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| Sunday, 5 June 2005 |
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Life among the cinnamon fields by Elmo Leonard
The environs of Elpitiya, 66 miles south of Colombo is a snapshot of rural life in the wet zone. Cinnamon, the country's first cash crop since the arrival of the Europeans in the early 16th century is forgotten by urban folk but continues to be part and parcel of the lives of millions of people in the south. Elpitiya which branches eastward from Ambalangoda, is a hotbed of cinnamon cultivation. Most people here will tell you that their livelihood depends on cinnamon, but no one seems to know how far around Elpitiya these cinnamon plantations extend. These simple people are not aware that the best cinnamon in the world comes from Sri Lanka, or that in no other country is cinnamon grown so extensively. In the environs of Elpitiya where there are also rubber plantations and rice fields, the cinnamon cropping season is from June to August, when the branches of the cinnamon bush have reached more than the height of a man. Some cinnamon bushes from which each year's yield take rise, could be over 100 years old. During the cinnamon harvest time the cinnamon oil mills also come to life and men transporting cinnamon leaves on bicycles is a common sight. Cinnamon peelers were considered low in the hierarchy of the caste system which prevailed during the time of the Sinhalese kings. Perhaps due to little or no intermarriage outside their caste, some of the words these peelers pronounce are slanted, and a few words are different to the conventional Sinhala of the day. Among these lowly folk, taking early to the profession, and early to marriage seems to be the norm. But, Vijitha who hails from the environs of Elpitiya does not consider cinnamon peelers to be of low caste. A driver, Vijitha belongs to a high caste but peels the cinnamon produced in his plantation. Many others do the same, because the cinnamon peeler must be paid with half of the produce they pare. The Ceylon Tourist Board approved Nawalakanda Housing Bungalow, in Ethkandura, houses a cinnamon peeling complex for the benefit of tourists. Nalawansa Abeyratne (38) from Hippankanda, Navadagala, near Elpitiya is native to his soil and his forbearers were rice farmers. Everyone in his village is related and belong to the high Govigama caste of farmers. Unity in this village is marked. Nalawansa's brother, Gunasena Abeyratne says that outsiders are often not welcome as settlers. But they do not mind if an outsider begins an industry, here, which would afford them employment. Nalawansa has one acre of cinnamon plantation and half an acre in which jak, breadfruit, mango, orange and other crops grow. The Abeyratne family also have rice fields. Their father, Cetin Abeyratne's extent of land had to be divided among his four sons and two daughters. Understandably Cetin was better off than his children are today. Cetin also had a double bullock cart and one drawn by a single bull and a team of four oxen for his transport service. In those days, owning a cart was equivalent to owning a lorry in the present day, say the villagers. He also had hundreds of heads of cattle but today he owns no cattle. Only two of the Abeyratne family have found employment outside their native village; Gunasena who is a mason resides in Kelaniya and Rupasena who has a house in Hippankanda works as a carpenter in Dohar. The rural folk depend on their family members in the city for money and pay back in kind and labour, when needed. Nalawansa is also a cinnamon grader and has work during the harvesting season. Cinnamon grading which is done by the rural folk is perhaps as complex as the work of a tea taster. The villagers in Hippankanda are unanimous that the Rs 390 to 410 per kilogram of cinnamon they receive is a poor price. The middleman takes the lion share they claim. Building a cinnamon oil mill could cost Rs 1 million. Obtaining the oil through double distillation is a difficult task. Often, the mill is hired and the hirer grumbles that the owner has to be paid with half the oil obtained. The Rs 350 to 400 they are paid per bottle of cinnamon oil does not compensate for the labour involved, but, then, they need money, they say. Rural life is as uncertain as the weather, was the pronounced proverb of these rural folk. But everywhere in rural Sri Lanka there are rich families who have through entrepreneurial skills got ahead of their kith and kin. In Hippankanda, the wealthy few lead simple lives and their houses are no reflection of their economic might. |
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