Illustration 4.1 A Chena is a beautiful scene. The hut, which was built for the farmer to stay at night to protect the Chena
from wild animals, the fence made with sticks around the Chena are things that can mostly be seen.
wild animals, is called ‘Dandu Weta’. The small
hut built at the top of a tall tree in the Chena is
called ‘Pela’. It was in this ‘Pela’ that the farmers
stayed sleeplessly at night to protect the crops in
their Chenas from wild animals.
During the times of some kings, taxes were
charged for cultivating Chenas. Two types of
such taxes, ‘Kethi Ada’, ‘Ketu Kanaba Aya’ have
been mentioned in inscriptions. The inscriptions
say that King Nissankamalla (1187-1196 A.D),
who ruled in Polonnaruwa, abolished those two
types of taxes.
Since there was not much population in ancient
time, Chena cultivation was enough to meet the
needs of their lives. Muddy or paddy cultivation
was started in order to produce more food
required for the increasing population.
Paddy Cultivation – In inscriptions the
places where paddy was cultivated have been
introduced as ‘Kumbura’ and ‘Ketha’. Sometimes
the word ‘Kumbura’ may have been used to
introduce the small space which was used for
paddy cultivation. The term ‘Ketha’ has derived
from the Sanskrit word ‘Kshesthra’. It meant
'considerably big fields'.Mostly the paddy cultivation was done by using
irrigation. During monsoon seasons, rain water
was reserved in tanks. Then the water was
carried to paddy fields through canals. Twice a
year paddy was cultivated. The seasons in which
paddy was cultivated were introduced in the
name of ‘Kanna’. The two ‘Kannas’ (seasons) in
which paddy was cultivated were called ‘Maha
Kannaya’ and ‘Yala Kannaya’. Apart from these,
another one introduced as ‘Meda Kannaya’ is
found in inscriptions. It came between ‘Yala