Ceylonese Mudaliyars

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Mudaliyars of the Association of Ceylon Chiefs met to celebrate the King's birthday in June 1923

Mudaliyar (or Mudali) was a

Ceylonese colonial title during Portuguese and British rule of the island. Stemming from the native headman system, the title was usually hereditary, made to wealthy influential families loyal to the British Crown.[1]

First used by Sinhalese kings and reigning princes from the Polonnaruwa period forward to ennoble subjects, the Portuguese from 17th century onwards, followed by the Dutch and British continued use of the Mudaliyar title.[1][2] The British use differed slightly in that they re-established a Mudaliyar class, at the behest of the Governor of Ceylon, with appointments that had the title of Mudali. This process was stopped in the 1930s when the Native Department of the British government of Ceylon was closed down.[3]

The members of this group formed a unique social group called the

Sri Lankan Mudaliyars and associated with older Radala caste.[4]
At present, the post of Court Mudliar remain in function in Sri Lankan courts.

History

Main article: Mudaliar

Mudaliyar is a Tamil title, derived from the word mudhal, meaning "first", and the honorific suffix yar, meaning "The first" as in the person of the first rank.[5][6] The position was created in the 17th century by the Portuguese to function as a link between the colonial administration and the local populace, as they had done in South India. Incumbents received payment in form of land grants and use of tenured service (Rajakariya) of the local population which they extracted for their own estates.[7]

De Saram family

A De Saram family of Dutch and Malay ancestry had Sinhalised itself in the late 18th century by posing as the representatives of the masses and subsequently convincing the British rulers that they were from the numerous Govigama caste. This was a strategic move as it gave the British masters the impression that the De Saram family had the backing of a large body of natives. It was also the easiest route to Sinhalisation as the peasant community was widely dispersed, still unstructured, and without inter-community networks or leaders.

Don Stephen Senanayake, Don Charles and Fredrick Richard
, daughter Maria Frances and wife Dona Catherina Elizabeth Perera.

The first notable ancestor of the De Saram family was an interpreter who accompanied the Dutch Embassy to Kandy 1731–1732. Despite his advanced age of 71 years, this early De Saram had to make the entire journey by foot as his social status did not warrant travel in a

divide and rule policies and created caste animosity among the native elite.[9]
The De Saram family eventually had a strong and exclusive network of relatives as Mudaliyars by the late 19th century. Later, through marriage alliances, the network extended to the Obeyesekere, Dias-Bandaranaike, Ilangakoon, de Alwis, de Livera, Pieris, Siriwardena, and Senanayake families.

Ponnambalam-Coomaraswamy family

Main article:
Ponnambalam-Coomaraswamy family

As much as the De Saram family was responsible for the rise of the

Vellalar caste. The ascendance of the Ponnambalam-Coomaraswamy family commences with a Coomaraswamy (1783–1836) from Point Pedro joining the seminary that Governor North started for producing interpreters. Coomaraswamy passed out and served as an interpreter from 1805. He was appointed by the Governor to a Mudaliyar position at the age of 26 and became the Jaffna Tamil with the highest government appointment. He played a critical role as the Tamil-English interpreter when the Kandyan king Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy was captured in 1815. He was rewarded by Governor Brownrigg in 1819 for loyal service to the British crown. There were allegations that he was not from the Vellala caste. James Rutnam's research[full citation needed
] has shown that Coomaraswamy's Father was Arumugampillai, a South Indian, who had migrated to Gurudavil in Jaffna. (Tribune 1957).

Ponnanbalam Ramanathan in 1906 with his future wife Ms. Harrison (right). Several members of the family were married to western women.
Anglican
Christian background.

Ponnambalam was appointed cashier of the Colombo Kachcheri in 1845 and deputy Coroner for Colombo in 1847. Many leading Englishmen were his friends and it transpired in the 1849 Parliamentary Commission that he used to lend money to government officials.

Vellalas in Colombo. However many of its members; Muttu Coomaraswamy, P. Coomaraswamy, P. Ramanathan married western women. Ananda Coomaraswamy
was married four times to western women. They helped many young Tamils to secure employment in English Banks and Mercantile establishments. On the death of Mudaliyar Coomaraswamy's wife in 1897, the leading daily, 'The Ceylon Independent' wrote " to her and her husband, almost every important Hindu family in the city owes its rise".

Titular Mudaliyars

In 1853, the British Governor George William Anderson appointed Jeronis de Soysa, a successful merchant who had undertaken a great deal of philanthropy as a Gate Mudaliyar as an honour in recognition of his philanthropic en-devours. From this point, the Governors made Mudaliyar appointments as titular honours to individuals outside the government service. This practice continued past the discontinuation of the native headman system in 1937 and into the post-independence era until S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike suspended state honours in 1956.

