Being a Christian in Sri Lanka: Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations

By Leonard Pinto

Most people know something about their own religions. That knowledge is usually restricted to what is going on at the present time. When it comes to how their religions developed in their countries, their knowledge is on shakier grounds. As for religion in foreign lands, well, for many, that information is nonexistent.

Author Leonard Pintos Being a Christian in Sri Lanka: Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations is a critique based on the observations and experience of a Sri Lankan Christian. Pinto shares the history and importance of religion in his native land. Youll learn about Portuguese, Dutch, and British rule in the country formerly known as Ceylon, and how each affected religion there. Pinto dispels popular views about how ruling countries dealt with Christianity and other religions, and with those who practiced them. Youll learn how religion is practiced today from someone who lives it firsthand. Pintos book goes beyond the boundaries of Sri Lanka in assessing the problems faced by Christianity from the corrosive effects of the Age of Enlightenment.

In Being a Christian in Sri Lanka: Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations, Pinto comes to the conclusion Sri Lanka would benefit from a Sri Lankan national identity for all its citizens. Hegemony based on ethnicity and religion is dissuaded. Youll also find Pintos conclusions relevant to other countries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Jul 14, 2015
• ISBN: 9781452528625

Leonard Pinto

Leonard Pinto, PhD, is an ecologist with teaching and research experience in universities and industry in Australia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. He has published papers in international journals and authored Mangroves of Sri Lanka. He also studied theology and writes for newspapers and Internet sites about ethics and social justice.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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ISBN: 978-1-4525-2863-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-2862-5 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 07/08/2015

CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1: Historical Aspects Of Christianity In Sri Lanka

Consolidation Of Buddhism In The Sinhalese Kingdom

The First Christians In Sri Lanka

The Portuguese In Sri Lanka

The Impact Of The Portuguese On Sri Lanka

The Dutch In Sri Lanka

The Impact Of Dutch On Sri Lanka

The British In Sri Lanka

The Impact Of British On Sri Lanka

Chapter 2: Western Christianity And Its ‘Inculturation’ In Sri Lanka

Origin And Diversification Of Christianity

First Schism: East-West

Second Schism: Reformation

Luther In Germany

Henry In England

Forms Of Christianity And Their Arrival In Sri Lanka

Christianity In The Pre-Colonial Period

Christianity During The Colonial Period

Colonial Conflicts And Impacts On Catholicism In Sri Lanka

Fr Joseph Vaz And Indian Missionaries

Buddhist And Hindu Influence

What Is Culture?

Cultural Contributions, Cultural Integration And Inculturation

Inculturation Misunderstood

Chapter 3: Sinhalese And Tamil Christians

Temporal Relations

Spatial Relations

Churches That United Sinhalese And Tamils

The Impact Of Ethnic Conflict On Catholic Communities

Beginning And The End Of Tamil Rebellion

The Independent State (Eelam)

Christian Priests In The Conflict

Impact Of War On Tamil Catholic Population

An Equitable Solution

Chapter 4: Service Through Christian Institutions

Assisting State In Welfare And Education

Community Services & Non-Formal Education

Formal Education

American Christian Missionaries In Jaffna

De La Salle Brothers In Sri Lanka

Crime And Punishment: St Mary’s Chilaw And Ananda College Colombo

The Root Cause Of Animosity Against Christians

Chapter 5: Unity In Diversity: Freedom In Christian Thought

Christianity Divided

Different Spiritualities But One Catholicism

A Traditional Spirituality

Spirituality Of Scientists – Divine Milieu

Spirituality Of Socialists – Liberation Theology

Spirituality For Artists - Inculturation

Spirituality Of Housewives - The Little Flower

Spirituality Of Politicians And Civil Servants – Sir Thomas More

Spirituality Of Environmentalists – St Francis Of Assisi

Intercessory Spirituality - Spirituality Of Need

Evangelical Spirituality – Early Christian Community

Where Different Spiritualities Occur

Religious Behavioural Patterns Of Christians In Sri Lanka

Chapter 6: Teachings Of Jesus And The Church

Who Is A Christian?

Traditional Beliefs Of Christians

How Christians Practise Their Religion

Teachings Of Jesus And Their Practice In The Early Church

Some Difficult Sayings Of Jesus

Who Is Jesus Christ?

Historical Jesus

From Historical Jesus To Jesus Of Faith

Jesus And The Church

Issues On Christian Beliefs And Christian Churches In Sri Lanka

God: Real Or Illusion

Jesus: God Or Man

Faith: Meaningless Or Meaningful

Diversity Of Churches And ‘Unethical’ Conversions In Sri Lanka

Chapter 7: Does God Exist?

Approaching God

Faith

Reason

Personal Utility

Kingdom

Socio-Politics

Who Is God?

Arguments For God’s Existence

A Priori Argument

A Posteriori Arguments

Experiential Argument

Historical Developments Of God Concept

The Place Of Religion And God In The Sri Lankan Society

Frequently Asked Questions About God

If God Is Good, Why Is There Suffering?

Can God Make A Round Square?

If God Is There, Why Is He Hiding?

Why Do Christians Believe In A Trinity? How Can Three Be One?

Is God Concept Irrational, Divisive And Dangerous?

God Rejecting Atheists And God Accepting Saints

Relationships

Anger And Bitterness

Childhood Experience

Some Gods Of Atheists

A Unifying Principle In Christianity

Chapter 8: Ethics And Christian Morals

Aspects Of Moral And Ethical Values In Sri Lanka

Christian Morals

Secular Ethics

Did Human Morals Evolve From Animals?

The Role Of Conscience In Ethics

Roots Of Ethics And Its Manifestation In Sri Lankan Society

The Roots

Value Of Human Life

Accountability

Corruption And Robbing State

Lying And Cheating

Media Suppression

Human Right Violations

Discrimination

Ethics Of Colonisation

Ethics Of State Governance In Sri Lanka

Party Politics Or Independent Candidates?

Police Or Politician?

Law Or Political Influence?

Elections Or Cheating?

Politics Or Business?

Professionals Or Politicians?

Parliament Or An Abusive Arena?

Democracy Or Dictatorship?

Ethics In Public Policy In Sri Lanka

Ethics Of The Ethnic Conflict In Sri Lanka

Bioethics In The Sri Lankan Society

Moral Equilibrium

Chapter 9: Buddhist-Sinhala Nationalism

Beginnings Of Nationalism

Nationalism During The Dambadeniya-Gampola Period

Nationalism During The Early Colonial Period

Nationalism During The Late Colonial Period

Nationalism In The Post-Independent Period: Economic Basis

Nationalist Mentality (Jathika Chinthanaya): Intellectual Foundation

Nationalism From Kelaniya Temple: Political Foundation

Buddhist Monks In The Parliament: Nationalism With Inverted Roles

Militant Buddhist Monks On Streets: Nationalism In Lawlessness

Christians: A Scapegoat Of Nationalists

Status Of Christians In The Nationalism Of Sri Lanka

Chapter 10: Propaganda Against Christians

Cause Of Antagonism

Street Propaganda

Anti-Christian Communications

Historical Anti-Christian Literature

Recent Anti-Christian Literature: Direct And Indirect

The Source Of Data

Rigour Of Analysis

School Textbooks

Anti-Christian Newspaper Articles

1.1 Article. Conversion: Sinister And Covert Motives

1.2 Response. A Christian Response: Misconceptions On Conversion And Religion

2.1 Article. The Creator Theory And World Devastation

2.2 Response. A Christian Response: Spiritual Truths Cannot Be Challenged.

Distorted History In Web-Sites Of Buddhist-Sinhalese Extremists

Multi-Media (Newspapers, Wikipedia, Lankaweb Etc.) Distortions

Preaching Of Buddhist Monks

Literary Festivals

Sri Lankan Government To The Defence Of Christians: Da Vinci Code

Chapter 11: Buddhism, Hinduism And Islam In A Pluralistic Society

Buddhism

Theoretical And Practical Issues In Buddhism

Religion vs Philosophy

God

Person

Brain, Mind And Reality

Dukkha (Suffering)

