CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE GREEKS AND ROMANS.
First heard of by the companions of Alexander the Great
Various ancient names of Ceylon (note)
Early doubts whether it was an island or a continent
Mentioned by Aristotle
Alleged mention of Ceylon in the Samaritan Pentateuch (note)
Onesicritus's account
Megasthenes' description
Ælian's account borrowed from Megasthenes (note)
Ceylon known to the Phoenicians and to the Egyptians (note)
Hippalus discovers the monsoons
Effect of this discovery on Indian trade
Pliny's account of Ceylon
Story of Jambulus by Diodoros Siculus (note)
Embassy from Ceylon to Claudius
Narrative of Rachias, and its explanation (note)
Lake Megisba, a tank
Early intercourse with China
The Veddahs described by Pliny
Interval between Pliny and Ptolemy
Ptolemy's account of Ceylon
Explanation of his errors
Ptolemy discriminates bays from estuaries (note) v9
Identification of Ptolemy's names
His map
His sources of information
Agathemerus, Marcianus of Heraclea
Cosmas Indicopleustes
Palladius--St. Ambrosius (note)
State of Ceylon when Cosmas wrote
Its commerce at that period
In the hands of Arabs and Persians v4
Ceylon as described by Cosmas
Story of his informant Sopater
Translation of Cosmas
The gems and other productions of Ceylon--"a gaou" (note)
Meaning of the term "Hyacinth" (note)
The great ruby of Ceylon, its history traced (note)
Cosmas corroborated by the Peripius
Horses imported from Persia
Export of elephants
Note on Sanchoniathon
CHAP. II.
INDIAN, ARABIAN, AND PERSIAN AUTHORITIES.
Absurd errors of the Hindus regarding Ceylon
Their dread of Ceylon as the abode of demons
Rise of the Mahometan power
Persians and Arabs trade to India
Story in Beladory of the first invasion of India by the Mahometans
(text and note)
Character of the Arabian geographers
Their superiority over the Greeks
Greek Paradoxical literature
A.D. 851. The two Mahometans
Their account of Ceylon
Adam's Peak
Obsequies of a king
Councils on religion and history
Toleration
Carmathic monument at Colombo (note)
Galle, the seat of ancient trade
Claim of Mantotte disproved
Greek fire (note)
"_Kalah_" is Galle
The Maharaja of Zabedj help possession of Galle
Evidence of this in the Garsharsp-Namah
Derivation of "Galle" (text and note)
Aversion of the Singhalese to commerce
Identification of the modern Veddahs with the ancient Singhalese
Their singular habits, as described by Robert Knox, Ribeyro, and
Valentyn
By Albyrouni
By Palladius
By Fa Hian
By the Chinese writers (note)
By Pliny
For this reason the coast only known to strangers
Arabian authors who describe Ceylon
Albateny and Massoudi
Tabari (note)
Sinbad the Sailor
Edrisi
Kazwini
Cinnamon, no mention of
Was cinnamon a native of Ceylon?
No mention by Singhalese authors
No mention of by Latin writers
The _Regio Cinnamomifera_ was in Africa (note)
No mention by Arabs or Persians
First noticed in Ceylon by Ibn Batuta
By Nicola di Conti (note)
Ibn Batuta describes Ceylon
His Travels
CHAP. III.
CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE CHINESE.
Early Chinese trade with Ceylon
Early Chinese travellers in India
Chinese translations of M.S. Julien
List of Chinese authors relating to Ceylon (note)
Their errors as to its form and site
Their account of Adam's Peak and its gems
Chinese names for Ceylon
Curious habit of its traders
They describe the two races, Tamils and Singhalese
Origin of the cotton "Comboy"
Costume of Ceylon
Early commerce
Works for irrigation noticed
Island of Junk-Ceylon
Galle resorted to by Chinese ships
Vegetable productions
Elephants, ivory, and jewels
Skill of Singhalese goldsmiths and statuaries
Pearls and gems sent to China
No mention of cinnamon
Chinese account of Buddhism in Ceylon
Monasteries for priests first founded in Ceylon
Cities of Ceylon in the sixth century
Patriotism of Singhalese kings
Domestic manners of the Singhalese
Embassies from China to Ceylon
Chinese travels prior to the sixth century
Fa Hian's travels in sixth century
First embassy from Ceylon to China, A.D. 405
Narrative of the image which it bore (note)
Ceylon tributary to China in sixth century
Hiouen-Thsang describes Ceylon in the seventh century (note)
Events in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
King of Ceylon carried captive to China, A.D. 1405
Last embassy to China, A.D. 1459
Traces of the Chinese in Ceylon
Evidences of their presence found by the Portuguese
Modern Chinese account of Ceylon (note)
CHAP. IV.
CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE MOORS,
GENOESE, AND VENETIANS.
The Moors of Ceylon
Their origin
The early Mahometans in India
Arabians anciently settled in Ceylon
Real descent of the modern "Moormen"
Their occupation as traders, ancestral
Their hostilities with the Portuguese
They might have been rulers of Ceylon
Indian trade prior to the route by the Cape
The Genoese and Venetians in the East
Rise of the Mongol empire
Marco Polo, A.D. 1271
Visits Ceylon
Friar Odoric, A.D. 1318
Jordan de Severac, A.D. 1323 (note)
Giov. de Marignola, A.D. 1349 (note)
Nicola di Conti, A.D. 1444
The first traveller who speaks of Cinnamon
Jerome de Santo Stefano (note)
Ludov. Barthema, A.D. 1506
Odoardo Barbosa, A.D. 1509
Andrea Corsali, A.D. 1515 (note)
Cesar Frederic, A.D. 1563
Course of trade changed by the Cape route
Irritation of the Venetians
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE FIRST VOLUME
MAPS.
