Angampora - Traditional Sri Lankan Martial Arts

Sri Lanka, a country with a rich history that goes back for over 5000 years tells us of great Martial Art that were enjoyed by the kings who ruled this wonderful land.

In the past ages, where the law of “survival of the fittest” prevailed, this tiny nation had to hold its own, mostly against the mighty India (South India”Chola Kingdom). The kings of India many a time thought to have this “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” to decorate their crowns and invaded the island. But invariably, each time, they were driven back. Such was the invincible might of the fighting techniques practiced by the people of Sri Lanka and they called it the ANGAM SATAN KALAWA (fighting art named ANGAM).

History of Angam

Sri Lanka, a country with a rich history that goes back for over 3000 years tells us of great sports that were enjoyed by the kings who ruled this wonderful land. Unarmed combat among champions had been the pinnacle of all events.   In the past ages, where the law of “survival of the fittest” prevailed, this tiny nation had to hold its own, mostly against the mighty India. The kings of India many a time thought to have this “Pearl of the Indian Ocean” to decorate their crowns and invaded the island. But invariably, each time, they were driven back. Such was the invincible might of the fighting techniques practiced by the people of Sri Lanka and they called it the ANGAM  SATAN KALAWA (fighting art named ANGAM ).

History reveals that under the directive of the kings in the ancient SRILANKA there were many ANGAM CLANS. Out of them “ SUDALIYA” CLAN and “MARUWALLIYA” CLAN which were formed in KANDY era were very famous. They were highly supported by the kings. But there were some other clans which practiced ANGAM  in other areas that had schools to provide the fighters to the king and the country required. Ex- Kotte Klan, Ritigala Clan,Warnasuriya Clan and heads of the  Angam schools held distinguished office in the king’s council.

However this great island fell under the British rule in 1815. It is important to mention here that was not after defeat by war, but due to falling pray to conspiracies planned by the British. Immediately thereafter the martial art schools appear to have been neutralized. Practice of martial art was prohibited and any who defied were persecuted.  Thus began the era in which, an art that protected the people of the island for over 2500 years, was being forced to oblivion.

Our ancestors who knew the value of this great martial art, in a last bid to save the knowledge, have then turned into secretly preserving it within the families. Although part of the knowledge was still lost, this fortunately had saved Angam Kalawa totally being lost to the future generations. We are lucky to have teachers, still among us, who have the knowledge to pass on techniques in unarmed combat, grips, stick and sword fighting and techniques of a variety of other weapons.

Historical References on Angam

• MAHA WANSHAYA: This mentions about ANGAMPORA fighting which was used in the battle of king ELARA and KING DUTUGEMUNU.IT specially describes the fighting styles of GHOTAIMBARA AND THERAPUTHTHABAYA.
• MAHA WANSHAYA: This mentions that king PARAKRAMABAHU enjoyed a martial art display done by his soldiers in 12th century.
• CHULA WANSHAYA: This mentions that king 4 VIJAYABAHU enjoyed a fighting display of his army.
• RAJAWALIYA: This mentions how KONAPPUBANDARA (1 WIMALADHARMASURIA) defeated a Portuguese swordsman by using ANGAMPORA.
• MAGHA SALAKUNA KAWYA: This mentions about a fighting academy named as “AGE MADILLA” in Kandy in 15th century.
• JUGAN HANDERSAN: This writer who served for Dutch in 1669 has mentioned about SRILANKAN fighters in his book on SRI LANKA.
• DR.JOHN DEV: HE has mentioned about the “SUDALAIYA”CLAN and “MARUWALLIYA” CLAN who practiced ANGAMPORA.HE has specially mentioned about the deadly fights done in “URA LIDA” (Gladiator fighting arena)
• H.C.P BELL: HE merely describes about a fighting clan which was started by a lady named “GALABODA KUMARIHAMI”.Then he reports about the battle of MULLERIYA.

There are many more  folk stories about this in various TEACHING CLANS around the island.

The Kandy Esala Perahera: The Process of the pageant

On the following the new moon in July an Esala tree (Cassia Fistula) or at the present time, usually a Jak tree (Artocarpus Integrifolia) or Rukkattana tree (Alstonia Scholaris) is cut and ‘Kap’ planted in each Dewale as a vow that the Perahera will be held. For five nights processions are conducted within the Dewale precincts round the Esala Tree( or its substitute) with flag , drums and torches. The Kapurala (lay official of the Temple) walks in these processions carrying a golden weapon called "Ran Ayudhaya" said to belong to the Deity of the Temple and supposedly used by him in battle. These processions are held in all the four dewales.




On the sixth night starts what is known as the KUMBAL PERAHERA. Its is called by that name because the Esala tree is placed in a clay structure resembling a humbaha, or ant-hill , round which the procession goes. It is on the sixth night that the Perahera is seen for the first time outside the Dewales and is joined by the Dalada Maligawa Perahera. The temple chiefs wear their traditional white Kandyan court dress to walk in the procession. Each night the number of elephants in the Perahera is increased, making the Perahera bigger, grander and more colourful.
After five such nights is held the RANDOLI PERAHERA. Randoli literally means " Queen’s Palanquin". Up to 1775 the palanquins were carried alongside the elephants in the Perahera. Once the Dalada Maligawa was brought into the procession, however , King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe decreed that the palanquins should be put at the end of the Perahera-presumably because females could not be permitted to travel alongside the Sacred Tooth Relic.(The generally accepted theory is that the palanquins are a sysbol of the presence of the Consorts of the Deities, but another tradition is that the Queens of the reigning monarch traveled in them.)
It is interesting to note that there were different kinds of palanquins. The King’s palanquin was called KOONAMA, the Queen’s one RANDOLI, the Priests’ PALLAKKIYA, the chieftain’s DOLAWA and the Concubine’s YAKADA DILAWA. The more important the user of a palanquin, the richer was its ornamentation.

