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Woes of Chena cultivators

by Gamini G. Punchihewa

Leonard Woolf, while holding his colonial administrative office of Assistant Government Agent, Hambantota had been fighting for the cause of chena cultivation, as the government was contemplating to ban it.

He knew the pathetic plight of these poor jungle villagers whose sole sustenance was on the chena cultivation. As regards paddy cultivation, he had always commented both in his novel - 'The Village In The Jungle' and his diaries, that the villagers were able to do paddy cultivation once in ten years or when the tanks were filled with rain water. In Woolf's own words, he had said thus in his immortal novel' The Village In The Jungle:

"In reality they cultivated rice once in 10 years. It would be cultivated and when the tanks filled with water and much rains had to fall before the tanks are filled. Usually the villagers live by chena cultivation." (page 10 of his novel). Chandrika Weva scheme (about 8-10 miles away from Embilipitiya) lies in the West Giruwa Pattuwa of the Hambantota district. The tanks and villages coming down from Woolf's times would be dealt with now.

Woolf's diary entry of 12.1.1909 in his Printed Diaries' page 40) gives the following account of those villages and old tanks (now nestling in the Chandrika Weva area): "From Liyanagahatota rode to Abeysekeragama (2 1/2 miles to 3 miles), by the Gansabawa road which goes on to Talawa.

The IE has been called on by the Government to report on a small irrigation scheme here suggested by Mr. Schrader. The village wants an anicut put across the Kachchigala ara and a channel cut from it to the Abeysekeragama village tanks.

I have not seen yet the papers, but this according to the IE was the original suggestion made. But to the north of Abeysekeragama Weva is a tank Dickweva the waste from which fills Abeysekeragama Weva. To the north of Dickweva is another tank Metigathwela Weva which the Kachchigala ara flows.

Obviously a channel from Metigatwela Weva to Dickweva would serve the same purpose as an anicut and channel from the Kachchigala ara to Abeysekeragama Weva, except that Dickweva would benefit by it as well. I wanted to go up to the Metigathwela Weva and see whether what the villagers say is true, namely, the stream Bogal Ara joins the Kachchigala at this tank. It had however got so late that I could only get to Dickweva one mile from Abeysekeragama Weva and return to the latter tank where I had breakfast under a tree.

In the afternoon rode back to Wetiya by a foot path (2-3 miles) and thence along Liyanagahatota road to Mamodala. My pony must have done 23 or 24 miles".

The only relic of that old track to Abeysekeragama still standing is that old gamsaba road now broadened and metalled (as previously told about) winding through Binkama to join the road leading to Angunukolapelessa and Middeniya. Buses ply on this route, as well. Abeysekeragama has now blossomed into a modern village dotted with modern houses.

The Old Village Headman's (Allis Abeysekera ancestral house) is still cultivation this Yala." Happoruwa tank is still a small but splendid tank ever brimming. In my visits to this old village of Happoruwa, I met an old man who remembered Woolf having come there to inspect the cattle affected by rhinderpest. Off the Sooriyawewa-Embilipitiya road, there is a well gravelled road leading to this old village Happoruwa and its tank. It's the favourite abode of pelicans, snake darters and cormorants.

Tanks

Woolf's descriptions of other villages and tanks in the Suriya Weva area were those of Beddeweva, and Andaraweva. Authoritative literary critics of Woolf's 'The Village In The Jungle', like the late S. C. Fernando, had assumed that Beddeweva to be the Beddegama of Woolf's 'The Village In The Jungle'.

Beddeweva village has been now developed and people settled there.' The description of other villages is thus: "January 13-1911 (page 215). Walked to Andaraweva. This is a depopulated country which I have not seen before. There is no longer any village at Andaraweva: the inhabitants all died or left some five years ago.

One old man who came with me used to live there. He owns land under the tank: its only use to him is that a year or two ago he went to jail for not doing earthwork. This tank must be struck off or the land sold to the people who can restore the tank.