"Gobbs" on the East Coast By ARROWSMITH
"Gobbs" on the "West Coast ARROWSMITH
Ceylon, according to the Sanskrit
and Pali authors SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT
Map of Ancient India LASSEN
Position of Colombo, according to Ptolemy
and Pliny SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT
Ceylon, according to Ptolemy and Pliny SIR J. EMERSON TENNENT
PLANS AND CHARTS.
Geological System By
Currents in the N.E. Monsoon
Currents in the N.W. Monsoon
Diagram of Rain in India and in Ceylon DR. TEMPLETON
Diagram of the Anthelia DR. TEMPLETON
Plan of a Fish-corral
Summit of a Dagoba, with Lightning
apparatus
WOOD ENGRAVINGS.
Marriage of the Fig-tree and the Palm By MR. A. NICHOLL
Fig-tree on the Ruins of Pollanarrua MR. A. NICHOLL
The "Snake-tree" MR. A. NICHOLL
The _Loris_ M.H. SYLVAT
The _Uropeltis grandis_ M.H. SYLVAT
A _Chironectes_ M.H. SYLVAT
Method of Fishing in Pools From KNOX
The _Anabas_ of the dry Tanks By DR. TEMPLETON
Eggs of the Leaf Insect M.H. SYLVAT
_Cermatia_ DR. TEMPLETON
The Calling Crab
Eyes and Teeth of the Land Leech DR. TEMPLETON
Land Leeches DR. TEMPLETON
Upper and under Surfaces of the
_Hirudo sanguisorba_ DR. TEMPLETON
The Bo-tree at Anarajapoora MR. A. NICHOLL
A Dagoba at Kandy From a Photograph
Ruins of the Brazen Palace By MR. A. NICHOLL
The Alu Wihara MR. A. NICHOLL
The fortified Rock of Sigiri MR. A. NICHOLS
Coin of Queen Leela-Wattee
Coin showing the _Trisula_
Hook-money
Ancient and Modern Tom-tom Beaters From the JOINVILLE MSS.
A Column from Anarajapoora
Sacred Goose from the Burmese Standard
Hansa, from the old Palace at Kandy
Honeysuckle Ornament From FERGUSSON'S
_Handbook of
Architecture_
Egyptian Yoke and Singhalese Pingo
Veddah drawing the Bow with his Foot By MR. R. MACDOWALL
Method of Writing with a Style MR. R. MACDOWALL
The "Comboy," as worn by both Sexes MR. A. FAIRFIELD
NOTICE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
The gratifying reception with which the following pages have been
honoured by the public and the press, has in no degree lessened my
consciousness, that in a work so extended in its scope, and
comprehending such a multiplicity of facts, errors are nearly
unavoidable both as to conclusions and detail. These, so far as I became
aware of them, I have endeavoured to correct in the present, as well as
in previous impressions.
But my principal reliance for the suggestion and supply both of
amendments and omissions has been on the press and the public of Ceylon;
whose familiarity with the topics discussed naturally renders them the
most competent judges as to the mode in which they have been treated. My
hope when the book was published in October last was, that before going
again to press I should be in possession of such friendly communications
and criticisms from the island, as would have enabled me to render the
second edition much more valuable than the previous one. In this
expectation I have been agreeably disappointed, the sale having been so
rapid, as to require a fourth impression before it was possible to
obtain from Ceylon judicious criticisms on the first. These in due time
will doubtless arrive; and meanwhile, I have endeavoured, by careful
revision, to render the whole as far as possible correct.
J. EMERSON TENNENT.
NOTICE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
The call for a third edition on the same day that the second was
announced for publication, and within less than two months from the
appearance of the first, has furnished a gratifying assurance of the
interest which the public are disposed to take in the subject of the
present work.
Thus encouraged, I have felt it my duty to make several alterations in
the present impression, amongst the most important of which is the
insertion of a Chapter on the doctrines of Buddhism as it developes
itself in Ceylon.[1] In the historical sections I had already given an
account of its introduction by Mahindo, and of the establishments
founded by successive sovereigns for its preservation and diffusion. To
render the narrative complete, it was felt desirable to insert an
abstract of the peculiar tenets of the Buddhists; and this want it has
been my object to supply. The sketch, it will be borne in mind, is
confined to the principal features of what has been denominated
"_Southern Buddhism_" amongst the Singhalese; as distinguished from
"_Northern Buddhism_" in Nepal, Thibet, and China.[2] The latter has
been largely illustrated by the labours of Mr. B.H. HODGSON and the
toilsome researches of M. CSOMA of Körrös in Transylvania; and the
minutest details of the doctrines and ceremonies of the former have been
unfolded in the elaborate and comprehensive collections of Mr. SPENCE
HARDY.[3] From materials discovered by these and other earnest
inquirers, Buddhism in its general aspect has been ably delineated in
the dissertations of BURNOUF[4] and SAINT HILAIRE[5], and in the
commentaries of REMUSAT[6], STANISLAS JULIEN[7], FOUCAUX[8], LASSEN[9],
and WEBER.[10] The portion thus added to the present edition has been to
a great extent taken from a former work of mine on the local
superstitions of Ceylon, and the "_Introduction and Progress of
Christianity_" there; and as the section relating to Buddhism had the
advantage, previous to publication, of being submitted to the Rev. Mr.
