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While contributing towards natural beauty the mountains the passes rivers and waterfalls secured the people and protected them from foreign invasions. The unity of the people and our own techniques of indigenous warfare contributed in no small measure. The Kandyans have always made a heroic effort to preserve their customs, moral and cultural values and their identity. It is recorded in history how heartlessly they faced the challenges of the foreign invading armies for well over three and a half centuries. Senasammatha Vikramabahu (1469-1511)
Senasammatha Wickrabahu was the founder of the Kandyan Kingdom in 1469. He belonged to the Gampola dynasty. He wanted to build a fortified capital and he was carefully observing the passes Balana and Galagedara. Siriwardhanapura or better known as Senkadagalapura struck him . as the most suitable place. He was very loyal to his religion. He constructed a Dagoba where the Buddha’s bowl relic was He constructed a Dagoba where the Buddha’s bowl relic was enshrined close to his palace. He built a two storey poyage.
It din’t take long for Hashini and Shachini to collect material for the assignment. The teacher walked into the class room with a suggestion “Shall we listen to another historical story” Hashini asked the teacher “Teacher, the founder of the Kandyan Kingdom was king Senasammatha Vikramabahu? wasn’t he? ” “Yes, but it was King Vimaladharma Suriya who won the legal right to the throne by possessing the Tooth Relic” “The kingdom of Sithavaka, became very powerful by 1582. King Rajasingha -I who was the ruler of Sithavaka invaded the Kandyan Kingdom with the help of Virasundara Bandara.
The king of the Kandyan Kingdom Karalliyadde Bandara ran a ‘a~ to the Portuguese controlled area with his daughter Kusumasana Devi and nephew Yamasinghe Bandara, in search of security. Virasundara Baridara’s son Konappu Bandara ^Iso sought refuge in the Portuguese. The Portuguese thought of capturing power with the help of these princeses. They baptised him. as Don ]u. m and tmini-‘d him in war fare. The heir of the Kandvan Kingdom Kusamasana Devi was baptized as Dona Catrina, prince Yamasinghe Bandara was baptized as Don Philip. They were both brought up under Portuguese.
In the mean time the kandyans revolted against the harsh rule of king Rajasingha 1 who was in power. Portuguese thought of exploiting this situation to capture the Kandyan kingdom, sent a batallion under Don Juan. This army was successful in capturing the kandyan kingdom and Don’Phiiip was enthroned. Before long Don Philip died suddenly of food poisoning. Then Don John (Konappu Bandara) who had gone to Austria became the King of the Kandian Kingdom with popular support as Vimaladharmasuriya. -This king was known as Vimala Dharma Suriya 1. [pic] “Weren’t the Portuguese perturbed by this incident? asked Kasun ” Yes the Portuguese couldn’t tolerate this. Konappu Bandara who was brought up under them, trained in archen, becoming the king bv driving away, the Portuguese. Therefore King Vimala Dharma Suriva was called a traitor, not only that, the Portuguese took measures to get the Kandyan Kingdom by defeating him. ‘The non availability legal ownership to the Kandyan Kingdom was another Dharmawonva i challenge to king Vimaladharmasuriya. Vimaladharma suriya who was not only a warrior but possessed indefatigable courage was tactful enough to marry Kusumasana Devi and became the rightful heir to the throne.
This event became important juncture in the history of Sri Lanka. The round Kandyan Kingdom regained its freedom from the clutches of the Portuguese and the dominance of the Sitavaka King What has he done for the welfare of the ‘people? asked Hashini. ” Listen now said the teacher and started reading the contents of the leaflet. 1. Establishing a new dynasty for the Kandyan Kingdom 2. Construction of a relic room in’Kandy for the Tooth relic which was hidden in • the Delgamuwa Rajamaha Viharaya 3. Re-establishing the Ordination Ceremony in Sri Lanka with the help of the Buddhist Priest from Burma. . Reinforcing the defense of the Kandyan Kingdom with the help of the south Indian Laskirinna army 5. Development of paddy cultivation and cotton for spinning cloth. 6. Development of the metal industry for the manufacture of weapons and tools for agriculture. It has been mentioned in the “Mandaram Pura Puwauia” that he established 175 iron smithies. 7. He carried put two wars against the Portuguese in 1594 at Danthure and in 1602 at Balana defeating the Portuguese army completely there by maintaining civil defense. Now will you tell r e vi’h. i ‘u have learnt about king Vimala Dharma Suriya I Kasun He brought ;ib(>ur political stability to the Kandyan Kingdom. Teacher Quite right Pa’sa’n He posed a challenge to the Portuguese Teacher Quite good Lahiru He became the custodian of the Tooth Relic and our culture Teacher Very good, just as you would like to listen to a story, you would like • • to add more details and make it more attractive, wouldn’t you. ? “Yes, of course ! they said in one voice” “When king Vimala Dharma Suriya demised in 1604, the Kandyan kingdom was the most powerful kingdom in Sri Lanka.
