock conformation, are awkwardly cramped and tortuous, but

terminate in a wide straight staircase above. The work on the remain-

ing portion of the staircase and flanking wall will be finished next

season. Attention can then be given to the ‘“ Lion-staircase-house ”’

at the foot of the ladders and railing to the summit. This brick

structure needs strengthening in places.

All difficulties have at length been overcome in the case of the larger

of the two united fresco ‘“ pockets.” In the cave a concrete bed was

laid with a hand rail at the edge, iron standards let into the rock floor

and roof, and suitable wire-netting stretched across. The smaller

pocket is less accessible. It will be somewhat similarly protected, but

the fixing of the iron work and netting involves even greater difficulty

and danger than already experienced. By the end of another season

it is hoped that it may be possible to leave the unique paintings of

_ Sigiriya for ever guarded against the invasion of swallows, bambaru,

and mason bees.

Polonnaruwa.

The Archzological Commissioner annually takes personal charge of

the operations at Polonnaruwa during the dry months, whilst his

Assistant carries on work at Anurddhapura.

From May till September of last year—the fourth season-—good

work was done at one of the more important groups of ruins. This

cluster is situated east of Topdvewa lake, and directly north of the

citadel and miscalled “ Dalada Maélig4wa” ruin. It comprises in all

nearly a dozen buildings, of which the chief are :—

(1) “ Thiparadma” (so-called). Brick-built Viharé.

(2) “ Wata-da-gé,” or “Circular Relic-house.”—Dagaba surround-

ed by stone columns and walls, on a double stylobate.

(3) ‘ Sat-mahal-prasddu.”

(4) Viharé No. 1.—‘* Heta-da-gé,” so-called.

(5) Viharé No. 2.—Smaller than No. 1.

(6) Viharé No. 3.—Containing remains of recumbent Buddha in

brickwork. |

(7) Square Stone-railed Relic-house—(“ Nissanka lata mandu-

paya”). |

All the buildings stand upon a highly raised quadrangle entered

through porches on the west and east sides. This group of ruins was

thoroughly excavated in 1903 ; but some buildings need much resetting.

150 JOURNAL, B.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vow. XVIII.

“ Thiparama.’—Large masses of hard brick and mortar débris had

to be removed from the front of. the building and from within its —

vestibule and sanctum. The viharé once contained a large sedent

image of Buddha (brick-built), besides many smaller figures.

This magnificent building,—the sole known example in the Island

with arched roof still nearly intact,—though now quite accessible, is

in a critical condition, roof and walls exhibiting gaping cracks ominous

of imminent collapse.”

‘“* Wata-da-gé.”-—This circular structure is unrivalled in Ceylon. The

central dagdba was surrounded by rows of slender stone pillars (re-

calling Lank4rdma Dagaba at Anuradhapura) and a high brick and an

ornamental slab wall, standing on a moulded basement, figured with

lions and dwarfs, above a spacious lower platform.

Much of this ruin was buried under earth and débris. Excavation

round the dagaba revealed many broken pillars and remains of four

asana placed at its cardinal points, besides portions of the images

which once rested upon them.

The whole ruin has been freed of débris, its outer slab wall neatly

re-set, and one of the four broken images cemented together and

replaced in setu.

A colossal standing image of Buddha unearthed at Viharé No. 2 was

also set up on its pedestal; and a statue of a king (perhaps Nissanka

Malla), found near the west porch, erected in the central building of

the group.

Clearing.—No Moorish villagers were called upon in 1903 to cut

jungle. A Sinhalese gang cleared the undergrowth over the western

half of the walled city, besides tracing ancient roads, &c.

It is proposed to commence a detailed topographical survey of the

ruins of “ Pulastipura”’ (Polonnaruwa) next year.

Epigraphy.—The first number (Vol. I., Part I.) of the Hpigraphia

Zeylanica has been issued ina neat and scholarly form, by Mr. D. M.

de Z. Wickramesinghe.t

CoUNCIL.

Mr. J. P. Lewis was appointed by the Council to fill the vacancy

caused by the resignation of Mr. F. M. Mackwood, one of the two

Vice-Presidents. ?

Two Members of the Council of 1902, viz., Messrs. P. Coomara-

swamy and HK. E. Green, being by virtue of Rule 16 deemed to have

retired by least attendance, the vacancies were filled by the appoint-

ment of Mr. Arthur Willey, D.Sc., F.R.S., and Mudaliyar A. M.

Gunasékara. Messrs. C. M. Fernando and P. Freudenberg, who under

the same rule vacated their places by reason of seniority, were

re-elected.

FINANCES,

The receipts during the past year amounted to Rs. 2,316°88, com-

pared with Rs. 1,562°25 in 1902.. The year began with an overdraft

of Rs. 359-42, but Rs. 1 ,500 was on fixed deposit. The nett amount

to the credit of the Society was thus Rs. 1,140°58. The closing

balance is Rs. 931:77. The duly audited statement of account is

appended.

* A special report for the preservation of the building, with full drawings,

has been submitted to the Government by Mr. L. M. Acland, Provincial

Engineer of the North-Central Province. ath

+ A copy was laid on the table at the Meeting.— Hon. Sec.

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152 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

CO-OPERATION OF MEMBERS.

In conclusion, the Council invite the co-operation of Members in the

work of the Society, and would welcome Papers in any of the lines of

study which come within the scope of the Society’s objects.

5. The Annual Report was adopted on a motion proposed by Mr. »

E. W. Perera, and seconded by Mr. R. H. Ferguson.

6. On the motion of Dr. W.H. de Silva, seconded by Mr. F. Lewis, ,

a vote of thanks was passed to the retiring officers, and the following

Office-Bearers were elected for the year 1904 :—

President.—The Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G.

Vice-Presidents.—The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., and

Mr. J. P. Lewis, M.A., C.C.S.

Council.

Mr. W.G. Van Dort, M.D. Mr. C. M. Fernando, B.A., LL.B.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. | Mr. P. Freudenberg.

The Hon. Mr. 8S. C. Obeyesekere. Mr. A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc.,F.R.S.

Mr. H. White, C.C.S. Mudaliyar A. M. Gunasékara.

Mr. J.C. Willis, M.A., F.LS. Mr. A.J. Chalmers, M.D.,F.R.CS.

Mr. M. Kelway Bamber, E-C:S8: Mr. P. Ramanathan, C.M.G., K.C.

Honorary Treasurer.—Mr. R. H. Ferguson, B.A.

Honorary Secretaries.—Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and

Mr. Gerard A. Joseph.

The PRESIDENT referred to the retirement of Mr. H.C. P. Bell, the

Archeological Commissioner, who for a quarter of a century had

rendered mostexcellent service to the Society as joint Honorary

Secretary." He thought they were indebted to Mr. Bell more than to

any one else for the success of the Society during the past twenty-five

years. He had great hopes that, after a short rest from the worries

of editing the Society’s J ournals, Mr. Bell might be persuaded to

resume office. Mr. Bell deserved, in the meanwhile, the cordial thanks

of all for all he had done for the Society.

7. The Presipenr delivered his presidential address on—

THE USE OF SCIENCE IN CEYLON.

When I came to Ceylon rather more than two years ago I found

as your President Dr. Copleston, then your Bishop, but now the

Metropolitan of India. He shortly afterwards finally left Ceylon for

India, and you paid methe compliment of offering me the vacant Pre-

sidentship. I confess [ hesitated greatly about accepting, and even

now Lam not sure that I decided rightly. He was a man of real

eloquence, and with a very great knowledge of the Eastern world and

its religions and languages. I need hardly remind you that he was the

author of what may be considered one of the two English text-books

on the great subject of Buddhism. JI, on the other hand, was entirely

new to the East ; and little as I knew of itthen , my business as Colonial

Secretary left me little chance of acquiring ‘knowledge of the more

* Mr. Bell felt himself unable to retain office in view of the resolution

passed at the Council Meeting of October 8, 1903.—Hon. Sec.

No. 55.—1904.] = ANNUAL REPORT. 153

strictly scientific and the more literary aspects of the East. He was a

man of great energy and kept this Society together ; I, though I cannot

complain of lack of energy, have certainly not enough, both to do the

business of Colonial Secretary and also to stir you up as I then sus-

pected, and now know, you need stirring up. Moreover, he used to give .

you presidential addresses ; and I did not feel in the least inclined to

address you about those marvellously interesting mysteries of the Hast,

of which you naturally know more than I do. So, last year I gave you

no address, and this year I only do it at the instigation of Mr.

Harward. |

There is, however, one subject of local interest on which by this

time I feel myself capable of addressing you usefully,—a subject of

which I know a little by previous training, and of which my work as

Colonial Secretary has caused me to know more. I propose to address

you, therefore, on ‘‘ The Use of Science in Ceylon.”

First of all, is Science of any usein Ceylon ? I can imagine the case

of a man, say, an official charged with the heavy burden of looking

after the revenues of the Colony, standing and scoffing at the idea of

there being any use of Science in Ceylon. He might say it was all very

well as an amusement, but that as a practical man \he could not be

persuaded to believe in the actual practical use of Science to us here,

as a business people. Such a man, I venture unhesitatingly to assert,

would be entirely in the wrong. He would be like the cook who made

his dishes, successfully enough sometimes, by rule of thumb instead of

by the formule of his cookery books. The fact is that it is only by

studying everything, every single object of nature, with the minutest

possible attention that one can accumulate a sufficient store of

knowledge with which to put that object to the best possible use in

the practical business of life.

But as we cannot all be omniscient, practical men have to employ men

of science to collect and classify facts which may then be used in

practical work. In an almost purely business society, such as charac-

tetizes Ceylon, there are very few people who can devote time to special

study. Consequently, almost all the scientific work which has been

carried out, and necessarily carried out inthe Island, has been done by

the Government. I do not mean to overlook the few amateurs who have

done good work. No one could do so who knew the admirable and

really scientific work of the late Mr. Collett, whose collection of shells

the Museum—again by the intervention of Government—has secured.

Most of the real scientific work, however, more especially the collection

and co-ordination of scientific facts, has been done at the instigation

and at the expense of Government. And so, I think, it may not be

without its use if I now briefly summarize the work which the Govern-

ment has done in this way, and possibly give a hint of the way in

which the Government might perhaps do still more.

The oldest scientific institution in the Colony, if [am not mistaken,

is the Royal Botanical Gardens, now flourishing at Péradeniya. There

is an excellent article on the gardens by Mr. Willis, the Director, in

Mr. White’s “ Ceylon Manual,” and to this I must refer you fora more

detailed account of their history. I can only touch briefly upon it now.

The institution of the Gardens dates from before the British occupa-

tion of the Island. There was a Dutch Government Garden in Slave

Island, but when the British took over the Colony they were apathetic

about this garden, and sold it after a few years’ neglect. However,

after a short interval, we re-established a Botanical Garden in Slave

154 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

Island, where Kew road now is, but this only continued for three years,

and in 1813 the garden was moved to Kalutara. It is pleasant to think

that those early gardens were in the direct line with our present Botanical

Institution, but the actual Péradeniya Gardens of the present day were

only established in 1821. The history of their development has been

amost naturalone. As wasnaturaland rightit began with a collection

of the plants of Ceylon, in a dried state, and as.living specimens in the

garden, and aftera great many years thosein charge of the garden com-

pared and studied and worked out their various inter-relations and uses.

Just after I came to the Colony the thing took a further start, in that

an Experimental Station was established at Gangaroowa. On this we may

pride ourselves, as it is the first of its kind, and the only one of its kind,

thai has been established in the East, its chief feature being not so much

that it is a garden or a collection of plants, but a place where, in the

most scientific way possible, plants of a utilitarian kind are given every

possible chance. Just about two years ago, when the Government was

buying Gangaroowa, I visited the spot. It was certainly a beautiful

place, but far too overgrown to be of any use. It was simply a hotbed

of botanical disease. . Then, again, I visited it within the last few weeks.

The change was most remarkable, and promises great practical results.

Its success has been due partly to the scientific staff of the Botani-

cal Gardens, and partly to the excellently selected body of planters who

have brought their practical knowledge and joined it to the scientific

knowledge of the Pérddeniya staff, and the result has been just about

as good as it could possibly be. I have heard practical people, estate

owners here, say that had they known two years ago before Government

bought it what Gangaroowa could be turned into, not merely from a

scientific but even from an agricultural point of view, Government

would not have got it, or at least not'so cheaply. It seems to me, there-

fore, that Gangaroowa is a crowning point, I will not say a final

crowning point, in more than a century of Government Botanical

work in Ceylon.

Meanwhile various branch gardens were established. Hakgala was

established for the cultivation of cinchona, but since the interest in

cinchona lessened Hakgala has become partly an experimental garden

for plants which will only grow in Ceylon at that altitude, and partly a

garden in the larger and truer sense of the word, a place for the entirely

delightful growth of up-country plants; and any one who goes there can

see the excellentresults achieved. In thisconnection Icannothelp saying

a word of regret at the departure of the man who had made the success

of Hakgala, Mr. Nock, who is shortly to be lost to the Colony, about

as great a loss as any one could be ; certainly of men of his kind ‘the

Colony has never had any one as good as Mr. Nock.

Quite recently, also under Mr. Nock, a garden has been established

at Nuwara Eliya ; and this serves to bring out the interesting fact

that plants will grow there which will not grow at Hakgala, which is

only 6 miles off. Another specially interesting feature in the Nuwara

Eliya gardens is the experimental growth of exotic pasture grasses,

which it is hoped may eventually besubstituted for the almost useless

indigenous vrasses of the patanas of Ceylon.

In 1876 a garden at sea level was established at Henaratgoda for

quite another purpose. The Indian Government had imported South

American indiarubber trees, but it was found that the climatie con-

ditions of India did not suit the young plants, and Ceylon, being asked

to take them over, established a nursery at Henaratgoda, from which

No. 55.—1904.] ANNUAL REPORT. | 155

rubber has since spread successfully throughout the Island and to

‘India. I cannot help regretting that these gardens are not more

largely visited by people from Colombo, and that the interest which

attached to them in their early days has been allowed to die away.

Others gardens with different climatic conditions have been estab-

‘lished at Anurddhapura in 1883 and at Badulla in 1886, and now

it is proposed to establish yet another garden under fresh conditions,

this time in the north at Jaffna, and this should prove of the utmost

utility for experimental and other purposes, especially in connection

with cotton cultivation as a possible industry for the north. The

Director of the Botanical Gardens is at the present moment busy

with experimental plots of cotton along the route of the Northern

Railway.

Another aspect, important in all scientific work, is the publication -

of reports. It is not only necessary that scientific men should collect

facts and state them clearly to contemporary business friends, to help

the business men of the present day to utilize the knowledge gained,

but it is even more necessary to place the results on record, so that

they may be of use to future generations. The publications from

Péradeniya, such as are being produced at the present day, are doing

excellent work.

But I must leave this interesting subject for other examples of

scientific work in Ceylon. There is the Museum, for instance, a very

youthful institution compared with the Botanical Gardens, founded

as it was by Sir Wiliam Gregory in 1877. Its great importance is

asa home for collections of specimens, other than Botanical, which

should be preserved for future generations. We are fortunate to

have retained in the Island the late Mr. Collett’s collection of shells.

A collection made locally should be kept locally. Unfortunately

there are other local collections which have been dispersed, the. most

important of which, perhaps, is Gardener’s collection of plants, though

the transference of Mr. Carey’s collections to the British Museum is

an instance which touches us more nearly. The extension of the

Museum is a subject which has been under contemplation by the

Government for many years. When I first came and walked through

the Museum I was told oz the necessity for extension. I asked to

see the papers on the subject, and was horrified at the enormous

size of the file, which showed a mass of correspondence extending

over many years; but up to almost the other day nothing had been

done. I do not say that very much has been done now, but the

subject has been brought forward, and the Governor has appointed

a small Committee consisting of Mr. Obeysekere, Dr. Willey, the

Director of Public Works, Mr. Cameron, and myself to work among

the old plans, and see if we cannot get out a feasible scheme by

which the Museum may be enlarged. There are, so far as I can

gather from the papers, two plans for additions to the Museum, neither

of which seems to us quite suitable. One of the original plans was to

repeat the present Museum building back to back with the present

building and to connect the two blocks. But this would not only cost

too much, but would provide far too much space for the collections

which are likely to accrue for many years. In the result the Com-

mittee will probably propose to extend the present building at the

back, leaving a future generation, not of mankind, but of officials

merely, to complete the more ambitious plan. Personally I hope, but

cannot give any pledge, that this very desirable and necessary work

De JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII. —

not to the Museum only, but also, I think, to the Asiatic Society, will |

be undertaken next year.

Dr. Wiley has begun the publication in Spolia Zeylanica of informa-

tion regarding the work of the Museum. The first volume has recently

been most successfully completed. This should be of real use not

only within the Island, but as a means of spreading information as to

the Island to parts beyond. |

There are several men of science whose work is not purely botanical,

who make their headquarters at Péradeniya. ‘These include the

Government Mycologist and the Entomologist, Much scientific work,

other than botanical, is in consequence centred at Péradeniya. This

is perhaps as well, for the Entomologist’s work is connected with the

effect of insect ravages on plants, especially cultivated plants on estates,

and this can best be studied in the Botanical Gardens At the same

time it would perhaps be more useful if these gentlemen were also more

closely connected than they are now with other interests, and parti-

cularly the Museum here in Colombo. I am well aware that the

Péradeniya staff is always ready to give every assistance it possibly

can to the Museum; but I have it in my mind that it would bean

excellent thing if the staffs of the Museum and of the Marine

Biological Institute and of the other scientific institutions of the

Island were in closer touch with oneanother. They would all be more

useful, and would work to far better purpose 1f they were all joined

together as a board of scientific advisers, such as has been established

in India.

The most interesting scientific thing in Ceylon at the present time is

the investigation by Professor Herdman and Mr. Hornell into the Pear]

Fishery and the life-history of the pearl-mussel, I must not call it

an oyster. It is a matter on which I find it difficult to say in a few

wordsrall that is in my mind. I have been following Professor Herd-

man’s publications and Mr. Hornell’s diaries, and have been very much

struck with the enormous number of very minute facts, of which even

the practical man in charge of the Island’s revenues, the man of whom

I was speaking earlier in the evening, would appreciate the importance

when they are so presented as to display their practical results. We did

not know, in fact no one knew, until lately, exactly what a pearl was.

For two years now the gentlemen to whom I have alluded and others

have been investigating in all sorts of places, and have accumulated an

extraordinary number of very small facts, utterly unimportant by

themselves, but which, when put together, reveal most interesting

secrets. We now know practically the whole life-history of the pearl-

mussel, from the beginning to the end. Weknow thatthe presence of

the pearl, at any rate of the good pearl, in the mussel is one incident

in a cycle of life-history which is continually being re-enacted in our

seas. The immediate cause of the pearl—again, I say, of the good

pearl—is a small tapeworm which, like the caterpillar, the chrysalis, the

butterfly, and the egg which the butterfly lays and which recommences

the cycle as a caterpillar, passes through various phases. At one

period of its life it hangs on by suckers and hooks to the intestines of

asting-ray. Thence, from time to time, it lets fall joints of its own

body, each laden with eggs. These joints pass out of the ray and burst,

and the freed eggs, when hatched, live for a time as tiny animals

swimming freely in the sea. These small creatures next take refuge

within the shells of the mussel, causing their host a good deal of

inconvenience and discomfort. The mussel, tickled and irritated, tries

No. 5d.—1904. ] ANNUAL REPORT. | 157

to quiet and kill its unwelcome little guest by depositing round it

layer after layer of nacre, or mother-of-pearl, and when this effort

is successful the result is a pearl. But when the effort is unsuccessful,

_ the parasite lives on happily in the tissue of its mussel-host until a

trigger-fish come along. Now the trigger-fish devours the mussel,

shells and all, and in so doing devours also the living pearl-parasite

within the mussel. But the parasite, nothing daunted, finds a new

and congenial home in the trigger-fish, until a sting-ray in turn

devours the trigger-fish. Even then the pearl-parasite,accommodates

itself to yet another home, and, once more in the form of an adult tape-

worm, hangs on with hooks and suckers to the intestines of the ray ;

. thence it again detaches its egg-laden joints and the whole cycle recom-

mences. Having discovered the life-history of the pearl and pearl-

mussel, the men of science are now trying to revolutionize the methods

of pearl fishing which have been in vogue since, I believe, 323 B.c. The

diving dress has been tried with great success, and now we are trying

a system of dredging which is going on side by side with the old

system of skin diving, and is, I believe, destined eventually to super-

sede the old-fashioned methods, to the great pecuniary advantage of

the Colony.

Besides this we have arrived at a critical point, being almost within

reach of a process which will enable us to wash the pearl oyster,

instead of allowing it to rot as has been done since time immemorial

and then muddling about in the festering mess and picking out the

pearls by rule of thumb. We hope soon to wash the pearl from the

oyster just as grains of gold are washed from alluvial gravel. We

shall not get entirely rid of the rotting process, but we shall only have

to use it to a very small extent.

I take this opportunity of recording my experience that Ceylon

owes a great deal to some of its Civil Servants for their very ready

and able assistance to the scientific men. For one example I know, as

no one else could know, that much as we are indebted to Mr. Hornell

for bringing about the somewhat unexpected but welcome Pearl Fishery

of 1904, we are equally indebted in the same matter to Mr. Denham,

the Assistant Government Agent of Mannar, without whose thoroughly

practical help the fact that there were pearl oysters to fish this year

would never have been known to us.

This by no means exhausts the list of scientific works in'the Colony.

A small Marine Biological Institute has been established at Galle

under the able direction of Mr. Hornell, but the work is only in its

infancy, and the Institute has to be closed whenever Mr, Hornell is

away on scientific investigation. I hope that it may lead to the

remunerative cultivation of sponges, which are found in considerable

quantities on the coasts of the Island, but are never utilized

commercially.

Very little work has been done here in geology, and work in

mineralogy is practically only just starting with the appointment of

Mr. Coomaraswamy to conduct a survey of the mineralogical condi-

tions of the Colony, a task which will, of course, entail years of labour.

Meteorology is well looked after by Mr. H. O. Barnard. There has

been considerable talk about the establishment of a seismological

observatory. Seismological instruments have been imported by the

Government, but have lain idle for many years, the delay in the

erection of the observatory being due to the fact that before the

Island starts a seismological observatory a great many other things

158 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

will be necessary, and the cost of these isso great that the observatory

will have to wait. Substantial work has been done in chemistry,

but far too little has yet been achieved in the direction of

anthropology, and the cave-dwelling veddas might well receive more

attention. Folklore has received no adequate attention, the only

satisfactory effort being that of Mr. E. B. Denham, Assistant

Government Agent of Mannar, who is at work on a series of notes on

the folklore of that district.

Archeology is too big a subject to go into at this time of the evening.

Excellent work has been done by the Archeological Commission started.

by Governor Sir Arthur Gordon in 1890, Mr. Bell’s record of work

being extraordinarily creditable. Kégalla, Anurddhapura, Sigiriya, and

Polonnaruwa have. been the chief scenes of the Commission’s labours;

and rightly so, for they are the principal centres of archeological inter-

est in the Island. But we must remember that the work is still almost in

its infancy, and that a vast field for archeological research still remains

to be opened up. In our archeological work we are dealing—and it isa

rather unusual state of things—with the monuments of a still surviving

religion. Therefore it behoves us to move with caution ; and I believe

that we habitually do so move. We are, as reverently as may be,

unburying the long-hidden monuments of a great religion. Many

generations of the professors of that religion have left these monuments

buried, and done nothing—perhaps they could do nothing—to prevent

their further decay. Then we undertook the work, partly for our

own information, but at least as much for the benefit of our Buddhist

fellow-subjects. This, I think, the Buddhists should reckon to our

credit.

On the subject of the Zoological Gardens I must not dwell. As

you know, it has been much talked of for some time past. The project

has my warmest sympathy, and I am hopeful that the idea of

establishing Zoological Gardens in the Island may some day be realized.

Such gardens should prove of the greatest interest to natives and

visitors alike.

Before I close this imperfect sketch of the scientific activities of the

Island I must say a word on their relation to the Asiatic Society. For

these activities the Asiatic Society should be a centre and a rallying

point. The Society should, I think, devote more of its time and

energies to scientific subjects particularly connected with the Colony,

fostering them and co-ordinating them by all the assistance it can give.

8. A vote of thanks to the President, proposed by the Hon. Mr. 8S.

C. Obeyesekere and seconded by Mr. C. M. Fernando, concluded the

Proceedings of the Meeting. |

No. 55.—1904. ] PROCEEDINGS. 159

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, May 11, 1904.

Present :

_ Mr. H. White, C.C.S., in the Chair.

Mr. A. J. Chalmers, M.D., F.R.C.S, | Mr. A.M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyér.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. | Mr.A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc., F.B.S.

Mr. R. H. Ferguson, B.A., Honorary Treasurer.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., Honorary Secretary. —

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last Council Meeting held on

February 4, 1904.

2. Resolved,—The election of following candidates as Members :—

B. Evans, B.Sc. London : recommended by 1G re 5 cath

S. de Silva, Gate Mudaliyar and Chief Trans- { C. M. Fernando.

lator to Government: recommended by G. A. Joseph.

C.J. M. Gordon, M.A. Glasgow, B.A. Oxon. : ( C. M. Fernando.

_ recommended by G. A. Joseph.

G. W. Woodhouse, B.A. Cantab., C.C.S.: J. W. Vanderstraaten.

recommended by G. A. Joseph.

'T. P. Masilamanipillai : recommended by } a a mre

3. Laid on the table Circular No. 19 of 1904 containing the

opinions of Messrs. H. White and C. M. Fernando on the Paper

entitled “ Arrack Distillation in the Southern Province,” by Mudaliyar

A. Jayawardana.

Resolved,—That, in view of the remarks on the Circular by the

_ gentlemen to whom the Paper was referred, it be not accepted, but

that the writer be thanked for forwarding it to the Society.

4. Laid on the table two letters from Mr. T. B. Pohath Kehelpan-

nala: one re his father’s death and the other forwarding a Paper

entitled “‘ Errors in Ceylon History.”

Resolved,—That Mr. Pohath Kehelpannala be informed that his

father’s death has already been recorded in the Annual Report for

1903, and that the Paper be referred to Mudaliyar A. M. Gunasékara

and Mr. W. P. Ranasinha for their opinion. :

C 66-04

160 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL XVIII.

5. Laid on the table a letter from Mr. D. W. Ferguson re transla-

tion of ‘‘ De Couto” and “ Barros.”

Resolved,—That Mr. Ferguson be informed that the Society is

prepared to pay him £75 for a translation of “ Barros” and the

portion of “ De Couto” which refers to Ceylon, with introduction and

. notes—payment to be completed by the end of 1905 if manuscript has

been received before that date.

6. Laid on the table a letter from the Honorary Secretary of the

Royal Asiatic Society of Bombay inviting the Society to send Delegates

to their celebration of the Century of the Society’s Foundation.

Resolved,—That the letter be read at the next General Meeting.

7. Laid on the table the following opinion, by Mr. Harward, on the

medal granted to ‘‘ Meester Antonio Rabel in 1661 ”:—

MEMORANDUM WITH REGARD TO THE DuTCH MEDAL NOW OWNED BY

Mr. F. A. DANTANARAYANA, STAMP VENDOR IN MATARA.

At the request of the Council of the Asiatic Society I have examined

this medal to see if the illustration given in Mr. Pieris’s picture is

correct. The picture is not accurate. On the obverse it misrepresents

the shape of the letter h, which should be . On the reverse the

word ‘Ceylon ”’ is printed in sloping letters in the picture : the letters

should be perpendicular like those of the words beneath the &¢. The

letter Y is taller than the others (like this: cEYLON). There is no

reason to doubt that this word is of the same date as the rest. The

medal is much spoiled in appearance by the join, where the new edge

is fastened on to replace the part clipped off : this comes about quarter

of an inch inside the edge of the medal itself, just outside the inscrip-

tion on the obverse and the wreath on the reverse.

Resolved,—That the Report be published in the Society’s J ournal ¢ as

part of the Proceedings of this Council Meeting.

8. Resolved,—That a General Meeting be held on May 21, and

that the business be the reading of —

(a) “ Correspondence between Rajasinha IT. and the Dutch,”

by Mr. D. W. Ferguson.

(b) “A Note on the Paleography of Ceylon,” by Mr. C. M.

Fernando, Crown Counsel.

a Rae te

No. 55.—1904. ] PROCEEDINGS. : 161

GENERAL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, May 21, 1904.

Present :

The Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G., President,

in the Chair.

Myr. R. G. Anthonisz. Mr. I. Gunawardhana, Mudaliyar.

Mr. A. J. Chalmers, M.D., | Mr. W.F. Gunawardhana, Muda-

F.R.C.S. liyar.

Mr. E. B. Denham, B.A., C.C.S. Sir W. W. Mitchell, C.M.G.

Mr. C. M. Fernando, B.A,, LL.B. | Mr. P. E. Morgappah.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., Honorary Secretary.

Visitors: Five gentlemen.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last General Meeting held on

March 2, 1904.

2. Announced the election of following Members since the last

General Meeting:—-Messrs. Edwin Evans, B.Sc.; Simon de Silva, Gate

- Mudaliyar ; C.J. M. Gordon, M.A.; George William Woodhouse, B.A.,

C.C.S.; and T. P. Masilamanipillai.

3. Read a letter from the Honorary Secretary, Royal Asiatic

Society, Bombay Branch, inviting the Society to send Delegates to

their celebration of the centenary of the Society’s founGatOn on

January 17, 1905.

The CHarrman: I think that letter was brought up at the last

Meeting of the Council, and it was decided that it ought to be read at

the General Meeting, and if members wish they could take advantage

of it and represent the Society.

4. Mr. C. M. Fernanvo read the following Paper :—

162 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

A NOTE ON THE PALHOGRAPHY OF CEYLON.

By ©. M. Frernanpo, B.A., LU.B., Crown Counsel.

THE collector of Sinhalese coins finds himself at the

outset faced with the difficulty of deciphering the characters

inscribed on them. He then consults the works of Prinsep

and Rhys Davids, and with the assistance of the plates

and by mere observation of outline is enabled, though not

without difficulty, to identify his coins. True itis that both

these authorities give the inscription appearing on each coin

in the Nagari character ; but it is the modern Nagari, which

is in many respects so different from the old form, that one

often seeks in vain to detect a similarity between the legend

in modern Nagari and the actual inscription on the coin. .

The difficulty of identification is, however, insurmountable

when one has had the good fortune to meet with a coin not

figured in the standard books, unless, indeed, one has had

the patience to carefully go through the various known coins

and has prepared a list of the old Nagari characters to serve

as a key for identification. It is to this opportunity that

this Paper is due. I came into possession of a copper coin,*

which I vainly tried to identify with the means at my

disposal. I then prepared a list of the characters, such as

is above referred to, and with its aid succeeded in identifying

the inscription as S7i Kalinga Lakeswara, and thus fixed

it as the copper “massa” of King Sri Nissanka Malla. I

quote the reference to this coin in Rhys Davids :—

A coin of Nissanka Malla has been referred to above, of which

only three examples are known, two in possession of Sir Walter Elliot

and one in the collection of Mr. Dickson, Government Agent of the

* Kindly given to me by my friend Mr. W. P. Ranasigha, who had it

from a Buddhist priest many years ago.

71187 to 1196 A.D., according to Rhys Davids, but according to Wijé-

sinha’s Mahdwansa 1198 to 1207. He reigned at Polonnaruwa,

No. 55.—1904.] PALAOGRAPHY OF CEYLON. 163

North-Central Province, Ceylon.* Unfortunately all three specimens

are just now mislaid, and though this Paper has been delayed in the

hope that one would be found, we are at last compelled to go to press

without being able to include a figure of this coin in the plate. The

coin is of copper, and exactly like fig. 14, except as regards the legend

on the reverse. This legend Mr. Dickson, in a Paper read before the

Numismatic Society on the 19th May, 1876, conjectures may possibly

be read Sri Kaligala Kija, but he is unable to determine to what reign

the coin may belong, and does not consider the above reading at all

certain. Nothaving the coin before me, I speak with great diffidence;

‘but it seemed to me, when I once had the opportunity of inspecting it,

to bear the legend S72 Kalinga Lankeswara. That the anusvara was not

visible above the ga need not surprise us, as it was seldom visible on

the Lankeswara coins; and on those coins we usually find simply

Lakavara for Lankeswara, the dot for the anusvara, the small stroke

for the e, and the tiny s added above the wv being rarely legible.

Lastly, throughout the series, when there are six letters below the $77,

the last of the six is almost always cut in half or quite missing, which

would explain the absence of the ra. If the reading I suggest should

eventually prove to be correct, there can be very little doubt that the

coin belongs to Nissanka Malla. It is true that in the list of kings at

section 45 it will be seen that there are five sovereigns, or six if

Dharmasoka be included, who might have called themselves Kalingan

Lords of Ceylon ; but if the coins were struck by any successor of

Nissanka Malla, he would probably have used some title which would

distinguish him from that prince, the first of those to whom the legend

would be applicable. Of all the later Kalingan princes we have coins,

except of Magha, who hated everything Sinhalese, and of Wickrama

Bahu, who only reigned for three months. Kdlinga Lankesvara is one

of the tities used by Nisgsanka Malla in his inscriptions, and it is highly

probable that he would imitate Pardkrama the Great in his issue of

coins, as he did in his inscriptions and his buildings.t

‘A figure of this coin is now presented for the first time.

GS Ge,

229 99 oe Can bas

It will be noticed that the last letter va is omitted for

want of space, as stated by Rhys Davids, but the small stroke -

for the e making ka into ke is distinctly visible.

* The Colombo Museum has one specimen.

+ Rhys Davids. Numismata Orientalia Part VI. section 66.

164 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ VoL. XVIII.

The Sinhalese coins with Nagari legends date from

1153 A.D. (Parakrama the Great) to 1296 A.D. (Bhuvanéka

Bahu). The only forms of the old Nadgari alphabet which I

could find are containedin Burnell’s “ Paleography,” but they

are of date posterior to the Sinhalese coins, viz., the

alphabet as prevalent civca 1400 A.D. and the Nandi Nagari

of 1600 A.D. A comparison of the Nagari characters on the

Sinhalese coins, together with those given by Burnell and

with the modern Nagari, is full of interest as showing the

development of the Nagari alphabet through four distinet

stages of its growth.

These are the characters appearing on the Sinhalese coins :

SINK Jp. Stl

mm 3S

re 8

wae KO

.. hainSahasa Malla

.- huin Bahu, letter

not complete

oa VO

seal

-- Jain Vijaya and

Sri Raja Lilavati

-. Jain Raja Raja

woe YO

.-- ba

.. ba

+ pa

YOUYMAMN HAG ANAGMAA

Poo So Coa Bo

aE |

- dha in Dhamma-

.. Ta

soka Deva

- SO

.. de

... ne

-- 8a

+ 2a

.. GO, evidently an

obliterated form

of fq]

»» bhu

No. 55.—1904.] PROCEEDINGS. _ 165

5. The CHAIRMAN: Does any Member wish to say anything on

the subject ?

Mr. Harwarp: [ am anxious to know whether there is any trace in

Ceylon of the Ndgari character for any other purposes except the

inscriptions on coins.

Mr. W. F. GUNAWARDHANA stated that there were inscriptions in

Asoka character, which is the oldest form of Nagar.

Mr. Harwarp: The question is, how is it that we have the modern

Nagari character on the coins alone and not on anything else ?

Mr. W. F. GUNAWARDHANA: Because coins in Ceylon were made in

imitation of those in India. |

Mr. C. M. FERNANDO said that it was curious that they should have

no inscriptions of that date—say between 1,000 and 1,500—in the Nagari

character. These coins were traced to the time of Parakrama Bahu, and

contained inscriptions in the Nagari character.” They had from India

an earlier coin which Professor Rhys Davids had identified as the

fraka coin. That coin was dated about the sixth or seventh century of

the Christian era. It was more generally considered that the letters

on this coin were not /raka, but ought to be read from right to left.

The early coinage of Ceylon deserved a much fuller treatment than it

had hitherto received.

This ended the discussion on this Paper. |

5. Mr. Harwarp then proceeded to read a few extracts from the

following Paper by Mr. Donald W. Ferguson (now of Croydon,

England) :—

* More than one inscription in Medieval Devanagari character has been

found in Ceylon. For the finest see “ Epigraphia Zeylanica,” Vol. L,

Part I., No. 1.—H. C. P. B. |

166 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIIL

CORRESPONDENCE

BETWEEN RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH.

By DoNnaLD FERGUSON.

WHEN the Honorary Secretary of this Society, Mr.

H.C. P. Bell, C.C.S., some dozen years ago was going through

the Dutch records in the Ceylon Record Office, he came upon

a number of letters in Portuguese, written by Raja Sinha II.

to the Dutch commandeurs in Galle and other Dutch officials

between 1645 and 1660. These documents, which had

suffered somewhat from neglect, Mr. Bell had repaired, and *

then arranged them in chronological order and numbered

them. They number in all twenty-six, covering as I have

Said a period of fifteen years, and are apparently all that

survive of the many epistles written by Raja Sinha during his

long reign of fifty-five years. When the others disappeared

—in Dutch or in British times—it is impossible to say ; but

their loss is deplorable, and is due to either scandalous

carelessness or to dishonesty. When we find an ex-Colonial

Secretary of Ceylon coolly stating in his well-known book*

that he has in his possession one of Raja Sinha’s original

letters, one which had evidently been at some time in the

Colonial archives, it is difficult to find words to express our

feelings of amazement and indignation. It is to be hoped

that stricter supervision of these old and invaluable Dutch

* Tennent’s Ceylon, 5th ed., Vol. IT., p. 48 (see infra).

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 167

records* will be exercised henceforth. When the history of

Ceylon during the Dutch period comes to be written these

documents will yield an immense amount of valuable

material.

Some or all of the letters under notice were examined in

the year 1838 by Mr. George Lee, C.C.S. ; tf for on the back of

the letter of August 10, 1651, is written ‘“‘ Examined, G.L.,

February 23, 1838,” and “ Principally Raja Singha’s corres-

pondence.” The letters are in several handwritings, and vary

considerably as regards caligraphic ornamentation ; while

the ink, which in the earliest letter is jet black, is in several

of the later ones of a yellow tint. All of the letters are

subscribed with the royal sign-manual &, and it will be

noticed that in the superscriptions the titles adopted by the

king are on a crescendo scale.f

As the earliest letter of this series is by no means the first

written to the Dutch by Raja Sinha, I have thought it well to

take the accession of this monarch to the throne as the initial

point in my Paper, and to give from other sources details

necessary to the proper comprehension of the correspondence.

IT have made my translation as literal as possible, preferring to

sacrifice elegance toaccuracy. Thetone of the letters, it will

be noticed, varies exceedingly, being at times polite to excess,

and at others blazing out into fierceanger. One cannot help

Sympathizing to some extent with the writer, though the

wrongs he complains of were largely the consequence of

his. own double dealing.§ It was a case of “‘diamond cut

* The Portuguese records in Ceylon had disappeared by the beginning of

the eighteenth century, what the rats and white-ants had spared being

burnt by a vandal in the guise of a Dutch Secretary at the order of a

soulless Dutch Governor (see Valentyn, Ceylon, pp. 174, 307, 348).

+ Apparently in connection with his ‘‘ Report on the Pearl Fisheries of

Ceylon” (see Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., p. 180).

t None of them however approaches in bombast the introduction to Raja

Sinha’s first letter to the Dutch (see infra),

§ Raja Sinha’s duplicity in his dealings with the Dutch is forcibly set

forth by Mr. W. van Geer in his De Opkomst van het Nederlandsch Gezag

over Ceilon, a work of the utmost value, which badly needs translating into

English,

163 JOURNAL, R.A.S, (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

diamond ” with Raja Sinha andthe Dutch, and although in

the later part of his reign the king managed to keep on fairly

good terms with his“ faithful Hollanders,” he must often have:

bitterly regretted having invited them to Ceylon to oust the

Portuguese. Truly he found the “ ginger” hotter than the

“ pepper.””*

In the year 1652! King Senarat died, the kingdom having

been previously divided between his son Raja Sinha and his

nephews Kumarasinha and Vijayapdla,? Uva and Matalé

being allotted respectively to the last two, who did not

however for long enjoy their possessions, the first being

poisoned,? and his brother, after a useless struggle with Raja

Sinha, going over to the Portuguese, by whom he was sent

to Goa, where he was baptized in 1648 and died in 1654.4

During his father’s lifetime Raja Sinha had taken an active

part in the engagements with the Portuguese, having been

present at the disastrous defeat and massacre of Constantino

de Sa and his army in August, 1630,and having subsequently

(though unsuccessfully) besieged Columbo. The Portuguese,

having received reinforcements from Cochin, Goa, and

Malacca in October, 1631, made fresh incursions into the

Kandyan territories, but were compelled by the young

prince to withdraw toColombo.® It was therefore considered.

advisable on the part of the Portuguese to come to terms

with the enemy, and (as already mentioned in a note) a

treaty of peace was concluded and signed at Goa on April

15, 1623. This treaty does not, however, seem to have been

very strictly observed; and the young king, feeling his posi-

tion intolerable, resolved to call in the aid of the Dutech,®

between whom and Senarat all relations had been broken off

since the time of Boschhouwer’s escapades. Accordingly,.

* See Knox, Hist. Rel., p. 107, and C.A.S. Jl., X., p. 154.

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 169°

on September 9, 1636, Raja Sinha addressed the following

letter’ to the Governor of the Dutch settlement at Palikat :—

I, Raya® Singa, Emperor of the Island of Ceylon,® King of Candy,

Zetivaca,!’ Danbadany, Anorayapore, Jafnapatan," Prince of Ove,”

Mature, Dinavaca, the Four Corlas,= Grand Duke of the Seven

Corlas,'* Matalte, Earl of Catajar, Trinquelemale,’ Batecalo, Velafe-

buitena,!® Dumbra, Panoa, Patoveta,!” Putulaon,!® Vassare,!® Gale,

Billigaon, Marquis of Duramira,”? Ratenura,”! Tinipane,”? Axcepaon,”

Lord of the Ports of Alicaon, Caliture,?* Columbo, Negumbo,” Chilao,

Madampe, Calpentyn,” Ariputure, Manaar, and of the Pearl-fishery,

&c.”"

_lTinform the Governor of the fortress of Paliacatta of the good success

that my operations against: the Portuguese* have had ; although I

know that you are aware of certain events, yet for your assurance l

shall detail these more fully to you herein. The first is, that the

Emperor deprived the Portuguese” of two forts, named Walane” and

Forago,” and the town of Marua Goma,*! with 500 Portuguese and

captains of war,” beside many monks of various orders. At. that

time the General was Don Nuno Alvares Perere ; and, maybe over-

whelmed with such a loss, he sought to make peace with us, and

especially with regard to the prisoners whom the Emperor had taken

from them, which peace was made with the release of the aforesaid

prisoners of war.? At that time Constantinus de Zai*+ succeeded as

General and Governor, eleven years after the peace was concluded.

The villanies that they practised were various, such as that by treachery

they conquered Jafnapatan, and erected the fortress of Batecalo and

Trinquelemale, and, on the Emperor’s wishing to oppose this, gave as

reasons that they had certain tidings that some enemies from Hurope

wished to fortify themselves in the above-named ports, and they

erected the fortresses for the protection of the Island. All this was

done by great fraud ; for after the expiry of a year, although we had

a monk*® in Candy as hostage, they attacked the imperial dominions

in full force, although the late Emperor (in order not to break his

royal word) had set the monk at liberty. After that, when the

enemy had again withdrawn, this Empire devolved upon me,** which

enemies eleven months afterwards again began to maraud, so that

we went out to Ambatana to meet them, and drove them back to their

territory with some loss ; and seven months after that the aforesaid

enemies came again, well equipped, to attack the Principality of Ove,*

_ where we had a battle, and the victory was on our side, at which time

the native rebels came over to me as my lawful subjects, whereby

the enemy was greatly weakened, so that our troops held the field,

slaying the General and the Sergeant-Major, with the Captain of

Dinavaca, beside 400 soldiers and the captains taken prisoners, and the

Maistre de Campo,® the Captain Moors®® of the Seven Corlas and

170 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Matura, with 300 soldiers, among whom were several captains and

ensigns.*° We also captured a fort in Mantea Ravane,*! with 100

Portuguese and their captains, and another fortress in Sofragaen,

with three companies, destroying also two other forts of the aforesaid

enemy. At about this time I besieged the city of Columbo, keeping

the gates closed for more than thirty days, when, finding myself unwell,

I returned again to Candy, leaving my army under Mara Tana

Wandaar, who fifteen days after my arrival there departed thence, thus.

giving the enemy an opening, and so hindered me in the war for a year

andahalf. Afterwards this captain went over to the rebels. Moreover

with my army I attacked the territories of my enemies, fortifying

myself in the Four Corlas in a place named Ganetena, doing much harm

for six months to the aforesaid enemies, during which time there came —

from Goa to Columbo as Governor and General Diego de Melo de

Castro [formerly Governor of 8.Thome*],who sued for peace, which I

granted him, because I knew that the country was being ruined by war,

and because the aforesaid General, in the name of his king, gave me a

promise and swore by his God, abandoning the forts of Trinquelemale

and Batecalo, whereupon all prisoners were released.*? Thirteen

months after this peace had been concluded the Governor of Batecalo

gave help to some rebels to murder a governor of my territories,

harbouring the aforesaid rebels,“ shortly afterwards plundering a

champan [or boat] coming to me; and beside this they are still con-

tinually busy concocting treachery against my kingdom, wherefore,

having seen their faithlessness for so long a time, with us as also with

other Indian kings, I have resolved to expel these enemies, and shall

become a brother-in-arms of the King of the Hollanders so long as

sun and moon shall endure, and the Viceroy of Jacatara shall render

me assistance, and the Governor of Paliacatta, in order to further the

good of the Dutch nation, hoping that all shall fall out well according

to my good purposes.

I, the King, inform the Governor of Paliacatta that seven years ago

this Empire devolved upon me, and from that time I sought to know

who in Europe was the mightiest king to oppose the Portuguese, and

not only heard that the King of the Hollanders was their scourge, but

I also learnt of the good understanding that the aforesaid King

maintains with other kings and his friends and allies, as well as of the

trustworthiness of the Governor of Paliacatta. Wherefore I have

resolved that, so long as sun and moon shall endure,** I shall become a

brother-in-arms to the King of the Hollanders, and although my late

predecessors in former times made treaties with the Viceroy of Jacatara

and the Governorat Paliacatta, it has so far been of no effect. It appears

that it was God’s pleasure that this should be dealt with in my time,

and I trust (with God’s help) that we shall bring these matters to a

conclusion, I relying upon the Governor of Paliacatta that as soon as

possible he will do this, he trusting in my royal word. If they wish

ec. 5 SL

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il, AND THE DUTCH. 71

to erect a fort at Cotiar or at Batecalo they may come with five ships,

which are enough against the present strength of the enemy. I shall

afford them every assistance either in my own person or that of my

brother, and I shall give them all the booty and artillery, or if it please

them the aforesaid port of Batecalo, and shall supply them at Cotiar

with all things necessary to the building of a fort, binding myself to

pay all that the Governor may spend over the said fleet with my royal

word, and in whichever of the said ports it shall best please them to

assist me I bind myself to bear all. In case the Governor approves of

this, as in past times, he can send a vessel to Trinquelemale or Cotiar,

in order that my envoys may go therein with safety, and if it shall be

possible that these matters be brought to effect by the Governor, it

shall be requited by me according to the merit of the person, and if

not he will be pleased to forward the bearer of this letter to the

Viceroy of Jacatara.

Given, September 9, 1636.

(Signed) Rasa S1nca, Imperador.

This letter was intrusted to a Brahman, who had to wait

six months at Jaffna before he could find an opportunity of

getting across to the Coromandel Coast, where he delivered it

to the then Governor of Palikat, Karel Reyniers or Reinersen,.

whoat once forwarded it to the Governor-General at Batavia,

Anthony van Diemen, and the Council of Netherlands India.

These had already been deliberating as to how best to obtain

a share of the much-coveted Ceylon cinnamon trade, which

their Portuguese rivals were monopolizing;” and they

immediately resolved to accede to the Kandyan king’s

request. Accordingly, instructions were given to Adam

Westerwold, who was leaving Batavia with a fleet for the

blockade of Goa, to call at Ceylon on his return voyage, and

meantime a message was sent to Reyniers to dispatch some

trustworthy person to Ceylon to arrange matters with Raja

Sinha. Accordingly, Reyniers chose as envoys the skipper

Jan Thyssen,* who had been a prisoner in Ceylon, and there-

fore knew something of the Island, and the merchant

Adriaen Helmont. These left Palikat on October 21, 1637,

in the yacht Valek for Ceylon, and on the 29th, to avoid

capture by the Portuguese, effected a landing by night at

Kalmunai to the south of Batticaloa. After some. delay,

owing to the King having to be informed of their arrival,

142 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

the envoys set out by way of Sammanturai, and, arriving at

Pangaragammana on the east bank. of the Mahaweli-ganga

on November 19, were received the same evening by Raja

Sinha in his residence on the west bank of the river.

To him they presented their credentials in the form of a

letter*® from the Governor of Palikat, dated October 20, 1637,

acknowledging receipt of the King’s missive of the previous |

year, reminding Raja Sinha of the wars which the Dutch

nation had for some time been carrying on with the Portu-

guese, and stating that if the King would grant them the

export trade in cinnamon they would be pleased to supply

him with arms and ammunition to fight the Portuguese.

The letter added that, if this were agreed to, a message

would be sent to the Admiral of the Dutch fleet before Goa

for the detaching of some vessels to transport cinnamon or to

help the King. Frequent interviews took place between the

King and the envoys, during which the former received

from his cousin, the Prince of Matalé, a letter®® which had

been addressed to him by the Portuguese Governor of

Colombo, complaining bitterly of Raja Sinha’s bad faith in

dealing with the Hollanders, whom he described in no

measured language. He added that he had informed the

Viceroy at Goa of the King’s treachery. }

On November 27 Raja Sinha dispatched the Dutch envoys,

sending with them three Sinhalese deputies to view.and

report on the Hollanders’ fleet at Goa. He also addressed a

letter,>! dated from “ Vintane, November 28, 1637,” to the

Admiral of the Dutch fleet before Goa. In this letter, which

was delivered to Admiral Westerwold on December 19, the

King stated that he sent his deputies to conclude terms with

the Admiral ; that he wished five ships to be sent to capture

the fortress of Batticaloa and erect another in that port,

and to take away all the cinnamon that might be there ;°?

that he learned that the Admiral was to leave Goa for

Jacatara in April, calling, if possible, on the way thither at

Colombo, whence he was to send three ships for the capture

of Batticaloa,®? that he himself would proceed to Colombo,

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 173

which city, if God should give them the victory, should, he

pledged his royal word, be for the Dutch and himself

jointly, and he would make an agreement with the Admiral

regarding all the pepper and cinnamon in the Island ; that it

would, therefore, be best for the Admiral to come with his

full force, that a peace might be arranged, or, if he could

not come himself, send a trustworthy person instead. The

Sinhalese deputies were eye-witnesses of the engagement

that took place on January 4, 1638, between the Dutch and

Portuguese fleets off Goa, in which the former gained a

notable victory, which gave the envoys a favourable idea of

the strength of the Hollanders.**:

Meanwhile there had joined the Dutch fleet the ship

Hertogenbusch from Surat with the Vice-Commander

Willem Jacobsz Coster ;°°.and it was resolved to send the

latter to Ceylon in command of the ships Texel, Kleyn,

Amsterdam, and Dolfyn, manned by 190 men,” to apprise

Raja Sinha that a further force would follow in May, and

meanwhile to give him any assistance he required against the

Portuguese.°’ Bythe same opportunity the Sinhalese envoys

returned to Ceylon, bearing a letter®® to Raja Sinha from

Admiral Westerwold, in which the latter promised to come

himself with three more ships if the blockade of Goa were

raised by the end of April, and asking the King meanwhile

to make all needful preparations for an assault on the Portu-

- guese fort at Batticaloa, and also to have in readiness two or

three shiploads of cinnamon. This expedition left Goa on

Mareh 17 and arrived on April 3°? at Trincomalee, where the

Sinhalese ambassadors landed and proceeded to Kandy to

deliver the Admiral’s letter and inform the King of the arrival

of the Dutch vessels.

Meanwhile the Portuguese General of Colombo, Diego de

Mello de Castro, had from threats proceeded to more vigorous

measures, in order, if possible, to prevent the attempted

alliance of the Sinhalese and the Dutch.: Accordingly, in

March, 1638, he marched on Kandy with an army of 700

Portuguese and 28,000 lascoreens, and reaching the capital

174 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

to find it deserted, plundered and set fire to it. When,

however, he attempted to retreat to Colombo he found the

way blocked by felled trees and ambushes of archers; Raja

Sinha having obtained reinforcements from the Prince of

Matalé, whilst many of the lascoreens deserted the Portuguese,

the latter suffered a disastrous defeat, their army being

almost annihilated, the General himself perishing, and only

thirty-three Portuguese surviving, to be carried captives into

Kandy.®

On April 8 Coster arrived before Batticaloa, and on the 9th

landed and set about preparing for the attack on the Portu-

guese fort. On May 10 Admiral Westerwold arrived with five

more ships and a large force of men, landing next day, and

onthe 14th® Raja Sinha arrived by land with hisarmy. An

interview and interchange of gifts took place next day

between the King and the Admiral,® and on the 18th the

Portuguese garrison surrendered and the Dutch took pusses-

sion of the fort. On the 23rd a treaty,®* consisting of

nineteen articles and an added one, was signed by Raja Sinha

and Admiral Westerwold and Coster. By the terms of this

the Dutch were to secure a practical monopoly of the export

trade of Ceylon® in return for their assistance to the King

in ships, men, and munitions of war, the expenses of which,

however, were to be borne by the Sinhalese monarch, who

was also to hold no further communication with the Portu-

guese, and was to expel from.his dominions all priests, .

monks, and other ecclesiastical persons, the causes of all

disturbances and the ruin of kingdoms and countries. The

third article provided that all Portuguese forts captured

should be garrisoned by the Dutch, and if necessary repaired

at the King’s expense. It will be seen further on that this

article gave rise to endless trouble, and was the cause of a

rupture between the allies.°© Admiral Westerwold left for

Batavia on June 4, leaving Coster and 105 men in the fort,

which was repaired, the defences being increased by the

addition of cannon from the Dutch ships.” With the

Admiral went two Sinhalese ambassadors, bearing a letter

No. 55.—1904.} RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 175

and presents to the Governor-General and Council of the

Indies. Some cinnamon, wax, and pepper was also conveyed

by the vessels to Batavia and Palikat.®

On August 12 Coster, impatient at hearing nothing from

Raja Sinha, who had returned to Kandy and was occupied

in engagements with the Portuguese in the vicinity of

Colombo, left Batticaloa and reached the royal court near

Kandy on the 27th, obtaining from the King verbal and

written permission for free trade between the natives and |

the Dutch and a promise of further supplies of cinnamon,

wax, and pepper.®

On August 11 the Council at Batavia wrote to Coster a

long letter,’ informing him of the departure for Goa of

Antonio Caen with a fleet of twelve ships, and stating

that they had appointed Jacob van Composiel to succeed

Coster provisionally on the latter’s departure from Ceylon,

for which permission was granted, At the’same time that

the above letter was dispatched the Sinhalese envoys left

Batavia bearing a reply” from the Governor-General and

Council to Raja Sinha’s letter. This reply expressed satis-

faction at the capture of Batticaloa, and announced the

Council’s confirmation of the treaty made by Admiral

Westerwold with the King; the writers also took care to

impress on their royal ally that they wanted a good quantity

of good cinnamon, wax, pepper, &c., and concluded with a

request that the King would present the Governor of Palikat

with “two beautiful tame elephants as a pledge of our

acknowledged services and special friendship.” The am-

bassadors arrived at Batticaloa on October 29 by a chaloupe

from Palikat, which also brought Jacob van Compostel to

relieve Coster.” On April 18, 1639, a fleet of twelve Dutch

ships, manned by 980 sailorsand 335 soldiers and armed with

364 cannon, under the command of Admiral Antonio Caen,

with Coster as Vice-Admiral, arrived from Goa in the bay of

Kottiyar,”* and measures were at once set afoot for the

reduction of the Portuguese fort of Trincomalee, the small

garrison of which, after a short but ineffectual resistance,

D 66-04

176 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). ([VoL. XVIII.

capitulated on May 2.’ During the progress of the siege the

Uppermerchant Jacob van Compostel, who had gone on an

embassy to Kandy, arrived from Batticaloa with a letter

from the King; but as it was untranslated the Dutch could

not understand its purport. Sr. van Compostel, however,

reported that Raja Sinha had resolved to remain in the

low country in the vicinity of Colombo, lest the inhabitants

should assist the Portuguese to re-oceupy Malvana and

‘“ Manicawara,” which they had abandoned. The King how-

ever promised to send a mudaliyar with 4,000 men to assist the

Dutch inthe conquestof Trincomaleeand Jaffna. Asa matter

of fact, the Dutch had been in the fort of Trincomalee

nearly two hours when two mudaliyars appeared with 3,000

men, which makes one suspect that they had lain perdus

until their allies had done all the fighting.”*> The mudaliyars

also brought some letters from the King, but they seem to

have been of no particular moment. The Sinhalese not

being prepared to keep the fort without the assistance of the

Hollanders, arrangements were made for leaving a Dutch

garrison there on the same conditions as those made with

regard to Batticaloa. The proposed attack on Jaffna was

discussed, but seems to have been abandoned owing to the

King’s apparent disinclination to take part in it.”° Thyssen

having been appointed Governor of Batticaloa in place of

Coster, and the Fiscal Gerard Herbers Commandant of

Trincomalee, the fleet sailed on May 27 for Batticaloa,” there

accompanying it three Sinhalese ambassadors bearing two

letters from Raja Sinha, one in Tamil and the other in

Portuguese, but substantially the same in purport, also some

presents to the Council of India. The latter appear by this

time to have formed a very decided opinion regarding the

untrustworthiness of the King of Ceylon and his fellow-

countrymen,and of the unreliability of the former’s promises ;

but after considering Raja Sinha’s urgent request to send a

force to attack Colombo, and hearing the opinions of his

envoys and those of Caen and Coster, they resolved to put

aside the claims of Amboina, Malacca, and Macao, and to

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 177

comply with the Sinhalese king’s wish.’® They decided,

however, that fresh and more binding agreements must be

made with the King, and that every place taken from the

Portuguese must be occupied by the Dutch forces. More-

over, to prevent Raja Sinha’s acting as he had done on former

occasions, it was determined that 200 Dutch soldiers should

accompany him in his march on Colombo.

On August 25, 1639, therefore, the skipper Minne

Willemsz Caertekoe was dispatched with two yachts for

Batticaloa to apprise Thyssen of the Council’s intentions,

and conveying a letter from the Governor-General and Council

to Raja Sinha, in which the King was told of the proposed

plan of action, and was begged not to fail this time in the

fulfilment of his part. In order to give the King no cause

of offence, the letter made no reference to his former laches.7°

Just a month later, on September 25, 1639, nine more

ships sailed from Batavia direct for Colombo, under the

command of the Director Philips Lucasz, to whom an

ample commission had been given for the making of treaties,

movement of troops, &c. Altogether the force for the attack

on Ceylon consisted of 734 sailors, 944 soldiers, and 252

natives. Coster was Vice-Commander, and Sergeant-Major

Adriaan Anthonisz third in command.” The fleet did not

make landfall on the east coast of Ceylon until December 2,

and the first place at which anchor was cast was Trinco-

malee, where things were found to be in a terrible state

from want of provisions and sickness, Raja Sinha having not

only failed to send supplies to the garrison, but forbidden

his subjects to do so. Lucasz relieved the famished soldiers,

and sent the King an urgent request to fulfil his promises

better and to march on Colombo in person with his forces.

Leaving Trincomalee, the fleet arrived early in January,

1640, before Colombo, where the Admiral found Caertekoe’s

two yachts lying, but no signs of Raja Sinha’s army or the

small Dutch force under Thyssen. This fact, added to the

information he had obtained along the coast between Trinco-

malee and Colombo, confirmed Lucasz in his suspicions

178 _ JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

of the King’s bad faith;®! and seeing that it was a hopeless

task to attack Colombo from the sea, he proceeded further

northwards and anchored off Kammala,® five miles from

Negombo, where on January 29 his forces were joined

by the combined Sinhalese and Dutch army, 15,000 strong,

which had hitherto been held in check by the Portuguese,

who had now retired on Colombo in anticipation of an

attack on that fort. A Portuguese force sent from Colombo

under the command of Francisco Mendocga having been

defeated, the Dutch on February 9 attacked Negombo,

and took it by storm with but little loss of life. The fort

was occupied by a Dutch garrison, and the repair of the

fortifications was taken in hand.®? Raja Sinha appears to

have taken offence at what he considered the endeavours of

Admiral Lucasz to alter the terms of the treaty of 1638, and

also at the conduct of the Dutch in repairing the fortifica-

tions of Negombo instead of razing them, and he withdrew

in dudgeon into the jungle. This action created a suspicion

among his allies that he was going to attack the small

garrisons of Batticaloa and Trincomalee, and Jan Thyssen

was therefore sent by sea to warn them. Admiral Lucasz,

who had been ailing ever since his departure from Batavia,

- now became very unwell,and therefore delegated his powers

to Coster and sailed for Batavia on February 21, dying on the

voyage. Soon after his departure Coster made fresh terms

with Raja Sinha, by which it was agreed that the fortress of

Trincomalee was to be surrendered to the King and dis-

mantled (which took place on April 20), the ammunition

being equally divided, and the King sending ten elephants

to Batticaloa; that when the Portuguese had been finally

expelled from the Island the Dutch were to possess only

one fortress, but that they should occupy Negombo and the

other forts until all the expenses of the war had been paid;

that when Colombo was taken it was to be entirely demol-

ished, unless the King desired that one or other fort should

be garrisoned, which was to be done by Dutch soldiers ; also

that the booty and prisoners were to be shared by the allies.*4

NO. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II, AND THE DUTCH. 179

These terms having been settled, Paulus Pietersz and 128

men were left to garrison Negombo, and on March 3 the

fleet sailed for Galle. The Dutch ships reached Galle on

March 8, Jan Thyssen arriving from the east coast the same

day. On the 9th the troops were landed, and after a severe

fight with a Portuguese force from Colombo and the

opportune arrival of three more Dutch ships with 350 men

on the 13th, the fortress of Galle was stormed and taken by

the Hollanders, the Sinhalese, as usual, appearing on the scene

after the fighting was over to share in the plunder.®

This was the most important conquest that the Dutch had

effected in Ceylon, and it is no wonder that the news was

received in Batavia with joy, and celebrated by a discharge

of cannon.®® Commander Coster remained in Galle as Presi-

dent, with a garrison of 196 Dutch soldiers under the

command of Captain Walraven de St. Amand. Raja Sinha,

however, still entertained suspicions of the good intentions

of his European allies, the Portuguese probably doing their

_ best to fan these suspicions. Accordingly, Coster, unable to

obtain replies to several conciliatory letters addressed to

the King, left Galle on July 4, with an escort for Kandy, where

he arrived on the 15th,and had an interview with the King, an

interchange of courtesies taking place. The same day there

arrived from Batticaloa a Persian in charge of some dogs and

falcons as a present to Raja Sinha, together with a letter

from Jan Thyssen to the King. On the 18th Coster was

admitted to an audience with the King, and handed him a

letter,®’ written in Portuguese, in which the fulfilment was

requested of various provisions of the treaty of 1638, and a

further request was made for certain gardens or villages

near the fort of Galle for supplying rations to the garrison,

it being added, “the rule of war permits us to enjoy the

aforesaid privilege so far as our cannon-balls can reach.” On

the 24th Coster received a written reply® from the King,

who reaffirmed his willingness to fulfil in due season

the provisions of the treaty of Batticaloa, at the same time

pointing out that in that treaty nothing had been said as to

180 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Von XVIII.

land within a cannon-ball’s range belonging to a fort. Both

before and after the interchange of these letters Coster’s sus-

picions as to Raja Sinha’s good faith had been strengthened»

and the treatment that he received at the hands of the chiefs

aroused his anger, so he finally informed the King of hisinten-

tion to depart. On August 17 Coster set out for Batticaloa ;

and, after having had a further insult offered him by the

King’s minions, on the 20th reached Badullagammana,

where he was overtaken by a mudaliyar with 400 or 500

armed lascoreens, who alleged that he had been sent to escort

Coster. Next day, however, on reaching Nilgala, Coster was

set upon by the Sinhalese, and he and the barber surgeon,

three Dutch soldiers, and four native servants were murdered,

the rest of his company being stripped, bound, and beaten.

They were, however, subsequently released, and arrived in

Batticaloa on September ] with Coster’s baggage.®9 On

the 8th a letter reached Jan Thyssen from the King ex-

pressing regret at the death of Coster, and desiring that

there should be no rupture of the treaty on account of this

occurrence. Thyssen, apprehensive of evil results at Galle,

set out thither with the Undermerchant Maarten Vinck, and

arriving there on the 29th found that Captain St. Amand

with two Dutch soldiers and some blacks had deserted to the

Portuguese in Colombo, this having caused a good deal of

alarm in Galle, which however had been allayed by the good

sense of Lieutenant Swart.”

The condition of the Dutch garrisons in Galle and Negombo

at this time seems to have been anything but satisfactory,*!

and reinforcements being sent from Goa by the new

Portuguese Viceroy under the command of Dom Filippe

Mascarenhas, after a short siege Negombo capitulated on

November 9, the garrison being despatched to Palikat, but

landing at Galle instead.°2 A very acrimonious correspon-

dence thereupon ensued between Thyssen and the Portuguese

Governor, in which mutual recriminations and charges of

bad faith were indulged in.®** To add to the vexation of the

Hollanders, Raja Sinha showed little inclination to supply

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 181

them with the cinnamon and other merchandise which they

so much desired, and for the sake of which they seemed

willing to overlook insults and even personal violence.

The Portuguese were not slow in following up their success,

and not only drove the Sinhalese back from the lowlands,

but practically hemmed in the Dutch in Galle, which, but for

the arrival of reinforcements and the strengthening of the

fortifications, might also have been retaken. |

Meanwhile Raja Sinha in 1641 dispatched four ambassadors

to the Governor-General at Batavia with a letter acknowledg-

ing those sent to him during the previous eighteen months,

and forwarding at the same time a lengthy document, in

which he considered and answered servatim the complaints of

theDutch.® These ambassadors also hadan interview withthe

Governor-General, who informed them that, in spite of the

treatment the Dutch had received at the hands ofthe Sinhalese

monarch, further reinforcements would be sent to Ceylon

to assist him against the Portuguese.% Accordingly, by

February 10, 1642, a fleet of twelve ships had assembled

off Colombo; but after hovering about for some time it

abandoned the intended attack and left for Galle.”

Meanwhile Portugal, having thrown off the Spanish yoke

in 1640 and proclaimed Dom Jofo IV. as king, had entered

into a treaty with the Netherlands, whereby a ten years’

truce was agreed to. For various reasons, however, this

armistice was not proclaimed throughout the Hast Indies by

the Dutch until October, 1642, and even then it was not

observed faithfully by either side, so that conflicts continued

to take place during the ensuing years, culminating in an

attack upon Negombo by the Dutch under Francois Caron

in January, 1644, and its recapture by the Hollanders after

a desperate resistance on the part of the Portuguese.°®> The

latter then sent an embassy to the Sinhalese king, offering

to enter into an offensive and defensive alliance with him

against the Dutch, and protesting that they only desired

to retain the territory which he and his predecessors

had granted them. R4éja Sinha kept their presents and

182 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

recommended them to regain possession of Negombo. This

the Portuguese attempted to do; but after a three months’

siege they were again, at the end of July, defeated with great

loss and obliged to return to Colombo.* |

Towards his Dutch allies the Sinhalese monarch continued

to observe an attitude of alternate contemptuous indifference

and ill-disguised suspicion ; while his promises of material

assistance remained for the most part unfulfilled. On

March 23, 1644, the wily King wrote the following letter! to

Thyssen :—

After Mampe Rala had gone as disava of Mature, several faults

were committed by him, for which reason I removed him from the

said disava,!°? and placed in his stead Ecanaca Modliar, who had been

disava of the Seven Corlas, and consequently I entertained him in the

place that he had merited. When I had dispatched the said disava,

I ordered that so long as he could maintain the lands of Mature, while

residing outside, he should do so, and that whenever he could not do

this he should betake himself with the black folk into that fortress of

mine ; if he comes to take up his residence therein, will Your Honour

be pleased to shelter him ?!%

I had thought that this year it would have been possible for me to

see Your Honour and to repay the gastos’ that Your Honour had, on

behalf of the Company, incurred in my service, with my black folk who

assisted in that fort of mine the whole time that it was besieged, but

God has not so willed it ; wherefore send me the register thereof by

Batticaloa that I may know what they amount to. Since that fort of

mine Gale was besieged until Mampe Rala went thither, I several

times sent from Batticaloa assistance of maintimentos! to that aforesaid

fort of mine ; and send together with the other said register a register

of what they have delivered to Your Honour, so that J may know what

they have furnished to you. Whensome days’ journey from Maricar-

ware! towards Cander,!” I was told that the Hollanders had disem-

barked in Caliture or in Alican, in one of these two places, and that

they had fortified themselves there, which I do not believe ; but if it

is true (except for carrying on trade and other business if they embark

again), even though it were for my service or that it were found ex-

pedient by your council or in order to do harm to our enemies, they

are not to disembark in order to fortify in any district of this island

of Cheylon without my license.!® |

I was also told that a black woman of this island of Cheylon had

been married to a Hollander in that fort of mine of Gale. After

the Portuguese established themselves in Colombo, whilst the natives

of this island had no lawful and natural King who had the power to

maintain and defend them, some of them were baptized, fed, and

No. 55.--1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 183

clothed by the said Portuguese, and some women, casting honour and

shame on one side, intermarried with them ; but now since by God’s

grace I am lawful and natural King, who intend to increase and pre-

serve my law and customs, putting away the evil past customs of the

Portuguese, Your Honour must not allow such marriages to take

place. Nothing further suggests itself. God preserve Your Honour,

&e. From this camp of Bilacam,"° March 23, 1644.

(Signed) RagJa SINGA.

Addressed :—To Jan Mathyssen, captain moor! of ‘my fortress of.

Gale. |

Before the above reached him Thyssen had written a

letter’? to Raja Sinha, who replied as follows :—"™

The letter written by Your Honour on March 21 reached this my

court and city of Candia on April 3, seven days after my arrival from

the low-country. From it I learnt that Your Honour was in good

health, at which I was greatly rejoiced, owing to the love and good-

will that I bear you, and, God willing, I shall also presently be of

service to you. Beside the letter of Your Honour, I have seen

another!4 from the admiral Francisco Caron, which he had left with

Your Honour to send to me. Iwas glad that he departed from this

port in good health," and that Your Honour tells me that in the

coming year we shall have a large reinforcement wherewith we should

drive the enemy entirely out of this island of Cheylon ; I have greatly

valued that, and I pray God that he bring the said admiral in salvo

and fulfil for us our desires. Your Honour says in his letter that the

admiral will leave a ship to go to Batticaloa, to take in the supply of

eight elephants which remain of the 20, and any other goods; it

has not been possible for me to collect the goods this year, but I

have the eight elephants and one that I promised to the said admiral.

Francisco Caron of 8 covados"® and 50 maons!” of wax. I do not

doubt that all the things are now in Batticaloa ; but it has not yet

been possible to have the letter to the Governor-General at Batavia!®

written, as I have been busy with the disturbances in the low-country

which the Portuguese enemy instigated, but in three days from to-day

I shall without fail dispatch it to Batticaloa.

I do not know what quantity of cinnamon there is at Mature, and only

because Your Honour asks in his letter that I should send orders to

my Officers to deliver what has been gathered, I am ordering my disava

and other officers of the districts of Mature to deliver it to Your Honour,

for having last year ordered my disava of Batticaloar (sic) to deliver

to the commandeur Pieter Boreel™® the goods that were collected

there, I not knowing the amount thereof, the Governor-General of

Jacatra writes that the quantity was so small, that (in respect to the

gastos that the Company had incurred in my service) it was not worth

184 : JOURNAL, K.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

entering in the books, and I, being shamed at this, have not ordered

my officers to deliver the cinnamon, because I did not know the

quantity thereof, but nevertheless it is proper that the goods that

have been collected be delivered to Your Honour. Im case the

elephants that I have sent to Batticaloa are not embarked on board-

ship and the ships cannot wait, will Your Honour order that the

ships that come from Goa take in the cinnamon in this port of Gale,

and on their way to Batavia call at Batticaloa to learn if the ship

has taken my letter to the Governor-General of Jacatra, with the

_ elephants, or not, and, if they have not been dispatched, that they

embark in that monsoon with the said letter? And I am also

ordering the factor who is at Batticaloa, that he keep that letter

with him until a ship come from Goa to take it away.

Beside the lands that I conceded to the commandeur Pieter Boreel,!”°

as soon as he has left for Goa to treat with the Portuguese regarding

treves,™ they turn ona fresh tack, in order for me to give more, [saying |

that they had made peace with me and that they will spread abroad

the same and in all haste make it public in all quarters: wherefore if

any news of this comes to your knowledge let Your Honour give no

credit thereto. With this I send an order to my disava of Mature,

that he send to the people that are in that fort of mine all the provision

he can, from the lands that are subject to me without disturbance from

the enemy, and I also order him to prepare all the cinnamon he can.

In case the Portuguese came to these lands of Mature in order to

prevent any goods being collected and any provisions being given to

that fort of mine, and Your Honour saw that you could do them

some injury and destroy them (that it may not happen as it did in

Averaca),™ first take good deliberation and my disava in your

company, and if with God’s favour we gain the victory and destroy

the enemy, let my disava remain to restore the lands and do my service,

and let Your Honour retire once more inside the fort; and if you see

that you cannot get rid of most of the enemy, you shall only take

care to guard that fort of mine until we shall take Colombo, which

with God’s favour shall be in the coming year, &c. At present

nothing further suggests itself. God preserve Your Honour, &c.

Given in this court and city of Candia, April 4, 1644.

(Signed) Rapra SINGA.

On November 10, 1644, a truce was agreed to at Goa

between the Viceroy and Mr. Joan Maatzuyker, who had

been sent thither by the Council at Batavia for that purpose.1”

By one of the articles of this treaty Raja Sinha was made

a party to it, though without his consent; and on January

10, 1645, the divisions of the limits of the territories in the

Island of Ceylon over which each nation was to exercise

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II, AND THE DUTCH. 185

control were agreed to at Colombo. In this agreemeni also

the Sinhalese monarch took no part, though he was apparently

as a mere matter of form invited to assent to it. That the

Hollanders had little faith in the King’s goodwill towards

them is proved by the tone of the letters addressed to the

Council at Batavia by Thyssen in 1644, and by the fact of

Dutch troops being stationed in the newly acquired districts

about Negombo.!#6 Raja Sinha on his part was naturally

annoyed at the cool manner in which the two HKuropean

nations had partitioned territories which formed a portion

of his dominions,!”’" and on February 16, 1645, he wrote the

following letter!?8 to Maatzuyker :—

[1.]

The letters! which Your Honour sent me from my fortress of Ni-

gombo were delivered to me at this court on the 11th of February. In

the first place I was very glad to hear the letter of the Governor-General

of Jacatara, and in the second I appreciated it in that it was told me

therein that Your Honour was coming with a very powerful fleet to

render me many services, and that you were a person of high position

and of great intelligence and parts.'! In the partition of territories

which Your Honours!” made with the Portuguese, in so far as touches

the dissavas'*3 of Maturé and Seven Corlas, they were very well divided,

although in the division of the Seven Corlas there was some inequality,

since Uracapatt and half of Mendapatu, which fell to the Portuguese,

are districts of Catugambala Corla, which at the time of the publi-

cation of the truces at Goa were on my side and subject to me.