Rebirth

Socio-Economic Values

Buddhism And Politics

Hinduism

Theoretical And Practical Issues In Hinduism

Caste

Sex Symbolism In Worship

Masochism And Animal Sacrifices

Evil And Humanised Gods

Islam

Theoretical And Practical Issues In Islam

Violence, Terrorism And Jihad

Holy Qur’an

Sharia

The Prophet

Polygamy And Women

Infidels And Exclusion

Chapter 12: Marxism And Materialism

Marx And Marxism

Marxism In Sri Lanka

Religion And Marxism In State Governance

Buddhism And Marxism In Sri Lanka

Theoretical And Practical Issues In Marxism

Intellectual Perspective

Suppression Of Freedom

Change In Social And Economic Structure

Revisionism

Materialism

Theoretical And Practical Issues In Applying Materialism

Acceptance Of Beliefs And Ritualism Over Materialism

Reductionism And Holism

Human Feelings And Thoughts

Happiness In Life

Incomplete Knowledge

Chapter 13: Science And Religion

What Is Science?

Science And Emergence Of Higher Reality

Psychology And Religion

Ethics From Insect Social Behaviour And ‘God Gene’

Science And Religion Interaction In Sri Lanka

Religious Philosophy, Scripture And Science

Religious Philosophy

Scripture

Science

Evolution And Creation

How Perfect Is The Theory Of Evolution?

Chemical Evolution

Organic Evolution

Scale Of Variation

Species

Genetic Inheritance & Hft

Natural Selection & Infection

Survival Of The Fittest In Numbers, Biomass And Longevity

Fossils

Chance

Similarity

Grouping, Classification And Ancestry

Commercialisation Of Evolution

Second Law Of Thermodynamics

Death

Maxwell’s Demon

Truth, Belief And Knowledge

What Scientists Said About Religion, Christianity And God

Chapter 14: The Power Of Prayer

Traditional Prayers And Socio-Religious Practices In Sri Lanka

What Is Christian Prayer

Jesus On Prayer

Types Of Prayer

The Power Of Prayer

Chapter 15: Future Of Christianity (Catholicism) In Sri Lanka

Implications Of Sri Lankan History On Present Day Christians

Morality, Reverence For Life And Family Values

Impacts Of Consumerism And Materialism

Impacts Of Buddhist-Sinhalese Nationalism

Political Leadership

Culture, Cultured And Inculturation

The Church In The North And The South

Catholic Schools

Old Theology And New Spirituality

Religion For Knowledge Or For Life

Institutional Church And Pastoral Church

Authority And Intellectual Freedom In The Church

Facing Anti-Christian Propaganda

Sri Lankan Ethno-Religious Political Literature In Media

Evangelical Fundamentalist Churches

Evangelical Churches Within The Catholic Church

Catholic - Mix Marriages

Overseas Sri Lankan Missionaries And Catholics

Minorities Needing International Support

References

FIGURES AND TABLES

Figures

Figure 1. The kingdoms of Sri Lanka before and at the arrival of Portuguese.

Figure 2. The Portuguese in Sri Lanka in 1560 and in 1630

Figure 3. Fr Don Joao (Fr Black Prince), the rightful heir to the throne of Kandy

Figure 4. Dutch territory in Sri Lanka in 1645 and in 1766

Figure 5. The dioceses of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka.

Figure 6. Sri Lankan flag symbolising ethno-religious differences and the Indian flag symbolising values of the nation

Figure 7. Trends of Catholic population in Tamil dominated dioceses compared to Sinhalese dominated dioceses.

Figure 8. A model of traditional spirituality

Figure 9. Emergence of man and the Omega-point

Figure 10. Historical developments in the quest for Jesus

Figure 11. Historical development of the diversity of Churches

Figure 12. Human approaches to God

Figure 13. Areas that contribute most (shaded) to the personal ethics of Sri Lankans

Figure 14. The ancient world-view of the universe adopted by biblical authors

Figure 15. Euler diagram on the relationship between truth, belief and knowledge

Figure 16. Flow chart showing the possible physiological effects of prayer

Tables

Table 1. Distribution of Catholics, priests and religious in Sri Lanka according to dioceses

Table 2. The fate of De La Salle Brothers schools in Sri Lanka.

Table 3. Major Christian churches in Sri Lanka and their social acceptance

Table 4. Diverse theories on ethics

Table 5. Major differences between creation story and evolution

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all Sri Lankans, particularly to the Christians in Sri Lanka

To

Remember the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis I

to Sri Lanka from 13 to 15 January 2015

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank a number of persons who contributed to this book during its preparation; in the collection of data, verification, reviewing, critical analysis, preparation of maps and in formatting. Late Rev. Bro. Michael Robert FSC my brother, Ms. Sarojini Dela and her colleagues at Universities in Sri Lanka helped to verify historical aspects in the first chapter. The chapters that dealt with religious and theological aspects were reviewed by Rev. Fr. Chrishantha Kumara, Rev. Fr. Benedict Volpe OFM, Rev. Bro. Melachy Yates FSC, Rev. Bro. Christian Moe FSC and the mathematician-theologian, Prof. Neil Ormerod of the Australian Catholic University. The chapters that contain scientific aspects were reviewed by Dr Nimal Chandrasena, Dr Peter Cox and Dr Uthpala Pinto. Tissa Perera, Joy Perera, Lorensz Herft, Dr Phoebus Pinto and Bro. Dr Emmanuel Nicholas FSC reviewed some chapters for the relevance of content. The author did not agree with all their comments, and hence the content of this book does not necessarily reflect their views. Mark Hopkins, Clement Tyler, Sherron Peiris and Nina Pinto corrected textual errors.

Craig Davis and Ms. Cathy O’rourke helped to draw and revise a number of Sri Lankan maps. Ms. Angela Barlow provided the Indian and Sri Lankan flags from the parish of Our Lady of the Rosary, Kellyville for Figure 6.

I am grateful to Prof. K.D. Paranavithana for allowing me to publish the portrait of Fr Dom Joao from one of his articles, as Figure 3. My thanks are due to Mara Persic, Director Rights & Royalties, Benedictine Press for allowing me to publish Figure 8 based on ‘The three ages of the interior life’ of Garringou-Lagrang and Doyle (1999). I am indebted to Josh McDowell for giving me permission to reproduce Figure 10 from his book, ‘The new evidence that demands a verdict’ (McDowell 1999).

I am thankful to the staff of Balboa Press, Hay House Publisher for regular consultation, suggestions on the manuscript and the production of this book.