The kings who ruled later made numerous attempts to maintain their sovereignty and protect the kingdom from foreign invasion” [pic] Then, King Senarath, the brother of King Vimaladharmasuriya became the King. He too married the same queen Kusumasana Devi. The Kandyan Kingdom became larger, as the king. Senarath carried forward his territory expansion principle attacked the arrears of Vanni rulers from die east and the south east. By the time his region came to an end all the areas in the east were subjugated except the harbours of Trincomalee and Baticaloa. He reigned for 31 years in Kandy.
After his death, his son prince Maria Asthana became king by the name of Rajasingha II. He became a warrior during his father’s reign who took a great effort to expand the power in the Kandyan Kingdom. He was a great warrior who fought bravely to free: the country from Portuguese. Ttere are some details about that are in this leaflet. [pic] King Rajasingha- I In the history of the Kandyan Kingdom King Rajasingha (plays an important role for many reasons. ‘; • Safeguarding the independence in the Kandyan Kingdom in the way the expansion was done, he did a great service to release the maritime areas from the Portuguese. 3 Policies adopted regarding the Portuguese. So far the other kings. did was to safeguard his territory from the Portuguese. But he changed it by attacking the areas owned by the Portuguese. He faced the Portuguese invasions fearlessly. Portuguese had a great defeat in the battles ofRandenivela in 1630 and in 1636 at Gannoruwa battle. ‘ When the expansion of the national boundaries from 1638 to 1658 Sathkorale which was under Portuguese attached a part of Sabaragarnuwa, and half of Sathara kpralaye to the Kandyan Kingdom. .The harbours of Trincomalie and Batticoloa were attached to the Kandyan Kingdom.
Maintained relations with the Dutch. .He felt that the help of another nation’ with naval power could drive away the Portuguese. He didn’t think of, bringing a foreign nation instead of another foreign nation. What he thought was not allow the Dutch to conquer the areas but to direct their, attention to trade from the Portuguese. According to this leaflet it is clear to you all about the greatness of King Rajasingha II. Although the Dutch were friendly with the king the treats in 1638 between the king and the Dutch, the Dutch didn’t perform certain conditions in the treaty, the king was disgusted about the Dutch.
The lack of clarity in the treaty led to these misconceptions. Let’s see the conditions in the treaty. But the king’s copy, the fortresses which were captured from the Portuguese were to be kept under the Dutch only if the king so ‘desired. The underlined section was not found in the Dutch copy. Therefore the Dutch took mean advantage of the Treaty to keep Galle and Negombo where cinnamon grew within their power. However the king and Dutch had disputes from time to time. But still, towards the latter part of the reign of king Rajpsinnha II thev had been maintaining friendly relations.
