FeaturesThe IslandMonday 8th June, 200912

by D. G. A. Perera

Prof Shantha Hennayake ssix-part article on DryZone colonization and mythof demographic displacement ofTamils is like the proverbialcurate s egg. Mr. Gaston Perera,a good English scholar turnedhistorian of the early KandyanPeriod, has busted the mythsabout the eastern province in thePortuguese Period. The point atwhich Prof. Hennayake had start-ed his thesis is the Census of1871 according to which all theDistricts in the Northern andEastern Provinces had a Tamilmajority.

In the section, entitledEstablishment of permanentTamil settlements , he has formeda mental construct that they hadoriginated in the early Christianera. His averment that there isno disagreement on this, is how-ever, a very subjective statement.The distinguished archaeologistand historian, Prof. SenaratParanavitana, has positively dis-agreed with such a theory, for hehad found absolutely no evidenceof permanent Tamil settlementson this island before the 11th cen-tury.

What the good Professorshould have done here is to readup what English writers had writ-ten about the ethnic compositionof this island before theAdministrative Report of 1876,which is the real starting point ofhis M.A. thesis, based on fact. Allthat he writes about permanentTamil settlements during the Pre-modern Period (and also theearly part of the Modem Period)constitute the bad part of the egg.The following extracts from Britishwriters before 1871 could havehelped him to form a differentopinion.

Emerson Tennent, writing in1859, says: The ancient[Sinhala] organization for rice cul-tivation known as village sys-tem, exists in undiminishedvigour throughout the EasternProvince. The chief of the districtsupplies tools, hatchets, cattle,and seed-grain; the people repairthe dams and channels whichlead water through the rice

ground; plough it, tramp the mud,sow and fence it, and completethe work by their joint labour. Oneportion (generally one-eighth) iscultivated exclusively for the lordof the soil. The residue of the har-vest is then divided into conven-tional shares amongst the vil-lagers and their hereditary offi-cers, including the doctor, school-master, tomtom beater, barber,and washerman (Ceylon: p.923).

Even the Wanni District did notseem to have a sizable Tamil pop-ulation at that time: If the desert-ed fields and solitudes of theW anni are ever again to be re-peopled and re-tilled, I aminclined to believe that the move-ment for that purpose will comefrom the Tamils of Jaffna(p.98.8). The population of NorthCentral and Eastern Provinceswas so depleted that there hadbeen also a proposal to effectcolonisation from the coast ofIndia... but the suggestion isuncongenial of attempting the

revival of agriculture through theinstrumentality of Tamils, the veryrace to whose malignant influ-ence it owes its decay; and anyproject, to be satisfactory as wellas successful, should contem-plate the benefit of the natives,and not strangers in Ceylon(p.903). Therefore even as late as1859, this British scholar consid-ered Tamils from India asstrangers to Sri Lanka.

Robert Percival, one of the offi-cers who arrived here along withthe occupation of the maritimedistricts of the island by theBritish in 1796, says: During aresidence of upwards of threeyears I visited almost every partof the seacoast; and before I leftthe island, I was quite familiarwith its general appearance, itsproductions, the present state ofits cultivation, and the mannersand dispositions of its inhabi-tants. (An account of the Islandof Ceylon 1803, TisaraPublications, page 2.)

What Percival had to say of theethnic composition of the islandeven in 1505, is noteworthy: Thesituation in which Almeyda foundthe island was not essentially dif-ferent from its present state,except in those changes whichhave been introduced by its suc-cessive European inmates. Theinhabitants consisted of two dis-tinct races of people. The savageBedas [Beddhas, the Jungle Folkor Veddahs] then, as now, occu-pied the large forests, particularlyin the northern parts; the rest ofthe island was in possession ofthe Cingalese (p. 05). He repeatsthis remarkable statement againin chapter VIII of his book. Whenthe Portuguese first arrived on theisland, the whole of it, with theexception of the woods inhabitedby the wild Bedas, was pos-sessed by one race (p. 122).