It is said that during the reign of the Sinhalese Kings the King himself walked in the Randoli Perahera with his retinue, consisting of the two Adigars, the Dissawas and other officials of the Court, and that his section of the Perahera followed the last Dewale Perahera- the idea being that he could not take precedence over the Dalada Maligawa or the Dewales.
Yet another story is that the priests themselves took part in the Perahera and that the arrangements were made by the SANGAKKARA LEKAMA, who was one of the Secretaries of the Place who established liaison between the King and the priests. It is also said that he spied on the priests and reported to the king any acts of commission or omission against the VINAYA (the disciplinary code of the priests.)
The randoli Perahera goes on for five nights and the last night is the grandest of all.
After returning to the Dalada Maligawa that night the Perahera goes out again, joined by the Dewala processions, and passes along Dalada Weediya(Ward Street) and through Trincomalee Street to the ADHANAMALUWA VIHARA, where the golden casket is temporarily placed and is guared by the Basnayake Nilames of the Four Dewales . This visit to the Adahanamaluwa Vihara (Cremation Temple) is by royal decree of king Kirthisiri Rajasinghe as a mark of respect to the Queen Mother who was cremated there.
The Dewale processions return to their respective Dewales and go out again in the early hours of the morning for the DIYAKAPANA MANGALLAYA (water-cutting ceremony). Originally this ceremony was performed to commemorate a victory in battle, and the blood-stained swords of the God of Kataragama (which were supposed to have been used to kill the demons) were ceremonially cleansed. The present form of the ceremony is that each of the Kapuralas of the four Dewales fills a goblet of river water (purfied by the sword of the God). These four goblets are kept in the Dewales till the next year, when they are freshly filled again at the next year’s Diyakapana Mangallaya. After the water cutting’ ceremony the dewale Peraheras return along the Katukelle Road up to the Ganadevi (Elephant God) Kovila where certain ceremonies are performed.
The whole festival is brought to an end the following afternoon when the maligawa procession returns to the Temple of the Tooth from the Adahanamaluwa Vihara bringing back the golden casket, when the Dewale Peraheras join it at the junction of Kande Weediya(Hill Street) and Trincomalee Street and then down Raja Weediya (King Street), after which it proceeds three time round the Dalada Maluwa (Temple Square). The Perahera then breaks up and each Dewale procession goes back to its Dewale. In the days of the Sinhalese Kings the chiefs were then received by the King , to whom they did obeisance and reported that the Perahera had been held with due ceremonial.
After the advent of the British the custom was carried on, and the Government Agent of the Central Province, as representative of the Government received the Chiefs. At the end of the Day Perahera, Pirith(See glossary) is chanted in the Dewales and alms given so that the Gods might acquire merit; in addition, the mala Vishnu Dewale holds a "Walli Yakum" ceremony to counteract the effects of the "evileye". This ceremony consistes of a dance which is performed before the head and the trunk converings of the elephant that carried the "Ran Ayudhaya" of the Deity in the Maha Vishnu Dewale Perahera.
In olden times those who participated in the Perahera were temple tenants who held lands belongings to the temple, in return for which they performed certain services. This system was known in English as the Temple Service Tenure. With the commutation of services most of the tenants now pay money in lieu of services due by them.Unfortunately, these commutations are so out-of-date that the temples find it difficult to get the services performed without additional expenditure form the temple exchequers.In the olded days the temple services were looked upon as the privileged labour of piety which could not be replaced by hired labourers.

THE ORDER OF THE PERAHERA
The main Perahera procession consists of five separate Peraheras:

+ The Dalada Maligawa Perahera
+ The Natha Dewala Perahera
+ The Maha Vishnu Dewala Perahera
+ The Katharagama Dewale Perahera
+ The Pattini Dewale Perahera

This order of precedence is maintained throughout

THE MALIGAWA PERAHERA is comprised as follows:

The Whip Crackers-They lead the way and announce the approach of the Perahera by cracking their whips.There is quite an art in this,and it is not as easy as the onlooker may imagine.

In the times of the Sinhalese Kings the Adigars (within their own territories) were entitled to have whip-crackers hearld their approach,and this practice was continued even in early British times.

The whip crackers come into picture only at the commencement of the Randoli Perahera.They do not take part in the Kumbal Perahera.

They did not form a part of the traditional Perahera but were added to it in the time of Dissawe P.B.Nugawela Diyawadana Nilame.

The Flag Bearers walk next in single file on either side of the road. The flags they carry are the standards of the different Provinces and the Temples.  

The Peramunerala – This official rides on the first elephant. In olden times he carried the mandate from the King giving permission to hold the Perahera.The mandate had,in the present day, been replaced by an ola manuscript called the Lekam Mitiya,which is a register of the Maligawa lands as well as the tenants and the services due by them (Fa Hies also refers to an official who proclaimed the Perahera).

Next come the Drummers playing Hevisi or martial music on a variety of drums such-as Dawulas , Tammettams and Beres and bloeing Horanawes (flutes). The rhythem, combined with the measured movements of the drummers, vivifies the whole procession.

The Gajanayaka Nilame comes next. He rides an elephant and carries a silver goad (ankusa)which is the symbol of his authority.

In the time of the Singhalese Kings the Gajanayaka Nilame was a very high official-the head of the King’s Elephant Stables – and(except for royalty)He alone had the privilege of riding an elephant within the four Gravets of Kandy.He is follow by in numbers from time to time.