King Rajasingha II reigned for 52 years in Kandy vith his death in his old age in 1687, his son suceeded to the throne as Vimaladharmasuriva II. A peaceful religious person by nature Vimaladharmasuriva 11 gave his full attention to Buddhism and Sinhala IkeraTui-e. He took measures to bring liigher ordination from Siam and with great devotion protected die pinnacle of die Buddhists – the temple of tooth relic (Dalada Maligawa). The two strayed temple of tooth relic which was existed then was turned into a three storyed mansion. His reign was a eaceful period in the Kandvan Kingdom without any enemy invasions. “Did the other kings also work towards developing the religion? asked Madhushanka. “Yes ……. after that King Sri Weera Parakrama Narendrasingha son of King Wimaladharmasuriya II became king. Actually he had neither the pious qualities of his father nor the heroic war veteran like qualities of his grand father. He was a boisterous hot tempered person. Do you think a person of that nature will do any service to the country, nation, and the religion Kasun? Asked the teacher. Yes yes Kasun answered. ‘ The Nayakkar Dynasty
The teacher continues :- In 1739 with the demise of king Vira Parakkrama Narendrasingha, the dynasty of the Sinhala king’s came to an end. The ruling power fell in to the hands of the Nayakkar dynasty. As king Veera Parakrama Narendrasingha didn’t have children his, queen’s brother who was from Nayakkar dynasty became the king. He ascended-the throne as Sri Vijaya Rajasingha in 1739. Pasan asked. Why did the Sinhalese allow foreigner to rule over them. When we have our sinhala leaders? The Kandyan Kingdom which has a geographical location of a special category and a climate wnich is r ;ally cool and enjoyable is famous both home and abroad.
The Kandyan Kingdom was divided into five different areas, namely Udu Nuwara, Yari Nuwara, Dumbara, Hewaheta and Harispaththuwa. While contributing towards natural beauty the mountains the passes rivers and waterfalls secured the people and protected them from foreign invasions. The unity of the people and our own techniques of indigenous warfare contributed in no small measure. The Kandyans have always made a heroic effort to preserve their customs, moral and cultural values and their identity. It is recorded in history how heartlessly they faced the challenges of the foreign nvading armies for well over three and a half centuries. Senasammatha Vikramabahu (1469-1511) Senasammatha Wickrabahu was the founder of the Kandyan Kingdom in 1469. He belonged to the Gampola dynasty. He wanted to build a fortified capital and he was carefully observing the passes Balana and Galagedara. Siriwardhanapura or better known as Senkadagalapura struck him . as the most suitable place. He was very loyal to his religion. From King Rajasingha II our kings got down their queens from India. The queen of Sd Vira Parakrama Narendrasingha not only his mother and his father’s mother all hailed from the Nayakkar dynasty.
As a result the Nayakkar people wielded a lot of influance in the kings court Therefore when following the ritual of becoming heir to the throne the brother of King Vira Parakrama Narendrasinghas queen became long Not only that, the Sinhala royal families, did not like this turn of events at all. They were thoroughly perturbed by the fact that a total alien had made claims to Kandyan throne. ‘ ‘ “We respect a person even if a total outsider if he rules the country without creating any problem and if he protect our religion and culture, which have been rotected by our ancestors at the risk of their lives?. ” Pasan said. “Yes that is a good idea” said the teacher, “See after that the great services rendered by King Kirti Sri Rajasingha for the religion and culture. He reigned from 1747-1782. Venerable Welivita Saranankara thero was authorized to usher in a period of learning and reawakening of the religious ideals. What are the religious activities that king has done?. Asked Achini We should appreciate the threat the earlier kings renovated the Tooth Relic and protected it amidst numerous set backs organising the procession annually.
Because of these inteligent rulers our cultural links are retained up to date. 1. Re establishing higher ordination in Sri Lanka with the help of the Sangha from Siam. 2. Making eleaborate arrangements to hold the Kandy Perahara ever)’ year. • •.. 3. Creating a generation of educated priests and laymen both in the Kandyan Kingdom and in • the low country. 4. Building up temples and appointing monks as incumbents. 5. Getting books made ofola leaf written to be used for the education of young Samaneras. 6. Donating land as Nindagam for the upkeep of temples. Now what do you feel about King Kirti Sri Rajasingha?
Asked the teacher. Sachini made a comment:- “Although he was a Nayakkar king he did a lot for Buddhism. ” . “Yes, duwa we should fully appreciate the fact that the , , ‘ ‘•r protected the earlier kings venerated the Tooth Relic and protected it t- ,. 1, o r ,1,- , amidst numerous set backs. Our cultural links have been ^-^g brought to Sri maintained because our kings were wise enough to take Lanka during the certain measures for the upkeep of cultural traditions” reign of king ” Shall we all go on a trip to visit the Dalada Maligawa?