Putulaé and Calpetj were never subject to Manar, and before the

publication of the aforesaid truces I always had my vidanas in them

and they were accustomed to obey me and were always under obedience

_ tome and under my command. The Portuguese before they entered

this Island of Ceila6 came to Manar, and ever since then until this

present time the aforesaid territories were never subject to Manar.

As to the dissavas of Four Corlas and Sofragaé, they deceived Your

Honour like knaves as they are, for in the 3rd chapter of the truces to

which Your Honours agreed at Goa itis written that matters remain at

the point at which they had arrived atthe time of their publication in

Goa ; and when they were published I was in possession of Andapan-

duna, Guindigora Corla, Parnacuri Galbara Corla, all of which belong

to the dissava of the Four Corlas, and in the lands of Bulatgama this

side of the river of Gurugora in the dissava of Sofragad from the

garaveto of Puapeti upwards, and there would never have been this

fraud if when Your Honours made the said partitions in Colombo you

had first advised me, so that I might send a person from this my

186 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL XVUII.

court who might assist in them; but from this fraud I shall clear

myself with the Portuguese during this year, which we have for doing

it,as Your Honour points outin yours to me, and if they do not wish to

come to an agreement I must make war on them, and not on that

account must the friendship cease which I have with the Dutch

nation as long as the sun and moon shall endure. In the articles of

agreement respecting the partition of territories which Your Honours

made with the Portuguese they make mention of Your Honours therein

and not of me (whose are the said territories, and as the Governor-

General of Jacatara wrote to me and Your Honour also in yours). I

know that that did not originate on the part of Your Honours, but in

the malice of the Portuguese from the fierce hatred which they bear

towards me. And as these articles will be seen and published among

many nations of the world, it is right that in the places in which Your

Honours are named with respect to the partition of territories they

should mention me, and remove [the names of] Your Honours, since

the Governor-General of Jacatara wrote me in his that Your Honour

would do nothing except what I wished and what should be to my

liking. Your Honour moreover said in yours that in the Seven Corlas

you had left a camp of 500 soldiers, and had the intention of leaving

another in the parts about Maturé for the quieting of the territories.

Your Honours being at peace with the Portuguese, and the same being

the case between me and the Dutch nation, we do not fear any other

nation that might disturb it ; therefore let Your Honour order the said

garrison to retire to my fortress of Nigumbo, seeing that its exit there-

from has been to no purpose, except to incur expense without profit ;

leaving that said fortress as well as that of Gale very well provided

with men. If up to the present I was of opinion that the fortress

of Nigumbo should not have a garrison, it was on the understanding

that we had taken Colombo; but since Your Honours have made

a truce with the Portuguese, it is well that there be there the said

garrison, and from this time henceforth I shall sustain it with

every necessary even as I sustain that at Gale and sustained that

at Batecalou. If I have not hitherto contributed by the payment of

the expenses which the Company has incurred in my service, 1t was

because of the territories being in a state of disturbance up till now,

as Your Honours know very well ; but as now by the favour of God they

are quiet, I am going to pay them very punctually according to the

terms of our contract. It was not possible this year to obtain

cinnamon in the dissava of Seven Corlas, even if in the little monsoon

I had given orders and had distributed money throughout the

territories for the purpose of obtaining the said cinnamon, but on

account of the disturbances this did not take place. In the lands

about Maturé some was obtained, and as to that I wrote to the

Governor Joad Matheus!* that if there were any movement of the

Portuguese he should store it in my fortress of Gale, and if not it

would remain in the bankshalls'** in which it was. T do not knowif they

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 187

stored that said cinnamon in my fortress or not. Anyhow I have

already sent an order to my dissava of Maturé that all that is pro-

duced in those parts be sent to Your Honours. Regarding the remaining

contributions according to our contract from these kingdoms of

Candea, as Gale is far, I shall send by way of Batecalou : to wit, some

tusked elephants and male and female alias, and whatever wax and

pepper there may be, in satisfaction of the expenses incurred in my

service, although I believe that there will not be a great quantity,

and I shall reply to the Company through the Governor-General of

Jacatara, and shall also send the present!” which I have to send them.

I esteemed highly the honours which Your Honour informed me in

yours the Governor-General of Jacatara had conferred upon Joad

Matheus, Governor of the territory of the Hollanders, because of

his being a person who has served me very well and who deserves all

that may be conferred upon him.'* |

In the letter which the Governor-General of Jacatara wrote to me

he said that the rest that there was to tell me he was referring to

Your Honour with confidence that you would give me satisfaction in

everything that might be according to my desire. As this is so, I

shall esteem it a favour if Your Honour will send me to this my court

a person of thorough confidence, that I may discuss with him many

matters of importance which I have to communicate to him, and

show him the affection and love which I bear towards the Dutch

nation, and to communicate the things which the Governor-General

of Jacatara tells me in his [letter] he has referred to Your Honour.

When the answer to this comes I shall repay to Your Honour the

services that you have done me, and shall reply to your letter fully. |

At present nothing further suggests itself. God keep Your Honour,!*°

&c. From Candea and from this my court on the 16th of February,

1645, &c.

After the above was written the Portuguese came into the lands

which had submitted to my authority of the dissavas of Sofragaé

and Four Corlas, where my people engaged them and made them

retire to the neighbourhood of Colombo. If they return’once again

I shall march against them, &c.

Rasa & Crya@a.

To the above letter Maatzuyker sent the following

reply 14° :— |

Most mighty Emperor,

Yesterday the last of February I received with due respect in Cruz

de Gale Your Imperial Majesty’s letter, and learnt with joy from the

bearer of Your Majesty’s good disposition and health, which God

grant may so continue for many years to the advantage of His

188 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

Majesty’s subjects and allies, among whom we are the first. We

should indeed have wished not to have to undertake any division of

lands with the Portuguese until some one had been commissioned on

behalf of Your Majesty who might have assisted therein ; but I was

not able to obtain sufficient time for that from the Viceroy Dom

Philippo, who is about to leave for Goa,“! but instead we have agreed

that, in case it be found that we have been deceived, we may within

the period of a year challenge it, as Your Majesty will have learnt

from our previous letter, whereby everything remains safeguarded,

while we shall be glad if Your Majesty will be pleased to point out

wherein you have been prejudiced, in order that we may seek for

reparation on his behalf. In like manner it is for the sake of the

Portuguese that our name stands in the contract of the division and

not Your Majesty’s, to whom the lands properly belong ; on account

of other princes and kings we shall do as Your Majesty requests, and

it is also right to strike out our name and put Your Majesty’s in place

thereof. What Your Majesty says touching our campsnear Negombo

and their retiring inside that fortress shall, as, owing to the truce with

the Portuguese, we have now no more enemies, be carried out in the

near future. But as the lands are still, owing to the late war, full of

highwaymen and rabble, who in the name of Your Majesty cause

annoyance to the good inhabitants and drive them off their lands, it

will be necessary for the aforesaid camps to remain in the field for

some time yet until the lands have completely quieted down, as we

confidently believe Your Majesty will understand in regard to us, for

without this it will be impossible to obtain any fruits from the lands,

wherewith to pay the expenses that we have incurred in Your Majesty’s —

service. Meanwhile we shall not fail to hold Your Majesty’s fortresses

occupied by suitable garrisons, so that with God’s help they shall be

. free from danger, of which may Your Majesty be pleased to rest fully

assured, by whom also we expect that the aforesaid garrison will be

provided with all necessaries, as promised in the aforesaid letter.

During the last monsoon we have received: some 180 bhar of

cinnamon, namely, 20 from Negombo and 160 bhars from the lands

hereabouts, which we are taking with us to Batavia, and which shall

be placed to Your Majesty’s credit, hoping that Your Majesty will

send to Batacaloa a good quantity of the further articles of merchan-

dise of the contract, to take in which we- have ordered a ship to be

sent thither, as also for the transport of the envoys whom Your

Majesty intends to send to the Governor-General, who I am certain

will be acceptable to him.” :

At present we cannot, to our regret, send any person of quality to

court in order to treats with Your Majesty on several important

matters, because our time for returning to Batavia is long overdue,

and we could not wait for his return. Will Your Majesty kindly

give orders to his envoys whom he shall send to Batavia to bring

these before the Governor-General, from whose wisdom and discretion

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 189

Your Majesty has nothing but all good to expect, as he shall find me

as regards the same his obedient servant. God keep His Majesty’s

person in health for many years. In Your Majesty’s fortress of Gale,

pro. March, 1645.

(Signed) JOAN MAETSUICKER.

So far from the king’s request for the withdrawal of the

Dutch troops to Negombo being complied with, on May 25

war was formally declared against him by Thyssen, and four

of his elephants were seized within the royal boundaries

by the Commandeur of Negombo, Nicholas Overschie,!4

This conduct of their representatives did not meet with the

approval of the Council in Batavia, who recalled Thyssen,

and sent Maatzuyker to take his place as Governor of

Galle.“4 As soon as he arrived (on April 27, 1646),

Maatzuyker addressed the King in two letters,!” dated April

30 and May 4, in conciliatory terms, informing him that

Thyssen and Overschie had been dismissed from their

posts,!4* and that the elephants would be restored. He

added, that when Raja Sinha would be pleased to receive

them a letter and presents from the Council to the King

would be forwarded. Before these epistles, however,

reached the enraged monarch he had sent the following

indignant missive!’ to the commander of the Dutch camp

in the Seven Koralés :—

[2.]

Never had the Dutch nation entered this my Island nor had they

enjoyed any fruit of it until I sent for them on account of the

Portuguese continuing to surround my said Island with a number of

fortresses. And so when I sent for them they came to it, and with my

help and favour took several fortresses, peace being made between me

and the Dutch nation as long as the sun and moon should endure,

with the conditions that are in the treaties; and one of these is that

I pay the expenses incurred in my service with the fruits and products

of this my Island of Ceilaé, as to this present hour I am ready and

prepared to do punctually, and if I have not contributed and paid

them it is on account of the wars which hitherto have been going on

except that in so far as I had them I have always paid with the

products that could be collected, beside favours, gifts, and presents'®

which I bestowed upon the admirals of the fleets that came to my

help, and to other persons who from time to time have appeared at

this my court (of which I do not wish to make too much), as to the

190 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIIT.

whole Dutch nation is manifest and clear ; and beside my contributing

as stated above it is agreed in the said treaties that the Hollanders

should remain in one fortress in this my Island of Ceilas which

I should indicate to them. And in the meanwhile they advised me

that the Dutch nation had made a truce with the Portuguese for ten

years, and that I also had a share in it; and as I had made peace

with the said Hollanders I put myself with them in the aforesaid

truce and in the partitions of territories which they made, as is

evident from a letter“? which I have from the Governor-General

of Jacatara in which he tells me to take possession of them,

leaving the Portuguese with theirs, in order to go on paying the

expenses incurred in my service. And from what I now see I

understand that everything is being done contrariwise, and that they

wish to take all for themselves ; and on this account I am coming to

place myself with my army in these lowland territories of mine, in

order to see the many wrongs that they have done. And if you

wish to stand by the peace which Ihave made with the Dutch nation as

long as the sun and moon endure, and to receive the payment of the

expenses which they have incurred in my service, do you, Sirs, go and

place yourselves in the fortress of Nigumbo, and having taken there

your counsel as abovesaid, advise me of what is just and right ; and if

not, let not the Dutch nation afterwards say that peace was broken

through my fault, but through theirs. Our Lord, &c. On the Ist of

May, 1646.

RaJa SINGA Emperor

of the Island of Celias.

Address';—To the Captain of the Fortification [tranqueira] of the

Hollanders, &c.

[From] Raja Singa, Emperor of the [Island of] Ceilaé, &e.

Indorsements (in Dutch):—(1)-Original from His Majesty. : (2)

Received through Nigumbo to-day, 11th May, 1646. (3) Received

through Nigumbo, 11th May, 1646.

Before the above reached Negombo Maatazuyker had

addressed another letter to the King, dated May 10, in

which he endeavoured in every way possible to appease

the monarch’s wrath.©° Raja Sinha had, however, already

left Kandy for the low country, and on May 9 sent a second

letter! to the commander of the Dutch camp in the Seven

Koralés, as follows :— |

[3.]

The captain of the fortress of Nigumbo wrote me a letter? in

which he tells me that he is waiting in hope of a reply from the

ambassador! who came to Gale to order you! to withdraw to the

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II, AND THE DUTCH. 191

said fortress with all the soldiery, and that as this is so, whilst no

reply comes thence you [voces] will not vacate that fortress [tranqueira |

without my order. And if any necessaries shall be lacking (since

they are shut in there), a person of any quality can come to this

my camp to appear before me and make known their wants and

he shall be at once supplied. For I greatly desire that between

me and the Dutch nation the peace which we have made should

be preserved for ever. Our Lord, &c. On the 9th of May, 1646, &c.

Since this was finished I remembered to notify to you that if an order

comes from Gale and you depart without appearing before me

the foreign nation will have occasion to say ‘“‘ What peace is this ?”

And as this is so, on the answer’s coming from Gale, or before that, for

the confirmation of our peace, I shall be very glad if you come

and appear before me at this my camp and receive some rewards

and gifts, and to that end I promise you that you can come and go:

freely without any fear. |

Raga Sxinca, Emperor @ of the Island of Ceilas.

Address:—[To the] Captain of the Fortification [tranqueira] of

the Hollanders. God preserve [?], &c.

[From] Raja Singa, Emperor of the [Island of] Ceilaé, &c.

Indorsements (in Dutch) :—(1) Sent by Captain Schiffers [ ? ]*° on

the 9th, and delivered to us on May 10, per express of the King.

(2) Raija Singa. Received through Negombo, 14th May, 1646. (3)

1646. Original missive written May 9 by the King Ragia Singa to

Captain [ste] at Nigombo.

Just after the above two letters had been received in

Negombo there arrived there from Galle Mr. Adriaan van der

Stel, who, after serving as Commandeur of Mauritius from

1639 to 1644, had been sent by the Company to Ceylon with

reinforcements... On May 13 he left Negombo with 143

soldiers and two cannon for the purpose of withdrawing

the troops who were encamped in the Seven Korales ; but

coming into collision with the royal army, and by his

imprudent conduct provoking an encounter, he and almost

the whole of his force were killed or captured. Van der

Stel’s head was sent in a silver dish covered with a white

cloth to the captain of the Dutch encampment, who buried it

with military honours, and after a brief and futile resistance

capitulated of May 15, he and his men, 280 in number,

being also taken captives to Kandy.’ Ina letter!®® to the

K 66-04

192 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Commandeur of Negombo, written shortly after these

events, Raja Sinha justifies himself as follows :—

[4.]

The letter from you [voce] written on the 7th of May was presented

to me at this camp of Manigala” on the 8th of the same. In it

you told me that you were waiting in hope of a reply from Gale from

the ambassador who came from Jacatara to order the withdrawal of

the troops that were in Panaré to the fortress of Nigumbo ; and in the

other which you wrote me on the 19th of the aforesaid month you told

me nothing except that according to the reply that might come from

the said ambassador you would advise me; and as I saw that

one writing did not agree with the other I gave orders that my

army should be got ready ; and in the meanwhile the Governor!

who came from Gale to the said fortress came with a force, and arms

and pieces of artillery, to render assistance to the aforesaid fortress of

Panare ; and my people hoping for peace saw that he had come for war,

placing himself with his camp in a village [aldea] called Paluvelgala,™

where they did not allow them to pass, but surrounding them defeated —

them all, only 29 escaping alive, among whom were several officers.

As soon as they brought to me the head of the said Governor I sent it

covered with a white cloth to the captain of the fortress of Panare in

order that he might perform over it the ceremonies conformable to his

law and customs. The said captain on seeing this delivered up to me

next day the said fortress with all the soldiers in it. Wherefore if the

Dutch nation desire to hold to the peace which I made with Adam

Vestrevolt at Baticalou, delivering up to me the fortress of Nigumbo,

which on several occasions they have fortified against my order and

command, which fortress must be razed, not one stone being left upon

another, so that no other foreign nation will be able again to fortify

itself therein ; and if the Dutch nation desire to hold to the aforesaid

peace and agreement which I made with Adam Vestrevolt, I shall

esteem it highly ; and if not, do not place the blame on me, and let

them not say that peace was broken on my side. And to this I call

God to witness. The Captain-Major with the rest of the officers of the

fortress of Panaré begged me to give them leave to send this packet

of letters to the fortress of Nigumbo, which I granted to them, and

send it with this in order that you may order what they desire so that

all may be delivered. Our Lord, &c. From this camp of Maningala

on the 21st of May, 1646.

RaJA SINGA, Emperor 8 of the Island of Ceilaé.

On hearing of these disasters Maatzuyker wrote!® on

May 20 to Raja Sinha, upbraiding him for his conduct to

his allies, which would cause such rejoicing ameng the

No. 95.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 193

Portuguese,!® and asking him to say distinctly if he wished

for peace or for war. On May 31 Maatzuyker wrote a further

letter!6 to the king as follows :—

Joan Maatzuyker, Governor on behalf of the Hon. Company in

Ceylon, wishes Your Majesty all possible blessings and welfare.

In place of getting an answer from His Majesty to my former

missives we daily receive tidings that he permits our people, who are

forbidden to commit acts of enmity, to be smitten to death near

Nigumbo, and shown all enmity.

Moreover His Majesty had had ambassadors in Colombo to seek help

from the Portuguese,’ from which is to be concluded that His Majesty,

notwithstanding our fair offer to give satisfaction, is minded to come to

a regular war with the Hon. Company, wherefore'we, according to the

law of all nations, have resolved on our side also to oppose force to force.

To which end we are causing to be got ready four ships and some

chaloups in order to occupy Batecalo, Cotjaar, and Trikoenmale, and

to again take possession of the places formerly wrested from the

Portuguese, &e.

_ Whilst occupied over this I have received His Majesty’s letter! of

the 21st of this month, in which he makes known his desire to maintain

the contract made with Westerwolt, to which we are likewise inclined.

His Majesty is to a certain extent right in saying that we have

wrongly taken possession of his lands.

No order was given therefor, but the Governor Jan Thyszoon

considered this the best way of pati at the cinnamon ; but on the

subject of the expulsion of Your Majesty’s dessaves he shall be further

spoken to and reprehended therefor.

The Councillors at Batavia are prepared to hand over to Vouk

Majesty the aforesaid lands, having given this order with a view to

reduce the expenses.

Will His Majesty be pleased to dispatch his dessaves? They shall be

received in accordance with their rank, always provided that His

Majesty shall issue orders that all the eievambon, beside the other

fruits of histerritories, be delivered to us, according to the contract,

towards payment of the expenses incurred by us.

The fulfilment of this can take place within a few years if His

Majesty will be pleased to take the trouble needful therefor.

This much as to the first point of the complaint.

Regarding Nigumbo, which His Majesty says was occupied by us

against his wish, His Majesty expressly desired this in his missive of i6th

February of last year,’ in which it is stated that on account of the

truce with the Portuguese our garrison should remain there and be

paid for and maintained by Your Majesty, it being inadvisable to

demolish the fortress, lest the Portuguese should immediately come

and once more obtain a lodgment there.

194 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Voun. XVIII.

The new fortifications which we have made there can be broken

down at His Majesty’s pleasure.

Nigumbo must be held for at least another year to see how the

Portuguese behave themselves during the truce, of which they have so

far given no good proofs in view of their faithlessness shown in

Brazil. And since now all the points of the complaint made by His

Majesty have been hereby met, I doubt not that His Majesty will

henceforth abstain from all Sah of enmity.

The territories must be relieved of troops at the earliest oppor-

tunity, or the inhabitants will depart entirely, and there will

afterwards be no cinnamon to peel, from which the payment of the

expenses must come.

Thus it is also trusted that His Majesty will deliver up all our

prisoners, which must take place first of all if terms of peace are to be

concluded.

His Majesty’s reply to this is requested at the earliest opportunity,

in order that we may conduct ourselves accordingly, protesting, on

failure of compliance with the foregoing, that we shall be guiltless of

bloodshed, &c., as we are prepared to give His Majesty satisfaction in

all that is proper, in the hope that His Majesty will choose peace.

Respecting the letters of the Councillors of Batavia and the

presents,'® let His Majesty be pleased once again tc give orders that

they be received with honour, &c., wishing further that God may be

pleased to protect Your Majesty. |

Meanwhile I remain,

Your Majesty’s humble servant,

JOAN MAATZUYKER.

Before the above could reach him Raja Sinha had on June

1 addressed the following letter!” to the Commandeur of

Negombo :—

[5.]

It is thirteen days since I wrote from the camp at Maningala a letter!”!

to the ambassador who came from Jacatara to Gale, and six since

I wrote another! to you [voce] from the same camp, in which

I informed you that the black people of this my Island of Ceilaé,

wheresoever they might be, were my vassals. by right, and that they

went about wherever they wished, and that if you could prevent their

doing this you should do so, and if not you should inform me that I

might put a stop to it. There has been sufficient time for the answer

to come to what I wrote to Gale as well as to what I wrote to you.

And it is five days since I encamped with my army in this place

Tamaravilla,!”? and to-day up \o ten o'clock of the day I have received

not one of the aforesaid replies, and as it is great I cannot endure

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 199

such trouble to no purpose. Our Lord, &c. Tambaravilla, to-day the

first of June, 1646.

Rasa Sinca, Emperor @ of the Island of Ceilas.

Address :—To the Captain of the fortress of Nigumbo. God [keep

?], &e.

[From] Raja Singa, Emperor of the [Island] of Ceilaé. |

Indorsements (in Dutch) :—(1) Received primo June, 1646. (2) 1646,

original missive written by the King of Candia to the Captain of

Nigombo from Tambaravilla dato primo June.

Ten days later the king sent ‘another letter!” to the

Commandeur of Negombo as follows :—

[6.]

In the letter that I wrote to you, Sir, on the 26th of May,!“ I

informed you that when the answer came to what I wrote to the

ambassador who came from Jacatara, I should reply to yours in con-

formity to your wish. The answer which has come from Gale does

not reply to that which I wrote to him, for putting my letter on one

side he has written what he likes.!" With this goes a letter!” for

the said ambassador in which I request him to reply to me definitely

with something certain. I also grant him the permission which he

begged of me in one [letter] that he wrote me on the 10th of May,!”

to come and present himself before me and discuss with me certain

affairs of importance, and bring me the letter and the present which

the Councillors of the States of India sent me from Jacatara. The

bearers of this are two Jasquarins, natives of this my Island of Ceilaé,

one of them of the Moorish race ; with them go four other persons,

natives of the same [Island], to accompany them. Will you send

them on with all possible dispatch by a safe road and without risk ?

At present nothing more suggests itself. Our Lord, &c. From this

camp at Tamaravila on the 11th of June, 1646.

Raga Sine@a, Emperor @ of the Island of Ceilaé.

Address :—To the Captain of the fortress of Nigumbo. God keep |

you, &c.

From Raja Singa, Emperor of the Island of Ceilaé.

Indorsement (in Dutch) :—Received June 11, 1646.

To the letter sent with the above for Maatzuyker the

latter replied on June 21 in the following vigorous lan-

guage :—19

| His Majesty's letter of the 10th instant has been duly received,

but found to be of a different purport from what was expected.

196 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

His Majesty says that it is not right to seek peace from kings with

threats of war, but His Majesty is not so high, nor we on the other

hand so low, that we should not be allowed to speak the truth.

His Majesty did not speak so, Anno 1640, when he received us as

defenders of his kingdom.

They are no threats, but warnings. Nor do we seek for peace as if

powerless, but invite the same, or, on a refusal, a just war, being

assured in mind that we have no blame therefor. Me

To restore Nigumbo, that we are willing and moreover ordered to

do, but in such relations as we now stand towards His Majesty, this

shall never happen to all stipe or His Majesty must drive us out

therefrom by force.

At present not a laryn ce yet been paid for the expenses of

Nigumbo’s conquest, wherefore the restitution is demanded without

justice, and in a manner unbecoming such a king.

Of our prisoners no mention is made in His Majesty’s letter, and

without the restoration of these we can come to no peace.

Our intention is to maintain peace and the treaty, according to the

contract of Westerwold, provided that His Majesty first and before

all else release our people, and issue orders that the cinnamon, &c.,

be delivered to us; on fulfilment of which to our satisfaction we are

quite ready to resign the government of the districts to His Majesty.

The translation of Their Honours’ letter goes enclosed in this for

His Majesty’s information. i

To the above letter Raja Sinha did not deign to send a

reply, breaking off all further epistolary intercourse with the

_ Dutch, and retiring with his army to Kandy. After waiting

for nearly three months Maatzuyker addressed another

letter!® to the King, dated September 11, as follows :—

According to letters from our prisoners in Candi'*! it would seem

that we have neglected to reply to His Majesty’s letters, which is to be

wondered at, as we, since our letter of 21st June, have received no letter

from His Majesty, but have only understood from some deserters

that His Majesty has broken up his camp at vay and has returned

to Candi.

God be our witness, that as yet we seek to maintain the contract of

Westerwolt, provided that His Majesty do so as well.

It appears that peace is desired on both sides.

His Majesty desires perforce the surrender of Nigumbo, and we had

rather the assurance of the payment of our war expenses.

In order that we may both come to something of an agreement it

will be best that we occupy Nigumbo for six to eight months more,

since it may easily come to an outburst of open war between us and the

Portuguese. 3 |

No. 95.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II, AND THE DUTCH. 197 |

Also, that His Majesty leave us for two to three years more in

possession of these districts, in order that we may find payment in

cinnamon for our expenses incurred, and thus also diminish to a great

extent His Majesty’s debt.

We shall also be able to see meanwhile what and how much the

neighbourhood of Nigumbo can produce.

After which time His Majesty is assured in the name of our

masters that we shall hand over to him all the districts without |

retaining any, except the fortress of Gale.

If His Majesty accepts these conditions he is begged to reply there-

anent, and with the answer to send some of our people, and especially

to dispatch the clerk Nicolaus Loenius.'*

‘This letter also failed to evoke any reply from Raja Sinha ;

and after a lapse of four months Maatzuyker sent the King

the following missive,!™ dated January 8, 1647 :—

We have as yet received no answer from His Majesty to any of our

letters, though the law of nations and kings requires that there should

always be answers to letters on both sides.

The conditions offered by us are much too favourable to be cast to

the winds by His Majesty.

Wherefore we suppose that our former letters have not reached His

Majesty’s hands, or that His Majesty must be deceived by tattlers our

enemies. |

In order to get at the exact truth and know for certain how His

Majesty is minded, it is thought well to dispatch the merchant

Maarschalk!® as commissioner. ui

If His Majesty be pleased to hear him, a passport will be expected

for this purpose, under promise of allowing him to return unhindered,

whether it be peace or war.

More than six months elapsed, and at length, on July 27,

a letter,'8° dated July 12, was received from the King, to

which Maatzuyker replied!®’ on August 11 in the following

conciliatory strain :—

His Majesty’s letter of 12th July we received on the 27th of the

same, and have learnt therefrom with sorrow of His Majesty’s

prolonged illness,!* hoping that the restored health of His Majesty

may last long.

The commissioner who was reterred to in our last shall be dis-

_ patched at an early date by way of Baticalo.'

I should myself come before His Majesty if the orders of my

masters permitted this, as being still ready to follow religiously and

sacredly the contract made with Westerwolt.

198 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

The past troubles have not happened through our fault, nor are

they to be imputed to His Majesty, but to false tongues and wicked

men, in whom His Majesty is begged not to put trust lightly, but to

take into consideration the faithful services that we have rendered to

his crown, without expecting any other reward than the maintenance

of the contract and friendship.

On August 21 Maatzuyker again wrote as follows! to the

King :— 3

At present the commissioner, Laurens Maarschalk, is leaving for

Candi, who shall make known to His Majesty our good intentions, and

treat with His Majesty more fully regarding the settlement of the

differences that have arisen, the conditions of which have been already

prescribed to him, which Your Majesty will doubtless accept.

Afterwards we shall dispatch a regular ambassador to confirm the

mutual resolution and ratify it with an oath. Let His Majesty be

pleased to give credit to the said commissioner.

On September 7 a letter!! from Raja Sinha, dated August

29, reached Maatzuyker, who replied!” on September 10 as

follows :—

His Majesty’s letter of 29th August we duly received on the 7th

instant, and our envoy left for Baticalo on the 23rd instant, hoping

that he will have speedily appeared before His Majesty.

With regard to the fact that His Majesty has been asked by the

Portuguese for peace,’ and that he is desirous of hearing our opinion

thereupon, His Majesty will be pleased to act therein as may seem

good to him, and in sueh a manner as he thinks to be for the advance-

ment of his kingdom, but our resolve is to maintain the contract

made with Mr. Westerwolt, provided that His Majesty do so likewise.

The reason why the Portuguese thus seek for peace is that they

fear ere long to come to war with us in consequence of their treachery

in Brazyl ;! they think to shelter themselves under the shade of

peace with His Majesty, but will be deceived, because the contract

cannot prevent our doing them harm according to our power, with this

difference, that the war, which was before this carried on against them

in the name of His Majesty, will then be carried on in the name of my

Lords the States-General, and that consequently whatever we happen

to capture from them will be not for His Majesty, but on our own

account, so that on the conquest of Columbo Your Majesty will have

no claim to make in connection therewith.

Let His Majesty be pleased to reconsider this, and at the same time

how little trust is to be put in a nation which during the peace

attempted a shameful piece of treachery in Brazyl.

On the arrival of the ships from Batavia! we shall inform His

Majesty of the new tidings.

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 199

In November some presents were sent to the King,!” but

in the same month Maatzuyker wrote to the Council at Batavia

that no lasting peace was to be expected with Raja Sinha,

notwithstanding all his professions. A short letter of

Maatzuyker’s to the King, dated March 25, 1648, elicited no

reply, and on September 10 the Dutch Governor wrote to

His Majesty, that, after waiting in vain for eleven months for

tidings of Maarschalk, he now learnt that the King had

entered into an alliance with the Portuguese, and request-—

ing if this were true that the Dutch commissary be sent

back. On October 27, however, Maatzuyker wrote to the

King, expressing his pleasure at learning that the above

report was false, and that His Majesty wasabout to send back

Maarschalk and the other Dutch prisoners, and to reply to

the various letters sent to him. Maatzuyker also stated that

another ambassador would be sent in place of Maarschalk.}%

The Governor’s rejoicing, however, seems to have been some-

what premature, for on March 30, 1649, we find him writing

from Negombo™ to Raja Sinha: “A horse has arrived at

Gale, worthy to be ridden bya king. His Majesty’s order is

requested that it may be sent up. Some trifles and fruits

will be sent to His Majesty with it.” He added that he had

received a letter, dated the 9th current, from the King, in

which he learnt with much sorrow of the latter’s illness,

but he also learnt therefrom that his disava was doing the

Dutch all possible injury and preventing their passage,

while all was open to the Portuguese.” On April 10

Maatzuyker again wrote from Negombo to the King,

complaining of his action in preventing the Dutch from

obtaining cinnamon, whilst he permitted the Portuguese to

do so.?0. On the same day a letter?” arrived from Raja

Sinha, to whiéh Maatzuyker replied on the 20th,2"* express-

ing pleasure at the King’s recovery, and his surprise at His

Majesty’s objecting to anything being brought to Negombo,

on the ground that this place was fortified and held by the

Dutch contrary to his wish. To prove that this was not the

fact, Maatzuyker referred the King to his own letter of

200 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

February 16, 1645 (given above). He also thanked the King

for offers of help, and asked for facilities for gathering cinna-

mon. He was glad to hear that a horse was acceptable to His

Majesty, and the animal would be sent by way of Walawe.

In return he asked that a permanent ambassador might be

allowed to remain at the royal court.?” |

To another letter? from Raja Sinha, dated April 28,

Maatzuyker replied on May 24 to the effect that the King’s

disava over the territories of Matara would be received

with all honour, but begging that the person he had already

appointed in the King’s name might be approved of. He

also hoped that the King would mention the continuance of

the gathering of cinnamon there and its appropriation by

the Dutch towards the liquidation of His Majesty’s debt to

them. The Persian horse was ready to go as soon as persons

arrived to take it, and another ambassador would be sent

when the one then in ‘Kandy returned with an assurance

of peace.2 On May 12 the King wrote?* to Maatzuyker,

sending him some presents, for which the Governor sent

his thanks from Galle on June 7.2 He also forwarded

the Persian horse and a Dutch saddle, promising, if this

pleased His Majesty, to send a better one. He also sent

some small gifts, and once more begged the King that the

Dutch envoy should be allowed to return.?!°

At last, on July 15, Maarschalk made his appearance

accompanied by two native envoys,7! and bringing the

following letter?!” from the King :—

[7]

[I] Raija Cinga Raiju, Most Potent Emperor of Ceilaé,

send all greeting.

The letter which Your Honour wrote me from my fortress of Gale

on the 24th of May was presented at this imperial court on the 7th of

June, and the second, written at the same fortress on the 7th of June,

arrived on the 20th idem. I was gratified with them because of their

saying that you were ready and willing to do me many loyal and

faithful services, and with perfect health I shall rejoice if things go

on from good to better in accordance with your desire. In the letter

which Your Honour wrote me on the 24th of May you said that as

soon as the present ambassador with my reply and conditions of peace

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II, AND THE DUTCH. 201

should reach that my fortress you would send another without any

delay, to thank me obediently and in your name and that of the

Governor and Councillors of India swear to the said peace and the

conditions thereof. For this reason, leaving aside the things that have

happened in times past because of the Dutch nation, in order to turn

to the confirming anew of the terms of peace made in Batecalou, with

the explanation of some doubts which present themselves regarding

certain clauses, I, to-day, Sunday, the 27th of June, dispatch the ambas-

sador of Your Honours, Lourens de Marschalck, who has been in this

my imperial court, with two other discreet persons of these my realms,

‘who carry the articles of peace and the conditions thereof, in confor-

mity with what I have here assented to and determined, if Your

Honour wishes it so, that you may sign them with the other Councillors

who reside in this my fortress of Gale, affixing your seal ; and when the

ambassador comes here I shall before him sign the said articles and

command them to be sealed with my royal seal, and the ambassador

who comes to this my imperial court shall swear in the name of the

Prince of Orange and of the Company and its directors. Your

Honour further said in the aforesaid letter that you had determined

to send an ambassador to reside always at this my imperial court, at

which I rejoiced greatly, and from that I understood that Your Honours

take in good part what those conditions of peace have effected, and

when he comes he shall be treated with great honour and love, and if

he comes to swear to the conditions of peace and to reside in this my

imperial court, I shall dispatch thejimprisoned Hollanders with a person

of this my court ; but, if one comes to swear to the conditions of peace

and another to remain, I shall dispatch the said prisoners in the

company of him who comes toswear to the conditions of peace. Since

I am setting them at liberty it does not seem well, nor is it right, that

my aleas, which were seized in the Seven Corlas, should be detained.?

In the letter of Your Honour mention is made of a Portuguese, whom

Your Honour calls dissava of Valave, which Portuguese is not dissava

of Valave but vidana of Panava, to whom I gave the said vidania on

account of his being a Portuguese (as Your Honour says) and captured

in war, because he had served me well and faithfully" And that Your

Honours have served me and do serve me better I bear in my heart,

and it is right that I should give many ns = thanks to you. As

this is so Your Honour says [ * * = ee obediently

[ = * ]?!5 that I may be pleased to deliver to the same, who is

dissava of Mature, the said office, to send him for that purpose my

patent, in order from this time forth to do in my royal name all things

pertaining to the said office. It appears to me well and it is right

that I should reward and recompense those who may serve me ; where-

fore, if it seem well to you, and you wish it, in the company of the

ambassador whom Your Honour is to send, send the said dissava to

reside at this my imperial court as do all the other dissavas of my

court, and from here he shall govern and perform all the services that

202 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL XVIII.

may be ordered him, and when he comes here the patent shall be

given to him, and there shall be for the Dutch nation very great

honour : and if it seem not well to Your Honour and you do not wish to

send him here, I shall send another dissava, a native of these my realms.

In times past there resided here a Dutch secretary,”® who served me

with satisfaction, who is dead ; and others are here who serve me,

some as soldiers, others in other offices ; and that he should conform

to this usage would please me greatly. Your Honour says that the

chaleas of the Seven Corlas who are with the Portuguese have not yet

been given up by them ;?!" very well, I can command them to come, and

the Portuguese will not resist me. The profits and rents of this dissava

of Mature are in my land register book, what it amounted to anywhere

during these past years ; and Your Honours will thus receivecinnamon,

as well as areca, pepper, and mines of precious stones, and the customs

of the ports and the rents of the lands, iron, elephants, aleas, and

other things besides. Let Your Honour compare these with the

expenses that the Company has incurred in my service, and of that

which Your Honours receive send me by the ambassador who is to

come a list, and likewise what is still due to the Company.

After we had taken the fortress of Nigumbo the first time, when I

was with my army at Galolua,?* there came a Hollander by the name

of Cornelio? to go by land and deliver up the fortress of Triquina-

male and send away those that were in the said fortress. Therefore

in the company of the ambassador who is to come and swear to the

conditions of peace let Your Honour send a discreet person to deliver

up to me the fortress of Nigumbo in hke manner as that of Triquina-

male was delivered up.

Having been unwell in times past, on account a an expression which

the ambassador used I was displeased with him; but he has since

exonerated himself, saying that he did not use can an expression,

but that it was a mistake of the Hollander who acted as interpreter ;

on account of this satisfaction which he has made, and as Your Honour

wrote and asked me to forgive him the fault, I once again admitted

him to my favour ; and having withdrawn that expression no other

blame attached to him, but on the contrary, he has behaved up to the

present with much satisfaction and honour. And for this reason I sent

him on this mission, and shall be pleased if the Company will pay him

many honours.”

Your Honour said in your last letter that with the horse you were

sending a good saddle in the Dutch style, and that if I was pleased —

with it and let you know you would send me another much better, and

also other things. Up tothe present it has not reached me ; however,

that Your Honour should send to me in such a good spirit rejoices me

as much as if it had already been presented to me. Our Lord, &c.

From this imperial court and city of Imgaragala”! on the 27th of June,

[1]649.

RatJasInca Rau, Most Potent @?” Emperor of Ceilaé.

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 203 —

On August 8 Maatzuyker replied?’ to the above letter,

informing the King: that he had signed the conditions of

peace on behalf of the Company, at the same time taking

exception to the 10th article, which deprived the Dutch of

the monopoly in cinnamon that had been granted to them.

With His Majesty’s envoys he sent two of the Company’s

servants,?4 one to swear to the conditions of peace and the

other to remain at the court. The King’s request for a

secretary had been forwarded to Batavia, but if His Majesty

preferred to employ one of the Hollanders already at his

court he might do so, but for a term of five years only.

He thanked the King for acceding to the request that a

Hollander should be appointed disava of Matara; and

begged that when the present incumbent left Lambert

Camholt?”> might be appointed. The Dutch envoys would

beg His Majesty to allow the Hollanders to retain possession

of Negombo until they had taken Colombo from the

Portuguese. He had intended to send Camholt as commis-

sary to the king; but, as the former had fallen ill,?6

Burchard Cocx”?’ was to go instead with some smail gifts.226

On August 8 the King also wrote to Maatzuyker sending

him a ring, a gold chain, and a tusked elephant,””? for which

gifts the Dutch Governor thanked His Majesty in a letter

dated September 9, in which he also stated that all that the

King asked for should be sent as speedily as possible, and

that he was then sending His Majesty a machine for raising

heavy weights and also some bars of native steel.7° On

November 16 Raja Sinha again wrote to Maatzuyker; and

on December 3 the envoy Cocx returned,”*! bringing the

conditions of peace signed by the King and several of the.

Dutch prisoners. On December 27 Maatzuyker replied,

informing the King that Jacob van Kittenstein, who was

to succeed him as Governor, had landed that day from

Batavia, thanking him for a breast-jewel, and stating that

he had not heard from Batavia regarding Negombo and the

war with the Portuguese.22 At the end of this year (1649)

_ Pieter Kieft?? was sent as commissary to Kandy ; and on

204 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

February 5, 1650, Maatzuyker, in his last letter to Raja Sinha,

stated that he learnt from Kieft that His Majesty was greatly

displeased with the Dutch, saying that they had broken the

peace, and (six) several times applying to the nation the

opprobrious term casta hollandeza, a thing that had never

occurred previously, and the reason for which was unknown

to him (the Governor), unless it were that His Majesty’s

disava Rampot had, as he had threatened to do, incited the

King against the Hollanders.?*4 At the end of February, 1650,

Maatzuyker left Ceylon, leaving for the guidance of his

successor, Jacob van Kittenstein, lengthy instructions, in

which he recapitulated the events which had occurred since

the Dutch obtained a footing in Ceylon, and impressed upon

the new Governor the necessity for a firm policy in dealing

with the King.?* : |

Governor Van Kittenstein wrote on April 1 to the King

begging him to appoint a Dutch disava, thanking him for a

quantity of cinnamon which had been loaded on board a

Dutch ship at Chilaw, and stating that he was sending

to Batticaloa a vessel on which were a Tuticorin bell and a

jack-screw (dommekracht) for His Majesty, which ship

was to bring to Galle the sick prisoners released by the

King.786 On the following day, April 2, Van Kittenstein

again addressed a letter to the King, complaining in strong

terms of the conduct of the adigar Rampot,”??’7 who had

made an incursion into the territories of Matara, had driven

away the Dutch guards at Kirama and Katuwana, and placed

his own guards there, wherefore the Hollanders had under

the Governor’s orders driven the native troops out of the

Matara territories, which act he trusted would meet with His

Majesty’s approval, and that he would recall Rampot

thence.?38 Raja Sinha replied in a letter,?*? dated May 3, a8

follows :—

[8.]

[1] Raija Singa Raiju, Most Potent Emperor of Ceilaé, send

to the Governor of my Fortress of Gale much greeting.

The letter which Your Honour wrote me from my fortress of Gale on

the Ist of April was presented to me at this my imperial court of

— = us

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 205

Bintena. I;was greatly rejoiced that Your Honour being such a grave

and prudent person and of such good understanding had arrived safely

at that my fortress of Gale. In Your Honour’s letter you refer to the

reply to some five letters which Joaé Masuker wrote me, some of the

past year and others of this present. After the late wars which took

place in the Seven Corlas the said Joao Masuker sent me an ambas-

sador, by name Lourenco Marchal, by whom he begged me for peace

with pardon of past errors. On this account I sent my ambassadors to

that my fortress of Gale that they might settle the terms of peace to

which we swore at Baticalou. And after these had been settled there,

there came two ambassadors of the Dutch nation, persons discreet and

of authority, who in the name of the Prince of Orange and of the

Company swore to them and ratified them in my royal presence in

such a proper manner as they were ratified in Baticalou. And after

they had been sworn to and ratified I sent my dissava to those my

territories of Mature, who coming thither, there took place between

him and the late Governor some differences, whence arose the occasion

for his said letters not being answered.

In the letter which I have received from Your Honour you beg me to

appoint a dissava of the Dutch nation to govern the territories of

Mature in my name. When the said ambassadors of the Dutch nation

swore to the terms of peace in my royal presence they made the same

request of me regarding the said dissava,*° with which I was much

pleased, and’ gave them for reply that I should immediately order the

olla to be sent to him to execute that office ; at the same time, how-

ever, that he must reside at this my imperial court, in like manner as

the rest of my dissavas do while serving me. To this the said

ambassadors did not give me any further reply, except that they said

that they would take with them a dissava to whom I was to order

the said lands to be at once given over. And the said ambassadors

having taken my dissava with that promise made (and after he had

arrived there they did not give him possession of the territories,

the differences which took place having meanwhile arisen), will you

now send and ask me to give that dissava to one of the Dutch

nation? Does it seem to Your Honour that I shall grant such a

request ?

In the letters which the Governor Joa6 Masuker wrote to this court

he always complained that my dissava was to blame for the said

differences ; and my dissava in like manner complained, laying all the

blame on the Hollanders. Now, in order to know for certain which of

the parties is to blame, I send my ambassadors who were there to

treat regarding the terms of peace and were present at the swearing

of them in my royal presence, and together with them there go some

nobles of my court to learn the real truth ; and if my dissava was to

blame I shall withdraw him from the said office and ‘shall send

another in his place, and if blame does not attach to him he shall

remain in the same office.

206 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL XVIII.

In times past these terms of peace were made in Baticalou, and they

were afterwards confirmed in Jacatara. Through the disturbances

which oceurred in the Seven Corlas arose the disagreements that have

taken place on the part of the Dutch nation, upon which Your Honours

sent me your ambassadors in order de novo to once more swear to the

said terms of peace and confirm them in the proper manner in which

they were made in Baticalou. In all the letters that the Dutch nation

wrote to this imperial court and the officials who brought them they .

spoke of nothing, but that they wished to abide by the said terms of

peace with Adam Vestrevolt. If the Dutch nation wishes to abide

by them and give fulfilment to the said terms of peace, I for my

part shall be greatly rejoiced. But, if because of the cupidity that

you have for the territories of Mathuré you wish to break the terms

of peace by meansof the Dutch nation and wish for war, I shall be

glad to know.

In all the letters that Your Honours have always written to

this court you have dwelt therein on the payment of the account of

the expenses that the Company has incurred in my service. I have

mapy times asked that you would send me the list of expenses and of

what you have received in reduction thereof, both in goods according

to our contract and in other things, and also likewise of the money

that was spent at the time when the territories were disturbed on

account of the Hollanders, and the losses resulting, which the Dutch

nation have never chosen to comply with. I now once again ask you

to send me the statement of account of the expenses that the

Company has incurred in my service, and of what you have received

in reduction ; and when [I see the list, if it agrees with the other that

is at this court, and what is due is according to reason, I shall give

orders that it be paid without any delay. Our Lord, &c. On the

drd of May, 1650. 4

Since this was written there arrived at this court an olla from the

dissava of Mathuré, in which he says that the Hollanders had come

with force to attack the camp of the said dissava, whence they carried

off several lascarins prisoners, and cut off some heads and wounded a

number of persons ; and in spite of this the said dissava, in doubt lest he

had committed some breach of the terms of peace, and because of the

fear that he has for this court, did not take up arms against the said

Hollanders. On account of this I do not send the nobles who were

appointed to go, and I shall await the reply to this letter.

Raa Sinca Rarsu, Most @ Potent Emperor of Ceilas.

Lndorsement (in Dutch), 1650 :—Original missive in Portuguese, dato

3rd May, written by the King of Candia to the Hon. Mr. Jacob van

Kittensteyn ; received 20th May of the same.

_ A —-

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 207

To the above letter and another which Raja Sinha seems

to have written on May 11, the Dutch Governor replied

on July 23 saying that he had already answered that the

Hollanders had no greater desire for the Matara territories

than the advantage of the King necessitated, as it was their

intention to observe sacredly the contract of Westerwolt.

He also added that he had on several occasions heard that

the King had dealings with the Portuguese prejudicial to

the Dutch ; that he could not believe this to be true, but

would be glad to have His Majesty’s assurance to that

effect.”

On September 6 Mr. Van Kittenstein received a letter,

dated August 25, from the King, to which he replied on

September 17 that he understood that His Majesty (who

had left Bintenna for Badulla) had summoned the disava

Rampot from the Matara territories, in order to learn from

himself the reasons for the difference that had arisen

between him and Maatzuyker, not doubting that His

Majesty would after a just inquiry into the matter decide

that Rampot was in fault.” He also informed the King

that the war between the Dutch and the Portuguese in

Kurope had already begun during the past year, and that

as soon as the ships with reliefs arrived from Batavia he

would give His Majesty fuller particulars of the plans of

the Hollanders.*”

On December 28 Van Kittenstein wrote from Galle to Raja

Sinha, thanking him for the assistance that His Majesty had

(as appeared by his letter of August 29) rendered through his

disava to the Dutch during the stay of the ship De Haan

at the island of Kalpitiya, as also for the release of the four

persons sent by the commander of that vessel with dispatches

to Negombo, and detained bythe disdva of the Seven Kéralés.

From the letters of the commissary Pieter Kieft the

Governor also learnt that His Majesty intended to come to the

low country, and to send Kieft in advance to confer with

His Excellency on a matter of great importance, and that

meanwhile the King would continue to send the Company

F : 66-04

208 JOURNAL, R.A.8. (CEYLON). [Von XVIII.

yearly a good quantity of cinnamon and elephants. And as

His Majesty guarded the Dutch persons in Kandy very

strictly, so that they had little freedom, a certain servant of

Kieft’s, who was already very weary of this, had cunningly

run away, but as soon as he had reached Dutch territory he

had been made a prisoner, wherefore Van Kittenstein begged

the King not to take very amiss this occurrence, which

had been caused by the too strict detention, but, on the other

hand, to grant the said Kieft and his followers somewhat

more liberty, as was done by all princes, and to allow.

him to write frequently to his fellow-countrymen. The

Governor also sent His Majesty as a token of his regard five

ells of red scarlet,“ ten ells of gold and silver lace, two and

a half ells of broad silver lace, a hat with a fine plume, a

case of Dutch distilled waters, a small cask of Spanish wine,

besides some Dutch butter; apologizing that on account of

the passing by of the Ve Re he could at that time offer

His Majesty nothing else.”

On March 4, 1651, the Dutch Governor wrote from Galle

to the King, informing him that he had received from

Batavia a long-expected present, and begging His Majesty to

give orders for its conveyance to his court. From a letter of

Van Kittenstein’s, dated from Galle on April 15,it appears

that the present in question was dispatched to Kandy in

charge of Lieutenant Frans Has.”* It consisted of a fine

gold chain; a saddle covered with silver gilt, handsomely

embroidered, and provided with all its accessories ; a bridle,

also of silver gilt, consisting of a head-, breast-, and hind-

piece ; a quiver embroidered with silver and gold ; a bow-

case similarly ornamented ; fifteen gilt arrows and two

bow-strings. The Dutch Governor in forwarding these

gifts begged His Majesty to be pleased to send down

Jurriaan Bloem,” who was in Kandy, in order to utilize his

services according to His Majesty’s desire, in writing the

letters to His Majesty in Portuguese.** ‘This request the

King (who meanwhile wrote to Van Kitienstein on July 23

and August 5) complied with, the Governor thanking him

No. 55.—190-.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 209

therefor on September 16.749 In addition to the two letters

just mentioned (the contents of which do not appear) Raja

Sinha wrote to Van Kittenstein on August 10 the following

letter :—20 |

[9.]

_ [T] Raja Singa Raju, Most Potent Emperor of Ceilaé, send

much greeting to Jacob van Kuittentiim, Governor

of my Fortress of Galle.

On Monday, the 7th of August, news reached this court?! that the

tusked elephant which I sent as a present to Your Honour had fallen

sick by the way, and because of its falling ill and the chance of its

dying, from the love that I bear to Your Honour and the Dutch nation

I send you another one, pretty big, which goes along with this letter.

And if both the elephants arrive safely at that my fortress I shall be

much pleased if Your Honour will receive both ; and if perchance the

said elephant happen to die, let Your Honour accept of thisone. On

Tuesday the 8th of August I received notice that a soldier who came

with the Ensign Fre°®. Aaas*? had died on the road, at which I was

greatly grieved ; but, as death andlife are things that come from God,

it is right to conform to his will. The bearer will deliver the schedule

of this elephant to Your Honour. Our Lord, &c. On Thursday, the 10th

of August, 1651.

Raga Sinea Rasv, Most @ Potent Emperor of Ceilas.

Indorsement (in Dutch):—Original letter in Portuguese written by the

King of Candia, dato 10th August, 1651, to H. E. the Governor van.

Kittensteyn, with the schedule of the elephant.

On November 15 Van Kittenstein wrote from Galle,

politely rebuking the King for arrogating to himself the name

of *“ God,’253 by which His Majesty wished to be addressed

by the Dutch, and saying that he was not surprised that the

Portuguese, equally with the ambassadors of the Prince of

Bengal,+ should give agreeable and flattering titles of

honour to the King, since necessity compelled them thereto,

to which the Dutch commissary Pieter Kieft, without the

knowledge of His Excellency, had with good reason been

unwilling to consent, nor had he found well to make any

change in this matter.”

210 JOURNAL, R.A.8. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

Pieter Kieft appears to have left the royal court before

this, for on January 10, 1652, Raja Sinha wrote :—**6

[10.]

[I] Raja Singa Raju, Most Potent Emperor of Ceilaé, send to the

Commissary Pedro Kuieft much greeting.

The letter?’ that my Governor of my fortress of Gale wrote me

reached this imperial court of Bintena on the 19th of December. I

esteemed it as much as if you had come in your own person to present

it. Until the bad months that are now on, when travelling cannot be

done, are past, I am going to stay and recruit at this my country seat .

of Bintena ;* but when they have ended, by the favour and help of

God, Iintend to leave at once for my city of Badula, in order to make

from there the journey that I had planned ; and, if in the meanwhile

you have not yet arrived there, [ shall then reply. to the letter which I

have received from my Governor of my fortress of Gale.

I have been informed that a Dutch captain from that my fortress of

Gale with another captain of the same nation from the fortress of

Nigumbo, which stands without my orders, went to the city of Columbo

to treat with the Portuguese.*® If in the aforesaid manner there

was between them and the said Portuguese any agreement, my Hollan-

ders ought to have ere this advised me of everything; but as these

things have come to my royal notice, for this reason I address these

lines to you, in order that you may advise me briefly of all that has in

truth passed, by the same bearer who takes this.

I would remind you that you should always bear in mind the negoti-

ations and other matters of which you took charge from this court, in

order that they may not beforgotten. Nothing further suggests itself.

Our Lord, &c. From this court and city of Bintena on the 10th of

January, 1652.

Raga Sinca Rasu, Most & Potent Emperor of Ceilaé.

Address :—Raja Singa Raju, Most Potent Emperor of Ceila6, &c.

To the Commissary Pedro Kuieft, in my fortress of Gale, &c.

Indorsements (in Dutch) :—Received 26th January, 1652. Original

missive from His Royal Majesty of Candia to the Commissary Kieft,.

written 10th Jannary, 1652.

On February 6, 1652, Governor Van Kittenstein wrote

from Galle to the King, informing him of the departure for

Batavia of Kieft (whose agreement had expired), and stating

that the latter would make known to Their Honours by word

of mouth His Majesty’s good feeling towards the Dutch.?

No. 05.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. Beas

On May 15 there were forwarded to the King a number

of articles that had been sent from Batavia to please him,

namely, a surgeon’s medicine chest, with various curious

instruments and costly medicines, as also two large curious

hats and a bagpipe.?* 3

On August 6 Raja Sinha wrote? from Badulla_ to

Governor Van Kittenstein, acknowledging the arrival of the

presents, which he had. not yet deigned to look at, and

continuing thus: “‘I brought up a hawk with great love

and tenderness, and taking him with me one day to the

chase I gave him wings, and he disappeared for ever. I

- think it reasonable that I should write to you about these

things that are to my taste, and when you are informed of

them you are bound to give effect to my wishes. Ifit should

be, therefore, in your power to procure for me some good

hawks, as well as other birds of prey that hunt well, and

other matters pertaining to the chase, please to send them as

presents to me.” 6

On September 27 Van Kittenstein wrote to inform the King

of the death of Kieft, begging His Majesty to send to him

the goods left in Kandy by the deceased commissary. From

the Dutch Governor’s letter it also appears that the Portu-

guese envoy Dom Jeronymo de Azevedo? had written to His

Majesty, who had replied, and had then sent the corres-

pondence to Van Kittenstein. The latter thought it very

strange that the Portuguese General should have permitted

the envoy to write to His Majesty on affairs of State, and

trusted that it had occurred through sheer pride and

arrogance. From the same letter it also appears that it

greatly displeased Raja Sinha that the Portuguese General

should continue to style himself “King of Malvana,” 76°

although he had no right thereto. His Excellency also

thanked the King for the favour that he displayed towards the

Duich, assuring him that all their efforts were directed towards

maintaining the contract made with Westerwolt, stipulating

that His Majesty should endeavour to defray the expenses of

the Dutch with the commodities produced in his country.?©

212 JOURNAL, B.A.S. (CHYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

On September 19 Raja Sinha sent to Governor Van

Kittenstein a number of presents, as enumerated in the

following list :—?6

(11.]

List of the Presents which His Majesty the Most High and Potent

Emperor, God our Lord, makes to his Governor of his Imperial Fortress _

of Gale, Mr. Jacob van Kuitenstein.

An enamelled pelican of gold with a large emerald in the centre and

two smaller ones on-the wings, with another medium-sized one

between thefeet, and another smaller one on.the head, and in the eyes

two rubies, suspended by a pearl and a gold chain, all of which is

of the weight of 31 calanjas and 18 mangerins?®

‘A gold ring with a large diamond in the middle and with four

rubies round it, which weighs 5 calanjas and 13 mangerins.

Two aleds, one of which has a height of 5 cubits and the other 5

eubits and a quarter.

We have had an order and been commanded by His Majesty the

Most High Monarch, Emperor, God our Lord, that of the cinnamon

which is made in the territories of Maturé Your Honour may

take twenty bares for your own consumption without entering

them in the books of accounts; and in accordance with this imperial

order let Your Honour take them for the consumption of your

table.

There also goes a gold ring with a large ruby in the centre and

round it eight smaller ones, which His Majesty the Most High and

Magnific Emperor, God our Lord, makes to the secretary” of his

imperial fortress of Gale.

Together with this list goes the copy of a letter which the Rector

Bertholameu Bergon¢io”” presented to this imperial court, &c.

From this imperial city of Badula, on the 19th of September,

1652. .

From the officers of this imperial storehouse.””!

_ Indorsement (in Dutch) :—Portuguese list of certain goods sent

by the King of Candia to Governor Kittensteyn, dato 19th 7/ber,

1652. ,

On October 26 Mr. Van Kittenstein wrote to Raja Sinha

that he had safely received His Majesty’s letter of Septem-

ber 9,2” from Badule, with the handsome present ; and that

the copy of the letter”? which His Majesty had received from

Goa, from his brother Prince Visiapalle,?“ and had forwarded

to His Excellency, had also reached the latter, regarding

No. 55.—1904.| RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 213,

which strange thoughts were to be felt, as to what the

Portuguese might have in view thereanent. Governor Van

Kittenstein also informed the King that the Dutch had

already resumed warlike operations against the Portuguese

in Ceylon, and taken possession of all the territories as far

as Caliture, which fortress the enemy had already abandoned

to the power of the Hollanders.?”> Thus, he added, the time

had evidently now arrived for the Dutch to render His

Majesty more faithful services, and to avenge themselves

for the treachery displayed towards their Government in

Brazil ;?/° begging further, that His Majesty would be pleased

to carry out his design of sending a considerable force

to Jaffanapatnam, Man-Aar, and Saffragam, not doubting that

this had also been carried out. And as he had understood

that the General of Colombo had sent an envoy to his

Majesty,?””7 he begged His Majesty to give him no belief, nor

even any audience, but to be ever mindful of the faithful

services of the Dutch.?”

From a letter written by the Dutch Governor on Novem-

ber 9 to the King it appears that the latter was inclined

to join the Dutch in their conflict with the Portuguese, and

to send out his troops against them as far as Macucaravare

[sic for Manicaravare ].2”9

On December 23 Van Kittenstein wrote to Raja Sinha

that it seemed as if the Portuguese.intended to bring His

Majesty’s brother Prince Visiapalle from Goa to Ceylon,?®

to prevent which His Excellency advised His Majesty, as

far as, was practicable, to occupy the seaports of Man-Aar, Cal-

pentyn, and Jaffanapatnam, whilst the Dutch would attempt

to do the same before Colombo, where they had already

with their cruisers taken one of the Portuguese frigates.?%!

And since His Majesty was inclined to come down with his

army before Colombo, His Excellency highly appreciated

this intention, but nevertheless advised the King not to come

so near, as that city was not to be captured without. blood-

shed.,7®?....., |

214 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

On January 15, 1653, Raja Sinha wrote the following

letter?> to the commander”? of the Dutch garrison at

Kalutara :—

[12.]

[I] Raja Singa Raju, Most Potent Emperor of Ceilaé, to the Captain.

Major of the nation of my Hollanders, who is ‘egies

in the camp of Calituré, send Kich ereeting.

Yesterday, which was Tuesday, the 14th of January, at eight o ‘elgoke

at night, it was brought to my royal notice that the Portuguese had

crossed the river of Calituré, and had advanced to attack the camps of

my Hollanders who were in the fortification of Anguruvattota, where,

with great falsehoods and lies, with false statements they spread the

report that they bore my royal order to assault and capture the

fortification in which they were ; and with the same aforesaid falsehoods

they caused the removal of the men of arms who were with my

Hollanders : at which news I was greatly distressed. And from seeing

that my Hollanders on hearing only my royal name mentioned

(although with such great artifices and lies by such great enemies) held

it in such respect and veneration that they allowed themselves to be

surrendered, I understood the great love and loyalty which they have

towards me, and at that I rejoiced greatly. But with the help and

favour of God, when I leave for my lowland territories, which will be

onthe 23rd of this present month, I shall take double vengeance for the

falsehood which they concocted and for the malicious treason which

these traitors carried out in taking into their pestiferous and stinking

mouths my royal name. And until I leave for my lowland territories

do you keep the camp in which you are stationed well secure and with

good watches until my royal coming. Iam not more lengthy in this

[letter] because the nobles of this my imperial court are writing to you

fully in an ola which goes along with this. I do not think there is

anything else to say, but must wait, hoping in God that you will be able

to send me good news of your welfare and of this camp of my

Hollanders, and in the reply to this will you let me know the title

which you should bear when you are written to from this imperial

court. Our Lord, &c. From this court and city of Badule on the

15th of January, 1653, on Wednesday, at 8 o’clock at night.

Raga Sinca Rasu, & Most Potent Emperor of Ceilad.

Indorsement (in Dutch):—Original letter in Portuguese written by the

King of Candia, dato 15th January a”. 1653, to the Captain of Caliture.

Regarding the event which had evoked this regal outburst

Valentyn2® says: “Meanwhile the Portuguese captured

from us. on January 8, 1653, the post of Anguratotte ;?°°

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 219

and although Raja Singa drove the Portuguese back from

around Cottegore, and made them retreat to Colombo,?*

it is nevertheless certain that this would not have befallen

as if the Dessave of Saffragam had not warned us too late

(as also happened through the Emperor himself); and

although the loss of that pagar was communicated by us to

His Majesty himself, Mr. Van Kittenstein did not however

fail to thank His Majesty heartily, in writing from Gale on

January 15, 1653, for the faithful warning (though of no

use to us). He added that the Portuguese gave out that

they were in alliance with the King, and that they received

provisions from His Majesty from the territories of Saffragam,

and that they also intended together to attack us unawares,

which, His Excellency thought, also had some show of »

truth in it.”

Valentyn?® adds: ‘“ His Excellency having meanwhile

learnt that a rumour was current of the Viceroy’s coming

from Goa with the Prince Visiapalle to these territories, |

with a strong reinforcement of troops, he informed His

Majesty on 3rd March that he had received His Majesty’s

letter of 21st February, and that he had thereupon already

proceeded towards Colombo, in order to prevent their

entrance there,*’ as also that to this end he had sent eight of

our ships along the Malabar coast to meet them in order

to sink and destroy them on the way; excusing himself

further from first capturing Colombo, as it had during

recent years been strongly fortified, and a greater force

than he now had was required for that purpose. He was

also very glad that His Majesty was desirous of releasing

our captives from Colombo, for which purpose we had in

our hands several paters and others.”

Valentyn?™® also says: ‘“ Meanwhile the troops of His

Majesty and also our people had had a successful encounter

near Man-Aar, with no loss on our side, regarding which Mr.

Adriaan van der Meyden, who succeeded Mr. van Kittensteyn,

after a rule of three years as Governor of Ceylon,2 wrote to

His Majesty this month in a letter from Caleture, expressing

216 «| JOURNAL, B.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

his satisfaction at the victory won by his Dessave in the

7 Corles over the Portuguese,?” at the same time thanking

His Majesty for his present.” 2%

On March 18 and April 22 Van Kittenstein wrote to

Raja Sinha that he had learnt with astonishment that the

King had been informed that he intended to leave the

Island without apprising His Majesty of the fact, which

His Excellency had never had in his thoughts, as he now

by his letters proved the contrary. The Governor also

said that the Dutch continued of the same mind regarding |

their promised word with respect to the fortress of Nigumbo,

and that the King had no need to doubt on that point.

His Excellency advised His Majesty not to build a fortlet

at Reygamwatté for the investment of Colombo, and set

forth all the difficulties of besieging that city. He thanked

Raja Sinha for his present, and also informed the King

that the Ragimade Teuwer,2% Lord of Rammenacoil, had

; through his ambassadors made known to the Dutch that he

suffered intolerable affronts from time to time at the hands.

of the Portuguese, and was desirous of giving the Hollanders.

a helping hand against their enemies with boats and men to

help to capture Man-Aar and Jaffanapatnam. He had, Van

Kittenstein added, received three tame tigers sent by Raja

Sinha, and he wished that His Majesty could thus tame

the proud and haughty nature of the Portuguese.?%

On May 12 Mr. Van Kittenstein sent back the King’s envoys,

accompanied, at Raja Sinha’s desire, by a body-guard

for His Majesty consisting of an ensign, a sergeant, a

corporal of the cadets, two corporals, a drummer, and

four-and-twenty soldiers, whom he begged the king to treat

well, adding that he would write to Batavia for a higher

officer and for a skilled surgeon, which last, together with a.

common Dutch saddle, was sent to His indo with a letter

of July 19.2%

On August 15 Van Kittenstein aise a davies from the

King, to which he replied on September 2 begging His

Majesty to take in good part his displeasure regarding

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 217

Colombo. His Excellency also protested thatthe Dutch had

never had in their minds to appropriate to themselves a foot

of land belonging to the King’s crown, much less Colombo

after its conquest, but that we should prove the contrary by

adding it to His Majesty’s crown. He had written to

Batavia for His Majesty’s account which he had asked for

several times, in which he would see that all the expenses,

besides the receipts on the other side, would be plainly set

down (except the fitting out of the fleets, which had yet to be

ascertained), Raja Sinhaalso sought the advice of the Dutch

Governor, because the Portuguese were very desirous of

coming to Candi to deliver the letters from their King and

from the Viceroy of Goa ;?97 but His Excellency was of

opinion that those letters were simply invented in order to

hoodwink His Majesty, and that they must on that account

be declined.?% )

While this interchange of letters between the King and

the Dutch Governor had been going on, however, there had

been an insurrection among the Portuguese in and around

Colombo, who had imprisoned the Captain-General Manoel

Mascarenhas Homem and his son-in-law Lopo Barriga, the

Field Captain-Major, on account of their misdeeds ;?% and

on the matter being reported to Goa, the Viceroy had sent

Francisco de Mello de Castro as Captain-Generai and Dom

Alvaro de Ataide as Field Captain-Major. These had arrived

at Colombo with reinforcements in twelve vessels on May

10, 1653, two days after the Dutch cruisers had been forced

by the monsoon to leave that place for Galle, much to their

ehagrin.°° <A large force was now expected daily from

Batavia, and the Dutch Governor promised Raja Sinha that

he would then be ready to appear with the camp of the

Hollanders before the gates of Colombo.

- On October 25 Mr. Adriaan van der Meyden alata from

Galle to the King to inform him that Mr. Van Kittenstein

had left for Batavia,®°? and that he had been appointed to.

succeed him as Governor; therefore he begged His Majesty

to recognize him as such. He added that the Dutch had

218 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOuL. XVIII.

captured three English and one Portuguese ships in the

Gulf of Persia® <A letter of October 13 from the king to

Mr. Van Kittenstein was also acknowledged.>™

On November 17 Van der Meyden wrote from Caliture

that he had received the King’s letter of the 2nd idem from

his encampment at Ancarravanelle,= and His Excellency

now informed His Majesty that the Portuguese, who during

the previous month had pitched their camp in Gourbeville,

Canasture, Attapotti, and ,Cotagodde,®% and also sometimes

in Alauwa, had now retired from the uplands back to

Malvane, and that they had there mustered twenty-four

anstantias,="" or companies of white troops, who, in order to

obtain provisions, were pillaging in the Seven and Four

Corles ;°°° but he promised with His Majesty’s dessaves to

make a good firm resistance and assist him faithfully. His

Excellency also knew well that now and then great hope

was given to His Majesty as to the captureof Colombo, but this

all depended upon the great reinforcement from Holland and

from Batavia, which could not be long in coming now. He

also informed the King that the Commissary Mr. Ryklof van

Goens had gone with four ships from Caliture to Suratte,°%

and that the bay of Colombo was once more blockaded

by three Dutch ships.*!° His Excellency was also pleased to

hear that the Dutch soldiers who were with the King gave

good satisfaction.*!!

The Dutch Governor’s polite epistles, however, did not

tend to restrain Raja Sinha’s impatience, and Van der Meyden

himself records*!? that ‘“‘ Raja Singa having noticed that the

Portuguese in Colombo were in September A°. 1653 once

more supplied with mantimentos [provisions] from Toeto-

coryn, and that by the first four ships (in which the late

Governor Mr. Jacob van Kittensteyn was allowed to take his

departure) we had not received a single soldier for the relief

of those who had been so long asking for it, nor likewise did

they obtain it at the end of October, per the Commissary

Mr. Ryklof van Goens, with four other ships destined for

Persia and Suratte, His Majesty betook himself, with his

— —————

- No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 219

‘mostly starved troops which he had brought down,? from

the vicinity of the Portuguese pickets, from Carvanello, as

elsewhere, in November, through the Four and Seven Corlas,

back to Candi to rest.”

During the latter part of 1653 and the early part of 1654

numerous engagements took place between the Portuguese

and the Sinhalese and the Portuguese and the Dutch, the

advantage being, for the most part, with the first-named.?!4

One of the results was that the Dutch vacated Kalutara, and

the Portuguese once more occupied that fort. An engage-

ment at sea off the west coast of Ceylon between five

Portuguese galleons and the three Dutch cruisers was

indecisive, each side retiring after considerable loss. Ryklof

van Goens, however, in his return voyage from Persia and

Surat on May 1, 1654, met with the five galleons and forty -

frigates off Cabo da Rama, and after a severe engagement

came off victorious, being enabled to release twenty of the

Duich taken prisoners at Anguruwatara, who were on board

one of the galleons.* This welcome news was communi-

cated to Raja Sinha through Lieutenaut Frans Has by a

letter from Governor Van der Meyden dated June 6.716

The Dutch were now receiving constant accessions of

supplies and troops by sea; and several engagements took

place between them and the Portuguese to the south of

Colombo, the most important being at Tebuwana and

Kaluwamodara.*!" |

On November 27 Governor Van der Meyden sent a letter

to Raja Sinha by the merchant Ysbrand Godsken, besides

several fine horses and other pretty rarities to the prince his:

son,*!8 as well as various intercepted letters from the Portu-.

guesefor His Majesty’s diversion.*!®

To this letter the King replied on March 8, 1655, by

Godsken, who returned with His Majesty’s ambassadors.

Upon this Mr. Van der Meyden on March 27 informed Raja

Sinha that the Portuguese were being strengthened by

faithless subjects of His Majesty’s in the Seven and Four

Corles, which had made the enemy so bold that they had

220 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL XVIII.

even dared to come and make a disturbance within the

‘Candian graveis,?*° which His Majesty must check as muchas

possible, and beware of their ambushes. His Excellency now

expected the great reinforcement from Batavia every hour.*!

On May 19 the Dutch Governor informed the King

that Major Van der Laan had bombarded the fortress of

Caliture fiercely, but that the enemy had greatly strengthened

it, and had reinforced it from Colombo with four instantias

(or companies); also that a report was current that Gaspar

Figueira had fallen upon His Majesty’s Dessaves unawares

in Caticapale,** but that the King had shortly afterwards

defeated three or four instantias,*** regarding which His

Excellency awaited further tidings and certainty ; and as

several Portuguese frigates had made their appearance near

the bay of Galle, His Excellency had fitted out two yachts to

follow them to Colombo, Jaffanapatnam, Man-Aar, Pambanan,

or wherever they went.?”’

On July 9th Governor Van der Meyden informed the King

of the victory gained by the Dutch in a fight off Galle with

the Portuguese reinforcements, and how His Majesty’s

ambassadors themselves had witnessed it ; that the Hollanders

had chased a frigate off the coast of Gundera*®** towards the

shore, two ditto captured and brought into Galle bay by the

yacht the Leeuw, and had forced their General of Colombo,

Antoni de Sousa Coutinho, to keep outand goround with his

eight other frigates, whereby the Portuguese were severely

shaken out of their self-confidence, the Dutch having besides

taken many Portuguese and blacks prisoners ;*?7 though,

according to the latest intelligence, the enemy in Colombo

were still twelve or fifteen 7nstantias strong ; but as soon as

the great Dutch reinforcement, which was nowat hand,should

have landed, His Excellency did not doubt that, supported

by His Majesty, they would be in a position to clear the Island

of them entirely, and to place all the captured towns in His

Majesty’s hands.

To which summary of the Dutch Governor’s letter

Valentyn appends the laconic remark : ‘‘ Great promises, but

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA IJ, AND THE DUTCH. 221

from which, however, not much was to be expected, so long

as our heavy war expenses were not settled, about which His

Majesty seemed to think little.” 328

On August 16 Raja Sinha, who, since his defeat at the

hands of Gaspar Figueira had been sulking in his palace

in Kandy, wrote the following letter®29 to Governor Van der

Meyden :—

[13.]

[1] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch and Most Potent

Emperor of this my far-famed Empire of Ceilaé, to the

Governor of my Imperial Fortress of Gale, Adrienen [sic]

Vander Meiden, send much greeting.

It came to my imperial notice that the General of the Portuguese

who was coming to Columbo, having escaped from the encounter that

he had with my Hollanders, had arrived at Japhanapatad ; but I did

not receive this news as true, and wishing to know the certainty of it

they told me how the said General came to Manar, and that on the 8th of

August he left the said place and arrived at Calpety,° whence he

wrote these letters, which he sent to Columbo and which my dissava of

the Seven Corlas seized in a village called Corlavela**! belonging to

the territories of Anna Volundana,*” and at once sent them to be

presented at this imperial court with the bearers who carried them,

and they arrived on Saturday, the 14th of this present month ; and

to-day, Sunday, they were presented to me; and as it seems right to

me that on this occasion the Governor of my imperial fortress of

Galle should know these things, I therefore send you the said letters

that you may see them. Amongst them goes a copy of one which

they have determined to write to this imperial court ; on this occasion

I say nothing thereanent. The said letters go along with this.

Let Your Honour look at them and keep them in your possession

until occasion offer and my imperial person shall send to ask for them.

Your Honour will then deliver them up with goodwill and much

joy.

On account of the unlucky journey that my imperial person made

in times past,33? and likewise because at this present time the

festivals of my God are being celebrated, for the aforesaid reasons I

have not yet dispatched the rutilant ** Freo. Haas ; but in a few days

from now, by the favour and help of God, I shall give him leave to

go to that my imperial fortress, and he will go well content ;* and

he will at the same time take the return (as Your Honour is deserving

of it) of the presents which at various times you have sent to be

presented to this imperial court, and I shall also reply to the letters

of Your Honour. Im order to make sure that this reaches the hands

222 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

of Your Honour with all dispatch, for this reason this is not longer.

Our Lord, &c. From this imperial court and city of Candia on the

16th of August, 1655.

Rasa Sinca Rasv, Most Potent @ Emperor of Ceilao.

