Jaffna kingdom

Administration

According to Ibn Batuta, a traveling Moroccan historian of note, by 1344, the kingdom had two capitals: one in Nallur in the north and the other in Puttalam in the west during the pearling season. The kingdom proper, that is the Jaffna peninsula, was divided into various provinces with subdivisions of parrus meaning property or larger territorial units and ur or villages, the smallest unit, was administered on a hierarchical and regional basis. At the summit was the king whose kingship was hereditary; he was usually succeeded by his eldest son. Next in the hierarchy stood the adikaris who were the provincial administrators. Then came the mudaliyars who functioned as judges and interpreters of the laws and customs of the land. It was also their duty to gather information of whatever was happening in the provinces and report to higher authorities. The title was bestowed on the Karaiyar generals who commanded the navy and also on Vellalar chiefs. Administrators of revenues called kankanis or superintendents and kanakkappillais or accountants came next in line. These were also known as pandarapillai. They had to keep records and maintain accounts. The royal heralds whose duty was to convey messages or proclamations came from the Paraiyar community.

Maniyam was the chief of the parrus. He was assisted by mudaliyars who were in turn assisted by udaiyars, persons of authority over a village or a group of villages. They were the custodians of law and order and gave assistance to survey land and collect revenues in the area under their control. 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. The Adappanar were the headmen of the ports. The Pattankaddi and Adappanar were from the maritime Karaiyar and Paravar communities. In addition, each caste had a chief who supervised the performance of caste obligations and duties.

Relationship with feudatories

Vannimais were regions south of the Jaffna peninsula in the present-day North Central and Eastern provinces and were sparsely settled by people. They were ruled by petty chiefs calling themselves Vanniar. Vannimais just south of the Jaffna peninsula and in the eastern Trincomalee district usually paid an annual tribute to the Jaffna kingdom instead of taxes. The tribute was in cash, grains, honey, elephants, and ivory. The annual tribute system was enforced due to the greater distance from Jaffna. During the early and middle part of the 14th century, the Sinhalese kingdoms in western, southern and central part of the island also became feudatories until the kingdom itself was briefly occupied by the forces of Parakramabahu VI around 1450 for about 17 years. Around the early 17th century, the kingdom also administered an exclave in Southern India called Madalacotta.

Economy

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. He witnessed a hundred ships of varying sizes belonging to the Jaffna kingdom on the Malabar Coast. 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.

Jaffna kingdom was less feudalized than other kingdoms in Sri Lanka, such as Kotte and Kandy. 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. 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. 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 expenditure. Much of the kingdom's revenues also came from cash except the elephants from the Vanni feudatories. 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.

Apart from the land related taxes, there were other taxes, such as garden tax from compounds where, among others, plantain, coconut and arecanut palms were grown and irrigated by water from the well. Tree tax on trees such as palmyrah, margosa and iluppai and poll tax equivalent to a personal tax from each. Professional tax was collected from members of each caste or guild and commercial taxes consisting of, among others, stamp duty on clothes (clothes could not be sold privately and had to have official stamp), Taraku or levy on items of food, and Port and customs duties. Columbuthurai, which connected the Peninsula with the mainland at Poonakari with its boat services, was one of the chief port, and there were customs check posts at the sand passes of Pachilaippalai. 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). Perhaps a peculiarity of Jaffna was the levy of license fee for the cremation of the dead.

Not all payments in kind were converted to cash, offerings of rice, bananas, milk, dried fish, game meat and curd persisted. Some inhabitants also had to render unpaid personal services called uliyam.

The kings also issued many types of coins for circulation. Several types of coins categorized as Sethu Bull coins issued from 1284 to 1410 are found in large quantities in the northern part of Sri Lanka. The obverse of these coins have a human figure flanked by lamps and the reverse has the Nandi (bull) symbol, the legend Setu in Tamil with a crescent moon above.

Culture

Religion

Shaivism (a denomination of Hinduism) in Sri Lanka has had continuous history from the early period of settlers from India. Hindu worship was widely accepted even as part of the Buddhist religious practices. During the Chola period in Sri Lanka, around the 9th and 10th century, Hinduism gained status as an official religion in the island kingdom. Kalinga Magha, whose rule followed that of the Cholas is remembered as a Hindu revivalist by the native literature of that period.

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.

Prince Sapumal (also known as Chempaha Perumal in Tamil), who ruled the Jaffna kingdom on behalf of the Kotte kingdom is credited with either building or renovating the Nallur Kandaswamy temple. Singai Pararasasegaram is credited with building the Sattanathar temple, the Vaikuntha Pillaiyar temple and the Veerakaliamman temple. He built a pond called Yamuneri and filled it with water from the Yamuna river of North India, which is considered holy by Hindus. He was a frequent visitor of the Koneswaram temple, as was his son and successor King Cankili I. 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. 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.

Most accepted Shiva as the primary deity and the lingam, the universal symbol of Shiva, was consecrated in shrines dedicated to him. The other Hindu gods of the pantheon such as Murugan, Pillaiyar, Kali were also worshipped. At the village level, village deities were popular along with the worship of Kannaki whose veneration was common amongst the Sinhalese in the south as well. Belief in charm and evil spirits existed, just as in the rest of South Asia.

There were many Hindu temples within the kingdom. Some were of great historic importance, such as the Koneswaram temple in Trincomalee, Ketheeswaram temple in Mannar, Naguleswaram temple in Keerimalai along with hundreds of other temples that were scattered over the region. The ceremonies and festivals were similar to those in modern South India, with some slight changes in emphasis. The Tamil devotional literature of Shaiva saints was used in worship. The Hindu New Year falling in the middle of April was more elaborately celebrated and festivals, such as Navarattiri, Deepavali, Sivarattiri, and Thaiponkal, along with marriages, deaths and coming of age ceremonies were part of the daily life.