The Kariyakorale, who is next to the Diyawadana Nilame in order of Precedence and is responsible for all the ceremonies connected and is responsible for all the ceremonies connected with the Maligawa, walks next in the Perahera. He is attended by minor temple functionaries, drummers and dancers.

Now comes the highlight of the procession – the MALIGAWE TUSKER carrying the Perahera Karanduwa (golden casket) containing the Sacred Relics. (The Sacred Tooth Relic is not now taken in procession-see p. 3). A canopy is held over the Tusker, and pavada.(white cloth) is spread in its path (as a mark of respect) for it to walk on.

Those who have the privilege of going up to the Octagon and watching the formation of the Perahera from there still get chance of seeing the Diyawadana Nilame come into the countryard of the temple accompanied by drummers and dancers walking on pavada and carrying aloft the golden casket.

He stands on a dias and places the casket reverently in the ranhilige (howdah) on the back of the Tusker. The animal then gose down the steps into the street and is hailed by cries of "Sudhu."It is amazing to watch the Tusker coming down the steps. He does it with such care, one almost feel he realizes the solemnity of the occasion and the reverence sttached it.

Incidentally, in the days of the Sinhalese Kings the King himself with the Diyawadana Nilamein attendance carried the sacred casket from the Maligawa and placed it on the back of the Tusker.

I might here mention that spectators- Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike-are expected to stand, as a mark of respect, when Perahera Karanduwa or golden casket passes them.

The Tusker is followed by two lines of dancers facing each other on either on either side of road with the drummers in the center, and at the end of retinue walks the Diyawadana Nilame in all the Oriental splendour. He is attended by lance (murawadu) bearers, wadana tal-athu sunshade bearers and umbrella-bearer as well as minor temple headmen.

THE NATHA DEWALA PERAHERA follows the Maligawa Perahera of witch it is a smaller edition. The howdah on the chief elephant’s back contains the apparel and insignia (Ran Ayudhaya) of the Deity of the Dewla. The head of the Dewale is the Basnayake Nilame. He walks in the Perahera with his retinue of dancers, and it is customary for him to be accompanied by the Basnayake Nilames of Dodanwela, Vegiriya nd Pasgama. These three Dewales are outside the Four Gravets of Kandy and are placed in the category of Pitisara ("outside") Dewales.

The Natha Dewala is given precedence over the other Dewales because, according to tradition, the Deity of this Dewala is the Buddha-to-come.
THE MAHA VISHNU DEWALAE PERAHERA COMES NEXT. The Basnayake Nilame walks in the procession. He has the usual retinue of dancers and attendants, and it is customary for him to be accompanied by the Basnayake Nilames of the Pitisara Dewales of Lankathilaka, Gadaladiniya , Alawatugoda, Hanguranketha, Morape and Mediri.
The traditional history of the Maha Vishnu Dewale is that chief of the gods (Sakra Devendrayo) entrusted the protection of Buddhism in Ceylon to the Deity of this Dewala.
It is also the accepted tradition that Sakra is in the line of succession (next to the Deity of the Natha Dewale) for Buddhahood.
THE KATHARAGAMA DEWALA PERAHERA follows. Katharagama is supposed to be the General of Sakra and is believed to be all-powerful in war. His assistance was invoked by the kings before battle.
(This Dewale should not be confused with the Maha Katharagama Dewale in Uva.)
The Basnayake Nilame of the Dewale walks in the procession, and it is customary for him to be accompanied by the Basnayake Nulames of the Pitisara Dewales of Embekke and Ganegoda.
THE PATTINI DEWALE PERAHERA, coming last of all, headed by the Basnayake Nilame, is accompanied by the Basnayake of the Embekke Dewale. Pattni is agoddess who is supposed to exerices control over diseases such as snmall-pox, chicken-pox and measles, and the inclusion of her Dewale in the Perahera is to placate her.
The long procession ends with the Randolis borne by the tenants of the Dalada Maligawa. The Diyawadana Nilame may, if he so desires, invite the Adgars and Dissawes to walk with him in the Perahera. (This is usually done in a raja-Perahera – see Chapter IV.) Further, if for any reason he is unable to officiate in the procession, he may ask one the Basnayake Nilames to take his place.
The choice of acception or refusing the honour is given to the Basnayaker Nilames in the order of precedence of their Dewales, viz., the Natha Dewale, Maha Vishnu Dewale, the Katharagama Dewale and the Pattini Dewale.
Incidentally, the best time to see Esala Perahera is on the last two nights; partically anywhere along the route gives a good view of the procession under way.