Kithsirimevan asked Ashan who was quiet all this rime” listening to the story. ” Yes, diat is a good idea” ” We’ll think about it”, said the teacher. ‘In 1798 king Sri Vikrama Rajasingha ascended the throne after the demise of king Rajadhi Rajasingha. His original name was Kanna Sami and he did not have any claim to the throne. But with the popular . support of the adigars, specially • Pilimathalava Kannasamy became king. The Kandyans- who were invincible for, many centuries had to surrender for the British because of the lack of vision on the part of the hierarchy and the inefficiency ot the king.
The Adigars and their claims were second only to the king. Their greed for power brought about this situation, where the Kandyan Kingdom lost its supremacy. • The Kandyan hierarchy wielded influence because they owned large territories donated by the kings. • They were selected to certain posts because they belonged to the hierarchy. • The leaders were connected through relationships. •„ The organization of administration was designed in such a way that authority of the nobles empowered vested in them. But the administrative acdvities of the Kandyan kingdom were in a mess. This was due to many contributory factors. . The disunity among the hierarchy. 2. The popular revolt against the king. 3. His method of punishment meted out to ordinary people was brutal and intolerable. The Britishe exploited the situation tactfully and with the -assistance of the nobles were able to get the Kandyan kingdom. On 2nd of March in 1815 a Treaty was signed between the Kandyan hierarchy and the “British governor Robert Brownrigg which brought to an end of the supremacy of the Kandynm Kingdom. [pic] Kings Of the Kandyan Kingdom… Sena Sammadia Vikramabahu (A. C. 1469-1511) Jayawira Vikramabahu (A. C, 1511-1552) • Karaliadde Bandara (A.
C. 1552-1582) : :Rajasiriha I (A. C. 1582-1591) :” ;Vimala Dharma Suriya I (A. C 1591-161)4) ‘ ‘Seriarat’^. C^O-WSa):^ ‘Rajasingha II (A. C; 1635-1687) RVimala Dharma Suriya II. {A. C. ‘1687-l”‘ irendrasingha (A – Sri Vi,aya K-tjasmgna ^v. C; i739-174~” K’iithi Sri Raiasineha (A. C. 1747-n” [pic] For free (fismbutt«’n [pic] i^ Assignment 01 1. When you think’of “Kandy and the Tooth relic ” what feelings can you I express? Try to express your ideas in poetic terms. • 2. Prepare a folder to show the attempts made by different kings to protect the ( Tooth Relic and the religion and culture.
In what way did they render services? < 3. The examples of worthy of emulation by small children are in the characters of Sinhala kings. Display these on the walls of your class room. 4. ” The kandyan Kingdom was invincible due to its peculiar geographical location. The Portuguese were completely ruled out because its location and the wonderful leadership given by the kings” write an ardde on this. to the 11. . . ^^… ^. ^MW^^fB-Wa’M*^””^*^1″”^”””^ school magazine. .• • – __ 11 -——— ••” “‘••”—” 1. What were the clause of the Kandyan treaty of 1815. 2.
Who were the p-‘mcipants of the Kandyan treaty. (The Sinhalese ana’ihe British) 3. 1 The Administrative OrgahizSlffiorTof Kingdom The king, officials^and^dutie^ [pic] The ruler of the Kandyan Kingdom was the king. He had absolute power. He formulated laws, took decisions on war and peace and supreme Court decision were done at his will. Although absolute power was vested in him, in practice, he had to act according to certain, restrictions. • He had to pay due respect to customers and habits and convention traditions. • He had to follow certain religions traditions when carrying out duties. He had to listen to the advice of the Maha Sangha and the court official these were the res’triction. Therefore he could not act arbitrary. One way of controlling him. If he had contradicted rules and regulations respected by the public, the people wuld rise up in revolt against die lung. The citizens protested against injustices this way. There was a group of officials who were connected with courts duties. There were other officers who were involved with the administration of the Kandyan Kingdom. The first Adigar held the highest office and wielded much power.