Until around 1550, Buddhism continued to prevail in the Jaffna kingdom among the Sinhalese who had remained in the territory. However, around this time Cankili I expelled the Sinhalese Buddhists and destroyed their many places of worship. Some important places of Buddhist worship in the Jaffna kingdom, which are mentioned in the Nampota are: Naga-divayina (Nagadipa, modern Nainativu), Telipola, Mallagama, Minuvangomu-viharaya and Kadurugoda (modern Kantharodai). Of these only the Buddhist temple at Nagadipa survive today.

Society

Caste structure

The social organization of the people of the Jaffna kingdom was based on a caste system and a matrilineal kudi (clan) system similar to the caste structure of South India. The Aryacakravarti kings and their immediate family claimed Brahma-Kshatriya status, meaning Brahmins who took to martial life. The Madapalli were the Aristocrats and cooks, the Akampadayar's formed the palace servants, the Paraiyar were the royal heralds and the Siviyar were the royal palanquin bearers. The army and navy generals were from the Karaiyar caste, who also controlled the pearl trade and whose chiefs were known as Mudaliyar, Paddankatti and Adapannar. The Mukkuvar and Thimilar were also engaged in the pearl fishery. The Udayars or village headmen and landlords of agriculture societies were mostly drawn from the Vellalar caste. The service providing communities were known as Kudimakkal and consisted of various groups such as the Ambattar, Vannar, Kadaiyar, Pallar, Nalavar, Paraiyar, Koviyar and Brahmin. The Kudimakkal had ritual importance in the temples and at funerals and weddings. The 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. The weavers were the Paraiyars and Sengunthar who gave importance to the textile trade. The artisans also known as Kammalar were formed by the Kollar, Thattar, Tatchar, Kaltatchar and the Kannar.

Foreign mercenaries & traders

Mercenaries of various ethnic and caste backgrounds from India, such as the Telugus (known locally as Vadugas) and Malayalis from the Kerala region were also employed by the king as soldiers. Muslim traders and sea pirates of Mapilla and Moor ethnicities as well as Sinhalese were in the kingdom. The kingdom also functioned as a refuge for rebels from the south seeking shelter after failed political coups. According to the earliest historiographical literature of the Kingdom of Jaffna, Vaiyaapaadal, datable to 14th–15th century, in verse 77 lists the community of Papparavar (Berbers specifically and Africans in general) along with Kuchchiliyar (Gujaratis) and Choanar (Arabs) and places them under the caste category of Pa’l’luvili who are believed to be cavalrymen of 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.

Laws

During the rule of the Aryacakravarti rulers, the laws governing the society was based on a compromise between a matriarchal system of society that seemed to have had deeper roots overlaid with a patriarchal system of governance. These laws seemed to have existed side by side as customary laws to be interpreted by the local Mudaliars. In some aspects such as in inheritance the similarity to Marumakattayam law of present-day Kerala and Aliyasanatana of modern Tulunadu was noted by later scholars. Further, Islamic jurisprudence and Hindu laws of neighboring India also seemed to have affected the customary laws. These customary laws were later codified and put to print during the Dutch colonial rule as Thesavalamai in 1707. The rule under earlier customs seemed to have been females succeeded females. But when the structure of the society came to be based on patriarchal system, a corresponding rule was recognized, that males succeeded males. Thus, we see the devolution of muthusam (paternal inheritance) was on the sons, and the devolution of the chidenam (dowry or maternal inheritance) was on the females. Just as one dowried sister succeeded another, we had the corresponding rule that if one's brother died instate, his properties devolved upon his brothers to the exclusion of his sisters. The reason being that in a patriarchal family each brother formed a family unit, but all the brothers being agnates, when one of them died his property devolved upon his agnates.

Literature

The kings of the dynasty provided patronage to literature and education. Temple schools and traditional gurukulam classes in verandahs (known as Thinnai Pallikoodam in Tamil language) spread basic education in languages such as Tamil language and Sanskrit and religion to the upper classes. During the reign of Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan rule, a work on medical science (Segarajasekaram), on astrology (Segarajasekaramalai) and on mathematics (Kanakathikaram) were authored by Karivaiya. During the rule of Gunaveera Cinkaiariyan, a work on medical sciences, known as Pararajasekaram, was completed. During Singai Pararasasegaram's rule, an academy for Tamil language propagation on the model of ancient Tamil Sangams was established in Nallur. This academy performed a useful service in collecting and preserving ancient Tamil works in manuscripts form in a library called Saraswathy Mahal. Singai Pararasasekaran's cousin Arasakesari was credited with translating the Sanskrit classic Raghuvamsa into Tamil. Pararasasekaran's brother Segarajasekaran and Arasakesari collected manuscripts from Madurai and other regions for the Saraswathy Mahal library. Among other literary works of historic importance compiled before the arrival of European colonizers, Vaiyapatal, written by Vaiyapuri Aiyar, is well known.

Architecture

There were periodic waves of South Indian influence over Sri Lankan art and architecture, though the prolific age of monumental art and architecture seemed to have declined by the 13th century. Temples built by the Tamils of Indian origin from the 10th century belonged to the Madurai variant of Vijayanagar period. A prominent feature of the Madurai style was the ornate and heavily sculptured tower or gopuram over the entrance of temple. None of the important religious constructions of this style within the territory that formed the Jaffna kingdom survived the destructive hostility of the Portuguese.

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