Trade in ancient and medieval Sri Lanka

Kamalika PEIRIS

European writers of the 19th Century took the view that trade did not play an important role in ancient Sri Lanka.

As a result, researchers did not pay much attention to the trade and commerce of ancient Sri Lanka. They under-emphasised the role of trade and over-emphasised the role of agriculture.

Trade has received very little space in our histories. Sinhalayo by Senerat Paranvitane has two paragraphs on the subject. University of Ceylon History of Ceylon had two and a half pages.

My examination of the social institutions of ancient and medieval Sri Lanka has shown that trade was a very important sector in ancient society, possibly the most important.

It was trade, not agriculture that made ancient Sinhala society hum. Agriculture provided food but did not generate revenue. It was external trade that generated the revenue needed for irrigation and building.

R. A. L. H. Gunawardene has pointed out that in the period from the third to the ninth Century AD, the most prolific activity in the building of irrigation tanks and canals coincided with the most flourishing period of trade. He argues that the funds for building came from trade.

Sri Lanka was a trading nation throughout its documented history. Mahavamsa says that in the 2nd Century BC seven ships, laden with valuable cargo, returned in one day to a port in Rohana.

According to Ptolemy Sri Lanka occupied an important position in the trade circuit by the 2nd Century. From the 4th to the 7th Century AD, Sri Lanka was the main trade emporium for East-West trade. This is a high point in the trade history of Sri Lanka.

From the 6th Century to the 12th Century, Sri Lanka together with India and Sri Vijaya acted as intermediaries for South East Asian trade. Exports from SouthEast Asia were transported in Sri Lankan ships.

The kings who ruled from the 13th Century (Dambadeniya) to the 15 Century (Kotte) continued with external trade. Even the Portuguese occupation did not stop the Sinhala king from trading. Around 1633, the Portuguese captured a convoy of 600 tavalam bulls belonging to king Senerat.

The Sinhala king was deeply involved in the external trade. His revenue came from it.

The king held the monopoly on gems, pearls, elephants, and cinnamon. Customs and port duties went into the royal treasury. Therefore the king actively supported external trade. He invited merchants to visit the island and provided them with the necessary facilities.

He initiated trade contacts. Bhuvaneka bahu I (1272-1284) sent envoys to the Sultan of Egypt saying that he can provide pearls, precious stones of every kind, elephants, cotton textiles, Brazil wood, and cinnamon.

He had trees with wood suitable for spears. He also said that he could supply twenty ships per year. Parakramabahu I had set up a separate department (antarangadhura) for the districts which produced export goods. The merchandise collected from these territories were sent in ships to be sold abroad.

Political decisions were guided by trade concerns. The capital city was chosen with an eye to trade. The capital had a link with at least one port on the coast. Anuradhapura was connected to Mantota and Trincomalee.

Tissamaharama, an important regional centre from early days, was linked to the port of Kirindi. Historians suggest that the capital moved from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa because trade and shipping transferred from the Western shore of Sri Lanka to the Eastern shore.

Around the 13th Century, the produce of the South West of Sri Lanka, such as cinnamon and coconut became commercially important and the king started to search for a capital in the SouthWest. Starting from Dambadeniya, the capital kept moving Southwards, till it settled at Sri Jayawardene pura. Trade went hand in hand with diplomacy.

Diplomatic relations with Myanmar and Cambodia involved trade. Sirisena suggest that there may have been trade rivalry between Cambodia, Burma and Sri Lanka. Buvaneka bahu I rejected Yemen in favour of Egypt hoping for lucrative trade contracts.

The Sinhala king took strong action when trade rights were affected. Parakrama bahu I had a successful strike against Myanmar when Myanmar attempted to restrict its trade in elephants. Parakramabahu VI (1412-1467) invaded a port in Tanjore because Sinhala traders had been humiliated there.

Exports were a major revenue earner for Sri Lanka.

Here are some of the items exported. Pearls and precious stones, particularly rubies and sapphires. Fine, decorative, aromatic and construction woods, including hardwoods such as sandal wood, camphor, satinwood, ironwood, mangrove and teak. Spices such as cloves, cardamom, pepper, nutmeg, areca nut and cinnamon. Betel leaves, coconuts, coconut oil, coir, conch shells, elephants, indigo, ivory, tortoise shells, treacle, textiles, ships and steel.

I think that Sri Lanka had a strong merchant and trading community to look after its valuable import-export sector. Sinhala merchants had their own ships. They went overseas in pursuit of trade.

Mahavamsa speaks of an import merchant named Kundala. Merchants played an important political role. Paranavitana says all accounts of the origin of the Sinhalese excepting the Mahavamsa make the merchants take a leading part.

The earliest brahmi inscriptions indicate that the founders of the ancient Sinhala royal families had mercantile associations.

The title, ‘gamani,’ borne by members of the royal family, is used for heads of mercantile missions. Hettiarachchy, who researched into Sinhala kingship up to the 4th Century, found that the person who poured water on the king at the consecration as the person representing the common people was a merchant (setthi).

The King’s Council had a seat for the minister of trade and commerce. He was known as Mahavelendana in the 13th Century Taking all this into account, I think that the role played by trade in ancient and medieval Sri Lanka should receive more attention and stronger emphasis in future historical writings.

(The writings of H. Ellawala, T. Hettiarachchy, S. Kiribamune, S. Paranavitana, P.E. Pieris, O. M. R. Sirisena, W.M. Sirisena, R. Thapar and S.G.M. Weerasinghe were used for this essay).