Kingdom of Aryacakravarti ஆரியச்சக்கரவர்த்தி அரசு
← 1215–1624 →
Flag
Jaffna kingdom at its greatest extent c. 1350.
Capital	Nallur
Language(s)	Tamil, Sanskrit
Religion	Hinduism
Government	Monarchy
Aryacakravarti
- 1215-1255	Kulingai Cakravarti
- 1617–1619	Cankili II
Historical era	Medieval era
- Magha invasion of Lanka causing Fall of Polonnaruwa Kingdom.	1215
- Portuguese invasion	1505
- Fall of Nallur	1624
Currency	Setu coins

The Jaffna kingdom (Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு) (1215-1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in India.^[1][2][3][4] Established as a powerful force in the north, north east and west of the island, it eventually became a tribute paying feudatory of the Pandyan Empire in modern South India in 1258, gaining independence later with the fragmentation of the Pandyan control.^[1][5] For a brief period, in the early to mid-14th century, it was an ascendant power in the island of Sri Lanka when all regional kingdoms accepted subordination. However, the kingdom was eventually overpowered by the rival Kotte Kingdom, around 1450.^[5]

It was freed of Kotte control in 1467;^[6] its subsequent rulers directed their energies towards consolidating its economic potential by maximising revenue from pearls and elephant exports and land revenue.^[7][8] It was less feudal than most of other regional kingdoms in the island of Sri Lanka of the same period.^[8] During this period, important local Tamil literature was produced and Hindu temples were built including an academy for language advancement.^[9][10][11]

The arrival of the Portuguese colonial power to the island of Sri Lanka in 1505, and its strategic location in the Palk Strait connecting all interior Sinhalese kingdoms to South India, created political problems. Many of its kings confronted and ultimately made peace with the Portuguese colonials. In 1617, Cankili II, an usurper to the throne, confronted the Portuguese but was defeated, thus bringing the kingdom’s independent existence to an end in 1619.^[12][13] Although rebels like Migapulle Arachchi with help of Thanjavur Nayak kingdom tried to recover the kingdom but were eventually defeated.^[14][15][15] Nallur, a suburb of Jaffna town, served as its capital.

History[link]

Early History[link]

Early period

Aryacakravarti dynasty[link]

The origin of the medieval Jaffna kingdom is obscure and still the subject of controversy among historians.^{[16][17][18][19][20]} Among mainstream historians, such as K.M. de Silva, S.Pathmanathan and Karthigesu Indrapala, the widely accepted view is that the Kingdom of the Aryacakravarti dynasty in Jaffna began in 1215 with the invasion of a previously unknown chieftain called Magha, who claimed to be from Kalinga in modern India.^[1][2][3][4] He deposed the ruling King Parakrama Pandu of Polonnaruwa with the help of his soldiers and mercenaries from the Kalinga, modern Kerala and Damila (Tamil Nadu) regions in India.^[1]

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

After the conquest of Rajarata, he moved the capital to the Jaffna peninsula which was more secured by heavy Vanni forest and ruled as a tribute-paying subordinate of the Chola empire of Tanjavur, in modern Tamil Nadu, India.^[1] During this period (1247), a Malay chieftain from Tambralinga in modern Thailand named Chandrabhanu invaded the politically fragmented island.^[1] Although King Parakramabahu II (1236–70) from Dambadeniya was able to repulse the attack, Chandrabhanu moved north and secured the throne for himself around 1255 from Magha.^[1] This prompted the Pandyan Empire in modern South India to intervene and Chandrabhanu submitted to Pandya rule in 1258. When Chandrabhanu embarked on a second invasion of the south, the Pandyas again came to the support of the Sinhalese king and killed Chandrabhanu in 1262 and installed Aryacakravarti, a minister in charge of the invasion, as the king.^[1] When the Pandyan Empire became weak due to Muslim invasions, successive Aryacakravarti rulers made the Jaffna kingdom independent and a regional power to reckon with in Sri Lanka.^[1][5] 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.^[21][22] The origins of the Aryacakravarti are claimed in contemporary court chronicles but modern historians offer competing theories as well. The consensus held by historians is that they were a Pandyan feudatory family and the family is connected to the Ramanathapuram Hindu temple and was of Tamil Brahmin origin.^{[23][24][25][26][27]} C Rasanayagam investigated why they called of themselves as Arya Chakravarthis; and states that when the Jaffna Kingdom fell into the hands of the Portuguese in 1618, the Jaffna kings claimed to have "descended from two Brahmin kings who were appointed by Rama himself after his conquest of Lanka and establishment of the Rameshwavaram temple". The Jaffna kings also claimed that Lord Rama himself gave them the title of Arya and granted them the parasol and the emblem of Setu. Rasanayagam therefore suggested that the brahmin connection may have been mythical and adopted by the later kings as they grew in eminence.^[28]