I also wish to thank my wife Maria Benedicta and children, Nina and Cleon for their patience, accommodation and support during the years that I worked on this manuscript.

PREFACE

This book is mainly about the past and present socio-political and religious issues encountered by Christians in Sri Lanka. It also reflects on the global challenges to Christianity and the Church today, and their potential impacts on Sri Lanka. The issues faced by Sri Lankan Christians have historical, political, social and religious roots, and therefore they have been considered from an anthropological perspective. The global issues take the reader beyond the shores of Sri Lanka to the contemporary ‘state-of-the-art’ of diverse fields of knowledge, including morals, science and religion, and their conceptual claims are reviewed in the context of teachings of the Church and the Christian world-view today (weltanschauung). As misconceptions are disseminated in Sinhala and English by various websites, books and media from Sri Lanka, on Christianity and Christians of Sri Lanka, this book also attempts to explore the reality and truth of these claims.

The content of the book covers the period from the pre-historic Sri Lanka to the end of the Rajapaksa government on 9 January 2015. A few days after the change of government, Pope Francis made a three-day pastoral visit to Sri Lanka from 13 January, during which he talked about the need for true reconciliation between the Sinhalese and the Tamil communities, and canonised Joseph Vaz, the Indian priest who secretly revived Catholicism in the north and the south of Sri Lanka, when it had been totally banned by the Dutch colonisers.

The book is written from a Catholic perspective, as 82 per cent of the Christians in the country are Catholics, but reference is made to other Christian denominations, when it is necessary. About 70 per cent of the Sri Lanka’s 20 million population is composed of Theravada Buddhists. Christians make 7 per cent of the population, and the other minorities are Hindus and Muslims. Being a former British colony, British English spelling and grammar are used throughout this book, although there may be occasional inclusion of other forms.

Sri Lanka has a recorded Buddhist-Sinhalese history that goes back to more than 2500 years. The dominant Buddhist-Sinhalese civilisation has been intermittently interrupted by a number of South Indian invasions. These military invasions, diplomatic relations and marriages of Sinhalese kings to Indian queens, assimilated the Hindu religion to the local culture, particularly in the North. Islam came to Sri Lanka later through the Indian and Arab traders, as they established Muslim communities near seaports, and gradually moved inland. During the Sigiriya period in the 5th century, there was a notable influence of St. Thomas’ Christians from India and Nestorian Christians from Persia on Sinhalese royal families. However, it was after the arrival of the Portuguese in 1505 that a large number of natives, including Sinhalese and Tamil kings, members of royal families and the elite embraced Catholicism. The reasons for their conversion were diverse, as evident from their later years. The Portuguese colonised the maritime regions of Sri Lanka for approximately 153 years, and were replaced by the Dutch. After 138 years, the British replaced the Dutch. They also ruled the maritime regions from 1796 for 19 years, and then the whole country from 1815 for 133 years, till Sri Lanka obtained independence in 1948. Contrary to the popular history and belief, the three colonisers did not initially ‘invade’ Sri Lanka by force. Rather, the Sinhalese kings and chieftains invited them, either to neutralise the Muslim trade domination, fight rival Sinhalese kings, replace one coloniser by another or depose a tyrannical king whom they disliked. But, once invited, the colonisers settled in the country and fought battles with Sinhalese armies, which opposed them. History reveals that Catholic, Calvinist and Anglican forms of Christianity came to Sri Lanka from the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonisers, respectively.

Buddhist-Sinhalese nationalism was born in the wake of South Indian invasions, to unify the Sinhalese nation and to fight the Indian invaders. From the 16th century, the Buddhist-Sinhalese nationalism was directed to fight the western colonisers, the Portuguese, Dutch and the British. The Buddhist-Sinhalese movement led by Buddhist monks in 1860s, and later by lay leaders, took an anti-Christian orientation in rhetoric, debates, literature, processions and in destruction of churches.

Towards the end of the colonial period, an aspiration to develop a ‘Sri Lankan national identity’ unified Sinhalese and Tamil leaders, who collectively fought to obtain freedom from the British. During the Muslim riots of 1915, when many Buddhist-Sinhalese political leaders were imprisoned, and some were killed after martial law was declared by the over-reacting British Governor Robert Chalmers, it was the Christian leaders including Sir James Peiris and E. W. Perera and Tamil leaders, including Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, who came to the rescue of the imprisoned Buddhist-Sinhalese leaders.

The dynamics of nationalism that gradually changed from a ‘Sri Lankan identity’ to a largely ‘Buddhist-Sinhalese identity’ was the result of values, quality and thinking of political leaders, and populist strategies designed to win democratic elections against the backdrop of global communism and Indian socialism. Following independence, the Kelaniya temple became the political nerve centre of the country, and Kelaniya Vidyalankara Pirivena played an important role in politics, dragging the country towards the left and providing a passage for Buddhist monks to enter politics and the parliament, in later years. The atrocities of Tamil LTTE against Buddhist monks, Buddhist devotees and sacred places, and the alleged threats to Buddhist religion and the Sinhalese race drove the politically oriented Buddhist monks to seek entry into the parliament. Eventually, the political monks were influential in supporting the government in its war against the LTTE.

When Ceylon (Sri Lanka) gained independence from the British in 1948, it was in such an excellent economic shape, with well-developed civil service, police, legal system, governance, education and infrastructure that Singapore wanted to make it, another Ceylon. But, when Singapore’s founder and architect Lee Kuan Yew saw the gradual degradation of the quality and values of the country after independence, he said that Sri Lanka is a good example of bad policies and bad governance and adopted a different model for his country. Some of the bad policies were deeply rooted in the flawed ethno-religious divided identities, which claimed more than 100,000 lives within a period of 26 years. The worse was still to come. A culture of bribery, corruption, nepotism and politicisation of all government systems, including the police, universities, civil service and the legal system with its chief justice occurred in recent years, and the State was run as a family business from 2005 to 2014, suppressing the rights of minorities and executing dissidents.

This book espouses, the Sri Lankan identity of all its citizens as the foundation of national identity, and the responsibility of State to all its citizens as a primary duty of the State. Then, at the ethno-religious tier of the hierarchy, Buddhist-Sinhalese identity is given the first place, as they are the majority. At a lower tier, groups such as the Jaffna Tamils and up-country Tamils or up-country and low-country Sinhalese are recognised, as socio-psychological identities that provide support and well being to the groups. At the lowest tiers are the class and caste that are out of step with progressive societies. People are different by birth, appearance, beliefs, politics, abilities, professions and wealth. But, all of them have equal rights and need to be treated as valuable citizens of Sri Lanka. In attempting to enhance the Sri Lankan identity, the legends and myths that are used to boost the ethno-religious identity among the populace are critically assessed.

The content of the book is structured to cover issues in all of the above areas and more. Chapters 1-5, 9 and 10 deal exclusively with Sri Lankan issues. Chapters 6-8 and 11-14 refer to topics common to global Christianity and are reviewed in the context of Sri Lanka.

