Jaffna kingdom

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Kingdom of Jaffna
  • யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு (Tamil)
  • Yālppāṇa irācciyam
  • යාපනය රාජධානිය (Sinhala)
  • Yāpanaya rājadhāniya
1215–1619
Flag of Jaffna kingdom
A reconstruction of the Jaffna kingdom flag (Nandi Kodi) based on archaeological and literary evidence.[1]
  Jaffna kingdom at its greatest extent (circa 1350)
  Jaffna kingdom in 1619
Capital
Nallur
Common languagesTamil
Religion
Hinduism (Shaivism)
GovernmentMonarchy
Aryacakravarti 
• 1215–1255[2][3][4][5]
Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan a.k.a. Kalinga Magha
• 1277–1284
Kulasekara Cinkaiariyan
• 1617–1619
Cankili II
Historical era
Polonnaruwa Kingdom.[2][3][4][5]
1215
• Pandyas installed Aryacakravarti
1277
• Independence from Pandya dynasty
1323
1450
• Aryacakravarti dynasty restored
1467
1619
CurrencySetu coins
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Kingdom of Polonnaruwa
Chola dynasty
Pandya dynasty
Portuguese Ceylon

The Jaffna kingdom (

Parakramabahu VI.[6][2][3][4][5]

It gained independence from

Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Trincomalee districts are mentioned as places in Demala-pattanama.[15]

The arrival of the

Nallur
, a suburb of modern Jaffna town, was its capital.

History

Main article: History of the Jaffna Kingdom
Part of a series on the
Historical states of Sri Lanka
Sinhala Kingdom
543–437 BCE
437 BCE–1017 CE
1017–1055
1055–1232
1232–1341
1341–1371
1371–1597
Jaffna Kingdom
1232–1620
1521–1594
Kandyan period
1469–1815
1597–1658
1658–1796
British Ceylon period
1815–1948
Sri Lanka since 1948
1948–1972
1972–present

flag Sri Lanka portal

Part of a series on
Sri Lankan Tamils
Ancient era
Middle Ages
Colonial
Post independence
Civil war

Founding

The origin of the Jaffna kingdom is obscure and still the subject of controversy among historians.

Pandyan Dynasty who was ruling the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa at the time with the help of his soldiers and mercenaries from the Kalinga, modern Kerala and Damila (Tamil Nadu) regions in India.[2]

Pandyan tribute paying territories circa 1250, includes what ultimately became the Jaffna kingdom in Sri Lanka

After the conquest of

Pandyan Dynasty under the leadership of Arya Cakravarti who established the Jaffna kingdom.[25]

Aryacakravarti dynasty

Main article: Aryacakravarti dynasty

When Chandrabhanu embarked on a second invasion of the south, the Pandyas came to the support of the Sinhalese king and killed Chandrabhanu in 1262 and installed

Muslim invasions, successive Aryacakravarti rulers made the Jaffna kingdom independent and a regional power to reckon with in Sri Lanka.[2][6] All subsequent kings of the Jaffna kingdom claimed descent from one Kulingai Cakravarti who is identified with Kalinga Magha by Swami Gnanaprakasar and Mudaliar Rasanayagam while maintaining their Pandyan progenitor's family name.[26][27]

Politically, the dynasty was an expanding power in the 13th and 14th century with all regional kingdoms paying tribute to it.

Kandyan and segments of the Kotte kingdom. This period saw the building of Hindu temples and a flourishing of literature, both in Tamil and Sanskrit.[28][29][30]

Kotte conquest and restoration

The Kotte conquest of the Jaffna kingdom was led by king

Sapumal Kumaraya
to Kotte, Kanakasooriya Cinkaiarian re-took the kingdom in 1467.