The dynasty claimed titles such as Setukavalan meaning custodians of the Rameswaram temple in modern India, Singaiariyan (from the city of Singai Nagar,^[29] another name for their capital Nallur), and Gangainadan, alluding to their origin from the Ganga dynasty or the Ganges region of modern North India.^[29] Politically, it was an expanding power in the 13th and 14th century with all regional kingdoms paying tribute to it.^[5] However, it met with simultaneous confrontations with the Vijayanagar empire that ruled from Vijayanagara, southern India, and a rebounding Kotte Kingdom from the southern Sri Lanka.^[30] This led to the kingdom becoming a vassal of the Vijyanagar Empire as well as briefly losing its independence under the Kotte kingdom from 1450 to 1467.^[5] The kingdom was re-established with the disintegration of Kotte kingdom and the fragmentation of Viyanagar Empire.^[6] It maintained very close commercial and political relationships with the Thanjavur Nayakar kingdom in southern India as well as the 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.^[30][31][32]

Conquest and restoration[link]

Kotagma inscription of Jaffna kings as displayed in the National Museum of Colombo, Sri Lanka in December 2011

The conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom was led by king Parâkramabâhu VI's adopted son, Prince Sapumal. This battle took place in many stages. Firstly, the tributaries to the Jaffna Kingdom in the Vanni area, namely the Vanniar chieftains of the Vannimai were neutralised. This was followed by two successive conquests. The first war of conquest did not succeed in capturing the kingdom. It was the second conquest dated to 1450 that eventually was successful. Apparently connected with this war of conquest was an expedition to Adriampet in modern South India, occasioned according to Valentyn by the seizure of a Lankan ship laden with cinnamon. The Tenkasi inscription of Arikesari Parakrama Pandya of Tinnevelly 'who saw the backs of kings at Singai, Anurai,' and else where, may refer to these wars; it is dated between A.D. 1449-50 and 1453-4.^[33] Kanakasooriya Cinkaiariyan the Aryacakravarti king fled to South India with his family. After the departure of Sapumal Kumara to Kotte, Kanakasooriya Cinkaiarian re-took the kingdom in 1467.

Colonial period[link]

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 spices that the Kotte kingdom enjoyed that was also of interest to the Portuguese.^[34] The Jaffna kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese officials in Colombo for multiple reasons which included their interference in Roman Catholic missionary activities,^[34] (which was assumed to be patronizing Portuguese interests) and their support to anti-Portuguese factions of the Kotte kingdom, such as the chieftains from Sittawaka.^[34] The Jaffna Kingdom also functioned as a logistical base for the Kandyan kingdom, located in the central highlands without access to any seaports, as an entrypot for military aid arriving from South India.^[34] Further, due to its strategic location, it was feared that the Jaffna kingdom may become a beachhead for the Dutch landings.^[34] It was king Cankili I who resisted contacts with the Portuguese and even massacred 600-700 Parava 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.^[35][36]

Client state

The first expedition led by Viceroy Dom Constantino de Bragança in 1560 failed to subdue the kingdom but wrested the Mannar Island from it.^[37] Although the circumstances are unclear, by 1582 The Jaffna king was paying a tribute of ten (10) elephants or an equivalent in cash.^[34][37] In 1591, during the second expedition led by André Furtado de Mendonça, king Puvirasa Pandaram was killed and his son Ethirimanna Cinkam was installed as the monarch. This arrangement gave the Catholic missionaries freedom and monopoly in elephant export to the Portuguese,^[37][38] which the incumbent king however resisted.^[37][38] He helped the Kandyan kingdom under kings 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.^[37][38]

The Royal family, first from the right is Cankili I, who held off the Portuguese Empire.

Cankili II the unsurper

With the death of Pararasasekaran in 1617, Cankili II, a usurper, took control of the throne after killing the regent nominated by the late king.^[12] Unable to secure Portuguese acceptance of his kingship, Cankili II invited military aid from the Thanjavur Nayaks and allowed corsairs from Malabar to use a base in Neduntivu, hence posting a threat to Portuguese shipping routes through Palk Straight.^[12] The Kandy Nayak Senarat had married the nieces of Cankili II^[39] and hence Cankili II was supported by the Kandy Nayaks. The former princesses of Jaffna had also been married to Senarat's stepsons, Kumarasingha and Vijayapala.^[15] Since a number of matrimonial ties were shared between the Thanjavur Nayaks, the Kandy Nayak and the Jaffna Kingdom,^[14] 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 proteage, the Prince of Rameshwaram .^[15] 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 Malabari corsairs and another expedition by Phillippe de Oliveira and his 5,000 strong land army which was able to inflict defeat on Cankili II.^[12] Cankili, along with every surviving member of the royal family were captured and taken to Goa, where he was hanged to death. 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.^[12]