A few weeks after the above letter was written General

Geraard Hulft arrived*** at Galle from Batavia with a fleet

of some twenty ships carrying .a large body of troops and

war materials. Kalutara was soon afterwards besieged, and

capitulated on October 15.337 Information of this victory

was immediately communicated to Raja Sinha. The

Dutch troops then marched on Colombo, defeating the Portu-

guese forces sent to oppose them,**® and on October 19 or 20

they arrived before the city. Simultaneously there appeared

from the royal court and from the Dissave of Saffragam three

apahamis, three haraties (arachchis), and a body of lascaryns,

bringing with them a letter from the Dutch Resident in

Candy, Joris Hervendonk,*”? stating that His Majesty had

given command to make known to His Excellency his pro-

tracted and continued fever, but that he hoped to arrive in

Colombo shortly with his nobles. Whereupon on the 20th

a note was dispatched to the King with the intelligence of

the Dutch victory over their enemies.

On October 21 the siege of Colombo was begun,*4? and on

the 22nd the Dissave of Saffragam appeared, on behalf of the

King, with offers of help. Two days later, “towards evening,

His Excellency received through the king’s letter carriers

a very elegant missive sprinkled with odoriferous spicery,

and besides his signature there was portrayed on each side

a female figure with folded hands looking upwards,?* this

being in answer to the foregoing, written by Governor

Adriaan van der Meyden from Bentotte.*44 It was under-

stood that the King was somewhat displeased that the letter

sent to him by the Governor was not (which happened

through hastiness) as usual wrapped in white linen, and that

his titles were not written out in full. There was, however,

very great joy in the court at the arrival of the Dutch fleet.

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 223

His Majesty had also asserted that the city (when taken)

was, in accordance with the promise of the late Governor,

Mr. Jakob van Kittensteyn, and later letters of the present

one, Mr. Adriaan van der Meyden, to be delivered into his

hands, upon which (so he said) he set little value if only

the honour of the capture were ascribed to him, whereby the

Honourable Company might expect various benefits. Atthe

end of the letier it was stated that His Majesty had given

orders everywhere to make ready the houses and roads, in

order that he might come down.” 3%

On November 4, says Baldzeus,?!* there came the ambassa-

dor Tenecon Apuhamy,*’ with a letter from His Majesty,

together with a golden breasi-jewel adorned with various

precious stones, hanging Die, a chain, which letter being

translated read thus :—

Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch and Most Potent Emperor

of this my Empire of Ceylon, wishes much health to Gerard

Hulft, Director-General of the Naval Squadron of the

upright, faithful Netherlands nation.

I learnt by letters from the Governor of my imperial fortress

of Gale that Your Honour had arrived with your present squadron,

and had shortly afterwards captured the fortress of Caleture, and

had sent on board the one-half of those therein (being Portuguese

prisoners), and had kept the other half there in custody for my

imperial service. And that Your Honour on the road between Caleture

and Columbo, after a sharp fight, had put the enemy to flight, without

any loss to my faithful Hollanders, which new tidings caused my

Imperial Majesty great joy; I also at once sent out my imperial

command to all my dissaves and captains of war, that the whole of my

army should be brought together as speedily as possible. Meanwhile

I received an ola from my Saffragam dissave, which he had written to

me on 23rd October, wherein he reported that Your Honour had

summoned him, and had asked him in the first place how it fared

with the health of my Imperial Majesty, and that Your Honour

had said that you had come with no other intention than to deliver

over to me the towns of Columbo, Manaar, and Jafnapatan, and that

when that was done Your Honour would appear before my Imperial

Majesty. For some days past I had been very ill, but nevertheless I

had given orders in all that concerns my imperial army; but, as soon

as I received tidings of Your Honour, I was filled with such extreme

joy that by that means with God’s help I have been quite cured, so

ral 66-04.

224 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

that I am twice as strong as before to carry out and fulfil my imperial

expedition, which (with God’s help) shall take place on Tuesday,

2nd November. HerewithIsend Your Honour an officer of my imperial

court to inquire regarding Your Honour’s health; he will convey

to Your Honour a certain decoration, which my imperial person sends

to Your Honour. Your Honour will please not to consider the value of

it, but the love and the goodwill with which, &c.

In the imperial court in the town of Candy, 29th October, 1655.

(Signed) Raga SinGa Rason, ** Most Potent Emperor of Ceylon.

On November 12 took place the unsuccessful general

assault by land and sea on Colombo,?” in which the Dutch

lost so many in killed and wounded, and “ on this unlucky

day in the afternoon,” says Baldzus,**? “the General received

a letter from the Imperial Majesty in which, as usual, was

set forth the full trust that he had in His Honour, to

give over into his hands the city of Colombo after its

capture, and the fulfilment of the treaty formerly made

with Mr. Westerwold; that all runaway natives should be

handed over to his present dessaves, whether dead or alive,

in order to be punished, as was the case at Batecalo ; that he

had commanded his dessaves to waste and to burn all the

villages and the lowlands as far as was possible.” With

this letter was forwarded a note that had been sent to the

King by the Portuguese General of Colombo, Antonio de

_ Sousa Coutinho, on October 27, in which he endeavoured to

persuade Raja Sinha to break off his friendship with the

Hollanders and assist the Portuguese to expel them from

Ceylon.

On November 13 a letter was dispatched to Raja Sinha,

to inform him doubtless of the ill-success of the attack on

Colombo; and on the 19th the King’s disavas came to Hulft

to show him a letter they had received from their royal

master, “in which he expressed great regret regarding the

wound received by His Honourin the recent assault, and said

that it thereby became necessary to work night and day in

order to get ready as soon as possible all that was needful

for his march and descent to the camp to our help, and

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. (220

that His Majesty begged that no second assault should be

commenced before and until His Majesty had assisted His

Honour with his counsel and army.” ‘ Whereupon,” adds

Baldzus,**! “a note with all politeness and thankfulness

was sent to Raja Singa.”’ *?

On December 10 Antonio do Amaral de Menezes, the

Governor of Jaffnapatam, was captured at Mutwal while

attempting to get to Colombo, and a number’ of letters

found on him were, after having been read and doubtless

copied, sent to Raja Sinha.***

On December 28 “the General,” says Baldzus,**+“ informed

the Dissaves of Saffragam and of the Four Corlas that he

had resolved to send an envoy to the Emperor in order to

learn once for all what was His Majesty’s intention towards

us, whether he intended to come down or not, and asked

them also to write to the Emperor on this subject, as, having

proceeded so far, the time did not admit of much further

delay in making another assault on the town; and that in

case the Emperor should still have any doubts of our good

intentions they should (as far as possible) assure His Majesty

of our upright intentions.”

Accordingly, “on the day following,” says Baldzeus,®?

*“‘ Lieutenant Johannes Hartman, afterwards Captain before

Jafnapatan, was dispatched with some letters to the King

of Candy, Emperor of Ceylon.’ 35

On January 24 or 25, 1656, Lieutenant Hartman returned,

bringing the following letter**’ from Raja Sinhato Hulft :—**

[ 14. ]

[1] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Most Potent Emperor of

this my far-famed Empire of Ceilaé, to Gerardo Hulfut, Director-

General over the State of the East Indies, who has come for

- my imperial service with the fleet of the ships of my

Hollanders, and is with the camp in the siege of

the city of Columbo, send much greeting.

The letter of Your Honour which the captain of the guard brought

to be presented at this imperial court, written on the 29th of

December, was presented before my imperial presence in this camp

and imperial court of Balané on Tuesday night, which was the 18th

226 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

of January. My imperial person heard all that was contained in the

said letter, and I was greatly rejoiced that Your Honour enjoyed good

health, and from the day that Your Honour came to this my empire of

Ceilaé for my imperial service, immediately in the first letter that was

presented tome from Your Honour my imperial person recognized in it

the great fidelity, love, goodwill, and perfect truth with which you are

serving me ; and likewise when the said captain delivered into my

imperial hands the letter of Your Honour, and also what you told him

Meee [my ] imperial person deemed that Your Honour yourself

* = = ]359 in person and [with] your own mouth before my imperial

presence ; and so I received all as perfect truth into my imperial heart,

and I rejoiced to an extent that my imperial person cannot cies

manifest to you by words in this [letter]. At the time when Your

Honour laid siege with the camp of my Hollanders to the city [of

Columbo], and attacked by battery the said city, my imperial person

was about, without thinking of good or evil hours, to set out with my

imperial army, when in the meanwhile news reached this my imperial

court that after engaging in the said war they had retired, and remained

fortified in our entrenchments ; and then the nobles of my imperial

court, as soon as they heard of the ill-success that had ensued, gave me

counsel, it being a custom and usage in this my Empire of Ceilaé and of

our law, that the following month was not good for my imperial person

to make any journey whatsoever ; and for this reason I delayed making

this journey. To-day, which is Thursday afternoon, I shall give leave

to the captain of the guard in order to convey the news to Your Honour

that my imperial person leaves the same day at night. At present

nothing further suggests itself. Our Lord, &c. From the camp and

imperial court of Balané, on the 20th of January of the year 1656.

Rasa Sinca Rasu, Most g Potent Emperor of Ceilad, &c.

On February 14 or 15 Huift received another letter?

from the King, as follows :—

Raja Singa Rajou.

My imperial person when young in years gained the victory (by

God’s favour) over his enemies in Malvane, where I defeated the whole

camp of Don Constantino,**! after which I besieged the town of

Columbo, being encamped in the garden of Louys Gomes Pinto.*#

Then it pleased God to visit me with sickness; and as soon as the .

Viceroy*® received the news thereof he at once came into the camp

before Columbo, saying that I should betake myself to my kingdom

of Candy ; and my person, having heard his royal word, returned with

all diligence to Candy, allowing to remain before the city my brother

Carnana Singa,*** King of Ouva, and with him Prince Vigiapala, who

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA TI. AND THE DUTCH. 227

brought great dishonour upon our imperial family ;* and both these

remaining in the said siege, it happened that the false Portuguese drove

a large number of poor people out of the city, among whom there

came out also some false traitors, by whom all my works were set or

fire ;** therefore let Your Honour command a good watch to be kept.

I would also remind Your Honour, through the goodwill, love, and

affection that I bear to you, that this wicked Portuguese nation are

traitors and false, and also that in my camp are many kinds of

nationalities, wherefore let Your Honour have a care of your person,

and God the Lord will protect Your Honour from all danger and

difficulties. If this should be so (as my imperial person wishes), a

great and extreme joy will be born for me. Your Honour must know

that in this Empire of Ceilaé are many kinds of people, both of

foreigners and of natives, who served many kings and caused many

disagreements, and brought severe desolations upon the country.

There are also still at the present time many of these traitors ; if it

should happen that on the part of these any of them should. betake

himself to Your Honour with an external show of love, do not trust him.

For these false rogues will, for a little gain (through the false heart that

is in them), say such things as will grow to great misfortune and ruin.

The letters that are written to you from this court are also composed

in a foreign language ; therefore, should Your Honour find any incon-

sistency therein, either in one or another, which might trouble Your

Honour, or cause any speculation, would Your Honour at once inform

me thereof, in order to remove all doubt and suspicion. For the peace

that we formerly made and swore to shall endure so long as the sun

-and moon shall shine, as Your Honour also says in your letter that it

shall be in force as long as the world endures, I had intended to

answer Your Honour’s letter of the 8th of January,*” butunderstanding

thatthe captain of the guard had been dispatched by Your Honour to this

imperial court I delayed somewhat in doing so. In former times, when

my imperial person was somewhat younger in years, I encamped with

my imperial army in Malvane; and, since it is a long time ago, I

inspected that place on Wednesday last, finding the same, where the

dissave of the Four Corlas had prepared the court, not to be good,

when I immediately commanded that it should be prepared not there

but in the fortress of Reygamwatte.** In view of this, and because

the said dissave had not properly fulfilled his duty and had committed

many follies and acts of cowardice, I have deposed him, and put

another in his place ; and any things that may happen concerning my

imperial service, will Your Honour kindly confer with him regarding

them. Asregards the preparation of the court I have given commands

to the dissaves, and dispatched several persons to prepare it as speedily

as possible, and I shall then at once proceed thither.

Subscribed :—In the campand court at Guiramibula,?® 14th February,

1656. Raga Stnca Rasovu, Most Potent Emperor of Ceylon.

228 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOuL. XVIII.

On February 20, Baldzeus states,?7? Lieutenant Joannes.

Hartman®” came back with a letter.from Raja Sinha to

General Hulft, which ran as follows :—

Raja Singa Rajou, &c.

The letter that Your Honour wrote on the 8th of February to this

imperial court reached my hands safely on the following day, the 9th.

In it Your Honour says that you are waiting with great eagerness for

permission to appear before my royal presence, and at the same time to.

demonstrate the true friendship and affection with which the Honour-

able Company strives to persevere to the end in my imperial service,”

from the day that you landed from your ships in my Empire. I have

always thought in my imperial heart that Your Honour would come

to speak with my imperial person; and this my wish will God the

Lord grant me when Your Honour shall appear before me in the

camp at Reygamwatte. Your Honour also said in your letter that the

iascaryns of the dissaves had committed some great faults. When

my imperial person shall come into the next camp I shall then also.

send other captains with their men thither, and recall to me those

who have hitherto been stationed there, and those who have committed

any fault against the King’s crown shall, after matters have been

heard and considered, be punished, as is customary among the

kings and monarchs of the world. Your Honour also stated in the

same letter that on the 5th of this month you dispatched nine ships..

God the Lord grant Your Honour at all times such an outcome of affairs.

as I wish from my heart. For my imperial person rejoices in the

highest degree when I learn of the welfare and prosperity of the

Hollanders, as God the Lord, according to my wish, shall grant them.

When my imperial person shall have arrived at the above-said camp,

I hope that (with Your Honour’s advice and that which I have taken

beforehand) the capture of the city will not be long delayed. As

regards the evil-doers, they shall receive another name, not for them-

selves only, but also for their family, whereby they and all their

kindred shall endure lasting infamy. With the arrival of Your Honour’s.

person when you shall appear before me, I shall picture to myself

that the whole of Holland stands before me, and because, according to

our laws, a good day and hour are needful and must be chosen for

that, I shall let Your Honour be informed thereof by a person of rank.

When I left Candy the Prince my son,* whom God the Lord

permitted to be born for the welfare of my cpr and true Holland, |

took leave of me and begged me to tell you these things.3”

(Signed) Rasa Sica Ragov.

In the Camp in Guiramibula,

18th February, 1656.

asf}

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 229

Baldzus adds that Hartman had been presented with 2

tame elephant by the King, who had privately hinted to him

that a gift from Hulft to the young prince would be

acceptable. On February 21 the disavas came for the

General’s letter, which they were told was not yet ready,

aad they were consulted as to what present should be sent

to the prince. They replied that they did not know, but

would consider. In the afternoon they received the letter,

and departed with it amid the usual ceremonies.

On the following day Raja Sinha, seeing the great smoke

caused by the furious firing of the Portuguese batteries, sent

a messenger to the Dutch camp toinquire what was forward ;

and in the evening two envoys from His Majesty arrived in

the campand informed Hulft that the King had received his

letter with much satisfaction; that he was at present at

Walewitty ;°” and that as soon as his palace was ready he

would send for the General.

A letter written by an ultra-loyal arachchi to the vidana

and headmen of the three pattus of Pasdun Kéralé, ordering

them to send provisionsto the King, led to his arrest and con-

demnation to be beheaded (which was not, however, carried

out), and the letter was sent to His Majesty by Hulft on the

last day of February. Three envoys brought to the Dutch

General a present of an elk which Raja Sinha had himself

hunted and killed that day, and as a return compliment

Hulft sent the King some grapes.

On March 14, the King having intimated his desire that

a person of standing should be sent to confer with him

privately, Ysbrand Godsken?’® was chosen for the mission.

A few days later General Hulft received the following

letter??? from His Majesty :—

Raja Singa Rajou, &c.

My imperial person has given orders to send these few lines to

Your Honour because the present occasion requires it. Day-before-

yesterday, being Wednesday, the 15th of March, I broke up my camp

at Guiramibula, and coming by way of Walewitty, on the other side of

the river to the place mentioned, I have at once dispatched some

230 JOURNAL, R.A.S. \CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

nobles from this imperial court to make known to Your Honour my

arrival at the camp of Reygamwatte, and at the same time to inquire

after your good health ; which nobles I have also charged (seeing that

I had not replied to several letters sent by Your Honour to this

imperial court) to request Your Honour to send hither a person of |

authority and standing, that I may give him my verbal reply to the

said letters ; and asit was night when my imperial person came into the

camp of Reygamwatte, I gave orders early in the morning for the

army to encamp, when also the letters herewith sent were brought to ~

me, one being from the General and the other from the citizens of

Columbo, from which Your Honour will be able to understand

what the contents are.

In the court and camp at Reygamwatte, the 17th of March, A®.

1656.

(Signed) Raga SINGA RaJovu, Most Potent Emperor of Ceylon.

The two letters®”? referred to, one from Antonio de Sousa

Coutinho and the other from the leading citizens of Colombo,

appealed to Raja Sinha to break off from his new friends the

Dutch, and help the Portuguese, the ancient friends of |

the Sinhalese kings, to drive away their foes,—a vain

appeal !

On March 23 Ysbrand Godsken returned, bringing a

verbal reply from Raja Sinha to five letters that Hulft

had addressed to His Majesty. The chief points in this

answer®’9 were that the King approved of the cruel treatment

by the Dutch of the unfortunate natives whom the Portuguese

had driven out of Colombo ; that he begged Hulft to be more

careful of himself ; that he highly appreciated his letters ;

that he adhered to the Westerwold treaty in face of past dis-

agreements, and asked Hulft to strengthen the friendship ;

he desired information regarding the intentions of the

Dutch as to Jaffnapatam and Mannar,,and he would be

pleased to grant an interview to Hulft on the following

Sunday or Thursday. At the same time the King sent back

to Hulft, with his approval, two letters that the General had ©

written in reply to some sent by the Portuguese to His

Majesty. These Hulft signed in Raja Sinha’s name and sent

into the city. ;

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 23]

On April 1 the disavas of Uva and the Four Koraleés

with a body of one hundred lascarins brought a letter*®° to

Hulft from the King, acknowledging one from the General

of March 24, and inviting him to come to his camp as

soon as possible. Accordingly, on April 5 Hulft set out

with an imposing retinue, and was received with every

honour by some of the King’s chiefs, and lodged ina house

prepared for his reception on the south bank of the Kelani.**!

Owing, however, to a sudden illness Raja Sinha had to defer

his reception ; and on the 7th Hulft wrote to the King that

if he could not see His Majesty he must beg leave to return

to the camp before Colombo. Next day a reply came from

the King (written in the night of the 7th), regretting the

delay that the General had had to suffer, and telling him to

prepare for a reception on that day (the 8th).3”

A full description of the reception will be found in

Baldzus.?®? On the 9th Hulft returned to Colombo, and on

the 10th in the evening the General was mortally wounded

by a stray Portuguese bullet while he was examining the

siege works.**4 A letter was sent the same night to Raja

Sinha to apprise him of the death of the General ; and the

King sent hisadigar the Disava of Matale to view the corpse.

On the 15th Adriaan van der Meyden, who had succeeded

Hulft in the supreme command, received a letter*® from the

King, dated the same day, in which His Majesty expressed his

sorrow at the death of Hulft, and requested Van der Meyden,

as his successor, to appear before him in order to receive

tokens of the royal favour.

On April 19 Governor van der Meyden received from

the King a letter, dated the 18th, in which inter alia His

Majesty referred with satisfaction to the dispersal by the

Dutch off Quilon of the Portuguese fleet sent by the Viceroy

from Goa for the relief of Colombo,**? and ventured the

opinion that Manoel Mascarenhas Homem, who was then

acting at the helm of State in India, had, out of revenge for

the treatment he had received in Colombo when Governor,

232 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

sent the fleet purposely to be destroyed. He also expressed

pleasure at learning that Nicolao de Moura,*** a Portuguese

captain, had come over tothe Dutch. The King also desired

that the jewels which he had bestowed on Hulft might be

sent to the deceased General’s relations.?°° Finally, he stated

his intention of coming to inspect the siege works as soon as

his illness permitted.

On the same day a summons was sent to the Commander of

Colombo to surrender, but this was answered by a firm

refusal. On the 23rd another letter®®® reached Van der

Meyden from Raja Sinha, in which the royal writer referred

in flattering terms to the services of Major Jan van der Laan,

expressed his intention of sending a letter to the States-

General on the termination of hostilities, testifying to the

services of Hulft ; referred to hiscoming to the Dutch camp

and animadverted unfavourably on the answer of the Portu-

guese to the summons to surrender. In this letter was

enclosed one for the Sabandaar of Galle, Don Joan de Costa,

which ended with a request for an anvil and bellows, some

white paper, and some porcelain. |

Shortly afterwards Ysbrand Godsken was again dis-

patched to confer with His Majesty, apparently respecting

an assault on Colombo; for he returned with the message

that the King would like it deferred until the last day of the

month, when he hoped to be present as an eyewitness.

The assault was, however, fixed for the night of the

27th, but, owing to differences in the council of war,

postponed.

On May 2. Raja Sinha sent Van der Meyden a brief

letter®®! acknowledging one from the Dutch Governor, and

returning unread another written on a half sheet of panes

the sending of which he considered an affront.

On the 4th the king sent another letéer,3% referring to the

removal of Joris Hervendonk from the royal service, the

substitution of Frans Has,*** and the subsequent restoration

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 233

of the former and discharge of the latter.°°* On May 6 His

Majesty wrote the following letter :—*”

[15.]

[I] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Greatest and Most

Potent Emperor of this my famed Empire of Ceilaé, &c., to

Adriaen Van der Meiden, Governor of my Imperial Fortress

of Gale, who is present at the siege of the city of

Columbo, send much greeting.

The letter that Your Honour sent to this imperial court, written on

Wednesday, the 3rd of May, was delivered on Thursday, the 4th of the

said month. It treated of the sorrow that you felt regarding the

letter that had been sent back to you. From among all foreign

nations my imperial person chose that of my Hollanders for the

increase of my imperial fame, estate, and the good of my crown and

Empire, and also further for all things that might concern. my

imperial service, and likewise because of their being a faithful and

trusty nation: for these aforesaid reasons I love and esteem them

more than my lawful vassals ; and if there be any fault in them my

imperial person regrets it much, by reason of the strangers who are

in this my Empire and outside of it who may say that, there being

other nations, [ went and chose that of the Hollanders, who are now

acting contrariwise. For these aforesaid reasons, whatever fault,

negligence, error, or laxity there may be in them, on account of

the pain and sorrow that I shall suffer therefrom, I take the

opportunity to reprehend them and to correct them in all things.

Wherefore if Your Honours will give fulfilment without any failure

to all things touching my imperial state, my imperial person will

rejoice greatly ; because my dear and beloved Director-General in the

short time that he was in this my Empire was giving fulfilment to

them all without any failure; but’as God took him to himself so

soon he had no opportunity left of receiving from my imperial hands

magnificent and hazardous enterprises which my imperial person was

desirous of intrusting to him ; andif the said Director-General allowed

the manner and good customs in which I ought to be served, what

trouble is it to Your Honours to imitate him ?

Your Honour also referred in yours to the fact of being ready

to attack and make an assault upon the city of Columbo, at which my

imperial person was much pleased, because of the strength of the

enemy’s becoming daily weaker and of this being a good opportunity,

and moreover because the ships cannot remain longer at that bar,

all which I hold for the said reason to be very wise ; but for another

cause I regret it on account of my indispositions not giving me the

opportunity of being present at that time and seeing that fight, and if

there shall be any disorder, either in retiring or in attacking, to be able

in my imperial person to hasten to them and give them courage with my

imperial army in order that we may take that city of Columbo by

234 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL XVIII.

force of arms, for which purpose, with the favour and help of God,

by some means or other I must go this coming Sunday further

towards that my camp; and if in the meantime it appear well

to Your Honour and meet with your approval as right that you can

await my imperial arrival, you may do so; but if nevertheless you

meet with a good opportunity of being able to attack the said city with

safety and without risk of our honour and fame, it will be very well

done, for I am confident in God that we shall obtain a good victory

over those our enemies.

Your Honour also says in the last clause of your [letter] that they of

the city of Columbo released eight prisoners of my Hollanders, who had

escaped of the seventy-four, which were in exchange for eight Portu- .

guese who were captured in Calituré,**” and that to one or two had been

given certain instructions. Iwas very glad that Your Honour informed

me of the above, in order that no occasion might be given to any

outsiders to say that my Hollanders were treating without my imperial

leave on certain matters with my enemies. At the same time I shall

be glad to know what was done with the rest of the Hollanders who were

left: if they died from their neglecting to give them food, or from the

little care that they took of them in their sufferings; and likewise

what instructions they were that Your Honour gave to the two Portu- |

guese whom together with the others you sent back into the said city.

As regards the latter, if there should be anything secret, in whatever

way shall suit you best Your Honour can send advice to this imperial

court as seems well to you.

After the death of my Director-General I ordered that no salute should

be beaten in this my camp; but as I am about to marchefurther

forward nearer to the enemy, it is proper that they should continue

beating all the instruments by the way, and when my imperial person

arrives there it will be necessary to give the customary salutes ;

for thisreasonI make this announcement to Your Honour. At present

nothing further suggests itself. Our Lord, &c. From this great camp

and court of Raganvata, on the 6th of May, in the year 1656.

Rasa Sinca Ragu, Most Potent @ Emperor of Ceilaé.

Indorsement (in Dutch ):—Original missive in Portuguese, dato 6th

May, written by the King of Candia to Governor Adriaen van der

Meyden. ;

On the reading of this letter the Dutch council of war

resolved to make an assault on Colombo next morning.

This was accordingly done, and the bastion of 8. Joad was

captured and occupied, though the victory was dearly pur-

chased.*** Cannon having been placed on the captured bastion

and levelled upon the city, the position of the Portuguese

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. = 235

became untenable; and on May 10 an envoy appeared in the

Dutch camp to treat for terms of peace, which were actually

signed on the 12th.39 While these negotiations were taking

place the Dutch commander received the following letter

from Raja Sinha :—

[16.]

[I] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Greatest and Most

Potent Emperor of this far-famed Empire of Ceilaé, to

Adriaen Van der Meiden, Governor of my Imperial

Fortress of Gale, who is at the siege of the city

of Columbo, send much greeting.

In a letter that I wrote to Your Honour from this camp of Ragam-

vata on the 22nd of April! I dealt with the reason why my imperial

person had refrained from writing to that city of Columbo, which was

through fear that they might send forth from their stinking mouths

gome wicked words (as is the custom of that nation) which should be

to the discredit of this imperial court ; but if, on account of their

great ill-fortune and the evil of their sins, these Portuguese enemies

should send some wicked reply (if it should be so), this is the time to

give them the punishment for it as they deserve. For this reason,

along with this my imperial letter there go two, one to the General of

Columbo, the other to the citizens of the aa city, and the copy .

of them I send to Your Honour that you may see them; and if

it seem good to you and to your Council to send the said imperial

letters, Your Honour will treat with the dissavas who are there, and

ask them for two persons who shall be capable and trustworthy

to take them ; and if, on the other hand, in the said Council of Your

Honours it appears to you that itis not prudent to send the draft

of the said imperial letters on this occasion, let Your Honour

retain them in your possession, and Your Honour will advise this

imperial court of the cause for which you have refrained from doing

it, at which my imperial person will be much gratified. The reason

why I say this is simply that we may make an end with all speed, and

to relieve my Hollanders from the fatigue that for so long a time past

they have been suffering through this war. At present nothing

further suggests itself. Our Lord, &c. From this great camp and

court of Ragamvata, on the 11th of May, in the year 1656.

After I had written this imperial letter there arrived at this court

an ola from my dissavas written at 3 o’clock in the morning and

presented between 6 and 7 of the said day. In it they stated

that three Portuguese officers had come from that city of Columbo to

speak with Your Honour: one named Lourenco Fra, the second

Diogo Leita6, and the third Hieronimo de Lucena,’” and what they

came to discuss with Your Honour and the reply that yougave them,

236 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ Vou. XVITI.

all this they related in the said ola ; and from the draft of the said ola,

being written and set out in two other languages, it appears in my

imperial heart to be different and not in accord with the imperial

letters ; and for this cause if it seem good to you in your Council to

send the said letters, let Your Honour do as I have instructed you

hereabove.

Rasa SincA Rasv, Most Potent @ Emperor of Ceilaé.

Indorsement (in Dutch):—Original missive written by the King of —

Candia to Mr. Adriaan van der Meyden, in dato 11th May anno 1656.

The first of the documents referred to in the above letter

is as follows :—*

[17. ]

Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch and Greatest ne Most

Potent Hmperor of this far-famed Empire of Ceila6.

My imperial person and my Prince whom God sent into this world

continue in good and prosperous health for the protection of my loyal

and faithful Hoilanders, whom I esteem in my soul, and for the good of

my vassals and the destruction of our enemies.

To Antonio de Sousa Coutinho, General of Columbo, I send this

imperial letter. For so many months already you have been in this

siege with much honour and credit, and like a man whose profession is

_. that of arms defending this city ; but now that you can do no more,

it is time to no longer suffer the unfortunates to die, and to have pity

for the fatigues that they are enduring. Consider what is good for

you, for it is some time since my camp entered into this war,

although my imperial person did not go to see it, but now it is time to

know of its welfare, and also the condition in which that city of

Columbo is, &c. From this great camp and court of Ragamvata, on the

lith of eee in the year 1656.

Rasa Sinea Rasvu, Most Potent @ Emperor of Ceilad.

Indorsement (in Dutch) :—Original missive written by fis Royal

Majesty of Candia to the Colombo Portuguese Governor Anthony de

Sousa, iz dato 11th May, 1656.

The second document sent with Raja Sinha’s letter was as

follows :—18

18.)

Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Greatest and Most

Potent Emperor of this far-famed inepive of Ceilaé.

_ My imperial person and my Prince whom God sent into this world

continue in good and prosperous health for the protection of iny loyal

and faithful Hollanders, whom I esteem in my soul, and for the good

of my vassals and the destruction of our enemies.

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 237

To the citizens of Columbo I send this imperial letter. On this

occasion it befits my imperial person to send you these lines. Having

for many years been citizens of this city of Columbo, you have defended

it very well; therefore do not weary yourselves in vain or be

willing that your families perish ; because the trials that you are now

enduring my imperial person foretold to Dom MHieronimo de

Azevedo at the time that he came as ambassador to this imperial

court,‘ and in addition to thet in several letters that before and

after went therefrom I set forth ever the same. And in payment

of the great favours which the kings my predecessors showed to the

Portuguese, and the tyrannies with which they paid them, and the

benefits that my imperial person has bestowed upon you, the evils and

dishonours with which you have repaid me, for these aforesaid reasons,

God has given you this chastisement now. From this great camp and

court of Ragamvata, on the 11th of May, 1656.

Copy of the imperial letter that was sent to the citizens of Columbo.

DORE,

Indorsements (in Dutch):—(1) Sr. Blom.” [Be so good as?] to

translate these two short letters as soon as youcan, as they are waited

for. (2) Copy of Candian missive, in dato 11th May, 1656, written

to the inhabitants of the Columbo districts.

On the same day that the above were written Raja Sinha

sent another letter*#® to the Dutch commander stating that

he had heard rumours of an intended capitulation of Colombo,

and wished to know if it were true. He also referred to

certain promises made by Hulft. What these promises

were we learn from another letter,’’” written next day :—

eld

[I] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Greatest and

Most Potent Emperor of this far-famed Empire of

_ Ceilaé, to Adriaen Van der Meiden, Governor

of my Imperial Fortress of Gale, who is

in my camp, send much greeting.

The letter of Your Honour written on the 12th of May was

delivered at this imperial court at 7 o’clock at night on the same

12th day of the said month. Together with it came two copies of the

articles of the conditions of treaty which Your Honours had made

regarding the entry of that city of Columbo, both of which were of

the same purport ; and the articles which the Portuguese sent to Your

Honour did not come, which before Your Honour made them,

- for what reason did you not first write me a letter, and send it to this

imperial court by a person of trust, in order to let me know what was

to be treated of in your Council, because the said articles which Your

238 JOUKNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL SVAll.

Honour arranged with the Portuguese agree in no point with the

conditions of peace which we made and swore to in Batecalou ; nor

moreover do they fulfil what my much loved and valued Director-

General wrote me in his letters and what he promised in my imperial

presence, nor with what Your Honour after his death promised me

many times in your letters. In addition to all this Your Honour

treated with the Portuguese regarding the modeliares, araches, lascarins,

and other native folk of this Empire, that they should be well treated,

favoured, and honoured if they should remain under the orders of Your

Honour. When my imperial person heard this I had no desire to

know more as respects the other points, because I did not bring the

Dutch nation to this my Empire nor laboured up till now for them to

act thus towards me, and there is no cause for congratulation that

Your Honour should now act otherwise. Nothing further suggests

itself. Our Lord, &c. From this great camp and court of Ragamvata,

on Friday, at 10 o’clock at night, on the 12th of May of the year 1656.

Raga SinGA Rasu, Most Potent 8 Emperor of Ceilaé. |

Indorsement (tn Dutch) :—Original missive written by His Royal

Majesty of Candia to Governor Van der Meyden, in dato 12th May, 1656.

What Van der Meyden’s reply to the above was I do not

know; but the strained relations between the allies grew

worse daily, and frequent encounters took place between the

Dutch and Kandyan forces, while many lowcountry Sinha-

lese deserted the Hollanders and joined the royal ranks.

On May 21 the King sent the following letter® to the Dutch

commander :—

[ 20. |

[I] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Greatest and Most

Potent Emperor of this far-famed Empire of Ceilaé, to

Adriaen Van der Meiden, Governor of my Imperial

Fortress of Gale, send much greeting.

My imperial person took much trouble to get the Dutch nation

to come to this my Empire, and likewise when Admiral Adad

Vestrevolt arrived with the vessels of the fleet at this my Empire,

in the meantime my imperial person had gone to capture the fortress

of Baticalou, and in that very place I made conditions of peace with

the said nation; and after they had been made, sworn to, and

confirmed, the eitigere of the said nation who came to this my

Empire did not fulfil them so and in such manner as had been agreed.

And after this the captain of my imperial fortress of Gale, Brocardo

Coqx, whom they call Captain Coconut,*!? along with the Commissary

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 239

Pedro Kuieft,“" when they came to this my imperial court as

ambassadors, with their powers corroborated the said terms of peace,

swearing to them and confirming them in the same manner. And

when I gave them leave to go to my fortress of Gale they took with

them one of my dissavas*!? that they might give him charge of

the territories of Maturé; and there, on account of the many

disturbances that took place, they did not allow the said dissava to '

remain there, in order: to perform serviees for this court, which

was the cause of much loss and hurt to it; the which, although with

much pain of my imperial heart, I bore with patience ; and during this

time, my imperial person being exceedingly grieved and distressed,

there arrived at this my court my much loved and cherished Director-

General, bringing all the forces of Holland to perform all the things

touching my imperial service and to give fulfilment to these terms of

peace, that so my imperial person might rest content and satisfied ;

and when he appeared in person in my imperial presence he declared

by word of mouth that, as regarded all the mattersof dispute and

doubt which my imperial person had in my heart with respect to the

Dutch nation, I might abandon and be quit of them, for he gave me

his word, and in the name of the Company and the Prince of Orange,

to do everything to my imperial pleasure and contentment, giving up

to me the fortress of Nigumbo and the same city of Columbo, when

with the favour of God he should have taken it ; and that meanwhile

any Hollanders who might be necessary to my imperial service should

remain in this Empire and the rest he would take for the service of

the Company. For the aforesaid reasons I gave my Hollanders every

assistance in the way of succour and leave to take the city of Columbo ;

and since it was taken, of all the things promised from day to day they

have been ignored. At present, until the said Company and the

Prince of Orange know of these things, and take counsel as may

appear good to them, you [voges] may do your will, and as shall seem

best to you ; for as regards those who do not know God nor keep

their word, when I warn and rebuke them, I for my part shall hold to

God, &c.

Two imperial letters went from this court, and Your Honours

sent the replies to Jorge Blume in the Dutch language ; and they did

not touch on any point that was required in the reply to my imperial

letters. Let Your Honours write these rigmaroles to whomsoever

it may seem well to you, and not to my imperial person ; because the

Director-General having come with all the forces of Holland, Your

Honours now say that he brought them from Batavia, which

causes me much reflection, and when one speaks in this manner how

can we trust his words ?

The copy of this imperial letter goes translated into the Dutch

language in order that Your Honour may see it. Until the reply to

it comes the said Jorge Blume remains here to take my imperial

letter. At present nothing further suggests itself. Our Lord, &c.

H 66-04

240 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

From this great camp and court of Raganvata, on the 21st of May, in

the year 1656.

RaJa SINGA Kasv, Most Potent 8 Emperor of Ceilad.

In the translation of this imperial letter which goes in the Dutch

language several words have been added.

Indorsement (in Dutch) :—Original missive written by His Royal

Majesty of Candia to Governor Adriaan Van der Meyden, in dato

21st May, 1656.

We learn from Baldeeus*!* that with the Dutch ie caaton

of the above Joris Blom sent a statement of verbal complaints

made to him next-day (May 22) by the King, viz., that

certain rebels in Colombo, especially Gaspar Figueira,**

had not been delivered up to him, and that, of various

presents sent from Goa by the Viceroy for Raja Sigha, the

latter had received only two Persian cats, a sheep, &c.

Tothe King’s letter Vander Meyden sent a very conciliatory

reply,* which did not, however, have the desired effect

of appeasing his Kandyan Majesty, who on May 29 wrote

once more, but this time to Major Van der Laan, the “ enemy

of the Portuguese.” The royal letter ran as follows :—‘!¢

[21.]

[I] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Greatest and Most

Potent Emperor of this my far-famed Empire of Ceilaé, to the

Captain-Major Joad Vanderlan, send much greeting.

There arrived at this imperial court a letter from the Governor of

my imperial fortress of Gale," written on Wednesday, the 24th of

May. In it he informed me that my Director-General had on many

occasions spoken with him touching the delivering over of the fortress

of Nigumbo and city of Columbo, when they should have captured it,

and that he had said to him that he held it for certain that my

imperial intention would be to fortify the lesser and demolish the

greater part of that city.1* What my imperial person knows and holds

for certain is, that three times I have made terms of peace, confirmed

and sworn to, with the Dutch nation, and made capitulations thereof ;

and I have no knowledge of anything else. Wherefore,if Your Honours

wish that the said terms of peace continue, give fulfilment to that which

is agreed to in the capitulations thereof, and do not now seek to pro-

pound riddles.

_For the purpose of taking over the fortress of : Nigumbo I shall

send orders to the dissava of the Seven Corlas, that he go and take

—

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 241

possession of it ; therefore let Your Honours send what officers you wish

to carry out the handing over to him of the said fortress so and in

such manner as is agreed to in the said terms of peace. It has several

times come to my imperial notice that you had a wish to come to this

imperial court : for this reason, when the said officers are dispatched to

hand over the said fortress, let it be you who brings me the advice

thereof, coming to present yourself before my imperial person ; and

when you wish to depart first give notice of this to my dissavas. At

present nothing further suggests itself. Our Lord, &c. From this

great camp and court of Raganvata, on the 29th of May, in the year

1656.

With this there goes also a translation in the Dutch language.

Rasa Sinca Radu, Most Potent & Emperor of Ceilao.

Indorsement (in Dutch):—Original missive written by His Royal

Majesty of Candia to Mr. Joan Vanderlaan, ix dato 29th May, 1656.

As the King did not confine himself to mere complaints,

but showed his displeasure by various acts*!® of aggression,

the Dutch Governor and Council addressed to His Majesty a

letter*° of remonstrance and warning, at the same time asking

Raja Sinha to send some disavas to take over Negombo after

the fortifications had been destroyed. To further conciliate

the King there were sent with this letter a falcon and two

sparrow-hawks in charge of a Persian attendant. In acknow-

ledgment of this letter and present Raja Sinha wrote on

June 13, as follows :—**!

[ 22. | |

[1] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Greatest and Most

Potent Emperor of this far-famed Empire of Ceilaé,

to Adrianen Vander Meyden, Governor of my Imperial

Fortress of Galle, send much greeting.

The falcons which Your Honour sent to this imperial court with the

Persian who bore them arrived thereat on the past Saturday, which

was the 10th of this present month of June, and I was much pleased

with them. The said falcons arrived at this imperial court as if they

had not arrived, because the falconer who bore them had fallen sick.

When this my imperial letter reaches there, if the said falconer be

alive, send him without any delay to this imperial court, for my

imperial person will be gladdened thereby ; and if he continue sick

they will cure him here with much care and diligence. And since he

came from such a distance intrusted to this imperial court, it is right

and just that he should be accorded all that is due and all hospitality.

242 | JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

And if he cannot come on his feet Your Honour will be able to send

him in an andor,”? and my imperial person will esteem this service,

since it is done with much love and goodwill. And when he Wishes

to go I shall give him leave according to his wish.

The letter that Your Honour sent to this imperial court has been

given to be translated into the Portuguese language ; and when it is

translated, after it has been read in my imperial presence, conformably

thereto I shall send you the answer. At present nothing further

suggests itself. Our Lord, &c. From this great camp and court of

Reigamvata, on the 13th of June, 1656.

Raga Sxinca Ragu, Most Potent @ Emperor of Ceilas.

- Note in. Dutch on face :—Received 19th June, 1656.

Indorsement (in Dutch) :—Original missive written by His Royal

Majesty of Candia to Governor Adriaan Van der Meyden, in dato

13th June, 1656.

To pacificate His Majesty Van der Meyden wrote consenting

to the Persian falconer’s staying at the royal court at any

rate until the Dutch ships were ready to sail for Gombroon.

At the same time the Dutch who were with the King wrote -

urging the sending of the falconer and the bird as soon as

possible, in order to expedite their own departure. Soon

after some more hawks and other presents arrived from

India for the King ; but whether or not they were forwarded

does not appear. Probably not: for Raja Sinha continued

his hostilities. Atlength Joris Blom, the interpreter, whose:

position was becoming daily more unsafe, managed to effect

his escape at night in a boat, having first made the guards.

drunk.*3

In reply to a later letter from the Dutch Give Raja

Sinha wrote on October 23 of the same year, as follows :—*”*

[23.]

[I] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Greatest and Most

Potent Emperor of this far-famed Empire of Ceila6, to Adriaen

Vander Myden, Governor of the Hollanders who are at

present in this my Empire, send greeting.

The letter which you wrote on the 10th of this present month of

October was delivered on the 11th of the said month. After the

terms ef peace were concluded in Baticalou there were some disagree-

ments. But my imperial person healed them, simply that my lawful

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 243

vassals and the Hollanders who were to serve like themselves might

live in much quiet, and for the increase of my imperial fame, and that

the Company might get great profits: and this is what I have in my

imperial heart ; and if they will not understand, God will find a

remedy.

You state in your letter that the Governor-General of Batavia will

be very sorry. If the said Governor-General and the Company are

persons who keep their words, they have reason to be sorry, and if

this shall go on after this manner there will follow more and more

SOrrows.

In times past the Dutch nation has declared to me many things,

and in all that I have found no truth. When my imperial person

summoned the said Dutch nation to this my Empire the principal

cause was that they might help me, and likewise capture the city of

Columbo : since the most serene and famous Raju who was King of

Ceitavaca laid several sieges to it? and could not take it, and for this .

reason I took into my imperial heart to capture it; and that they

might serve me like my own vassals ; and after capturing the said city

they did things which are now patent to all the world, and of aut this

whatever they shall find out in course of time[ * e od ees

that they will practise ; and for these aforesaid reasons my EN

person is no longer free in this. |

The Portuguese have written a letter to this imperial court; along

with this I send a copy thereof that you may see it. ‘The said Portu-

guese, in spite of the ills that I have done them, and the other

strangers are esteeming me very well, &c. From this great camp and

court of Ragamvata, on the 23rd of October, 1656.

Raga Sinca Ragu, Most Potent & Emperor of Ceilaé.

Indorsement (in Dutch) -—1656. Original missive, dato 23rd October,

written by the King of Candia to Governor Adriaen van der Meyden.

As Raja Sinha’s hostilities continued increasingly, the

Dutch proceeded, after repeated warnings, to drive him and

his forces from the vicinity of Colombo and from his camp

at Rayigamwatta.*2”7 This took place on November 10 and 11,

1656; and for a time all communications between the erst-

while allies ceased, whilst the Portuguese at Jaffna, to

whom the King made overtures, sent back his envoy with

contumely.#® After the final expulsion of the Portuguese

from Oeylon, however, following on the capture, in the

early part of 1058, of Manndar and Jaffna by the Dutch, the

latter appear to have made approaches to the Kandyan

244 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

monarch, with a view to the re-establishment of peaceful |

relations ; for we find Raja Sinha writing on peice 14

of that year to Ryklof van Goens, as follows :—+* he

[24. ]

[1] Raja Singa Rafe, Most Exalted Monarch and Greatest and Most

Potent Emperor of this my far-famed Empire of Ceilaé, &c., to the

Admiral-General of the Naval Fleet, Captain-General & Sea and —

Land, and Superintendent of ne Dutch nation in this my

Empire of Ceilad, send much greeting.

On Friday, which was the 8th of this present month of November,

there came to my imperial notice that Your Honour had arrived

at this my Empire of Ceilaé, ° and at this same time there took place

an act of treason against my imperial person,**! such as happened to

no monarch of this monarchy, the causes being explained to Your

‘Honour in these few lines, in consequence of which it was not possible

to dispatch the messenger with the reply to the letters of Your Honour.

One of these [causes] is the observing of the festivals of our

God,*? which have not been held for some years past by reason of the

wars and my imperial absence, extending for some days beyond the

accustomed time, which the same messenger moreover has seen. The

other is that after the messenger had received his answer and was

prepared to go with the letter already sealed, there happened to me

that some traitorous vassals of this my Bag attempted to practise

treason against me by means of poison and sorceries, which some ten

or twelve years ago my imperial person succeeded in discovering every

time, and punishing them up to the present with great penalties, which

it pleased God to be again discovered: whereupon I commanded to

execute upon them, as I have done, the punishment which such treason

and falsehood merits ;** and yet with all this they did not resolve to

cease from their evil intents and wicked purposes; on account of which

act my imperial person, and the prelates and friars of our Jaw and the

nobles of this court, with the other royal vassals, both of the low and

high country, are doing all that is possible to utterly extinguish all

these traitors. And if with the favour of God we shall put an end to

all these things, and my imperial person continue in perfect health, as

I trust he will grant me, I shall reply to the letters of Your Honour, and

also send a trusty person from this imperial court to learn of your

welfare and present to you my compliments on the victories you have

gained, accompanied by a gift and present that your person merits ;

and in case my imperial person (which God forefend) be not in perfect

health, { remind Your Honour that the Dutch nation has never had any

agreement or contract with my imperial person, nor I with it, but only

at a summons of mine, without further delay or waiting they came and

made terms of peace with my imperial person, one of the conditions

being that we were to be friends of friends and enemies of enemies,

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 245

as they have up till now proved, driving the Portuguese enemies from

_ this my Empire, and placing my vassals in subjection to my imperial

crown, whereby they have always served me with much fervour, love,

and loyalty, shedding their blood and giving their lives, with great

expenses and costs. For which aforesaid reasons I enjoin on Your

Honours by the love which you have always shown me in the affairs of

my imperial service, that you do all that is possible to obtain satisfac-

tion of all the traitors and sorcerers until their tenth generations who

may be against my imperial crown, because in this you will do great

services to God, and the Dutch nation will acquire great fame, and you

will be esteemed among the monarchs of the world. Having com-

manded the messenger Fre°. Van den Berch* to be called into my

imperial presence, and having asked him if he wished to go with this,

he declared to me that having brought a letter with such good news,

and expecting to take back one of a more cheerful character, he could

not take this of such a sad nature: this is the reason why I send this

to Your Honour by another ; and along with this imperial letter there

also goes one from him. Nothing further suggests itself. Our Lord,

&c. From this imperial city of Candea, 14th of November, 1658.

Raga Sinca Rasu, Most Pctent & Emperor of Ceilaé.

All the traitors who shall attempt these treasons, or who shall be of

their factions, if they flee to Your Honours, or if they seek the help of

the Dutch nation, of whatever rank thev may be, both high and low, or

captives and strangers, of whatever nation they may be, I enjoin on

Your Honour that you send them to me with good guards as they

deserve; and let not Your Honour help them nor show them any favour,

nor the ether officers or soldiers of Your Honour.

Indorsement (in Dutch):—Received 17th November, in Colombo.

In May, 1659, Governor Van der Meyden, with a mixed

force of various nationalities, defeated and expelled Raja

Sinha’s troops from Kalpitiya,** but the King seems to have

taken no notice of the occurrence ;*° and in the next

letter**’ we find him suffering from fever as well as troubied

by traitors :— _ |

(25.]

Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Most Magnificent

and Most Potent Emperor of this far-famed Empire

of Ceilaé, to the Governor of Gale.**®

At the end of February, an unlucky time, I came from the city to

the river to my imperial palace, and likewise to view some elephant

fights ;*° and in the meantime I was attacked with fever, from

which I am at present suffering. For which reasons I send these few

lines in order to let Your Honour know. Nothing further suggests

246 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Voun. XVIII.

itself. God keep Your Honour, &c. From the country residence of

Bibile,““° on Monday, at 10 o’clock, the 21st of June, in the year 1660.

Those who in times past infected my imperial person with poison,

sorceries, and treasons I resolved to put an end to by utterly destroy-

ing them, as was patent to Your Honour and to your ensign,“! who on

that occasion was present at this imperial court, who doubtless, it

appears to me, would relate all these occurrences, as being present at

them, and also in many other ways. And now with this severe indis-

position, if God our Lord shall cast his divine eyes upon my imperial

person, of those who serve me well with love and loyalty I shall

advise Your Honour, and moreover if any one come from thence to see

my imperial person in these afflictions I shall also display it to him, in

order that he may remain on terms of friendship with those pee serve

me with fidelity. Our Lord, &c.

Ev Res*” SINGA

RAJa RaJvu.

Just a month later the King addressed another letter to

the Dutch commandeur of Galle, as follows :—

[ 26. ]

[I] Raja Singa Raju, Most Exalted Monarch, Most Potent and

_ Most Magnificent Emperor of this far-famed Mmpire of

Ceilad, send much greeting to the Governor of

my Fortress of Gale.

When my imperial person brought the Dutch nation to this my

Empire of Ceilad it was that it might be in all things under my

orders and service, and in obedience, fidelity, loyalty, and love, more

than my native subjects ; and I always thought that in my afflictions

you were remembering it. Let it be now present to Your Honours ; and

therefore I chose you from among the many nations and strangers, and

with double love honoured you, who also came doing your duty until

recent times; and in these last few[ years | several things happened which

T held for afflictions, and after they had passed I informed Your Honours

of my indisposition ; and nowon this occasion you delay so much with

the reply to my imperial letier, a thing which you never did before.

I God our Lord do not :know how the time has changed, and until

to-day I never thought in my imperial heart that Your Honours would

show such dilatoriness in my affairs and service. However, God is

great. Of late, when I was indisposed, I went several times to stay in

my country residence of Nilamba*t on account of its being a cool and

beautiful place in the interior on a flank of the mountains,’ where my

imperial person got benefit, and now I have come to the city on account

of the perérus,“* and am about to leave for the said country residence

of Nilamba to see if I can there with the favour of God get well of my

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 247

illnesses, and after gaining health with joy return to my imperial

city.47 Nothing further suggests itself. God keep Your Honours.

Wednesday, 11 o’clock in the day, 21st of the month of ‘ uly, in the

year 1660.

Evi ReJ RAJA

SINGA RaAJv.

Towards the end of this year a soldier was sent by the

Dutch with a letter to Raja Sinha, but the nature of the

communication is not stated.442 No answer was received

from the King, who detained the messenger, as he had kept

previous envoys, as aprisoner. It was resolved therefore in

future to send only natives as messengers.**9

In 1664 occurred the rebellion against Raja Sinha, which

almost cost him his throne, and caused him to flee for safety

to the fortresses of Hanguranketa, whence he addressed

letters to the Dutch couched in a humble strain, and asking

for assistance against his enemies.*"

During the next twenty-three years, until the King’s death

in December, 1687,*! letters continued to pass between him

and the Dutch ; but none of the correspondence seems to have

come down to us. The tenor of the communications is,

however, given in the Beknupte Historie,” to which I would

refer the curious reader.

NOTES.

1This is the date given by Baldzeus (Ceylon, p. 44e), and I believe

it to be the correct one. The Mahadwansa (Wijésinha’s translation,

chap. XOV., v. 26) says that Sererat “reigned seven years ;” and

this statement has led writers on Ceylon history into the utmost

confusion. But the word translated ‘‘reigned ” (¢hito) means simply

“lived” or “continued ;” and I suspect that the “seven years ” spoken

of followed the partition of the kingdom described in the preceding

verses (see next note). The Rdjdvaliya (Gunasékara’s translation,

p. 101) says that “Senarat reigned twenty-five years and died at the

expiration of 1555 years of the Saka era.’”’ As Senarat’s reign began

probably in 1605, if it lasted twenty-five years it must have ended

in 1630 ; while Saka 1555 + 78 = 1633. That he died before 1634

and probably before 1633, appears certain from the fact that on 15th

April, 1633, a treaty was iiched into between the Portuguese and

“King Maastana,” 2.¢., Raja Sinha i. (see note * infra).

248 : JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

[Since this paper has gone to press I have found in J. F. Judice

Biker’s Colleccao de Tratados, &c., t. IL., p. 38 et seq., full details of the

treaty of peace made with the King of Kandy in 1633, from which it

would seem that Senarat, though no longer reigning, was still living.

The date of his death is, therefore, uncertain, but was probably 1633.

or 1634.]

?See Mahawansa, chap. XCV., vv. 21-25, and Knox, Hist. Rel.,

p. 33, for details of the partition. None of the authorities states how

long before Senarat’s death this division took place (but see previous

note, and cf. Raja Sigha’s letter of September 9, 1636, infra).

3 According to Baldzus (wu.s.) and the Mahawansa (chap. XOVL.,

v.4). The Rdjdvaliya says that “ Kumarasinha had died before that

date ” (7.e., of Senarat’s death). See also Cey. Lit. Reg., IL., p. 54.

4 See Cey. Lit. Reg., 1V., pp. 61-62, and footnotes, IL., p. 415 ; Raja-

valiya, p. 102. The Batavia Dagh-Registers for 1641-42 and 1643-44

contain'several references to this prince ; and the latter Dagh-Register

gives (pp. 255-258) the translation of a curious letter written by Vijaya-

pala from Colombo to the Dutch, asking for their friendship and help.

This letter seems to confirm the statement of the Rdjavaliya (u.s.)

that Vijayapala resided for three years in Colombo before leaving for

Goa, as against Ribeiro’s assertion that he sailed thither in December,

1641 (perhaps this last date is a mistake for 1644). See further

regarding Vijayapala, infra, notes 7 and 7°,

° See Raja Sinha’s letter, infra.

6 According to Gunasékara’s English translation of the Rdajavaliya,

Raja Sinha “sent letters to the Jagadaraé in Holland with a view to

bring the Dutch into this country and with their assistance to compel

the immediate surrender of Colombo.” Inthe glossary at the beginning

of this edition the word Jagadarda is explained as follows : ‘‘ Customs

officer or collector. From the context it would seem to mean here ‘ the

Government.’”” The learned translator has here fallen into a most

extraordinary blunder. I suppose he has taken Jagadara as the

Sinhalese corruption of jerquer; whereas in fact it is simply an

attempt to represent the original name of Batavia, viz., Jacaira

(which, of course, is not in Holland but in Java ; but the Rdjavaliya

compiler’s notions of geography were vague). It will be seen from

the letters below that Raja Sinha almost always uses the name Jacatra

—rarely Batavia. :

7 Whether the original of this letter is still in existence I cannot say.

Baldeeus gives a translation of it in his work on Ceylon (chap. XVII.

of Dutch ed.). The English translation (from the German version) in

Churchill’s Collection of Voyages gives the substance pretty accurately ;

but as this is Raja Sigha’s first letter to the Dutch, with whom he for

_ $0 many years subsequently carried on a correspondence (not always

of a very cordial nature), and as there are a number of.mistakes in

the spelling of names in Baldzus’s version, I have thought it well to

No. 50.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 249

give a fresh translation from the Dutch version, pointing out im

footnotes any errors, discrepancies, &c. In these notes G indicates the

German version and £ the English translation. I have enclosed in

brackets [ ] some words that I believe to be interpolations by Baldzeus.

Sq and E “ Raja.”

9@ “ Zeylon.”

Gq and E “ Settevaca.”

gq and & “ Jafnapatnam,” and so further on.

2G and E “ Ouva.”

13q and E “ Quatrecorle.”

4G and E “ Settecorle.”

5g and E “ Trinquenemale,” and so further on.

% & “Valefebuitena.”’ The. Portuguese original didieiate had

‘“‘ Velase, Bintena,’”’ which the Dutch transcriber has confounded i in the

above form.

W Here again the anette has made a hash, “ Panoa, Patoveta,”’

representing some such forms in the Pertiiutad original as “ Pancia-

pato”’ = Pallesiyapattu, and “ Evaeta” = Héwédheta (cf. Valentyn,

Ceylon, p. 2002).

18g and E ‘ Putelaon.”

'8 Stc for “ Vallave.”

70 Sic for “ Uranura’”’ (Udunuwara).

2 ‘Yatinuwara.

22 Sic for “ Tumpane.”

3 Ste for “‘ Arcepato ” (Harispattu).

4G and E “ Caleture.”’

7>q and E “* Negombo.”

76g and E ‘‘ Calpentyn.”

27 Cf. this list with those given in Baldzus, Ceylon, chap. L.;

Valentyn, Ceylon, pp. 19-20, 200 2; W. Schouten (C. A.S. Journ., XL.,

p. 343) ; and Cey. Lit. Rep. II., pp. 59, 335, and 381.

3 Portugees (singular).

”? For “ Balane.”

30 Sie either for “ Allago” (Alawwa) or more probably for ‘ So-

fragao.”

3t For “ Matiagama ’==Mattégama (see U.L.R., 1V., pp. 155 n, 132 x).

#G@ has “500 Portuguese soldiers and captains.” & has “500

Portuguese inhabitants.”

*3 For details of these engagements between the Portugueseand Siyha-

ese see Bocarro, Dec. XITI., caps. CXI.-CXIV., CLX VITI.-CLXIX.,

CUXXITI. -OLXXIV. (cf. UL. HH... V.,.pp. 20, oe 56). The Lr an

of terms of peace between the Be eeants is described by Bocarro in

cap. CLXXTYV. as follows :—“ The King of Candia continued trying to

procure peace with the Portuguese, as we have said above, for which

purpose he sent ambassadors and Domingos Rodriguez, o Troao and

Balthasar Ribeiro with some thirty other Portuguese. Regarding

250 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL XVIII.

which the General took counsel, and sent to advise the Viceroy at Goa,

where the letters arrived this winter, and having been laid before the

Council, it was found that the King of Candia, called Anaras [read

Enarat| Pandar, begged that the State would make peace with him in

perpetuity, he making himself a vassal of His Majesty, with the

obligation of paying as tribute yearly four elephants of five cubits

each, one thousand amanoes [ammunams] of areca, and two hundred

bares of cinnamon (all of which was of great importance), begging

that His Majesty would confirm him in the kingdom, and to three

sons [sic] that he had. And the terms of peace appearing to all to be

very honourable, they agreed that they should be granted to him, with

the proviso, however, that the confirmation of the kingdom, seeing that

it pertained to His Majesty (by the dotation of it that had been made

to him by Dom Joao, the prince his rightful heir, who went to Portugal,

and whose name had been assumed by the rebel Nicapety Bandar),

should be granted to him in such a manner that there should always be

room for His,Majesty to take possession of it, on the State’s having the

forces which were now so necessary for the enemies of Europe. The

King of Candia also promised to build anew at his own cost the fortress

of Balané, and to hand it over with all the artillery and other things that

he had taken therein ; and that he would consent to the erection of a

fortress in Candia, and the quartering therein of a garrison of

Portuguese ; all of which, with the other conditions, appeared very

favourable, and so the General Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira sent as

ambassador to Candia Diogo de Sousa da Cunha, a casado in Columbo,

and the father Frei Gaspar da Magdalena and another friar of the

order of St. Francis ; and because, when the king proposed terms of

peace with the said conditions, the rebel Nicapety was having great

success, acclaimed as king by the whole island, the fear of whom drove

him to seek to ally himself with the Portuguese, on seeing the many

times that we defeated him, and that he had little to fear from him,

he proceeded to renounce most of the conditions ; whereupon there

ensued many debates on both sides, and in spite of lacking the restitu-

tion of the fortress of Balané and the granting of a fortress in Candia

and the rest of the points of the tribute, peace was concluded with

him solely with the condition of his becoming a vassal of His Majesty,

with two elephants as tribute ; Barreto thus being left, making war on

the two dissavas of Sofragio and Maturé, having them for himself, and

being ruler of them. The which terms of peace were proclaimed in

Columbo on the 17th of August, 1617.” Danvers |(Report on Port.

Records, p.133) says :—‘‘. . . on the death of D. Catharina, Portuguese

troops were sent to take possession of the kingdom of Kandy ; they

were however repulsed, and on the 24th [sic] August, 1617, a treaty

was signed with the King of Kandy, under which, in return for an

acknowledgment of his sovereignty by the King of Portugal, he

agreed to pay a tribute of two elephants yearly, to suppress any rising

within his dominions, to give up all the Portuguese taken at Balané,

No. 55.—1904.| RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 251

to send as hostages people of position, and to release all captives who

might be Christians.” (See also C.A.S. Journ., XI., pp. 467-468.)

4G “ Constantinus de Saa” ; E “ Constantine de Saa.”

35 Frey Francisco Negrio (see Faria y Sousa, tom. IT., pt. IV., cap.

IIT.).

_ % The English translation in Churchill’s Collection has ‘“‘ the Emperor

happening to die,” which is not justified by either the German or the

Dutch version.

37 g “Ouve ;”’ £ has “ Dukedom of Ouve.”

38 G “ Peldzeugmeister,”’ ; E ‘‘ Colonel of the Artillery.”’

3% @ “ Gros Capitéins ;” © ‘ Governor ” (sic in singular).

40 For fuller details of the events that occurred during Constantino de

Sa’s Generalship see his son’s Rebelion de Ceylan (translated by Lieut.-

Col. St. George in C.A.S. J1., XI) ; also Faria y Sousa, tom. IIL., parts

III. and IV.; and Ribeiro, bk. II., chaps. I.- I.; Rajavaliya, Eng. trans.,

_p.101. The periods of time mentioned by Raja Sinha in connection

with the occurrence of events are not correct. ;

41 This name, which might lead some unwary reader into a belief in the

existence in Ceylon of traces of the Rama epos, is merely an ingenious

misreading by the Dutch transcriber of Manicaravare, the Portuguese

form of the Sinhalese Menikkadavara, near the village of which name

in the Three Koralés the Portuguese long had a fortified post (see

Bell’s Rep. on the Kégalla Dist., 1892, pp. 30-32).

2 ¢S. Thome ;” E ‘St. Thomas.”

43 See Faria y Sousa, t. III., pt. IV., cap. XIV. Raja Sinha omits

to mention that he was defeated by Jorge de Almeida in 1631, and

himself obliged to sue for peace (see Ribeiro, lib. II., cap. IT.); and that

it was the threats of Diogo de Mello that brought about the treaty of

1633. In Danvers’s Rep. on Port. Records, p. 134, the terms are

given as follows :—‘ That the dominions of Kandy shall be divided

among three kings, sons of Queen D. Catharina, lawful heiress of

these territories, and as Kandy is the principal kingdom, he, the King,

Maastana, is the chief ; that all thieves be handed over to either side,

together with their plunder ; that neither side break the peace and

declare war without giving notice and the reasons for doing so ; that

the fortress of Batecalou be the property of Portugal, but the land

about it the property of the King, who is, however, not to approach

within 2,000 paces of the fort ; that the King of Kandy’s tribute of

two elephants be reduced to one elephant per annum for six years ; that

a prelate of the order of 8. Francisco be allowed to reside in Kandy

to minister to the religious wants of any Christians who may be there ;

and that on peace being signed the King of Kandy shall give up all

captains and other Portuguese whom he may haveas prisoners.” This

treaty was concluded on April 15, 1633.

“When Batticaloa capitulated to the Dutch in May, 1638, fifty

natives said to have been concerned in this murder were impaled by

the king’s orders (see Baldseus, Ceylon, chap. XXI.).

252 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

45 @ has ‘‘ shall rejoice us with their light.”

46 5 has “ shall continue in the firmament.”

47 See W. van Geer’s Opkomst van het Nederl. Gezag over Ceilon,

p. 34. 3

‘8 Afterwards Governor of Malacca, and subsequently a member

of the Council of India. Valentyn gives his name as Jan Thyszoon .

Payart. Baldzeus (Ceylon, p. 44 /) states that it was by order of the

Council at Batavia that Thyssen was sent as one of the envoys.

See Baldezeus, chap. XVIII. (XIX. of English trans.) ; also

summary in C.A.S. Journ., XI., p. 29.

See Baldeus, loc. cit.; also Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., p. 69, where a

translation of the letter (dated November 21, 1637) is given. ?

— 51 See Baldzeus, loc. cit.; also summary in C.A.S. Journ., XI., p. 30.

22 The Dutch translation in Baldeus has :—‘‘ The aforesaid Ship

Governor writes me of one or two cargoes of pepper ; y. K may perhaps

send five ships, in order to capture the fortress of Batecalo, and to

erect another in those ports, also to take all the cinnamon that

might be there.” For “Ship Governor” the German version has

simply ‘“ Governor,” and instead of “pepper” it has “ cimnamon.”

If Karel Reyniers was the person referred to as ‘‘ Scheeps Gu. verneur”

(a curious title), certainly there is in his letter of October 20, 1637,

no reference to pepper ; but he may have written the King a subse-

quent letter. ‘ Die havenen” (‘‘those ports”’) 1s, I think, a misprint

for “die haven” (“that port”); though the German version has

“und einige andere, sich in die Hafen zu machen ;” and the English

translation quite incorrectly says, “‘“and some other vessels to other

harbours, in order to take in all the cinnamon that is to be had

there.”

3 'The English translation has, ‘‘ and then are to return to Jacatra,

in order to return afterwards with all possible speed to the harbour of

Columbo,” &c.; which, though justified by the German version, is not

im accordance with the statement of the Dutch, and is a manifest

blunder. |

54 See description in Baldeeus, chap. XTX. (English translation, chap.

XX.).

5 Regarding this man see Cey. Lit. Reg., I11., p. 159.

°6 Baldeus says, ““110 men and 70 soldiers.””. The English trans-

lation wrongly has “ 180 men and 70 soldiers.”’

The Danes, undeterred by the ill-success of the expedition to

Ceylon under Boschhouwer and Ove Giedde in 1618-20, seem to have

at this time renewed their attempts to gain a footing in the Island,

Danvers’s Rep. on Port. Records says (p. 152) :—“ The President of

the Danish East India Company (Bernard Pessar), who was then on

friendly terms with the Portuguese, informed the Viceroy, under date

the 21st September, 1637, that the Dutch were preparing to blockade

Malacca, Ceylon, and Goa.’’. And elsewhere (p. 134) :—“ In the year

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 253

1637 the Danes endeavoured to establish a factory in Ceylon, but this

was vigorously opposed by the Portuguese Viceroy, and they were in

consequence unsuccessful. Later on in the year the President of the

Danish Company infermed the Viceroy that the Dutch were preparing

forees to blockade Malacca, Ceylon, and Goa, and he offered to assist

the Portuguese in the defence of Tranquebar or Negapatam, in

consideration of his Company being allowed to settle a factory in

Ceylon. This offer, however, appears to have led to no better results,

for it appears that in the following year the Danes renewed their offer

to assist the Portuguese against the Dutch in Ceylon if they would

permit them to buy areca, elephants, and cinnamon there ; bui the

Portuguese Council considered that this offer could not be entertained

without a treaty being first entered into for that purpose by their

respective kings. Notwithstanding these repeated refusals, in April,

1638, the President of the Danish Company sent provisions and ammu-

nition to the Portuguese in Ceylon, which, for some unexplained reason,

seem never to have reached them ; he further offered to send money

to pay their soldiers if the Portuguese would agree to let him purchase

elephants and cinnamon at a fair price, but I have been unable to find

any evidence that this request was more favourably received than

those previously made.” The ‘“ President of the Danish East India

Company” (sic), who made these offers of help to the Portuguese,

was Baerent Pessaert, a former servant of the Dutch East India

Company, who, having quarrelled with his employers, took service with

the Danes, and was sent out in 1636 to succeed Roelant Crape as head

of the factory at Tranquebar. His offers to the Portuguese were

made partly out of revenge towards his fellow-countrymen. Regarding

this action of his, I have found no references in the Danish or Dutch

authorities, who, however, give numerous details of his (often

unscrupulous) doings and of his tragic death in June, 1645 (see

Schlegel’s Samlung zur Dénischen Geschichte, I., [V., pp. 168-175 ; Bat.

Dagh-Registers, 1636 et seq.; Reizen van Georg Andriesz, pp. 81-82).

See Baldeeus, chap. XX. (Eng. trans., chap. XXI.) ; also summary

in C.A.8. Journ., XI., p. 32.

°° So Coster says in his letter translated in Cey. Lit. Reg., II., p. 44.

Baldzeus makes it April 2nd.

8 See accounts in Baldzus, pp. 449-44h, 54-55 (Eng. trans., chap.

XXI.), and Ribeiro (lib. II., cap. IV.). These two writers assign

totally different reasons for the undertaking of this punitive ex-

pedition ; both may be right, however.

*! By an unaccountable blunder Baldzeus makes this 14th April, and

describes the interview as being between Coster and the king. But

see Coster’s own letter, ix loc. cit. supra.

@ Cf. Rajavaliya, Eng. trans., p. 102.

° For further details see Coster’s letter ub: supra, and Baldzus, chap.

XXTI. (Eng. trans., chap. XXII.). The former says nothing of the

impalement of fifty Smmhalese by the king.

254. JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

6 Given in full in Baldzus, loc. cit. Ribeiro (lib. IL, cap. V.) gives

a very inaccurate account of the negotiations between Raja Sinha and

the Dutch, and the principal features of a treaty which, he says, was

agreed to in March, 1638.

65 The 10th article provided that, ‘‘It shall be permitted to the

neighbours of Dauet and Tanzouwer, but no others, to come and go with

their boats and mantimentos in His Majesty’s dominions.” The English

translation has “ the neighbouring nations of Dauey and Tanjouwer.”

By Dauei (for Davei) doubtless the Maldives are intended. In his

letters to the Dutch Government of Ceylon in the 18th century the

Sultan of those islands called his kingdom Divehi Rajjeé.

6 See W. van Geer, Opkomst, &c., pp. 41-42.

6&7 See Coster’s letters of 14th June and 2nd July in Cey. Lit. Reg. Cab

p. 52. The story of a serious Portuguese loss, retailed in the late

letter on the testimcny of the native ‘‘Governor” of Batticaloa

district, is clearly a cock-and-bull invention (cf. W. van Geer, op. cit.,

pp. 43-44).

68 See Baldzeus, loc. cit.

69 See Coster’s letter of 31st December, 1638, in Cey. Lit. Reg., IT.,

p. 52.

70 See Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., p. 76.

1 See Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., p. 59.

72T do not know when Coster left Batticaloa for Goa, whither he had

been ordered to go to inform Admiral Caen of the condition of affairs

in Ceylon. He was to have gone in the Valck apparently ; but this

vessel seems to have been; lost (see Coster’s letter of 31st December,

ubi supra). We next hear of him as Vice-Commander of the Dutch

fleet that captured Trincomalee in April, 1639.

73 According to W. van Geer (Opkomst, &c., p. 46), Caen’s whole

fleet had on 12th March dropped anchor before Colombo, expecting to

be supported in an attack on that fort by the Kandyan forces operating

from the land side (cf. Baldzus, end of chap. XXI.). But finding no’

sign of Raja Sinha’s troops, the Dutch Admiral, after some interchange

of cannon shots, sailed in disgust towards the end (rather in the early

part) of April ae Trincomalee.

74 See Cey. Lit. Reg., I1.,p. 180; and C.A.S. Journ., X., p. 123 et seg.

Ribeiro (lib. II., chap. VI.) gives a very erroneous ore of the

capture of Babtionlen and Trincomalee, both of which places, he says,

were taken by the Hollanders in February, 1639.

75 The King himself acted in a similar fashion at the recapture of

Negombo in 1644,

76 See C.A.S. Journ., X., pp. 123-140 ; W.. van Geer, Opkomst, &e.,

pp. 47-48 ; Cey. Lit. ey 5 LL pele:

77 See W. van Geer, op. cit., p. 48.

78 See the extract from the Gouneil’s letter of 9th November, 1638,

to Caen, in W. van Geer’s Opkomst, &c., p.46 ne 3

11688.

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 255

™See W. van Geer, op. cit., p. 52. The letter is dated 24th August,

° See Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., p.116 ; W. van Geer, op. cit., pp. 48-52 ; and

Bijlage, IV.

‘See W. van Geer, op. cit., pp. 52, 53, and footnote containing

extract from letter of Lucasz, in hiieh he calls Raja Sinha “ this sly

fox,’ who wished to make the Dutch a catspaw.

* See Cey. Lit. Reg., IV., p. 22 n.

3 For details of the ne of Negombo see Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., pp-

76, 99, 117, 142; Ribeiro, lib. II., cap. VIL.

“See Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., pp. 75, 142, 381, 382, 117-119; W. van Geer,

op. cit., p. 55-58, and Bijl., V.

£ See Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., pp. 76, 142; also C.A.S. JI. XVII, pp.

370-373 ; Baldeeus, chap. XXII. (XXIII. of Eng. fecari ); and

Ribeiro, lib. If., cap. VII. A full and graphic account of the siege

and capture of Galle is given by Father Fernio de Queiroz, in caps.

12-15 of his Conquista Temporale Espiritual de Ceilao, a translation

of which account by Mr. F. H. de Vos is printed in the C.A.S. Jl.

Cf. W. van Geer, op. cét., pp. 59, 60, and footnote.

6 See Cey. Lit. Reg., II., p. 118; \W. van Geer, op. cit., pp. 60-63,

and Bijl., V. and VI. ; C.A.S. Jl. RVI: pr: 373.

87 See Cey. Lit. Reo: Seep, 335.

8 See Cey. Lit. Reg., ae p. 336.

°° For details of Coster’s embassy to Kandy and his murder see Cey,

Lit. Reg., I1., pp. 334-336, 342, 343, 350 (cf. also W. van Geer, op.

cet.. pp. 63-65, and Bijl., VI.). It is probable that Coster, like

Sebald de Weerd, brought his fate upon himself by his violent temper

and contemptuous behaviour towards the Sinhalese. The Dutch

writers themselves admit this.

® See Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., pp. 350, 37 ; W. van Geer, op. cit., pp. 65, 66,

and Bijl., VI. This officer was, however, soon afterwards convicted of

conspiring with some natives to steal certain valuable property of

Coster’s from the chests the latter had left in Galle, and had a very

severe sentence passed upon him (see C.A.S. J1., XVIL., pp. 347-352).

Cy. CrACS. Jl, X VIL, p. 338 ff.

% See Ribeiro, lib. II., cap. VIII.; Cey. Lit. Reg., 11., pp. 357, 38.

% See Cey. Lit. Reg., IL., pp. 366, 414, 20.

% See Ribeiro, loc. cit.; and Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., pp. 6, 367, 374; W.

van Geer, op. cit., pp. 68, 69, and Bijl., VIII.-X. ; C.A.S. Jl. XVIL +» PP-

364-369, 259 ff.

% See Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., pp. 375, 381, 392, 398.

% See Cey. Lit. Reg., IT., p. 413.