The Kandy Esala Perahera: History

The Kandy Esala Perahera is held annually in July August on days fixed by the Diyawadana Nilame (Chief Lay Head or Trustee) of the Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic). Its origin, as one writer on Ceylon describes it, is "lost in the mists of centuries".
According to the Mahavamsa, from the time the Sacred Tooth Relic was brought to Ceylon in the reign of King Kirthisiri Meghawanna who ruled at Anuradhapura from 303 - 331 A.D., it was placed in a casket made of Phalika (Steatire or Soapstone) and lodged in an edifice called the Dharma-Chakra built by King Devanampiyatissa in the third century B.C. The Mahavamsa goes on to say that 900,000 Kahapanas (a great sum of money) were spent in celebrating the festival in honour of the Sacred Tooth Relic and the King Kirthisiri Meghawanna decreed that the Relic should be taken round the city of Anuradhapura once a year in spring. There is evidence to show that his decree was faithfully carried out by those Kings who followed him, and the famous Chinese traveler Fa Hien, in his book describing his travels in India and Ceylon in the 5^th century A.D., confirms the view as follows :-
"They always bring out the tooth of Buddha in the middle of the third month. Ten days beforehand, the King magnificently caparisons a great elephant, and commissions a man of eloquence and ability to clothe himself in royal apparel, and riding on the elephant, to sound a drum and proclaim as follows : ' Bodhisattva during three Asankhyeya kalpas underwent every king of austerity ; he spared himself no personal sufferings ; he left his country, wife, and child; moreover he tore out his eyes to bestow them on another; he mangled his flesh to deliver a dove (from the hawk) ; he sacrificed his head in alms, he gave his body to a famishing tiger; he grudged not his marrow or brain. Thus he endured every sort of agony for the sake of all flesh. More over, when he became perfect Buddha, he lived in the world forty-nine years preaching the law and teaching and converting men. He gave rest to the wretched, he saved the lost. Having passed through countless births, he then entered Nirvana. Since that event it is 1467 years. The eyes of the world were then put out, and all flesh deeply grieved. After ten days the tooth of (this same) Buddha will be brought forth and taken to the Abhayagiri Vihara. Let all ecclesiastical and lay persons within the kingdom, who wish to lay up a store of merit, prepare and smooth the roads; adorn the street, and highways ; let them scatter every king of flower, and offer incense in religious reverence to the Relic'. This proclamation being finished, the kings next causes to be placed on both sides sides of the procession-road representations of the five hundred bodily forms which Bodhisattva assumed during his successive births. For instance, his birth as Sudana ; his appearance as Sama ; his birth as the king of the elephants, and as an antelope. These figures are beautifully painted in divers colours and have a very life-like appearance. At length the tooth of Buddha is brought forth and conducted along the principal road. As they proceed on the way, religious offerings are made to it. When they arrive at the Abhayagiri Vihara they place it in the Hall of Buddha, where the clergy and laity all assemble in vast crowds and burn incense, and light lamps, and perform every king of religious ceremony, both night and day,with out ceasing. After ninety complete days they again return it to the Vihara within the City".

It is doubtful whether the procession as described by Fa Hien continued to be held annually after Anuradhapura ceased to be the capital of Ceylon. It is clear, however, that the Dewale Peraheras that we have today in the Esala Perahera in Kandy did not form part of the Procession referred to by Fa Hein. From the information I have been able to gather, the Esala Perahera as we know it today, with the four Hindu Dewale Peraheras participating in it, had its origin in 1775 A.D. under the reign of King Kirthisri Rajasinghe.
The Perahera he inaugurated in his reign was confined at first to the four Hindu Dewales, because by then Hindu practices and rituals had crept into Theravada Buddhism owing to the influence of Mahayanism as well as that of the King's consorts who were Hindu Princesses from South India.
During this time a body of Siamese priests who came to Ceylon for the restoration of the Upasampadha ordination were surprised to find a purely Hindu ceremony in the capital of a pre-eminently Buddhist country.
To remove their scruples the King ordered a procession with the Sacred Tooth Relic to head the four Dewale Perahera, and that decree had been faithfully carried out ever since. Today, however, the Sacred Tooth Relic itself is not carried in the Perahera. Only a duplicate of the casket in which the Relic is kept together with a few Seevali relics is carried on the back of the gorgeously caparisoned Maligawa Tusker. This is because it is considered inauspicious to remove the Tooth Relic from its sacred precincts. Further more, taking it out would require special safeguards to protect its security as it became, in course of time, the palladium of Ceylon on the Preservation of which depended the security of the country.

While the Perahera referred to in the Mahawamsa was a purely religious one, it was customary, however, to hold peraheras to commemorate various events, mythical, traditional and historical, which were of special significance to the country or to propitiate and seek the help of the deities of the four Dewales for victory in war and success in secular undertakings. There are the following traditions connected with the origin of the origin of the Dewale Peraheras.
There was war among the Asuras (heathen deities) in which the God Kataragama was involved, and it came to an end on the day after the new moon in the month of July. To commemorate this event on the identical day in July every year an Esala tree (Ehala or Indian Laburnum Cassia Fistula), which is in full bloom in Ceylon at this time of the year, is cut , its trunk fixed as " Kap" (which means the token of a vow) and certain ceremonies performed. Although the Esala tree gives its name to the Perahera connected with the ceremony, it is usual in the present day to use a Jak tree (Artocarpus Integrifolia) or Rukkattana tree (Alstonia Scholaris) for the purpose. Both these trees exude a milky sap when cut, and this sap in supposed to be a sign of prosperity.
Another view is that during the reign of King Vankanasika Tissa, who ascended the throne in 109 A.D., the King of Chola (in India) invaded Ceylon and took back 12,000 prisoners. King Gajabahu (King Vankanasika's successor) avenged the insult by crossing over to India and bringing back 24,000 captives as well as the Sacred Bowl Relic (which had been taken away during the reign of King Walagambahu (103, and 89 - 77 B.C.) and the golden sacred rings of the Hindu goddess Pattinidevi.
The Perahera that was held to celebrate that victory is supposed to be the origin of the present-day one.