Consequences

Over the next 40 years, there were three rebellions against the Portuguese rule, two of which were led by Migapulle Arachchi, and another after the invasion by the Kandyan king Senarat I until the Dutch capture of Jaffna fort in 1658.^[12] During that period, Portuguese destroyed every Hindu temple^[13] and the Saraswathy Mahal library in Nallur, the royal repository of all literary output of the kingdom.^[40][41] Due to excessive taxation, population decreased and many people moved to Ramanathapuram in India and the Vanni districts further south.^[12] External commerce was negatively impacted, though elephants, Jaffna's principle export, were traded for saltpetre with various kingdoms in India and sent to Lisbon. Thus, decline in trade made it difficult to pay for essential imports and such items ceased to be imported.^[12] In the words of Fernão de Queirós, the principle chronicler of Portuguese colonial exploits in Sri Lanka, the people of Jaffna were "reduced to the uttermost misery" during the Portuguese colonial era.^[12][13]

Although the Portuguese attempted to completely destroy the Royal family through encouraged celibacy, there are number of families of Sri Lankan Tamil origin who claim descent from the royal family.^[42][43]

Administration[link]

Mantri Manai - The surviving remains of the minister's quarters that was reused by the Portuguese and Dutch colonials^[44]

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.^[5][32][45]

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.^[46] 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.^[5][46] Then came the mudaliyars who functioned as judges and interpreters of the laws and customs of the land.^[46] It was also their duty to gather information of whatever was happening in the provinces and report to higher authorities. 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.^[46][47]

Maniyam was the chief of the parrus.^[46] He was assisted by mudaliyars who were in turn assisted by udaiyars, persons of authority over a village or a group of villages.^[46] They were the custodians of law and order and gave assistance to survey land and collect revenues in the area under their control.^[46] The village headman was called talaiyari, paddankaddi or adappanar and he assisted in the collection of taxes and was responsible for the maintenance of order in his territorial unit.^[46] In addition, each caste had a chief who supervised the performance of caste obligations and duties.^[46][47]

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.^[47] 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.^[6][47] The tribute was in cash, grains, honey, elephants, and ivory. The annual tribute system was enforced due to the greater distance from Jaffna.^[47] 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.^[48] Around the early 17th century, the kingdom also administered an exclave in Southern India called Madalacotta.^[49]

Economy[link]

A Setu coin

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. 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.^[7]

Jaffna kingdom was less feudalized than other kingdoms in Sri Lanka, such as Kotte and Kandy.^[8] 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.^[8] 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.^[8] 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.^[8] Much of the kingdom's revenues also came from cash except the Elephants from the Vanni feudatories.^[8] 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.^[8]

Reverse of the Setu coin with Setu legend in Tamil

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.^[46] 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).^[34] Perhaps a peculiarity of Jaffna was the levy of license fee for the cremation of the dead.^[46]

Not all payments in kind were converted to cash, offerings of rice, bananas, milk, dried fish, game meat and curd persisted.^[8] Some inhabitants also had to render unpaid personal services called uliyam.^[8]

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.^[4][29]

Culture[link]

Religion[link]

Saivism (a sect 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.^[50] During the Chola period in Sri Lanka, around the 9th and 10th century, Hinduism gained status as an official religion in the island kingdom.^[51] Kalinga Magha, whose rule followed that of the Cholas is remembered as a Hindu revivalist by the native literature of that period.^[52]

Nallur Kandaswamy temple - One of the royal temples of Nallur, the capital.

As the state religion, Saivism 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 Saivism 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.^[9]

Sapumal Kumaraya (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.^[6][53] 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.^[10] He was a frequent the visitor of the Koneswaram temple, as was his son and successor King Cankili I.^[54] 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.^[55] 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.^[8]

Most accepted Lord 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.^[9]

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.^[56] The ceremonies and festivals were similar to those in modern South India, with some slight changes in emphasis. The Tamil devotional literature of Saiva saints was used in worship. The Hindu New Year falling on the middle of April was more eloborately 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.^[57]

Until ca. 1550 A.D., when Cankili I expelled the Buddhists of Jaffna, who were all Sinhalese, and destroyed their many places of worship, Buddhism prevailed in the Jaffna kingdom, among the Sinhalese who had remained in the territory.^[58][59][60] 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),^[61][62] of these only the Buddhist temple at Nagadipa survive today.^[62]

Society[link]

Caste structure

The position of Jaffna Kingdom with respect to other regional powers circa 1520's