7 Ribeiro, lib. IL., cap. XIL. W. van Geer, op. cit., pp. 83-87 ; C.A.S.

J1., XVIL., p. 297 et seq.

* Cf. Rajdvaliya, Eng. trans., p.102. For details of the events in

Ceylon during this period see C.A.S. Jl., XVII., pp. 314-506 ; W.

I 66-04

296 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

van Geer, op. cit., pp. 74-119, and Bijl., XIIIT-XXIV.; Bat. Dagh-

Reg., 1641-42 and 1643-44 passim. That the Councilat Batavia had

lost all faith in Raja Sinha’s sincerity is shown by the fact that on

29th September, 1643, they wrote to the King advising him of the fleet

they were sending to Ceylon under Caron, but. telling him nothing of

their plans (see W. van Geer, op. cit., p. 108). See also Cey. Lit. Reg.,

IL., pp. 84, 85, 67, IV., pp. 31, 36; Baldzus, Mal. en Chor., chaps.

XIV.-XV.; Ribeiro, lib., I1., caps. XV.-X VI.

* See Ribeiro, lib. IT., cap. XV.; Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p. 87; W. van

Geer, op. cit., pp. 125-128.

100 See C.A.8. J1., XVIL., pp. 315, 316, 334, 335, 375, 400, 531, 532, 505.

The Bat. Dagh-Reg. for 1643-44 states (p. 235) that on February 22,

1644, Raja Sinha sent three envoys to Caron to ask if they did not

know that he was descended from the sun, and to complain that

he was not addressed by the Governor-General in accordance with his

royal dignity, since that official had written him a letter signed

‘Your affectionate friend,” which did not square with his Imperial

Majesty’s ideas, and had also written “ you” instead of “ Your Royal

Majesty ;” that they laid the death of Coster at his door, and other

such-like concocted futilities (opyeraepte futiliteyten).

101 The original has disappeared. A contemporary Dutch translation

is printed at pp. 507-508 of the Bat. Dagh-Register for 1643-44, the

compiler of which, on p. 238, describes this and the following letter of

Raja Sinha’s as containing ‘‘ blauwe excusen” (mere excuses) for

the non-fulfilment of the royal promises.

102 ‘The word disava was used by the Portuguese for distbtiast as well

to denote the holder of the office, the sense being indicated by the

masculine or feminine article. Cf. letter of February 16, 1645, and

others infra.

103 The Bat. Dagh-Reg. for 1643-44 says (p. 234) that on February

22, 1644, Gerrit Moutmaker, writing from Galle, reported that ‘‘ Radja

Singa had ordered and commanded all the cinnamon peelers and

inhabitants of Gale Corle to take up their residence not nearer than

six to seven miles from Gale. At the same time he had summoned

some of the chief of our special Singalese, on account of the great

familiarity entertained by them towards the Netherlanders, among

them the dessanacka, to come to him to Candy to be punished, and

had ordered no provisions to be brought to our people, in the hope that

they might thereby come to suffer want.” The same Dagh-Reg.,

quoting Ceylon letters of April 24, 1644, says (p. 238): ‘“ After the

king’s dessave Ekenack modliaer had had all the inhabitants around

Gale conveyed three or four miles into the mountains, he finally once

more on April 16 appeared in Gale with the intention of dominating

from there all the fishers, tisidoors (read tifidoors, i.e., toddy-drawers),

and the rest, being in our service. Whereupon one of his lascarins, who

was caught attempting to put this into practice, was-clapped into

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 257

chains, which his master the dessave tried politely to apologize for,”’

&c. Again, the same Dagh-Reg. quotes (p. 242) a letter from

Galle, dated May 12, 1644, in which Thys reports that “on the last

of April three of our soldiers with the leave of their officers having

gone out to cut a maypole were set upon by ten or twelve inimical

Singalese who gave themselves out as the King’s people (one of them

who would not let himself be taken prisoner being cut down), and

carried off over the passage of Gindura (Gin view of Radia Singa’s

lascarins). This affair according to all appearances was undertaken

not without Radia’s knowledge, since his dessave had two days before

betaken himself from Gale to Biligam, and from there, owing to the

arrival of our people (to view that district, being 200 strong), to

Mature, where first there was denial, and then not without fear the

matter was brought to light, he knowing how to comport himself

artfully after the Singalese fashion in that matter, but according to

our report at least some of the sharks that carried off the two soldiers

would be caught.”

104 Port., expenses.

105 Port. mantimentos, provisions.

06 Ste for ‘“ Manicarware,” z.e., Menikkadawara in Beligal kéralé.

07 Sic for ‘ Candea.” The Bat. Dagh-heg. for 1643-44, quoting a

letter of Thyssen’s dated March 28, says (p. 237) that “ Radia Singa

had betaken himself into the mountains to Candia and ordered all his

‘people to assemble in Mupeligame ” (i.e. , Mapalagama : see C.A.S. JL,

XVIL., pp. 460-461).

108 The Bat. Dagh-heg. for 1643-44 says (p. 236) that Caron, before

sailing from Ceylon in March, 1644, left over 800 Dutch soldiers in

Galle, “with the intention that ere fone 400 of these soldiers should

set out for Madampe and the river Alican, being the dividing limit of

the territories of Gale and Colombo, in order to ascertain what was to

be done there.” .

109 Cf. C.A.S. J1., XVIL., p. 370 2.

10 This is, I think, Wilgama near Hettimulla in the Mawata pattu,

Kégalla District.

111 Por Port. capitao mor, captain-major.

12 T can find no record of this letter.

43 The original letter has disappeared, but a contemporary Dutch

translation is printed at pp. 309-310 of the Bat. Dagh-Reg. for

1643-44.

14 No copy of this seems to exist.

115 Caron sailed from Galle for Batavia on March 19, 1644.

16 Port. covados, cubits.

7 Port. maos, maunds.

"8 The Dutch translator is, I think, responsible for this word.

Raja Sinha almost invariably uses the old name Jacatra (see infra,

and note 6 supra). -

258 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

9 Pieter Boreel was the commissioner sent from Batavia to arrange

with the Portuguese authorities the terms of an armistice (see W. van

Geer, op. cit., p. 94 et seq.).

120 That is, the districts over which the Dutch were to exercise

authority (see infra).

21 Port. tregoas, armistice.

12 Sic for Acuraga, ¢.e., Akuressa. Regarding the disastrous defeat

of the Dutch by the Portuguese at Akuressa in May, 1643, see Ribeiro,

lib. IL, cap. XITI.; Bat. Dagh-feg., 1643-44, pp. 221-222; C.A.S.

Jl., XVIL., pp. 413, 420, 444.

123 Colombo was not taken by the Dutch until twelve years later ;

and its capture did not afford Raja Sinha the satisfaction he antici-

pated (see his letters infra).

124 See W. van Geer, op. cit., pp. 129-132, and Bijl., XX VIII.; Bat.

Dagh-Reg., 1644-1645, p. 266 e¢ seq. ; Joh. von der Behr., Diarium,,

pp. 38-43.

125See W. van Geer, op. cit., pp. 134, 135; Bat. Dagh-Reg., 1644-

1645, p. 291 ff ; Baldzus, Mal. en Chor., chap. XV.; Ribeiro, lib. IT.,.

cap. XVI.

126 See W. van Geer, op. cit., Bil, p. 77; C.A.S. Jl, XL, p. 36;

Bat. Dagh-Reg., 1643-44, p. 234 et seq.

27 For details of occurrences in Ceylon subsequent to the Dutch-

Portuguese agreement of 10th January, 1645, see W. van Geer, op. cit.,

p. 136 e¢ seq.; Bat. Dagh-Reg., 1644-45, p. 295 ff; Cey. Lit. Reg.,

VL., pp. 92, 93, 98-100, 107-109, 114, 115, 123, 124.

28 Translated from the original letter in Portuguese in the Ceylon

Record Office. A contemporary Dutch translation is printed in the

Bat. Dagh-Reg. for 1644-45, pp. 299-301. W. van Geer, op. cit., p.

146, says erroneously : “ During the whole year 1645 the maharaja

had let nothing be heard of him.”

29 From a letter from the Governor-General and Council at Batavia,

dated 9th July, 1645, printed by W. van Geer, op. cit., Bijl., XXX., we

learn (p. 76) that Maatzuyker, before leaving Negombo on 15th

February for Colombo and Galle, sent Raja Sinha two letters, one in

his own name and one in the name of the Council, informing him of

the Dutch-Portuguese agreement, and asking him to kindly signify if

he would also embrace (amplecteren) it, or not ; to which Maatzuyker

received a reply when at Galle, serving little to the purpose. This.

reply is evidently the one here translated.

130Tn orig. V. M. (contraction for vossa mercé, the ordinary polite

form of address in Portuguese), which is used generally throughout

this correspondence. I have rendered it in various ways, according to

circumstances.

31 Regarding Maatzuyker, see Cey. Lit. Reg., I., pp. 166-168. —

182 In orig. V. Ms. (plur.).

183 This word is used here and elsewhere for disdivanis (see note

102 supra).

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 259

134 For details of the partition of territories between the Portuguese

and the Dutch see Baldzus, Mal. en Chor., chap. XV., and Bat. Dagh-

Reg., 1644-45, pp. 292-297, in both of which several of the names of

kéralés, pattus, &c., are very incorrectly printed. As regards the places

mentioned by Raja Sinha (many of which are mispelt in the Dutch

translation), ‘‘ Uracdpatti”’ = Udakahapattu, “‘ Mendapatu ”= Meda-

patu, “ Catugambala ’’ = Katugampola, “ Andapanduna’”’ = Handa-

panduna (see Bell’s Rep. on Kégalla Dist., p. 2), “ Guindigora” =

Kinigoda, “ Parnacurt’”’ = Paranakiru, “Galbara” =Galboda. The

“river of Gurugora’”’ is the Gurugoda-oya. The “ garaveto (gravet,

kadavata) of Puapeti” is, l think, Bulatkohépitiya in Pata Bulatgama,

bulat having taken the place of puwak in the name (see Cey. Lit. Keg.,

IV., p. 148, where “ Buare-Birge”’ is a misprint in the English trans.

for ‘ Buac-Bitge,” i.e. Puwakpitiya). |

135 Jan Mathijssen or Thijssen (see letters of 23rd March and 4th

April, 1644, supra).

136 Bangasais (see Yule’s Hobson-Jobson, s.v. “‘ Bankshall ”’).

137 Saguate, an Indo-Portuguese word from Persian saughat (see

Monsr. 8. R. Dalgado’s Dialecto Indo-Portugués de Damoa, p. 30). In

the public library at Evora is a manuscript, dated Goa, Jan. 1774,

entitled ‘‘ Certidoes sobre a Saogate (presente), que El Rey de Candea

mandava a El Rey de Portugal pelo Padre Joao de Silveira, de Congre-

gacao do Oratorio, e Missionario na Ilha de Ceilio.”

138 This encomium did not deter Thijssen from shortly afterwards

declaring war against the writer.

139 The Dutch translation has ‘ Jegenwoordigh neit anders dan Gode

bevolen,” i.e., “‘ At present nothing further than commended to God.”

140 Printed in Bat. Dagh-Reg. for 1644-45, pp. 301, 302.

141 Don Filippe Mascarenhas, the Captain-General of Ceylon, left

Colombo for Goa March 31, 1645, to succeed the Conde de Avciras

as Viceroy of India (see Ribeiro, lib. II., cap. XVI.; Bat Dagh-Reg.

for 1644-45, p. 307).

42 The Bat. Dagh-fReg. for 1644-45 says (p. 307) that “from the

letters written by the merchant Laurens Maerschalck in February,

March, and April past [1645] from Batacaloa to the Governor Joan

‘Thyssen it was understood that since the contract arranged with the

Portuguese the Sinhalese had not supplied him with the least maintv-

mentos either for money or otherwise, but had tried to consume him

with hunger, which, if he had not had something in store, would

consequently have followed ; and they are also not ashamed to say

impudently right out that we and the Portuguese have divided

the Island of Ceylon half and half.’ Moreover two bedes [Veddas],

who had supplied the Company there secretly with wax, had 20 to 25

days before been done-to death by order of the Radja .....,..Reports

were current daily that ambassadors with letters, a parcel of wax, and

other goods from Radja were on the way, which was doubted, where-

fore Maerschalck would wait for the arrival of the yacht Santvoort,

260 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

ship all therein, and so set sail for Paliacatta.” As a matter of fact,

the ambassadors never were sent.

43 Baldeeus, Ceylon, chap. XII. (Eng. trans., chap. XLIII.) ; Valentyn,

Ceylon, pp. 121, 143; Saar, in C.A.S. Jl., XI, pp. 269, 270 ; W. van

Geer, op. cit., pp. 143-145, andjBijl., XX XT. and XXXITV.; Bat. Dagh-

Reg., 1644-45, p. 311.

144 See W. van Geer, op. cit., p. 145, and Bijl., XX XIX. For details

of events in Ceylon subsequent to OPH saer s declaration of war see

Bat. Dagh-Reg. for 1644-45, pp. 310 et seq.

45 See Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 121; C.A.S. JL, XL, pp. 36, 37.

146 Qverschie, however, was not dismissed, but continued as Com-

mandeur of Negombo until 1649, when he left Ceylon for the

Coromandel Coast (see J. von der Behr in Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p. 107

et passim). He had been sent toi;Negombo in 1644 from Persia,

where he had been in charge of the Dutch factory at Ispahan for

several years: his removal being due to the fact that while drunk he

had involved the Company in a dispute with the Persian king (see

Valentyn, Persien, pp. 233, 234, 245 ;“Georg Andriesz, Reisbeschrijving,

p.64). Thereare still descendantsfof hisin Negombo. As for Thijssen,

he was acquitted by the Council at Batavia after an inquiry, and was.

sent to Malacca as Gover (see W. van Geer, op. cit., p. 147 n, and

Bijl., p. 98).

47 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) 1 in the Ceylon Record

Office. :

48 Saguates (see note 8" above).

“9 This was probably the letter sent by Maatzuyker in the name of

the Governor-General and Council just before his departure from

Negombo (see note supra).

160 See Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 121; C.A.S. Jl. XI, p. 371 ; also the

royal letter of 11th June, 1646, infra.

451 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon Record

Office.

62 On 7th May (see next letter).

158 Doubtless Maatzuyker.

4 Voce (for vosse), a vulgarism for vossa mercé. It is used

throughout this letter.

155 So the name apparently reads; and the person intended is the

‘‘ Gieutenant Julius Schifferts”’ mentioned in the C.A.S. Jl., XVILI.,.

pp. 473, 478. In the Bat. Dagh-heg. for 1644-45, pp. 274, 275, the

name is more correctly given as “‘ Schilflij, Schiffelij,” and it is stated

that this man, a Swiss, had recently been made a captain, and, through

the death of Vinckeboons, had on 26 August, 1644, assumed command

of Negombo. Jiirgen Andersen, in the account referred to in the note

below, speaks of a “Captain Schwijts”’ as being in command of the

garrison that capitulated to the King of Kandy.

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA Il. AND THE DUTCH. 261

6See Valentyn, Mauritius, p. 154; Johann von der Behr, in Cey.

Lit. Reg., V1., p. 98; Jiirgen Andersen, in Reisbeschrijving van

Georg Andriesz, p. 70.

187 Three accounts, differing | in details, of these disasters are given

us by J. von der Boke (Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p. 99), Jiirgen Andersen

(op. cet. pp. 70-72), and J. J. Saar (C.A.S. J1., XI., pp. 270-274). The

only official account as yet available in print is the very brief one-in

W. van Geer, op. cit., Bijl., XX XIX, pp. 98,99. In this the location of

the besieged Dutch garrison is called ‘“ Panare” (see also Raja Sinha’s

letter below), while Andersen terms it “‘ Hegerri” (adding the erro-

neous statement that it was “twelve milesfrom Punto de Gallo’), and

J. von der Behr says it was at ‘“‘ Dobtre ” (é.e., Tépputurai). It was

evidently at Pannaré in the Pitigal Kéralé of the Katugampola

Hatpattu.

1538 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

169 Maningala in Meda Palata of Pitigal Koralé South.

160 Adriaan van der Stel.

161 Paluwelgala, on a branch of the aie -oya in Meda Palata, Pitigal

Kéralé South.

162 Valentyn, Ceylon, p.122 ; C.A.S. J]., XI, p.37. (See also Ribeiro,

lib. II., cap. X VI.)

163 Ribeiro (lib. I1., cap. X VI.) says that the King asked and obtained

leave from the Portuguese to pass through their territory to attack the

Dutch, and that he told the latter that they couldijudge from this what

little faith was to be put in the Portuguese.

164 Translated from Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 122 (see also C.AS. J1.,

XI., p. 38). |

165 See note 6,

166 This is the original letter No. 4 translated above.

167 This is No. 1 of the original letters translated above.

16 See W. van Geer, op. cit., p. 151; N. G. van Kampen, De Neder-

landers buiten Europa, II., pp. 40-47.

169 See supra.

0 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

‘7 Neither of these letters is forthcoming ; and, strangely enough,

they are not mentioned by either Valentyn or the Beknopte Historie

(C.A.S. J1., XL, p. 39). The second one is referred to again by Raja

Sinha in his letter of 11th June, infra.

2 Tambarawila on the north bank of the Maha-oya, opposite to

Toppu.

“8 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

‘4 This is the letter mentioned by Raja Sinha in his previous

Communication.

262 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

175 This seems to refer to Maatzuyker’s letter of 31st May given

above. The letter that Raja Sinha says he wrote on 20th May to

Maatzuyker appears not to have reached the latter, or to have been

for some reason ignored by him.

6 This is referred to in Maatzuyker’s reply of 21st June below.

In view of this letter it is strange that W. van Geer twice states

(op. cit., pp. 146, 147, 151) that to Maatzuyker’s numerous letters the

King vouchsafed no reply. He seems to have misapprehended the

meaning of a passage in the letter of the Governor-General and pemeell.

printed on p. 99 of the Bylagen.

“7 See supra.

Ww Cf, Saar (C.A.S. J1., XL. p. 274).

9 Translated from Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 123 (see also C.A.S. -

Je Ne pe 30):

189 Translated from Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 124 (see also C.A.S. J1.,

XI., p. 40).

181 Regarding these, and also the correspondence between Maat-

zuyker and Raja Sinha. see Saar in C.A.S8. Jl., XI., pp. 274-276, and

Ribeiro, lib. IT., cap. XVL

ie Raat: a little to the north of Tambarawila (see note 82).

183 See Raja Sinha’ letter of 27th June, 1649, infra.

'8¢ ‘Translated from Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 124 (see also C.A.S. JL,

XI., p. 41).

185 Laurens Maarshalk was an uppermerchant (opperkoopman) im

Amboina when the massacre of 1623 took place, and was probably

reduced for his share in the bloody business. He was merchant

(koopman) at Batticaloa from 1639 to 1644 (see Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., pp.

100, 375, 415, and note supra). Regarding his mission to Kandy,

see below, and also Saar in C.A.S. Jl., XI, pp. 277-279).

186 Not forthcoming.

187 Translated from Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 124 (see also C. A. S.

Jl., XI., p. 41).

18 J.vonder Behr (Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p. 100) says that on 12th

April, 1647, a report reached Negombo from Colombo that the King

was dead. Raja Sinha appears to have been subject to attacks of

fever (see his letters of 21st June and 21st July, 1660, znfra).

'® Saar (C.A.S. J1., XI., p. 278) says that Maarschalk left Galle for

Kandy on Ist April ; at see Maatzuyker’ s letter of 10th September,

infra.

19 Translated from Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 125 (see also C.A.S.

il:, XI.; p:'42). .

19 Not forthcoming.

12 Translated from Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 125 (see also C.A.S. Ste,

XI., p. 42).

13 Sic for August.

1% Cf. Saar (C.A.S. Jl., XI., p. 279).

195 See note 16,

ial ns

a aes

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA IL AND THE DUTCH. 263

16 The ships Banda, Lello, and Akersloot arrived from Batavia at

Galle on 4th October (see Saar in C.A.S. Jl., XI., pp. 237,238, and J.

von der Behr in Cey. Lit. Reg. VI., p. 107).

epee. Lit. Reg., VI., p. 107.

Boece. Jl, XI... p. 43.

19 ‘Valentyn, iCayten p. 125; also C.A.S. Jl., XI., p. 43 (see also maar

an C.A‘S. J1., X1., p. 279).

oe Ra vice had returned to Negombo shortly before from an

expedition on the Malabar coast (see J. von der Behr, Reise-Beschrev-

bung, pp. 105-109, and Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., pp. 115, 123). :

01 Valentyn, loc. cit.

72 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 125 (also C.A.S. J1., XI., p. 43).

03 Not forthcoming.

704 He left Negombo next day for Galle (see Cey. Lit. Reg., VI.,

p. 123),

205 ‘Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 126 (also C.A.S. Jl., XI., p. 44).

06 Not forthcoming.

07 Valentyn, loc. cit. (also C.A.S. Jl., XI., p. 44).

06 Letter not forthcoming.

209 ‘Valentyn (followed by the Beknopte Historie) has 7th July ; but

see Raja Sinha’s letter of 27th June, infra.

710 Valentyn, w.s. (see also Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p. 123).

2" Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 127 (also C.A.S. Jl. XI., p. 45); see also

Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p. 123.

2 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

*I3 These were the elephants seized by Nicholas Overschie in 1645,

which, it appears from this, had never been returned to the King,

though Maatzuyker in one of his earliest letters to Raja Sinha (see

supra) had promised that they should be.

4 I do not know who this Portuguese captive was.

“1° Part of manuscript torn off.

16 Perhaps Nicolaus Loenius referred to in Maatzuyker’s letter of

11th September, 1646, supra. |

* By the 7th article of the provisional agreement signed at Goa

on 10 Nov., 1644, the services of the Chaliyas were to be available to

both parties.

"18 Galloluwa in the Negombo District.

*! T cannot identify this person.

#20 Maarschalk sailed at the end of July, 1649. for Batavia, where

doubtless his services were duly recognized by the Council.

#! Ingurugala? (I cannot identify this place.)

2 ‘The royal sign manual is in red : the only instance in this series

of letters.

23 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 127 (also C.A.S. J1., XI., p. 45).

424 See Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p. 124:

264 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

225 J. von der Behr calls him Camholtz, and states that he arrived at

Negombo on 7th March, 1647, to take command of the soldiers there.

He mentions him several times afterwards (see Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p.

100 e¢ cet.).

6 J. von der Behr mentions his illness in June, 1648, and records

his death on 24th August, 1649 (Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., pp. 114, 124).

** Captain Burckard Koch, from Wesel, according to Saar, who

relates a curious story in connection with his embassy (see C.A.S. Jl.

XI., pp. 279-281). J. vonder Behr refers to him often (see Cey. Lit.

feg., VI., p. 99 e¢ cet.). His nameappears in various forms—Burgard

Cox, Burchard Kok, Burchart Cockx, &c. See the reference to him

in Raja Sinha’s letter of 21st May,1656, further on. See also C.A.S.

Jl., XV., p. 267 and plate 103, and XVIL., pp. 331, 508, 528.

#8 The Beknopte Historie says that Maatzuyker wrote at the end of

July to Batavia that, although the treaty which he had signed with the

King differed but slightly from that of 1638, no trust could be placed

in Raja Sinha, who would never abandon his treacherous machi-

nations, and therefore could only be brought to reason by force (see

C.A.S. J1., XI, p. 46).

229 These arrived at Galle on 29th August in charge of Michael

Spitz,a German, who had left on 15th June with the horse and saddle

and a talking parrot (Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., pp. 123, 125).

230 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 127. .

*31 He had left Galle for Kandy by way of Matara on 13th August

(Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p. 124).

232 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 127 (also C.A.S. J1., XL, p. 46).

233 See the reference to him in Raja Sinha’s letter of 21st May, 1656,

infra. :

734 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 127 (also C.A.S. JL, XL, p. 46).

35 ‘Valentyn, Ceylon, pp. 128-135 (also C.A.S. J1., XI., pp. 46, 47).

36 ‘Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 135 (also C.A.S. JL, XI., p. 48). Regarding

the sick prisoners, see Saar in C.A.S. J1., XI., p. 281.

237 'The English translator of Baldzus, thinking apparently that

this man was a Hollander, dubs him “Mr.” Rampot (Baldzus,

Ceylon, Eng. trans., chap. XLITT.).

238 Valentyn, u. s. (see also p. 143). The-Beknopte Historie, instead

of following Valentyn, in this case says that the Governor wrote “com- |

plaining strongly regarding the Adigaar Rampot, whom he considered

as the cause of the displeasure that H.M., according to the communi-

cation of our commissary, conceived shortly before the departure of

Mr. Maetsuycker, and which had given rise to such contemptuous

expressions as have already been referred to above. This Rampot

having been a very harmful and dangerous subject, who in A°. 1650,

on his arrival as ambassador and having been appointed by the king as

dessave of Mature, had used many sinister tricks to deprive the Hon.

Company of the lands ; however neither lands nor rule were conceded to

him, but he was made weary of his designs by means of tergiversations,

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 260

subterfuges, and courtesies.” (The translation of this passage in the

CAS. JL, XI, p. 48, is faulty.) What the object of the compiler

Limberger was in substituting the above for a summary of the

Governor’s letter, i cannot tell, With regard to Rampot’s doings, see

Raja Sinha’s letter of 3rd May, 1650, infra.

239 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

40 Here and in other places dissava is used, with the feminine article

or pronoun, in the sense of disdvani.

441 Valentyn, wu. s.

42 Kittenstein in his report to the Council at Batavia, dated

20th September, 1660, says that, as a result of Maatzuyker’s diplomatic

management at the beginning of 1650, Rampot left the Galle and

Matara districts at his own request ; and that the King was much

annoyed thereat (Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 143 ; see also Baldeeus, Ceylon,

chap. XLII.).

443 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 135.

244 Scarlet was originally the name of a stuff, and not of a colour

(see Skeat’s Etym. Dict., Yule’s Hobson-Jobson, and Pringle’s Consulia-

HONS Of... ..00s- Fort St. George, 1681, note 77).

245 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 136.

246 See Raja Sinha’s letter of 10th August infra. Has was still a

captive in Kandy in 1671 (see references to him in my Captain Robert

_ Know, and of. Raja Sinha’s letter of 4th May, 1656, infra).

247 Joris or George (not Juriaan) Bloem or Blom is referred to

frequently in the next few years as interpreter between the Dutch

and the King.

748 Raja Sinha understood Portuguese well (see Knox, Hist. Rel., p.

176), and had a strong objection to receiving letters in Dutch, unless a

translation into Portuguese accompanied them (¢/. his ied of 21st

May and 13th June, 1656, infra).

219 Valentyn, wu. s.

250 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

#51 Whence this letter was written does not appear.

252 Sic, Frans Has beingvreferred to (see supra).

- 253 See heading of list of presents, dated 19th September, 1652, infra ;

and cf. Knox, Hist. Rel., p. 38, and the remarks of R. van Goens

quoted in footnote on p. 13 of my Captain Robert Knox. Cf. also the

papers by Stark and Alwis in the C.A.S. JL, 1853-55 and 1856-58.

54 See Cey. Lit. Reg., VI., p.98; C.A.S. JI, XI, p. 278; Valentyn,

Ceylon, pp. 178, 201.

55 Valentyn, wu. s. (also C.A.S. J1., XI., p. 49).

26 Translated from the original letter (in Portuguese) in the

Ceylon Record Office.

#7 ‘This can hardly be the letter of 15th November summarized

above. :

266 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CHYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

26 Raja Sinha’s birthplace (cf. Mahavansa, XCV.; Knox, Hist.

Rel., p. 5). It will be noticed that several of the letters in this series

were written at Bintenna.

259 IT find no reference elsewhere to this matter.

760 Valentyn, u.s. The compiler of the Beknopte Historie passes

over this and all subsequent letters down to that of Kittenstein of 15th

January, 1653, as “ not of sufficient importance to deserve mention ”’

(see C.A.S. J1., XI, p. 49).

*6l Valentyn, wu. s. ,

62 According to Tennent, Ceylon, IL., p. 48, footnote, whence I

quote the extract given. Tennent says: ‘“‘I have a curious MS.

letter written by him in Portuguese from Badulla, 6th August, 1652,

and addressed J'o the Governor Jacob Von [sic] Kittenstein, residing in

my Fortress of Galle as my loyal vassal.” How this letter, which

evidently ought to be in the Ceylon Record Office, came to be in

Tennent’s possession, we can only surmise. The manner in which the

Dutch records have been preserved (!) is a scandal to Ceylon.

763 It will be seen from subsequent documents that the Dutch did

their best to gratify the King’s wishes (cf. also the note in Tennent

referred to above).

*°f Tn his letter of 11th May, 1656, to the citizens of Colombo (given

below) Raja Sinha speaks of this man as having come as ambassador

to his court. Who he wasI do not know (possibly a descendant or

connection of the infamous General of Ceylon and Viceroy of India of

the same name). Nor can I find any other reference to his mission,

the Portuguese authorities being very defective as regards Ceylon at

this period (cf. Ribeiro, lib. II., cap. X VIL., where only a page is devoted

to the six and a half years, May, 1646, to October, 1652). He may,

however, have been the bearer of the letter to Raja Sinha from the

King of Portugal (dated 15th March, 1652) printed in the C.A.S.

Jl., XVI., p. 34. Ribeiro states (loc. cit.) that in September, 1652,

advice was received in Colombo from the new Viceroy that the truce

had terminated, and that war with the Dutch would be resumed : it

seems likely, therefore, that the same dispatch boat that brought these

tidings carried the envoy to the Kandyan ‘court. He is referred to

again in Kittenstein’s letter of 26th October, infra.

6° See Ribeiro, lib. L., cap. X.

766 ‘Valentyn, w.s.

67 Translated from the original (Gin Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

788 See Yule’s Hobson-Jobson, s.v. ‘‘ Mangelin,” where the following

is quoted from A. Nunez (1545): “(in Ceylon) A calamja contains

20 mamgelins, each mamgelin 8 grains of rice ; a Portugues of gold

weighs 8 calamjas and 2 mangelins.”’

69 Joris Blom, doubtless.

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 267

270 Knox gives some interesting details regarding this good man,

whom he calls ‘“‘ Padre Vergonce ” or “ Vergonse”’ (Hist. fel., pp. 188--

189).

“71 Tn orig. feitoria, literally ‘‘ factory.”

#72 'This is the date given by Valentyn ; but as the letter doubtless.

accompanied the presents, the list of which is dated 19th September,

the figure 5 may be an error. The Beknopte Historie, after

summarising the contents of Van Kittenstein’s letter of 15th

November, 1651, says: ‘‘ Afterwards letters were again sent to the

Candian court and received thence, but of no importance, and there-

fore also unnecessary to detail anything of them here.” The

summary is resumed with Van Kittenstein’s letter of 15th January,

1653 (see C.A.S. J1., XI., p. 49).

273 Possibly the one presented to the King by Father Bergoncio.

274 See note * supra. The tenor of the letter from Vijayapdla we

are left to guess; but we may infer somewhat of the contents from

what is told us further on.

275 See Ribeiro, lib. II., cap. XVII.; Baldeus, Ceylon, cap. XLII.

(XLIIT. of Eng. trans.) ; Saar, in C.A.S. Jl., X1L., pp. 282, 283.

276 See supra, note '®.

277 See note *, supra.

278 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 137.

279 Valentyn, loc. cit. See Ribeiro, cap. II., lib. XVII., regarding

encounters between Raja Sinha’s troops and the Portuguese mutineers

of the Menikkadawara camp.

80 A letter written on 4th February, 1653, by the King of Portugal

to the Viceroy of India refers to the “ Emperor of Candea ” (meaning

evidently Vijayapéla), who was a pensioner in Goa, and who, the king

says, was not to be allowed to come to Portugal or to go to Ceylon, nor

were the Dutch to be allowed to get hold of him for their purposes.

1 This was the yacht Jaginapatnam (see trans. of Batavia Dagh-

282 Valentyn, w.s.

283 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

28t This may have been Major Adriaan van der Meyden (ee note

91 infra),

285 Ceylon, p. 137.

286 Hor details see Saar’s and Ribeiro’s accounts, in O.A.8. JL, XI,

pp. 285, 286 ; and Baldzeus, Ceylon, cap. XUIT. (XLILI. of Eng. trans.).

ae eed states (lib. II., cap. X VIL.) that the battle took place not

at Catagoré ( Ro hieincda); but at Thiara (Tihariya).

aeerOGs' C46,

89 See Cey. Lit. Reg., II., p. 432.

290 Ceylon, p, 138.

268 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

291 Tt was not until October that Van der Meyden succeeded to the

Governorship (see znfra). At this time he was a Major commanding

at Kalutara.

222 This is the engagement at Tihariya referred to above. What the

encounter near Mannar was, I do not know.

293 What this present was, does not appear.

2% Called in Ryklof van Goens’s Memorie of 26th December, 1663

(Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 164), Ragganada Cotta Teuvre (read Teuver).

295 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 138.

26 Valentyn, loc. cit. (also C.A.S. J1., XL., p. 49).

297 See note 7, supra.

2988 Valentyn, loc. cit. (also C.A.S. Jl, XI., p. 50).

29 For details see Ribeiro, lib. IT., ae XVII.

300 Valentyn, Ceylon, pp. 138, 144: Baldeus, Ceylon, chap. XLIL

(XLIILI. of Eng. trans.).

301 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 138.

302 He arrived there on 4th December in a weak state of health, and

died at 1 a.m. on 26th December, being buried at 4 p.m. next day with

all the honours due to his rank (see Cey. Lit. Reg., IL., p. 432).

303 The three English vessels captured were the East India Co.’s

ships Roebuck, Lanneret, and Blessing ; while another, the Supply, was

driven ashore and totally lost (see Beckler Willson’s Ledger and Sword,

vol. 1., p. 261). The Bat. Dagh-Reg. for 1653 (pp. 117, 150, 155, 165)

mentions the capture, and states that the Aoebuck was re-named

Utrecht, the Blessing was called the Avontsterre, while the Supply (sic,

but perhaps the Lannereé is intended) received the new name of

J osques.

304 Valentyn, Ceylon, pp. 138, 139 (see also C.A.S. JL, XL, p. 50).

305 Karavanella.

306 Gurubevila (Hanwella), Kanattota, Attapitiya, KotuwAégoda.

307 This word occurs frequently in Dutch documents of this period:

it seems to be the Portuguese estancia,a camp—hence a body of

soldiers.

308 See Ribeiro, lib. IT., cap. X VIII.

309 See Cey. Lit. Reg., I1., p. 432.

310 The Windhond, Rhinocer, and Drommedaris (see Valentyn, Ceylon,

pp. 139, 145 ; and Baldeus, Ceylon, loc. cit.).

311 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 139. (The compiler of the Beknopte Historie

passes over this and subsequent letters down to October, 1655.)

312 Valentyn, op. cit., p. 144 (see also Baldzeus, loc. cit.).

313 The Dutch is “om laag gebragt.” This expression the German

version of Baldeeus (Ceylon, chap. XLIII.) renders by the word verderbt

(weakened, decayed, or deprived) ; and the English translator turns

this into “ tatter’d ’’!

314 For details see Ribeiro, lib. II., cap. XVIII. ; Valentyn, Ceylon,

pp. 139, 144; Baldzeus, Ceylon, w.s.

tie

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 269

315 See Valentyn and Baldzeus, u.s.; Saar (who was one of the pri-

soners), chap. II. Cf. also Danvers’s Portuguese in India, vol. IL., pp.

307, 308, where a different account is given, from the official records at

Evora.

_ 36 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 139.

317 For details see Ribeiro, lib. II., caps. XVIII., XTX. ; Valentyn,

Ceylon, pp. 145, 139 ; Baldeeus, loc. cit. The Rdjdvaliya (Eng. trans.,

p. 102) speaks of two engagements, at ‘“Kaluwella” and “ Lunumddara.”

318 See note °%, infra.

319 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 139.

320 See Ribeiro, lib. IL, cap. XIX.; Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 145;

Baldeus, loc. cit.

321 Valentyn, 2.s.

322 Ribeiro (lib. II., cap. XX.) is the only writer who gives an

account of this attack on Kalutara.

#3 Governor Van der Meyden, as quoted by Valentyn, Ceylon, p.

145, says that on 5th April the King’s greatest force was defeated by

Gaspar Figueira near Attapittin [Attapitiya] and Cottacapale’s

palaces,” I am not sure of the identity of ‘‘ Caticapale ” or “‘ Cotia-

capale”’; but some place not far from Mottappoliya in Kinigoda

Kéralé is meant; for Ribeiro, who gives a graphic description (lib.

IL., caps. XITX.-XX.) of this event, says that after his victory Gaspar

Figueira retired to “a village called Motapali;” while Knox (Hist.

Rel., p. 177), who also recounts the action, says that “ Cotacoppul”

was some ten or twelve miles from “ Motanpul.”

324 A falsehood.

325 Valentyn, Ceylon, pp. 139, 140.

326 Gintara or Gintota, not Gandara.

327 See Ribeiro, lib. II., cap. XX.; Valentyn, Ceylon, pp. 145, 146 ;

Baldzus, wu.s. The engagement took place on 18th May.

328 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 140.

39 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

3309 Ribeiro, whose dates cannot be relied on, says (w.s.) that from

Jafina Antonio de Sousa Coutinho sent word to Colombo that he

would be at Arippu on 15th June. On that day accordingly he was

met there by the Captain-Major Antonio Mendes d’Aranha, with four

companies of soldiers, and escorted to Colombo, where he arrived a few

days later.

331 K o6raléwila in Demala Hatpattu, Puttalam District.

332 This territory is now reduced to the Anavilundar Pattu of the

Pitigal Koralé, Chilaw District.

333 Referring doubtless to the disastrous results cf his encounters

with the Portuguese under Gaspar Figueira.

3% The writer of this letter had read his Camcens to some purpose,

evidently !

270 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

335 Truly: but, as stated above, he never left the court at all.

336 In September probably, but I cannot discover the exact date.

Yulft left Batavia for Ceylon on 9th July (Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 413).

37 For details see Baldaeus, Ceylon, chap. XXIII. (ng. trans.) ;

Ribeiro, lib. IL., cap. XXT.

338 Baldeus, loc. cat.

339 See Baldeeus, Ceylon, chap. XXIV. (Eng. trans.); Ribeiro, lib.

IL., cap. XXIT. ; C.A.S. JL, X., pp. 165-167,

300 Regarding this man, see Raja Sinha’s letter of 4th May, 1656, infra.

31 Baldeus, Ceylon, chap. XXV. (Eng. trans.).

32 For details of the siege see Baldeus, Ceylon, chaps. XXV.-

XXXIX. (Eng. trans.) and the Portuguese account added; C.AS.

J1., XI., p. 295 et seg., XIT., p. 81 e¢ seq.

33 Some of the letters in the Ceylon Record Office have slight

attempts at ornamentation; but nothing so elaborate as here

described.

344 [ can find no record elsewhere of this letter.

345 Baldzeus, Ceylon, chap. XXIV. (see also C.A.S.JI1., XI., p. 50);

316 (J, s. (see also C.A.S. J1., XI, p. 50.

347 The same individual who, as Disdva of the Seven Kéralés, in

1675 gave such trouble to the Dutch, and then came over to them

(see C.A.S.J1., XI, pp. 70, 71; Cey. Lit. Reg., IV., pp. 115, 116 ;

Valentyn, Ceylon, p.p. 260, 267 ; Knox, Hist. Fel., p. 39).

348 Sic for Rajou.

349 Hor details see the authorities cited in note *, supra; also

Danvers’ Port. in India, II.,p.309. Cf. Rajavaliya, Eng. trans., p. 103..

350 Ceylon, chap. XX VI.

351 Us. (see also C.A.S. J]., XI, p.51).

352 Saar, on the other hand, says (C.A.S. J]., XI, pp. 297, 298 :

“ When our great loss became known to the King of Candia, to whom

our General had not sent previous notice that he was going tostorm,

he was very angry, and wrote to him to say that, according to the

treaty, Colombo, if it had been taken, would have been half his. The

General ought, therefore, to have communicated with him, and to have

allowed his soldiers to take part in the assault. This difficult under-

taking ought not to have been attempted single-handed, but jointly.

When our General noticed the King’s temper, and being aware that he

had made a mistake, he resolved to at once send an ambassador to the

King, with assurances of great respect and his apologies, and also with

a certain promise to take the place ; but the King must have a little

patience.” This version of the correspondence is evidently founded

on mere camp gossip; and we may take it that Baldzus has given

us a fair representation of the contents of the letters, the originals or

copies of which he evidently had before him when he wrote his book.

353 Baldeus, Ceylon, chap. XX VII.

354 (7.5. (see also C.A.S8. J1., XL, p. 51).

355 Ceylon, chap. XXVIII. (see also C.A.S. J1., XI., p. 51).

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II]. AND THE DUTCH. 271

366 Saar (C.A.S. J1., XL, p. 298) says: “On the 25th of January

[ste] Captain Johan Hartmann, of Cassel in Hesse, volunteered to go to

the Emperor with every mark of respect. The Emperor would not

receive him until the third day, and then he summoned him to offer

his presents, which were very graciously accepted. As the Emperor

was very anxious about Colombo he did not keep our Captain very

long, gave him a gold chain and an elephant, and very soon sent him

off again to our General with other presents, in return, many jewels

and two elephants for the Company.”

357 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office (see also summary in Baldeus, Joc. cit.).

358 Saar (u.s.) says: “On the 2nd of February [sic] the said

Captain returned with a letter to our General and the Company, stating

that it would be well not to attempt in future a hazardous under-

taking without his (the King’s) knowledge, as he was very sorry to

see so many good soldiers needlessly sacrificed by us.” Baldzus

says: ‘‘The Lieutenant was presented by the Emperor with a gold

chain and a ring. The Emperor had also previously learnt through

his Dissaves that one of our mines had been sprung, and that it had

killed many of our men, but was now happy at hearing the contrary.”’

359 Manuscript torn.

360 Baldzeus, op. cit., chap. X XIX. (see also C. ALS. J1., XT., p. 51).

361 JT have found no other reference to this ciodedinont which took

place evidently after the disastrous defeat of Constantino de Sa in

Uva (cf. Raja Sinha’s letter of 9th September, 1636, supra).

362 The famous Disdva of the Four Koralés, whose exploits are

recorded by Bocarro and Faria y Sousa (see also Rebelion de Ceylan,

in C.A.S. J1., XI., pp. 602, 603). His garden referred to here was

apparently at Nakolagama (cf. Lee’s Rzbeyro, p. 88).

363 Orig. ‘ onderkoning,’= lit. “ under-king.” Who this uparda

was is not very clear; perhaps the “Mara Tana Wandaar”

( ? Maratenné Bandara) spoken of in Raja Sinha’s letter of 9th Sept.,

1636, supra.

Sit ‘A misreading or misprint for Cowmara.

365 Compare the foregoing with what Raja Sinha says in his letter

of 9th September, 1636, supra.

366 Cf, Rajavaliya, Eng. trans.,.p. 101.

367 T can find no record of this letter.

36° In Gunasékara’s edition of the Rdjdvaliya (Eng. trans., pp. 88,

94, 96, 102) the name is spelt “ Raggahawatta.” Valentyn (Ceylon,

p. 26) locates Reygamwatte south of the ‘‘ Colombo” (Kelani) river,

in the district of Malvana ; but in his map it is shown xorth of the

river, between “ Emboelgam” and “ Nagam.” Baldzus’s map also

places.it north of the Kelani, a little to the west of Malvana. I am

uncertain as to the exact position of the place ; but that it lay to the

north of the Kelani river is evident from what Raja Sinha saysin his

K 66-04.

272 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

letter of 17th March, 1656 (see zzfra), and from the descrip) in

Baldzeus (chap. XXXIV.) of Hulft’s visit to the King.

369 Girdimbula, in Udugaha Pattu, Héwagam Koralé (cf. Rdjavaliya,

Eng. trans., pp. 78, 96, 97).

370 Ceylon, chap. XXIX.

371 He seems (though Baldzus does not say so) to have left the

Dutch camp on 8th February with another letter from Hulft to Raja

Sinha, whose reply he now brought.

372 Baldzeus punctuates thus ; but I think that there should be a

full stop here, “From” beginning a new sentence, and a comma

taking the place of the full stop after “Empire” (cf. letter of 20th

January, supra).

373 See supra. If Knox’s estimate (Hist. Rel., pp. 46, 58) of the

prince’s age be correct, he was at this time five or six years old.

34 For the explanation of this ambiguous message see the statement

of Baldzeus that follows.

35 Weliwita in Pallé Pattuwa, Héwdgam Koralé.

376 Baldeeus (op. cit., p. 92) describes him as “a native of the

Hague, a brave and clever man with the rapier as well as the pen,

from whom the Hon. Company has had the benefit of many services

and still has, he being Director and Governor of Merchandise in

Persia.” (Cf. note *8, infra.)

377 Baldeeus, op. cit., p. 92.

38 See Sena ace) in Baldeus, op. cit., pp. 92, 93.

3 For a full summary see Baldeus, op. cit., p. 94 ; and for a briefer

one see C.A.S. JL, XL, pp. 51, 52.

389 Given in Baldzeus, op. cit., p. 100.

381 Baldeeus, op. cit., p. 101.

382 Baldeeus, op. cit., p. 103.

383 Op. cit., pp- 104-107. There is also a large two-page plate

giving an entirely imaginary and utterly ridiculous representation of

Hulft’s reception.

364 Baldzeus, op. cit., p. 108 (see also C.A.S. Jl., XI., p. 149).

385 Given in Baldeeus, op. ciét., p. 110.

386 Given in al dee op. cit., p. 111 (see also C.A.S. JL, XI. p. 54).

387 See Baldzeus, op. cit., pp. 109, £12, 125.

388 Who had been iar Colombo for being implicated in

Don Braz de Castro’s revolt against the former Viceroy, the Conde

de Obidos (see Baldeeus, op. cit., pp. 98, 109, 123).

369 This was done: see Cey. Lit. Reg., T1., p. 118.

399 Given in Baldeus, op. cié., p. 113 (see also C. A. S. Jl., XI., p. 54).

391 Given in Baldens, op. cit., p. 118.

3 Given in Baldeus, op. cit., p. 119.

393 See note 746, supra.

394 Baldzeus states that Hervendonk was suspected of poisoning the

King’s mind against Has, and of thus causing the latter to be kept a

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 273

_ prisoner in Kandy. He also adds that these unpleasantnesses so

annoyed Raja Sinha that for two or three days he was angry with all

his courtiers. :

3% 'Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon Record

Office. Baldzeus also gives a translation (op. cit., p. 120). From a

comparison of my translation with that of Baldzus it will be seen

that the latter has taken considerable liberties with the original.

396 Altered from “ service.”

397 See Baldeeus, op. cit., pp. 118, 226.

398 See Baldzeus, op. cit., pp. 121, 226, 229 ; C.A.S. J1., X1., pp. 300-

s02, 50. pp.97,98. .

399 See Baldzeus, op. cit., pp. 122-126, 229; C.A.S. Jl., XI., pp. 303,

304 ; XIT., pp. 98, 99.

400 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

401 See supra.

4022 The three deputies were Lourenco Ferreira de Brito, Diogo

Leitao de Sousa, and Hieronymo de Lucena.

403 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

404 See note 7° supra.

405 See supra regarding Joris Blom, the official interpreter.

406 Given in Baldeus, op. cit., p. 132 (see also C.A.S. J], XI., p. 56).

407 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office. It is referred to by Baldeeus (op. cit., p. 133).

408 See Baldeeus, op. cit., p. 133; C.A.S. J1., XII, p. 103.

409 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office (cf. also translation in Baldeus, op. cit., pp. 133, 134, and

see C.A.S. J1., XI., pp. 56, 57).

410% Or Captain Bogey (° Capitaé Coquo). Regarding Captain Burkard

Koch, see note *” supra. Baldeus inserts here, in parentheses,

“afterwards wounded and killed by a soldier at Punte Gale.”

411 See supra.

412 This was Rampot : see supra.

113 Op. cit., p. 134 (see also C.A.S. Jl., XI, p. 57).

414 Cf, C.A.S. J]. XII, pp. 102,103. Raja Sinha seems to have

claimed Gaspar Figueira as a “rebel” on account of his being the son

of a Sinhalese mother. ,

415 According to Baldeeus, op. cit., p. 135 (see also C.A.S. Jl., XI,

p. 57).

416 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

417 That is, Van der Meyden (see superscriptions of previous letters).

418 'This was actually done by the Dutch shortly afterwards.

19 Baldzeus, op. cit., pp. 135-137 (see also .C.A.S8. J1., XI., pp. 57-59).

4° According to Baldzus (op. cit., p. 137), who does not mention the

date of the communication (see also C.A.8. J1., XI., p. 59).

274 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

“1 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office (see also Baldeeus, op. cié., p. 138 ; and C.A.8. JL, XT.,

p. 60).

12 A litter (see Hobson—Jobson, s.v.).

23 Baldeeus, op. cit., pp. 138, 139 (see also C.A.S. J1., XI., pp. 60, 61).

“4 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

5 Tn 1563 and 1587-88.

#6 Original manuscript torn.

#27 Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 146.

#8 Valentyn, loc. cit. é

“9 Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

30 Ryklof van Goens arrived at Columbo on 3rd N se aaeiee 1658,

from the Coromandel Coast, after various conquests there ( Valentyn,

Ceylon, p. 147).

‘31 Tcan find no reference elsewhere to the plots alludedto bythe king.

2 See Knox, Hist. Rel., p. 80.

sry, KNOX, 2178t.. fiel., ps 39.

434 See reeneane this man, footnotes on pp. 21 and 58 of my aa

Robert Knox ; and cf. Knox, Hist. Rel., pp. 180, 181.

435 See my igea Robert ‘Knoe, p. 5, note.

#36 See, however, C.A.S. JI., [X., p. 62.

ak Aafia te Praes the A | (in Pears in the Ceylon

Record Office.

838 Adriaan Roodhaas succeeded Ysbrand Godsken in this post in

1661 (see Cey. Lit. Reg., IV., p. 291).

1 Cy. Knox, fest. hel., p. 41.

“0 This is apparently Bibilé in the Uva Province ; but I can find

no mention of a royal residence there. Raja Sinha had doubtless

gone to Bibilé for a course of baths in the hot ferruginous springs

from which the place derives its name. Knox (who had just entered

upon his long captivity when this letter was written) does not refer to

the place. (Cf. next letter.)

‘1 Frans van den Berg, doubtless (see supra, and Cey. Lit. Reg., IV.,

pp. 286, 292).

402 The signature of this a the next letter (both of which are

very carelessly written), it will be seen, differs from that in previous.

letters. | |

“S Translated from the original (in Portuguese) in the Ceylon

Record Office.

“* See Knox, Hist. Rel., pp. 5, 58.

“© The orig. has terras, an evident error for serras.

“46 Peraharas (see Knox, Hist. Rel., p. 78).

“7 According to Knox (Hist. Rel., p. 5), the King never again

returned to Kandy, which thereupon fell to decay.

No. 55.—1904.] RAJA SINHA II. AND THE DUTCH. 275

48 See Cey. Lit, Reg., 1V., p. 285.

Seen tey. Lit, Reg., FV., pp. 292, 293: CAS. Jl, EX.) p. 625.

Captain Robert Knox, p.13 x; Bat. Dagh-Reg., 1663, pp. 130, 329, 412,

580 ; Valentyn, Ceylon, 182.

460 See Knox, Hist. Rel., pp. 58-60; C.A.S. JL, XIL., p. 63 ; Captain

Robert Knox, pp. 15, 59, 60 ; Valentyn, Ceylon, p. 249.

*! According to Valentyn, Ceylon, pp. 303, 343 (see also C.A.S. JL,

X., p. 149). The Rajdvaliya incorrectly says that Raja Sinha “ died

at the expiration of the year 1614 of the Saka era,” z.¢., 1614 + 78 =

1692 a.D.

2 See C.A.S. Jl, XI., p. 63 et seg. (See also the Bat. Dagh-

' Registers, and Valentyn, Ceylon, passim).

Discussion being invited by the Chairman, Mr. C. M. FERNANDO said

that it was an interesting point that the Paper contained letters written

by a Sinhalese king in the Portuguese language.

The CHAIRMAN : I know T have written letters in the Maldivian

language in the sense that I only signed them, so that does not show

you have a knowledge of the language.

Mr. FERNANDO said that Don Juan Dharmapala, the first Christian

King of Ceylon, gave over his Crown to the King of Portugal, and

made Portuguese the Court language. |

Mr. R. G. ANTHONISZ said that he believed Knox mentioned that

Raja Sinha knew Portuguese and objected to Dutch being used.

There were some Dutch records which brought that history up to the

date of Raja Sinha’s death which appeared to have been removed from

the Record Office. |

The CHAIRMAN: Isthat so? This is the first time I hear of it. I

feel grateful for my attention being drawn to it and will inquire

into it.

* H. WHITE, Esq , to the HONORARY SECRETARY, Ceylon Branch of the

Royal Asiatic Society.

Colombo, May 24, 1904.

DEAR SIR,— WITH reference to the discussion at the last Meeting as to

Raja Sinha’s knowledge of Portuguese the following quotation from letter

22, page 77, of Mr. Donald Ferguson’s Paper shows that the king knew

Portuguese very well.

The king writes thus to Governor Van der Meyden: ‘ The letter that

your honour sent to this Imperial Court has been given to be translated into

the Portuguese language ; and when it is translated, after it has been

read in my imperial presence, conformably thereto I shall send you the

answer.” Also the following passage from Knox, Part IV., ch. IV.:

“There was much other discourse between the King and him (Mr. Vassal)

at this time in the Portuguese tongue.”

Yours faithfully,

H. WHITE.

276 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

Mr. W. F. GUNAWARDHANA said that the Paper with its notes formed.

one of the most valuable contributions hitherto made to Ceylon history.

He would like to suggest corrections on one or two points in the notes.

On page 4, in the recital of the king’s titles, he was styled, among

other things, Earl of Panova, Patoveta. He did not think with the

writer (note 17) that Panoa was a misreading for some other name.

Panoa was a well known principality in the days of Raja Sinha II. and

of his father Senarat. It appears prominently figured as Panoa

Regnum in Baldeus’s map about the southern extremity of the

geese Hastern Province. Patoveta evidently stands for Pata Hewa-

eta.

Vassara is explained in note 19 as Vallawe. Thisis improbable. It

probably stands for Passara in the Province of Uva. The Portuguese

and the Dutch did not make much distinction between the sounds of

p and v in writing and pronouncing Sinhalese names. ~

In the last paragraph of the king’s letter on page 19 the king, with

apparently unintended sarcasm, reminds his Dutch allies of their

crushing defeat at the hands of the Portuguese at Akuressa, a place

in the Matara District. The place, however, is alluded to not as Aku-

ressa (Ribeiro calls it Curaca) but as Averaca. Averaca evidently

stands for Aparekka, a place also in the Matara District, and ithe

explanation probably is that there was some confusion in the Kandyan

Court as to the name of the particular village where the Dutch

disaster occurred.

He suggested also the following identification, viz., ‘* Catajar” as

Cottiar near Trincomalee, and ‘‘ Alicaon ”’ as Alutgama near Bentota.

He wished also to draw special attention to the value of Mr. Fergu-

son’s first note with its important correction as to the date of the

reign of King Senarat.

VOTE OF THANKS.

6. Sir W. W. MircHELt said that he rose to propose a vote of thanks

to the writers of the two Papers. He was afraid he could not say

anything or add anything to the subjects. The history of ancient

Ceylon was something they should take a very great interest in. Mr.

Fernando’s Paper, he was sure, was of great interest, and if there was

not any work on the Palxography of Ceylon dealing with the ancient

coins of Ceylon, they would all be indebted if Mr. Fernando would

deal with all the coins collectively.

Dr. CHALMERS seconded, and said that there was difficulty in re-

cognizing Ceylon coins.

With a vote of thanks to the Chair, the Meeting terminated at a few

minutes to 11 o’clock.

No. 53.—1904. | PROCEEDINGS. 277

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Pe iee July 6, 1904.

Present :

The Hon. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G.., President,

in he Chae.

Mr. A.J.Chalmers, M.D., F.R.C.S. | The Hon. Mr. S. C. Obeyesekere.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A.., F.H.AS. | Mr. H. White, C.C.S.

Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar. | Mr. A. Willey, M. A.,D.Sc.,F.R.S.

Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretary.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last Council Meeting held on

May 11, 1904.

2. Resolved,—The election of following candidates as Members :—

C. Batuwantudawa.

G. A. Joseph.

R. H. Ferguson.

J. Harward.

af ge P. Attygalle : recommended by

R. J. Perera: recommended by

3. Laid on the table Circular No. 89 containing the opinions of

Mudaliyar A. M. Gunasékera and Proctor W. P. Ranasinha on a

Paper entitled “ Errors in Ceylon History,” by the late K. A. J. Pohath,

Mudaliyar, forwarded by his son Mr. T. B. Pohath Kehelpannala.

Resolved,—That the Paper be returned to Mr. T. B. Pohath Kehel-

pannala, and he be informed, as it does not go beyond the in-

troduction, that if a copy of the manuscript, of which the Paper

appears to be only an introduction, be forwarded, the matter will be

reconsidered by the Council.

4. laid on the table a Paper entitled “ Ancient. Swords,” by Mr.. |

C. M. Fernando.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Mr. H. C. P. Bell and

Mudaliyér A. M. Gunasékara for report.

5. Laid on the table a Paper entitled “ Francois Caron and the

French East India Company,” by Mr. F. H. de Vos.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Mr. J. P. noes and Dr.

W. G. Van Dort for report.

G. Laid on the table a Paper entitled ‘ Alakéswara : His Life and

Times,’ by Mr. E. W. Perera, Advocate.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Mr. W. P. Ranasinha and

Mudaliyar A.M. Gunasékara for rep

278 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ VoL. XVITI.

7. Laidon the table “ A Glossary of Words peculiar to the North-

Western Province,” by Major F. H. Modder.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Mr. J. Harward and the

Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere for report.

8. Laid on the tablea Paper entitled “ A Note on Raja Sinha I.,”

Mudaliyar W. F. Gunawardhana.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Mr. W. P. Ranasinha and

Mudaliyar A. M. Gunasékara for report.

9. Laid on the table a Paper entitled ‘‘ Bhumipatre granted to

Disava of Uva in Saka 1736 (‘1814 A.D.’), with Translation and aaa

by Mr. T. B. Pohath Kehelpannala.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Mr. W. P. Ranasinha and

Mudaliyar A. M. Gunasékara for report.

10. Considered a proposal from Mr. Frederick Lewis offering to

write a Paper for the Society to be entitled ‘“‘ A Brief History of Agri-

culture in Ceylon.”

Resolvec,—That the matter stand over for next Meeting. His

Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor promised, after communication

with Mr. Lewis, to report more fully in regard to the proposed Paper.

11. Considered the fixing of date and business for next General

Meeting.

Resolved, —That a Meeting be held about the end of August, but

that the actual date and business be left in the hands of the President

and the Honorary Secretaries.

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, September 1, 1904.

Present :

‘he Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G.,

President, in the Chair.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. | Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar.

Mr. R. H. Ferguson, B.A. | The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere.

Mr. A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc., Lon., F.R.S., Honorary Treasurer.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last Council Meeting held on

July 6, 1904.

a= sifh ead

No. 55.—1904. | PROCEEDINGS. AE

2. Resolved,—The election of following candidates as Members :—

K. W. Atukorala : recommended by | Nee Eree e

A. Willey.

G. A. Joseph.

W. F. Gunawardhana.

A. J. Wickramasinha.

E. F. A. Kemp: recommended by

J. M. Weerasuriya : recommended by

3. Laid on the table a Paper entitled ‘“‘ Portuguese Inscriptions in

Ceylon,” by Mr. J. P. Lewis, M.A., C.C.S.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Mr. H. C. P. Bell for

report.

4. laid on the table Circulars Nos. 123, 124, 125, and 127 contain-

ing Papers by Messrs. C. M. Fernando, F. H. de Vos, K. W. Perera,

and T. B. Pohath Kehelnannala, with the opinions of the gentlemen

to whom the Papers were referr ed to.

Resolved,—That the Papers of Messrs. F. H. de ae and E. W.

Perera be accepted, that Mr. C. M. Fernando’s Paper do stand over until

his return from England, and that Mr. T. B. Pohath Kehelpannala’s

Paper, with the original manuscript, be referred back to Mudaliyar

A. M. Gunasékara for further report.

5. Resolved, —That a General Meeting be held on September 7,

and that the business be the following :—

(1) To read a Paper entitled ‘“ Alakéswara: His Life and

Times,” by Mr. E. W. Perera, Advocate.

(2) To move a vote of thanks to the Hon. Mr. Everard im

Thurn,M.A., C.B., C.M.G., for his services as President.

6. Considered the appointment of a President in place of the Hon.

Mr. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G., Lieutenant-Governor.

Resolved,—That the Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., M.L.C., be

provisionally (subject to his consent) appointed President, and the

Vice-Presidentship rendered vacant by such appointment. be filled by

Dr. W. G. Van Dort, and the latter’s place on the Council be kept

open for the present.

7. laid on the table a letter from Mr. Armand de Souza, of the

Times of Ceylon, re translation of “‘ De Couto” and “ Barros.”

Resolved,— That it is regretted that Mr. Souza’s offer cannot be

accepted, as other arrangements have already been made for the

translation of ‘‘ De Couto” and “ Barros.”

280 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

GENERAL MEETING.

Colombo Musewm, September 7, 1904.

Present :

The Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G.,

President, in the Chair.

Mr. R. G. Anthonisz. Mr. G. B. Leechman.

Mr. C. Batuwantudawa, Advocate. | Mr. C. Namasivayam.

Mr. E. B. Denham, B.A., C.C.S._ | The Hon. Mr. 8S. C. Obeyesekere.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. | Mr. E. W. Perera, Advocate.

Mr. C. J. M. Gordon, M.A. Mr, H. F. Tomalin, F.R.I.B.A.

Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar. | Mr.G.E.S.S. Weerakoon, Muda-

Mr. I. Gunawardana, Mudaliyar. liyar.

Mr. W. F. Gunawardhana, Muda- | Ven. F. H. de Winton.

liyar. Mr. A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Visitors: Four ladies and twelve gentlemen.

Business.

i. Read and confirmed Minutes of last General Meeting held on

May 21, 1904.

2. Announced the election of following Members since the last

General Meeting, viz.:—

Messrs. T. P. Attygalle, R. J. Perera, H. W. Atukorala, aid BK. F. A.

Kemp.

3. Mr. E. W. Perera read the following Paper :—

No. 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA: HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 281

ALAKESWARA: HIS LIFE AND TIMES.

By Epwarp W. PERERA, Esq., Advocate.

DURING the middle of the fourteenth century the Sin-

halese power had considerably declined. Partly due to the

draining of the national resources in theattempt to keep back

the Tamils, the immediate cause of the disorganization of

the kingdom would appear to have been the presence of a

Mohammedan usurper on the throne of Kurunégala, Vathimi

Kumaraya, son of Bhuvanéka Bahu I., by a Moorish woman.

The hatred aroused by the introduction of Mohammedanism

as the State religion among an intensely Buddhist population,

and the pre-occupation and schemes to oust the usurper and

restore the national faith, allowed no time to the Sinhalese

to pay any attention to their neighbours, and rendered their

hold on the outlying Provinces of the country very

precarious.

On the western seaboard foreign pirates who had estab-

lished themselves at the different ports levied toll and tribute

from the country round and plundered passing vessels.

On the north the Kingdom of Jaffna daily grew in prestige

and power. Since the day the blind harper from Chola

(Tanjore) received from the Sinhalese monarch at Anura-

dhapura the peninsula of Jaffna as guerdon for his

minstrelsy,* the Tamil colony and the dynasty of the prince

he led over from South India had grown steadily, and the

unrest in the Sinhalese Kingdom gave them an opportunity

of quietly developing their resources.

The accession of the learned Parakrama Bahu IV. to the

throne of Kurunégala brought back the national faith and a

settled government. Beyond restoring order in the districts

* Brito’s Yalpana Vaipava Matai, p. 13.

282 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

under his immediate contro], and giving a great impetus to

learning, he achieved little else. Perhaps the shortness of his

reign or want of material resources prevented him from re-

establishing his dominion over the maritime districts and

breaking the power of the Tamil monarch. After him two

shadows flit across the Sinhalese throne, Wanni Bhuvaneka

Bahu and Wijaya Bahu,* and then we read that the capital

has been removed once again from Kurunégala to the more

secluded heights of Gampola. Bhuvanéka Bahu IV. was the

first monarch who reigned at Gampola. Itis very probable

that he had founded the city, set up an independent autho-

rity, and was ruling while the capital was yet Kurunégala, as

he dates his reign from 1344 A.D.t Both he and his successor

Parakrama Bahu V. were peaceful monarchs, who passed

their time hunting in the woods round Gampola,{ directing

the cultivation of fields, or building viharas§ for the Bud-

dhist priesthood, without striking a blow to win back any

portion of their lost inheritance.

When Wikkrama Bahu III., surnamed the Pandit, came to

the throne in 1356 the authority of the Tamil King was at its

height, and rivalled the power of the Sovereign who claimed

to be “ Lord of the three-fold Lanka.” Although history is

silent on this point, probably his power was felt in the Seven

Korales, and the Tamil princes of the Wanni on the Sinhalese

frontiers bowed to his overlordship. Backed by a powerful

alliance with the mighty Sovereign of the Pandiyas on the

neighbouring continent, Arya Chakkrawarti became not only

master of the Northern Provinces and possessor of a powerful

fleet of sailing vessels, but aimed at extending his authority

over the Sinhalese districts on the western seaboard.

In Wikkrama Bahu’s reign we first read of the remarkable

man, warrior, andstatesman, who was the foremost figure in

Ceylon History for nearly the next half century. By his

* Jaya Bahu, Mahawansa.

+ Vide inscriptions and Bell’s Kégalla Report, p. 92.

+ Ceylon Literary Register, vol. III., p. 276.

§ Bell’s Kégalla Report, pp. 78, 79.

No. 55.—1904.| ALAKESWARA: HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 283

genius in war he broke the power of the Tamil confederacy,

rescued the country from the anarchy under which it was

groaning, purified the Buddhist church, and hurling back an

invasion of the Chinese reduced his master, the Sinhalese

Sovereign, toa mere figurehead and rendered himself the one

supreme voice in the affairs of the Island.

Owing to the unsettled state of the country the record of

this time is very meagre, and one has to construct the life of

Alakéswara by piecing together scraps of information

scattered in contemporary works, of themselves of no great

importance, but read together forming a consistent history

of the times. Unfortunately the Chinese chronicles which

ought to throw considerable light on the history of this

period are not available for reference. I will, however, try

to connect the information at hand in the form of a conse-

cutive narrative, citing the authorities on which I base my

conclusions in footnotes, with comment and explanation

where necessary.

Nissanka Alagakkonara, or Alakés waraya, as he was known

to the men of his time, was a member of the princely house

of the Giriwansa,* probably an Aryan Kshatrya clan from

the North which had established itsélf in the city of

Kanchipura (Conjeveram). The family appear to have

crossed over in the reign of Parakrama Bahu V. during the

time his Minister Sénalankadhikari Senevirat was erecting

Buddhist shrines in Conjeveram, or still earlier, and to have

received the village of Rayigama as theirestate. ‘ Sénalanka-

dhikara Senevirat,” to quote the Nikaya Sangraha, “‘ who

was born of the high lineage of this king,” married a sister

of Alakéswara and left two sons by her, Vira Alakéswara,

called after his uncle, and Vira Bahu Ep.

We first hear of Nissanka Alagakkoénara, or Alakéswara,

during the reign of Wikkrama Bahu III. (1356-1871), and

even at that time he would appear to have been a chief of

* Nikaya Sangraha, printed edition, p. 25.

} Saddharmaratnakara, Museum MS., C. 12, p. D@O.

284. JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

distinction. ‘“ Thereafter,” runs the Vahawansa,* “in the

fair and delightful city on the banks of the Mahaveli-ganga,

renowned under the name of Péradeni Nuwara, and in the

days of Wikkrama Bahu the King, the distinguished Alagak-

konara, born of the lofty race of the Giriwansa, a man of great

understanding, endowed with majesty and faith and such

like virtues, became Prabhuraja. He was exceeding mighty,

and desired to promote the welfare of the church and

kingdom.” The office.of Prabhuraja to which Alakeswara

was appointed appears to have carried the powers and dig-

nity of a Viceroy, though it is difficult to state what the post

exactly implied. The times were troublous, and the country

required a vigorous and capable ruler at the helm of affairs,

a man with the brain to think and the hand tostrike. Such

a man was found in the Prabhuraja. Wikkrama Bahu III.,

like his immediate predecessors and his suecessor, appears

to have been more devoted to literature and the peaceful

arts than to fighting the Tamils. However, he was “ wise ”’

enough to realize that the only chance of national safety

lay in creating an office conferring full powers of Govern-

ment on the holder, morethan were vouchsafed to Minister,

and appointing Alakéswara thereto, preserving to himself

the quasi sacerdotal character of the Sinhalese monarch.

The Prabhuraja, no sooner he received his command,

appears to have gone down to Rayigama, his native village, to

concert measures to drive out the Tamils. Making Rayigama

his headquarters, which he fortified and improved, he

decided on building and garrisoning a new stronghold near

Colombo as the surest means of checking the enemy. The

contemporary record of the Nikaya Sangraha, to which we

are indebted for much of the history of this period, contains

a vivid description of the erection of the new fortress with

* Mahdwansa, c. 91, vv. 2-4. The passage is incorrectly rendered in

Wijayasinha’s translation. (Cf. the Pali and Sinhalese versions. The

crowning blunder occurs in v. 9, where the translator says, “‘ And this man

(é.e., Alakéswara) became king in that city as Bhuvanéka Bahu V.” The

text only says “ the illustrious (so) Bhuvanéka Bahu was king in that city

(Kotté).”

No. 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA : HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 285

which Alakéswara’s name is to this day associated, the scene

alike of his triumphs and his tragic death.

‘He issued commands through the ......... obedient and

faithful chiefs (mandalikas) in his service,and nigh unto

the haven called Colombo he caused a mighty deep and broad

ditch to be dug, dreadful to behold, like the sides of a steep

rock, right round the village Darugrama, which was situated

in the midst of a lake and protected on all sides by a never-

failing stream of water,” and he caused to be adorned with

different devices like acreation of Viswakarma the interven-

ing spaces on the summit of the great rampart wall, which

for the sake of stability had been built entirely of stone from

the base of the ditch up to the coping on the wall. Thus he

built a famous fortress called Abhinawa Jayawardhana,t

well fortified with idan-gini,t pult mugam,§ bhumiyan-

tattut, attala, t.e. towers, and vatta-vetta,t which were

constructed at intervals. He caused to be built on the

summit of the great wall of the city for the protection of its

four sides four separate holy places, dedicated to each of the

four great god-kings who protect the four quarters of Lanka,

Kihireli Upulvan,| Samanboksel,{ Vibhishana,** and Kanda

*Since named Diyawannawa, “ the stream of victory” (Sri Rahula’s

Selalihini Sandésa, v. 8), so-called after the ‘‘City of Victory,” Jayawar-

dhanapura. The name has subsequently been corrupted into Juannawa,

popularly supposed to be derived from Don Juan Dharmapala, the last King

of Kétté (1542-1597).

f Jayawardhanapura, or Jayawardhana Kotté, ‘‘ the victory bringing

(lit. increasing) city,” modern Kotté.

{ Old military terms, the meanings of which | have not been able to

ascertain.

§ Tam. puli, tiger ; mugam, face: “tiger faces” of masonry, an archi-

tectural term.

|| Vishnu, thetutelary deity of Ceylon. Sin. Aihireli, so called since the

image of the god in the great shrine of Vishnu at Devinuwara, ‘the city of

the god” (Dondra), was made of Kihiri wood (Alimosa catechu); Sin.

Upulvan, Sk. Utpalavarna, “ green-hued,” an epithet of Vishnu.

q Sin. Sumana and Samana, from Sk. Lakshmana, brother of Rama ;

and Sin. boksel, from 8k. bhrigusaila, rocky peak, the title by which he was

distinguished as the tutelary deity of Adam’s Peak, the district round

which he is supposed to have ruled. Cf. Sin. Saman Deviyo.

** Brother and successor of Ravana, MHejoined the Aryan invaders, and

was placed on the throne of Ceylon by Ram4 after his defeat of Ravana.

286 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Von. XVIII.

Kumara,” and he commanded that the temple services and

festivals should be maintained without intermission with

every description of music, such as the music of the drum

and pipe, and dancing and singing. Having filled it

with all manner of riches he peopled the city with a great

multitude.”’t . :

Finding in the weakness of the Sinhalese the most

favourable opportunity of adding their maritime provinces to

his own, Arya Chakkrawarti had marched down from

Jaffna. In order to mask his design, he proclaimed that he

had come to see the country.t ‘“Alakéswara, who saw

through the design of this prince, with an army betook

himself to the village of Rayigama and pitched there. The

King of Jaffna in the meantime continued to advance and

seized the seven Sinhalese ports,’§ the only parts that he

could successfully hold against the Sinhalese, imposed a large

tax on the inhabitants, and withdrew. ‘‘ While these things

were passing Alakéswara built a walled town at Rayigama,

which he plentifully provided with men and provisions, and

also another between the five villages called Cotta, and a

moat and a wall there drawn round it. He provided it with

troopsand quantities of arms, and constructed dykes round

the fortress,” so as to flood the country round in the event of

aninvasion. He built moats and tanks to serve as reservoirs,

and laid in large supplies of salt, cocoanuts, and paddy to

stand a protracted siege.| When he had fortified Kotté,

* Sk. Skanda Kumara or Kartikeya, the war-god of the Aryans, popularly

known to the Sinhalese as Kataragama Deviyé (from Sk. Kartikeya).

K6tté would appear to have been under the special protection of this

divinity, to whom a temple was dedicated. The shrine is singled out for

praise in Sri Rahula’s Selalihini Sandésa, v.25, &c., as the glory of the city.

+ Nikaya Sangraha (printed edition), p.26. Tothis day there are families

at Kétté bearing gé names showing their descent from sires who came over

from villages in the neighbourhood of Alakésawara’s city of Rayigama, e..,

Bulat-Sinhala, Makalandawa.

t Valentyn, vol. V., p 71. (Dutch edition). The passages adapted from

the Dutch are placed within inverted commas.

§ Properly ‘“‘ nine ports.”

|| Rajavaliya (Gunasékara’s translation), p. 66.

No. 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA: HIS LIFE AND TIMES, 287

probably leaving his nephew Vijaya Bahu in command,*

Alakéswara returned to Rayigama, which he made

his base, although he had constantly to divide his time

between the two fortresses during the whole of this

campaign.

When he had completed his preparations, and they took

him nearly twenty years, Alakéswara reviewed his army,

and feeling that he was strong enough to take the field defied

the Tamil King by hanging the tax collectors, whom Arya

Chakkrawarti had stationed in different parts of the country.

When intelligence reached Jaffna of the revolt of Alakés-

wara, Arya Chakkrawarti determined to finally crush the

Sinhalese by asimultianeous attack on their two great strong-

holds. He summoned to his aid a force of 100,000 men f

from the Malabar Coast, the subjects of his great ally of Pan-

diya, in addition to his own army, and sent them forth in two

divisions to make attacks on Gampola and Kotte. The

force meant for the capture of Gampola marched overland

and halted at Matalé. On hearing this Bhuvanéka Bahu V., —

who had succeeded Wikkrama Bahu III., although he had a

large army with him, could not muster up courage to fight

the Tamils, and with a single follower fled from Gampola and

sought the protection of his Minister at Rayigama. The

Sinhalese monarchs from time immemorial had led their

people in war, and the rage of the army broke out in fierce

denunciation of the king. ‘“ What profiteth us a king,” they

asked, ‘‘ who has deserted an army such as we arer’t and

proceeded to take instant measures to repel the invaders.

