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| Sunday, 12 September 2004 |
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The great sacrifice Sunday parable by Sunanda Mahendra Wewa or the tank was considered a great treasure in the ancient Sinhala
villages. A great water reservoir was needed not only for Prior to the making of the tank, there had been a vast forest of water plants called pan or giant weeds covering that area. It had been a marshy land, where animals like tigers, leopards, deer, wild boar and stag roamed. They would come in order to drink water, and some mighty animals like Leopards and Tigers would catch hold of Deer and stag as their prey. Behind Pan Vila was a mountain range. Once, a mighty Leopard caught hold of a Deer that had come to drink water. No sooner than the Leopard got hold of the Deer than there appeared a herd of Deer who fought with the leopard with their horns killing the former. An elderly villager who had seen this thought to himself: "Oh this is a blessed place to live in harmony, for the act is symbolic of a herd of innocent living creatures". Thinking thus he brought his family and lived in the vicinity, creating a tank in Pan Vila. The settlement that commenced with just one family grew gradually as more and more people entered the scene, and it came to be known as Kattambuwa. The great reservoir or lake they made for their use, was known as Kattambuwa wewa or the tank of the village of Kattambuwa. Once there was a torrential shower. Nobody had seen such heavy rain. They thought this was the result of the gods becoming angry over something. The wewa or the tank built by them overflowed over the boundaries and dams. The people were worried. They were worried to the extent that they discussed among themselves what should be done to avert this disaster. While some villagers tried their best to protect the dam of the tank, some others ran away to meet the lay priest or the Kapuwa of the abode of the (devalaya), situated a few miles away. "How are we to stop the dam from breaking down?" they asked. "It could be done only by a human sacrifice or a minis billa or narabilla". What really was a human sacrifice? It meant that someone should sacrifice his or her life by jumping into the tank. It looked as if there was no one ready to undertake this sacrifice. But the incessant downpour worried a certain old man who was known for his heroic deeds. He was known as Vahala mutta. The term Vahala means abode, and the term mutta means great great grandfather. He was not only a village elder but also was the leader of the community. "I am going to sacrifice my life to stop this downpour", he murmured, and walked out of his abode. Then he meditated for a moment in silence. While all the villagers witnessed the event, Vahala mutta leaped into the overflowing body of water. It is said that the rains gradually ceased and the sun shone brightly. Thus the dam of the tank came to be protected. All the villagers from there onwards went on recalling from time to time the great sacrifice on the part of vahala mutta. In order to teach the heroic qualities of the person, a folk poem was penned. It goes as follows: "Mutta ape mutta Nattha biya natta Atta guna atta Rakka gama rakka". "Oh great great grandfather, You knew no fear You with great quality Guarded our community". Almost all the wewas or tanks are known by a name given to it. Some are known by the village name, and some by the name of the king or the leader who built it. This particular wewa was built by the collective efforts of a community who lived in Kattabuwawa. Those who settled around the tank, were all farmers, and they yielded the best rice harvest twice a year. "But as time passed", said the narrator friend, adding, "There was the impending fear of invasions. Some of the villagers fled to other parts of the province, and some others settled there. Even today the descendants of the oldest settlers recall the great sacrifice". |
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cultivation
purposes, but also for the general use of both humans and animals. My
friend, Raja Dharmapala, who hails from Kattambuwawa, in Yapahuva, reminds
me of several parables and legends woven around the newly resuscitated
wewa or tank in Pan Vila.
