Sri Lanka's history in a nutshell

WE Journey into the Roots of Our Nation
Author: H. M. Mervyn P. Herath
A Stamford Lake publication

Reviewed by R. S. Karunaratne

For some students history is a boring subject. They think that it is not worth reading history for any examination. In fact during President J. R. Jayewardene's regime history was scrapped from the school syllabus. As a result, a generation of students grew up without knowing the history of their country.

In certain countries such as the United States and Australia, history enjoys the pride of place. Students learn history up to the degree or even beyond. Today saner counsel prevails in Sri Lanka with history back on the syllabus. However, in some schools history is not taught properly. As a result many students find it difficult to study this fascinating subject.

Sri Lanka has a chequered history spanning more than 2500 years. We are perhaps one of the few nations with a written record of history. The Mahavamsa and Chulavamsa are two books that gives an unbroken record of Sri Lanka's history. In addition, there are many books written by eminent historians.

Commendable

H.M. Mervyn P. Herath's WE Journey into the Roots of Our Nation has made a commendable attempt to present Sri Lanka's history in a nutshell. Stamford Lake Publishers have done a great service by publishing this relatively small book running into 135 pages. Although the book is small, it has everything a student or even a scholar wants to know.

The history of any country is a mix of fact and fiction. However, the author has presented the salient points in chronological order, classifying them into eras dating from the Balangoda period to the present day. He makes some useful comments at the beginning of the book to encourage the reader.

He says, “The earliest archaeological evidence of human colonisation in Sri Lanka appears in Balangoda. The Balangoda people arrived on this island about 34,000 years ago and identified as Mesolithic hunter gatherers who lived in caves. Several of these caves including the well-known Batadombalen and the Fa-Shien rock cave have yielded many artefacts from these people currently the first known inhabitants of the island.”

Vijaya

The author begins Sri Lanka's history with a brief account of Ravana who is presumed to have ruled the island in 4000 BC. With appropriate illustrations he presents a picture of those who ruled Lanka and summarises the pre-Vijayan legends. This account is followed by the advent of Vijaya.

Most of us are familiar with Vijaya-Kuveni episode. Vijaya was the first king of Lanka and after his death Panduvasdeva and a string of kings and queens ruled the island. With the death of king Narendrasinghe in 1739 the national dynasty came to an end giving way to the Nayakkar dynasty.

Thereafter the coastal areas of the island came under the Portuguese, Dutch and British rule. The author has given details of the great rebellion of 1818 and the execution of Keppitipola, the Matale rebellion in 1848, the Buddhist revival, national awakening, the 1915 riots, declaration of Independence and the 1978 Constitution.

WE Journey into the Roots of Our Nation will help the reader to scan the long history of the island in a few hours. It is also useful as a reference book to know the dates and names of the rulers of Sri Lanka.