GOGERLY, the most accomplished Pali scholar, as well as the most erudite
student of Buddhistical literature in the island, I submit it with
confidence as an accurate summary of the distinctive views of the
Singhalese on the leading doctrines of their national faith.
[Footnote 1: See Part IV., c. xi.]
[Footnote 2: MAX MÜLLER; _History of Sanskrit Literature_, p. 202.]
[Footnote 3: _Eastern Monachism_, an account of the origin, laws;
discipline, sacred writings, mysterious rites, religious ceremonies, and
present circumstances of the Order of Mendicants, founded by Gotoma
Budha. 8vo. Lond. 1850; and _A Manual of Buddhism in its Modern
Development_. 8vo. Lond. 1853.]
[Footnote 4: BURNOUF, _Introduction à l'Histoire du Bouddhieme Indien_.
4to. Paris. 1845; and translation of the _Lotus de la bonne Loi_.]
[Footnote 5: J. BARTHELEMY SAINT-HILAIRE _Le Bouddha et sa Religion_.
8vo. Paris. 1800.]
[Footnote 6: Introduction and Notes to the _Fo[)e] Kou[)e] Ki_ of FA
HIAN.]
[Footnote 7: Life and travels of HIOUEN THSANG.]
[Footnote 8: Translation of _Lalitavistára_ by M. PH. ED. FOUCAUX.]
[Footnote 9: Author of the _Indische Alterthumskunde;_ &c.]
[Footnote 10: Author of the _Indische Studien_; &c.]
A writer in the _Saturday Review_[1], in alluding to the passage in
which I have sought to establish the identity of the ancient Tarshish
with the modern Point de Galle[2], admits the force of the coincidence
adduced, that the Hebrew terms for "ivory, apes, and peacocks"[3] (the
articles imported in the ships of Solomon) are identical with the Tamil
names, by which these objects are known in Ceylon to the present day;
and, to strengthen my argument on this point, he adds that, "these terms
were so entirely foreign and alien from the common Hebrew language as to
have driven the Ptolemaist authors of the Septuagint version into a
blunder, by which the ivory, apes, and peacocks come out as '_hewn and
carven stones_.'" The circumstance adverted to had not escaped my
notice; but I forebore to avail myself of it; for, although the fact is
accurately stated by the reviewer, so far as regards the Vatican MS., in
which the translators have slurred over the passage and converted
"_ibha, kapi_, and _tukeyim_" into [Greek: "lithôn toreutôn kai
pelekêtôn"] (literally, "stones hammered and carved in relief"); still,
in the other great MS. of the Septuagint, the _Codex Alexandrinus_,
which is of equal antiquity, the passage is correctly rendered by
"[Greek: odontôn elephantinôn kai pithêkôn kai taônôn]." The editor of
the Aldine edition[4] compromised the matter by inserting "the ivory and
apes," and excluding the "peacocks," in order to introduce the Vatican
reading of "stones."[5] I have not compared the Complutensian and other
later versions.
[Footnote 1: Novemb. 19, 1859, p. 612.]
[Footnote 2: _See_ Vol. II. Pt. VII., c. i. p. 102.]
[Footnote 3: 1 _Kings_, x. 22.]
[Footnote 4: Venice, 1518.]
[Footnote 5: [Greek: Kai odontôn elephantinôn kai pithêkôn kai lithôn].
[Greek: BASIA TRITÊ]. x. 22. It is to be observed, that Josephus appears
to have been equally embarrassed by the unfamiliar term _tukeyim_ for
peacocks. He alludes to the voyages of Solomon's merchantmen to
Tarshish, and says that they brought hack from thence gold and silver,
_much_ ivory, apes, _and Æthiopians_--thus substituting "slaves" for
pea-fowl--"[Greek: kai polus elephas, Aithiopes te kai pithêkoi]."
Josephus also renders the word Tarshish by "[Greek: en tê Tarsikê
legomenê thalattê]," an expression which shows that he thought not of
the Indian but the western Tarshish, situated in what Avienus calls the
_Fretum Tartessium_, whence African slaves might have been expected to
come.--_Antiquit. Judaicæ_, l. viii. c. vii sec. 2.]
The Rev. Mr. CURETON, of the British Museum, who, at my request,
collated the passage in the Chaldee and Syriac versions, assures me that
in both, the terms in question bear the closest resemblance to the Tamil
words found in the Hebrew; and that in each and all of them these are of
foreign importation.
J. EMERSON TENNENT.
LONDON: November 28th, 1859.
NOTICE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The rapidity with which the first impression has been absorbed by the
public, has so shortened the interval between its appearance and that of
the present edition, that no sufficient time has been allowed for the
discovery of errors or defects; and the work is re-issued almost as a
corrected reprint.
In the interim, however, I have ascertained, that Ribeyro's "Historical
Account of Ceylon," which it was heretofore supposed had never appeared
in any other than the French version of the Abbe Le Grand, and in the
English translation of the latter by Mr. Lee[1], was some years since
printed for the first time in the original Portuguese, from the
identical MS. presented by the author to Pedro II. in 1685. It was
published in 1836 by the Academia Real das Sciencias of Lisbon, under
the title of "_Fatalidade Historica da Ilka de Ceilão_;" and forms the
Vth volume of the a "_Colleção de Noticias para a Historia e Geograjia
das Nações Ultramarinas_" A fac-simile from a curious map of the island
as it was then known to the Portuguese, has been included in the present
edition.[2]
[Footnote 1: See Vol. II. Part vi. ch. i. p.5, note.]