Still another theory is that it originated from an Indian Festival known as " the Asalhi Games" which was introduced in to Ceylon by Vijaya and his followers in the fifth century B.C.
The custodians of the Sacred Tooth Relic are the High Priests of Malwatte and Asgiriya. These two chapters are akin to the two Archbishoprics of Canterbury and York in the Church of England.
The lay custodian of the Sacred Tooth Relic is the Diyawadana Nilame.
According to tradition there were four Tooth Relics of the Buddha, one being in Possession of the Blessed Sakra (Lord of the Six Devas) who pays homage to it incessantly in devotion and godly splendor.
The second was given to the district of Gandhara (present day Afghanistan), the inhabitants of which worship it devoutly. The King of the Nagas (Cobras) is in possession of the third Tooth Relic, and is is worshipped with various religious rites. The Ascetic Khema, who came into possession of the Fourth Tooth Relic, handed it to King Brahmadatta of Dantapura in Kalinga (the present Orissa in India). Dantapura, according to Indian tradition, is the present seaside resort known as Puri in Orissa, the site of the famous Jagannath Temple. At Brahmadatta's death Prince Guhasiva became King, and when his enemies waged war against him to take the Kingdom, he called Prince Danta to him, and saying what a calamity it would be if the Sacred Relic were to fall into the hands of the enemy, directed him to take it to Lanka and hand it over to the great King Kirthisri Meghavanna who was ruling the country at that time. The Prince not only carried out these instructions but also offered to the Relic many priceless treasures.
Tradition too has it that a Princess who fled to Ceylon for safety brought the Relic hidden in the coils of her hair.
Since that time the Relic has been in various parts of the country. Ultimately King Vimaladharmasuriya the Second (1687 -1707 A.D.) brought the Relic from Labugama and deposited it in the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (Dalada Maligawa) built by him in Kandy.
In later years King Sri Wickrema Rajasinha (1798 - 1815 A. D.) the last King of Kandy - who had a keen sense of artistic beauty, added the Octagon to the Dalada Maligawa. He was incidentally the builder of the Kandy Lake.

Odyssey of the 'Tooth Relic of the Buddha'

The 'Danta Dhatu' (Tooth Relic of the Buddha) is one of the most revered objects of worship by Buddhists throughout the world. It now lies in the sanctum sanctorum of the Dalada Maligawa in Kandy enshrined in an embellished reliquary. The relic was brought to the island by chance during the 9th regnal year of king Keerthi Sri Meghavarna (371 AD), and ever since it was protected by kings and laymen who paid homage to it with unbound munifience. It also became the palladium of regal authority and no king could rule the country without possessing it. Hence it was a treasure owned by the kings on whose preservation the safety of the kingdom and the country depended. 
An Arhant named Khema carried away this Relic form the funeral pyre of the Buddha in 543 BC, and handed it over to king Brahmadatta, who made his benefactions to it with faith and devotion. It came to pass that he was attacked by the powerful king Pandu, but he being averse to warfare, sued for peace and in the meantime, he gave the Relic to Cittayana who was the commander of king Pandu's army to be kept safely. On seeing the miracles performed by the sacred Tooth, the king became a convert to Buddhism. When king Pandu's city of Pataliputra (modern Patna) was attacked by king Khiradhara, he sent his viceroy Guhasiva back to Kalinga (modern Orissa) with the Relic, where it was kept in the custody of prince Danta, to whom the king had given his daughter Hemamala in marriage. Soon the king became engaged in war and he asked his daughter and prince Danta, to carry the Relic to Sri Lanka, in the event of his being defeated in battle. Having defeated, the Tooth Relic was secretly conveyed to Sri Lanka by prince Danta and princess Hemamala in whose custody it was. 

After an adventurous journey, they reached Anuradhapura, and handed it over to king Sri Meghavarna, who placed the Relic in the hands of the bhikkus of Abhayagiri vihara. (The hair ornament in which princess Hemamala brought the Relic to the island was exhibited during the Esala festival in August 1949). 

During the reign of Upatissa (426-468 AD), the Relic was taken in procession from the Abhayagiri vihara to the Mahavihara with great pomp and ceremony. In AD 460,there was a severe drought, and the king fearing a famine, led a procession during the Esala fullmoon night, through the streets of the city carrying the Relic. In sequence, the drought ended followed by a heavy downpour inundating the lowland country. 
King Dhatusena (516-526 AD) offered a golden casket for the Relic. When the Pandyans from South India overran the country, during the reign of Sena I (826-846 AD), the Relic was removed to a safe place,and in 1017 when the Cholians invaded the country, bhikkus fled to the South carrying the Relic with them. Prince Kitti defeated the Cholians and ascended the throne in the name of Vijayabahu I (1058-1114). 

When Kalinga Magha (1213-1234), came into power at Polonnaruwa, the Sinhalese were driven South and bhikku Vacissara had the Relic hidden at Pusulpitiya in the temple called Dathakaranaramaya,which is said to stand to this day. When Vijayabahu III (1220-1224) established his kingdom at Dambadeniya, he brought the Relic from Pusulpitiya to the capital but fearing a further invasion by the Cholians he had it removed to Beligala for safety. When king Bhuvanekhabahu I (1283-1286) ascended the throne at Yapahuwa, Pandyan king Kulasekera's General Aryacakravarti invaded the island and carried away the Relic to South India, where it remained in that country, until it was brought back to the island by king Parakramabahu II (1266- 1293) by peaceful negotiations. His successor, king Bhuvanekhabahu III (1293-1302), took the Relic to Kurunegala and had it secured in a threestoreyed edifice. 