The first among the chapters that deal with Sri Lankan Christian issues is, Chapter 1 that introduces briefly the pre-history and history of the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, with a focus on the colonial period. i.e. Portuguese, Dutch and British periods. In this chapter, the pre-colonial Christianity in Sri Lanka is also described. Chapter 2 is on different forms of colonial Christianity and how Catholicism survived through the efforts of St. Joseph Vaz after the defeat of the Portuguese by the Dutch. The ethnic war between the Sinhalese forces and the Tamil LTTE, and its impact on the Church in the north are discussed in Chapter 3. It also refers to Christians as a binding force between the Sinhalese and the Tamils. Chapter 4 describes the services in education, health and welfare that the Christian institutions in Sri Lanka provide and the difficulties they underwent, following the nationalisation of schools and the expulsion of foreign Brothers and Sisters. Chapter 5 describes some of the popular spiritualties adopted by Sri Lankans from a diversity of global Christian spiritualties. Chapters 9 and 10 are on Buddhist-Sinhalese nationalism, its impacts on minorities and propaganda activities against Christians, including anti-Christian literature.

The first chapter that deals with universal issues of Christianity is Chapter 6, on the teachings of Jesus, difficulties in understanding him and the problems in the history of the Church. Chapter 7 attempts to explore the existence of God. Chapter 8 examines the current theories on ethics and shows the failure of consequential ethics from the ethics of governance and ethics of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, and finds meaning in deontological and virtue ethics. Chapter 11 considers Christians in Asia as a minority, who live in pluralistic societies, dominated by Buddhism, Hinduism or Islam, and introduces the fundamentals and issues of these religions. Chapters 12 and 13 discuss the impacts of modern philosophies of Marxism, materialism and science on religion. Chapter 14 recognises the value and meaning of prayer for inner peace and tranquility, found in all oriental religions, as well as in Christianity. The last chapter, Chapter 15 gives some ideas to consider in moving Christianity forward in Sri Lanka.

I have attempted to present facts as they are, assessing critically what is published in quality literature and from my own observations. Readers may disagree with some aspects of my assessments, and this may be because they are radical or the concepts are new to the reader or, because the distorted secondary literature on the subject has become the popular belief, while the primary literature has remained quiescent. If one disagrees or finds gaps in this book, one is encouraged to research and find truth, free from fear and prejudice. It is my hope that this book will enrich the Faith and Reason (Fides et Ratio) of Christians and others by exploring the mystery, as it was a recurrent theme in the writings of Pope St. John Paul II.

Leonard Pinto

13 January 2015

Kellyville, Australia

CHAPTER 1

HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF

CHRISTIANITY IN SRI LANKA

"Things that are done, it is needless to speak about.

Things that are past, it is needless to blame"

- Confucius

Located below the southern tip of India, Sri Lanka is well known for ‘Ceylon Tea’, as a tourist destination, and in recent years, for cricket.¹ It is a country rich in tropical vegetation, wildlife, sandy beaches, and ruins of ancient cities. Known as the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’ in local literature, Arab traders called it Serendib, Greeks Taprobane, and western colonisers, Ceylon. The first settlers from India seem to have recognised its golden beaches, as they referred to it as Thambapani. Western writers compared it to the ‘Garden of Eden’, and the English word ‘serendipity’² originates from Sri Lanka, by way of Arabic Serendib, after the tranquility of the island’s natural environment and the revelation of pleasant surprises. In 1972, twenty-four years after it gained independence from the British, Ceylon became Sri Lanka, which means ‘resplendent island,’ as the natives of the island used to call it, before the western colonisation.

Today, Sri Lanka is a rapidly developing South Asian country with a population of about twenty million, covering an area of about 65,600 square kilometres (maximum length: 435 kilometres; maximum width: 224 kilometres) and with a Buddhist-Sinhala culture that can be traced back to more than 2,500 years. Seventy per cent of the country’s population is composed of Theravada Buddhists. Christians make up 7 per cent of the population and have a shorter history. Catholicism is the main Christian denomination that includes 82 per cent of all Christians.

However, Sri Lanka’s cultural lustre has been tarnished by a civil war between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority that has claimed more than one hundred thousand lives. In addition, two insurrections by the Sinhalese youth in 1971 and 1989, under the leadership of JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna)³ claimed more than sixty thousand lives. These conflicts arose from poverty, unemployment, ethno-religious nationalism, political corruption, politicisation of institutions, failure of law and order and the violence of the misled, encouraged by antisocial politicians, ethno-religious extremists and opportunistic nationalists for their advantage.

The influence of Buddhism on Sri Lankan society is evident from the numerous large temples (Raja Maha Vihara) and small Bo tree⁴ shrines in every nook and cranny of rural landscapes and urban streetscapes of the country. Contrary to Buddha’s reflections, Hinduism has found a place in Buddhism and Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka, because some of its Buddhist kings married Indian Hindu queens, historical Indian invasions left behind Hinduism and syncretic inculturation became an inherited legacy.

Respect for elders and traditions are cultural traits among Sri Lankans; Buddhist priests are respected even above elders, and are considered religious leaders with political power. They do not use temples to preach politics, but make eloquent speeches at political rallies, influence trade unions,⁵ demonstrate on streets, and even enter the parliament as members.⁶ There is no doubt that Buddhist priests in recent years have shown great desire to grab worldly political power, apparently to protect the nation and establish a Buddhist-Sinhala State. Although Buddhist laity and Buddhist organisations generally support this move, the chief priests of Buddhist Chapters (Mahanayake) initially denounced it, as an inordinate attachment to worldly affairs, and therefore contrary to Buddha’s teachings. But, under pressure from Buddhist nationalists and extremists, the heads of Buddhist Chapters adopted a neutral policy on the issue. In spite of the justification of political monks and monks in the parliament by past and present learned monks (Rahula 1974, Deegalle 2004) and political-Buddhist laity, the move appears to be a backward step in modern secular democracy. It is analogous to medieval Christian Europe (fifth to fifteenth century) and a regression towards the primitive Sri Lankan society, when priests, their beliefs and their interests influenced the State governance.

Sri Lanka was biogeographically linked to India several times during the Ice Age, (i.e. from 2.6 million years ago) when the sea level dropped, enabling animals to move freely from India to Sri Lanka.⁷ Radiocarbon dating suggests that the domain between Rameswaram (India) and Talaimannar (Sri Lanka) may have been exposed about 18,000 years ago. However, temple records indicate the occurrence of Adam’s Bridge between the two countries to a much later date. Homo habilis the common ancestor of humans appeared on Earth in Africa about 2 million years ago and Homo erectus, who succeeded him in Africa, left Africa and went to Asia and Europe between 1.3 and 1.8 million years ago. An ancestral Homo sapiens emerged in the world between 200,000 to 100,000 years ago, but the behaviourally modern Homo sapiens, who used symbols, language and art and performed rituals, was recorded from about 50,000 years ago. The prehistoric records of Sri Lanka can be traced back to 300,000 BC or earlier, before the appearance of man (Homo sapiens) in the world, and could be those of Homo erectus. Deraniyagala (1998) found indications of human settlements in Sri Lanka, dating back to 125,000 BC, which would not be those of the behaviourally modern Homo sapiens, but those of a primitive Homo sapiens.