Ranks of British Mudaliyars

Mudaliyars had several classes, of which the official and ex-offico were government servants, whilst the titular was awarded as an honour.

The order of precedence[12]
  • Maha Mudaliyar
  • Gate Mudaliyar (Wasala Mudaliyar)
  • Atapattu Mudaliyar
  • Kachcheri Mudaliyar
  • Korale Mudaliyar
  • Court Mudaliyar
Official[13]
  • Maha Mudaliar (Head Mudaliyar) - head of the native headmen of the low country and native aide-de-camp of the governor.
  • Mudaliar of the Atapattu - in charge of jurisdiction of a District or Area
  • Mudaliar of the Korale – in charge of jurisdiction of a korale
Awarded as an honour (Titular)
  • Mudaliar of the Governor's Gate (Gate Mudaliar) (Titular) – awarded as an honour
  • Mudaliar (Titular) – awarded as an honour
Ex-officio
  • Mudaliar of the Kachcheri – head of the native staff of a Kachcheri
  • Court Mudaliar-Court Clerk/Court Interpreter
  • Heads of minor departments of public service held the rank of Mudaliar by virtue of their office.

List of prominent Mudaliyars

Maha Mudaliyar (Head Mudaliyar)

Gate Mudaliyar

  • Gate Mudaliyar Don Johannes Tillekeratne Abeyesekere,[19] Mudaliyar of the Adikarie & Maha Pattus of siyane Korale in the Western Province, retired on pension after serving Government for 53 years in 1876
  • Gate Mudaliyar Philip De Silva Pandittsekere Ekanayake Senewiratne[19] Mudaliyar of Siyane Korale
  • Gate Mudaliyar Baba Hakim Muthaliph (1779–1839) of Magampattuwa[20]
  • Gate Mudaliyar
    Arumugampillai Coomaraswamy (1784–1836) of Point Pedro[21]
  • Gate Mudaliyar Jeronis de Soysa Dissanayake (1797–1862) – First Gate Mudaliyar outside of government service
  • Gate Mudaliyar
    Arunachalam Ponnambalam
    (1814–1887) of Manipay
  • Gate Mudaliyar Baba Thajul Arifin Doole (1834–1909) of Hambantota[22]
  • Gate Mudaliyar John Abraham Tillekeratne Abeyesekere[19] (1855-1911) Mudaliyar of Colombo
  • Gate Mudaliyar John Vincent Gomis Abeyesinghe Jayawardene (b.1861) of Dadayakkara Walawwa - Kadawatha
  • Gate Mudaliyar James Edward Corea (1865– 1955) of Chilaw
  • Gate Mudaliyar Alexander Edmund De Silva Wijegooneratne Samaraweera Rajapakse, OBE (1866–1937) of Negombo
  • Gate Mudaliyar Tuder Dedrick Nathaniel De Abrew Wijeyagooneratne Samaraweera Rajapakse (1867–1959) of Maha Kappina Walawwa - Balapitiya
  • Gate Mudaliyar Abraham Mendis Gunasekera (1869–1931)
  • Gate Mudaliyar Abdul Rahman Alim Sahib
  • Gate Mudaliyar Edmund Peiris, JP, UM of Kalutara
  • Gate Mudaliyar Don Gabriell Kumarasinghe Jayakody (1871–1951) of Jayakody Walawwa - Ganemulla
  • Gate Mudaliyar A. C. G. S. Amarasekara, OBE (1883 – 1983)
  • Gate Mudaliyar Magamage Vincent Perera Senadhira (1891–1958)
  • Gate Mudaliyar Muhammad Samsudeen Kariapper (1899–1989) of Akkaraipattu[23]
  • Gate Mudaliyar Manueltamby St. John Puvirajasinghe of Karaiyur, Jaffna.[24][25]