The social organization of the people of the Jaffna kingdom was based on a caste system dominated by the agricultural and landed elite, similar to the caste structure of South India. In this way, it resembled the social organization of the Sinhalese kingdoms to the south as well, where the Govigama caste was dominant and considered lower in status only to the ruling family. The Aryacakravarti kings and their immediate family claimed Brahma-Kshatriya status, meaning Brahmins who took to martial life.^[63] Below them were the agriculturists; the Vellalar and the Madapalli castes who provided most of the Mudaliyars to village headman who owned most of the arable land.^[51] Below the Vellalar were the Koviar who were also involved in agriculture.^[51] The people of the fishing castes, collectively known as the Karaiyar, were independent of this social structure to which the landed communities were bound.^[51] The Chettys were well known as traders and owners of Hindu temples and the Pallar and the Nalavar castes composed of the landless labourers who tilled the land.^[51] Other castes composed of traditional barbers, washers, potters and general service providers. People of the Parayar caste lived in segregated settlements and were the untouchables, just as in the modern Tamil Nadu and Kerala regions of south India.^[51][64]

Mercenaries & traders

Mercenaries of various ethnic and caste backgrounds from India, such as the Telugus (known locally as Vadugas) and Malayalees from the Kerala region were employed by the king as soldiers.^[51][51] Muslim traders and sea pirates of Mapilla and Moor ethnicities as well as Sinhalese were in the Kingdom.^[5][65] 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 CE., 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 CE 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.^[66]

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 Mohemadan law of pre emption and Hindu laws of neighboring India also seemed to have had an impact on the customary laws. These customary laws were later codified and put to print during the Dutch colonial rule as Thesavalamai in 1707.^[67] 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.^[67]

Literature[link]

Patronage to literature and education was given by of the kings of the dynasty. 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.^[11] During the reign of Jayaveera Singaiariyan rule, a work on medical science (Segarajasekaram), on astrology (Segarajasekaramalai)^[11][68] and on mathematics (Kanakathikaram) were authored by Karivaiya.^[11] During the rule of Kunaveera Singaiariyan, a work on medical sciences, known as Pararajasekaram, was completed.^[11] During Singai Pararasasekaran's rule, an academy for Tamil language propagation on the model of ancient Tamil Sangam's was established in Nallur. This academy performed a useful service in collecting and preserving ancient Tamil works in manuscripts form in a library^[11] called Saraswathy Mahal. Singai Pararasasekaran's cousin Arasakesari was credited with translating the Sanskrit classic Raghuvamsa into Tamil.^[68] Among other literary works of historic importance compiled before the arrival of European colonizers, Vaiyapatal, written by Vaiyapuri Aiyar, is well known.^[11][69]

Architecture[link]

Cankilian Thoppu - Facade of the palace belonging to the last king Cankili II.^[70]

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.^[71] Temples built by the Tamils of Indian origin from the 10th century belonged to the Madurai variant of Vijayanagar period.^[71] A prominent feature of the Madurai style was the ornate and heavily sculptured tower or gopuram over the entrance of temple.^[71] None of the important religious constructions of this style within the territory that formed the Jaffna kingdom survived the destructive hostility of the Portuguese.^[71]

Nallur, the capital was built with four entrances with gates.^[72] There were two main roadways and four temples at the four gateways.^[72] The rebuilt temples that exist now do not match their original locations which instead are occupied by churches erected by the Portuguese.^[72] The center of the city was Muthirai Santhai (market place) and was surrounded by a square fortification around it.^[72] There were courtly buildings for the Kings, Brahmin priests, soldiers and other service providers.^[72] The old Nallur Kandaswamy temple functioned as a defensive fort with high walls.^[72] In general, the city was laid out like the traditional temple town according Hindu traditions.^[72]

See also[link]

• List of monarchs of the Jaffna kingdom
• Sri Lankan Tamil people

Notes[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jaffna kingdom

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jaffna Royal Family

Jaffna யாழ்ப்பாணம் යාපනය
—  City  —
View from the Public Library
Jaffna
Coordinates: 9°40′0″N 80°0′0″E / 9.666667°N 80°E / 9.666667; 80
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Northern
District	Jaffna
Government
• Type	Municipal Council
• Mayor	Yogeswari Patkunarajah (UPFA (EPDP))
Area
• Total	20.2 km2 (7.8 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	84,416
• Density	4,179/km2 (10,823/sq mi)
Time zone	Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone (UTC+5:30)
Website	Jaffna city website

Jaffna (Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாணம் Yalpanam, Sinhala: යාපනය Yāpanaya ) or the City of Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical antiquity. Jaffna's suburb, Nallur served as the capital of the four centuries-long medieval Jaffna kingdom. Prior to the Sri Lankan civil war, it was Sri Lanka's second most populated city after the commercial capital Colombo. Since the 1980s insurgent uprising, military occupation, extensive damage, expulsion and depopulation has happened. Since the end of civil war in 2009, refugees and internally displaced people are returning to their homes and government and private sector reconstruction has begun.

Historically, Jaffna has been a contested city. It was made into a colonial port town during the Portuguese occupation of the Jaffna peninsula in 1619. It changed hands to the Dutch colonials, who lost it to the British in 1796. After Sri Lanka gained independence 1948, the political relationship between the minority Sri Lankan Tamils and majority Sinhalese worsened and after the Black July pogrom, civil war erupted in 1983. Jaffna was occupied by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1986 and from 1989 until 1995. Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) briefly occupied the city in 1987. The Sri Lankan military gained control in 1995.