According to evidence, the earliest inhabitants of Sri Lanka would have been those, similar to the Balangoda Man (Homo sapiens balangodensis), whose full skeleton was recovered from excavations carried out in Sri Lanka.⁸ The bones of Balangoda Man were first discovered from Balangoda, a gem-mining town in Ratnapura District. He was a hunter-gatherer, who roamed the Hills of Ratnapura and Horton Plains from about 38,000 BC. He was a modern Homo sapiens, who ate meat, fish, snails, wild bananas and breadfruit. He used geometric microliths as tools and shell pendants and shark beads as ornaments, contributing to the Mesolithic period ‘Balangoda Culture.’ Balangoda Man seems to have persisted up to about 6,000 BC, taking modern features from about 34,000 BC. The skeletal remains discovered from Batadomba-lena and other caves in Sri Lanka date back to about 30,000 BC. From the skeletal records, the male Balangoda Man is estimated to be about 1.7 metres and the female to be about 1.6 metres in height. According to morphometric measurements, the present day Vaddhas (the aborigines of Sri Lanka) are said to be the descendants from this line. They are the original owners of Sri Lanka. The ancient prehistoric cave art of Sri Lanka is also attributed to Vaddhas. Some of them go back to 300 BC and are believed to be the work of Vaddha women, as they waited in caves for the return of their men from hunting. These rock paintings and engravings (RPE) are found in a number of locations in Sri Lanka, including those of Thanthirimale, Tharulengala, Homangala, Aadiyagala, Kotiyagala, Dorowaka, Arangodagalage and Konnattegodagalage.

After 5,000 BC the land connection of Sri Lanka with India was lost. The humans who came to the island thereafter had to travel to Sri Lanka by sea. By 3,000 BC, the Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) was flourishing in the present northwest India and northeast Afghanistan and Pakistan, either as a result of Aryan invasion or the creation of Indo-Aryan civilisation by people who lived there from time immemorial. This civilisation had a complex social organisation with four castes (varnas) and was engaged in agriculture. By 600 BC, iron replaced copper as the metal for tools and weapons, and the iron plough was used in agriculture. While the vast majority of the members of this civilisation were farmers, a few became traders and travelled from city to city in caravans of bullock carts or sailed down the rivers in vessels, buying and selling goods along the way. Hence, the merchants sailed down the Indus River to the western coast and along the Ganges River to the eastern coast of India, and thereafter to the open sea.

It would not have taken long before the southward cruising mariners discovered a large island at the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula. The stone inscription on the arrival of marine merchants from India to Thiriyai in Trincomalee District (i.e. present Girihadu Seya) bears witness to the hypothesis of the movement of merchants from India to Sri Lanka and possible colonisation of the island by similar merchants. Sinhalese and Tamil historians agree on the visit of Indian merchants to Thiriyai, but they contest its religious significance, because of political implications.⁹ Soon, these marine merchants not only became aware of the pearl banks on its north-western littoral and precious stones in the southern inland, they also spread stories of a race of ogres and ogresses, who lived in this island, luring mariners with their wiles and devouring them after keeping them as husbands.¹⁰ Some daring adventurous merchants settled in Sri Lanka as their permanent home (Nicholas and Paranawitana 1961).

The account given in Buddhist chronicles on the origin of the Sinhalese race and the early settlers of Sri Lanka, recorded more than one thousand years after the event, makes no mention of merchants, and is full of miraculous events, as described below. There is no evidence that people of an advanced culture lived in Sri Lanka during the time, when Indo-Aryans settled there. Buddhist chronicles mention the existence of Yakksha, Naga and Raksha tribes in Sri Lanka during the period of first Sinhalese settlement in the island. However, Nicholas and Paranawitana (1961) consider the Yakkshas in the Vijayan legend, the Nagas in the visit of Buddha to the island and the Rakshas of Ramayana¹¹ the Indian chronicle, as super human beings (i.e. not captured by history) and not races of humans. They think that the people who lived in the island, when Indo-Aryans arrived were in the Neolithic Stone Age,¹² as they did not use metal tools, but tools of quartz, wood and animal bones. They used handmade pottery and practised slash-and-burn agriculture. They did not offer any serious resistance to the newcomers, but have exchanged their goods with them and adopted their language, religion and culture. They were referred to in Pali writings as Milakkhas and Nesadas, and they were probably the descendants of the Balangoda man. As the Buddhist chronicles’ accounts of the origin of the Sinhalese race include myths and legendry, Nicholas and Paranawitana (1961) concluded that the people who were later known as Sinhalese descended from these autochthones and the Indo-Aryans.

Politically and culturally Sri Lanka is different from India, with a written history that goes back to 540 BC. The early history of Sri Lanka is full of legends and myths that seek to rationalise the origin of the Sinhalese race and justify its association with Buddhism. A popular legend traces back the origin of the Sinhalese¹³ to a cross between a human and a lion. As this is biologically impossible, the lion in the legend is probably a lion-like man or a Singh of North India. Late Prof. Ediriweera Sarathchandra’s classical Sinhabahu Sinhala ballet vividly dramatises this legend with music and dance, tantalising the audience with entertainment, but it may also create a belief among some naïve Sinhalese that they are the proud descendants of a lion, above all other minorities in the country.

The serious history of Sri Lanka begins in the fifth to third century BC with the arrival of Vijaya,¹⁴ a playful and troublesome prince, expelled from a North Indian kingdom by his father. According to some scholars, even that seems to be a legend. The prince is believed to have sailed with friends to the west coast of Sri Lanka, where he married a tribal princess, Kuveni, and settled there. At the time of his arrival in the island, the local inhabitants were practising animism; worshipping snakes (Nagas) devils (Yakkshas) and demons (Rakshas). According to the ancient Buddhist chronicles, the locals were not humans, but a type of super human beings (Ranwella 2008), which make these accounts non-historical.

There are four versions on the mythical origin of the Sinhalese race and its settlement in Sri Lanka (Devendra 2010). They are:

1. Mahawansa story (fifth century) – Mahawansa ascribes the beginning of the Sinhalese race to a lion in North India, who captured Suppadevi, a Bengali princess, and imprisoned her in a cave in Latadesa (Gujarat). She bore from the lion a son, Sinhabahu and a daughter, Sinhaseevali. When the son grew up, he forced opened the stone door of the cave and escaped with his mother and sister to Vanga province (Bengal). The lion harassed the inhabitants of Vanga region in search of his family. The King of Vanga offered a reward to anyone who could get rid of the lion. Sinhabahu volunteered and killed his father. The king offered him the kingdom, but he in turn offered it to his mother. Sinhabahu returned to Gujarat, where he founded a kingdom, married his sister and bore sixteen pairs of twins, the first being Vijaya and Sumitta. Young Vijaya and his friends were troublemakers. So, Sinhabahu expelled them from the kingdom. Vijaya then sailed to Sri Lanka with his seven hundred friends and landed in the northwest of Sri Lanka. This happened in 543 BC on the day of Buddha’s parinibbana (death and passage to nirvana), establishing a link between the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka and Buddhism. Buddha foresaw that Vijaya would convert the entire island to Buddhism, and he requested Indra, the king of gods to protect Vijaya and his followers. Indra deputed Uppalavanna (Varuna), who protected them by tying the sacred paritta thread on their wrists. Kuveni, a devil princess (Yakkshas) in the island, assumed human form and captured Vijaya’s seven hundred men for her supper. When Vijaya learned of this, he threatened to kill Kuveni, if she did not return the men. Kuveni complied, and then became Vijaya’s consort, helping him to destroy the Sirisavatthu city run by Yakkshas. Later, Vijaya sent her away with her son and daughter and brought a royal Pandu princess of the Ksatriya clan from Madhura India, to become his consort. The Pandu king was so pleased that he sent the princess to Vijaya, seven hundred maidens as brides for Vijaya’s followers, a band of craftsmen and one thousand families to launch the new kingdom. Vijaya became the first king of Sri Lanka. Kuveni left Thambapani, but on her return to Lankapura, she was slain by Yakkshas for betraying them. The two children grew up to become the ancestors of Pulindas, the Vaddhas of today.¹⁵

