Their destination - Churches and convents of Goa:

The last royal family of Jaffna

by Padma EDIRISINGHE

Not much is known about the exit of the last royal family of Jaffna especially when compared to the vast literature on the exit of the family of the last king of Kandy who was really the monarch of Lanka despite what could be termed as Malabar connections spawned out of a set of strange circumstances.

The exit of the latter is laced with a welter of dramatic events finally ending with the deportation of the entire royal family to India in the ship Cornwallis. Did the king, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe actually burst into poetry on the deck? No, probably a talented poet did it for him as he began the haunting line, Ithin Ayubowan, Lakmawata garu.

Banished

Though the constant use of English red wine had damaged Sri Wickrema's brains he loved the country and was sad to leave it. No doubt the sadness hastened his death at a mere 53 years.

But his progeny lived on in Vellore Fort.

Debarred from re-entering the island so that they could not stake a claim to Lanka's throne they flourished overseas till Sir John Kotelawala in his over-confidence lifted the ban making one descendent to come over and work at Lake house and then die here in a sea bath, according to hearsay. (A miserable alternative to attempt to climb the throne).

Journalism seemed to have come natural to the king's relatives and descendents for another worked on the Madras Mail. He had died in a train while commuting to work.

At least that is what I heard once in Madras. I cannot remember whether the train was also called Madras Mail making things doubly ill-fated.

Now we come to the exit of the last royal family of Jaffna which had been staged about 200 years earlier than the first event. Sri Wickrema was banished during the British period while Sankili was banished during the Portuguese period. Commander Oliveyra was responsible for this feat.

Writes Tikiri Abeysinghe, author of Jaffna under the Portuguese: "Among the non - military measures the Portuguese adopted for the security of the (Jaffna) kingdom, deportation of the royal family was the most important. Oliveyra as soon as he took possession of the kingdom declared that "all those who so much have a royal smell about them" (tudoo que cheirar a principe") should be as far away from Jaffna as possible.

So Sankili, (the reigning king of Jaffna) his sister, four nephews and the heir to the throne had been exiled to Goa soon after they were captured. A second batch of assorted royalty had followed in 1624.

A marked difference is noticed in the way the exiled royalties were handled probably arising out of the different attitudes of the two imperialist powers. The British never had plans to convey the royal captives to the Church of England while the first thought of the evangelical Ferenghis was fattening the Roman Catholic flock via the deposed royal family. As usual these exiles were banished to Goa, their main citadel where conversion was the inevitable second step to landing.

Males were lodged in the College of Kings at Bardez and females in the Convent of Santa Monica in Goa. Finally many of them had entered Holy Orders manipulated by the Vatican forsaking their Hindu gods and the elaborate rituals in the Kovils.

Power-mongers

Goa had served as a place where many Sinhala princes of Kotte had been converted. Konappu Bandara and Yamasinghe Bandara were the more prominent of them. The tale of how Konappu Bandara became an apostate of his new religion and turned into the deadliest foe of the Portuguese later need not be related here. Two nephews of Bhuvanekabahu and Prince Wijepala of Matale too had embraced this religion at Goa motivated by political factors.

Tikiri Abeysinghe hints at a startling reason why the Sinhala and Tamil princes were not only converted but robed with such alacrity by the Portuguese. Celibacy ensured non-springing of heirs that could prove a headache to those in power!

He quotes a letter by viceroy Linhares dated December 13, 1634 to reveal this sinister motive.

In this letter he suggests that the younger members of the Jaffna royal family should be encouraged to enter religious orders ....in order to avoid problems that would arise if they were to marry and have issues.

How far seeing in addition to being cruel can diehard politicians cum other power - mongers be ! Even the very act of procreation on which the world runs in castrated.

Anyway what is rather ironical is that while Jaffna princes and princesses were discouraged from marrying by the Portuguese the Kandyan kings were eyeing the younger generation for different reasons. King Senerat is said to have had plans to get two Jaffna princesses married to his sons, Kumarasinghe and Wijepala.

It can be inferred that he succeeded in this but both the princes had ill fated careers on the political chessboard, Kumarasinghe dying early and Wijepala coming down to Colombo and then going off to Goa chasing after an elusive Emprodoru title in exchange for becoming a Christian. In Goa he came to be known as The Black Prince causing titters among the Portuguese lassies for his way of flamboyant dressing to flaunt his pseudo Emperor title.

However, Queroz offers a different explanation for the ready conversion of the Jaffna royal exiles or as to why so many Jaffna princes and princesses took to religious life. "Having lost their earthly kingdoms these princes and princesses merely sought by this means to ensure a place in the heavenly kingdom".

Conversion

Not much convincing though especially when considering the general facts of conversion of Jaffna. The Portuguese documents boast of converting the Jaffna populace in 10000s.

A report issued in 1634 states that nearly all natives of Jaffna are Christians. Queroz too describes Jaffna as "wholly Christian". But later facts reveal that a large majority of them converted back to Hinduism after Portuguese power collapsed.

Only a vestige of their education system and some names remained. Further according to some, formal changing of religions was unnecessary.

According to them Hinduism has such an all-embracing aspect with regard to their gods that new gods could just come.

Avatar for god is a very convenient term.

Anyway this convenient blending is not unique to Hinduism. Even Buddhism seems to sport an element of it.

PS: Please note that this Jaffna Kingdom of Sankili was a breakway from the Kotte Kingdom.