Decline & dissolution

Main articles:
Portuguese invasion of Jaffna kingdom (1591)
See also: Portuguese Ceylon

Portuguese traders reached Sri Lanka by 1505 where their initial forays were against the south-western coastal Kotte kingdom due to the lucrative monopoly on trade in

Catholics in the island of Mannar. These Catholics were brought from India to Mannar to take over the lucrative pearl fisheries from the Jaffna kings.[33][34]

Client state

The royal family. First from the right is Cankili I

The

Vimaladharmasuriya I and Senarat during the period 1593–1635 with the intent of securing help from South India to resist the Portuguese. He however maintained autonomy of the kingdom without overly provoking the Portuguese.[35][36]

Cankili II the usurper

See also: Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom

With the death of Ethirimana Cinkam in 1617, his 3-year-old son was the proclaimed king with the late king's brother Arasakesari as

Thanjavur Nayaks who sent a troop of 5000 men under the military commander Varunakulattan.[16][39][40]

Cankili II was supported by the Kandy rulers. After the fall of the Jaffna kingdom, the two unnamed princesses of Jaffna had been married to Senarat's stepsons, Kumarasingha and Vijayapala.[19] Cankili II expectably received military aid from the Thanjavur Nayak Kingdom. On his part, Raghunatha Nayak of Thanjavur made attempts to recover the Jaffna kingdom for his protege, the Prince of Rameshwaram.[19] However, all attempts to recover the Jaffna kingdom from the Portuguese met with failure.

By June 1619, there were two Portuguese expeditions: a naval expedition that was repulsed by the

Filipe de Oliveira and his 5,000 strong land army which was able to inflict defeat on Cankili II.[16] Cankili, along with every surviving member of the royal family were captured and taken to Goa, where he was hanged. The remaining captives were encouraged to become monks or nuns in the holy orders, and as most obliged, it avoided further claimants to the Jaffna throne.[16] In 1620 Migapulle Arachchi, with a troop of Thanjavur soldiers, revolted against the Portuguese and was defeated.[41] A second rebellion was led by a chieftain called Varunakulattan with the support of Raghunatha Nayak.[42]

Administration

Mantri Manai – The surviving remains of the minister's quarters that was reused by the Portuguese and Dutch colonials[43]

According to

accountants came next in line. These were also known as pandarapillai. They had to keep records and maintain accounts.[45][47] The royal heralds whose duty was to convey messages or proclamations came from the Paraiyar community.[48]

Maniyam was the chief of the parrus.[45] He was assisted by mudaliyars who were in turn assisted by udaiyars, persons of authority over a village or a group of villages.[45] They were the custodians of law and order and gave assistance to survey land and collect revenues in the area under their control.[45] The village headman was called talaiyari, pattankaddi or adappanar and he assisted in the collection of taxes and was responsible for the maintenance of order in his territorial unit.[45][49] The Adappanar were the headmen of the ports.[50] The Pattankaddi and Adappanar were from the maritime Karaiyar and Paravar communities.[51] In addition, each caste had a chief who supervised the performance of caste obligations and duties.[45][47]

Relationship with feudatories

exclave in Southern India called Madalacotta.[53]

Economy

Reverse of the Setu coin with Setu legend in Tamil

The economy of the kingdom was almost exclusively based on subsistence agriculture until the 15th century. After the 15th century, however, the economy became diversified and commercialized as it became incorporated into the expanding Indian Ocean.

Ibn Batuta, during his visit in 1344, observed that the kingdom of Jaffna was a major trading kingdom with extensive overseas contacts, who described that the kingdom had a "considerable forces by the sea", testifying to their strong reputed navy.[54] He witnessed a hundred ships of varying sizes belonging to the Jaffna kingdom on the Malabar Coast.[55] The kingdom's trades were oriented towards maritime South India, with which it developed a commercial interdependence. The non-agriculture tradition of the kingdom became strong as a result of large coastal fishing and boating population and growing opportunities for seaborne commerce. Influential commercial groups, drawn mainly from south Indian mercantile groups as well as other, resided in the royal capital, port, and market centers. Artisan settlements were also established and groups of skilled tradesmen—carpenters, stonemasons, wavers, dryers, gold and silver smiths—resided in urban centers. Thus, a pluralistic socio-economic tradition of agriculture marine activities, commerce and handicraft production was well established.[9]