Breakfasted at Andaraweva and walked on to Suriya Weva. Inspected Beddeweva on way. There is cultivation of a few amunus here, but there is very little water in the tank. There is also cultivation under Suriyaweva... These villages are decimated by malaria. It is an awful sight to see the children.

In Beddeweva tank I saw a child of about five standing and pouring water over himself. He was pallid yellow colour, absolutely skin and bones, but his belly was about three times the size of the rest of the body. His uncle with whom he lives" gave him quinine the maha before this "i.e. in 1909. I told the uncle that the child would die if allowed to go on like that and he replied "Probably he will die: most of our families here are dying" I had the child taken into Hambantota, but there are any number of similar cases."

It is by some twist of fate that Andaraweva after nearly 80 years of Woolf's times, this ill-fated village in 1992 was struck by famine and this whole area is still infected with the scourge of malaria.

Many people and other organisations offered rations, rice, other food stuffs and milk foods to the starving villagers of Andaraweva. Beddeweva and Andaraweva tanks have been restored. During the 1991/92 Maha season, there was no rainfall, hence the farmers had to skip, one cultivation season.

The Andaraweva starving people were deprived of the Yala Cultivation too in 1992.

Hence they were plunged into starvation. Even to this day, if rains do not come during the proper season, the tanks go dry and the people are subjected to great hardships by way of procuring food for their meagre living.

Of the village of Weliweva, Woolf's account is thus: July 22-1909 (page 84)", ... Meegahajandura (6 miles) where I lunched has a fine tanks to which as I lay on the bund, a herd of 6 deer including a buck came to drink in the middle of the day.

The old arachchi whose grave stands by the roadside was very strict in protecting the game and it still seems to be plentiful. After lunch rode to Pahala Kumbuk weva 1 1/2 miles and to be seen by the roadside.

Abeysekeragama Weva, Dickweva tanks are still existing in their idyllic surroundings reminiscent of Woolf's days-how he had trudged there either on horseback or on his push cycle. I too worked in this very environment under the Chandrika Weva scheme, both as an Assistant Lands Officer and a Lands Officer for twelve long years which I could recall with sweet nostalgic memories of all those old familiar places coming down from Woolf's good old times.

Jungle

Of the villages Usweva and Metigathwela (which were within easy reach of my quarters when I was working in this region at Kuttigala), Woolf in his diaries has recorded: "March 19th 1909 (page 61)... At Usweva about 5 miles inspected Usweva Maha Weva but it is indistinguishable from the surrounding jungle.

2 miles decided on the site of new Government school. Just through the jungle is Metigathwela, is a really magnificent village tank with a bund as good as many a major work can boast. There are 45 amunus under this tank, and I believe the whole extent belongs to Mulkirigala Vihara.

The Kachchigala are flows into it and there is a scheme (which I wrote about last month) of cutting a channel from this tank to Dickweva and so to get Kachchigala ara water to that tank and the two Abeysekeragama tanks. There has been no cultivation this year under Metigathwela Weva, though there is a good deal of water in it".

Usweva tank is now abandoned. On its site has been built the Brick & Tile Factory (now run by the Ceramics Corporation where tiles are manufactured-formerly it was built and run by the R. V. D. B. when it was in operation of this area).

Usweva is highly developed where rice fields stretch far and wide under the Right Bank channel of the Uda Walawe reservoir. Metigathwela tank is still magnificent as described by Woolf. It still belongs to the Mulkirigala Vihara. In recent years it was subjected to breaches during floods. But the tank has been restored and it is functioning.

Close to this village Metigathwela, is another old village called Amaratungagama filled with coconut woods, jak and mango trees interlaced with paddy fields. At Amaratungagama I met another old man called Don Juwanis Hettiarachchi.

He was in his eightees when I met him. As a lad he said he could recall Woolf coming there when the cattle rinderpest was raging to shoot the diseased animals. Now having dwelt on the villages lying under west Giruwa Pattuwa of the Hambantota District, let me switch on to those old places and tanks in the Mahagam Pattuwa (also Hambantota district), most of which now embrace the left bank area of the Uda Walawe Reservoir. Sooriya Weva is a tonwship fully fledged all amenities and public transport.