He was second only to die king • |i- [pic] Fig. 3. 6 – The king and tfac officers ^ For flee distribution There were two Adigars known as Uda Ga ^'”‘Gainpaha Adigar. ^Usually the . Udu Gampaha’ J’ the MahaAdikaram. uk- “‘-s Th;. .-. •. n,,,^-. , ,,;.. … ,. -. ,,. ,.. ,,,. ,,… ,,. ,^,ng Sri Vickramarajasimha had two other Adigar appointed apart from the afore mentioned two. Bhe Duties of the AdigS%B |fii. Judging dvil and criminal cases. , ^2. Being in dharge of the prison and. 1*13. Assigning task involving the public to responsible officials. ;. 4. Inform other officers about the longs decisions and court ;S-” orders. ;’ ,;; 5. Appointing lay officers priests for certain offices. 6. Awarding merit rewards to those who have excelled in theirduries. 7. Carrying out routine dudes regarding administration and maintaining law and order. ” ^w. -;^. Other than these, an Adigar had been in charge of a particular Dissava. For example the Ehelapola Adigar had to supervise the activities of the Sabaragamuwa Province. ‘Ilie Adigar Pilimathalave was in charge of Seven Korales.
The Adigars were die leaders in the legal sphere too. But only the king enjoyed die special rights like delivering judgment in cases against court leaders, cases involved with temples and priests, cases involved with traitors, riots and conspiracies. Even when these special cases, were being heard, the first Adigar could be seated within the courts premises. [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] Dissawe Vidane Rate Mahattaya Mohottala Fig. 3. 8 – Officers who assisted the king Announcing the ordinanace of Adikaram’s and summon people for dories were done by officials called Katupulle, officers.
They served in the king’s court and Adikaram walawwas. . . • ‘ There were Dissawes, Rate Mahaththayas, Koralas and Mohottalas were involved in ruling the country. The administration of the country was divided into 4 different sections. [pic] [pic] Delivering judgment CoUedmg the revenue Carrying out the orders of the king ; Renovating temples and viharas Collecting Taxes Organizing the activities of the palace All the activities regarding temples The Kandyan Kingdom was divided into 21 zones for administrative purposes. Out of these 12 zones were known as “Dissawani”.
Dissawanis were ruled b- a Dissawe. The remaining zones were known as ‘Rata’ and they were ruled by ‘Rate Ma-hattaya’. Dissawani and Rata units were divided into ‘koralas’ and ‘Path thuwas’. The activities of these were under the super vision of ‘Maha Adikaram’. The smallest unit in the kandyan kingdom was ‘Gama’. The ruler of ‘Gama’ was ‘vidane’. In addition for administrative purposes in ‘Gama’ there was a ‘Gam Sabha’ for each village. It was an independent institution which didn’t belong into any state administrative field. The head of this was the most elderly person in the village.
He was known as ‘Gampathi alias ‘Gamarala’. The administration plan of the local government in the Kandyan Kingdom , , The maintainence of justice and carrying out the executive duties : [pic] Maintaining law and order • „ Collecting taxes for the treasury Deploying people for the army during war Settling land disputes of the area. The duties of the Dissawe were supervised by Maha Adikaram. 4 Rate Mahattaya carried out his administrative duties (in f ‘ • • ‘ • ‘ y. ; the same way that a Dissawe would administrate over a Dissawaniya). , _^: . •^,’,^ ;g •”;. ;; • . But Rate Mahattaya was in a lower rank than Dissawa, Ni instates. For ftec The Adigars Dissawani — Dissawes Koralas- Koralas. ^’ Pattu – Pattu Koralas ” ‘ ” ‘ •”/ ‘*’, “i”f? i? TT. 11 -TT. I •”^St . XS3f . •, Villages — Vidanes;g- -W • • .. •f’gSiN 3. 2 The pattern of the Ecorromy of the Kandyan Kingdom [pic] Prin’larily, it was an economy based on subsistence.
