|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Wednesday, 21 April 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
The Sacred Tooth Relic and functions of the Diyawadana Nilame by M. B. Dassanayake The Tooth Relic is one of Sri Lanka's greatest national treasures. It was an object for the preservation of which the ancient Sinhalese would have perhaps been prepared to shed their blood to the very last drop.
The character of the office of the Diyawadana Nilame has considerably changed from what it was in the earlier days under the Sinhalese kings. His appointment and the tenure of his office no longer depends on the will or caprice of a royal master, whose place he has now virtually taken in regard to the institution of the Dalada Maligawa. He is the manager of those vast temporalities that have vested in that institution from early times, which he now controls at his discretion. He is the principal actor in that great pageant and national festival, the Kandy Esala Perahera, in which Lanka's kings of old rode in legal state. It is, therefore, very natural that the Sinhalese rulers charged with the custody of this insignia of their Royalty a very close official in the palace the Diyawadana Nilame, who evidently occupied the position of a Lord Chamberlain in the royal household. His post was properly at the 'Ulpenge' to attend on the king when bathing. That duty he performed conjointly with the 'Salu Wadana Nilame' of the Salu Mandape, whose duty was to attend on the king when dressing. Their functions were connected with the Nanu Mura Mangalya (bathing ceremony) and the Singage Tewawa that consisted of the hairdressing, shaving, anointing, manicuring and dressing of the king's person. They were, therefore, in charge of the king's jewels and the royal wardrobe. Under their orders were the 'Sittambies', who prepared the bath and performed the service of Jama Karanawa, i.e. being in attendance on the King in chambers. There were also the 'Wasala Apullana Henayas' (royal dhobies), the 'Wasala Ambattayos' (royal barbers) and the Abarana Pattala people (those in charge of the jewelles). Their proximity to the King no doubt gave rise to the practice of the transit of messages to public officers being initiated through them and the 'Paniwidakara Nilame' (Messenger) himself was attached to the 'Salu Mandape' (dressing room). They were the custodians of the royal emblem of the Ran Kaduwa and while in the performance of their public duties, their service was called Ran Kaduwa Paniwida Karanawa. The office of Diyawadana Nilame itself could be said to date perhaps back to the 4th century, when the 'Danta Dhatu' (Scared Relic) was originally brought to Sri Lanka by 'Hemamalie' or Ranmalie, the daughter of the King of Kalinga and her husband 'Dantanam Kumaru'. It was the result of certain disturbed conditions that had arisen in her father's kingdom which had sought to imperil the safety of the sacred object. They arrived here disguised as Brahmins, with the precious object hidden away in the folds of Princess Hemamalie's sable tresses, unsheathed in a case which can be seen to this day among the other priceless treasures of the Maligawa. King Kirti Sri Mevan who was then reigning at Anuradhapura was indeed overjoyed to receive the Sacred Relic, so renowned throughout the Buddhist world; and had it first installed at the pavilion called 'Dhammacakkaa' built by King Devanmpiyatissa. This was the first Dalada Maligawa. Finding its way here as it did as an object of religious worship it acquired a place of no mean political importance for the King of this country. The history of the early Sinhalese is characterised by civil wars waged for the sovereignty of the island. The belief always prevailed that the possessor of the Danta Dhatu was entitled to the dominion of Sri Lanka. Shifted for safety The impact of foreign invasions that took place from the 9th century onwards caused the uneasy seat of government of the Sinhalese rulers to be shifted from time to time to positions of greater security; and Polonnaruva, Yapahuwa, Dambadeniya, Kurunegala, Gampola, Kotte and Sitawaka felt the retreating tread of royalty. "Wherever the violence of the invader forced the King to establish a Court, the Maligawa, which housed the sacred object, rose within the royal precincts, similar but incomparably more beautiful in its workmanship than the Wasala (palace) of the King; the wealth of the country was freely poured out to render it honour, its attendants formed an establishment which was kingly in size and arrangement; entire villages were dedicated to it for the supply of offerings of rice, flour and oil, ivory and gold and gems concealed the massive frames and narrow doors which guarded the approach to the shrine, where the King at least (Parakrama Bahu II) offered up all the ornaments of royalty that were upon the person". - P. E. Pieris. An even more remarkable gift was a whisk with a jewelled handle made out of the hair from the heads of the King and Queen of Burma and sent to Parakrama Bahu VI of Kotte, with a request that it be used for sweeping the inner shrine room of the Maligawa. The village of Kirawella in the Beligal Korale in the Kegalle District was set apart for the maintenance of Princess Hemamalie and her consort Ehantanam