Next we find reference to the Tooth Relic when Kotte became the capital under king Prakramabahu IV (1410-1436) who made offerings to the Relic. The erudite poet,Ven. Sri Rahula thera in his 'Sandes kavyas' (epic messages) Paravi and Selalihini mentions the presence of the Relic at Kotte. The Hansasandesaya and Gira-sandesaya also have reference to it, which were written during the Kotte period. On Nov. 15 1505, the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lnaka, and the king of Kotte at the time was Vira Parakramabahu VIII (1484-1509) who was in the sunset of his life. 
The Portuguese who remained and ruled the maritime settlements of the island, took a step forward and gradually introduced their religion (Roman Catholicism) into the country by proselytising the Buddhists by reward or by sword. Prince Dharmapala, who became the king of Kotte, proved himself an utterly useless rules. In 1557, he embraced Catholicism and was baptised in the name of Don Juan Dharmapala,and it led to loss of loyalty of his supporters, because they feared that he might do harm to the Relic as the Portuguese were averse to venerating relics. One night, the Diyawadana Nilame, Hiripitiye Divana Rala, had a dream. He was told "Kotte kalale data meda ganna rale", which was interpreted to mean "Leave the mat and pillow and take the Tooth to the mid country". Fearing danger to the Relic, he at once took it to king Mayadunne of Sitawaka (now Avissawella) for safe keeping. The king fearing a Portuguese invasion at any moment, had it hidden at the Delgamuwa vihara. The incumbent of the vihara, sensing danger, caused to artificial replicas to be made in ivory. Keeping one of them in the place where the original was,gave the other to Vidiya Bandara, and the thera, concealing the genuine one in his waist went to Palabaddala and had it secured inside a grinding stone. 



By this time the Portuguese invaded Sitawaka and carried away the artificial relic, thinking it to be the original, and sent it to Goa to be destroyed. However, the Portuguese got the news that what they had got was a duplicate of the Relic and the original was in the hands of Vidiya Bandara, the son-in-law of king Mayadunne. When Dharmapala became king of Kotte,Vidiya Bandara fled to Jaffna but he was captured on the orders of the Archbishop of Goa in 1561. The Archbishop, having secured the artificial relic from Vidiya Bandara place it in a mortar pulverised it, burnt the powder in a brazier and threw the ashes into a river. When Konappu Bandara ascended the throne of Kandy in 1592, in the name of Wimaladharmasuriya I, the incumbent of the Delgamuwa vihara, handed over the real Relic to the king,who enshrined it inside a case cut out of a ruby founded embedded in the banks of a river in Kuruviti Korale, and placed it in an edifice specially erected for it, having brought the Relic to Kandy. In 1611 a bhikku ran away with the Relic when the Portuguese invaded Kandy. 


King Senarath (1605-1635), brought it back to Kandy, after driving away the Portuguese army, and replaced it in the edifice built by king Wimaladharmasuriya I. Fearing that the Relic would be stolen because of this gem covering, king Kirti Sri Rajasinha, who ascended the throne of Kandy in 1747, enclosed it with an ivory case. What we see today is the ivory covered Relic and the genuine one is embedded therein. Hence it looks disproportionate in size of a human tooth. 
The 'Vedasitina maluwa' (inner temple), which we see today,was the work of king Narendrasinha (1707-1739), the last Sinhala king of Kandy. He was succeeded by his brother-in-law Sri Vijaya Rajasinha, a Malabari prince which opened the gates for Dravidian kings to rule the Kandyan kingdom up to 1815. 

The octagon ('Pattirippuwa') which we see today was the work of Sri Wickrema Rajasinha the last king of Kandy, who was taken captive by the British forces on February 18, 1815, and deported to Vellore in South India, where he died in 1832. The architect of the octagon was Devendra Mulachari, reputed for his expertise in architectural design. When the British forces invaded Kandy for territorial aggrandizement, the king carried away the Relic for safety. It was brought back to Kandy, with the approval of the British, and replaced it in the Dalada Maligawa, on April 24, 1815. 
John D'Oyly,the British Resident in Kandy,by being present at the occasion, won the goodwill of the bhikkus, the chiefs and the people. In 1818, a rebellion broke out in the Kandyan provinces against the British administrators, and a bhikku secretly removed the Relic to Elahera in Matale for safety. The British,however, were able to bring it back to Kandy and placed it in the sanctum sanctorum of the Dalada Maligawa. It was only after 10 years that the Tooth Relic was exhibited in Kandy and the perahera conducted as usual, in the presence of governor Edward Barnes. In 1853, by statutory provisions, the custody of the Relic was passed on to the bhikkus of Malwatte and Asgiriya temples, with the Diyawadana Nilame as its lay custodian. During the Esala perahera in Kandy, the casket containing the Relic is taken in procession on the back of the caparisoned Maligawa elephant, which is a tusker. Such was the magical aura of the Tooth Relic that the Buddhists of the country have been given the opportunity to render it their homage with faith and devotion.

Ladies of the King’s court or celestial beings?

Sigiriya is situated between the ancient Sinhalese capitals of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy. Just as much as it is a rock fortress from where King Kasyapa (473- 491 A.D) ruled, it gives us the earliest paintings done by our own artists in a very good state of preservation. Sigiriya (lion rock) is world famous for its frescoes and the mirror wall where visitors have described what they felt about the frescoes they saw and admired.

While Sigiriya is a great engineering feat, it is also a fine art gallery. It is believed that there were as much as 500 paintings but only 21 remain today. The drawings have been done free hand and corrections done by the artist can be seen clearly. The frescoes are very similar to the ones seen at the famous Ajanta caves in India.



Several scholars have interpreted the frescoes in different ways. To some, they depict female members of the royal household. Since most of them are in pairs, these have been described as portraying a queen and a maid or a lady-in-waiting. Difference in colour indicates that they are different personalities, these scholars argue. Pioneer archaeologist, H C P Bell says they are ladies of the king’s court on their way to a nearby temple because they are carrying flowers and moving in one direction. Another theory is that they are Kasyapa’s queens with attendants bringing floral offerings to a shrine, which seems to be located in Thusitha heaven, since the figures appear to be half immersed in the clouds denoting that they are in heavenly spheres. Are they Kasyapa’s queens mourning for the royal husband, was another theory about the damsels.