[Footnote 2: Ibid. p. 6.]
Some difficulty having been expressed to me, in identifying the ancient
names of places in India adverted to in the following pages; and
mediæval charts of that country being rare, a map has been inserted in
the present edition[1], to supply the want complained of.
[Footnote 1: See Vol. I. p. 330.]
The only other important change has been a considerable addition to the
Index, which was felt to be essential for facilitating reference.
J E.T.
INTRODUCTION.
There is no island in the world, Great Britain itself not excepted, that
has attracted the attention of authors in so many distant ages and so
many different countries as Ceylon. There is no nation in ancient or
modern times possessed of a language and a literature, the writers of
which have not at some time made it their theme. Its aspect, its
religion, its antiquities, and productions, have been described as well
by the classic Greeks, as by those of the Lower Empire; by the Romans;
by the writers of China, Burmah, India, and Kashmir; by the geographers
of Arabia and Persia; by the mediæval voyagers of Italy and France; by
the annalists of Portugal and Spain; by the merchant adventurers of
Holland, and by the travellers and topographers of Great Britain.
But amidst this wealth of materials as to the island, and its
vicissitudes in early times, there is an absolute dearth of information
regarding its state and progress during more recent periods, and its
actual condition at the present day.
I was made sensible of this want, on the occasion of my nomination, in
1845, to an office in connection with the government of Ceylon. I found
abundant details as to the capture of the maritime provinces from the
Dutch in 1795, in the narrative of Captain PERCIVAL[1], an officer who
had served in the expedition; and the efforts to organise the first
system of administration are amply described by CORDINER[2], Chaplain to
the Forces; by Lord VALENTIA[3], who was then travelling in the East;
and by ANTHONY BERTOLACCI[4], who acted as auditor-general to the first
governor, Mr. North, afterwards Earl of Guilford. The story of the
capture of Kandy in 1815 has been related by an anonymous eye-witness
under the pseudonyme of PHILALETHES[5], and by MARSHALL in his
_Historical Sketch_ of the conquest.[6] An admirable description of the
interior of the island, as it presented itself some forty years ago, was
furnished by Dr. DAVY[7], a brother of the eminent philosopher, who was
employed on the medical staff in Ceylon, from 1816 till 1820.
[Footnote 1: _An Account of the Island of Ceylon_, &c., by Capt. R.
PERCIVAL, 4to. London, 1805.]
[Footnote 2: _A Description of Ceylon_, &c., by the Rev. JAMES CORDINER,
A.M. 2 vols. 4to. London, 1807.]
[Footnote 3: _Voyages and Travels to India, Ceylon, and the Red Sea_, by
Lord Viscount VALENTIA. 3 vols. 4to. London, 1809.]
[Footnote 4: _A View of the Agricultural, Commercial, and Financial
Interests of Ceylon_, &c., by A. BERTOLACCI, Esq. London, 1817.]
[Footnote 5: _A History of Ceylon from the earliest Period to the Year_
MDCCCXV, by PHILALETHES, A.M. 4to. Lond. 1817. The author is believed to
have been the Rev. G. Bisset.]
[Footnote 6: HENRY MARSHALL, F.R.S.E., &c. went to Ceylon as assistant
surgeon of the 89th regiment, in 1806, and from 1816 till 1821 was the
senior medical officer of the Kandyan provinces.]
[Footnote 7: _An Account of the Interior of Ceylon_, &c., by JOHN DAVY,
M.D. 4to, London, 1821.]
Here the long series of writers is broken, just at the commencement of a
period the most important and interesting in the history of the island.
The mountain zone, which for centuries had been mysteriously hidden from
the Portuguese and Dutch[1] was suddenly opened to British enterprise in
1815. The lofty region, from behind whose barrier of hills the kings of
Kandy had looked down and defied the arms of three successive European
nations, was at last rendered accessible by the grandest mountain road
in India; and in the north of the island, the ruins of ancient cities,
and the stupendous monuments of an early civilisation, were discovered
in the solitudes of the great central forests. English merchants
embarked in the renowned trade in cinnamon, which we had wrested from
the Dutch; and British capitalists introduced the cultivation of coffee
into the previously inaccessible highlands. Changes of equal magnitude
contributed to alter the social position of the natives; domestic
slavery was extinguished; compulsory labour, previously exacted from the
free races, was abolished; and new laws under a charter of justice
superseded the arbitrary rule of the native chiefs. In the course of
less than half a century, the aspect of the country became changed, the
condition of the people was submitted to new influences; and the time
arrived to note the effects of this civil revolution.
[Footnote 1: VALENTYN, In his great work on the Dutch possessions in
India, _Oud_ _en Nieuw Oost-Indien_, alludes more than once with regret
to the ignorance in which his countrymen were kept as to the interior of
Ceylon, concerning which their only information was obtained through
fugitives and spies. (Vol. v. ch. ii. p. 35; ch. xv. p. 205.)]
