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| Saturday, 31 July 2004 |
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Development of transport from ancient times by Godwin Witane At the beginning people when going places travelled on foot. There were no broad roads then. There were only foot paths over hill and low country. Once when the elephant found in large numbers in the island's forests were captured and trained the people especially the nobility travelled on their backs. Dutugemunu and Elara battled while riding on the backs of elephants. The armies were only foot soldiers wielding the sword and the bow and the arrow. They fought with each other face to face. Then came the Palanquin mostly used by Royalty. It is a covered conveyance usually for one or two persons used in the eastern countries. It consists of a large box with shutters carried by four or six strong men by means of two large poles fixed on either side of the wooden cabin projecting before and behind and the occupants seated with their legs stretched or folded. We hear in Lanka's history that King Valagambahu travelled in a palanquin along with his Queen Anula Devi to escape from being captured by the invading Cholians whose chief was Giri. He warned his soldiers that the king was escaping. And when the enemy was about to capture the king due to the slow trot of the palanquin bearers Queen Anula descended from the Palanquin so that the king may fly faster. The King escaped into the jungles while his Queen was captured by the enemy. According to Kandyan history the Queen travelled in a Caravan called the Ran Doli. The Royal caravan was beautifully decorated in gold workmanship, hence the name Ran Doli. The caravans used by Royalty in the Kandyan kingdom are still preserved at the Dalada Maligawa. During the annual Esala Perahera these Ran Doli are carried in the Perahera for a few days towards the conclusion of the festival and these processions were named as Randoli Perahera. It was the Arabs who introduced the horse into this country. The Sinhalese Kings had equestrian guards appointed to guard the Royal Palace. History records that two brothers from India called Sena and Guttika (177-155 B.C.) who were in charge of the Royal Stables killed the Sinhalese King and ruled this country for several years taking turns. The horse was used for riding on their backs and also for drawing carriages with two or more wheels which were used on broad roads. The earlier roads were not macadamized but were mud roads or gravelled. Once the road to Kandy was constructed the Britishers introduced the first Mail Coach from Colombo and Kandy in 1833. It carried the Mail as well as passengers. One can picture the excitement on the way of the people in the villages through which it passed. This was a great success and coach services between Galle and Colombo was started in 1838. The notorious gangster Utuwankande Saradiel waylaid the Mail Coach to Kandy at Utuwankanda in Kegalle where the death of the first Ceylonese constable Saban took place. In the course of time coaches became the popular mode of travelling throughout the island until the Railway followed and carried passengers and the mail. Before the advent of the motor lorry into this country bulls were used to drag carts with two large wheels. The carts had a bamboo framed roof covered with cadjan as a covering. There were the single bullock cart and the double bullock cart. People used the double bullock cart for heavy goods and the single bullock cart for lighter weight. A rope is passed through a hole bored in the nose of the bull and the animal is guided by this rope. The Britishers employed double bullock carts to transport their estate produce in the form of coffee and tea from their up country estates to Colombo harbour for shipment. Some rich Sinhalese entrepreneurs possessed fleet of carts which plied both in up country and the low country. The mode of travel in the low country was the Hakery where two passengers could sit with their legs stretched out and resting on a pedestal whereas in the Buggy cart there is a box in the center for resting the legs. The seats are on either side. This is called the Moratuwa buggy and some rich people had their cart wheels fixed with rubber lining to facilitate comfortable riding. During festivals people hold hakery races to entertain the public. Among the other modes of travel was the man drawn Rickshaw with rubber tyred large wheels. Once the three trishaw appeared on the roads this mode of travel became redundant. |
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