Jaffna kingdom was less feudalized than other kingdoms in Sri Lanka, such as Kotte and Kandy.[10] Its economy was based on more money transactions than transactions on land or its produce. The Jaffna defense forces were not feudal levies; soldiers in the kings service were paid in cash.[10] The king's officials, namely Mudaliayars, were also paid in cash and the numerous Hindu temples seem not to have owned extensive properties, unlike the Buddhist establishments in the South. Temples and the administrators depended on the king and the worshippers for their upkeep.[10] Royal and Army officials were thus a salaried class and these three institutions consumed over 60% of the revenues of the kingdom and 85% of the government expenditures.[10] Much of the kingdom's revenues also came from cash except the Elephants from the Vanni feudatories.[10] At the time of the conquest by the Portuguese in 1620, the kingdom which was truncated in size and restricted to the Jaffna peninsula had revenues of 11,700 pardaos of which 97% came from land or sources connected to the land. One was called land rent and another called paddy tax called arretane.[10]

Apart from the land related taxes, there were other taxes, such as Garden tax from compounds where, among others,

Pachilaippalai.[45] Elephants from the southern Sinhalese kingdoms and the Vanni region were brought to Jaffna to be sold to foreign buyers. They were shipped abroad from a bay called Urukathurai, which is now called Kayts—a shortened form of Portuguese Caes dos elephantess (Bay of Elephants).[32] Perhaps a peculiarity of Jaffna was the levy of license fee for the cremation of the dead.[45]

Not all payments in kind were converted to cash, offerings of rice,

bananas, milk, dried fish, game meat and curd persisted.[10] Some inhabitants also had to render unpaid personal services called uliyam.[10]

The kings also issued many types of coins for circulation. Several types of coins categorized as

Nandi (bull) symbol, the legend Setu in Tamil with a crescent moon above.[5][56]

Culture

Religion

See also: Hinduism in Sri Lanka
Nallur Kandaswamy temple – One of the royal temples of Nallur, the capital.

Chola period in Sri Lanka, around the 9th and 10th century, Hinduism gained status as an official religion in the island kingdom.[58] Kalinga Magha, whose rule followed that of the Cholas is remembered as a Hindu revivalist by the native literature of that period.[59]

As the state religion, Hinduism enjoyed all the prerogatives of the establishment during the period of the Jaffna kingdom. The Aryacakravarti dynasty was very conscious of its duties as a patron towards Hinduism because of the patronage given by its ancestors to the Rameswaram temple, a well-known pilgrimage center of Indian Hinduism. As noted, one of the titles assumed by the kings was Setukavalan or protector of Setu another name for Rameswaram. Setu was used in their coins as well as in inscriptions as marker of the dynasty.[11]

Yamun Eri filled with water from the Yamuna river.

Koneswaram temple, as was his son and successor King Cankili I.[61] King Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan had the traditional history of the temple compiled as a chronicle in verse, entitled Dakshina Kailasa Puranam, known today as the Sthala Puranam of Koneshwaram Temple.[62] Major temples were normally maintained by the kings and a salary was paid from the royal treasury to those who worked in the temple, unlike in India and rest of Sri Lanka, where religious establishments were autonomous entities with large endowments of land and related revenue.[10]

Most accepted

evil spirits existed, just as in the rest of South Asia.[11]

There were many Hindu temples within the kingdom. Some were of great historic importance, such as the

Thaiponkal, along with marriages, deaths and coming of age ceremonies were part of the daily life.[64]

Until ca. 1550, when

Kadurugoda (modern Kantharodai),[68][69] of these only the Buddhist temple at Nagadipa survive today.[69]