But on searching for books such as I expected to find, recording the
phenomena consequent on these domestic and political events, I was
disappointed to discover that they were few in number and generally
meagre in information. Major FORBES, who in 1826 and for some years
afterwards held a civil appointment in the Kandyan country, published an
interesting account of his observations[1]; and his work derives value
from the attention which the author had paid to the ancient records of
the island, whose contents were then undergoing investigation by the
erudite and indefatigable TURNOUR.[2]
[Footnote 1: _Eleven Years in Ceylon_, &c., by Major FORBES. 2 vols.
8vo. London. 1840.]
[Footnote 2: See Vol. I. Part III. ch. iii. p. 312.]
In 1843 Mr. BENNETT, a retired civil servant of the colony, who had
studied some branches of its natural history, and especially its
ichthyology, embodied his experiences in a volume entitled "_Ceylon and
its Capabilities_," containing a mass of information, somewhat defective
in arrangement. These and a number of minor publications, chiefly
descriptive of sporting tours in search of elephants and deer, with
incidental notices of the sublime scenery and majestic ruins of the
island, were the only modern works that treated of Ceylon; but no one of
them sufficed to furnish a connected view of the colony at the present
day, contrasting its former state with the condition to which it has
attained under the government of Great Britain.
On arriving in Ceylon and entering on my official functions, this
absence of local knowledge entailed frequent inconvenience. In my tours
throughout the interior, I found ancient monuments, apparently defying
decay, of which no one could tell the date or the founder; and temples
and cities in ruins, whose destroyers were equally unknown. There were
vast structures of public utility, on which the prosperity of the
country had at one time been dependent; artificial lakes, with their
conduits and canals for irrigation; the condition of which rendered it
interesting to ascertain the period of their formation, and the causes
of their abandonment; but to every inquiry of this nature, there was the
same unvarying reply: that information regarding them might possibly be
found in the _Mahawanso_ or in some other of the native chronicles; but
that few had ever read them, and none had succeeded in reproducing them
for popular instruction.
A still more serious embarrassment arose from the want of authorities to
throw light on questions that were sometimes the subject of
administrative deliberation: there were native customs which no
available materials sufficed to illustrate; and native claims, often
serious in their importance, the consideration of which was obstructed
by a similar dearth of authentic data. With a view to executive
measures, I was frequently desirous of consulting the records of the two
European governments, under which the island had been administered for
300 years before the arrival of the British; their experience might have
served as a guide, and even their failures would have pointed out errors
to be avoided; but here, again, I had to encounter disappointment: in
answer to my inquiries, I was assured that _the records, both of the
Portuguese and Dutch, had long since disappeared from the archives of
the colony_.
Their loss, whilst in our custody, is the more remarkable, considering
the value which was attached to them by our predecessors. The Dutch, on
the conquest of Ceylon in the seventeenth century, seized the official
accounts and papers of the Portuguese; and a memoir is preserved by
VALENTYN, in which the Governor, Van Goens, on handing over the command
to his successor in 1663, enjoins on him the study of these important
documents, and expresses anxiety for their careful preservation.[1]
[Footnote 1: VALENTYN, _Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien_, &c., ch. xiii. p.
174.]
The British, on the capture of Colombo in 1796, were equally solicitous
to obtain possession of the records of the Dutch Government. By Art.
XIV. of the capitulation they were required to be "faithfully delivered
over;" and, by Art. XI., all "surveys of the island and its coasts" were
required to be surrendered to the captors.[1] But, strange to say,
almost the whole of these interesting and important papers appear to
have been lost; not a trace of the Portuguese records, so far as I could
discover, remains at Colombo; and if any vestige of those of the Dutch
be still extant, they have probably become illegible from decay and the
ravages of the white ants.[2]
[Footnote 1: Amongst a valuable collection of documents presented to the
Royal Asiatic Society of London, by the late Sir Alexander Johnston,
formerly Chief Justice of Ceylon, there is a volume of Dutch surveys of
the Island, containing important maps of the coast and its harbours, and
plans of the great works for irrigation in the northern and eastern
provinces.]
[Footnote 2: _Note to the second edition_.--Since the first edition was
published, I have been told by a late officer of the Ceylon Government,
that many years ago, what remained of the Dutch records were removed
from the record-room of the Colonial Office to the cutcherry of the
government agent of the western province: where some of them may still
be found.]
But the loss is not utterly irreparable; duplicates of the Dutch
correspondence during their possession of Ceylon are carefully preserved
at Amsterdam; and within the last few years the Trustees of the British
Museum purchased from the library of the late Lord Stuart de Rothesay
the Diplomatic Correspondence and Papers of SEBASTIAÕ JOZÉ CARVALHO E
MELLO (Portuguese Ambassador at London and Vienna, and subsequently
known as the Marquis de Pombal), from 1738 to 1747, including sixty
volumes relating to the history of the Portuguese possessions in India
and Brazil during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Amongst the latter
are forty volumes of despatches relative to India entitled _Collecçam
Authentica de todas as Leys, Regimentos, Alvarás e mais ordens que se
expediram para a India_, _desde o establecimento destas conquístas;
Ordenáda por proviram de 28 de Marco de 1754_.[1] These contain the
despatches to and from the successive Captains-General and Governors of
Ceylon, so that, in part at least, the replacement of the records lost
in the colony may be effected by transcription.
[Footnote 1: MSS. Brit Mus. No. 20,861 to 20,900.]
Meanwhile in their absence I had no other resource than the narratives
of the Dutch and Portuguese historians, chiefly VALENTYN, DE BARROS, and
DE COUTO, who have preserved in two languages the least familiar in
Europe, chronicles of their respective governments, which, so far as I
am aware, have never been republished in any translation.