Mahawansa accounts on events prior to the sixth century are considered to be mythical stories and are not taken seriously by authentic historians. In recent years the dates in Mahawansa have been critically assessed by scholars,¹⁶ against the ‘Contemporaries Theory’ (i.e. comparison of the times of Alexander the Great 356–323 BC with Asoka the Great 269–232 BC instead of his grandfather king Chandragupta Maurya 340–298 BC), ‘Generations Theory’ (i.e. Mutasiva, the great grandson of Buddha’s niece Bhaddakachchana, being presented as a contemporary of Emperor Asoka, when hundred years gap is estimated for three generations) and ‘Age Theory’ (i.e. According to Mahawansa, Vijaya ruled from 543–505 BC and his nephew/stepbrother Panduvasudeva from 504–474 BC. Panduvasudeva married Buddha’s niece Bhaddakachchana, whose father was Sakya Pandu. If Buddha lived for 80 years, then Bhaddakachchana should arrive in Sri Lanka about 40 years after Buddha’s death (parinibbana) to account for the year of Vijaya’s landing and Buddha’s parinibbana in 543 BC. Considering the marriageable age of Bhaddakachchana to Panduvasudeva and her eleven children, the year of Buddha’s parinibbana, the year of Vijaya’s landing or the year of Bhaddakachchana’s arrival in Sri Lanka needs to be adjusted to account for consistency in these three parallel events. Mahawansa also states that Sakya Pandu, Bhaddakachchana’s father was living when his daughter left India, forty years after Buddha’s death. That puts the age of Sakya Pandu, when her daughter left India to be over 100 years. If Mahawansa text is corrected with respect to its dates, then Vijaya landed in Sri Lanka when Buddha was forty years old or five years after his enlightenment.

Divinisation of the Vijayan landing with the blessings of Sakkara, Indra and Varuna is mere literary genre, a product of imagination intended to add power and authority to the Sinhalese nation. Tennekoon (2012) explained the impact of these three theories on Mahawansa dates, and suggested that Mahawansa Buddhist Era 543 BC and the Geiger Buddhist Era 483 BC now in use for Buddhist and Sinhalese history be further revised.

2. Dipavansa story (fourth century) – Dipavansa predates Mahawansa and the story is similar to the Mahawansa story, except that there is no reference to Kuveni, indicating that her addition in the Mahawansa story would have been a later idea.

3. Hiouen Tsiang (seventh century) – He was a travelling Chinese monk. In this narration, the lion story is similar to the Mahawansa account, but Suppadevi does not come from Bengal, but from South India, and it was Sinhabahu and his daughter who come to Sri Lanka, not Vijaya. Sinhabahu settled in Ratnadeepa (Sri Lanka) and attacked the merchants who come there in search of gems, killing them and taking their children. Sinhabahu and the captured children became the community of ‘Simhala.’

4. Jataka story or Valahassa Jatakaya (first to seventh century) – This story is translated as, ‘Flying Cloud Horse Jataka story,’ and is depicted in Ajantha Caves, India. Jataka stories relate the five hundred and fifty rebirths of Buddha, including one of his births on the moon, as a rabbit (Sasa Jatakaya). Jataka stories are meant to teach moral lessons, and in each story, Buddha is the leading moral figure. According to Valahassa Jatakaya, Sinhala the merchant prince and the son of Simha, came to the city of Sirisavatthu in Ratnadeepa (Sri Lanka) with five hundred merchants, in search of gems. Female devils (Yakkhinis), who can appear as beautiful women and prey on shipwrecked sailors and merchants, are said to have lived in the city of Sirisavatthu. Yakkhinis were said to have lived from Nagadeepa, near Jaffna to Kelaniya, waiting for shipwrecks. Sinhala’s ship was wrecked and he and his men were saved by the Yakkhinis, who pretended to be the widows of merchants from the island. Sinhala married the chief Yakkhini (equivalent to Kuveni), before discovering the truth about the female devils. He escaped with his wife and two hundred and fifty of his men with the help of a magical flying horse (Valahassa). They fled to his father, Simha in India, where his wife turned into a devil, devoured Simha’s entire household and returned to Ratnadeepa. There, she devoured the remaining two hundred and fifty men left behind in Sri Lanka. Sinhala succeeded his father as king. He took an army by ship to Ratnadeepa, where he defeated the elephants of Yakkhinis and established the kingdom of the Sinhalese. One would guess that Sinhala in the above Jathaka story is the reincarantion of Buddha, and that would seal the ownership of Sri Lanka with Buddhists.

Buddhist chronicles also refer to Buddha’s visit to Kelaniya and Nagadeepa, thereby establishing the rightful ownership of the entire country (i.e. Tamil north and Sinhalese south) by the Buddhist Sinhalese. Although educated Buddhists do not take these stories seriously, they go to form the social consciousness of Buddhist masses, and Buddhist monks explain them with a sense of religious nationalism.

However, eminent scholars of the last century, such as Nicholas and Paranawitana (1961) concluded in their History of Ceylon that "these stories of the Sinhalese people and how they came to settle down in this island are overlaid with myths, legends and folklore. The story of a princess mating with a lion to give birth to the eponymous hero is clearly totemistic¹⁷ in origin. The story of Vijaya and Kuveni has parallels in Greek mythology. The subduing of demons by the hero as a preliminary to the winning of sovereignty goes back to Vedic mythology. The protection of the hero by gods, bidden to do so by the Buddha and the synchronisation of Vijaya’s landing with the parinibbana must have been features that developed in the tradition after the Sinhalese royal family had become great supporters of the Buddhist faith."

But, by the turn of the century, Buddhist Sinhalese extremists of Sri Lanka have rationalised their right to the ownership of Sri Lanka through myths, legends and folklore and justified hegemony against ethno-religious minorities.¹⁸ If the argument of the ‘rights of the original inhabitants’ is stretched further in Sri Lankan history, then Vaddhas, the descendants of original inhabitants of Sri Lanka should be given the first place in the country’s affairs. But, unfortunately Vaddhas live in poverty in remote Bintenne, with restrictions on their hunting in their former ‘homelands,’ now turned into National Parks.

The two main ethnic communities of Sri Lanka today are the Sinhalese and the Tamils. Minority ethnic communities are the Vaddhas, Kaffirs,¹⁹ Malays, Moors, Burghers, Colombo Chettys, Barathas, Parsis and others. The Muslims of Sri Lanka have declared themselves as an ethnic minority, though they can be categorised as a religious minority. The Sinhalese claim that they have an Aryan origin from North India, while the origin of Tamils can be traced back to the Dravidians of South India. Prof. Emeritus Chandra Wickramagamage of Sri Jayewardenapura University also concluded the Sinhabahu story in chronicles to be a myth. He attributed the origin of the Sinhalese to two groups of Indians who arrived in Sri Lanka under the leadership of Sinhala.²⁰ One group was successful in establishing and its leader is referred to as the ‘victorious leader’ or Vijaya, although his original name was Sinhala. These Indian settlers of Sri Lanka were known as Sinhalese, with no reference to a race, but to the name of the leader, Sinhala. According to Prof. Wickramagamage, some unsuccessful migrants, who came to Sri Lanka have returned to India and settled in the Kerala State in the south west coast of India, and their descendants can be recognised today. Probably the settlers came from India in waves and settled in different places in Sri Lanka, such as Upatissagama, Anuradhagama, Ujjeni, Uruvela and Vijita, as mentioned in the chronicles.