“They realized that defeat meant certain bondage to the

Tamil,” aud laid their plans most warily. The forces of the

* Also called Vira Alakéswara. According to the inscription onan ancient

sword in Mr.C M. Fernando’s possession, he was yura raja living in the

palace of the Commander-in-Chief (Seneviraja Wasala) at Kétté in 1378

during these events.

7 Valentyn, loc. cit.

t Rajavaliya, p. 67.

L 66-04

288 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

five districts,* which constituted the Gampola Kingdom, con-

sulted together and made a night attack on the Tamil camp.

Taken unawares, large numbers of the enemy were speared to

death, and the few survivors that succeeded in escaping, in

their struggle to return home, perished on the mountains.f

The force intended to take Kdtté came by sea, disembarked

in two divisions at the bay of Colombo and at Panaduré, and

encamped at Gorakana in Dematagoda. The enemy, accord-

ing toa contemporary, mustered in great force, “clad in mail

and fully armed,” and took up positions at Colombo, Wattala,

Negombo, Chilaw, &c., which they strongly entrenched with

Wisapeleli, Nadasala, and Marasi.t

Behind the walls of Kotté, with a Sinhalese army and a

force of Tamils,§ probably mercenaries, Alakeswara awaited

the arrival of the enemy. |

When intelligence reached him of the landing of the

enemy, ‘“‘ mounted on his elephant he dispersed a force of

about five thousand Tamils that held Mattamagoda,”’+ and

stormed their camp and utterly defeated them at Gorakana.

Cutting off the retreat of the fugitives by destroying their

vessels at Colombo, with a rapid movement he marched to

Panaduré, where he routed the remainder of Chakkra-

warti’s forces and shattered their ships off that port. After

this signal victory Alakeswara returned in triumph to Rayi-

gama. He was hailed as the deliverer of the country and

received into the ranks of the five highest princely orders of

the realm, 2.¢., Dipadhiraja, Supreme Ruler of the Island;

Mandalikardja, Provincial Ruler; Pradésardja, District

Ruler; Antarabhogikaraja, Ruler of a sub-district; and

Anusasakaraja, Supreme Counsellor. Numerous bards

chanted the praises of the hero. The following Pali pxan,

* Sin. Uda pas rata, i.e., Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Harispattuwa4, Hewa-

heta,and Dumbara. Rdjdvaliya (Sin. ed.), p. X.; Ceylon Literary Register,

vol. III., p. 335,

t Valentyn, loc. cit.

{ Old military terms, meanings of which I have not been able to ascertain.

§ Nikaya Sangraha, p. 27. |

No. 59.—13904.] ALAKESWARA: HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 289

which has come down to us, reproduces the spirit and feeling

of the time :—

Tatananta katiabba sudhddhara bhito.

Salankara lanka suvannaddi vaso.

Sapatiebha kumbhabbi bhede pavino.

Virajetu lankajanadhi sa stho.*

(The Chief) who has lent his aid in raising many a es

building.

(The Chief) who lives in the Golden Mount, Fair Lanka.

(The Chief) mighty in cleaving the skulls of foes (strong) as

elephants.

May the Lion, the Chief of the people of Lanka, gloriously

triumph.

Arya Chakkrawarti’s power was effectively broken by

this defeat. The Tamil made no further inroads, and two

reigns later Jaffna became a Sinhalese Province. After the

final overthrow of the Tamils, Bhuvanéka Bahu V. returned

to Gampola, but his subjects swore they would have no

coward for their Sovereign,* and the old king went back

to reign at Kottet under the egis of his great Minister, whose

power overshadowed the Crown (circa 1391). Thereafter

the mountain districts were administered from Gampola by

the young yuvaraja, Vira Bahu Epa, a brave prince, who

re-organized the government and the army, and restored

order in the highlands by expelling from the country

numerous bands of foreign marauders who were roaming

the country in search of pillage. ¢

In the years that followed, Alakéswara, now exalted into a

national hero, appears to have gradually consolidated his

power. By the endowment of viharas, by liberal gifts to the

priesthood, and by manifesting an interest in matters affect-

ing the welfare of the church, he enlisted the powerful

support of the clergy. In 1369, while Wikkrama Bahu III.

yet reigned, we find him presiding at a convocation with the

* Valentyn, loe. eit. |

+ This fact is not expressly stated in the chronicles, but chapter 91}, v, 9,

Mahawansa, and his sannases quoted in Bell’s Kégalla Report, pp. 93, 94,

put the matter beyond any doubt.

{ Nikaya Sangraha, pp. 28-30.

290 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOL. XVIII.

royal authority to correct the abuses of the church and

restore harmony among conflicting sects. ‘“ With a view to

his happiness hereafter,” writes Dharmakirti Thero in the

Nikaya Sangraha, “he caused religious edifices to be built

by spending several sums of a thousand pieces; he con-

structed great Royal Viharas, ‘Raja Maha Viharas,’ numbers of

Aramas, such as Sidurugiri Vihara, directed the erection of

pirivenas, ‘cloisters ’* after the honorary family titles borne

by his race, called Kanchipura Purandara, ‘ Chief of the City

of Kanchi,’ Giriwansasekhara, ‘ Crown of the Giriwansa race,”

and Nissanka Alakeswara. Moreover, inthe neighbourhood

of his ancestral holding, the noble city of Rayigampura,

coveted by numbers of men of many lands and replete with

all the requisites of cities, he constructed different viharas.

for the great body of priests, those that inhabited villages

and those that lived in forests, and feeding them with the

four kinds of alms he continued to lay up a great deal of

merit.” “By his liberality, fair speech, goodness, and

affability,” the same author tells us, “he won the favour

of the people.” Warrior and statesman, Alakéswara seems.

also to have been a man of culture and a patron of

literary men.

Civil war broke out on the death of Bhuvanéka Bahu V.

of K6étté (circa 1401).t So long as the old king lived Vira

Bahu Epa laid no claim to the lowland Provinces which

constituted the newly-formed kingdom of Kotté. Now,

Vira Alakéswara Wijaya Bahu of Rayigama, elder brother

of Vira Bahu of Gampola, disputed the latter’s right to succeed

and sought to keep him out of the low-country. Alakéswara

appears to have instigated and supported this movement.

However, he took the precaution of not openly espousing

the cause of either brother. His object seems to have been

to place a weak Sovereign on the throne of Kétte, whom he

'* Pirivena originally meant a “cell” (see word in Childers’ Pali Dic-

tionary, mistranslated “‘ college” in the Mahawansa).

+ Possibly in the readjustment of a mutilated text si date has been

inserted in a wrong place in the Rajavaliya (vide p. 68).

No. 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA : HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 291

could bend to his will, and who would owe the throne

itself to the Minister. Vira.Bahu Epa marched down from

Gampola, and in a battle at Rayigama severely defeated his

elder brother Vira Alakéswara, who fled the country.*

During this period (circa 1408) a Chinese Admiral,} who

was cruising the Indian seas with a mandate from the Chinese

Emperor to offer tribute or the sword to the Kings of the

Hast, landed in Ceylon. Refusing to yield tribute or allow

him to plant a pillar of victory on the coast in token..of

‘Chinese sovereignty, with all his old vigour and resource

Alakéeswara defeated the Chinese in an engagement and beat

them back to their ships.

Meanwhile Vira Alakéswara returned from India with

succours from the King of Chéla (Maha Desa),{ defeated his

brother, and mounted the throne at Kotté (civca 1401-03). He

assumed the crown under the title of Vira Wijaya Bahu

VI.,§ the crown which Alakéswara coveted but dared not

assume, so much did popular prejudice incline to the old

royal line. Subsequent events show that the ambitious

Prime Minister was even then aiming at the throne, but the

time was not yet ripe for the execution of his design. The

new king, unlike his predecessor, was a warrior and a

vigorous and capable ruler, and would be dictated to by no

master.

A few years later, when the Chinese Admiral Ching-Ho

returned to avenge the insult to the Chinese flag, as sketched

‘i Baddharmar atnakara (Museum MS8.), C. 12, p. a@O.

} Tennent, vol. I., pp. 416, 417, 622-624, 628, and the Chinese authorities

quoted ; Beal’s ** Buddhist re of the Riesrern World,” vol. IL., 246-282.

+ I am inclined to think that the Dos Raja or Maha Dos Raja referred

to in the Rajavaliya, p. 66, is a'mistake for a Maha Desa Raja, a. Tamil King

of the great country, probably Chéla (¢f. Brito’s Yalpanam Malai, p. xxv),

who helped Wijaya Bahu to defeat his brother Vira Bahu of Gampola,

whom perhaps he took captive. Valentyn, who has had access to a more

reliable edition of the Rdjdavaliya than the one that has come down io us,

describes him as a Tamil monarch, Some pages of the original Rajavaliya

have been lost, and in an attempt to make a consistent narrative of a

broken record a later scribe has rolled up two invasions into one, besides

making other serious blunders Saddharmaratnakara, p. a@O.

Vira Bahu, Mahawansa. ,

292 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

above, matters had changed in Ceylon. Wijaya Bahu

VI. was reigning at Kotte, and his uncle Alakéswara, a

disappointed man, brooded over his lost authority in his

native city of Rayigama. He saw inthe arrival of the Chinese

fleet a means to regain his lost power, and secretly opened

up negotiations with Ching-Ho. Stratagem succeeded

where valour would have been vain against the entire

forces of a hostile country. By a “device,”* apparently

suggested by Alakéswara, Wijaya Bahu was completely

lulled into security. The Chinese entered Kotte as am-

bassadors bearing gifts and tribute to the Sinhalese Monarch

from the Chinese Emperor.t When the ruse was discovered

it was too late to offer any effective resistance. Wijaya Bahu

fighting desperately was taken captive with a number of

princes and nobles, while several of his brothers and chief-

tains fellin the encounter (circa 1410-1411). TheSinhalese

Monarch, with the other captives, was deported to China,

and Alakéswara was acknowledged King by the Chinese as

tributary to the “Brother of the Sun.”{ Having seen the

Chinese junks depart with the King he set himself to

work to bring the nation to his allegiance before having

himself formally installed as EKmperor.§ Alakeswara was

now master of the Kingdom, wielding a greater power than

he ever possessed. However, he had scarce ruled for two

years when an event occurred which threatened to put an

end to his supremacy. Wijaya Bahu VI. released by the

Chinese returned to Ceylon (circa 1411-1412). Onhisarrival

at the port of Colombo he was greeted with professions of

delight by Alakéswara, who went forth to welcome his

* Saddharmaratnakara, Museum MS., C. 12, p. a@o.

+ Vaientyn, loc. cit.; Rajavaliya (Gunasékara’s translation), p. 66.

{ Lee’s translation of Ribeiro, p. 24.

§ Sinhalese Monarchs always assumed the Imperial title, as overlords of

the different Kingdoms into which the Island was divided. Even when

their dominions only consisted of the Kingdom of Kandy, they tenaciously

clung to the title, and had their claim to the dignity, though not to the

territory, allowed by both Portuguese and Dutch.

No. 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA: HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 293

sovereign. That night the returned exile was murdered in

his capital* and the Minister governed the country. Hedid

not consider it expedient to assume the Crown at once,

fearing that his complicity in the late revolution might be

suspected, and his assumption of the royal title would be

resented by the nation. However, his ambition would not

rest satisfied with the power without the style and dignity of

Sovereign, and he proceeded warily to secure the Crown

which was already inkis grasp. With this object, runs the

old tradition,t he attempted to win over to his cause the

aged Widagama Maha Sami, the Great Priest of Rayigama,

but the old loyalist had other schemes.

When Kotté was sacked and the King captured, Wijaya

Bahu’s Queen Sunetra Devi, with her young son, escaped in

the confusion and fled to Widagama. His only possible rival

to the throne, Alakéswara feared the young prince Sri Para-

krama Hpana, called by the Chinese Seay-pa-nae-na, and

despatched men to kill him. Several attempts to destroy

the son of Wijaya Bahu having failed, the prince was secretly

concealed by Widagama Maha Sami in the monastery.

Here he lived unknown to Alakéswara, and was brought up

and educated by the priest, who concerted measures to place

the bov on his father’s throne. And legend tells how

Alakéswara bade Widagama set the crown of Lanka on his

head, how the priest put the usurper off by telling him thata

great capital should be built to hold so great a King, and till

then he should not be crowned. Hence during the three

years of his dictatorship to fulfil the condition and get the

Chief Priest to perform the rite, Alakéswara added to and

improved his city of Kotté, converting it from a bare fortress

into a magnificent capital with stone baths and cisterns,

Spacious streets, and fine edifices. At length the city which

Widagama meant for another master was completed and a

*De Couto.

{ Vide my article on ‘The Ruins of K6tté,” Ceylon Literary Register

Supplement (Dec. 1900), p. 41; Rdjdvaliya, p.68. Thecountryside tradition

supplements the bare summary of events in the Rdjavaliya.

294. JOURNAL, 8.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

date appointed for Alakeswara’s coronation. Meanwhile a

conspiracy was formed, led by the Maha Sami of Rayigama,

to rid the country of the usurper and to restore the old line.

Shortly before the coronation the Ministers and Chiefs who

were dissatisfied with the rule of the Dictator met on the

summons of Widagama and decided to bring the prince,

now a youth of sixteen, from his concealment and secretly

introduce him to the people. .

On the 7th day of the bright fortnight of the month

Wesak (April-May), 1415, on the raised stone platform

facing the palace in his own city of Jayawardhana Kotte,

overlooking the beautiful tank he had built, the old warrior

clad in all the insignia of royalty sat to receive the crown

for which he had his whole life struggled. The square was

filled with nobles, troops, and people. As Alakéeswara

turned his face for the auspicious rite, the State sword

which Widagama Sami held in his hand to gird the new

King was handed to the young prince, and the head of

Alakéswara rolled into the tank below. The body of the

aged hero made way for the son of Wijaya Bahu, and the

lad of sixteen was hailed King as Sri Paradkrama Bahu

V1.*

Thus perished Alakeswara, like a greater figure in history,

a victim to his own ambition. The manner of his death

was a fitting close to astormy career. With him passed away

the age of Tamil conquest and oppression. He left the

kingdom strong and united, to revive in a measure the

forgotten glories of Anuradhapura and Pollonaruwa. He

rendered it possible for his successor to carry his arms

into the country of Ariya Chakkrawarti, and in fact to be

crowned King .of a United Lanka. Once again under Sri

Parakrama Bahu VI. Sinhalese armies marched from the

city of Alakéswara to conquer powerful Tamil kingdoms

of the Dekkhan, as they had done in the days of the Great

* Rajavaliya, p. 68. Ceylon Literary Register Supplement (Dec. 1900),

p. 41.

Pr.

No. 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA : HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 299

Pardkrama. But it was the last gleam before the darkness ;

soon the Sinhalese had to brace themselves for a death

struggle for their national existence with an invader far

more ruthless and formidable than the Tamil.

APPENDIX A.

“From that time forward religious harmony prevailed among the

priesthood up to the 15th year of Bhuvanéka Béhu V. Up to the

fourth year of Bhuvanéka Bahu there was fulfilled 1929 years after

the death of our Sage (1382 a.p.). Thereafter there was the

own son of Alakéswara Prabhuraja, his* father’s nephew Vira

Alakéswara, the latter’s younger brother Vira Bahu Hipana, his son

Wijaya Epa, his younger brother Tunayésa, whose father’s elder

brother Vira Alakéswara, having been defeated by his younger brother

Vira Bahu Epa, fled the country. Thereafter he returned and reigned

twelve years. |

Afterwards, in consequence of the sins of a former birth, he fell

into a device of the Chinese and went away; thereupon Parakrama

Bahu Epa, the grandson of Lanka Senevirat, who had been previously

mentioned, ascended the throne in the month of Poson in the year of

‘Buddha 1958 and 1722nd year from the establishment of the religion

in the Island, after the demise of the said seven.”’—Saddharmaratna-

kara, Colombo Museum MS., C. 12, p. a@2 ; MS. V., p. &s.

* “His” refers throughout to the name immediately preceding.

-—

—

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON).

296

APPENDIX B.

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No. 95.—1904.] ALAKESWARA : HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 297

APPENDIX C.

It is generally assumed that Alakéswara became king as Bhuvanéka

Bahu V. on the authority of a passage in the Rajaratnakara, which

was written in 1542. “On the death of the great King Wikkrama

B4hu III., who became king in the city of Péradeni Nuwara, the

Minister Alaghakko6n, born of the lofty race of the Giriwansa, became

the great King Bhuvanéka Bahu V., attained royal state in the city of

Gampola, and went to the world of the gods.” — Rdjaratnakara (printed

edition), p. 49.

The Mahdwansa, the portion of which dealing with this period was

written in 1757, apparently supports this statement. Mudaliyar L. C.

Wijayasinha has rendered the passage as follows (vide Wijayasinha’s

Mahdawansa, c. XCI., vv. 1-4) :—

(1) “And after the death of (Bhuvanéka Bahu IV.) there reigned

two kings in that selfsame city (Gangasiripura), namely, Parakrama

Baéhu V. and the wise Vikkrama Bahu III. (2) Now, in the time of

the King Vikkrama Bahu there (3) was a mighty prince of great

wisdom, Alagakkonara by (4) name, and he dwelt in the beautiful and

famous city of Péradoni, which is on the banks of the river Mahoru-

ganga. And he was endued with majesty and faith and such like

virtues, and desired greatly to promote the welfare of the church and

the kingdom.”

The passage may be more literally rendered :—

“ After the death of (so rdjo) that distinguished king (i.e., Bhuva-

néka Bahu IV.) there lived in that same city two kings, Parakrama

Bahu V.and the learned Wikkrama Bahu III. Thereafter in the fair

and delightful city on the banks of the Mahaweli-ganga, renowned

under the name of Péradeni Nuwara, and in the days of Wikkrama

Bahu the king, the distinguished (so) Alagakkénara, born of the lofty

race of the Giriwansa, a man of great understanding, endowed with

majesty and faith and such like virtues, became Prabhuraja. He was

exceeding mighty, and desired to promote the welfare of the church

and the kingdom.”

Mudaliyar L. C. Wijayasinha translates Prabhurdja merely by

“prince,” omits the words “of the Giriwansa,” and has missed the .

significance of the word so, which is used here in the sense of “ distin-

guished ” or “illustrious,” qualifying Alagakkénara as ¢l/e is in Latin,

and not as a relative pronoun, meaning “ who” or “‘ that,” to refer to

Bhuvanéka Bujo, (vide Childers’ Pali Dictionary, under so). So is simi-

larly used in v.1, so Bhuvanéka Bujo, where it refers to no previous noun,

and this has been realized by the Mudaliy4r. Perhaps a reminiscence

of the Rajaratndkara made the learned translator of the Mahdwansa

adopt this rendering and omit to notice the fact that Alakéswara

belonged to the Giriwansa, while Bhuvanéka Bahu V. was a member

298 ' JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

of the Suriyawansa, the ancient royal Sinhalese dynasty (vde Bell’s

Kégalla Report, p. 91). However, contemporary authority places the

matter beyond any doubt that the Minister Alakéswara was not King

Bhuvanéka Bahu V. The Sinhalese translation of the Atianagalu-

wansa, p. 1, which was commenced during this king’s reign, contains

the following :—

“T translate from Pali into Sinhalese the Attanagaluviharawansa at

the command of Anavamadarsi Mahasami Sangharaja (Pontiff), and at

the request made to me on the completion of 1,304 years of the Saka

era (¢.e. 1382 a.p.) by the Chief General Satrusinha Kunjara, who has

found favour in the sight of the two, the Minister Alakéswara, the

Supreme Chief of Lanka (Lankddhiswara) sprung from an unblemished

and ancient race of the noble city of Vanchi (Conjeveram).........

and Prime Minister of Bhuvanéka Bahu V., chief of the nine gems

and lord of the three-fold Sinhala, and his (7.c., Alakéswara’s) brother

ult hgs dae Minister Arthanayaka.”

The Mayuru Sandésa (‘ Peacock Message ’’), a contemporary poem,

contains references to both Bhuvanéka Bahu V. and Alakéswara.

The king is described as holding court at Gampola when the poem

was written, and the Minister as residing at Raiygampura with his

brother Arthanayaka.

14, 8586 ®29 ODGOME A Le Bam

RYosy a Gomn 2 ad Ome

eC®A@CG& 86 sce Qo ASG O04

ED OH Q) QVODH Q 6g sd

May victory attend the exalted and meritorious King Bhuwanéka

Bahu, whose arm is the constant and loving abode of Lakshmi, who is

like a lion that takes the frontal globes of elephant-like enemies ; he

who supporting Lanka made this city (G@ampola) abound in wealth.

AA AQ

D1. BRE GOYSOHIRVWS DOHRDSO PW eEODRS HY ga

ASMOoDd Jones QDS DO.

Friend ! now hear the greatness of the Prabhuraja (Viceroy)

Alakéswara, friend of Maheswara (¢.e., Siva), the lord of this city.

D8. dees ai MQIOIO OMI DA Me ro)

Orga m2 G,0ad OYOMNO G 6

9d wal O64 2,0 wa OME KS QS 6

Seo 2a omdand BYae Fo OOS 6

May the lord Alagakkénara, who so often caused chanks proclaiming

victory to sound high ; whois like unto a lion-king which strikes down

enemies mighty as elephants; whose fame and glory overflows the

whole universe,—prosper in this city (Raiygam).

No. 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA : HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 299

66. 8BGxe ouQmQoxz HMHIG, VNGRDImead gSane

Hos QO Dd.

- Hear the like greatness of that ocean of goodness, the Minister

(Arthandyaka), the brother of that lord (Alagakkénara).

67. Oao.d TS BS gen 2:98 ood cx @

Oyd19 sa 88d, OOO GHA. é

8619 st aaSst 9D OSD GE 2

Oz801D a GOED BY QGDHAOA wz ¢

With faith and love devout, he ceaselessly makes offerings to the

three gems (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) ; sordid thoughts he has

banished from his mind like a foe; like as the wishing gem he gives

away riches to mendicants. This noble minister, a royal lord, is the

wish-conferring tree of Heaven.

The Rajavaliya, though the pages referring to the Chinese invasion

have been tampered with, clearly supports contemporary authorities on

the point :—

“he force which marched by land haited at Matalé; that which

came by sea landed and reached Colombo from Panaduré and encamped

at Gorakana in Dematagoda, holding the intervening country by a

continuous line of defence. Bhuvanéka Bahu, alarmed, left Gampola

and fled to the city of Rayigama.

“The army of the hill country said among themselves, ‘ What pro-

fiteth us a king who has deserted an army such as we are ?’ And the

forces of the five districts having taken counsel together entered the

[enemies’|] camps at night, created disorder therein, stabbed the

Tamils, and made a great slaughter. The Tamils who had escaped the

slaughter, being routed, fled to Yapapatuna.

“ Alakésvara broke through anc attacked the camps at Gorakdna in

Dematagoda, slew the Tamils, destroyed the ships which lay off

Panaduré port, and repaired to Rayigama. [Then] Bhuvanéka Bahu

of Gampola went [back] to Gampola.”’—Rdjdvaliya (Gunasékara’s

translation), pp. 66, 67.

APPENDIX D.

According to the Nikaya Sangraha, p. 28, Bhuvanéka Bahu V.

ascended the throne in 1371, and “in the 20th year of his reign that

king’s brother-in-law (suhuru badu™), the Epa Vira Bdhu of the

* Sin. #407 @€), from Sk. @2, @d, wife’s or husband’s father, and

2-0), treasure, “the treasure of a father-in-law,” hence in Sin. a massind,

a brother-in-law or cousin (wide Ummagga Jétaka).—W. P. Ranasighe.

300 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Mehenewara family, attained to the dignity of king.” This enables

us to fix the date of the Tamil invasion as 1391, when Bhuvanéka

B4hu V. fled the capital and his Epa Vira Bahu occupied the Gampola

throne after defeating the invaders. Although Vira Bahu is recorded

to have “attained to the dignity of king,” he is throughout referred

to in the Nikaya Sangraha as Eipa,* and that so late as 1396 (p. 30).

This proves that he had not as yet assumed a royal title or was

crowned, for the anointed Sovereign Bhuvanéka Bahu still lived at

Kétté, as we find from the Mahdwansa and his sannas referred to in

Mr. Bell’s Kégalla Report. Though the Rajavaliya, p. 67, says that

the monarch returned to Gampola after the defeat of the Tamils, it

will be noted that Valentyn distinctly mentions that the Kandyans

refused to have a coward for their king, when Bhuvanéka Bahu V.

would appear to have gone to Koétté as he had previously betaken

himself to Rayigama. Considerable difficulty has been experienced in

fixing the date and identity of the monarch who succeeded Bhuvanéka

Bahu V., chiefly due to the confusion created by the different titles he

bore. Vira Alakéswara, Dambadeni Bandara (vide Appendix F), and

Wijaya Bahu VI. would appear to be all names for the monarch of the

Chinese captivity. He was nephew of Alakéswara, brother-in-law

(suhuru-badu) of Bhuvanéka Bahu V., and a member of the Mehene-

warat branch of the Suriyawansa (vide Appendix B). Vira Alakéswara

is stated in the contemporary Saddharmarainakara (vide Appendix A)

to have succeeded Bhuvanéka Bahu V., to have reigned for twelve years,

* Sin. Epa is derived from the Sk. Adhi (chief) and pada (an honorific),

hence chief officer or official. The title corresponds to Archduke, and was

in ancient times conferred on the heir-apparent. During the 14th and

15th centuries it was borne by other princes of the blood as well, the heir

apparent being the Epa par excellence. Mapa, Sk. Maha (great) and pada

(honorific), Jit. great official, Grand Duke, ranked next (wide Sevul Sandésa

Rajaratnakara, p. 47). Epa was superseded in the 15th century by the less

august Bandar (Sk. bhandara, treasury; bandar, one maintained out of the

treasury) as the title of the king’s sons. The Bandar or Bandara lost the

character of a distinctive rank of royalty about the 16th and 17th centuries

when, after the Portuguese fashion, Maha Astana (“ His Highness”) was

adopted as the title for the royal princes. Bandar came then to be con-

ferred on the natural children of the king and the greater chiefs, as the

highest rank of nobility, until the title became very common during the

last days of the Kandyan Kingdom. The word is not to be confounded

with the post of Pandaram,Tam. non-brahminical temple attendant (G'una-

stkara’s Glossary, p. 13), which was essentially Tamil, and the holders of

which were Coast Tamils. During the later days of the Sinhalese monarchy,

on account of the Hindu religious influence of the Court, many of these

had settled in the country and obtained grants of land on service tenure to

the déwalas: members of some of these guasi-sacerdotal families came

into prominence during the Dutch rule.

t For origin of the name (vide Rajaratnakara, printed edition, pp. 55, 56).

wha

tot hy amit

No, 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA : HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 301

and to have been taken captive by the Chinese. The Chinese chroni-

cles call him A-lee-ko-nae-wah.* That his official designation was

Sri Wijaya Bahu VI. is clear from the Rdjavaliya, which alludes to

his capture and deportation by the Chinese (p. 66). The Nikdaya

Sangraha, p. 28, runs, “In the twentieth year of Bhuvanéka Bahu V.

his brother-in-law (suhuru-badu) Vira Bahu Epana of the Mehenewara

family attained to the dignity of king,” and that he corrected the

clergy in 1396 (p. 30).

The Saddharmaratnakara, written by the same author (vide Appendix

A), records that Vira Bahu Epana was the younger brother of Vira

Alakéswara, “and tkat Vira Alakéswara having been defeated by

his younger brother at Raigama fled the country. Thereafter he

returned and reigned twelve years.”

This establishes that the warrior who saved Gampola when the king

fled to Rayigama was not Vira Alakéswara, otherwise Wijaya Bahu VI.,f

but his younger brother Vira Bahu. The Mayuru Sandésa, vv. 21-28,

refers to a chief (? Vira) Vikkrama Epa as Bhuvanéka Bahu V.’s yuva-

raja, sub-king and heir apparent at Gampola, and an ancient sword

inscription (vide note*, p. 287) speaks of a yuva-rdja Vira Bahu living in

the palace of the Commander-in-Chief at K6tté (circa 1373). Itis diffi-

cult to tell whether these yuva-rdjas are identical, and, if not, which

of the brothers is meant. Vira Alakéswara was probably at the time

of the Tamilinvasion yuva-raja at Kotté assisting the Prabhuraja. He

succeeded to the throne of K6tté on the death of Bhuvanéka Bahu V.

(circa 1400), but his younger brother Vira Bahu of Gampola, with a

force from the hill-country, defeated him near Rayigama and seized

the throne. Vira Alakéswara fled the country for a time, but re-

turning with succours from India, in his turn conquered Vira Bahu

and wrested the crown, of which he was deprived by the Chinese in

1408.

Regarding the date to be assigned to Wijaya Bahu VI.’s reign the

authorities are conflicting. It is very probable that his predecessor

Bhuvanéka Bahu V. died circa 1400. His latest sannas was granted

in the twenty-ninth year of his reign, i.c. 1400.

Wijaya Bahu VI.’s successor Sri Pardkrama Bahu VI., ascended the

throne in 1415, according to his stone inscription at Peliyagoda and the

testimony of his great contemporary the Poet Totagamuwa. But

another contemporary, whose authority stands as high as the courtier-

monk, Nallurutun, the Sanhas Minister and the reputed son-in-law of

the king, fixes the date as 1411-12 (Namavaliya, Alwis’s translation,

p. 75). According to the Chinese accounts the Sinhalese Monarch

Wijaya Bahu VI. was released in 1411 (Tennent’s Ceylon, vol. I., p. 624),

* Tennent’s Ceylon, vol. I., pp. 622, 623.

+ The Kavyasékara describes Wijaya Bahu (VI.) as the father of the

reigning monarch ParAkrama BAhu VI.

302 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

and Sri Parakrama Bahu was recognized as the lawful king in that year

by the Chinese, probably after his father’s assassination (Appendix F).

The seeming discrepancy in dates may be reconciled on the hypothesis

that the State (sannas) Secretary reckoned the three years from 1411

as forming a portion of his sovereign’s reign, the first three years of

Sri Parakrama Bahu VI.’s reign, which the Rajavaliya (p. 68) states

he spent at Rayigama, king de jure though not de facto, while

Alakéswara yet ruled at Kotté.

APPENDIX KE.

I am indebted to Mr. W. F. Gunawardhana, Mudaliyar of the

Department of Public Instruction, for the following explanations of

the military terms occurring in the text (pp. 5, 8). The words are

extremely difficult, and the Mudaliyar adds that his derivations are

merely tentative.

9a°83, iron spikes (Tam. @8e& 23).

@698&, wooden stakes (Tam. ®©6, wooden, and ¢&, sword).

HScd-md9, caltrops (Tam. #3, ground, and @aé9, antlers. A

hybrid compound).

ZOC@HOO, pitfalls (Tam. DO@HO, way, and ©5808, snare).

mae, snares (Tam. ®®, walking, and @o@®, net or other form

of snare, such as noose, &c.).

APPENDIX F.

De Couto’s “ History of Asia” greatly supplements the history of

Alakéswara’s times. Writing at a period when the memory of the

Chinese invasions was still fresh in the minds of the people he

embodied information in his narrative which is not elsewhere avail-

able. Diogo de Couto tells us that the Prince of Ajéta (Ayodhya,

i.e, Oude), who was exiled from his home and settled in Ceylon,

married a daughter of Cholca Raya (Chola Raja), and subsequently

proclaimed himself Emperor of Lanka. He lived twenty-five years

as king and, having !no children ‘of {his own, left the kingdom to a

brother, whom he begged his father to send out to him. This brother

had many children, and the crown remained in his line for 900 years

without change. Afterwards the supreme power descended to one

‘‘ Dambadine Pand4r Pracura Mabago or Bao,”* and henceforth the

Island became famous for its plentiful and excellent supply of

cinnamon. |

* Dambadeniya Bandar Parakrama Bahu. The reference is to Wijaya

Bahu VI., who probably bore the title of Dambadeniya Bandar (vide Lee’s

Ribeiro).

(a oes

Bae

A ; =

No. 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA: HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 303

Here Diogo de Couto refers to the coming of the Chinese in their

junks, and after stating how they contributed to the formation of the

name “‘ Chingalla,” and passing a few disagreeable animadversions on

the character of the Sinhalese, he proceeds :—

‘‘ And since the Chins continued trading with the Island and are evil

men (as we have said), there arrived in that Island an armada (fleet) of

theirs (while Dambadine Pandar was king, as stated above), and, the

people of the country entertaining no suspicion of them, on the day

which they fixed for their landing they took the king prisoner, sacked

his city, and taking thence much heavy treasure they repaired to China

and presented the captive king to their own. The latter was greatly

grieved at the treachery which his vassals had exhibited towards a king

who had welcomed them into his country ; and he forthwith bade them,

on pain of death, to take him back to his own realm, for which he

ordered an armada to be got together, whereon he embarked him with

much honour: and here we shall leave him until we hark back to

him.

“This captive king had a daughter, a widow, with two infant sons,

whose fate willed it that they should escape the Chins on the day of the

sacking, and she fled with them into the interior. After the departure

of the Chins, there being no son to the king, a heathen named

Alagaxerre (Alakéswara), to whom the king had entrusted the Govern-

ment of the kingdom, laid hands on the crown. This man, finding

himself in that plight, being ambitious to reign in his own right, tried

much to Jay hands on the princess and the princes, in order to put them

to death and make sure of the crown. ‘This lady was warned of this,

and, wishing to place her children in safety, fled with them in disguise

to the regions of Ceitauaca (Sitawaka) so secretly that she trusted no

man; and there she remained, maintaining her children in poverty.

The traitor, deeming. the boys dead, crowned himself Emperor of the

Island. It being more than two years since he usurped the throne, the

armada from China which was bringing back his king arrived and

anchored in the port of Colombo. The tyrant went out to receive him

with deceptive pretences ; and taking him into the city that night he

murdered him, so that he himself remained king and so lived ten

years.

“This tyrant left no sons, and the rule of the kingdom passed to one

Chagatar (Sangha RAja Tera, i.c., Wid4gama Maha Simi), a wise man

and of virtuous morals. The first thing that the latter did was to

institute a search for the princes, whe wandered about homeless, now

motherless ; and when they were brought before him he received them

as his masters, immediately swearing in as Emperor the elder of them,

who was called Mahé Pracura Mabago (Maha Parakrama Bahu, i.e., Sri

Parakrama Bahu VI.), who must then have been about sixteen years of

age, and he married him to a daughter of the Lord of Candia (Kandy),

his vassal and relative ; to the other brother, whose name was Madune

M ) 66-04

304 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

Pracura MAbago (Mayadunne Pardkrama Bahu“), the king gave the

State of the Seven Koralés. |

“This Maha Pracura (Parakrama) transferred his court to the city of

K6tté, which he founded over again in the same fashion, and with the

same motive as the kings of the Decan (Dekhan) so much later founded

the city of Xarbedar. The king left no male issue, but he had a

daughter (Ulakuda Déwi), who was married to Cholea Rayar of the

race of the ancient kings, of whom she had a son (Vira Parakrama

Bahu), whom his grandfather swore in as heir to the throne.

*’ One Panical, a man from the other coast, a scion of the kings there,

arrives into the kingdom of Maha Pracura Mabago (Maha Para-

krama Bahu), is married to a noble lady and begets two sons, the elder

of whom is called Queba Permal (Champaka Perumal, z.e., Sapumal

Kumara), who is granted the kingdom of Jaffnapatam with the obli-

gation of vassalage to the King of Kétté. Queba Permal (Champaka

Perumal) ultimately becomes suzerain, and takes the name ‘‘ Boenegabo

Pandar ’”’ (Bhuvaneka Bahu Bandar, z.e., Bhuvaneka Bahu VI.), which

signifies ‘king by strength of his right arm.’”’ Helleavesason named

““Caipura Pandar” (é.e., Pandita Pardkrama Bahu VII.), who is

subsequently put to death by “ Javira,” who assumes the title of

“ Javira Pracura Mahago Pandar” (Jaya Vira Parakrama Bahu VIIL),

who is succeeded by his son “ Drama Pracura Mabago” (.e., Dharma

_ Parakrama Bahu IX.).

‘“‘ A brother of this king, ‘ Boenegabo Pandar,’ was lord of Reigam

(Rayigam), in whose reign the Western people first came to stay in the

Island.” — Morning Times, Sept. 10, 1964.

APPENDIX G.

The following account of the legends and historical sites of Kétté

was originally contributed by the writer to the Observer :—

At a time when the archeology and history of Ceylon are attracting

the attention of scholars it is greatly to be regretted that the ancient

monuments themselves should be allowed to be wantonly destroyed.

As a case in point, I might instance the vandalism that is at present

going on at Kotté, for over two centuries the seat of Government.

‘‘On the southern side of Kelaniya,” runs the classic page of the Waha-

wansa, “nigh unto the village of the mighty wood, which contained a

large pond and wherein dwelt men of great wisdom and virtue, Alakés-

wara built the famous city of Jayawardhana K6tté, and adorned it

with rows of great ramparts and gates and towers.’ It is to these

fortifications that the attentions of the Philistines have recently been

directed. Surviving the stress of storm and siege of five centuries,

still the trace of the massive walls built of huge blocks of cabook stand

* Vide Parawt Sandésa, vv. 196, 197.

No. 55.—1904.] ALAKESWARA : HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 305

out clear round the old Sinhalese fort ; but at the place where the wall

had been best preserved in height and massive proportion it was

ruthlessly torn down by a new purchaser of the land, and two rows of

cocoanut plants take up the ground once occupied by the ancient

rampart. And daily the huge slabs are removed one by one until

even the trace of it has disappeared, entirely in some parts, and

unless immediate steps are taken to arrest further ravages, there will

in a couple of years not be the faintest trace of it left for purposes

of an archeological survey of the ground plan of the ancient city.

The Rajavaliya relates how the great Minister Alakéswara, to break

the power of Arya Chakkrawarti, raised the walls of Kétté, threw up

massive dams (amunu) to keep back the water, and laying ina good

supply of provisions to stand a long siege hanged the tax collectors,

who had been quartered in parts of the country to levy dues in kind for

the King of Jaffna, and ended by flooding the country round the city

by opening the sluices. These ancient embankments, which remain to

the present day on the Talangama road, about a mile and a half from

K6ité, are called Parana Amuna (the old dam) and Kuda Amuna (the

small dam) respectively.

The old countryside tradition supplementing the Rajavaliya tells us

how, after building his city, the ambition of Alakéswara to become

king bade Widagama Maha Sami place the crown of Lank4 on his head,

and as he sat on the coronation slab facing the tank the old priest

gave the State sword which was to have girded the new king into the

hands of his protégé Prince Parakrama ; how the head of Alakéswara

rolled into the tank below ; and the lad of sixteen was hailed king

under the title of Sri Pardkrama Bahu VI. The coronation seat, a

dais composed of slabs of dressed granite, had long escaped the ravages

of the villagers, being covered with turf. But recently digging near the

spot a rustic accidentally struck at the granite basement, and now the

stones forming one side of the throne have heen removed to a

neighbouring temple garden, where they are being utilized in the

building of a new viharé. If the proper authorities would wake up,

there is still time to get the stones replaced in situ and preserve an

interesting monument. The old tank, traditionally ascribed to Alakés-

wara, has so far escaped, being covered over with thick lantana, but

this state of things cannot last very long ; the stones, &c., will be

removed and the place of the tank will know it no more. Both these

monuments stand in the old Palace garden still known as the Pas Mal

Peya Watta, “the garden of the five-storied palace.”* Only one or

two broken stumps of stone pillars mark the site of the stately pile

where the mighty Pardkrama held court. What Portuguese and Dutch

invaders spared, the exigencies of the Public Works Department could

not do without, and the few perfect stone columns that remained were

carted away some years ago to build the bridge at Hendala.

* Vide Selalihini Sandésa, v. 11, and *‘ Glossary.”

306 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL XVIII. :

Proceeding along the old royal street now disused the Maligawatta

is reached, the site of the three-storied Temple of the Sacred Tooth.

Torn down by the fanaticism of Portugal and converted into a Romish

Church, it was levelled to the ground, and if we are to credit Pridham,

most of the materials removed to build the Dutch Church at Wolfen-

dahl. At last the land came into the hands of the tribe of Generseric

the Vandal. Not content with selling the pillars, carved capitals,

pilasters, and dressed slabs lying about, the massive foundations of the

palace were attacked on one side and the firmly cemented granite

rubble sold and carted away. In the course of these “ excavations ”’

the huge iron tripod or lamp on which the lights blazed at festivals was,

I understand, unearthed, and other sundries, but where they are at

present, the deponent not knowing, cannot say. For a short period

operations were suspended, the property being encumbered ; the land

has, however, reverted and the work of destruction recommenced. It

has entered on a new phase, and the digging has commenced on the

hitherto untouched sites of the Naitha, Vishnu, and Saman Déwalas

which supported the Temple of the Tooth, and some beautifully carved

granite capitals have been already thrown up. Their fate is not un-

certain, as the Maligawatta is the common quarry of the village. To

set out one more instance of the kind, at the village of Pita Kotté,

which constituted the outer city, stood the dagaba and temple, where,

according to tradition, before their coronation, the monarchs of K6tté

used to ride on horseback for the ceremony of cutting the talipot

tree, springing into life again like the golden bough of Virgil with the

advent of each successive ruler ; and the same spot, adds the legend,

will see the palm sprout again when a prince of the Sinhalese should

be born to wield the sceptre. The temple had vanished centuries ago.

with the other Buddhist buildings, and the dagaba which had remained

intact, spared alike by conqueror and by time, has recently been taken

in hand by an enterprising villager, and the bricks.in,the dome are

being daily abstracted to build a house which is: rising in the neigh-

bourhood. Now, only the basement is left of it, and that too is fast

disappearing. The peasant passing the spot by night fancies he sees

a white figure on a white steed holding his sword aloft, and imagines

it the spirit of the unborn monarch, for the belief is general among the

peasantry of the lowlands that a prince called Diyasena—as Arthur,

or Barbarossa—will appear at the supreme moment of his country’s

fortune, who will alike be national king and Messiah, proof against

shot and shell, and that he will revive the glory of the ancient capital,

build its walls anew, and that once again a Sinhalese prince will ride

in State to strike the sacred talipot and be crowned king of a united

Lanka. Such is the national dream that clings to the hoary ruin !

The steps leading down from the ancient moat, and many of the

stones that paved it, have been removed, and the stone lintels, nay the

very slabs with which the public buildings had been paved, have been

Riess:

eI a

a“

No. 55.— 1904.] ALAKESWARA: HIS LIFE AND TIMES. 307

ruthlessly torn out, and do duty as doorposts or stepping-stones in

private houses. The pickaxe of a villager now and again throws up

a clay pipe belonging to the system of underground pipes for supply-

ing water to the city, and no sooner it is thrown up than it is broken.

If effective steps are not taken to check this vandalism, there will, in

a short time, be nothing left from which, as I have said before, even to

trace the ground plan of the old capital, much less to judge of the style

of architecture or the way that the pipes had been laid.—Observer,

November 9, 1900.

TR Oy

APPENDIX H.

Tennent mentions Gampola as the capital invested by the Chinese

and where the king was taken. This is clearly a mistake, due to

- Tennent’s insufficient acquaintance with the Sinhalese annals relating

to the period. All the authorities point to Kétté being the scene of

the disaster, although, so far as I am aware, there is no definite mention

of the name of the capital anywhere. Mr. Bell first doubted the .

correctness of Tennent’s view in his Kégalla Report. The Observer

criticized the omission of any reference to the Chinese invasion, under

_ the head of “Gampola” in Sir Archibald Lawrie’s “ Gazetteer of the

Central Province,” which gave rise to the following correspondence :—

“Tn explanation of the omission from the Central Province

‘Gazetteer’ of all reference to the incident of an undoubted Chinese

invasion of Ceylon, under the head of ‘Gampola,’ Mr. Lawrie is good

enough to write as follows :—

“Tn last night’s Observer you express surprise that under Gampola in

the ‘Gazetteer’ I have not mentioned the investment of ‘Gampola’

by the Chinese, the taking the king a prisoner, his being taken on

board a Chinese fleet and carried captive to China, &c. .

“Tf such things happened (?), my opinion is that they took place at

Kotté near the coast, and not at Gampola, which in 1408 was not (I

think) the capital or the residence of the king.

‘The whole story is obscure, and as told by Tennent, vol. I., p. 622,

it varies from that told on page 628. So far as I know, Tennent is

the only author who identifies the capital of which the Chinese author

wrote with ‘Gampola.’ I think hewas wrong.”

Ii certainly seems much more likely that the Chinese invaders

should have defeated and captured the king near the coast at Kotté,

than that they were able to penetrate into the then almost inaccessible

interior and conquer the Kandyans on their own ground. Neither

the Portuguese nor the Dutch—coming long after the Chinese—were

able to do this, and on reflection we are inclined toadopt Mr. Lawrie’s

view. It is very strange that Tennent refrained from dwelling on the

difficulties attending the march of a large army so far into the hill-

country as Gampola, and that he should have so unhesitatingly fixed

308 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

on that as the capital besieged, when two years after, or in 1410, he

admits the seat of Government was transferred to Kétté. The

historian, however, does afford some particulars to justify his selection

of Gampola. He says the Sinhalese King decoyed the Chinese General

and force into the interior, threw up stockades with a view to their

capture, and ordered soldiers to the coast to plunder the junks. But

that Ching-Ho, by a dexterous movement, avoided the attack and

invested the capital (Gampola). All that, however, is much more

compatible with the Ko6tté district, fort, and capital being the scene

of operations ; and they are far enough inland to warrant a reference

to the “interior.” The subject is certainly one well worthy of in-

vestigation : if the Chinese had penetrated to Gampola, there would

surely be references in local traditions, the scene of battle, &c. Per-

haps it would have been better had the “Gazetteer” referred to

Tennent’s connection of Gampola with the Chinese invasion, in order

to say that their penetrating so far was discredited, and that K6tté was

much more likely the capital of the Sinhalese King at the time.”—

Observer, Jan. 18, 1897.

4. The CHAIRMAN invited discussion on the Paper read.

5. Mr. J. Harwarp said that the author should have given more

consideration to the view expressed by Mr. Bell in his Keégalla

Archeological Report. It was extremely doubtful whether the Ala-

késwara who was minister to Wikrama Bahu III. in the middle of the

fourteenth century, was identical with the Alakéswara who resisted

the Chinese early in the fifteenth century.

6. Mr. W. F: GuNAWARDHANA said that the Paper was a valuable

contribution to the history of an obscure period. He agreed with

the author that Alakéswara, the Viceroy, whose life proved the subject

of the Paper, was not the person who became King of Ceylon as

Bhuvanéka Bahu V. Bhuvanéka V. was a royal prince of the

Solardynasty. Alakéswara was a Dravidian noble, who belonged to the

hill tribe (Giriwansa) of India. He did not agree with the author

that this was proved definitely by the Mahawansa. The passage in

the Mahawansa was as follows :—

Pure tahim pajicamo so

Bhuwaneka Bhayo ahu

Taken with the context this might be translated: “In that city he

(¢.e., Alakéswara of the context) became king as Bhuvanéka Bahu

Vv.” This was the rendering given by Wijésinghe in his published

translation of the Mahdwansa, and it ought not to be described as a

“crowning blunder.” The passage might also be rendered: “In

that city there lived the illustrious Bhuvanéka Bahu V.” In view of

other evidence this rendering should now be adopted. He hoped that

the author of the Paper would collect the evidence which proved that

Alakéswara was not identical with Bhuvanéka Bahu V. The Chinese

chronicles appeared at first sight to point to the opposite conclusion, for

they gave the name of the king deported to the land of the Celestials

as A-lee-koo-nae-warh, 7.¢c., Alagakonara, the Tamil form of which the

Sanskrit rendering is Alakéswara. But there was more than one Ala-

késwara, and we learn from the Saddharma Rainakarayaya that the king

No. 55.—1904. ] PROCEEDINGS. se 309

who was deported to China was Vira Alakéswara, the nephew of

Alakéswara the Viceroy. With regard to the tragic end of Alakéswara

the Viceroy, so graphically described by the author, he could not credit

either the treachery ascribed to that character, or the part played in his

downfall by the priest Widagama. He could not believe that so noble

a soul, who had so long possessed and wielded its reai power, would have

risked the undoing of his work by snatching at the bauble of royalty ;

nor could he believe that the spiritual head of the Buddhist Church,

who would not permit the life of a fly to be taken if he could help it,

would have compassed the death of so great a man and helped in the

execution of the plot. .

@. Mudaliyar A. M. GuNASEKARA said the Paper did not contain

conclusive evidence in support of the alleged disappointment of Ala-

késwara in becoming king. This was the mosi important point in the

Paper for discussion and settlement. The Mahawansa, Rdjaraind-

kara, and Dalada Pwjavaliya supported the view that he had become

king. The Rdjaratndkara clearly stated that he had ascended the

throne under the name of Bhuvanéka Bahu.* The evidence in these

books was important. In conclusion he thanked Mr. Perera for his

Paper and for having thereby prepared the way for others to make

further research.

8. Mr. E. W. PERERA said: In the translation I have adopted of

the passage in the Mahdwansa (chapter XCI., vv. 1-4) I have

taken the word so in v. 3 &s signifying “ distinguished”’ or “ illustrious,”

qualifying Alagakénara, and not in the sense of “who” or

“that ” referring to a word previously mentioned, i.e., Bhuvanéka bujo.

Irrespective of the Mahdwansa, contemporary authority is unanimous

on the point that Alakéswara was not identical with Bhuvanéka Bahu

V. (vide Appendix C). Alakéswara belonged to the Giriwansa, while

Bhuvanéka Bahu V. was a scion of the Suriyawansa. In regard to

the suggestion that there might have been more than one Alakéswara,

I may point out there were two others, Vira Alakéswara, afterwards

Wijaya Bahu VI. (vide Appendix), and Kumara Alakéswara, the

nephew and son respectively of the great minister. However, I think

it is clearly indicated in the references to him that the Prabhuraja of

the latter days of Wikkrama Bahu III., the Chief Minister, and

Prabhuraja of Bhuvanéka Bahu V. (vide Appendix C), the conqueror

of Tamils and Chinese and the aspiring dictator, were the same indi-

vidual. Doubt has been cast as to the participation of Widagama

Maha Sami in the assassination of Alakéswara, on the ground that the

story merely rests on tradition, and that it is unlikely that a Buddhist

High Priest would lend himself to the commission of murder. The

Rajavaliya narrative (p. 68) distinctly mentions the complicity of

Widagama Maha Sami in the assassination, and it is only religious

bigotry that has made the chroniclers gloss over the event.

9. The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere proposed a vote of thanks to

Mr. Perera for the excellent Paper he had read. It was both interesting

and instructive. His reference to the Chinese conquest of Ceylon

ought to stimulate inquiry into a period of our history which is not as

* De Couto states that Alakéswara became king and reigned twelve years.

The old paraphrase to Attanagalawansa contains conflicting evidence, for

in one place Alakéswara is referred to as minister of Bhuwanaika Bahu

and in a subsequent place as King of Ceylon.

310 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

fully known as can be desired, and valuable information with regard

to that period might be obtained from records that may be preserved |

in China. His reference to Raigama also supplies information that

is not possessed by many of us, who regard it as an obscure village,

without any idea of its claim to having been the seat of so distin-

guished a character in our history as Alakéswara.

With regard to the observations just made as to the part the

Buddhist Priesthood took to restore the throne to its rightful owner,

it should be kept in view that they were invariably consulted in

matters of importance affecting the State, and they must have been

interested, in common with many others, in attaining this object, but

they might not have dictated the measures adopted to get rid of the

usurper, and his assassination might have been effected by others than

the Priesthood.

10. Mr. R. G. ANTHONISZ seconded the vote of thanks to Mr.

Perera for his Paper, and the motion was carried with acclamation.

11. Mr. J. HARWARD, in moving a resolution with reference to

the resignation of the Hon. Mr. Everard im Thurn, said: I have

been asked to propose a resolution to put on record our regret at the

loss to the Society of the gentleman who occupies the Chair to-night,

aud who is President of the Colombo Branch of the Royal Asiatic

Society. lam sorry this resolution has not fallen into worthier hands.

Our two Vice-Presidents are away from Colombo, and those whose

learning and attainments would have rendered them more suitable

representatives of this Society on such an occasion are unable to be

present with us to-night. This is hardly the place in which to enlarge

on that warm-heartedness and personal charm which have made the

Lieutenant-Governor so dear to many in Ceylon. I must confine myself

to his relations with this Society. His connection with the Royal

Asiatic Society began within a few days after his landing in Ceylon.

We had just lost the services of one who had been our President for

many years and whose place it was extremely difficult to fill—I mean

the present Metropolitan of Calcutta. It was Just when the Society

was called upon to face this loss that we learned that Ceylon was going

to have, as its Colonial Secretary, one who was distinguished in the

scientific world, and who had devoted many years to the study of nature

and man in the tropics. Mr. im Thurn would in any zase have been

welcomed as a Member of this Society, and would have been expected

to take a leading part in its work and in the direction of its affairs.

But, at that particular juncture, the Society felt itself called upon to

invite him to become at one and the same moment a Member of the

Society and its President. He has held that office for two and a half

years. We had all hoped that he would hold it for a much longer

period, and that with more time and leisure he would have been able

to contribute to our Journal some of the results of his personal

research. The needs of the Empire, however, have intervened, and

Mr. im Thurn has been called upon to fill the highest official position

in an important Colony before he could accomplish all that we expected

and that he hoped. We are none the less grateful for what he has

actually done. He has been unfailing in his attendance, both at the

_ Meetings of the Council and at the General Meetings of this Society.

In spite of the laborious and absorbing nature of his official work he

has always found time to take an interest in the questions that have

come before us. He has in fact been an ideal President for a learned

—

No. 55.-—1904. ] - PROCEEDINGS. | 311

Society, and I am sure that I am expressing the views of all of you

when I say that there is no place in Ceylon where his presence will be

more missed than in this room, and that if ever in the future he

should return, in another capacity, there is no place where he would

receive a warmer welcome. Ladies and Gentlemen, I propose this

resolution :—

“That the Members of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,

while offering their congratulations to the Hon. Mr. Everard im

Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G., on his appointment as Governor of Fiji and

High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, wish to place on record

their regret that he is obliged to resign the office of President of this

Society, and their gratitude for the constant interest which he has taken

in its work.”

12. Dr. WiuLey, Director of the Colombo Museum, seconded the

resolution, and in doing so said: Ladies and gentlemen, I consider ita

great privilege to be called upon to second the resolution which has been

so ably proposed by \ir. Harward. Idoso with great pleasure, and at the

same time with nota little sense of responsibility. This must be almost

the last, if not quite the very last, public function in Ceylon at which

Mr. im Thurn will assist before his departure for Fiji, and the words

which he hears in this room to-night will possibly cling to his memory

for some little time. I have only been a Member of this Society for a

short time. During that period I have been elected a Member of the

Council and have attended a fair proportion of its Meetings. I am

sure all the Members of the Council who have served the Society

for many years will agree with me when I bear witness to the patience

and tact with which the President has dealt with matters which

have come before the Council. It may be in a manner appropriate

that I should speak on an occasion of this kind, because, as we all know,

the Colombo Museum was an offspring of the Asiatic Society. Sir

Wilham Gregory was its godfather and Mr. im Thurn has been a very

good friend toit. To-night we bid him farewell, not in his capacity

of Lieutenant-Governor, but as President of this Society. 1 think

the Society is to be congratulated on the names which appear on its

Presidential roll,and not the least of those will be that of Mr.im Thurn,

who, as Mr. Harward pointed out, has not been merely an ornamental

figurehead of this Society, but has shown genuine interest in its welfare

by actively participating in its Meetings. Mr. im Thurn, I venture to

think, is a living illustration of the fact, which is perhaps not realized

as fully as it might be, that scientific attainments, inclinations, andisym-

pathies are nct incompatible with a humane disposition, administrative

ability, and political sagacity. He has tested the heights of Roraima

and the depths of the Gulf of Mannar, and I suppose that it now

remains for him to survey the extensive domains which are about to

pass under his jurisdiction from the cradle of a balloon.

Whether he is destined to conquer the air as he has conquered the

land and the sea, we may be quite sure he will ever retain the same

lofty interest in all positive knowledge which he has hitherto displayed,

and we may hope he will always look back with pleasure and satisfac-

tion upon his term of office as President of the Ceylon Branch of the

Royal Asiatic Society.

13. The PRESIDENT replied to the vote of thanks and said : Ladies

and Gentlemen, it seems to me that I have for a good many weeks past

been singing a sort of swan song here in Ceylon, but now, as Dr. Willey

a12 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

has remarked, it has come practically to the last note, and the last

words. The difficulty that I find in thanking you is a cumulative

one, because I have had the pleasant experience of finding that the

sadnesss of going away is almost worth undergoing for the sake of the

kind things said by you of me. I do not think that I ever suspected

that people did not like me, but I have been surprised and most deeply

touched at the expressions of kindly feeling that have been uttered.

On Saturday night His Excellency was good enough to make a

speech, of which I do not mind confessing [I am very proud. Just

before he spoke he asked me what was the Latin for swollen head.

I am afraid I was not prepared with the Latin version, although I -

might have suggested osteoporosis. However, I thought it wiser not

to tell him so, because he might have alluded to the probability of my

head being swollen. I Jo not think that is the case with me. While

deeply thankful for the kind things that have been said about me, I

feel they are too kind. For instance, what I have done for this

Society has been very much less than what I wished to do, and very

much less than what I ought to have done.

Mr. Harward, I think, said that one of the reasons for wishing to get

me as President was that I had previously been engaged in the study

of man and nature in the tropics. That was true enough, but in

those days—in my early Guiana days—I had plenty of time for such

study. When I first entered Government service as a Magistrate in

the interior of Guiana my work was confined to one day in each month,

and the remaining twenty-nine days were devoted to “the study of

nature and man.” Iam sorry to say that that happy state of things

did not last long, and many years before I left Guiana my work had

increased so much that I had very little time left. Since I have been

in Ceylon I have, except in a most ephemeral way, been able to do

nothing in “‘ the study of nature and man” here. That, I think, has

been left very much to my friend Dr. Willey. I think one of the

great benefits I did to the Society was to get Dr. Willey to come here.

And I hope he will justify the choice which I made by gradually

infusing into the proceedings and publications of the Ceylon Branch

of the Royal Asiatic Society a greater element of natural history. It

seems to me that this is one of the things which is very greatly needed

here. I can hardly find words to express my thanks to you, but you

may be sure that wherever I may be, in Fiji or elsewhere, I shall

always look back upon Ceylon in general, and this Society in particular,

with the greatest affection and interest.

Before I close I should like to say one word about my successor.

The Presidents of this Society, as you are aware, are elected every

year. There are two or three months left of my year of office, and

for that period the Council has exercised its right by electing in my

place a man who, in certain ways, probably knows more about Ceylon

and its history than any other man, Mr. John Ferguson. He is, as you

are aware, away at the present moment. He will be back shortly, and

if he accepts the appointment, which I sincerely hope he will do, I feel

sure he will make a most excellent President, and I trust that when

the election for next year comes on you may succeed in persuading

him to remain in that office. I thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen,

most sincerely and most deeply for all your kindness to me, and I wish

you good-bye.

This concluded the business of the Meeting.

: No. 55.—1904.] FRANCOIS CARON. 313

FRANCOIS CARON AND THE ‘FRENCH EAST

INDIA COMPANY.

By F. H. pr Vos, Barrister-at-Law, Member of the Society of

Dutch Literature, &c., of Leyden.

THERE is in the Society’s Library a little book in Dutch

which is curious reading. It is entitled—

Historie van Oost-Indien vervatiende behalven de zeer nette

‘beschryving der vergelegene landen, een omstandig verhaal

van het wedervaren der Franschen aldaar.

Uit der zelver aanteekeningen overgezet en met konst-

plaates vercierd.

Te Rotterdam,

By Pieter van Slaart.

MDCXCVI.

(History of the Kast Indies, including, besides a very clear

description of distant lands, a full account of the experiences

there of the French. Translated from their notes, and

adorned with plates. Rotterdam. (Publisher) Pieter van

Slaart. 1696).

The author winds up as follows :—

“ The author of these notes has collected them only to

encourage men of greater light than he to set to work ina

more regular and effective manner. He has had in this

work no other aim than to cause the dangers known to him

to be avoided and to testify his zeal for the glory of his

Sovereign and the welfare of his country.”

The writer gives a detailed account of the doings of the

Company, but we are only concerned with the person who

314 JOURNAL, B.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVHI. —

played an important part in the events recorded in the

work. | |

“The French Hast India Company chose Madagascar as

the headquarters of their ships and the ‘ halfway house’ in

their trade with the Indies ...... The Company also chose two

Directors of the General Chamber—the one was De Faye,

the other Caron, a Dutchman, who was before this a Director

of the Dutch Company inthe Indies. This choice was made

under the condition that the Frenchman should have pre-

cedence over the foreigner, notwithstanding that they were

Of equal rawk <.24...2 e

This was in the year 1666.

We are not concerned with Caron’s experiences during

the next year, but he was apparently in Surat when De Faye

set out with his fleet (A° 1668) from Madagascar to Surat.

Chapter II. of Book IT. is devoted to an account of Ceylon,

which I translate :— |

“ Chapter II.

“Ceylon is seen. Description of the forts which the —

Hollanders have in this island.

“On the 24th December (1668) the island of Ceylon was

seen, and seemed to be at first sight a fine level country,

but on approaching it we saw many high hills covered with

trees. On the 25th in the morning, as the French were

taking soundings in the Bay of Mata,! there came two

Dutch ships to see who they were, which at once returned to

anchor above Cap Rouge? (which is a bend of this bay, with

houses, warehouses, and a small fort on which waved the

Dutch flag). This settlement, which is called Saudry,’

was approached by the ship ‘The Golden Eagle’ (’Aigle

dor), and at once met a canot* with a soldier therein, who

came on orders from the Governor Pieter de Groot® to

announce that the French were always welcome wherever

there were Dutchmen, and that if anyone had anything

to communicate in writing there were ships in Point de

Galle ready to proceed to Europe. Heer Goujon got some

gia ine

Nie

a be

No. 55.—1904. | FRANCOIS CARON. d15

letters in readiness for the General Chamber in France to

intimate what progress they had made.

“* Having proceeded three miles further we sighted Point

de Galle, close to a hill in the shape of a peak which indicated

the placefromafar. A very fine new fort«was seen through the

telescope, many well-built houses, and five big ships at anchor

in the bay. It was learnt from a soldier sent by the King of

Sandy® that the Dutch were at war with the King of Ceylon,

from whom they had captured many of his subjects, who

were made to work with iron chains on their legs in the fort

of Point de Galle.

“On the 27th, sailing along the southiside, there appeared

on a small hill a Dutch settlement called Barberin.

“On the 31st, twenty miles from Point de Galle, was seen

the city of Colombo, well built, situated on the seaside

on a well-planted plot of ground affording a very nice view.

There was on a side of it a large fort,and eight ships were

seen in the roads.

“The Dutch are well established in Ceylon, where they

have there, besides Point de Galle and Colombo, two more

cities called Negombo and J aphepatnan, and have well

fortified themselves in the north, west, and south coasts.

The east coast, as there is no cinnamon there, has not much

protection bestowed on it., The Portuguese also had formerly

some forts there, but these have been taken and dismantled

by the Hollanders.

“Between 75 and 8 degrees north there are two places, of

| which the one is called Tinkemale and the other Battecalo.

This latter is situated in a fine safe bay, into which a large

river flows. ‘The ships can in full sail go in and out of it. At

the angle of this bay there is a very suitable place to builda

fort, which the King of Ceylon would gladly give to any

nation which could withstand the Dutch, because they take

away all his cinnamon without paying for it, giving as their

excuse that they had spent much money in driving away the

Portuguese. They keep all the cities and forts taken from

him to themselves, exclusive of those dismantled, without

316 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

giving over any of them to him, although they had bound

themselves by treaty to hand over some of them. They keep

them as security for the debt and take the cinnamon as part

of the interest. |

“One can easily have dealings with the king from Battecalo,

as the city of Kandy where he lives is almost in the middle

of the island, two days’ journey from Battecalo and Colombo.

The maps which show otherwise are not correct.

“Close to Kandy, on the side of Battecalo, there is a

fine cinnamon jungle, which neither the Portuguese nor the

Dutch have ever possessed, partly because it is too close to the

king’s dominions and partly because they had not made

much effort in that direction, as the west coast yields more

than can be used by the whole world. This king whois not

very rich, as all what his land produces is taken from him

without payment, would gladly get a merchant who would

buy this jungle. And this was a good opportunity for the

French to get the cinnamon trade, but the Hollanders now

have the monopoly thereof and take it all away from Ceylon.

But the great expenses they incur in this island have taught

them to seek still other sources of revenue.”

De Faye arrived in Surat on the 10th March, 1669, and met

Caron, who complained that his dismissal of some of the

Company’s officers had been cancelled by the authorities in

Madagascar. On the 12th Caron received De Faye in great

state, and they were entertained to a sumptuous feast in the

house of a Moor of Surat. An illustration is given of the

reception. De Faye afterwards called on the English

President Hendrik Oxinden, and was some days afterwards

visited by the Dutch Commandeur. |

Caron soon after wanted to know from De Faye what he

had written about him to Paris, when certain letters were

sent to him through Mr. Joubert, full of complaints about

Caron’s doings. Caron was much agitated in mind on read-

ing these, but De Faye to calm him said that he had not

written the letters, and wrote a letter to the Company in

favour of Caron. 7

No. 55.—1904. | FRANCOIS CARON. 317

In fact Caron, “ the foreigner,” was much suspected by the

French of not dealing fairly with the Company. On the 21st

April De Faye died of dysentery in Surat, not without any

suspicions of having been poisoned by Caron.

Caron was now sole Director in Surat. The other officers

desired an investigation into Caron’s dealings, and delegated

Father Ambroise de Preuilly, Chief of the Capuchins, to

approach Caron and make the necessary inquiries. Caron,

however, resented this, and turned him out of his house,

threatening to put him in irons.

He thereafter wrote to Paris a long report on the trade in

india. At theend of the Appendix to this report the author

says :—

‘“ Heer Caron, to carry out his schemes as regards cinna-

mon, wrote in the Bay of Cochin the following letter to

the King of Ceylon, which shows what a superior man he

was :—

“ STR,—Matters in the East have become quite notorious

in Europe, where its kings and princes seek a means whereby

they can enjoy in full freedom and satisfaction what grows

on your lands and on your ground. Therefore opportunity

was sought to found a new Company in France, which has

been started in the royal city of Paris. And in order to its

lasting development, the most Christian King of France has

thought fit to send out noblemen to offer presents to Your

Imperial Majesty and to consider such means as may

bring about a lasting treaty and friendship with the king-

dom of Your Majesty, that it may overflow with blessings,

happiness, and prosperity, as formerly in the days of your

predecessors. |

“But I have appeared so late in this coast of India that it

was impossible for me this year to completely carry out the

directions of my king. In the meantime I venture with all

respect to take this opportunity of bringing to Your Majesty’s

notice that | am one of the old servants of Your Imperial

318 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

House. If Your Majesty be pleased to cause your courtiers

to reconsider the events a few years back they will read of

Francois Caron, who on the 9th January, 1644, took the fort

of Negombo from the Portuguese after defeating the hosts of —

Don Antonia Macharetuan’ and those of Don Antonio.

Mothagalvan.® Since that I have entered the service of the

most Christian King of France. and been entrusted with

weighty undertakings. That it may still please the good God

that everything will turn out well for the common good

and to the service of Your Imperial Majesty, and that he

will preserve your high and mighty person and your wide

kingdom and give you victory over your enemies. Done |

on board my ship, in the Bay of Cochin, on the 29th

December, 1667.

“Sir, Your Majesty’s most obedient Servant,

‘* FRANCOIS CARON.”

Suspicions against Caron’s loyalty to the French began to

increase. On the 2nd January, 1670, the French deputed

Heer Joubert to go to France to lay their grievances before

the Directors there—the grievances being that Caron enriched

himself at the expense of the Company. But when Joubert

touched Madagascar on his way to France he was informed

that Caron had made him his prisoner, but he arrived in

France on board the ship “ La Force ”’ on the 10th September,

1670. Caron was recalled to France, ostensibly to give the

Directors the benefit of his experience in the trade to the

Kast Indies, but in reality to answer the charges of Joubert.

Having arrived in the Straits of Gibraltar he wanted to

make the “river of Lisbon,” but his ship struck on a rock,

and he was drowned and everything on board lost. His

son, however, was saved. 3 :

The above is a short summary of the doings of this remark-

able man gathered from this rare book.. What induced Caron

to leave the Dutch and take service under the French is

unknown to the present writer.

No. 59.—1904.] FRANCOJS CARON. 319

Further particulars about Caron will, however, not prove

uninteresting. I take the following from II. Wapenheraut,

p. 51, which I translate :—

“1644.—Francois Caron (Arms. D’arg, a la bande d’azur,

semée de fleurs-de-lisd’or. Cimier un vol-banneret, chaque

aile aux armes de |’ecu). |

*¢ 1639-40.—Chief of Japan.

“1642-47, Ordinary Councillor of the Dutch Indies. |

*¢ 1647-50.—Chief Councillor and Director-General of the

Dutch Indies, Knight of the Order of St. Michael.

“1642.—Commandeur of the Return Fleet of nine ships

_ with a cargo worth 33 million guilders.

“1643.—30th September left Batavia with a fleet for Ceylon,

where he arrived in December.

“1644.—9th January reconquered Negombo, and was after-

wards one of the biggest landowners of Java.

‘‘He appears after 1650 to have taken service under the

French Kast IndiaCompany. He repatriated 20th February,

1651, 0n board the ‘ Prinses Royaal.’ Left in 1671 for France

and was wrecked on the coast of Portugal.

“Valentyn says of him: ‘A man who, in view of his great

qualifications in all matters relating to the East Indies,

deserved a better and longer life.’

“He wasa sharp-witted cunning man, with clear judgment

in everything and close student of all thingsthat came under

his observation, by which he made his way to the highest

offices, as he, after being in Batavia a few months, rose to the

rank of Extraordinary Councillor, and afterwards, on his

return to the Indies in 1643, to that of Ordinary Councillor,

and thereafter Chief of Tayouan and Director-General of the

Kast Indian trade. |

“ According to the Biographical Dictionary of Troosten-

burg de Bruyn (Predikanten), p. 87, Francois Caron and

Daniel Caron were sons of Francois Caron, who in 1647

was Director-General of Trade in Batavia. The first-named

was born in 1634in Firandoin Japan. He became a student

at Leyden, 4th September, 1654, afterwards at Utrecht, and

N | | 66-04

320 JOURNAL, R.A.8. (CEYLON). [Von. XVIII.

came with the ship “‘ De Noteboom,” 29th December, 1660, to

Batavia, was appointed Predikant of Amboina, and was there

till June, 1674. He returned to the Netherlands and was Pre-

dikant of Lexmond, where he died in 1706. His brother (?)

born in Japan became a student at Leyden, 21st September,

1643, arrived in Batavia, 1650, and became again student at

Leyden on the 26th September, 1651. It is not however

certain that both these were the sons of Francois Caron, the

Director-General. ”

NOTES.

Mata (Matara).

Cap Rouge. I cannot identify this.

3 Saudry. Perhaps a misprint for Sandry, a corruption of Dondra.

Canot (canoe).

5 Peter de Groot. Evidently Pieter de Grauuw.

6 Sandy (Kandy ?).

7 Don Antonio Macharetuan (Don Antonio Mascarenhas).

$ Don Antonio Mothagalvan (Don Antonio da Mota Galvao).

No. 55.—1904.] — PROCEEDINGS. 321

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, November 14, 1904.

Present :

The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., F.R.C.I., President,

in the Chair.

Mr. A. J. Chalmers, M.D., F.R.C.S. | Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar.

Mr. P. Freudenberg, J.P. Mr. A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Se cretaries.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last Council Meeting held on

September 1, 1904.

2. Resolved the election of the following Candidate :—

Mr. R. C. Proctor, Interpreter § Frank Modder. |

Mudaliyar : recommended by ) Gerard A. Joseph.

3. Laid on the table a Paper entitled “ An Account of the Pre-

paration and Use of Arrack and Toddy,” by Mudaliyar Arthur

Jayawardana. |

Resolved,—That Mudaliyar Jayawardana be thanked for forwarding

the Paper to the Society, but he be informed that the Council

regret not being able to accept it.

4. Laid on the tablea Paper entitled ‘ Mr. Isaac Augustus Rumpf,”

by Mr. F. H. de Vos.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Mr. J. P. Lewis for

report.

5. Laid on the table Circular No. 128 containing Mudaliyar W. F.

Gunawardhana’s Paper entitled ‘“‘ A Note on Rajasinha I.,” with the

opinions of the gentlemen to whom the Paper was referred.

Resolved,—That the Paper be accepted for reading and publication.

6. Laid on the table a Paper, by Mr. T. B. Pohath Kehelpannala,

entitled “A Bhumipatre granted to the Disava of Uva in Saka 1736

(1814 a.p.),” with the opinion of Mudaliyér A. M. Gunasékera, to

whom it was referred to for further report.

Resolved,—That in the opinion of the Council the Paper is not of

sufficient interest for publication in the Society’s Journal, and that it

be returned to the writer, and he be thanked for forwarding it to the

Society.

ESS AE TS ISS Fn aoe

322 ‘JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ VOL. XVIII.

7. Laid on the table Circular No. 157 containing a Paper, by Mr. J.

P. Lewis, entitled ‘‘ Portuguese Inscriptions in Ceylon,” with the

opinion of Mr. H. C. P. Bell, to whom it was referred for report.

Resolved,—T hat the Paper be aceepted for reading and publication.

8. Considered the desirability of publishing the manuscript entitled

‘“‘ Journal of a Tour to Candia in the Year 1796.”

Resolved,—That the publication of the manuscript do stand over until

Mr. im Thurn forwards his notes and “copy.” Mr. Joseph explained

that a typewritten copy of the manuscript had been made for

Mr. im Thurn, who had promised to forward to the Society the Paper,

with notes, for publication.

9. laid on the table a letter from Dr. W. G. Van Dort regretting

his inability to accept the Vice-Presidentship.

Resolved,—That Mr. P. Freudenberg be spaeeatiad Vice-President.

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The design of the Society is to institute and promote inquiries into the History,

Religions, Languages, Literature, Arts, and Social Condition of the present

and former Inhabitants of the Island, with its Geology and Mineralogy,

: its Climate and Meteorology, its Botany and Zoology.

Price: to Members, Re. 1; to Non-Members, Rs. 2.

LLP

COLOMBO :

H. M. RICHARDS, ACTING GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CEYLON.

1906.

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JOURNAL

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OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

7 1905.

VOLUME XVIII.

No. 56.

EDITED BY THE HONORARY SECRETARY,

The design of the Society is to institute and promote inquiries into the History,

Religions, Languages, Literature, Arts, and Social Condition of the present

and former Inhabitants of the Island, with its Geology and Mineralogy,

its Climate and Meteorology, its Botany and Zoology.

' COLOMBO :

H, M. RICHARDS, ACTING GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CEYLON,

1906.

506.5

CONTENTS.