The present volumes contain no detailed notice of the _Buddhist faith_
as it exists in Ceylon, of the _Brahmanical rites,_ or of the other
religious superstitions of the island. These I have already described in
my history of _Christianity in Ceylon._[1] The materials for that work
were originally designed to form a portion of the present one; but
having expanded to too great dimensions to be made merely subsidiary, I
formed them into a separate treatise. Along with them I have
incorporated facts illustrative of the national character of the
Singhalese under the conjoint influences of their ancestral
superstitions and the partial enlightenment of education and gospel
truth.
[Footnote 1: _Christianity in Ceylon: its Introduction and Progress
under the Portuguese, the Dutch, the British and American Missions; with
an Historical Sketch of the Brahmanical and Buddhist Superstitons_ by
Sir JAMES EMERSON TENNENT. London, Murray, 1850.]
Respecting the _Physical Geography_ and _Natural History_ of the colony,
I found an equal want of reliable information; and every work that even
touched on the subject was pervaded by the misapprehension which I have
collected evidence to correct; that Ceylon is but a fragment of the
great Indian continent dissevered by some local convulsion; and that the
zoology and botany of the island are identical with those of the
mainland.[1]
[Footnote 1: It may seem presumptuous in me to question the accuracy of
Dr. DAVY'S opinion on this point (see his _Account of the Interior of
Ceylon, &c_., ch. iii. p. 78), but the grounds on which I venture to do
so are stated, Vol. I. pp. 7, 27, 160, 178, 208, &c.]
Thus for almost every particular and fact, whether physical or
historical, I have been to a great extent thrown on my own researches;
and obliged to seek for information in original sources, and in French
and English versions of Oriental authorities. The results of my
investigations are embodied in the following pages; and it only remains
for me to express, in terms however inadequate, my obligations to the
literary and scientific friends by whose aid I have been enabled to
pursue my inquiries.
Amongst these my first acknowledgments are due to Dr. TEMPLETON, of the
Army Medical Staff, for his cordial assistance in numerous departments;
but above all in relation to the physical geography and natural history
of the island. Here his scientific knowledge, successfully cultivated
during a residence of nearly twelve years in Ceylon, and his intimate
familiarity with its zoology and productions, rendered his co-operation
invaluable;--and these sections abound with evidences of the liberal
extent to which his stores of information have been generously imparted.
To him and to Dr. CAMERON, of the Army Medical Staff, I am indebted for
many valuable facts and observations on tropical health and disease,
embodied in the chapter on "_Climate_."
Sir RODERICK I. MURCHISON (without committing himself as to the
controversial portions of the chapter on the _Geology_ and _Mineralogy_
of Ceylon) has done me the favour to offer some valuable suggestions,
and to express his opinion as to the general accuracy of the whole.
Although a feature so characteristic as that of its _Vegetation_ could
not possibly be omitted in a work professing to give an account of
Ceylon, I had neither the space nor the qualifications necessary to
produce a systematic sketch of the Botany of the island. I could only
attempt to describe it as it exhibits itself to an unscientific
spectator; and the notices that I have given are confined to such of the
more remarkable plants as cannot fail to arrest the attention of a
stranger. In illustration of these, I have had the advantage of copious
communications from WILLIAM FERGUSON, Esq., a gentleman attached to the
Survey Department of the Civil Service in Ceylon, whose opportunities
for observation in all parts of the island have enabled him to cultivate
with signal success his taste for botanical pursuits. And I have been
permitted to submit the portion of my work which refers to this subject
to the revision of the highest living authority on Indian botany, Dr.
J.D. HOOKER, of Kew.
Regarding the _fauna_ of Ceylon, little has been published in any
collective form, with the exception of a volume by Dr. KELAART entitled
_Prodromus Faunæ Zeilanicæ_; several valuable papers by Mr. EDGAR L.
LAYARD in the _Annals and Magazine of Natural History_ for 1852 and
1853; and some very imperfect lists appended to PRIDHAM'S compiled
account of the island.[1] KNOX, in the charming narrative of his
captivity, published in the reign of Charles II., has devoted a chapter
to the animals of Ceylon, and Dr. DAVY has described the principal
reptiles: but with these exceptions the subject is almost untouched in
works relating to the colony. Yet a more than ordinary interest attaches
to the inquiry, since Ceylon, instead of presenting, as is generally
assumed, an identity between its _fauna_ and that of Southern India,
exhibits a remarkable diversity of type, taken in connection with the
limited area over which they are distributed. The island, in fact, may
be regarded as the centre of a geographical circle, possessing within
itself forms, whose allied species radiate far into the temperate
regions of the north, as well as into Africa, Australia, and the isles
of the Eastern Archipelago.
[Footnote 1: _An Historical Political, and Statistical Account of Ceylon
and its Dependencies_, by C. PRIDHAM, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1849.
The author was never, I believe, in Ceylon, but his book is a laborious
condensation of the principal English works relating to it. Its value
would have been greatly increased had Mr. Pridham accompanied his
excerpts by references to the respective authorities.]