Majority of the city’s population are Sri Lankan Tamils, although there was a significant number of Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamils and other ethnic groups present in the city prior to the civil war. Most Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindus followed by Christians, Muslims and a small Buddhist minority. The city is home to number of educational institutions established during the colonial and post-colonial period. It also has number of commercial institutions, minor industrial units, banks, hotels and other government institutions such as the hospital. It is home to the popular Jaffna library that was burnt down and rebuilt. The city is anchored by the Jaffna fort rebuilt during the Dutch colonial period.

History[link]

Excavations that were conducted by Sir Paul E. Pieris during 1918 and 1919, that were utilised in the ancient Jaffna capital of Kantarodai and Vallipuram; a coastal town six kilometres from Point Pedro revealed coins called "puranas", and "kohl" sticks that dated back to 2000 B.C similar in style to the sticks used to paint pictures in Egypt, suggesting that the Northern part of Sri Lanka was a "flourishing" settlement prior to the arrival of Prince Vijaya.^[1] In the chronicle Mahavamsa, around sixth century B.C, there are descriptions of exotic tribes such as the Yakkhas strictly inhabiting the centre of the island, and the Nagas who worshiped snakes inhabiting the Northern, Western and Eastern parts of the island, which was historically referred to as "Nagadipa".^[2] Jaffna city^{[citation needed]}, along with the rest of the Jaffna peninsula was part of the Kingdom of Tambapanni in 543 BC. Ancient Sinhala chronicles including Mahavamsa describes Jaffna city^{[citation needed]} as a vital part of the island nation.^[3] It Briefly come under the rule of South Indian Kingdoms, after several incursions it has been recaptured by Sinhalese Kings thereafter, last of which was Parakramabahu VI.^[4][5][6]

Colonial history[link]

Jaffna city was established as a colonial administrative center by the Portuguese colonials in 1621.^[7] Prior to the military capitulation to the Portuguese Empire in 1619, the capital of the local Jaffna Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Aryacakravarti was Nallur.^[7] Nallur is close to the city limits of Jaffna.^[8][9] The capital city was known in royal inscriptions and chronicles as Cinkainakar and in other sources as Yalpaanam in Tamil and Yapaapatuna in Sinhalese.^[10]

Entrance of Jaffna Fort that was originally built by the Portuguese and renovated by the Dutch on 1680.

From 1590, Portuguese merchants and Catholic missionaries were active within the Jaffna kingdom. Impetus for a permanent fortified settlement happened only after 1619, when the expeditionary forces of the Portuguese Empire led by Phillippe de Oliveira captured the last native king Cankili II.^[11] Phillipe de Oliveira moved the center of political and military control from Nallur to Jaffnapatao^[12] (variously spelt as Jaffnapattan or Jaffnapattam), the Portuguese rendition of the native name for the former Royal capital.^[13] Jaffnapatao was attacked number of times by a local rebel Migapulle Arachchi and his allied Thanjavur Nayakar expeditionary forces but the Portuguese defence of the city withstood the attacks.^[14] Jaffnapatao was a small town. It had a fort, a harbour and Catholic chapels and other government buildings.^[15] Portuguese merchants took over the lucrative trade of Elephants from the interior and monopolised the import of goods from Colombo and India thus disfranchising the local merchants.^[14] Portuguese period was a time of population movement to the Vannimais in the south, religious change and as well as introduction of many European educational and health care methods to the city.^[14][16]

In 1658, Portuguese lost Jaffapatao to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) after a three month siege.^[10] During the Dutch occupation, the city grew in population and size. Dutch were also tolerant towards native mercantile and religious activities. Most Hindu temples that were destroyed by the Portuguese were rebuilt. A community of mixed Eurasian Dutch Burghers formed and became part of the city during this period. The Dutch expanded rebuilt the fort considerably, built notable Presbyterian churches and other government buildings most which survived until the 1980s and were destroyed or damaged during the Civil war.^[17] During the Dutch period, Jaffna also became prominent as a trading town in locally grown agricultural products with the native merchants and farmers profiting as much as the VOC merchants.^[18] Great Britain took over Dutch possessions in Sri Lankan from 1796.^[19] Britain maintained many of the Dutch mercantile, tolerant religious and taxation policies. During the British colonial period, almost all the schools that eventually played role in the high literacy achievement of the Jaffna residents were built by missionaries belonging to American Ceylon Mission, Weslyan Methodist Mission, Saivite reformer Arumuka Navalar and others.^[20][21] All the major roads and railway line connecting the city with Colombo, Kandy and the rest of the country were built. Under the British, Jaffna enjoyed a period of rapid growth and prosperity.^[19] The excess wealth of the citizens of the city was directed towards building civic projects like temples, schools, library and the museum.