Kumara who had been the custodian of the Relic there in India at Dantapura (Jagarnath) and was perhaps also our first guardian here. Fled the Kingdom King Dharmapala who ascended the throne of Kotte not long after the reign of King Parakrama Bahu II broke with the traditions of the Sinhalese royal line when he became a convert to Catholism. Hiripitiya Diyawadana Nilame then fled the Kingdom with the 'Dantha Dhatu' (Tooth Relic). It is said that Hiripitiya Diyawadana Nilame in a dream saw a figure dressed in white who warned him in a strange jingle of Sinhalese and Tamil - thus: "Kottee Kelale Kisi-illai, Dhatu Medagan Rale, Po" Interpreted: the words meant; (My love for Kotte is more begone with the Tooth to the middle kingdom". Its troubled custodian thereupon concealing the precious object in his 'siriya' (waist cloth) swam the ferry of the Diyawanna Thota behind the maligawa by night and made haste to the Court of King Mayadunne of Sitawaka. Removed to Kandy With the death of Raja Sinha, the Kingdom of Sitawaka disappeared and the palladium, thereafter, very rightly came into the hands of King Wimala Dharma Suriya, who had established himself as the ruler of 'KandaUda Rate' at Senkadagala (Kandy) and had begun to espouse the national cause. The Relic now rests in the Temple of the Tooth built by that pious King Kirti Sri of the Nayakar dynasty. The new building of the Dalada Maligawa was inaugurated during the regime of P. B. Nugawela Diyawadana Nilame. A remarkable man his sagacity once quite astonished the Engineers of a well-known firm in Colombo. The firm had tendered for the erection of certain columns. The estimate had run into several figures ... in respect of each of the monoliths. He chose to have them erected by workmen under his own supervision with the aid of bamboos and coir ropes in the traditional style! British respect With the cession of the Kandyan Territories to the British in 1815, the new government stepped into the room of the deposed King. The British fully appreciated the political advantage that accrued to their government as a result of the palladium of the Sinhalese nation having fallen into their hands. They proceeded to treat the Dalada Maligawa with all the respect done to a representative national institution. In the April of 1815, D'Oyley, the British Resident in Kandy, made a gift of the "Pattiruppuwa" (Octagon) that had been erected by King Sri Wickreme Rajasinha, for the use of the Maligawa. The uprising that took place in 1818 was marked by the surreptitious removal of the Tooth Relic to Matale. After it was over the new government placed the Maligawa under the military surveillance and posted a military guard, as had been done in former days by some of the Polonnaruwa Kings. No doubt it was a measure considered necessary to prevent "the clandestine removal by ambitious chiefs or discontented priests for the purpose of exciting rebellion against British domination." The possession of the Danta Dhatu had always been considered to vest a legitimate right in the holder to the sovereignty of the Island. Transfer of custodianship The propriety of a Christian government, however, continuing to remain the custodian of the Sacred Tooth of the Buddha soon began to trouble the conscience of the new rulers. In 1853 the government of Lord Torrington handed over the management of the Sacred Tooth to its lay custodian, the Diyawadana Nilame, and the High Priests of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters. The appointment of the Diyawadana Nilame today rests on an elective basis. The Trustees of the Vihares and Temples in the Kandyan Provinces in the receipt of an income of over Rs. 1,000 per annum, the Divisional Secretaries of those areas, the Diyawadana Nilame and the Basnayake Nilames in the order of precedence constitute the franchise that adds up to about 185. Visit of the King of Siam The visit of the King of Siam in 1897 gave occasion for a "a contretemps excruciatingly funny in respect" of which Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike in his memories - 'Remembered Yesterday' - has recorded an account in a vein of apparently piquant humour. After the customary obeisance before the Sacred Relic, at the special exposition held in his honour, the King expressed a desire that the sacred object be placed in the palm of his hand. That practice was a recognised privilege accorded to Buddhist royalty. To this request late Mr. T. B. Panabokke, who was acting for Giragama Diyawadana Nilame, suavely replied, It is not the custom, Your Majesty!". The King infuriated turned on his A.D.C., with words to the effect - "Aide de Camp, return the presents they have given me, and take back those I have brought. My brother last year was permitted to take the Relic in the hands, but I am declined the privilege." His Majesty it is related was not seen again till dinner time that day; and Sir Solomon adds: "Nor did he have one glance over his shoulder at the 'Raja Perahera' arranged in his honour by the Kandyan Chiefs that night. On his way back to Colombo with Sir Solomon, who had been accompanying him, His Majesty gave vent to his pent up rage against Mr. Panabokke with remarks which the writer has refrained from setting down. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