The agricultural economy of this period was based on paddy cultivation Hence, irrigation too had irs pride of place. People of the hill country, depended • on rain water and water from rivers and streams for purposes ofj cultivation. Paddy was grown mostly in the narrow valleys between mountains. They cultivated paddy on ‘*•'” • Terraced paddy ‘field”- iieimal RcidF’ the terr. lced paddv fields on the hilly slopes. This was known as the “Hclmalu ” cultivation method. A limited area on the planes too came under paddy cultivation. P. iddy was. used in exchange for other items in the barter s stem.
Chena cultivation too was given an important place. Cereals ,like kurakkan, millet and gingerly were chena crops. They consumed a lot of yams. They used other foods like jack and bread truit. . ‘ j Barter system was used in trade. Small boutiques were seen along the footpaths that connected villages. Cloth, tobacco, lime, medicine, day items, metal items weie sold in these boutiques. The trade was based on barter system (exchanging goods) coins were used on a small scale. Kandyan Kingdom was involed in foreign trade. Cloth was the major mported item. Other imported items [pic] were horses for state use, curious and [pic] Potasium Nitrite. There is evidence to show that rice and other cereals were sold to areas where food was a scarcity in South India. Valuable Fig. 3. 10- The Kimdyan ^•” iy” • • – – Coins Rnr fiw disrribution djstnb[pic] 9» items like cinnamon, gems and pricious stones, elephants, betel and arecanut were exported. In addition there was trade monopoly between south India and Dutch in the maritime provinces. Animal husbandry was also an item in the economy.
Cattle and goats were reared for mith. The five different by products of milk. ‘pasgorasa) were obtained; such as, ghee, butter. Local industries were so developed in the Kandyan era the things needed in their daily life were produced by them. Mammories, ploughs, katties, and axe were produced in the local factories, pots, cloth and jewellery were produced in the state itself There were specific areas for various industries. BrasswarePilimathalawS^ ^toa •Kotcnale . :. ^ [pic] Brushes and reed wareDumb • Activity 01 Collect information and fill up this grid pic] Occupation of Land and Ownership The ownership of land was. the most valuable and legally valid property ownership. This ownership was bequeathed on an individual b’ performing “Rajakariya” . Rajakariva vas the duties performed for the king in event of the land occupied. Rajakariva was renllv connected with property and not with anv particular person. Unless services were rendered, there was a likelihood of losing one’s property rights. The fresh owner rhen had to perform, rajakariya. Land was divided into several sectors according to property rig. its and occupation Gabada Gam – Lands which were maintained for the use cfthe kings court. The occupants here should give the due share to the Kings court. ” “if… : • •’ ;-‘;;'”;-»?.. ‘ ‘ ‘ • . -~ Ninda Gam – Lands donated by the king”. o a nobleman. The • occupants of the land cultivated it and gave a cetain percentage of the harvest to the nobleman. 1; Lands donated by the Ir'”” ^br the upkeep of the temples and devalas. Vihara Dewala Gam fc . ,^ . •i’-:1 • ^•. ••i-*-;11 ‘% ‘ . ^’arayeni Latir’ [pic] ” – “;d “i. ccypied and enjoyed by ordinary, cidzeii&l^ [pic] ,• had to perform ccnaih’duty or had to give as noimi’ of the produce nia i in ? ‘i’-” “w1 -‘ ^l^ As the lands were enjoyed t& compensate for the dudes performed, there was no question of setting wages. But, salaries were paid to those who were engaged in civil work. ‘ . A part from Praveni land the rest of the land was given to the tenants and the tenants enjoyed part of the harvest and the rest was given to the land owner. During the Kandyan era, the main source of revenue was the “Kada” Rajakariya or the grain tax.
Except those who were exempted from this task, all the land owners had to pay a pinge load of rice to the treasury. The amount that had to be paid as taxes depended on the extent of land and varied according to the district According to John D’oyly and Robert Knox who wrote on the Kandyan Kingdom kada Rajakariya was an annual land tax paid either in money or in kind. Later, the people were able to pay in money and be exempted from the Kada Rajakariya”. Houses There is a marked difference between the residence of the nobles and the houses of the ordinary people. uk Residence of the nobles ‘
Ordinary Houses Roofs thatched straw or mans Few articles of furniture A clay bench in the verandah For visitors • Daub wattle wall [• Doors houses V-ude walls dabbed E with lime • Roof riled (•Furniture was used There was a barn in every house to stock the paddy. Dresses and ornaments As the society was based on the caste system, their attire too varied according to the designation, social status. . fl» [pic] [pic] [pic] The dress of a nnl»la member An ordinary citizen Fig 3. 11 – Men’s dress of Kandran Kingdom Nilame The king wore a special dress. His headdress was a hat with eight comers.