Council Meeting: January 16, 1905

Paper not read :—

‘Mr. Isaac Augustin Rumpf,” by F. H. de Vos, Barrister- »

at-Law, and Member of the heed of Dutch

Literature, &c., of Leyden ... " sat

Council Meeting : Beanie 6, 1905

Annual General Meeting : February 6, 1905

Aunuaal Report for 1904 ie ve

Archeological a 1904, ely of Work done by

the nee

Office-Bearers for 1905, election of

Paper read :—

“‘ Portuguese Inscriptions in Ceylon,” by J. P. Lewis,

_ C.C.S. oe bse

General Meeting: March 4, 1905 see

Papers read :—

‘Raja Sinha I., Parricide and Centenarian : a Review,”

by W. KF. See cabal, Mudaliyar, of the eae

ment of Public Instruction

“Two Old Sinhalese Swords,” by C, M. Beciactic.

M.A., LL. M. (Cantab.) ae nike

Council Meeting : May 2, 1905 sae side

Paper not read :—

“Third Supplementary Paper on the Monumental

Remains of the Dutch East India Company of

Ceylon,” by F. H. de Vos, Barrister-at-Law, and

Member of the Society of Dutch Literature, &c.,

of Leyden pee oe ae Ries

PAGE

323

325

333

334

337

348

350

381

382

388

391

393

General Meeting: July 17, 1905...

Papers read :—

‘¢ Notes on the Variations of the Copper Massas of Six

Sinhalese Rulers,” by John Still, Assistant to the

Archeological Commissioner

‘Note on a Dutch Medal,” by F. H. de yor Rarrater

at-Law, and Member of the ae of Dutch

Literature, &c., of Leyden ...

‘“ Notes on Paddy Cultivation Ceremonies in hs Ratti’

pura District (Nawadun and Kuruwiti Koralés),” .

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, B.Sc.

Council Meeting : September 4, 1905 si sn

Council Meeting : November 14, 1905 |

General Meeting : December 13, 1905 ...

Paper read :—

“The Photography of Colour as applied to obtaining

correct Colour Records of Natural History Sub-

jects,” by W. Saville-Kent, F.L.S., &c. bys

Appendix

398

408

413

431

433

434

435

447

_ . > eo ed: ie ———

See ee ee ee ee 21 eel

; ‘| re P

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Bae atot

Mr- A.J. Chalmers,M.D., F.R.C.S. | Mr. C. M. Fernando, M.A., LL.M.

JOURNAL

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

CEYLON BRANCH.

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, January 16, 1905,

Present :

The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., President, in the Chair.

| Mr. P. Freudenberg, Vice-President.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. | Mr. A. M. Gunasékera, Mudaliyar.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Mr. R. H. Ferguson, B.A., Honorary Treasurer.

See

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last Council Meeting held on

November 14, 1904.

2. Resolved,—That the following candidates be elected a Member

of the Society :—

Dr. D. Rockwood : recommended by ‘Me a Wiley.

3. Laid on the table Mr. F. H. de Vos’s Paper entitled “ Mr. Isaac

Augustin Rumpf,” with Mr. J.P. Lewis’s opinion recorded thereon.

Resolved,—That the Paper be accepted with thanks ; and that it be

printed in the Journal.

4. Laid on the table a Paper entitled “ Notes on the Variations of

the Copper massas of six Sinhalese Rulers,” by Mr. J. Still.

B 96-05

324 JOURNAL, B.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

Resolved,—That the Paper be accepted for the Journal.

5. Read and passed the draft Annual Report for 1904.

6. Considered the nomination of Office-Bearers for 1905.

Under Rule 16 Dr. W. G. Van Dort and Mr. C. Drieberg retire

from the Council by seniority, and Dr. J.C. Willis and Mr. M. Kelway

Bamber by reason of least attendance, two being eligible for re-

election.

Resolved,—That Dr. J.C. Willis and Mr. C. Drieberg be re-elected,

and that Messrs. R. G. Anthonisz and H. F. Tomalin be elected to

the vacant Memberships.

7. Resolved,—That the Annual General Meeting be held on

February 6 ; that His Excellency the Governor be asked to preside ;

and that, besides the regular business, a Paper entitled ‘‘ Portuguese

Inscriptions in Ceylon,” by Mr. J. P. Lewis, be read.

Resolved further,—That a General Meeting be held on March 4 next,

and that its business be left in the hands of the Honorary Secretaries.

8. Resolved,—That Mr. J. A. Henderson be again asked to kindly

undertake to audit the Society’s accounts.

9. Laid again on the table Circular No. 123 of July 7, 1904,

containing Mr. C. M. Fernando’s Paper entitled ‘‘ Ancient Swords.”

wT |

MR. ISAAC AUGUSTIN RUMPF.

By F. H. pE Vos, Barrister-at-Law, and Member of the Society of

Dutch Literature, &c., of Leyden.

The Rumpf Family.~

THE earliest known ancestor of. this family was Johannes

Rumpf, Baron of Wielross, &c., a Colonel in a regiment of

Kimperor Maximilian II., who died in action in the year 1566

against the Turks, leaving two sons, Wolfgang and Joost

Lodewyk. Joost Lodewyk Rumpf was disinherited by his

father and left for Hessen in 1567, where he married a Miss

von Troye. He entered the German Army and died in 1587,

leaving one son, Johannes Rumpf, who settled in Laasphe

(Wittenstein), and married Aebecca von Ufflen, and had by

her a son, Herman Rumpf, who married Hlizabeth Hoff-

mans, daughter of Caspar Hoffmans and Hlizabeth Hégner

von Résefeld. The issue of this marriage was Christiaan

Rumpf, born at Laasphe in, 1580. He was private physician

to the Count Palatine Fredrik, afterwards King of Bohemia.

He died on the 24th June, 1645, at the age of 65, in the camp

then under Frederick Henry in Flanders, as appears from

the inscription round his portrait by H. Danckerts, which

which runs as follows :—

Christianus Rompff, Lasphensis. Sereniss. Reg. Boh.

ac Celciss. Araus. Princ. Archiater. Obit in castris

Federati Belgii XXIV. Junii anno MDCXLV.,cetatis LXV.

He married on the 6th November, 1609, at Heidelberg,

Agneta de Spina (born in Aken, died in Breda, 1649),

daughter of Petrus de Spina and Jutia van Pallandt. One

of the children of this marriage was Christiaan Constantyn

* Nederlandsche Heraut 1889, pp.81-103 ; 1890, 250-259.

326 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL XVIII.

Rumpf. born in The Hague on the 7th April, 1633. Accord-

ing to Jécher he practised at Leyden as a physician ; but he

appears to have given up the practice of his profession, as.

in 1660 he went with theambassador Van Beuningen to Paris,

when, in 1663, he was appointed Private Secretary to Willem

Boreel, the successor of Van Beuningen. After the death of

Boreel he was, on the 4th October, 1668, appointed Secretary

to the Legation in Paris. In the meantime, having been-

appointed ambassador, he remained in Paris till the 27th

March, 1674, although appointed, on the 21st April, 1673,

Resident at the Court of Portugal, the duties of which office

he never undertook, being relieved on the 20th April, 1674,

by his appointment as President at the Court of Sweden,

which appointment he held until his death at Stockholm on

the 2nd August, 1706. He was buried on the dth August in

the Mariakerk. .

Christiaan Constantyn Rumpf was twice married—firstly,

in Paris, on the 13th April, 1670, to Hlizabeth Pierrat de

Longueville (born in Metz, 1646, died in Stockholm, 9th March,

1675), daughter of Capt. Abraham Pierrat de Longueville

and Susanna Coulet; and secondly, to Anna Margarita Bex

(born in Stockholm, 6th October, 1659), daughter of Isaac Bex

and Sara Hovius and sister of Dr. Abraham Bex, a merchant

at Gottenberg. Isaac Augustin Rumpf was a child of the

first marriage of his father, Christiaan Constantyn Rumpf,

having been born on the 21st November, 1673 (at The Hague)

according to his tombstone.* He was promoted at Leyden

to the degree of Doctor of Laws, having written a thesis,

which he dedicated to his father, in which he is described

as “ Haga-Batavus.” He left for the Indies in 1707 in the

ship “’t Huis te Loo” on behalf of the Chamber Amsterdam,

with the rank of Onderkoopman, and succeeded Hendrik

Bekker, at the end of the year 1716, as Governor of Ceylon.

He was married to Gysberta Johanna Blesiust (baptized in

* Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XV., No. 49, p. 228, 2 Ceylon Literary

+ Kaapsche Geslachtlysten (De Villiers),

No. 56.—1905.] MR. ISAAC AUGUSTIN RUMP. 327

the Cape, 23rd Jane, 1686), daughter of Johannes Biesius of

Breukelen, Fiscal of the Cape (died 1711), and Christina

Diemer,and grand-daughter of Dominicus Blesius, Predikant

at Breukelen, and Gysberta van Baerle, and had by her a

daughter, Susanna (died 25th October, 1729), who married at

Amboina,2nd May, 1717, Harmen Maarten Graswinckel(born

1st May, 1691, died 22nd February, 1736), Fiscal of the West

Coast of Sumatra. Johannes Blesius had two more daughters,

viz., (1) Deliana (baptized at the Cape, 29th November, 1693),

married Oornelis van Beaumont and (2) Christina (baptized

at the Cape, 24th September, 1690), the wife of Jacobus Cruse,

whose son, Johannes Jacobus Cruse (and therefore Rumpf’s

nephew), was the chief mourner at the Governor’s funeral.

In Mrs. A. P. Trotter’s “Old Cape Colony” (Archibald

Constable & Co., Lid., 1903) there is at p. 252 a sketch of the

arms of one “Joan Blesius, obiit 7th April, 1771, zxtatis

sue 55 anno.” He must therefore have been a nephew of

Rumpf and son of either Hilbert Blesius (born 1689) or

Dominicus Blesius (born 1691). The arms consist of a

quartered shield, each quartering charged with a spade

placed palewise, blade downwards, with a demi-lion asa

crest, but no colours are indicated.

Johannes Jacobus Cruse (born in the Cape) was married

in Colombo, 22nd May, 1735, to Gertruida Brengman of

Jaffna, widow of Daniel Overbeek, Commandeur of Galle.ft

The Death and Funeral of Mr. Isaac Augustin Rumpf.

Valentynt says that Rumpf died of the shock he received

on hearing of the murder of the Fiscal Barent van der

Zwaan in Colombo by his slaves. He proceeds to give an

account, received from Ceylon, of the funeral of Rumpf, of

which the following is a translation from the Dutch, with

my annotations in brackets :—

The Hon. Mr. Isaac Augustin Rumpf, Ordinary Council-

lor of the Dutch Indies, Governor and Director of the

* Journal, R.A.S. (0.B.), vol. XVII, No. 52, p. 18.

* Journal, R.A.S, (C.B.) vol. XV., No. 49, p. 251

{ Byzondere Zaaken van Ceylon, p. 359.

328 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL XVIIT.

Island of Ceylon and the Coast of Madura, with the depen-

dencies thereof, having died in Colombo on the 1]th June

(1723), a little after 9 P.M., his funeral was solemnized in

terms of the Resolution of the Political Council in the

manner following.

The following day all the bells of the Fort were rung from

3 to 9 A.M., from 11 to 12 midday, and from 4 to 5 P.M., and

thus kept up till the 15th, and yesterday the body of His.

Excellency was buried with the following honours.

From 6 A.M. the bells were rung every half hour till the

funeral ceremonies commenced, when they were rung with-

out ceasing until the termination of the ceremony. At 2.30

P.M. there fell in the Military, Burgher corps, and Lascoreens

on the parade ground in front of the bastion “ Amsterdam ”

by the side of the Fort, where they were drawn up in order

whilst the procession was got in readiness, and the march to:

the church began in the following order :—

I.—Twelve randjes of Lascoreens in single file according

to the Singalese manner on each side of the procession with

their chiefs, drummers, trumpetters, and ensigns, all in

mourning, with black streamers to their lances. In front

the Burgher corps with arms, /2 strong, all with mourning

bands, with two drums covered with crape and the colours,

lances, halberds, and belts of the officers in black.

IT —Three companies of the military each 72 strong, told

off into squads of six men each in two divisions under the

eommand of the Lieutenants—

Adrian Noe,

Hendrik Gabriel Dykman, and

Rudolph Carel van Glaar (sic) (Glan) ; and the Ensigns.

Adriaan Stafferts, |

Kooymans,

Leonard Koningshoven, rl

Sr. Kumel,

brought up the rear, all provided with mourning bands and

belts, the standard and the halberds and the drums, six in

No. 56.—1905.] MR. ISAAC AUGUSTIN RUMPF. 329

number, covered with crape, all, according to military usage

with arms reversed.

[Adrian Noe was a native of Ghent, and came out to the

Indies on the ship “Lands Welvaren.” He was thrice

married—(1) in 1703 to Catharina Stern of Colombo ; (2) in

1706 to Anna Baak of Colombo; and (3) after 1725 to Maria

Elizabeth Shornen.

Hendrik Gabriel Dykman was married to Anna Gast of

Colombo, daughter of Barent Gast of Delft and Mrancina

Eggers of Colombo, and widow of Jsaac Quetiyn of Hoorn.

Rudolph Carel van Glan was a native of Kast Friesland,

and was married to Johanna Maria Valck.

Adriaan Stafferts was most likely the son of Johannes

Stafferts of The Hague, Superintendent of the Cinnamon

Department, by his second wife, Anna de Heyde.

Tei. Soe Kooymans was perhaps the son of Raphael Kooy-

mans of Twente.

Leonard Koningshoven was a native of Winterburg, and

married in 1719 Cornelia Pegalotte of Colombo. |

-IIIl.—Five hautboyists with mourning bands on their

hats and black streamers on their hautboys, stopped up

from under, blowing a dirge-like march.

IV.—The body-guard of the aforesaid His Excellency

consisting of 72 hand grenadiers, all with mourning bands

on their caps, commanded by the Lieutenant.

Hendrik Fredrik van Gent,

{A native of Vianen, was thrice married — (1) to............ ;

(2) in 1705 to Petronella de Rees of Trincomalee ; and (3) in

1724 to Clara Schokman of Colombo. |

The standard carried by the Sergeant-in-command.

Hendrik Jansz Vos.

with six drummers in mourning as above, four trumpetters

with streaming mourning bands with their clarynen in the

trumpets and the banderoles covered with crape.

V.—The steward of His Excellency, Martin van der

Burgt, with a trailing cloak and hanging mourning band.

330 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Von. XVIII.

VI.—The led-horse of His Excellency in black, covered

with black cloth reaching, the ground, being led by the

master of the horse, Gerrit Hendriksz, and His Excellency’s

coachman, Juriaan Juriaansz, with trailing mourning crape.

VII.—Another led-horse with black serge reaching the

ground led by two grooms in black with trailing mourning

bands. | |

VIII.—The regimental staff mounted at both ends with

copper-gilt tops covered with black velvet, and carried by

Lieutenant Dorsman in black with trailing mourning band.

[ Wouter Christoffel Dorsman was married (1) in 1693 to

Hlizabeth Zolders of Colombo and (2) to EHlizabeth Coen-

raads. | ,

1X.—The standard born by the Ensign Pieter Mazot.

X.—The helmet by the Onderkoopman Willem van

Wynbergen.

X1I.—The gauntlets by the Onderkoopnete Calkberner.

XII.—The spurs by the Onderkoopman Gerrit Falk

(Vaick). |

[Gerrit Valck of Colombo (perhaps the son of Adriaan

Valck) was married (1) in 1709 to Anna Pegalotte and @)

in 1730 to Francina van Geyzel.}

XIII.—The sword in its scabbard by the Chief Clerk

Thomas Thermaadt.

XIV.—The tabard by the Ensign Andries Swarts.

[A native of Stockholm, married in 1714 to Elizabeth

Schouwers of Colombo. |

XV.—The bare sword, at the carry, by the noe Dirk

Pieter Beekman, all in mourning with mourning bands.

[A native of Nimwegen, married in 1718 to Adriana

Margarita Beekman of Colombo, born in 1701, daughter ot

the Ensign Jan Beekman and Catharina Loos.) _

- XVI.—Eight inviters to the burial. |

XVII.—The arms of His Excellency* carried by the

Onderkoopman Willem Anderson.

* Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XV., No. 49, p. 229.

No. 56.—1905.] MR. ISAAC AUGUSTIN RUMPF. b31

[Perhaps Willem (Lodewyk) Anderson, born in Colombo

1697, son of Swem Anderson of Stockholm and Agnita

Stuart. |

XVIII.—The coffin covered wid a black cloth surplice,

hung on both sides from the top reaching the ground, with

eight quarterings of His Excellency’s family, carried by 24

corporals under the shroud which was held up by the

under-merchants.

Marcus Visboom,

Cornelis Woomans de Vriest,

The Harbour-master, Nicolaas Hoepels,

The Commander of the Hottentots, Dirk Mauritz,

The Assistant to the Fiscal, Jan Hendrik Speelder,

The Governor of Edam, Jacob de Koning,

‘The Chief of the Iron Magazine, Magnus Scot,

The OS a of the same, Fredrik Sleverts (Sie-

Dera,

The Chief of the Ships’ Carpenters, Bastiaan Fredrik Wil-

- helm(t), | 3

The Chief of the Smiths’ Shops, Hans Visser, and

‘The Chief of the Masons, Hendrik Jacolyn.

[Marcus Visboom was born in Colombo in 1687 and

married to Cornelia van Wynbergen. He was the son of

Johannes Visboom of Amsterdam, Commissioner of the

Arecanut Department, and Anna Margarita Mazius ot

Cochin.

Cornelis de Vriest was married to Alida de Haan.

Nicolaas Hoepels was the son of Antony Hoepels and

Abigail Cromstrys and grandson of Nicolaas Hoepels of

Stockholm and Maria de Silva.

Dirk Mauritez, a native of Bergen, was married 1 in 1711 to

Anna Feit of Colombo.

Magnus Scot was born in Colombo in 1683,and was the

son of Claas Scot of Hamburg and Sara de Meestre of

Colombo. He was married to Hlizabeth Abrahamsz.

332 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

Fredrik Sieverisz wasa native of Bremen, and was married

in Colombo, 1711, to Catharina Heydelberg of Colombo.

Bastiaan (Fredrik? Jurgen?) Wilthelmi was a native of

Mecklenburg, and was married to Susanna Jonker of

Colombo, widow of Mredrik Wevels, apothecary. | |

On either side of the aforesaid bearers there went the

following shroud-bearers who held up the four ends of the

black cloth shroud, all in mourning :—

The Koopman Abraham Torin,

The Ship-captain Jan Joppe Kroeff,

The Onderkoopman Jan Arnold Wiggelhuyzen, and

The Onderkoopman Daniel Schooter. | |

[Abraham Torin was a native of Rouen and married in

1708 to Elizabeth Stafforts of Colombo. }

XIX.—Behind the coffin there followed His Excellency’s

nephew, Johannes Jacobus Cruse, and the Commandeur

Arnout Moll,* one behind the other, with long mourning

bands and trailing cloaks, and thereafter, in pairs, the _

Members of the Political Council, with trailing cloaks and

mourning bands, the Reverend Predikanten, the Pangerangh

Aria Pourbaya, the Members of the Civil Council, the

Masters of the Orphan Chamber, the Commissioners of

Marriage Causes, the elders and brother-deacons, all with

cloaks. Thereafter all the Company’s servants and Burghers,

together with the principal native chiefs, all with mourning

veils round their body. The procession went past the

watch Leyden, along the canal, and through the so-called

Bier street as far as the church, where the military and

Burgher corps were drawn up in two ranks, through which

the body was carried to the church, where it was lowered on

to iron staves in a vault, after which three volleys were fired

by the military, and after each volley a cannon was fired,

after which all the guns in the Fort were fired at intervals

of a minute, which was followed by firing from all the guns

* Journal, R.A.S. (C.B.), vol. XV., No. 49, p. 257.

No. 56.—1905.! = PROCHEDINGS. d3a:

and rifles in the sloopslying in the roads, which carried

their flags and jacks half-mast high. After the body was let

down into the grave, and the ornaments carried, were,

together with the black cloth shroud, left close to, and in

the chancel, the Military, Burgher corps, and Lascoreens

returned with flying colours and sounding drums, and were

followed by the procession in the same order in which they

went to church, only with this difference, that the bearers

brought up the rear of the procession which repaired to the

house of mourning to offer their condolence to the Lady of

the late Governor.

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombe Museum, February 6, 1905.

Present :

The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., President, in the Chair.

Mr. A. J.Chalmers, M.D., F.R.C.S. | Mr. A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc.,F.R.S8.

Mr. C. M. Fernando, M.A., LL.M. ! Mr. J. C. Willis, M.A., Sc.D.,

Mr. P. Freudenberg, J.P. y B.S.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of Council Meeting held on

January 16, 1905. |

2. Read a letter from Mr. H. C. P. Bell dated January 20, 1905,

in regard to reprints of back Numbers of the Society’s Journal and

Proceedings.

Resolved,—That the Council’s resolution of October 8, 1903, be

rescinded, and that the question of publication of future reprints be

left, as before, in the hands of the Honorary Secretaries and Trea-

surer.

3. Considered a vacancy on the Council, and nominated Dr. W. H.

de Silva.

oot JOURNAL R.A.S. (CEYLON). | VoL. XVIII.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING,

“Sirinivasa” (Mr. P. Freudenberg’s Residence), Colombo,

February 6, 1905.

Present :

His Excellency Sir H. A. Blake, G.C.M.G., Patron, in the Chair.

The Hon, Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., President.

Mr. P. Freudenberg, J.P., Vice-President.

Mr. R. G. Anthonisz. | The Hon. G. M. Fowler, C.M.G.

Mr. T. P. Attygalle, J.P. | Mr. C. J. M. Gordon, M.A.

Mr. T. Berwick. | Mr. A.M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar.

Mr. A.J. Chalmers,M.D.,F.R.C.S. | Mr. R. M. John.

Mr. A. K. CooméraswAmy, B.Sc. | Mr. G. B. Leechman.

Mr, KE. B. Denham, B.A., C.C.S. | Mr. P. C. MacMahon.

Mr. F. J. de Mel, ee ae Mr. P. E. Morgappah.

Mr. W. A.de Silva, J.P. Mr. H. F. Tomalin, F.R.L.B.A.

Mr. W. H. de Silva, M.B., C.M., | Mr.G.E.S.8. Weerakoon, Muda-

F.R.C.S. liyar

Mr. Simon de Silva, Gate Muda- | Rev. D. da We Wijésinha.

liyar. Mr. A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc.,

Mr. C. M. Fernando, M.A., LL.M. | Mr. J. C. Willis, M.A., Se.D.

Mr. J. Harward. M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph,

Honorary Secretaries.

Mr. R. H. Ferguson, B.A., Honorary Treasurer.

Visitors : Twelve ladies and twenty-three gentlemen.

Business.

1. The Minutes of the last General Meeting held on September 7

last, were read and confirmed.

2. Mr. HARWARD read the—

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1904.

The Council of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society

have the honour to submit the following Report for the year 1904 :—

MEETINGS AND PAPERS.

Three General Meetings of this Seciety have been held during the

year, at which the following Papers were read and discussed :—

(1) “A Note on the Paleography of Ceylon,” by Mr. C. M.

Fernando, B.A., LL.M.

No. 56.—1905. | ANNUAL REPORT. | Bao

(2) * Correspondence between Raja Sinha IL. and the Dutch,” by

Mr. D. W. Ferguson.

(3) “ Alakéswara: His Life and Times,” by Mr. E. W. Perera,

Advocate.

Besides the above, an Address entitled ‘I'he Use of Science in

~ Ceylon” was delivered by the Hon. Mr. E. F. im Thurn, M.A., C.B.,

C.M.G., President, at the last Annual General Meeting.

The following Papers have been accepted for reading and publi-

cation :—

(1) “Francois Caron and the French Hast India Company,” by

Mr. F. H. de Vos, Barrister-at-Law.

(2) “A Note on, Raja Sinha I.,” by Mr. W. F. Gunawardhana,

Mudaliyar.

(3) ‘Portuguese Inscriptions in Ceylon” (with illnstrations) by

Mr. J. P. Lewis, M.A., C.C.S.

TRANSLATION OF ** DE Couto” AND * BARROS,”

Mr. D. W. Ferguson, now in England, has been entrusted with the

work of making a translation, with introduction and notes, of such

portions of the Portuguese historians Barros and de Couto as relate

to Ceylon.

MEMBERS.

During the past year fourteen new Members were elected, viz.,

Rev. A. Stanley Bishop, P. de Abrew, J. E. Seneviratna, E. Evans,

B.Sc., Simon de Silva, Gate Mudaliyar, C. J. M. Gordon, M.A..,

G. W. Woodhouse, B.A., C.C.8., T. P. Masilamanipillai, T. P. Attygalle,

R. J. Perera, K. W. Atukorala, EH. F. A. Kemp, J. M. Weerasuriya,

and R. C. Proctor.

The following Members have resigned :—D. J. Arsecularatna,

W.R. H. Perera, J. W. Vanderstraaten, L. Walker, I’. M. Mackwood,

C. A. Murray, and R. B. Campbell.

Mr. 8. G. Lee, B.A., has become a Life Member.

The Society has now on its roll 193 Members, including 27 Life

Members and 10 Honorary Members.

It has lost by death Dullewa Adigar, who had been a Member of

the Society since 1890.

LIBRARY.

The additions to the Library, including parts of Periodicals, num-

bered 384.

The Library has received donations from the Government of

India ; the Archeological Survey of India; the Government of

Bengal; Sir R.C. Temple, Bart., C.I.E.; Pali Text Society, London ;

L’ Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient revue Philologique ; the Ceylon

Government ; Curepo de Ingenieros de Minas del Peru ; the Univer-

sity of Colorado ; Revista da Commissao Archeologica da India Portu

gueza, Nova Goa ; the Archzeological Survey of United Provinces and

Punjab Circle ; the Geelong Field Naturalists’ Club; the Colonial

Secretary, Ceylon ; the Director of Public Instruction, Ceylon ; the

Postmaster-General, Ceylon; Dr. E. Hultszh, Ph. D.; Secretary of State

for India, in Council ; Naturforehenden Gessellschaft in Zurich ; C.M.

Fernando M. AS Jala, M.: ; I. PB. Pillai; the Imperial Library, Caleutta ;

Mr. Victor Henry : - Mr. ‘Lynds Jones : Dr. A. Carroll, M.A. D.Sc.; the

336 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ Von. XVIII.

Linguistic Survey of India ; Archzological Survey, Bengal Circle ;

Victoria Public Library of Western Australia ; Archzological Survey

of Madras and Coorg ; Secretary to Government of India; Mr. H. R.

Nevill, I.C.S.; Dr. H. Ethe, Ph. D., M.A.; Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A.,

F.H.A.S.; Mr. F. R. Schuller ; the Government Oriental MS. Library

of Madras ; Archeological Survey of Western India.

For valuable exchanges received during the year the Society is

indebted to: the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia; the

Anthropological Society of Bombay ; Tijdchriftvoor Indische Taal-

Land en Volkenkunde, Batavia ; the Royal University of Upsala ; the

Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia ; the Smithsonian Insti-

tute, U.S.A. ; the Bombay Branch of the R.A.S.; the Buddhist Text

Society of India ; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.,

U.S.A.: U. S. Geological Survey, U.S.A.; the Field Columbian

Museum ; the State Archives, Netherlands ; the Bureau of Education,

U.S.A.; Anthropologische Gessellchaft, Berlin ; Batavia-asch Genoots-

chap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, Batavia ; Deutschen Morgenla-

dischen Sessellchaft Leipzig, Germany; the American Oriental

Society ; the Royal Society of New South Wales, Australia; the

California Academy of Sciences, San Fransisco, U.S.A.; La Societé

Imperiale Des Naturalistes de Moscow, Russia ; the Asiatic Society

of Japan ; the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland ; the

Asiatic Society of Bengal; K. K. Naturhistorischen Hopmuseums,

Austria ; Musee Guimet, Paris; Societé Zoologique, Paris; John

Hopkins University, Baltimore, U.S.A. ; the Geological Society of

London; the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland ;

the Geological and Natural History Survey of Canada; the Royal

Colonial Institute, London ; the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic

Society ; the Royal Society of Victoria, Australia ; Koninklijk Insti-

tuit voor de Taal-Land-en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie,

Holland ; the Royal Geographical Society of Australia; the Korea

Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.

ACCOMMODATION.

The Council wish to direct particular attention to the want of

accommodation for the Library, which has been repeatedly pointed out

in preceding Annual Reports during the past seventeen years.

The want of room for the proper housing of books is severely felt.

All the book-cases are quite full ; and there is no room available for

more cases. At present many valuable publications are stored away

in different portions of the Museum building, as there is no room

available for keeping the books in the Society’s Library. The Library

is not capable of expansion, and its usefulness is crippled by want of

accommodation.

In view of the congested condition of the Libraries of the Society

and Museum, the Council trust that provision will be made by Govern-

nment shortly to admit of the carrying out of the long-contemplated

extension of the Colombo Museum.

JOURNAL.

One number of the Journal was published during the year (Vol.

XVIII., No. 54, 1903). It contains, in addition to the Proceedings of

the Council and the Annual General Meeting, the following Papers :—

(1) “ Two Ola Grants of the Seventeenth Century.” by Mr. T. B.

Pohath.

Rigi Rises ee

No. 56.—1905. ] ANNUAL REPORT. dod

(2) “ An Account of King Kirti Sri Raja Sinha’s Embassy to Siam

in 1672 Saka (1750 a.p.),” translated from the Sinhalese by Mr. P. E.

Pieris, M.A., C.C.S.

(3) Memorandum by Mr. R. G. Anthonisz, Government Archivist,

regarding a Stone Slab at Elie Honse, Mutwal.

(4) “Second Supplementary Paper on the Monumental Remains of

the Dutch East India Company of Ceylon,” by Mr. F. H. de Vos, Bar-

rister-at-Law.

(5) “ Dramatic Poetry and Literature of the Sinhalese,” by Mr. W.

A. de Silva, J.P.

(6) ‘“ Three Funerals of Ceylon Dutch Officials in the Eighteenth

Century,” translated from the Dutch, and annotated, by Mr. F. H. de

Vos, Barrister-at-Law.

(7) “‘ Notes on a Dutch Medal,” by Mr. P. EK. Pieris, M.A., C.CS.

(8) A Note by Mr. R. G. Anthonisz, Government Archivist, on Mr.

de Vos’s Paper.

(9) Remarks by Mr. D. B. Jayatilaka on Mr. W. A. de Silva’s

Paper.

ARCH AZOLOGY.

The Archeological Commissioner favours the Council with the

following summary of the work done by the Archeological Survey

during 1904 :—

l.—Anuradhapura.

(a) Jungle clearing.—The usual sum of Rs. 3,000 was again placed in

the hands of the Archzological Commissioner for the purpose.

Only a portion of the work was given on contract, as in 1903. The

experiment of employing labour, under close supervision, in thoroughly

rooting out jungle and weeds was continued, with the success anticipated.

Though such action necessarily involves slow work and apparently

undue expense, the policy is undoubtedly sound. The complete

uprooting of bushes and plants, especially before these seed, will

gradually free the ground of all growth but grass. Contract work,

be it never so clean on the surface, merely removes the evil tem-

porarily.

The areas dealt with last year were chiefly the Abhayagiriya and

Jétawanarama reservations, and Puliyankulama. Besides these, clear-

ing was done at ruins below Bassawakkulam and Tissavewa.

At Mihintalé the ruins at the foot of Mihintalé-kanda, at Rajagiri-

lena, and at Kaludiya-pokuna were cleared afteran interval ofjten years.

The Toluwila area (some 62 acres) was also cleared, par? passu with

further removal of earth, and parking of the extensive ancient monas-

tery at that site. The cost was borne by the Archeological vote.

Altogether some 315 acres were freed of weeds and undergrowth at

an average cost of about Rs. 9°50.

(b) Excavations.—By order of the Government no new excavations

were attempted in 1904. The proximity of the railway station

and the construction of across approach road uniting the Trincomalee

and Ayton roads through the ruins of Toluvila rendered it advisable to

open up this extensive ancient Sangharama, or Buddhist monastery,

more thoroughly. The ruins are situated in forest, and the closeness

of the trees, with the scrub jungle which annually springs up, shut out

all view of the buildings as a whole.

338 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII. |

In several respects the Toluvila Monastery stands unrivalled among

the ruinsof Anuradhapura yet dealt with. Succintly, the general plan

of these ruins may be thus described :—

On the north a spacious raised quadrangle with four entrance

porches (dorafu) and a moulded ramp of cut stone supporting

alternately brick elephants (heads and front legs) and pilasters in high

relief. This enclosure coutains four shrines—viharé, wata-da-gé,

dagaba, and pilima-gé.

From this quadrangle runs, for some 250 yards or more, a wide

street between low walls of dressed stone. Off this street on either

hand, lying in double rows, well apart and separated by streets parallel

with the central thoroughfare, are many piriven, each with its own

outhouse and lavatory.

Passing over a smaller raised quadrangle and a half-way halting —

place, star-shaped—both open and approachable by steps from all

sides—the main street reaches, on the south, another and larger

quadrangular area.

Within this southern quadrangle is a smaller enclosure at a higher

level, containing a central terraced viharé flanked by four piriven and

other connected buildings with their accessories.

In 1895-1896 the monastery was excavated as far as the hmited

Archeological vote justified, having regard to rapid progress. The

superincumbent earth was removed from all the ruins—nearly a

hundred buildings—by trenchesrunroundtheirbasements. Thispartial

excavation, whilst it permitted of each ruin being studied in itself, left

the surrounding earth—the accretion of centuries—undug, rendering

a comprehensive view of the ruins impossible.

Last year, under Government sanction, the heavy task of removing

all the intermediate earth between the ruins in the southern quadran-

gle and the piriven lying to the west of the central street was

undertaken and nearly completed. At the same time the forest was

thinned out and parked.

This tedious but desirable double work has vastly improved the ap-

pearance of the ruins pro tanto and made them easily accessible from

the new road to the Railway Station.

The further opening out of the monastery, round its north-west

side, will be continued gradually as soon as the Archeological vote

(temporarily reduced by Rs. 10,000) is again capable of bearing the

cost.

Ti.—Polonnaruwa.

As at Anurddhapura, the Archeological Survey virtually ‘‘ marked

time ” in excavations at the later capital.

The earth spoil round the rubble revetment of the raised quadrangle

containing the so-called Thuparama, Wata-da-gé, Sat-mal-prasada,

&c., was partly removed on the west.

To the south of the ancient city some clearing was done near the

rock-cut figure adjoining the tank bund. This erect figure has been

hitherto strangely described asa statue cf King Prakrama Bahu. Cut

from the live rock, it stands 11 ft. 6 in. Clad only in a loin cloth

and tall head dress, wearing no ornaments, heavy in features, with

beard long and grizzled, the figure possesses no single trait of that

“divinity which doth hedge a king.” The roll, or ola book, held in

both hands, and the whole appearance and pose, manifessly stamp the

figure as representing some aged fakir or religious teacher.

No. 56.—1905.] ANNUAL REPORT. 339

_ No inscription, or other clue, has been found to identify the statue

South of the statue some 200 yards, and within its direct purview, is

situated a ruin known as the ‘‘ Potgul Vehera”’ (Library Dagaba). The

surface ornamentation of the ruin resembles that of the Hindu Dévalés

of Polonnaruwa. But its unique feature is the circular room at back,

once domed, on the interior walls of which still exist traces of

painting.

This part of the ruin was gutted some years ago by villagers working

under the orders of the late Giranegama, Diyawada Nilamé; and has been

left since exposed to the very foundations.

Sigiriya.

The summit of the Rock and the traces below it to the north-

west and south-west were cleared of scrub and weeds as in previous

years.

The only new excavations carried out were :—

(a) The tracing of the ancient gate-way through the vil-bemma, or

earthen ramp, of the city at the point wherethe present path to

Piduragala pansala passes through it.

(6) Below, and north of, the maluwa at the foot of the ladders to

the summit, eighteen-inch-mortice holes in the flat rock and deep

cut “sets” in the vertical rock face of the maluma’s verge, point to

the former existence here of a spacious portico and wide wooden

staircase from the city. The foundations of this erection were laid

bare.

II.— Restoration of Ruins.

As the result of continued representation a special annual grant of

Rs. 5,000 has at length been sanctioned for the preservation and resto-

ration of the Island’s antiquities.

Last year this sum\#vas expended at Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, and

Yapahuwa. ie

Sigiriya.

(a) Gallery.—The retaining wall and last stairway of the “gallery”

have been finally united to the maluwa on the north side of the Rock.

From the iron bridge to the terrace this fine staircase has some 70 conti-

nuous steps, save for one short janding.

The ascent to the summit of Sigiri-gala is now possible along the

whole length of the “gallery” as faras the northern terrace, the half-

way point where the serpentine “ gallery” originally struck upwards

through the lion-shaped guard-house.

(6) Much of the deep stone-faced western revetment of tke con-

fined area below the “ gallery,” and between the north-west corner of

the Rock and the so-called “ Prison Rock,” had long been washed

down the hill side, leaving the smail terrace, containing the remains of

an interesting setof Buddhist monks’ cells, in constant danger of dis-

appearing similarly.

_ Tosave it half of the huge ramp has again been laboriously built up

in dry stone masonry collected from thisand other ruined retaining walls.

C 96-05.

340 | JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

its ultimate object the permanent protection of the unique “ frescoes ”’ in

the Rock “ pocket ” caves against the ravages of birdsand bees. Suitable

wire netting when fixed in position, whilst warding off these destruc-

tive pests, will not mar the view of the paintings.

' The carrying out of this eminently desirable work involved very

great difficulty, owing to the dangerous position of the “ pockets.”’zin

the Rock cliff above the “gallery” and the irregularity of their

confirmation.

In 1903 all difficulties were at length overcome in the case of the:

larger (““B”) of the two united fresco “ pockets.” In this cavea

concrete bed has been laid with a iron hand rail at the edge, iron

standards let into the rock floor and roof, and wire netting stretched

across. )

The smaller “ pocket” (‘A’) is far less accessible. It is being some-

what similarly protected ; but the fixing of the ironwork and netting

is attended with even greater difficulty and danger than already

experienced.

This last season (1904) half of the bridge gangway and framing

for the wire-netting were fixed outside the ledge between the two

“ nockets ” and along the front of “ pocket” “‘A.” This essential work

should be finally completed next year.

Polonnaruwa.

(a) “ Thiparama” Viharé.—Last year (1903) the Archeological Com-

missioner reported to the Government the dangerous condition of this

fine ruin, recommending that a special report in detail should be

called for from the Public Works Department without delay.

This ancient viharé, built massively of brick and mortar, is one of

the most striking structures remaining above ground at this old capital

of Ceylon. !

It is unique in being (as far as known) the only ancient monument

left with the roof almost intact.

The vihdré roof inside isin design an irregular stilted dome falsely

arched. On the top of the structure the rocf is flattish with a very

heavy square-shaped tower rising at the centre.

The ruin is now in avery critical state. There are three vertical

cracks in the back wall, and a part of this wall and of the roof it held

up have falleninwards. Two other vertical cracks run down the front

wall of the inner shrine, one on either side of the doorway, of which

the stone lintal are both cracked through. There are further cracksin

the vestibule,

The most ominous crack exists along the whole of the shrine roof at

the apex of thedome. Owing tothe wonderful strength of the ancient

mortar this crack would not, perhaps in itself, give cause for immediate

alarm. But the weight of the solid tower superstructure is so great

that a sudden and total collapse of the entire roof over the shrine may

occur at any moment. In any case it cannot be long before the roof

falls in bodily, unless prompt and effective action is taken to support,

and otherwise strengthen, the roof and walls of the building.

Mr. Acland, Provincial Engineer, North-Central Province, visited

Polonnaruwa and furnished the Government with a full report on the

structure, accompanied by a set of large and carefully executed archi-

tectural drawings made by Mr. W. M. Fernando, Draughtsman of the

No. 96.—1905. ] ANNUAL REPORT. a4]

_ Archeological Survey, and by photographs supplied by the Archzeolo-

gical Commissioner. .

The whole of the débris on the top of the building down to the flat

wall round the box-like superstructure in the centre was removed just

before the close of last season (1903), and all cracks provisionally filled

at the top so as to keep out the rain for another year.

This year (1904) cracks are being strongly filled up from the bottom,

or, where this 1s not possible owing to their narrowness, grouted with

liquid cement.

The entire top and walls of the building have also been temporarily

freed of vegetation. This was slow and difficult work, as several small

trees had driven their roots into the brickwork, to which they clung

with the greatest tenacity.

By these precautions the life of “'Thiparama” Vihdré may be

preserved for some years more. But its ultimate fall is inevitable ;

unless the roof and back wall are once more united and the roof

strongly supported. ‘The fall of a roof so massive will not be gradual.

Its weight is immense: when it falls it will collapse bodily ; and in its

subsidence bring away a great deal of the side walls. This has already

happened at the larger “ Jétawanarama”’ Viharé.

_ In view of the very real and imminent risk of further delay to

this unique roofed viharé the immediate rebuilding from the founda-

- tions of the greatly ruined inner face of the back wall was commenced

by the Archzological Survey Department on the original lines.

This work, so far as carried out, has been done with the

greatest care and in the strongest and safest fashion. At the close of

work for the year in September the whole structure was roofed

in temporarily with jungle sticks, and ramba grass thatch, to protect

it entirely against the north-east monsoon rains.

(b) Wata-da-gé.—The “ Wata-da-gé” 1s unrivalled as the most

beautiful specimen of Buddhistic stone architecture existing in Ceylon.

Upon a circular maluwa, or platform, (4 ft.8 in. in height and about

270 ft. in circumference), granite-faced and paved throughout, stands a

structure, also circular and 75 ft.in diameter, as bold in conception

as chaste in its execution.

Tho stylobate, or basement, (53 ft. high) is faced with moulded

plinth, ‘bull nose,” and coping, relieved by two broad bands

separated by a bold double cyma torus. These block dados bear

figured panels in low relief—the lower, lions passant guardant, the

upper, dwarfs in ever-varying posture, &c., both alternating with

pilasters.

The coping surface has a narrow gangway, upon which rises a parapet

wall of stone slabs, ornamented in flower and trellis work patterns

joining upa ring of 32 slender octagonal pillars with spreading capitals,

8 ft. 6 in. in height. To each quadrant formed by the four cardinal

doorways into the interior part of the shrine are eight of these short

columns. Close behind this parapet is a tall brick wall.

The only entrance to the lower maluwa of the “ Wata-da-gé” was

through a rectangular portico, bayed and recessed, projecting on the

north.

Within the brick wall (which mars much of the picturesqueness of

342 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

the structure, and may be of later addition) at the centre of the

inner paved maluwa is a small dagaba (28 ft. in diameter) surrounded

by two concentric ranges of pillars (16 and 20 respectively, all

broken) similar to those on the basement gang-way. To some degree

these pillars recall the columns of ‘‘ Lankérama’”’ Dagaba at Anuradha-

pura. They sustained aroof to shelter worshippers inside the shrine

and round its basement.

The shrine is entered on the four cardinal sides by granite stairs,

7 ft. in width, of which the steps, balustrades, terminals, and moon-

stones are freely ornamented with carved figures—dwarfs, makaras,

lions, and Naga dwarapalas.

Facing the doorways, on moulded dsana, were once four large sedent

Buddhas, also in granite.

In 1903 the whole ruin (outer and inner malu) was freed of the

earth débris and trees under which it lay half-buried. Around the

dagaba (showing only as a low grass covered mound until exhumed)

were unearthed the capitals and broken pillars, which once stood erect

around it, besides fragments of the four massive images and the stone

asana belonging to them. ‘Twelve subsidiary brick dsana for smaller

images were also exposed against the dagaba base. |

Before the end of that season the circular retaining wall of the

lower maluwa was reset temporarily, as far as practicable without

proper tackle. After the shrine itself has been restored, this outermost:

revetment should be relaid from the foundations; for it has in places

been pushed out of the true round by tree roots and the weathering

of centuries.

Last year (1904) with masons at work and proper plant, the

permanent restoration of the upper basement of the ‘ Wata-dd-gé”’

was seriously taken in hand.

Commencing at the northern stairs on the maluwa the resetting of

the stonework has been carried simultaneously round the northeeast

and north-west quadrants.

Of the four side stairways, the northern and eastern have been

perfectly restored; as well as the semi-circular pediment of the

stylobate from the eastern stairs to within a few feet of those on the

west, the point where the basement of the ruin was found to be most

broken.

The northern stairs were in very good order, considering the period

that has elapsed since Polonnaruwa was abandoned. It was necessary

only to lower, and replace, the balustrades after freeing the interstices

between them and the steps of vegetation. The “ moonstone” at the

foot of this flight of steps is an exquisite piece of stone carving.

On the other hand, the eastern steps Gncluding the moonstone) had

sunk and were much awry. They had to be taken down from top to

bottom, and disclosed a gaping hollow (due to years of percolation of

rain water) running far back under the pavement of the upper plat-

form. This must ere long have wrecked that side whelly. The hollow

has been filled with concrete, and the stairs carefully relaid level, step

by step from the “ moonstone ” upwards.

The resetting of the ruined stone pediment along the two quadrants.

so far touched (north-east and north-west), has been attended with

more difficulty than was at first anticipated. Throughout, the two

uppermost members (coping and dado of dwarfs)—and at several points

more—of the revetment, which was loose even if not quite shifted

NO. 56.—1905. ] | _ ANNUAL REPORT, 343

had to be removed in order that the vegetation which had taken root

in the old pebble concrete filling behind might be dug out. Many

stones had fallen on the maluwa. Fresh concrete was laid, and the

stones of each course replaced one by one. Every pillar of the two

quadrants (scme broken in two or three pieces from toppling over on

to the platform below) were carefully dowelled—delicate work owing

to their slenderness—lifted, and re-erected in their original position.

It may be possible ultimately to replace a small proportion of the

ornamental capitals. As a start, the pillars flanking the northern

entrance have already been thus finished off.

The ornamental parapet slabs were also replaced, except close to

the west stairs which must first be reset. Some hadsuffered greatly

and had to be laboriously pieced together.

The other two quadrants (south-east and south-west), now choked

with vegetation, will be similarly restored in time. :

The undulating, and displaced, pavement slabs of the maluwa plats

form were also dealt with. About one-fourth was levelled and relaid

last season.

_ Everywhere all joints have been pointed in cement so as to prevent

the fresh growth of insidious vegetation.

Finally, two more of the four large granite Buddhas have been

excellently reset. The deliberate destruction of these images by

Tamil iconoclasts in old days had left not one single member whole.

From such pieces as could be found—a score or more in each case—the

figures have been renewed piece by piece to exact size.

Inasmuch as these four images form an integral part of the original

design of the shrine their restoration was most desirable.

The three Buddhas already restored (north, south, and west) have

fully justified the great patience, pains, and plastic skill Mr. Fernando

has personally expended upon them. Their present appearance adds

greatly to the true character and picturesque elegance of this magni-

ficent relic of the glories of Polonnaruwa in the thirteenth century.

Yapahuwa.

Yapahua-kanda, or “Subha-pabatta,” was founded in the thirteenth

century, during the usurpation of M4gha, by Subha Senapati, a noble,

who fortified himself on the hill bringing thither the Dalada relic.

‘The city was captured, and the sacred relic carried off to Madura by

Kulasekera Raja, of Pandi.

A gigantic boulder rising abruptly from the plain ; a substantial

bund starting from one side of the boulder, running into it on the

other and enclosing a considerable area, leaving a precipitous side of

rock exposed on the outside as a natural protection, affords a general

idea of the city of Yapahuwa. :

Three staircases led up to the Palace or Mdligawa. Of these, the

highest consists of thirty-five steps flanked by heavy balustrades, ‘and

profusely ornamented with wonderfully carvedfigures, At the summit

is a narrow terrace, from which a grand doorway gives entrance to the

so-called palace itself. This is of no great size. )

This ruined topmost flight of steps, as well as part of the building

surmounting it, were rebuilt in 1886 by Mr. A. E. Williams of the

Public Works Department under orders of Sir A. H. Gordon, then

Governor.

d44 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

In March last (1904) the Government Agent, North-Western

Province, reported to Government that three courses of the cut

stones on the western side of the last flight of steps to the ‘“ Dalada

Maligawa’”’ had sunk in such a way as to endanger the safety of the

stone lion and the rest of the carved portion of the steps on that side,

if not speedily repaired.

The Public Works Department furnished a report and an estimate

for repairing the staircase. The work was finished in the course of

the year at a cost of Rs. 640.

A small sum was also spent at Yapahuwa in clearing the jungle -

around the ruins.

COUNCIL.

Two Members of the Council of 1903, viz., Messrs. S. M. Burrows

and W. P. Ranasinha, having been deemed to have retired in accordance

with Rule 16, the vacancies in the Council were filled by Mr. A. J.

Chalmers, M.D., and Mr. P. Ramanathan, C.M.G.,K.C. Mr. P. Freu-

denberg,a Member of the Council, was appointed a Vice-President in

place of the Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., who was appointed

President.

HONORARY ‘TREASURERSHIP.

The office of Honorary Treasurer was filled by Mr. R H. Ferguson,

B.A., in February, in succession to Mr. F. C. Roles, resigned.

Mr. Roles filled the office of Honorary Treasurer of the Society with

ability for eleven years, and the Society is indebted to him for

discharging the duties of that office so efficiently for that period.

The Council regret that Mr. H. C. P. Bell, who was Honorary

Secretary of the Society for twenty-four years, and who so ably edited

the Journals of the Society during that period, resigned in February

last. The Council wish to place on record the valuable services

rendered in various ways by Mr. Bell to the Society, and trust he may

be persuaded to again become an Honorary Secretary and continue to

place at the disposal of the Society his experience and knowledge.

PRESIDENTSHIP.

' The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., the senior Vice-President,

was appointed President in succession to the Hon. Mr. HE. F. im Thurn,

M.A., C.B., C.M.G., Lieut.-Governor, who left the Island in September.

At a General Meeting of the Society held on September 7 last, the

following resolution was passed :—

“That the Members of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic

Society, while offering their congratulations to the Hon, Mr. Everard

im Thurn, M.A., C.B., C.M.G., on his appointment as Governor of

Fiji and High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, wish to place on

record their regret that he is obliged to resign the office of President

of this Society, and their gratitude for the constant interest which he.

has taken in its work.”

FINANCES.

The receipts during the past year amounted to Rs. 3,123°13, compared

with Rs. 2,316°88 in 1903. The balance at the beginning of 1904 was

Rs. 931°77. The closing balance was Rs. 1,711:97, to which has to be

added the Government grant of Rs.500 not yet paid, making a total of

Rs. 2,211°97. The duly audited statement of accounts is appended.

345

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No. 56.—1905

346 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

CoNCLUSION. |

In conclusion, the Council invite the further continued co-operation

of Members in developing and maintaining the Society which has now

been in existence for sixty years.

3. His EXCELLENCY then addressed the gathering: “‘ Before moving

the adoption of the Report I may be permitted tomakea few remarks.

I have to thank the Society for the honour it has done me in electing

meas Patron. Last year I did not feel justified in venturing among

you, knowing so little, as I did, of the Island at the time. Since then

I have learned something of the country—enough to satisfy meas to

the greatand wide field for usefulness of this Society. I believe I am

right in saying that it was really the parent from which the Royal

Asiatic Society of England sprung, and although the Society has abdi-

cated from that position, it is still one of the most important branches

of the Royal Asiatic Society that is doing much good work in Asiatic

matters.

Withreference to the Annual Report, mention had been made, in

the first place, of the necessity of getting the Museum Library

enlarged. The Museum also, I believe, was a child of the Society.

The matter has been before the Government, and the plans of the ~

building have been accepted, but unfortunately financial considerations

this year prevent anything being done. I hope, however, that in a very

short ‘time the Government will be able to extend the Museum,

for I recognize the importance, not only of the Library, but also of the

Museum being enlarged.

With reference to Polonnarawa, I may say that Government intends

to do everything it can to preserve the “ Thuparama” and save its

roof. The Government has determined that it shall be done as soon

as we are satisfied as to the best means of preserving it.

A glance at the affairs of the Society would show how much the

Society had done in the past. Amongst other things we may look

back with gratification at the excellent work that Mr. H. C. P. Bell,

the Archeological Commissioner, has accomplished. The important

excavations that he has made at Anurddhapura, Sigiriya,and Polon- —

naruwa are kuown to all. Mr. Bell had found that he was so fully

occupied with the work of excavations that it was quite impossible for

him to get the record of the results written up. But for the present

he will suspend excavations for the purpose of writing those records

and preparing a catalogue of the most interesting collections that had

been recovered from the ruins, and which, when arranged and cata-

logued, will be of immense importance to Archeologists. Nowhere

in the world, perhaps, are there more interesting problems archazo-

logical and ethnological, than in Ceylon. The Government has not

done amiss, therefore, in assisting in the work of investigating and

endeavouring to draw from the ruins, by the recovery of the remains

of old buildings and of records, all the materials for bridging the

centuries. |

We pride ourselves upon the enormous strides that have been

made in science of late, and especially within the last wonderful

century. Among those discoveries there had been none of greater

importance than the discoveries made in medicine and hygiene ; and

No. 56.—1905. ] ANNUAL REPORT. 347

I do not know of any that have attracted more attention than the

results of the investigations by Manson, Ross, Celli, and others into

that fatal and widespread disease that had afflicted humanity perhaps

more than any other—malarial fever caused by the bite of the

mosquito. The question to be asked is: Are we not merely recover-

ing the crumbs of knowledge that fell from the table of the long-

buried East? A short time ago Government instituted an inquiry

into the incidence of malarial fever at Mutwal, and during the inquiry

I was surprised to see a communication from the Secretary of the

Ceylon Native Medical Association mentioning that in old books the

mosquito was mentioned as one of the means of propagating malarial

_ fever. Iwasso struck that Imade further inquiries, and found that

in the medical works of Charaka, Susruta, and other ancient Sinhalese

writers, it was mentioned that there were sixty-seven kinds of mos-

quitoes, and further that there were four kinds of malarial fever caused

by the bite of those mosquitoes. At present about thirty-six to forty

species of mosquito have been named in Ceylon, of which Mr. Green

has named twenty-four. So that,as a matter of fact, recent dis-

coveries are only re-discoveries. The books I refer to were written

in the sixth century. Therefore we have only re-discovered what

was on record fourteen hundred years ago. These facts are interesting,

I do not know whether any of those present can read Sanskrit, but the

Interpreter Mudaliyar is here, and the books and the passages showing

from where they have been derived.

The Government are arranging for the translation by native scholars

of “ Rajaratnadkaraya,’ a history of Ceylon compiled in 1542; and

“ Nikaya Sangrahawa” or ‘ Sdsandvatéraya,” a history of Buddhism in

India and Ceylon written at the end of the 14th century.

The Government is also considering the question of arranging

with the Royal Asiatic Society for the republication of the Maha-

wansa, the Great Chronicle of Ceylon, the first part of which was

nearly completed by the late Professor Hardy, and would be finished

by Professor Geiger of Erlangen. It was suggested to Government

that they should give an annual grant. I think I can safely say that the

small sum suggested can be as freely given by the Ceylon Government

as by the Indian Government, and in that manner proper translations

placed within the reach of archeologists.

_ There is a very large number of important ancient manuscripts to

be found in various places in the Colony. I hope Members of the

Society will exert themselves and make inquiries. They may find in

various viharés or in the possession of laymen very old manuscripts

that ought not to be neglected, and which could be translated by their

Society, aided by the Government. I commend the idea to all Members

who have it in their power to discover where such old manuscripts are

stowed away, in order that they may be brought to light.

4. Sir W. W. MircHeLt formally moved the adoption of the

Report. He was glad to note that the funds were in a fairly satis-

factory condition. The Membership had kept up fairly well, but there

was no reason why there should not be well over 200 Members on the

Society’s roll. They would be pleased to find that the extensions to

the Museum were in a better way to being accomplished than hitherto.

It was possible that the authorities had been too ambitious in their

d48 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). .-[Vou. XVETI..

plans. The Society had sometimes been criticized because its Papers

were occasionally of a dry nature, not of generalinterest. He would

suggest greater variety of subjects— Papers on the Pearl Fishery for

instance,and Geology, Zoology, Natural History, &c.—to make it more.

‘ generally attractive. ‘They were much indebted to Mr. Bell for his

valuable and interesting Reports, and he trusted these would soon be.

collected in a form available to all. He then moved the adoption of

the Report.

Dr. W. H. DE SILva, in seconding, said that the ancient records as

regards medicine and medicinal treatment with indigenous herbs, &c.,.

could provide material for several interesting Papers; and more atten-

tion might be paid to these by establishing research medals or

scholarships which might stimulate some of the younger Members to

give this Society some regular Papers of importance, not only in the.

field of medicine, but in Zoology, Botany, and Archeology.

The Report was duly carried.

5. On the motion of Mr. E.B. Denham, seconded by Mr. A. K.

Coomaraswamy, the following Office-Bearers were elected for the

year 1905 :—

President.—The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G.

Vice-Presidents.—Mr. J. P. Lewis, M.A., C.C.S., and Mr. P.

Freudenberg, J.P.

Council.

Mr. R. G. Anthonisz. | The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere. .

Mr.A.J.Chalmers,M.D.,F.R.C.S. | Mr. P. Ramanatham, C.M.G., K.C.

Mr. W. H. de Silva, M.B., C.M., | Mr. H. F. Tomalin, F.R.1., B.A.

F.R.C.S. Mr. H. White, C.C.S.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. Mr. A. Willey, M.A., D. Sc.,

Mr. C. M. Fernando, M.A., LL.M. F_R.S.

Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar. | Mr. J.C. Willis, M.A., Sc. D.

Honorary Treasurer.—Mr. R. H. Ferguson, 8.A.

Honorary Secretaries—Mr. H. C. P. Bell, C.C.8S., Mr. J.

Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph.

6. ‘The Hon. Mr. FERGusSON returned thanks for the Office-Bearers -

on their election in so cordial a manner. He would only remind the:

Members how greatly the vitality and usefulness of a Society such as.

theirs depended on the Secretaries. To Mr. Harward they were spe-

cially indebted for self-denying labours continued, notwithstanding

many increasing responsible calls on his time. He was ably supported

by Mr. Joseph. The Honorary Treasurer, too, was also indispensable :

in his own place, for without his “duns” they would probably have

not enough of the sinews of war—that is, the requisite wherewithal to

print their Journals and Proceedings. ‘hen he was glad to be able:

to announce that Mr H. C. P. Bell had consented to resume office as

Honorary co-Secretary and Editor of the Society’s Journal.* Mr. Bell

had been a tower of strength to the Society for many years past, and

he (the speaker) had felt this so much that he took upon himself to-

ask Mr. Bell to allow his name to be brought forward for the office

* See ante, p. 333, Council Meeting, February 6, 1905, 2.

No. 56.—1905.] ANNUAL REPORT. 349

of President. But to this Mr. Bell was unable toassent. Let them

hope, however, that later he would grant the necessary permission, in

which case he (the speaker) would gladly propose Mr. Bell as his suc-

cessor in the President’s Chair.

7. Mr. JOSEPH announced that Mr. R. C. Proctor and Dr. David

Rockwood had been elected Members since the last General Meeting.

8, Mr. C. M. Fernando read the following Paper :—

350 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XVIII.

PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS IN CEYLON.*

By J. P. Lewis, C.C.S. |

STROLLING round at the back of the Fort Church, Jaffna,

one evening shortly after my arrival there in May, 1902, I

noticed a long narrow stone lying on the ground against the

wall of the church with a figure 3 tarred upon it—a mark

of the Public Works Department. On further examination

I found that it had letters engraved on it, and these I soon

saw formed a Portuguese inscription, that the stone was in

fact a Portuguese tombstone. Mr. T. R. Ward, the Provin-

cial Engineer, as soon as he realized that this was the case,

had the stone cleaned and removed into the vestry of the

church. It was then discovered that under it lay another

tombstone of a similar description with a longer Portuguese

inscription.

A third stone, cut square, with the lower portion of a coat

of arms engraved on it, was found with the first two stones

described above. Unfortunately no part of the inscription

appears on this portion. The letters V D are to be seen on

the field. The design of the arms is peculiar, and it is not

easy tosee what they are intended for. This peculiarity may

possibly enable some one versed in heraldry to identify

them, so I annex a sketch.fj I have no doubt the stone isa

fragment of a Portuguese tombstone.

Having thus found three Portuguese tombstones within

the Fort at Jaffna, I thought it likely that there might be

more in the neighbourhood; and this turned out to be the

case, for within a few weeks I received information of the

*I have since appended some notes from a letter from Mr, Donald

Ferguson in the Ceylon Observer of March 23, 1905, giving interesting

information respecting some of these inscriptions and the persons they

commemorate or may be conjectured to immemorate.—J. P. L,

J See Plate No. 3.

. |

No. 56.—1905,] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. 351

existence of one with “English letters” on it, as forming

part of the platform in front of the small “Muni Appar”

shrine on the glacis of the Fort outside the moat. This

shrine had been erected by men of the Ceylon Rifles when

the regiment was stationed at Jaffna forty or fifty years ago,

and had, since the disbandment of the Rifles, become a

place of popular devotion, with a “ Manager” all to itself.

I found that the outer end of the platform was composed of

a Portuguese tombstone.

This stone was broken right in half and two of its corners

had been rounded off, but fortunately this mutilation* had

only cut off two letters of the inscription. I entered into

negotiations with the “Manager,” and he agreed to my

suggestion that it should be removed.

I obtained permission from Government for the erection

of these four tombstones in the vestry of the Dutch church,

and this has been done. The stones have been let into the

wall, the letters blackened, and a framed copy and trans-

lation of the inscriptions hung up in the vestry. Drawings

from photographs of the other three tombstones are

annexed. Their new position will at least ensure that they

will not be used for culverts or drains by the Public Works

Department, a destiny which some of them would very

probably have attained had I not had my eyes open on that

evening when I strolled about the old Fort of Jaffna. The

inscriptions are translated as follows, taking them in the

order in which I have mentioned them :—

Pilate No. 1.

The translation presents no difficulty. The inscription

reads ‘“‘ Sepultura de Antonio Alvres e de seus erdeiros 621,’”

and the translation is: “The tomb of Antonio Alvresf and of

his heirs, 1621.” The only peculiarities are the combination

* In the sketch this does not show, as the corners have been re-made in

concrete.

+ Possibly Alvares, but the form Alvres, says Mr. Ferguson actually

occurs in Portuguese nomenclature. He has been unable to identify

Antonio Alvres or Alvares.

352 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOuL. XVIII.

of the letters D and E in the words “de” and ‘ erdeiros,”

and the omission of the first figure of the datein 1621. This

manner of writing the date was customary at the period, just

as we write ’03 for 1903, omitting two figures instead of one.

The dimensions of this tombare 5 ft. 10 in. by I ft. 5 in.

Plate No. 2. :

_ The inscription, which it took me considerable study to

decipher completely, at last resolved itself into the

following :—

‘‘ Kista sepultura he de Manoel de Silveira Coutinho e de sua

molher Izabel Soares e de seus erdeiros 1640 (?).” ,

_[ Thistomb is of Manoel de Silveira Coutinho* and of his

wife Izabel Soares and of their heirs.’’]

The date isillegible. Thepeculiarity about this inscription

is the use of an archaic form of Rf (thus, \) and the combi-

nations of N and H, V,and A, &c. It is much rougher cut

than the first inscription,the kind of stone used being different

also. ‘The size is 4 ft. Vin. by 1 ft. 2in. The Portuguese

seemed fond of long narrow tombs, in contrast to the Dutch,

whose tombstones were generally of very ample dimensions.

Plate No. 4.

‘‘Wsta sepultura he de Paulo Fereira Mene (?) he de seus

herdeiros.”’ | |

[“ This tomb is of Paulo Pereira Menezes and of his heirs.” |

The date is illegible and the word “ Mene” not distinet. It

isthe only word in the inscription that presents any difficulty.

It may be “ Mene,” in which case it probably is a contraction

of Menezes, or possibly ‘‘ Melo,” another well-known name.

* Mr. D. Ferguson writes: “‘ I have been unable to trace either Manoel

da Silveira Coutinho or his wife Izabel Soares, It is a curious coincidence,

however, that among the captains who accompanied the Viceroy D. Con-

stantino de Braganea in his expedition against the King of Jaffna in 1560

was Manoel da Silveira (Couto VII., 1x. i.); and among those who took

part in the defence of Columbo against the attacks of ‘* Madune” in 1563

was Simao de Mello Soares (Couto VII., x. xiv.). |

+ “This form,” says Professor Gracias, “dates back from the early centuries

of the Portuguese monarchy, ana instances are to be found in India until

the middle of the 17th century.” Mr. Ferguson thinks, from the saan

form of R used, that the date is much earlier than 1640.

. ati a <tm

No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. Od

It will be noticed that one of these inscriptions begins

“Sepultura de” [“ The tomb of ”] andtwo “ Esta sepultura

he de” [This tomb is. of]. These were the two com-

monest formsforthe beginning of a Portuguese monumental

inscription. A third form was “ Aqui jaz” [‘‘ Here lies”’]

and a fourth ‘‘ Pater noster pola alma de” [‘‘ A pater noster

for the soul of]. I have examined thirty-one inscriptions

of the 17th and 18th centuries given by Professor Ismael

‘Gracias in his “Inscriptions and Epitaphs”* of Goa, and

I find that eighteen of them begin“ Sepultura de,” four “ Esta

‘sepultura he de,” one “Aqui jaz,” and one “ Aquiespera.”

The form “ Pater noster,” &c., as will appear later, occurs in

a Mannér inscription and in one in the Colombo Museum.

1t will also be noticed that the Jaffna inscriptionsend “ede

seus herdeiros” or “erdeiros” [“‘and of his or their heirs’’].

This was the conventional ending. Of the Goa inscriptions,

seventeen end “ede seus herdeiros” and four “e de seus

erdeiros.”’ Both forms of the word for “ heirs” (“ herdeiros”

and “ erdeiros’’) appear to have been used, which would seem

to show that Cockneyism is not confined to the English

language. | |

So much for Jaffna. I am afraid there are no more

Portuguese tombstones to be found there, though a Portu-

guese church existed within the Fort, at the opposite corner

apparently to that occupied by the Dutch church,t and

somewhere near the entrance to the present jail. Further

search failed to find any.

_ J happened to be at Mannar the following September, and

* Insripsgaos e Epitaphios

por

J. A Ismael Gracias

Primeiro Fasciulo

I. Igrija de 8S. Lourengo de Agacaim

II. Convente de N Sra Do Pilar em Goa Velha—

Nova Goa

Empressa Nacional

(1890.

The author is Professor of Economics at Nova Goa.

+ See the plan in Baldzeus.

d04 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoOuL. XVIII.

as luck would have it, the covered drain under the Fort

gateway was being repaired by the Public Works Department,.

or rather it had just been repaired, but the water would not

run outthrough it. Mr. Denham, the Assistant Government

Agent, and Iaccordingly had the covering of the drain taken

off. When this was done it was found that some ofthe broken

pieces of stone of which it was composed had coats of arms,.

or portions of coats of arms, and letters on them.

A stone was noticed in the pavement of the gateway with

the date 1687 on it. We therefore had a number of the

stones forming the pavement removed, and piecing them

together with some out of the drain we found that we had

discovered the upper portions of two Portuguese tombstones..

Plate No, 5. |

The first of these consisted of a block of stone with a

rounded top having a coat of arms surmounted by a helmet

and crest very finely anddeeply cut uponit.* Unfortunately

the stone is broken off short just below the coat of arms, and

only the words

COVA KE,

which mean “grave is,’ with part of two letters under-

neath, one a T', can be made out. I regret to say thatall our

efforts to find the rest of the stone have proved unavailing.

It is probably built into some of the modern repairs of the

Fort somewhere.

Plate No. 6.

The other stone also bears a coat of arms,f but the carving

is much rougher, the stone itself being of a different

description, not so well adapted for this kind of work as the

other, just as in the case of the Jaffna stones described

above. This stone was in five pieces, four of them being

very small, and it took a great deal of digging about in the

* Mr. Donald Ferguson wrote to the eminent scholar and antiquarian

Senhor Sousa Viterbo with respect to the identification of the arms in this

plate and in other plates. He identified the arms in this plate as those of

Aranjo and Ribeiro quartered.

+ Identified by Sr. Viterbo as the arms of Alcacova and Carneiro:

quartered. : Dies

. No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. 399

entrance passage of the Fort to find them, and when found

to piece them together. Eventually we succeeded in fitting

together four fragments, with the result shown in the sketch.

The fifth fragment, with what appeared to be the letter V on

it, it was impossible to fit in anywhere, though from its

appearance and the size of the letters on it it was evidently a

portion of the samestone. As inthe last case, all attempts to

find the remaining portions proved unsuccessful. We are

left, therefore, with the coat of arms and a portion of the

inscription :—

AC JAZ SE

BASTIAOCT

which we should evidently read as “Aqui Jaz Sebastiao,”

what looks like C being a portion of Q. All we know,

therefore, is that ‘“‘ Here lies Sebastian.........”” (which, un-

fortunately, he does not), and that his coat of arms is as shown

in the sketch. This may afford a clue to his patronymic.*

Plate No. 7.

The finding of these stones reminded me of what I had

heard some ten years before from Mr. S. Haughton, that

while he was Assistant Agent at Mannar he had found a

stone trough in his compound which had been devoted by

his predecessor to the feeding of pigs, and that he had rescued

it. from this base use, as he noticed that it had a Portuguese

inscription on the lower side, and had built it up in his

stables as a trough for his horse—with the inscription

underneath, I mentioned this to Mr. Denham, and we went

to the stables in search of it. There, sure enough, was

the stone trough, but the cook, who had been cook to every

Assistant Agent of Mannar from Sir William Twynam down,

would have it that the trough had been erected there by that

* Sr. Viterbo reads—

AQ [UI] AZ SE

BASTIAOCAR

[NEI] RO D[ALCA]

[COVA]

D 96-05

396 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CHYLON). [ Vou. XVIII.

gentleman, and not by Mr. Haughton. Iwas as certain that

he was wrong, and wrote to Mr. Haughton, who corroborated

my story. Mr. Denham then had the trough removed, when

it turned out to be part of a tombstone of a peculiar shape.

I annex a sketch of it (Plate No. 7) which Mr. Denham has

been good enough to furnish. The stone is a small one,*

and this portion is evidently only the canopy or superstruc-

ture of a tomb of some height.

The inscription was at first something ofa puzzle. “PR.

NR..,” of course, stands for “ Pater noster.’”’ As regards the

rest of the inscription, I have had the benefit of Professor

Gracias’ opinion. Hesaysthat “pola”t is a way of writing

“por a,” and that the inscription should read, “A pater

noster for the soul of Dona,” &c. With regard to the name

of the lady, it appears to be Dona Maria de Lacerda, this

latter being a well-known Portuguese surname. The in-

scription goes on, ‘“Molher de I° de Melo de Sapaio F4D A®,”’

and thenends abruptly. In my opinion the rest of the inscrip- —

tion was on another stone which supported this canopy-like

stone, and this stone hasdisappeared. The last line overlaps

from the sloping to the vertical surface, as shown in the

sketch, and was evidently continued down below on the

other stone. “F D” is, according to Professor Gracias, a

contraction for “Filha D,” and the inscription here ends

with the letters A°, probably a contraction for Antonio.

The inscription would therefore read, “ A pater noster for

tne soul of Dona Maria Lacerda, wife of Ioao de Mello Sam-

payo, daughter of.......... ” Unfortunately the name of the

lady’s father and the date are missing, but the name of the

Portuguese gentleman that is preserved is very interesting.

* For dimensions see sketch.

T Or “pela.” Another suggestion was that pola = resting-place, in which

case the inscription would read ‘‘ The resting place of the soul of.........0..”

This reminds one of the/story in the preface to the “ History of Gil Blas,”

of the two students who found a tombstone with the inscription, “ A qui.

esta encerrada el alma del licenciado Pedro Garcias”’ [‘‘ Here is interred —

the soul of the licentiate Pedro Garcias’’], and how the mystery was solved

by the discovery of a purse underneath the stone containing 100 ducats !

No, 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. oot

There is a reference to an officer of this name ina

“‘ History of the Company of Jesus in Asia,” by an Italian

Member of the Order, Father Daniello Bartoli,* who lived

1608-1685, which, relating how on one occasion the plague

was stopped by St. Francis Xavier, adds: ‘Many more

details are given about what happened in the island of Man-

nar (where took place the martyrdom of 600 Christians,

which we related a few pageshigherup). The fact is made

known to us by the report of an eye-witness, D. Giovanni

Melio Sampaio, a Portuguese nobleman, who in after years

held the office of Captain in the fortress of the same island

and in the Kingdom of Kandy.” Doubtless we have here

part of the tombstone of the wife of this officer.| There were

* Della Istoria

Della

‘Compagnie DeJesu h’ Asia

Descritta

Dal P. Daniello Bartoli

Della Medesima Compagnia

It was reprinted in 1833 at Venice

I am indebted for this reference to the Very Rev. Father Vorlander,

O.M.I., and the Rev. Father Beaud, O.M.I., Principal of St. Patrick’s

College, Jaffna.

+ Mr. Ferguson writes: “Thecaptain of Manndr (where the memorial

was found) in 1587-1588 was Jogo de Mello, accroding to Couto (V., X. i.),

who in a previous decade (V., i. vii.) mentions him by his full name,

Joao de Mello de Sampaio. He was probably the same person whom

Couto names in dec. IX., cap. xiii., as son of Dr. Gaspar de Mello; if

so, he was brother-in-law to the unlucky Pedro Lopes de Sousa (Couto, X.,

i. ix.), who met his fate on the Kandyan hills in 1594 (Ribeiro, I., vii.)

When Joxo de Mello de Sampaio assumed the charge of Mannar I do not

know, but Couto tells us (V., i. viii.) that it was during his captaincy

that there were unearthed at Mantota certain coins and an iron chain,

which were thought to be Roman. This occurred, says Couto, in ‘1574 or

1575, which I take to be an error for ‘1584 or 1585.’ The great Portu-

guese historian also informs us that the above-mentioned relics were taken

with him, to be presented to the King of Portugal, by Joao de Mello when

he sailed from India in ‘1590’ (actually 1592) by the ‘S, Bernardo,’ which

was lost with all on board. As to Dona Maria de Lacerda, I can only say

that she was possibly the daughter of one of the Pereiras de Lacerda

whom Couto mentions as taking part in the defence of Columbo and

Cota.”

398 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

several persons of this name in the Portuguese Service in

Ceylon.*

This then is an extremely interesting find, both from a

historical and an archeological point of view, though Mr.

Haughton was of opinion that it would not be worth while

removing it from its position in the stables, as though

undoubtedly a Portuguese tombstone or memorial, it had “no

historical or archeological interest.” It has, however, with

the other Mannar tombstones, been removed to and set up

in the small church within the Fort—which contains the

Dutch tombstones removed from the old Dutch church in

the town of Mannar, when it tumbled down in the cyclone

of 1814, I believe. This at least is a more appropriate

place for them than the main drain of the Fort and the

Assistant Agent’s stables, even though this one, as a quaint

protest against vandalism, was promoted from pig to horse

trough.

It is interesting to find that one of the Goa tombstones,

viz., the first in Professor Gracias’ pamphlet, is that of a

Governor of Mannar :—

Sepultura de M® Ser

rao fidalgo dacz dS

M® cavalr e pfesso do

abito de Christo cape go

vernador que fois seis

anos da fortz? de Manar

e appeatr do passo dagai

e de Freo Ser M fid cone® de S

M® Donna M Brandoa

I have been furnished with the following translation by

the compiler : “ The tomb of Manuel Serrao, a nobleman of

the house of His Majesty, Knight, professed of the Order

* See, for instance, the note by Mr. D. W. Ferguson on Diego de Melo |

Sampayoin “The Travels of Pedro Taxeiro,’ published by the Hakluyt

Suciety, 1902, p. 140., also Lee’s Ribeiro, p. 140, Ribeiro, Fatalidade Historica,

p. 208.