In the chapters that I have devoted to its elucidation, I have
endeavoured to interest others in the subject, by describing my own
observations and impressions, with fidelity, and with as much accuracy
as may be expected from a person possessing, as I do, no greater
knowledge of zoology and the other physical sciences than is ordinarily
possessed by any educated gentleman. It was my good fortune, however, in
my journies to have the companionship of friends familiar with many
branches of natural science: the late Dr. GARDNER, Mr. EDGAR L. LAYARD,
an accomplished zoologist, Dr. TEMPLETON, and others; and I was thus
enabled to collect on the spot many interesting facts relative to the
structure and habits of the numerous tribes of animals. These, chastened
by the corrections of my fellow-travellers, and established by the
examination of collections made in the colony, and by subsequent
comparison with specimens contained in museums at home, I have ventured
to submit as faithful outlines of the _fauna_ of Ceylon.
The sections descriptive of the several classes are accompanied by
lists, prepared with the assistance of scientific friends, showing the
extent to which each particular branch had been investigated by
naturalists, up to the period of my departure from Ceylon at the close
of 1849. These, besides their inherent interest, will, I trust,
stimulate others to engage in the same pursuits, by exhibiting the
chasms, which it still remains for future industry and research to fill
up;--and the study of the zoology of Ceylon may thus serve as a
preparative for that of Continental India, embracing, as the former
does, much that is common to both, as well as possessing within itself a
fauna peculiar to the island, that will amply repay more extended
scrutiny.
From these lists have been excluded all species regarding the
authenticity of which reasonable doubts could be entertained[1], and of
some of them, a very few have been printed in _italics_, in order to
denote the desirability of comparing them more minutely with well
determined specimens in the great national depositories before finally
incorporating them with the Singhalese catalogues.
[Footnote 1: An exception occurs in the list of shells, prepared by Mr.
SYLVANUS HANLEY, in which some whose localities are doubtful have been
admitted for reasons adduced. (See Vol. I, p. 234.)]
In the labour of collecting and verifying the facts embodied in these
sections, I cannot too warmly express my thanks for the aid I have
received from gentlemen interested in similar pursuits in Ceylon: from
Dr. KELAART and Mr. EDGAR L. LAYARD, as well as from officers of the
Ceylon Civil Service; the HON. GERALD C. TALBOT, Mr. C.E. BULLER, Mr.
MERCER, Mr. MORRIS, Mr. WHITING, Major SKINNER, and Mr. MITFORD.
Before venturing to commit these chapters of my work to the press, I
have had the advantage of having portions of them read by Professor
HUXLEY, Mr. MOORE, of the East India House Museum; Mr. R. PATTERSON,
F.R.S., author of the _Introduction to Zoology_, and by Mr. ADAM WHITE,
of the British Museum; to each of whom I am exceedingly indebted for the
care they have bestowed. In an especial degree I have to acknowledge the
kindness of Dr. J.E. GRAY, F.R.S. for valuable additions and corrections
in the list of the Ceylon Reptilia; and to Professor FARADAY for some
notes on the nature and qualities of the "Serpent Stone,"[1] submitted
to him. I have recorded in its proper place my obligations to Admiral
FITZROY, for his most ingenious theory in elucidation of the phenomena
of the _Tides_ around Ceylon.[2]
[Footnote 1: See Vol. I. Part II. ch. iii. p. 199.]
[Footnote 2: See Vol. II. Part VII. ch. i. p. 116.]
The extent to which my observations on _the Elephant_ have been carried,
requires some explanation. The existing notices of this noble creature
are chiefly devoted to its habits and capabilities _in captivity_; and
very few works, with which I am acquainted, contain illustrations of its
instincts and functions when wild in its native woods. Opportunities for
observing the latter, and for collecting facts in connection with them,
are abundant in Ceylon, and from the moment of my arrival, I profited by
every occasion afforded to me for studying the elephant in a state of
nature, and obtaining from hunters and natives correct information as to
its oeconomy and disposition. Anecdotes in connection with this subject,
I received from some of the most experienced residents In the island;
amongst others, Major SKINNER, Captain PHILIP PAYNE GALLWEY, Mr.
FAIRHOLME, Mr. CRIPPS, and Mr. MORRIS. Nor can I omit to express my
acknowledgments to PROFESSOR OWEN, of the British Museum, to whom this
portion of my manuscript was submitted previous to its committal to the
press.
In the _historical sections_ of the work, I have been reluctantly
compelled to devote a considerable space to a narrative deduced from the
ancient Singhalese chronicles; into which I found it most difficult to
infuse any popular interest. But the toil was not undertaken without a
motive. The oeconomics and hierarchical institutions of Buddhism as
administered through successive dynasties, exercised so paramount an
influence over the habits and occupations of the Singhalese people, that
their impress remains indelible to the present day. The tenure of temple
lands, the compulsory services of tenants, the extension of agriculture,
and the whole system of co-operative cultivation, derived from this
source organisation and development; and the origin and objects of these
are only to be rendered intelligible by an inquiry into the events and
times in which the system took its rise. In connection with this
subject, I am indebted to the representatives of the late Mr. TURNOUR,
of the Ceylon Civil Service, for access to his unpublished manuscripts;
and to those portions of his correspondence with Prinsep, which relate
to the researches of these two distinguished scholars regarding the Pali
annals of Ceylon. I have also to acknowledge my obligations to M. JULES
MOHL, the literary executor of M. E. BURNOUF, for the use of papers left
by that eminent orientalist in illustration of the ancient geography of
the island, as exhibited in the works of Pali and Sanskrit writers.