The Sooriya Weva along with its contiguous tank called Galweva with were restored during the time of the R. V. D. B. when it was in control of the area. Of this village called Sooriya Weva, Woolf had thus recorded on his inspection date of July, 23, 1909 (page 84) - "At Suriyaweva rinderpest is just dying out with the last of the cattle but as I heard that it was raging in Mahagama and Bahirawa in the Uva Province, most inaccessible villages.

I thought I ought to cross the border and see what could be seen. First Happoruwa (2 miles), a splendid tank and the only one in Magampattuwa under which there is back, also a fine tank and quite a big village of 90 persons. Then to Weliweva where the Migahajandura school is and so to Suriyaweva (4 miles) where I camped in the bed of the tank". The village of Weliweva has now changed for the better.

Another significant feature of this village, is that most of the houses, the roofs are paved with Sinhala tiles. Most of them are over 100 years old. There is a fine gravel road leading to Weliweva from Sooriyaweva where there is a bus service.

From Migahajandura via Gonnoruwa there is a metalled road to Hambantota. The school of Weliweva built during Woolf's time on a request made by the villagers then, is still existing but it is expanded. Its fine tank is there nestling in the forest glades. There are two massive Siyambala (tamarind) trees standing by the road side of Weliweva having gigantic girths with gnarled knots.

The villagers say that these two siyambala trees are over 150 years old. Migahajandura tank is there and so its school also now much developed and expanded.

The people do paddy cultivation as in the years gone by, only when the tanks are filled with rain water.

Their main cultivation is chena crops. Gonnoruwa also has much been developed. There is a tank there which I should say is one of the largest tanks in the area. Here too the roofs of the cottages are thatched with Sinhala tiles. (Those old characters and their memoirs would be described in Chapter 25).

Leonard Woolf's 'The village In The Jungle' was translated into Sinhalese as a novel, titled 'Beddegama. It was filmed. Its film locations were sighted in its idyllic surroundings around Gonnoruwa in which environs, Woolf had his official inspections.

The places and parlous conditions relating to living and the scourge of malaria were around such villages like Andaraweva, Beddeweva, which were still easy reach of Gonnoruwa as vividly described in his diaries and his fascinating novel.

The old grave of the old arachchi of Migahajandura as mentioned in Woolf's above quoted diary entries, is still there, but covered with shrub jungle in a stretch of a paddy field. But wild life is fast depleting. Elephants prowl around Gonnoruwa and Migahajandura. The population of Migahajandura is now over 1500 families.

Vivid

I was fascinated by a vivid description given in Woolf's diaries about some diving women of Unakuruwa (off Tangalla) where they dived into its depths and fished out coral stones which were put for sale.

So one fine day in early 1970, I rode on my faithful B.S.A. 3.5 cc. motorcycle (which I had used for my field travelling from the good old days of Gal Oya) to Unakuruwa to find for myself whether those diving belles were still there. Woolf's diary entry of January, 25th, 1910, - "Rode with Mudaliyar to Unakuruwa and saw a most interesting spectacle.

The women of this village swim out about 300 yards from the shore and then dive down and fish up big coral stones. They swim back with these stones and stack them in heaps called fathoms 6' by 6'. They are sold for building purposes and for lime at Rs. 4 to Rs. 6 per fathom. The output is about 300 fathoms a year and 12,400 women work off and on. The stones lie in 6-12 feet of water. The divers told me that they never get fever which confirms my belief that sea bathing helps to keep off malaria. "When I want there, I met some women of Unakuruwa.

They said that now hardly women dive for these coral stones in the depths of the sea, save for occasional use for building any of their houses and when they required lime. I was very much pleased when two women dived on their own into the waters and came up with a handful of coral stones in their hands which they showed me holding their cupped hands held (with the coral stones) high up. Unakuruwa is a fishing centre and it harbours a tranquil bay laced with coconut palms.

The well-known Blow Hole or Hoomane is within easy reach of Unakuruwa. Here a spray of sea water is sent up with a mighty roar.

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