The cult of Taniwella deity:

A ruler deified for his services

by Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa

"As we know from the tombs of ancient Sumer and Egypt, Kings in the archaic civilisations of the fourth to the second millennium BC were regarded as incarnate gods. The principle of divine kingship survived into later Indian history. In the geneologies of the non-Aryan royal houses, descent was traced from the Moon God and the Sun God. Compare Japan where the Mikado is regarded as descended from the Sun Goddess Amaterasu."

- Heinrich Zimmer, in Indian Philosophy.

Sri Lanka's history is replete with rulers who were elevated to the status of gods, for their benevolent service to their subjects. Minneriya Deiyo and Rasingha Deiyo are two outstanding instances. Generally the kings of Sri Lanka were addressed as Devayan Vahanse (Your Majesty the God).

The super-human prowess that the loyal masses endow upon their rulers, has been a continuing and sacred characteristic in Sri Lanka's centuries' long history of royal domination.

Cults

Over and above this routine deification of rulers, some exceptionally outstanding kings and leaders of Sri Lanka have evolved into central figures of sustained cults.

Dedicated and fervent devotees, worship these deified rulers, with an impressive ardour, devotion and unflagging faith, performing rites and rituals, which are at times complex and exacting.

The origin of some of these cults, extends to a far and dim past. On most occasions they are so thickly overgrown with myth and legend, that the tracing of their historical roots proves an arduous challenge.

My concerned focus here is to highlight the story of a shrine, that should receive the profound attention of all those, who take a keen interest in such issues as the origin of the cults of deified rulers.

The shrine, I have in mind here, is especially commendable due to its convenient accessibility. It is located at the 62 km point, along the Colombo-Puttalam main road.

The back-drop for the shrine is provided by the well-known semi-urban centre known as Madampe. The rapid development that has come in the wake of the post-terrorism days, has resulted in an ever-increasing volume of traffic along this road.

The 'Shrine' that forms the essential core of this discussion, is a prominent presence, adjacent to this section of the road.

Travel

When you travel towards Puttalam, on your right you see the effigy of a white horse. Next to it you come upon the shrine (Devala), extensively known as "Madampe Tanivelle Maha Devala."

This is the sacred site of the cult of Tanivelle Deity. (Tanivelle Deiyo).

The origin and evolution of the cult of Tanivelle Deity form a fascinating episode in Sri Lanka's religious cults.

Our search for the beginnings of the cult of Tanivelle Deity takes us to the reign of King Veera Parakramabahu VIII. His kingdom was Kotte. Though the national chronicle - the Mahawamsa - does not speak extensively about the days of King Veera Parakramabahu VIII, the folk-memory of his rule is quite eloquent.

According to Rajavaliya (the famous historical chronicle of Sri Lanka) the king had a junior consort, over and above his chief queen. The junior queen, had two princes by the king.

The king, wise and shrewd in governance, foresaw that the two princes by the junior queen had to be assigned tasks to see that disputes did not arise at court.

Of the two princes, the elder one was assigned a royal commission, honouring him with the title "Sakala Kala Vallabha" (The patron of all arts). In effect, his responsibility was the development of the culture of the land, emphasising the promotion of religious institutions.

Agriculture

The younger prince was given the honorific Dhanya Vallabha, making development of agriculture, ensuring uninterrupted food supplies and the creating and maintaining of tanks and canals, that support food production.

The title "Sakala Kala Vallabha," does not seem to have presented any difficulty to the masses. They pronounced it quite correctly.

But, on the contrary, "Dhanya Vallabha" proved a wee bit difficult to pronounce, for the folk speakers. ('Dhanya' implies, cereals - grains - generally earth's products).

The masses eventually converted it into Taniya Vallabha. This was just the beginning of a whole series of verbal transmutations. (Observing this process of change is an interesting exercise in witnessing history in the making.)

With due deference to the royal commission given to him, the Prince Dhanya Vallabha, moved his seat of government, to one of the most prosperous granaries of the island at that time. The region he selected was Madampe.

In his days, this was a flourishing human settlement. It was a well-known trading emporium. Merchants and traders from overseas, arrived there to trade in such commodities such as ivory, pearls, precious stones and also rice, bumper crops of which were extensively available in the hinterland.

Prosperity

The prosperity was the glorious outcome of the sustained effort of Prince Dhanya Vallabha. In terms of his decree, the people produced essential material in substantial qualities, enabling the excess to be traded.The location of the Madampe settlement, in the vicinity of such major and minor ports as Kalpitiya, Chilaw, Puttalam and Negombo, fuelled the thriving affluence of the prince's domain.

As is inevitable, this abundance attracted marauders and pirates.

A notorious pirate-leader of the time was Kadirasan Mudliyar from South India.

Empowered by the king, his father and by his loyal brother, Sakala Kala Vallabha - the daring prince Dhanya Vallabha, negated the destructive inroads of the pirates, eradicating their hordes. Their leader Kadirayana was killed in battle.

Prince Dhanya Vallabha became a massively adored folk-hero. The sight of the prince, flashing through villages mounted on his immaculately white horse assumed the figure of a legendary deity.

He continued to usher in an era of unparalleled prosperity, building tanks and irrigation systems, making the earth to yield its best.

From then on, it was a fairly simple process, for the brave and compassionate ruler to be deified, transforming him into a time-defying god.

But how about the name of the deity?

The people defied the prince's name "Dhanya Vallabha" into the more convenient appellation "Tanivelle Deyya." There is of course a form of folk logic to thus: The prince fought valiantly almost alone. Therefore, "Tani" (Sinhala for 'alone'). His escapades mostly against those marauders who marched through the shores. 'Vella' is the Sinhala for the shore.

And, there you have the deification of an unconquerable ruler, who saved his utterly helpless subjects, from the grip of ruthless pirates.

Today the cult flourishes. During seasons of abundant harvests, people still seem to see Tanivelle Deyyo, flashing across the skies, clad in regal attire, head crowned with an elaborate turban, mounted on his gleaming white horse.

The annual festival of Tanivelle Deity takes place in August.The current curator and guardian of the shrine is Kirthi Senanayake, who has inherited this office from his dedicated ancestors.The shrine of Tanivelle Deyyo and the adjoining complex of Buddhist centres are widely adored. But still the name Tanivelle Deyyo continues to baffle many.