Post-colonial history[link]

Jaffna Public library construction began in 1933.

After Sri Lanka became independent in 1948 from Britain, the relationship between majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils worsened. Residents of Jaffna city along with the rest of Tamil population of Sri Lanka were in the fore front of the political mobilisation behind Tamil nationalist parties. After the Tamil conference incident in 1974, the then mayor of Jaffna Alfred Duraiappah was assassinated by the leader of rebel LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran in 1975. Following further deterioration of political discourse, the Jaffna library was burnt down in 1981 by Police and other miscreants. Failure of the political class to find an adequate compromise led to full scale civil war starting in 1983 soon after the Black July pogrom.^[22] Sri Lankan military and police were using the Dutch era fort as their encampment which was surrounded by various Tamil militants groups. Bombardment from air and land of the city led to damage to civic and civilian properties, death and injury to civilians and destruction the economic potential of the city. In 1986, the Sri Lankan military withdrew from the city and it came under the full control of the LTTE.

In 1987, the Indian forces brought to Sri Lanka under the auspicious Indo- Sri Lankan peace accord led an operation to take the city from the rebels. It led to incidents like the Jaffna university hellidrop and Jaffna hospital massacre in which patients and medical workers were killed by the Indian Army.^[23] More than 200 civilians were also killed during attempt to take the city over by the IPKF.^[24] After the departure of the Indians, the city came under the control LTTE once more, but were ousted in 1995 after a 50 day siege. The economic embargo of the rebel controlled territories in general also had a negative impact in Jaffna including lack of power, critical medicines and food. During the period of LTTE occupation, all Muslim residents were expelled in 1990 and forced evacuated all residents in 1995.^[25] Since the end of civil war in 2009, refugees have begun to return and visible reconstruction has taken place. The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora and business interests from Colombo has invested in commercial enterprises. Countries in Europe, US and India have shown an interest in investing in infrastructure projects and other economic activities.

Governance[link]

The Jaffna Municipal Council governs the City of Jaffna. It was established under the Municipalities Ordinance Act of 1865. Although other cities such as Kandy, Galle and Colombo had elected municipal councils soon after the 1865 ordinance, Jaffna did not have an elected municipal council for many years. This reflected the desire of the British bureaucrats to govern the city directly rather than share power with a highly literate electorate.^[26] The first elected mayor was Cathiravelu Ponnambalam.^[27] Number of subsequent mayors were assassinated such as Alfred Duraiappah, Sarojini Yogeswaran and Pon Sivapalan.^[28] There were 15 years without elections since 1983.

The post civil war elections were held in 2009 after a gap of 11 years. The municipal council consists of 29 members.^[29] As the original municipal council building was destroyed during the civil war, a new building is to be constructed for the current municipal council in 2011.^[30]

Geography and climate[link]

The city is surrounded by Jaffna Lagoon to its west and south, Kokkuvil and Thirunelveli to the north, and Nallur to the east. Jaffna peninsula is made of limestone as it was submerged under sea during the Miocene period. The limestone is grey, yellow and white porous type. The entire land mass is flat and lies at sea level. Within one mile of the city center is the island of Mandativu which is connected by a causway. Palmyrah groves can be seen where land has not been used for construction. Other notable vegetation is a leafless shrub called talai (alae africana) and koddanai (oleander).^[31]

Jaffna features a tropical rainforest climate with no true dry season month. Jaffna has the highest average temperature in Sri Lanka – 83 °F (28 °C). The temperature is highest in the months of April – May and August – September. The temperature is coolest in December – January. The annual rainfall is brought in by the North East monsoon and it varies from one place to the other and also from year to year. The average rainfall is 50 inches in the western part of Jaffna peninsula.^[31]

Demography[link]

Historically residents of Jaffna city were Tamils, Moors (Muslims), Europeans and Eurasian Burghers.^[10] Over time the composition changed with Tamils and Moors predominating and Europeans and Burghers either assimilating or moving away. Europeans and the natives lived in separate sections of the city. Most houses were modest in size and the streets were kept clean.^[32] After 1900's the population increased and Sinhalese from the south also settled in Jaffna. Prior to the civil war there were Moors, Sinhalese, Indian Tamils and other ethnic groups living in Jaffna.

During colonial times Jaffna was Ceylon's (Sri Lanka) second largest city. Post-independence the city was overtaken by the growth of settlements near Colombo. But even in 1981 Jaffna was the largest city outside the Greater Colombo area. The population of Jaffna, like the rest of the North and East, has been heavily affected by the civil war. Many of its Tamil residents have emigrated to the West or moved to the relative safety of Colombo.^[19] The city's small Moor and Sinhalese population have either been forcibly expelled or fled. As a consequence the city's population is significantly lower than it was 30 years ago. Many of the city's residents who left during the civil war have settled down elsewhere and are unlikely to return. There have been reports, particularly after the end of the civil war in 2009, about resettling those residents who wish to return to Jaffna but there hasn't been any substantive effort to do so yet.

