Analysing Jaffna’s Ancient Civilization-by Dr Rajiva Wijesinha
Source:Thuppahis
It was an honour to have been asked last month to the launch of this impressive tome by a former colleague, Prof Pathmanathan. Indeed I think of him as an old friend, for he had been Vice-Chairman of the University Grants Commission while I was in charge of the pre-University General English Language Training Course.
He had been at Peradeniya during my brief tenure there and, though I could not remember him very well, he and the Chairman first appointed by Prof Kumaratunga, treated me as a great ally. They had been part of the opposition to the partisan establishment of my time there, represented most horrendously by Kingsley de Silva, and so they had been delighted when I resigned my position over the deprivation of Mrs Bandaranaike’s Civic Rights.
And I have to say that my own affection for Prof Siriweera increased when he soon resigned, for he was not able to function freely, I presume because of pressures from the Minister. But he was replaced by Sirisena Tilakaratna, whom I knew well from Jayewardenepura, and with him too I got on well. More especially, for I reported to the Vice-Chairman, I found Prof Pathmanathan very easy to work with. He was a gentleman to his fingertips, but sharp in his observations of the political scene, and I much enjoyed talking to him when I dropped in to report on developments.
He moved subsequently to Jaffna, and ended as Chancellor of the University there. At the launch of this book he said that he had planned to work on a subject that would not have found favour with LTTE supporters, but he had been hijacked by developments in epigraphy which opened to him a whole new fascinating field of research. He is scrupulous in recording all those who had worked on this area before him, giving credit to numerous Tamil scholars and collectors, to pluralistic Sinhala scholars such as Sudharshan Seneviratne and Leslie Goonewardena, and to the brilliant young British archaeologist Robin Coningham, whom I am proud to say I was instrumental in initially bringing to Sri Lanka through a project I administered for the British Council.
But incisive as is the work of all these, it took a scholar and visionary such as Prof Pathmanathan is to bring together the findings and develop a coherent account of the seminal developments in the Jaffna peninsula in these early years. In the process he lays out the story of a very ancient civilization, which was largely though not exclusively Tamil speaking, and which incorporated pervasive devotion to Buddhism.
It has been long known that there are many traces of Buddhist temples and other shrines in the north, but the thorough examination of records in this volume makes clear that these are part of a pluralistic culture, and that the people who lived in this area are forebears of both Sinhalese and Tamils.
The people responsible for the structures that can be traced, and the writings on them, were the Nagas, a race that has not figured as large in Sri Lankan historiography as it should. Recently I read in Sunela Jayewardena’s account of Ravana’s Lanka that they were the dominant people on the west coast, and she traces their origin to seafaring immigrants.
Her thesis is interesting but her arguments are more impressionistic than otherwise. Prof Pathmanathan on the contrary shows the links of the Naga civilization in Jaffna with that of South India, and also how it spread to the rest of the country. Similarities as to inscriptions in not only Ibban Katuwa in the North Western Province but also Akurugoda in Tissamaharama show the pervasive influence of the Nagas, and the different scripts they used, mainly Tamil Brahmi but also Prakrit, which it is argued evolved later into Sinhalese.
The book is divided into five sections, the first of which describes the range of similar inscriptions of Naga origin, with some attention to the Yakkhas who were earlier inhabitants of the country. The second section looks at different settlements in the peninsula including in the islands off Jaffna, which leads to the seminal third section. This looks at Kantarotai which was the principal settlement in the earliest period, where lots of stupas were found, excavated amongst others by Paul Peiris in the early years of the last century, and by Charles Godakumbura 50 years later.
Earlier it was thought that the inscriptions found at this site were in Prakrit or Sanskrit or Sinhalese, but Prof Pathmanathan shows that there were also Tamil Brahmi inscriptions, replicating the celebration of Naga leaders found elsewhere. He also, following other scholars, suggests that the stupas were burial monuments, clustered close together as was the practice in for instance Nagarjunakonda (the celebrated monastery in Andhra Pradesh), doubtless a cemetery in a monastic complex.
Even more exciting was the next chaper, which explored the ancient port city of Jaffna. Pathmanathan records the different types of pottery found in the area, including Roman and Sassanian ware, suggesting that this was a centre of trade. He also notes that, on Dutch tombstones, are inscriptions going back to megalithic times, from the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD. Their subject is Naga chieftains, as is the case elsewhere in the peninsula, though Pathmanathan also notes that other groups engaged in seafaring would also have been part of the population of the region.
Interestingly, amongst the products exported from this area were beads, which Roman ladies relished; the factories in this country imported stones such as amethysts to cater to the demand, indicating the wide extensive commercial connectivity of these ancient times. But these, I should note, would have been secondary to what the ancient sources say this country was best known for, pearls, transparent stones and tortoise-shell.
The fourth section of the book looks at the different items that were found, through excavations but also because they simply turned up when soil was disturbed. In recent days he said finds such as coins are snapped up by dealers and generally sent abroad, but in earlier days local antiquarians – such as a former Jaffna University librarian who has some unique items – built up their own collections, and these have sometimes been handed over to museums.
The longest chapter deals with coins, with detailed discussion of the symbols that appear on them, and also the different types, including punchmarked Indian coins which originated in the 6th century BC. Roman and South Indian coins came later. Of the symbols, Pathmanathan notes the prevalence of the Nagabandha, entwined snakes, indicating a Naga origin, but also elephants and fish.
More fascinating to me was the discussion in the next chapter of what are terms items of public utility, three of which are found in proximity, confirming the agricultural base of the majority of the population. These were wells, or rather water troughs with downward sloping paths for cattle; ‘avuranci’ which Pathmanathan translates as cattle rubbing stones, for cattle to rub against to ‘relieve themselves from affliction caused by parasites’; and ‘cumaitanki’ which are burden-relief monuments, for people to lay down their burdens – harvested minor crops or commodities bought or for sale.
Pathmanathan registers that these are not in use now because of bicycles and motor vehicles, but notes the desirability of preserving them as heritage monuments, ‘of a people whose ancestors have lived without interruption for a period of over 2,000 years’.
Compared to these distinctive cultural objects, the domestic appliances recorded in the next chapter were less interesting. But the fact that iron was produced in those early years is significant, and it is a pity that the insistence on an agricultural society in our prevalent historiography has led to neglect of these other essential occupations, given the caste considerations that have intervened.
The final section of the book deals with religions in Ancient Jaffna. Pathmanathan begins with an account of the cult of Naga Worship, and though he gives its dates as 300 BC – 400 AD, he notes how the celebration of nagas has continued in both Hindu and Buddhist iconography.
The second chapter is about Saivism, and records the destruction of many temples by the Portuguese. But traces remain of the origins of these buildings, even in the midst of new constructions, and one learned priest made clear the fact that the ancient temple at the site was established by Naga rulers.
The longest chapter in this section is about Buddhism in Nagadipa, as Pathmanathan puts it. He notes the different visits of the Buddha recorded in the Mahavamsa, and that while one was to the Yakkhas in Mahiyangana, the other two were to Nagas. He also suggests that the Buddhism that flourished in the peninsula during the first few centuries after Christ was strongly influenced by Andra culture in art and architecture, as indeed links with for instance Nagarjunakonda show.
The book is heavy going, but well worth while to read. It stands as a tribute to a thoroughly professional scholar, and scholarship that is comprehensively Sri Lankan, in its arguments as well as its impact.