What then about the people ofJaffna at that time? It is true thatthe Arya Cakravartis ruled therefrom about the 13th Century.They did not claim to be Tamils,and, the people of Jaffna whomthey ruled over, were for the mostpart Sinhalese. The first Tamil torule Jaffna was an illegitimate sonof the last ruler of this dynasty, bya Tamil concubine. This upstart,called Sankili murdered that lastruler of the later Arya Cakravartiline setup by Prince Sapumal.Using the confused state ofaffairs, following the murder ofKing Vijaya Bahu VII in the year1519, Sankili declared himself tobe the King of Jaffna, really sub-king under the Emperor at Kotte.Although Sankili was a Tamil onhis mother s side, he did notmake Tamil the official languageof Jaffna. For all purposes,Sinhala was considered to be theofficial language throughout theisland, including the JaffnaPeninsula. When Sankili s con-duct became intolerable, the peo-ple of Jaffna (mostly Sinhalese)petitioned the Portuguese Viceroyin Goa, asking him to replaceSankili with a Sinhalese Princebecause Jaffna belonged to theKingdom of Kotte . This led to thegenocide of the Sinhalese inhabi-tants of Jaffna by Sankili. Afterthe massacre of the Christians,Sankili s, insane fury longed formore victims and he fell upon theBuddhists of Jaffna who were allSinhalese. He expelled thembeyond the limits of the countryand destroyed their numerousplaces of worship, saysRasanayagam, quoting YalpanaVaipava Malai.

Even after these atrocities ofSankili, the official language inJaffna Peninsula continued to beSinhala. This is a fact attested toby the Portuguese historian, Fr.Fernao de Queyroz. With theintervention of the PortugueseViceroy, who invaded Jaffna in1561, Sankili agreed to become avassal of the King of Portugal.The document that Sankili put hissignature on this occasion wasdrafted only in Sinhala and thePortuguese languages. Therewas no Tamil place for the Tamillanguage in that agreement (TheTemporal and Spiritual andConquest of Ceylon p.371).

The reason why Britishers, like

Percival and the Portugueserulers did not think that the peopleof Jaffna were ethnic Tamils, isbecause they were considered tobe temporary residents, and atbest, foreign settlers whoformed the majority of the popula-tion there, especially after theDutch Period. Percival has alsomade the following observation:

The inhabitants of Jaffna con-sist of a collection of variousraces. The greatest number areMalabars of Moorish extraction,and are divided into severaltribes, known by the names ofLubbahs, Belalas, MopleysChittys, Choliars, and a fewBrahmins. These different tribesof foreign settlers greatly exceedin number the native Ceylonese[i.e. Sinhalese] in the district ofJaffna. The Malabars areemployed in manufacturing cottoncloths, &c. The Chittys and theLaubbas trade in cloths, calicoes,handkerchiefs, &c. The Lubbahs[Lebbes] are Moors andMahometans. The Choliars. andChivias do the hard work; areporters, palankeen bearers, andwater carriers; All these in somemeasure partake of theCeylonese [i.e. Sinhalese] habitsand customs and habits of life,mingled with their own (p.47) ....Those that I mentioned first wereinduced many years ago, by theencouragements held out to themby the Dutch, to pass over fromthe Coromandel coast and carryon here a variety of manufac-tures... (p.48). This also illus-trates the role played by theDutch in altering the demographiccomposition of the North and theEast.

Even Tamil writers have con-tributed to the view that the JaffnaPeninsula was originally inhabit-ed by the Sinhalese people fromthe 6th Century BC up to thePortuguese Period. Rev. S.Gnana Praksar, O.M.I., has said:Mr. Horsburgh s article onSinhalese Place Names in theJaffna Peninsula [C.A. Vol. 11Part 1, pp54-58] places beyonddoubt the fact of a Sinhaleseoccupation of the JaffnaPeninsula antecedent to the Tamilperiod . Mudaliyar C.Rasnayagam says That Jaffnawas occupied by the Sinhaleseearlier than by the Tamils is seennot only in the place names ofJaffna but also in the habits andcustoms of the people. The sys-tem of branding cattle with thecommunal brand by which not

only the caste but also the posi-tion and family of the owner couldbe traced, was peculiarlySinhalese. The very ancient wayof wearing the hair in the form ofa konde behind the head, wasvery common among the peopleof Jaffna till very recent times(Ancient Jaffna, p. 384).