Religion[link]

Left:Restored Muslim Mosque in a bombed out portion of the city. Right:St.James Church originally established in 1861.

Most Tamils are Hindus, professing the Saivite sect but might also propitiate many of the village deities. Most Christians are Roman Catholics with small but influential number of Protestants belonging to the Church of South India, the successor organisation of American Ceylon Mission and other colonial era Protestant churches. All Moors were Muslims with the Sunni sect predominating with a small number of Shias prevalent amongst mercantile immigrants from North India or Pakistan. There is a small community of Tamil Buddhists who converted to Theravada Buddhism during the 20th century due to the efforts of Maha Bodhi Society.^[36] Most Sinhalese were either Buddhists or Catholics.

There was a small community of nomadic wanderers known as Kuravar who visited Jaffna seasonally and spoke a dialect of Telugu or Tamil. Tamils were also divided along the caste system but as an urban area class was more important than caste which was more pronounced in rural areas of Jaffna district.

Economy & Transportation[link]

Students walking past a ruined workshop in 2007

Jaffna city was founded as a trading town by European merchants. Although a historic port used by the native Jaffna kingdom was already in existence when the Portuguese arrived, it was the European mercantile activity that made it prominent. In colonial times, production of clothes, items of gold and silver, processing of tobacco, rice and other related activities formed an important part of the economic activities.^[37] In modern times, the port was its principal source of revenue but it has declined drastically. Currently it survives as a fishing port. The city had a wide range of industries, including food processing, packaging, making of household items, and salt processing, but most ceased after 1995.^[19] Since then, most industrialists, entrepreneurs, and business people have relocated to the rest of Sri Lanka and abroad. After 2009, foreign governments within the EU, US, India, and investors from the south of the island and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora have shown an interest in making investments in Jaffna district in general and Jaffna city in particular.^[19]

Jaffna is 396 km from Colombo. It is directly connected by railways and the roads system, both of which were disrupted during the civil war. The city was served by the Yal Devi train service until 1990.^[38] The A-9 highway connecting the city with the rest of the country was opened after the 2002 ceasefire. It is served by government and private sector coaches and buses. Commercial flights are available from Colombo to Jaffna via the Palali Airport.^[39]

Education[link]

Jaffna city has number of education institutions founded by the missionary efforts and Saivite revivalism during the British colonial period. Peter Percival a Wesleyan Missionary started several schools in Jaffna city including Jaffna Central College and Vembadi Girls’ High School. Prior to the civil war, the city had one of the highest literacy rates within Sri Lanka.^[39]

Literature & Media[link]

Jaffna has had a media sector from the mid 1800's. The first known English and Tamil weekly called, Uthayatharakai in Tamil or Morning Star was published jointly in 1840 by American Ceylon Mission and the Weslyan church. In 1863 the Ceylon Patriot was published by a local advocate as a weekly. The Jaffna Catholic Guardian and the Hindu Organ were published by Roman Catholic and Hindu organisation to present their religious interests between 1876 and 1889 respectively. The first Tamil monthly was Sanmarkapothini which was published in 1884.^[40]

These early journals were followed by number popular newspapers in Tamil such as Eelakesari and Eelanadu. Jaffna was also the seen the publication of journals committed to the growth of modernistic and socially purposive literature such as Bharati and Marumalarchi in 1946. Now defunct English weekly Saturday Review was an influential news magazine that came out of Jaffna. During the civil war many publishers, authors and journalists were assassinated or arrested and the media heavily censored. Since the 2000s Jaffna is served by newspapers such as Uthayan, Yarl Thinakkural, Valampurii and Thinamurasu.

Notable buildings[link]

Nallur Kandaswamy temple that was restored during the 17th century, situated in Nallur

Most historic buildings such as Temples, Saraswathy Mahal library and palaces in the royal city of Nallur and the rest of Jaffna peninsula were destroyed by the Portuguese colonials. Materials from destroyed buildings were used in the construction of the Jaffna fort and other fortifications.^[17] Cankilian Thopu or entrance of the palace of Cankili I and Mantri Manai or minister's palace are few of the pre-colonial buildings still standing in the royal quarters of Nallur. Within the Jaffna city proper, the Dutch fort is an imposing structure followed by many Dutch era homes, churches and civil buildings most of which were damaged during the civil war. There are number of British colonial era building such as the Indo-Sarasenic style clock tower and the Public library that are notable. Almost all Hindu temples in Jaffna including the socially important Nallur Kandaswamy temple were reconstructed during the Dutch and British period.