This 8 cornered hat had other embellishments. Only the king and the nobles had the privilege of wearing footwear. The Nilames wore a dress covering the upper part of the body. They wore four cornered hats . Their hats or head coverings were round. The men wore clothes up to their calf and the women up to their ankle. The women covered the upper part of their bodies with one end of the cloth they wore. The women of the hierarchy wore the Kandyan sarees and a jacket with a frill running right round the neckline. They wore necklaces and bangles made up of gold and silver.
They also wore ear studs and a thick -silver chain made of gold and silver, with gems studded. [pic] The dress of a Queen An Fig. 3. 12 – The tfrcss of [pic] 3. 3 Social Organization The Kandyan kingdom vas primarily a rural society. The village was the most important unit. All the paddy fields were connected with or surrounded by a chena or higher land where agricultural activities were performed. Through this the basic needs such as paddy, coconut, vegetables, betel, arecanut, fire-wood and hunted meat were supplied, therefore the village was always self-sufficient. The people had a wonderful unity in society.
They were bounded by a strong feeling of unity Therefore, when a new house was being built or working in the paddy filed, they helped one another. Support was readily available. ,”•,” , The most important of relationship was the family. The members of the family got on smoothly and were honest and faithful to one another. This has been proved by the foreign writer Davy’s commen’.. The centre of all ‘ assistance of the locality is called the family. “The centre of all assistance -of the locality is called the family. ” (In the book). The “Organization of the Sinhala Society'” by Professor Ralph Pieris ays “In a society where marital relationships are not given due recognition, it is remarkable and noteworthy that the family unit is very strong. ” The temple and the Bhikkus enjoyed high priority” in the Kandyan Sinhala society. The priests were in a ^position to infulence the rural society’ in various aspects. They were in an instrumental position in guiding the people not only in religious activities but in Ayurvedic medicine plotting auspicious time for certain social functions, reading horoscopes and in education too. For free distribution ‘1. The king of the Kandyan Kingdom was a despot ,’an eurocrat.
But •;rill there were instances where he could not act according to rts own frfeu;ill pennon (wo such in-^ stances. ‘ • 2. Give a short account of the king’s court of the Kandyan kingdom. 3. What were the special categories of cause where only the king put adiudicaie. 4. What were the diffrcnt sections of administration ‘during that time? Mentions at least one special dun’ of each section. -VWS^fSHyt ».. – .. Assignment 2 Draw a concept map to portray the administrative plan of the Kandyan Kingdom 2.. Write an article to a wall paper under the following rides.. • Agriculture • Industries “-Trade and Commerce • Animal husbandry “•”‘ Occupation of land and land taxes. • Housing • Dresses and Ornaments ‘ ” . 3. State in poetic terms the beauty and serenity of village life stressing on its peaceful j atmosphere [ 3. 4 Religion. Literature, Arts and Crafts””;? The progress of edu ation and die development of Buddhist practices depended mainlv on royal patronage. This was so even with the Kandyan kingdom. Religious and educational activities had suftered a set back due to the intermittent warfare within the Kandyan kingdom.
The religious renaissance was ushered in by King Vimala Dharma Su’riya I. He took measures to build up a two . – ,,•- • •••••:. •v –^-•S- ? ; * The victory over Man • Dividing into columns and dtawing in the’. ‘ ^ The sermon of ? •> Bambaragala • Hinadagala • Lanliathilaka ? ; SJ • Dhaladha J MaBgawa DeplDoruwa, RidiViharaya Medawala ; columns . :,’-^ -I DhamaChAka^’N •, Maldng an attempt to depict devooon to . pawathwanasattt^ | y’Lord Buddha in the hearts of the people :! ‘ ; ? ” Conceptufee that die virtuous life brings