When Vijaya was nearing his death, he asked his brother Sumitta to be the king of Sri Lanka. But, by this time he had become the king of Simhapura in India. So, he sent his younger stepbrother Panduvasudeva, whose mother was a princess of the Maddas, belonging to the Ksatriya clan in Punjab. Panduvasudeva’s consort was princess Bhaddakachchana, the niece of Buddha.

In the traditional account of the colonisation of Sri Lanka by the Indo-Aryans, the places mentioned in India are too far away from each other to accept these stories to be true. Latadesa, where Simhabahu, Vijaya’s father reigned is present Gujarat. But, Simhabahu’s mother is represented as the daughter of a king of Vanga, the present Bengal. Sinhabahu is said to have gone from Vanga to Latadesa, and founded Sinhapura there. It is very difficult to believe that a migration of people took place in those days right across the Indian Peninsula from Bengal to Gujarat. One can also guess links with Punjab, as Panduvasudeva’s mother was from the Ksatriya clan in Punjab. A question that is raised is, whether the place of origin of the Sinhalese is Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab or South India. While, some authors claim it to be North West India (i.e. Gujarat), others think that Sinhalese people originated from North East India (i.e. Bengal).

Recent genetic studies of South Asian populations clearly show dominant affinities of the Sinhalese with South Indian Tamils and Bengalis of North India/Bangladesh. In analysing the genetic admixture of the Sinhalese, Kshatriya (1995) found a 70 per cent contribution from the South Indian Tamils (Tamil Nadu) and a 25 per cent contribution from the North Eastern Indians (Bengali) to the gene pool of the present day Sinhalese population. On the contrary, Papiha et al. (1996) found the Bengali contribution to be 72 per cent and the Tamil contribution to be 16 per cent. Mustana (2007) also concluded that Sinhalese are genetically closest to North-Eastern Bengalis and then to South Indian Tamils, but far from North-Western Gujaratis and North-Central Punjabis, who are close to each other. Although genetic studies of Kirk (1976), Papiha et al. (1996), Malavige et al. (2007), Mustana (2007), Dissanayake et al. (2009) indicated some North Indian connections, Dissanayake (2012) concluded that these studies for most part confirmed the close genetic affinity of different ethnic groups living in the country, with little evidence to support the historical accounts that Sinhalese originated from the Bengali region in North East India. The analysis of blood serum proteins and red blood cell enzymes also showed no significant difference between the Tamils and the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka (Saha 1988).

Sinhala language is considered to be a member of the Indo-Aryan languages. It is more related to North Indian languages than South Indian languages and is closer to the Romani language, which has also affinities to Bengali. Probably, both the Sinhala and the Romani may be related to the language used by a group of Palaeolithic inhabitants who lived in Central India about 25,000 years ago.

In ancient history, Sinhalese have treated Tamils as outsiders, because of their allegiance to South Indian kings. In recent history, Sinhalese and Tamils are superficially partitioned by differences in language, religion and social customs. In the post independence period, these differences have been aggravated by competition for education and jobs and by the policies of Buddhist-Sinhalese governments. In the twenty-first century, history has been used to divide the nation, or rather unify the nation by dilution of minorities. However, Buddhist Sinhalese have many similarities than differences with the minorities in the country that all the current inhabitants of Sri Lanka can be called SRI LANKANS.

CONSOLIDATION OF BUDDHISM IN THE SINHALESE KINGDOM

Sri Lanka has a recorded history of kings in succession for over a period of two millennia, and they contributed significantly to the growth of Buddhist Sinhalese culture in the country. Sri Lanka’s ancient history is contained in Mahawansa (Great chronicle), Chulavansa (Little chronicle), Dipavansa and Thupavansa. They constitute a literary record of the establishment and growth of Sinhalese political power and Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Buddhism came to Sri Lanka in the third century BC from India, during the reign of King Devanampiyatissa (247–207 BC). Buddhism began in India in about the fifth century BC. At the time of the Buddha’s death, about 488–483 BC (Schumann 1989),²¹ almost all the important states in North India were deeply influenced by the new teaching of Buddha, in a country where Hinduism was the dominant religion. Buddhism spread gradually during the lifetime of Buddha along the Ganges Valley and found its way into several kingdoms in North India, between the Vindhya Mountains and the Himalayas. After Buddha’s death, the great Indian Buddhist Emperor Asoka (269–232 BC²²) sent missionaries to various countries to spread Buddhism. He sent his son Mahinda, a Buddhist monk to Sri Lanka, where King Devanampiyatissa provided facilities for him to reside in Anuradhapura and preach Buddhism. According to Mahawansa tradition, Mahinda and his entourage were transported by air to Mihintale Hill, eight miles from the royal capital.²³ One day, while on a deer hunt, the King encountered Mahinda in the jungles of Mihintale. Mahinda preached to the king on the evil of killing animals and other Buddhist principles. The King and all his subjects were converted to Buddhism. Thus, Buddhism became the state religion of Sri Lanka and was closely associated with the Sinhalese culture. Most of the kings of the country were Buddhists and were patrons of Buddhist institutions. They built Buddhist monasteries, temples and pagodas and intervened to establish order when there were conflicts between monasteries.²⁴ Over time, they shifted the capital progressively southwards to adjust to Indian invasions, agricultural needs and public health threats.²⁵ From the third Century BC to the tenth century the seat of power lay in Anuradhapura, and then moved to Polonnaruwa (eleventh to thirteenth century), to Dambadeniya and Yapahuwa (thirteenth century), Kurunegala and Gampola (fourteenth century), Kotte (fifteenth to sixteenth century) and finally to Kandy (fifteenth to nineteenth century). Throughout this long period of reign and relocation of the Buddhist Sinhalese kingdom, the traditions, religion, art and culture of previous generations continued to be followed.

The Vijaya dynasty of kings ruled for four centuries during the Anuradhapura period. Their reign ended in 65 AD, when King Vasabha founded the Lambakanna dynasty. Their notable ruler was King Mahasena (276–303), who constructed many irrigation systems and encouraged heterodox Buddhist sects. A Pandyan invasion from South India took place in 432 AD, but King Dhatusena (459–477) defeated the Pandyans and established the Moriya dynasty. His son, Kasyapa I (477–495) moved the capital to the rock fortress of Sigiriya, but after his dethronement it was moved back to Anuradhapura. There was a significant Christian influence in the country in the fifth century, as evident from a Christian army commander Migara and a Christian queen during the Sigiriya period. From the seventh century, there was an increased involvement of South Indians in Sri Lankan politics. There were many non-Sinhalese mercenaries in and around the capital and Sinhalese kings were drawn into dynastic battles between the Pandyas, Pallavas and Cholas of South India. In the tenth century Cholas attacked Sinhalese kings, as they had allied themselves with Pandyas. Cholas completed their domination by seizing the entire island in 1017.

