Musings:
'Raceless others' in the island
by Padma Edirisinghe
Apologies again, this time for forgetting all the raceless others in
the island while focusing on some outstanding examples. First I will
begin with the area of the Boutique of Kochchis or Kochchikade, sited
very close to the estuary of Ma oya, that tumbles down Rassa Kande of
the Ambuluwava range.
Robert Knox (1642-1720).
P i c w i k i p a e d i a |
Nowhere did I locate the curious raceless species here. Was it amid
the crags and canyons of Ma Oya or at Kochchikade?
Neither. Actually I initially located the raceless one in a pavement
in Kandy closeted in a second-hand book collection that does not earn a
second glance from the so called elite class.
Chee! I hear even you exclaim. Who buys books off pavements? But try
it. You will come across a treasure house.
A good segment of them comprises books sold by descendents of famous
men and women, who once the house is cleared of the dead body next turns
on the books written by the deceased or hoarded by same and revered
sacredly for years and years. A few with planned schedules make
arrangements to donate them to libraries before their exit. But the
Angel or Devil of Death or Maraya comes upon one so suddenly and
impetuously that leaves the books in lurch and they finally end in
pavements.
Discovery
This is a prelude to my discovery of Neethiratnavaliya, a book
tracing the antecedents of a certain family. Sorry, the book has been
misplaced by me now. (If anybody has a copy do send it to me). Actually
the facts were condensed into the description of a caption of a photo,
the photo of a tombstone on which details of the deceased are given.
The tombstone has been found around Kochchikade and the name of the
tombed one is one which abounds in the fishermen community.
A cross inscribed conveys that the late 'fisherman' is most probably
a Roman Catholic. The year of death is given as that which belongs to
the past century. The contents in the book, however reveal a completely
different identity.
The ancestors of the dead have come over to the island from India in
the pre-Christian period and in high company too. The central figure of
that group had been Theri Sanghamitta carrying the bo sapling
accompanied by 16 kulas or clans.
This tendency of super-imposing exalted origins to mundane humans
runs along the course of human history to which is added this, that
humans are the most bigoted and haughty of all living species and are
always on the hunt for exaltations.
Genuine
So this is just one instance and nothing to write home about or write
to the newspapers.
But I sensed that there was something genuine about the presentation.
Though not directly anecdote, the book and the photo reveal a candid
tale about races, nay castes, nay religions getting somersaulted over
the long path of history including long mileage. Imagine the distance
between Anuradhapura and Kochchikade off Negombo.
The tombstone carries a cross while the couriers came carrying a bo
sapling.
Names
Once a colleague at Lake House informed me that if I was willing to
do a piece on it, he would give me a list of names of those who have
transferred from Sinhala nationality to Tamil nationality and now have
made the Jaffna peninsula their permanent habitat.
I told my colleague (a Tamil, if that matters) that I will be very
happy to have the list of these names but that it may cause discomfort
to those named. Anyway, further chat revealed the causes that led to
this phenomenon of transfer of nationality. At varied stages of history
some event had led these original Sinhalas trek upwards finally settling
down there. They still carry the original Sinhala wasagam or patronymic
name, a messy kind of name that some own while others do not.
And what about the descendents of the castaways of the ship Anne that
faced a catastrophe off the Eastern coast during the reign of Rasinge
deiyo. The famous Knox and his friend were the only ones who did not
beget offsprings.
The others wed village women of the highlands and the children born
were all transferred Sinhalas and carried on life under the new national
label. Then there were the Gascons and Lanerolles who were originally
French.
Then a Gazette notification of the early British times reveals the
Chetty origins of a prominent 'Sinhala' family, a large nose the only
feature that runs down.
Groups
The writer also remember a poignant incident that was staged when she
was heading the bilingual Teachers Training Institute at Kotagala off
Hatton. It was the term end concert and a mix occurred between the two
groups of Tamil and Sinhala.
For a particular item they had to De-mix and get back. A solitary
girl who answered to the name Gnanawathie stood almost as in defiance,
and declared that it was difficult to join either group as she belonged
to neither. Feeling that she had been waiting to make a dramatic display
of her dilemma I asked for an explanation. This is what she had to
disclose.
"I was born of Sinhala parents. My childless neighbours were Tamil
who loved me dearly. I associated them more closely than my own family.
Then an exodus occurred that made the Sinhala families leave the area. I
opted to stay with the Tamil family who brought me up lovingly."
Here the corollary that the writer attempts to focus attention on is
that entities such as race, caste and religion are not static and are
temperamental as the weather, fluctuating under the force of external
factors.
But gallons of blood are shed over this phenomenon all over the
cosmos. The raceless man as well as the raceless woman come out strong
here. It will be relevant to quote a know-all who predicts that in
another 100 years or so all such categorisations will cease. So we are
closing on the edge and only the marriage proposals column might starve
of its dimensions eventually. |