Mudaliyar

  • Mudaliyar Deraniyagala Louis Pieris Samarasinghe Siriwardena (1680–1746)
  • Mudaliyar Weerakonhettige Marthalis Gomis Abeyesinghe Jayawardene of Malwatte walawwa(Director of the Government Gardens in 1796)
  • Mudaliyar Deogo Kurukulasuriya Arasunilayitta of Karaiyur, Jaffna (1790s) .[26]
  • Mudaliyar Henry Alexander Dahanayake (1876 - 1953) of Agrahera Walawwa
  • Mudaliyar Weerakonhettige Mattes Gomis Abeyesinghe Jayawardene of Dadayakkara Walawwa - Kadawatha
  • Mudaliyar Paulas Gomis Abeyesinghe Jayawardene of Dadayakkara Walawwa - Kadawatha
  • Mudaliyar Yakunduwe Dharmasena Hitiralalage Don Richard Perera Wimalasekara (Honorable)(1750s) Waskadu Badda Pothupitiya Pattikarawasala Walauwa
  • Mudliyar Dharmasena Hitiralalage Don Devid Perera wimalasekara (1805-1860s)(Honorable) Waskadubadda Pothupitiya Pattikarawasala Walauwa
  • Mudaliyar Simon Wilson Gomis Abeyesinghe Jayawardene of Dadayakkara Walawwa - Kadawatha
  • Mudaliyar John De Silva Wijegooneratne Rajapakshe, J.P. (1841–1909) of Negombo
  • Mudaliyar Don Spater Senanayake (1848–1907) of Botale[27]
  • Mudaliyar Ahamath Ibrahim Jainu-Deen (1864–1924) of Badulla[28]
  • Mudaliyar Sinathamby Somasundara Aiyer (1881–1953) of Punnalaikkadduvan
  • Mudaliyar E.F. Edirisinha, Kachcheri Mudaliyar, N'Eliya [29]
  • Mudliyar Nanayakkara Rajawasala Appuhamilage Don Arthur de Silva Wijesinghe Siriwardena (1889–1947) of Richmond Castle, Kalutara
  • Mudaliyar Aboobucker of Galle[30]
  • Mudaliyar William Mohotti Munasinghe, Aide-de-camp to the British Governor and Mudaliyar of Negombo (1902–1962)
  • Mudaliyar Ahamed Lebbe Sinne Lebbe (b 1902) of Batticaloa[31]
  • Mudaliyar Don Peiris Weerasinghe – of Nugegoda (b 1911)
  • Mudaliyar Shanmugam Tambyah Mudaliyar of Manipay
  • Mudaliyar Richard Jayawickrama Wijetunga of Elgiriya
  • Mudaliyar Jayasena Madanayake of Peliyagoda
  • Mudaliyar Baba Junoor Haji Bahar[32]
  • Mudaliyar Komanda Mudali of Kandy
  • Mudaliyar Thenahandi David Mendis of Negombo (1904–1977)
  • Mudaliyar Kanaharaaya of Karaveddy, Jaffna.

See also

Further reading

  • De Silva, K. M. (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. University of California Press.
    ISBN 9780520043206
    .
  • Peebles, Patrick (1995). Social change in nineteenth century Ceylon. Colombo: Navrang in collaboration with Lake House Bookshop.
    ISBN 9788170131410
    .

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 90-04-08979-9
    .
  2. ^ Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. Cambridge University Press for the Royal Asiatic Society. 1876. p. 302.
  3. ISBN 978-81-7013-141-0
    .
  4. ^ "The Mudaliyar Class of Ceylon" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  5. ^ "முதலியார் | அகராதி | Tamil Dictionary". agarathi.com. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  6. ^ "::paragaramuthali". www.tamilvu.org. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  7. ^ Ceylon Under British Rule, 1795–1932 By Lennox A. Mills
  8. ^ "Unknown". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Ceylon Branch. XXI (62): 197. 1909.
  9. ^ "WWW Virtual Library: D. S. Senanayake". www.lankalibrary.com.
  10. ^ Vythilingam, M. (1971). The life of Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan. Vol. 1. Ramanathan Commemoration Society. p. 58.
  11. ISBN 9781842772287
    .
  12. ISBN 978-81-206-1335-5
    .
  13. ISBN 978-0-520-04320-6
    .
  14. ^ "Family # 3126 De Saram".
  15. ^ "Sheikh Abdul Cader Marikar". www.worldgenweb.org.
  16. ^ "The Chieftains of Ceylon" (PDF). www.defence.lk.
  17. ^ "Family #1001 Bandaranaike". www.worldgenweb.org.
  18. ^ "Family # 3051 Obeyesekere".
  19. ^
    ISBN 978-81-7013-141-0
    .
  20. ^ "Gate Mudaliyar Baba Hakim Muthaliph". geni_family_tree.
  21. ^ "Descendants of Shanmugam Mudaly-5002". www.worldgenweb.org.
  22. ^ "Gate Mudliyar Baba Thajul Arifin Doole". geni_family_tree.
  23. ^ "Sri Lanka Muslim Family Genealogy". www.worldgenweb.org.
  24. ISBN 978-81-206-1670-7. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help
    )
  25. ^ Committee, Tamber Commemoration (1972). A.E. Tamber, 26-10-1904-18-2-1971: a memorial volume. Eelanadu.
  26. ^ Colombo, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Ceylon Branch (1938). Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Colombo Apothecaries Company. p. 110.
  27. ^ "Sri Lankan Sinhalese Family Gene". www.worldgenweb.org.
  28. ^ "A.I Jainu-Deen". geni_family_tree.
  29. ^ "The Chieftains of Ceylon" (PDF). www.defence.lk.
  30. ^ "Sri Lanka Moor Family Genealogy". www.worldgenweb.org.
  31. ^ "Online edition of Daily News - Features". archives.dailynews.lk.
  32. ^ "gen153". www.worldgenweb.org.
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