Today, racial purity of any eth-nic group is only a myth. Ethnicityis related to the particular cultureand language of a people. Whenpeople of one ethnic group aban-don their language and culture infavour of another, their ethnicitygets merged with the new cultureand language. Two of the majorSinhalese caste groups in thesouth of the island had migratedto this country from South Indiaafter the fifteenth century. Theircaste distinctions were related totheir original occupations. Butnow they have produced some ofthe outstanding Sinhala scholars.They are also among the mostpatriotic groups of the Sinhalesepeople today.

According to Raghavan (1961) the major waves of immigration[of fisher folk] to the west coastoccurred after the fifteenth centu-ry; today they are, in our region,mostly Sinhala speakingBuddhists or Catholics. It is there-fore very likely that before the fif-teenth century South Indian immi-grants were also converted intoSinhala Buddhists (G.Obeysekara in The Cult of theGoddess of the Pattini p.381 f.)

Myths about EasternProvince during earlyBritish Period

Nallur Kandasamy Temple in the Jaffna peninsula

Although Sankili was aTamil on his mother sside, he did not make

Tamil the official language of Jaffna.For all purposes, Sinhala was consid-ered to be the official languagethroughout the island, including theJaffna Peninsula. When Sankili s con-duct became intolerable, the peopleof Jaffna (mostly Sinhalese) peti-tioned the Portuguese Viceroy inGoa, asking him to replace Sankiliwith a Sinhalese Prince becauseJaffna belonged to the Kingdom ofKotte . This led to the genocide of theSinhalese inhabitants of Jaffna bySankili.

Map of Jaffna

Probiotic drinks are of nobenefit to healthy peopleand may harm those with

low immune systems, a leadingmicrobiologist has warned.

Michael Wilson, Professor ofMicrobiology at University CollegeLondon, said there were somecases when topping up on goodbacteria could help recovery fromillness, but understanding of thesupplements is shaky and needsa more robust scientific investiga-tion.

There are certain instanceswhen probiotics are useful but theproblem is there s no regulation,Prof Wilson said. They are regard-ed as food supplements not medic-inal products anyone can get asuspension of bacteria and marketit as a probiotic, said Prof Wilson,speaking at the CheltenhamScience Festival. With medicinal

they produce are safe. He said that there was some

instinctive sense that adding tothe gut flora will help with adverseevents.

In recent years, probiotics havebeen promoted as a healthy foodsupplements, in the form ofyoghurts, drinks and capsules, andthe market is worth an estimated200 million in Britain.

Clinical trials have shown thateating live bacteria can help suffer-ers of certain illnesses, such asantibiotic-associated diarrhoea,and there is evidence they canhelp women who have recently

W ilson, for people with compro-mised immune systems, increasingthe bacterial load could lead tohealth problems.

No bacterium is totally innocu-ous. If you are healthy there isprobably no harm in taking probi-otics, but there is also no benefit.But to increase the bacterial bur-den if you are immuno-compro-mised is asking for trouble, hesaid.

A spokesman for Yakult, one ofthe leading probiotic brands, dis-puted Prof Wilson s warning.

We have 75 years of studies,carried out by independent scientif

human trials, which have alldemonstrated the health benefitsof supporting the gut flora withYakult.

A spokesman for Danone, thecompany which produces Actimeland Activia probiotic yoghurts,added: The efficacy of these prod-ucts has been shown in manystudies and the results have beenpublished in highly reputed scien-tific journals.

Most recently an independentstudy, published in the BritishMedical Journal, showed a signifi-cant reduction in the incidence ofC difficile-associated diarrhoea inhospitalised patients who drankActimel twice a day.

' The Telegraph GroupLondon 2009

Probiotic supplements have noproven benefit for healthy people