I have been signally assisted inn my search for materials illustrative
of the social and intellectual condition of the Singhalese nation,
during the early ages of their history, by gentlemen in Ceylon, whose
familiarity with the native languages and literature impart authority to
their communications; by ERNEST DE SARAM WIJEYESEKERE KAROONARATNE, the
Maha-Moodliar and First Interpreter to the Governor; and to Mr. DE
ALWIS, the erudite translator of the _Sidath Sangara._ From the Rev. Mr.
GOGERLY of the Wesleyan Mission, I have received expositions of Buddhist
policy; and the Rev. R SPENCE HARDY, author of the two most important
modern works on the archæology of Buddhism[1], has done me the favour to
examine the chapter on SINGHALESE _Literature,_ and to enrich it by
numerous suggestions and additions.
[Footnote 1: _Oriental Monachism,_ 8vo. London, 1850; and _A Manual of
Buddhism,_ 8vo. London, 1853]
In like manner I have had the advantage of communicating with MR. COOLEY
(author of the _History of Maritime and Inland Discovery_) in relation
to the _Mediæval History_ of Ceylon, and the period embraced by the
narrative of the Greek, Arabian, and Italian travellers, between the
fifth and fifteenth centuries.
I have elsewhere recorded my obligations to Mr. WYLIE, and to his
colleague, Mr. LOCKHART of Shanghæ, for the materials of one of the most
curious chapters of my work, that which treats of the knowledge of
Ceylon possessed by the Chinese in the Middle Ages. This is a field
which, so far as I know, is untouched by any previous writer on Ceylon.
In the course of my inquires, finding that Ceylon had been, from the
remotest times, the point at which the merchant fleets from the Red Sea
and the Persian Gulf met those from China and the Oriental Archipelago;
thus effecting an exchange of merchandise from East and West; and
discovering that the Arabian and Persian voyagers, on their return, had
brought home copious accounts of the island, it occurred to me that the
Chinese travellers during the same period had in all probability been
equally observant and communicative, and that the results of their
experience might be found in Chinese works of the Middle Ages. Acting on
this conjecture, I addressed myself to a Chinese gentleman, WANG TAO
CHUNG, who was then in England; and he, on his return to Shanghæ, made
known my wishes to Mr. WYLIE. My anticipations were more than realised
by Mr. WYLIE'S researches. I received in due course, extracts from
upwards of twenty works by Chinese writers, between the fifth and
fifteenth centuries, and the curious and interesting facts contained in
them are embodied in the chapter devoted to that particular subject. In
addition to these, the courtesy of M. STANISLAS JULIEN, the eminent
French Sinologue, has laid me under a similar obligation for access to
unpublished passages relative to Ceylon, in his translation of the great
work of HIOUEN THSANG; in his translation of the great work of HIOUEN
THSANG; descriptive of the Buddhist country of India in the seventh
century.[1]
[Footnote 1: _Mémoires sur les Contrées Occidentales_, traduites du
Sanscrit en Chinois, en l'an 648, par M. STANISLAS JULIEN.]
It is with pain that I advert to that portion of the section which
treats of the British rule in Ceylon; in the course of which the
discovery of the private correspondence of the first Governor, Mr.
North, deposited along with the Wellesley Manuscripts, in the British
Museum[1], has thrown an unexpected light over the fearful events of
1803, and the massacre of the English troops then in garrison at Kandy.
Hitherto the honour of the British Government has been unimpeached in
these dark transactions; and the slaughter of the troops has been
uniformly denounced as an evidence of the treacherous and "tiger-like"
spirit of the Kandyan people.[2] But it is not possible now to read the
narrative of these events, as the motives and secret arrangements of the
Governor with the treacherous Minister of the king are disclosed in the
private letters of Mr. North to the Governor-general of India, without
feeling that the sudden destruction of Major Davie's party, however
revolting the remorseless butchery by which it was achieved, may have
been but the consummation of a revenge provoked by the discovery of the
treason concocted by the Adigar in confederacy with the representative
of the British Crown. Nor is this construction weakened by the fact,
that no immediate vengeance was exacted by the Governor in expiation of
that fearful tragedy; and that the private letters of Mr. North to the
Marquis of Wellesley contain avowals of ineffectual efforts to hush up
the affair, and to obtain a clumsy compromise by inducing the Kandyan
king to make an admission of regret.
[Footnote 1: Additional MSS., Brit. Mus., No. 13864, &c.]
[Footnote 2: DE QUINCEY, _collected Works_, vol. xii. p. 14.]
I am aware that there are passages in the following pages containing
statements that occur more than once in the course of the work. But I
found that in dealing with so many distinct subjects the same fact
became sometimes an indispensable illustration of more than one topic;
and hence repetition was unavoidable even at the risk of tautology.
I have also to apologise for variances in the spelling of proper names,
both of places and individuals, occurring in different passages. In
extenuation of this, I can only plead the difficulty of preserving
uniformity in matters dependent upon mere sound, and unsettled by any
recognised standard of orthography.
I have endeavoured in every instance to append references to other
authors, in support of statements which I have drawn from previous
writers; an arrangement rendered essential by the numerous instances in
which errors, that nothing short of the original authorities can suffice
to expose, have been reproduced and repeated by successive writers on
Ceylon.
To whatever extent the preparation of this work may have fallen short of
its conception, and whatever its demerits in execution and style, I am
not without hope that it will still exhibit evidence that by
perseverance and research I have laboured to render it worthy of the
subject.
JAMES EMERSON TENNENT.
LONDON: _July 13th, 1859._