See also[link]

• Jaffna University
• Tamil Buddhism

Notes[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (April 2012)

Cited literature[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jaffna

• Abeysinghe, Tikiri (2005). Jaffna under the Portuguese. Colombo: Stamford Lake. ISBN 955-1131-70-1. http://books.google.ca/books?id=hsYLAAAAIAAJ&q=Jaffna+under+the+Portuguese&dq=Jaffna+under+the+Portuguese. 
• Alden, Dauril, The Making of an Enterprise: The Society of Jesus in Portugal, Its Empire, and Beyond, 1540–1750, Stanford University Press, ISBN 0-8047-2271-4, http://books.google.ca/books?id=7nVIBhrRb9AC&pg=PA152&lpg=PA152&dq=Jaffnapatao&source=bl&ots=pui7th3kCk&sig=0BHUW9u0lKBo-1rs4IK-sMWQ64I&hl=en&ei=4i7lTsyhLYHb0QGR1bzIBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&sqi=2&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Jaffnapatao&f=false 
• Carpenter, C (2007), World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia, Marshall Cavendish Corporation, ISBN 0-7614-7631-8, http://books.google.ca/books?id=5ZBaVhmRvCkC&pg=PA566&dq=Jaffna+city&cd=5#v=onepage&q=Jaffna%20city&f=false 
• Chattopadhyaya, H.P. (1994), Ethnic Unrest in Modern Sri Lanka: An Account of Tamil-Sinhalese Race Relations, South Asia Books, ISBN 81-85880-52-2, http://books.google.ca/books?id=MRU6QKPBTFQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Ethnic+Unrest+in+Modern+Sri+Lanka:+An+Account+of+Tamil-Sinhalese+Race+Relations,#v=onepage&q=Jaffn%20city&f=false 
• Cohen, Roberta (2005), The Forsaken People:The case studies of the internally displaced, Brookings Institution Press, ISBN 0-8157-1514-5, http://books.google.ca/books?id=NUJfmOZQipkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+forsaken+People:The+case+studies#v=onepage&q=Jaffna&f=false 
• De Silva, K.M.D (1981), A History of Sri Lanka, University of California, Berkley, ISBN 0-520-04320-0, http://books.google.ca/books?id=65gegDaEsToC&pg=RA1-PA117&dq=Portuguese+%2B+jaffna#v=onepage&q=Portuguese%20%2B%20jaffna&f=false 
• De Silva, R.K.; Beumer, W.G.M. (1997), Illustrations and Views of Dutch Ceylon 1602–1796: A Comprehensive Work of Pictorial Reference With Selected Eye-Witness Accounts, Brill Academic Publishers, ISBN 90-04-08979-9, http://books.google.ca/books?id=59AUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA132&dq=jaffna+city+%2B+Portuguese#v=onepage&q=jaffna%20city%20%20%20Portuguese&f=false 
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• Katiresu, A. (2004 (1905)), A hand book to the Jaffna Penninsula and a souvenir of the opening of the railway to the North, Asian Educational Services, OCLC 56367740, http://books.google.ca/books?id=S4_domy-aYsC&pg=PA29&dq=jaffna+%2B+Morning+Star#v=onepage&q=jaffna%20%20%20Morning%20Star&f=false 
• Martyn, John (2002), Martyn’s notes on Jaffna, Asian Educational Services, ISBN 81-206-1670-7, http://books.google.ca/books?id=xoIcCReqErUC&pg=PA158&dq=Jaffna+city#v=onepage&q=Jaffna%20city&f=false 
• Pfaffenberger, Bryan (1982), Caste in Tamil culture:The Religious foundations of Sudra domination in Tamil Sri Lanka, Syracuse University, ISBN 0-915984-84-9, http://books.google.lk/books?id=-wt2QgAACAAJ&dq=Caste+in+Tamil+culture:The+Religious+foundations+of+Sudra+domination+in+Tamil+Sri+Lanka 
• Peebles, Patrick (2006). The History of Sri Lanka. USA: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-33205-3. http://books.google.ca/books?id=SxO0eISluqEC&pg=PA76&dq=Media+in+Jaffna#v=onepage&q=Media%20in%20Jaffna&f=false. 
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• Sabaratnam, Lakshmanan (2001), Ethnic Attachments in Sri Lanka: Social Change and Cultural Continuity, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 0-312-29348-8, http://books.google.ca/books?id=zKYgia9hiB0C&pg=PA101&dq=Jaffna+municipal+council#v=onepage&q=Jaffna%20municipal%20council&f=false 
• Sarvanathan, Muttukrishna (2007). Economy of the conflict zone in Sri Lanka:From embargo to repression. East-West Center, Washington D.C.. ISBN 978-1-932728-72-9. http://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/search-for-publications/browse-alphabetic-list-of-titles/?class_call=view&pub_ID=2554. 
• Library of Universal Knowledge. American Book Exchange. 1880. http://books.google.ca/books?id=NuEOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA221&dq=Population+of+Jaffna+city#v=onepage&q=Population%20of%20Jaffna%20city&f=false.