No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. 359

of Christ, who was Captain-Governor for six years of the

Fortress of Manndar and owner of the pass of Agacaim ; and |

of Francisco Serrao, Page, His Majesty’s Councillor; and of

Dona Maria Brandoa; and of their heirs.” ‘“‘Serrao”’ is prob-

ably the modern “ Saram ” found among Ceylon names.

As I am on this subject I may as well complete my paper

‘by including in it all that there is to be said about Portuguese

inscriptions in Ceylon. I have described seven, all found

in or re-discovered in 1902. There are besides five in the

Colombo Museum, the inscriptions on three of which have

been published, though never in the pages of this Journal,

where they should appropriately be found.

Plate No. &,

No. 8 (see Plate) was disinterred some fifteen years ago

‘from an old well near the Gordon Gardens in Colombo Fort,

which was formerly a burial ground. It bears the following

inscription under a coat of arms consisting of a shield charged

with five starsarranged 2, 1, 2,and underneath the shield the

date 1646. Thetranslation is according to Professor Gracias :

“ This tomb is of Joana Godinho and of her heirs, which was

made by one named Jaao da Fonseca.” The contraction

“« Koca’’ evidently represents “ Fonseca,” and Mr. F. H. de

Vos has identified the arms as those of Joan de Fonseca.*

“ Godinha” isa mistake of the BH ERaN ay for ‘“‘ Godinho,’’f and

“9 qual” for “a qual.”

The reading suggested by Professor Gracias for the last

four lines is, “‘ a qual fecem......... por nome Joao da Focea.’’}

The meaning appears to be that the tomb was erected by

one of the heirs of Joan de Fonseca.

. Plate No. 9.

** Aquijaz Helena Roiz molher que foy de Fernao Roiz que

* Ceylon Literary Register, vol. IL., p. 358 ; vol. III., pp. 15 and 278,

+ ButSr. Viterbo says “The surname Godinha is correct—it is not an

error. Formerly, and still sometimes nowadays, the surnames of women

were indicated by the feminine form.

{ Mr. Ferguson says: “I think lines 7 and 8 should be O QVAL FES

word may represent erdeiro.”’

360 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

_matario em Berberim Falaceo a 23 de Junho de 1565 Anos.”

(** Here lies Helena Roiz, who was wife of Fernando Roiz

whom they murdered at Berberim.* Died on the 23rd of

June in the year 1565.” |

This stone was dug up near the site of the Battenberg

battery in the Fort of Colombo nearly thirty years ago, when

the Breakwater works were begun.t

Plate No. 10.

Another stone has been more recently discovered, also in

the same neighbourhood, the inscription on which is now

for the first time published. It runs: ‘ Pater Noster Ave

Maria Pola alma de Bras Munes que faleceo em 19 de Marco

de 1624 esta he sua sepultura e de seus herdeiros.” [“ A

pater noster, an ave Maria, for the soul of Bras Moniz, who.

died on the 19th of March, 1624. This is his tomb and that

of his heirs.” |

_ It will be noticed that this inscription begins in exactly the

same way as that on the Mannar tomb of the wife of Joao.

de Mello Sampayo.t

Plate No. 171.

This stone had apparently, after its removal from the

Portuguese church or burial ground in the Fort, where it was

originally placed, been used for some building demolished

probably at the time the Breakwater was begun ; for it has

two holes drilled across the surface of the face of the stone,

one transversely and the other longitudinally at the foot.

Fortunately the part of the inscription obliterated by these

holes can be supplied from the context.

* Beruwala.

+ Monthly Literary Register, vol. I., p. 14. Mr. Ferguson adds “‘ I would,.

however, correct what I there said as to the probability of the Moors’

having been the slayers of Fernao Rodriguez. I think it more likely that

he met his death in the general massacre by ‘‘ Tribuli Pandar” circa 1554

(Couto VIT. 11. iv.).”

{ The initial letter in “ Bras” and the first letter in “sepultura” are

ornamental, resembling “ black letter.” ‘“ Pola” in this inscription also is:

used for “ pela.”

NO. 56.—1905.]| PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. d61

The inscription runs: ‘ Hsta sepultrahede P Gomesede

su (a molher) Maria de Miranda falesco A 14 de Julho de

1648 (An) os.”

[‘“‘ This tomb is of Paulo Gomes and of his (wife) Maria de

Miranda, died on the 14th July, 1648.........”7]

This inscription has not hitherto been published.

Plate No. 12.

In addition to these tombstones there is in the Colombo

Museum a stone with an inscription showing that it once

stood (over the main doorway, probably) in the wall of the

chapel of a Portuguese religious house :—

‘‘Capella dos irmaos da confraria do santiss Rosario seu

arco novamente feito na era de 1647 sendo prezidente

Balthezar da Veiga.”

[‘“* Chapel of the Brethren of the Confraternity of the Most

Holy Rosary. Its arch was rebuilt in the year 1647,

Balthezar da Veiga being President.” |*

These, with the sculptured and inscribed stone at Ratna-

pura described and illustrated in the pages of this Journal ;f

the inscription found on a rock near the foot of the

Breakwater in 1898, which gave rise to a discussion recorded

in the same volume of the Journal ;f the coat of arms found

* This is Professor Gracias’ translation. A translation of this inscription

was published some years agoin the Ceylon Observer, in which “ Queen

stand by us’’ was given as the meaning of the words here rendered ‘‘Its arch

was rebuilt,” and the President was stated to be “‘ The Rev. Eleazer, 16 years

of age”! There can be no doubt as to which of the two versions has the

advantage in regard to lucidity, The last two letters in the last line

resemble the figures 16, but they are not numerals at all, the supposed 6

being the letter G.

Professor Gracias says: ‘‘There is a Portuguese surname Veiga which is

used with Da before, viz., Da Veiga or De Veiga or D’Veiga ; therefore the

illegible surname......... could be Daveiga badly written. Inthe 17th century

there was in India a Portuguese, wealthy and pious, it seems, named

Balthazar da Veiga, much affectioned to the Jesuits, who died 14th January,

1652, and his remains lie in the Sacristy of the well-known Church of Bom

Jesus, Old Goa, on a sarcophagus, with epitaph, granted by the Society of

Jesus.” |

T Vol. XVI., pp. 84-114.

t Lbid., pp. 15-28. —

362 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ Vou. XVIII.

in Four Kéralés ;* the legends on the bell of the Jafina

Fort, now in St. Michael’s, Polwatta,t and on that still in the

Dutch church at Jaffna ;{ and the coats of arms on the

cannon in the Museum, constitute all that we have in the

way of Portuguese records in the Island.

It is to be regretted, considering how long the Portuguese

were in possession of the sea coast—some 150 years—and what

traces they have left in the language, the nomenclature, and

people of the Island, that these aresofew. If, however, as is

stated by some of their own historians, the Dutch broke up

the tombstones oftheir predecessors to use them for buildings

and ammunition,§ and such few remains of them as are

found are used for culverts and feeding or drinking troughs

for pigs and horses, or other base uses, it is not to be wondered

at. But it seems a pity that when they are found they

cannot be not merely “madea note of,” but preserved in some

safe place. The stone referred to in the following extract

from the Colombo Observer of 11th November, 1836, has

disappeared completely, and when it was inquired for in the

Ceylon Observer fifty years later nothing was heard of it :—||

‘“‘As the men employed by the Engineering Department

were engaged in some repairs at the Battenberg Bastion a

few days since, and were clearing away some accumulated

rubbish and remains of old buildings, they discovered at

about two feet below the surface a large flat stone on which

is the annexed Portuguese inscription, exactly 300 years old.

This monumental stone was found to cover a small vault

in which are some mouldering human bones.”

* Sessional Papers, Ceylon, 1897 : Antiquarian Research, Kégalla, p. 31.

{ R.A.S. (C.B.) Journal, vol. XVIL., p. 43, shows that this bell belonged to

the Jaffna Fort, which was dedicated to ‘‘ Nossa Senhora dos Milagres” (‘“ Our

Lady of Miracles”). The translation furnished by a church official with a

Portuguese name, to the clergy of St. Michael’s, made the dedication to

‘Our Lady of a thousand acres, of Jaffnapatam !”

t I examined the bell which was in the belfry of the Dutch church, and

found on it the inscription, “N.S. dos Milagres de Jaffnapatao,” with the

date 1648. This bell now hangs on a stand in the vestry.

§ Saar’s Account of Ceylon, R.A.S. (C.B.) Journal, vol. IL., p. 312.

|| July 27, 1886.

No, 96.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. 363

No. 13.

AQVITAZIVAZM

ONTEIRODESEK

TWELOPRI :

MEIROVIGAIRO

CONFIRMA D° EPR

IMAZNESTAILH

ai) 0" (LAO: OV i

EK DE FIQY OY ESTATE

RAD IGREIAS E C8 IST

AOS EFE ZSAOLC® EES

TA CASACONATV TO®1O

D°SFIESC ISTAOSESEV

HOCRAMI VIZOESPE®

AMD®°IAC AQYINESTA

M OF A DA D4 VI D4 CAM

SADAD£ SCAMS

AODOS* D°SGR4 M

DESTR4 BALHOS

EDESORASDEC

EILAOS

NAERADE 1536.

The editor explains that the small letters in this copy are

in the original contained within the larger letters that

immediately precede them.

A correspondent supplied the following version and

translation :—

“Aqui jaz Juaz Monteiro de Setwelo primeiro vigairo

confirmado e primaz nesta ilha de Ceilao que edifieou esta

terra de igre jas e Christaos e fez San Leo e esta casa cum

ajuda dos fies Christos e seu grande vico, esperando aco aqui

n’esta morada da vida cancada des cancos des grandes

trabelhos e neshonras de Ceilaos Na era de 1536.”

[“‘ Here lies Juaz Monteiro de Setwelo, chief confirmed

vicar and primate of this Island of Ceylon, who improved

* Saar’s Account of Ceylon, R.A.S. (C.B.) Journal, vol. II., p. 312.

364 JOURNAL, R.A.8. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVITI.

this Island with Churches and Christians and built Saint

Leo and this house with the aid of faithful Christians and

his great munificence, expecting here in this abode ofa quiet

life rest from the great disturbances and dishonours of the

Sinhalese, in the year 1536.” |

This, wherever it is gone, is the oldest Portuguese

inscription in Ceylon, with the exception perhaps of the —

enigmatical one on the Breakwater rock, at any rate the

oldest with a legible date.* JI am afraid that this stone is

not likely to reappear until the latest equivalent of the New

Zealander contemplates the ruins of the present St. Lucia’s

Cathedral from a shattered girder of the Victoria Bridge.t

* The next oldest is the tombstone of Helena Roiz, 1565 (No. 9).

+ T append Mr. D. Ferguson’s interesting remarks on this stone, which

throw much light both on the ancient inscription and the actual fate of —

the stone :—

“The transcript printed in the Colombo Observer of 11th November,

1836, and reprintedin the C. Lit. Reg. I.; 8, is evidently not quite correct ;

and the translation thereto appended is very faulty. Mr. J. H. da Cunha

Rivara, in his “ Inscripgoes Lapidares da India Portugueza,” published in

the Boletim of the Geographical Society of Lisbon, 1894, gavean expanded

version from a faulty copy of the above transcript which had been sent to

him. I think the following was what was acne inscribed on the stone

(I separate the combinations) :—

Aqvi iaz Lviz (2) Monteiro de Setvvel

0 primeiro vigairo confirmadoe primaz

nesta ilha de Ceilao

qve edefiqvov esta terra de igreias e crist&@os

e fez Sao Loo e esta casa

com aiutorio dos fiés crista@os e sev.

Ho gram iuizo esperamdo

iaco aqui nesta morada

da vida camsada

descamsaodo

e dos gramdes trabalhos e desaras de Ceilao

na era de 1536.

“The only word I am doubtful about in the above is ‘Lviz.’ The

Colombo Observer transcript has ‘Ivaz’ (Juaz), which is impossible ;

Cunha Rivara’s version reads ‘ Luiz,’ which seems the best solution. The

correct translation is as follows :—

‘“‘ Here lies Luiz (?) Monteiro of Setuvel, the first confirmed vicar and

primate in this island of Ceylon, who edified (or built up) this land with

No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS. 365

churches and Christians, and built Saint L:wrence and this house with the

help of the faithful Christians and his own.

‘Awaiting the great judgment,

I lie here in this abode,

From toilsome life

Resting.’

and from the great labours (or troubles) and dishonours of Ceylon,

in the year 15386,”

“ Regarding Luiz (?) Monteiro, I have failed to obtain any information

beside what is told us in his epitaph. The church of Sgo Lourengo, or

Saint Lawrence, was the oldest in Colombo, and stood near where the root

of the breakwater now is, and where the Battenberg bastion used to he;

in fact, where the stone was discovered. It and the “house” connected

with it are shown, I think, in Ressende’s plan of Colombo. The church

gave its name to the older of the two parishes into which the Portuguese

city was divided (Ribeiro, I., xii.). It will be noticed that in the epitaph

occur four lines of verse, rhyming 1221, and here comes in a very curious

fact, to which Mr. David Lopes of Lisbon drew my attention some years

ago. It is that on the tombstone of the great Portuguese poet Gil Vicente

the very same lines (with a slight difference) are found. According to

Mr. Lopes the poet died in the same year as the vicar of Colombo, 1536 ;

and that is the date that has until recently been given by the poet’s

biographers. But the Viscount de Sanches de Baéna, in his Gil Vicente,

states that the death of his wife in Evora in 1532-1533 was so much felt

by the poet that in 1536 he retired to his country seat of Mosteiro in the

concelho of Torres Vedras, where he died at the end of 1540. By his wish

his body was laid beside that of his wife, over whose tomb, after her death,

he had had a stone placed, on which were engraved the following lines :—

‘ Aqui jaz a mui prudente

Senhora Branca Becerra

Mulher de Gil Vicente

Feita terra.’

(‘ Here lies the very prudent lady Branca Becerra, wife of Gil Vicente,

turned to earth.) After his own death there was engraved on the stone

the following inscription, which, says the Viscount de Sanches de Baéna,

the poet had previously ‘traced’ (¢7agado) :—

‘O grao juizo esperando

Jazo aqui n’esta morada

Desta vida tao cancada

Descancando.’

“The lines as here given (with the spelling unfortunately modernized)

are copied from a paper entitled “‘ Epitaphios Antigos,” by J. H. da Cunha

Rivara, published in the fourth volume of the Panorama in 1860, in which

the writer says that he came across the two epitaphs in the monastery of

S. Francisco at Evora, In the version of the second, which was printed at

the end of the poet’s works, published by his son in 1562, the penultimate

line reads :—

‘Tambem da vida cancada.”

“This does not scan well, and is evidently incorrect. Curiously enough,

366 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON) [VOL. XVIII.

in Luiz (?) Monteiro’s epitaph this line is still faultier, lacking the proper

number of syllables. The problem is, How came these lines to be on two

stones so far apart as Evora and Colombo? If, as the Viscount de Sanches

states, they were ‘traced’ (on the stone?) by the poet at some time

between 1533 and 1540, it is probable that they had found their way to

Ceylon in the brain of some person, whose memory, however, failed him in

regard to the fourth line. , :

‘¢So much for the inscription. Now as to what has become of thestone.

Mr. Lewis concludes his paper by remarking : —‘I am afraid that this

stone is not likely to re-appear until the latest equivalent of the New

Zealander contemplates the ruins of the present St. Lucia’s Cathedral from

a shattered girder of the Victoria Bridge.’ Has Mr. Lewis the gift of

clairvoyance ? Apparently so, if what I am about to relate be true. Ina

periodical entitled Ta-ssi-yang-kuo, published in Lisbon, has been appearing

a very valuable contribution by Fa. Christovao Casimiro de Nazareth,

headed ‘Mitras Lusitanas no Oriente,’ which gives chronological lists,

with details, of the Portuguese vicars-general, &c., in the East from the

earliest times. In ser. IL. vol. IITI., No. 6 (1902), Ceylon is dealt with, the

first person mentioned being ‘ D. Jogo Vaz Monteiro’ (yet another variant

of the name), the discovery of whose tomb in 1836 is duly recorded. A

footnote is appended in which the following almost incredible statements

are made :—‘ The tombstone of this bishop, discovered among some ruins,

having been placed by the English Government at the disposal of the vicar

apostolic (Silani ?), to be preserved as a historic memorial, the depositary

had it broken in pieces and the fragments placed in the foundations of

the cathedral which was being rebuilt in Colombo. The same fate befel

the inscribed stones of the}King D. Jozo Dharmapala, converted by the

Portuguese missionaries, and of many other deserving Portuguese priests,

of that mission.’—Jornal das Colon. Lisb,, 1886, seth. 27. Apparently the

statements are quoted from the Jornal das Colonias of 27th September, 1886,

and I do not know upon what authority they rest. The matter calls for

inquiry, though, I fear, Mr. Lewis is a true prophet as regards the re-

appearance of the stone.

According to the Lisbon paper the tomb of Dom Joao Perea Pandar

(Dharmapala) has suffered the same fate. About this tomb I inquired in

the UM. Lit. Reg. I. Its destruction is in many ways even more to be re-

gretted than that of the tombstone of the first vicar of Ceylon.

With regard to the reading “ Luiz” for “ Vaz,” Sr. Viterbo comments as

follows “ Rivara was wrong in interpreting Vaz by Luis, certainly there

would have been before that name a.Jo, the abbreviation for Joas. Besides

Luis was not written with a 7 but withan 8S.”

No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS.

APPENDIX.

RA : oe at i

4 Sey : i

; a

A ; % :

mB |) Pry ary ami ¢ mer a bE

a Fag ce Cr : S i

tea Mi ye: me at, i * A

TY: : 5 ; i, : &

ire ee fis bast PR mL :

e iets aye) ;

] Repdint tO eg Tg tite mT uy

(eee aes 6 ete ee. \ :

if % = i

i ‘ NS _ ‘| NE

j 4 * is , r

f J 4 ‘

» a4 ; a i ef ies ‘

mt) | <

on hh ii ny a

===

li ae a Sa

Plate No. 1.

bs / b ‘pian :

F { : :

! k 4 !

Sat A ges Hee Ve

7 Mh Ah Sr } Aa c' ca Bis

tT 1 |

a i ‘ : | 4

iy > a Z

367

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ Vou. XVIII.

368

AMjuel [ti

ah.

AUN ne sill

eed

Plate No.

No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS.

369

y s a

4 re i ‘ 4 J

i d = ty : =

t :

i :

* F3

A ‘ s

4 vm! Oy Road

“Oda. M " p pe

a Pay t Wi : ( :

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No. 3.

Plate

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

370

| i :

, nn i

1 | mL

itis

HHL

sit

of hi Ai He

5 I ibe h oo Rul

Be!

Na all

Plate No. 4,

dd1

No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS.

MILL ML

ee UT | |! me oats commenti

AAT! | .

: Ail

PET

vil

| | alli

ine

ry)

Plate No.

oN Wil = a I ie I

h Tr ‘ | Hi | i wee eT SY: MTT) : NTO f :

th | . | s p | AEs py | ig

il ar eli wt rg @

pill * a

ert te a ml

96-05

[VoL. XVIII

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON).

d¢2

Chis

| Zi

rg BS

yf :

es “ a je

il uly

MO Say

ull Si } :

re =

Plate No. 6.

No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS.

Height 1 font 2 inches.

ely | il : i =

Pe ie a oa

= Mg

—

——

— eee

————

ie i 1c

ve _

VOae a

\ “ me ‘

=== es

= = ———

————

.————_ a

——

ie i

= aM

——

—

1 foot 9 inches.

373

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). (Vou. XVIII.

237A

‘6

INTE MLCOUSNAOANUO gH ONL U/ UCR UUnUSEOETLANA ENA

ean te TTT a syggnuene ga) |||

0 ran

Tel

TAB A RBERRRBRLEARVS A BARA’

= =

a aly | ‘ I My ral wy: bel TTT | aor ;

inatanyuen TATU aa | en ut antl Uthinse

HUM PIKE .

Cine

POE hiirdok nk PE ear ew sm

NRA SWABS Sasea Bee

Widetsenae: Dany at AUeHUitit Asinasisail

svvegvonuadifotvdenteresnieannnsneniragecadscenvite CfuimarattiUssn\atG4i(QSUS00F1/002U/f00QSsPUs0Sc0NtUrUTory |

FYlCandapx, tet.

BG VAN

‘

Plate No, 8.

315

No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS.

Siacoddenea

nal

1"4 rn if TT

es iy oom

st tl ull ta rn ee

‘aay

dito pene ae PTT eel || nana

art NR at par

a 1H i TAN aameeseecl ost

GIN

EAcanckeanppe,otel.

- 3 \

Plate xo..o

[ Von. XVIII.

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON).

376

wae

=item eetinestatrcnee sila

Peraseirinen: baamieereee:: Edaaunreapdonectamh

caperenruvalsithed a

ia ACA

wilh's34

BYE SEs

‘ei 4 ‘

AAA

"Hager : " -

oo a 2 7 tr

U5 i a ah .

ee te Pears

ye ti

‘

at i: WAR vn

Are,

im esl mh TL

lbs ith

Plate No

No. 56.—1905.] PORTUGUESE INSCRIPTIONS.

5 ~~

SSS

’

———— rd

——_—__ 3 — 7-7

FP CaN

Hil

(Atl

— 8

f P

i»

‘|

= qe

} f

———— -)

————14

appa, eel.

Piate No. tL

: —— = eee, a

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— —ITs aS

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ali

[ Vou. XVII.

NAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON).

JOUR

378

SS:

Lp -

\\ ;

{

SS,

patil

fa.

Minne

nn a

aes WW

Ramer aa

AANA

Rlandappa, ole .m

i2.

Ca.

No. 56.—1905.] PROCEEDINGS. 379

9. Mr. E. B. Denuam gave a further account of the discoveries

at Mannar. He mentioned that among the stones found was one

with two geese with their necks intertwined. It wasacurious instance

of historical vicissitudes that the Portuguese used the ruins of

Tiruketisveram for building the floor of the Manndr Fort, wherein

centuries later was found the tombstones of leading Portuguese, which,

rescued from their resting place, were set up in the so-called Dutch

Church in the Fort with the tombstones of the Dutch conquerors of

the Portuguese. He thought that the “ tombstone ” (fig. No. 7) might

be the top of a font erected to the memory of the lady Dona Maria

Lacerda. He hoped that the Paper might encourage others to search

for relics of the Portuguese who had exerted a great influence in

Ceylon in religion, nomenclature, and language.

10. Dr. CHALMERS, in formally proposing a vote of thanks to Mr.

Lewis for his Paper, said that he had seen the Portuguese inscriptions

while he was in Jaffna, and that he had been much interested in such

excellent remains of the Portuguese occupation. Mr. Lewis deserved

great thanks from the Society for the interest which he had taken in

bringing this matter forward.

It was possible that remains of the Portuguese other than inscrip-

tions might be found, and instanced as well worth study the remains

of a fort at Kangesanturai which was supposed to be the foundation

of a proposed Portuguese Fort.

Mr. BERWICK seconded the motion. Contrasting the nature of the

monuments which different peoples have left of their dominancy, he

referred to the remarkable survival in Ceylon to-day of the Portugese

physical type of features (apart from mere colour), language, and

religion. With respect to the last, he emphasized the fact that the

introduction, or at all events the great spread of Christianity (with all

the civilization that follows on that) in the East, was due to the

Portuguese.

11. The President (Mr. FErRGusoN) proposed that a hearty vote of

thanks be accorded to their Patron, His Excellency the Governor, for

coming amongst them with Lady Blake and for discharging the duties

of Chairman in so effective and interesting a way that evening.

It was always regarded by the Members of this Society as a marked

honour when the Governor of the Colony consented to fill the Chair

at any of their Meetings, and this was greatly enhanced in the case

of Sir Henry Blake from the special interest which he had already

evinced in work connected with and objects dear to the Society,

and because of his personal devotion to the revival, improvement,

and development of agriculture throughout the Island. It might

be mentioned that in the past records of their Society there was

quite a number (twenty at least) of Papers dealing with different

branches of agriculture, and it must be well at this time to recall the

“design ’’ of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, which in

the words placed in the forefront of its Journals is “ to institute and

promote inquiries into the history, religion, literature, arts, and social

condition of the present and former inhabitants of the island, with its

geology, mineralogy, its climate and meteorology, its botany and

zoology.” He need not say how glad the Council and Secretaries

would be to receive suitable Papers bearing on any of the above sub-

jects, or to aid in investigations, such as were suggested by their

esteemed former President, the Metropolitan Bishop of Calcutta, who

380 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

in a communication locally published not long ago stated: “I have

not yet had time to make a study of what indications there are in these

parts of the truth of the old Sinhalese tradition that their ancestors

came from Bihar and by sea, but all that I have noticed tends to

confirm it. In particular, I would commend to the Ceylon Asiatic

Society the inquiry, whether the old Bengal port of ''ambuk—once

a port, but now many miles inland—may not throw light by its old

name ‘Tamrup’ on the history of the Sinhalese migration and the

name of Tamrapani or Taprobane.”’

They would be glad to welcome information calculated to throw light

on the inquiry suggested by Dr. Copleston. Perhaps his own relative

(Mr. D. W. Ferguson) of Croydon would have something to say on

the subject, as well as on Mr. Lewis’s interesting Paper read that

evening. That Paper reminded them how much indebted they had

been to the Civil Service in the past for contributions. He trusted

that with His Excellency’s patronage, they would receive during the

present year from all branches of the Service (especially the Scientific),

as well indeed asfrom members of the general community, useful

Papers suited to be read at their Meetings and published in their

Journals. This would show that it was recognized that their Ceylon

Branch deserved general confidence, and should be maintained in a

career of usefulness worthy of its best past traditions. He begged to

move a hearty vote of thanks to the Chair. (Applause).

THe VICE-PRESIDENT (Mr. P. FREUDENBERG) seconded in a word,

and the vote was carried by acclamation.

12. His ExceLLency returned thanks, and drew attention to the fact

that the next General Meeting of the Society had been fixed for

March 4, when a Paper would be read by Mr. C. M. Fernando on

“Two Sinhalese Swords.” His Excellency then went on to offer, on

behalf of the gathering, the thanks of the Society to Mr Freudenberg

for his hospitality. He knew they all felt with him that they were

gainers by the contretemps which brought them there.

Mr. FREUDENBEG, responding, said that he had tried for the last

twenty-five years to be of some use to the Asiatic Society, and he had

achieved his object that night!

This terminated the Proceedings soon after 11 P.M., the Members

thanking their host and Mrs. Freudenberg.

APPENDIX.

J. P. Lewis, Hsq., C.C.S,, to the HONORARY SECRETARY,

Royal Asiatic Society (C.B.).

Marichchukaddi, February 11, 1905.

DEAR Sir,—As I was unable to be present at the Meeting of the

Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch) on 6th instant, to read my

Paper and take part in the discussion, may I be permitted to explain

by letter why I could not accept Mr. Denham’s theory that the portion

of the tombstone of Dona Maria Lacerda, found at Mannar, was

really part, not of a tombstone, but of a font. I should be glad

if this letter could be printed as an appendix to the Paper or

Proceedings.

No. 56.—1905.]_ . PROCEEDINGS. dsl

(1) It is my impression that at the period when this memorial was

erected, which must have been towards the end of the sixteenth

or early in the seventeenth century (the former [ think), the custom

of giving fonts or other ecclesiastical furniture or ornaments to

churches as memorials of deceased persons had not been thought of.

Memorials took the shape sometimes of chantry chapels or altars, but

ordinarily of tombstones or brasses more or less elaborate. But a tomb-

stone was a tombstone and no one thought of substituting for it a font

or other part of the paraphernalia of a church asa memorial. This

custom is entirely a modern one—that at least is my impression.

2 This stone is of a rectangular plan, some 3 ft. 43 in. by

2 ft.—a very unusual shape for a font I should say.

(3) At the same time it is not of an unusual shape for a tombstone,

though unique among Ceylon Portuguese and Dutch memorials.

(4) The only reason for supposing it to be part of a fontis the quasé

handles at the ends with holes which look as if they were intended

for poles to be passed through them in order to lift the stone, and

suggest to Mr. Denham that it might be afont cover. But in my

opinion these are merely ornamental terminals to the top ridge of

the stone. The stone is far too heavy for a font cover, and would have

required four men and two poles to lift it every time the font was

used, which process would also have involved cutting the inscriptions

temporarily in half.

J. P. Lewis.

GENERAL MERTING.

Colombo Museum, March 4, 1905.

Present :

Mr. P. Freudenberg, Vice-President, in the Chair.

Mr.C. Batuwantudawe, Advocate. | Dr. H. M. Fernando, M.D., B.Sc.

Dr. A.J. Chalmers, M.D.,F.R.C.S. | Mr. W. F. Gunawardhana, Muda-

Mr. F. J. de Mel, B.A., LL.B. liyar

Mr. W. A. de Silva, J.P. Mr. P. E. Morgappah.

Dr. W. H. de Silva, M.B., C M., | Mr. E. W. Pereira, Advocate.

F.R.C.S. Mr. P. E. Pieris, M.A.. C.C.S.

Mr. C. M. Fernando, M.A , LL.M. | Mr. H. F. Tomalin, F.R.I.B.A.

Messrs. J. Harward, M.A., and G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Visitors: One lady and twenty-eight gentlemen.

Business.

1. THE CHAIRMAN :—GENTLEMEN, before formally opening this

_ Meeting, I wish to refer to a happy event which took place at Bombay

to-day. I mean the wedding of our President, the Hon. Mr. John

Ferguson. I am sure that I am only giving expression to what the

Society feels when I say that we offer our hearty congratulations to

Mr. Ferguson and his bride and wish them all happiness.

2. Read and confirmed Minutes of last General Meeting held on

February 6, 1905. |

3. Mr. W. F. Guyawarpuana read the foilowing Paper :—

382 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

RAJA SINHA I.,

PARRICIDE AND CENTENARIAN.

A REVIEW.

By W. F. GuNAWARDHANA, Mudaliyar, of the Department

of Public Instruction.

IT is stated, and generally accepted as history, that Raja

Sinha I., the warrior king of Ceylon, cleared his way to the

throne by putting his father to death, and that he lived

to the great age of 120 years. The first statement is con-

tained in the Mahawansa,* and appears in the works of

Faria y Sousa,t De Couto,{ and others§ ; the second is made,

or allusion is made to it, by most European writers dealing

with the period.| From a consideration of surrounding

facts and circumstances, however, it would seem that we

can arrive at independent conclusions of our own with regard

to the truthfulness or otherwise of both these statements ;

and such an investigation is the object of this Paper.

Raja Sinha, whose name in his childhood was Tikiri

Bandara (the little Prince), was the youngest of a family of

four children of Mayadunne,{ who was the youngest son of

King Vijaya Bahu VII., and the first great opponent of

* Chap. XCia.

+ Vol, III., pt. I., chap. IV., see. 11.

{ Dec. X., chap. XIIL., tau VEL, pt. 1L.,.p. 215 (Ret: given by Tennent,

“‘ Ceylon,” cols LE pr 195 fottnanen

~ § See among others the latest history of the period, Danvers,‘‘ Portuguese

in India,” vol. IT., pv 45,

|| Philalethes, p. 59, apparently quoting from Valentyn ; Knighton,

‘“ Hist.,” p. 242; Emerson Tennent, “Ceylon,” vol. II., p. 21, footnote ; ;

Bell (Report on Regal Dist., p. 7), quoting from Knightbe speaks of: Raja

Sinha’s energy when 100 years old.

q Rdjawaliya, Eng. trans., p. 82.

No. 56.—1905. | RAJA SINHA I. 383

the Portuguese in Ceylon. One of his brothers, Rajjuru

Bandara, had died at the age of twenty years ; and a sister,

the only daughter in the family, was given in marriage to

the famous Vidiyé Bandara, who by a previous spouse from

the royal family had become the father of King Don Juan

Dharmapala, the puppet and catspaw of the Portuguese.

The issue of this second alliance of Vidiyé Bandara was one

daughter, whom in course of time he bestowed in marriage

on Vijayapala Asthana,* apparently his second son by his

first wife. This union would seem unsuitable in our eyes,

but we have to remember that at that date such customs still

prevailed in the royal families of the Hast. After this

marriage the domestic relations between Vidiye Bandara

and the Princess, his wife, became very much strained :

evidently the Princess did not approve of the union ; and

Vidiyé Bandara then resorting to harsh treatment, we find

the Princess frequently sending to her father complaining

of his ill-usage.*

Weare told by the Rajawaliya that at this time Raja Sinha

was yet a child of eleven years old.t But such was his

precocity, and such his military genius, so early developed

by following his father in his military expeditions, which —

were both numerous and frequent, that Mayadunne unhesi-

tatingly sent him with his surviving brother Timbiripola

_ Bandara and Vikramasinha Mudaliyar, to exact satisfaction

of his son-in-law for his cruelty to his wife. The boy-

warrior distinguished himself, and his brutal brother-in-law

was soon a fugitive.

It will be necessary now to consider what was the age of

Mayadunne at the time these events were happening. As

we have seen, he had not only children, but had also a

srand-daughter, and she being a married woman he was

fairly within sight of even the fourth generation. We may

therefore safely conclude that he must have been at least

* Rajawaliya (Sin.), p. 67.

{ Ibid. See also Tennent, “ Ceylon,” vol. {1., p. 17.

384 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL XVIII.

fifty-two years old at this time,* which would make him

forty-one years older than his son Tikiri Bandara. Tikiri

Bandara, or, as he began to be called early in life, Raja Sinha,

ascended the throne eleven years before his own death,t

that is to say, according to the accepted account, in the

109th year of his age. According to that account, then, his

father must have reached at that date the extraordinary age

of 150 years. This sufficiently transcends the credible; but

the marvel grows when it is found necessary for a son,

who, according to history, was in possession of plenary

powers of regent,f to murder a parent of such venerable

years, for the pleasure of sitting physically on a throne

which in other respects he was filling, to all intents and

purposes, with credit to himself and satisfaction to his

father.

On the question of probability, therefore, the story of this

parricide is beset with much difficulty. Is it supported by

the evidence, direct or indirect, of the histories written

nearest to the period treated of ? We have three such histories

from three independent sources, one from the side of the

Portuguese, one from the Dutch,and one from the Sinhalese

— gide ; the earliest coming from these respective nationalities

with regard to this period. AJ1 these three works are written

in plain language, in great simplicity of style, and nowhere

indicate any signs of aiming at embellishment or artistic

effect, We may, therefore, safely conclude that the writers

recorded what was actually known in their day, and intended

to be truthful above all things.

The Portuguese account from the pen of the faithful

Ribeiro, who saw Raja Sinha through Portuguese spectacles,

* This is arrived at as follows: allow twenty-one years to M4y4dunne at

the time of the birth of his daughter, who was his third child (Rajawaliya,

Eng. trans., p. 82), sixteen years to the Princess at the time of the birth of

her daughter, and fifteen years to the younger Princess at the time of

her marriage.

J Bell, Report on Kégalla District, p.7. Seealso Danvers, “ Portuguese

in India,” vol. II., p. 44.

t Rajawaliya, Eng. trans., p. 84.

No. 56.—1905. ] RAJA SINHA I. J89

which, it may be remarked in passing, magnified his vices

and minimized his virtues, speaks of his death, and tells us

as a circumstance of detail that it was occasioned by an iron

stake chancing to pierce his foot.* The mention of the

detail is important as showing the carefulness of the writer

to say all he knew with regard to whatever he was speaking.

He mentions Mayadunne,too,as Raja Sinha’s father,f but of his

murder he says nothing: a significant silence from such an

author. The Dutch account, from the diffuse pen of the still

more faithful Baldzeus, recounts the enormities committed

by Raja Sinhaon the members of hisfamily ;{ but among these,

the murder of his father is not one. On the Sinhalese side,

the author of the Rajawaliya, who is, perhaps, the best

historian of this period, and gives a more circumstantial

account from within than was possible with the two European

writers, but who, nevertheless, is corroborated by them at

every point where their accounts come in mutual contact,

narrates in their proper places the various treacheries and

cruelties practised by Raja Sinha ; but nowhere does he speak

of the parricide.§ We have, therefore, the negative evidence

of the silence of all these three writers on this point, going

to show that the story of the parricide was not known in

their day.

Bnt, in addition to this negative evidence, we have also

the positive testimony of the Rajawaliya, which, in closing

the account of the eventful and stirring times of Maya-

dunne, says, “ King Mayadunne having reigned seventy years

departed this life.”| A clear statement, direct and definite.

It would seem that the misdeeds of Raja Sinha not only

survived him, but multiplied by a gradual process, till long

after he had himself ceased to be, the list of his enormities

was crowned by the story of this execrable murder. De

mortuis nil nist bonum is a good old maxim which, in the

* Lee’s translation, p. 23. :

+ Lee’s translation, p. 21.

{ Churchill’s “Collection,” vol. III., p. 671.

§ Thestory of Raja Sinha is told in the Rajadwaliya, Eng. trans., pp. 82-94,

|| Rajawaliya (Sin.), p. 71; see also Eng, trans., p. 86, bottom.

386 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ Vou. XVIII.

generality of cases, is fairly well observed. But in Raja

Sinha’s case it seems to have been reversed by his enemies.

They not only painted him more hideous than he was, but

also gave him a background more in keeping with such a

picture. For it was often asserted by the Portuguese, and

sometimes even by the Dutch, that Raja Sinha was no prince

bred or born, but only a barber who had risen by a military |

inclination, backed up by surprising good fortune in its

pursuit.”

The story with regard to the longevity of Raja Sinha seems

to be beset with as much difficulty as the one of his

parricide. According to all accounts he died in the year

1592. We have it on the authority of the Rdajawaliya that

when he was sent on his first military expedition, against

Vidiyé Bandara, which was some time after 1542,t he was in

the eleventh year of his age.§ Giving the earliest possible

date to this expedition by placing it at 1542, we find he

could still have been only sixty-one years old when he died

in 1592,a time of life which may easily account for the

energy and vigour with which he was conducting operations

against the Portuguese at Colombo, and the promptitude

with which, on-the outbreak of the Kandyan rebellion, he

straightway marched to meet it and crush it,|| and met with -

the accident which led to his death.

If we accept this age for Raja Sinha as correct, then the age

of his father too loses its fabulous character and assumes

human proportions. For according to our calculations based

* See Baldeus, Churchill’s “ Collection,” vol. III., p. 668.

_ See among others Mahawansa, chap. XCIV.; Rajawaliya (Sin.), p. 78,

Hing. translation, p. 94.

{ This event took place after Don Juan Dharmapala had come to the

throne, which was in 1542. See Bell, Report on Kégalla District, p. 6.

§ See reference already given on page 2 supra.

|| Rajdwaliya, Eng. trans., pp. 92-93; Knighton, pp. 241-243 ; Tennent,

‘“ Ceylon,” vol. IT., pp. 19-22 ; Mr. H.C. P. Bell, Zoe. cit., p. 7.

Mr. F. C. Danvers, in his valuable work ‘‘ Portuguese in India,” vol. IT., pp.

72 et seq., gives a full and instructive account of the extent and character

of Raja Sinha’s operations against the Portuguese stronghold of Colombo.

No. 56.—1905.] RAJA SINHA I. bee SSP

on the Rajawalya, Mayadunne was forty-one years older

than his warlike son, and died eleven years earlier ; so that at

the time of his death he would have been ninety-one years

old, quite a natural and likely age. We cannot be too much

impressed with the remarkable agreement between this and

the statementin the Rajawaliya that Mayadunne died after a

reign of seventy years. For what is more natural or more

in accord with Oriental custom, than that a royal prince of

the great ability of Mayadunne should have been ealled,

when about the age of twenty-one years, to rule one of the

numerous principalities of his family ?

Perhaps the assignment of one hundred and twenty years

for Raja Sinha’s age is the result of a mistake. Baldzus, in

speaking of the death of this prince, says: “ Just before his

death he sent for the before-mentioned Tireanco* or High

Priest, desiring him to forgive the death of his brethren,

offering him considerable presents at the same time; he

refused thelast, but pardoned the crime, and so returned to

- Candy, where he died in the 120th year of his age.”t Here,

be it observed, the passage opens on the death-bed of Raja

Sinha, and cioses on a death-bed ; and if the incautious reader,

by a slight confusion, took the curtain to have risen and fallen

on the same scene, the mistake is only natural and to be

expected.

To sum up, then, the evidence of history leads us to the

following conclusions :—

Mayadunne was not murdered by his son, but died an

honoured parent and a powerful prince, at or about the good

old age of ninety-one years. |

Raja Sinha I., who succeeded to the power and fortunes of

his illustrious father, and brilliantly maintained the prestige

of his family and of his nation, followed his honoured parent

to the grave when sixty-one years old.

4, Mr. C. M. FERNANDO read the following Paper :—

* f.e., Terunnansé, the term for a Buddhist priest.

+7 Baldzeus, Churchill’s ‘ Collection,” vol. IIT., p. 671

F 96-06

388 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

TWO OLD SINHALESE SWORDS.

By C. M. Fernanpo, M.A., LL.M. (Cantab.).

THE two swords which form the subject of this Paper

were shown to Mr. H.C. P. Bell, when he was resident in

Colombo about twenty years ago.

Hearing that they were in my possession he suggested

that a “ Note” on them would likely to be of oy to the

Asiatic Society.

The swords came from the possession of the late Chevalier

Jusey de Silva, who held them as family heirlooms.

On his death the swords passed into the hands of his only

daughter, Lady de Soysa, from whom I received them.

The members of his family have always used the honorific

names appearing on the swords, and claim to be descendants

of the grantees. The names Aditya Arasa Nilayitta (which

mean “belonging to the race of the sun”) have also been used

from time immemorial by the members of the family whose

present head is Mudaliyar Ambrosius de Rowel of Pitigal

Kéralé South. They claim to be descendants of the chiefs

of a military colony from Jeypore.

The Dutch Act of Appointment dated the 20th January,

1765, appointing the great grandfather of the present

Mudaliyar to the office of Mudaliyar over Alutkaru Koralé

describes him as “Anthony Rowell Waranakula Aditta

Wirasuriya Arasa Nilayitta.”

Both these swords bear on them marks of undoubied

antiquity. The characters are archaic ; the style and language

are similar to those of other documents of the time. As

inscribed swords of honour granted to distinguished generals

five centuries ago they furnish unique memorials of the

past history of our Island.

I am indebted to Simon de Silva, Mudaliyar, Chief Trans-

lator to the Government, for the decipherment of the inscrip-

tions on the two swords, and the translations.

No. 56.—1905.] TWO OLD SINHALESE SWORDS. 389

No. 1."

Test.

Oe G......406 GASH SHERO...... DIaay Ouand

Om Hae@se. QVa 9B wand HOLS wsnoqWdd1sQ9 aG SG

GeM...... GOSS Quandddw saadg, Gi®D om1d06 pens

6a BAKO QOGHO?...... DYE ANAGVSHO aucoas @O.. ...

QODaw 96 Suaqoed Quer SodBnygo auamd dvdneea.

Translation. rs

Hail! At the palace of the Viceroy the Mighty, Victorious Lord of

the Harth, Vijaya Raja. In the year of Buddha 1917 Kouravara

Aditya Arasa Nilayitta Ile Ndga, having been appointed General

of the Viceroy, received this sword on Tuesday, the 15th day of the

increasing moon of the month of Vesak, at the Palace of the Viceroy

at Jayawardhanapura.

The date as read on the sword—1917 of the Buddhist era—

corresponds to A.D. 1374. At that time Bhuwaneka Bahu V.

was reigning atGampoila. Vijaya Bahu, hisstep-brother, was

Viceroy at Kétté. He is called Vira Bahu in the Maha-

wansa, and Vijaya Bahu in the Raja waliya. From about

A.D. 1399 he appears to have reigned in Kotte as an indepen-

dent sovereign, until, on the invasion of the city by the

Chinese in A.D. 1411, he was captured and taken away to

China. On being released, he returned to Ceylon in A.D. 1412,

and crushed by defeat and misfortune sought a hermit’s cell

on Adam’s Peak, where tradition says he died a mendicant.

No. 2.F

Tent.

8 QQ 0B ndnd&o nOond 913 G EomesS Sod.@ngo

GB amaD? 8 560M Od BBat aN1S Pax dB

POSBHASOO OMaMd...... Os2Nss eds sn Adc aMdoamo

BI Ddestass ODanBd daa ca ad Ga BODAD DHweso.

Translation.

In the year of Buddha 1959, at Jayawardhanapura, the Lord of

Lanka, Sri Sangabodi Sri Pardkrama Bahu Maha Raja, decreed and

granted to Kouravara Aditya Kuravira Arasa Nilayitta Maha Naga

the office of general and this sword, on Tuesday the 10th day of the

increasing moon in the month of Vesak, at the auspicious Palace.

* Length of blade, 2 ft. 72 in.; breadth, 14 in. ; hilt, 4 in. ; black ivory.

‘+ Length of blade, 2 ft. 102in.; breadth. 14 in. ; hilt, 5 in. ; ornamental

ivory.

390 JOURNAL, B.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

The year of Buddha 1959 equals 1416 of the Christian era,

a year subsequent to that of the Beligala sannasa of

Parakrama Bahu VI. The grantor is theson of Vijaya Bahu,

the grantor of the first sword. It is probable that Maha

Naga, the grantee, was the son of Ila Naga, the general of

Vijaya Bahu. King Parakrama Bahu VI. reigned at Kotté

a united Lanka.

[Nore.—Mr. Fernando added the text and translation of an ola

document (not produced) relating to the family from whose possession °

the swords came. In the absence of the olaitself as a test of age and

genuineness, it has been deemed advisable to omit the text and

translation furnished.—B., Ed. Sec.]

5. Mr. Advocate BATUWANTUDAWaA pointed out what he consi-

dered anachronisms in the language. He was inclined to hesitate

before accepting the ola and the inscriptions as genuine.

Mr. P. E. Pieris congratulated Mr, Fernando on his Paper, and said

that the ola was of interest as illustrating the existence of high caste

families absorbed amongst the Sinhalese. A parallel case was that of

the 10,000 Brahmins whom Iba Batuta found residing at the Deni

Nuwara. He had himself come across olas of a similar nature in

Sabaragamuwa, and hoped that some day their contents would be made

accessible to the public. Turning to the swords, he said that it was

impossible to doubt their genuineness. He was quite satisfied that

they bore a genuine old Sinhalese inscription, probably written by

order of a king. At the same time, comparing them with some

Dutch swords of the eighteenth century, and from his own knowledge of

ancient swords; he was of opinion that the swords were of European

origin, and probably not more than 300 years old. - He also pointed out

that the writing painted in white on the swords did not correspond

with the inscribed letters underneath. Could Mr. Fernando tell him

under whose supervision the photographer had painted the letters ?

Mr. FERNANDO explained that the photographer had followed the

manuscript of Simon de Silva, Mudaliyar, who had deciphered the

inscriptions.

Mr. PriERIs could not accept the decipherment as correct, and wished

to know whether the Society had referred the matter to any expert.

Mr. G. A. JosEPH explained that Mr. H. C. P. Bell had seen and —

handled the swords ; but that was many years ago and before he was

appointed Archeological Commissioner.

Mr. Pieris said that it was most essential that the correctness of

the reading of the inscription should besettled beyond any possibility

of doubt. He had omitted one matter: the inscription on these two

swords had already been quoted in full by Mr. Dharmaratna in a

pamphlet.called “The Kara-Goi Contest” published about fifteen years

ago which he (Mr. Pieris) now produced.

No. 56.—1905.] = _ PROCEEDINGS. oo SOBI

The CHAIRMAN said that the question of obtaining another dici-

pherment of the inscription would be referred to the Council.

Mr.W. F. GUNAWARDHANA inquired whether Mr. Pieris’s doubts had

reference to the genuineness of the inscriptions, or to the correctness

of their reading.

Mr. Pieris replied that he had no doubt whatever as to the genuine-

ness of the swords and of the inscriptions on them ; he only doubted

the accuracy of the reading.

Mr. FERNANDO remarked that with regard to the irregularity of

the words and letters on the inscription, at the time of King

Paradkrama Bahu VI. of K6tté, Sinhalese inscriptions on metal were

produced in an illiterate and unskilful manner.

Mr. HarwWaARD proposed a vote of thanks to the authors of the two

Papers.

Mr. ToMALIN seconded, and the motion was carried.

Dr. W. H. DE SILVA proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman for

presiding, which was seconded by Dr. Chalmers and carried.

THE CuarrMaN thanked the Meeting for their vote of thanks. He

had hoped that His Excellency the Governor would take the Chair at

this Meeting, but sterner duties had taken him away from Colombo.

COUNCIL MERTING.,

Colombo Museum, May 2, 1905.

Present :

Mr. H. F. Tomalin, F.R.1.B.A., in the Chair.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S. Dr. W. H. de Silva, M.B., C.M,

Mr A. M. Gunasékara, Muda- F.R.C.S.

liyar. Dr. A. Willey, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Buiness.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last Council Meeting held on

February 6 last.

2. Resolved—The election of following candidates :—

Sir John Keane, Bart. : recommended by } an phos

Dr. C. A. Hevavitarana : recommended by ? on i tone MS

P. E. S. Dharmasekara : recommended by ; Sunes a Sls

3. Laid on the table a Paper entitled ‘“‘ Note on a Dutch Medal,” by

Mr. F. H. de Vos.

Resolved—That the Paper be accepted with thanks for publication,

and that it be read at a Meeting after reference to Messrs. J. P. Lewis

and R.G. Anthonisz.

392 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL XVIII.

4. Laidon the table a Paper entitled ‘‘ Third Supplementary Paper on

Monumental Remains of the Dutch East India Company in Ceylon,”

by Mr. F. H. de Vos.

Resolved—T hat the Paper be accepted with thanks and published in

the Society’s Journal, but not read at a Meeting.

5, Laid on the table a Paper entitled ‘‘ Noteson Paddy Cultivation

Ceremonies in the Ratnapura District,” by Mr. A. K. Coomaraswamy.

Resolved —That the Paper be referred to Messrs. H. C. P. Bell and

J. P. Lewis for their opinions, and that, in the event of those being

favourable, it be accepted and read at a General Meeting.

6. Laid on the table letters from the Secretary, Cambridge Anti-

quarian Society, and the Director-General of Museo Nacional,

Montevideo, soliciting exchanges of publications.

Resolved—That replies be sent stating that in view of the large

number of Institutions already on the exchange list, the ead regrets

its inability to comply with their requests.

7. Laid on the table a letter from Mr. J. P. Lewis dated April 15,

1905, proposing to erect a tablet in front of the tomb of the wife of

Joao de Mello Sampayo, Captain of Mannar, 1584, and asking the

Society to pay Rs. 25 towards its construction. The Government paid

Rs. 60 for erecting the tombstone on a concrete pedestal.

Resolved—That after reference to Mr. Lewis the Society do ask Gov-

ernment to contribute the additional sum of Rs. 25 for the erection

of the tablet.

8. Laid on the table manuscripts entitled “ Journal of a Tour to

Candia in 1796” purchased by the Society, and considered what steps

should be taken to have it printed.

Mr. Joseph explained that the Hon. Mr, E. F. im Thurn, C.B.,

C.M.G., undertook to annotate for publication the manuseript

for the Society.

Resolved— That the matter do stand over till Mr. im Thurn replies

to Mr. Joseph’s last communication.

9. Considered date and business for next General Meeting.

Resolved—That a General Meeting be held early in June, and that

the exact date and business be left in the hands of the Secretaries.

10. Mr. Harwarp broughi up the question of the two Sinhalese

swords, and read a letter from Mr. Bell, Archzological Commissioner,

dated April 8, 1905.

Resolved—To ask Mr. Bell to favour the Council with his decipher-

ment of the inscriptions on the swords.”

* See Appendix.—B., Hd. Sec.

zs ee Ge a, Rees =

No. 56.—1905.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. 393

THIRD SUPPLEMENTARY PAPER ON

THE MONUMENTAL REMAINS OF THE DUTCH EAST

INDIA COMPANY OF CEYLON.*

By F. H. bE Vos, Barrister-at-Law, and Member of the Society

of Dutch Literature, &c., of Leyden.

- 'THE recent discovery in Jaffna by Mr. J. P. Lewis, C.C.S.,

of two more Dutch tombstones has suggested the necessity

of this Paper. They were found hidden under the flooring

of one of the two sets of stalls which were probably set up

in English times in the “chancel ” of the Dutch Reformed

Church in Jaffna. Of onel enclose a sketch. The other is

a small plain tombstone with a portion of the left side of it

sliced off and the foot hidden under the masonry of the base

of the Commandeur’s pew next to the stalls. Mr. Lewis

thinks that the first stone was lifted from its original

position in the floor underneath to make a floor for the stall,

which is eight or ten inches higher than the floor of the

church. The second stone was put in at some time to

complete the floor. These stones have been removed from

their position and let into the pavement of the church. These

tombstones were neither of them in sztu—probably removed

from the former church.

As regards Thomas Nagel,t Hendrina Philipina Vos was

probably his first wife. This tombstone used to be in the

premises of a house in the Pettah, Jaffna, which is said to

have belonged to Thomas Nagel.

* Vide Journal, vol. XV., No. 49, p. 213 ; vol. XVII., No. 52, p. 12 -

vol. XVIII., No. 54, p. 51.

7 Journal, vol. XVIT., No. 52, p. 40; vol. XVIII., No. 54, p. 64.

394 JOURNAL, R.A.S., (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

No. 1.

(See Plate.)

Translation.—Here lies buried Joris Hartsinck during his

life Onderkoopman in the service of the United Dutch Hast

India Company. Died on the 15th August, 1672. Aged

twenty-nine years.

Arms,.—Rietstap* gives the following blazon: D’arg 4

trois faces ondées d’azur; au chef de gu. ch. d’un croiss.

d’or. | |

Orest,—Un lion iss. au nat.

Supporters.—Deux lions au nat.

Remarks,—The lion in the crest is holding a thorn branch

sinople, and this is the crest of the Van Marselis-Hartsinck

family according to Rietstap;* but Vorsteman van Oyen 7

assigns this crest to the Hartsinck family generally, giving

a Sketch in colours of the arms.

The family, according to the latter, derives from one

Pieter Hartsinck, who married in 1403 Francyn Pietersz, and

had by her a son Adriaan, who married Soetje Coster. Adriaan

left no male issue, but his daughter Marytje married Hugo

Willemsz. The son of this marriage, Willem Hugens

assumed the name and arms of the Hartsinck family, and

he was the great-great-grandfather of Joris Hartsinck who

received the name Joris or George from his grandfather, who

was Burgomaster of Meurs. The parents of Joris were Carel

Hartsinek, Director-General of the Dutch Indies, died in

Batavia, 24th September, 1667, and Sara de Solemne, born in

1619, the daughter of David de Solemne and Hester van

Hoornbeek. Sara de Solemne was half-sister of Ester de

Solemne, the wife of Ryclof van Goens (senior), {| Governor

of Ceylon. |

Vorsteman van Oyen says that J oris (George) was an

- Opperkoopman at Jaffna and died there on the 29th October,

1672.

“* Armorial General, 2ceme edition.

+ Stam-en Wapenboek van Aanzienlijke Nederlandsche Familien.

+ Journal, vol. XV., No. 49, p. 220; vol, XVII., No. 52, p, 66.

No. 56.—1905.] DUTCH MONUMENTAL REMAINS. 395

No. 2.

HIER RUST

MARGARITA

ROMANS GE

WESENE HUYS

VROUWE VAN

DEN PREDIKANT

BARTHOLOMEUS

HEYNEN OBIIT

27—EN AUGUSTI

ANNO 1666

OUT XVIII JAREN.

Translation.—Here rests Margarita Romans, late wife of

the Predikant Bartholomeus Heynen.* Died 27th August,

1666, aged eighteen years.

Margarita Roman (s) was born in Batavia, being the

daughter of Johannes Roman of Haarlem, Predikant, Batavia,

and his wife Maria Hendricksdr (Pot) of Amsterdam. The

following particulars about Bartholomeus Heynen and

Johannes Roman are taken from C. A. L. van Troostenburg

de Bruynt :—

‘“‘Bartholomeus Heynen. Born in Paraiba (Brazil), 1644,

Krankbezoeker (visitor of the sick), Batavia, 1659, on the 4th

August, 1659, he left for Holland for his education. Being

appointed Predikant he left for the Indies in the ship ‘de

Wassende Maan.’ Arrived Batavia 7th July, 1664. Sent —

to Ceylon and stationed at Galle and Jaffna, at which latter

place he was the fellow-workman of the renowned Philip

Baldzus. Left for Batavia 1676, and in 1679 for Holland.

He returned to the Indies in 1683 in the ship ‘ Africa.’

Held services in Dutch and Portuguese till his death in 1686.

« Johannes Roman, son of Adriaan Roman, a shopkeeper of

Haarlem, born there and studied at Leyden. Left for the

Indies in 1647 in the ship ‘Nieu-Enchuysen.’ Arrived at

* Journal, vol. XV., No. 49, p. 242, where for “ X. 21., p. 472,” read

“* XXXVIIL., p. 472.”

{1 Biographisch Woordenboek van Oost-Indische Predikanten.

396 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

Java same year (llth July). Held services in the Dutch

and native languages at Batavia. Curator of the Latin school

(1650). Translated part of the Scripturesinto Malay. He

died in 1658, having married in Batavia, November, 1647,

Maria Henricks (Pot) of Amsterdam.”

‘

, r)

(ig ~

: )HiERLEYT BRCRAVEN lorisHARTSINCK. \

| bq INSYNLEVEN ONDER. ep

No. 56.—1905. | - PROCEEDINGS. 397

GENERAL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, July 17, 1905.

Present :

His Excellency Sir H. A. Blake, G.C.M.G., Patron, in the Chair.

| The Hon. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., President.

Mr. R. G. Anthonisz. | “Mr. P. E. Morgappah. —

Mr. T. P. Atiygalle, J.P. Mr. D. C. Pedris, Procior, Su

Mr. C. Batuwantudawa, Advocate. preme Court.

Mr. W. A. de Silva, J.P. Mr. E. W. Perera, Advocate.

Dr. W. H. de Silva, M.B., C.M., | Mr. Tudor Rajapakse, Gate Muda-

F.R.C.S. liyar.

Mr. C. M. Fernando, M.A. ,LL.M.| Mr. G. E. S. S. Weerakoon,

Mr. W. F. Gunawardhana, Muda- Mudaliyar.

liyar. Rev. W. J. Wijésinha. |

Mr. a4 B. Jayatilaka, B.A. Dr. A. Willey, M.A., D.S.C.,

Mr. D. Montagu, A.M.I.C.E. F.R.S. |

Visitors : Six ladies and thirty-one gentlemen.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last General Meeting (March

4, 1905).

2. Mr. J. A. JosepH, Honorary Secretary, announced that the

following Members had been elected since the last General Meeting,

V1Z. :-—

Sir J. Keane.

Dr. C. A. Hévavitarana.

Mr. P. E. S. Dharmasékera.

3. Mr. HaArwarp, Honorary Secretary, read the following Paper -—

398 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON), [VoL. XVIII.

NOTES ON THE VARIATIONS OF THE COPPER MASSAS

OF SIX SINHALESE RULERS.

By Joun STILL, Assistant to the Archzological Commissioner.

THE six rulers whose coins are described in these notes

are Vijaya Bahu, Parakrama Bahu, Sahasa Malla, Lilavati,

Dhammasoka Deva, and Bhuvaneka Bahu.

Their coins are all similar in type, differing only in the

legend, and to some extent in the metal and workmanship.

Bui although similar in type, they are eminently variable

in many details of execution, such as the proportions of the

figures on the obverse and reverse, the size of their heads

and the number of fingers on their hands. Much of this is

due to rough workmanship, but not all, for in many of the

specimens here dealt with there are distinctly different

readings from the accepted legend. In some cases, too, one

letter of the inscription persistently varies, so that I have

been able to obtain a regular sequence of slight differences,

which have ended in a ietter apparently different from that

which started the chain. :

In these notes I only attempt to describe the more marked

divergences from the common type. For instance, among

sixty-four coins of Bhuvaneka Bahu I have figured twelve

specimens, whereas it was possible, by taking every slight

eccentricity into account, to subdivide these into no less

than thirty-one variations.

I have taken the kings in chronological order, on the

supposition that each is the first of his name. There can be

little doubt concerning Parakrama Bahu the Great, and

none at all regarding Sahasa Malla, Lilavati, and Dhamma-

soka Deva, for there was only one ruler of each name. But

Vijaya Bahu and Bhuvaneka Bahu are less certain. Vijaya

Bahu the First reigned 1065-1120 a.D., the Second reigned

1197-1198, the Third 1236-1240, and the Fourth 1275-1277.

There was a Fifth, but he is too modern to concern us here

SEL ERI OLLI ITO CL OLE LEE IAEA ALLELE TOUTE LITL ESA SELON LLL DC OONTTTT CR TIP ILCCCSOCOED DELILE TE LEY REI ET TINE LOLOL ERE DA ININTLOLEL AERO LE AT ALLIES ESR OR TTI IE LES AES

No. 56.—1905.] SINHALESE COPPER MASSAS, 399

There were four kings named Bhuvaneka Bahu, but only

the first two are in the period dealt with, viz., Bhuvaneka

Bahu the First, 1277-1288, and Second, 1293-1295.

The gap between Vijaya Bahu I. and Bhuvaneka Bahu I.

is one hundred and fifty-seven years. And within this

century and a half the other four coins of these notes were

current. This being the case, it is natural to expect that

such differences as exist between the coins issued by these

four rulers will form some sequence of style, connecting

the coins of Vijaya Bahu with those of Bhuvaneka Bahu.

But this is not by any means borne out by observation.

Far from representing the two opposite ends of a series

they resemble each other much more than they do the

pseudo intermediate issues. The points especially to be

noted are as follows :—

Gi.) Size.—Measuring a large number of each Mine S coins

I found the averages to work out as follows :-—

Parakrama Bahu, diameter averages ... 19°44 millimetres

Sahasa Malla, do. ates 20°20 do.

Lilavati, do. ce. 20°47 do.

Dhammasoka Déva, do. Sop 20°40 do.

Bhuvaneka Bahu, do. 3. 19-00 do.

Vijaya Bahu, do. | 19-17 do.

Gi.) Weight.—Here again the sirens. though slight,

bears out the measurements. Figures in brackets represent

the number of coins weighed to obtain an average.

Parakrama Bahu (100), average weight of each coin 420 milli-

grammes. |

Sihasa Malla (100), average weight of each coin 440 milli-

orammes. |

Lil4vati (68), average weight of each coin 426 milligrammes.

Dhammasoka Déva (11), average weight of each coin 427 milli-

orammes.

Bhuvaneka Bahu (52), average weight of each coin 413 milli-

grammes.

Vijaya Bahu (86), average weight of each coin 407 milli-

grammes.

(iii.) Metal_—The coins of Parakrama Bahu, Bhuvaneka

Bahu, and Vijaya Bahu corrode green, sometimes with a red

crust. |

400 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ Vou. XVIII.

The coins of Lilavati, Dhammdasoka Déva, and Sahasa

Malla corrode green too, but a very much darker green.

The second trio do not corrode nearly so much as the first

trio, and it is easier to obtain good specimens.

While among a hundred coins of any of the first trio it

would be hard to find half a dozen specimens not coated with

verdigris, among a similar number of the second trio there

would probably be sixty or seventy clean, undamaged speci-

mens of a very dark, nearly black colour.

(iv.) General workmanship.—The coins of Vijaya Bahu

and Bhuvaneka Bahu are of rougher finish than those of the

other four rulers, and show infinitely more careless work- °

manship. Theyare not so perfectly rounded, nor so uniform

in character. And fifty of either of these varieties would

probably produce more variations than five thousand of

those of any other king. Whether owing to the rough-cut

dies or to the metal being softer, the percentage of good

specimens of these two kinds is very small compared to the

others. Therein they differ from Parakrama Bahu’s issue.

It will be noticed that these two varieties partake more

of the character of Pardkrama Bahu’s coins than of the

issues intervening between those and Bhuvaneka Bahu.

But they differ so very much in several ways that they

really form a class by themselves.

They are ill-rounded and extraordinarily varied in type.

Parakrama Bahu’s are well cut, and vary very little.

Taking into consideration all these points, in which the

two vary from the four but resemble each other, it does not

seem likely that the coins represent the first king of the

name Vijaya Bahu.

If they do belong to Vijaya Bahu I., the chronological

order is thus :— 3

Vijaya Bahu I., 1065-1120 a.p.

Parakrama Bahu I., 1164-1197 A.D.

Sahasa Malla, 1200-1202 A.D.

Lilavati, 1208, 1209, and 1211 A.D.

Dhammasoka Déva, 1208-1209 A.D.

Bhuvaneka Bahu I., 1277-1288 A.p.

No. 56.—1905.] SINHALESE COPPER MASSAS. 401

But if the coins can be attributed to Vijaya Bahu IIL.,

1236-1240, or Vijaya Bahu IV., 1275-1277, they will then

take their place between Bhuvaneka Bahu I., and all the rest.

This is of course conjecture, but it does not seem improb-

able.

An additional point in favour of this arrangement is that

it gives Parakrama Bahu the Great the credit of Han ne

introduced this style of coinage into Veylon.

Below the six varieties will be found dealt with separate-

ly, in chronological order, on the assumption that Vijaya

Bahu is the third or fourth of that name.

The numbers in brackets following on, or accompanying

the description, refer, if Roman, to series, if Arabic, to indi-

vidual coins in the accompanying illustrations.

PARAKRAMA BAHU,

Surnamed the Great, 1164-1197 A.D.

Number of coins examined ... 200

Average weight... ... 420 milligrammes

Average diameter ... ... 19°44 millimetres

General characteristics.—These coins vary very little, and

such variations as there are either are such as might be

caused by the die becoming clogged or are unimportant in

character. They are very uniform in the proportions of the

figures, which have usually the correct number of fingers on

their hands.

The corrosion is a rather light green.

The legend is Svi-Pa-ra-kra-ma-Ba-hu.

Variations.—The horizontal stroke on the left side of

the ra is sometimes sloped upwards from the foot of the

perpendicular stroke [1], and sometimes at right angles to

the perpendicular stroke, starting from its centre [2].

The ma is written Ba in seven specimens [3], but in 193

specimens it is correctly ma [4]. This may be caused by

an old die.

402 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. X VILL.

The &ra is usually forked at the foot [4], but in a few

instances seems to be xa, as in [5].

SAwasA MALLA,

1200-1202 a.p.

Number of coins examined .. 174

Average weight... ... 440 milligrammes

Average diameter ... ... 20°20 millimetres

General description.—Only three variations can be found

which are ‘not merely slight individual differences; but

these three are very marked.

These coins are of different metal to the preceding, and are

more deeply struck. In fact they are altogether better made,

every letter being clean cut and quiteclear. The Sv? is more

perfectly formed than in Parakrama Bahu’s, and clearer.

The corrosion is very dark green.

The legend is Svi-Ma-isa-ha-sa-ma-lla.

Variations.—The composite letter ¢sa@ varies, in that a

stroke which I take torepresent ¢ is sometimes missing. The

common (and correct) reading is shown by [1]. That with

plain sé for tsa by [2]. In the 174 specimens examined I

found 107 like [1] and 56 with sd as in [2], while eleven

were illegible.

Of the fifty-six sd@ specimens twenty have yet another

variation. Forlla they have la [3].

So there seem to be three readings :—

Sri-Ma-tsa-ha-sa-ma-lla [1]

Sri-Ma-sd-ha-sa-ma-lla [2]

Sri-Ma-sd-ha-sa-ma-la [3]

LILAVATI,

1208 a.v., 1209 a.p., and 1211 a.p. ; reigned three times.

Number of coins examined eae, 60

Average weight sa, .» 426 milligrammes

Average diameter... ... 20°47 millimetres

General description.—Less variation than in any of the

other varieties examined.

Metal and corrosion the same as Sdhasa Malla. Well

struck, clean-cut coins, with an unusually high percentage of

good specimens.

No. 56.—1905.] COPPER MASSAS. 403

The legend is Ra-ja-li-la-va-tt,

Variations.—The Ra varies a little, in exactly the same

way that the #4 on the Pardkrama Bahu coins varies. The ~

ja also varies in the shape of the loop.

See [1], in which the Ra is similar to [1] of Parakrama ;

Bahu, and [2], in which Ra is like the Rd of Parakrama

Bahu [2].

DuamMAsoKa Diva,

1208-1209 a.p.

Number ofspecimens examined ... 11

Average weight i .. 427 milligrammes

Average diameter... ... 20°40 millimetres

General description.—As these coins are uncommon I

have only been able to examine a small number. |

In size, weight, metal, and good workmanship they exactly

resemble the coins of Lilavati and Sahasa Malla. As the

coins of all three must have been designed and struck with

in a period of ten years this is quite natural. Probably the

same artists were in charge of the mint for the whole period.

The legend is S7i-Dha-mma-so-ka-dé-va.

Variations.—Of the eleven specimens available five have

the two loops of the mmd very unequal in size[1]. Sri

have them equal, or nearly so [2].

Of these six, one coin has another variation in the so. In

this one specimen only [3] the loop of the s turns inward

instead of outward.

; VIJAYA BAHU.

P——1065-1190.a-p. III.—1236-1240 A.D.

II.—1197-1198 a.p. | | TV.—~1275-1277 a.p.

Number of coins examined | whee, OD

_ Average weight ee ». 407 milligrammes

Average diameter... .» 19:17 millimetres

General description.—Extremely prone to vary, and to vary

widely. Ido not think thatany two of my ninety-five exactly

resembleone another. In both weightand diameter thesecoins

are considerably smaller than the last three varieties des-

cribed, and slightly smaller than thecoinsof Parakrama Bahu.

The metal, too,is more like that.of Pardkrama Bahu, and -

corrodes light green, with a red crust. It is, however, a little

G 96-05

404 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL XVIII.

softer than Parakrama’s metal, judging by the way the coins

have lost their sharp edges.

The Srz is much more imperfectly formed than in the

last three varieties, always having the vowel affix cramped

against the edge, and often lacking it entirely. In this they

resemble Parakrama Bahu’s. But although they resemble

Parakrama Bahu’s issue in most ways, in one they are:

markedly at variance. His coins are very much alike and

vary but little, even in the number of fingers on the hand of

the figure onthe obverse. These coins vary in every possible

way, from the reading to the number of fingers, which

runs from three to six.

The legend is Svi- Vi-ja-ya-Ba-hu.

Variations.—The most important are those of reading :

[1] reads Va-ja-ya-Ba-hu ; |2] reads the same, but has a

different form of ja, almost a ka, in fact. Like No. 1 there

are four specimens; like [2] only the one figured; [3] also

is unique: it reads Va-ja-ya-Ba-hu, the vowel affix to

the V being wanting. [4], [5], and [6] all read correctly

but vary largely in the way the vowel affix is attached to Vz

[4] shows V7 all in one piece. [5] shows the vowel affix

attached as a curved stroke. [6] shows the vowel and con-

sonant quite unconnected.

Of [4], [5], and [6] respectively there are twenty-three,

fifteen, and fifty-one specimens. Nine specimens, otherwise

resembling [4], have yet. another variation. The letter Ba

seems to read ma [7].

Of Nos. [4], [5], and [6] the figures are all those like [4];

have slightly larger heads than the others.

BHUVANEKA BAQU,

1277-1288 a.p.

Average weight se we» 413 milligrammes

Average diameter ... ee» 19°00 millimetres

General description.—All that has been said above about

the coins of Vijaya Bahu applies to these as well. They

- also resemble each other closely in the weights and measure-

ments. The legend is Sri-Bhu-va-ne-ka-Ba-hu.

No. 56.—1905.] | COPPER MASSAS. _ = 405

-Variation.—These coins vary fully as much as do the last

in every way but one, viz., no variation presents a different

reading from the correct one, unless one end of series I, can

be read ve and the other end Naz.

Series I. consists of a sequence of variations of this letter

Ne. [1] shows a simple letter with no additions ; [2] has a

slight tick added to the left-hand top corner; [3] a larger tick

added to the middle of the horizontal stroke ; [4] a sloping

stroke from the right-hand top corner upwards and to the left;

(5) the same, more pronounced ; and (6) a horizontal line

above and parallel to the original one, and connected to it on

the right by a production of the right hand perpendicular

stroke. |

Between each link of this chain there are many gradations,

each too small to recognize separately, but aggregating in the

very considerable difference between [1] and [6].

Series IT. consists of variations of the letter Bhu. These

are not so marked as the variations in series I. nor do they

run in so nice a sequence; but they are, I think, worth

figuring. Nos. [7]and[8]are rough, rather ill-struck speci-

mens. Nos. [9], [10], and [11] form a sequence, [9] being

one letter, consonant and vowel ; [11] consonant and vowel

separate ; and [10] intermediate between them.

The gradations of ne from [1] to [6] and of Bhufrom [7]

to [11] do not run quite conjunctly; but this might be altered

by an examination of a larger number of specimens, which

would enable more perfect series to be selected. As itis

taking the first four of series I. combined with the first three

of series’ II. to form a type (A), and the last two of either

series to form a type (B), forty-nine of my sixty-four speci-

mens fallin type (A) and eleven in type(B) ; this leaves only

four exceptions, which are of mixed type.

This looks as though the several gradations of Bhu and ne

could be proved to go hand in hand, were a large enough

number of specimens available for examination. [12] is

given to show the hu. This is the only coin I have seen in

which so much of this cramped letter is visible.

G2 !

406 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). | VOL. XVIII.

H. E. the GOVERNOR: Has any member any observation to make

on this Paper ?

Mr. C. M. FERNANDO said that in view of the other two Papers

yet to be read he would say only a few words. The Paper was the

resumption of a subject which had for some time been forgotten.

Since Mr. Rhys Davids wrote his article on the Coins of Ceylon for

the ‘‘Numismata Orientalia” very little, if anything, has been

done.

The Paper suggested that coins bearing the same name did

not necessarily belong to one king, but might be the coins of different

kings of the same name. They had exactly the same difficulty with

the gold Lankésvara coins. They had several different types in the

Museum, and there were more he believed. They had been attributed

by Prinsep and Rhys Davids to Paradkrama Bahu the Great; but

from the difference apparent in the character of the letters he thought

that they might be coins of successive rulers, who all called them-

selves ‘“‘ Lord of Lanka.”’ Hoan

It seemed to him the point of view from which to examine these

coins was not exactly that from which Mr. Still had mainly approached

them, namely, measurement and weight. ‘They knew that the renter

of the Red Sea Revenues of the Emperor of Rome was cast adrift

on the Island of Ceylon in the reign of Claudius. He visited

Anuradhapura, and what struck the King of Ceylon most was that

the Roman coins then shown to him were of uniform weight, and,

unlike in this respect to his own coins. Roman coins were still found

in treasure trove. He did not think weight was the proper test

whether a coin of Ceylon belonged to one king or another. The

proper test was the test of paleography. They were in the happy

position, from the possession of inscriptions of various periods, of being

able to trace old characters and their development from their Aséka

stage up to the present time.

Mr. Fernando then indicated several differences in the appearance

and devices on the coins, and concluded by remarking that he threw

these suggestions out because he considered that there was plenty of

scope for numismatic research in Ceylon.

H.E.the Governor: I am not a numismatist myself. Am I to

understand that the legend on the coin would be in the characters

of the time ?

Mr. FERNANDO: Not in Sinhalese characters. They are in what

is called Nagari character.

H. E. the Governor: I gather that there were certain characters

for certain periods. Is it possible that the same characters on coins

might be found in the inscriptions at cotemporary ruins ? :

Mr. FeRNAnvo}: I think not. The Sinhalese Kings used Nagari

characters on their coins. Sinhalese coins had always on them, so far

as I know, Nagari characters.

H. E. the Governor: But Nagari characters in that particular

stage of their development ? 5

Mr. FERNANDO: Yes. Just as we in the British Empire have the

Latin language, they used the classical language of the time.

