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| Sunday, 22 August 2004 |
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A journey back in time Recollections of Ceylon by The Rev. James Selkirk Published by Navrang in collaboration with Lake House Bookshop (first published in 1844) Price: Rs.725.00 by Hana Ibrahim "This beautiful island is situated at the entrance of the Bay of Bengal." With a simple phrase that's devoid of any literary pretensions, Rev. James Selkirk literally turns back the clock to bring alive a colonial Sri Lanka where the natives were.... well, from a typical missionary perspective, 'heathens with very defective and low standards of morality.' Viewed from a liberal perspective, the book smacks of unyielding fanaticism so common among 19th century missionaries who traversed the globe to instill righteous moral rectitude through their concept of God, to the heretical who were superstitious and worshipped both idols and devils. The British born Selkirk, a missionary who arrived in Ceylon sometime in early 1800 and stayed on for 13 years, indicates a similar pattern of thinking through many of his observations. It's there in his preface where he thanks God for preserving him 'in perils among the heathen', and talks about the defective and low standard of morality in a nation where the worship of the true God is not known. More tellingly, it is also there in the account of Selkirk's meeting with the 'Mohametans' (Muslims) of Kandy, where he describes them as the followers of the false prophet. These predictable missionary views notwithstanding, 'Recollections of Ceylon' is a fascinating book that takes the reader on a journey back in time, to a Sri Lanka that was not only naturally resplendent but where the people were also charming in a guileless way. More a detailed chronicle of a country that was, Selkirk's unvarnished account of 19th century Ceylonese people, their beliefs, lifestyle and habits, and the landscape of an uncrowded Ceylon, appears as refreshing to the Sri Lankans today, as it would have to the Europeans who read the book when it was first published in 1844. For, not much of Selkirk's recollections remain in modern Sri Lanka, where a whole way of life has undergone a sea change along with the name Ceylon. Relegated to obscurity, posterity and oblivion are much of what was common place in Selkirk's Ceylon, including the ramparts of Colombo Fort with its two drawbridges; streets lined with tulip trees and the melange of nationalities including French, Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, Parsees, Bengalis, and Caffres all dressed in their national attires. Also relegated to history is a whole lifestyle where the cast hierarchy held sway, mail coaches delivered both letters and people to Galle and Kandy on the newly constructed highway that was as good as any constructed in England and of course the land value. In case you are wonder, land price was five shillings per acre. Selkirk's Ceylon is an alien land to modern Sri Lankans, but the chronical offers a rich storehouse of history detailing not just the lifestyle of the people, but the physical structure that was taking shape and the legal system that maintained law and order. It also gives an insight into why places are named as they are - Pettah(place outside Fort), Slave Island (the place where the Dutch used to keep their slaves), Calutura, (Kalutura - the black ferry), Ambalangoda (a resthouse on a bank....) Ponderous at times because of the details, 'Recollections of Ceylon' is however to a large extent an unbiased view of life at a time of change, when the Ceylonese people were trying to get used to new colonial rules, while retaining their identity. It is also a chronicle of transmutation where the new order not only brought a different kind of Europeans, but also introduced new crops, roads, and new beliefs, both religious and general and a whole host more. Selkirk, who describes himself as having 'acquired extensive acquaintance with the natives' during his 13-year stay in the country, literally divides the book into three sections - early, middle and latter - which to a certain extent, also chronicles his journey from new comer groping his way towards understanding a foreign country, to knowledgable resident with friends among the natives. The early chapters describe the state of the country, its products and its capabilities, while the middle, in the authors words, 'will not be unedifying to those who study human nature, and who desire to see how far man can advance in moral and religious knowledge with the advantages of a Divine revelations.' In short, it is about the backwardness of the natives who are superstitious in their beliefs, invoke the devils to cure their sick and worship idols. The final chapters detail the operations of the Church Missionary Society, which in the ultimate analysis gives an indication as to what extent the Ceylonese people embraced the changes of time and preaching, that finally led us to where we are now. |
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