It was left to King Vijayabahu I to liberate the island. He established the capital at Polonnaruwa in 1070, where it remained for 150 years. Parakramabahu I (Parakramabahu the Great), the most illustrious king of Sri Lanka, lived during this period (1153–1186). He adopted a strong foreign policy, expanded agriculture and increased economic efficiency. He also improved military skills and strategies and sent a naval expedition to Burma²⁶ and an army to invade Pandyan kingdom in South India. After Parakramabahu, the throne passed to the Kalinga dynasty of South India. Nissankamalla (1186–1196), a brother of Parakramabahu’s Kalinga queen, became the king. The last Polonnaruwa king was Magha, an adventurer from South India, who ruled with severity and terror with no respect for traditional authority and religion. Members of the Sinhalese ruling class were displeased and moved to inaccessible and defensible Dambadeniya, about 112 km southeast of Polonnaruwa.

King Vijayabahu III (1232–1236) and his three successors successfully attacked Kalinga kings in Polonnaruwa. After capturing Polonnaruwa, King Vijayabahu did not want to stay there, but preferred to rule from Dambadeniya. During the reign of King Parakramabahu II (1236–1270), Dambadeniya kingdom achieved great power. They expelled Kalingas from the island with the help of Pandyas and repelled an invasion by a Malayan ruler. Buddhist literary works such as Kausilumina, translation of Jataka stories and parts of Mahawansa were written during this period. King Bhuvanekabahu I (1272–1284) moved the capital northwards to Yapahuwa, an isolated rock fortified with ramparts and trenches. Following the death of King Bhuvanekabahu in 1284, the Pandyas of South India invaded Sri Lanka once again and succeeded even in capturing the sacred tooth relic. Yapahuwa was abandoned and his successors relocated the capital to Kurunegala and then to Gampola. In 1412, the capital was moved to Kotte, in the suburbs of Colombo by Parakramabahu VI (1412–1467). Prior to the arrival of the Portuguese in Sri Lanka, four kings ruled the country from Kotte from 1467 to 1505. They were Jayabahu II (1467–1469), Bhuvanekabahu VI (1469–1480), Parakramabahu VII (1480–1490) and Vira Parakramabahu VIII (1490–1509). When first western coloniser arrived in Sri Lanka in the early part of the sixteenth century, there was an established religion and a kingdom ruled by a Sinhalese king in Kotte, the lowland capital of Sri Lanka. In the hill country, King Senasammatha Wickramabahu established the Kandyan kingdom in 1462. Following many battles, the kingdoms in the lowlands fell to the colonisers, but the Kandyans defended their kingdom for a couple of centuries. That kingdom too fell in 1815, when Sri Vickrama Rajasinha, the last king of Sri Lanka was captured and exiled by the British.

THE FIRST CHRISTIANS IN SRI LANKA

There is evidence that St Thomas’ Christians have lived in Sri Lanka during the first century. Engravings of three crosses have been sighted at Mutwal, Kotte and Anuradhapura. The latter is exhibited at the Anuradhapura museum. When the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka, they found the ruins of St Thomas’ church at Mutwal near Kelani River. The history of the first 600 years of the Church written from Constantinople (present Istanbul) refers to St Thomas preaching in the island of Taprobane (Sri Lanka). During the Sigiriya period 479–497 AD there was a Christian queen, a large number of Christian soldiers from South India, including a Christian commander of the Sinhalese army. Besides St Thomas’ Christians, there were Nestorian Christians in Sri Lanka as evident from the writings of a travelling Egyptian monk. In the thirteenth century, Nestorian Christians joined the Catholic Church. Most of St Thomas’ Christians belong to the Catholic Church, and they follow the Syrio-Malabar rituals. Although there were Catholics in Sri Lanka when the Portuguese arrived, they did not bother to establish relationships with them, because they came as a superpower and dealt directly with royal families. Fr Vito Perniola, the Catholic Jesuit historian is of opinion that pre-Portuguese Christianity in Sri Lanka was not significant, while other Catholic historians think that there was a sizeable community of Christians in Sri Lanka before the arrival of Portuguese, particularly during the Sigiriya period.²⁷ This subject will be discussed in Chapter 2.

THE PORTUGUESE IN SRI LANKA

From 711 to 788 AD, the Islamic forces led by Tariq ibn Ziyad invaded Hispania (Portugal and Spain) from Gibraltar and annexed ⅔ of Hispania to the Umayyad Caliphate.²⁸ The current tourist attraction, Alhambra palace-fortress in Granada is a visible memory of the Muslim occupation of Spain. In 1257 Portuguese forces under Afonso III were able to reconquer Portugal to the present border. The Muslim occupation of the Spanish Peninsula ended on 2 January 1492 after the surrender of Mohammad Abu Abdullah (Boabdil)²⁹ to the forces of king Ferdinand and queen Isabella of Spain.

After gaining their lands from the Muslims, Portugal and Spain began to explore the world through navigation. A request from Christopher Columbus to discover India was postponed till the liberation of Spain from Muslims. In 1492, Columbus discovered West Indies in his search for India. In claiming the newly discovered lands, there were conflicts between Portugal and Spain, and the disgraceful pope, Alexander VI intervened. His Bull³⁰ Inter Caetera of 1493 allowed Spain to carry out its activities to the west of an imaginary line 100 leagues³¹ to the west of Cape Verde Islands, while the territory east of this line went to Portugal. Portugal was unhappy with the Bull, as it would not allow them to colonise parts of South America. King John II of Portugal negotiated directly with Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and in 1494 signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, shifting the demarcation line, 370 leagues towards west, to include Brazil. Even though the Treaty was completed without consulting the Pope, some authors wrongly call the resulting line the Papal Line of Demarcation (Marchant 2008). In 1498 the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovered the real India. Ferdinand Magellan, another Portuguese explorer with the Spanish flag crossed the Atlantic and the Pacific and reached the Philippines in 1521. After his tragic death, Juan Sebastian Elcano continued the voyage across the Indian Ocean, completing the first circumnavigation of the Earth. After the initial exploratory voyages, the Portuguese conquered countries in coastal Africa, moving further eastwards to Asia, where they established colonies in Goa, Sri Lanka, Malacca and Macau,³² while the Spaniards held on to the Philippines and Islands in the Pacific. The Treaty of Zaragoza signed in 1529 between Portugal and Spain defined the limits of colonisation of the East by these superpowers.

The primary objective of Portuguese in Asia was power and trade, to take over the monopoly of trade from Arabs through the power and influence of their colonies. They attempted this by befriending local rulers and securing agreements. The spread of Christianity was the missionary objective of priests, who travelled to these countries. A notable missionary in Asia was St Francis Xavier, who travelled through Sri Lanka, as far as Malacca, Japan and died en route to China.³³

Besides the expansion of their trade empire, the Portuguese policy-makers encouraged the infusion of Portuguese ‘blood’ into Asia. Afonso de Albuquerque was a leading proponent of this policy, and encouraged intermarriages with Asians (casados).³⁴ This policy was partly driven by a dearth of women, as well as a shortage of human resources in Portugal. Albuquerque tried to create a new Portuguese nation in Asia to compensate for this. As a result, most of the Portuguese