Mr. Fercuson : It is rather remarkable that while so many

Ceylon coins are found belonging to the period between the eleventh

and thirteenth centuries so few have been discovered of any earlier

period. Yet coins were freely mentioned in the Mahdwansa, and must

have been in use in Ceylon previous to the Christian era.

Mr. FERNANDO said one coin had been found attributed to the

second century before Christ and supposed to be of King Wala-

gam Bahu. It was an oblong coin, not gold, with a figure of a king

on one side and an emblem on the other side—the earliest coin so

far obtained in Ceylon,*

H. E. the GovERNOR: I think some of the Japanese coins were

oblong in shape.

4. Mr. Harwarp next read the following Paper entitled “ Note

on a Dutch Medal,” by F. H. de Vos, Barrister-at-Law :—

[* Mr. Fernando appears to refer to the oblong copper plaques unearthed

at Magama by Mr. H. Parker and elsewhere. Their attribution to

Wattagamini Abaya (Walagam Bahu) is fanciful. The oldest known

coins foundin Ceylon, as well as India, are the irregular “ eldings” plain,

and ‘“ punch marked.” —B., Hd. Sec. |

408 JOURNAL, R.A.S. CEYLON. (Vou. XVIIT.

NOTE ON A DUTCH MEDAL.

By F. H. DE Vos, Barrister-at-Law, and Member of the Society of

Dutch Literature, &c., of Leyden.

THE silver medal of which a sketch accompanies this

Paper, was recently purchased for the Museum and is on

exhibition there. Mr. Gerard A. Joseph, the Secretary of the

Museum and Honorary Secretary of the Ceylon Branch of

the Royal Asiatic Society, sent me all the correspondence in

connection with the medal, particularly letters from Mr.

R. G. Anthonisz, the Government Archivist, and Mr. J. P.

Lewis, C.C.S.. From the documents sent and illustrations

of the medal I write this note, supplementing it with notes

of my own. The medal is commemorative of the silver

wedding of Johannes Timmers and Susanna Libertina van

Schinne.

Mr. R.G. Anthonisz, the Government Archivist, writes :—

‘T make out that the building on the obverse is intended

to represent the temple Concordia. The figures on the

top and sides of the dome are clearly emblematic of the

goddess. The design is purely classical and in keeping with

Roman customs. The altar in the front of the temple, the

fire over which the bride and bridegroom, in toga and tunic,

are pouring water, and the inscriptions are all perfectly

consistent. The day of the month is given on the lower

fascia of the entablature thus: X. KAL. NOV. R = 23 Octo-

ber, and the motto ANIMOS CONCORDIA REGIT contains the

year 1703 (MDCCIII). The words on the reverse, MVTVA

CONNVBII RENOVANTVR FOEDERA CastTI, contain the year

1728 (MDCCVVVVVIII).”

Mr. Lewis also deciphered the date independently of

Mr. Anthonisz.

No. 56.—1905.1 DUTCH MEDAL. 409

The following translation of the inscriptions is sub- .

mitted :—

} Reverse.

The arms of an ancient stock

from one and the same root.

After five lustres

silver gifts

Announce the nuptial torches and joys of Timmers

and his dear Schinne : their kinsmen earnestly

desire the golden

Their common vows of stainless wedlock are renewed.

Obverse.

Joh. Timmers and Sus. Lib. van Schinne

23 Oct.

Their minds are ruled by harmony.

I take the blazons of the arms on the reverse from

Rietstap’s “ Armorial General” (2nd ed.).

Dexter Shield TIMMERS (Rotterdam). Coupé: aulde

gua un cerf couché d’arg boucle et ramé por: au 2 d’or a

une roue de cing rayons de sa.

Cimier. le cerf iss.

Sinister Shield VAN SCHINNE (Holl au 16 Sept. 1815.

M ét).

Dazur a un cerf ramp. d’or.

Cimier. le cerf iss. )

S. deux griffons reg. d’or, lamp de gu.

D. Per aspera ad austra.

The following are some genealogical particulars about

Johannes Timmers and Susanne Libertina van Schinne :—

Peter van Schinne, a courtier or nobleman of Lowise de

Colligny, daughier of the Secretary of Prince Willem I, was

born in Brussels in the year 1954and married at Delft Anna

de Jong. He had by her :—

Isaac van Schinne,* Vice-admiral, chief of the Dutch

settlements in Japan and Ambassador there, born in Delft

* LIV. Navorscher 690, LY. Navorscher 61.

410 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [| VoL. XVIII.

A° 1608, married at Brielle, 1632, Susanna Vroylick, and

had by her :—

Isaac van Schinne, bornin Middelburg, 3rd January, 1640,

died there 18th September, 1696; married (1) Catharina

Dammaert and (2) Aletia de Bitter, widow of G. Vreeland.

Susanna Libertina van Schinne, born 19th December, 1684,

died in Rotterdam, 12th December, 1732, was a child of this

second marriage. Johan Timmers, her husband, was Secre-

tary of Rotterdam and died there 12th February, 1738. He

was the son of Preter Timmers, born 1655, and lgnatia van

Zoelen, died 1707. Johannes Timmers and Susanna Liber-

tina van Schinne were the parents of Ignatia Gertruida

Timmers, born 18th June, 1714, died 15th April, 1733 ;

married 24th June, 1732, Paulus Boogaart* of Ablasserdam,

Burgomaster of Rotterdam, 1769, born 21st May, 1703, died

at Brussels, 1799.

The G(errard) Vreeland above-named was most likely the

grandfather of Gerrardus Joan Vreeland,{ Governor of

Ceylon (6th March, 1751, to 26th February, 1752). The

medal no doubt belonged to the family of Governor Vreeland.

* ite Ned. Familien I. Vorsteman van Oyen, p. 80.

+ Journal, R.A.S., C.B., 1898, vol. XV., Neo. 49, p. 234. Journal, R.AS.,

91C.B., 01, vol. XVIL. No, 52, pp. 17, 18, fre

412 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

H. EH. the Governor: If I remember aright, Mr. de Vos points out

that particular interest attached to the subject because probably the

’ medal was struck at the marriage of the grandfather of a Governor

of Ceylon—Governor Vreeland.

Mr. R. G. ANTHONISZ said he thought that the chief interest in the

medal arose from the well-established custom of the Dutch in Ceylon

which it illustrated. The Dutch, like the Germans he believed,

celebrated their silver weddings with a great deal of ceremony and

some peculiar customs. :

One of these customs was the distribution and presentation of

medals. Sometimes the medal would be struck from dies specially

prepared, and these medalsused to be distributed among the friends

of the family. Sometimes again a couple of medals only would be —

engraved, and these were presented to the happy couple.

He knew the custom was prevalent in Ceylon during the Dutch

period, and even after that. It was within his own recollection that

thirty or forty years ago medals used to be distributed at these silver

weddings. The custom gradually changed, and in the course of time,

instead of medals being distributed or presented extensively, two only

used to be engraved, and two intimate friends, a male and female

friend respectively, would present them to the married couple. The

medal was often attached to a silver chain and thrown round the neck

of the two spouses.

There were several of these medals still extant in the possession of

representatives of the families to which they relate. He would

mention two of them as being of particular interest.

One was in commemoration of the silver wedding of Governor

Thomas van Rhee, then Commandeur of Galle, who was married to a

Miss Kriekenbeek. It-was the oldest medal of the kind he remembered

to have seen. He believed the celebration took place in 1684. A

beautifully preserved specimen of this medal was now in the possession

of a member of the Kriekenbeek family in Colombo. The dates

of the birth of the two spouses, of the marriage, and of the twenty-

fifth anniversary, with other particulars, appeared on one side, and

the arms of van Rhee and Kriekenbeek on separate shields were

shown on the other.

The second medal was somewhat later in point of date. It was

distributed at the silver wedding of a Mr. Schroter and another

Miss Kriekenbeek.. This was a medal beautifully stamped in relief

from a die and bore emblematic figures. The specimen he saw was

in the possession of Mr. Justice Wendt, who, he believed, acquired

it as a family heirloom through the Kriekenbeeks.

The Dutch were particularly fond of the custom of presenting

medals on auspicious occasions. The medals granted by them to

native chiefs for special services rendered to the Government were

highly prized by their representatives of the present day, and worn

by them on special occasions.

Not long ago he saw a beautiful gold medal, which he understood

had been offered for sale at the Museum but for a prohibitive figure.

It wasa gift from a Dutch Clergyman in Colombo, Mr. Gerardus Pot-

ken, to his granddaughter on her first birthday. It had an inscription

on one side and a quartered shield, being the Potken arms, on the other.

5. Mr. C. M. Fernanpo then read the following Paper entitled

‘“‘ Notes on Paddy Cultivation Ceremonies in the Ratnapura District ”

(Nawadun and Kuruwiti Kéralés), by Mr. A. K. Coomaraswamy :—

No. 56.—1905.] PADDY CULTIVATION CEREMONIES. 413

NOTES ON PADDY CULTIVATION CEREMONIES IN THE

RATNAPURA DISTRICT (NAWADUN AND

KURUWITI KORALES).

By ANANDA K. CooMARASWAMY, B.SC.

THE following notes are intended merely to supplement

the information already available! on the subject of Paddy

Cultivation Ceremonies ; they are based on observations and

inquiries made at various places within ten miles of Ratna-

pura, The customs are slowly dying out, and are often

neglected or forgotten by the younger generation. In one

place one part, in another other parts, of the ceremonial

‘procedure may be observed.

The kamat-hélia or threshing-floor song forms the main

feature of this Paper; itis of much interest,as giving full details

of the proper preparation of the arak or talisman that is

deposited in the arakwala or “‘arak-hole” in the threshing-

floor. I believe there may be other versions of some parts of

the song, as I have heard verses sung in which Gana deviy6o

(Ganésa) and, I think, other gods were also invoked. It is

' See especially—

H. C. P. Bell, “Sinhalese Customs and Ceremonies connected with

Paddy Cultivation in the Low-Country,” Journal, C.B.R.A.S, vol. VIIL.,

No. 26, 1883, pp. 44-93.

H. C. P. Bell, “ Paddy Cultivation Ceremonies in the Four Koralés,

Kégalla District,” ib., vol. XI., No. 39, 1889, pp. 17-21.

And also—

R. W. levers, ‘“ Customs and Ceremonies connected with Paddy Cultiva-

tion,”’ ib., vol. VI., No. 21, 1880, pp. 46-52.

J, P. Lewis, “ Tamil Customs and Ceremonies connected with Paddy

Cultivation in the Jaffna District,” ib., vol. VITI., No. 29, 1884, pp. 304-333.

J. P. Lewis, ‘The Language of the Threshing-floor,” 7¢b., vol. VIII..

No. 29, 1884, pp. 237-270.

C. J. R. Le Mesurier, ‘‘Customs and Superstitions connected with the

Cultivation of Rice in the Southern Province of Ceylon,” Journal, R.A.S.,

Great Britain, vol. XVII. (N.S.), 1885, pp. 366-372.

H. C. P. Bell, ‘‘ Superstitious Ceremonies connected with the Cultivation

of Al-wi or Hill Paddy,” Orientalist, vol. III., 1888-1889, pp. 99-103.

H. Nevill, “An early Arak-gala or Threshing-floor Charm,” Zap7o-

hanian, vol, II., Part IV., 1887, p. 97.

414 JOURNAL, R.A.S. CEYLON. VOL, wviii:

by no means generally well known, and often only a few verses

can besung. Itis chanted line by line by some old man who

knows it well, and repeated after him in chorus by the men

at work, while the paddy is being trodden out. The effect

of the whole scene on a bright moonlight night is very

impressive. It is difficult to set down the notes on which

the words are intoned or chanted, as unless a man is a good

singer he does not keep constantly to the same air ;.and the

members of the chorus often sing together in several

different keysat once. Nevertheless the effect is good. The

following is, with many variations, one of the airs to which

the words are sung :—

Muduné ya - una gon Yra- ju - né

There are a number of euphemistic terms of the usual

character employed, ¢.g., Gea, tocut. There are also many

technical agricultural terms. The song must be a very

ancient one, and is handed down by word of mouth ; so far

as I know it has never yet been printed.

I give also seven charms that are used to protect the grain

from various injuries or to promote its general growth.

One of the charms (No. 8) is referred to in verse 5 of the

kamat-hélla.

Finally there is briefly described a “ fire-walking cere-

mony,’ intended to promote the general welfare of the village

as well as the abundance of crops. This is, however, less

directly connected with the cultivation. -

The words of the kamat-hélla are given, with some

corrections in spelling,* as written down for me by an old

man at Niriella, about five miles from Ratnapura, this year.

It is sung while threshing is going on, but not, of course-

continuously the whole time. At the conclusion all the

cultivators shout dndu andu (?) and heri heri. ,

* For these I am indebted to Mudaliy4r J. D. Abegoonewardene and

Mudaliyar A. Mendis Gunasekara.

No. 56.—1905.] PADDY CULTIVATION CEREMONIES, 415

OO 0,EeC.!

], Q@o soOmane @ lore:

DODo wowace & ae

wsAleso wwe @) OE

QQVHsaI wom DOD ® ae

2, Q8acdo0I O18 Dz OK)

OE BaF aNHODS HD, Qed

we @SdOaT Dida Dz aod

DOE ®@NIGOHVNS Hz ood

3. On dQ Awe Dr ood

AGIE NHS Yor Qos

10? medaad O18 oz Oot

| 69601 OoNGOAS Yaz 6

4, Sam Bf O96 aC 3)

BABEE OOD NSO Oe

Se VEG BH NO )

Bet 2) ODD OOG0 )

CaMedGst Baud Gx 2)

BES BSOED AE 2

DIOS Dz Wi9DOND QO é

ASIAD 374 BROAD AE 3)

en |

6. BDza @BE2® Oonad EG cag®

MOnd Be BOA ow cs9

DiDS ®@Q) NOD EG 080

MOD DOO Die ee cso?

1. DODDS BH, MOS OE 3)

Aa 26 aI’ daAloa 9)

QHOVO DVOE? YAI@A0 S)

MOD gdemd! Jos | oS

'@: Ge hélla (from a1@e@ sélla, a contraction of e7,@7@e@ sehella).

2 Perhaps Saman deviyé is meant, but as it stands [in the MS. @®;

but @ is not a letter belonging to pure Elu in which poetry was written,

although it is not infrequently found in Kandyan MSS.] the words mean

‘all the gods.” I have heard other words sung in which Gana deviy6é was

also mentioned.

3“ Having offered milk.’ ” ‘This refers to a. kema or charm, for an

account of which see below, No. 6.

4“ At the milk-entering time,” #.e., when the young grains are becom-

ing filled with soft milky endosperm batote the grain sets,

5 The auspicious hour may befdetermined by a regular astrologer or

by an ordinary cultivator acquainted with astrology. For further par-

ticulars see H.C, P. Bell, Journal, C.B.R.A.S., vol. VIII., No. 26, p. 78.

416 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

Threshing-floor Song.

1. The strength of refuge in Buddha,

The strength of refuge in Dharmma,

The strength of refuge in the Sangha —

In these three refuges is the strength of the threshing floor :

2. Where the sun god appears

There will remain no dew drops,

Where the moon god appears

There will remain no darkness,

3. Where the great tuskers are tied up

There will remain no tree stumps,

Where all the gods appear

There will be no mishaps,

4. At the time of sowing paddy and seed paddy,

When it waxes parrot green,

Turning in the water to the right degree—

When the seed is just maturing in the ear,

5. Turning in the water to the level of the balk,

And having offered milk at the milk-entering time,

The ears bending towards the EKast—

At the time the paddy ripens,

6. Having found out a good hour and reaped the paddy,

Having chosen a good place for the threshing-floor,

Having found out a good hour and weeded it,

And drawn creepers round the floor,

7. Having in a circle scraped the threshing-floor,

Having made and put the sheaves together into ketakandu,

And gathered into watamalu all around,

And having purified the threshing-floor,

® @c2, reaped ; this word is used euphemistically to avoid the harsher

term 28;, cut.

7 Of. J. P. Lewis, Journal, C.B.R.A.S., vol. VITL., p. 312 ; and H.C. P. Bell,

ib., vol. VIIL., p. 48, for references to a “ guard cord.” Such do not appear

to be actually used. °

8 “And put together into ketakandu,” i.e., arranged the sheaves in

cocks previous to stacking in regular watamalw.

° Watamalu. These are the stacks in which the paddy is arranged ready

for threshing. They are ring-shaped, with a central space big enough for

a man to stand in; the paddy is arranged with the ears pointing inwards.

10 +‘ Purified.” This refers to cow-dunging the floor and sprinkling it

with “ milk’ made of sandalwood ground with cocoanut milk.

No. 56.—1905.] PADDY CULTIVATION CEREMONIES. 417

8. MOD Oz,8aI gow DE 23}

JO,20e asangeo ai?

AGA eo Gdat OE 253

OID MHD OEQUO ass

9. 600 BEcGt n6Odaw GH

Qa BEE NOADIa® Bi

aGCS BEE niadaw eo

10. 628 BEG nOROO® a

90a BEE HDEDIOaD SH

amMa® BEC nERDIOaD So

BEC DDD HIDIAW | KH

ll. eda DAG HEDIOO KH

6AQD and nna haw KH

MEO71® OMEGE HEMOAM SH

DOM O,08a? FO aw KH

12. GoaaIadss NSMOa@ Si

DIOADIOS SI HEDOAO K

LOOOIOOST HEDSOAH SK

EXOHIOCS HOEMOOGH) SO

1 The arak is a talisman protecting the threshing-floor from

charms or any misfortunes; its theoretical ingredients are detailed in

verses 9 to 16. In practice most of these are omitted ; the arecanuts, the

sickle, the arak-bella, and the ears of paddy at least are used, and often

some other of the more easily obtained objects, such as the kadurwu leaves,

young jak fruit, the metals and gems, and also a gon-gére if there is one to

be had, which is often not the case.

2 Gonkanuwa, the bull post, is an areca tree planted firmly in the

centre of the floor, and to which the bulls are fastened while they are

driven round it in a circle.

Sinhalese @:@, a pair or team of oxen, and connected with Tamil

@eO@8 5), to drive). This is the jungle rope by which the bulls are

fastened to the bull post ; at one end is a loop passing round the post ;

the other end is fastened’to the rope by which the bulls are yoked to-

gether. The number of bulls used varies from four to twelve, the latter

being the full complement; they are yoked in two sets of six each, and

418 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

8. (Having made) in the middle of the threshing-floor an arak-hole,

(And set up) a bull post in the middle of it,

And on its end a puwak flower,

(And round) for the bull post a galaotuwa,

9. Having got some dawata pilila,

Having got some dehi pilila,

Having got some nuga pilila,:

Having got some bulat pilila,

10. Having got some dodam pilila,

Having got some éluk pilila,

Having got some goyam pilila,

Having got these seven pilila,

11. Having got the arak bella,

Having brought seven red ripe arecanuts,

And also seven leaves of kaduru,

Having brought a very young waraka jak fruit,

12. Having got as well the géré of a buffalo,

And also having got the géré of a cobra,

And also having got the géré of a goat,

And also having got the géré of a horse,

follow each other round the post trampling out the corn. They are driven

by boys, who catch what is voided in the basal leaf sheaths of the areca palm

and throw it away from the floor.

4 Pilila, i.e., Loranthus, a parasite resembling honeysuckle, common on

many trees in Ceylon ; the trees mentioned are dawata (Carallia integerrimna

DC.), dehi (lime), nuga (Ficus altissima, Bl. var. laccifera Roxhb.),bulat (betel)

dodam (orange); but I do not know what the pilila of iluk (dmperata

arundinacea, Cyr.) or paddy can be. luk leaves are, however, put into the

arakwala, perhaps as a substitute. —

5 The arak-bella is a seven-fingered aporrhais-like marine shell, placed

with the arak in the arakwala, apparently corresponding to the mutta of

Mr. Bell, Journal, C.B.R.A.S., vol. VIIL., p. 49.

® Kaduru, Tabernemontana dichotoma, Roxb.

7 There are two kinds of jak fruit, warakd and wela ; the former, being

firm textured and of a golden colour, is pretorable to the latter, which

is soft.

No. 56.—1905.| PADDY CULTIVATION CEREMONIES. 419

13. GDODIDIsSS HEDIAW

AMATIAHnTIDIOS! HASMOAH

QWDanslada nODdGaw

OAHTODND®D NSEMDOOOH

14. 82 dadndad e16o@o

Oa BADE HOGIAH

OCIA OHoQat FzS aw

CAODST Gar vna aw

QaMA HABA

15. dain &S a Boos

MD eae BORD OO

SHO 86569 PzOOD

OOH 6,ODE 21,6O®WH

{4 4S

16. raza A@ edad 8 03)

2d Dag Anal? § ca

FO Bd amad? 8 9

OOS QGwO 39,62 30

17. nod’ ona DOD DE 3)

Qt Weal! drow en 2)

OCA) BB H7d08 ‘S)

eedast BHO & 3)

18. Qgeoat am amas def God

FEO om OdSE Qos

DAID BD Oa ood

ODOeOdD JDousds OR 3

19. @o GEM 63d OID LICL y

adam go ego ete,

HHO’ Ay Feo EXER,

OOH OCHO ade CELL,

' The goré of a bull; some bulls have a habit of licking their bodies

and so hair gets on the tongue and ultimately finds its way to the stomach

and forms there a matted ball. Such bulls are said to be unable to

bellow, or at least not to do so properly. The ball of hair may be emitted

from the mouth, and is called gé7é; one that I obtained was about two

inchesin diameter. The géra of the other hairy animals mentioned must

be analogous. The cobra’s géré may possibly refer to the stone or gem

which is said to be put out of the mouth and to provide a light, within the

H | 96-05

420 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VoL. XVIII.

13. And also having got the géré of a tusker

And also having got the géré of a bull

And also having got the géré of a deer

These seven gora having got ;

14. Having taken gold and silver,

Taken (also) brass and copper,

And taken bronze and steel, e

And an iron sickle having taken,

15. As many sorts of gems as possible,

And one pear! having chosen out,

And coral also having taken,

Having taken all things told of here,

16. Having found out a good hour and put the arak in

And put some paddy also in the arak-hole,

And over it some ears of paddy,

As here is stated, making no mistake,

17. And having brought the cattle on the threshing-floor.

And taken in your hand a banwel,

And duly yoked (the beasts) together,

Standing mindful of the gods—

18. (Say) O Bull king, going on the top,

O Wériya, going next him,

And young bull Kalata not yet gelded,

Quickly get the threshing done :

19. I will get your two horns gilded,

Get your two ears decked with pearls,

Your dew claws also decked with pearls,

In this way I will deck you.

radius of which the cobra moves about. The goré of an elephant is said

to be something found in the tooth. In practice only the gon-goré is

used, and even this is often not available ; a man who owns one is able to

hire it out for use on different threshing-floors. See also H. C. P. Bell,

Journal, C.B.R.A.S., vol. VIIL., p. 49.

? Beta, t.e., a handful of paddy from last year’s crop.

> Goyam, i.e., paddy in the ear (from the present crop).

‘ Banwel, fhe jungle rope or creeper used for yoking buffaloes Getuatly

however weniwel is generally used).

5 This line gives the key to the spirit of the whole song.

° Hunaré, shortened form of 4 S9a790, hunukure.

—

No. 56.—1905.] PADDY CULTIVATION CEREMONIES. 42]

20. amg soloed meaas® e

OEDHOST DEDLE g}

SeesIoss Gap s@ e

Vceesosd H50e e

21. Qne oOoEG Soan Q1 292

SANROVAS Sous zy Fav)

PYUomMgoe Bows az 0

1g GOVST OO HO 29

20. Bulls that wander by the hillsides,

Yoked together with the kalawel,

Wearing pearls and coral beads,

And eating kiri madu,

21. The paddy in the upper field,

The paddy in the lower field,

The paddy in,the stores and barns,

Draw and fill into this threshing-floor.

The following further details may be noted with regard to

threshing :—

Andukirima ceremony.—This ceremony, known under this

name (»<985®), is rarely performed so far as I can learn.

It was carefully described to me by a man from Godi-

gomuwa and stated to be performed in the Gilimalé district.

(From the same man I obtained also the charms given below,

the directions being very clearly written out and made clear

‘by means of excellent descriptive diagrams.)?

After the arak has been placed in the arakwala the

following objects are represented in ashes on the floor: a

1 Kalawel, Dervis scandens, Benth.

2 Madulu means the segments of a fruit, especially ripe jak fruit ;

here, however, the real word is Mc, mada, and the @, lu, is added for the

‘sake of rhyme. The maduwel is a creeper, of which there are two or more

varieties recognized. The kiri madu or sweet madu mentioned here is one

(Ipomaa, sp., probably Z. eymosa, R.) the leaves of which are given to very

young buffaloes when they are first weaned, and also to sick buffaloes.

? The last verse is practically identical with the lines quoted by Mr.

Bell, Journal, C.B.R.A.S., vol. VIII., p. 53. Compare also verses 18 and 21

with those quoted by Mr. Lewis, id., vol. VIIT., pp. 269, 270,

* These MSS. as well as that of the kamat-hélla have been handed over to

the C.B.R.A.S.

422 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

sickle, conch, scraper (péruwa), billhook (keti), and two

brooms (pamba kossa and idala kossa). ;

Subsequently four goyiyo recite the following charm as

they walk three times round the floor. Two goyiyo take deti

(pitchforks) and lay them across the backs of their necks and

hook their elbows in them ; a third man does the same, but

with straw hanging from the ends of the detit. The fourth

man carries a goad for driving bulls. The words recited

are as follows :—

683 8 82 eS O19 OEOO BH BE DG eHsanad oo=mds

GaBsadans«H INE GUNE QD FAI NCE BO 92% Oe OF

DON gddos amBoad, Wem ome och, anBe a OMS

A@BIB um pg). podg),

Gold deti, silver deti, geta demata, nika, pila, wara deti,'

of those, five detz taking, (and) of these, five defi taking, that

galboda this galboda? crying, black daughter, black calf and

heifer, goyiyo that guard this floor. They take well-threshed

paddy, they toss the unthreshed paddy and let the grain

fall. Goyzyo that guard this floor are working, the gods keep

watch. Peace, peace ! |

This is an interesting variant of the formula given by

Mr. Bell (Journal, C.B.R.A.S., vol. VIII., p. 50).

Another use of ashes.—After the corn is all threshed and

the straw removed, in the night, it is left on the threshing-

floor, occupying the centre of it, and is protected bya single

continuous ring of ashes round it.

Winnowing.—After threshing is completed a tall bamboo

is set up close to the gonkanuwa and cross bars erected at a

convenient height, and over the top cadjans to keep off the

sun; this erection is called 3 Head Fm aSOS, wi

hulangé arina katiré; the winnower climbs up on to the

cross bars and takes the paddy in a fulla and gently sifts it |

over the edge, so that the grains of paddy fall just below him

while the chaff is blown away by a slight breeze.

1 Pila, Tephrosia purpurea, Pers.; Ward, Calotropis gigantea; geta

demata, Gmelina asiatica. The other trees not certain.

* Galboda, rocky ridge or line of rocks.

No. 56.—1905.] PADDY CULTIVATION CEREMONIES. 423

Threshing by men.—Even in the same field part of the

paddy may be threshed by buffaloes and other part by men ;

the latter being too poor to possess buffaloes and unwilling |

to give a share of paddy due for their hire.

} Charms.

The following charms are used to avert various disasters,

or merely to promote the general growth of the crop :—

(1) If the young paddy plants die off.—A. plantain tree is

set up in the middle of the field and decorated with young

cocoanut leaves and areca flowers and two lighted torches,

one on each side of the tree. The “attadiya must enter the

field from the east side, and after completing the charm

leave it on the west. A little fowl’s blood in a leaf cup

(a@99®, gotwwa) is placed on each side of the entrance.

The kattadiya must wear a clean cloth and go to and froin

the field alone without speaking; this applies to all the

charms here described.

(2) If the plants are eaten by rats.—A tatuwa@ is prepared

and five kinds of flowers offered on it and a lighted buffalo-

ghee lamp placed on it. A thread spun by a virgin is taken

and knotted seven times, and the following charm repeated

seven times for each knot, after which the charmed thread

is burned in the field and left there. |

Qo Fo Qas@nead QGBmvaedt acendod nwa: ZO Q610

DOs DOs : Mo HHO) MOV SjJ HOe FSIOIST ood oud MG mod

QI: Do RODU GOHAN MOI Ws,

Om! holy! Guttila? rats quarrels destroy : Guruljugod hail !

hail! hail to Om! I will tie you, I will kill you, begone !

begone! Oh god, begone! Om! I bow before the “ sin-des-

troyer’s”’ (Buddha’s) foot, hail!

Of this, the first part is Sanskrit, the middle Tamil, and the

end Sinhalese. | |

(3) If the ears die off at the time of flowering.—Place on

the tatuwa (lt. 96Qea agQea, flower betel shelf) seven

betel leaves, seven lamp wicks, seven leaf cups of milk

' Z.e., a small decorated platform or shelf of young cocoanut leaves, &e.,

supported on four sticks, such as is commonly used in devil ceremonies.

2 Musila was Guttila Bodisat’s rival ; musika is a rat; taking advantage

of this resemblance in the words, the charmer prays Guttila to treat the

rats as he did Wasila.

424 JOURNAL, R.A.S. CEYLON. [VoOnL. XVIII.

(8Sa@q09) ; then whistling (46,0230) thrice proceed north-

wards, and when near the boundary of the field clap the

hands behind the back three times and spend that night only

in a place where there are no other persons.

(4) Lf white ants eat the roots.—Take a handful of sand

from an untrodden place and repeat the charm &c &o @86O

VOD geass mos (“Om! holy! Bahirawa burst up,

hail!) a hundred and eight times over a ~~ sand and

throw it away in the field.

(5) If the plants are sucked by flies (@1xé@e80 6@220920). —

Plaee four lime thorns in the four corners of the field ; put

five lime sticks in the middle of the field, and taking a little

king cocoanut oil repeat the charm @o 933 OmgQd eaqeoe

ANOS Fs at OOS G15 15 0216 WADA NOs (“Om Muni! great

Muni, by the order of Afigulimdla Théra! relinquish your

rights here, run! run! hail!’’) nine times over a little of the

oil, then light a lamp and go away. |

(6) 88aan0, Kirikema, to promote the flow of milky sap

into the young grains at the “ milk-entering time” (&6 Oe

EO).

Take a forked rukatiand’ stick (6zsdedoanm WGI)

and decorate it with young cocoanut leaves and areca

flowers; on Saturday evening clear a place near a jak tree,

sprinkling sandalwood milk-water (meo 86 33), and ~

make an enclosure with young cocoanut leaves ready for the

ceremony ; next day go before the crow caws (#9992 g@eato

S6Q), and taking a little milk from the jak tree put it “in

a leaf cup” (@@9QD40); into the same vessel put milk of

kaduru,* daluk, cocoanut, and de/; then taking these fivesorts.

of milk anda little kalu-duru, sudu-duru (spices), sudu-linu

1 Avigulimala Théra.—In the Angulim4la Stitra, Aigulim4la was a man

who killed 999 persons and made a garland of their fingers (whence his

name). He was converted by Buddha, and became a priest and attained

Nirwana.

2 Rukattana, Alstonia scholaris, Brown.

% Balatta = balotuwa, a prop; ¢f. galaotuwa in verse 8 of the kamat-

hella.

* Kaduru, Fa banaee inne dichotoma, Roxb.; daluk, Huphorbia

antiquorum, L.; del, Artocarpus nobilis, Thw.

No. 96.—1905.] PADDY CUULIVATION CEREMONIES. 425

(garlic), perunkayan (assafcetida), grind them together and

put intoa king cocoanut and take it to the field. Set up the

rukattana stick; make with young cocoanut leaves five

chains of five links each, and with them join the rukattana

stick to five bamboo sticks set round about it. Then set the

king cocoanut on the fork of the rukattana stick, and take

three paddy plants from three sides and put the ears into the

king cocoanut, and pour the five kinds of milk into it, and

place seven kadurwu leaves over it and tie i/uk! leaves, and

£0 away without speaking to a lonely place. Three days

afterwards go to the field and untie the aforesaid ears and

comeaway. Thenthe milk will enter (®30 8S 02). At the

stile at the entrance to the field on either side of it fasten

two young cocoanut-leaf chains of three links each. It is

usual also to stick the king cocoanut on the fence.

This kirikema is the charm referred to in verse 9 of the

kamat-hélia ; it is something like one described by Mr. Bell

(Orientalist, loc. cit.) as being used at the same time and for

the same purpose in connection with the cultivation of e/-wv.

(1) Charm against wild animals.—Write the following

antra on an olaand put it at the fence where they come in:—

’ Iluk, Imperata arundinacea, Cyr.

426 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ VoL. XVIII.

The last ceremony which I describe is of a different character,

and less directly connected with cultivation. Itis of special

interest on account of the fire-walking, which, I believe, has

never been previously recorded as Sinhalese.

Ginimaduwa, or fire-walking (8%3s0289).

I witnessed the performance of this at Niriella in March

of this year. It is performed at irregular intervals (four or

five years) with the general object of ensuring health and

prosperity for the village and abundant crops. The

expenses are borne by general subscription. <A large rectan-

cular area is railed in with young cocoanut-leaf fencing on

a dry field. Inside this two temporary houses are erected,

and three separate unroofed altars called toran ; the larger

building (A) covers a fourth dorana (G), that of Pattini

deviyo; the others are dedicated to Kataragam deviy6 (D),

Dewol deviy6 (EK), and Wahaladeviyo (F). These altars are

beautifully decorated with cut-out patterns in young cocea-

nut feaf laid on a back ground of m2&6e habarala (Alaecasia

macrorhiza, Schott) leaf.

The proceedings are in charge of a kapurala, who brings

the abarana of Pattini devivé with him from the déwaleé.

Before dark a number of milla (Vitex altissima) logs are

brought in procession, ready for the fire.

No. 56.—1905.] PADDY CULTIVATION CEREMONIES. 427

The ritual begins at about eight. The abarana are kept

in the smaller building (kovil), which is an upstair building

onasmallscale. The kapurala is inthe top storey, and the

abarana are wound up in a great turban and arranged on his

head. The largest of the three elephants available was

brought alongside, and the kapurdla with some difficulty

climbed on to its back without upsetting the erection on his

head. A procession of three elephants, tom-tom beaters,

dancers, and boys with lighted candles then proceeded

round the field outside the enclosure. On returning, the

kapurala dismounted outside the larger building, and very

slowly and solemnly conveyed the abarana (which was kept

in round lac-painted boxes) to the Pattini torana within.

Each elephant was made to kneel towards the altar before

being led away.

_ There were eight dancers, wearing coats and skirts with

sood appliqué decoration (two of the coats were embroidered

with cobras), and also belts, turbans, and bell-covered

leggings. The operation of dressing was very casually

performed in public, and several were not ready until the

ceremony had begun some time. The remainder of the

night was occupied with songs and offerings (betel), &c.,

made to the abarana, and dances both under cover and

outside. The fire dance with dummala dust was very well

done, an interesting and beautiful variation being seen

when the men stooped opposite each other and threw fire

over each other’s heads. These fire dances on a dark night

are really splendid. The men also repeatedly extinguished

the burning torches in their mouths.

Towards morning a fire is lit and burns down to red hot

glowing ashes, which are arranged in a circle about a yard in

diameter ; the ashes are about 6 in. thick in the middle and

lin. at the edge. The heat is tested from time to time by

laying a spray of areca flower on the ashes. Presently the

chief kapurala present (in this case a man who had arrived

unexpectedly, and not the officiating kapurdla) jumps first

on the red hot ashes two or three times, and finally all the

dancers and the kapurdia do so until they are extinguished.

428 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [ Vou. XVIII.

The chief kapurdala above-mentioned alone seemed as if he

felt pain, but no one seemed the worse after the performance

was over; even the chief apurala set off at once, carrying

a heavy load and walked seven miles without inconvenience.

Afterwards a kalagediya of water, its mouth tied over with

a leaf, is inverted in the ashes, and after the kapurdla has

attended to the altars and packed up the dbarana the

ceremony is over at about 7 A.M. ,

So far as 1am aware no treatment was given to the fire-

walkers’ feet beforehand ; however, this could have been

done, as I did not watch the proceedings right through. ‘lhe

dancers themselves state that they are protected by man-.

trams ; it is, however, more or less generally supposed that

some sort of ‘“‘medicine”’ isused. Iron smelters in a similar

way have a custom of jumping on the red hot iron when it

is made ; this was done before Mr.im Thurn a few years ago.

at Balangoda. I must say the fire-walking was not a very

alarming performance, .and it seemed to be possible that

well hardened feet would not in any case suffer much by it.

Several of the men started off immediately for a ceremony

in another village. I regret that | am unable to givea

more detailed and particular account of the whole per-

formance, with the words of the songs. |

In conclusion, I wish to thank Mr. J. D. Abegoonewardene,

Court Mudaliyar at Ratnapura, tor his invaluable help in

Englishing the Sinhalese. One other point I should like to

say a word about, viz., that all of the eight Papers referred

to above as dealing with the present subject have been

written by foreigners, for whom such investigations must

always be difficult and laborious. It is surprising that no

Ceylonese has cared to take up these studies, and publish

some account of the many interesting customs which are

now dying out in the more civilized districts. The collec-

tion of agricultural, religious, and other songs, with the airs

to which they are sung, is particularly needed ; if their study

is too long neglected, they will be sought in vain when

interest in such matters is at last awakened, as is bound to

happen sooner or later.

No. 56.—1905. | PROCEEDINGS. 429

H E. the Governor: Mr. Coomdraswimy has mentioned several

gentlemen who have written on the subject of the rice harvest and rice

sowing. Has any ceremony ever been noticed at the sowing of any

other crops such as the chena crops. |

Mr. E. W. Perera said: I would invite attention to a reference

which Mr. Coom4raswdmy has overlooked. The late Mr. H. Nevill’s

account of agricultural ceremonies in the Taprobanian (vol. L., p. 93,

1885), should be added to the list of authorities on paddy cultivation

ceremonies.

In regard to the gintmuduwa, or fire-walking, I may remark that the.

rite is called gammaduwa in the low-country and Kohomba Deviyo

netima (dance of the kohomba tree g6d) in the Kandyan Provinces.

The ceremony is performed for abundant rains and generally before

sowing. A detailed account of the gammaduwa appears in the

“* Ceylon Magazine” (1841, vol. I., p. 256).

The trampling of the fire and the inverting of the kalagediya or

pitcher of water on the ashes are meant to be rain charms.

The tutelary spirits of cultivation are connected with the “health

spirits’ of the Sinhalese, who are invoked in groups of seven in all

‘‘home observances ” as the kirt ammavaru, or “milk mothers.” The

chief of these is the Maha Kiri Amma (Chief Milk Mother)— .

the goddess Pattini. The kohomba tree (Azadirachta indica) is sacred

to them, and the tutelary deities of cultivation are commonly known

as the kohomba devas. In this connection the repetition of the mystic

number seven in the threshing-floor song might be noted.

The iron smelters of Sabaragamuwa, holding balls of almost hquid

iron, walk onthe fire. This they do (according to an interesting note

in the Administration Report of Sabaragamuwa for 1873) by rubbing

on their palms and soles ‘‘a paste of equal quantity of the murunga root,.

leaves of the bevila and kapukannasa plant, and the tender shouts of the

gurulla finely ground with lime juice. ”’

Mr. W. A. DE Sitva, referring to the inquiry as to whether cere-

monies of a similar nature were observed in regard to other cultiva-

tions, mentioned that there were a large number of charms and

kémas used among villagers in connection with chena crops and other

cultivations ; also charms and ceremonies performed to keep away

wild animals, to prevent and check insect pests, or get rid of plant

diseases, and sometimes with the object of securing increased crops.

In the Paper just read there were a few translator’s mistakes, which

would no doubt be corrected when the Paper was published. For

instance, inverse 19 Sinh. hunare is translated “hock” for “dew

claws” in the first charm wara as is translated ‘‘ jak.” Warais the Sin-

halese name of the well-known plant mudar (Calatropis giguntea).

Geta-demata (Sinhalese) is Gmelina A siatica.

The fire-walking mentioned in the Paper was of interest. It is

practised almost every day by those engaged in kunu ceremonies. No

medicine whatever is used, and no preparations are made by the dancers

before the ceremony. The stepping, usually done to the accompani-

ment of a lively tune on the tom-tom, is rapid enough to prevent the

heat causing any injury to the feet ; andafter a few tramplings the heat

is greatly diminished.

H. E. the GovERNOR thanked Messrs.de Silva and Perera for their

very interesting remarks.

430 JOURNAL, R.A.S. CEYLON. [VOL. XVIII.

“Mr. FERGUSON: Are there any ceremonies in regard to cocoanut

cultivation?

Mr. DE SILVA : Yes ; a large number of charms.

Mr. FERGUSON : In the case of cocoanuts, is it at the time of planting ?

Mr. DE Sitva : No; when any pest attacks the palms.

H, E. the GoverNoR: I hope that Mr. de Silva will give us the

benefit of his knowledge by reading a Paper on the subject. It

should be singularly interesting. These are, customs which day by

day may be dying out, and it is very interesting to have them fully

recorded.

Mr. DE SILVA promised a Paper.

Mr. FERGUSON referred to a Paper by Mr. Allardyce on Fire-

walking in Fiji, to which he had listened at the Royal Colonial Institute.

There the circular hole, or oven, for the fire was 3 feet. deep and 25

feet across, and stones from 6 to 24 inches wide were heated for twelve

hours by great logs kept burning. A thermometer suspended over

the stones registered 282° Fahr., and then the solder melted. Mr.

Allardyce examined the men’s feet and could discover nothing unusual,

not even that any hair was singed. But the fire-walkers in Fiji were

accustomed to a sandy beach with a substratum of black coral which,

when exposed, became terribly hot, and the people accustomed to walk

on it got a thick coating on the soles of their feet.

H. E. the GovERNorR: I think there was a ceremony of the kind

at Slave Island in Colombo recently. It is a singular fact that

walking over fire is so widely practised. I have read of it in

Morocco and in Fiji. 1 can quite understand such cases as those

mentioned by Mr. Allardyce, that the extreme thickness on the soles

induced on people who never wore shoes might have prevented the

burning through the cuticle; but I have read of this ceremony being

performed where the flesh was burned because it could be smelled.

Mr. W. F..GUNAWARDHANA commented at length on some of the

philological notes to Mr. Coomdraswamy’s Paper.

Referring to the mystic diagram, he thought that the contents

admitted of interpretation.*

He thought the Paper very instructive. Mr, Coomaéraswamy sound-

ed the right note when he said he thought the time had come

for educated natives to take a patriotic interest in regard to the life of

their countryside. It was there the national life of the people in all

the charm of its native simplicity sill survived, but it was daily giving

way to a more vigorous civilization, and unless the opportunity be

taken while it was not yet too late, the time would soon come when all

traces of that beautiful, simple life have passed away. It was for the

natives of the Island to take some trouble to preserve for coming

generations these beautiful memorials of the national life of their

ancestors.

Mr. BaruwaANTuDAWE. disagreed with Mr. Gunawardhana with

regard to the meaning of certain words in the charm.

* Mr. Gunawardhana suggested certain variant renderings.—d. Sec.

No. 56.—1905.] PROCEEDINGS. doug 431

-VotTEs oF THANKS.

_#H. E. the Governor : It only remains for me now to propose

a vote of thanks to the three gentlemen who have so kindly written

Papers for this evening’s Meeting, which will no doubt be carried

nem. con. ‘Thanks too are due to the gentlemen who have contributed

interesting discussion on the Papers. I look forward with great

interest to a further Paper on the various charms gone through

at different periods of cultivation.

The Hon. Mr. Ferauson : ‘“ Ladies and Gentlemen,—It is my duty

and pleasure to propose to you what I am sure you will cordially

accept and support—a vote of thanks to His Excellency the Governor

for presiding this evening. I know it will be in consonance with His

Excellency’s feelings that the fewest words should be used. But I

know that the Members and Office-bearers of the Society all sincerely

thank Their Excellencies for coming here, and that too at a time when

we have not anything specially interesting to present to them.

“T am sure that from the Ceylonese Members avery earnest vote of

thanks is due to His Excellency for the deep interest he takes in the

history of the country and the customs of the people.”

The Meeting then terminated.

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, September 4, 1905.

PRESENT:

The Hon. Mr. 8. C. Obeyesekere in the Chair.

Mr. R. G. Anthonisz. bo Dr W: H. de Silva, BRE G.S.-

Dr. A. Willey, D.Sc., F.R.S.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of Council Meeting held on May

2, 1905.

432 JOURNAL, R.A.S, (CEYLON). . [ Vou. XVIII.

2. Resolved,— That the following candidates for Memherten be

‘elected :—

A. W. Wijesinha: recommended EK. R. Goonaratna.

by P. E. Pieris.

ies H. C. P. Bell

H. Storey: recommended by G. A. Joseph

R. 8. Churchill: recommended H.C.P. Beil

by G. A. Joseph

J. Harward.

J.C. Hall: recommended by } G. A. degen |

A. B. W. Jayasékera : recom- i C. Obeyesekere

mended by W. P. Ranasinha.

Attygalle, M.D.

Joseph.

W. C. de Soysa.

W. F. Gunawardhana.

Don Simon B. H. K. Jayawar-

dana : recommended by

Pandit D. M. S. Sri Wijaya

Kaviraja : recommended by

3. Read letters from Mr. A. K. Coomaraswamy, dated May 12 and

18, 1905, offering a prize of Rs. 50 for the best essay on Kandyan

‘Customs, &¢.

Resolved,—T hat Mr. Coomaraswamy’s offer be accepted with thanks

and that Messrs. S. M. Burrows, A. K.Coomaraswamy, and the Hon

Mr. Hulugalle be appointed a Sub-Committee to select the subjects.

4. Read letter No. 327 of May 6, 1905, from Mr. H. C. P. Bell

Archeological Commissioner, regarding Mr. C. M. Fernando’s Paper on

two old Sinhalese Swords.

Resolved, —To ascertain from Mr. Bell, Editing Secretary, the

grounds for not publishing that portion of the Paper haps relates to

the olas.

5. Laid on the table a Paper entitled ‘“‘ Notes on some Roman Coins

found i in Ceylon,” by Mr. J. Still, Assistant to the Archeological Com-

ssioner.

Resolved,—That the Paper be referred to Messrs. P. E. Pieris and

C. M. Fernando.

6. Laid on the table a letter from Mr. R.G. Anthonisz forscaniine

photograph of an old Dutch medal, and inquiring if the Society would

eare to publish it in the Journal.

Resolved,—That Mr. Anthonisz be thanked for his offer, and asked

to give a translation of the medal and particulars in a N ote, or short

Paper, to be published with the illustration.

. % laid on the table letters from the Director, Colombo Museum,

dated August 31, 1905, regarding the W.S. Geological Survey publi-

cations housed in the Director’s private office.

Resolved,—At the request of Dr. Willey (Director, Colombo

Museum) to let the matter stand over for future consideration.

8. Read letter from Mr. H. F. Tomalin, dated September 4, 1905,

resigning his seat on the Council owing to his transfer to Kandy as

Provincial Engineer.

No. 56.1905.) PROCEEDINGS. ~ 433

COUNCIL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, November 14, 1905.

PRESENT :

The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G., in the Chair.

Mr. P. Freiidenberg, Vice-President.

Mr. R. G. Anthonisz. | Mr. A. M. Gunasékara, Mudaliyar.

Mr. C. Drieberg, B.A., F.H.A.S.

Mr. J. Harward, M.A., and Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of Council Meeting held on

September 4, 1905.

2. Considered and passed the election of Mr. W. Stephen de

Silva, Editor, Sihala Samaya: Recommended by (a) S. B. Kuruppu;

(b) G. A. Joseph.

3. Laid on the table a letter from Mr. H. C. P. Bell, dated 22nd Sep-

tember last, regarding Mr. C. M. Fernando’s Paper entitled “Two »

Ancient Sinhalese Swords.”

Resolved,—That Mr. C. M. Fernando be informed that as the ola

has not been forwarded to Mr. Bell it necessarily follows that the

course taken by him would be adopted. Aad

4. Laid on the table a Paper entitled “‘ A Copper Sannasa granted to

King Kirti Sri Rajasinha in Saka 1685,” by Mr. T. B. Pohath-Kehel-

pannala.

Resolved,—-That the Paper be referred to Mr. Harward and Muda-

hiyar A. M. Gunasékara, and that if their opinions be favourable, Mr.

Pohath be asked to send the sannasa for the Council’s inspection.

5. Laidon the tablea letter from Mr. J. Still asking to be allowed

to withdraw his Paper on ‘‘ Roman Coins found in Ceylon ” already

sent to the Society, with a view to its amplification |

Resolved,—That Mr. Still be allowed to withdraw his Paper on the

understanding that the complete Paper be presented to the Society.

6. laid on the table a letter from Mr. D. W. Ferguson offering to '

write a Paper for the Society entitled ‘ First Discovery of Ceylon by

the Portuguese.”

Resolved,—That Mr. D. W. Ferguson’s offer be accepted with

thanks, and that the Society do publish as many illustrations as

possible. ;

7. The President reported that the Honorary Treasurer found

great difficulty in getting in subscriptions, and would be obliged to

enforce the rules and delete the names of certain gentlemen from the

hst of Members.

Resolved,—To ask the Honorary Treasurer to lay on the table a

list of the defaulters he proposes deleting.

Add JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL. XVIII.

GENERAL MEETING.

Colombo Museum, December 13, 1905.

Present :

The Hon. Mr. J. Ferguson, C.M.G.., President, in the Chair.

Mr. R. G. Anthonisz. The Hon. Mr.G. M.Fowler,C.M.G.

Mr. T P. Attygalle, J. P. Dr. C. A. Héwawitarana.

Mr. M. K. Bamber, F.C.S. Mr.S8. B. Kuruppu.

Mr.C. Batuwantudawa, Advocate. | Mr. F. Lewis, F.L.S.

Mr. A. K. Coomaraswamy, B.Sc. | Mr. P. E. Morgappah.

Mr. EB. B. Denham, B.A., C.C.S. | Mr. Chas. Perera, Proctor, S.C.

Mr. KE. Evans. | Dr. W. H. Van Dort, M.D.

O. M. Fernando, M.A., LL.M. Dr. A. Willey, M.A. ’D. Sc., F.R.S.

Mr. G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretary.

Visitors :

Sir Alexander and Lady Ashmore, the Bishop of Colombo, Sir

Allan Perry, Mrs. J. van Langenberg, Mrs. EH. Evans, Mr. C. A.

Cave, the Rev. R. J. M. Park, Mrs. R. H. Ferguson, Mrs, P. D. Warren,

Miss Brown, Mrs. C. Drieberg, Miss Van Dort, Miss Grace Van Dort,

Prof. Browning, Messrs. H. G. Bois, W. B. Hunter, Mr. and Mrs. A.

O’dell Figg, Mr. I. Etherington, Rev. G. B. Ekanayaka, Mr. A. Drie-

berg, Rev. J. C. Ford, Messrs. R. A. Brohier, W. P. de Zilva, Simon

Héwawitarana, Sam. W. Soysa, MC. Perera, and about twenty others.

Business.

1. Read and confirmed Minutes of last General Meeting held on

July 17 last.

2. Announced the election of the following Members since the last

General ‘Meeting :—

R. 8. Churchill. Pandit D. M. Silva Sri Wijaya

J.C. Hall. Kaviraja.

A. B. W. Jayasékera. W. Stephen de Silva.

D.S. W. Kuruppu. H. Storey.

A. W. Wijésinha.

3. Mr. A. K. Coomaraswamy exhibited some designs for royal

Kandyan jewellery made in the time of Kings Kirti Sri Rajasinha and

Sri Wikramardajasinha, which he had obtained from a blacksmith i in

the Four Kéralés.

4, Mr. W. Saville-Kent, F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.J. Inst., Past President,

Royal Society of Queensland, delivered the following lecture with

lantern illustrations :—

No. 56.—1905.] PHOTOGRAPHY OF COLOUR. 435

THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF COLOUR AS APPLIED TO.

OBTAINING CORRECT COLOUR RECORDS OF

NATURAL HISTORY SUBJECTS.

By W. SaviuLe-KEnt, F.L.S., &e.

THE subject that I have the honour of bringing before

you this evening is that of reproducing in connection with

photographie processes the natural colours as well as the

external form of the objects photographed, and this with —

reference more especially to their utility for obtaining |

correct colour records of Natural History subjects.

Before proceeding to the exhibition of the examples

I have at disposal for the illustration of this subject, it has

occurred to me thata brief account might be acceptable of the

sundry steps and methods that have been successively em-

ployed in the development of colour photography io its

present advanced state.

Although it is only within recent years that anything

approaching satisfactory results have been accomplished

in this connection, it is an interesting fact that quite fifty

years have elapsed since the possibilities of what is popu-

larly known as colour photography were definitely demon-

strated. At that relatively early date, however, no photo-

graphic plates were manufactured that were sufficiently

sensitive to, or specially adapted for, the registration of those

colour rays that enter essentially into the composition of

the natural colour picture, and it is only by slow and

tedious steps that all these difficulties have been finally

overcome, |

At the present day there are, as a matter of fact, several

more or less distinct processes by which photographic

images of objects in their natural colours can be recorded.

The majority of these processes are associated with what

I | 96-05

' " s ‘ Ms

\ :

436 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VouL, XVIII.

ig known as the three-colour or| trichromatie principle, and

which, as its name implies, involves the essentiality - of

three distinct or specially selected colours being compre-

hended in the composition of the natural colour pictures

obtained. This was in fact the system originally discovered

by Prof. Clerk Maxwell of Cambridge University so long

since as the year 1857, and who, by throwing in correctly

adjusted combination three distinctly coloured photo-

graphic images on a lantern screen, produced more or less

perfect replicas of brilliantly coloured ribbons and other

objects.

In its most recent, though probably far from fully per-

fected, stage of deyelopment it has been found and is be-

coming generally recognized that there are no cclours in

either Nature or Art that cannot be faithfully reproduced

in combination with the three-colour or trichromatic photo-

graphic system. It has been maintained as an explanation

of this very interesting and well-established fact that all

colour images are formed on the human retina through the

medium of three distinct colour-recording nerves, so that

in the building up of the natural colour photographic

image we are simply reproducing the conditions that

obtain in association with normal human colour vision.

In connection with the development and perfecting of

this three-colour photographic system several notably in-

zeresting and more or less important modifications of its

adaptation and application have been devised. In one of

the earlier of these, with which the name of Mr. Frederick

Ives of Philadelphia is more particularly associated, the

images of the three positives obtainel are in their mono-

chrome form concentrated by means of three distinctly

coloured mirrors into asingle focus within a portable instru-

ment upon which its inventor conferred the title of the

“Kromskop.” Subjects photographed and viewed through

this instrument, more particularly in its stereoscopic form,

present a realistic facsimile of the subject photographed

that is with difficulty obtained by any other known method.

No. 56.—1905.] PHOTOGRAPHY OF COLOUR. | 437

~The one drawback to this Kromskop replica is that it is an

intangible image, one that can be seen only with the aid

of a delicately adjusted and expensive instrument, and

that cannot be handled and dealt with after the manner

of an ordinary lantern or stereoscopic slide.

By a modification of the Kromskop principle Mr. Ives

also produced a device by which, with three separate

lanterns and coloured screens, he could throw similarly

concentrated natural colour images ona lantern sheet. This

particular device was, however, as a matter of fact,

adaptation only of Prof. Clerk Maxwell’s original idea. In

addition to being the invextor of the ‘“ Kromskop”’ it

should be mentioned that Mr. Ives also devised the

consiruction of natural colour photographie transparencies

in which their stained carbon films were superimposed

upon one another, and which in fact represents the funda-

mental principle upon which the examples submitted

to you this evening are constructed.

Another distinct and exceedingly ingenious application

of the three-colour photographic system is associated with

the name of Prof. Joly of Dublin. In this modification of

the constructive principle the three essential primary tints

are ruled in parallel lines of microscopic dimensions and

interspace on a viewing screen. One of these coloured

viewing screens has to be laid upon and carefully adjusted

to asingle positive that has been printed from a negative

that was taken through an analogous but complimentary

coloured ruled screen. We have consequently here the ad-

vantage of the negative and the positive only being required

for the composition of the natural colour picture. Very

pleasing effects may be obtained in conjunction with this

“Joly” trichromatic method, but at the same time the un-

desirable prominence with which the lines of the ruled.

screens become visible when the subject is enlarged in the

_stereoscope or thrown on the lantern sheet militates much

against its practical adaptation for the technically accunate

portraiture of Natural History subjects. |

438 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

The name of M. Lumiere of Paris and Lyons is also a

conspicuously familiar one in conjunction with colour photo-

graphy. More recently the methods utilized by M. Lumiere

have closely coincided with those of the perfected Ive’scarbon

system, but was formerly more especially connected with a

process by which three stained collodion films were successive-

ly superimposed upon one another inaccurate optical contact.

A remaining colour photographic method that especially

demands notice is that distinguished as the Lipmann

process. This process as a matter of fact represents the

only one by which natural colour photographic images have

been taken directly on an exposed plate. In order to

accomplish this a bath of mercury is temporarily placed in

contact with the emulsion surface of the exposed specially

prepared photographic plate and upon which surface the

refracted rays of light are registered with a greater or less

degree of colour accuracy. This, from a scientific stand-

point, most interesting method of colour photography is as

yet, however, only in its initial phase of development.

The failures are multiple and the successes few that

have been achieved in its practical application. It would

seem at the same time to possess latent possibilities that

may lead to very important future developments.

' J will propose now to enter a little more fully into the

details of that process by which the majority of the examples

to be brought before you this evening were constructed, and

which is a development of the Ive’s system most generally

known as the “Sanger Shepherd” process. Any ordinary

camera adapted to time exposures and to which the requisite

three-colour screens can be fitted can be utilized for this

interesting branch of photography ; and as all the parti-

cular descriptions of screens, plates, and other materials used

are now made the specialité of a leading London photo-

graphic manufacturing firm, Messrs. Sanger Shepherd & Oo.,

it may be anticipated that colour photography as exemplified

by this particular trichromatic process will be taken up

very extensively.

No. 56.—1905. | PHOTOGRAPHY OF COLOUR. "1439

The most essential feature in the practical application

of this three-colour photographic process is necessarily

the acquirement of the three images possessing the parti-

cular colour values required for the composition of the

perfect picture. These three colours may be selected from

slightly varying areas of the solar spectrum, but the most

accurate results have been obtained when shades of

Prussian blue, majenta pink, and bright yellow have been

used as thecomponentcolour factors. These three accurately

tinted colour positives having been obtained, it is only

necessary to superimpose them, sandwich fashion, in perfect

registration to produce the finished natural colour picture.

As compared with the Lipmann system recently referred

to, the natural colour pictures built up by this trichromatic

method are necessarily the result of an indirect process.

That is to say, the coloured pictures produced are not taken

directly in the camera, but in the form of monochrome

or black and white negatives which yield complimentary

monochrome positives which possess the requisite light and

shade or intensity values of the three enumerated tints.

These tints have to be imparitea to the positives by dip-

ping them into suitable dyes of the three respective colours,

blue, pink, and brilliant yellow.

In order to obtain the three positives possessing these

respective colour values for the composition of the com-

plete synthesis it is necessary to employ special colour

screens when taking the negatives that respectively absorb

all the supplementary rays of the solar spectrum and only

permit those three required for the composition of the

resulting positives to pass through. Thus, when obtaining

the negative for printing the Prussian blue positive a

spectrotopically adjusted screen has to be employed that

absorbs every other colour of the spectrum excepting this

particular. blue tint. This screen has consequently to be of

a ruby red hue.. In like manner for the negative which

only allows the majenta pink colour value to be represented,

a green screen absorbing all the blue and yellow rays is

440 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVIII.

employed. Finally, for obtaining the brilliant yellow colour

value positive a blue violet colour screen is used. In

their practical application these several colour screens can

be adapted to fit on in front of the camera lens or to be

interposed at the back immediately in front of the exposed

plate.

The taking of negatives through these variously éolddved

screens necessarily involves considerably longer exposures —

han obtains in ordinary monochrome photography. This

is more especially noteworthy of the one obtained through

the red screen for which an exposure is given approxi-

mating four or five times the time duration associated

with ‘the green screen and ten or twelve times that re-

quired when exposing through the blue violet screen. Thus

when taking negatives of ordinary subjects in full tropical

sunlight such as that of Ceylon, as I have been doing lately,

I have found that with the lens well stopped down to F. 96

an exposure of two and a half minutes with the red screen,

forty-five seconds with the green, and fifteen seconds with

the blue screen represent the most satisfactory time ratios.

These time ratios are however subject to slight modifications

with respect to every new batch of plates used, and for which

it is desirable to make one or more tentative exposures. A

sure method of arriving at the correct time ratio of any given

batch of plates is by including a pure white object in

the photographic field, and which should develop a equal

density on each of the three plates exposed.

Subjects photographed in the shade and more especially in

a dull or murky atmosphere such as prevails during an Eng-

lish winter require a considerably longer exposure than the

periods just enumerated. Hxposures of five minutes, one and

‘ahalf minute, and thirty seconds, respectively, represent the

ordinary duratiou of the time exposures employed for the

majority of the examples exhibited on this occasion. In

some instances, however, such as that of the portrait in half-

exposure under the red screen, five minutes with the green

No. 56.—1905.] PHOTOGRAPHY OF COLOUR. 441

screen, and one and a half minute with the blue one, or a time

total of over twenty-one minutes. With the rapid progress

that is continually being made in the improvement of both

plates and lenses with regard more especially to their speed

properties, it is likely that the time exposures hitherto requir-

ed when working with coloured screens will be very material-

ly curtailed,and that natural colour subjects will be achievable

with the camera with a facility and expedition little short

of that which already exists with respect to ordinary mono-

chrome photographs.

As a matter of fact when open land or seascapes

are concerned, allowing the employment of a large

diaphragm aperture with the lens, exposures: of a few

seconds only have been found sufficient with the red or

densest tinted screen. A camera, moreover, has been con-

structed with three lenses and the diaphragms and screens

so adjusted that all three of the exposures can be made

simultaneously and what are practically instantaneous

photographs representing all of the required colour elements

secured by asingle exposure. So soon as this more rapid pro-

cess is extended and applied to such subjects as ordinary por-

traiture and which, thereis every reason to believe, will soon

be realized, it may be anticipated that an almost complete

revolution of the existing methods of photographic portrai-

ture will be effected. Fair sitters more especially will un-

doubtedly consider that they have a distinct grievance if not

supplied with photographs in which every subtle shade of

their marvellous “creations” (I believe this is the right

word for their head adornments) as well as those of their

fair features are faithfully reproduced.

The description of plates used for taking these three-colour

process negatives—Cadett’s lightning spectrum plates—are

necessarily extremely sensitive to light, and have to be devel-

oped in almost complete darkness or with a safety light screen

placed in front of the usual ruby light. The printing and

development of the final positive transparenciesmay beaccom-

plished altogether on the lines of ordinary carbon printing

442 «JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL XVIII.

or in combination with a modification of the customary

lantern slide formula. In the former instance the prints

from the three negatives are made on three bichromated

films, washed out in hot water, and then dipped into their

respective dyes. It is found most convenient, however, to

use glass as the main supporting basis,and as the requisite

possession blue tint can be most effectually obtained by the

chemical conversion of an ordinary monochrome lantern.

slide from black to blue by what is known as the ferro-

prussiate process, this chemical method may be most

advantageously adopted for the production of this

print.

Some small amount of personal judgment and tentative

experiment is necessarily required in order to arrive at the

precise shade of the several tints of the three colours

employed, but as soon as a correct standard has been

obtained the multiplication of duplicates becomes a mere

matter of mechanical detail. In order to impart to the com-

pleted picture the maximum of transparency the three ~

positives may be varnished and amalgamated with

Canada balsam into one optically homogeneous whole.

In addition to the composition of lantern slides, larger

transparencies can bereadily constructed on this three-colour

photographic system by either the direct method or by the

ordinary enlarging process. It is also possible from the

original three negatives to construct process blocks from

which pictures in their natural colours can be printed on

paper. The chief difficulty encountered in this direction

is the acquisition of sufficiently pure coloured and yet

transparent printing inks, but this difficulty has been sur-

mounted to such an extent that many English and European

printing firms are now substituting this three-colour print-

ing method for the much more complicated and expensive

one of chromo-lithography, in which as many as eighteen or

twenty or more lithographic stones are required for pro-

ducing less correct effects than are obtainable with three

photo-process works.

No. 56.—1905.] PHOTOGRAPHY OF COLOUR. 443

By far the most remarkable results are, however, un-

doubtedly obtained by this three-colour or trichromatic

process when applied to the production of well constructed

stereoscopic transparencies. Insuch transparencies depth of

focus being added to the natural form and colours, it is

difficult to realize when viewing them through the stereos-

copic instrument that one is not looking at the actual objects

photographed. |

Larger sized three-colour transparencies are admirably

adapted for fulfilling all those decorative purposes, such as

window transparencies, lamp shades, fire screens, and other

artistic uses for which hitherto stained glass has been the

only available material.

Another direction to which this natural colour photo-

graphic process has already been applied with very con-

siderable success is the reproduction of the paintings of old

masters and other works of art. The firm of Sanger

Shepherd & Co., already referred to as supplying all the

necessary materials for this three-colour work, possesses a

very fine series of replicas of the gem pictures. Suchasthose

of Bentens, Turner and Landseer, and others contained

in the London National Gallery, every shade of their mel-

lowed tints being most faithfully reproduced within the

dimensions of a small lantern slide.

The walls of this noted Museum wherein we are now

assembled are especially suggestive of three-colour possibi-

lities. They are profusely decorated with admirably copied

replicas of the frescoes and other wall paintings of the

ancient cities of Ceylon. The time and labour involved in

the production of these replicas has been enormous, and is

beyond praise; but an immense saving of this time and

labour could have been accomplished with the assistance of

the camera and colour screens,

It has been suggested that this new development of colour

photography may detrimentally affect the interests of the

professional artist. It on the contrary places additional

advantages at his disposal. Photography and Art stand in

K 96-05

444 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

the same relationship to one another as Prose and Poetry

The artist in his pictures eliminates all that is incongruous

or commonplace and accentuates all that is refined and

artistic in the scenes or subjects depicted. The camera, even

though fortified with colour screens, can never do that. It

is at the same time his most efficient handmaid, and can be

utilized by him in countless directions. Taking by way of

example the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets of the tropics or

even of temperate regions, within a brief five minutes,

before our artist has had even time to delineate their outline,

their glory has departed, or became absolutely metamor-

phosed. With his colour camera he can obtain a faithful

record of the glowing scene and reproduce it on canvas in

his studio at his own leisure. Examples akin to this might

be multiplied indefinitely.

The chief impetus or interest that has stimulated my own

zeal in the endeavour to further develop and perfect this

process of trichromatic photography has been a recognition

of the valuable assistance it offers for obtaining technically

correct colour records of the marvellously tinted corals,fishes,

and innumerable other brilliant coloured denizens of the

tropic seas. Hitherto to illustrate many of the interesting

forms encountered in my wanderings I have laboriously

attempted to portray them with brush and pencil. Such

attempts, however, invariably fall short of the perfection

aimedat. Like the elusive sunsets the creatures colours fre-

quently change with the same kaleidoscopic rapidity, and the

best one possibly produces is, as compared with Nature, a

highly coloured daub that friends at home will probably

suggest is the fantastic creation of a disordered brain.

But now with our colour-recording camera nons avous

changé tout cela—it is possible to produce faithful portraits

of Nature’s most brilliant organisms against which the

most carping untravelled critics will take up their parables

in vain. It is my regret that lam not ina position at the

present time to submit for yourinspection coloured replicas

of the innumerable gorgeously coloured fish and other objects

No. 56.—1905. | PHOTOGRAPHY OF COLOUR. 445

of which | have had the good fortune to secure excellent

negatives, principally in the South Sea Islands, within the past

two years. Such leisureas I have had at my disposal has been

occupied in obtaining as many as possible of these negatives,

and it is not until I arrive in England that 1 shall have an

opportunity of obtaining from them natural colour prints.

Should the subject, however, prove of sufficient interest to

this Society, I shall have much pleasure in the event of my

probable stay for a longer period in Ceylon, a year or so

hence, to submit to them a fuller illustration of what three-

colour photography can accomplish in connection with the

natural history denizens of Ceylonese and other tropic

waters. sss oF

446 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vou XVIII.

5, ‘The CHAIRMAN, in proposing a special vote of thanks to the

lecturer for the great treat he had afforded them, alluded to the pros-

pect of Professor Saville-Kent’s return and another lecture. The

new process, illustrated that evening, would inevitably do much to

make the beauties of Ceylon known all over the civilized world.

The Chairman also thanked Sir Allan Perry for aid afforded in

arranging for the lecture.

The vote to the lecturer was carried by acclamation,

6. Proressor SAVILLE- Kent briefly acknowledged the vote of

thanks, saying he hoped to give another demonstration and fecture

when passing through perhaps a year or two hence.

7. Mr. C. M. FERNANDO in proposing a vote to the Chairman,

alluded to the fact that Professor Saville-Kent’s name had been made

familiar to them some years ago during the course of a discussion .on a

Paper on Pearl Oysters, when the Chairman spoke of the work done

in this direction, on the Australian coast, by the lecturer of that

evening.

Mr, CooMARASWAMY briefly seconded, and, after acknowledgment,

the proceedings closed.

e }

No. 56.—1905.] TWO OLD SINHALESE SWORDS. 44F

APPENDIX.

Two OLD SINHALESE SworRDs.

(Note by H. C. P. Bell, Archeological Commissioner.)

The two swords, the subject of Mr. C. M. Fernando's

Paper,* were seen by me casually some twenty years ago.

They have been closely inspected, for the first timef this

year (1906), at the request of the Council of the Ceylon

Asiatic Society (Council Meeting, May 2, 1906, Resolution

1vf).

(2) When received for examination from the Colombo

Museum the main writing§ on both swords was coated with

white paint.

After removing this veneer the inscriptions were examined,

letter by letter, under a magnifying glass.

Yor further aid, a Sinhalese draughtsman made careful

tracings of the records, and enlarged them to double their

actual size.

(3) The writing on both the swords is considerably

worn—in places hopelessly.

In regard to calligraphy the characters are roughly formed,

and wanting in the finish of sannas engraved on copper

plates. ‘lhe letters may have been partially burnt in with

some strong acid, througha “stencil” facing of wax or other

material, before being touched with a graving tool.

* See ante, pp. 388-391.

~ As well as a third inscribed sword (hiltless) referred to in the

pamphlet “The Karé-Goi Contest” (G. A. Dharmaratna, Advocate),

1890, p. 58. The year of the record on thissword is illegible, as well as ~

the name save warigé nam of the grantee, “ Kouravera Aditt| ya] Arasa

Nilaytita.’ The name ofa King “ Para[krama}| Bahu Maha raja” occurs

and the month and day (Vesak, 15th, full moon, Tuesday).

~f See ante, p. 392.

-§ There are faint traces of larger writing, very worn, on both sides

of Sword No.2. This supports the supposition of the later inscribing of

the present records in accordance with a tradition connected with the

swords and the original writing on them. On the doubly-lettered face,

above the first lineof the more modern record, the words “Jayawardha —

[napulra Sri [Sa]ng Bédht Sra [Palralkrama} Bafhu]” are legible in

older script. ,

Bs. ee ) 96-05

‘ .

448 JOURNAL, RAS. (CEYLON). [Vou. XVI

(4) As to the age of the inscriptions, they can be styled

“archaic” in a modified sense only ; inasmuch as the form

of characters is too modern for the periods to which their

face records profess to relate.

Sworp No. : Bell

(od) Owing to abrasion a good deal of the record on this

sword is quite indecipherable, except to such guesswork as

appears in much of the transcript given in the Paper,

Moreover, the inscription, even where legible, has, been

misread in important parts by the Mudaliyar.

A rendering of the text more nearly correct is offeredy : —

L. (...0..@99996 30...4.:) CasSand..... End Jo ag oe

BDA (......) G@ QA 0B and [Sad] Bs (SBoexk) 013

Oo D520 H)(...) 66 GY 91506 H3(os) dil. F)6Se KE

3. 80D Qe aIOD E(o) Pg ADM CAI OcEdaT OD OX QDAW

36 Snoqd ay Es SeOB(D)EO OUOMS HYDE

4. Sos.

(6) Inline 1 the words before GY are clearly m® 9a, not

Ids asread by the Mudaliyar. Of the date only ened and

&e are clearly legible: but the word preceding &« is almost

certainly &a, and that which follows apparently d&se ;

they cannot be twisted into m5 and enoq@e. The date

‘A.B. 1917” must therefore be finally rejected. Line

2 commences with 9H@; cerrectly Dee [own md].

The sign after 2, line 3, is more like the tra, or tita, pause

stop of Sinhalese manuscripts, than «.f{

* The Royal Sign Manual, a large &, is incised on the left of the ins¢erip-

tion between [rahaida kods (Sun and Moon flags), one of “ the ten insignia

of the Karaéwe people” (see “ The Kara-Goi Contest,” p. 54), To right of

the “ Moon flag” isa Naga, or cobra, ready to strike.

+ Brackets are used for readings where letters are worn and partially

illegible, but not really uncertain. Letters wholly illegible, which cannot

be supplied, are represented by points, one for each syllable.

{t As a matter of fact the version of this inscription given, but without

text, in “The Karé-Goi Contest ’( p. 58) is an approximately accurate

translation of the record on the sword. The translation as there given

runs :—“ In the year of blessed Buddha 1143 the great King of Srie ‘Lanka

Kuda-akbo appointed Kaurawir Aditte Kuruwede Arsenillaitte Ilenaga,

second king, and presented a sword with the Royal Seal ‘thereon in

the said year, full moon, 15th, Tuesday, in the month Wesak: at ‘the

Seneviraja Wasala in J ayawardena.”

‘Reading the date on the sword'as “A.B. 1125” (= A.D: 582),-3t: tallies

with the reign of Agbo, or Agra Bédhi I. (A.D. 564-598). This at once

stamps the inscription as not a contemporaneous record ; since the writing

is in a character many centuries later, and - “ Jayawardhana sg ‘4 eer

was not occupied as @ capital until the 14th century. bot

No. 56.—1905.] two oLp SINHALESE SWORDS. 449

SworD No. 2.

(7) The Mudaliydr’s version of the inscription on this

swordis nearly correct throughout.

1 § Q@ OBund wD Be HD sad 915 G Gomeod da

OBe56 G emo? G sOM® Hwy Ow Od SDKs 91606 HGaxs

2260186 Ede 8c sO" Dao sd,

2. (@69...0 ) OGxsmnoGHeda an AO snMd ood BIA

Ederst Dam 56 Seda Gs ag a LEDDD Ooneo.

(8) The unread word at the commencement of line 2 begins

with 63 and ends with @ or a. In the same line, despite

the zspilia-like flourish above &, the word mc is doubtless

meant—the « being inserted above the line. Instead of

canes G20 and ¢x®a,as misread, the actual wording is

sexed God and 3ads.

(9) That the swords themselves, whether of Indian or

foreign make, may well have been granted by royalty for

special services no one free from unworthy bias need question.

Such bestowal of swords and other weapons on favoured

persons by Ceylon rulers was not unknown.*

(10) The inscriptions could in all good faith have been

placed at a later date on the swords as family heirlooms,

by descendants, in virtue of a generally admitted tradition

of their having been gifted to distinguished ancestors of the

possessors.

* See Lawrie’s Gazetteer, vol. II., pp. 677, 684, 761, 808.

H. M. RICHARDS, ACTING GOVERNMENT PRINTER, COLOMBO, CEYLON.