Society

Caste structure
See also: Caste system in Sri Lanka

The social organization of the people of the Jaffna kingdom was based on a

Chettys were well known as traders and owners of Hindu temples and the Pallar and Nalavar castes composed of the agriculturist labours who tilled the land.[58] The weavers were the Paraiyars and Sengunthar who gave importance to the textile trade.[48] The artisans also known as Kammalar were formed by the Kollar, Thattar, Tatchar, Kaltatchar and the Kannar.[79][80]

Foreign mercenaries & traders
Baobab, native to East Africa, introduced in Neduntheevu during the 7th century by Arabian sailors

Mercenaries of various ethnic and caste backgrounds from India, such as the

Muslim faith . The caste of Pa’l’luvili or Pa’l’livili is peculiar to Jaffna. A Dutch census taken in 1790 in Jaffna records 196 male adults belonging to Pa’l’livili caste as taxpayers. That means the identity and profession existed until Dutch times. But, Choanakar, with 492 male adults and probably by this time generally meaning the Muslims, is found mentioned as a separate community in this census.[82]

Laws

During the rule of the Aryacakravarti rulers, the laws governing the society was based on a compromise between a

agnates, when one of them died his property devolved upon his agnates.[83]

Literature

The kings of the dynasty provided patronage to literature and education. Temple schools and traditional

Raghuvamsa into Tamil.[84] Pararasasekaran's brother Segarajasekaran and Arasakesari collected manuscripts from Madurai and other regions for the Saraswathy Mahal library.[85] Among other literary works of historic importance compiled before the arrival of European colonizers, Vaiyapatal, written by Vaiyapuri Aiyar, is well known.[13][86]

Architecture

Cankilian Thoppu – Facade of the palace belonging to the last king Cankili II.[87]

There were periodic waves of

Madurai variant of Vijayanagar period.[88] A prominent feature of the Madurai style was the ornate and heavily sculptured tower or gopuram over the entrance of temple.[88] None of the important religious constructions of this style within the territory that formed the Jaffna kingdom survived the destructive hostility of the Portuguese.[88]

Nallur, the capital was built with four entrances with gates.[89] There were two main roadways and four temples at the four gateways.[89] The rebuilt temples that exist now do not match their original locations which instead are occupied by churches erected by the Portuguese.[89] The center of the city was Muthirai Santhai (market place) and was surrounded by a square fortification around it.[89] There were courtly buildings for the Kings, Brahmin priests, soldiers and other service providers.[89] The old Nallur Kandaswamy temple functioned as a defensive fort with high walls.[89] In general, the city was laid out like the traditional temple town according to Hindu traditions.[89]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jaffna kingdom.

