Maladama Gene Visira
Biyapath Ve Apa Beyanda Negiye
Translation:
The song is written
By Vajra Aggabodhi monk
When climbing this rock
We were disturbed by the wind
The tuff of hair on the forehead
Fell on the nape due to the wind
Flower garland worn on the neck was scattered
It made us frightened.
As our ancestors were engaged in farming and
animal husbandry from a long period of time they
were able to live closely with the nature. Therefore,
they had a simple but deep understanding about
the beauty and the uncertainity of the nature.
As those ideas were further developed by the
teachings of Buddhism, a dispassionate taste was
developed in the ancient society.
4.3.5 Ethnic Co-existence
There are evidences to prove that there lived
people, who belonged to different cultures in the
cities of our country from the ancient time. The
inscriptions point out that apart from the native
Sinhala people, there were groups of people,
belonging to other cultures and beliefs in other
religions, who came here for trading , among
the urban community. Among them there were
traders who came from South India, the Ionians
who came from the Greek and Macedonian
regions, the Cambodians who came from the
Afganistan region, and the Jawakans who came
from the Malayan peninsula.
Though there was much diversity among the
aforementioned nationals, they had never tried
to fight with each other. An inscription found in
Abhayagiri Vihara in Anuradhapura mentions
about a Tamil monk. It was written around
1 st century A.D. The ancient people of this
country did not use to look at other nationals
with suspicion. Instead, they worked and lived
with them amicably. An ancient inscription
found in Ampara mentions about a Tamil man
who was married to a Sinhalese woman. The
archaeologists were able to discover a street in
Anuradhapura where several Tamil families had
lived.The merchants, who migrated from various
countries in the region around the Indian Ocean,
lived in ancient cities in Sri Lanka. However, it
seems that most of them had come from South
India. There was a special post in the king’s court
named as ‘Demala Adhikari’ by the 9th century
A.D. His task must have been to look into the
matters regarding the welfare of the Tamil
people who lived in and around Anuradhapura.
A person named ''Demel Adhikari Pandiradh''
has been mentioned in an inscription of king
Kashyapa IV which is in the National Museum
of Colombo. Among this Tamil community,
most of them were soldiers who served as the
mercenary soldiers in the army in our country.
The oldest kings who sought the assistance of
the South Indian mercenary soldiers were king
Ilanaga (33 -43 A.D) and King Abhayanaga (231- 240 A.D.) They, who came from Kerala, were
called ‘Agampadi Senawa’. The Wamsakatha say
that King Vijayabahu I had assigned the duty
of providing defence to the Dalada Maligawa
(Temple of Tooth) to Welayikkar force. The
Welayikkaras were the group of Agampadi who
came here from Kerala.
In the 11th and 12th centuries A.D. a group of
merchants named ‘Nanadesin’ who were engaged
in trade affairs in this country were a company
who had a South Indian origin. A bronze cachet
which belonged to them has been discovered
in Hambanthota. An inscription, written
during the reign of queen Lilawathi, found in
Anuradhapura, mentions about a customs barrier
which had belonged to the group of merchants
called ‘Nanadesin’. According to the historical
records, these merchants had been engaged in
their activities peacefully and the rulers too had