To renowned interpreter of Asian art and culture, Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy, the ladies in the frescoes are Apsaras (celestial nymphs) because the figures are cut off at the waists by conventional clouds. Dr Senerat Paranavitana, the respected archaeologist says that the figures represent Lightning Princesses (vijju kumari) and Cloud Damsels (meghalata). He interprets the whole of Sigiriya as the abode of God Kuvera.

Even if the artist depicted celestial beings, he was obviously influenced by the queens in the King’s court when drawing the figures. Cornets and tiaras crown the head; flowers and ribbons adorn the hair; heavy ornaments and jewellery are worn in the ears, neck, breast, arms and wrists. There is a feeling of movement in that the bodies are bent forward or sideways. The eyes are cast down with either a downward look or a side long glance. The eye lids being narrow, there is a distinct look of them being half closed.



Those who saw the frescoes made their comments in verse in the mirror wall.
These belong to the eighth century onwards. In beautiful poetry, they gave their own interpretation. Some of them said they were Kasyapa’s wives. “I saw the long-eyed ones of the King who, being separated from their lord, are worn out with grief and those eyes are comparable to full-blown lilies”, one Piyal has written. Another wrote that the golden-coloured ones in the caves appeared as if they were hurling themselves down from the summit of the rock, being unable to console their hearts as, indeed, the King had died.

Among the verses are some by monks. A monk named Sirinaga imagines that the ladies are inmates of the King’s harem who want to go away but refrain from doing so since it is not proper to go in his absence. (@Sunday Times)

Sigiri Graffiti: poetry on the mirror-wall

Just as the symbolism in the frescoes at Sigiriya has baffled the spectators, the graffiti on its mirror-wall have enthraled them down the centuries. The visitors who have inscribed their feelings on the wall have come from all parts of the country and they belong to various strata of society. Such visitors include kings, noblemen, ladies, monks, a novice, a guard and a smith.
Scribbling on monuments seems to be an old practice as pointed out by Senarat Paranavitana. When Greek mercenaries visited Abu Simbel they carved their names on the colossal rock-cut statue of Ramesas II. Although an act of vandalism, it has furnished modern scholars with the earliest dated specimen of the Greek script!
Senerat Paranavitana in his monumental work has deciphered 685 of the verses on the mirror-wall at Sigiriya. The poetry here belongs roughly to the eighth to tenth centuries and so they are an extant example of the poetry of the period. The verses mostly are an inter-personal communication with the frescoes where the visitor records his reaction on seeing the beauties on the wall.

Jahaga me sitivili an kum kiyanney giyak
Bad ma na badane (sa)g-(i)sira naga ga Sihigiri
(Abandon these melancholy thoughts. What else is there to be said by me who composed a verse?)
The lady on the wall is in a melancholy mood as though she is annoyed with the poet because she wants more of his love. So the poet consoles her: 'Abandon these melancholy thoughts. I have already composed a verse. What else have I got to say?'
Apparently, poetry was an ample medium to win the love of a woman. In fact, poet Nand, who had come from Ruhuna, cautions the spectator: 'Look, if you please, at the long-eyed one, but do not recite songs, for she would then be drawn to you.'

Senerat Paranavitana's observation is also relevant in this context: "These ancient visitors to Sigiri, having seen figures of beautiful women in the paintings, have modified their mental images of them in accordance with the passion or thought predominant in them at the time and composed verses expressive of their state of mind. Many are the examples from our graffiti, which can be quoted to illustrate this statement. I content myself with only one (No. 104). 'By means of the splendour of the mountain side, I saw the manner in which nymphs stood in heaven. My hand jumped up with the desire of grasping their girdle in dalliance.'
The writer of this verse, by the use of the word rasan gives rise to a string of associated thoughts indicating his passion. This and other verses of a similar nature, according to Coleridge's dictum, can with reason be taken as poetry, and poetry of a high order."
Although the poets show their familiarity with Sanskrit poetic diction scholars point out that the verses generally reveal an independent style and their similes are drawn from their immediate environment. So a woman's eyebrows have been compared to nimba-leaves, her lips to na buds, her hand to a pendent of flowers and her eyes to jewel lamps.
To the Sigiri poet the smile of a woman exhibiting her teeth is like the rows of seeds in a water-melon, sweet speech is like a cup of wine, desire arises in the minds of men just as the weeds i-tana and hiri grow in the beds of tanks and fields, love that is not required is like a sprout that has fallen on a rock, and affection won after great effort is compared to water obtained after blasting a rock. As Senarat Paranavitana opines such similes and metaphors taken from everyday life and couched in simple language would have aroused appropriate responses in the minds of the people who 'listened to these verses recited aloud, probably to the accompaniment of music, in the romantic setting of Sigiri.'
A distinct feature in Sigiri poetry is the characteristic style that the poets have generally adopted. They express their feelings in couplets, which is referred to in Indian poetics as muktaka. Was there a compulsion that they should adopt this technique? Be that as it may, most of the verses appear in this style where the poets have compressed their thoughts into a couplet.
It is also possible that the poet who visited Sigiri and was enchanted not only by the frescoes but also by the magnificent rock and its surroundings took it as an obligation on his part to scribble a verse on the mirror-wall as requital.