Notes

  1. ISBN 9788120602106
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  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k de Silva, A History of Sri Lanka, pp. 91–92
  3. ^ a b c d e Nadarajan, V. History of Ceylon Tamils, p. 72
  4. ^ a b c d e Indrapala, K. Early Tamil Settlements in Ceylon, p. 16
  5. ^ a b c d e f Coddrington, K. Ceylon coins and currency, pp. 74–76
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Peebles, History of Sri Lanka, pp. 31–32
  7. ^ The History of Sri Lanka by Patrick Peebles, p. 31
  8. ^ a b c d Peebles, History of Sri Lanka, p. 34
  9. ^ a b Pfaffenberger, B .The Sri Lankan Tamils, pp. 30–31
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Abeysinghe, T. Jaffna Under the Portuguese, pp. 29–30
  11. ^ a b c Gunasingam, M. Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, p. 63
  12. ^ a b Kunarasa, K. The Jaffna Dynasty, pp. 73–74
  13. ^ a b c d e f g Gunasingam, M. Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, pp. 64–65
  14. ^ Indrapala, K – The Evolution of an Ethnic Identity: The Tamils in Sri Lanka C. 300 BCE to C. 1200 CE. Colombo: Vijitha Yapa.
  15. ^ "Nampota". Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  16. ^ a b c d e Abeysinghe, T. Jaffna Under the Portuguese, pp. 58–63
  17. ^ Gnanaprakasar, S. A critical history of Jaffna, pp. 153–172
  18. ^ An historical relation of the island Ceylon, Volume 1, by Robert Knox and JHO Paulusz, pp. 19–47.
  19. ^ a b c An historical relation of the island Ceylon, Volume 1, by Robert Knox and JHO Paulusz, p. 43.
  20. ^ Gunasingam, M. Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, p. 53
  21. ^ Manogaran, C. The untold story of Ancient Tamils of Sri Lanka, pp. 22–65
  22. ^ Kunarasa, K. The Jaffna Dynasty, pp. 1–53
  23. ^ Rasanayagam, M. Ancient Jaffna, pp. 272–321
  24. ^ "The so-called Tamil Kingdom of Jaffna". S. Ranwella. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  25. ^ a b c Sri Lanka and South-East Asia: Political, Religious and Cultural Relations by W.M. Sirisena, p. 57
  26. ^ Kunarasa, K. The Jaffna Dynasty, pp. 65–66
  27. ^ Coddrington, Short history of Ceylon, pp. 91–92
  28. ^ a b de Silva, A History of Sri Lanka, pp. 132–133
  29. ^ Kunarasa, K. The Jaffna Dynasty, pp. 73–75
  30. ^ a b Codrington, Humphry William. "Short history of Sri Lanka: Dambadeniya and Gampola Kings (1215–1411)". Lakdiva.org. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  31. ISBN 0-8369-5596-X
  32. ^ a b c d e f g Abeysinghe, T. Jaffna Under the Portuguese, p. 2
  33. ^ Kunarasa, K. The Jaffna Dynasty, pp. 82–84
  34. ^ Gnanaprakasar, S. A critical history of Jaffna, pp. 113–117
  35. ^ a b c d e Abeysinghe, T. Jaffna Under the Portuguese, p. 3
  36. ^ a b c de Silva, A History of Sri Lanka, p. 166
  37. ISBN 9788120609969
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  38. ^ DeSilva, Chandra Richard (1972). The Portuguese in Ceylon, 1617–1638. University of London: School of Oriental and African Studies. p. 96.
  39. ^ De Queyroz, The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon, pp. 51, 468
  40. ^ Journal of Tamil Studies. International Institute of Tamil Studies. 1981. pp. 44–45.
  41. ISBN 9789555520003
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  42. ISBN 9788120609969
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  43. ^ Kunarasa, K. The Jaffna Dynasty, p. 2
  44. ^ Gunasingam, M. Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, p. 54
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  46. ^ Rasanayagam, C. (1933). History of Jaffna யாழ்ப்பாணச் சரித்திரம் (in Tamil). ஏசியன் எடுகேஷனல் சர்வீசஸ். p. 17. தமிழரசர்காலத்திற் போலவே "அதிகாரம்' என்னுந் தலைமைக்காரர் பறங்கியர் காலத்திலும் நியமிக் கப்பட்டிருந்தாலும், வரியறவிடும் முக்கிய தலைமைக் காரர், இறைசுவர் (Recebedor) என்றும், அவர்களுக்குக் கீழுள்ளவர்கள் 'தலையாரிகள்' அல்லது மேயோருல், (Mayora) என்றும் அழைக்கப்பட்டார்கள். உத்தியோகங்களெல்லாம் உயர்ந்த சாதித் தலைவர்களுக்கே கொடுக்கப்பட்டன. தமிழரசர் காலத்தில் கப்பற்படைக்கு அதிபதிகளாயிருந்த கரையார்த் தலைவருக்கும், வேளாளருக்கு உதவியதுபோல் முதலியார்ப் பட்டமுங் கண்ணியமான உத்தியோகங்களுக்கு கொடுக்கப்பட்டன.
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References

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