Meyat avij giyak no bada-ha yi nagina biyen
Biya-patimi (ta)veyi hada ava rana-vanan atare
(I am apprehensive with the fear rising from (the thought): 'He has not been able to compose a stanza (even) after having come here.' My heart becomes tormented when (I am) come to the midst of the golden-coloured ones).
'Sigiri literature is a window that provides us with a glimpse into the feelings, ideas, customs, mores, nomenclature, rural landscape, sensibility and linguistic features of a people who lived before the tenth century. Although there is a direct link between the Sigiri verses and the frescoes, the latter is like a silent film while the former is like a talking feature film depicting the heterogeneous aspects of the society of yore.'
A difference in Sigiri that is not found in other sites like Ajanta, which is the mirro-wall. He feels that the poets belonged to the same tradition as that of the exceptional artists who drew the frescoes on the wall. The poets remained independent and avoided the common similes in traditional poetry. For these they looked around themselves, at their own surroundings, and selected refreshingly moving and evocative metaphors. So, for the Sigiri poet the smile of a woman on the wall reminds him of a water-melon. The woman's teeth are like the rows of seeds in the fruit, her pleasant speech is as sweet as its marrow, and her long eyes are like the segments on the rind. (Edmund Jayasuriya)

Graffiti

According to the Sigiri Graffity; The lime plaster of the brick masonry wall had been so highly polished, that it had reflected the paintings on the opposite rock wall. Today, fifteen centuries later, the shine on this wall can still be seen.

A total of nearly 1500 writings have now been deciphered. The first study and publication was by Prof. Senerat Paranavitana which itself is a masterpiece of the literary, social and creative activities of the period, the earliest recorded poetry found in Sri Lanka.

On the wall, visitors from an ancient time have written graffiti in poem form, most of it dedicated to the Sigiriya Maidens, whose paintings can be seen further up. Nearly 1,500 neat messages have been deciphered, some more than 10 centuries old.

I dedicate a part of a poem from the Sigiriya Graffiti written in the 8 Cent. A.D. to you.
"Youth gets itself crushed by old age
The body afflicted by numerous maladies
Life necessarily spends itself and departs
Here stands, as it were, being have none of these conditions".

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The first is Verse 261 of the Graffiti [trans. Reynolds]
Who is not happy when he sees
Those rosy palms, rounded shoulders
Gold necklaces, copper-hued lips
And long long eyes.
The next is from the great Chilean poet Pablo Neruda [who spent some years in ‘Ceylon’] writing of Machu Picchu in phrases redolent of Sigiriya:
Tall city of stepped stone
High reef of the human dawn...
The fallen kingdom survives us all this while.

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The girl with golden skin entices the mind and eyes
Her lovely breasts cause me to recall swans drunk with nectar

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The forms of these celestial maidens rise above delicate clouds at waist level. They are elaborately bejewelled and their ample breasts are barely concealed by diaphanous gauze garments. Some hold flowers or trays of flowers in their hands. They are extremely sensuous--a quality readily noticed which has aroused conflicting emotions in visitors to Sigiriya down the years. Thus, a male admirer incising his thoughts on the Mirror Wall a thousand years ago was moved to write:

The ladies who wear golden chains on their breasts beckon to me. Now I have seen these resplendent ladies, heaven has lost its appeal for me.

A contemporary female, clearly less enamoured with the frescoes, records different, if equally passionate emotions:

A deer-eyed maiden of the mountain side arouses anger in my mind. In her hand she holds a string or pearls, and in her eyes she assumes rivalry with me.

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"This damsel, like unto a fluttering tender bud, in fact became one who spoke with the buds and flower in her hand. It is therefore an untrue word that has been said; the ladies do not speak." - (187) Sigiriya Graffiti - Paranavitharne

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Swasthi!   Budhgamu wehera niyamjeth na sagasmi leemi

(Hail!  I am Na Sagasmi, the chief administrator (niyamjeth) of Budhgamu vehera is writing (leemi))

Balannata gahanun balumo sihigiri

(We looked at Sihigiri in order to look at women)

Piri manajol kathun mayattha la jolannathun

(My heart’s desire was fulfilled by the lovely women who stood there)

 

Palawathu Wela Aramba Thanoo Sangapal me gee Leemi

 (I am Sangapal who built the Palawathu wela aramba, writing this song)

Beyand gosin balumo sith surasna seye

Banathuj nobenan asi piyevu eyun layu natthe

(We went to the mountain and the mind becomes well pleased). 

Ruhunin Aaa Kithalu gee

(The song of Kithalu, who came from Ruhunu)

wanawu himin himabiya ya yi sitiya tama vee yahapath deta beyadahi ranvanun detuen

(He, when he thought that those who are separated from their lord were his ladies, became doubly happy as he saw the golden colored ones on the mountain side)

Balath Poyalmi Gee

(Song of Poyalmi the palace guard [Balath])

Beyandh dig neth maha wan helilla buyun

(Forgive me.  Oh…Long eyed one in the mountain)

Awuj thut sith kala maranen Dhaka no musneye maye

(Having come here, having seen them, death does not perturb me)

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These verses which are predominantly on secular themes are largely addressed to the Sigiri frescoes, paintings of beautiful bejewelled, bare-breasted female figures on the western face of the rock. A good many of the verses are therefore of an amorous or romantic nature. Two specimens of the graffiti are given below (trans. by S. Paranavithana and W. G. Archer).  

We spoke but they did not answer
Those ladies of the mountain
They did not give us
The twitch of an eyelid
The girl with the golden skin
Enticed the mind and eyes.
Her lovely breasts caused me to recall
Swans drunk with nectar.